January update

Here is the update for January’s tours. As my previous posting indicated, I’ve had a fantastic month. I’ve failed to mention that the birding was also very good. I’ve seen a few specials including Little Bittern, Greyhooded Kingfisher, African Finfoot and Whitebacked Night Heron.  

 

Total tours: 4                Total days: 15

		Elephant	Rhino	Buffalo	Lion	Leopard	Cheetah	Wilddog	Hyena	Jackal
	Tour	4	4	4	4	2	4	2	4	3
	Day	14	10	12	10	3	5	2	9	6
	Sights	Y	35	Y	12	3	5	2	14	8
	Nr	Y	69	Y	39	5	11	11	47	16

 

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

Back with a bang!

After a long absence and great trip to the States, I have finally returned to the Kruger. Not surprisingly, it welcomed me back with a bang. The bush has turned quite dense during the rainy season, even though the rainfall wasn’t as much as last year. The sightings have just been phenomenal this month. I’ve added a few photos for your enjoyment. I’ve had the most relaxed black rhino I’ve ever seen. It was browsing on the side of the road and even with the presence of a few vehicles it still continued as usual. Eventually it crossed the road a few meters in front of our car. I also came across a female white rhino with an incredible horn, one of the longest I’ve ever seen. I’ve been really fortunate with leopards and cheetahs, although lions were a bit more of a challenge. We did find a mating pair of lions which stayed in the area for a couple of days. Throughout the bush we encountered young animals, but none as young as a newly born buffalo. It was already standing, although wobbly, even though the mother hasn’t dropped the afterbirth yet. She was part of an enormous herd of buffalo which approached our vehicle and eventually crossed in front of us. I couldn’t get a proper estimation of the total size of the herd. I ended my count at 500 but never saw the end of the herd which disappeared in the distance. I recalled a herd of a 1000 buffalo I saw in this area last year and figured that this was most probably the same herd. After following up on a report of a recent wild dog sighting, we came across them just after they killed an impala and saw them devouring it. The vultures were already nearby and harassed the dogs during their meal. The dogs kept chasing them off but later left the scraps to the scavengers. These were only a few of the amazing sightings I’ve had this month. If this is how the year started, I think it will be an awesome 2010.

 

May your 2010 be as amazing.

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za