Day: September 21, 2024

“While out on the drive, we spotted a female giraffe, and we could instantly tell that something was different about her. Her body language and movement were not normal. As we approached, we discovered that she was in the process of giving birth—something that is not often seen, let alone caught on camera.”

“We watched her for a while, giving her space and not adding any extra stress to her. This is important, as female giraffes are extremely vulnerable when giving birth. They are not able to defend themselves during this process. Thus, they are under a lot of stress, not for only their safety but also the safety of their newborn baby.”

“The process took around 45 minutes to an hour, and we were able to witness the entire birth. First, the newborn’s legs emerged from the mother, and bit by bit, the rest of the body became visible. As it came to an end, we could see the relief on the mother’s face, and with a loud thump out came this tiny newborn giraffe.”

Considering that giraffes give birth while standing, the calf drops to the ground from a height of about 6 feet! This may seem scary, but it helps the calf take its first breath and get its blood flowing. This is also another stressful period for the mother, as the afterbirth smell may alert any predators in the area, and the mother needs to be on full guard.

“We watched as the little one struggled to take to its feet, wobbling and falling over. This was incredibly cute and heartwarming for everyone to see. New life had been witnessed, and it was amazing to see how active the little calf was from the get-go.”

“The mother tried to nudge the baby and assist it in standing, and this continued for around an hour. After all of the failed attempts, the calf eventually stood on its own. Being born with long legs and a long neck is no easy task. But it managed to eventually stand, with some care from its mother.”

After a slow morning drive, Nadav decided to head back to Skukuza for lunch. He was with some family friends who had never been to the park before. At around 1 PM, Nadav started to get a hunch. “I normally head back to camp in the late morning, until about 2 PM, but on this day, something told me I needed to be out there.”

Nadav knows that it’s usually slow-going at this time, but he decided to follow his gut feeling and the group headed out. They made their way to the S114. “This is one of my favorite roads in the park, plus we saw a ting on the Latest Sightings App about a lioness who was seen in the area that morning with cubs.”

After using the app to track the lioness’s last known location, it was disappointing for them to see no signs of lions, or anything else. They continued driving for about 2 km, slowly scanning each bush, and lo and behold, Nadav spotted a lion’s head.

“I just managed to see her head in the far distance; we all got super excited. The visibility at this point was about 2/5, but that didn’t last long… Within 5 minutes of spotting her, the lioness got up and headed right toward us!”

As the lioness made her way to the road, she started calling. “I knew that she was last seen with cubs, so when I heard the calls, I had no doubt, these were contact calls.” Lionesses use a low-pitched humming or moaning sound, often described as a ‘contact call,’ to let their little ones know it’s time to move.

The anticipation was killing them; they knew what the calls were for, but they couldn’t see anything yet. Then, amazingly, six of the cutest little lion cubs came marching out of the bush one by one towards their mother, who was out on the open road.

“We couldn’t believe what we were seeing! It was so exciting and unexpected; you never really see this during the heat of the day.”

They all started walking up and down and zigzagging across the road. “I’m not sure what they were doing, but to us, it almost seemed as if she was showing her cubs off.”

“The lions eventually stopped to relax right next to the road, where lots of other people got to see them too. This lasted for well over an hour, and we stayed with them until eventually they moved off, out into the bush.”

“We were up at the crack of dawn and headed for the camp gates at Berg en Dal. Being first at the gate is always an exciting feeling; the anticipation of what one may find is the best part! We decided to turn right onto the dirt road just outside of camp and headed in the direction of the Matjulu waterhole.”

“As we approached the waterhole, something caught our attention—it was the constant calling of hyenas! The calls were echoing off the mountains that surround the waterhole. We knew that this definitely meant something was going on. As we arrived at the waterhole, we found what all the fuss had been about.”

“Seven hyenas were frantically calling and trying to alert the rest of their clan to the six lions about to make a buffalo kill. The lions had, at this point, already crippled the big bull. Their tactic was simple; they had weakened the buffalo’s back and leg, dropping him to his knees.”

Old buffalo bulls, also known as Dagga boys, can often be found all by themselves. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to predators, as there is more protection in numbers. This is a sad lifestyle they’re forced into when they can no longer keep up with the herd. They always like to have a good supply of water, and they’re frequent visitors to the Matjulu Waterhole.

“Despite having six lions on his back and crippled hind legs, the old buffalo bull did not for a moment give up. He fought for close to 2 hours with everything he had to escape. As time passed, he got weaker, and his last hope of salvation was trying to get into the waterhole, which may force the lions to back off due to their dislike of getting wet.”

“He dug deep, and with his fleeting bits of energy, he was able to move a few meters closer. With his nose now inches from the water’s edge, he could do not much more aside from prolonging the inevitable. He plucked up the courage and entered the water! The lions let go, and for a moment he thought he was free.”

“As for the lions, they had exerted all this energy, and they were not going to let it all go to waste because of a little water. So, they clawed at the backend of the buffalo from the dry land until the big male took charge and went into the water. He took a hold of the buffalo by its throat and suffocated it, dealing the final blow.”

Africam, well-known for their live cameras all over Africa, captured this footage from multiple sightings on one of their Dam Cams in Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, and shared the footage with Latest Sightings.

Even as babies, elephants tend to be bigger than the typical crocodile’s prey. From the footage, we can also see that the croc would challenge some of the biggest elephants in the herd, so this wasn’t about food.

Elephants can drink well over 200 litres of water a day and are always on the lookout for the cleanest water sources. This waterhole overlooking the Zambezi National Park is the perfect spot for them, which is probably why they kept returning, even after a few encounters with the elephant-hating crocodile.

The interactions led to nothing more than a few light-hearted frights in the beginning. However, this crocodile was persistent. Every time the herd came for a drink, it would make its way toward them and wait in stealth for an opportunity to strike.

It really seemed that the crocodile had some sort of resentment towards elephants. Something that we’ve never seen before.

One morning, the herd decided to go for a drink again. The smallest of the elies drank from the little stream, while the adults went straight for the waterhole. Lo and behold, the crocodile was waiting for them again, but this time it was different…

The crocodile was in full stealth mode, and out of all the space available, one of the elephants decided to drink right next to the crocodile’s trap!

The crocodile waited patiently, letting the elephant take a sip. Then, as soon as the elephant came in for another, the crocodile snapped as hard as it could, grabbing the very tip of the elephant’s trunk.

The elephant let out the loudest scream from the pain, then immediately pulled back. The crocodile had finally gotten one of the elephants. The bite was so strong, and with the crocodile being too stubborn to let go, the elephant was forced to drag the crocodile out of the water, hanging by its trunk.

This unbelievable wildlife sighting happened this week in MalaMala Game Reserve. Ranger Thabs was there to see it firsthand and shared his footage with Latest Sightings.

Due to the competition for resources, leopards, and lions have an ancient rivalry that stems back centuries. The two species of big cats have been known to target one another’s vulnerable babies whenever given the chance.

Even larger-sized leopards tend to be significantly smaller than the average-sized lioness. This is why we never see leopards challenging adult lions; they’re outsized and cannot match the lion’s physical strength. Leopards are, however, very aware of their surroundings, and in most cases, lions stand little chance of actually catching one.

This time, for one unlucky leopard, known as the Plaque Rock Female, the script changed when she found herself surrounded by a pride of unforgiving lions. The leopard was left with only one option, and that was to fight back, which she did to the best of her abilities, but this was no more than a mismatch.

Three of the Ntsevu Pride lionesses attacked from whichever angle they could find, and it was all over pretty much before it began. One of them latched onto the leopard’s neck in the infamous ‘death grip.’ That’s when the other lions backed up and let their sister finish the job. A sad ending for the leopard indeed.

Throughout the incident, the dominant male lion of the pride surprisingly didn’t seem to be so interested in the leopard. Besides sniffing the dying big cat a few times, the leader of the pride had other things in mind.

Among the chaos going on around him, the male lion amazingly seemed to have mistaken just exactly what the lioness’s intentions were, while she was finishing off the job with the leopard. Unexpectedly, for everyone watching, the male lion swung around and climbed on top of the lioness, and then started to show some interesting behavior.

Luke Street, the Content and Media Manager for Wild Eye, had this sighting at Wild Eye Mara Camp in the Mara Triangle. He shared his footage and story with Latest Sightings.

Kenya is famous for its epic crocodile hunts, and this scene made the perfect setting for another one. A lone wildebeest, the last of 300+ to attempt the crossing, and three crocodiles determined not to let it happen…

As far as we can tell, there is no hierarchical order to a herd of wildebeest making the Mara crossing. It’s more of organized chaos; the pioneers go first, and the masses follow. Sometimes only a few are left last, and rarely does one individual cross completely alone, as in this case.

Luke and his guest were fortunate to witness the entire crossing. They observed multiple attempts by the crocodiles, but none were successful. By this point, the predators were on high alert. When the last wildebeest decided to brave the crossing, there was no chance of it sneaking past unnoticed.

The closest crocodile quickly approached the wildebeest and launched multiple attacks. It wanted to get the job done fast, to avoid sharing its reward. The crocodile bit at the wildebeest’s spine, using its weight to try to drag it under the water!

You really get a sense of how big the crocodile was when you look at its jaws covering most of the wildebeest’s back. Fortunately for the wildebeest, the water was shallow, and it could use its powerful legs to push itself up.

After battling it out for a bit, the crocodile was unable to use its signature move, the death roll. Then, a miracle happened for the wildebeest—it was set free!

Nobody could believe it, including the wildebeest itself. Visibly still in shock but snapped to its senses and looked to stroll away.

Relief was short-lived when another crocodile decided to give chase. Anticipation was through the roof as the crocodile’s water path closed in on the escaped prey. The wildebeest moved frustratingly slowly but wasn’t able to go any faster.

As the wildebeest made it to the bank the second crocodile caught up, grabbing its leg. Luck was clearly still on the wildebeest’s side, as one small nudge was enough for the crocodile to back off.

Marissa Weide, a wildlife enthusiast, witnessed this happen on the H4-1. She shared her footage and story with Latest Sightings.

“There were two big males closest to us, and we noticed one of them seemed quite ill. We could also see two females up ahead, who we made our way toward. Just as we were deciding to leave, and out of nowhere, a lone hyena came strolling toward the road from the bushes.”

“The lionesses noticed the hyena quickly, really quickly. Before we knew it, they were in ambush mode, and the hyena was headed right toward them!”

The hyena eventually caught on to the trap, but it was just meters away from the danger now. The lionesses pounced, and the hyena reacted by not reacting at all. This was bewildering for everyone at the sighting; even the lions didn’t understand what was happening.

Unfortunately for the hyena, the confusion didn’t last long, and it took the lions only a second or two to continue with their offense. Lions and hyenas have a deep-rooted hatred for one another, which can be seen in what happens next…

One of the lionesses took the lead; she quickly brought the hyena down and went for its throat. The hyena still showed little reaction, barely even making any noise. The other lioness realized she was not needed and walked off.

“The male lions arrived, and the lioness held onto the hyena’s jugular until she was satisfied. Eventually, she moved on with the healthier male, leaving the hyena and the other male lion behind.”
“Unbelievably, the hyena was still alive! However, the ill male lion had already started slowly eating the hyena, leaving it no chance to escape.”

The Mhangeni lion pride at Savanna Private Game Reserve was out on a hunt during the early hours of the morning. They had their eyes set on a massive herd of buffalo.

There were 3 lionesses and 9 cubs, ranging in age. It’s always risky having the little ones tag along for a hunt, but after a certain age, it becomes crucial for them to learn the ropes. Even if they aren’t useful for the hunt, the experience is super important for them.

This time, something went wrong! “All of a sudden, chaos broke out and there was dust everywhere. We had a visual again and could see the massive herd stampeding right towards the cubs!!”

In the panic, one of the cubs was singled out. It tried hiding behind a little bush but was quickly found by the buffalos, so it had no choice but to dash for the nearest refuge — a fallen Marula tree!

The buffalos followed and surrounded the little lion in the tree. The cub was clearly distressed; imagine how gigantic a buffalo must seem to such a little lion!
“The scent of lion infuriated the buffalo! One of the bigger bulls locked in on the cub, and it became his sole focus.”

“What started as a deathly stare-off soon turned into something much more sinister. The cub lost his footing in the tree, causing the bull to lunge forward to gore the cub. His horns narrowly missed by only a few centimeters!”

“At this point, my heart was in my throat as it seemed inevitable that the little lion cub was going to die. A massive portion of the herd cut the rest of the pride off, so there was nothing that could be done to help the defenseless baby lion. It was all on its own!”

“The buffalo bull reeled back and tried to gore the lion cub a second time. Fuelled by an ancient hatred of lions and adrenaline pumping through his veins, he completely missed the lion, but in the process, destroyed the Marula tree.”

“The lion cub literally fell at the feet of the buffalo. Luckily, the bull was preoccupied with a Marula branch on his back, which could have easily weighed 100kg.”

“The rest of the buffalo herd rushed forward, but by that point, the lion cub had managed to quickly dart away unharmed. It rejoined the pride later on.”
“A heart-stopping moment that simply comes down to being in the right place at the right time.”

Dawid, a well-known guide in Kruger for the famous Jock Safari Lodge, filmed this wildlife interaction and shared it with Latest Sightings.

“I wasn’t on a game drive, but I was heading to town, so I was on the road early. Not far from the lodge, I saw a hyena that seemed a bit sick.”

Predators like hyenas become vulnerable when they aren’t faring well, even if it isn’t anything too serious. If other predators come across their path, they will target them!

“On the way back from town in the afternoon, I noticed some drag marks on the road. It was close to where I’d originally spotted the hyena, and they definitely weren’t there before.”

After making a catch, predators will look for the safest place to eat. If their meal is too heavy to lift and move, they will drag it, leaving distinct marks on the ground called drag marks.

“I followed the tracks, and it took me to a tree nearby. And there it was! The same hyena but caught by a leopard!

They were at the trunk of a tree, and the leopard, being a leopard, really wanted to get the hyena into the tree. Not something you see every day!

The hyena was frail, but even so, it was still a decent size, and this was the problem the leopard had. It was just too heavy to get up the tree.

It tried again and again to lift it, but it just wasn’t happening, leaving the leopard with little choice. So, it decided to lessen the load, and eat part of the hyena!

“In the end, it ate all of the hyena’s stomach contents overnight and dragged it to a different tree, where it was finally able to get it up into the branches.”

Finding a leopard in the bush is always a treat but can be tricky! So, when Pieter and his guests found three together in a tree, it was already a special sighting.

Even more exciting, the leopard family was all in one tree, feeding on an impala catch. The smells from the kill also attracted some unwanted attention from hyenas!

Hyenas aren’t designed for climbing, and they wouldn’t be a threat to the cats in the tree. But, lodging a carcass on a branch is a skill, and it takes experience not to drop anything while eating. Hyenas are fully aware of this, so they linger hoping the leopard makes a mistake.

The hyenas waited and waited without reward, so they eventually moved off into the nearby bushes, where they did some more waiting. With the hyenas out of direct sight, one of the inexperienced leopard cubs felt comfortable enough to start eating again.

A good chunk of the impala had already been eaten, making the carcass lighter. With less weight and an uneven proportion, it became even harder to keep the carcass lodged in the tree. All it took was one misplaced bite from the cub, and the impala slipped off.

The impala’s head wedged between two branches on the way down, so it ended up dangling from its neck. The young leopard was still hungry and, with no real way of pulling the impala back up, it tried eating it where it hung. That’s when it came crashing to the ground.

The thud instantly attracted the hyenas, who came running from the bush, but the leopard mom’s reaction was out of this world. Just a split second after the carcass hit the ground, the leopard was there to grab it, and before the hyenas even reached the tree, she was halfway back up.

The leopard carefully placed the food back in the tree and started eating again. The thought of losing everything might have pushed her to make the most of the food. The hyenas were outplayed and cut their losses once more.

This time the mother leopard was higher up than the youngster, and the dangling impala head was just too much of a temptation for the curious cub. It poked at it like it was a toy, and before anyone knew it, the carcass came flying to the ground again.

The second time was less surprising for the mom, maybe just a bit of an annoyance. She quickly grabbed the carcass again and hopped back into the tree. This time, she took the meal all the way to the top of the tree, where it was thicker and less likely to fall.