November 2025

Sabi Sand

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Sabi Sand: November 2025

In early summer in the Sabi Sand, the air hums with a warm, expectant energy as thunderstorms gather on the horizon. The scent of rain-soaked earth and blooming bushwillows drifts through the reserve, grounding you in the rhythm of the season. Vibrant greens wash across the landscape, their colours deepened by recent rains and shimmering in the rising heat. Birdsong grows more insistent at dawn, a layered chorus that fills the air with movement and intention. As you walk, the soft squelch of damp soil underfoot contrasts with the crackle of drying grasses in the midday sun. Warm breezes carry the distant grunts of hippos and the low rumble of thunder, blending wildness with anticipation. At night, the darkness glows with fireflies, their gentle flicker echoing the pulse of the bush. Everywhere, life feels heightened—lush, luminous, and alive with the electricity of a season in full renewal.
A snapshot of the sightings for November follows:
Elephants
  • With an exceptionally wet month the reserve is astonishingly green and lush. A thick layer of young grasses can be found everywhere which has provided amazing elephant viewing in all parts of Singita. With the Sand River rising we have watched herds crossing the steady current with the calves following closely.
Buffaloes
  • Buffalo tracks litter the southern parts of Singita, as the herds enjoy this time of plenty. The herds have fragmented into groups of 100 or less with them occasionally coming together to feed as well. Their condition has improved tremendously as the grasses are packed with nutrients.
African wild dogs
  • The Othawa Pack have spoilt us with regular hunting missions on Singita. The pack is now 18 dogs strong and only getting stronger now that impala lambs are in evidence, ensuring enough food for endangered canines.
  • The Toulon Pack has also been found on a few occasions this month.
Cheetahs
  • With the lush savanna so dense it takes a sharp eye to notice the smaller head of a cheetah at the base of a white berry bush - this is just one example of how our world class trackers have triumphed. Cheetah sightings have been hard-earned this month, but so worth it, nonetheless.
Leopards
  • To the west of Ebony and Boulders Lodges has been a rewarding region to look for leopards. With four females and the Thamba male potentially moving in and around this part of the reserve it has been a worthwhile starting point when trying to track one down.
  • The daughters of the Tisela female - the Xihangu and Xiluva females - are offering us great photographic opportunities as they are eager to test their hunting skills and learn their surrounding environment.
  • An old face showed herself this month. The Nhlanguleni female, 14 years old, the mother of the Nkuwa female, has been seen several times in the heart of Singita. This is where she first held a territory many years back. Her condition is certainly not what it used to be as one would expect, but she is a true legend of the Sabi Sand and is still hunting well.
Lions
  • The Mhangeni Pride has made up most of the lion sightings for the month of November. The pride has been split as we suspect at least one of the three adult females may have a new litter of cubs in the south. The three sub-adults are giving the Nkuhuma and Talamati males plenty of space as they still must earn the males’ tolerance.
  • The Bateleur Pride has ventured further east than normal all the way to the Mobeni River. This section remains vacant now that the Tsalala lioness is spending more time beyond Singita’s boundaries.
  • The Othawa Pride lionesses have been doing exceptionally well in the northern parts of Singita providing frequent prey items for their cubs.
Unusual sightings
  • With some persistent rain the ground has become waterlogged bring out all the weird and wonderful creatures. There have been a few sightings of shield-nosed cobras - a small semi-fossorial species of snake that has lots of attitude. A special find.
  • Our guiding team has taken to the seasonal pans at night to look for frogs. We have recorded 14 species so far. To have such an abundant frog population represents a healthy aquatic system as frogs have porous skin which means if any toxins are present in the system they would be one of the first to disappear.
Bird list
  • We recorded three new species which were the tambourine dove, thick-billed cuckoo and gorgeous bushshrike, which brings the total to 291, with one month to go.