Southafricanwildlife on The Singemonkey

February 14, 2023

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 16:12:11 +0000

A mess of hippos.

January 14, 2023

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 12:27:52 +0000

Little fruitbats dangling themselves to sleep in Satara restcamp. I think they’re probably Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruitbats. They’re about the size of my fist. When they’re settling themselves down they look like someone struggling in a sack.

January 12, 2023

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 10:15:28 +0000

A new zebra. They’re fluffy and their stripes are rather brown at this age.

January 11, 2023

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 10:32:01 +0000

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.

January 08, 2023

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 11:45:47 +0000

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.

December 29, 2022

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 16:07:11 +0000

Painted Wolves (aka African Wild Dogs aka Cape Hunting Dogs) are the most desired large predator sighting in Kruger Park by regular visitors. We’ve been fantastically lucky to see them on most visits in the last decade. Packs are frequently wiped out by diseases of domestic dogs. Only the slow process of evolution or a genetic vaccine will restore them to the numbers they enjoyed in the late 19th Century.

December 29, 2022

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 15:37:10 +0000

Dogs are always dogs. They love to play. They love to support and socialise. The painted wolf second from right has clearly been released from a poacher’s snare by the brilliant South African National Parks Board Staff. Despite the ugly gash, closeups reveal that it’s scarring over and healing nicely.

September 22, 2021

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 12:59:07 +0000

I found a few pics on cards from our 2019/2020 trip to Kruger. That was summer and the impalas were giving birth to huge numbers of lambs - most of which are destined to be dinner rather than grown up impalas. But they are delightful little creatures.

September 12, 2021

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 18:52:32 +0000

I decided I preferred this Blue Eared Starling pic.

September 12, 2021

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 18:47:59 +0000

Another very common bird in The Kruger National Park: The Yellow-Billed Hornbill. And again, although they’re everywhere, they’re always fun. So full of arch, suspicious character and long glides just at windscreen level.

September 12, 2021

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 18:41:17 +0000

Would you believe that this creature is one of the most common birds in the Kruger National Park? They’re even common in Johannesburg gardens. They’re still stunning birds, no matter how ubiquitous - and cheeky - they are.

September 12, 2021

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 18:36:42 +0000

We primates distrust each other for very good reason.

September 11, 2021

Sat, 11 Sep 2021 14:13:22 +0000

Speaking of animals that often wish us ill, this has been the very last thing quite a few people ever saw.

September 11, 2021

Sat, 11 Sep 2021 14:08:48 +0000

There’s a non-zero chance that this is the same Cape Buffalo that I photographed chasing off that leopard at this same waterhole the other day. Impervious to leopards though they be, the boldest African lions can lay them low. As I understand it, the usually-complacent male lions are the ones that hunt buffalo - since it requires all of their massive strength to kill one of these aggressive bovine behemoths.

September 09, 2021

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 18:24:38 +0000

I don’t think this works great as an Insta pic, but it’s the kind of photo I’ll enjoy having hanging somewhere to remind me of this place when I’m not here. And bushbuck. Because I love bushbuck.

September 08, 2021

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 17:23:42 +0000

The delicate little Steenbok that lives a very nervous life all by itself in the Southern African bushveld.

September 08, 2021

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 16:23:11 +0000

This flock of murder birds approached the car window. Maybe people have been feeding them? Some of them were too close for the lens to focus.

September 08, 2021

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 16:18:16 +0000

This old guy’s almost ready for Valhalla. Scarred. Wounded. Moving slowly. I reckon his days as a silent bushveld assassin will be over soon.

September 07, 2021

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 09:54:18 +0000

The Bushbuck is a solid little beast. He won’t mind you but they have a nasty reputation for responding violently to harassment.

September 06, 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:55:06 +0000

@sophdex, you’ll feel for me when I tell you the leopard was far away and got chased off by a buffalo, and the first lot of lions were unconscious and motionless, so you’ll agree we recovered something from the day by running into the second lot who walked all around the car and posed nicely for their closeups.

September 06, 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:49:05 +0000

This leopard had apparently had two kills stolen in one day by the same bastard hyena, and then this oaf came charging in. Best give it up, go back to bed, and try again tomorrow mate.

September 06, 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:42:10 +0000

A turkey sized bird with a knife for a face. And despite the name, they can definitely fly.

September 06, 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:37:16 +0000

If grooming is communicating, can active aggression be passive aggression simultaneously?

September 06, 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 08:21:26 +0000

We’ve been seeing more giraffes that ever before so far on our holiday. From youngsters to grizzled veterans towering over the car with their scars and lion-lost tails. While I’m sometimes used to them, I’m still sometimes struck by what zany nonsense creatures they are. Evolution can take you to really strange places if you’re not careful.

August 23, 2021

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 09:11:07 +0000

@goflow42 nearly stepped on this beautiful lady just outside the Geelbek restaurant in West Coast National Park as we were walking towards one of the bird hides. This is only the second time @withoutaleaf and I have seen one of these beautiful cats in the wild - they can be spotted anywhere between here and Iran. Caracals are expert bird-ambushers. They can leap to extraordinary heights to pull down birds trying to escape by flight. This one was only slightly bigger than a house cat, but full grown males are considerably larger.

October 07, 2020

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 13:40:21 +0000

Birds of prey. Look at me getting ambitious with some amateurish cutting.

These were all filmed in Kruger years ago. Featured birds: African Fish Eagle, the fearsome and mighty Martial Eagle, the Giant Eagle Owl (now called Verreaux’s Eagle Owl), the Bateleur - the skymaster - and the… Wahlberg’s Eagle?

Fun fact: I know how to talk to Giant Eagle Owls. That Owl was responding to me talking to it.

October 05, 2020

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 13:46:12 +0000

Young lions being sweet. This is a bit unusual to see. 90% of the time lions do nothing at all. 8% of the time they’re terrifying murder-machines that set our ancient alert system on defcon GTFO. All their other behaviour fits in that last bit.

If this seems a weird environment for a wild lion outside India, this is what the bushveld looks like after heavy rains. Kruger is mostly described as, “savannah woodland,” with plenty of large trees. This was in December 2013.