Celebration of Kruger

 

Another beautiful sunset in Kruger. I plan to return to this national park in South Africa early next year for my third visit to look for lions. I have only explored a fraction of this enormous park, but it is responsible for some of my favorite wildlife encounters.

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A nomadic lion settles in for a long nap after devouring a zebra he killed in the night. 

A giraffe is silhouetted in the pre-dawn glow of sunrise. No saturation required. The colors are just this vivid. Windblown sand from the Sahara Desert creates stunning African sunrises and sunsets.

I saw this bull elephant digging in the dry riverbed and then I noticed a game trail a short distance away and decided to wait next to it, hoping to capture this shot. Sometimes my intuition works.

After a bit of wrestling, these two young bulls tore branches down from the trees, chased the herons around the lake and then, for good measure, scared the bejesus out of some tourists by charging and trumpeting at a passing car. But it was all in good fun. Just two friends getting each other into trouble.

 

A plucky warthog poses for a photo in the morning sun. Warthogs tend to make themselves at home at wilderness bush camps where I've stayed. One even plopped down at my feet under my picnic table while I was eating lunch. I thought it was a dog! Locals ignore them, but they can impale a leopard with those tusks, so I'm not sure just how dangerous they are to people.

Burchell's zebras rest their weary heads on each other's shoulders while napping in the afternoon sun. This behavior was captured for the cover photo of my South Africa guidebook and I hoped to see it for myself. But zebras are notoriously skittish, so I was truly lucky to find this relaxed herd napping in a clearing. 

A painted dog lopes into the scrub. I found these dogs on three consecutive days. Super lucky. Finding predators in Kruger is a worthy challenge. 

Baby chacma baboons chase each other while their parents take a morning nap.

Cape buffalo bulls grazes in the winter-dried grass. In a land of dangerous animals, the Cape buffalo might be the most dangerous.

Zebras play in wildflowers.

Hippos spar in a rainstorm in Kruger. This was just for fun but hippos can be pretty violent.

Drawn to the smell of the grill, a hyena investigates a neighbor's campsite. This little rest camp was my favorite because it's undeveloped and quiet. But it's also where an angry leopard just beyond the fenceline woke me in the 4 a.m. darkness. The growls and snarls prompted me to make a dash for my car.

I asked my neighbor: Does that electric fence work?

Yeah, mate, he said, that's not an electric fence!

I saw hyenas every day of my last visit. This curious cub popped her head out of her den during a morning game drive. Dad brought back a francolin hen for breakfast.

A beautiful band stallion soaks in the evening calm. You can see where his facial stripes are askew from a healed wound, perhaps the raking claws of a lion. I love this pic.

Impala are a common sight in Kruger. They are so common that they quickly become part of the background. But when things would get slow, I would look for a lucky impala to photograph. Often it worked!

A white rhinoceros grazes in the scrubland. Poaching has decimated rhinos in Kruger. Sadly, I doubt I'll see any on my return. The park even relocated some of the survivors to safer parks outside the country. Outrageous.

Giraffic Park! Africa is home to four species of giraffe. Or maybe nine depending on whom you ask. This is the South African giraffe and it's relatively common in the park.

Blue waxbills strike a pose worthy of a greeting card. Many birders come to Kruger for its amazing biodiversity. I can recognize a lot of African birds but still need help with some IDs.

I spent a lot of time trying to capture a lilac-breasted roller in flight to match an amazing photo by acclaimed photographer Thomas Mangelsen. I shot a lot of rollers on my last trip but this was the best I could manage and it pales in comparison with his.

A hippo is dwarfed by an enormous marula tree on the banks of a river. I love the scale.

A vervet monkey sits on the sun-warmed park road to crack open seeds that she stored in cheek pouches for later.

Giraffes are notoriously skittish. So this shallow water crossing shatters about a dozen giraffe phobias. His herd mates seem astounded. Do you see this? Incredible!

A hyena hunts the scrub in really nice evening light.

My first visit to Kruger spoiled me for Africa forever because nothing — nothing — is cooler than seeing a honey badger on a night game drive!

Sunset in Kruger.