Leopard Hills, Sabi Sands, South Africa — October, 2015

[Tom Kellie]

That selfie proves you are a modern man, so my next request is not out of order.

 

You should rap your rhymes in a youtube and post it.

 

The Pachyderm Tête à Tête is more of a trunk à trunk.

 

 

This quartet is very impressive!

Trachylepis quinquetaeniata,

Whose vibrant skittering I must dodge,

With colors suited for a piñata,

Adds sapphire charm to the dark-toned lodge.

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

If only YouTube were available here!

As it is, the Internet has been “sanitized for your protection” where I work and live.

Curiously, I observed elephant rump à rump interaction. Were they resurrecting the "Bump”?

With a moniker like Trachylepis quinquetaeniata, what poetaster could resist?

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

I like the how the trunk poking through the foliage in "Pachyderm Tête à Tête" serves as a suggestion of elephant. It's easy to imagine the trees filling up with them, all but invisible.

 

~ @@Marks

 

What you've astutely surmised above is exactly what happened.

Yours truly was lounging in the plunge pool, blithely unaware of the rising presence of elephants in the not-so-far-away bush.

They were so unobtrusive, despite their bulk and despite their proximity.

Having an uncanny capacity for an unheralded arrival, there's a certain wonder connected with their literal ‘appearance’.

Thank you for mentioning this.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

When on safari non-stop drama isn't the norm,

As quiet moments have a beauty all their own.

Nyala crossing a track with such elegant form,

Endowed the evening game drive with a graceful tone.

Quiet Passage

Two Nyala by a Dusty Track

[Tom Kellie]

On a tree trunk a black-necked agama,

Tail upward, head downward yet so steady,

She looks too young yet to be a mama,

For other contingencies she's ready.

Female Acanthocercus atricollis

[Kitsafari]

 

A breakfast, light as can be,

Passionfruit, pineapple, salmon and cheese,

Is more than ample for me.

Such delectable fare is sure to please.

Passionfruit, Pineapple, Salmon, Cheese.JPG

Passionfruit, Pineapple, Salmon, Cheese

A Light Breakfast, by Choice.JPG

A Light Breakfast, by Choice

 

 

 

is that all you always have @@Tom Kellie? oh dear, I'm such a glutton in comparison. but I lose it by sitting tense in the vehicle, dripping lots of sweat (NOT) waiting for wildlife to appear.

[Tom Kellie]

is that all you always have @@Tom Kellie? oh dear, I'm such a glutton in comparison. but I lose it by sitting tense in the vehicle, dripping lots of sweat (NOT) waiting for wildlife to appear.

 

~ @@Kitsafari

 

Yes...or even less.

Wildlife appears so frequently on every game drive I've ever been on that there's no time to become tense.

Ha! It's usually all I'm able to do to keep up with frequent camera setting adjustments in accordance with rapidly shifting contingencies.

I don't perspire on game drives much, dressing light, feeling the breeze.

What I'm doing is scanning with my sighted eye — the left eye lacks vision — to spot anything overlooked by others.

Light morning meals leave me in a cheerful mood all day.

The options offered on the Leopard Hills terrace more than satisfied my cravings.

During breakfast there I mostly smiled a lot, laughed with other guests, enjoyed the flowers, sipped fruit juice and tea, asking myself how I came to be so blessed.

Oh...and occasionally watched a cheetah far across the way!

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Around a small curve and voilà!, here they are,

Nyala gathered in a tight cluster.

Precious field observation that's near, not far,

Such elegant motion minus bluster.

Stepping on Dry Leaves

Furtive Back Glance

No Makeup

Juvenile Male Nyala

Female Tragelaphus angasii

Decorated by the Angels

For a Fleeting Moment, At Rest

Close at Hand

[PT123]

...almost like reindeer just in time for Christmas.

[Tom Kellie]

...almost like reindeer just in time for Christmas.

 

~ @@PT123

 

Ho Ho Ho!

That's really true, isn't it?

Thanks for pointing it out.

There were unusually large local leopards who would have loved to have stepped into the role of Santa Claus with the nyala-reindeer!

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

A lady warthog trots by with stylish dancing,

Her slender hooves tamp the soil with effortless grace,

I'm beguiled observing at close range her prancing,

Seeing loveliness in her one-of-a-kind face!

In the Merry Month of October

Remember the Mane!

The Shape of a Warthog

Sabi Sands Warthog

Warthog in Tall Grass

Returning to Dense Cover

[Tom Kellie]

An Unexpected Young Leopard

~ One might understandably suppose that at a private game lodge named Leopard Hills there might well be a surfeit of leopards here and there. There are indeed resident leopards, albeit not in any especially high density, which are regularly observed by guests. Cheetah and wild dogs are more sometime sightings, while leopards, lions, elephants, rhinos, and hippos aren’t by any means guaranteed, yet might reasonably be expected during a multi-night stay. The ranger and tracker staff over time have become familiar with the habits of the local leopards, to the point where they know the location of favored hiding places where the leopards nap in seclusion. As with elsewhere, particular leopards are given names to facilitate tracking by safari vehicles from various lodges. I asked how the names were assigned, and was told that the locations where they were first spotted were a primary name source. Individual leopards have such distinctive quirks as walking with a certain gait, or yawning and stretching in a particular style, or hunting and moving about in a favored area. Thus the rangers and trackers from neighboring lodges are able to discuss leopard movements over their radios with a fair degree of accuracy concerning any given leopard of interest.

For the afternoon game drive on the second day, I was assigned to the vehicle driven by Hugo Breed, with Congive serving as the tracker. There was no particular target species, but various indications suggested that the wild dogs might once again be sighted, as they were reputed to have remained in the vicinity. After a pleasant encounter with a small group of nyala we drove by a grassy field surrounded by a forested thicket. Several vigorous adult warthogs emerged from the trees, trotting along together, occasionally pausing to nibble on delicacies they found. Watching and photographing them was great fun, as they were fairly near the vehicle, active, unafraid, limned with early evening light. Nothing at all about the scene seemed in the least bit unusual, such that the warthogs went about their business seemingly without a care in the world. After a couple of minutes, one of the warthogs stopped, looked up to stare ahead for no apparent reason, but its two companions continued eating. One of the three seemed especially sprightly, prancing forward in front of the others, passing the decaying trunk of a fallen tree with tall grass growing around it.

Without any warning, the more daring warthog abruptly turned around, retracing its steps while running full out. As soon as it rejoined its companions they too turned tail and ran away at top speed. What sparked the shift in warthog feeding dynamics? A young leopard rose up on its forelegs from out of the tall grass by the fallen tree, apparently awakened by the incursion of the warthog. All indications were that it had been sleeping there, unseen by any but passing birds and small invertebrates. The warthog had a closer call than it may have realized, for had the young leopard been awake and hungry, the warthog’s very close passing by the leopard’s concealed hollow would have made it easy prey. The warthogs promptly disappeared, not wanting to push their luck. The leopard groggily stood up, walking away from its grassy redoubt. We followed it for more than fifteen minutes, pausing when it did, maintaining a respectful distance. Hugo and Congive didn’t recognize the leopard, which may have been a new arrival from elsewhere in nearby Kruger National Park. It’s small size, musculature and motion suggested youthful vigor. Without a name, it became ‘our’ leopard, a happenstance sighting courtesy of a footloose and fancy free wandering warthog with a guardian angel, at least during that particular early evening.

[Tom Kellie]

You carefree warthogs, in early evening light,

Moving ever nearer to a leopard's hidden lair,

If you'd known it was there, imagine your fright!

Blissfully ignorant, moving past without a care.

Gadding About

Emerging from the Forest

Warthogs in Triplicate

Alert to a Predator's Presence?

[Alexander33]

 

My first South African leopard turned out to be a cheetah!

 

Not many people would be able to say that!

 

And you even poet-ized it.

 

I'm glad to read about the forest cheetah. I had wondered for a long time about the cheetahs I seen in the forested parts of Phinda. Just like the leopard, the camouflage works well in tall golden grass or forest habitat.

 

Gliding through the foliage with brazen stealth,

The male cheetah's camouflage heightened by leafy green,

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

Could it be that although cheetah are primarily adapted for hunting in fairly open grassland, forested patches are a sort of backup, either to lose predators or to occasionally encounter insufficiently wary prey?

Their form and physiology is so well-suited to their typical haunts, yet the cheetah I observed in the Leopard Hills forest moved with ease as though such a habitat was literally second nature...which, in fact, it may well be.

Thank you for mentioning cheetahs in Phinda forests.

Tom K.

 

 

Interesting comments on "forest cheetahs," both at Leopard Hills and Phinda.

 

We did not have the occasion to observe them in such a habitat. All of the cheetahs we saw at Phinda were in open areas of the type one would ordinarily expect to find them, and the same is true of the unusual sighting of a cheetah and her five cubs that we had at Timbavati two years ago.

 

By the way, the more I keep talking about how cheetah sightings in Sabi Sand and Timbavati are unusual, the more reports I hear of their being found there.....

[Tom Kellie]

Snoozing peacefully in long grass,

Until a warthog dares to come near.

For the leopard this too shall pass,

As in its world there's little to fear.

Warthogs?

Time to Wake Up

Who Else Is Around?

Brazen Warthog

A Mini-Walkabout

What Does That Warthog Want?

Time to Vamoose!

[Atravelynn]

 

 

My first South African leopard turned out to be a cheetah!

 

Not many people would be able to say that!

 

And you even poet-ized it.

 

I'm glad to read about the forest cheetah. I had wondered for a long time about the cheetahs I seen in the forested parts of Phinda. Just like the leopard, the camouflage works well in tall golden grass or forest habitat.

 

Gliding through the foliage with brazen stealth,

The male cheetah's camouflage heightened by leafy green,

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

Could it be that although cheetah are primarily adapted for hunting in fairly open grassland, forested patches are a sort of backup, either to lose predators or to occasionally encounter insufficiently wary prey?

Their form and physiology is so well-suited to their typical haunts, yet the cheetah I observed in the Leopard Hills forest moved with ease as though such a habitat was literally second nature...which, in fact, it may well be.

Thank you for mentioning cheetahs in Phinda forests.

Tom K.

 

 

Interesting comments on "forest cheetahs," both at Leopard Hills and Phinda.

 

We did not have the occasion to observe them in such a habitat. All of the cheetahs we saw at Phinda were in open areas of the type one would ordinarily expect to find them, and the same is true of the unusual sighting of a cheetah and her five cubs that we had at Timbavati two years ago.

 

By the way, the more I keep talking about how cheetah sightings in Sabi Sand and Timbavati are unusual, the more reports I hear of their being found there.....

 

Maybe things are changing and the species is taking hold. At one time wild dogs in a lot of these areas were unheard of too. Not the case anymore.

 

What could be sweetah

than an uptick in cheetah

dotting the terrain?

I wouldn't complain.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@Atravelynn

 

A genuine @@Atravelynn verse,

Even though it be ever so terse,

Is an honor for this trip report,

’Nuff said...I'll stop here to keep it short.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Interesting comments on "forest cheetahs," both at Leopard Hills and Phinda.

 

We did not have the occasion to observe them in such a habitat. All of the cheetahs we saw at Phinda were in open areas of the type one would ordinarily expect to find them, and the same is true of the unusual sighting of a cheetah and her five cubs that we had at Timbavati two years ago.

 

By the way, the more I keep talking about how cheetah sightings in Sabi Sand and Timbavati are unusual, the more reports I hear of their being found there.....

 

~ @@Alexander33

 

I'd been explicitly told that cheetah and wild dogs were unlikely to be observed at Leopard Hills.

Guess what?

They were both the most frequently observed predators, from start to finish.

Go figure...

As those in the Hollywood's motion picture industry so often say: “Nobody knows”.

That's why I love game drives...when the vehicle heads out, there's a delightful uncertainty.

Were it as predictable as a theme park ride, my interest would rapidly pall before fading away.

Happily, that's not the case, hence I'm eager to return to Leopard Hills in less than one month from this writing.

Thank you for your comment about cheetah sightings at Phinda and at Sabi Sands.

Tom K.

[pomkiwi]

@@Tom Kellie Nice sighting of the warthog and leopard. The leopard looks in need of a meal?

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie Nice sighting of the warthog and leopard. The leopard looks in need of a meal?

 

~ @@pomkiwi

 

Thank you!

The way it looked at the time was that the young leopard had been asleep.

It stretched, had ‘sleepy eyes’ and generally seemed less alert at the outset.

In short, not yet in hunting mode. After walking around a bit, it assumed the more usual leopard stance of bristling intelligence in an oh-so-cool form.

Who knows? Perhaps it felt that it had missed an easy meal when the passing warthog woke it from slumber.

There are more images of it yet to be posted, made after it was fully awake.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Softly framed by tall grass and light green leaves,

The wily predator disdains distractions,

With patterned rosettes subtlety achieves,

To deftly camouflage its stealthy actions.

Forget Those Warthogs

Our ‘Unknown’ Leopard

Low-slung Frame in High Grass

Beyond the Foliage

The Initial Sabi Sands Leopard Sighting

Leopard with Grass and Foliage

Pausing in a Clearing

Self-reliant

At a Juncture

Prudently Vigilant

Onward

[Tom Kellie]

When leopards slip away sight unseen,

They flick their tails tipped in white,

With leopards there is no in-between,

Just vigilance, day and night.

Returning to a Forested Thicket

Safety Within a Tangle

A Final Glimpse, Then Gone

[Tom Kellie]

Massive white bones with teeth embedded,

A rhino was once poached at this spot.

Where is this threatened species headed,

If the poachers aren't hunted and caught?

Front Side of a Poached Rhinoceros Skull

Jaw of a Poached Rhinoceros

[Tom Kellie]

You're a different Corythaixoides aren't you,

Ms. Grey Go-away-bird perched in the tree?

Your Kenyan cousins' plumage has more than one hue,

Yet grey works very well for you, I see.

Grey Go-away-bird Amidst Thorns

[Tom Kellie]

At first we notice a Yellow-billed Hornbill,

Perched high on an old dead branch turned grey,

Then we spot a Crested Barbet sitting still,

A special sighting which makes my day.

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill and Crested Barbet

Trachyphonus vaillantii

[Tom Kellie]

First one, then two hornbills peering inside,

A termite mound, savoring their hapless prey,

Small and sightless, lacking a place to hide,

The hornbills eat until they call it a day.

Abandoned Termitary

Perched on the Rim

What Have We Here?

Two for Dinner