The South African Predators Safari: Day 9

The day was all about leopards. Starting out early on the mornings safari, we set off on the trail of a female leopard, but found a male leopard instead. We stayed with him for a while, but having eaten his full (of what turned out to be the females kill), he was not going to be moving anywhere soon, se kept on the female leopards trail, and found her, having recovered what remained of her kill, lying up in the shade of a tree. She too was well fed, and needed some rest. We headed straight back to the same spot in the afternoon safari, and found the female leopard balancing quite superbly on a tiny branch, feeding on the impala. The wonderful setting was washed in glorious afternoon light and the cameras went crazy! It was a great scene to photograph.

Major sightings of the day:

Male leopard

Female leopard with a kill in a tree

Male elephant

Male rhino

To jon us safari, click here!

The South African Predators Safari: Day 8

Another great day filled with elephants, rhino and a female leopard dealing with 6 hyenas that had stolen her kill! Hyenas are not always the crowds favourite, and it doesn’t help when they are wolfing down a young leopards kill, but the interaction around the feeding was quite special. You never know what you will see on safari, and this was certainly a nice surprise that gave the cameras something to think about. Earlier in the day, we also stumbled upon a large herd of buffalo, around 300 strong, going about their business. There were no lions around, so they were peacefully grazing all around us.

Major sightings of the day:

Two herds of elephants

Male leopard

Male rhino

Herd of +300 buffalo

4 rhino

Female leopard and 6 hyena with her kill

To join us on safari, click here!

The Tanzania Safari: Day 11

Our final morning safari finished us off on the right note. We had kept a bird list throughout the safari, and needed a few more birds to break the elusive 200 mark, which we did comfortably. There were many buffalos out and about, as well as a large male elephant. 2 black-backed jackals kept us company for a good while, but the prize went to a lonely hippo that was making its way back to the river; it caught wind of us and made a breaking run – great for the cameras! Finishing a photo safari always drops the lips a little, but it is made easier when you finish with amazing images!

Major sightings of the day:

Many sightings of male buffalos

2 black-backed jackals

1 male elephant

To join us on safari, click here!

The Tanzania Safari: Day 10

Hearing about the arrival of large herds of zebra from the south, we set out quite early to see if we could find them. The scene was already set for us with clear blue skies, and lovely, soft green grass, so when we found the zebras, it was easy-shooting for the cameras. Massive herds of zebra, which had been joined by lots of topi were scattered all around the plains. In between all the zebra’s legs, we found a small bat-eared fox hidden in the grass, and again, up in the trees, a pride of lions. Late in the afternoon, we spent a lot of time around the river enjoying the many crocodiles and hippos, and in a first for FiveZero Safaris, we spotted some black-and-white colobus monkeys high in the treetops! A wonderful barbeque dinner was waiting for us when we returned, closely followed by a very comfortable nights sleep.

Major sightings of the day:

Herd of Buffalo

Many sightings of male buffalo

Large herds of Zebra and topi

Bat-eared fox

2 sightings of black-backed jackal

Pride of lions

6 hyenas

Elephant herd

Many crocodiles

Many hippos

3 black-and-white-colobus monkeys

To join us on safari, click here!

The Tanzania Safari: Day 9

We went out in search of some big cats, and were well rewarded for making the effort. A very graceful and relaxed leopard started us off, sitting in her tree hideout surveying the land, and a pride of lions, with 4 2-month old cubs closed out the day for us. We found these lions resting up in a tree, looking surprisingly relaxed for a lion in a tree (although not quite as relaxed as leopards in trees). The little cubs had been hiding in the grass on the floor, and when the mother came down, they all rushed out to greet her. It is always special to see such young lions, so when they came out into the open, the cameras were put to work! The day was punctuated throughout by the always-present elephants and buffalo, and topped off with some great bird sightings. Getting back to a cold drink on the banks of the Grumeti River that is filled with hippos is a magic way to end yet another wonderful day on safari!

Major sightings of the day:

2 elephant herds

Female leopard

2 male buffalo

5 lionesses, 1 male lion and 4 small cubs

To join us on safari, click here!