Monthly Archives: June 2016

Roan Bonanza!

After five wonderful days of searching for predators at Satara we’ve now made our way to the Kruger’s Mopani Rest Camp, where our focus shifts to finding the rare antelope, like this roan antelope seen on the S50!

30-June-2016

The latest in wildebeest hairstyles!

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It seems the latest hairstyle-trend among teenage wildebeests is set to take off right about now in Kruger National Park – using hair from an adult’s tail to enhance the youngster’s appearance!

29-June-2016

Family Breakfast

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We encountered this ravenous family sitting down for a buffalo breakfast at Ximangwaneni Dam near Satara this morning!

Lion pride with buffalo kill

The magic of a Kruger sunset

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Seems it’s not only humans that appreciate the beauty of a Kruger sunset!

27-June-2016

“High Five” the mongoose!

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Saying “Hi” the mongoose way?

26-June-2016

Slender Mongoose seen near Satara today.

Hi from Kruger!

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It’s the first day of the winter school holidays, and we find ourselves in the Kruger National Park again. Seems this lazy lion was as happy to see us back here as we were to see him!

25-June-2016

We’ll be spending the next few days at Satara, before moving on to Mopani, and hopefully we’ll have good enough signal to send a daily postcard from the bush.

Blesbok

31 Replies

Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi

The Blesbok is a medium-sized antelope endemic to South Africa’s central plains. They have a shoulder height just short of 1m and weigh around 70kg. The “bles” in their name refers to the striking white blaze on their faces. White Blesbok have a leucistic coat and are mainly selectively bred on game ranches.

Blesbok ewe

Blesbok face

Blesbok ram

Blesbok

Blesbok in silhouette

Herd of Blesbok

Blesbok in the golden light of a Golden Gate sunrise

Big herd of blesbok at Golden Gate

Skittish blesbok

Blesbok at sunrise

White Blesbok

Blesbok

White Blesbok

White and normal-coloured Blesbok

White Blesbok

Blesbok

The Blesbok naturally occurs only on the open grasslands of South Africa’s Highveld, where they are well adapted to the cold winters, though they have been introduced to farmland in the more densely wooded Bushveld and drier Karoo regions as well with varying success. Their diet consists almost exclusively of short grasses and require daily access to a supply of fresh drinking water.

Blesbok

Blesbok herd on the move

Blesbok in typical open habitat

Blesbok

Young Blesbok

Blesbok

Blesbok (photo by Joubert)

Blesbok form large mixed herds during winter, but at the onset of the summer the rams will start establishing small territories, demarcated with scent glands and dung heaps, advertised through ritualised displays and maintained through some serious fighting, in which they attempt to herd and keep groups of ewes with which to mate. Blesbok are diurnal animals, resting during the heat of the day by positioning themselves with lowered heads facing the sun. Blesbok are fast runners with great stamina. When moving, herd members follow each other in a straight line, even when fleeing from predators.

Sun-facing posture during heat of the day

Blesbok herd

Blesbok rams posturing

Sun-facing posture during heat of the day

Blesbok ewe

Blesbok ram

Blesbok youngster with adult female

Blesbok ewe

Blesbok

Blesbok lying on their path

Ewes give birth to single lambs, usually in the summer months, and will nurse only their own lambs. Lambs are capable of running with the herd within 20 minutes of birth, and are preyed upon by jackals, caracals and feral dogs. Most of Africa’s large predators have been exterminated from the Blesbok’s range. They have a life expectancy of up to 17 years in the wild.

Blesbok yioungster

Blesbok lambs

Territorial Blesbok ram

Blesbok ewe and lamb

Blesbok lamb

Blesbok lambs

Blesbok

Blesbok in a hurry

Blesbok

The Blesbok once occurred in enormous numbers on the Highveld of South Africa, but excessive hunting led to the population plummeting to a low of about 2,000 at the end of the 19th century. Their numbers have since been built back up, but not nearly to erstwhile levels, with the IUCN estimating a population of approximately 240,000, most of which occur on private land where they are a popular game ranching animal as they can be contained by standard stock fencing. Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Rietvlei Nature Reserve and Willem Pretorius Game Reserve are good places to go searching for Blesbok.

Blesbok ewe with lamb

Blesbok ewe and lamb

Blesbok lamb

Blesbok ewes and lambs

Blesbok

Blesbok lamb

Pregnant Blesbok ewe

Blesbok

Blesbok lamb (photo by Joubert)

Blesbok

Blesbok lamb

Blesbok Ram standing proud

Blesbok

Blesbok running across Otter Bridge (photo by Joubert)

Blesbok

Black Wildebeest

40 Replies

Connochaetes gnou

With their long white tails, stiff mane, whiskery muzzles, and curved, forward facing horns the Black Wildebeest looks quite menacing and is easily recognisable. Bulls have a shoulder height of only 1.2m and weigh in at around 160kg, considerably smaller than their closely related cousins, the Blue Wildebeest.

An inhabitant of open grasslands and semi-desert plains, Black Wildebeest subsists on a diet of grass, low shrubs and succulents, and need to drink daily. They have a preference for highlands and mountain plateaus, and are quite resistant to the extreme cold experienced in such habitats, especially during winter.

Black Wildebeest prefer open grasslands

Black Wildebeest herd in the highlands

Midday posture, facing away from the hot sun

Grazing black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest

Black wildebeest and umbrella thorn

Black wildebeest

Black wildebeest on the trot along Golden Gate’s game viewing circuit

Walking to the battle ground

Black wildebeest

Black Wildebeest

Bewildered Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest in humorous pose

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest are gregarious animals, coming together in herds of 6 to 60 made up mostly of cows and calves traversing the territories of bulls in their prime. Bulls unable to hold territories of their own join together in bachelor groups. During the hot summer they are mostly active from early evening to early morning, while they are active for most of the daylight hours in winter. As their open habitat usually offers very little in the form of shade, they spend the hottest hours of the day standing still and facing away from the sun. Black Wildebeest are extremely nervous, taking flight at high speed at the scantest sign of danger, and can be aggressive and unpredictable, especially when cornered, which is why you’ll seldom see them in captivity – as recently as 2013 a farmer and his son were killed when the family was attacked by two black wildebeest.

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest herd

Black Wildebeest are incredibly athletic

Just look at that tail!

Menacing, territorial Black Wildebeest Bull

Round 1! Black Wildebeest Duel

Black wildebeest herd on a plateau

Black wildebeest calves

Round 1! Black Wildebeest Duel

The victor and the vanquished

Black Wildebeest

Black wildebeest

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest trio

Black Wildebeest race

Herd of Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest

Cows give birth in the herd to single calves between November and January. The calves can keep up with the herd within minutes of being born. Most of the larger predators have been wiped out in the black wildebeest’s range and as such black-backed jackals preying on calves were the biggest predatory threat to them, though recently lion and cheetah have been reintroduced to some reserves where they occur and should re-establish a natural predator-prey balance. Their natural life expectancy is about 16 years.

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

The Black Wildebeest occurs naturally only in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. In times past the Black Wildebeest was a migrating species, moving seasonally between the moist highveld grasslands and dry Karoo in incredible numbers, but modern farming practices have made such large scale movements impossible and the species is now confined to fenced farms and reserves. Some of the best places to see them include Chelmsford Nature Reserve, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Mountain Zebra National Park and Willem Pretorius Game Reserve. By the end of the 19th century indiscriminate hunting had almost driven the species to extinction, but since then concerted conservation efforts have ensured that numbers have been built up to an estimated 18,000 on private land and in state conservation areas, and the IUCN now considers their populations to be safe and increasing. That being said, hybridisation with the closely related Blue Wildebeest is an increasing threat to the genetic purity of the Black Wildebeest.

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest herd

Black Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest

63 Replies

Connochaetes taurinus taurinus

The Blue (or Common) Wildebeest must be one of Africa’s most familiar antelope, although it will probably never be included in a list of the continent’s most elegant creatures. Bulls stand around 1.5m high at the shoulder, and weigh about 240kg, while cows are more lightly built at around 180kg.

Blue Wildebeest bull close-up

Blue Wildebeest calf close-up

Blue Wildebeest cow close-up

Blue Wildebeest

Blue wildebeest

Large concentration of blue wildebeest at Langklaas waterhole

Blue Wildebeest having a rest in the shade

Blue Wildebeest with an unusual chevron mark on its muzzle

Blue Wildebeest herd

Blue wildebeest inhabit open grasslands, savannas and semi-deserts, where they subsists almost exclusively on short grasses and require a reliable supply of water, even in arid regions.

Blue wildebeest are curious creatures

Blue wildebeest graze on short grass

Vigilant blue wildebeest bull

Blue wildebeest require regular access to drinking water

Always on the move

Blue wildebeest like open terrain

Blue wildebeest too nervous to drink

Blue wildebeest on the move

Wildebeest herd kicking up dust at Makhadzi

Big herd of blue wildebeest at the water

Blue wildebeest

Even Blue Wildebeest appreciate a beautiful spot, like Bhekapanzi Pan

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest in the rain

Blue wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest calf

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest in Mapungubwe National Park

Blue Wildebeest at Mooiplaas

Blue Wildebeest

These diurnal herbivores congregate in herds of up to 10,000 (but mostly much smaller – a few dozen or so), consisting mostly of cows and calves traversing the territories of mature bulls. Smaller bachelor herds made up of bulls unable to maintain a territory of their own also occur. They will cover enormous distances trekking after fresh grazing and water. Blue wildebeest are commonly found associating with other game species, especially impala, giraffes and plains zebras, and have a curious love for rolling in mud and dung!

Blue wildebeest at rest after a stormy night

Blue wildebeest cow

Blue wildebeest often associate with other animals

Blue wildebeest “teenagers”

Blue wildebeest love rolling in mud or dung

Blue wildebeest “teenager”

Blue wildebeest

Curious Wildebeest Calf

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest herd drinking from the Transport Dam

Calves are born in the herd at the onset of the rainy season and can walk within 10 minutes of birth. Blue wildebeest have an expected life span of around 15 years, fall prey to all Africa’s large predators and also suffer from several parasites and sicknesses.

Whispering sweet nothings?

Blue wildebeest calf

Blue wildebeest youngsters

Blue wildebeest twins

Blue wildebeest calf staying close to mom

Blue Wildebeest

Blue wildebeest cows

Juvenile Blue Wildebeest

Blue wildebeest

Blue wildebeest cousins

Blue wildebeest herd

Blue wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest

In South Africa, Blue Wildebeest can be found in all of the northern provinces, though mostly confined to national parks, nature reserves and game ranches. Large populations can be found in Kruger National Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Pilanesberg National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Ithala Game Reserve and uMkhuze Game Reserve. The IUCN considers the Common Wildebeest (C. taurinus) to be of least concern in conservation terms, estimating the total population at around 1,5-million, of which 130,000 belong to the southern subspecies, the Blue Wildebeest (C. t. taurinus).

Wildebeest silhouette

Blue Wildebeest

Fleeing Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest creche

Baby Blue Wildebeest with mom

Blue Wildebeest drinking

Newborn Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeests

Newly-born Blue Wildebeest stretching his legs

Blue Wildebeest

Blue wildebeest

Wildebeest pest (photo by Joubert)

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest cow and calf

A unique colour-variation of the Blue Wildebeest, known as the Golden Wildebeest, is sometimes seen on game ranches.

Golden Wildebeest

“Golden” Blue Wildebeest

Never miss an opportunity to go back to Lower Sabie and Olifants!

47 Replies

There was a reason I dedicated the previous two posts on de Wets Wild to Lower Sabie and Olifants, two of the most popular camps in the Kruger National Park. That is because I had the opportunity to visit both camps again earlier this week, and now that you have been introduced to both destinations we can all just sit back and enjoy some photos from this latest trip. Here’s hoping you enjoy the gallery as much as I enjoyed putting it together!