5th February – Mahlathini’s with a Giraffe Kill!

Photo of the Day

Vyeboom Dam Male posing beautifully for us!

Morning Drive

(Chad and Elliot)

6 x lions (Jacaranda Pride – 2 females and 4 cubs) – Peru, Sohebele Dam

4 x buffalo bulls – Argyle, Lover’s Leap

1 x elephant bull – Karan’s – KNP Cutline

Afternoon Drive

(Chad)

1 x leopard (Vyeboom Dam male) – Argyle, Crossing Below Vyeboom Dam

2 x leopards (Vyeboom Dam male and unidentified young male) – Argyle, Vyeboom Dam Wall

6 x lions (Jacaranda Pride – 2 females and 4 cubs) – Peru, Xinzele Rd

3 x lions (Mahlathini males with giraffe kill) – Peru, Xinzele Rd

3 x buffalo bulls – Argyle, Argyle Dam

Daily Synopsis

The weekend started off on a fairly good note, with a lot of tracks for lions in the area; the problem was that this did its bit to confuse us; there were tracks for Mahlathini males, the two Jacaranda males and the Jacaranda females.  Elliot was after the Jacaranda males and as I went to join him to assist, we received some news that other lions had been found not far away.

Prior to this, the morning was a fair one; impala, hyena, steenbok, kudu and hippo all showed themselves, as did two nice female giraffes.

The lions that had been located were the Jacaranda females and their cubs, in the riverbed just below Sohebele Dam wall , but annoyingly they got up and moved into the thickets on the eastern bank.  Now thickets is a bit of an understatement.  We were no more than 5m or 6m from them and could hardly see a thing – barely a sighting, but at least we knew were they were!

After coffee and four buffalo bulls at Lover’s Leap, we slowly made our way back to camp as the day heated up to the mid-30’s. 

Buffalo Bulls

I was out alone in the afternoon, and received word that the tracks for ‘Mahlathini’ lions that the trackers went to follow up on ended up being tracks for the Jacaranda females heading back to Sohebele Dam, so they were left.  It was thus a bit surprising to hear that the three males were found with a giraffe kill west of Sohebele Dam!  Even more surprising was that the Jacaranda females and their cubs were about 300m away from the giraffe kill themselves, having eventually moved out of the riverbed.

Jacaranda Cubs

After a few impala, buffalo and hippos, we went to see the Jacarandas and had a fairly nice sighting of the two lionesses in the open, with two of the cubs in the open and suckling from mom.  The other two stayed under a bush in the shade.

Buffalo bulls in Argyle Dam

I left them and drove a few hundred metres west to the Mahlathini males, but it was barely a sighting, as two of the males had dragged the giraffe (I believe, you couldn’t even see it!) under a Lowveld Cluster-leaf and were feeding, while one fat and sleepy brother lay in the tall grass with his head under a bush!  We have our suspicions that the Jacaranda lionesses actually may have killed then giraffe and then lost it to the male lions when they went to fetch their cubs.

I was then on my way to a herd of elephants when I was told that Vyeboom Dam male leopard was sleeping on a rock below Vyeboom Dam, and didn’t need a second invite to go see him.  He posed beautifully on a rock for me, and allowed for some great photographic opportunities for the guests. 

Vyeboom Dam Male

After a wonderful sundowner with a giraffe and some snorting hippos, we headed home and predictably found the Vyeboom Dam male sleeping on the dam wall; what wasn’t as predictable was the fact that there was another young male climbing off the dam wall as we approached!  I assume that it was Vyeboom Dam male’s brother as they were not looking too aggressive or at all aggressive to be exact!  It should maybe have not been a big surprise as the whole time we were watching the leopard earlier, he was very interested in the rocks to the north, and I suspected that there could have been another leopard there, but then I often have that feeling!  Maybe I should trusk my feelings a bit more often!

But that brought to an end another very enjoyable day, and as always I look forward to see what tomorrow brings!