Author Archives: DeWetsWild

About DeWetsWild

Nature and wildlife enthusiast and tour guide, based in Pretoria, South Africa.

Lion

Panthera leo

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”.

Lion

Lioness

Lion Kings of Addo

The King and Prime Minister of Imfolozi

Beautiful male lion (photo by Joubert)

Young male lion on the move

Male white Lion in the Johannesburg Zoo

White Lioness

The lion is Africa’s biggest cat; males weighing over 200kg and standing up to 1.2m high at the shoulder.

Mating lions

Snarling Lion (photo by Joubert)

Mating lions (photo by Joubert)

Lion (photo by Joubert)

Tawny Lion

White Lion

Four lionesses owning the road

Lioness close-up

Mating pair of lions

Lazy lionesses

Lioness

Lion

Domestic violence, lion style…

Lioness

Angry lioness

More lions!

Proud male lion

Huge pride of lions

Lions in the dark, just outside camp

Lioness

Lionesses seeking shade

Lion cubs

Lazy lionesses

Lion cubs and one of the pride females

A lonely and scared little Lion cub

Lion brothers

Lion

Lioness

Lioness close-up

Lion

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.

Lion Jarvis

Well-hidden lion

Lioness feeding from the carcass of a poached rhino

Young male lion at Marakele

Lioness (photo by Joubert)

The two Kings of Babalala

Getting up is hard work for this Lion (Photo by Joubert)

Watchful Lion (Photo by Joubert)

Beautiful male patrolling his territory at Red Rocks

Big male lion in the bed of the Mphongolo River

Beautiful male patrolling his territory at Red Rocks

Lioness

Two of the Kambula Lions at Manyeleti

One of the males from the Kambula Breakaway pride

Lions after dark

Young male Lion

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.

Lion, Kruger National Park

Lion, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi

Lion, Kruger National Park

Sand River Lion

Kings of Addo

Kings of Addo, seen near Addo’s new Nyathi Camp

Kings of Addo

Lion pride with buffalo kill

Lion love at Lower Sabie

Lioness and mate

Male lion

Pride of lions at Kumana Dam

Lioness pacing the H4-1 between Skukuza and Lower Sabie

Lion with his zebra meal, just outside Satara

Lion near Skukuza

Lion

A lion in the light of early morning, searching the Nshawu Marsh for easy pickings

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.

Lion on a dune in the Kgalagadi

Lion watched by wildebeest

Lioness at Nossob’s fence

Lion close-up

Lioness peaking over a ridge

Lions at sunrise

Kalahari lioness

Lion pacing the Nossob

Kalahari Lioness

Kalahari lioness

Lazy lioness (photo by Joubert)

Lioness

Rietvlei’s lions live a life of leisure

Male lion at Mountain Zebra National Park

Lions on a distant hillside

Lioness eyeing us and the buffaloes from the grass (photo by Joubert)

Lioness

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“

Lions preying on buffalo in the Pilanesberg National Park

Mating lions at Mankwe Hide

Beautiful Pilanesberg lion (photo by Joubert)

Beautiful Pilanesberg lion

Young lioness at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

Big male lion at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

Feeding time at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

Energetic female lions at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

Feeding time at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

Lion at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve, April 2021

Male White Lion

Lion roadblock (photo by Joubert)

Lion roadblock

Lion pride at Lubyelubye

Lionesses and cubs laying claim to a Sand Bank in the Sabie River

Young male lion

Lion just outside Pretoriuskop

Lioness in the minutes before dawn (photo by Joubert)

Pregnant Lioness

Lion (photo by Joubert)

Lion (photo by Erlo van Aswegen)

Lake Panic Sunrise

19 Replies

We’re sharing the beautiful sunrise we enjoyed this morning at Lake Panic near Skukuza, to celebrate de Wets Wild’s 300th post!

Lake Panic sunrise 05082014

Back in Kruger, and what a welcome!

36 Replies

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 😉

Lion Sighting 03Aug2014

Zigzag

10 Replies

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

Kruger National Park: 26 April to 1 May 2012

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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!

World Ranger Day

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Today is World Ranger Day, set aside to celebrate the work rangers do to protect our natural heritage, and to spare a special thought for those that have been injured or killed while carrying out their often dangerous duties. Here at de Wets Wild, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to South Africa’s ranger corps, who look after the special places we so love to visit.

Baobab

50 Replies

Adansonia digitata

African legend has it that God got upset with the baobab and kicked it out of heaven. It smashed into the earth upside down, with its roots sticking into the air.

Due to its size, an adult baobab cannot be mistaken for any other tree. They reach heights of over 20m, with trunks sometimes more than 10m in diameter. Trees this size are estimated to be between 2000 and 4000 years old and have served as landmarks in the vast African wilderness for centuries.

Baobab, Mapungubwe (near Leokwe)

Baobab, Kruger (Pafuri)

The baobab in Mopani Rest Camp, Kruger National Park

Baobab landmark near Mopani, Kruger Park

Von Wielligh’s baobab, between Olifants and Letaba in the Kruger Park, in the dry season

Baobab with Buffalo Weaver nests

Baobab

Baobab with Buffalo Weaver nests

Baobab in a see of mopane, on the way to Bateleur

Small Baobab next to Rentmeester Guest House in Shingwedzi

Baobab on the way to Kubu Island

Kubu Island

Baobabs are deciduous trees, covered in dense green leaves during summer and completely devoid of their foliage in winter. The wood is very soft, and when the tree dies disintegrates quickly into a heap of fibres.

Baobab flower

Unfortunately, elephants have a particular fondness for the baobab and especially the bark, often causing the death of the trees by their very destructive feeding habits. Several other animals, including baboons, monkeys, birds, and predators use the tree for food or shelter.

Mapungubwe National Park scenery

Baobab forest at Pafuri

Baobab

Baobab and elephants

Baobab fruit

Baobab flower

von Wielligh’s Baobab

Baobab at Timbavati in the Kruger Park

The baobab has many traditional uses: the fruit can be used to make a most refreshing cooldrink with water or milk, the seeds roasted as a coffee substitute, the roots can be used to make a kind of porridge, young leaves cooked like vegetables, and the fibrous bark, apart from being used in traditional medicine, can be woven into mats used to build shelter or as floor covering.

In South Africa, the baobab occurs naturally only in the extreme northern and eastern parts of the Limpopo Province, with magnificent specimens to be found in the Kruger and Mapungubwe National Parks.

Summer Lovin’

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The midday heat of a Lowveld summer can get exceedingly oppressive. If you can muster the courage to keep yourself out of the swimming pool and head to a waterhole, you may just be lucky enough to enjoy the antics of a herd of elephant playing around in the refreshing water. These shots were taken at the Klopperfontein Dam, near Punda Maria in the Kruger National Park.

“Summer Lovin‘” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge

Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp, Kruger National Park

26 Replies

Nestled along the Matjulu Spruit, in the mountainous south-western corner of the Kruger National Park, just 12km from the Malelane Gate, lies the aptly named and very popular Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp (Afrikaans for “Mountain-and-Valley”).

Berg-en-Dal scenery

When it opened in February 1984, Berg-en-Dal’s face-brick architecture was a considerable departure from the “traditional” appearance of other Kruger camps. The camp’s buildings blend in perfectly with the mountainous surroundings and the small dam at the central visitor complex is a popular attraction to visitors who enjoy quietly watching a wide variety of game and birds come to the water.

Berg-en-Dal entrance

Berg-en-Dal dam

The camp covers an area of approximately 24 hectares, in which the natural vegetation has been preserved as far as possible, providing both privacy and a closeness with nature to Berg-en-Dal’s guests. The camping area has space for up to 70 caravans and tents, and accommodation is available in 69 bungalows, 23 cottages and two luxury guest houses. Facilities available include a restaurant and take-away kiosk, shop, fuel station, conference facilities, laundromat, swimming pool and amphitheatre in which wildlife films are shown in the evenings. Guided game-viewing drives and bush walks (the only way to see some of the San rock art found in the area if you are not booked on the three-night Bushman Wilderness Trail) can be booked in advance or at reception. In the reception building, the information centre provides fascinating insights into the biology and conservation of the black and white rhino. A new picnic facility for day visitors has recently been opened just a short distance from the camp, on the way to Malelane Gate.

Berg-en-Dal Accommodation

Berg-en-Dal Camping

Berg-en-Dal film show

Berg-en-Dal Rhino Hall

The Rhino Trail meanders from the dam at the restaurant along the camp’s fence for a total distance of over 2km, exposing guests to a wide variety of aromatic bushes and trees with frequent sightings of Berg-en-Dal’s avian inhabitants and sometimes even encounters with big game, safely on the other side of the electrified perimeter fence. The first part of the trail, about 600m in length, is made accessible to visually impaired nature enthusiasts by a guide rope linking displays and braille information boards.

Poignant memorial on the Rhino Trail

Wildlife encounter on the Rhino Trail

Wildlife encounter on the Rhino Trail – African Leopard Butterfly

Wildlife encounter on the Rhino Trail

Malelane is a small camp just 3km from the entrance gate with the same name, and 9km from Berg-en-Dal. The name means “out-of-sight”, referring to the outpost of warriors posted here to protect Swazi interests in the area in pre-colonial days. Agricultural and industrial development across the Crocodile River, which forms the southern border of the Kruger Park, unfortunately do detract from the visitor experience at this otherwise lovely camp and was a deciding factor in the National Parks Board opting to build Berg-en-Dal in the hills nearby. The Malelane of today is much smaller than the original camp, offering five bungalows and 15 campsites compared to the original camp of 25 huts and 30 camping sites, and does not offer any of the other amenities available at Berg-en-Dal.

Malelane Gate

Guarding the entrance to Malelane Camp

Malelane Camp

Game-viewing in the scenic surroundings of Malelane and Berg-en-Dal can be a richly rewarding experience. Lion and hyena are often seen, but it is leopards and wild dogs that the area is renowned for. Kudu, giraffe and impala, being browsing animals, are frequently encountered, while elephant and buffalo are attracted to the area by the relative abundance of water. A firm favourite (late afternoon) destination with many visitors is the Matjulu waterhole just 4km from Berg-en-Dal, where they while away the last minutes of sunlight before heading back to camp before the gates close for the night. Further afield the H3 main road through to Afsaal picnic site, and the gravel roads to the east of it linking up with the gravel S114-road to the Biyamiti causeway (and onwards to Skukuza) and the S25 that leads to Crocodile Bridge, seldom fails to deliver something exciting.