May Sightings

May has been an exciting month for us here at Klaserie Drift. Saseka, our resident 2 and a half year old female leopard, is proving to be quite the show-off! Having grown up right here on our property, she is used to our vehicles and our lucky guests this month got to spend several long afternoons and morning enjoying her company. With the onset of impala rutting season, she has taken advantage of the vulnerable lone rams and made some impressive kills for her small size. It’s not all easy for this leopard though. We found drag marks for a kill she had made and, after tracking them for over 150m into the bush, we found the bare carcass on the ground, stolen and picked clean by hyena. A hard lesson to learn for this little cat that she needs to get her food into a tree as soon as possible. However, there may be good news on the horizon. She has been spotted hanging around and even sharing a meal with one of the big, dominant males in the area. With a gestation period of about 100 days, is it possible we could be hearing the tiny patter of leopard paws in the near future?

Elsewhere, the wild dogs have been moving through our property creating some incredible moments watching them hunt impala and even chase a young male leopard into a tree. These highly sociable animals rely on the power of the pack to survive and, with roughly 15 members this particular pack is proving to be highly successful. The river pride of 3 lionesses and 6 sub-adults have been spotted moving in the area as well as an appearance from the Dundee pride who had killed an impala and were fighting over the carcass, which made for a pretty impressive sighting. Lastly, we have enjoyed playing host to a pair of young lion brothers. Our latest guests got to spend some quality time with these normally skittish males as they relaxed in the afternoon heat under a bush right next to our vehicle. With the arrival of winter and the inevitable running dry of the river, we’re hoping our year-round dam proves to be a very tempting reason for them to stay in the area!