May Sightings At A Glance
We bring you a quick overview of sightings enjoyed by our guests (as well as our rangers and trackers) over the month of May. Heading in to winter, the bush clears and animals are (clearly) easier to spot. It’s a great time to head out on safari, with a more moderate climate. Day time temperatures are warm and sunny, and although the temperatures dip considerably at night, camp fires, red wine and hot water bottles add beautifully to the ambience.
LEOPARDS
There were 68 separate sightings of leopards in May!
We’ve broken them down for you below.
Xidulu – 7 sightings
Cara – 2 sightings
Tiyani – 1 sighting individually, and 6 with her cub
Ndzutini – 7 sightings
Sibuye – 3 sightings
Shasha – 5 sightings
Langa – 5 sightings
Makhomsava – 4 sightings
Kuchava – 2 sightings individually, and 2 with her cub
Tlalamba – 4 sightings – all with her cub
Maribye – 6 sightings
Tavangumi – 1 sighting
Tortoise pan – 9 sightings
Unknown Male – 1 sighting
Quarantine Male – 2 sightings
Eyrefield Male – 1 sighting
LIONS
Lions were also a regular fixture in May, with a total of 60 sightings. Sightings per pride included:
Torchwood Pride – 6 sightings
Nkuhuma Pride – 18 sightings
Of noteworthy mention… The Nkuhuma pride started to hunt one afternoon and managed to catch a waterbuck. We were all lucky enough to be witness to the action from start to finish!
Talamati Pride – 15 sightings
S8 Male – 6 sightings
Avoca Males – 14 sightings
Unknown Male – 1 sighting
WILD DOGS
What a month for the ‘painted wolf’! We had a total of 24 sightings in May.
An incredible sighting that stood out was of a pack of wild dogs killing an impala. While they were feeding, the Shasha male leopard ran in and stole the impala from the wild dogs.
BUFFALO
18 individual sightings were enjoyed.
ELEPHANTS
Were seen 43 times over the course of the month.
THE RARE AND UNEXPECTED
The true magic on safari is when we find something that is seen very rarely…
Over May, we were very fortunate to enjoy two sightings of the very rare PANGOLIN!
What will June hold in store for us?
Until next time,
The Arathusa Guiding Team