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The Bateleur

The Bateleur

Nov 29, 2019 | Kruger Park safaris

The Bateleur

The Bateleur is a very iconic and popular bird in the Lowveld and Kruger National Park. With Plenty of guest lodges and companies named after this iconic bird, it carries its fame with pride. With its pitch-black feathers and white under wings, it gives a majestic contrast. It has a bright red, almost bloody looking face and legs with a yellow patch on the back of its neck and upper back. The black beak is almost iconic with the Bateleur. Bateleur males are larger and generally darker than the females. One Year old Bateleurs have a uniform dark brown colour to their feathers, which will develop into the iconic colour over time. At about 3 years, the feathers start changing colour and developing. It can take up to 8 years for a Bateleur to completely shed all of its brown feathers. The Bateleur has very long wings that allows it to fly by letting the wind carry it. The Bateleur has short tail feathers which means that its legs stick out when it is in flight.

 

Bateleurs can spend up to 10 hours a day in the air looking for a meal to sink its talons into. Bateleurs are part of the Birds of Prey. A Bateleur’s diet usually contains carrion, birds, snakes, lizards, road kill, mice and antelope. These massive birds are easily capable of taking down small antelope like klipspringer for a meal. Bateleur eagles will mate for life and will have a nest location that they will stay at for many years before moving to a new nest. Single individuals will often be seen flying close to nests in hopes of getting a mate. Bateleurs will commonly be seen flying in direct, rapid flight which is the preferred method of hunting. Bateleurs can cover up to 300km in a single, 8 hour hunting period.

Because of the Bateleur’s habit to cover large distances, it is easy to over-estimate the amount of these birds in a region. Though it might look like there are plenty if birds in the sub-Saharan region, their numbers are actually in the decline. Some of the behavioural traits that Bateleurs do mid flight include barrel rolls (which are followed by a loud clapping sound that can be heard by humans quite some distance away), 360 loops, steep and speedy dives and they also will stretch out their wings to represent a phoenix pose. These birds are very active birds.

Steenbok – The Smallest Antelope of the Kruger National Park

Steenbok – The Smallest Antelope of the Kruger National Park

Oct 11, 2019 | Kruger Park safaris

Steenbok – The Smallest Antelope of the Kruger National Park

Of all the antelope found in the Kruger National Park, the Steenbok is the smallest. Weighing only about 15kg makes these animals difficult to spot in the bush. If you are lucky you will spot one just before it scampers off into the bush.

They are usually found alone, spending most of the day in search of food. Steenbok are herbivores and feed on leaves, tubers, flowers and fruit. They get most of the moisture they need from their food and can go for long periods without a drink of water.

Appearance and Lifestyle

Because of the size of the Steenbok, it is often referred to as a dwarf antelope. Steenbok are white on their underside and the rest of its body is a pale red-orange colour. For their size, they have unusually large ears which are more predominant in the females as the males have small horns.  Females are usually slightly larger than males.  Both male and female steenbok can live up to six years in the wild. The Steenbok is a solitary animal which makes them quite territorial. They are not too fussy about their habitat and are as happy in the open savannah as they are in woodland areas provided there is enough cover to hide them from predators.

The Steenbok couple mates for life, sharing the same territory, an area from .50 to 1 square kilometre. In this area, they will forage, find shelter and raise their young. Both male and female Steenbok will mark their area by either urinating or defecating around the boundary and then covering the area with sand, much like a cat. By covering it, the dung or urine is kept moist and the scent then lasts longer. They do this on a regular basis until it forms a visible border around their area.

Steenbok have a gestation period of about five and a half months and usually give birth at the start of the rainy season. Normally Steenbok have only one or on rare occasions two calves.  The Steenbok keeps their young well hidden for the first two weeks of their lives.

Steenbok have the most predators because of their size. They are preyed on by caracals, servals, jackals and every other wild cat found in the Kruger National Park. The baby Steenbok is so small that it often falls prey to snakes, foxes and birds. The only defence a Steenbok has is to either hide or flee from the threat. When the Steenbok spots a predator it will first conceal itself in the long grass.  And the, at the right moment, they will sprint away, often changing direction very sharply or suddenly which does give them a bit of an advantage.

The best time to spot a Steenbok is in the early morning or late afternoon, while on a guided game drive as these bucks lie down in the grass under a tree in during the hottest time of the day but they will forage at the cooler times in the day.

Spend some time on a Kruger Parks safari with Royal Safaris and perhaps you will be one of the lucky few who get to see these quaint animals.

A Guide for First Time Kruger Visitors

A Guide for First Time Kruger Visitors

Sep 1, 2019 | Kruger Park safaris

A Guide for First Time Kruger Visitors

Those who are first time visitors to the Kruger National Park are truly in for one of the most life changing experiences. This park is the stuff of legends and it is often featured on the must-see places lists as well as being a bucket list adventure of note.

Planning your trip to the Kruger National Park will present you with a myriad of options. You can choose to book a safari with a touring company like Royal Safaris, or you can drive yourself. Both have their pros and cons, and both will have an effect on your budget. When you begin your planning, you should do so with a clear but flexible budget in mind and it is important that you make sure you have researched all of your available options, and come up with an idea of how you’d like to see this world famous park.

In our quick guide, we cover the basics about what you need to know while planning your trip to the Kruger Park for the very first time. Our tips are helpful for both self-drive safaris and guided ones.

Plan your time of year

Summer or winter? There are benefits to visiting at either time and it’s really a matter of preference. Many park guests find that autumn, winter and spring, which runs from April to October, are the best times to visit as the intense heat that characterises summer has not yet arrived. Summers in the park can be quite overwhelming as it can be rather uncomfortable for most.  During the summer months the vegetation in the park can be quite over grown, which makes it incredibly difficult to spot animals.

What would you like to see?

Planning your route can, in a way, help you plan what you see. Keeping in mind that the animals go where they please making it impossible to know exactly what you’ll see, there are some places in the park that are home to more of one kind of species.

At entrance gates and rest camps, you’ll find sightings boards marking what has been seen and where. You can then drive these roads in search of those animals, and if you are lucky, they will still be hanging around.

Planning your route is also important for other reasons. Certain areas of the park are known to be more prone to malaria infected mosquitoes while other regions are almost malaria free. The routes you choose can also take you to watering holes and rivers (where animals are known to frequent) and you have the opportunity to take a trip to historical landmarks and memorials.

Where will you stay?

If you are going on a Kruger Park safari with a company, your accommodation arrangements should be included as a part of the package, if you are spending more than a day in the park. Many safari companies choose Hazyview as the place to accommodate guests. If you are driving yourself and intend to stay in the park, there are over 12 rest camps to choose from while there is also private accommodation and luxury accommodation in the park.

Getting there

Whether you’re driving or flying, the park is only 3 hours away from Johannesburg, and depending on the entrance you’d like to use, the park is an hour’s drive from Nelspruit and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. The park is easily accessible and there are countless transfer companies offering a ride.

Royal Safaris takes the hassle out of organising a Kruger National Park safari and we offer a wider range of safari options than most of our associates. With us, you can enjoy a morning drive with breakfast or an evening drive with a memorable braai and sundowners. The choice of how you experience the park is up to you.

Nocturnal Animals of the Kruger National Park

Nocturnal Animals of the Kruger National Park

Aug 18, 2019 | Kruger Night Drives, Kruger Park safaris

Nocturnal Animals of the Kruger National Park

Anyone who has visited the Kruger National Park for a night drive or an evening drive will agree that a Kruger Park safari at this time of day is once in a lifetime experience that you won’t soon forget. 

When the sun dips low in the Kruger National Park and night falls, another, more magical side of the park comes alive. Dusk is the hour that the nocturnal hunters start stretching their limbs,waking up after a lazy day in the African heat. The haunting owl calls start-up and the hyenas start their laughter. Hippos leave their pools to go grazing and burrowers leave their dens for the dinner. And let’s not forget the singing of the jackal which fills the night.

Nocturnal Animals of the Kruger

A study of the trees will reveal several eyes staring back at you. The Bush Baby is surely the cutest of the night animals and is frequently seen going about their night time activities in the trees. These remarkable animals have amazing jumping abilities. 

The largest of the rodents in South Africa is the Porcupine, whihc is another nocturnal creature you might be lucky enough to see. Porcupines normally mate for life and the pair can have up to six burrows that they move their young around in as a defence against predators. Although porcupines live in pairs, they forage alone so it is more than likely that you will only see one and not a couple. 

Lions hunt in prides so if you lucky you will see either a kill or a pride of lions feasting after the kill. At a lion kill you are more than likely going to find hyena hanging around trying to get a bite to eat. Although Hyena can do their own hunting they prefer to scavenge from the other hunters. Leopard typically drags their kill up a tree to enjoy their meal in peace so be sure to keep looking to the trees. 

African Civets are similar to Genets with their striped and spotted coats. African Civets are larger than Genets and where African Civets are found on the ground, Genets are more likely to be spotted in trees. African Civets produce a sharp musk liquid from their pineal glands that were used as a perfume before the synthetic musk was produced. 

Aardvarks are a very rare sighting even though they are common throughout the Kruger National Park. This strange looking animal comes out at night to feast on ants or termites. Aardvarks are solitary animals and only pair up to mate where after the male leaves and the females will bring up their young on their own. 

Another animal that feasts on ants and termites is the Aardwolf. They can also be seen eating other insects that are around at night.

A huge highlight of being in the Kruger National Park at night is the night sky. On a clear night, without any city lights around, you will be awestruck at the amount of bright stars you will see. It will truly make you aware of the enormity of the universe. Looking up you will be able to see millions of stars. The San people have a story about how the Milky Way came to be. It is told that a young girl needed a visible path and so took ashes from a fire and threw them together with some bits of edible root into the sky. And when you gaze at the heavens, it is a story that is so easy to believe. 

Book a night drive with Royal Safaris, the only private company authorised to take guests on an exciting evening trip into the park.

Elephants of the Kruger National Park

Elephants of the Kruger National Park

Jul 29, 2019 | Kruger Park safaris

Elephants of the Kruger National Park

While enjoying a Kruger Park safari with Royal Safaris, guests will almost certainly see an elephant or 6. The Southern Kruger is home to a massive number of elephants and you can imagine just how hard they are to miss!

Once driven almost to extinction on the African continent, the elephant population has grown from a mere 120 in 1920 to about 10 000 to date.  Through a huge conservation effort, the Addo Elephant Park and Kruger National Park now protect large herds which span massive areas across both parks.

About the Elephant

The elephant is the world’s largest land mammal and can weigh up to 7 tons and reach a height at the shoulder of 3.3 meters.  The tusks of the older bulls can weigh up to 60kgs each.  Some of the older elephants have had tusks that weigh up to 90kgs.  An elephants tusks, which are actually their upper incisors, keep growing throughout their lives.  For the males, their tusks are not only used to obtain food but are also used to fight or in self-defence.  These majestic animals can live up to an age of 70 years.

The elephant has a modified nose in the form of a trunk and this appendage has about 50 000 muscles in it.   At the very tip of its truck, it has extremely sensitive finger like appendages that enable the elephant to pick a flower, pull out grass and even take a thorn from their feet.  Its trunk is also capable of finding water, above or below ground.  They have an inch of thick, sensitive skin and they love to swim and after swimming, they will throw sand or mud on their bodies that acts as a sunscreen.

Elephants are herbivores and feed on about 300kgs of grass or bark in a day.  All that eating makes them thirsty and they can drink up to 200 litres of water in a single session.   That results in a heap of dung being deposited every 15 minutes.

Family Life

Due to their 22 month gestation period, elephants only have one calf every 3 or 4 years.  Calves are only weaned after 2 years. Females normally stay in the herd while the males leave at about 14 years when they are expelled from the herd and join other male groups.  Males generally breed until they are well into their twenties.  The elephant is a very caring mother and should a calf become orphaned, another nursing mother will suckle the orphan. Elephant herds are always lead by an older female.

The Emotions of an Elephant

Elephants are capable of extreme emotion and even seem to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.  They have been seen grieving at the body of a dead elephant of their herd and even cover the carcass the flowers or leaves. When they come across an elephant carcass they are known to spend time visiting, and gently touching the bones with their trunks.

 

In general elephants are peace loving animals.

Females may show aggression when they have calves with them and males in must can be exceptionally aggressive.   A sick, injured or harassed elephant may also show aggression.  Generally, an elephant will first do a mock charge in an attempt to ward of the threat.  They do this by standing tall and facing the threat with their ears spread wide.  Sometimes they shake their head and swing their trunks.  They may even storm at the threat and then stop before reaching the threat.  It’s best to then move away slowly as an elephant is quite capable of killing its threat and have been known to overturn cars with ease.

When on a Kruger Park safari with Royal Safaris you will see elephants and more as we drive through the park. Contact us to book your Kruger safari, breakfast or bush braai.