23 September was “World Rhino Day” and 24 September was South Africa’s “Heritage Day”. For the Madikwe Reserve this was reason enough to participate in the celebrations and to raise awareness for a very important topic affecting the whole country: the protection of the rhinos.

On a wonderful day, an elephant bull and a white rhino are approaching the the waterhole at the same time. There is enough room for both of them, but they do not like to share the waterhole with the other one.

September was a special month for our rangers and for the animal lovers. Three of our most beloved animals were in the headlines. Here is our monthly update from the bush.

At Rhulani we are thrilled. Our beautiful model lion, regent in our area, called “Pretty Boy”, has recovered surprisingly quickly from his injuries and the wounds are healed. He is back in old strength and can be admired by our guests again.

Our beautiful male lion “Pretty Boy” is resting in the shadow. Suddenly Pretty Boy stands up, goes to the next bush to use it as his bathroom, and then comes back again. Really a very clean cat, don’t you think?

A beautiful wildlife viewing featuring a male and a female lion. Both big cats are wonderful specimens. The way they walk side by side through the bush leaves behind the impression that they are on honeymoon.

The ambitious “cheetah project” keeps the Madikwe Administration on their toes. We have recently lost the signals from Iketle, our hopeful cheetah-female. For the moment, we can just speculate about the reasons.

This is currently the only, and quite big wild dog pack of Madikwe. It consists of 3 adults and 9 puppies that have grown up in the last months. We watch them hanging around, all together.

The herd of elephants, which is close to the water dam is in a perfect position for photographers. We follow the interactions between the elephants and their peaceful playfighting, in beautiful backlit by the soon setting sun. Absolutely amazing!

It was not at all a calm winter month. “August was actually very busy but the sightings were very good too!” summarizes Rhulani’s ranger Riaan the animal sightings from last month. Here is our August update from the bush.