Lovely white rhino sighting … and a Southern Ground Hornbill!

Jay-Dee had a great morning drive yesterday, that’s for sure.

We have had some first rains recently, and as a result the whole of nature has nicely greened up. Compare the photos of this story to, say, a month ago or so. Totally different world! There is a lot of wildlife activity at the moment as well (not that it is ever quiet though!) and now the first migratory birds from Europe are arriving as well, just in time as the “buggy” season starts. Feast-time! 🙂

Jay-Dee spotted a beautiful White Rhino yesterday, a male bull by the way, roaming around on his own. It was spotted at a lake that we call “Big Dam”, while it was drinking. The rhino was very relaxed, and our guests got great photo shots. As a matter of fact the shots below are Mary Tolle’s, one of our guests on safari with us. Well done, one of the loveliest White Rhino shots I have seen in a long while. Outstanding.

One can see the Rhino bull marking his territory on one of the photos. Male bulls are very territorial, and will defend their area tooth and nail, to the point of killing other male intruders. These guys are not to messed with when on heat!

Luck would have it that Jay-Dee would also spot a super rare Southern Ground Hornbill, which is the second time this month alone. So, message to the millions of birders out there in the world: If this rarest of all birds has eluded you all these years, and you want it off your bucket list, please visit us: you stand a decent chance here!

White Rhino at Big Dam
White Rhino at Big Dam
... very relaxed ...
… very relaxed …
Hello?
Hello?
Don't come here, this is my hood!
Don’t come here, this is my hood!
Very rare Southern Ground Hornbill
Very rare Southern Ground Hornbill

Lonely and upset male lion …

Mike and Uyai found the male lion yesterday … but he was on his own. He was looking for his pride, evidently they had all made off, leaving him behind. He didn’t look too happy about this. First the two youngsters made off, and now he has to look for his two lionesses too. This looks like major family trouble. Maybe they left him alone so that he can think about how he can fend for himself 😉

That said, he is a good and busy hunter, so maybe it wasn’t that. In general the two lionesses roam over much larger areas in the quest for food, but whatever happened, he was calling for them, and looking uneasy about being on his own. Not cool at all.

So to keep himself busy, he decided to chase around some cheetahs, in front of Mike and his guests. Lions are very territorial, and so they will not tolerate any other cats nearby, and will always chase them right away. Cheetahs are of course very fast, so they always get away, but they tire also very quickly. See below a photo of them resting after getting away from the lion.

It is extremely rare, however, to witness this in wild nature, so the sighting that Mike offered our guests yesterday was simply out of this world. A true once in a lifetime thing to see. Well done Mike, and many thanks for the photos! And in the end our lion found his beloved lionesses, so everyone was happy.

Sad-looking lion
Sad-looking lion
Lion chasing cheetahs
Lion chasing cheetahs
Resting cheetahs after being chased
Resting cheetahs after being chased
Lioness found!!!!
Lioness found!!!!

 

Two different reptiles … very different style!

Jay-Dee saw two reptiles on the same morning drive yesterday, and just gave me the photos.

One is a flap-necked chameleon, and one is a crocodile.

Crocs and chameleons are both reptiles, and yet they are obviously very different from each other. But they do share some surprising characteristics! They both eat meat, they both don’t like moving much, they both rely on disguise and both attack their prey in a very explosive manner.

The chameleon was spotted in an interesting (and rare to observe moment): it was shedding its skin! See on the photo below. How cool is that? We find chameleons quite regularly on our reserve, so when you stay at the lodge you will most likely enjoy the opportunity to hold a chameleon on your hand. It’s a very special experience, and very interesting.

Chameleon shedding its skin
Chameleon shedding its skin

Chameleons are a very special kind of lizard, and over the millions of years have evolved into 160 separate sub-species. You can find chameleons in the thick bush, like on our reserve, to the African deserts, as well as in jungles. They exist in all kinds of colors: green, red, yellow, blue, orange, pink, … what they all share are their peculiar feet, as well as their trademark eyes, which they can move independently from each other. Their eyesight is extremely good, and they all catch small insects with their long tongue. They can also change their colors. They usually turn darker when angered. The chameleons on our reserve do that too!

Below the photo Jay-dee took of the crocodile he spotted. As always he was busy lazing around in the sun, doing nothing at all. But be careful, they are very dangerous, and they can move fast. In general however they prefer to sleep in the sun, and catch an unsuspecting prey now and then. Their slow metabolism means they can go up to a year without any food at all.

Crocodile on the Moditlo Private Game Reserve
Crocodile on the Moditlo Private Game Reserve

 

 

Two cats the same morning … and very close to the lodge!

Mike and Uyai were out with all our guests yesterday morning, and, luck would have it, the cheetahs were right next to the lodge. Again!

So my suspicion is being confirmed, this reserve is turning more and more into a cheetah paradise, and that’s amazing news. As to why they keep on hanging out near the lodge, I am not sure, but something tells me that they have worked out that there is a lot of game around the lodge, feeling safe there, and now they have realised this “business opportunity”. Well, the sighting was fantastic, and our guests loved it! How often do you get that close to a relaxed cheetah in the wild? Practically never. What a treat! Well done Mike and Uyai, that’s great tracking (and this time around some luck too).

Cheetah near the lodge
Cheetah near the lodge

But the morning had the next surprise in store: a few hundred yards further away, in the Mbezi River, the lions were found shortly thereafter, chilling out in the dry river bed, after a successful hunting night. Our guests took some incredibly close-up photos of these massive cats. I would think that these might be the closest close-up photos I have ever seen of them, and in great quality too. I thoroughly enjoyed these shots.

The male lion is still hanging out with the two lionesses, with the young ones still being elusive. I suppose they are growing up 😉

Lions in the Mbezi river
Lions in the Mbezi river

 

Close encounters yesterday

Mike and Uyai were out yesterday with our guests, and had some very nice encounters with both a bull elephant, and a couple of very curious lionesses. This elephant bull is quite the character, especially when he’s on heat. 😉

That said, yesterday he only took a close look at the game driver (and our guests), and was well behaved. It is hard to judge from the photos how huge he really is, but think over 6m tall! This thing is a huge towering animal, and I can guarantee that it will get your adrenaline pumping when one of these is close-up. There is nothing like it. Our guests loved it, and the pictures taken were magnificent, and very impressive.

Bull elephant up-close!
Bull elephant up-close!

Luck had it, and Mike also found the two young lionesses that are roaming the reserve on their own at the moment. They are used now to the presence of the game driver, but they still took an unusual interest in this big thing on 4 wheels, and this made for some very nice photo opportunities. The two girls are very strong and independent now, so that’s maybe why they now spend time away from the family. Let’s see if this behavior persists! They will probably rejoin the pride at some point in the future …

Young lionesses
Young lionesses

Rare bird sightings

Jonathan, one of our rangers, has just given me a couple of photos he took on a game drive a few days ago, and they really intrigued me.

The first shot is one of a Tawny Eagle, on a kill that morning. It looks like he is eating another bird of prey. I believe it may be a Vulture chick. Vultures only scavange and do not hunt at all. The Tawny Eagle is one of the biggest and most powerful birds of prey in south Africa. They are known to feed on smaller mammals and game birds. So to me it is quite special to see this magnificent eagle on a baby vulture kill. It most certainly is very unusual!

The Tawny Eagle has a wingspan of almost 2m (!!), and it is currently not endangered (Thank God!)

Tawny Eagle
Tawny Eagle

Jonathan had also spotted a super-rare round Southern Ground Hornbill that morning. They are quite endangered at this moment in time because of the exotic bird trade and traditional medicine in south Africa, as well as tree destruction. These birds can live up to about 80 years old and only raise one chick every 7 years. Male and female stay together for life. They have incredibly strong beaks that are able to crush a tortoise shell. It is great to know that they are doing so well on our reserve, I always love seeing this truly rare and special bird!

Southern Ground Hornbill
Southern Ground Hornbill

 

 

Touching story

I read a really touching story on Yahoo News yesterday, and I thought I’d love to share this story with our many fans.

It is the story of an abandoned lion cub raised by two conservationists, and now, while she hunts on her own on the reserve, she has kept a very close relationship to the two gentlemen who raised her. This happened in Botswana, and the photos are truly touching.

In Botswana less and less land is available for wildlife, and so also there now wildlife reserves, governmental or private in nature, are pivotal for the co-existence of wild animals and humans.

Our conservation efforts here in South Africa, and in all other African countries, are absolutely key to offering long-term survival hopes for these rare and yet famous animals. Please visit us, and see the havens we have created here for African wildlife.

Here the link to the article:

www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/lion-forms-unusually-close-bond-with-conservationists/

and the photos:

Lion cub
Lion cub
Lion hug - she is growing up fast
Lion hug – she is growing up fast
Big lion hug!
Big lion hug!

 

 

Fearless lions

Jonathan has seen the lions several times over recent days, and has managed some really outstanding shots. One of them may be the most astonishing shots I ever saw, at the least it is very unusual. It shows our male lion resting at one of our many lakes, not minding the aggressive posing of a huge hippo in the background. This lion is truly fearless, he rules the reserve unopposed, and he knows it.

We have also seen the females and also the two youngsters out on hunts, so the pride is doing all fine.

Jonathan also found the head of a dead warthog (see photo below), most probably killed by lions. Gritty reminder of the law of the fittest. Warthogs mainly eat grass, so their tusks have got a grinding effect against each other. Look at the bottom teeth how sharp they are. Big males can weigh up to 120 kg. So these guys will stand and fight back. Definitely not easy prey to take down! Wild dogs, cheetahs, leopards and even lions are weary of them. But not ours, they are particularly well skilled at taking down warthogs.

I wasn’t sure I should post this photo, but decided in the end that also gruesome photos have their value. You will see carcasses here on a safari, and that’s all part of wild nature.

Lion and Hippo
Lion and Hippo
Yawning male lion
Yawning male lion
Gritty but fact of nature
Gritty but fact of nature