Our 5 Favorite Wildlife Sightings This Year so far!
As is the case with all safari fans, we love hearing and sharing stories from the bush. We’ve been fortunate enough to experience 2 trips to the Greater Kruger and a few in our home province of KwaZulu Natal this year. And we have had some really exceptional wildlife sightings that we thought we’d share with all of you.
Some of you may not have experienced a safari before and we hope this may give you a deeper understanding of what to expect. And to all the rest that have been here once or multiple times, we hope you enjoy these short stories and that they inspire you to return for your next safari!
Wild dog hunt
Location: Royal Malewane – Thornybush Game Reserve
We were traveling with Liz & Leon from Mr & Mrs D Adventures who hadn’t seen wild dogs before, and we were already a few days into our safari. Sometimes special sightings are worth the wait and this was certainly the case here. Our exceptional guiding team of Nathalie and Bennet lead us to a pack of 5 or so wild dogs on the hunt with the same number of hyenas trailing them. If you’ve ever witnessed wild dogs hunting then you’ll know how chaotic and exciting it is! They’re constantly on the move and run at impressive speeds as they hunt and coordinate. We found ourselves on a Ferrari safari, flying through the bush trying to keep up with the pack. Our excitement peaked as our guide exclaimed that they’d made a kill and interestingly enough it wasn’t for their own consumption. We arrived to find hyenas on the kill and were informed that sometimes wild dogs will make a decoy kill to distract the hyenas whilst they make a swift getaway. Talk about being the most successful hunters amongst the predators! Wild Dogs are successful around 90% of the time they pursue prey which gives them the luxury of making decoy kills knowing they will almost certainly be able to make their own kill later on. Fascinating, exhilarating and even a bit horrific and emotional watching the hyena crunch down on the Impala fawn right in front of us. Needless to say, this was a very impressive introduction to Wild Dogs for Liz & Leon! The crazy thing is we witnessed a lion hunt on this very same morning drive…
2. Tiyani & Her Blue-eyed Cub
Location – Simbambili Game Lodge (Sabi Sands Game Reserve)
This was a particularly special sighting as we had uncharacteristically been struggling a bit with our leopard sightings (we usually see them everywhere even on my university campus once in an “only in Africa” moment). It took a trip to the Sabi Sands where these big cats seem to be around every corner to finally enjoy some close-up extended sightings of very relaxed leopards. And Tiyani’s stunning blue-eyed cub was the star of the show. Whilst looking for her our guide had informed us that her sibling had disappeared and had probably fallen prey to hyenas unfortunately, as Tiyani called and called for her lost cub. We watched a video of her calling and it was honestly heart wrenching. We found her and her remaining cub in a riverbed on a fresh winter’s morning with a hyena ever watchful nearby. The adorable interactions between Tiyani and her cub were bucket list moments and after photographing the cub’s gorgeous blue eyes she will forever be remembered for me as the leopard that got me into photography. We circled back at the end of our morning drive to find them at a waterhole in a more playful mood. The cub even ended up underneath both the vehicles at the sighting. We finally left them as they were meandering up the riverbed towards Simbambili Game Lodge where Tiyani has always given birth to all her litters and is “home” to her too.
3. Lions in the Mist
Location – Sungulwane Private Camp (Zuka Game Reserve)
In our home province of KwaZulu Natal we were treated to this mesmerizing sighting on a misty, moody morning. The first lion we saw was one of the prides dominant males limping his way along a misty road down to a dam to quench his thirst. He was magnificent and the bush stood still as he went by. His swollen paw and elbow were almost certainly the result of a buffalo hunt or the sort. Soon after we found the rest of his pride lying down as lions usually do during the day. But to our good fortune, as the male returned, his brother came marching in, rejoining the pride after a 20km patrol on the reserve. The whole pride got up to greet him and we watched as they all bonded with head rubbing, adorable vocalisations, and even some displays of flehmen grimace. And if that wasn’t enough some of the pride decided to come right up to our vehicles, some staring us down, others marking their territory by clawing trees, and others seemingly posing for us as we gasped at their sheer size and magnificent aura around them. It was one of those moments where your senses are heightened, your adrenalin is pumping and there’s a nervous excitement in the air. Sometimes it feels like a special sighting like this is all orchestrated just for you and you feel incredibly honoured and grateful for being in the right place at the right time, like your whole life has led up to that moment!
4. Cheetah Visits Our Drinks Break
Location – Rhino Sands Safari Camp (Manyoni Game Reserve)
This was a brief but absolutely exhilarating moment that tested our reflexes and response in a seemingly very dangerous situation. We (myself, Bea, Kiawna, and our guide) had been following a lioness on the hunt down to a riverbed where she eventually lay down for a rest in a picturesque setting. We spent ages with her and decided to move on to find a good spot for a sundowner before dark. On the way our guide pointed out a popcorn smell in the bushes that he informed us was leopard urine. Our senses were on high alert with all this big cat action around as we pulled in to our drinks stop spot as the sky became a bright orange spectacle. After a few stories shared with drinks in hand we realised we were losing light quickly and our guide started packing up as Bea climbed back onto the vehicle. Kiawna and I were still chatting away when she noticed something nearby. Due to the lack of light all we could make out from the shape was that it was a very big cat just a few meters away from us. Kiawna asked “what is that?” and I immediately and firmly said “get in the vehicle”, fearing the lioness had followed us and would now be much bolder under the cover of darkness. It’s amazing how quickly your brain can think in these situations. Needless to say, we scaled the vehicle in a split second and upon shining a spotlight on the creature found that it was a curios cheetah who had obviously come in for a closer look at us. Cheetahs are much more “harmless” than leopards or lions so we breathed a sigh of relief and high-fived in celebration. I’m not sure if we were celebrating surviving or for simply enjoying such an exciting experience on foot with a big cat in the wild! Either way we certainly won’t be forgetting it soon and will be keeping a better lookout for animal visitors during the drinks break from now on…
5. Birmingham Breakaway’s Bonding
Location – Xanatseni Private Camp (Klaserie Game Reserve)
This one may not even seem that “special” or “rare” but sometimes it’s a culmination of factors that work together to create something that feels exceptional and beautiful in the moment. We were a few days into our safari with Liz & Leon and hadn’t yet seen lions up close and in particular male lions which is a favourite of mine. Timing also played into our favour as, after a long trek, we reached 3 of the impressive Birmingham Breakaway Pride males lying down just before a spectacular sunset took the sighting to another level. As is usually the case the brothers slowly started surfacing and some really adorable bonding commenced between them as they purred and nuzzled each other, rolling around in the grass right next to us. It was one of those scenes that just take your breath away. We eventually left them as they made their way into the darkness to hopefully find some prey. The lovely thing is that in Klaserie Game Reserve the vehicle density is very low which gave us the opportunity to stay at the sighting for as long as we wanted.
Special mentions of other sightings we enjoyed:
A black mamba that rose up right in front of our vehicle which left our tracker almost in the passenger seat as he jumped back! (Thornybush Game Reserve)
A leopard giving us an amazing rasping display. (Manyeleti Game Reserve)
A cheetah calling incessantly as he walked the plains. (Manyeleti Game Reserve)
Lions climbing trees and interacting playfully with each other. (Zuka Game Reserve)
Being caught right in between a large herd of elephants with calves, and the matriarch having a close-up smell of Bea in the back of the truck. (Manyoni Game Reserve)
Lions hunting all around us that caught a warthog piglet and proceeded to fight over it. (Thornybush Game Reserve)
Wild dogs mating as well as lions mating. (Thornybush Game Reserve)
Lion cubs feeding on a wildebeest carcass at sunset. (Thornybush Game Reserve)
Watching a cheetah and cub feeding on an impala carcass right in front of us. (Manyoni Game Reserve)
A pride of lions marching down a dusty road towards us in the morning light. (Sabi Sands Game Reserve)
Spending some time up close with the Tortoise Pan Male leopard - pictured below. (Sabi Sands Game Reserve)
I hope you enjoyed these stories and I’m sure we will have a few more for you before the end of the year as we head back into the bush for a few more lodge visits.
If you’re ready to start planning your safari please reach out to us at: info@nalaafrica.com
