Wild Dogs in the Kruger

Here's a short video of some wild dogs at play we saw early one morning in the Kruger. We had watched these guys for about 20 minutes when they turned in our direction. They trotted to within a few metres and then relaxed for a while.

They are hyper active, hardly able to stay still for more than a few minutes.

Cheers

DADFAP

South Africa Nov/Dec13 part 2

My wife and I stayed at Jock's for 3 nights at the beginning of our recent 2 week trip to the Kruger and surrounds. It is one of the older lodges within the park and you do get that feeling. It is immaculately kept though with an extremely well run and efficient operation.

Our host was Louis Strauss who is an extremely personable person who relates the history of the dog Jock (after whom the lodge is named), the Jackal Berry tree story and the history of the lodge with an obvious enjoyment for what he dos.

Our guide, Jacob, was very knowledgeable and showed a passion for what he was doing. He tried hard to ensure that we got the most out of our drives. He went above and beyond one evening when after dinner, we received news that 3 male lions were about 15 minutes away and wandering along the roads.

Jacob grabbed us and off we went. We were treated to a display of the 3 lions reestablishing their territorial markings after the rain and the sight of a large male lion being frightened of by a scorpion. Not sure if he was stung but it was comical.

Young male Hyena, South Africa, Nov2013

We were also fortunate enough to come across a juvenile male Hyena sitting by the side of the road. He was reasonably relaxed at first but slowly became more animated as we stayed a while. The reason was obvious when after a few minutes one of the more senior males emerged from the bush. 

Male Hyenas have an unusual and very intimate way of introducing

Hyena greeting

themselves. They spend quite a few minutes smelling each others penis, if that doesn't inspire confidence in each other, I am not sure what would.

Jacob was also aware that we wanted more than just the big 5 and ensured that we met two of our favourites, the wild dogs and also hyenas. 

It's not always about the Big 5 or the predators. It is also about the birds, lizards and the other mammals that are out and about at different times of the day.  Jacob made sure that we saw just about everything that there was to see as we wandered around the Kruger.  Well done Jacob!!

The food was good, the place nice and clean, the staff very welcoming and the drives conducted by a great guide.

Rating 4/5, well worth a visit when you're in the Kruger.

Cheers

DADFAP