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

 

March Sightings Update

Here is a summary of my March tours. It’s been a pretty good month for the Big 5, as well as Wild Dogs. With the grass being as tall as it is at the end of the wet season, cheetahs and jackal (both preferring the open grasslands) have been scarce.

The 4 rows in the table below indicate the following:

1^st row – nr. of tours animal has been seen

2^nd row – nr. of days animals has been seen

3^rd row – nr. of sightings of animal

4^th row – nr. of individual animals seen

Total tours: 4 Total days: 14

Day	Elephant	Rhino	Buffalo	Lion	Leopard	Cheetah	Wilddog	Hyena	Jackal
Tour	4	4	4	4	3	0	3	2	0
Day	11	6	9	8	3	0	4	3	0
Sights	Y	14	Y	10	3	0	5	5	0
Nr	Y	26	Y	44	3	0	33	9	0

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

Sighting of the Month!

For March, the sighting of the month must definitely be a wild dog kill. We found the small pack of six individuals sleeping along the side of the road early in the morning. There wasn’t much activity until they started waking up. They stretched and groomed each other, before heading down the road on their daily routine of finding something to hunt. Wild dogs primarily hunt medium-sized prey like impala and therefore need to hunt regularly (pretty much every day) to supply enough food for the entire pack. The pack hunts together, but because they hunt with stamina and often chase the prey over a distance, one often looses the hunt within the vegetation. On this morning I noticed the leading dogs spotting something in the bush and off they went leaping into the bush with the others quick on their heels. With the bush being very dense I thought that was going to be last we’ll see of them, but it wasn’t long before the dogs returned to the road and managed to catch a duiker right next to road. The duiker was squealing for dear life, and as is the habit of wild dogs, they started feeding before the duiker was officially dead. It’s quite horrific to see, but also an equal privilege to be able to witness something like that in the wild. During the feeding frenzy they dragged the duiker slightly deeper into the bush and devoured it within minutes. The squealing attracted the attention of a nearby hyena who was hoping for an easy meal, but being challenged by 6 wild dogs, he had to admit defeat and stay on the outskirts until the dogs were entirely finished and he might manage a few remaining scraps. It was an awesome sighting that’s often only seen on documentaries. Definitely the sighting of the month!

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

Photo Gallery

I’ve decided to add a few of my recent photos onto a gallery for you to enjoy. I hope you like them.

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

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Kruger Park Sightings

Interesting sightings report below, thanks for posting Simon. Elephants, buffalo, rhino and lions were seen on every safari this month! Who ever said February was not a good time to go on safari? Not many jackal sightings, which is probably due to the tall grass everywhere. They will probably be spotted more often during the dry season, when the grass is dry and trampled down. No cheetah sightings this month, which just goes to show how rare these beautiful cats are. Of course, one can always go to Phinda Game Reserve to stand a good chance of seeing cheetahs in the wild. Some amazing wild dog sightings though! Wild dogs are also very rare and to see so many of them in one month is very encouraging. Overall it seems like it was an exciting month in the Kruger National Park! Looking forward to see the next sightings report.

Onne
Join us on a safari to the Kruger National Park with Wild Wings Safaris!

February Sightings Update

Over the last 4 years I’ve been keeping a sightings report of every safari I do on a daily basis. It provides some interesting views on my successes and nature’s surprises. I’ve decided to add these reports on the blog on a monthly basis so that you can see and compare the fascinating experiences we have in the Kruger Park. This is the report for February. I notice that the columns are not coming out too well on the blog, so the breakdown for the figures are as follows:

1st row - number of tours animal has been seen on.

2nd row - number of days animal has been seen on.

3rd row - number of animal sightings.

4th row - number of individual animals seen (elephant and buffalo become uncountable)

I trust it will make sense to you.

Total tours: 6 Total days: 22

Day	Elephant	Rhino	Buffalo	Lion	Leopard	Cheetah	Wilddog	Hyena	Jackal
Tour	6	6	6	6	3	0	4	5	1
Day	21	15	11	14	3	0	4	7	1
Sights	Y	45	Y	25	4	0	5	7	2
Nr	Y	102	Y	72	4	0	43	15	6

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

Birding Big

In trying to compete with the Big 5 mammal species, the Kruger Park also made a Big 6 birding list. These birds are listed due to their rarity and vulnerability on the endangered list. Unlike the Big 5, the Big 6 is hardly obtainable, because it contains birds like Pel’s Fishing Owl. There are only a handful of breeding pairs found in the park (mainly in the north) and most people can go a lifetime to the park without seeing one. It’s understandable then that it’s on the endangered list. I have come up with my own list of Big Birds – 10 in total. These are some of the biggest or most impressive birds of its kind (of which many are rare and found on the endangered list). They are great to see and a challenge to find. Although chances are slim that you’ll find all of them on one safari, it can be done. I’ve proven that a few times in the past and on one of my recent safaris managed it again.

 

So here is my list:

 

1. Ostrich

2. Lappetfaced Vulture

3. Martial Eagle

4. Secretary Bird

5. Giant Eagle Owl

6. Ground Hornbill

7. Kori Bustard

8. Saddlebilled Stork

9. Goliath Heron

10. Giant Kingfisher

 

So, here is my challenge to you, and especially to the birders out there. If you want to be birding big, try to find these birds on your next safari.

 

Happy Birding!

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

This time of the year...

This time of the year is generally considered to be the toughest time in terms of game viewing. This is due to high day-time temperatures and dense bush. However, that should not put anybody off from coming to the Kruger Park. The middle of the day can be spent in a lovely pool or air-conditioned bungalow. The dense bush often causes the animals that one does see to be close to the road, and therefore gives one great visual, like this leopard I’ve photographed on a recent tour. The other benefit of this time of the year is that the bush is lush and green and provides great scenery amidst the game viewing. Also, the birding is at its best with migrants being all present, males being very vocal and in their colourful breeding plumage, and a lot of nesting activity taking place. And then, this is the time that many youngsters are to be seen, something that one misses other times of the year. Impalas, warthogs, vervet monkeys and wildebeests (gnus) are all seasonal breeders, and by now their offspring are a cute 2-3 months old. Other animals that can give birth throughout the year often peak in summer because of food availability, and so those youngsters are also there to be seen. Although generally considered the toughest time of the year, to me it’s one of the more entertaining times.

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

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Sabie River Flooding

With all the rain over the last few weeks, the river levels rose quite dramatically in the Kruger. So much so that the Sabie River is the fullest I’ve seen it in the last 4 years. The photos bear testimony of the amazing sight in front of Skukuza camp. Fortunately, with all the rain, it hasn’t affected the open vehicle safaris and animals sightings have still been very good with regular lion sightings.

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

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Rare White Elephant

An amazing sighting of a big herd of elephant chasing away 5 lions became even more amazing when, out of the herd, emerged a white elephant. This term is refers to an albino (no pigment) or leucistic (lack of pigment) elephant. Even thought they are not truly white, the lack of pigment can be clearly seen in the pink skin all over his body. The legs were pinkish, as well as the trunk, around its mouth and eyes, and behind its ears. Its hair, especially eyelashes and tail hair, were blond. I don’t know of many records found in the Kruger Park of white elephants, most of them being of young animals. This could be due to fact that they tend to darken as they age, and older elephants cover themselves with mud to keep the sun off their sensitive skin. This particular individual I would estimate to between 15 and 20 years old and appeared to be a male. It was seen near the Mavumbye watering hole on the S90, north of Satara. Even now, I am sure that this would remain one of the highlights of the year.

 

Simon Vegter

Wild Wings Safaris

www.wild-wings.co.za

 

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