Traditionally, May was the quietest month of the year, measured by the number of guests visiting Madikwe Game Reserve. The few visitors enjoyed a private atmosphere with unforgettable game viewing. Welcome to our monthly report from the bush.

The transition from summer to winter, the cooler nights, the sunny days, spectacular sunsets, and the endless tranquility found here in the African bush. These are just some of the reasons that make a visit to Madikwe in May especially attractive.

In our statistics, which are updated daily by our Ranger, we can see the success rate at which we find certain animals on safaris. Beside the consistently good values which again were confirmed in May, there was one particular animal standing out, which is not one of the well-known "Big 5", but still a very special mammal, which is even referred to by many of our guests as the "favorite animal": the giraffe.

Giraffes, which are also the favorites of our ranger Alasdair, do not have to be explained. Everybody knows their elegance, the long neck, and the peculiar way of walking. But here we have time to observe some more details. Our guests were amazed to see the interesting way in which they select the leaves from the trees, the strange position they take when drinking water, or the beautiful eyelashes similar to a diva.

We saw giraffes in every game drive with a 96% probability, so to speak each time. That's a record!

With regard to the "Big 5", the already known sighting frequencies remained similar to the previous months: Elephant (91%), Lion (74%), White Rhino (61%), Buffalo (39%), Leopard (20% ). Especially to mention are our little cats, which we often see: very small baby lions, or the leopard mother with a cub.

Unforgettable was a fight between two male lions, or an almost newborn rhinoceros.