I have always had mixed feelings about the thought of watching an animal make a kill, I would love to see it, but by the end would be in tears watching an animal fight for its life. So watching a lion trying to make a kill is the best of both worlds, i don't see the animal being killed, but also get to watch their incredible tactics. So it was a quiet afternoon on drive not so long ago, when all of a sudden we hit the pedal to go and see two dominant male lions, which were slowly following behind a breeding herd of buffalo. Not only was it amazing to see two adult lions, we got to see these guys trying to make a kill, with a heart beating experience attached. Buffalos truly stand their ground and try and fight the lions off. After the lions chased the buffalo around for a while, trying to confuse them, 3 buffalos became slightly separated from the group, so one of the males tried to go in for the kill. The lion came short of the buffalo, but unfortunately for us in the land rover, the lion chased the buffalo straight into our direction. With a bang on the car door, the buffalo stopped half a meter from the front of the landy. It was definitely an experience to say the least. After that close call, we decided to move from the sighting and give others a chance to view these lions. Later on that night the lions did eventually make a kill. Sadly, it was too dark at the time of this eventful sighting too take any photos, but ever since I have had my smaller camera on me in case of any video opportunities such as this one.
Mbali is one of the oldest female leopards on the Timbavati Game Reserve, which shows greatly in her appearance. She has tatty ears with many scars on her face. Putting this aside she still does very well for herself and of course is a very special leopard to see!
On drives out here in the bush you often get to see the cats! However, one morning it was particularly special, with 3 being spotted within an hour and half. We headed out from camp at 6am as usual, coming across an adult male lion within kms of the camp, at this moment he was alone, but I’m sure fellow members of his pride were around. He was an absolute beaut to see. Here on the Timbavati it is the only place where white lions occur naturally. I have yet to see one of these white lions, but this male lion had an incredibly light mane and I’m sure carrying the white gene within him.
After spending some time with the lion, we moved out of the sighting and carried on along our way. Within minutes, the tracker and guide spotted a leopard in a tree, so we flew along the open plain to get a better look. We sat for a couple of minutes before realising there was actually two leopards within the tree, but one quickly departed after a minute or two. After being in the sighting for a little while longer, we came to realise there was actually an impala kill in a near by tree, the leopard who had vacated the tree had made the kill and was still hanging around to make sure the other didn’t steal it! Later that evening, other guests sighted a lion climb the tree to claim the kill as his own. Lions being stronger and bigger than leopards, the rightful owner stayed far away. And of course, as with any kill, the hyenas were sneaking around.
After a couple of weeks I finally saw one of the two male lions again. This time during the day, it was lovely to see him in daylight, but as with most cats, they are very lazy during the day. Surprisingly we got to see his beautiful eyes, but he remained in one spot for the entire sighting. The next day, we followed up on these two male lions, to have the greatest experience, an adult lion roaring next to the car. The vibrations through the car left me breathless. The elder of the two lions was right next to the car, whilst we heard the other returning the roar in the distance. Later, we found the other male lion near by mating with a female.
Interestingly these male lions are not brothers. Its very unusual to find males together if they are not related, however these two seem to work well together to make kills and are forming a strong coalition. But they have already killed a couple of younger lions along their way through the reserve. So as beautiful as they are, hopefully they will remain dominant without killing off the rest of the lion prides within the reserve.
Leopards are always a pleasure to see, but when you see mother and cub its very special. We recently spotted Nthombi and her cub within the reserve. She had just made a kill and had been feeding so they were very out of breath and full, but were super relaxed with the vehicles so we were able to get very close. Again, a stunning sighting. Later that day we also had the fortune of see her again in a tree.
One of the busiest feline days came on the 23rd October, seeing a pride of lions and three different leopards was a real treat. We travelled about 5 minutes from camp early in the morning and came across tracks for lion. The trackers spent about 45 minutes tracking these lions, until finally they spotted them. It was two females and their cubs. Amazing!! This pride came from a property where we don’t often transverse so the cubs were quite shy of the vehicles, but we managed to get a good sighting. We then moved off so others could see them before they hid in the bush.
Later on this drive we found a leopard in a tree in the distance, and another mother (Argyle junior) and her cub. The mother was hiding within the thicket with her kill, but the cub was much more relaxed in the open.
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Whilst I have seen amazing sightings of the lions and leopards, I am still waiting on a glimpse of the cheetah. Fingers crossed. But for now lets just hope these incredible cat sightings keep on coming…
