WILDLIFE BLOG

Almost the first game drive that I took this year, we found a Serval in the long grass near the old airstrip. Not commonly seen in this area, they are more at home in open grassy plains, which aren't in abundance here. Their huge ears and fantastic sense of smell allow them to hunt rodents in the long grass, pouncing on them from several yards away. They're also famous for hunting Guinea Fowl, sometimes jumping high [...]

Even at the end of March, it's still raining heavily several days a week. I don't mind too much as the showers bring a freshness to the air which has disappeared after a couple of days of hot sunshine. The leaden black skies look stunning as a backdrop to the fresh greenery all around. Birds are mating, insects are at their peak, and the park is lush and green. This Grey Lourie was enjoying the morning [...]

I came across this photo when I was going through some old images. Not too sure why, but I quite like it!

I came across this confident-looking male Waterbuck in the park a couple of days ago, and enjoyed the contrast of his dark coat against the red topped grass.

This Cookson's Wildebeest has been hanging around this area recently, which is very unusual since we don't tend to find them this far south. What is even more strange is that he is on his own! They are herd creatures and rely on the protection on the eyes and ears of everyone in the herd for safety, so I suggest this animal simply got lost and couldn't find his herd. He joined a herd of Zebra [...]

I'm not in the habit of taking photos of animals or birds that are simply portraits. I tend to look for 'wildlife in its surroundings' and photograph that instead. However, this Open-billed Stork was too tempting a prospect as it dried its feathers in the sun after a session of water bathing in the lagoon below.

Recently we found a dead giraffe behind the camp. When we found her, she was still warm and there was no obvious cause of death. We discussed the various possibilities but could only conclude that she must have been killed by an acute injury because she was in good condition and showed no sign of sickness. During the first night, hyaenas came and opened up the belly and began feeding on the carcass. The following day, [...]

Today I spent a while watching a Burchell's Coucal foraging in the leaf litter around the base of an Ebony tree. It had a fairly successful time, first finding a centipede and then a small snake which I think is a Cape Centipede Eater, although without a good view of its head, I wouldn't be sure.

When I arrived back from a road trip around the area, I spotted this odd looking creature in a nearby tree. It flew like a Cuckoo but didn''t look like any cuckoo I''d ever seen before. After taking a couple of photos, and playing with the idea that it might be a very rare Long-tailed Cuckoo, I decided that I think it is a rare hepatic morph of the Eurasian Cuckoo, and is a colour variation [...]