Please note Drive Time Changes at End of this Blog
We begin our live drive on this very chilly morning with Jamie who has Dave with her on camera.
The temp is 11C (51F)
Note: The nkahumas have killed a Buffalo. Ansd Junior has shown up on the scene. Jamie explains that this is a bad decision on his part.
The Birmingham Male lion coalition who control this territory will not be impressed with this Nkahuma Male being around.
Junior was a cub of a Nkahuma Lioness and he left the pride at age 3 as all male Lions do. He has been all over the place but now has come back to his Mom, Sisters and Aunts.
Jamie said unfortunately for Junior he needs to leave the area because this is not a smart move.
Jamie is hoping to locate Tingana. It has been 1 month today since we have seen him although he has been on the property as recently as yesterday as there were fresh tracks so he remains out and about somewhere.
Lets go over to Brent who has Jeandre with him on camera this morning.
Brent is in search of Karula.
Brent says it is bitterly cold but he can suffer the cold if he can find "The Cats".
He is driving the Southern side of Djuma. Thandi holds territory to the East and has been seen around Chitwa Chitwa.
Over to Jamie
We see 2 Hyenas.
But LOOK! There is another Visitor!
We slowly pan to the left and here comes a Side Striped Jackal.
He is quite Gutsy as Jamie puts it.
Jackals although considerably smaller then adult Hyenas are far faster and more agile then Hyenas.
Over to Brent
No Leopards yet but we see some Elephant Bulls who are dismembering a Bush Willow
Quick back to Jamie
And yet another visitor who is interested in this Buffalo Carcass.
A Black Backed Jackal
The Hyena's are dragging the remaining part of the carcass back and forth. Occasionally nibblinh but making it quite clear to the Jackal that this is their piece of meat and they do not intend to share it.
OH MY GOODNESS~! ANOTHER VISITOR? This Buffalo carcass is a busy place.
Take a peak at who has arrived now!
We move on to Brent who has a very grumpy individual at the Buffleshoek Waterhole
This Grumpy individual is a Hippo out of the water. Defacating against the Buffalo Thorn Bush and is quite adept at spraying it around.
He is heading into the drainage system behind the dam and will move back to the water later on in the day when it is a bit warmer.
Some nice shots of a Crested Francolin
Brent is listening to the game drive channel.
Note: Aubrey who is a guide from Djuma out of Galigo heard Kudu alarm calling so Brent is going to meander back in that direction to check it out
Jamie has been to the Hyena den and all cubs are still tucked in. The adults are most likely on the other side of the dam scavenging. She is making her way to Cheetah Plains
Game Channel Chattering- A Leopard in a drainage line right beside the Cheetah Plains Lodge. Jamie has checked in and secured a spot for us to go and see who it might be.
No signs of Lions today. They could have easily gone North to Manuleti or into Simbambili.
Jamie is telling us that she and Brent had a couple of friends over last night for a visit and they were discussing the Lion dynamics here and how they are changing.
She then laughts and tells us that both She and Brent fell asleep in the couch while their friends were there. She says and that was our exciting Saturday night.
Jamie sees Lion tracks. She says they walked right down this road. She calls the tracks in on the game channel.
Over to Brent
He is coming up into the area where the Kudu's were alarm calling earlier.
Taxon speaks to Brent on the game drive channel and tells him that an Impala was killed by a Leopard but didn't eat much of the kill and didnt hoist it into a tree. It is just lying in the brush.
Brent is pondering this new tidbit of information. He thinks it could have been Karula or Shadow and possibly she left the kill to go bring the cubs.
The Lion tracks that Jamie saw went North into Buffleshoek.
Brent stops to say hello to Aubrey
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| Hello Aubrey! |
We move on now and come across some Elephants.
Nice VR Segment of Ellies with Brent
Naughty Naughty Ellie
Ellie doing a balancing act with its foot on a branch
An Elephant has lifted a tree to get at the green grass which is underneath its thorns.
It is sitting on top of a seep line- underground water runs through here.
Clever Elephant
Clever Ellie
Over to Jamie who is on Cheetah Plains
She is SO SO SO SORRY
see video
She found the Leopard and her signal would not extend into the ditch so she was unable to broadcast the sighting.
She tried to take a video with her phone but her hands were so cold that she could not hold it still.
(PLEASE SEE NOTE AT END OF BLOG REGARDING CORRECTION TO LEOPARD IDENTIFICATION)
The female Leopard has a very full belly and is doing well. There were no cubs present during Jamie's sighting.
We are moving once again with Jamie and she spots a yellow Canary.
The bright yellow is like a breath of sunshine to see.
Canary Video
Jamie answers a view question as to if they have a "Head Quide" and what is that persons role.
It is a quite informative video and Jamie explains it very well
Guides And Their Roles
Jamie arrives at the Cheetah Plains Pan. She does a quick scan. Nothing here at the moment.
Over to Brent who is at the Impala Kill
The kill has evidence of being chewed on briefly on the rump but no where else.
He looks for tracks
Definately a female Leopard
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| Female Leopard Tracks |
Whichever Leopard this was, Brent is sure she will be back.
Brent is quite perplexed about this. He thinks the Sunset Safari will be very exciting and he will definitely be coming back to this spot.
A couple of Impala's sparring
Brent explains to answer a viewer's question as to why the animals when killed "don't Bleed Out"
He uses his tablet to show us the jaw structure of a leopard and explains how it works.
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| Leopard Skull |
Brent Explains How Leopard Make Their Kill
Over with Jamie where there is one single very large Elephant Bull and some Zebra who all want to get a drink at the watering hole.
When the massive Elephant Bull saunters towards the Zebras, they quickly and without hesitation move away to let him pass.
Over to Brent who has spotted a Side Striped Jackal.
And off he goes.
Brent checks both Hyena dens to see if they have dragged anything back but both dens are quiet.
Over to Jamie who reminds us of the drive time changes that start on June 1. (see end of blog for times)
Quick over to Brent who is BEYOND excited! The Nkahuma Female is moving her cubbies!! He is going to be driving FAST so we pop over to Jame while Brent does the FERRARI SAFARI
Jamie has located a very large Land Snail Shell
Back to Jamie quickly. She has news that the female Leopard is out of the drainage line now so there is a chance we might see her if the signal holds.
And just like that.... Jamie lost signal.
Over to Brent who is flying down the road!
The Nkahuma and her cubs have now crossed into Djuma and Brent is 3 minutes away. The signal is so choppy I cannot get a video to show Brents excitement
Right back to Jamie. she HAS signal. AND we see this magnificent Female Leopard. She has moved out onto a flat rock with her very full belly and is sunning herself.
Sorry if the video below is choppy. The signal was very poor
Female Leopard Video
Back over to Brent. He tells us that the Nkahuma Female has left her cubs just outside of the boundary now and has moved into Djuma and looks to be hunting.
Nkahuma Female Preparing To Hunt
And that concludes our Sunrise Safari for this morning
NOTE: regarding the Female Leopard Sighting. There was and is some confusion as to if this Leopard was not Inkanyeni as originally reported but is indeed Thandi.
I have made many enquiries (which is why my blog is so late being posted) and the general consensus even from the Cheetah Plains Guides were the Leopard was sighted was that it was Thandi.
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