Singita Blog
Posts Tagged ‘Game Viewing’
January 16th, 2012
Wildlife – the News in Pictures
Another spectacular few days of wildlife sightings at Singita Ebony and Boulders Lodges. Follow the story in pictures provided by Field Guide, Dylan Brandt.
Mapogo male lions following the Ximungwe pride of 4 youngsters and 4 females.
The Marthly male leopard. A massive male leopard that controls a large portion, north of the Sand River. Lovely pose as he looks over the tall grass at impala in the distance.
Ravenscourt female after feeding from a young nyala kill.
This image is again of the Ravenscourt female, looking and sniffing curious smells under a large fallen Marula tree in a river bed.
The Ravenscourt female leopard – catching her in mid-yawn.
Wild dog pack running through the Sand River in a hurried attempt to cross, avoiding any crocodiles that might be close by.
Follow regional wildlife reports from our Field Guides, posted monthly on Singita’s website.
January 10th, 2012
Wildlife – the News in Pictures
A magnificent week of wildlife sightings at Singita Sabi Sand. Dylan Brandt, Singita Field Guide, shares some of his close encounters from the past few days.
Ravenscourt female leopard.
Perfectly posed – the Ravenscourt female leopard.
Relaxed state of mind – Mapogo male.
Two of the Othawa pride females – in good company.
For regular wildlife updates, don’t forget to refer to our monthly Guides’ Diaries posted on Singita’s website. Also, if you would like to receive Singita’s blog posts in your email box, subscribe to our blog via email.
October 26th, 2011
Wildlife – The News in Pictures
The Xirombe lion pride – Singita Kruger National Park
Wild dog
Buffalo bull
Xinkelengane female leopard
A remarkable week of game viewing at Singita Kruger this week. Behind the lens is Singita Guide, Marlon du Toit, who loves every minute of his day introducing the wilderness to guests at Singita Lebombo and Sweni Lodges.
October 18th, 2011
Family Reunion
If you’ve been following news from Singita Field Guides, then you’ll remember the Xinkelengane female leopard at Singita Kruger National Park. She has provided a multitude of gorgeous photo opportunities in the past. But now it seems her maturing offspring are taking over the reins in the territory.
This beautiful young leopard (above) has taken over the reins from her mother it seems. Sadly, her mother, the much loved and well known Xinkelengane female has been missing for almost three months now. We are not sure where she is and we continue looking for any signs of her. In the meantime the leopard pictured, has been leaving her scent along all of the prominent landmarks within her mother’s old territory. This is vital for establishing a territory. She is still a young cat, barely 18 months of age and her territorial behavior is very early. It is perhaps brought on by the absence of a dominant female (her missing mother) and as leopards are very opportunistic she may be using the chance to make her presence known before another female claims this abundant piece of real estate.
The two cubs are still seen together from time to time. Independently they are doing very well. Both are hunting successfully and kill prey up to the size of adult male impala and young waterbuck. A recent get-together resulted in them spending the night together feeding on a carcass, and they separated again by mid-morning. The young male, pictured below to the right feels more pressure in terms of territory. His father, the Shingwenyana male, is still very active in this region. Fortunately for the young male his father has not reacted aggressively towards him allowing him to stay in this space. We even witnessed recently as this young boy watched his father mate with another female. There was no aggressive behavior from his father suggesting a strong bond between the two.
Only time will tell where these young leopards will finally set up their own territories. We hope we don’t lose track of them into the massive Kruger National Park as they have become much loved by the guides.
Singita Kruger leopard update provided by Marlon du Toit, Guide, Singita Kruger National Park. To follow what happens to these young leopards, stay in touch with our monthly Guides’ Diaries on Singita’s website.
October 6th, 2011
Stripes Galore
The dam on the plains in front of Singita Sasakwa Lodge was a hive of activity before the rains started in earnest. Animals trek for miles to reach the waterhole, which is one of the few that offers a good field of view. In particular there have been huge herds of zebra coming in to drink, often wading deep into the water. From around 09h00 through to 17h00 it is always busy. Sometimes there are smaller herds of impala joining the zebra and often the Butamtam lion pride is found positioned close to the waterhole in the hopes of making a kill.
This striking black and white photography was taken by Lee Bennett, Head Guide at Singita Grumeti Reserves. To follow wildlife updates from Grumeti Reserves, refer to the monthly Guides’ Diaries posted on Singita’s website.
