Our cancellation-surfing approach to staying in Kruger worked less well than in other years we’ve done it. We ended up pinballing between camps a fair bit. Who can say why? Are more people doing it now? Are there companies grabbing cancellations and reselling? Or is it just the ‘post’-pandemic situation? Hard to say. It makes it a less appealing prospect for future trips, for sure.
A tough old wolf. The Painted Wolf is among the very most effective hunters of large animals in the mammallian world - catching prey far more often than lions, leopards, etc.. This is because dogs are damn smart. And their hunting is cooperative and coordinated to a level only matched and exceeded by apes like us and chimpanzees.
Two cheetah brothers. In the second pic you can see the one brother calling the other down from his pedestal in his surprising cat-like high meow.
The sportiest and slinkiest. The African Cheetah. Two brothers using the way markers outside Orpen rest camp as viewpoints and scent marking them. Seeing cheetahs in Kruger is special. Seeing them clearly and close is magic.
A rather silly looking hyena having a frolic in a pool near their den. We found them while lost and running on fumes. The antics of this pack made it all worth while.