Stories: Gareth Tells of Lion Kills and Morning Walks The Kruger National Park ...
6 Lionesses Eat an Old Buffalo Bull!
My thanks to Gareth for submitting his story about his recent visit to the northern sections of Kruger.
"Driving along the H1-6 road from Letaba to Shingwedzi we had the opportunity to see a pride of lions eating a buffalo. I saw most of the action on a Letaba night drive the evening before. The ranger told me that the 6 lionesses present at the kill did not even have to move to bring down this old male buffalo.
The buffalo was trying to keep up with a large breeding herd in the area and practically committed suicide by not picking up that he was walking into his death-trap. The surprising thing is that not one Hyaena or jackal was around the kill and it took the Hooded and White Backed Vultures almost 2 days to pick up that there was a kill in the area.
On our drive back from Shingwedzi to the Phalaborwa gate the kill was gone. The lionesses probably moved it into the thicker Mopane bush to prevent the vultures and the many cars from getting close!"
An Early Morning Walk In The Punda Maria Area
"I set off with 2 guides to the Thulamila region not far from from the Punda Maria camp. The guides had asked me the night before if I wanted to go on a game walk or bird walk and I thought because the region of Pafuri and Punda Maria is renowned for birding that I would go on a birding trip.
We walked through thick Mopane bush and mountainous riverine vegetation.
On the walk we saw: Nyala, Sharpe's Grysbok, Common Duiker, Kudu, Buffalo and we almost walked straight into an Elephant in the thick bush, luckily the guide saw him early.
The 'special' birds we saw on the walk included: Purple Crested Turaco, Common Quail, Yellow Bellied Greenbul, Puffback, Brownheaded Parrot, Fiery Necked Nightjar, Chinspot Batis & Orange Breasted Bush Shrike to name a few! It was a great experience and I would recommend the walk that I did to anybody!"
A Morning Walk At Shingwedzi Camp
"Myself and 2 other people set out on an adventurous walk through the Mopane woodland and bushveld of the Shingwedzi area.
We walked near a place called Biesiesvlei Dam and we started our walk by seeing two Goliath Herons roosting on one of the bare trees around the dam. As in my previous story (Punda Maria) we had another surprising moment with an elephant in the thick vegetation.
We also came very close to lion calling but could not see it because of the tawny coloured grass and fairly thick Mopane shrubs.
Also on this walk we saw Nyala, Steenbok, Impala, Waterbuck, Common Quail, Black Bellied Korhaan, Barbel, Community Nest Spiders, Tropical Tent Spiders and we tracked a white rhino unsuccessfully close to the Mandzemba River. Another great walk in the Kruger and I will let you know about everything next time I visit the park!
Bye for now! If you like South African Wildlife and game reserves like the Kruger please visit my site: South African Game Reserves"
Thank you for sharing your stories, Gareth.
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