October 2021

Singita Sabi Sand: October 2021

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Singita Sabi Sand: October 2021

Whispering winds whirl through the dry grasslands, weaving gracefully amongst creatures great and small. A thirst for the summer delights is pinnacle and the tempting smell of rain is in the air. A glorious month of change in the bushveld, with our first rains injecting life into the earth. Elephant numbers have been exponential and cat sightings just as exciting. As we embrace the change of seasons, we look forward to the new life that summer brings. 

Here’s a Sightings Snapshot for October:

Lions

  • The Mhangene pride have been seen occasionally. The two youngsters are looking good and doing well. One of the Mhangene females has been spending a lot of time with the Nkuhuma male. They’re been seen mating throughout this month.  
  • The Nkuhuma pride have been sighted south-east of our property, which is very exciting as it’s the furthest south we’ve seen them.

Elephants

  • To say we’ve seen a lot of elephants this month is an understatement. With a record number of over 170 sightings, almost every drive has been filled with these beautiful giants.
  • Many bulls roam the lands from the Sand River, all the way south towards our grassland planes. One particular herd of elephants that’s been seen regularly includes a tiny newborn calf. They’ve spent a lot of time in front of Boulders Lodge and along the Sand River. 

Leopards

  • The Kangela male and his mother, the Scotia female continue to delight us with exciting and eventful sightings.
  • The Misava male has been seen a number of times this month.
  • The Hosana male leopard and Nkuwa female leopard have been seen mating and were chased up a tree by the Tsalala lionesses. These lionesses continue to remain around the Sand River.
  • The Nyeleti male has been seen less but maybe because the Thamba male has been frequenting his area.
  • The Thamba male leopard is still expanding his territory and we’ve had many sightings of him this month. One sighting we found him fighting off a clan of four hyenas who were trying to steal his juvenile wildebeest kill.

Buffalo                                                                                                                                                              

  • Massive herds move through the property, from the cool waters of the river, to Castleton Dam and the north. One particularly large herd is estimated around 700 individuals!

Cheetahs

  • We are delighted to find cheetahs on our property. This month, we’ve seen a male cheetah a few times and well as a female with two cubs!

Bird List

  • The bird list for October includes three new bird species, the yellow-billed stork, thick-billed cuckoo and square-tailed nightjar. This brings our yearly total to 287.
Read the full report here >>

By Jenny Hishin
Author / Field Guide