The dust flies as two zebra stallions battle it out for control of a family group.
(seen near Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park during a visit in February 2012)
“Fray” is this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme
It was late afternoon on the 3rd of August, and the sun was slowly setting on our first day back in the Kruger National Park. We were enjoying a leisurely drive along the Sabie River, taking in the deep calming atmosphere that comes with sunset in a magnificent natural setting like this, about 5km from Skukuza Rest Camp.
Unexpectedly, a young elephant ran across the road towards the river, trumpeting loudly and shaking his ears and trunk around, clearly extremely agitated. From a short side loop, we watched as he flushed a pride of lions from the reeds, quite some distance from the road.
The young elephant that started the show
Noticing that the lions will now be making their way towards the road, we anticipate where they’ll be moving out of the river bed and position our vehicle in that spot. We have to wait only a minute or two before noticing the first feline shapes appearing among the riverine vegetation, much closer to the road already. The lions are coming, and they are heading straight for us!
One by one, the entire pride of about fifteen animals, including three magnificent males, pass right beside us, crosses the road and moves into the bush on the opposite side. We watch enthralled from inside our vehicle as the big cats move by close enough to stroke (though of course, that would be very foolish to even attempt!).
(You can click on the photos to view them in a gallery, for a bigger view – we’re sure you won’t be sorry that you did 😉 )
Kruger welcomed us back in the most emphatic way imaginable. What else did it have in store for us in the nine days ahead? We hope you’ll join us again to find out!
An early morning encounter with a territorial black wildebeest bull, in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.
“Silhouette” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge
We’ve just returned from ten wonderful days in the Kruger National Park, and we’ll be telling you all about it in upcoming editions of de Wets Wild.
We hope this little albino vervet monkey we saw near the Timbavati picnic spot will convince you just how special our sightings were, and make you come back for more soon!
The lion. Such a short name for such a magnificent creature.
If there’s one animal that draws people from all over the world to our country’s wild places more than any other, it has to be the “King of the jungle”.
The lion is Africa’s biggest cat; males weighing over 200kg and standing up to 1.2m high at the shoulder.
They’re very adaptable creatures, inhabiting almost any habitat where there’s enough prey to sustain them. They’ll prey on anything from insects to crocodiles, buffaloes, rhinos, hippos and even elephants, and can consume up to 40kg of meat in a single sitting. And despite their association with royalty, they’re not above stealing carcasses from other predators, or taking carrion. They’ll drink regularly if water is available, but otherwise can go without it for extended periods.
It is well known that lions are the most sociable of cats, living in prides that can number over 30 animals where food is abundant. These prides are controlled by single or coalitions of up to 6 adult males, defending territories in which the core of the pride, the adult females, can safely raise their cubs. The strength of the pride lies in the defending of territory, hunting of large prey animals, and communal care of the cubs. Depending on the availability of food, the territories can cover areas as large as 2000 square kilometres, scentmarked by animals of both sexes and loudly proclaimed by their distinctive roaring. Neighbouring prides will get involved in serious fights over territory, and when new males take over a pride it is seldom a bloodless affair, more often than not killing the cubs sired by the ousted males (who themselves are lucky if they escape alive). All in all, the life of a lion is not an easy one, and their lifespan is limited to only 12 to 15 years in the wild, if they reach adulthood at all.
Today, despite all the reverence afforded to it through the ages as a symbol of nobility and bravery, the lion is a species under threat. Ever increasing human populations, and their accompanying livestock, is shrinking the habitat and prey available to these powerful cats by the day. They are being persecuted as livestock killers. They’re being poached for their skin and heads as trophies, and for their bones, used in traditional Asian “medicine”, “tiger wine” and “love potions”. There’s many so-called “captive-breeding facilities” where lions are exploited for the same purposes. To top it off, the dwindling populations are susceptible to disease and inbreeding. Though estimates range widely, there’s probably no more than 30,000 wild lions remaining in Africa (maybe as few as 10,000), and perhaps 400 in India. In South Africa, there’s sizable populations finding protection in the Kruger National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, with smaller numbers in several other reserves, including Pilanesberg, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, iSimangaliso, Tembe, Mapungubwe, Marakele, Addo, Karoo and Mountain Zebra.
The 10th of August has been designated World Lion Day; “An independent campaign working to highlight the importance of the lion globally and to raise lion conservation awareness worldwide“
We’re sharing the beautiful sunrise we enjoyed this morning at Lake Panic near Skukuza, to celebrate de Wets Wild’s 300th post!
We’ve arrived back at the Kruger National Park, and ended our day with a magnificent lion sighting near Skukuza; males, females and cubs crossing the road all around our vehicle.
Here’s a little teaser 😉
Thanks to their teeth and scales, crocodiles are adorned with zigzag patterns from nose to tail 😉
“Zigzag” is this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme
We’re busy packing for our next trip to the Kruger National Park. We’ll be staying at Skukuza and Satara, the same two camps we visited in April 2012, and that featured in our very first post on de Wets Wild!
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