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We’ve just made our tenth visit to the Kruger. It never ceases to fascinate and there’s always something new to see. We booked at just three weeks’ notice so didn’t get quite the itinerary we would have liked. A novelty this year was that we had a Chinese car, a Chery Tiggo. It did us well but the irritating beeps when we engaged reverse often frightened the game. I took two EM1ii bodies, one with the 12-100/4 and the other with the PanaLeica 100-400 with the 40-150/2.8 as a spare.
I suppose that any set of safari photos has to start with the Big Five. Probably they ought to be called the stroppy five as their reputation is based not on physical size but their willingness to turn on hunters who only wounded with the first shot.
We saw lots of elephants. They are the gardeners of the bush and an essential part of any African ecosystem but you can have too many. Left to its own devices an elephant population will double in about fifteen years and that eventually causes problems, although lengthy droughts can thin the numbers. They have no natural predators and live for around sixty years. We saw numerous young – under twenty years old – which makes a fine sight but gives rise to worries about the future.
At this time of year it may be difficult to see buffalo. That’s because they tend to create herds of several hundred animals instead of smaller groups. You either see three hundred or none. This is a small section of a herd numbering around three hundred,
The exception is elderly males, known as dagga boys, who go round alone or in small groups, often enjoying a good wallow.
Lion is an inert gas, rather like Argon or Freon. As often as not they’re just seen lying around so we were lucky to find this one strutting his stuff.
They say you’ll only see a leopard when it wants to be seen. This one was happy to show off.
When we first went to the Kruger twenty years ago rhino were common but poaching has decimated their numbers and to see them now is a bonus. Most have been dehorned to make them less attractive to poachers.
Although not one of the Big Five, cheetah and wild dogs are on our ‘must see’ list. Sadly, and not for the first time, we saw no wild dogs but did enjoy these cheetahs. Although less numerous than leopards they hunt by day so are more likely to be seen.
More to follow in another post.
I suppose that any set of safari photos has to start with the Big Five. Probably they ought to be called the stroppy five as their reputation is based not on physical size but their willingness to turn on hunters who only wounded with the first shot.
We saw lots of elephants. They are the gardeners of the bush and an essential part of any African ecosystem but you can have too many. Left to its own devices an elephant population will double in about fifteen years and that eventually causes problems, although lengthy droughts can thin the numbers. They have no natural predators and live for around sixty years. We saw numerous young – under twenty years old – which makes a fine sight but gives rise to worries about the future.
At this time of year it may be difficult to see buffalo. That’s because they tend to create herds of several hundred animals instead of smaller groups. You either see three hundred or none. This is a small section of a herd numbering around three hundred,
The exception is elderly males, known as dagga boys, who go round alone or in small groups, often enjoying a good wallow.
Lion is an inert gas, rather like Argon or Freon. As often as not they’re just seen lying around so we were lucky to find this one strutting his stuff.
They say you’ll only see a leopard when it wants to be seen. This one was happy to show off.
When we first went to the Kruger twenty years ago rhino were common but poaching has decimated their numbers and to see them now is a bonus. Most have been dehorned to make them less attractive to poachers.
Although not one of the Big Five, cheetah and wild dogs are on our ‘must see’ list. Sadly, and not for the first time, we saw no wild dogs but did enjoy these cheetahs. Although less numerous than leopards they hunt by day so are more likely to be seen.
More to follow in another post.
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