Monthly Archives: August 2016

Red Hartebeest

27 Replies

Alcelaphus buselaphus caama

The Red Hartebeest was one of the first animals encountered by Dutch settlers when they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in the mid 1600’s, the “hart” in their name coming from the Dutch word for deer. On average, at 160kg, Red Hartebeest bulls weigh around 30kg more than the cows and grow to a shoulder height of about 1.3m.

Red Hartebeest Bull
Red Hartebeest Cow
Red Hartebeest juvenile
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest

Red Hartebeest occupy a wide range of habitats, from the edge of the Namib desert through the entire spectrum of semi-deserts, fynbos, grasslands and bushveld to mountainous highlands and floodplains. They are grazers, preferring medium to long grass, but in some areas they also include a substantial amount of browse in their diet. These hartebeests are independent of drinking water, though they will drink where it is available.

Red Hartbeest in thornveld at Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve
Red Hartebeest in arid grasslands at Mountain Zebra National Park
Red Hartebeest in mixed thronveld-savana at Ithala Game Reserve
Red Hartebeest in grassland at Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Red Hartebeest in the open grassland of Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Red Hartebeest in the open grassland of Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Red Hartebeest in the open grassland of Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Red hartebeest on burnt grassland in the game park at Midmar
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest on the run, totally ignoring the speed limit!
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red hartebeest
Red hartebeest
Red Hartbeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest with an itch
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest (photo by Joubert)
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest with newborn calf
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest Calf
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest cow and calf
Red Hartebeest Calf
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest

Red Hartebeest are social animals, at times congregating in enormous herds, especially when migrating. Breeding herds consist of cows and their calves, while mature bulls maintain territories, in some areas throughout the year, into which they try to herd harems of breeding cows. Bulls too young or old to compete for territories keep to bachelor herds. Bulls get involved in serious fights to protect their territories (which are demarcated with dung piles and scent glands and advertised through ritual displays), sometimes leading to the death of both combatants when their horns become inextricably locked. Like the tsessebe, the Red Hartebeest is a very athletic antelope, capable of running continuously over distances of up to 15km and reaching speeds of up to 75km/h. They are most active in the morning and evening, and at times throughout the night.

Red Hartebeest Bull
Red Hartebeest cow at rest
Red Hartebeest bull at rest
Dominant Red Hartebeest bull
Dominant Red Hartebeest bull
Red Hartebeest bull at rest
Sub-adult Red Hartebeest
Inquisitive hartebeest cow having noticed a predator
Red hartebeest resting in Mokala National Park
Red hartebeest cow standing watch in Mokala
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest

Red Hartebeest cows give birth to single calves at the the onset of the rainy season. The calves remain hidden in dense cover for the first few days of life, before joining “creches” in their maternal herds. Red Hartebeest are not easily preyed on, though they do feature in the menu of all Africa’s big predators on occasion, and have a life expectancy of up to 19 years in the wild.

Juvenile Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest calf
Red Hartebeest calf
Red Hartebeest cow and calf
Juvenile Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red hartebeest in the wide open spaces
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest on the run

The Red Hartebeest is one of seven subspecies of the Common Hartebeest occurring in Africa – six if you count the closely related Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest as a seperate species, although the Red Hartebeest is also considered a separate species in its own right by some authorities. The IUCN indicates that the Red Hartebeest’s population is increasing, estimating the current population at more than 130,000 and without any concern of threats to their continued survival. They can be found in state reserves and private game farms almost all over South Africa, with the exception of the Lowveld of Limpopo and Mpumalanga and the north-east of Kwazulu Natal (areas where historically the Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest were more likely to have occurred). In our experience good places to find and photograph Red Hartbeest would be Addo Elephant, Golden Gate, Karoo, Mountain Zebra and Pilanesberg National Parks, Ithala Game Reserve and Rietvlei Nature Reserve.

Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest on the run
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest (photo by Joubert)
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest trio
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest calf
Herd of Red Hartbeest on the edge of Sua Pan

Red Hartebeest (10)

Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest

10 Replies

Alcelaphus buselaphus lichtensteinii

Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest is a large antelope occurring in marshland and floodplains and the adjacent grasslands and woodlands of East-Central Africa, where they subsist almost exclusively on a grazing diet and requires daily access to drinking water. Bulls can weigh up to 200kg with a shoulder height of up to 1.36m, with cows being slightly smaller. These hartebeests often have a dirty patch on their flanks, due to their habit of wiping their faces and horns clean against their sides.

Lichtenstein's Hartebeest (1)

Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest are diurnal animals, being most active in the early morning and evening. They keep in small family groups consisting of a territorial bull, several adult cows (who apparently has a hierarchy linked to their age) and their calves. Bigger groups are just temporary and form in response to localised favourable grazing. Solitary bulls and bachelor groups also occur and move on the fringes of the territories held by the breeding bulls in the areas with the best grazing. Territories are demarcated through scent marking and dung piles and bulls will get involved in serious fights to prevent their harems being stolen by neighbours or interlopers. Lichtenstein’s Hartebeests often associate in mixed herds with wildebeest, impala and other herbivorous creatures, and are as curious as they are athletic. They fall prey to all Africa’s larger predators. Single calves are normally born at the end of the dry season.

Lichtenstein's Hartebeest (3)

A Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest mixing with tsessebe and ostrich at Tinhongonyeni waterhole in the Kruger National Park.

South Africa has only one very small population of about 50 Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest occurring in the Kruger National Park, to where they were reintroduced from Malawi in the 1980’s after being hunted to local extinction at the end of the 19th century. We’ve been lucky to have a handful of sightings of them in Kruger near Punda Maria, Mopani and Pretoriuskop. Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest are still numerous enough, especially in Tanzania and Zambia, for the IUCN to consider their populations stable and their conservation status as “Least Concern“, with an estimated population of around 82,000, though they also do highlight that the subspecies is vulnerable to poaching and reliant on continued protection in formal conservation areas.

Some authorities consider Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest to be a seperate species from other races of the Common Hartebeest (A. buselaphus), also represented in South Africa by the Red Hartbeest (A. buselaphus caama).

Tsessebe

29 Replies

Damaliscus lunatus lunatus

The Tsessebe is considered to be Africa’s most athletic antelope, though you would probably not immediately guess that when looking upon their ungainly physiques for the first time. Not only are they the fastest antelope (up to 80km/h), but they have tremendous stamina, being able to maintain a speed of 60km/h over distances of up to 5km.

Tsessebes are large antelopes, much larger than their close cousin the Blesbok, weighing in at an average of 140kg and standing up to 1.3m high at the shoulder. Bulls have thicker horns than cows.

Tsessebe Calf
Tsessebe Cow
Tsessebe Bull

These fleet-footed antelope live in open woodlands, lightly wooded and open grasslands and flood plains, where they require easy access to drinking water and shade. They subsist almost exclusively on grass and are especially attracted to new growth sprouting after veld fires.

Tsessebe like open areas
Tsessebe
Tsessebe in Mokala National Park
Tinhongonyeni in Kruger National Park is a reliable spot to find Tsessebe
Tsessebe along the Nshawu Marsh in Kruger National Park
Tsessebe like open areas
Tsessebe
Tsessebes
Tsessebe
Tsessebe
Tsessebes
Tsessebe

Tsessebes are territorial animals. In areas with low population density they live in stable herds consisting of a single territorial bull, 2 to 6 cows and their dependent calves with large home ranges, while in more densely populated areas, specifically during the rutting season, bulls establish small territories into which they try to herd traversing cows for mating. Solitary bulls and bachelor groups also occur, and move along the edges of the territories. Territories are maintained through ritual displays (including horning the ground) and fighting, and demarcated with scent glands and dung heaps by both sexes. They are normally found in small herds of up to eleven animals, but can at times congregate in huge numbers when conditions are favourable. Herds are lead by the most dominant cow. Tsessebes often associate with other herbivorous animals, regularly occurring in mixed herds with waterbuck, wildebeest, zebras and ostriches. They are very curious and will even approach something unknown for a closer look, or when fleeing run away for only a short distance before turning around to check up on what frightened them, often with deadly consequences for the tsessebe.

Tsessebe at rest
Tsessebe are very athletic
Tsessebe at a waterhole in Mokala National Park
Tinhongonyeni in Kruger National Park is a reliable spot to find Tsessebe
Tinhongonyeni in Kruger National Park is a reliable spot to find Tsessebe
Tsessebe in the Pilanesberg
Tsessebe in mopane vegetation in Northern Kruger National Park
Tsessebe at Nshawu Marsh in Kruger National Park
Tsessebe in Ithala Game Reserve
Tsessebe at Mooiplaas in Kruger National Park
Tsessebe and zebra at Mooiplaas
Tsessebe searching for fresh growth following a fire in the Pilanesberg
Tsessebe at Nshawu
Tsessebe at Mooiplaas
Tsessebe
Tsessebes
Tsessebe silhouette
Tsessebe (photo by Joubert)
Tsessebe
Tsessebe
Tsessebe
Tsessebe
Tsessebe cow and calves

Single calves are born at the onset of the rainy season after a gestation of around 240 days, and are able to keep up with the herd shortly after birth. Females can stay in the same group their entire lives, but young bulls are driven from their maternal herd at about a year of age. Tsessebe and their calves feature on the menu of all Africa’s medium to large predators, and have a natural life expectancy of about 12 years.

Tsessebe in thornveld vegetation in Ithala Game Reserve
Tinhongonyeni in Kruger Park is a reliable spot to find Tsessebe
Posturing Tsessebe Bull at Tinhongonyeni in the Kruger Park
Protective Tsessebe cow with her calf
Tsessebe herd grazing on the plains north of Shingwedzi
Tsessebe
Tsessebes on Tshwene Drive
Tsessebes on Tshwene Drive
Grazing Tsessebe on Tshepe Drive
Grazing Tsessebes on Tshepe Drive (photo by Joubert)
Tsessebe and suckling calf
Tsessebe
Tsessebe
Tsessebe with calf
Tsessebe close-up
A Tsessebe dwarfed by the landscape
Tsessebes
Tsessebes

Africa is home to five different races of Tsessebe, also called Topi, Korrigum and Tiang according to the subspecies they belong to, numbering an estimated 300,000. The IUCN estimates the total population of the southern race of Tsessebe (D.l. lunatus) at around 30,000, with the overall population increasing steadily despite pressures from habitat loss. They are rare in South Africa, though numbers are increasing, with small populations being protected in the Kruger, Marakele, Mokala and Pilanesberg National Parks, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Ithala Game Reserve.

Tsessebe (6)

Mokala National Park

41 Replies

The recent Women’s Day long weekend in South Africa allowed us the opportunity to visit Mokala National Park for the first time. Mokala is our country’s newest National Park, and in our opinion one of the most enchanting and underrated!

Mokala was proclaimed a National Park in 2007, and today covers over 28,000 hectares of sandy plains and rocky ridges, with plans to expand further. The Riet River forms a significant part of the Park’s northern border, while artificial water holes are dotted through the rest of the reserve. The thorny woodland vegetation is dominated by iconic Camel Thorn (Mokala in Tswana) and Umbrella Thorn (Mosu in Tswana, Haak-en-Steek in Afrikaans), with extensive areas of open grasslands. The Park gets an average of only around 400mm of rainfall annually, most of it in summer, when temperatures can soar into the forties on the Celsius scale. Temperatures on winter nights on the other hand often falls below freezing, which we can certainly vouch for having seen the Stofdam entirely frozen over on our last morning at Mokala.

Umbrella thorn with sociable weaver nest
Mokala sunrise
Small waterhole
Mokala road
Mokala landscape
Mokala sunrise
Mokala landscape, near Lilydale
Tsessebe at a windpump near Mosu
Mokala road and sociable weaver nest
Mokala landscape, with a lone blesbok
Black wildebeest and umbrella thorn
Open grasslands near Lilydale
Mokala scenery
Tsessebe in Mokala National Park
Gemsbok in thornveld
Kudu in a vast landscape
Kudu trying to drink from a frozen Stofdam
Mokala scenery

Mokala offers some brilliant visitor facilities. The two main accommodation options are self-catering chalets at Mosu Lodge and Lilydale Rest Camp (with grand views over the Riet River), each located near to one of the Park’s two entrance gates, while Mofele Lodge provides dormitory style accommodation for big groups. Haak-en-Steek Cottage is a private hide-away for small families (more on that in the next paragraph) and Stofdam Hide has four bunks that can be booked for one night at a time. The Park also has a stunning tree house available, with plans afoot to construct more. Each of the sites at the small Motswedi Camping Area provides a private kitchenette and ablution block with shower and toilet. The interpretation centre near Mofele offers fascinating insights into the Park’s history and management. The Park’s gravel road network is in fair condition, and for the most part easily traversable in a sedan. There’s no fuel station in the Park – the nearest is at Modder Rivier, a small town just a few kilometers from the Park. Mosu has only a tiny selection of souvenirs and a few essential groceries for sale, so it is best to stock up on provisions before arriving or to take your meals in Mosu’s excellent restaurant. Mosu also has a small venue for conferences. Two picnic sites cater for the needs of day visitors to the Park. Guided game drives and walks, including visits to San Rock Art sites, accompanied by knowledgeable ranger-guides can be booked through Mosu’s reception, while catch-and-release fly fishing for yellowfish in the Riet River is a popular excursion available from Lilydale.

Lilydale entrance to Mokala
Lilydale setting on the bank of the Riet River
Mokala interpretation centre
Mosu chalet
Mosu Lodge in the Mokala landcape
Mofele Lodge

We stayed at the secluded Haak-en-Steek Cottage, a lovely two-bedroomed unit with gas appliances in the small kitchen and solar powered lighting, in the west of the Park. The cottage has a fantastic view over its own waterhole, especially well frequented in the afternoon and early evening hours by a steady procession of game and birds coming to quench their thirst. A few campsites are available to house additional guests when Haak-en-Steek is booked by larger parties, but it is only ever sold to a single group at a time, offering fantastic privacy. Haak-en-Steek is not surrounded by a fence, and game often moves straight past the cottage on their way to the water.

Turnoff to Haak-en-Steek
Haak-en-Steek Cottage, Mokala National Park, August 2016
Haak-en-Steek is unfenced
Haak-en-Steek is unfenced
Evening mud bath
Gemsbok are regular visitors at Haak-en-Steek in Mokala
Eland and Tsessebe share Haak-en-Steek’s waterhole
A flock of sociable weavers at Haak-en-Steek’s waterhole
Big herd of blue wildebeest at the water
Sunset at Haak-en-Steek cottage

Mokala’s located in the transition zone between the arid west and wetter east of the country, and as such offers a haven to a wide variety of big game in impressive numbers. Black and White Rhinoceros, Buffalo, Giraffe, Plains Zebra and Warthog share the Park with no less than 17 species of antelope: Blue and Black Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Blesbok, Tsessebe, Springbok (including copper-coloured and black specimens), Grey Duiker, Steenbok, Klipspringer, Impala, Roan Antelope, Sable Antelope, Gemsbok (Oryx), Kudu, Nyala, Eland, Mountain Reedbuck and Waterbuck. In fact, the Park really deserves its tagline of “Where Endangered Species Roam”, as it is probably the best place in South Africa to see endangered Tsessebe and Roan Antelope (both of which we’ll feature in more detail soon here at de Wets Wild).

Blue wildebeest
Blue wildebeest
Black wildebeest
Blesbok
Tsessebe at a waterhole in Mokala National Park
Red hartebeest cow standing watch in Mokala
Red hartebeest resting in Mokala National Park
Grey (Common) Duiker
Springbok Ram
Springbok ewe
Copper Springbok
Black Springbok
Steenbok
Impala
Gemsbok on the run
Sub-adult Roan Antelope
Sable antelope in the distance
Buffalo
Impressive kudu bull
Nyala
Imposing Eland bull
Waterbuck cow
Giraffe family
Warthog
Plains Zebra
White Rhinoceros

Visitors should not however keep their eyes open only for the bigger mammals, as Mokala is also home to a wide variety of smaller creatures, many of them rarely seen in other reserves.

Rock monitor lizard on a Mokala road
Vervet monkey drinking at Stofdam
Black-backed jackal scaling a rocky outcrop
Bat-eared fox
Suricates (or meerkats) are frequently seen
Ground squirrels often share their burrow systems with suricates and mongooses
Yellow Mongoose
Scrub Hare at Haak-en-Steek

Although only recently proclaimed, Mokala’s bird list is already over 150 species strong, ranging from the booming population of ostrich to the sociable weavers with their spectacular mansions.

Black-winged Stilt at Stofdam
Northern Black Korhaan
Red-crested Korhaan
Pygmy Falcon at Mosu
Male Ostrich on the run
Fiscal Flycatcher at Haak-en-Steek
Red-headed finch (male)
Karoo Thrush at Lilydale
Familiar Chat
Red-faced Mousebird
Acacia Pied Barbet
Violet-eared Waxbills
Speckled Pigeon
Sociable Weaver
Spotted Thick-knee
African Red-eyed Bulbul

Mokala National Park is located in the Northern Cape Province, approximately 60 to 80km to the south of the historic diamond-mining city of Kimberley, depending on which gate you are heading for, and accessible from the N12 national highway, from which gravel roads leading to the gates at Mosu and Lilydale turn off. These roads are not always in the best condition, but you shouldn’t let that deter you from experiencing the thirst-land paradise that awaits you. We’ve already started planning our next trip to Mokala!

Mokala location

Mokala location

A taste of Mokala’s magic

17 Replies

We’re fresh back from our first visit to Mokala National Park, a thirst-land paradise dominated by majestic camel-thorns and teeming with wildlife, in South Africa’s Northern Cape.

Mokala August 2016

Of course we have thousands of photos to work through, and can’t wait to share this newly discovered gem with all our friends here at de Wets Wild in the days and weeks to come!