Singita Sabi Sand: July 2024

The dry season is an exciting time to be out on safari in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, South Africa, and this year, as expected, has not let us down. In true wilderness exploring style, there have been many surprises, though not all of these have brought on joyful emotions – some have displayed the rawness of the reality we are a part of. However, these trials they have been outnumbered by the incredible sightings our guests have witnessed.

We have experienced cold mornings and in the same breath felt the temperatures soar to those like a summer’s day. This has brought on remarkable changes, from fairy flycatchers and blue-mantled crested flycatchers in our own Ebony Lodge gardens - birds that spend a lot of their winters in high altitudes have shifted lower in altitude due to the cold. We also witnessed deaths of large sharp-toothed catfish in the Sand River, while many other species survived. We suspect sharp temperatures variations had a major role to play for the unfortunate bottom-dwelling fish. Lions, wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs have allowed us to witness some of the most intimate moments between mother their young which have stolen the hearts of many of our guests.

Here is a closer look at some of the highlights for July:

Cheetahs

We had suspected in the previous months that a female cheetah that has been spending a lot of time in the vicinity may well be close to giving birth and our suspicions were verified when we followed her back to her litter of four cubs which were seen for the first time. The cubs estimated to be close to four weeks of age showed positive signs around the vehicle when first observed. We remain hopeful that she will manage to raise these cubs in this challenging environment.

Leopards

At the start of the month, we had superb viewing of the Tiyisela female leopard are her two cubs on Makubela koppies. The rocky outcrop provided the perfect viewing point to watch these busy little cubs chasing and playing with each other in an undisturbed manner.

The Ntoma female and Thamba male were seen mating in a feisty affair in the early evening not far from Ebony and Boulders Lodges, and for three more days until they went their separate ways.

There has been a shift in home range of the Nkuwa female as we have seen her hunting in the south west and all the way further east close to Triangle Pan. This is mainly due to the absence of the Ximobanyana female who we presume has moved out of the area. We most recently saw Nkuwa hunt a warthog piglet and was accompanied by one of her young male offspring who she did not want around. We assume her two youngsters are still adapting to life on their own and still see her as mom. She was seen trying to mate with the Ntomi male a few weeks back which is often an indicator that it is their time to be independent.

Other leopards viewed include the Hlambela male in the north hunting warthogs close to Luca’s Dam on a hot winter’s afternoon. A new face to the area, the Tumbela female, a two-year-old that is recently independent and is trying to establish herself in the reserve. The Mwelawela male, son of the Ntoma female has been viewed in the far south of our traversing area.

Lions

The lion sightings have been phenomenal and a lot of it has been close to Ebony and Boulders Lodges, where the Tsalala lioness has been hunting prey that seeks the green vegetation and water in the Sand River valley. Her three cubs are growing and are comfortable with the vehicles viewing them. We have observed them on three separate kills over a few days which has allowed for ideal exposure to vehicles.

The Mhangeni Pride have been setting their sights on the numerous herds of buffalo that have been feeding right from the south all the way north through the wooded savanna. The growing cubs’ dietary demands are higher than ever and are always seeking another opportunity to feed. They have had the unwanted attention of the last of the Tumbela male lions who, although not showing any aggression toward the cubs, has been following the pride and feeding with them on kills.

Along the river we have seen the young Othawa lionesses and the young Nkuhuma breakaway lion and lioness on separate occasions.

African wild dogs

We always knew wild dogs were complex in their social behaviour but being able to witness new behaviour is absolutely astonishing. The pack of three which originated from Satara, in the National Park, had their three pups abducted by a pack, which is split from the Toulon pack, of six female dogs. Math Durell writes more on this in his article found further down the journal.

Much of the wild dog viewing has been taking place around Castleton Camp and surrounds, this wooded habitat has always been one of the best places to search for these marvelled canines.

Elephants

The Sand River in the afternoon has been a hotspot for elephant herds as they quench their thirst and feed. In other parts of the reserve, we see herds feeding on leaded teak and last stands of dry grass growing in the hard-to-reach places like the base of buffalo thorn and spike thorn thickets. The tough trunk of the elephant is able to go where other animals would not.

Buffaloes

We are seeing buffalo dung scattered all over Singita currently with many herds traversing to the last remaining waterholes in the region. Their movements are crucial to the ecosystem on so many levels. Their dung is essential nutrients for the soil and food or feeding areas for insects and birds. The abundance of both red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers number almost as many buffalos that can be found in the herd. They have also been trailed by the many lions in the reserve currently.

Unusual sightings

On a cold windy morning an aardvark was seen scampering across the road across the Sand River in the north. This is just the second sighting of one this year. These cooler days seems to provide one with the best chance of seeing one.

We have also seen more honey badgers and serval sightings during the daylight hours. One of the sightings Luke witnessed was of a white rhino bull giving chase to a honey badger!

One sighting that really had us amazed was watching a yellow-billed hornbill trying to hunt a flap-necked chameleon. The reptile proved too large for the bird to grab and hold onto as it managed to climb away from the hornbill.

Bird list

The bird list for July includes four new species, bringing our bird list for the year up to 285 birds. Specials for the month included a single osprey in the southern parts of the reserve as well as an amethyst sunbird at Ebony Villa.