Pooky and family March 2015*

[pooky]

Monday 6th April

This was Graham and Rene's last full day in the Park, and the other half of the family were coming up to Satara from Pretoriuskop today.

We decided to go up to Olifants.

Just outside of Satara there were 4 very tired lions lying very close to the road. One was lying apart from the other three.








In close attendance were two jackal, also taking it easy. It was overcast and cool which maybe accounted
for the inactivity



This red-crested korhaan was a bit upset about something. We couldn't see what was there, unless of course
he was trying to attract a lady friend







Further down the road were 5 ground hornbill. We have most often seen them in groups of 5, mum, dad, baby and
two helpers



Come Mum I need some food



and tippy tip toeing across the road.



These are not great photos as this bird was quite far off the road. I am sure this is a denham's bustard.
First in KNP for us and a little bit out of its range. It was following some kori bustards. The reddish colour
at the base of the neck points in the direction of a denham's bustard. Correct me if I am wrong please.






More to follow!

[pooky]

Monday continues

There was a lot of general game around.

Including these very cute baby zebra.



We went up to Letaba to see the elephant museum.
On the way a white-fronted bee-eater was catching insects.



and in the camp site we found a scops owl



and a tree squirrel.



On the way to have a look at the Letaba bridge we were told of a leopard walking next to the road. He
had moved off into the trees but we did manage to get a pic before he disappeared deeper into the bush.



A croc was trying to catch some sun - of which there was none!!



We made our way back to Satara. It was a very quiet drive. The family hadn't arrived yet so we
went to check on the lion kill in the Nwanetsi river. There had been 5 dagga boys in the area, now there
were only 4. 4 male lions had taken the one big guy down in the river bed. Traffic was chaotic as the best
view was from the bridge which caused a huge traffic jam. We managed to get a few pics before moved on
and back to camp.









A nice herd of impala grazing next to the road.



In camp the ever present glossy starling



and a mourning dove.



The family arrived, with 2 other couples. They set up near us and we had a big communal braai that evening.
The kids had a ball looking for scorpions with an ultra violet light. This one was in the tree onto which my
son-in-law, Lyle, had tied one guy rope from the tent. Very unhappy daughter, Bernie, who is totally freaked
out by creepy-crawlies The African wild cat came to visit, but with all the kids running around it
decided to move on. Cammie was in his element having his 2 cousins and other children to play with.

[pooky]

Tuesday 7th April

We got up early as usual but this time it was to help Graham and his family pack up. They left
at about 6.30am. Cammie was beside himself with grief at having to leave his cousins and playmates.
We were left with Rene's Freelander and a few utensils, plates, kettle etc.
We decided not to move as we were close enough to the gang.

They decided to come with us today. Shane sat right at the back on cushions - he was happy

We took the S100 - which again didn't produce much except this old ellie with a floppy ear.
He must have been quite old judging by his condition.




Next up a juvenile coucal peeping at from the bushes.





Nwanetsi was still quite crowded but there was a nice family herd of ellies drinking. It still wasn't hot
enough for them to take a bath.



In the parking lot this young cuckoo was squawking and squawking until eventually the 'parent' came along.
a black=eyed bulbul.



On to Sweni hide . Bernie loved sitting watching the goings on, and her boys are now big enough to
also take it all in
Black crake.



and a big croc catching some warmth.


The hippo were fidgeting and a youngster seemed to be getting a bit bored with the inactivity.

Mum and baby had still not joined up with the rest of the hippo.



We spent a couple of hours watching everything, including these noisy Egyptian geese.



more to follow

[pooky]

Tuesday continued

We left Sweni hide and went back along the S41.

A pair of red-crested korhaan were hiding in the shadows.



A car stopped to tell us of a large pride of lions in the road further along - and the white cub was with them.
Well when we got to the spot this was all we saw - the last lioness disappearing into the bush
That was as close as we got to the white cub



Further on, back down the S100 was a tired looking jumbo



and two waterbuck sizing each other up.



We went down towards the Sweni bridge on the tar road. A wildebees was very alert - watching something.



We followed his direction and there was a lioness trying desperately to stalk some other wilderbees, but without
any success.



A young kudu bull was eating the wild foxglove along the road side and had got some cobweb wrapped around
his face.



Another big ellie



and a coucal watching us.



Finally a beautiful Satara sunset

[Richprins]

Nice big ellie again!


Ja, the floppy trunk thing is a disease?






Floppy trunk syndrome (abbreviated FTS, also known as flaccid trunk paralysis) is a condition that causes trunk paralysis in African bush elephants. Initially observed in 1989, the syndrome primarily affected bull elephants in several select regions in Zimbabwe. Afflicted elephants exhibit paralysis in their trunk, often having to adapt to feed. The loss of their trunks' prehensile abilities results in malnutrition and possibly death. The condition is a result of degeneration of nerves in the trunk, and is suggested to be a result of either heavy metals or toxins. There is debate over whether the condition is reversible.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_trunk_syndrome

[pooky]

[quote="Richprins"]Nice big ellie again!


Ja, the floppy trunk thing is a disease?






Floppy trunk syndrome (abbreviated FTS, also known as flaccid trunk paralysis) is a condition that causes trunk paralysis in African bush elephants. Initially observed in 1989, the syndrome primarily affected bull elephants in several select regions in Zimbabwe. Afflicted elephants exhibit paralysis in their trunk, often having to adapt to feed. The loss of their trunks' prehensile abilities results in malnutrition and possibly death. The condition is a result of degeneration of nerves in the trunk, and is suggested to be a result of either heavy metals or toxins. There is debate over whether the condition is reversible.


Thank you for the explanation RP

What a terrible death that must be - starvation

Fortunately the ear is not nearly so serious

[pooky]

Wednesday 8 April

We got an early start on our own. The kids weren't into these early starts. The whole gang invited
us for a breakfast cook up at Muzandzeni picnic site.

We started off by going up the H1-4 towards Olifants.

Not far from Satara were 11 hyena sniffing around and pushing each other out of the way of what
ever it was that attracted them. In attendance was a jackal.




The jackal came right up to the edge of the road next to us, sniffing at something.



The hyena were all very busy. We couldn't see any evidence of a kill or such.



Further up the road 2 lion came walking towards us, a young male who was in a big hurry.



and a female who gave us the beady eye as she walked past.





There were a lot of little birds in the road catching the early morning sun. First up was an off colour
chestnut-backed sparrowlark



Then a yellow-throated longclaw on a dead tree stump.



Lastly an african pippet or was it a sabota lark. I am not sure, but it looked a bit tall for the lark.
Please correct me



We turned on to the S127 which was very quiet. The grader was there grading the road which is probably why it
was so quiet. We came back down the S40 to Nsemani dam where we met up with Bernie and Lyle. Everything
was very quiet. We continued on the H7. more to follow

[pooky]

Wednesday continued

We continued on towards Muzandzeni. Not far from the picnic site a few cars alerted us to the fact
that something was there. There were 6 lionesses and a male lion doing what they do best. One was a bit restless
and needed to move - her shade was running out







There were some ellies drinking at the waterhole.



The cook up was great and us 'old folks' just relaxed and enjoyed it all
A crested barbet was waiting to see if there would be any scraps



We went back along the Sweni road with Lyle and Bernie and the boys behind us. A car stopped us to tell us
of a 'cheetah' in a tree with its kill

Lyle always said Kruger never had any leopards because he had never seen one. At pretoriuskop they saw some
spots but not the whole leopard so even though this leopard never showed his face it was a good sighting for them.





A nice close up of a giraffe on the way back to camp.



and another big ellie.



The boys had never seen the big 5 in one day, now they had seen 4 of the 5. Later in the afternoon they asked
if we could please see if we could find rhino, so off we went.

It was getting a bit late and time was running out when - there they were - 2 rhino. On closer inspection we
discovered it was actually 2 black rhino - very surprising. Matt and Shane were so excited at having seen the
big 5 in one day. It made their holiday





On the way home another Kruger sunset taken into the rearview mirror