Here’s a fun video Joubert took during our latest visit to the Kruger National Park of a dung beetle hard at work. Watch the female catching a lift!
Dung Beetle hard at work in the Kruger National Park
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Category Archives: Memorable sightings
Spending time with Skukuza’s Hyenas
Even if Spotted Hyenas were not the most numerous large predator around Skukuza Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park – and I think they are – they’re definitely the most frequently encountered, a fact borne out yet again by the many rendezvous we had with these fascinating creatures during our visit to the Skukuza-area earlier in January.
Spotted Hyena near Leeupan, north-east of Skukuza Rest Camp
On a night drive from camp, following the course of the Sabie River, we crossed paths with several clans all searching for food.
We paid frequent visits to a Hyena den just a few kilometres south of the camp, where the many curious cubs kept us well entertained. These encounters were definitely in the “cute and cuddly” category.
Adult female Spotted Hyena at their den near Skukuza
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena cubs at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza
Spotted Hyena cubs at their den near Skukuza
Spotted Hyena cubs licking at a puddle of aircon water in the road at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena cub at their den near Skukuza (photo by Joubert)
We were awed by their tenacity when we spent time with this group of four Hyenas who were following the hunting wild dogs we shared with you a few days ago. While they couldn’t keep up with the pace of the painted wolves they were not put off, hoping that if they stayed on the spoor of the dogs they would catch up with them and could steal their meal. As it turned out the kill was quickly consumed by the wild dogs and the hyenas were left without a morsel by the time they arrived, but I am sure this will not prevent them trying again!
Spotted Hyena following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt
Spotted Hyena following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt
Spotted Hyena following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt
Spotted Hyenas following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena following a pack of wild dogs on the hunt (photo by Joubert)
Definitely the scariest run-in with a Spotted Hyena during this latest trip was with an individual who popped into the Tshokwane Picnic Spot while we were having breakfast. Luckily he didn’t stay long and moved off again without using those powerful jaws on any of the humans.
Spotted Hyena inspecting Tshokwane Picnic Spot in the Kruger National Park (photo by Joubert)
Spotted Hyena inspecting Tshokwane Picnic Spot in the Kruger National Park
Spotted Hyena inspecting Tshokwane Picnic Spot in the Kruger National Park
Spotted Hyena inspecting Tshokwane Picnic Spot in the Kruger National Park
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!
Hunting with African Wild Dogs
We’ve just returned from another wonder-filled visit to the Kruger National Park, where as always we had great luck and enjoyed the most memorable experiences. One of those was this encounter with a pack of African Wild Dogs hunting along the Sand River while we followed behind until they caught, killed and devoured a young Impala early yesterday (11 January 2024) morning. This video – not for sensitive viewers – was taken by Joubert.
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!
The school is on the move!
During a visit in November to Rietvlei Nature Reserve on Pretoria’s outskirts, along with friend and colleague Hannes Rossouw, we were treated to the show of hundreds of Sharptooth Catfish trying to move upstream following a good downpour the day before. What an amazing spectacle it was!
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
Sharptooth Catfish moving upstream in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
The reason why they’re moving upstream is to mate and lay eggs in newly inundated areas. These catfish were videoed at the Marais Dam in the reserve, vying for mating rights and the best spots to lay and fertilise their eggs.
Remember that I am available to escort you on a guided tour of the Rietvlei Nature Reserve when you visit Pretoria, and that Hannes will gladly accompany us if you’re looking for tips from an expert wildlife photography tutor!
iSimangaliso’s animals – great and small
As befits a conservation area of its stature, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park is extremely rich in fauna of all description. In this final post about our recent tour of the reserve I’ll be sharing some more of the wonderful animal sightings we had.
The tropical environment of northern Kwazulu-Natal is home to some very interesting invertebrate creatures – the Flatface Longhorn Beetle I showed you a few days ago being a fantastic example.
An enormous jellyfish that drifted out of a rough sea on the beach at St. Lucia
Common Bush Brown butterfly
Spotted Buff butterfly
Blue Pansy butterfly
African Piedspot Dragonfly
Mating Common Blue butterflies
Natal Rock Crab
Flatface Longhorn Beetle (Lasiopezus longimanus), identified with the kind assistance of the “Insects only – Southern Africa” facebook page.
Slug close-up
Millipede
Unidentified Moth with wonderful camouflage
Unidentified caterpillar
False Dotted Border butterfly
Sooty Blue
Superb False Tiger Moth
Dung Beetle
Broad-bordered Grass Yellow
African Peach Moth
Giant African Land Snail
Slug and its slimy trail
Brown-veined White Butterfly
Fish and frogs must be finding the wet conditions prevailing now after suffering through a terrible drought not so long ago very much to their liking!
Platanna
Foam Nest Frogs mating
The toes of a Foam Nest Frog
Banded Tilapia. The newly formed ponds have quickly been populated by fish and tadpoles.
Even though most of them are shy and seldomly seen, iSimangaliso is home to an amazing array of reptiles as well – many of them rather dangerous!
Huge Nile Crocodile slipping into the Mfabeni swamp
Marsh Terrapins
Tropical House Gecko
Striped Skink
Serrated Hinged Terrapin
Mozambique Spitting Cobra after swallowing something (likely a frog)
Southern African Rock Python
Southern African Rock Python
We dedicated an entire post to the amazing diversity of birds that we found in iSimangaliso during our most recent trip.
Purple Heron
Yellow-throated Longclaw
African Swamphen
Little Bee-eaters
Swift Tern
Secretary Bird
Squacco Heron
Narina Trogon
Collared Pratincole
Immature Kelp Gull
African Pygmy Geese among Blue Water Lilies
Crested Guineafowl
Yellow Weaver
Mammals are well represented at iSimangaliso, and zebras, giraffes, warthogs, various kinds of antelope and primates are regularly encountered along the routes traversing the Park.
Bushbuck ram
Chacma Baboon
Natal Red Duiker
Common Duiker
Large-spotted Genet
Impala
Kudus
Kudu bull
Fighting Kudu bulls
Giraffe cow and calf
Nyala bull
Nyala ewe
This leucistic Samango Monkey is a familiar inhabitant of Cape Vidal
Samango Monkey
Vervet Monkey
Red Bush Squirrel
Common Reedbuck
Common Reedbuck
Common Reedbuck
Suni
Warthog
Waterbuck
Waterbuck
Waterbuck
Waterbuck
Blue Wildebeest
Blue Wildebeest
Blue Wildebeest
Plains Zebra
Sitting outside watching our fire one evening at Mantuma Camp in the uMkhuze Game Reserve we were joined by a large herd of impalas and nyalas.
These Kudu bulls decided to have it out right in the middle of the road between St. Lucia and Cape Vidal.
While traveling along the grassland loop through the Eastern Shores section of the Park we came across a group of hyenas finishing off the remains of a buffalo.
Spotted Hyena
Spotted Hyena
Spotted Hyena
Spotted Hyena
Spotted Hyena
At the other end of the scale are Africa’s grey behemoths, all of which are found at iSimangaliso. Without forgetting to mention the Humpback Whales and dolphins so often seen just offshore, I’ve also already given closer attention to elephants and buffaloes. Hippos were one of the main reasons for the establishment of the St. Lucia Game Reserve 128 years ago, and they are still very much in evidence. We also encountered White and Black Rhinos, but I won’t be sharing photo’s of them as they were in some easily recognisable spots.
Humpbacked Whale tail-slamming off St. Lucia
African Buffalo
African Buffalo
Elephant bull on a walk about
Elephant bull at uMkhuze
Hippopotamus
A pod of Hippos on the shores of Lake St. Lucia at Catalina Bay
Hippopotamus
Pair of Hippopotamus
Pod of Hippopotamus in Nsumo Pan
Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with reservations and guided tours of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park if you’d like to visit this wonderful place as well.
iSimangaliso’s Buffaloes
The iSimangaliso Wetland Park is home to several hundred African Buffaloes, and they’re especially numerous in the Eastern Shores section of the reserve. They’re such powerful beasts with a well deserved reputation for a dangerous disposition, and it is always exciting to see them at close quarters.
African Buffalo
African Buffalo
African Buffalo
African Buffalo
African Buffalo
African Buffaloes
African Buffalo
African Buffaloes
African Buffaloes
Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with reservations and guided tours of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park if you’d like to visit this wonderful place as well.
Encounters with Elephants at uMkhuze Game Reserve
We had some excellent sightings of African Elephants in the uMkhuze Game Reserve section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park when we toured the reserve earlier in November.
Elephant bull at uMkhuze
Elephant bull at uMkhuze
Elephant bull at uMkhuze
Elephant bull at uMkhuze
Elephant bull on a walk about
Elephant bull at uMkhuze
There were some adorable babies in this big breeding herd – at least 50 individuals strong – that crossed the road in front of us in a hurry past the eThaleni Picnic Spot.
Elephant bulls are always a thrill to encounter.
We were trapped behind this big Elephant bull in musth – a period of heightened reproductive urges accompanied by aggressive behaviour – while heading back to camp on our first evening at uMkhuze. Luckily he gave way just in time for us to make the gate closing time of 19h00.
Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with reservations and guided tours of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park if you’d like to visit this wonderful place as well.
Humpback Whale
One of the most memorable sightings of my recent tour of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park was of a small pod of Humpback Whales playing just offshore of the St. Lucia estuary one overcast morning.
Humpbacked Whale tail-slamming off St. Lucia
Humpbacked Whale fin-slapping off St. Lucia
Humpbacked Whale tail-slamming off St. Lucia
Humpbacked Whale fin-slapping off St. Lucia
Megaptera novaeangliae
Humpback Whales occur throughout the world’s oceans at different times of the year. Locally they migrate past our shores from about June to overwinter in the tropical waters off both Africa’s Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines, returning to their Antarctic feeding grounds from about November at the start of the austral summer and covering as much as 16,000km on these journeys. Humpback Whales feed mainly on krill, other plankton and schools of fish, gulped down in enormous quantities after being encircled by “curtains” of bubbles released from the blowholes of the circling whales. These whales are well known for their spectacular breaches out of the water as well as their playful tail-slamming and fin-slapping behaviour (as captured in the above video). They may dive up to 150m deep and stay underwater for up to 15 minutes. While usually seen in small groups and even as single cows with their latest calf, Humpback Whales may at times congregate in pods up to 200 strong in good feeding grounds.
While in the more tropical climes the females give birth to single calves after an almost year-long gestation. The calves will suckle for up to a year, though they start eating at about 6 months of age. Females calf every two years and mating also takes place in the tropical latitudes during winter. At birth the calves weigh about a metric ton and measure more than 4 metres in length; fully grown they will weigh approximately 40,000kg and reach up to 18m in length! It is estimated that Humpback Whales live to at least 50 years of age.
Citing an increasing population estimated at approximately 84,000 mature animals (of a total of 135,000) worldwide, the IUCN lists the Humpback Whale as being of least concern. When whaling was banned in 1966 there was probably only 5,000 Humpback Whales left.
Over the years we’ve been fortunate to see these enigmatic creatures a number of times while visiting some of South Africa’s wild places, most notably the Garden Route National Park and, of course, iSimangaliso. DeWetsWild will assist you with reservations and guided tours of these places and even arrange whale watching excursions with experienced skippers if you are interested in seeing Humpback Whales up close.
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Flatface Longhorn Beetle
Lasiopezus longimanus
While strolling around the grounds of Mantuma Rest Camp in the uMkhuze Game Reserve section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park earlier this month I came across this incredible creature, identified as one of the Flatface Longhorn Beetles with the kind assistance of the experts in the “Insects only – Southern Africa” Facebook group.
While it was impressively big (the body was about 4cm long), boasted very long feelers and its colours perfectly imitated a bird dropping, it was the hairy feet I found most intriguing. It is possible that the “hairs” has some sensory function, but from a distance it makes the beetle look as if it is wearing mittens!
Flatface Longhorn Beetle (Lasiopezus longimanus), identified with the kind assistance of the “Insects only – Southern Africa” facebook page.
Flatface Longhorn Beetle (Lasiopezus longimanus), identified with the kind assistance of the “Insects only – Southern Africa” facebook page.
Flatface Longhorn Beetle (Lasiopezus longimanus), identified with the kind assistance of the “Insects only – Southern Africa” facebook page.
Lesser Moorhen
Finding a Lesser Moorhen at a newly formed pan of water in the Eastern Shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park was a real highlight of my most recent visit to the “Place of Miracles and Wonders”, as it brings me to 609 species of birds seen in South Africa.
Lesser Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Paragallinula (Gallinula) angulata
The Lesser Moorhen inhabits freshwater wetlands ranging from periodically flooded grasslands to permanent swamps and marshes, showing a strong preference for areas densely covered by emergent vegetation and limited open water. They’re omnivores, feeding on water plants and aquatic invertebrates.
Lesser Moorhens start breeding after the first floods, building their cup-shaped grass nests on a platform of flattened living grass, reeds or sedges. The female is responsible for most of the incubation duties, with the clutch of up to nine eggs (though about 6 is more usual) hatching after about 3 weeks. The chicks start flying at about 5 weeks of age, but remain with their parents up to about 2 months old. Fully grown they’ll weigh about 135g and measure approximately 23cm in length. Lesser Moorhens are very shy and seldom venture into the open.
The IUCN lists the Lesser Moorhen as being of least concern. It is found in suitable habitat over most of sub-Saharan Africa, though locally their populations fluctuate widely according to the quality of early rainfall and they’re usually only present in small numbers in Gauteng, parts of the Limpopo Highveld, the Lowveld and northern Kwazulu-Natal from November to May, migrating back to central Africa at the onset of winter (though a handful may remain throughout the year).
(Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with reservations and guided tours of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park if you’d like to visit this wonderful place as well.)
DeWetsWild 