21 December
PM
1 female Leopard (Beacon Female) was found near Nyala dam. She was sleeping in a marula tree before until something got her attention to the east of where she was laying. She moved down the tree and started moving towards the riverbed where the ground was too soft to follow. She has to hunt more than ever now, with her 2 cubs growing up fast and requiring more meat in order to do so. I bet she's happy the Impala's have lambed!!!

22 December
AM
A big herd of Buffalo was found at big dam grazing slowly to the north.
There were Elephants throughout the reserve.

PM
2 Male Lions (Zambezi Boys) were found at Twin Dams laying down. They later got up and moved steadily south before crossing the boundary.
2 Bull Elephant were found on Chitwa Cutline browsing on small shrubs.

23 December
AM
1 Male Leopard (Newington Male) was found sleeping in a Marula tree just east of Rhino Cutline. He spotted a group of Giraffe in the distance and with true "Leopard Optimism" ran straight into the middle of the herd (Journey) they thought it was just as amusing and it wasn't long before the giraffe launched an attack of there own, running straight at the Leopard into a nearby ravine where he lay for the rest of the morning.
Once again there were many Elephant seen throughout the reserve.

PM
1 Male Leopard (Mafufunyana) was seen on Zoë's road moving slowly to the north.

24 December
AM
The drive started with a sighting of 4 Rhino south of Gowrie Gate milling around in the woodland.
Only 200 meters away 5 Buffalo Bulls were found at Sandy Patch moving slowly to the North. Just before leaving the Buffalo one of the trackers noticed something strange about their behaviour and instructed his guide closer to investigate. It was a Leopard that had caught the Buffalo's and the Trackers interest. It was Karula, a young female who watching from the safety of a Marula tree where she had also stashed an impala, which she had killed the previous evening. if that wasn't good enough cracking branches warned of Elephant in the vicinity, and it wasn't long before a large herd of 40+ Elephant came sauntering past the Leopard as she fed.
1 Male Lion (Manyeleti Male) was seen on Buffelshoek firebreak laying down, looking particularly well fed.

PM
We had a fantastic start to the drive this morning with a sighting of two male cheetahs. Luckily for us they were very relaxed. We saw them form some distance at first but we were able to move closer and we watched them relaxing underneath a large acacia.. They got up and started to move, we followed them for some time. The birds were all busy this morning displaying and still trying to find that perfect mate.
Later in the drive we saw one of the large dominant male leopards of the area. We call him Newington. This was also a treat; he wasn't too far from camp moving slowly south.

25 December
AM
We got some great xmas presents this morning, starting with one female leopard (we call her Karula, she is a cub of another female Safari.) She is now on her own and staking out her own territory. One bull elephant, was busy feeding on the roots, we watched as he kicked them out of the ground and span them around in his jaws before leaving the small twig. The final highlight of the morning was a male rhino. At first he seemed a little skittish but soon he relaxed and continued to graze, a good start to the day.

PM
After a lazy day in camp, and after the traditional xmas braai. The guests were excited to see what was waiting for them in the bush. Up north one male leopard was getting ready for his evening patrol, it was Jordaan's, another large male in the area. He looked purposeful as he strode along the roads, marking as he went. A treat was waiting us not too far away, a breeding herd of elephants, were slowly moving, we watched as the females protected their young, surrounding the tiny ones. Then as we were heading back towards camp, the rare sighting of one of the smaller cats we see here, a Serval, usually these cats are quick to make their getaway, but this time he was relaxed and we got to watch him for some time.

26 December
AM
A lone male lion was waiting for us this morning, he was relaxing out in the open, a small amount of rain had fallen in the night and there was still a large amount of cloud coverage, he didn't seem to bothered by our presence and after checking out who had joined him in his space, he slumped back down, flat cat again.
Impala, were clearly enjoying the cooler weather, as they leapt around in the long grass. Close to camp one bull elephant was feeding, stretching to reach those juicy leaves.

PM
We headed out in anticipation of the evenings drive. We headed north and we were not disappointed. Sitting on a small termite mound was a leopard cub, we new this cub it was a female we looked closely to see where here brother was, then out of the long grass the male leopard jumped up and the two started to play, lying close by the mother was trying to relax, but the cubs were not sleepy, bounding around in the long grass, we stayed with them for some time, fantastic. A bull elephant was moving slowly through the grass, stopping every so often to feed. Then on our way back to camp, we got lucky again, a leopard was calling, we followed up on this and sure enough, a large male was moving east marking his territory. A fantastic evening, four leopards in 3 hours, it doesn't get better than that.

27 December
AM
Our first sighting of the morning was a courting pair of lions, (one male and one female). They were both resting under thick bush. Then stopped at a dam for tea break and were joined by a breeding herd of buffalo, we watched them as they slowly edged their way into the water. Soon most of the herd was in the water. Then to finish off the drive we saw one male rhino, very relaxed.

PM
One male lion was resting close to Sidney's camp, we were hoping he would start moving but a couple of yawns and then sleep again. One female was also seen she was a short distance away from the male also resting up. Close to Galago four bull elephants were enjoying the water, we watched as they submerged and played, they were joined by a breeding herd of buffalo, it was wonderful to watch them all together in the same water.

28 December
AM
Close to Nkorho camp, one bull elephant was moving slowly east towards the Kruger boundary. Impala were grazing on the large open area. A little later, we found two rhino grazing, one male and one female.

PM
We watched three lion, one male and two female, they were laying down when we found them, but soon they started to move, we watched as they headed off firstly following the easier route along the road and then heading of into the thick bush. A small herd of buffalo was heading towards Buffelshoek dam for an evening drink; carefully they made their way to the edge of the water.

29 December
AM
We headed north from the camp towards Khaya Manzi, as we approached we saw two male lions resting up not to far from the edge of the water. They were very relaxed and we watch as they got up and one at a time headed to drink from the dam. After the fantastic sighting of the two males we didn't think it could better, but then we got very lucky. One male, one female and her two cubs were all resting under some thick bush, this was a fantastic sight to see a family. Very rare.

PM
Again tonight we saw the two male lion, they had moved, this time they were moving , we followed them for some time until they headed into thick bush. At kudu corner we were in for a treat, two male cheetahs were resting up, they were very relaxed and were happy for us to sit and admire them.

30 December
Am
We had a busy morning full of wonderful sightings. We headed south from the camp towards cheetah plain, and there moving along the open area, two male cheetahs. It was wonderful to see them in the open clearing, so relaxed. Soon we were treated to the female leopard and her two cubs, the mother was laying in thick bush, but the two cubs were only to happy to put on a show for us. Buffalo were back in force, we saw one breeding herd close to green pan and then another herd at kudu corner. To finish a most amazing drive we saw a breeding herd of elephants, they were moving slowly through the bush.

PM
It was very windy when the drive headed off for the evening drive, a storm looked like it was moving in.
We were lucky to find the mother leopard and her two cubs they were sheltering, but the cubs couldn't resist coming to check out what was watching them.

31 December
AM
The leopards were in the same spot on sour plum road, the wind had stopped and this time they were a little more active, the female cub was busy jumping up and down from a fallen tree. The male watching her and occasionally joining in; the mother watching from near by. At Sidney's dam three lion were resting, it was sandy patch girls and one male.

PM
New years eve, the final drive of 2005. We were treated to the sighting of one male, two female lions and their two cubs. The cubs stayed very close to their mother. The guests were treated to cocktails and traditional dancing in the bush, to welcome the oncoming New Year.

The Ranger's diary is updated weekly

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