×
BOOK NOW    Enquire

Madikwe Hills Bush Bulletin | June 2025

From a mother cheetah’s final stand to the rare sighting of a pangolin, these moments in the bush – as described by our guides – remind us of the raw beauty and occasional heartbreak that defines life in the Madikwe Game Reserve.

Ashia: The Courage & Tragedy Of A Mother Cheetah

Ashia was no ordinary cheetah; she was well known to the guides. A sleek, determined female who had raised multiple litters and survived the harsh challenges of the bush. At five years old, she was in her prime, and her third litter was extraordinary: Five male cubs.

We had the privilege of following her journey, watching her hunt with precision, tirelessly feeding and protecting her growing boys. A mother raising five cubs is a rare sight in the wild, and Ashia did it with grace and courage.
But the savannah, as beautiful as it is, can be brutally unforgiving.

One tragic evening, a clan of hyenas overwhelmed Ashia. Despite her desperate fight to protect herself and her cubs, the odds were stacked against her. Hyenas hunt with relentless teamwork and overpower even the fastest creatures if caught at the wrong moment.

Ashia’s death left a heavy silence in the bush. Her cubs, now alone, faced the wilderness without their mother’s protection. The wild is full of stories like this; raw and painful, but honest.

Ashia’s legacy isn’t just in the lives she brought into the world, it’s in the fierce spirit she carried and the privilege we had of witnessing her journey.

Hers is a story that will stay with us, etched in the golden grass and the quiet spaces of the savannah.

A Stealthy Hunter: Spotted Hyenas At Night

Spotted hyenas often get a bad rap, but at night, their true skill at hunting and surviving is revealed. With powerful jaws and incredible stamina, hyenas patrol the dark bush in coordinated clans, calling each other with eerie whoops and giggles.

One evening, we followed a lone hyena for nearly an hour as it tracked scent trails and listened for the sounds of distant kills. Their intelligence is often underestimated – hyenas are problem solvers and work as a collective to outsmart their prey and rival predators.

Night is their domain, and whether scavenging or hunting, hyenas remind us that survival in the wild is never guaranteed, even for the strongest.

A Lion’s Midnight Roar

Felt through the bones…

There is no sound more iconic than a lion’s roar piercing the silence of the night. One evening, while making our way back to camp, we encountered the blonde mane Mahiwa; the dominant male of the east of Madikwe.

As we sat quietly, Blondie lifted his head and unleashed a thunderous roar that echoed across the plains. It wasn’t just heard—it was felt, deep in our chests, vibrating through the vehicle and the ground beneath us.

A lion’s roar can travel up to eight kilometers and serves as a powerful territorial announcement. Hearing it in the darkness, with nothing but the stars overhead, is a moment that leaves you feeling both awestruck and small—a reminder of the raw majesty of these apex predators.

An Unbelievable Moment: A Pangolin On The Path

Some sightings stay with you forever, and seeing a pangolin is one of the rarest gifts the bush can offer. One evening, while driving slowly along a quiet track, our spotlight caught movement just ahead – a pangolin!

It shuffled calmly across the road, its body covered in tough, overlapping scales that glistened in the light. Pangolins are shy, nocturnal animals, and most people spend years in the bush without ever seeing one.

These incredible creatures feed on ants and termites, using their long sticky tongues, and when threatened, they curl into a tight, armoured ball. Sadly, pangolins are also one of the most trafficked animals in the world, making wild sightings like this even more precious.

We watched in complete silence as the pangolin slowly disappeared into the night; a brief but unforgettable encounter that left us all in awe.

Want more stories from the wild?

Follow our Bush Bulletins for firsthand accounts from the field – straight from our guides in the Madikwe Game Reserve.