Deformed tusks
Consider how important an elephants’ tusks are to them. They allow them to tear bark off trees to eat, reach down and dig up small bulbs that may be just under the ground and break big branches off to get…
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Category: The Big 5
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Elephants in musth
Elephant bulls can be very aggressive when they are in musth (i.e. ready to mate) and one must keep a safe distance from them. But how do you know that you are dealing with an elephant bull in musth? Firstly…Read More »
Getting ready for the…
Thornybush Nature Reserve has a strong healthy population of lions. Our frequent sightings allow us to gain a greater understanding into their habits and abilities. As we know lions are renowned for sleeping a lot but all this snoozing can…Read More »
New lion dynamics
The old alpha lioness of the northern pride who broke away from her pride when she did not return after having a litter of cubs has now joined up with her adult daughter. The alpha female has four cubs from…Read More »
New leopard in town
Fairly recently a new male leopard moved into Thornybush and we were lucky enough to see him quite well. He is originally from the Sabi Sand area and has made his way right up here. At the moment he controls…Read More »
The Cape Buffalo
The African Buffalo or Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large horned bovid. It is one of the Big Five, a term originally coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on…Read More »
R.I.P. Twin Spots
R.I.P. Twin Spots For years we have been reporting on our resident female leopard we called Twin Spots (because of her symmetrical facial markings). Now she has been found dead, probably as a result of a fight with another leopard.…Read More »
Leopard kill
We’ve recently seen a lot more of the younger female leopard (known as the Makeppies female) and her cubs – it seems that she has taken over the territory around KwaMbili which used to belong to our old resident female…Read More »
Twinspots doing well!
We sighted our old resident female leopard, Twinspots, near KwaMbili the other day. She had found the carcass of a dead impala which she took up into a tree to feed on. Being around 15 years old, she really is…Read More »
On the rise…
The female leopard from the area north of KwaMbili has successfully raised three cubs to over a year old now. It is unusual for so many cubs to survive so long and demonstrates this female’s abilities. There are two little…Read More »
