Fish Eagle call
Every year we are almost guaranteed to see African Fish Eagles near the lodge, because of the dam we have by the lodge! In the photo of the dam there is an African Fish Eagle, can you spot it? The…
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Ranger News
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Bush clearing
Sometimes a bit of “gardening” is required in the reserve outside the lodge, especially during the winter when elephants have much less food and, considering their size and the amount they need to eat, they resort to pushing over more…Read More »
Stick insect
Sometimes animals do need to move about and this gives us a much better chance of spotting them. In this case it was nothing large – quite the opposite – it was a very small stick insect wandering around the…Read More »
African Wild Cat
The African Wild Cat does not look very different from your average house cat. They are very nervous creatures, being solitary like leopard, although spotting an African Wild Cat is much rarer and as such very special – even though…Read More »
Impala rut – the…
The aftermath of rutting season… Hormone production in Impala rams is stimulated by the shortening days of autumn and causes energy reserves in the neck to build up. Impala ewes notice the enlarged neck which elicits oestrus amongst them. A…Read More »
Brown Ivory
This very attractive, well-groomed tree is called a Brown Ivory. They can reach up to 20 metres in height. The Brown Ivory is an iconic tree in the Thornybush Nature Reserve, with its umbrella-like shape caused by giraffe and elephant…Read More »
Blue Wildebeest
There is a unique story about the Blue Wildebeest told in many African cultures over many generations and it goes like this: After the gods created all the animals they realized that they had made too many spare parts of…Read More »
Mother-in-law’s tongue
Mother-in-law’s tongue is not a euphemism – this is the plant’s actual common name! These are fairly common plants round here and even though they look thick and full of liquid, their leaves are actually quite fibrous. They are traditionally…Read More »
Leopard Orchid
The Leopard Orchid is used as a love charm, an antidote for bad dreams and to ward off lightning at traditional homesteads. This orchid is an epiphytic, a plant that grows on top of another – in this case on…Read More »
Skukutsu males & Mphosa
The death of the male lion we called Trilogy left a power vacuum in the area round KwaMbili. With enough prey around, the lionesses of the northern pride stayed in their territory but with no male lion scent-marking this territory,…Read More »
