Limpopo-Lipadi Blog

The trail-cameras have once again brought us a stunning set of candid images from distant parts of the reserve. Towards the end of December one was sited at Mac's Pan and has captured a sequence of shots of elephants visiting the trough to drink, wash and socialise - and at some point give the camera a nudge so that the rest of the shots are at a jaunty angle!

Shareholders will be excited to hear that the waterhole regeneration programme continues apace and this month has seen work at Mbusi. The new pool is located a little to the southwest of the old trough but remains within view of the hide (as well as being sited perfectly for potential future hide developments). Feedback from shareholders has been used to create a reasonable size pool with an irregular outline to better mimic a natural waterhole. The low profile and coloured concrete mixture means it blends in very well with the surrounding soil and I'm sure all will agree this represents a major improvement on what went before.

Since the trail camera arrived on the reserve we have all been waiting for it to capture a leopard. Amazingly despite the numbers on Limpopo-Lipadi and the frequency with which they are seen by our shareholders they have remained strangely hard to catch on the trail camera. But finally this week they have showed themselves. And yes, that is plural for there was not just one but two leopards catch on the camera at Mbusi!

The trail camera has been catching some great shots of late, including the first arrivals at the new waterhole on the Northern Plains, but this week saw some lovely images of a pair of spotted hyenas drinking at Mbusi around dawn. Looking closely you can make out traces of blood on the neck of one, probably a sign they had been feeding on a fresh carcass shortly before arriving at the waterhole.

More remarkable images from the Trail-Cam over the weekend have confirmed the presence of bushpigs on Limpopo-Lipadi. Until now we had considered them likely to occur given the thick riverine woodland we have on the banks of the Limpopo but as they are nocturnal in behaviour (in contrast to warthogs which like to be tucked up safely in their burrows by dark) it had not been possible to definitively say whether they occurred or not. Although the image captured on the camera is very grainy (due to post-processing to try and bring up the maximum detail) you can make out the bushpig on the left of the trough.

Well the Trail-Cam so kindly provided by Gerald Briers has been rotated through three sites over the last two weeks and is already yielding exciting images almost every night. Check out our special Trail-Cam photo galleries to see some of these candid shots of the wildlife when there is no human presence. They just go to show how productive it can be to sit quietly a short distance from a waterhole and watch the comings and goings.

Mr. Gerald Briers, one of our shareholders from the UK, was kind enough to provide Limpopo-Lipadi with a wonderful trail camera device to allow us to capture still photographs of animals at various locations throughout the reserve. This enables us to update new photographs onto the website for your enjoyment. The Management of Limpopo-Lipadi would like to thank Mr. Briers for this wonderful opportunity.

The Reconyx trail cam was installed at Mbusi waterhole for a test run, what an amazing item this is! Have a look in the new Trail Cam photo galleries see what you've been missing (as the Reconyx logo says).