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Lions of Sabi Sands
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A Week in the Bush Vol. 461
“ It has been another great week in the bush with seven different lion prides/coalitions/individuals on the reserve… as well as leopard, cheetah, wild dog and everything else aplenty!! There were lions calling all through the night around Bush Lodge and it seems the Gijima males caught wind of the Styx Pride and made their way over. When following up in the morning the pride had moved off to the north of Bush Lodge and settled at a waterhole with full bellies. They lay in the shade keeping a close eye on a large herd of wildebeest and zebra. The oldest female was absent, and we assume she has distracted the Gijima males, leading them to the south away from the pride. A few days later, all 8 members of the Styx Pride were present using a termite mound and fallen tree as a vantage point to watch the impala; with the impala already getting wind of the lions, the hunt was over before it started, and the pride settled in for a morning nap. We started the morning looking for lions and decided to start where we had seen a large herd of buffalo the night before. This turned out to be a good decision as before we even found the buffalo, we found tracks for a male lion that had been in battle with the buffalo through the night. A long tracking exercise resulted in us finding the Nkuhuma male drinking water. The evidence of the battle with the buffalo was evident as there was a minor puncture wound bellow the back right leg. The injury did not affect the lion in any way as he made his way steadily to an open area and spent the rest of the day sleeping in a thicket. As daybreak fell, we followed up on the Talamati Pride. Knowing they had made a warthog kill the night before, we headed straight in the direction of the closest waterhole and found the females around the waterhole and soon after the male appeared out of the treeline making his way to the water. With lions being known as opportunistic hunters they chased after zebra and Blue wildebeest in the vicinity before settling down to drink water and relax as they overlooked the open plain ahead of them. After doing wake-up calls at Earth Lodge, we spotted the figures of what appeared to be two lions at the dam in front of the lodge. Our guests wanted to see leopard, so we did not follow up immediately. At the end of safari, on our way back to the lodge, we heard impala alarm calling and went to follow up. Across a small open area, we found the three Southern Pride females sleeping in the shade of a Tamboti thicket. With the oldest female having fresh suckle marks, it is clear the young cubs are still around. A large herd of over 300 buffalo have spent the last few days in the northern sector of Sabi Sabi. A herd this large often attracts lions and in this case, the Kambula Breakaways were found trailing the herd. They patiently kept their distance watching the herd with intent waiting for a weak member to be separated. Hunting buffalo is extremely risky for lions but with high risk comes high reward, and a large buffalo would provide a great meal for these lions.” Select photos….more in article below. https://www.sabisabi.com/discover/weekly...sh-vol-461 |
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