Kruger National Park (Part Two)
Day Three - South Africa & Swaziland - 2017
Another full day exploring Kruger National Park.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
1. Elephant #5
Elephants often spend 16 hours a day foraging for food.
Another full day in Kruger National Park awaited us upon awaking on our third day of the safari. Realistically, with everything we had seen the day before (four of the “Big Five” and African wild dogs), the second day in the park felt like it would be icing on the cake. Christopher the guide, however, decided he would ensure we saw all five of the “Big Five” that day, and we started strong out of the gate by passing this elephant almost immediately.
2. African Buffalo #2
African buffalo have poor eyesight and hearing, but tremendous smell; this may factor into their aggressive nature.
Shortly thereafter, we came across some African buffalo. Christopher was doing well!
3. African Buffalo #3
African buffalo allegedly have exceptional memory - so much so they can remember individual humans or animals.
4. Blue Wildebeest #2
When the Dutch settled South Africa, they referred to these animals as “wild beasts” from which they got their name.
5. African Buffalo #4
African buffalo herds are centered around females; bachelor males often live in bachelor herds or can be solitary.
6. African Buffalo #5
African buffalo herds can be composed of hundreds of individuals; however, a dozen or so individuals in a herd is more common.
7. Kruger National Park #4
Speaking of African buffalo, they are believed to be the second-most common large animal in Kruger National Park, behind only impala.
8. African Buffalo #6
The bone atop an African buffalo’s head is called a “boss.”
9. Lion #8
The lion is considered both an apex and keystone animal - meaning it is at the top of its respective food chain without any natural predator, and if it were to die out suddenly, there would be an uncontrollable increase in the number of animals on which it feeds, resulting in chaos in the entire ecosystem.
Christopher was like a man possessed that morning, spotting the third of the “Big Five” almost immediately after finding the first two. This lion was a good ways off (200+ meters, for sure), too.
Photographer’s Comment: I don’t normally do a lot of touch-up work on my photographs, but this one is an exception. Due to the distance we were away, there was a lot of brush in the foreground (as you can see); much of it blurred out, but two stray twigs ran across the lion’s face from bottom-to-top. Some light stamping later, the picture was almost flawless.
10. Lion #9
Lions don’t appear to factor in wind direction when hunting, resulting in a relatively low hunting success rate.
11. Klipspringer
Klipspringers are unique in that they walk on the tips of their hooves.
Another fantastic spot by Christopher, this klipspringer was heavily camouflaged on a rock face some 300 meters away.
12. Sable Antelope
Sable antelopes are generally fearless, confronting all on-comers with their gigantic 160 cm (5 foot) horns.
13. Hornbill #1
The hornbill’s beak is so massive, it’s first two vertebrae are fused to support its weight.
14. Zebra #2
Every zebra has a unique stripe pattern.
15. Giraffe #3
The giraffe has the heaviest heart of any land animal at 11 kilograms (about 24 pounds).
16. Elephant #6
Adult elephants have no natural predators, although lions will sometime attack elephant young.
We next had a close encounter with a group of elephants….
17. Elephant #7
Elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror.
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18. Elephant #8
An elephant’s trunk can be 2 meters (6.5 feet) long and weigh 140 kilograms (300 pounds).
19. Elephant #9
Elephants sleep standing up.
20. Elephant #10
The elephant ivory trade is currently in excess of $1 billion US.
21. Elephant #11
Elephants have virtually no extant close relatives; their nearest relative is either a small furry mammal called a hyrax, or -wait for it- manatees.
22. Elephant #12
Elephants have six sets of “adult” teeth in their lifetime - when an old set wears down, a new set pushes up and replaces it.
23. Hornbill #2
Hornbills are the only birds with eyelashes.
24. Rhinoceros #6
The rhinoceros has terrible eyesight, and can not see much further away than 30 meters (100 feet).
We came upon this rhinoceros standing near the roadside, the fourth of the “Big Five” of the day. We had to be careful, as we were just outside its range of vision. If the rhino moved and our truck came into view, it could potentially turn into a very dangerous situation where the rhinoceros would charge us. We waited….
25. Rhinoceros #7
Due to their poor eyesight, rhinoceros have been known to charge at trees and rock outcrops.
The rhinoceros did, indeed, turn towards us and start walking. Thankfully, it did not seem too interested in us or what we were doing. I will say this much - everyone in that truck held their breathe nonetheless their voices.
26. Rhinoceros #8
Rhinoceros horn is made of keratin, the same material as our hair and fingernails. Despite what Asian medicine may say, rhino horn has absolutely no medical properties.
27. Rhinoceros #9
The southern white rhinoceros was nearly extinct at the beginning of the 20th century, with only a couple dozen individuals known to have existed in a single reserve in South Africa. Their return from the brink is considered one of humankind’s greatest conservation efforts.
28. Spotted Hyena #2
It is believed hyena’s laughs indicate their age and social status.
29. Spotted Hyena #3
Hyenas are matriarchal, and female hyenas somewhat quizzically have more testosterone than their male counterparts.
30. Spotted Hyena #4
The mortality rate of very young hyenas is very high - many suffocate during the birthing process, and those that survive must contend with the mother having only two nipples, generally leaving the two strongest offspring to survive.
31. Lilac-Breasted Roller #1
The lilac-breasted roller doesn’t exhibit sexual dimorphism, so both male and female varieties have tremendous coloring.
32. Lilac-Breasted Roller #2
The lilac-breasted roller is a non-migratory bird.
33. Nile Monitor
The Nile monitor can remain underwater for over an hour.
34. Giraffe #4
Despite their height, giraffe’s have only seven vertebrae in their neck, the same number as humans.
All of the giraffes we passed until this point were stationary, but this one was swiftly walking across the plains. The sights and sounds of a giraffe walking are hard to describe, but its movements are majestic and accompanied by a gentle, intermittent “whoosh” when their body lurches forward after footfall.
35. Vulture
With all of Kruger’s fresh kills, it has become somewhat of a sanctuary for the scavenging vulture.
36. Leopard
About 1,000 leopards live in Kruger National Park.
Christopher managed it - towards the end of our second day, he found us a leopard. It was hidden underneath a tree at least 300 meters away and through some heavy bush. The last of the “Big Five” was found, and his promise fulfilled.
37. Elephant #13
Elephants drink between 30 and 50 gallons of water a day, committing the locations of waterholes to memory. This is the origin of the phrase, “an elephant never forgets.”
38. Elephant #14
Mud baths help elephants retain moisture, essential in such an unforgiving environment.
39. Zebra #3
Zebras stripes are not only for camouflage - it helps dissipate most of a zebra’s body heat.
These zebra were the last animals we saw in Kruger National Park. While I didn’t think Kruger’s second day could possibly compare to the first, it certainly did. The 20-hours or so I spent in Kruger were among the 20 greatest, most memorable hours of my life.
After departing Kruger, we changed camp sights and caught a show by some local tribal dancers. After another great night spent around the campfire, we got some shut-eye.
