Kruger Continued

Cape Buffalo

Male Kudu

African elephants

Lion sleeping

Spotted hyena

Lilac breasted roller

Warthog

Vervet monkey

Hornbill

Different species of Hornbill

So we are back after a very long internet delay! Sorry everyone. So to continue with Kruger, we had some excellent lectures. It was interesting about the TB as the buffalo are the main carriers, but this affects all of the aniamls. The predators who eat the buffalo (lions, leopards) then get TB, and when they die and are eaten by scavengers, they then get TB as well. As you can see this is a vicious cycle which veterinarianas and researtches are constantly learning about and trying to control. We also learned that there are a lot of aniamls, again especially buffalo who get Foot and Mouth disease. This gives them blisters and opens sores which eventually inhibits them from eating and moving and then they pass on. We learned about other diseases as well, but lets move onto the animals.

Everyday we would go for at least 1 game drive where we would see so many animals! We saw many elephants who would just cross the road at their leisure and everyone would stop and take pictures. Our guide, Chris, was always aware of what the elephants were doing as they have been known to charge and tip cars if they feel threatened. He asked us to watch one elephant's behavior and we all said that it was scratching its leg, but in reality it was displaying a threat sign. Chris knows a lot about wildlife and has had a lot of experience, so he was a constant source of knowledge. Aside from the elephants, we also saw cape buffalo, lions under a tree, ground hornbills (a bird that is highly endangered), rhinos, many impalas, a violet breasted roller (bird), baboons, ververt monkeys, dikers (deer like), nyala (deer like), kudo (caribou like), giraffes, zebras, and crocodiles. We saw all of these animals on our day game drives. We also went on a night drive which was really neat as we had to scan the bush with big spot lights to see eyes and then figure out which animal they belonged to. We saw a leopard that crossed right in front of our truck! He was a big tom. We also saw many bush babies, hippos grazing in the grass (they only graze at night and early morning), a fruit bat, a genet (cat like), storks (yes, the ones that carry babies), hares and a spotted hyena! It was really great.

Speaking of spotted hyenas, us along with 2 other girls went for a night walk around our campsite to the river to look for leopards. We were just talking and leaning over a fence to look below us in the grass and out of no where a GIANT spotted hyena ran right beneath us! Their bodies are really neat as they are so stalky and run really fast. They are much bigger in the front so they do more of a "gallop" than a "run". This sudden surprise caused one of the girls and Alysha to run while Mel and the other continued to search for it. This was the most up close and personal that we were able to get to a large animal at Kruger.

We were very lucky overall while at Kruger as we saw the "big 5" all in one trip! The "big 5" include: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. There is now a new category called the "dangerous 6" which includes all of the above and hippos.