June 2025

Sabi Sand

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Sabi Sand: June 2025

June marks the heart of the dry winter season. Rainfall has been non-existent, and the landscape takes on a parched, dusty appearance. Vegetation thins out significantly, making it easier to spot wildlife as animals congregate around permanent water sources. Daytime temperatures are mild and pleasant, while early mornings and evenings can be quite cold. The dry conditions also lead to clearer skies, enhancing visibility for both game viewing and photography. Overall, June offers excellent opportunities for wildlife sightings due to the sparse foliage and increased animal activity around waterholes.
A sightings snapshot for June follows:
Elephants
  • The Sand River has been an oasis for the elephant herds, making the most of the greener vegetation along the river. Several matriarchs with distinctive tusks have been seen again too – amazing to see just how much ground these individuals cover over the course of a night.
Buffaloes
  • The large herds of buffalo have fragmented somewhat; they seemed to have been harassed by different coalitions of male lions and we are finding smaller portions of the herds in the southern parts of the reserve.
Lions
  • The Mhangeni Pride of now six lions (three older lioness, two young females, and one young male) were seen for the first time, in a very long time, with the Plains Camp males. The pride didn’t seem too happy with their presence.
  • The Plains Camp males had a run-in with the Nkuhuma and Talamati males! They were caught sleeping but managed to get away with superficial wounds.
  • The Ximungwe Pride frequent the Sand River and the areas north and west of the lodges. They too were recently together with the Plains Camp males and all the adults were roaring.
  • The Othawa Pride are also seen on and off. Coman had an amazing sighting of them digging a warthog out a burrow for over an hour!
  • Sightings of the Kambula Pride and Gijima males were also highlights this month.
Leopards
  • The Nkuwa female leopard and her cubs continue to delight us and our guests. The cubs seem to be more comfortable with the vehicles from a distance.
  • The Ntoma female was seen successfully catching an impala and hoisting it. A couple of days later the pack of wild dogs led the guides to another hoisted kill with her in the tree. Later that day the Thamba male chased her off and robbed her of the carcass.
  • The Hlambela male continues for frequent the northern parts of the reserve.
  • Thamba has been seen a lot in the river and from the lodges, proving to be vital in the relocation of the animals from the game drive vehicles in the afternoon.
  • The Ntomi male has been seen across most of the southern parts of the reserve.
  • The Tisela female and Tortoise Pan are some of the other individuals that have been seen this month.
Cheetah
  • The Makatini family of cheetah frequented the northern parts of the Sand River for a number of days before being chased by the Ximungwe Pride of lions to the very northern boundary before disappearing further east in the Sabi Sand.
  • The male cheetah made several appearances for the month too, often when we least expected it. Countless hours were spent searching the southern region of the reserve, with last minute rewards!
African wild dogs
  • The Othawa Pack of wild dogs has been seen on a handful of occasions as the adults hunt before heading back to their den in the far western sector of the Sabi Sand. The alpha female shows sure signs that she has given birth. In the next couple of months, we look forward to seeing how many puppies she has given birth to.
Bird List
  • We have added two more species to the list taking the total to 279 birds. Half-collared kingfisher and brown-throated martin being the highlights for the month.
Unusual Sightings
  • A pangolin and her pup! Yes, you read correctly, a once in a lifetime sighting of the ever-elusive creatures.Honey badgers have been seen on several occasions throughout the concession.