Winter time means for us a bit of tranquility in Madikwe Reserve, shorter days, cool nights, but lots of sunshine. Visitors are impressed by the beauty of nature and the fascinating wildlife during this time. For example, we suddenly met about 20 jackals in the open field. Here is our summary from last month.
It was a big pack of the only jackal species that can be seen in the reserve. According to the characteristic colors of the fur this animal is called the "black-backed jackal".
"Normally we see jackals when they are close to a big predator, hoping to catch a mouthful of meat after a successful kill. These jackals are actually rather shy, often loners," explains Rhulani's Head Ranger Sean the peculiarity of this animal.
Quite different that morning when we saw more than 20 of them together on a normal safari. "They offered a veritable show that amused us for almost half an hour," says Sean. The jackals ran after them, chewing on the remains of a prey animal, playing with each other … I have never seen so many together."
Again an example proving that nature keeps providing new surprises for us, and every safari is special. In the past month of June, we had a fantastic Black Rhino sighting (rare to find), we saw fighting rhinos, a cheetah that was desperately calling for his brother, and even nocturnal animals showed up, such as an African Wildcat or a Small-spotted Genet.
Finally, here are the success rates to see the Big Five on a safari of about 3 hours: Elephant (88%), White Rhino (59%), Lion (48%), Buffalo (43%), Leopard (14%).
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