Browns in Kruger April 2017

[Bushcraft]

Was it a leopard

[Flutterby]

[Twigga]

Hey Guys,

In summary, the trip was probably one of our worst sighting wise and it did feel like a mission on some days to find something to get the excitement going, but hang around as there are a few things of interest.

To be continued

Ja Browns what a vrot TT!!

Super sightings Browns - al that doggies wow!

My baby brother , (a Kruger junkie in every right) read your entire TT

So what you say.......he has never finished any book in his life, his record is till page 25

Howzit Twigga

It wasn't one of our better trips sighting wise generally (leopard and lion )

I'm no expert on dogs, but they are always around and mobile in April and one has to be unlucky not to find them. We found 4 different packs this trip without specifically looking in their areas, but have had up to 7 pack sightings during a 9 day April trip. In the winter months we find that one has to be lucky to find them as they seem to den around June/July/August. (Unless they den close to the road) Towards the end of August and into September/October one can find them with juniors

Your baby boet My TT hasn't made it to page 25 yet

Thanks for popping in and commenting

No he has read your entire TT, so that says alot

[Bushcraft]

Sorry, speeding up again while I have a gap at work as I'm about to kick off a new project, so want to finish

12th Biyamiti to Skukuza continued

We arrived at Skukuza at around 10am so it was way too early to book in so we did our current normal activity and cruised off to the golf club.

I was shocked on arrival though as the carpark was fairly full and it turns out they were having some function, but we still snuck in and conned at the kitchen counter for 2 large hot chips and then we ducked off to the nursery again for a picnic.

We cruised off towards Skukuza just before 2pm and I was stoked to learn on arrival that we had got the 2 x BG3’s we had asked for, well done again Skukuza, however the tree outside our unit was full of berries which were falling on the floor and my bare feet weren’t liking them too much, but green pigeons kept pulling in for a chow so the Cow was happy.



Our evening drive only started at around 4:30pm as we were enjoying the time relaxing in camp and the rats finally had good signal, so they were catching up with their mates on some Instagram thing.

Just outside camp we met some long time mates of ours who we only see in Kruger. This couple are “leopard finding masters” and we hadn’t seen a leopard in more than 48 hours now, so I was stressing. I do a little leopard sighting research for around a month before each trip, but this couple take it to another level, so their information is always brilliant. (PJL, it’s the same couple you met on the S1).

They informed us that the leopard had been fairly scarce the last couple of days except for one brilliant morning on the S1, which I knew about as PJL was there, but they had been hunting for a leopard mother on the S65 as she had clubs, however they hadn’t found her yet.

We thanked them and went on our way towards the S65.

The S65 has an outcrop of rocks off the road at around the halfway point and we found a car stopped and they were looking intently at the outcrop and then they informed us with a big cheesy that they had seen a small leopard briefly, but now it was gone, so they were just waiting in case it popped up again.

We found a spot to park off and also scanned the rock for around 5 minutes, but nothing, so I was about to duck off as it was getting late when the Cow suddenly shouted

“There! It’s a cub”

The cub had jumped up on a rock, but it only hung around briefly before disappearing again.



I was now hyped up but there was only really a small spot where one could get a view through the bush so after some frantic car positioning we were in a spot where we could see more of the area where the little leopard had appeared.

Albert then started taking pics with her little camera, which confused me as I couldn’t see anything. She then started looking at her pics and proudly announced

“There’s a big leopard’s leg”, which got me more hyped up

“Where, where?? Show me the pic!”

The Cow was still calm, so she took control of the camera and showed me the pic and it definitely was a larger leopard’s leg.



It was now 5:20pm so the light was fading fast and the Garmin was saying we only had 10 minutes spare to get to camp, so my stress levels were climbing.

Fortunately minutes later there was a movement next to the mother’s leg as another junior cruised in and then the mother sat up.





Minutes later an OSV driver, who had forced his nose in by going halfway off the road and in the bush, started revving and his reverse lights were going on and off, so I assumed he wanted to go, but his angle of reverse meant he would hit us, so I started up and moved so that he could have a safe reversing passage, but instead of leaving he reversed until nearly touching us and then pulled into our spot.

This obviously caused my cylinder head to pop and I pulled up as close as I could get to him while the Cow was chirping “Stay calm, be polite, etc, etc”

The “guide” was busy taking pics, he didn’t even acknowledge us and he was ignoring his guests, so I started

“Excuse me”, no response

“Excuse me”, still no response

“HEY! We moved so you could get out, not so you could push into our spot!”

He casually turned and said “You should have said something and then he continued taking pics”

I then shouted “I have just said something you toss!”

The guy didn’t react and just then one of the rats shouted “The leopard’s moving!”, so I frantically reversed in behind the OSV so we could at least get a view.

The point and shoot cameras wouldn’t work in the light and I had to switch mine to auto mode and zoom out for the darn thing to get focus, but we got a few proof pics of the 2 cubs and mom.





Minutes later the Garmin “return to camp alarm” went off and we had to leave, but the OSV and the other car didn’t give any indication that they were about to leave which amazed me as our Garmin said we would get to camp at 6pm with no stopping.

We were stoked with the sighting, but the OSV driver had slightly ruined it, but I didn’t let it bug me for long.

The Cow and clan went to the shop while I started the fire, but they soon came charging over as Albert had found a bush baby.

We don’t like harassing them with bright lights, so I took 1 pic and we left it in peace.



Bushpig came to assist me with the braai but she spent more time on her damn phone then actually braaing and this seems to be the norm nowadays for teenagers, which is why I love staying for the odd day in remote camps as it forces social interaction.



To be continued

[PJL]

Wow fantastic to see the leopard with 2 cubs
I think they had been hanging out on a rocky outcrop along the S1 a few weeks earlier

Not so great behaviour from the OSV driver - I saw most of them have that yellow sticker on the back now so you can report nonsense like that

[Alf]

Wow took me over an hour to catch up through all these pages of cats and dogs........... and RP getting lost in camp

You are so lucky to find so many leopard cubs

[Bushcraft]

Wow fantastic to see the leopard with 2 cubs
I think they had been hanging out on a rocky outcrop along the S1 a few weeks earlier

Not so great behaviour from the OSV driver - I saw most of them have that yellow sticker on the back now so you can report nonsense like that

You do more research then I thought Yes, there was a mother leopard, with 3 cubs though, on "finger rocks" on the S1 just past the S4 turn off They were only seen for 1 day and not again, so it could be the same gang, but I don't think those juniors would have made the journey

That OSV driver was a young inexperienced arrogant tonsil and his attitude doesn't just end here, there's more from him the next day, but it involved others, not us

[Bushcraft]

Wow took me over an hour to catch up through all these pages of cats and dogs........... and RP getting lost in camp

You are so lucky to find so many leopard cubs

Thanks for catching up Alf I have the same at work most of the time, but today I had a gap Yes, we found more cubs this trip then previous trips I wonder if it's an April thing for leopard We have found cubs during other times of the year, but there seems to be more around at the moment. I know of some very small leopard cubs just outside Lower Sabie camp also and some more 4km up the H10 (of all places )

[nan]

fantastic again... babies Leopards

like too the SBS nesting and also a first for me to see babies... ... a bit ugly I have to say too

It's nice to you, to explain the Rats how they can/have to use their cameras, well done

and well done for not harassing the Bushbaby

[Lisbeth]

Nice doggies and the SbS nest with the ugly "ducklings" is a great find

Of course the leopard cubs is the cherry........