Leopard Vs Warthog

The Maxabeni 3:3 young male leopard takes on a warthog sow as big as himself. The leopard puts his own life on the line for the sake of a kill. Both animals become locked in mortal combat as each tries to ensure their own survival. Warthogs have been known to kill leopards in situations such as this and big male leopards will often kill bigger warthogs than this!

Idube Safari Highlights #150: 19–22 July 2012

In this highlights video:

The title clip features a male kudu feeding.

One of a group of 6 or more elephant bulls close to the lodge.

One of the Selati male lions (#4) whom we found on foot.

The Maxabeni (3:3 young) male leopard at night.

The big buffalo herd.

A Selati male lion in the company of a Ximhungwe lioness.

A male hippo sporting some serious bite marks, looks like he was pushed out of his spot in the river by a bigger male.

Hlab’nkunzi female leopard watching the hippo as it passes under the tree her impala kill is stashed in.

An outburst of aggression between hippos at hippo pools.

A giraffe feeding along the northern bank of the Sand river.

A herd of elephants descending a steep sandbank to drink at the river.

A lovely sighting of a serval on the clearings in front of the lodge.

Close up shots of a herd of elephants.

Hlab’nkunzi female leopard lying in the grass close to her kill which she had moved around in the tree a bit.

Hippos coming out of the water to lie on a sandbank in the morning sun.

A mating pair of lions – Selati male/Ximhungwe female.

A small zebra foal.

A side-striped jackal in the road.

One of a couple of hyena chewing on some old bones.

Another herd of elephants around the lodge.

The Selati male lions just as they finish feeding on a nyaa and go to rest.

Hlab’nkunzi female leopard feeding on her kill.

3 Ximhungwe lionesses feeding on a wildebeest they caught moments before.

Idube Safari Highlights # 149: 12–15 July 2012

In this highlights video:

The opening title features a close up of an elephants trunk as it feeds on the branches of a marula tree.

A white-backed and hooded vulture at the carcass of a buffalo cow that two of the Selati male lions had finished off close to the lodge.

The two Selati male lions had been joined by a Ximhungwe lioness at the kill, they moved off a short distance and were sleeping in the grass.

A large group of buffalo bulls in the Mabrak riverbed.

The Kashane male leopard sleeping close to the lodge.

A giraffe bull feeding on an acacia tree in the early morning.

One of a group of bull elephants feeding on a freshly pushed over marula tree.

A big herd of cape buffalo moving through the bush at dusk.

A close-up of the Kashane male leopard.

Some of the Selati male lions sporting fresh injuries after more in-fighting over mating rights.

A big herd of buffalo crossing the road.

Kashane male leopard patrolling his extended territory along the banks of the Sand river.

The Tai Dam male leopard (Previously the Shangwa 3:3 young male) listening out for movement as he looks for a meal.

The big buffalo herd, we found them whilst tracking one of the Selati male lions. His tracks went straight past the herd.

Selati male lion, the one we were tracking. He had circled ahead of the herd and decided to watch them from the elevated position of the termite mound.

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 #145: 20 - 23 May 2012

In this highlights video:

The title sequence features one of the Selati male lions on the rocks in the Sand river.

Buffalo bulls in the Mabrak riverbed at Madagwaan crossing.

A young bull elephant on the southern side of the waterboard.

The Othawa lionesses had joined the Selati male lions at the buffalo kill and the meat was basically finished.

A pair of white-tailed mongoose.

A new male leopard in the Western sector: the Maxabeni 3:3 young male from the Londolozi area.

The lone Ximhungwe lioness resting close to a young zebra that she had killed.

A tatty old buffalo bull feeding next to the vehicle.

Dewane male leopard, fast asleep after a long night of patrolling.

Kashane male leopard sitting in a position where he could watch the clearings for food.

A lovely elephant herd on the southern bank of the Sand river.

Kashane male leopard lying next to a fresh impala kill.

One of a pair of hippo bulls that had been fighting along the river at Inyati causeway.

Two separate mating pairs of lions – Selati males/Othawa lionesses lying a few hundred meters apart.

Whilst we were having a drinks break we could hear som commotion with the lions, we returned to find the two mating pairs had met one another and the males had started fighting. A third male was also in the area. the fight resulted in the two mating pairs swapping partners.

The lions were still together on the afternoon drive.

A spotted hyena feeding on the buffalo carcass the lions left behind.

The lions had been fighting overnight again and the lionesses were with different partners.

A big herd of elephants close to the lodge to end with.

Idube Safari Highlights #144: 16 - 18 May 2012

In this highlights video:

The title clip features waterbuck an impala on the clearings close to the lodge.

The four Selati male lions resting next to the road close to the Sand river.

A spotted hyena walking down the road at night.

The Tassleberry female leopard in the long grass close to the Tulamanzi drainage line.

Buffalo bulls along the banks of the Sand river.

A young member of a herd of elephants with an itchy ear.

The Xindlevhana male leopard, once thought to be dead. It seems he has taken over the territory that the Xinzele male occupied before the floods.

A male hippo feeding on the side of the lodge access road at night.

Kashane male leopard with an impala kill close to the Mabrak river.

The Selati male lions feeding on a buffalo that they killed overnight on the bank of the Sand river.

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.

Idube Safari Highlights #142: 18 - 21 April 2012

In this Highlights video:

The title sequence features a Nile or Water Monitor.

Elephants feeding on a termite mound.

Xikavi female leopard, who we found by following tracks and her distinctive roar.

Two of the Othawa lionesses, the third was reportedly in the company of the Selati males, east of our boundary.

A crocodile sunning itself on the riverbank.

A musth bull elephant pushing down a tree to show off his strength.

A Ximhungwe lioness in front of the lodge, we found her there after a long time tracking.

Female giraffe.

A lone buffalo bull close to the lodge.

Xikavi female leopard with an impala kill, we spent most of the drive with her.

Hyena coming to check us out first thing in the morning.

A huge herd of elephants. The female with the even, curved tusks is known for chasing the vehicles and sure enough, when we left the sighting she followed at speed!

Idube Safari Highlights #141: 14 - 18 April 2012

In this Highlights video:

The title sequence shows the Tlangisa female leopard walking towards the camera.

Elephant herd with calves close to the lodge.

Shangwa 3:3 young male leopard up a tree feeding on an impala whilst the Shangwa female watches from the ground.

The three Othawa lionesses, seen together for the first time for weeks. They were left hunting impala.

A nice big bull elephant on Idube access road.

Tlangisa female leopard drinking in a puddle at the side of the road.

A dark chanting goshawk feeding on a small snake.

A lone buffalo bull feeding in the reeds.

The pack of African wild dogs chasing impala and then feeding on the kill.

Three of the four Selati male lions, they had been responding to the calls of one of the Ximhungwe lionesses. 

Dewane male leopard patrolling, then taking a break to clean himself.

One of the troop of baboons that have been hanging around the lodge.

The Ximhungwe pride of lions (minus one female) sleeping close to the western boundary.

A hyena right outside the lodge grounds.

A nice relaxed elephant herd.

The Ximhungwe pride moving towards the eastern boundary.

The Shangwa 3:3 young male leopard, we spent almost the whole drive with him as he stalked various animals.

Zebra outside the lodge.

Kashane male leopard up a tree, looking rather unhappy as he had just lost his kill to a clan of hyena.

The african wild dog pack feeding and playing, they had caught another impala.

The hyena clan resting with the remains of their stolen impala.

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.

Metsi And Dewane

Successful first time mother, the Metsi female, last year raised her two sons to independance. Here she is seen mating with the new dominant male, the Dewane male. Hopefully a new litter will be around to amuse us in the future!

Trees And Leopards

Most people , when they think of leopards, also think of trees - The stereotypical picture postcard of a leopard relaxing in the branches of a tree is the image that comes to mind first.
Many people are therefore surprised that when they come to stay at the lodge they see plenty of leopards, but seldom do they see them posing in a tree…

Leopards are known to take their kills up into trees to keep their meal out of reach of other predators, but there needs to be other predators around to make them do this, most leopards prefer to take their prey into the shade and feed on the ground, only hoisting the carcass if threatened by lions, hyenas and wild dogs. Even after the kill is safely stashed up a tree, the leopard will spend a lot of the time on the ground in the surrounding area.
Leopards often rest in the branches of a tree when it is hot, but more often they will choose a shady thicket to lie in.
Leopards will sometimes climb trees to look for prey to hunt, but they will also use termite mounds and rocks for the same purpose.
The individual personality of a leopard will determine how often they climb trees, some individuals are hardly ever seen up in the branches, whilst others seem to use every opportunity they can to get up there.
In our traversing area there is one leopard that we can rely on for the classic leopard/tree picture and that is the Tlangisa female, she seems to be one of those leopards that prefers tree climbing – as these videos show!