Game rangers are surrounded by a wealth of wildlife and kaleidoscope of colours on a daily basis. They guys in khaki witness the most incredible interactions between animals and are hugged by endless landscapes while out on game drives. Trackers and rangers spend a large part of their day observing, tracking and studying animal behaviour. Having the knowledge about animal instincts allows rangers to, on occasion, predict upcoming behaviour which means plenty of incredible photographs! Of course, the wild being the wild, means that there is always an air of unpredictability and a bit of pot luck when it comes to sightings.
There are moments in Africa begging to captured on camera, to be shared and celebrated. And this is exactly what Marius Zeilinga from Umkumbe Safari Lodge has done. He whipped out his lens and framed life in the Sabi Sand for us.
Here is his collection, a world of wildlife seen through his creative eye.
The Bicycle Crossing male is a playful leopard who is seen on occasion while out on game drive. A few months back he came right up the lodge but hasn’t been spotted in recent weeks. Here Bicycle Crossing takes on the role of the quirky leopard – look at his tongue.
Mxabene, the dominant male of the Umkumbe traverse, was seen scent marking. He seemed determined to mark anything in his way and wasn’t stopping for anything en route to his destination.
Big Five, Cats, Dogs, Plains Game and Birds!
A huge herd of buffalo were seen at the waterhole close to the lodge. The Cape buffalo requires a habitat rich in grass, shade and water. They need to drink twice a day – find a waterhole, find buffalo!
Somewhere in the wilderness a lone male cheetah was spotted marking his territory and napping in between. Out of the thickets emerged an unidentified pack of wild dogs who put on quite a show for guests! After devouring a recent kill, the dogs decided to play rough-and-tumble close to the side of the vehicle.
Next up was the sighting of the majestic Verreaux’s eagle-owl, who has a rather varied diet and will eat anything. The owl happened to be enjoying morsels from a recent snake kill.
And then of course, there was an adorable zebra foal caught on camera!
Sabi Sand Lions: Charleston Male with Southern Pride Females
One of the Charleston male lions was seen with the Southern pride lionesses. They had just returned from a buffalo kill south of the Umkumbe boundary and were trailing another huge herd of buffalo. The second Charleston male was nowhere to be seen.
mike