The month of July is over. It is still winter time, which means we experienced cold nights, pleasant, sunny days, not a single drop of rain, and the most important: fantastic game viewing. Here is the monthly update from the bush by our rangers.
Firstly, some statistics. If a guest climbs our vehicle for a 3 to 3.5 hours game drive through the savannah, what is the probability to see the famous "Big 5"? The elephant is found almost always (95%), followed by lion (62%), white rhino (58%) and buffalo (52%). Overall, the figures are fantastic, and at the level of the previous months.
The last and therefore most difficult of the Big 5 is the leopard with 12% probability. Here you need a bit of luck (see a special article about our leopard Samson here). Extremely good luck had those Rhulani guests in July, which encountered two different leopards on the same drive. The exception confirms the rule ...
Our ranger Rian reported special animal encounters, such as a newborn white rhino and a total of six sightings where lions were busy eating on a kill. Even the rare wild dog, the typical animal for Madikwe, was sometimes found (13% probability), and twice when the whol pack was with a prey.
Madikwe has two types of hyena, and both were discovered: the spotted hyena (16%) as well as the brown hyena (11%). Very exceptional sightings were the caracal (4 times), the genet (6 times), and the bush baby (3 times).
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