The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

Incredible moment! In case you missed the latest episode.

11 months ago | [YT] | 13

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

It's been quite a week for us at the lodge trying to save Tavangumi from a snare wound... Watch the full story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkLSr...

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1 year ago | [YT] | 111

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

We were so happy to see Ncila hunting a herd of impala along with the rest of the pride! Full episode here: https://youtu.be/xVh2z3yFJ8o

1 year ago | [YT] | 317

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

Latest episode is live!

1 year ago | [YT] | 38

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

Hi Everyone! I'm sure you all know how rare and challenging it is to follow and film a wild dog pack on the hunt! It's strange though - these wild dog episodes don't seem to get much attention from our audience. Have a look at the latest wild dog hunt and tell us what you think in the comments... more wild dog content? Or just stick to the lions!? https://youtu.be/n22NdOPA5Ok

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2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 167

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

Sadly, we found one of the Nharu lionesses (Silver-Eye) with a snare around her neck; but Wise and the team managed to track and dart her to remove the snare before it was too late. Full video:

2 years ago | [YT] | 58

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

Hi everyone! Don't miss our highlights reel of some of the most INCREDIBLE sightings from a year of Virtual Safaris. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04bYm...

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2 years ago | [YT] | 137

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

In case you missed it, our latest update on Ncila is live!

2 years ago | [YT] | 33

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

A few recent photos of your favourite male lions: Red Road (Doing very well with the Nharu Pride), Ncila (Healing well) and Lambile

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2 years ago | [YT] | 453

The Virtual Safari @Tintswalo

MALE LION NCILA FOUND IN A SNARE!

Out of the three mighty Tintswalo Male lions, we hadn’t seen Ncila for over a week. We had only seen Mandevu and Lambile. We were not sure if Ncila was possibly mating with females in the north or east of the reserve, as the Tintswalo Males continue to expand their territory and grow in confidence.

Last week, some of our rangers were at Lomfane Pan and saw a male lion coming to drink. When the male approached the pan, the rangers recognized he had snare through his mouth. It was Ncila. He was able to drink water, but looked in very bad condition, and had obviously been caught in the snare for well over 4-5 days as we had not seen any sign of him.

I was with guests when the rangers radioed me, and I was quite far in the south — but I said to my guests that we needed to go and make sure we kept visual of Ncila while the vets and parks board were on their way. At that time, Mrisho was in another vehicle following him through some very thick bush. We both managed to keep visual for a while until he decided to head through a camp where we could no longer follow him. The vet and Parks Board arrived just as we lost him in the camp. We tried to relocate him for well over 3 hours — but weren’t able to find him. It started to rain, which made our search even harder. We abandoned the search as the rain got harder and harder. This was a very difficult decision for us as we knew that Ncila desperately needed our help.

It rained and rained for three days. We had over 100mm of rain in reserve, and certain areas were not passable -- especially where the Mbiri Pride had moved in the north, there was a lot of cotton soil which is not drivable in the wet. We were hoping that Ncile had joined the Mbiri Pride. Maybe they were looking out for him!?

All we could do was wait for the rain to stop and roads to dry -- and then we could finally get into the area to assess his condition. On the 20th, the rain finally stopped and roads were starting to dry and guides managed to get into the areas around Kokomoya Dam. The Mbiri Pride was there with all three Tintswalo Males. Ncila looked like he was in pain and was lying away from the pride.

We quickly called in the vet, and he soon managed to dart Ncila and remove the snare from his mouth, after which he was given antibiotics and the wound was cleaned. Once everything was done, the vet woke Ncila and we watched as he got up and moved back towards the dam where the pride was waiting.
Two days later, we found Ncila recovering with the other Tintswalo Males and the rest of the pride. We will continue to follow his progress and keep you all updated, so please follow our Virtual Safaris as we track his recovery. If it wasn’t for the great work of the rangers, Parks Board and vets, we are sure Ncila wouldn’t be alive today.

- Alistair Leuner

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2 years ago | [YT] | 383