March 2026

Sabi Sand

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Sabi Sand: March 2026

Singita in the Sabi Sand is starting to slowly change colour as leaves turn from emerald to duller hues of green. The Sand River continues to flow but is slowly subsiding. Pods of hippos are returning to their regular hangouts and herons and bee-eaters have re-built nests along the banks. Heading into the rutting seasons impala rams can be seen sparring and gearing up for fights ahead. Scattered rain showers throughout the month have left an abundance of wildflowers late in the season, a real feast for the eyes.
Here’s an overview of the month’s sightings:
Elephants
  • Elephant herds and bulls are scattered throughout the reserve. Marula season is over and this has become evident in the movement of elephants.
  • Some impressive bulls and even some tuskers have also been spotted in the last few weeks. The turn of the season seemingly brought on musth in most of the bulls.
Buffaloes
  • The large herd of buffalo has been seen frequently in the central and western areas of the reserve. The group seems to split and re-join regularly. Herds of up to a couple hundred strong are still seen together. It is incredible to see the impact that these animals have on the land and the importance of the turnover of soil is unparalleled.
Lions
  • The Mhangeni lioness and her four cubs are thriving. She has been apart from the pride for the last few weeks, occasionally joining up to assist with hunting and replenishing her milk production. Soon the newest members of the pride will be joining in on the feasts. The other two females and three sub-adults have re-joined each other and the male Nkumati coalition is staying close by, often joining the female and cubs as well.
  • The Plains Camp male lions made a long-awaited return. They were spotted in the northern areas of the reserve but have since returned to the western sector. Recent tracks indicate they might have crossed north of the river.
  • The Tsalala lioness appears to be staying close to the lodges. Everyone is waiting in anticipation to see if this lioness has a surprise for us…
  • The Nkuhuma subadults seems to have split up recently, the young female was spotted on the southern banks of the Sand River and seems to be doing very well.
Leopards
  • The Nkuwa female and her youngster are still doing very well. The young male is gaining confidence and seems to be getting more self-assured when left alone by mom.
  • The Thamba male has been travelling all over the reserve, frequently seen inside the camp perimeter in the north, down to Castleton in the central areas. It is always impressive watching this male mark territory or listening to him call.
  • The Tisela female’s two daughters, now given the names of Xihangu and Xiluva, have been seen more without their mother and are doing well hunting on their own. We are sure they will start establishing territory soon.
  • The Hlambela male has not been seen in the last month. Once the river becomes crossable, we hope to get frequent sightings of this majestic male.
Cheetah
  • The male cheetah is travelling in and out of the southern regions.
African wild dogs
  • Only once the rivers and streams became crossable did we start seeing more of the wild dogs, specifically the Othawa Pack. They have been making the most of the lush conditions and feasting on the abundant impala lambs.
  • The Toulon Pack were also seen on the northern bank of the Sand River, looking south to cross but the fear of what lurks beneath got the better of them and they disappeared further north.
Unusual sightings
  • The unusual sighting that took everyone by storm was Sipho finding a leucistic zebra foal. It has been seen with large zebra herds on the southern plains.
  • A new active hyena den was found boasting a few new cubs.
  • A mating pair of white rhino.
Bird list
  • We have added 10 new birds to our list, bringing the total to 260. Some special sightings that stood out were blue-billed teal and river warbler. Also noteworthy was a half-collared kingfisher and an eastern nicator, as well as a brown-backed honeybird.
By Jenny Hishin
Author / Field Guide