The week has proved to us that we cannot always predict what we will find when departing on a game drive. The lion prides that have been so visible over the last few months have only been seen once this week.
This has allowed us to follow animals that we do not see nearly as often, with cheetah being seen every day this week and two different sightings of wild dog also being enjoyed.
There has been a definite change in the weather with, winter having arrived. The morning and evening game drives are now really chilly. The early morning mist has made for some stunning vistas as we start out on drive.
Leopard
Leopard have been seen on a number of occasions this week, we have been seeing a territorial struggle over the last few days, as Safari and Mbilo are trying to contend for the prized area around Big Dam. Safari, the old leopard female has been found roaring and scent marking in the area.
Nsele was found on the remains of an impala kill, it appears that she is starting to venture further and further from her sibling and mother and it should not be long before she sets off as an independent leopard. Salayexe, her mother has been moving through her territory daily and it is thought that she may be coming back into oestrus and looking for a suitable male.
Lion
Lion have been very conspicuous by their absence. We have only seen them on one occasion this week, when the Styx pride was found on Sunday morning, resting in the watery sunshine. They got active later in the day and were left as they moved off into some thickets.
Elephant
Three large herds of elephants have been seen, moving and feeding through the property.
The seasonal movements of these large pachyderms, is rather unpredictable and after having a large number of elephants on the area over the last three weeks, the numbers have dropped and we are once again having to actively track elephants.
Buffalo & Rhinoceros
The rhinoceros sightings have been good, with the crash of four rhino being seen on a number of occasions as they moved through their territory.
Buffalo numbers have been good with an exceptionally large herd of approximately 600 animals being seen over a three day period as they moved steadily eastwards.
Wild Dog
The presence of a pack of five wild dogs, which have a den on a neighbouring property where four new pups have been seen, has made it easier to find them on a more regular basis. They are favouring the area around one of our airstrips that has a large impala population and is providing an ample hunting ground. We have seen the pack on two occasions this week, both of which was highlighted by them feeding on a freshly killed impala. The denning process should last approximately three months and we hope to have many more sightings of these rare and elusive predators.
Cheetah
The highlight of the week has been the presence of the female cheetah and her approximately 10 month old female cub. The pair of cheetah has spent the majority of the week hunting in the area of Simbambili and have managed to bring down two impala.
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Leopard diaries from 27th April - 03rd May
The number of elephants in the area appeared to be increasing every day this week. Despite this, the vegetation is still looking good after recent unseasonal rain. We had numerous sightings during the week of various big herds of elephants that came into the Sabi Sand from the Kruger National Park.
Leopard sightings have been excellent. On one morning game drive one of our experienced trackers, Lucky spotted very fresh female leopard tracks. We immediately jumped off the vehicle and followed the tracks that left the road and went into the bush. This led us to an old den site of hyenas. This was empty but we were able to pick up more tracks and followed an animal path into the bush where we discovered an impala kill under a large fallen tree. Unfortunately, as the leopard was not present this meant that she had seen us and run off. Lucky stayed behind some distance away from the kill whilst I went to fetch the vehicle. We returned to find the female leopard Salayexe resting opposite the kill under a marula tree. We viewed her for a while and then saw her two cubs heading through the bush towards her.
The sighting was amazing, with lots of play between mother and cubs. We continued to watch them for over half an hour in the hope that they would feed from the impala kill, but they didn't and instead went to rest under a thick bush.
Later after leaving the leopards, we had a wonderful sighting of hippo at Big Dam during our morning coffee break.
On another occasion we saw the female leopard Nyeleti's young cubs on the dam wall at Serengeti. They were very skittish as their mother was not around but we soon heard her calling to them. We drove around and saw them meet up, they played for a while and then moved off towards the boundary where we lost visual of them.
Two male lions (Mapogo) were spotted at Chitwa-Chitwa airstrip resting. There was not a lot of activity from them but it was nevertheless good to see them. The Styx Pride were also seen during the week. We enjoyed a good sighting of them and watched as they hunted and then attempted to make a kill but they were unsuccessful.
Wild dogs were again spotted on the property during the week. It was a pack of five dogs and we watched as they killed a duiker. They then wolfed the kill down in five minutes flat and then ran off across our boundary where we were unable to follow.
Until next time
Simbambili team Laz.
Leopard Diaries 18th to 26th April 2010
The weather has been wonderful for the last few days. We had good rain to begin the winter this season and it had been cloudy for the previous two weeks making the game viewing somewhat variable.
Leopard sightings were scarce for a few drives this week, which is unusual for Simbambili. Tyson, the big male leopard, has not been spotted for a couple of days since he crossed the boundary into an adjacent property. Safari the old female leopard was seen at Big Dam where she had a close encounter with Salayexe the western female leopard. When Safari spotted Salayexe she tried to hide but it was too late, Salayexe had already spotted her and there was a confrontation. Everyone in my vehicle was very concerned about the old female as Salayexe inflicted injuries on both front legs. Luckily she was able to back off completely and the young female walked away from her in a different direction after establishing her dominance.
Salayexe's young sub adult cubs were seen in a different area, she is trying to separate from them as it is about time they start hunting for themselves. It has been about two weeks that they have been away from each other, and the cubs have started to catch small game such as scrub hares, dwarf mongooses and ground nesting birds. They appear to be doing extremely well, but their mother still keeps an occasional eye on them to ensure their survival. She fetches them if she makes a big kill. The young male is named Rhulani (which means peace) and Nsele is the female leopard (which means aggressive one). Normally the mortality rate of the leopard cubs is high but Salayexe has done extremely well looking after these cubs from a young age until now. They are 12months old now and it seems they will make it to adult hood.
Lion viewing was also quiet for a few drives this week, however we were fortunate to see young male lion of about 4years of age at Big Dam. He appeared to be injured on his front right foot, and he had few claw marks on his back. Obviously he had been attacked by the two dominant males of our area. During the week we also saw the Styx pride on Londolozi boundary not doing much.
Until next time.
The Simbambili team
Leopard Diaries 5th-11th April 2010
This week has seen us receive a considerable amount of rain, with a single thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon resulting in just over 70mm of rain falling in the northern Sabi Sand. This has had a marked effect on the vegetation with fresh growth and renewal taking place and the waterholes all being fill to brimming.
The wildlife has also prospered after the welcome rain, with a very late new born impala lamb being seen on Sunday. The presence of the Tsalala lion pride on the property for the entire week has provided us with some very good lion sightings. The buffalo numbers have dropped as the three herds present last week have all moved off our traversing area. Leopard and elephant have been seen regularly, with the young female leopard Mbilo providing the bulk of the leopard sightings during the week.
Leopard
As previously mentioned, Mbilo has provided the main leopard sightings of the week. Early one morning we found her on a fresh impala kill, which she had managed to hoist into the branches of a large marula tree. The young leopard fed on the kill for a further three days and finally moved off on Saturday morning, moving down to the dam to quench her thirst before spending the remainder of the day resting.
Nyeleti was seen in the same area on Friday and appeared to have been involved in a fight, as she was sporting a few fresh injuries. The worst of which was a bad cut under her eye! We just hope that the injuries were not as a cause of a fight to protect her cubs and as we have not seen them since cannot tell if they are all well.
Mafufunyane the male leopard, was seen moving through the eastern half of the area, scent marking and calling, late one morning and was left to his own devices as he moved off through a thicket.
Lion
The Tsalala pride has remained on the property for the entire week, spending a considerable amount of time around the lodge. They were first found on a wildebeest kill on the nearby airstrip. They had killed the wildebeest cow during the early hours of the morning and had all but finished the kill by the time we found them. Later that evening they were found a little further south of the morning's sighting, feeding on the remains of warthog that had been killed in the afternoon.
The sound of lions roaring woke us early on Sunday morning, and it did not take us long to find the entire pride resting close to the lodge. All of them appeared to have eaten well and it was assumed that they had made a kill the previous day on a neighbouring property, before returning.
The Mapogo males have also been seen regularly this week with three sightings of these two impressive males. They were seen early one evening as they groomed and started to move towards a waterhole for a drink. That evening they moved a considerable distance and were found on the outskirts of Simbambili Lodge, clearly following the roars of the Tsalala pride.
The Styx pride made a brief appearance on the property but due to the presence of the two males did not stay for long before moving east and removing themselves from any run-ins with the Mapogo's.
Elephant
A number of herds have been seen this week. The highlight of the elephant sightings this week was the sighting of a very young elephant calf. The calf appeared to be a day or two old and was being carefully ushered by his mother and siblings as they fed near a large waterhole.
Buffalo &Rhinoceros
The last of the bigger herds of buffalo left the property on Thursday, moving eastwards out of our traversing area. They had been followed by the three groups of lions for their entire stay in the area and appeared to have lost three members, to the big cats during their week-long stay.
Rhino sightings have been constant and we have once again seen a large number of our sightings in the northern parts of the property as the rhino moved to and from the large waterholes.
Kind Regards
The Simbambili Guiding Team
Leopard Diaries 28th March - 4th April 2010
What a week we have had here at Simbambili!! The game viewing has been nothing short of unbelievable, with the presence of all of the big cats providing some fantastic predator viewing for our guests.
The weather has been relatively good this week, with some much needed rain falling over the weekend. The total rainfall for the week has been approximately 35 mm, which has been very welcome and has filled a number of the temporary pans in the bush.
The general game numbers are still very high with zebra, wildebeest and giraffe being seen regularly. Buffalo numbers have also been good with a total of 3 herds being seen on the property during the week.
Leopard
Leopard sightings this week have been predominantly of the two dominant male leopards, Tyson and Mafufunyane. The territorial struggle between these two cats has once again changed with Mafufunyane moving further west and hunting well within the territorial area of Tyson, who covers the area around Simbambili dam. He has been seen following the exact route taken by Tyson and appears that he is looking to challenge his old enemy for a greater part of his old territory.
Tyson was tracked one morning and found on a fresh impala kill. He spent the entire day resting near the kill, feeding at his leisure as the kill was safely stashed in the branches of a large Scotia tree. He finished the kill early on that evening before we left him resting along one of the large branches of the tree with a number of hyena waiting below for any chance of a meal from the scraps falling from the carcass.Â
Lion
Lion sightings this week have been good with the Mapogo males, the Tsalala and Styx prides being found at different times through the week.
We located the Styx pride late in the week as they rested near a waterhole in the eastern half of our traversing area. The pride was not complete with three of the adult lionesses not present. It is these three lionesses who we believe to be in oestrus and they could possibly be with the two Mapogo males in the area south of our property.
The Mapogo males were found in the company of a new male lion, feeding on two different buffalo carcasses. The first carcass was an adult buffalo cow which appears to have died of natural causes and had been fed on by hyenas before being appropriated by the lions.
The second carcass was of a sub-adult buffalo which was definitely killed by the males an hour or so before it was located. The two dominant males in the area appeared to accept the presence of the new male and it is going to be interesting to see how this interaction pans out.
The Tsalala pride spent the beginning of the week moving through the western half of their territory, leaving the 8 cubs resting in the nZimba riverbed, as the lionesses moved off to hunt. They seem to have been successful as they returned and collected the cubs, moving onto our western neighbouring property.
The pride still appears very healthy with all 8 cubs doing extremely well. The three lionesses have been fantastic mothers to the cubs and we are hoping that the pride is going to go from strength to strength as the young female cubs join in and become part of the hunting parties.
Elephant
The presence of a number of herds has made elephants relatively easy to find this week. The herds have been moving through the area regularly and many are seen feeding in the acacia and teak thickets.
Buffalo & Rhinoceros
The arrival of three different herds of buffalo on the property this week has meant that these large bovids have been seen on every drive this week. The herds have numbered between eighty and a hundred and fifty animals, with all herds containing many new young calves and the lions have been very interested in following the herds as they moved through the area.
Rhinoceros have been seen regularly, the crash of 3 animals being seen regularly on the eastern airstrip grazing on the short grasses on the airstrip edges.
Cheetah
The female cheetah and her cub have been spending considerable time hunting in the area around the eastern airstrip. The terrain surrounding the airstrip is perfect cheetah habitat, with a large open plain area and an abundant supply of impala.
The female has made two kills this week, both being adult impala, the cub and herself have managed to feed on both kills and are both fat and healthy after the large meals. The second kill was stolen by Safari, the leopard female who stashed the remains in a large marula tree.
The week has proved to us that we cannot always predict what we will find when departing on a game drive. The lion prides that have been so visible over the last few months have only been seen once this week. 
This week has seen us receive a considerable amount of rain, with a single thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon resulting in just over 70mm of rain falling in the northern Sabi Sand. This has had a marked effect on the vegetation with fresh growth and renewal taking place and the waterholes all being fill to brimming.
The Tsalala pride has remained on the property for the entire week, spending a considerable amount of time around the lodge. They were first found on a wildebeest kill on the nearby airstrip. They had killed the wildebeest cow during the early hours of the morning and had all but finished the kill by the time we found them. Later that evening they were found a little further south of the morning's sighting, feeding on the remains of warthog that had been killed in the afternoon.
What a week we have had here at Simbambili!! The game viewing has been nothing short of unbelievable, with the presence of all of the big cats providing some fantastic predator viewing for our guests. 
The Mapogo males were found in the company of a new male lion, feeding on two different buffalo carcasses. The first carcass was an adult buffalo cow which appears to have died of natural causes and had been fed on by hyenas before being appropriated by the lions. 
The Tsalala pride spent the beginning of the week moving through the western half of their territory, leaving the 8 cubs resting in the nZimba riverbed, as the lionesses moved off to hunt. They seem to have been successful as they returned and collected the cubs, moving onto our western neighbouring property. 
