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Oh wow, P@M….. lucky you to have seen it in the day!!!
Wonderful sighting and stunning photos!!

Thanks Jumbo. Not really day -- early morning -- just after 6.
They are hubby's pics taken with max iso

Thought i would post these photos of the lion stalking the BH and then comeing to a dead stop, even though it was in Botswana's Central Kalahari G.R.

awesome........

I have a (bit of a random) funny story about a brown hyena...

A few years ago we were in KNP, and on our customary morning drive - this time we were heading north to Letaba from Olifants. My SO (it was his first trip to KNP & indeed Africa) spotted something and we stopped. Out of the bush came a hyena... SO was VERY excited because it was the "first wild African animal" he had ever spotted by himself. We got some great pics as the hyena walked around the car and then back into the bush.

Another car had pulled up by this time, and a (seemingly) very knowledgable gentleman told us how lucky we were to have seen that hyena as it was a brown hyena they are very rare etc etc. He was excited because he'd never seen one himself.

I personally have only visited KNP over my life, and until this moment didn't even know there was such a thing as a brown hyena (ha - oh the things I've learnt since then!)

The other important point to mention is I am NOT morning person AT ALL - so this discussion and sighting (at about 6.10am) sort of didn't sink in. Then the gentleman told us his friend had seen lions 10km north on the road when he left the park before dawn - and so we followed him and watched the lions for a while. We were very excited at the end of our morning drive because it had been such a wonderful morning.

A few days later we were going on a River Walk and we randomly mentioned to our guides about the BH. Both SO and I nearly flew through the front of the bakkie when the ranger slammed his foot on the brake in excitement. He explained how rare it was to see a BH in this area, and that it was a "reportable sighting" - if we had pictures and could tell them where we saw it. We said we did and the guide (who was rightfully skeptical) said if it were true - we would make it on to the front of the Kruger Times with that sighting.

Well, both SO and I got excited. WOW! On the front of the Kruger Times - how awesome are we! (The good old human ego was creeping in now!!!)

I ran to get my computer (which contained the million dollar picture) and before taking it back to the fairly excited guide, I thought I'd take another look, since it was now 4 days later, and I really didn't remember the sighting well (I mention it again because anyone who knows me knows how true this is - I really am a TERRIBLE morning person).

Well - I had a look at the picture and my heart sank. It definitely wasn't a brown hyena. The spots on it were so obvious, and I though "sheesh - I've gotta go show this guide this really disappointing picture..."

SO was waiting with him and saw my very sheepish face immediately... we showed the ranger and he was exceptionally kind about our stupidity (I could only imagine what he was thinking!)

I still (to this day) feel totally daft when I think about this. Suffice to say - we never solely go on the word of another Park visitor any more, and our NUMBER ONE animal we both have on our "list of animals to see" is that bloody brown hyena!

not to worry, we have probably all made these mistakes. I had a good giggle at your account.

I was reading this, thinking, "stop writing dammit, and post the darn picture!", until I realised where this was going to! Yes, we've all made mistakes, and some are funnier than others when looking back at it later on.

all. i just found my copy of "kruger park guide" 8th edition printed in 1983, it states from the "last" sensus done in 1977 animal numbers were as follows:

Brown Hyena.....Fewer then 200
side stripped jackal......300

unless the <200 stopped breeding are were all killed there should still be a population, pity it doesn't mention which area these were counted in though or if it is just a estimate

Both my Father and Granfather have told me they have seen Brown Hyeana in Kruger...(Together on the same trip)..They were regular visitors decades ago when they lived in Nelspruit...I'll have to get further information, as to the area and aproximate date.

Ja, joekin!

I think you'll find most rare smaller animals would have been listed as "less than" a certain number!


Definitely estimates...often purely from Rangers' annual and monthly reports.
That's not to say they were wrong...but a guesstimate is a guesstimate!

Pics from Kgalagadi 1977 :

Thanks for sharing!

Hi Guys

I worked on and managed a game reserve called Karongwe which is appx. 70 km West of Kruger and adjacant to Makalali which is mentioned earlier in the topic.

We had numerous brown hyena sightings over the years. I will try to post some pictures. There was also resident spotted hyena on the reserve.

We even had a collared male at one stage which left the reserve on a regular basis.

Did you have a big lion population, and how strong was the spotted hyena population?

Hello, and a warm welcome, shiloweni!

Is that reserve west of the tar road...ie out of the conservancy linked to the big 5?

And how close to Blydepoort reserve, if that is the case?