When the Lions are away, the Leopards come out to play (April 2019)

[Pumbaa]

Great shots on top and I am quite sure that this is a female What beauty

May I ask what makes you sure? Because I was leaning towards male

I am for sure not sure but for me it is the size of the head - Whenever we do spot male leopards they always do have far larger heads than the females but it could also be a young male

Love the variety of birdies you were able to photograph, Mel

And also great shots from the brown and spotted hyena Felt so sorry for the young lioness

[Mel]

Sounds like a very relaxing time there.

It is, Alf. You should try it when you've reached my age

[Mel]

Lovely pic of the Brown Hyena, but that poor lioness!

Ja, heartbreaking sighting, isn't it

[Mel]

Well done on your first clothed nocturnal sighting!

[Mel]

It got not exactly crowded

Told you all up front

But we were greatly compensated for that later on the trip

[Mel]

Whew, just catching up on TT's, and you are all making me homesick. At least I can visit vicariously thru all the photos and tales.

YAY Boipelo - there are so many new leopards that I can't even ID my own sightings anymore. (When is the next ID Guide coming out, if you know?)

The steenbok family sighting is very special

We often find Grootkolk "quiet", sightings wise, especially with the intermittant dry waterholes and the distances one may have to travel. Gas availability also plays into our decision as to how long to stay there. None the less, we also LOVE the camp for its peace and tranquility. Your brownie pic is stunning

The lioness...

There are quite a few new leopards around indeed. And even at Valpaan. It's at least the second, if not even third one within a year or so. Amazing! However, I'm not sure about the progress regarding the guide. I think, Wanda is doing most of the ID work these days because Matthew is still caught up with his new job and doesn't seem to have too much time at his hands. Cheetahs are even further behind…

Grootkolk used to be busy, busy, busy. But something changed about three trips ago and I'm still not sure what it is. They always said the lions would keep away all other animals. But now that the lions don't hang out anymore, it's still rather quiet up there. Nevertheless, we'll go back any time - just for being far off from anything and anyone, especially when you have to travel around Easter or SA school holidays

[Richprins]

I thought you did the cheetah ID's, Mello?

[Lisbeth]

Only here on the forum

The other ones are most likely kind of official ones on the internet (or Sanparks )

[Mel]

I thought you did the cheetah ID's, Mello?

Matthew has the "licence" to ID from SanParks.

[Mel]

I am for sure not sure but for me it is the size of the head - Whenever we do spot male leopards they always do have far larger heads than the females but it could also be a young male

Young one Hadn't been seen before. But we still don't know its gender