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

The would be leopard!

A serval is a smaller version of the leopard. At about 10kg top weight it is a small a lithe hunter and is rarely seen. They are crepuscular and are seen in twilight at best of times and that if at all. In places with high leopard and lion concentrations they may not be seen at all. A shy elusive and yet beautiful cat.

I had the joy of seeing them and taking a few pictures in the highlands of Natal and also just north of Pretoria on a game reserve. In Natal in the twilight I was lucky to find two sub adults playing on the road and next to the road. The rhinos that were hardly 15 mtrs away were ignominiously ignored in favour of the two youngsters.

North of Pretoria in a place where predator concentration are particularly low it was the middle of the day, literally at lunch time; and we had sandwiches and serval for lunch. Ha!

The African wild cat, the serval, the caracal, the civet, the genet, all these are the rarely seen crepuscular and nocturnal predators. Rarely seen and even more rarely photographed.

Come and explore Africa!

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

The bird barbers of the bushveld!

Believe it or not there are birds who run a mobile cleaning and grooming service for animals in the bush. Red billed oxpeckers, as they are called do just that.

The birds literally travel on animals from warthog, impala and kudu to buffalo rhino and giraffe and clean their fur of unwanted skin parasites and ticks. The mighty elephant disdains this service, preferring to douse himself with mud and scrape off the little nasties with the dried mud on a convenient tree.

I got a neat video of the birds working on a large client, a giraffe, and was able to see them work first hand.

These guys even build and line their nest with the hair of their clientele but there is a dark side to them as well. They are one of the only birds who feed almost exclusively on blood and blood sucking insects and so when their host has a wound they make the most of the easy pickings and sometimes delay healing by weeks.

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