Tag Archives: cheetah

Satara Summer 2021 – Challenging Cheetah Camouflage

See if you can spot the female Cheetah in this photograph. We spotted her on the 15th of December a few kilometers south of Satara. With her were two cubs; they were even more difficult to see. This was the first of 5 Cheetah sightings during our December 2021 visit to the Kruger National Park.

See if you can spot the cheetah?

Four days later we had a decent enough sighting of a group of four young Cheetahs hunting close to Nwanetsi. They didn’t stick around for photos very long though before their fleeing prey forced them to follow deeper into the bush.

Cheetahs hunting near Nwanetsi

Our next Cheetah sighting, on Christmas Eve, was another very challenging one. While this individual lay perfectly out in the open about 150m from the road that spotted pelt is excellent camouflage.

Can you spot the Cheetah?

On Boxing Day, late afternoon while heading back to camp along the H6 road, we found two Cheetah brothers sitting in the rain intently staring into the distance. Just what they were looking at we never figured out as we eventually had to depart in order not to be locked out of camp.

Cheetahs like statues along the H6

Our next and final Cheetah sighting was also in pouring rain on the 31st of December, this time along the S37 road leading to Tshokwane from Nwanetsi; a group made up of a female with 4 fairly large cubs who would take turns to sit up in the rain and keep a watchful eye while the others kept their eyes shut against the pelting drops.

Cheetahs in the rain along the S37

Cheetahs in the rain along the S37 (photo by Joubert)

Cheetahs in the rain along the S37

The Cheetah is endangered, not only in South Africa but across the whole continent, where its range has been drastically diminished. South Africa is home to at least 1,100 of these beautiful animals, with about 370 living in Kruger National Park and adjacent reserves. For us to have seen five different groups during our 3 week visit to the Park was extremely lucky! The Endangered Wildlife Trust is again calling on citizen scientists to submit photos of Cheetahs (and Wild Dogs) taken during visits to the Kruger Park to their 5th Cheetah Census, and while Joubert and I didn’t really get useful images on this trip we hope we can encourage other visitors with more luck to participate in this important project.

Summertide Diary: Exploring Mountain Zebra (part one)

20 Replies

1 January 2021

As soon as the gates opened on New Year’s Day we headed for the Rooiplaat Loop, the sightings board at reception having indicated that Lions and Cheetahs were seen there the previous day. And we did not wait long – right where the road skirts the Park’s boundary fence we came across a big male lion, known as Nomad, patrolling his territory.

We supposed that it was the proximity of the big predator that made these Black Wildebeest so jittery!

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

Black Wildebeest (photo by Joubert)

It’s early morning in the Mountain Zebra National Park and there’s so much to be seen!

Kopieva bloom

Blesbok ewes and lambs

Blesbok lamb

Blesbok ewe and lamb

Grey-winged Francolin

Windpump along a stream in the Mountain Zebra National Park

Red-billed Teal

Wide open spaces in the Mountain Zebra National Park

Cape Sparrow (male)

Jackal Buzzard

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Scaly-feathered Finch

African Pipit

It was on the link road between Rooiplaat and Ubejane Loops that we happened upon these cute little Bat-eared Fox pups and their elders. More photos of them tomorrow!

Bat-eared Fox pups

Along the main road, between the two junctions with the Ubejane Loop, we saw this pair of unusually tolerant Secretarybirds – they’re normally quite nervous and move away from the road the moment a vehicle approaches, so this was a great opportunity to watch them in action.

Secretarybird (photo by Joubert)

Secretarybird

Wind-blown Secretarybird

Secretarybird

Secretarybirds

At the southern junction of Ubejane Loop with the main road there’s a small earth dam filled with rainwater. By the time we arrived there at mid-morning Cape Mountain Zebra families were arriving from all corners, along with some other wildlife, to slake their thirst and it was wonderful to watch their social interactions before heading back to camp.

Cape Mountain Zebras

Cape Mountain Zebra

Cape Mountain Zebras

Red Hartebeest

Cape Mountain Zebras

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Cape Mountain Zebras

Back at camp there was time to kill either side of lunchtime, and thankfully there’s very much of interest around the accommodation and camping area.

Vervet Monkey

Cross-berry

White-browed Sparrow Weaver

Red-eyed Bulbul

Four-striped Grass Mouse

Western Rock Skink

Cardinal Woodpecker

Laughing Dove

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Neddicky

Familiar Chat

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Red-headed Finches

Imposing Sweet Thorn thorns

Seeroogblom

Chestnut-vented Warbler

Black-throated Canary

Snake Aloe

Southern Rock Agama

Vygie

African Grass Blue butterfly

Gazania

Pied Starling

Bar-throated Apalis

Neddicky

Sweet Thorn tree

Southern Rock Agama

White-necked Ravens that caught a Red-winged Starling chick

White-necked Raven that caught a Red-winged Starling chick

Grey-headed Sparrow

Familiar Chat

Red-eyed Bulbul

Neddicky

Southern Masked Weaver

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Cape White-eye

Karoo Scrub Robin

Our route for the afternoon would first take us into the mountains along the Kranskop Loop before taking another jaunt around the Rooiplaat Loop.

Doornhoek Guest House overlooks the Doornhoek Dam and is a national monument

Highveld Cabbage Tree

Rocky outcrop

South African Shelduck

Hyrax

Southern Rock Agama

Amazing scenery along the Kranskop Loop

Black Harrier

Scale-feathered Finch

Namaqua Dove

Red-billed Quelea

Rock Monitor

Black-backed Jackal

Eland

Gemsbok

Wide open spaces at Mountain Zebra National Park

Steppe Buzzard

The Rest Camp at Mountain Zebra National Park blends in beautifully with the surroundings

A real highlight of our afternoon drive was an encounter with a group of three Cheetahs – one adult and two youngsters – on the Rooiplaat Plateau, just half-an-hour before we had to be back in camp.

Cheetah

Cheetah (photo by Joubert)

Cheetah

We posted a special feature about Mountain Zebra National Park following a previous visit, if you’d like to learn more about this special destination.

Map of Mountain Zebra National Park from the SANParks website (https://www.sanparks.org/images/parks/mountain_zebra/mznp-map.jpg)

A day in Pilanesberg: Hour 5

27 Replies

We’ve just been commenting on the scarcity of giraffe sightings so far into our day at the Pilanesberg National Park when we find ourselves in the middle of a giraffe roadblock on Tlou Drive.

Giraffe

Giraffe roadblock

It takes a bit of patient waiting before the giraffes clear the road for us. We turn off into Tshukudu e Ntsho Road to go and see what Makorwane Dam has in store for us. There’s a huge crocodile and a pod of hippos in the water, but a group of very noisy humans in the hide are spoiling the experience for everyone else and we don’t stick around for longer than necessary to use the ablutions. The view from the bridge over the stream feeding the dam is much more serene.

Back on Tlou Drive and then right on the Nare Link, there’s more wildebeest, red hartebeest and giraffes to see, and then…

“There they are! There they are!” Joubert sees the cheetahs first, some distance away from the road but thankfully out in the open and clearly visible despite the pouring rain. A female cheetah known, fittingly, as “Rain” and her three almost fully-grown cubs. We last saw Rain about 5 years ago, when she was still the only adult female cheetah in the Pilanesberg and already raising a litter of cubs. Since then the Park’s cheetah population has grown considerably, in no small part due to Rain’s success as a mother.

The Cheetah female Rain and her latest cubs

As we are watching the distant cheetahs this very wet black-shouldered kite is keeping an eye on us:

Soppy Black-shouldered Kite

If you’d like to follow along as we explore the Pilanesberg, a map may come in handy (for a large format version click here)

Tlou Drive to Nare Link via Makorwane Hide

If you need to catch up on our drive through the Pilanesberg National Park, you can read all the previous posts here.

To be continued tomorrow.

The bloody fight that never was

26 Replies

At the end of our Satara Summer, on the way to the Kruger National Park’s Orpen Gate from where we were to head back home to Pretoria, we were lucky to see a lone Cheetah resting in the shade of a small thorn tree. Having stopped for a last photo or two, it was Marilize who noticed a Spotted Hyena heading straight towards the Cheetah. Knowing just how hateful the relationship between Africa’s large predators are, we were sure we were probably going to witness a tremendous fight when the two meat-eaters meet, especially when the Cheetah noticed the Hyena, snarled at it viciously, and got up to defend its turf. But turns out this Hyena was not a fighter; he walked straight past the Cheetah as if it wasn’t even there, and not paying the cheetah’s tantrum any attention whatsoever. It was rather amusing seeing the Cheetah standing by himself, looking decidedly confused, as the Hyena disappeared from view…

Our first view of the relaxed Cheetah

Here comes the Hyena

The Cheetah has also noticed the Hyena now

and he gets up, ready to make a stand

Hyena and cheetah interaction at Orpen

Wait! What?

The Hyena simply walks straight past and away

Leaving the Cheetah rather confused at what just happened

Encounters with Cheetahs at Imfolozi

31 Replies

Many of our friends here at de Wets Wild are great fans of cheetahs, so they especially would be thrilled to know that we had three wonderful encounters with these lithe cats during our December visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

Cheetah with a tracking-collar

Cheetah in the long grass

Cheetah with a tracking-collar causing a traffic-jam

Cheetah with a tracking-collar

Cheetah

52 Replies

Acinonyx jubatus

Few animals’ anatomy so clearly describes their way of life as that of a cheetah. With a small head, big chest, long legs, a supple back and a tail used as a rudder that enables it to change direction in a split second, the cheetah is absolutely built for incredible speed.

You may be lucky to see a cheetah near Orpen

Cheetah

Hyena and cheetah interaction at Orpen

Cheetah on the road to Orpen

Cheetah

Hunting Cheetah (photo by Joubert)

Hunting Cheetah

Cheetah

Cheetahs inhabit areas of open grasslands, bushveld and semi-deserts. Here they prey mostly on small and medium sized antelope, but also on rabbits, jackals and birds up to the size of kori bustards and ostriches. They are independent of water, but will drink when it is readily available.

Cheetahs are diurnal cats, being most active in the early morning and late afternoon, resting up in shady vantage areas during the heat of the day. Both sexes mark and defend large territories, those of females usually being bigger in size than the males’. Females are solitary, except when accompanied by their cubs or a male suitor, while adult males often form coalitions of 2 or more that band together to defend a territory. While hunting and patrolling their territory, cheetahs will readily take to trees, termite mounds and small hills to scan their surroundings. Cheetahs are most famous for being the fastest mammals on the planet, capable of reaching speeds of 100km/h, which they can only maintain for a relatively short distance of 300 to 400m, in pursuit of prey. After such a chase, the cheetah normally takes a few minutes to catch its breath before feeding hastily, as other predators, even vultures and baboons, will rob them of their meal.

Cheetah on the lookout, Gudzani Road

Orpen cheetah sighting

Cheetahs near Shingwedzi, 27 September 2014

Cheetah cub

Cheetah female

Cheetah in the long grass

Cheetah with a tracking-collar

Cheetah – Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park

Cheetah

The Cheetah female Rain and her latest cubs

Cheetah

Cheetah females give birth to up to 6 cubs at a time. The cubs are hidden in long grass, thickets or rocky outcrops for the first month or two of their lives. They are weaned from as early as 3 months old and the female starts training them to hunt from about 4 months of age. The cubs become independent of their mother between 12 and 20 months after birth, at which time they are forced from her territory. The newly independent cubs roam widely and often have a difficult time of it, until they are successful in establishing a territory of their own. Lions, leopards and spotted hyenas are known to actively hunt and kill cheetahs, and they are susceptible to a variety of diseases. In some populations as few as 5% of cubs reach independence. In the wild, cheetahs live to between 10 and 16 years of age.

Orpen cheetah sighting

The King Cheetah is a beautiful and rare recessive genetic mutation of the cheetah in which the spots are fused into blotches and stripes. Seeing a King Cheetah in the wild occurs very rarely but there are a handful in captivity.

King Cheetah at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre

The 4th of December annually is commemorated as International Cheetah Day, to highlight the plight of these lithe big cats. The IUCN considers the cheetah vulnerable to extinction, with a total population of aproximately 7,500 which is believed to be decreasing further. They are threatened by habitat loss, the eradication of their prey base, conflict with livestock farmers and illegal hunting, and have seen tremendous declines in their distribution range. In South Africa wild cheetahs now probably number around 550 animals only, with a considerable percentage of this population persisting outside the big conservation areas in places where competition with larger predators are less of a threat. In our experience, the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Kruger National Park and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park provides the best opportunities for encounters with wild cheetahs in South Africa.