#wildlifephotography – DreadLion Safaris

Lions at dawn!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 06:34:40 +0000

Dawn …. Driving thru the forest looking for highland birds and forest birds and suddenly out of the trees on the left ……. Lion! Three lionesses walking purposefully thru the forest silent as the grave barely seen in the long grass. I am on the tracker seat on the front bumper of the Landrover. A pretty tense place to be with lions in the mood for a hunt. Their lithe tawny bodies matching perfectly with the tall dry grass, their whole demeanour was one of high alert readiness. Trying to listen for sound of them walking….. none not even the rustle of the grass betrays them. The golden light, the gold grass and the gold lionesses, merge into a perfect landscape with sudden death for something on the cards.

We followed them not too closely but at a safe distance so as to not alert any potential prey. Soon they veered off in a direction we could not follow and we broke off. When we stopped for coffee everyone was just buzzing, what an incredible morning that had been. One more day in Africa………made. Come and Explore Africa with me.

Leopards at dawn!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 10:10:49 +0000

A guide enters the park in the early morning and for me it’s a thrill daily. As a guide I have always told my guests, whether they are with me for 1 day or 7, we have a different time system in the bush. In the morning 5.30 or 6.00 am to 7.30 or 8.00 am is “Leopard ‘o’ clock” so we will not be stopping for giraffes and zebras and warthogs and impala cuz we can have those all day long. The ideal time to find the leopard before it settles down some place where it is not bothered by the sun and is cool and that is usually invisible from the road where we are. I remember this drive cuz my partner’s family were all in the car, 10 people, more eyes to search the bush with. Driving slowly along in the chilly morning and seeing all the animals I mentioned but no leopard. Then one of the kids called Uncle Arun, look … 3 ‘o’ clock. That is how we tell direction on safari, cuz otherwise people are calling look there there, and nobody knows where. So the car headlights are 12 ‘o’ clock and everything is called from there. Anyway, sure enough at 3 ‘o’clock on a fallen tree was the leopard and her cub.

Such a cute sight with the two of them interacting and grooming and completely relaxed in our presence. There was no bolting or hiding. They just stayed there and were totally chilled out. This is not so common cuz leopard moms are a bit tense usually and especially with cubs they get more so. So to have mom just totally ignore us and carry on with life was a real treat. We just sat there and drank it all in, now that is the way to get you going in the morning. 2 leopards relaxed in your presence. Nothing better.

The never ending python!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 06:20:53 +0000

Pythons are found in all tropical and temperate areas almost everywhere across the world. I think North America is the only place that does not really have an indigenous python species but I may be wrong. However, the USA particularly Florida has a huge influx of invasive Burmese pythons that are decimating local wildlife. So, like I say, no indigenous pythons.

All across Asia and Africa we have these constrictors both big and small. The reticulated python, the boa constrictor, the African and Indian rock pythons, the Burmese python and so on inhabit the wet and not so wet forests and jungles in the areas.

This video was shared with me by a guide in the Kruger Park. The snake was released into the wild by. a researcher and snake expert in Swaziland. It is a gravid (pregnant)female. Certainly the longest and biggest one i have ever seen.

Ballooning over the Maasai Mara!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 02:51:25 +0000

It was 3 am in the morning and the alarm’s jarring notes got me up and out of bed. What an unearthly hour to wake up! But it was the most exciting day with a totally new experience for us all. We were going to go ballooning over the Maasai Mara!

24 of us piled into the jeeps waiting to take us to the starting spot and we huddled close in the cold African morning. Oh yes Africa gets cold. The impression most people have of Africa is that it is a hot place and this is so not true. The mornings even in summer time get pretty cold especially out in the bush in an open safari vehicle. Thankfully we were in closed vehicles and driving along the bumpy mud roads we were a quiet bunch. Some dozing and some looking out into the stygian darkness that covered the land.

The team from the Balloon Safaris were already on site and the balloons laid out on the dewy grass with a team of people managing each balloon. The beautiful dawn breaking behind us, I wished I had the forethought to bring a flask or two of coffee but when you wake up at 3 am these things are far from your mind. Should have planned that last night I said to myself as I shivered and waited.

The balloon pilots and their ground team started firing up the balloons and soon they were filling with hot air and rising from their own slumber on the grass. The teams were quickly divided and we clambered into the ‘gondola’ as it is called with the frame above us that houses the on board heating system that keeps us in the air. A stalwart Afrikaaner was our pilot, a jovial man who has been doing this forever. He flies in the Mara and then in Cappadocia, Turkey in the season.

Soon we were rising high above the plains below us and traversing the land about 600 feet or more above it. You could see for miles and miles and miles. Simply an awesome sight. The sun was on its way up and lit up the Mara for us as we flew over it in complete silence. I think that was the thing that impressed me the most. The quiet. It was silent as a tomb up there with only the occasional hiss from the heating system. Serene I think describes it best. I took a few videos and we were hoping to see the migratory herds of wildebeest and zebra but no such luck. We flew over the Maasai Mara crossing streams and small wooded valleys, found pods of hippos basking in the morning sun, eland herds that were traversing the grazing grounds and many other animals.

Nobody really wanted to come down, but all good things must come to an end. As we came down we swept at a fair pace over the grassland about 10 feet off the ground looking for a smooth place to land. Alas where there are termites, smooth places are few and far between. The wind had picked up as well and it was not easy to slow the balloon down. The pilot picked a spot with the least termite mounds and we hit a couple before toppling over and landing on the sweet grass. WOW! That was a ride of a lifetime

We picked ourselves up and headed back to the jeeps and our Champagne breakfast. Oh yes we had an amazing buffet with everything you can imagine to eat and champagne on tap. A fantastic way to end a great morning.

The serval takes on a baboon troop!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 05:15:47 +0000

We were driving in the Maasai Mara, hoping to find cheetahs on the hunt. That is truly spectacular to watch and though we had already seen one that morning I really was hoping to find another hunting cheetah. No such luck but movement in the tall grass caught my attention and we turned that way. It was a troop of baboons feeding and grooming on the ground. A troop has a few large bulls that run the whole show and the females and youngsters are their responsibility. So they are always on the lookout. I saw that they were more alert than the baboons I had seen in Kruger Park. This is cuz they live on the ground and trees are not really so readily available. Leopards would love to have a nice juicy baboon for lunch and it’s the big bulls job to make sure that does not happen.

Anyway as we drive closer there was more movement downwind of the baboons and my breath caught in my throat as I saw the yellow and black markings through the grass. Oh wow… I thought leopard……. Then the whole animal popped out of the bush and it was a serval. About the size of a 6-month-old leopard cub, so my bad. A serval is a tall sleek cat with poise and a very haughty expression if I may be allowed a little anthropomorphism.

Anyway he seemed very interested in the baboons and looked at them and then tried to stalk them. Then he tried a rush very close to a little one at which point the whole group started barking and screaming and the big bulls came hell for leather after the serval. He was taking no chances and spun around and was on his way. He was angling for the little baby baboon but stood no chance. I will give him full marks for guts though. He charged in to 10 baboons which all outweigh him 10 times.

He came away looking disappointed and I thought “hey pal, you best be glad they left you alone and did not pursue the chase”. He would have gotten torn apart. Bull baboons are not to be trifled with. Leopards do not take those type of chances and more often than not leopards will give ground to bull baboons. Anyway this guy lived to hunt another day.

The self made waterhole!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 04:57:45 +0000

Everybody knows that elephants need a lot of water daily. The real issue is how to get at these when there is no rain. This is of course true for all other animals as well. Sometimes the river runs dry or there are just little pools covered in algae in the dry season. The waterholes are dry as well. Elephants are finicky about the water they drink. They don’t mind bathing in muddy or green water but to drink nuh uh.

They like to drink clean fresh water and they have an amazing sense of smell. They can literally smell water from miles away. They also know a special trick to get water when there is no water close by. They are just like you and me and don’t want to waste time and energy walking miles and miles in the heat and getting dehydrated if they don’t need to. Sometimes there just isn’t a waterhole or a water source near by.

I came upon this elephant about 100m down from a lioness on a giraffe kill. The kill was a day or two old and she was just getting scraps. Not sure why the hyenas had not found it yet, there was plenty for hyenas but lions not so much. Anyway, the elephant looked somehow so short and I was nonplussed for a moment as we saw him through the bushes. I moved for a closer and better view and realized what was happening. The kill was in a dry river bed and a common strategy for lions is to chase giraffes into broken ground and over a small cliff od steep bank. The giraffe usually loses footing and falls and then its curtains for the giraffe.

So the elephant had his eye on the lone lioness and yet he was more than knee deep in the soft river sand. He was digging a hole or actually at this point had already dug a pretty deep hole. Probably over a meter deep and had struck water under the dry riverbed. This is how elephants get water in the dry season often times. So they dig a hole in the soft sand and tap into the water below the surface. They drink slowly cuz the sweet water has to filter through the sand and fill the hole. They drink that and then wait again for the hole to fill. Once the elephant has drunk his fill then he will leave, but the same hole fills with water and many other animals benefit from the same waterhole that the elephant dug. So the elephant actually creates a waterhole for everyone else. Nature is truly wonderful.

Penguins under the car….. Seriously??

dreadlionsafaris.com — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 06:36:18 +0000

Africa is always full of surprises and this is surely one of them? Did you know that 4-5 different penguin species are seen here at different times and there is a penguin tht is actually called the African Penguin? No? Well there is the surprise. Cape town and surrounds have rookeries (places where penguins congregate) one of them is literally in a small town just outside Cape town and the other is in Betty’s bay a little further away. The closer place is Boulder beach, which is on the way to the Cabo de Boa Esperanza, er Cape of good Hope, well hey it was named by the Portuguese sailors right?

Anyway Boulder beach, as I was saying before the linguists caught up with me, is a rookery of the jackass penguins now called the African Penguin since some jackass wanted to change the name. They bray loudly and sound like jackasses and that was why they were given the name in the first place. A few hundred of these hang out at Boulder beach and we took the side with less tourists and less penguins and yet had a good time watching them hop around the rocks. They are small birds and live on the beach here all year around. About 60cm or so high they seem to have a permanent smile on their faces and frankly watching them so did we, The sign boards were really cute and so added them as well. Check out the blue of the sea. So beautiful

The fight for dominance!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 07:08:21 +0000

The Kgalagadi provides a vast panorama where all sorts of interactions play out across the desert. The most exciting is a hunt of course and it undeniably not a common sight. That makes it all the more exciting. However, there are other interactions some more dynamic than others and those are dominance fights. These are super exciting as well and wonderful to watch. I had the good fortune to watch a pair of oryx battle it out for dominance. We were cruising along casually and saw a large herd of oryx scattered across the veldt. A little further from the main herd were the two combatants. The fight was on and both really went at it. They would spar and step back and spar again and step back. I think each gave the other an opportunity to quit. Energy is at a premium in the desert and nobody wants to waste any, and use what they have wisely. After a 15 minute or so session the loser walked away leaving the other as master of the field.

Tiny, smart and simply gorgeous – Dik-diks

dreadlionsafaris.com — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 18:07:37 +0000

The Maasai Mara. The name conjures up images of the Great migration. The greatest spectacle on earth. 1 million wildebeest and zebra crossing the plains for food and water and encountering lions, leopards and rivers full of crocodiles. It is all that for sure and more as well.

I had just dropped off our guests and were on a short safari just 3 extra days by myself with the camera and just hoping for something exciting. My guide turned right and rounded a small rise and came through the bushes on either side when I saw them. Dik-dik, right there in the misty morning just clearing up, barely catch a glimpse through the bushes and they were fully aware of me and looked to have been alert before I showed up. Then I saw the reason for this. We had a magnificent leopard sitting in the middle of the road just 50 yards ahead. Talk about a bonus. They could see him clearly and I truly can say it was almost impossible that he saw them. In any case we stayed and took a few more photos of these beautiful antelope before heading for the leopard. We followed the leopard for the next hour as he located and stalked his prey. He did not get a chance to do any hunting however, and eventually disappeared into the bush. The diki-diks really fascinated me. They are quite like duikers we have in South Africa with similar habits. They are monogamous and live in thick bush like the duikers in South Africa and other parts of tropical Africa. The way they mark their territories with the facial gland is also similar. I found out later that this is Kirk’s Dik-dik. The monogamous life seems well suited to a tiny antelope who would be terribly vulnerable to predation from pretty much any predator including aerial ones. So instead of having a mating season and having to go around in the open looking for mates, monogamy and safety makes sense. In any case they are really beautiful little creatures with the most gorgeous eyes. A rare find in the open grasslands of the Maasai Mara.

The tough guys living the life!

dreadlionsafaris.com — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 07:34:36 +0000

The toughest animal of the Big 5, that is acknowledged by almost every single story-teller, hunter, writer and wildlife lover, is the African Cape buffalo. These have had an amazing come back from 150 years ago after the rinderpest decimated the herds by the tens of thousands to a mere 50 individuals in South Africa. There are now thousands of Cape buffalo all over South Africa and all the game parks have their share with Kruger National Park taking the lion’s share as its due. The way the Cape Buffalo herds operate is an education in itself and not for this blog. Here I want to talk about a specific type of Cape buffalo……… the dagga boy.

That’s an odd name what’s a dagga boy? Well dagga is the name of the slimy mud which is used to build mud huts by the Zulu people in the old days and this is exactly what these buffaloes are usually covered in. Dagga boys is the name given to old retired bachelor bulls who have left the herd. So no wives and kids or leadership responsibility, so they are just plain old retired and they answer to no one. We were trained to walk in the bush and you see a buffalo herd you find a safe, safe, safe spot. You see these guys you walk all the long way around. They are just that unpredictable. I remember a single file line of 8 of these buffalo were coming towards us across the plain about 100m away and I parked and waited for them to come . the Lead buffalo saw me in his way but did not deign to move even 6 inches out of his way to pass behind or in front of me. He led his gang of 8 straight up to my vehicle and stopped 1 foot away from the middle of the car. He had all of Africa to walk in but he chooses to do this. So then I had to start the car and reverse and let them pass. That’s attitude! ‘Hey punk… move this car out of my way’!

They are amazingly strong, they are completely fearless and have a real aggressive attitude. A single lion seeing a group of these boys will walk around them. They have already fought lions and killed lions their buddies and family have been killed by lions they themselves have been attacked by lions they have literally seen it all. If it actually comes to a few lions trying to hunt them they cant run but hey they can fight. They may run a little way to get into a better tactical position for a stand then they turn at bay and its almost like they are saying “Ok fellas we ready, bring it. Lets see what you got”.

Some of them are injured, most of them have Bovine TB, I am told by Park Rangers, but they have an indomitable spirit and they do not play.