Lions hunting, rhinos chasing & leopards mating

After last week’s successes on safari, I really had no idea that my last five days would top it in so many ways. Leopard Hills was once again the setting for one of the most spectacular wildlife shows on earth.

The week started with my best rhino sighting in ten years of guiding. We watched for more than an hour and a half as nine rhinos interacted with each other on our first afternoon safari. One of the young calves made it his duty to cause as much havoc as possible. The energetic youngster ran around non-stop and chased around the two other calves, much to their mother’s dismay.

The next four days was action all the way. The Ximungwe pride of lions caught a waterbuck cow in the southern part of our traversing area and were seen again three days later hunting impala on the open clearing in front of our lodge. This time they did not have any success, but watching the five lionesses and one Mapogo male lion walking and playing in the clearing in perfect golden light was an unforgettable experience.

The large herd of buffalo is still in our area and we had no less than three great sightings of these massive bovids. The number of elephants in the area was also astonishing and we watched several herds feeding in and around the Sand river.

Yet again the leopards stole the show, with another great sighting of the Mambiri female’s young cub and several sightings of the Ravenscourt male. The highlight was without a doubt seeing the Tekwaan male mating with the Metsi female. We followed these two leopards for more than an hour, during which time they copulated no less than ten times just meters away from the vehicle.

Marius Coetzee
Head Guide – Leopard Hills
For more of Marius’ photography, check out his blog.



One Response to “ Lions hunting, rhinos chasing & leopards mating ”

1. The Africa Travel Blog says:

   August 25, 2009 at 5:15 pm

   WOW, I love your photos, in particular the running rhino! It’s so funny looking!

   Looks like you had the most amazing African Safari!