Herald Snake Hunt

I never leave home without a macro lens. There always seems something to photograph, even when back at camp after game drives or during rainy weather when most photographers pack away their gear. One’s back garden always seems to provide some incredible sightings and in fact some of my favourite images have been taken right in my back yard.



I recently stumbled upon this fantastic scene at home. A fairly large Herald snake had gotten hold of a large Red Toad, probably hunting it from within the hollow log pictures above. Once immobilized the snake could not get the toad back into the tree hole and was left to consume it from a somewhat precarious (to say the least!) position.
 

Painstakingly slow the snake managed to consume the prey until the very last bit.



 Whether the snake would eventually make a meal of its quarry was anyone's guess which meant that I had to stay with the snake quite a while to determine and photograph the unfolding events. These things take a while though and I was very fortunate that I had time on my hands that day. Scenes like this certainly do not come around too often and it was indeed a pleasure to witness such drama unfold almost from start to end.

More of the Mara

Some pictures just have Mara written all over them!



Birding the Mara.

One may be forgiven to think that when you are in one of the world’s wildlife hotspots why take the time to look at birds. Well even when looking at the feathered variety the big game is never too far.




Quintessential Cat
One wouldn’t like to be caught one the wrong side of this glare. For the most part of its life an average lion remains inactive for the major part of its day. However when hunger awakens them they mean business and it all start with a determined stare.



On the hoof.

In single file the herds move past on a journeys that never actually starts or ends anywhere. Mating only occurs on the day when female wildebesst comes into oestrus.
When the herds reach the northern limit of their march male wildebeest joust and jostle amongst one another in order to secure dominance and their access to mate. In a march stretching thousands of miles much of the rutting takes place on the hoof. Even at a gallop one male takes the opportunity to ascertain his dominance over another.




Thief

Probably not even properly cold this fresh Thompson’s gazelle carcass is stolen from a Cheetah by a Spotted Hyena.

Tuli Photographic Workshop

This male leopard was attacked by a lioness seconds after this photo was taken.

After crossing the Limpopo in a cable car at Pont Drift border post you head into the 70 odd thousand Tuli wilderness in south east Botswana. Here, Isak Pretorius and I were to be hosting photographic workshop for C4 images over the next five days at Mashatu Tented camp. I admit that I had some preconceived ideas about Tuli. Fears that it may be a drought stricken region devoid of significant wildlife densities were soon put to rest on our first Game drive. The first bouts of camera fever were soon treated with some portraits of a lioness in the riverbed. When sundowners followed everyone thought it a fitting end to a first day. However, as we were getting ready to leave the distinctive rasping call of a leopard came from the nearby woodland. No sooner had we dumped the drinks in the vehicle and dashed off in the direction of the sound when we bumped into this incredibly relaxed young male leopard and followed him into the riverbed. What could possibly beat this? In the meantime though the lioness of earlier caught wind of the intruding predator and unbeknown to us had snuck up on the unsuspecting leopard in the meantime. In an explosion of growls the two cats clashed behind dense riverine bush.

A nervous stare from the top of a Nyala Berry tree.

Fortunately the lithe spotted cat made good its escape and dashed up a Nyala berry tree out of the eager lionesses reach. And finally that brought an end to our first day.

Numerous lion sightings tested the photographers abilities under different lighting situations.

Within the next 24 hours two more top predators in the form of Spotted Hyena and Cheetah with three cubs were ticked off from our photographic wish lists.

The soft muted light allowed great for longer photographic outing. This Natal Spurfowl was photogrpahed during the middle of the day.

The photographic opportunities didn’t stop there though and great shots of a pair of Giant (Verraux’s) Eagle owls, a variety of herbivores and landscapes were covered.

The large numbers of elephants allows for a wide variety of photographic interpretation.

Tuli of course is elephant territory and one is guaranteed of their presence throughout your stay. I do find them quite a challenging subject to portray in a new way but the sheer numbers present every conceivable opportunity to hone one’s skills.

Funky Chameleon.

And then the rains came! Although the area is known to be a dry region, during our stay more than 160mm fell changing the face of the placid little stream in front of camp.

Not to be cheated out of any photographic opportunities we all set about photographing this dramatic event through everything from wide angles to macro shots of the now prolific frogs and the dramatic lightning in the skies!


And this is where the spirit of the group came to the fore. I cannot recall a single objection, not even when the stream turned into a raging torrent that came crashing through our tents and dumping the veranda furniture some way off.

Waiting out the rain.

No trip can ever be a success without great guests and I would personally like to thank Piet, Tanya, Paul, Christine, Peter, Jane, Wessel and Wentsel for your contribution, whether an impromptu geology lesson or a quick joke that made this such a truly memorable trip for me. Thanks also to Isak for presenting such a great workshop where everyone, including myself learnt so much about photography. I am looking forward catching up with you all again.

Selati Private Guiding

I spent this past week in the Selati Game Reserve. A fantastic 30 000 hectare reserve between Hoedspruit and Tzaneen in Limpopo. It is privately owned with no commercial lodge on the property. Habitats range from mopane bushveld and riparian woodlands to spectacular Granite outcrops. In addition to the great numbers of wildlife associated with the distinct habitats, the reserve is also home to a unique variety of plants. In my opinion one of the most interesting reserves in the country and, unlike what many tourism brochures advocate; a true best kept secret.

We spent the week at the elegant Nyala Lodge overlooking the Selati River.

Lounge Interior.

Veranda overlooking the Selati River.

I always find it interesting that whenever one embraces nature in its entirety the sightings just piles up. A notable sighting was that of a caracal during an extended night drive - a first for me in the Lowveld.

A very rare vagrant to the area, A Sooty Falcon

The highlight however was in the form of a sooty Falcon. Accoring to the Field Guides only a few stragglers of this rare species have been recorded in the area and this one may constitute the fourth sighting!

More images below:

White Rhino in an open clearing in glorious afternoon light.

A friendly encounter with a scaly friend.

Ellies

Selati's pride and joy.

Beautifull charcoal sketch of the vervets, our neighbours in the fig tree in front of the lodge.

Brown Hyena Release

Seconds after the drug Zoletil takes effect the Moholoholo vetirinarian monitors the animal to ensure a safe procedure.

Threats to wildlife and habitats are very real. These have many different faces and range from topsoil erosion and alien invasive species competing with local ones to direct poaching. In much of Africa snaring for meat is the prevailing method and is targeted at animals that can provide meat. Poaching in itself a topic with deeper socio economic roots but we’ll keep that one for another discussion. The problem with snaring is that it is indiscriminate and may capture non-target animals. Because the large predators are at the apex of the food chain, they are at most risk and their disappearance indicates the collapse of the system. This brown Hyena was snared a while ago in the lowveld region (an area I would never have thought they occur) and brought to Moholoholo Rehabilitation centre near Hoedspruit to be treated under renowned conservationist Brian Jones and his team.

Often overlooked, the Brown hyena is a secretive species with a minimum global population of around 5 000 to 8 000 animals and possibly does not exceed 10 000 in total.

The snare, deeply cut into the animal’s neck as it tried to free itself and subsequently broken off, was removed and after carefully nursing the animal back to health the animal was ready to be released. I was invited by Moholoholo to document this procedure. Indeed a wonderful success story to see this top predator returned to the wild.

Eyedrops are applied to prevent the eyes from drying out.

A collar is fitted that will allow the hyena to be tracked by both telemetry and satelite readings.

Measure ments are taking. The volunteers at Moholoholo get unbelievable experience and are involved during all stages of the procedure.

This photo shows how the wound has healed.

The dedicated Moholoholo team.

Once recovered from the drugs the hyena is released into a holding boma where it will be monitored before final release back into the wilds.

To view more of the remarkable conservation work at Moholoholo or to book accomodation at some of their stunning camps click on the image above.