The 3 Big Cats

It's not often that you get to see the three big cats in Kruger. With these I mean lion, leopard and cheetah. Leopards are very secretive and seldon seen, and cheetah are very rare, with an estimated 200 individuals in Kruger. But on the last safari we were fortunate enough to experience all three of them. On the first day we saw a beautiful leopard lying on the side of the road, just staring at us. Funny enough, it didn't move all that much. The following morning we spotted three male cheetahs lying very relaxed on a temite mound soaking in the morning sun. And throughout the safari we had several lion sightings, mainly along the Sabie river. The thicker bush there makes it easier for the lions to ambush their prey and they know that during the drier winter months the animals are forced to come down to the river to drink. All of this makes for exciting game viewing this time of the year.

Bush greetings!

Simon

Kruger National Park safari guide with Wild Wings Safaris

Mating Lions

We've had another great tour with some great sightings. One of the highlights being a mating pair of lions doing their business on the road, right next to the vehicle. This time of the year lions tend to be mating more than usual, and this was one of two mating pairs we encountered. Although they don't have a particular breeding season, they tend to pair up in winter. This is to ensure that 3 months from now the cubs are born during the rainy season when the vegetation is thicker and the cubs have more protection. Also with the birth of many of their prey animals during that time, hunting is made easier and the lionesses can better supply milk for their litter. I'm looking forward to a few more of these kind of sightings.

Happy game viewing,

Simon
Kruger National Park safari guide with Wild Wings Safaris

Black Rhino Photos

Just in case you were doubting the reliability of my black rhino sightings, here are a few photos to prove it. These two on the right were the mother and calf seen from Nkumbe viewpoint. Later two more crossed behind them. The two below were seen the following morning along the H10. Considering that they are both fully grown, I suspect them to be a male and female. Needless to say, it was very special indeed.

Greetings,

Simon

Kruger National Park safari guide with Wild Wings Safaris

Diceros bicornis ridiculis

For those of you who don't know, Diceros bicornis is the Scientific name for a black rhino. A rhino that is very rare and seldomly seen in the Kruger Park. In fact, before this safari my total has been 13 black rhinos seen in Kruger. But nature has ways of surprising you and dealing you the unexpected. What happened on my latest tour is unheard of.
During the last two days of my safari I've had a total of 4 black rhino sightings with 7 individuals. That is the same amount as white rhinos I've seen for the safari. It is absolutely unreal.
It started at the beautiful view of Nkumbe, where I've seen black rhinos before and would be my hotspot for them. Our attention was drawn to a mother and calf rhino, but on closer inspection I noticed that they were black rhino. The calf clearly walked behind the mother, a characteristic for black rhinos. While watching them, a bit further in the distance, another black rhino pair (mother and younger calf) strolled in the opposite direction. These were my first black rhinos for 2008, but not the last. Later that afternoon my excitement returned as we saw another black rhino browsing on the bushes along the Sabie River. That made it 5 in one day.
The last day unbelief started setting in as 2 rhinos, spotted in the distance by one of the guests, ended up being black rhinos as well. This time they seemed to be two adults, probably a male and a female. It's absolutely unreal. I've been coming to the Kruger for many years (30+) and it's the unexpected that makes me want to go out there every morning to see what excitement lies ahead.

Let the black rhino luck continue...

Simon

Kruger National Park safari guide with Wild Wings Safaris

Leopard photo

This is the beautiful leopard we saw. The photo was taken by one of the guest. You just can't get enough of these kind of sightings.

Simon

Kruger National Park safari guide with Wild Wings Safaris

Leopard Magic

It's fantastic to start this blog with some leopard magic. After entering the Kruger National Park on 3 July the magic quickly started. Our third animal sighting was a relaxed leopard lying on a rock very near to the road. For a long while we were able to observe it and take photographs of it, like the one added here, which was taken by one of the guests on the vehicle. After a while the leopard stood up, walked around while marking her territory, and then decided to cross the road in front of us. An absolutely exhilirating experience. We had many other great sightings on the tour, including 5 lions playing together and making the earth tremble with their roars. We also had a very inquisitive rhino that came to investigate the vehicle from a few meters away. And then there was the moment at Mpondo dam where we had an array of animals - impalas, warthog, elephant, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, rhino, waterbuck, and lions - all at the same time, most of which came to drink. However, none of those sightings came close to the leopard magic we experienced on our first day.

Let the magic continue!

Simon

Kruger National Park safari guide with Wild Wings Safaris

Our ranger's blog is here!

In response to several requests from our guests, we have decided to start a Ranger's Blog for Wild Wings Safaris, your Southern Africa safari experts. Wild Wings Safaris offers guided open vehicle safaris in the Kruger National Park, as well as safaris to all the top safari destinations throughout Southern Africa. Our destinations include the Kruger National Park, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Victoria Falls, Chobe Game Reserve, Okavango Delta, Madikwe Game Reserve, Cape Town, the Garden Route, and more.

On a Kruger Park safari, our senior ranger Simon is the one who makes the safari a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our guests, and he is somewhat of a legend in the Kruger Park. Apart from being a super guide, host and cook, he has an incredible ability to spot wildlife and find some of the most amazing sightings on our safaris. The posts on this blog will primarily come from Simon, and give you an insight into the experiences and wildlife sightings on our safaris. Happy reading!

Onne Vegter
Owner and director
Wild Wings Safaris
http://www.wild-wings.co.za/