Battle At Idube Hits One Million Views!

This awesome capture of the Othawa pride of lions fighting a herd of buffalo for control of a small calf at Idube’s Marula Dam has been featured on television worldwide and now has over a million views on YouTube.

Idube Safari Highlights #148: 09–12 June 2012

In this Highlights Video:

The title clip is the sunset over the Drakensberg mountains.

Metsi female leopard joined up with the Dewane male leopard with intent to mate.

Part of the big buffalo herd in the south-western section of the reserve

The Ximhungwe pride of lions (3 females, 3 youngsters) resting after feeding on a young member of the buffalo herd.

Another part of the buffalo herd on the south-eastern side of the reserve come down to drink at Lion Pan.

Some elephants close to the lodge

A huge crocodile on a sand bank in the Sand river.

Metsi female leopard, still together with the Dewane male.

Responding to a reoprt that the Selati male lions may have come back into the western sector we spent most of the morning trying to track them down. Eventually we found them sleeping off a meal of buffalo bull.

Crocodiles at the causeway in the Sand river.

A hippo in the deep channel of the Sand river.

The Selati males, still on site with the buffalo kill.

The Shangwa 3:3 young male leopard, we saw him hunt and catch a porcupine.

Hlab’nkunzi female leopard watching impala outside the lodge. She had been in the lodge grounds overnight.

The Selati males finishing off the remains of their buffalo kill. Hooded vultures surround the kill picking up scraps.

A huge bull elephant feeding on the side of the road.

Idube Safari Highlights #147: 05 – 09 June 2012

In this highlights video:

The title clip features the Dewane male leopard.

A courting pair of lions – Selati male and Othawa lioness, here the male is using his vomeronasal organ to check the receptiveness of the female.

Dewane male leopard patrolling his territory at night.

A newborn baby elephant staying close to the protective mother.

A big male giraffe feeding.

A buffalo bull ruminating.

A herd of elephants feeding in the Sand river.

Selati male lions with an Othawa lioness along the banks of the Sand river.

Dewane male leopard watching a waterbuck run across the clearings before continuing his patrol.

2 Selati male lions on the clearings in front of the lodge, following a scent trail.

One of the Othawa lionesses sitting on top of a termite mound, the two male lions were following her scent, a third male was in the area but was well hidden in the grass.

Metsi female leopard in the branches of a tall tree, keeping a close eye on the Maxabeni 3:3 young male leopard below her.

A second Othawa lioness feeding on a buffalo calf that she had caught alone after being chased from another kill by the Ximhungwe pride. She was within spitting distance of the two leopards

The Ximhungwe pride of lions (3 females and 2 youngsters – one young male missing) feeding on the remains of a buffalo calf that two Othawa lionesses had killed. The third Othawa lioness was happily feeding together with the Ximhungwes after initially being chased off, unaware that her sister had another kill close by.

The buffalo herd that the lions had been picking calves out of was still close to the lions.

Three Selati males and one Othawa lioness lying close to the lodge.

Tassleberry female leopard lying close to an impala kill she had hidden in the long grass.

The big buffalo herd at sunset.

One Othawa lioness watching the Metsi and Maxabeni leopards walk past in the dark, she did chase them but it was too dark to film. Both leopards got away safely.

One of the Selati male lions close to the lodge on the way back for dinner.

Bull elephants right outside the lodge first thing, they headed to Schotia dam to drink.

Shangwa female leopard looking for food north of the river. The wound in her back leg is probably from a run in with the Selati male lions who are thought to have stolen her previous kill. She walks through a herd of giraffe with neither species paying much attention to one another.

Idube Safari Highlights #146: 02 - 05 June 2012

In this highlights video:

The title clip features a close-up of a male giraffe.

Some elephants browsing outside the lodge.

Hlab’nkunzi female leopard feeding on an impala kill she had killed a couple of days previously.

The Selati male lions sleeping in a grassy area.

A young elephant just outside the lodge.

The Selati male lions patrolling in the same area they were sleeping in the previous clip of them.

One of the Selati male lions listening to his brothers roaring.

A business of dwarf mongoose sunning themselves.

A giraffe feeding.

Another group of elephants outside the lodge.

Tassleberry female leopard hiding deep in some red grass.

Some plains zebra, the lodge is named after them…

A buffalo bull moving through some tall thatching grass.

A brief glimpse of the Dewane male and Dam3 female leopards as they move in and out of the mombosa drainage line.

The Selati male lions patrolling in the north, their attention was on some buffalo in the distance.

The Ximhungwe pride, found after tracking the whole afternoon. # females and 3 youngsters were found. This was confirmation that only one of the male youngsters had been caught by the Selati males earlier in the month and not all three like was previously feared.

The Maxabeni 3:3 young male leopard exploring his new surroundings, again it took the whole morning drive to track him down.

Idube Safari Highlights #143: 06 & 10 - 13 May 2012

In this highlights video:

The title clip features a warthog on the lawn inside Idube lodge.

The Tassleberry female leopard on the bank of the Tulamanzi drainage line.

Dewane male leopard walking along Mackenzie cutline in the dark.

Kashane male leopard in the Ximobonyane drainage line, resting close to an impala kill.

Dewane male leopard marking territory no more than 1km away from Kashane’s position.

One of a group of bull elephants feeding in a bush willow thicket.

Three of the Selati male lions and the three Othawa lionesses together, mating was taking place but is not shown in this video. One of the males had wounds on his leg so there had been some fighting over possession of the lionesses.

The big buffalo herd crossing the main road onto Idube property.

The Tassleberry female watching some impala on Nkombe dam clearings.

Kashane male leopard, fast asleep near his kill.

A large-spotted genet resting on a fallen tree.

An artistic shot of a giraffe at Piva pan.

The Selati males and Othawa lioness across the river on Othawa airstrip.

Kashane male leopard grooming after feeding on his kill.

An elephant herd digging for roots.

The Ximhungwe pride of lions back in the west after spending some weeks avoiding the Selati males.

Dewane male patrolling his territory along the edge of Idube property.

The four Selati male lions following the scent of the lone Ximhungwe lioness, they had just left the Othawa lionesses and were a bit tired so they gave up.

The Ximhungwe Pride Of Lions

 

One of our resident pride of lions is known as the Ximhungwe pride, here is a condensed history of the pride together with some videos from le last couple of years:

Ximhungwe pride feeding on a wildebeest after the mapogos had been kicked out.

In 2004 the 6 females of the Castleton pride were taken over by the Sand River Male aka Dzunani and soon were producing cubs all over the place. Due to the fact that the pride seldom crossed onto Castleton property anymore it was decided to rename them after the large open area that they were now spending most of their time - Ximhungwe clearings.

The youngsters of the Ximhungwe pride face an uncertain future

18 cubs were born between 2004/2005 but the numbers dropped to 16 then 12. Such a large pride struggled to feed all their members and were often seen in bad condition. The times when they did get good food their condition improved overnight.

The pride in more stable times, together with the Mapogo males

Sadly a combination of Bovine TB and the arrival of the Mapogo males meant that the pride went into freefall in 2006, 5 of the six lionesses and Dzunani were all gone by the end of the year. The cubs were also reduced to a group of 3 young lionesses and a young male. The Ravenscourt pride (once originally part of the Castleton pride) was also in decline for similar reasons and the pride male (the brother of the remaining lioness) came across to spend more time with the Ximhungwes, when one of the youngsters was killed by a hyena we were all surprised to see the pride numbers were unchanged a few days later. The last remaining member of the Ravenscourt pride - a young lioness, had also been integrated into the group. The pride now spent most of their time trying to avoid the Mapogo and the Castleton male was trying hard to forge a bond with the young male, a bond that we hoped would last.

The youngsters were very interested in some of the debris that the floods bring every year

In 2008 the Tsalala pride (2 adult females 1 sub female and 1 sub male) started to be seen in our traversing area, another breakaway from the Castleton pride, they had moved in under pressure from the Mapogo. The young male soon moved off to become known as Solo and the 2 lionesses started to be seen mating with the Mapogo males, the sub-adult female was seen alone a couple of times.

When the cubs were a bit younger, together with the Mapogo males on a kill

One morning we came across the Ximhungwe pride on a zebra kill and noticed that there were now 5 instead of 4 lionesses in the group, the Tsalala youngster had joined with her distant relatives!

Some of the cubs that did not make it. This is the first female to mate with the Selati males

It was not long after this that the 2 males were put down after being found eating a dog which tested positive for Rabies, a week or two later and they would have been inoculated against the disease as the authorities were busy with all the large predators at the time :( .

The pride members in this video are no longer with us

This then opened up the pride to a takeover by the Mapogo, all the lionesses were almost of breeding age so there was no threat to the group. Cubs were born in 2009 and early 2010 that did not survive, the current crop of cubs from late 2010 and 2011 stands at 4 (3 males and a female). the pride is now down to 4 lionesses after the death of the last of the Castleton females, they are now truly the Ximhungwe pride!

The last castleton lioness showing what a good mother she was

With the vanquishing of the Mapogo males by the Selati coalition in March 2012 the pride is once again under threat from a takeover and it will be interesting to see if these four lionesses will be able to raise the cubs despite the new males being around, the same way that they themselves were raised…

The following videos are all from when the various cubs were small, some didn’t make it but the four youngsters remaining are in the clips too:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An finally, turn your sound up as the youngsters bid you all farewell:

 

Idube Safari Highlights #140: 05 - 08 April 2012

In this Highlights video:

The title page features a herd of zebra.

A large herd of elephants coming to drink at Ebony dam, north of the lodge.

A small herd of buffalo (a few males and one female) in the dry Mabrak riverbed.

Tlangisa female leopard posing in a tree with the moon rising behind her.

A quick glimpse of the Dam 3 female as she walked off from an attempt to mate with the Dewane male (who we did not see).

The Shangwa 3:3 young male leopard on a walkabout. 

The four Selati male lions at the confluence of the Kloof and Sand rivers.

A baby crocodile sunning itself on part of the broken causeway in the Sand river.

The Ximhungwe pride of lions resting in some long grass and teak thickets.

A huge bull elephant close up.

Hlab'nkunzi female leopard throwing herself at the Dewane male again, eventually they would mate...

The same huge bull elephant as earlier in the moonlight (And Ronald in the clip too!).

A side-striped jackal next to the road.

The Selati male lions caught a buffalo early in the morning, we missed the hunt but arrived as the last life was being strangled from the huge beast.

Kashane male leopard on patrol close to the lodge.

Returning to the Selati males in the afternoon, the kill now dragged into a bit of shade.

A small family of elephants at the confluence of the Mabrak and Sand rivers.

Kashane male leopard after an unsuccessful kudu hunt close to the lodge.

Reedbuck and hippo at Marula dam.

A nice herd of elephants with a few feisty calves.

Hippo at Xikwenga dam during a coffe break.

On a drive with Wessel:

Another playful young elephant.

A nice view of a herd off zebra.

The Ximhungwe pride of lions fast asleep.

A fascinating sighting of a young side-striped jackal catching flying termites.

Idube Safari Highlights #139: 02 - 04 April 2012

In this Highlights video:

The title credits feature the Shangwa 3:3 young male leopard

The Ximhungwe pride were deep in the south west, away from the Selati males. Here the youngsters are relaxed and playing.

After leaving the lions we had drinks and headed back to the lodge, bumping into the Hlab'nkunzi female leopard on the way back.

A herd of elephants that were feeding in the thick bush below Alberts koppies

A lone buffalo bull feeding on the side of the road.

A big bull elephant having a drink at Piva pan.

Hlab'nkunzi female leopard trailing the Dewane male, trying to tempt him to mate with her. She was not having much luck, her attempts were violently rejected mostly!

A herd of elephants close to the lodge.

The Selati males resting next to the road, north of the river.

Shangwa female leopard grooming her son before he moves off to feed on their impala kill.

A surprise sighting of the Selati males on a morning patrol, their tracks were still being followed on the other side of the reserve when we found them!

A herd of giraffe that the lions walked past.

A lovely bull elephant feeding on some lush green grass.

Another herd of giraffe. One of the males was keen to mate, but the female kept walking away.

At the end of the drive the Selati males were seen resting just to the south of the lodge.

Idube Safari Highlights #138: 31 March - 02 April 2012

In This Highlights video:

The title credits show a crocodile in the Sand River.

A small herd of elephants close to the lodge.

The Ximhungwe pride of lions feeding on a wildebeest, lots of interaction and growling. The kill was not far from the lodge.

Elephant bulls splashing around in Dam 5.

The Selati Males on a night patrol, they passed close to the Ximhungwe pride but did not notice them.

The Tassleberry female leopard in the Tulamznzi drainage line.

A young hyena that had the scent of the Tassleberry female but could not find her.

Zebra on the clearings in the south.

Giraffe on the camp clearings, they could be seen from breakfast.

A small group of buffalo bulls resting, with red-billed oxpeckers picking off parasites.

Shangwa female leopard on patrol in the new reaches of her territory, North of the river.

The Selati males on a morning patrol, North of the river. the four males had covered a huge distance. they did stop and rest at Kiri crossing for the day.

New Lion Cubs In The Wild

Here we take a longer look at the new cubs of the Othawa pride of lions, now threatened by the takeover of the surrounding territory by the Southern/Selati males. The new males were reportedly heading towards the area that these little cuties were last seen!