Autumn at Singita has just begun with a distinct nip in the air! This little Tree Squirrel (Paraxerus cepapi) was very busy going about his business of stocking up on nutritious nuts - a favourite seems to be those encased within the fallen Marula stones. The squirrels need to fill their larder to ensure they’ve enough food for the lean winter months ahead.

The leaves hint of gold and the perfect mornings build to ominous skies in the late afternoon. This provides landscape photographers with perfect lighting situations of dreamy sunrises and warm colours against dark skies.

The two leopard cubs (see February’s journal) live an extremely precarious existence. Their mother has begun taking them from their den site to kills where she may have left an antelope hidden in the bushes or hoisted up a tree.

This is a very dangerous time for such small cubs as hyenas or any other predators could easily kill them.

These two young Plains Zebra (Equus burchellii) entertained us for at least half an hour while they nipped, chased, played and fought with one another. Zebras live in Harem groups and there is a strict pecking order of who outranks whom. Herds consist of an adult stallion, mares and their foals. Foals are born after a gestation period of one year. Zebra foals have long legs – the same length as their mothers, so that they may hide from a predator’s gaze behind the mare’s body. The Plains Zebra or Burchell’s Zebra is distinct from other species by (amongst other differences) the stripes that extend onto the under parts, as can be seen from this photograph.