February 2025

Singita Sabi Sand

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Singita Sabi Sand: February 2025

There’s a certain charm about exploring the South African lowveld in this the month of fall. Changes slowly creep in to our environment with emerald greens fading to warm earthy tones as periods between downpours grow further apart. Light jumpers now join the early morning safaris to take the chill off the wind, while sipping on a warm beverage close at hand. We mimic the African green pigeons basking in the early morning sun and listen to the distant sounds like a pride of lion preparing for a patrol through their territory. The more we explore and understand the more we realise we are part of this functioning ecosystem and our role is greater than ever. We find similarities in our beautiful, natural world which brings with it a flurry of emotions and feelings. We encourage you to “let yourself go” on a safari and connect with what is around you. Here is how we connected with the wildlife, this month of March.
A snapshot of the sightings for March follows:
Elephants
  • There has been an abundance of elephants seen in all corners of Singita Sabi Sand of late with many sightings recorded along the stretch of the Sand River. Elephants, being particularly fussy on the quality of water they drink, have shown a preference for the flowing water in the river, while standing water has been used for that all important mudbath for cooling off and insect control. We expect the herds to stay in the area for the whole of the dry season to come.
Buffaloes
  • In the south the watering holes have attracted the buffalo herds as they now start to graze further each day in search of enough food. The southern grasslands have had a lot to offer our guests with zebra and other grassland species often mixed among the buffalo herd. The gabbro rich grasslands show the scars of the large bovines as prominent game paths bisect the feeding grounds straight to the water. These are the very same trail’s guides and trackers lead their guests on during bush walks, a surreal experience walking in the footsteps of untamed nature.
Lions
  • As the grasses grow tall we have noticed an increase in zebra predation by lions. The Mhangeni Pride has been focusing a lot of their hunting on the dazzles of zebra that can be found throughout the reserve especially in the more wooded savanna. The pride consists of three adult lionesses, three sub-adult females and the last remaining young male.
  • We have been treated to sightings of the Othawa Pride and their two new cubs with the adults providing frequent meals for them, including warthog and waterbuck.
  • The Ximungwe Pride is also having much success along the Sand River. This pride has the potential to grow to what it once was.
  • The Nkuhuma Breakaway sister and brother continue to fly under the radar between some of the bigger prides in the area. The young male providing important security for his sister against hyenas during feeding time.
  • The Tsalala lioness and Nkuhuma and Talamati males have also been seen on a regular basis.
Leopards
  • We have seen a few new leopards moving into the south as the dynamics start to shift. The Nkuwa female, who now has cubs stashed somewhere, possibly in Tavangumi Koppies, has been exploring far less of her vast territory. There is a young female as well as a male that we’ve had brief sightings of. These two leopards are both nervous and will take some time to trust our vehicles.
  • As the Thamba male shifts east we have had regular viewing of this big male throughout the south as well as the low-lying areas across the Sand River. He was seen mating with a skittish female leopard at the start of the month.
  • Despite the persistent pressure from the Thamba male, Ntomi is still a regular face in the south east, and he’s not backing down from the big male. While on patrol he can be heard rasping in display.
  • To the north the Hlambela male covers most of this area. He was recently seen hunting white-faced ducks at Tom’s Dam, in fact this is how he earned his ID name, “The one who likes to swim” due to his skill of hunting ducks in small ponds.
Cheetah
  • Conditions have been ideal for cheetah of late. The long grass allows them to move undetected in the grasslands. Although sightings have been far less this month, we have still managed to view the territorial male in the south from time to time. One occasion it was in fact a leopard that led us to a cheetah as the Ntomi male caught the attention of a cheetah resting next to a bush.
African wild dogs
  • The Othawa Pack and the split from the Tulon Pack have been the two groups of wild dogs making up the sightings this March. As the impala grower older and stronger the packs are having to work hard and move further to chase down their prey.
Bird List
  • As we move further toward the colder dry season the summer migrants move back to areas all over the world, from central and north Africa, Europe and Asia. Although our total still sits at 251 species since the start of 2025 we have had great birdlife. We have had some purely bird-orientated guests of late with a set of guests recording 152 species in a four-night safari! A commendable effort for this time of year.