December update: black rhinos very relaxed

For the last time in 2019, let's take a look at the activities of the animals in Madikwe Game Reserve, where there were many unique sightings to marvel at for us and our guests. Welcome to the December update from the bush and the animal statistics presented by Rhulani’s rangers.

In terms of frequency, the elephant confirmed its first place. Each time we made our way into the bush to look for animals for three hours, we saw this largest land mammal with a probability of 98%. Thus, elephants on a safari are almost guaranteed. Of the "Big 5", the white rhino came second (71%), followed by lion (66%), buffalo (44%) and the elusive leopard (3%), which was difficult to find in December.

On the other hand, we were so happy to see the wild dogs again, which is the typical animal of the park. We knew that they were denning for quite a while on the east side of the reserve and finally came back to our site just after Christmas. How wonderful it was to see this animal with the wonderful fur so close.

Since we discovered the den site of a spotted hyena in a hidden place, we were able to see the mother animal with its cub, from very close but still at a certain distance, in order not to disturb them.

The animals in the park were so relaxed that we could often maneuver our vehicle very close to them. Even the shy and aggressive black rhino suddenly just stood there looking at us, which is rather rare.

Another highlight was the rare specimen of a female impala with long, thin horns, of which we have already reported separately (see here).

And then we remember the funny sighting of a lioness that met a leopard tortoise in the grass but did not know how to deal with the hard shell after the reptile hid in its house.

Would you like to have such great experiences in the bush yourself, with wonderful colors from the sunsets and green plants in the rainy season? January and February are ideal for this. We look forward to you and new stories!