Lions

We have been fortunate to have numerous lion sightings this past month, the lone Sumatra male made his presence known in the absence of the Mbirri males who were spending most of their time in the north west with the Ross pride females. Most nights the big male could be heard roaring close to camp, serenading the guests to sleep. He spent time with the Hercules pride and even bonding with the Hercules young male rather than chasing him off which is interesting behavior. Perhaps he will be seen with a new coalition partner.

The Hercules pride made a couple of appearances, on one occasion they had killed a buffalo cow and guests got to see them feeding on it until the hyenas stole it from them. Sadly it seems like the young male that was injured did not make it as he hasn't been seen for some time now, but with the Sumatra male hanging around with the pride hopefully some cubs will be seen soon and the pride can grow a bit.

The two old Ross breakaway lionesses have been quite far north of their usual hangouts and have been seen a few times, they are really showing their age now but are still able to be successful hunters and make regular kills. Although they are aged, they remain legends of the Timbavati.

A huge black maned male lion was found in the company of the Giraffe pride. After a bit of investigating, it was discovered that it was a male lion known as the Black dam male from a neighboring reserve that recently dropped its fences with the Timbavati. He seems to have now laid claim to the Giraffe pride females as he was seen mating with them.

Hyena

There are still a number of hyena dens around that seem to constantly be pumping out baby hyenas, keeping their numbers up at an all time high. However we still can't get enough of how cute the youngsters are, and its always special to witness tender moments around the dens often up close and personal as the curious youngsters investigate the vehicles.

Elephant

Elephant sightings have been at an all time high this month, with  several large herds moving through the area, as well as all the bulls that associate themselves with the herds. Being water dependent animals, some of the best sightings of elephants are when they around the waterholes.

Buffalo

There has been plenty of buffalo around, with the large herds returning to the area and the usual groups of bulls at their local waterholes wallowing around as they do to escape the intense heat that summer brings.

General game and birds

In summer, the bush really comes alive with birds and general game viewing. New vegetation attract the grazers and browsers from far and wide and migratory birds make their long trips to spend the warm months of the year here.