The african rock python and its prey!

We had an amazing experience one day in Kruger. We were heading to the dam to do some birding and its kinda out of the way a little. So we were a little surprised to see a few cars parked by the road about 800m before the lake. Wondering what was happening when we could not see much of anything we looked around a bit and lo and behold there was drama unfolding.

A giant African rock python had caught an impala and was constricting it in the tall grass. WOW! An impala is a mid size antelope and weighs about 40kg so it would need to be a fairly big snake that could overpower that impala. Now constrictors are themselves vulnerable when they are constricting their prey especially out in the open like this and they don’t move very fast either so a group of hyena or a few lions could make short work of a large python. I have seen a video where a honey badger killed a 15 foot python. So the snake was very aware of his/her surroundings and came up once in a while to suss out the surroundings for threats to itself.

We watched for a while and when it all seemed to be quiet we left. We returned a couple of hours later just in time to find the snake dragging the impala into the bushes so he/she could swallow it in peace. You can imagine the strength it would take a snake, an animal with no limbs for traction to drag a 40kg animal through the tall grass. They are really powerful. A python is pretty much all muscle. They would eat a meal like this and digest it for about a month or so in a thicket and this is actually when they are really vulnerable cuz they cannot move at all virtually and have no ability to constrict anything in defense. So they find a deep dark place to hide and stay there till they are all set for the next round. COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

The best network in Africa!

The best network in Africa is owned by…….? Not who you would think. It is the vultures who have the best communication system and its all in the air. Vultures have the best network in Africa. There was a notable case where a vulture tagged in the morning at Pilanesberg National Park was found late afternoon on a carcass in the Kruger park. A distance of 500km and more. How did he show up? Let me tell you these guys are exploring Africa by air.

How the network works is simple. Each vulture keeps track of the ground underneath for feeding opportunities and also keeps track of his buddies up to 5 km around him. So each individual has a radius of about 10 km around him or her. Its like a tic-tac-toe grid that each vulture is in the middle of. So his neighbours keep track of him and he does that same for them. So when one drops down to look at something better, soon the neighbours realize that he has moved and as one moves downwards the neighbours start and …. You guessed it, their neighbours and so on and on and on. So when 1 vulture drops down fast it is seen by all the vultures through the relay system and in no time the word is out. Nothing is seen yet on site, till out of a clear sky you have 100s of vultures in a matter of a few hours perched around near a carcass waiting for the lions to finish so they can dig in. Its incredible how this happens in such a short time when you cant even see 1 vulture at the outset.

On a rare occasion a vulture will spot a carcass in a tree left unattended by the leopard who put it there and sure enough they will latch on to it and eat it right there. In ancient times hunting tribes would look for circling vultures and head to the area in the hopes of getting a portion of a meal.

The vulture also has special eyes that can see very far and also very clearly. They can reportedly spot a mouse from thousands of feet in the air. Their eyes have two foveas with special nerves in the cornea that enable them to do this despite sunlight being so strong up in the air. So these guys are built for long distance and close up zoom. The amazing thing for me is how each vulture eats a different part of the carcass so all get their share. Some eat the flesh, some eat the organs, some eat the sinew especially, and of course the Lammergeier, or Bearded Vulture is the champ, he eats the bone and marrow. They take the bones up into the air sometimes hundreds of feet and then drop it on rocks below. The smashed bone is now in jagged shapes that they can actually swallow whole and digest completely. It looks like it could tear the skin in the throat open but they are immune to that happening. Pretty amazing how it comes together perfectly in Nature. COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

THE LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT HYENAS!

Hyena cubs are a common sight in the Kruger. The hyena clans den in the Culverts and storm drains which are a convenient location for the cubs to grown up out of sight and looked after by mom. The interesting thing about the cubs is that they actually change colour as they grow older. The cubs are born totally black and are of course totally dependent on mother’s milk for the first few months.

The mother will keep them hidden in a den for a few weeks as they grow older and stronger. The other interesting thing is that usually 2 or 3 cubs are born and only 1 is a female. If there are 2 females the stronger one will overcome and even kill the other. The reason is that in hyena clans the hierarchy is very strictly overseen. It is also a matriarchal society. What that means is that there is an alpha female who is the only one who mates most of the time, the other females would mate depending on the alpha female’s discretion. The new born female is already instinctively aware that she is the princess and 2 is too many. So the hierarchy goes lke this, Alpha female, new born female, all other females in a line all the way to the end and then Alpha male. So if you think you are an alpha male then you best not join a hyena clan or all the ladies outrank you.

Anyway the cubs are born totally black and then they slowly start fading into the adult colour. They fade from the face backwards so you can often see half and half cubs which are so cute to look at. The black colour is to protect them in their den, so no predators get a look at them and they can be camouflaged in the den in the darkness. Jackals honey badgers lions leopards martial eagles are all in the running when it comes to who preys on these cubs and the hyena clan is very wary for this reason. COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

The wild dogs at Nsemani.

We were parked next to the waterhole hoping for some action and all of a sudden a wild dog ran across the road ahead. Now they are not usually alone and we waited for a minute and saw about 25 wild dogs cross the road and head for the waterhole. We had just come from there and saw several herds of impala and so we hightailed it for the waterhole and just in time.

Wild dogs move really fast and as a group the can literally take down whatever they pointing at. So the impala were obvious targets. Before we could actually settle in and see what was happening with the dogs who had run behind some bushes a couple came to drink with fresh blood all over their muzzles. The first of the pack had already made a kill.

The rest of the pack how ever was still hunting. What had happened was that the first 10 or so dogs had taken down and eaten the first impala while the others continued the chase. We went around the waterhole on the side road hoping to get the rest of the pack as they brought down their quarry. No such luck however. The pack moves very fast and they were long gone by the time we were in the area. We saw the white tails tops moving through the grass in the distance and turned back to the waterhole. Then lo and behold the rest of the pack appeared as we were turning and we met them head on on the road.

We followed them back to the waterhole and watched them drink and meet and greet each other again. They just remained by the waterhole and were relaxing after their meal. These dogs also called the African Painted wolf are really fierce hunters. All in all a great sighting and amazing morning in Kruger.

COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

One angry female cheetah!

One afternoon in the Kgalagadi driving down the Nossob road just past Grootbardskolk we saw a cheetah approaching the road from the west. Barely 50 yards ahead of us she kept looking back and walked rather angrily it seemed. When we came up to her, I got a couple of photos and sure, she was obviously pretty upset. We watched her for a while and then drove on slowly past the dune she had just come over and found the reason she was so mad.

A huge brown hyena and a few jackals were on a kill and it was clear what had happened. A brown hyena outweighs a cheetah and cheetahs cant afford to sustain any injury because they have to be at peak physical condition to hunt. A small injury which takes 10% off their peak could be a fatal injury and death due to starvation of injured cheetahs is not uncommon.

So this female just relinquished the kill and came away furious, while the usurpers shared the bounty of her hard work. We watched the thieves enjoy themselves thoroughly and I was actually surprised the brown hyena let the jackals in so close cuz as you can see he is more than double their size. Stealing from cheetahs is nothing new. It happens all too often in the bush and its just the way things work. COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

The boss of the Kopjies.

When you explore Africa you come across some amazing creatures that don't really get enough press. Klipspringers are one of those. Dainty little antelopes that love on the rocky outcrops across the country. In Kruger we call them koppies or Kopjies which is the original Afrikaans word for these rocky outcroppings of granite. They can be from 20-80 meters high and are composed of broken down granite boulders for the most part sticking out of the otherwise sandy soil that prevails in most parts. I saw these beautiful antelope on the top of the Waterberg mountains in the Marakele National Park and got a few decent pix. Klips are actually rocks and springers are jumpers so they are rockjumpers.

They mate for life and are highly territorial. Notice the deep extra 'nostril' on the cheek. It is a scent gland and they mark off their domain with the scent from it to let other klips know that they own the area. Funny thing is if an intruder shows up and its male then the male will fight it off. And they play rough! They have been known to fight to the death! If it is a female then the female fights it off. Their hooves are hard on the outside and soft on the inside that helps them grab on to the rock and not slip just like the better known mountain goats such as ibex and others. They are small only about 3 feet high at best and have hair that is hollow. this helps them stay warm and also pads them if they were to fall. Pretty cool. So like I say come and explore Africa there is something different right around every corner.

COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

The three stooges of the Kgalagadi.

In all my times in the Kgalagadi, there are 3 players that always stand out and always get my attention. The pale chanting goshawk, the ubiquitous jackal and the star of the show, the honey badger. I have taken to calling them the 3 stooges of the Kgalagadi.

These inseparables, or so it seems, are always up to something. Of course it is the honey badger doing the heavy lifting just poking his nose into everything looking for food and the other two just hang around waiting for leftovers. As the world is, some people willing to work and others willing to let them work. LOL. Anyway i hope you like the photos.