Late lion a real bonus

My last safari was another great one with lots of surprises. It started off as we entered the park with elephant, buffalo and a hippo grazing in the reeds at the Kruger gate bridge crossing the Sabie river. The drive to our camp along the Sabie river produced lots of elephants and entertaining baboons. At some point I heard vervet monkeys alarming. I could see them high up in the trees as they followed something walking below them on the ground. We were not able to see anything, but considering the terrain I guessed it to be a leopard that proved to be ever elusive. After many attempts at spotting it I had to give it up and wonder what could have been. It was not long after that when the magic did happen. With impeccable timing, a leopard crossed the road in front of us. I thought it would just continue to walk and disappear into the bush, but surprisingly it remained very relaxed at the side of the road and allowed for some nice photos (above). It was a great first day.

The following day we went driving through the basalt plains, a suitable area for rhinos, buffalo, and other herds of animals. It did not disappoint. We had 6 rhino sightings and saw 13 in total. We also found ourselves in the middle of a buffalo herd crossing the road. Absolutely magical. Herds of zebra, wildebeest (gnu) and giraffe kept us entertained throughout the day. What remained missing though were the lions, which we kept hearing throughout the night and even on the morning drive. The day ended with 2 enormous hippos on the road as they made their way for their night time grazing. Being a bit nervous they trotted away and it amazed us with what agility these huge creatures could move.

On our last morning the search was on for lions, which kept eluding us to thus far. With only a few sightings of buffalo, giraffe and some other game, it was generally pretty quiet. By breakfast time we still didn’t get any lions, or even reports of lion sightings. The prospect seemed bleak. We were cheered up around the breakfast table when we heard a leopard call several times. The baboons were alarming, but unfortunately for us it remained hidden in the reeds. It was great though to have bacon and eggs knowing that a leopard is not too far off. That’s more exciting than most people’s breakfasts. From the picnic spot our journey took us along a busy 15km road towards the gate again before exiting the park. Having not heard of any lion sightings along the way I resigned to my fate of this being my first tour this year without lions. One of my mottos for the Kruger is that “anything can happen,” and it did once again. Only a few kilometers before the gate we were surprised by a male lion crossing the road on its way to a kill. We saw the vultures circling not too far off, and he was sniffing the air as he made his way into that direction. So in the end we did manage the big 5 again. Amazingly enough, after 3 days of searching for lions, we found one at the very end. In fact, this lion was the last animal we saw in the park before we left. What a bonus!

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

Rutting Season

Snorting, chasing, fighting and mating. These are all elements of the impala rutting season happening at the moment. It causes for some entertaining viewing of the most common large animal in the Kruger. They are so common (we are talking figures of about 100 000 individuals) that most people become very blasé about them and drive past them even though they can be very entertaining. They are very vocal this time of the year and will be calling, snorting and roaring day and night. It sounds so formidable that some people might think they are hearing some kind of predator. Actually, it’s all just to chase away potential male suitors and to ensure a territory, and the females. If a strong male does not back down, fighting will ensue. This can be ferocious and although the loser will normally run away, with the victor hot on his heels, it can potentially be fatal. The dominant male can be so busy fighting and chasing off other males, herding and mating with the females, that he does not spend enough time feeding and keeping up his condition. Unfortunately it does mean that he will loose his top position during the rutting season and will allow for several other males to ensure they can pass on their genes as well. The best part of the rutting season is that 6,5 months from now (by the end of November), the bush will be alive with young impalas.

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

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April Sightings Update

Once again, here is the update for the last month.

Things have been changing lately with the changing of the seasons. The bush is drying out and game becomes easier to spot in the long grass. Animals are also starting to congregate near the watering holes. Regardless of all the rain we’ve had, some areas seem to be drying extremely quickly, especially the further north one goes into the park. Looking at water availability at the moment I think it will be a very dry and challenging winter for the animals. The first fires have also appeared which all seem to be early control fires to reduce the fuel load and potentially ensure winter grazing if some late rains fall.

After a couple of cheetah-free months, this month was very exciting with cheetah sightings on every tour. The unpredictability of leopards proved itself again as I had 4 leopards in 4 tours, although, they all decided to show themselves on only one tour. A very entertaining tour it was though.

 

To make sense of the table, it reads as follow:

Row 1 – nr. of tours animals seen

Row 2 – nr. of days animals are seen

Row 3 – nr. of sightings of animal

Row 4 – nr. of individuals seen

 

Total tours: 4    Total days: 15

Day	Elephant	Rhino	Buffalo	Lion	Leopard	Cheetah	Wilddog	Hyena	Jackal
Tour	4	4	4	4	1	4	2	4	2
Day	14	9	10	8	4	4	2	6	3
Sights	Y	25	Y	12	4	4	2	6	3
Nr	Y	47	Y	40	4	7	5	10	3

 

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za