Waterhole wary!

We were driving along one afternoon in the Kgalagadi and came up on an ostrich right there onthe road. It was pretty obvious what she wanted to do and he attitude and posture shows it clearly.

The other animals had cleared off and now there was space for an ostrich to drink at the waterhole. Kgalgadi waterholes are pretty dangerous, especially in the summer time. Lions lie in ambush in the nearby bushes and are pretty successful there. I always thought thats cheating, i mean come on, everyone needs water, so leave it alone. But its a jungle out there, whaddaya know, and its all like "I am in for me and the Devil take the hind most." So its good she just bided her time and got a nice drink. She was eyeballing me all the while though.

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THE NSEMANI LIONS.

Deep in the heart of Kruger is a beautiful waterhole called the Nsemani dam. The dam abuts the road and while parked there one can have a panoramic view of the dam and the surrounds and naturally such a large dam attracts wildlife of all sizes, so it’s a game viewing paradise. I had heard that the Nsemani pride that lives around the Nsemani dam had small cubs, and quite a few so that day on safari, I decided to go look for them. Apparently they drink late just after sunset and I was hoping to find the pride lazing about near the waterhole. They were not there. We cant really hang around there too much at that time cuz the camp gates will close and so I left, a little disappointed.

So bright and early the next morning, you guessed it, we went back. Again nothing happening on the road or in the bush on the far side. So we went around the corner to the viewpoint above the river bed and were treated to a wonderful sight. 4 lionesses were sitting in the early morning sun and a couple of cubs lazed close by. As we watched them just lying there a movement caught my eye and sure enough here were more in the back behind the termite mound that lay next to one of the lionesses. Then there was more movement and a few more stood up and stretched. Just getting the kinks out their joints as it were. There are a couple yoga poses that are named after these movements believe it or not.

Lions stretching usually means they are going to move so I moved the car in to a position where they would likely go if they were heading for the shade and sure enough. 23 lions walked by. Just sat there and watched the royal family go past at about 10 to 25 meters. Slowly and casually as if they owned the place which they actually do. Ha! Little ones scurrying along with anxious glances around, bigger ones scoping the area for a potential target, and finally the king just making sure everyone is all ok. It was such a treat, what a way to start the day. What an amazing 30 minutes.

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The huntress and the Go-away bird.

One bright winter morning in Kruger we driving along the Sabie river and saw some movement down the slope to the bank from the road. I had a good feeling about this and stopped to check it out and sure enough….. leopard!

She was sneaking around the bushes tail down and that got my attention right away. A leopard walking and doing the rounds of his or her territory walks along with tail curved over the back. Tail down means one thing… the huntress was stalking! Sure enough there were 5 young warthogs on their knees grazing about 50 m away in a small clearing. the huntress had her eye on those andd it looked very possible. Good cover till pretty close to them and they were intent on eating, so she got going.

There is a kind of solidarity in the bush among prey in that they are always ready to warn others and one of these warnings is given by the grey lourie or the Go-away bird. Alas one of these guys was on watch and luck not with our girl. When a Go away bird spotted the stealthy approach and gave a “Go away” call the warthogs bolted, and fortunately for them, away from her line of approach. The huntress tried valiantly, but it was no go with the warthog moving fast through the bushes in good cover. They live to eat another day. This happens to leopards more often than you might think. They succeed 3 out of ten tries.

Any way the huntress was not pleased at all, sat down by the river bank and plotted murder of the wretched Go-away bird that deprived her of her meal. So ‘you wins some and you loses some’ as the sage said, and in the Kruger it is certainly true.

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Hippo mock fighting

One thing about the bush, there is a lot of testosterone going around. These young adult hippos are no exception. There is a strict hierarchy and pecking order and it is to be maintained and followed without question. Except of course when it is challenged. Young males of most species are continuously scuffling, fighting, sparring and trying to get ahead. They show off their mouths to each other and try to dominate the other by showing how wide they can open their mouths.

The big bulls weigh in at 3000kgs and they don’t really need to do this kid stuff. They are the for real guys. The youngsters however are constantly questioning their place in the line. Hippo teeth are actually tusks meant purely for the purpose of combat. They eat grass but they do not have teeth to chew the grass. Forward pointed tusks in their lower jaw and the huge canines can do fearful damage in a real fight. Thank God this is just a scuffle and no real damage was done.

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Safe with Dad and Mom.

Large plains antelope are found in a whole range of colours, from sable antelope which are black to Gemsbok that are silver grey with fashionable stripes to Hartebeest which are a lovely rusty brown. The amazing thing though is that all their calves are fawn in color. A wildebeest calf looks almost like a Gemsbok calf when they are born. The reason is that the calves camouflage better against the brown earth for a time until they are a few months older and better able to escape predation.

I found this Gemsbok calf and its parents running thru the tall grass and I thought the parents were chasing a hyena ahead of them. It was only when they broke through the cover and crossed the road that I realized the truth. It was a tiny baby Gemsbok. We sat and watched mom and dad stay close to the little fella, touching noses and reassuring him that he was safe.

With long sharp pointed horns, a sturdy body weighing in at close to 600 pounds a gemsbok is no pushover and add the maternal instinct to define rage and you have a winning combination. A good 16 feet of sharp horns with angry mom and dad behind them makes any one feel totally at peace. COME ON SAFARI WITh US AND HAVE YOUR OWN AMAZING STORIES TO TELL - www.dreadlionsafaris.com

DOVES AT THE WATERHOLE - KGALAGADI

When the suns rays are at a low angle and the heat of the day is dissipating into the cool of the night, animals and birds IN THE KGALGADI come for a drink. The waterholes are busy and the unwary are in trouble. We sat by a waterhole before sundown and waited. Nothing. Well the waiting game is played best by playing it. So we stuck around, and before long we were greeted by wave upon wave of doves. They were so numerous it seemed like 100s came and went over the period of an hour or so. Lanner falcons and red necked falcons and even jackals bide their time at these waterholes trying to snag a plump dove for dinner but no such luck this time. It was how ever surreal to capture an ever-changing collage or you could call it a live mosaic of these beautiful birds as they came in to drink stayed a while and left. The setting sun gave us a hint to head home and we did albeit sadly to leave such a beautiful sight.

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