The Pearl-spotted Emperor is a common butterfly living in various savanna-type habitats, occurring in this country from the Little Karoo and Albany thicket through much of the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal and into the northern provinces of North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. In the southern parts of their local range adults are seen only in spring and summer, but they’re on the wing year round further north. Beyond our borders this butterfly occurs as far north as Sudan.
Male Pearl-spotted Emperors are territorial and perch on open twigs from which they attack interloping males and try to woo the females for mating. They’re fast flyers and adults of both sexes frequent seeping tree sap and rotting fruit rich in sugars. Caterpillars of the Pearl-spotted Emperor Butterfly feed on the leaves of the Jacket Plum and Zebra Wood. Wingspan in adults measure up to 6cm, making this one of the smaller Emperor Butterfly species.
DeWetsWild and Hannes Rossouw Photography invite you to Manyeleti Magic, 27 June to 1 July 2024. A one-of-a-kind photographic safari in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve, an integral part of the Greater Kruger National Park.
The Village Indigobird is a brood parasite, in which males mate with as many females as they can and the females in turn lay their eggs in the nests of other small finches – especially firefinches – even if the nest owner is in the nest! In this way each female Indigobird may produce up to 26 eggs in a breeding season, which spans December to June. The chicks are reared by their adoptive parents until they rejoin the Indigobird flock at about 4-5 weeks of age. These small birds weigh around 13g when they’re fully grown.
The Grey-headed Bush-shrike is distributed through most of Africa’s savanna regions, stretching from the Sahel in West Africa to Eritrea and Somalia in the east, and then southwards to South Africa, where they’re found in the north and east of our country. They’re found in denser habitat-types and are very shy, seldom venturing into the open. These Bush-shrikes are adept hunters, catching any prey from insects to lizards, chameleons and snakes and even other birds.
Grey-headed Bush-shrikes live in monogamous pairs, each pair controlling a sizable territory. The female constructs the cup-shaped nest in the fork of a tree, using materials that the male brings to her. They nest during spring and summer, when the female incubates a clutch of 2-4 eggs over a week period. While the female is on the eggs or brooding the chicks the male is entirely responsible for bringing back food to her and the growing chicks. The chicks leave the nest when they’re about 3 weeks old but may remain in their parents’ territory until they’re a year old. Fully grown, this is the largest species of the Bush-shrike family occurring in our country, measuring about 26cm in length and weighing around 77g.
Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been showing you some of what we experienced during a holiday visit to the Kruger National Park in early January. There was the excitement of a wild dog hunt, endearing hyena pups, smiles thanks to dung beetles and baboons, the royal presence of lions and leopards and even a concert by the Skukuza frog choir. The Kruger National Park is an amazing place, and well deserving of its position among the great wild places on the planet. We just cannot stay away.
Lake Panic near Skukuza
Dawn at the confluence of the Mutlumuvi and Sand Rivers
View from Mathekeyane
Fruit of the Lowveld Chestnut Tree
Interesting mushroom sprouting from a lawn in Skukuza
Sausage Tree fruit
The Kruger National Park is one of South Africa’s premiere bird-watching destinations, and even more so in summer when the park’s prolific birdlife is boosted by summer migrants from as far away as Eurasia. This gallery is but a tiny morsel of the amazing diversity of birds we encountered while exploring the southern reaches of the Park in January.
Fork-tailed Drongo (photo by Joubert)
Marabou Stork
Male Village Indigobird
Common Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
White-crowned Lapwing
Pied Kingfisher (photo by Joubert)
Black-headed Oriole (photo by Joubert)
Bearded Scrub-Robin
Willow Warbler (photo by Joubert)
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
Yellow-billed Kite (photo by Joubert)
African Jacana (photo by Joubert)
African Hoopoe (photo by Joubert)
Brown Snake Eagle
Diederik Cuckoo (photo by Joubert)
Grey Heron using a hippo as an island
Grey-headed Bush-shrike (photo by Joubert)
Terrestrial Brownbul (photo by Joubert)
Southern Boubou
Southern Masked Weaver
Lilac-breasted Roller
Hamerkop
Three-banded Plover
Eurasian Golden Orioles
White-faced Whistling Ducks
African Fish Eagle
Trumpeter Hornbill (photo by Joubert)
Bateleur
The Kruger National Park is even better known for its astounding variety of mammals, which at almost 150 recorded species is among the highest of any conservation areas on the planet! The animals are so used to the gawking people driving around them all day that it makes for wonderful photographic opportunities.
Impala Lambs
Impala Ram (photo by Joubert)
Impala Ram
Buffalo Bull
Southern African Tree Squirrel
Nyala bull (photo by Joubert)
Nyala bull
Hippopotamus
Elephant Cow (photo by Joubert)
Elephants drinking from a temporary stream
Elephants drinking from a temporary stream
Common Duiker
Buffalo Bull
Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
Cape Porcupine (photo by Joubert)
Elephant Bull
Far less glamorous – some may even call them creepy-crawlies! – but equally as important in the natural cycles that drums the beat in the Kruger National Park is the extraordinary variety of insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles that you may encounter if you keep your eyes peeled.
Red-headed Signal Fly (Bromophila caffra)
Southern Foam Nest Frog
Common River Frog
Common River Frog
Great Waterbug (Hydrocyrius columbiae)
Great Waterbug (Hydrocyrius columbiae)
Wahlberg’s Velvet Gecko
Platanna
Southern Tree Agama (photo by Joubert)
Rock Monitor
Nile Monitor (photo by Joubert)
Rock Monitor
Nile Crocodiles
Nile Monitor (photo by Joubert)
Male Rainbow Skink
Mozambique Tilapia
Platannas
Leopard Tortoise
Two-phase Emerald Moths mating
We’d love for you to join DeWetsWild on a guided tour of the Kruger National Park or to help you arrange a self-guided visit. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
No matter how often you visit our national parks and game reserves or how many encounters you have with these regal cats, you just don’t get blasé about seeing Lions in the wild. Our most recent visit to the southern Kruger National Park earlier this month delivered some very exciting and some not so exciting, but still very memorable, sightings of Lions.
Our first Lion sighting of the trip came at the bridge over the Nwatimhiri River, where a small pride of lionesses and youngsters were lying in the long grass and trying their best to blend in with their surroundings.
Lioness in the Nwatimhiri River (photo by Joubert)
Lionesses in the Nwatimhiri River (photo by Joubert)
Lionesses in the Nwatimhiri River (photo by Joubert)
Lionesses in the Nwatimhiri River
Not much further we found the Lubyelubye pride walking along the road with a cavalcade of vehicles following them. As they walked past our vehicle they were close enough to touch, not that we’re foolish enough to ever attempt that – watch how carefully Joubert videos the passing procession from inside the car! 😉
The Lubyelubye lions walking along the road, just north of Lower Sabie Rest Camp
The Lubyelubye lions walking along the road, just north of Lower Sabie Rest Camp
The Lubyelubye lions walking along the road, just north of Lower Sabie Rest Camp
The Lubyelubye lions walking along the road, just north of Lower Sabie Rest Camp
The Lubyelubye lions walking along the road, just north of Lower Sabie Rest Camp
The Lubyelubye lions walking along the road, just north of Lower Sabie Rest Camp
The Lubyelubye lions walking along the road, just north of Lower Sabie Rest Camp
Early the next morning we were on our way from Skukuza to Tshokwane when we came across three lionesses stalking a zebra in dense growth. The zebra did not notice the lions until it almost step on the closest one, but it still got away! Thrilling to watch for us but I thought I saw a rather miffed expression on the faces of the lions…
Lions failing at their zebra hunting attempt
Lions failing at their zebra hunting attempt
Lions failing at their zebra hunting attempt
Lions failing at their zebra hunting attempt
Lions failing at their zebra hunting attempt (photo by Joubert)
Sometimes you have to work really hard for even a glimpse of a lion, as this one relaxing in the shade in the heat of the day proves.
Being out of the camp gates as soon as they open improves your chances of finding the lions up and active. On our final morning in the Kruger National Park we found this group of 4 lionesses walking over the Sand River Causeway.
Lioness in the dark of early morning
Lioness in the dark of early morning
We were still wondering where the males associated with the group of female’s we’d just seen could be, when we found these two lazing on the Marula Loop road only about 2km further.
Very tired male lion wondering why he decided to sleep on the road… (photo by Joubert)
Very tired male lion wondering why he decided to sleep on the road…
Very tired male lion wondering why he decided to sleep on the road…
Very tired male lion wondering why he decided to sleep on the road…
Very tired male lion wondering why he decided to sleep on the road…
And then getting up to find a quiter spot for his early morning lie-in (photo by Joubert)
If seeing lions in the wild is on your wish list we’d love for you to join DeWetsWild on a guided tour of the Kruger National Park or to help you arrange a self-guided visit. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
Chacma Baboons are great entertainers and most visitors to the Kruger National Park enjoy seeing these animals. I suppose that’s because their obvious intelligence, playful nature, endearing family interactions and the occasional aggressive altercation is like a mirror held up to our faces.
Baboon reaching for a grass stem full of seeds
Baboons are omnivores (photo by Joubert)
Baboon reaching for a grass stem full of seeds
Baby Baboons ride their mom like a jockey when they’re a bit older
Baby Baboons ride their mom like a jockey when they’re a bit older
Baby Baboons ride their mom like a jockey when they’re a bit older
Baby Baboons ride their mom like a jockey when they’re a bit older
Playful Baboon toddlers
Male Baboon looking very unimpressed
Is it just a Baboon yawn, or a sign of aggression?
We’d love for you to join DeWetsWild on a guided tour of the Kruger National Park or to help you arrange a self-guided visit. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
Outside of the reception office at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park is a beautiful pond, which by night is transformed into a stage for dozens of frogs of various kinds. For us it has become a tradition to visit the pond every night we spend in Skukuza to admire the sights and sounds of animals that are becoming ever more rare in the modern world.
We’d love for you to join DeWetsWild on a guided tour of the Kruger National Park or to help you arrange a self-guided visit. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
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