New safari at Leopard Hills

The last six days of game viewing at Leopard Hills, situated in the western sector of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, was nothing short of sensational. The highlight was without a doubt a sighting of the Mambiri female leopard’s new cub. I have only seen this cub a handful of times, but on Tuesday morning, my guests and I decided to leave the lodge early when we heard that the female and cub had been located…

We headed straight to the site where she and the cub had been seen feeding on a bushbuck kill. On arrival both mom and cub were lying behind a fallen tree stump and our view was very limited. We decided to wait it out and 10 minutes later the young cub gave us a perfect view as it climbed onto the tree stump only meters away from us.

The large herd of buffalo, numbering hundreds of individuals, spent the whole week in our traversing area. As usual the predators weren’t far behind, with three of the six Mapogo male lions seen around the lodge on an almost permanent basis. One of the males managed to catch and a kill a young buffalo calf a couple of evenings ago. While his brothers spent their time in the company of a lioness, the killer enjoyed the feast on his own.

The Othawa pride of lions, consisting of two adult females and six approximately 18-month-old cubs, was seen daily around the Sand River.

Another very exciting sighting was that of a single male cheetah in the southern part of our reserve. We found the cheetah lying in a clearing and stopped to admire him, when all of a sudden, a small group of blue wildebeest caught his attention. The cheetah stalked to within just meters of the wildebeests and then lay hidden behind a small bush.

To our surprise the last wildebeest (a youngster) passed the cheetah and still there was no attempt from the fastest land mammal to bring down his prey. The only explanation that I have for this behavior is the fact that as a single predator, the risk of injury to this specialized feline outweighs the possibility of a large meal.

A female rhino and her small calf were seen on 4 different occasions. I have never seen such a relaxed mother and calf before and they provided us with non-stop entertainment and photographic opportunities.

Finally this morning the arrival of three wild dogs provided a very special treat for us. After following the dogs for a while, our excitement reached a new level as the dogs came across a small herd of impala. Unfortunately the dogs had no success in catching one, but just a chance to see wild dogs on safari is a rare treat.

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