Safari Snapshot #1

We as guides get some amazing opportunities for brilliant photography. Here are a few interesting shots taken on a morning out in the bush.

We managed to find a herd of somewhat 500 Buffalo easing their thirst at one of the many waterholes

We also found this troop of Mongoose, warming themselves on the eastern side of a Termite mound, where they had spent the night

This giraffe was such a good looking boy, a photograph just had to be taken

Darren Roberts-York


Photo and Video taken with a Nikon Coolpix P510 on location at Tintswalo Safari Lodge

A Hippo, 4 Waterbuck and a pair of Wild Dog

We were out for only 10 minutes and saw a small group of Waterbuck. An adult female with three juveniles were standing in the water looking desperately nervous. Their body posture was a dead giveaway. They were not standing there for no reason.

Two Wild Dogs stood about 60 meters away, watching and patiently waiting.

It was very apparent that the Wild Dogs have already tried to hunt these buck down and the water was their only refuge from a carnivore with possibly the most impressive endurance in the African bush.

Just as cameras started snapping, one of the young and inexperienced waterbuck bolted out running straight north. In a grey flash with splashing water and branches breaking, the other 2 juveniles followed. Their inexperience was obvious. Their self-preservation instincts took the better of them and they foolishly left the safety of the waterhole.

The adult female Waterbuck reluctantly followed them like a baby sitter taking full responsibility for these youngsters.


They were running fast, very very fast.

One Wild Dog got up and playfully nodded to his hunting partner that the chase was so on. The two hungry hunting Wild Dogs accepted the challenge.

They were in pursuit! Also running fast, very very fast.

My cruiser was hopelessly left behind in puffs of dust.

I pursued in hope to witness what could happen. About 400 meters away I saw the adult female Waterbuck catch up with the juveniles and the Wild Dogs were already onto them snapping at their flanks.

The experienced adult Waterbuck took the lead and unbelievably the young bucks turned and followed without question. The Wild Dogs were still snapping at their hides. The last juvenile got sharply nipped and this was like a spur in a horses flank.  It buried its heels deep into hard ground and ran for its life.

They were in full gallop heading straight back towards us. We just made it back in time to see the Waterbuck dive back into the waterhole. A high dive champion would have watched in awe as they dived about eight meters to hit the middle of the hole, right on top of a big Hippopotamus!

The Hippo then pushed them out of his waterhole right onto the bank and the Wild Dogs were right there, waiting. The young Waterbuck were trembling, nervously looking straight at the 2 ton Hippo. The Wild Dog then tried to flush the adult Waterbuck out of the water and it was warned with two sharp thumping hooves stomping the water.

The territorial Hippo with his head low came streaming towards the buck but they just stood and watched. Upset Hippo on one-side. Hungry Wild Dogs on the other.

A minute passed. The Hippo stopped advancing however still staring. The Wild Dogs synchronized their sudden departure.

The Hippo just stared. The Waterbuck just stood there. The Wild Dogs just disappeared. We just sat there.

A little while later we found these Wild Dogs hunting on the airstrip, just trotting along as if nothing happened.

What an experience!


Fritz Breytenbach

Bush Fact #1 - The Under "Dog"

The Spotted Hyena is a fascinating and interesting character in the African bush. They add colour and charisma to interactions with other predator’s, sometimes chasing other carnivores off kills but more often being chased.

A common misconception is that Hyenas are related to dogs. Their closest relatives are in fact cats, mongooses and civets with the mongoose being the closest. The Hyaenidae family split from these about 25 - 29 million years ago and were widespread across Europe, Asia and Africa. Today there are only 3 species left: Striped, Brown and Spotted Hyena with the Aardwolf as a close relative.

On average adult males weigh around 45kg whereas adult females almost double their weight. This is no coincidence as Hyena society is a female dominated affair where the highest ranking males are commonly dominated by even the lowest ranking female. The social order of Hyena is a see-saw business with clan members always forming alliances and coalitions to assist with hierarchy and dominance.

Female Hyenas rarely have more than two cubs and den communally with lower ranking females denning away from the communal den to give their cubs the best chance at survival. They den for 8 – 12 months and cubs are fully weaned by 14 – 18 months. The social hierarchy of the cubs are determined by the rank of the mother. The fight for hierarchy starts at a very young age, even as early as 4 weeks, and cubs have been known to kill other cubs in this constant battle.


Mothers often leave the dens for prolonged periods of time in search of food. Their milk has the highest protein content of any terrestrial carnivore as this has to sustain the cubs while mom is out hunting. Dad however is good only for mating and moves off to the outer edges of the clan soon after mating.

Hyenas are very misunderstood animals as they are perceived as scavengers only. They are known to take advantage of another predator’s fortune but as this is true for any predator if given the chance, you can rather label them as opportunists. They not only use vultures to lead them to a fresh kill but are also very effective hunters. Hyenas are generally solitary hunters but are also known to hunt in small groups. Stamina is the Hyenas greatest weapon as prey is chased down over several kilometres at approximately 50 – 60 km/h. It has been determined that Hyenas have the strongest jaws in the animal kingdom.

With their bone crushing jaws and their incredible stamina you have got yourself a very powerful apex predator.

Darren Roberts-York

What a Leopard!

It’s not often you see a leopard that is confident and experienced enough to sneak between several hyena and feed on a fresh kill they thought they had commandeered for themselves.


This was one such day!

We stopped at Wild Dog Dam and my guests enjoyed a warm sunset afternoon with bright orange colours and meringue-like clouds. A glass of cabernet was complimented by relishes of cheese and paté, prepared by my wife Ronél. Our guests came from very far and I could see that they were in some way struck by a sense of disbelief and amazement at what they have experienced in the bush thus far.

The sun slipped away and we were off with the spotlight, zigzagging and intently searching.

It’s full moon and easy to make out large Bushwillow, Jackalberry and Monkey Thorn trees silhouetting in the bright moon light.


The radio crackled and it was good news. Leopard on a kill! We were literally a few hundred meters away and got to the area in a few short minutes. As we got there I was told the leopard had moved away. A large female kudu had been killed and was lying in the riverbed. Something had definitely been feeding on it.


We stayed for a good 15 minutes, as the other vehicle had left the area a long time ago. I decided to go for a bumble and see what else we might find. One hundred meters away four male elephant of a known group of twelve were drinking water from a recently formed pool forced open by floods a few months ago.

The moon was so bright we could see these elephant drinking in the pure natural light. I asked Simon to switch his light off. We just sat there in the dark and could literally see water dripping from their trunks and heard how they slurped gallons and gallons of water at a time.

We could see these elephant drinking without the spotlight that’s how bright the moon was. I asked Simon to switch his light off and we just sat there in the dark and could literally see water dripping from their trunks and heard how they slurped gallons and gallons of water at a time.


Driving slowly, we returned to the kill and within 30 seconds one, then two, then three hyenas appeared. Their noses revealed the way and led them to this very place. Four minutes later they discovered the spot. With as much caution as I would use entering a dragons cave, they slowly with quarter strides and sideway stepping, closed in on the kill.


Three Hyenas became four and then five. The hyenas must have come from far as most of the individuals first greeted each other with the classic “I’ll lift my leg and you lift your leg, let’s smell who you really are!”


The Hyenas started feeding and then suddenly the next moment a large male leopard appeared. He watched from a massive fallen Sycamore Fig tree barely 5 meters from the kill. He very casually lay down and with very little care and surprise rested on the log, head down, paws crossed.

I almost got the idea he knew these Hyena intimately from many a past confrontation and hunting sessions deep in the wilderness.

Suddenly all the hyena gave a classic alarm call and off they were galloping away! The leopard dropped down, looked to the front and back and strolled over to his kill. I then saw one hyena in the dark staring almost nervously. At that moment I could see that this was a leopard of high regard. These hyenas dare not take him on one-on-one.

The leopard took a chunk of meat and slowly walked back, leapt onto the Sycamore and ate. The Hyenas returned and ate as-well.

They carried some meat away. The leopard then strolled over towards and then past us. Where was he going? I then saw he was confidently approaching a hyena that carried some of the bounty away. Like a proud gladiator walking into the Coliseum to face his enemy, he walked over with head slightly dipped. The distance between them lessened slowly and at about 2 meters to go, the leopard suddenly charged the hyena. The leopard’s tail was swinging like a medieval bolas while thumping the ground in rapped succession.

The leopard reclaimed the small piece the hyena had and then very interestingly marked the spot as to make sure that the hyena knew who he was dealing with. The leopard left and climbed an old Jackalberry tree. He was content, confident and controlled the situation around him.

He commanded his space and demanded respect while old Hyena was all too happy to oblige.

Fritz Breytenbach

Victory Loves Planning

I left the lodge with Jamie (guide) and Duncan (maintenance) to go for an afternoon walk. We headed south and crisscrossed the Nwasisontso River several times. This practise increases your chances of seeing game as you stay close to the lush riverine forest and high ancient trees.

So far the weather was comfortable and the walk easy. No brush to squeeze through, nice open game paths to follow and good open views from the front to spot what might be waiting ahead.

We were on the eastern side of the dry river bed when we suddenly heard the sound of breaking branches. We almost instantly spotted a big Elephant bull casually feeding on a large Bushwillow. We watched and as our senses were fixed and concentrated, we heard several different groups of Elephant feeding, breaking branches and softly vocalising by making distinct low rumbling noises audible to us. We stopped and viewed some of the herd coming into view. The wind direction was perfect. I could feel it in my face and on my cheeks. Wind blowing into our faces while viewing the animals meant we were far from being detected by these large pachyderms. So far the walk has been very exciting and overwhelmingly in our favour. Could it get any better?

As we stood and enjoyed the moment, I heard a sound that made my feet want to move and investigate. My mind told me to rather stop and listen. It was the sound of a male leopard rasping repetitively just to our north-east. I asked my two accompanying trailists whether I should try to find this magnificent animal on foot. The answer was a resounding YES! I calculated the risk and devised a strategy.

Listen and establish how far the animal was from us. Determine its direction of movement. Determine the approach keeping in mind cover while approaching and cover once in the sighting. Safety was high priority. Wind direction was already in our favour but we had to be as quiet as possible. One foot after another in very dry grass! The leopard was still a good distance away, so some noise was still acceptable before it would become pertinent to drop decibel levels to an absolute minimum.

As we moved closer to the sound, it suddenly dawned on me. We were making the same amount of noise as the feeding elephants were. This was absolutely great! The leopard at this moment must’ve only been hearing the elephants. If he could not smell or see us but only hear us he would think we were nothing more than noisy feeding elephants!

The odds were stacking-up in our favour.

We moved fleet footedly with all senses sharp and focused.

The leopard was also moving. Judging by his course of direction he would soon walk into a big open sodic site. We got closer and dropped very low, now moving deceitfully silent. We positioned ourselves ahead and parallel to where the leopard should come walking past. Well hidden behind a Raisin Bush and small Jackalberry Trees, our bodies were concealed amongst the brush with perfect little peep holes the size of large juicy red apples.

The sound intensified as this Leopard rasped and rasped. The wind was still perfect with no inclination of changing direction. Silence came and our eyes were peeled. In a moment of pure disbelief this very large male leopard walked into view. With his tail high in the air and his head low, he paused and rasped confidently. We watched and watched and watched. Seeing this animal on foot could only have been a result of all the odds in our favour, team work and careful planning.

We engraved the image into our minds. He was a burnt ebony colour with a very muscular neck. Perfect rosettes were scattered over his sleek Jaguar like body.

We left him and he left us totally unaware of our high level of affinity towards him. Even more amazing was that this leopard turned out to be one of our most elusive individuals on the reserve. Very few images have ever been captured of this particular animal. Viewing him on foot made it so much more special.

Shirombirombi 4 years ago - One of the very few images ever captured

What a walk! What an experience! What a pleasure!

Until next time!

Fritz Breytenbach

The Sizanani Coalition

The Manyeleti Game Reserve has been experiencing an extremely special period in its recent history with exploding populations of large male lion coalitions. With two new young males, called the Sizanani Coalition (meaning “working together”), looking to settle in the central parts of the northern end of the concession, it is starting to look like a battlefield. They are surrounded by a coalition of 5 males (known as the “Matimbas”) to their south and a reported coalition of 12 males (known as the “Skybeds Coalition”, confirmed at least 9) to their north.

The scenario doesn’t look great for the young males, as besides the high lion competition, one of the males has an injured rear left leg. The injury seems to have been picked up many months ago, yet this young male manages to keep pushing on with the help of his brother. It has been well documented that nomadic male lions are superb hunters as they do not have the support of a pride. On many occasions scavenging seems to be the solution for minimal effort and maximum reward. This method certainly seems to be the answer to countless unsuccessful hunts, due to the disability of an injured leg.

 

On two occasions within the last week this behaviour has been observed. Firstly when the young coalition managed to pick up the signal of diving vultures, they found the experienced Koppies pride feeding on a Zebra carcass. The stronger of the males managed to push the pride away from what was now there food, as a limping lion came in to reap the rewards.

On the second occasion, on an evening game drive, we heard the bellowing of a helpless buffalo 300 metres away. We knew we were in luck, as earlier in the day we had left the two young males trailing a herd of buffalo. This was something, as a ranger or a tourist, you would always dream of witnessing, so the race was on to get to the scene before the events unfolded. Upon arrival we were shocked to find two hyenas trying to pull a juvenile buffalo to the ground. The tug of war went on for several minutes until the buffalo had no fight left to fight. Suddenly the Sizanani brothers came rushing to the scene and chased the hyenas away, one of which nearly ran into our game viewer as he got such a fright!

The following events unfolded in the video clip below. The hyenas where out of sight but could be heard calling for support in the background:

 

 

Jamie Harrington