Johannesburg • Hazyview • Kruger National Park • Swaziland • Zululand • Durban • Drakensberg •
East London • Port Elizabeth • Knysna • Oudtshoorn •
Cape Town
from ZAR 14,950-00 pps
Garden Route Wonderland 4 days
Cape Town • Oudtshoorn • Knysna • Cape Town
from ZAR 5,315-00 pps
Wildlife and the Cape 6 days
Cape Town • Kruger National Park
from ZAR 8,967-00 pps
Kruger Wildlife 3 days
Johannesburg • Kruger National Park • Johannesburg
So named as these tenacious and intelligent animals are notoriously difficult to hunt – often turning on the hunter ferociously, with stories of elephant turning tale on the hunter, with hunter becoming the hunted !
Nowadays happily, hunting is no longer allowed in the Kruger National Park, as is the case with most other wildlife reserves throughout Africa, as tourism to the National Parks and reserves holds a far greater value to governments, with many opportunities for job creation, along with the conservation of the wildlife of Africa. The wildlife in turn, has slowly become accustomed to game vehicles, particularly in the ‘older’ game reserves, and therefore although weary, the animals do not view the vehicles as a threat. The result is close encounters with Africa’s Big Five, which can sometimes be rather alarming, but provides thrilling safari experiences.
But a safari in Africa is not all about the Big Five, you will also discover fascinating birdlife, mammoth dung beetles (and a myriad of other critters) as well as crocodile and many other species of reptile (114 recorded species). For lovers of our feathered friends, the Kruger National Park boasts 507 recorded species of bird within the reserve. Other species records in Kruger include: 336 trees; 147 mammals, 34 amphibians and 49 fish.
Should you be on safari in the Kruger National Park, or any other Big Five reserve, if all of the Big Five do not present themselves, you will be well entertained, by the sheer diversity of nature that co-exists within the sanctuary. At Thompsons Africa, we choose our product range carefully to ensure that your safari experience is of the highest quality, from the safari experience itself, to the safari rangers and field guides, who are paramount to your safari experience, as well as quality game lodge accommodation, depending on your budget and specific requirements.
Lions once roamed the earth from Western Europe to India and the America’s, and were found throughout Africa. Today lions are only found in sub-Saharan Africa. The ‘King of the Beasts’, is a social feline, living in family groups of up to 25 to 30 adults, but typically prides number between 10 and 15 members. The male lion is a sight to behold, with his huge mane of hair, massive paws, scars from innumerable rival male fights, and his full-bellied swagger. The females do most of the hunting for the pride, as they are leaner and more agile – the male’s mane can quickly cause him to overheat in times of exertion.
•
Lions are the second largest cats in the world, after the tiger – some males can reach 250kgs in weight!
•
Lions can live up to 10 – 14 years in the wild, and into their early twenties in captivity. Females usually outlive the males, who are constantly fighting to be the dominant male in the pride.
•
Lion prides are family groups, generally with all of the females related – mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts and cousins – all the females in the pride ‘baby-sit’ the cubs. Typically a lioness will give birth to between 2 – 4 cubs.
•
Lions are classified as venerable. They are tan in colour, with a lighter (to white) belly and a tuft of black hair at the end of their tails. Certain characteristics may dominate in lions from specific areas, for example, the black-maned lions of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa and Namibia.
•
Contrary to the popular description, ‘King of the Jungle’, lions do not live in ‘jungle habitat’, but prefer open savannahs, grasslands, fringed with dense bush and woodlands – ambush sites for the females of the pride.
•
Lions and hyena’s are constantly in battle with one another – there is much footage of hyena’s managing to steal a fresh kill from a small group of lioness, or a younger hunting party that lacks in experience. Lions will kill a hyena given the opportunity, and they are bitter rivals out on the savannah, as lions too will scavenge a meal, wherever it presents itself.
•
Buffalos will trample and kill lion cubs if they are found unprotected by their mother’s, memories of many a battle for survival fuelling their impulse here.
•
The white ‘stripes’ beneath the eyes of the lion, are to absorb light when hunting at night for increased night vision.
Africa has numerous game reserves and national parks, where the lion is king. What is great upon coming across a lion pride, is that unless on the hunt and on the move, they will generally not move off, but continue to lazily rest during the heat of day – however, don’t be fooled – although they may seem completely at ease, they are most definitely alert to any perceived threat. Get a little too close and you will immediately see a response!
Leopard are the fourth largest cats of the ‘Big Cats’ (Tiger, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard) and are illusive and secretive creatures. They are definitely the most difficult to spot out of the Big Five whilst on safari, due to their inherent secretive nature. These adaptable cats are survivors, and inhabit numerous habitats and terrains, very often within close proximity to humans, with little interaction between the two species. Leopards tend to be nocturnal, and are solitary creatures, pairing up to mate and then going their separate ways. In the past their distribution covered a vast area, from eastern and southern Asia and all of Africa. They now are mostly found in sub-Saharan Africa, with small pockets of leopards in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and China.
•
Leopards are simply beautiful, with velvet noses and tongues and rich coats, marked with a rosette pattern.
•
Leopards are often confused with the African cheetah, but one can easily tell these two species apart, as the cheetah has an evenly spotted coat, with two distinct tear marks running down from its inner eye down the length of its nose and mouth.
•
Leopards can run up to 60km per hour and are notorious for their strength, compared with their body size – they can ‘take down’ large prey (due to the leopards large skull size and the strength in its jaw muscles) and literally drag this prey up into the high branches of a tree, where they are able to eat in safety and also ‘keep’ their prey from being taken by lion and hyena, of which both species are much stronger than the leopard.
•
The leopard stands at shoulder height between 45 to 80 cm and can weigh between 30 to 90 kgs.
•
Leopards can live up to 20 years in the wild, and produce litters of between 2 to 3 cubs.
Did you know?
Arguably the best safari destination for leopard sightings is the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa, which shares an unfenced border with the Kruger National Park. The Sabi Sands is a well established safari destination and therefore the leopards have become well accustomed to the safari vehicles and do not see them as a threat. Two nights in the Sabi Sands, and one is almost guaranteed to see four of the Big Five, and of course leopard are always that ‘cherry on the top’ so to speak.
The largest land mammal weighing between 5.5 to 7 tons is also one of the gentlest and most intelligent creatures on the earth. Only fairly recently was elephant subsonic communication discovered – adding a whole new dimension to these fascinating creatures – their subsonic ‘sounds’ can be felt by other elephants as much as 10km away. Elephants live in social herds, with an older matriarch at the helm. Elephant calves are closely guarded and cared for by all members of the herd, and male bull elephants are solitary, hooking up with the females to mate. The African elephant is the largest of the three species that still survive today: African savannah/bush elephant, African forest elephant and Asian/Indian elephant. Healthy adult elephant have no natural predators, but opportunistic lion and hyena will prey on the young and the weak.
•
Elephants are famed for the memory (and wisdom) – there are numerous hunting stories where an elephant bull who escaped the hunter, recognises him at a later encounter, with ferocious results, often ending with the elephant ‘victorious’.
•
The gestation period of the elephant is 22 months, the longest of any land animal, with calves weighing up to 120kgs and up to 75cm at shoulder height at birth.
•
Elephants live between 50 to 70 years, with their only threat being human intrusion in the way of habitat loss and poaching.
•
Elephants eat between 100 to 200 kgs of vegetation per day and can be extremely destructive in their feeding habits, particularly when there is an over population of elephants in a specific area, as they push over trees, debark others and generally cause mayhem to the vegetation of the area as they pass through it.
•
Elephants are known to touch and caress each other and take care of their weak and injured family members.
Did you know?
•
As is the case with humans, we are either left or right hand dominant. With elephants, they are either left or right tusk dominant! An elephant’s tusks are tools, that are used to dig up roots, debark trees, are used in combat as a weapon when necessary, but most often the size of the tusks will deter any ‘would-be’ rival. The dominant tusk is usually shorter and more rounded from use. Both the male and female African elephant ‘sport’ tusks, which can reach up to 3 metres in length and weigh over 90kgs each!
•
An elephants brain can weigh up to 5kgs – larger than any other land animal – a large brain mass is typically associated with higher intelligence. Elephants are fascinated by the bones of other dead elephant, often recognising the deceased, handling and ‘fondling’ their bones – grief is yet another key element which indicates intelligence and self-awareness.
There are two types of rhino in Africa, the white and the black rhino, who are actually not distinguishable apart by colour, but by ‘other’ defining characteristics:
•
The white rhino is generally much larger than the black rhino, usually double its size.
•
The white rhino is a grazer, and has a square upper lip, with low slung head, close to the ground, suitable to its grazing habitat. Whereas the black rhino holds its head high, and has a pointed mouth, which ends in a prehensile upper lip, used for browsing on bushes and shrubs.
•
If you come across a small group of rhino whilst on safari, in open areas, these will be white rhino – they prefer the open savannah habitat for their grazing lifestyle and are the more gregarious of the two species.
•
Black rhino’s are more secretive, quite often rushing off into the bush when your safari vehicle approaches. Whilst out on safari, and you chance upon a black rhino, he’ll usually appear startled by your presence, dashing off to the thick bush and a glimpse of his large bulk is all he’ll afford you, whereas white rhino will often appear completely unmoved by your presence, continuing to graze and go about their daily consumption of large quantities of grass.
•
The black rhino is solitary and more aggressive by nature, although both white and black rhino are known for their ill-temper.
•
Do not be fooled by their bulk, they are extremely swift footed and their ability to turn in tight places is astounding.
A few more rhino facts:
•
The black rhino is considered critically endangered, whereas the white rhino, although still under threat of poaching for its horn, is no longer on the critical list. This was due to large degree by conservation efforts in the early 1970’s which brought the white rhino back from the brink of extinction. The Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, on the north coast of the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, is particularly noted for it’s fantastic efforts in the 1970’s which literally saved the white rhino species.
•
Both species stand around 1.6m – 2m at the shoulder and can weigh up to 1600 to 2000kgs! Although typically the black rhino is half the weight of it’s cousin.
•
Rhino’s can live up to 50 years.
•
Rhino’s have two horns on their snout, with the front horn typically being the largest and in some instances can grow up to 150cm in length.
Did you know ?
•
A white rhino’s tracks (known as ‘spoor’ in South Africa) leave a distinctive ‘W’ imprint which makes it easy to distinguish between the spoor of two species.
•
The white rhino is more dark greyish in colour and is not at all white, but derives it’s name from the Dutch word ‘weit’ (meaning wide), referring to the wide grazing mouth of the rhino.
•
Rhino have extremely poor eye-sight, but their keen hearing and sense of smell more than make up for their lack of eye-sight.
•
Rhino are still under threat from poachers today as their horns (in powdered form) are said to possess almost magical qualities as an aphrodisiac in certain Asian countries.
•
Recently in areas up the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, where severe drought placed the wild animals under enormous stress, rhino’s were being killed by elephant in their fight for survival at the water holes – a very traumatic scene, which has since been alleviated somewhat by the arrival of rain, yet the area is still in great need of more water.
It is extremely exciting to come across a large herd of buffalo whilst on safari – buffalo have bulky enormous bodies, that support massive horns – and to view a herd of a few hundred strong is quite a sight. Most often however, you will come across the solitary old male bull, staring you down, with his impressive horns, accommodating low ears, large wet nose twitching, taking in your scent, with resident ox pecker bird, going about its daily chore of picking ticks and other parasites off of the buffalo. Buffalo are notoriously unpredictable especially when hurt or cornered. These interesting antelope are grazers and require water daily and are therefore dependant on perennial sources of water... and they have favourite mud holes to wallow in.
•
Buffalo can reach heights of 1.7 metres at the shoulder and weigh up to 900 kgs.
•
Buffalo only give birth to one calf, during the rainy season only (time of plenty). The calves will remain hidden in the vegetation for the first few weeks of their lives and are then introduced to the herd, who keep their young at the centre of the herd for protection.
•
Both male and female buffalo support massive horns, which are highly prized by hunters.
•
Buffalo have been known to live up to 19 years in the wild.
Did you know?
•
Should buffalo come across lion cubs, whilst the lionesses are out hunting – even if there are one or two lionesses left to care for the cubs – if the buffalo outnumber the lions in strength, they will trample and kill the cubs of their arch enemies. In the wild, lions regularly hunt buffalo.
•
The‘Battle at Kruger’ is famous as one of You Tube’s hottest downloads ever. It is the story of a buffalo calf that is taken by a pride of opportunistic lions, who grab the calf and at the same time, tumble into the water of a nearby dam. What then transpires is incredible, as a crocodile also latches onto the poor calf – a tug of war ensues between crocodile and lion for the calf, in which time the buffalo herd have re-grouped and are launching their assault on the lions. In the general mayhem, somehow the buffalo calf manages to escape and is ‘swallowed up’ into the safety of the herd once more.
Thompsons Africa are African safari specialists, with a team of knowledgeable safari enthusiasts, who have not only travelled extensively on safari themselves, cultivating their passion for safari, but who have extensive knowledge on safari destinations, safari game lodges and the wildlife and wild lands of Africa. Should you have any questions on safari travel in Africa, we can advise you.
Please Note: All tours and packages are based on a minimum of two passengers travelling together,
unless otherwise stated. Single rates apply to singles travelling with
other passengers. All rates are subject to change at any time without notice.
Book a Holiday now ! Email us oninfo@thompsonsafrica.comor telephone+27 31 275-3500.... we are waiting to help you ... !
Guided Holidays : A World in One Country ~ South African Surprise ~ Kruger & the Kingdoms ~ Kruger Wildlife ~ Wildlife & the Cape ~ Cape Wildlife Family Adventures ~
Buffalo Rock Tented Safari ~ 3 Country - Wildlife & Waves Safari ~
Hluhluwe Game, Culture & St Lucia Safari ~ The Majestic Drakensberg & Lesotho~
Battle Encounters between Boer, Brit & Zulu ~ Garden Route Splendour ~
Magnificent Garden Route ~ Garden Route Wonderland ~ Namibia Discovery ~ Great Zimbabwe ~
Ruta Jardin ~ Parque Kruger ~ Wunderland Gartenroute
Thompsons Touring & Safaris: About Us ~ Contact Us ~ Booking Enquiry Form ~ Travel Memories ~ Meet our Guides, Drivers & Specialists ~ Vehicle Fleet ~ Shuttle Service ~ Client Service ~ Battle at Kruger ~ Safari Information ~ Big 5 Info ~ South Africa Fequently Asked Questions ~ Terms & Conditions
