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

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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Thieving hyenas!

Cheetahs are delicately built creatures and have literally no defence sytem at all except to run away. Especially when faced by animals like leopards lions or hyenas who could do them serious harm or death retreat is the first and only option. This puts a lot of stress on cheetah moms who have to hunt daily to feed their brood. A cheetah kill is often a spectacular sight. A high speed adrenaline charged chase across the savannah that can attract a lot of attention from far away even. So when this mom and her 2 surviving cubs were eating a group of 3 hyenas barreled right in and took over the carcass. It was my first time to see this takeover attempt and I was amazed at how fearlessly the hyenas just barged in with no regard for anything and just took over the kill. The poor cheetahs had no option what so ever to resist.

There is a reason they cant resist and that’s because even a scratch or a bite from a hyena can take their performance down by 10% or 15% for a few days. The margin between predator and prey especially for cheetah is very narrow, its prey has a 100meter head start and runs very fast as well. So if the cheetah is not performing at optimum then its likely she will miss much more and that could be life or starvation for cheetah mom and her cubs. She just walked away and gamely started scouting for her next hunt. The hyenas were the victors on the battlefield once again.

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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