Lions feeding on black rhino

Having heard of a dead rhino at Ximangwaneni dam near Muzandzeni, I knew I had to go and investigate to see what kind of scavenger activity there will be. Surprisingly, when we got there, I realized it was a rarer black rhino carcass. The carcass was already some 4 days old, a fact which our nostrils reiterated. A pride of 10 lions were still feeding from it. As most of them have already had their share, a few individuals took turns to feed in peace without the constant aggression of other members. Vultures were also descending and tried their luck when the lions left to lie in the shade. That normally didn’t last very long as some of the lions were determined to defend their bounty. During the night the rest of the pride went back for another feeding session before leaving the rotten rhino to other scavengers. The following day we went back and were surprised at how much of the rhino has been eaten. Vultures were very active to get their fair share and we saw all five vulture species represented in the Kruger on one carcass. They are the Whitebacked Vulture, Hooded Vulture, Lappetfaced Vulture, Whiteheaded Vulture, and the endangered Cape Vulture. The scene was so engrossing that we spent several hours to enjoy the ways of the wild. It was truly something documentaries are made of.

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

Cold weather and exceptional safaris

With the onslaught of winter we had our fair share of cold weather. So, warmly wrapped in blankets, jackets, beanies we braved the element for some exceptional game viewing. This month has been my best of the year in terms of leopards. We’ve seen 8 leopards in 9 days. One sighting included a female with three cubs in the safety of a big tree. Also in the tree was an impala the female caught on which they could lazily feed. The energy of the cubs made for some entertaining viewing of leopards at play, bounding up and down the tree. Another leopard was relaxing on the side of the road when, out the blue, a hyena came crashing through the bushes chasing it off in a flash. I suspected it had a kill in the vicinity which drew the attention of the hyena. Some great cheetahs were seen as well. On one occasion we spotted a cheetah on the side of the road. He totally ignored us as his focus was entirely on a herd of impala on the other side. He slowly stalked forward without the impala noticing (see photo). I then caught sight of another cheetah on the other side of the impala quickly drawing closer. Cheetahs are not known to hunt co-operatively, but few exceptions have been noted. In this case it seemed like the plan was to chase the impalas from the one side right into claws of the other cheetah. With a sudden alarm call and a burst of speed, the impalas bounded away in every direction with one cheetah at full stretch behind them. Unfortunately for the cheetah the impalas changed direction and ran away from the waiting cheetah and were unsuccessful this time around. They had to do it again but unfortunately for us, we couldn’t stay as we had to make our way to camp. We saw 3 other cheetahs that have recently finished a kill. Eagles and vultures were already descending on the half eaten antelope. With the cheetahs making a final inspection of the kill a hyena approached and took the hindquarters away for its own meal. In the dry season lions often stay near watering points, waiting for animals drawn by thirst to walk into their ambushed positions. We saw lions at several watering holes, but a memorable sighting happened at Mazithi dam where ten lions were doing what they do best – lazing about. With the approach of a few waterbuck with a youngster amongst them, two lionesses decided this is a perfect opportunity and slowly crept closer. Stalking through the reeds, they came pretty close, but just not close enough. Somehow, the nervous waterbuck realized there was something up, although they didn’t see them, and didn’t want to get any nearer. Finally, one lioness was tired of waiting and made a dash for it, only to see the waterbuck disappear into the bush. With sightings like this I will face any cold weather.

Happy game viewing.

Simon
Join me on a safari to the Kruger National Park with Wild Wings Safaris!

More lions

This month I haven’t had too many lions sightings (I must admit, I haven’t been in the park all that much either), but the few sightings I did have were exceptional. As the photos can verify, we found 3 lions casually walking down the road. They did not have a care in this world as we followed them for at least 1,5km down the road. They even allowed us to drive right next to them for an intimate encounter. You have to love it.

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

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

A time to kill!

The last few safaris brought it fair share of exciting animal behaviour. Something that consistently came up, were predators and kills. We’ve had some amazing sightings, like the photo I took of the lion feeding on the giraffe. We were also caught unaware as a sudden burst of action next to the vehicle ended up being a leopard catching an impala. After dragging the impala under a bush, it decided to hide until night time before coming back to feed. Another spectacular kill came from a group of 4 lions. They were slowly approaching a herd of impala, and circling it. Initially the impalas noticed them and started to scatter, but one young male started running ahead and cornered a smaller group of impala. This was very smart as the impalas started running straight towards it. Upon noticing the lion they changed direction, and one unfortunate impala ran straight into another female that was crouched on the sandbank. In trying to avoid it, the impala tried to jump right over the lioness, but the agility of the big cat proved to be too much as she pulled the impala straight out of the air and killed it within seconds. The rest joined for the small feast, and finished the meal off within 5 minutes.

Simon Vegter

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New lion record

My previous record for lion sightings on a safari was 33 individuals with 8 sightings. My last safari has beaten that. In only 5 days we’ve managed to see 34 lions and had a staggering 14 sightings. It did help that we spent 2 days at Satara, a camp well-known for its abundant lion sightings. It will probably be a while before this record stands in contention again.

Big Five Drive!

This does not happen very often, but on occasions one is lucky enough to see the big five on one drive. This happened on my latest tour. As we entered the park, it was not long before we had our first amazing encounter. We found a pride of lions feeding on a buffalo. Clearly visible were 2 adults and 2 cubs enjoying the feast. Along the Sabie river we saw some elephants and buffalo as usual. Something I don't often see along the Sabie river are rhinos. But on this afternoon we spotted 2 white rhinos each with a calf wandering along the opposite river bank. And then just before we reached Lower Sabie camp, there was great excitement with a leopard lying on the rocks at Lubye-Lubye. This leopard had an impala kill in a nearby tree. It's fantastic to see the Big Five on one tour, more so on one day, but to see them all in 3 hours is absolutely spectacular. This type of luck is seldom encountered.


Until next time!

Simon

Kruger National Park safari guide with Wild Wings Safaris

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