A Tribute to Sizanani – Tintswalo’s Legendary Lion King
It was a sad day last month when we learned of the passing of Tintswalo’s most magnificent male lion—Sizanani. One of our rangers, Christof Schoeman, described Sizanani as a ‘True Survivor’ for his amazing ability to somehow come out on top, despite all odds. At Tintswalo, he also gained the nickname “Phantom”, because he would […]
Hippo Charges Entire Herd of Buffalo: Sighting of the Month
Hippos certainly hold one of the most fearsome reputations in the African bush These big, water-dwelling beasts are renowned for causing the largest number of human fatalities out of all the animals. If you invade a hippo’s personal space—which usually includes a section of river, dam or pan—you will be extremely lucky if he tolerates […]
The Lions of Tintswalo: An Introduction
What would the African bush be without lions? These large, magnificent felines take up such a prominent position in the chain of life in the wilderness; with their close-knit prides dominating the savannah; and their loud territorial roars echoing in the night. Lions are the only social felines on earth. All the other wild cats—leopards, cheetahs […]
Tintswalo Ranger Diary – April Update
The Lions of Tintswalo – Mbiri pride We had two sightings of the Mbiri’s in the three days. They were first found with the Thanda Impi males at Vulture pan, in the eastern part of their territory. Two days later we again found the Mbiri’s, but this time in the extreme western part of the […]
Where to now for the Northern Manyeleti male Leopards?
It was February 2013, when we first saw a young male Leopard that would the leopard dynamics in the northern Manyeleti. Up until that point, we had the Beacon male leopard controlling a massive territory. One day we’d see him up in the northern parts of his territory on Vulture pan, and the next morning […]
March 28-30 2017
Lions – Mbiri pride and Thanda impi males The Thanda Impi male Lions have continued to stay with the Mbiri pride and were found with the Mbiri’s at New pump on the afternoon of the 28th. The Skorro male had the love interest of one of the younger females, and we witnessed them mating on […]
25-26 March 2017
Lion – Mbiri pride The Mbiri were relatively scarce over the two days, only being seen once. They were found at Sable bridge on the morning of the 25th, and moved with the cubs into the drainage line to the east. This remains a favorite for the Mbiri’s, as far as hiding the cubs goes, […]
23-24 March 2017
Lions – Mbiri pride and Thanda Impi males Both the Mbiri pride and Thanda Impi male Lions have continued to stay in the area around Old Pump. On the morning of the 23rd, we found them with a Buffalo kill. There was a fair amount of competition, particularly between the two males. It seems that […]
21-22 March 2017
Lion – Mbiri pride and Thanda Impi male Lions The Mbiri’s spent the 2 days in exactly the same place, on the western side of Old Pump open area. All seven of the cubs are still looking very good and healthy. They spent the afternoon of the 21st with the Thanda Impi male Lions, who […]
1-4 March 2017
Lions – Mbiri pride We had two sightings of the Mbiri pride over the 4 days. On the afternoon of the 2nd, they were found close to mantobeni pan and moved north towards old pump. A large Buffalo herd had assembled at the pans and they started half heartedly stalking the Buffalo. After a while, […]
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