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

One hot day at the waterhole.

We were in Kruger PArk heading for Satara camp from Tshokwane after a quick breakfast we noticed a herd of elephants heading north as well and slowed to keep pace with them. They were looking like they might cross over and head for the waterhole just ahead so we took up position facing the waterhole and sure enough there they came. The thing is that we had not seen the whole herd yet. So as we were parked there they came across the road and heading down the slope to drink and it was then that I realized that the rest of them were on my left and now the car was between two groups from the same herd.

One female was none too pleased about this. She was suddenly apart from the herd, that itself gave her cause for concern. She turned at the waters edge and gave me a couple of real dirty looks but she passed around the back of the car to the rest of the gang giving me and the car a wide berth with no incident at all. It was a bit hairy however having her behind the car and me parked on the embankment but she just passed over and was fine with the rest of the herd.

It’s a delight to watch a herd of elephants relaxing at the waterhole. There are so many special little interactions and it is not unlike a big human family gathering. The older ones more sedately drinking cuz of course they need a LOT of water. The youngest ones with moms and nannies around to keep them safe and the youngsters were pushing shoving ducking and spraying and generally goofing off. A great sighting. Kruger rocks! COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

The dessert that I love. KGALAGADI

OK OK.... its not dessert..... its desert, and I love it. The Kgalagadi and its red sand dunes have a way of sneaking into your soul. Let me give you an example. 

It was the dead hours in the Kgalagadi, sun shining high in the sky, animals looking for cover from the blistering heat, and we  were driving along among the dunes. Frankly I had had it,  cuz nothiong moves at that time in that heat. A movement barely visible in the red sand on the left caught my eye and i slowed down. There is something there i said and my guests looked and said seems like a cat but bigger and has long ears.

 CARACAL! I could not believe it. My first sighting of this usually nocturnal cat. I parked by the side of the road and we all just watched this handsome cat walking through the clumps of grass and the bushes across the dunes. 

The red colouring of the fur blending so well with the sand and the background of the dunes, its not really easy to spot as you drive along. Its a medium size cat, about the size of a Dalmatian dog with rough red fur and long tufts on their ears. The ears are the ones that really stick out, tufted ears that are long and black at the back. Makes them look quite striking. They are primarily bird hunters and will take small or young antelope occasionally. But such a handsome creature we were all mesmerised by him. 

 

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

Getting up on the Table!

The huge flat topped massif in the bay was how mariners since Vasco da Gama described the entrance to Table Bay which lies as the best anchorage on the southern tip of Africa. El Cabo de Boa Esperanza, it was called by that intrepid explorer and wanderer of the oceans and it was in fact the gateway to the east: the Spice Islands, India and of course the mysterious lands of Cathay.

The Cape of Good Hope was also called by the more practical minded sailors who feared for life and limb in its stormy waters as the Cape of Storms because of the terrible winds that lashed at their wooden ships and caused them no end of grief.

We often forget the struggles of the ancient seafaring men who opened up the world and for whom going ‘home’ represented 6-10 months of sailing and so many never made it back. Sir Francis Drake left England to circumnavigate the globe with 3 ships and over 400 men with promises of plunder and riches, and came back with 1 ship and a skeleton crew having lost all others to storms and sea battles.

So Table Mountain was a very welcome sight to sailors heading to the Orient in the old days and nowadays it is a most interesting tourist attraction.

The cable car operates on days when the weather is good and it is a breathtaking view of Cape town that greets one a few seconds after it starts. The car itself is round and rotates so everyone gets a full view all around.

The top has the usual curio shops and restaurant obligatory to such places but there is also unique wildlife up there that has become quite used to people. Witness the rock hyrax or dassie as it is called. About as big as a rabbit they live up here among the rocks and tourists, quite happy to sit and pose.

There are also the intrepid adventurers who eschew the cable car and the pathway and prefer to do it the hard way. Climb the massif. Well, good luck buddy better you than me! 

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

Python in the tree

We were driving along one day and spotted a large number of cars on either side of the road and that in Kruger means there is a predator about. Given where we were on the Lower Sabie road it usually means lions. But I was wrong. The whole crowd of people were staring up into a tree and quite a distance off at that! Which is why the pix are rather awful!

Some waved me over and said “Python eating something in the tree , over there do ya see it hanging?” Now for the life of me I could not figure out what he was talking about, cuz I was looking in the wrong tree. Then I saw it, thick as my thigh with a raptor in its coils and man it was big! Really big. He probably went up there to get a monkey and the eagle of some sort got snacked on. That’s fate for you!

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

One hot day at the waterhole.

Heading for Satara camp from Tshokwane after a quick breakfast we noticed  a herd of elephants heading north as well and slowed to keep pace with them. They were looking like they might cross over and head for the waterhole just ahead so we took up position facing the waterhole and sure enough there they came. The thing is that we had not seen the whole herd yet. So as we were parked there they came across the road and heading down the slope to drink and it was then that I realized that the rest of them were on  my left and now the car was between two groups from the same herd. One female was none too pleased about this and gave me a couple of real dirty looks but she passed around the back of the car to the rest of the gang giving me and the car a wide berth with no incident at all. It was a bit hairy however having her behind the car and me parked on the embankment but she just passed over and was fine with the rest of the herd.

It’s a delight to watch a herd of elephants relaxing at the waterhole. There are so many special little interactions and it is not unlike a big human family gathering. The older ones more sedately drinking cuz of course they need a LOT of water. The youngest ones with moms and nannies around to keep them safe and the youngsters were pushing shoving ducking and spraying and generally goofing off. A great sighting. Kruger rocks!

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

Hot as hell!

In the arid savanna in the middle of South Africa is place called Hot as hell. Believe it or not its true. Its spelt Hotazel. Same diff!!

Well any way close to here is a large expanse of bush and there live the most amazing little creatures…. Ground squirrels!

The colony I stumbled across was about 50 strong and that is quite average for a colony. They dig burrows into the ground and are very sneaky about coming out of them cuz there are enough predators who would just love a juicy ground squirrel meal. So “look before you leave” is what is posted over the ground squirrel burrow exit. As a gregarious group of animals they forage together in small groups or even alone. The youngsters are always escorted by a knowing adult or two to keep them alive. All that said they do not venture far from a handy burrow entrance. Their enemies are on the ground and in the air and so they keep a close watch on both. 

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