July sightings, wildlife monitoring and interesting research projects.`
Sightings of the month
Thank you to all who recorded their sightings in the book this month! There were 173 recorded sightings in the sightings book during July.
Here is the number of recorded sightings:
Highlights:
- Lion sightings were the most frequently recorded, with Leopard and Wild Dog sightings being the next most common. Lions were seen 26 times, while Leopards and Wild Dogs were seen 23 and 16 times, respectively.
- Wild Dog sightings are at their highest recorded number for 2025 so far, with the number of sightings having doubled since June. This could be an indication of an active den site, as we are in peak denning season. Of these sightings, most sightings were of fewer than six Wild Dogs, which suggests that either the smaller pack of six may be denning close by, or that the larger packs could be dispersing, whether for hunting or for pack dynamic purposes.
- Highlight mammalian sightings: Two Aardvark sightings were the highlight of the month, closely followed by two Porcupine and two Civet sightings. An African Wild Cat was also seen, while a Leopard killed a Duiker at bungalow #120 which was stolen by Spotted Hyenas. A mating pair of lions was seen in camp over two days, in front of bungalow #205!
- Mammalian species recorded during July: Leopard, Lion, Wild Dog, Spotted Hyena, Black-backed Jackal, Side-striped Jackal, Aardvark, African Wild Cat, African Civet, Porcupine, Elephant, Buffalo, Impala, Kudu, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Zebra, Waterbuck, Warthog, Hippo, Nyala, Bushbuck, Klipspringer, Sharpe’s Grysbok, Duiker, Steenbok, Warthog, Chacma Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Scrub Hare, Tree Squirrel, Springhare, Dwarf Mongoose, Banded Mongoose, and Slender Mongoose.
- Birding highlights included a sighting of an eagle eating a Vervet Monkey, a family of Crested Francolins with very young chicks at the swimming pool area and plenty of birds surrounding the flowering aloes in the garden. This included Amethyst Sunbirds, Common Scimitarbills, White-bellied Sunbirds and Grey-headed Bush-shrikes.
- Reptilian species recorded: Rock Monitor, Water Monitor, Nile Crocodile, Flap-necked Chameleon, Leopard Tortoise, Marsh Terrapin, Southern African Python, Grass Snake and Serrated Hinged Terrapin.
- Bird species recorded: Arrow-marked Babbler, Crested Barbet, Bateleur, Chinspot Batis, Little Bee-eater, Grey Go-Away Bird, Dark-capped Bulbul, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Golden-breasted Bunting, Grey-headed Bush-shrike, Kori Bustard, Burchell’s Coucal, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Laughing Dove, Ring-necked Dove, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Fish Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, Martial Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, African Firefinch, Jameson’s Firefinch, Grey-Tit Flycatcher, Crested Francolin, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Helmeted Guineafowl, Hamerkop, African Harrier-Hawk, African Hawk-eagle, Retz’s Helmet-shrike, White-crested Helmet-shrike, Green-backed Heron, Grey Heron, Goliath Heron, African Grey Hornbill, Southern Ground Hornbill, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill , Hadeda Ibis, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Red-crested Korhaan, Blacksmith Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing, Sabota Lark, Red-faced Mousebird, Black-headed Oriole, African Scops Owl, African Barred Owlet, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Red-billed Oxpecker, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Brown-headed Parrot, Three-banded Plover, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Black-backed Puffback, Green-winged Pytillia, White-browed Robin-Chat, White-throated Robin-Chat, Lilac-breasted Roller, Purple Roller, Double-banded Sandgrouse, Common Scimitarbill, White-browed Scrub-robin, Shikra, Magpie Shrike, Southern White-crowned Shrike, Natal Spurfowl, Swainson’s Spurfowl, Burchell’s Starling, Cape Starling, Saddle-billed Stork, Woolly-necked Stork, Amethyst Sunbird, White-bellied Sunbird, Black-crowned Tchagra, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Water Thick-knee, Kurrichane Thrush, Southern Black Tit, Cape Vulture, Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Blue Waxbill, Cape Weaver, Lesser Masked Weaver, Red-headed Weaver, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Long-tailed Paradise Whydah, Green Wood-hoopoe, Golden-tailed Woodpecker and Stierling’s Wren-Warbler.
Words by Tess Woollgar, images courtesy Josh and Tessa Woollgar and as notated on individual photos.