Lions of Duba Plains

Spotting one lion is amazing but seeing five lionesses and one male lion is breathtaking. Morning light was still low and cast a beautiful glow upon their coats

Majestic Male lions of Kwara

Coalition of Cheetah Brothers- Kwara Botswana

After hearing the roar of a lion in the distance tracker and ranger locate this magnificent male lion contact calling for his brothers. We sit beside him just a few feet away in the pitch black of night. The tracker occasionally scans over the area where he sits and he begins to roar 16 times. His breath is labored as he forcefully calls out in the night

Lioness of Kwara beneath a shade tree

Male Lions At Night Ulusaba

Old Lion Coalition - Ulusaba

One of two Selati males- sitting in  a beautiful green field with 5 large cape buffalo meters away. No longer in their prime around 15 years of age they are beautiful and majestic yet so sad to know they are at the end of their reign

Leopards of The Sabi Sands-Ulusaba Day 2

The Sabi Sands is known for the density of wildlife. The big cats are my favorite. The rangers and the trackers follow subtle signs to track these solitary big cats. Sometimes the tracks are obvious-well a track of something is obvious but, they can tell the type of animal, whether it's a cat , what type of cat, the direction it was heading and approximately how long ago. This under dry conditions when the cats are using the sandy clay roads. Sometimes their difficult job becomes even more challenging if perhaps it rained during the night. With all of that it would seem unlikely to spot these shy big cats and yet I think I am six for six. Day six I see my sixth leopard. These are number five and number six. As you see there are some things that distinguish them from each other. The way the professionals distinguish them is the number of spots on the the upper row beneath their nose-it's like a finger print.

Coalition of Three-Ulusaba Sabi Sands Day 2

 After rough ride around what felt like the entire reserve -(there is no map quest when navigating these roads-"turn left at the jackleberry tree and then a right at the termite mound three male lions are hanging around the hippo pool you know the one) we come upon this jaw dropping view. Ranger Sean and tracker James asked what was on my list of things I wished to see. Just as I requested upon my arrival "I would love to see male lions- male lions drinking at a watering hole would be great." Seriously perfect. They can't promise but amazingly there they were. Photography tip-always be ready or the moment may be gone. The photograph above was from the second we pulled onto the site. Less than 10 seconds later he was on the move. One was drinking, the other was resting in the shade of nearby tree. Next thing you know they are on the move as shown below. Two vehicles take turns being in prime positions for the perfect shot like this. We follow behind them , then in front of them as they take the road and we take the bumpy ride and cut through the bush(there is a lot of ducking going on. We sit awaiting the three to reunite. Pictures can't capture what it was like to be the ones along side these large beautiful male lions as they rub heads as they come together for a brief moment before they continue on their hunt for lunch or perhaps the perfect resting place during the heat of the midday sun.