Leopards of Sabi Sands

[Sully]

Elephant Plains Safari: A Buffalo up a Tree?
(All images from Back of Brendon Cremer’s Camera)
 
Fanus Weldhagen Reports: 
 
Early this morning, in fact soon after leaving the Lodge, we came across two hyenas on a mission. An adult female with a youngster were trotting and running along in a fixed direction and with determination. Were they hunting, we wondered as we decided to follow them.
They kept going, eventually slowing to a walk – and then they reached their destination where they proceeded to loiter around and rest for quite some time. The site was an old hyena den, which made us think that maybe they were on a scouting mission to find a new home for the younger generation? Maybe?
Then we heard that Anderson Male, that huge leopard, was in the vicinity with a buffalo in a tree. ‘A what?’ We asked again. ‘A buffalo’ came the reply. Scarcely able to credit what we had just heard we went directly to the spot.
Sure enough! There was Anderson Male! And yes! That was definitely a buffalo up there. A calf, sure, but not a tiny one. That just shows how big and powerful this leopard is. We saw buffalo tracks everywhere, and putting the sequence of events together we realised that Anderson Male must have found the buffalo herd sleeping, and undaunted by their sheer number and huge size, had made a kill at some stage during the night.
We could hear a female buffalo calling, calling, calling. This could only be the bereft mother searching for her calf.
While we were photographing this amazing scene a Vine Snake came slithering along. It hung around long enough for plenty of photographs.
We moved on after a while and soon bumped into Salayexe. She was as cooperative as ever as she walked along marking her territory.
We returned to Salayexe after our lunch break and rest, and during the afternoon she was even more fabulous. She climbed tree after tree. Up one, then down, then up the next, down and up the next – on and on.
Eventually the lovely leopard climbed a particularly large tree and remained there as the light faded, giving everyone a chance to practice with different light levels and how to adapt to spotlights and flash photography in the bush.
After sundowners we returned to Anderson Male. He relaxed comfortably at the bottom of the tree with his kill way up in the branches. He ignored us completely as we filled our cameras with even more images.
Tomorrow we would like to start the day at Anderson Male to check whether any intruders arrive overnight …

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[Sully]

Elephant Plains Safari: A Day with Anderson Male …
(All images from Back of Brendon Cremer’s Camera)
 
Fanus Weldhagen Reports: 
 
Today was quite stupendous! We were lucky enough to spend virtually the entire day with Anderson Male and his buffalo kill in the tree.
We headed straight to the leopard before sunrise and it was still dark when we found him up in the tree with his kill. A wonderful morning followed as we photographed him in the gradually changing lighting conditions.
We did take a short break for early morning coffee. On the way we passed a large herd of buffalo (Probably the same herd that the kill was taken from) and soon after we encountered a lovely breeding herd of elephants with some really teeny babies. They are always a joy to photograph.
When we returned to Anderson Male he was eating hungrily, providing us with plenty of photographic opportunities.
Again we tried different exposures, at the same time concentrating on balancing the foreground with the background.
When we returned to the leopard this afternoon he gave us even more to photograph. He was quite restless, and after eating a bit more he repositioned the carcass. Then he looked around and decided to come down from the tree to the accompaniment of multiple rapid clicks from our cameras.
As the sun started to set and darkness set in we were able to experiment with a variety of lighting techniques again – much to everyones’ delight!
Oh – we had a bit of rain while we were out. This not only added to the ambience and mood of our images, it also means that the big cats should be very busy again tomorrow as they go about re-marking their territory …

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[Tshokwane]

Piva/ Treehouse male and Tamboti female. Pic by Jacques Proust

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[Ngala]

Photo and information credits: Brendon Cremer from Tusk Photo
"Enjoy these three images from yesterday's fabulous Tusk Safari - Elephant Plains. Two images of the humungous Anderson Male looking suitably menacing - and one of the very elegant Vine Snake that paid us a visit ..."

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Elephant Plains Safari: A Day with Anderson Male … - 26 April 2016
(All images from Back of Brendon Cremer’s Camera)
Fanus Weldhagen Reports:
"Today was quite stupendous! We were lucky enough to spend virtually the entire day with Anderson Male and his buffalo kill in the tree.
We headed straight to the leopard before sunrise and it was still dark when we found him up in the tree with his kill. A wonderful morning followed as we photographed him in the gradually changing lighting conditions. 
We did take a short break for early morning coffee. On the way we passed a large herd of buffalo (Probably the same herd that the kill was taken from) and soon after we encountered a lovely breeding herd of elephants with some really teeny babies. They are always a joy to photograph.
When we returned to Anderson Male he was eating hungrily, providing us with plenty of photographic opportunities.
Again we tried different exposures, at the same time concentrating on balancing the foreground with the background.
When we returned to the leopard this afternoon he gave us even more to photograph. He was quite restless, and after eating a bit more he repositioned the carcass. Then he looked around and decided to come down from the tree to the accompaniment of multiple rapid clicks from our cameras.
As the sun started to set and darkness set in we were able to experiment with a variety of lighting techniques again – much to everyones’ delight!
Oh – we had a bit of rain while we were out. This not only added to the ambience and mood of our images, it also means that the big cats should be very busy again tomorrow as they go about re-marking their territory …"

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Video Anderson male feeding on a baby buffalo by Brendon Cremer Reply

[Sully]

Elephant Plains Safari: Karula Introduces her Tiny Cub to Us
(All images from Back of Brendon Cremer’s Camera)
 
Fanus Weldhagen Reports: 
 
What a fantastic end to the current TuskPhoto safari at Elephant Plains.
We woke up to a moody, overcast morning and when we found Giraffe and Zebra on the airstrip we settled down for some lovely photography.
Not for long!
A call came through that Tingana, another dominant and very powerful leopard, had been spotted so we immediately went in his direction. He was out and about – and yes, patrolling and re-marking his territory exactly as we thought the big cats would do after yesterday’s rain.
And not long after spending time with Tingana we found a pride of lions. Three males and two females were shortly joined by another male. They were in a lovely open area doing what lions do best – lounging around, greeting and grooming one another and simply looking wonderful in that glowing early morning light.
Then unbelievably we received another call. This time it was a mother leopard, Karula, and knowing that she has tiny cubs, we dashed over to see her.
And obligingly, Karula showed her gorgeous little cub – but only to half of our group. The others had to be content with images of mom only.
And it was on that ultra high note that yet another amazing safari ended. The guests reluctantly said their farewells – and of course they cannot wait to get back here.
The new group should arrive at any moment …

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(Don't ask me why they take pics of the pics because I have no idea)

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[Sully]

Leopard Week.

We were sitting with Salayexe and her 2 young shy cubs in the riverbed.
Everything was dead quiet and not a sound could be herd.
What a moment when one of the elusive cubs climbed into a huge Jacalberry tree and posed against the setting sun.
It doesn't get any better for a wildlife photographer..!

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[Sully]

Leopard Week.

When it was time for Nyaleti's cub to leave the care of her mother, she made it clear that the time had arrived..!
No love lost when between mother and daughter when breeding rights and the next meal is at stake.

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[Sully]

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[Sully]

This has to be most relaxed cub with the most amazing little blue eyes I've ever seen.
This den site right next to the main entrance road to Elephant Plains with a higher than normal vehicle activity for a road in the Sabi Sands.
It shows how relaxed those leopards are... EP must rate as possibly the best leopard destination in Africa... mind blowing..!

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[Sully]

Andreson the big male leopard that hangs around the Elephant Plains area was just the perfect subject. Posing and looking around giving all the guests an opportunity to use the spotlight to its best.

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[Sully]

Well the call came in that Shadow's sub-adult male cub was lying on a termite mound. One look at the spectacular sunset and the race was on to get there. I just knew it was going to be an awesome sighting.

Thank you Dawie my ranger - you pulled out all the stops to make this possible. Elephant Plains Game Lodge rangers always go the extra mile for our photographic groups... what a pleasure!

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[Ngala]

Photo and information credits: PJD Photography and Guiding from Nkorho Rangers
"Tingana from this morning. He was resting on a termite hill before he moved onward."

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Photo and information credits: JRD Photography
Tingana male."Male leopard keeping an eye on his kill - Sabi Sand"

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From Inyati Game Lodge:
"Dewane FTW"

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Photo and information credits: Neil Coetzer from E.p. Rangers
"Salayexe, the female leopard - Neil Coetzer"

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From Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve:
"The Hlarulini female was seen outside Bush Lodge this morning, trying to stalk some bushbuck and after giving up, we followed her for a while until she came across an old duiker carcass hoisted in a tree."

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"The Little Bush female and her cub were seen late yesterday morning on a cane rat kill, of which the cub had the lion’s share. In the afternoon, they were found relaxing on the banks of the Msuthlu Riverbed looking quite contented."

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From Umkumbe Safari Lodge:
"The ever famous Mxabene male leopard patrols his territory in search of potential threats. This stoic and strong male is one of the dominant leopards in our area. Sightings of Mxabene are normally at night when he is patrolling his turf and marking territory. 
Male leopards vehemently guard their territory agains other males but their traverse may overlap with, on average, 3/4 females."

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"Young Kigelia is Little Bush’s cub who is now old enough to fend for herself. She still has cub like qualities but has proven to be quite a successful hunter. 
Leopards will begin to hunt alone just before the age of two and a young leopardess will often claim a territory on the fringe's of their mother's range. Before the age of two a young cub will hunt together with her mother."

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"White Dam, a shy leopardess, was seen with her male cub enjoying a feast. White Dam prefers to remain hidden in the thicket of the bush and we seldom see her walking on the road. She will move from one bushy area to another, attempting to remain hidden."

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"This is White Dam's male cub who was enjoying a feast with its mother. Cubs learn their hunting and stalking skills form their mother's up until the age of two, when they begin start their solitary lifestyle."

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[Ngala]

From Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve:
"We had an incredible morning here at Sabi Sabi! After tracking Maxabeni for some time, we were finally reward as he was found posing for guests. He then led us to the Little Bush female and cub as they reunited after some time apart."

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Photo and information credits: JRD Photography
"This male leopard is called Xivambalana. How nice was it to see him again after a long absence in our traversing area"

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[Sully]

Elephant Plains Safari: Shadow, Salayexe, Karula - and Cubs …
(All images from Back of Brendon Cremer’s Camera)
 
Fanus Weldhagen Reports: 
 
I guess that we are very, very spoiled with all the sightings here. In fact we have seen so many big cats that I did not even mention that our final sighting last night before we reached the Lodge was a delightful encounter with Shadow, a beautiful young lady leopard who was starting her evening patrol.
Therefore this morning, when we failed to see any of the cats – or any predators, actually, we felt a bit let down. That was until we realised that there was plentiful game around, and if one is looking for the big fellas there were plenty of elephants – and a herd of buffalo enjoying a drink at a water hole. These guys kept us busy for ages.
We did find plenty of leopard tracks and followed Salayexe’s spoor for ages, but we were distracted regularly when we encountered other animals.
We should not forget to mention the wonderful bird life here. Most spectacular this morning was an African Harrier Hawk that gave us plenty of time for some great images.
This afternoon we headed straight out to find Karula and her adorable little cubs. On the way some, but not all, of our group had a brief sighting of Shadow, the leopard we had seen last evening.
When we reached the cubs we found that they are still a little shy, but it was wonderful to spend time with them. They are so adorable at this cute, bumbling, stumbling, adventurous age. And mom kept an eye on them while draped across the branch of a tree over the dry riverbed.
We left the leopards and found three venerable old ‘Dagga Boys’ (Buffalo) wallowing in some lovely squishy mud.
We returned to Karula and the cubs for a short while but left again to try and find Salayexe.
This time we had more luck. She was out hunting, although her interest was more opportunistic and really rather half-hearted. She would spot eg an impala, put on a show of stalking it but would give up before she even approached particularly close. Eventually she disappeared into thick undergrowth and didn’t emerge again.
Maybe she will take up hunting in earnest again tomorrow …

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[Ngala]

From Londolozi Game Reserve, The Week in Pictures #229 by Callum Gowar:
"The Mashaba female watches a nearby herd of impala. With the impala rut getting into full swing, the leopards are focussing on males as a favoured prey item."

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"The Mashaba female slakes her thirst as the heat rises on a warm autumn morning."

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"The Nkoveni female cautiously walks passed our bush dinner site whilst the staff members look on."

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From Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve:
"Schotia Female enjoying the breathtaking African Sunset from the vantage of a Marula Tree."

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Xivambalana male, from Nkorho Bush Lodge, by PJD Photography:

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Tingana male, from Cheetah Plains Private Game Reserve:

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From Umkumbe Safari Lodge:
"The Bicycle Crossing male leopard has now become a regular sighting while we're out on game drive. "

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From Mala Mala Game Reserve:
"The Treehouse male was northwest of Main Camp."

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From Idube Game Reserve:
"Xikavi with an impala kill"

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"Torchwood with an impala kill"

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