This was a particularly special episode as it began with the Ulusaba rangers showing us a very rare sighting of a male cheetah. Did you know cheetahs are a protected species and there are only eight left in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve? The team (Stuart, Brad and Trevor) spent the morning tracking the adventurous cheetah, which was no mean task as they go from 0km to 100km in under 3 seconds! Luckily after a busy morning, the cheetah kicked back in the afternoon sun just in time for the live episode.
While the cheetah dipped in and out of his afternoon nap, Stuart & Brad gave us some background on him. A couple of months ago he was spotted with his sister, but brothers and sisters typically go their own way when leaving ‘mum’ at 16-18 months old, so it appeared he is now fending in the wilderness alone. After hearing a rustle in the distance and catching a glimpse of a hyena, he stood up, growled to keep the hyena at bay and then settled back down again.
Moving over to a much noisier part of the bush, with Tom & Brandon (and Ryan filming), where we witnessed the typical behaviour of a bachelor group of elephants showing off, blowing their trumpets and flapping their ears.
Winding down for the evening, Tom & Brandon moved on to a more peaceful sighting of a breeding group of elephants that were strolling by the local watering hole at Safari Lodge’s Treehouse Suite. The beautiful reflection of the female and baby elephants were captured in the water, perfectly ending this week’s game drive.
You can watch episode 9 on YouTube here.
Spotted on Sofa Safari #9
• Male cheetah
• Hyena
• Bachelor group of elephants
• Breeding group of elephants
Don’t forget to tune in to our live #SofaSafari every Monday, at the slightly earlier time of 3pm.