Tag Archives: wildlife

Pondering again the allure of the waterhole

September is generally regarded as the start of the spring season in South Africa, but with the rainy season still weeks away and temperatures starting to climb higher as the days grow longer, it is a very dry period of the year in most of the northern parts of the country. In our wild places, like the Kruger National Park, animals are seen congregating at or near the few remaining sources of water. The Mopani area of the Park is well served by several reliable waterholes and here visitors to the Park can expect interesting sightings of birds and animals taking turns at the water’s edge.

A Steenbok drinking from a puddle in the Ngobeni streambed

Elephants on the banks of the Letaba River

Mopani is situated on a hill overlooking the large Pioneer Dam, making this the most prominent of the area’s water sources. Visitors can get close to the water along the trail through the camp or at the Pioneer Hide.

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Black-winged Stilts

Goliath Heron

African Jacana

Yellow-billed Stork

Black Crake

Lazy Hippos

Juvenile Black Crake

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Squacco Heron at Pioneer Dam

Wood Sandpiper

Big Nile Crocodiles makes Pioneer Dam a dangerous place

Immature African Fish Eagle

Marico Sunbird

Another large body of water in this section of the Kruger Park is Grootvlei Dam, more distantly located from Mopani along the S50 gravel road to Shingwedzi.

Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam

Plains zebras drinking from Grootvlei Dam

African Fish Eagle at Grootvlei Dam

Black-winged Stilt

Flock of Cut-throat Finches at Grootvlei Dam

Enormous Nile Crocodile at Grootvlei Dam

Grootvlei Dam harbours many Nile Crocodiles

Watch this short video of a big Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam on a hot September morning:

On the way to Grootvlei visitors can make a detour first to the Mooiplaas waterhole, where a drinking trough is fed by a windpump and reservoir, and then along the Nshawu Marsh where several springs provide water even in drought years. Both these places are also well frequented by large predators waiting for thirsty herbivores to ambush.

Elephants at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant herd walking away from Mooiplaas Waterhole

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

Elephants, plains zebras and a giraffe around one of the springs in the Nshawu Marsh

Because Mooiplaas (meaning “pretty farm”) is so close to Mopani, we love whiling away the last few minutes before the gates close there, and that’s exactly what we did when this herd of Elephants were having their sundowners.

A memorable encounter with Elephant bulls near Tihongonyeni

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South Africa’s Kruger National Park is renowned for wonderful encounters with African Elephants, and our quick visit last week proved no exception. We were based in the Mopani region of the Park, where mopane shrubs and trees dominate the plains and elephants congregate in their numbers near permanent water sources, like the Tihongonyeni waterhole. It was on our way to Tihongonyeni late one morning that these two bulls decided to make use of a flimsy shadow cast over the road by a big tree to rest their tired legs. Every time we ventured closer to try and sneak past on the verge of the road, the bull nearer to us would give a warning step or two in our direction, trunk outstretched, and so I’d back up again. Eventually we waited half-an-hour before the two eventually allowed us, with a shake of the head and a toss of the trunk as if they’d grown tired of our meekness and just wanted to be rid of us, to pass them.

Impressive tusker near Tihongonyeni

African Elephant bull near Tihongonyeni waterhole in Kruger

African Elephant bulls near Tihongonyeni waterhole in Kruger

Here’s a short video of an encounter we’ll remember fondly when passing that way again in future.

Returning to familiar favourites and finding new treasures in the Lowveld

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I have just returned from a visit to the Lowveld and in particular the Kruger National Park and Manyeleti Game Reserve with Hannes Rossouw Photography. The following photographs are just a little appetiser of what you can look forward to in the next few posts on DeWetsWild.

Leopard up a tree near Phalaborwa Gate

Sharpe Grysbok near Mopani

Elephant at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant herd walking away from Mooiplaas Waterhole

Plains zebras drinking from Grootvlei Dam

Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam

Impressive tusker near Tihongonyeni

Elephant feeding on mopane leaves near Tihongonyeni

Squacco Heron at Pioneer Dam

African Scops Owl

Buffalo Calf

Buffalo Bull

Leopard in a tree on the bank of the Tsendze River south of Mopani

African Civet

Blue Wildebeest at Mooiplaas

Young Nyala bull at Ndzhaka Camp in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Young leopard in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Young lion in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

A big male Lion in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Playful Wild Dog pups in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah after being chased up a tree by Wild Dogs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Elephant calf

Nyala Bull

Lilac-breasted Roller

White Rhino bull in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Sunrise over Manyeleti

Lioness with a very full belly

A very alert Lioness

Hippos in a dam in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Grey-backed Cisticola

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Cisticola subruficapilla

Grey-backed Cisticolas are found only in the southwest of South Africa (Eastern, Northern and Western Cape and southern Free State) and in Namibia. It inhabits the Fynbos and Karoo biomes, living on insects snatched from the ground or from leaves. They’re commonly encountered either singly, in pairs or small family groups.

Grey-backed Cisticolas form monogamous, territorial pairs and breed from mid-winter to summer. They build ball-shaped nests with a side-entrance, usually placed low in a shrub and often incorporating parts of it in the construction. Clutches of 2-5 eggs are incubated for about two weeks, with the chicks leaving the nest a similar length of time after hatching. Fully grown they weigh about 11g and measure around 12cm in length.

The IUCN assessed the Grey-backed Cisticola as being of least concern.

Grey-backed Cisticola

Large-billed Lark

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Galerida magnirostris

A rather nondescript bird, perfectly camouflaged to blend in with the barren substrates they favour, the Large-billed Lark is a bird of the fynbos and Karoo biomes. They forage on the open ground, feeding on seeds and insects, and are particularly fond of ploughed fields and overgrazed pastures. They’re usually seen in pairs.

Large-billed Larks are territorial and form monogamous pairs that breed from mid-winter to mid-summer, building cup-shaped nests at the base of a grass tuft or low shrub in which both partners incubate clutches of 2-4 eggs for a little over 2 weeks. While the chicks are in the nest the parents are fearless about protecting them against predators and humans alike. Fully grown they weigh around 48g and measure about 18cm in length.

The Large-billed Lark is found only in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape Provinces as well as the southern Free State, Lesotho and extreme southern Namibia. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern.

Large-billed Lark

Large-billed Larks (photo by Joubert)

Large-billed Lark

A window into the life cycle of the Garden Acraea

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The Garden Acraea is by far the most numerous butterfly in our little garden, and as I type this there’s at least a dozen of them flitting around the plumbago and Cape honeysuckle shrubs in my field of view. This year I’ve paid even more attention than usual to them and been rewarded with a window into their fascinating life cycle.

Two Garden Acraeas mating

In April we started noticing large numbers of caterpillars in their final instar moving around the garden, with some of them even finding safe refuges on the patio furniture and security bars in front of the windows where they could start their metamorphosis.

Garden Acraea caterpillar looking for a place to pupate

It took several months for them to shed their last caterpillar “skin” to reveal the hard chrysalis inside which they were transforming. Sadly some of the pupae dropped from their safe havens, but I could save a few from marauding ants and put them in a jar on my desk where I could keep a close eye on them.

Garden Acraea Pupa

Garden Acraea Pupae

Garden Acraea Pupa

It didn’t take anywhere near as long – only a few weeks – for the adult butterflies to start emerging.

Newly emerged Garden Acraea

Soon their wings were unfurled and they could take flight in the same garden where they started their lives.

One of the pupaes I kept in a jar on my desk taking on the wide world outside

Clicking Stream Frog

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Strongylopus grayii

The Clicking Stream Frog’s call is a good impersonation of a human tongue click, hence the common name. They’re small frogs, measuring at most 5cm in length, found only in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini (Swaziland) and ranging from our west coast, through the Little Karoo and Garden Route, through most of the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal and then to the higher lying regions of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. They are particularly common in the south-western corner of the country that receives most of its rainfall in winter. They’re regularly found in or near ponds and small dams as well as shallow streams, and so tolerant of poor water quality that they’ll even breed in flooded refuse pits.

Clicking Stream Frogs lay their eggs in moist spots next to the water’s edge. Females can produce up to 350 eggs. In wet weather the tadpoles may emerge within 5 days of the eggs being laid and then scramble to the water, but in dry weather the eggs could remain viable for up to 2 months. It takes 3 to 6 months for the tadpoles to go through the full metamorphosis to adult frog form.

Clicking Stream Frog

Swee Waxbill

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Coccopygia melanotis

The Swee Waxbill occurs only in South Africa (it is absent from the dry western and open central parts of the country), Lesotho and eSwatini (Swaziland) with a tiny, isolated population in South-central Zimbabwe. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern.

Swee Waxbills are omnivores, feeding mostly on grass seeds and tiny insects. They’re most commonly found on the edges of and clearings in forests and woodlands and will venture into well-planted gardens from time to time, becoming quite unafraid of humans. They’re usually seen in pairs or small groups, getting their name from the soft contact calls they make while moving around.

Swee Waxbills breed from mid-spring to late summer. Monogamous pairs work together to construct their oval-shaped grass nest, usually placed high in a tree or other dense vegetation. Clutches of up to 9 eggs are incubated by both parents over a 2 week period. The chicks leave the nest when they’re about 3 weeks old and remain with their parents for a similar time thereafter before dispersing. They’re tiny birds and fully grown weigh less than 8g.

Swee Waxbill

Swee Waxbill (photo by Joubert)

Topaz Spotted Blue Butterfly

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Azanus jesous

The Topaz Spotted Blue occurs commonly through most of South Africa, being absent only from the drier western reaches of the country, and inhabits a wide range of habitats where they gather in numbers around flowering thorn trees or to drink from puddles. Adults, with a wingspan of less than 3cm, can be seen throughout the year though their numbers peak in summer. The larvae feeds on several different kinds of thorn trees (Acacia sensu lato and Dichrostachys).

Topaz Spotted Blue

Topaz-spotted Blue / Topaz Babul Blue

Spekboom

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Portulacaria afra

The Spekboom (“Bacon Tree”) is a succulent shrub or small tree of up to 5m tall that occurs naturally from the Little Karoo, through the Eastern Cape – where it is the dominant plant species in parts of the province, like the Addo Elephant National Park – and Kwazulu-Natal and into the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. It grows best on warm, rocky slopes. It is listed as being of least concern in the Red List of South African Plants.

Spekboom is browsed heavily by game (including elephants) and livestock, and humans too use the leaves in salads or as medicine for skin conditions and other ailments. Easily grown from cuttings, Spekboom is a popular garden plant and widely established in many parts of the world. In recent years the Spekboom’s incredible ability to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere coupled with its ease of propagation has received much attention as a possible mitigating measure against climate change.