'Photography From The Field' is a monthly collection of the best wildlife imagery taken by our Rangers and Trackers at Royal Malewane.
Winter is finally winning its battle over the lush vegetation left by an excellent rainy season, with yellows and browns now finally starting to dominate over bright greens. Surface water is also diminishing and animal movements increase, as herbivores have to travel longer distances between good feeding grounds and remaining watering holes.
April also marked the arrival of ‘Ntsemani’; a large elephant bull with giant tusks, the largest to ever be recorded on the Thornybush Gam Reserve.
The Malewane Female’s son has established a territory in the far north of the reserve, and we don’t see him as frequently as we used to. On the occasions that we do see him, however, he doesn’t disappoint. – Nicola Jooste
This is one of the three latest Blackdam cubs to be introduced to the pride. Initially very nervous of our vehicle, curiosity eventually got the better of this little male as he slowly ‘stalked’ towards us. – Ryan Jack
A big advantage of being part of an open system is the free movement of animals between the Kruger National Park, the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, and the associated private nature reserves. Every so often we get a surprise visit from some remarkable individuals, such as Ntsemani, a spectacular tusker that usually calls the Satara region of Kruger ‘home’. – Rudi Hulshof
Leopards are equally at home in the trees, as they are on the ground. We watched Sungula late one morning, as she was moving between the branches of a large Marula tree, looking for a comfortable spot to rest for the day. I thought that this image was an interesting change from the typical ‘leopard draped over a branch’ image. –Darrel Camden-Smith
Winter is definitely the best time to view and photograph owls. They emerge earlier from their day-time roosts, and tend to be a lot more conspicuous in the sparse, dry vegetation. The White-faced owl is definitely one of my favorite owls to photograph. The deep orange of the eye is a color not often encountered in nature. – Riaan Fourie
To find out more about the expert team of rangers and guides behind the lenses of these beautiful images, visit our Expert Rangers and Guides Page Here.
A few more beautiful images worthy of a feature:
Leave a comment below to let us know which is your favourite image for April.
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