Yesterday was a very unique day … but then again every safari game drive is unique. But this one was really special!
There are sightings in our line of work that are considered so rare that even seasoned rangers consider them real privileges. Wild dogs is one of them, but then there is another one …
Yesterday’s late afternoon/evening game drive was already unusual enough, with a hyena pup sighting, so everyone was happy and having fun.
Nearing the lodge, on the way back, Uyai spotted something moving in the bushes on the side of the road and guess what?
A PANGOLIN!!! It is one of those sightings that some guides wait their whole careers for! I know guides that have waited 20 years to see one. It was fabulous. I sent Christopher and Janus to go and see it too, as they have never seen one. We spent quite some time with it, and while our guests were maybe not fully aware of the extraordinary nature of this sighting, we certainly were … and our guests really enjoyed inspecting and observing this highly unusual animal.
Pangolins are very shy, and they are also heavily hunted for the scales, as some Chinese &%^#&$ seem to believe they have some curative powers. They don’t actually, but nonetheless … can’t trump “tradition” I suppose.
Pangolins’ name is derived from a Malay word meaning “something that rolls up”, and one can see how that name came about.
This is the second such sighting this year alone, and the third ever on our reserve, so this super rare animal seems to be thriving on our reserve. Yet another conservation success …
