Lions of Timbavati

[Potato]

Tanda Tula

The next two drives were spent filming a sofa safari in the presence of a gorgeous male cheetah!  He was well fed and spent the day lazing around close to Cheetah Plains, but sadly without the need to hunt, he didn’t get up much.  The last two drives were spent examining lion and leopard tracks without much joy, including tracks for the Mayambula Pride moving fairly deep into the northern parts of their range. These are hopefully signs of trends that can be expected as the pride moves around searching for food and water for their almost adult-sized youngsters.  As frustrating as it was not being able to find the cats we were looking for, it made me realise just how lucky we have been over the past few months to see what we have seen.

The main story from the first part of lockdown was no doubt the constant presence of the River Pride and their growing cubs; from seeing the new litter for the first time back in April to being privileged enough to watch them grow bigger and more confident by the week.  The three Nharhu males made their presence known on an almost nightly basis with their roars, and we became accustomed to finding them on a daily basis (to the point where we would sometimes simply drive on past them in the hope of finding something different, like elephants!).  As this period came to end, the pride became less predictable and moved greater distances – often with the cubs – which made it a little more challenging to track them.  Two of the lionesses have still been mating with the males, and we hope that they too, will have cubs in the not too distant future. This will hopefully anchor the pride to the area once more.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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