Back in Makalali Game Reserve, South Africa

Happy Sunday to you all. I've been in Makalali for a week now and glad to be back. However, it was a dismal week for seeing leopards and lions. I did get to see a group of 11 lion cubs one night and 7 hyena pups on another night...but wasn't able to get any good images because it was just too dark.  I guess I was just so used to being here and seeing lions almost everyday (and at least a leopard a week) that my expectations were too high.  One of the problems for the lack of sighting is that the reserve suffered a terrible flood while I was in Kariega and the lions have moved to new areas. However, a new week is starting...so bring on the lions and leopards.

Pat and I had a good trip from Kariega. It took us most of the day...a 2 hour road trip from Kariega to the Port Elizabeth airport, a flight to Johannesburg, then a flight to Hoedspruit, and finally a 1 1/2 hour road trip to Makalali. We did get my old room back (the only one that has a private bathroom) which was nice...and this go-around we have volunteers from Scotland, Australia, Switzerland, and Italy.  However, because of the flood we have much more water everywhere which here means more bugs...which I don't mind except I've been bitten much more than I'd like.

One of the highlights this week was that Pat made us fresh garlic bread and a great chicken with potatoes and carrots meal. I'm telling you, it's great to be traveling with someone who can cook so well. The weather here this past week has been brutal...hot, hot, hot with high humidity because of all the water from the flood still everywhere.   

So even though I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of lion/leopard sightings, I still was able to get some nice images this week. I was thinking that by now you are probably getting tired of seeing the same types of animals...but I never get tired of taking their photos. What do you think?

 I took this image for my friend Bruce because I know that he likes giraffes and I liked this pose.

 This is one of the view of Makalali

 You never know when you're on a game drive...and presto! You go around the corner and there's a herd of elephants.

      This baby is so cute that I had to take the image.

Birds:

It was a good week for seeing different birds...so I added a few for Marcia, Julie, Tim, Sis Kennedy, and all of you other bird lovers.

 Wahlberg's Eagle

 Spotted Eagle Owl

 European Bee-eater

 Hamercop

Egyptian Goose and chicks

Other Images:

When I'm out on game drives I also take images of other things that are beautiful, but many times I don't include them in my blogs. Today I thought I'd share of few of these other images with you.

 We were walking in the bush the other day looking for rhinoceros when we came upon these water lilies.

 On the same walk I spotted this sedge plant and was captivated by its simplistic beauty.

 Normally I wouldn't have added this particular image...but this baby hyena was intrigued with the spotlight and kept following the light-on-the-ground around. It was so fun watching him chase the light, all-the-while trying to figure out just what it was. 

 If you don't like spiders you wouldn't like it here. They're everywhere...and from this image you can see just how large they are. When we're walking in the bush you have to constantly keep watching for them or you'll walk right into their very large webs and end up with a face-full of spider. Also, when we're driving we usually hit a dozen-or-so webs that are strung-out across the road and the spiders come flying into the vehicle. The good thing is that they aren't dangerous and won't bite you. They're just big and ugly.

 Twice this week we had to go "bush/road clearing"...this is because the trees/bushes grow so quickly here that they become a safety hazard when you're driving down the roads (you don't want to be not paying attention and get smacked in the face with some type of thorn tree branch).  This is Pat doing battle with a Buffalo Thorn...which because of its thorns is probably the worst of the lot. It's very difficult to cut down without it biting you back. You notice that he's in full battle dress. This is because the first time we went out with short sleeve shirts and shorts...and came back scratched-and-bloodied. He's making sure that it doesn't happen a second time. There are 10 types of thorn bushes/trees here that I know of...and they make up about 60% of the vegetation cover.  

The Circle of Life:

  Sometimes it is easy to forget that Africa is a violent land where all of the creatures living here are both "prey-and-predator". Either you are looking to kill something to eat or something is looking to kill you to eat. From the smallest to the largest creatures, everyday is a struggle to survive. That's just the way it is here and part of what makes Africa such an interesting place. It is truly a "Circle of Life" that is many time sad...but at the same time quite fascinating to observe.  When you see an eagle snatch a duckling from its nest or a leopard kill a baby impala, it's heartbreaking to watch...until you remember that both the eagle and leopard also have to eat or starve...and they have to catch food to feed their young or their babies will die. I mention this because I saw a very sad scene this week...and after thinking about it for the past few days...decided to share it with you.     

 It's hard to tell, but in the grass is a Harvester Ant mound. What they do is harvest the grass seeds, take them into the mound where they remove the husks...and then bring the husks back up and toss them into their "trash dump" (lower right corner). So they use the grass seeds (and other things) to survive...but in-turn are eaten by numerous other creatures...who are in-turn eaten by other creatures.

 When we were out "clearing bush" I saw this African Monarch butterfly and decided to take its photo. However, upon closer inspection I saw that it had been caught and was being eaten by this beautiful preying mantis. I've seen many types of preying mantis here but not this one. It's remarkable in its camouflage. But this is a great example of the "Circle of Life" here...that is, the mantis eats the butterfly, but in-turn is eaten by other insects, birds, or some types of small mammal.

 This was what got me to thinking about the "Circle of Life" as it's played out here. It's hard to tell from this particular image (because I decided that the other images were just too graphic to include), but this baby zebra has been attacked by a lion. But before the lion could finish killing it, the herd of zebra's charged at the lion and it ran off. I've seen many zebra, giraffes, and other grazers that are carrying around old scars from being attacked and they lived...but not so this little guy. His injuries are just too great to survive. I found it so heart-breaking to watch him because by this time his mother and the rest of the herd had moved on. I hated seeing him in this condition...until I forced myself thinking about all the numerous insects and animals that would benefit from him once he died...thereby allowing these other animals to live another day. Definitely heart-breaking, but the "Circle of Life" in action in the African bush.

Baby Elephants:

I absolutely love baby elephants and can't take enough images of them. This little guy is very young, maybe 6 weeks old-or-so. Here's some of the images I took of him.

 When we first drove up on the elephant herd, this baby's momma and two bulls quickly surrounded the baby to protect him. I can tell you from experience that you wouldn't want to get any closer to these elephants right now...or you would learn first-hand what a 5,000 pound elephant can do when it's upset.

 However, once the elephants realized that we weren't a threat they went about their business of eating and splashing themselves from the waterhole.

 So what are mother's good for? Well, if you're a baby elephant, you can use your mother as a "scratching post".

And my Favorite Image of the Week:

I caught this Yellow-billed Hornbill early one morning just in the right light. I know I've posted this bird before...but it was such a striking image that I thought you'de like to see it.

And that's it for this blog. I've enjoyed sharing my images with you and hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed taking them. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can take photos of this coming week...hoping that it's a leopard-in-a-tree with cubs. Now that would be nice. Until next week, be safe and love everyday because you never know what tomorrow will bring. Out...John