Black rhinos are notorious for their short fuse and guests visiting Pondoro are always amazed at how close we are able to come to these magnificent beasts. Years of habituation to the safari cruisers where they are treated with the utmost of respect have created a lot of trust and [...]
White rhino bulls are solitary animals. Young subadult bulls, however, are often found in pairs and there seem to be a fairly strong bond. Life is tough and a brother in arms can help to make life a little easier. Rhinos are active through most of the night and when [...]
White rhinos are like most animals creatures of habit. They sleep most of the day and wake up late afternoon to walk slowly towards the nearest waterhole to have a drink and roll in the mud. The mud is good for the skin and cool them down. A lot of [...]
The bush is full of cliches and one of the most overused is that of only the strongest will survive. I had my 1st glimpse of Sticknawo about a year ago when he was running and playing around the hyena den completely oblivious to the fact that he actually had [...]
Rul, one of our guides, heard jackal give alarm calls during sundowner stop on the 15th of July 2015. Suspecting that it might be for a leopard he quickly herded the guests back into the safari cruiser and raced over to where he last heard the jackal calling. A female [...]
Black rhinos are notoriously short tempered compared to their more docile relative, the white rhino. We are blessed to have both black and white rhinos inside Balule Private Nature Reserve. Most visitors, who are used to only fleeting glimpses of black rhinos as they disappear through the thick bush, are [...]
People are often under the impression that lions cannot climb into trees. I often hear guests talking about a tree being the safest place to spend the night when lost in the bush as lions will not be able to get to them. Well I have got bad news for [...]
Guests visiting Pondoro on the 10th of July were extremely lucky to witness a pride of lions hunting and killing an impala ram. The usual strategy is for the group to wait in ambush while one female goes round to the back of the impala and try and chase them [...]
A male lion roaring next to the Pondoro safari cruiser on the 8th of June 2015. They roar to advertise their presence in an area and it acts as a warning for rival male lions to stay away as the territory is already occupied. His roar would also inform other [...]
A lion pride that consists of 10 lions, 1 male, 3 lionesses and 6 cubs seen at Ngwenya dam on the 23rd of July 2015. They are seen regularly and are one of 4 lion prides that roam the Pondoro concession area of Balule Private Nature Reserve. Nothing beats seeing [...]
Lions catching and killing a zebra foal right next to the Pondoro safari cruiser. They actually caught the zebra under Andries, the tracker's, seat. Josiah, the stunned guide, only started filming after they dragged the zebra off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ij_g08MWLJQ
Lions were seen feeding on a Wildebeest this week.
Chavaluthu, one of our territorial male leopards, walking past Josiah and his guests during a safari drive at Pondoro.
A pride of 13 lions drinking during a safari drive at Pondoro on the 28th of January 2015. The whole pride total more than 30, but they seem to be spending less time together as the pride seems to be slowly splitting into smaller groups where the reward in terms [...]
A male cheetah seen on the 2nd of February 2015. He must have made a kill not long before as his stomach was as big as I have ever seen. The intervals between kills can be quite long and predators have adapted with stomachs that can expand and hold about [...]
