Apart for Cape Vidal and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, we can’t think of any other place in South Africa (or the world) where you can end a day of fun at the beach with a fantastic sighting of a leopard walking mere centimeters away from your car window. And that’s exactly how our day played out!
Grey-headed gull taking flight at Cape Vidal’s beach
Leopard sighting on the Grassland Loop – 15th June 2015
Today we joined a tour of Lake Saint Lucia aboard the Santa Lucia cruiser, and this low level flypast by an African Fish Eagle was just one of the highlights!
We were the first car into the iSimangaliso Wetland Park through Bhangazi Gate this morning, before sunrise. And this leopard sighting was just one of the day’s highlights!
We’re spending three nights at picturesque Cape Vidal, and can’t wait to experience all that iSimangaliso has in stall for us tomorrow…
Time away from work and school.
Time to allow the warm glow of an African sunset to rejuvenate body and mind.
We’re spending a long weekend in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park!
“Off-Season” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge
The Waterbuck is the largest member of the family Reduncinae, which also includes the Southern Reedbuck, Mountain Reedbuck, Grey Rhebok and several other species occurring elsewhere in Africa.
The race occurring in South Africa, the Common Waterbuck (K.e.ellipsiprymnus) is characterised by a white circle around their tails, distinguishing them from the Defassa Waterbuck (K.e.defassa) which has a solid white patch on their posteriors. These shaggy antelope weigh up to 270kg and adult bulls are up to 1.7m high at the shoulder. The gracefully curved horns of the bulls can reach a meter in length.
As their name suggests, the waterbuck is seldom found far from a permanent water source, requiring to drink around 9 liters of water daily. Waterbuck inhabit open savannah, grasslands, floodplains, marshes and reedbeds, where they feed predominantly on long grass. They occur in mixed herds with up to sixty members, though normally much smaller. Most calves are born in the rainy season, and remain hidden for up to four weeks before joining their maternal herds. When pursued by predators, waterbuck will often take refuge in deep water, being good swimmers. They’re a favourite prey of lions, though calves fall victim to all of Africa’s large predators, and have a life expectancy up to 18 years.
The waterbuck is one of South Africa’s most common and well-known antelope, occurring naturally in most of the Northern and Eastern provinces and introduced widely outside its natural range on private land. The biggest population occurs in the Kruger National Park, with sizeable herds also at Ithala Game Reserve, Pilanesberg National Park and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, among the many private and public protected areas in which they can be found. It is also widespread in the rest of Africa, with the IUCN estimating a total population of around 200,000 for the continent.
The Cape Glossy Starling, as brightly coloured as they come…
“Vivid” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge.
DeWetsWild 