“The African wild dog is an endangered species, with only four remaining populations in Africa, one of which is Kruger. Their survival is dependent on the pack. A wild dog by itself is not that much of a threat to other animals, but a pack is a different story.”

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Not all “Sightings of the Day in the Bush” are heartwarming and happy. See below for details.

Today, this very ill male kudu stopped by for pellets. His legs are deformed, and he’s very ill-looking and undernourished. Most likely, he has contracted bovine tuberculosis.  

“Wild dogs have the most structured social order of the carnivores, living in packs led by a dominant male and female. All other members of the pack play a subordinate role to the alpha pair.”

Immediately we contacted one the Marloth Park Rangers and within minutes a ranger pulled into the driveway.  We were relieved to have a professional come to investigate.

“Wild dogs tend to shy away from areas dominated by lion and hyaena. There are an estimated 200 wild dogs in Kruger, so seeing them is a matter of luck. They can roam over long distances – up to 250 square kilometers – and may travel over 50km in a single day looking for food. They are most commonly seen in the Chobe, Moremi, and some in Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Kgalagadi.”

Once the ranger arrived at our property, Tom and I escorted him to the area where we believe he wandered off.  Through a stroke of pure luck, we spotted him limping through the bush.  

“Wild dogs are masters of the collective approach to hunting. A hunt begins at sunrise or sunset when the dogs perform an elaborate greeting ceremony, sniffing and licking each other, wagging their tails and twittering aloud.”

Fortunately, kudus tend to stay in one general area, so the ranger is confident they will find him. Tomorrow, Monday, the vet will come, and he may be euthanized based on this kudu’s poor condition. It’s sad and heartbreaking but a reality of living among wildlife. 

“They make a range of chattering sounds and have a distinctive long-distance greeting call – a sharp Hoo – that can be heard up to four kilometers away. Occasionally, they hunt at the full moon.’ during the hunt itself. However, they are silent. It reminded us of Scar Face, who we haven’t seen in months. It would be surprising if the injury to his face resulted in his eventual demise. Although we do not touch the wildlife, they become very special to us, each in their unique and special way.

“Wild dogs will fan through the bush looking for a herd of antelope. More often than not, this will be an impala. Once they have located a herd, the most vulnerable member is singled out – usually a female and young antelope.”

As I attempt to complete today’s post (sorry for the delay), Mr. Bushbuck is back here for the third or fourth time today. At one point, he could barely walk, and again we reported it to the rangers.  

“A subordinate male wild dog usually starts the hunt by trying to isolate the animal from the rest of the herd. Once the target has been identified and separated, the alpha male takes over the lead of the hunt, and the deadly endurance race begins.’

They suggested giving this handsome boy time to recover, and now, weeks later, he limps but doesn’t seem to be in as much pain. These amazing animals have an uncanny ability to heal themselves, more than humans seem able to do on their own.

“If this fails, they press on with determination, taking it in relays to increase the pace, nipping and tearing at the fleeing victim each time it slows down. They literally run their quarry to exhaustion. Once the animal collapses, the dogs immediately begin feeding, even before their prey has died from loss of blood.”

Now, we’re back to Part 3 of our “Ridiculous Nine” sighting in Kruger Park on Friday. The four of us are still reeling over our mind-boggling half day on a game drive in Kruger.

“Unlike hyena, which feasts noisily and chaotically, wild dogs are restrained and orderly at the kill. The young feed first, followed by the subordinate males and females, with the alpha pair eating at any time. Each dog awaits its turn, and if there is not enough food to go round, the hunt begins again.“

Today, we chose to share the African wild dog story. With a dwindling population of wild dogs throughout the world with an estimated 450 worldwide and approximately 200 in Kruger National Park, it was pure “safari luck” that enabled us to see these endangered animals.

“Subordinate females support nursing wild dog females who remain at the den. They will stuff themselves with food and then go back to the den to regurgitate the remains for the mother and her young to eat.”

The captions we’ve included under the photos are information we gleaned from Kruger National Park’s website.  See here for their link. We feel so fortunate to have spotted these endangered dogs on our special safari day.

As for last night, we all went to Jabula for a fantastic meal, running into friends we’ve made in the park. As always, the conversation, food, service, and ambiance were beyond reproach. Of course, not surprisingly, Tom and Lois loved it. We’ll certainly be returning several times during their three-week stay.

“The average litter size for the wild dog is between four and eight puppies. They suckle for the first three months of their lives before being taught to hunt.”

Tonight we’re staying in on a very cool evening and enjoying our low-carb homemade pizza with a salad and yet another surely delightful evening on the veranda.

“Wild dogs hunt every day as they require more meat relative to their size than lions do. Eighty percent of their diet consists of impala, but they do attack bigger game as well, including wildebeest, kudu, waterbuck, reedbuck, and sometimes zebra.”

With the holidaymakers gone from the bush, we’ve experienced the biggest influx of wildlife visitors we’ve ever seen on the weekend. Tom and Lois love every moment as we are as well.

“Wild dogs have often been regarded with horror by humans because of their seemingly cruel hunting techniques – death does not come quickly to the victim, which will first be run to exhaustion and then die from a loss of blood while being devoured.”

Tomorrow, we’ll all head to Komtipoort for breakfast at Stoep Cafe, shopping and showing Tom and Lois around the town and surrounding areas. No doubt, it will be another wonderful day!

May your day be equally wonderful!

“Hyaenas are mostly social, living in clans of between 10 and 40 animals, led by a dominant female. However, social structures can be quite loose with clan members shifting allegiances, breaking up, and reforming. They are territorial, marking their hunting ground through communal defecation. Their territories vary in size depending on the amount of prey in the vicinity and the number of competing clans. The territory itself is not vigorously defended, but hyaena clans will respond aggressively to other predators moving into their area.”

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

A white-backed vulture.

Each day, over the next week or so, we’ll be highlighting the fabulous sightings of the “Ridiculous Nine” we spotted on safari yesterday in Kruger National Park. Yesterday, we posted photos of the nine beautiful animals, and now, beginning today, we’ll be sharing our photos of the wildlife, one by one, day by day.  

“Hyaenas are capable of short charges of up to 50km/h and can maintain a steady, fast pace in pursuing prey over several kilometers. Their prey usually succumbs to exhaustion and is pulled down and disemboweled by the pack. Hyaena goes for the big game in packs – wildebeest, zebra, kudu, and, very occasionally, buffalo. When they hunt alone, they go for smaller animals such as baboons, guinea fowls, ostriches, snakes, and tortoises.”

As shown, today is hyena day (spelled “hyaenas” in Afrikaans), and these photos are a combination of both mine and Tom’s photos. He took many of today’s great shots.

“The spotted hyaena hunts and scavenges by night and is closely connected in African folklore with the supernatural world. Anyone who has heard the sound of hyaenas in full cry around midnight would understand the animal’s association with the dark arts.”

We’d never seen a hyena in Kruger before yesterday, although they are relatively prolific in the national park.  Undoubtedly, we were all very excited when we spotted them and spent a reasonable period taking many photos. 

“There is no love lost between lions and hyaenas. Each will attack and kill the other’s cubs or elderly or sick individuals. Hyaenas seem far less intimidated by lionesses than by lions and are occasionally bold enough to try to bully lionesses off a kill if there are no males around.”

We found them shortly after we’d completed finding The Big Five, which in itself was quite an accomplishment.  But, from there, magic happened, and over the next few hours, we completed what the rangers and guides call the “Ridiculous Nine.”

“Unlike the honest, authoritarian roar of the lion, which resonates with purity and strength, the “laughing” hyaena’s utterances are hysterical and mocking, an eerie human-like giggling shriek that would not be out of place in a mental asylum. Its body parts command a premium price on the local muthi market, particularly the tail, ears, whiskers, lip, and genitals.”

The name is appropriate in describing how utterly ridiculous the prospect of sighting these nine magnificent animals in one day:

Most of today’s hyena captions are from this site.

The Big Five:  Lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and Cape buffalo
The Ridiculous Nine: Lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and cape buffalo and cheetah, wild dogs, hyena, and the jackal for a total of nine.

“As a general rule, hyaenas hunt more when they are the dominant carnivores in any particular habitat and tend towards scavenging when there are lots of other predators around. They are chancers of note, often taking great risks to snatch meat away from lions and often being mauled to death in the process.”

We were giddy from there when in actuality, we also spotted hippos, crocodiles, wildebeest, giraffes, kudus, impalas, zebras, and many birds included the southern ground hornbill.

“Almost all hyaenas in Kruger are the spotted hyaena. They are found throughout Kruger, and the best places to see them are southwest Okavango, Savuti, and Linyanti. The brown hyaena found in southern Africa’s more arid environments.”

Today is a cloudy day and very cool. However, at the moment, the four of us are seated at the big table on the veranda, everyone chatting endlessly while we wait for one species after another to stop by.  

“Hyaenas are known for their cunning. They reputedly watch the skies for circling vultures to help them locate kills.  They follow the path of least resistance in getting food and, as a result, have become quite ingenious – they’ve been seen trying to scoop out fish at drying water holes during times of drought.”

So far today, we’ve had the following visitors: mongooses, kudu, bushbucks, wildebeests, warthogs, helmeted guineafowl, Frank and The Misses (who, much to our delight, has since reappeared), along with many other birds.

“Spotted hyaenas have the reputation of being scavengers, but studies have shown that, in Kruger, they tend to hunt more than they steal. Indeed, they are the second major group of predators in the Park after the lion, probably accounting for more animal kills than leopard and cheetah combined.”

As for the remainder of the day, it looks as if everyone is entirely content spending the rest of the day on the veranda until around 1700 hours (5:00 pm), when we’ll be getting changed for the evening to head to Jabula for dinner.  

“Although hyaenas sometimes hunt alone, they mostly hunt in packs. They have an almost uncanny ability to seek out the most vulnerable animal in a herd and isolate it from the others. Hyaenas are designed for the long haul, and, as Kruger mammal expert Heike Schutze says, “they are high-stamina hunters relentless in the pursuit of their prey once they have tasted blood.”

We made an early reservation, knowing we’ll enjoy time spent in Jabula’s fantastic bar, mingling with owners Dawn and Leon and any other friendly people we may meet along the way.

“Hyaenas have tremendously powerful jaws, capable of crushing the thigh bone of a buffalo in one movement. If they are hungry, they will gorge themselves, eating up to a third of their weight (15kg) at a single sitting!”

None of the four of us can stop talking about our phenomenal experience on our game drive yesterday. None of us will ever forget this most remarkable experience and having had the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime game viewing safari.

Two hyenas were howling in the wind.

In the future, has this experience spoiled us for future visits to Kruger National Park or even safaris in other countries? Perhaps, a little. Our expectations in the future could easily be tarnished after such a spectacular day.

They were sniffing the ground when they’ve picked up a scent.

But, when the visitors came to call this morning, we were no less enthused to see every one of them than we’d ever been in the past. It’s all magical, it’s all breathtaking, and for our visiting friends, Tom and Lois, it’s the stuff great memories are made of.

From this site: “The hyaena is a shaggy, untidy and opportunistic carnivore with a distinctive, sloping back. It is a dog family member, weighing around 60 kg (males can be heavier) and standing at about 80 cm at the shoulder.”

Have a memorable day!

Stunning female lion – #3 (second lion photo in today’s post)

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Spoon-billed storks, our first-time sighting in Kruger National Park.

It was 5:00 am this morning and the four of us, (including friends Tom and Lois) were dressed, lathered up in insect repellent, with cameras and binoculars in hand, and ready to head out the door.

#1 – Elephants

Louise and Danie had bid and won an auction for a six-hour morning safari with a guide in a traditional nine-seat safari vehicle to Kruger National Park and they insisted the four of us take it when they didn’t have time to use it due to their busy schedule. Part of the safari included breakfast at the Mugg & Bean (at our own expense).  

#7 – Hyena

From there, magic happened, one sighting after another, far surpassing any sightings we could have ever imagined. Our adrenalin was pumping while our expressions of sheer delight sent each of us into a frenzied level of enthusiasm.