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Aren't us humans just naturally greedy? I have just returned from a lovely trip to the park and already I am envious over all these lions and their meals Will have to wait until early Jan when we are back, just hope that the lions won't have eaten all the eland by then

EISH! EISH! EISH! What a feast this morning for anyone driving from TR and Kieliekrankie...

Thanks Jannie, I hope they stick around and will be exploring the Nossob riverbed frantically during my time there...

Morning All,

Herewith sightings from Nossob:

Sunset Drive

Leeus - Lions
Bruin Hyaena - Brown Hayena
Cape fox
Bakore - BEF
Jakkalse - Jackal
Gevlekte ooruile - Spotted Eagle Owls

I saw "only" about ten Elands in 3 weeks... most in the dunes (2 of them at Eland )... and all run when they see me... even heard me

have a nice travel Morkel and nice sightings... Elands sightings

Thanks again KG - amazing sightings you have at the moment

Anne-marie - very glad and happy that you have seen some Eland during your visit.

Hi there all,

Twee Rivieren Sightings:

This morning we had lions right next to the vehicle and entertaining the guests with roaring.
Cheetah was seen and general game.

Nossob Sightings

Sunset Drive
Leeus - Lions
Bruin Hyaena - Brown Hayena
Bakore - BEF
AWC
Cape fox
Jakkalse - Jackal
Baie gevlekte ooruile - Owls
Gewone wild - General game

Night Drive

Leeu - Lion
Jakkalse - Jackal
Springhase - Springhare

Excellent sightings and happy guests Hope the cubs are still fine and happy too.

Thanks again KG

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Morning All,

I had a morning walk this morning, the day started so nice with an amazing sunrise and then..........Eland carcass killed by three cheetah.

Nossob sightings:

Morning drive

9Leeus by die hide - 9 Lions in front of hide
Gewone wild - General Game

Sunset Drive

Leeu Mannetjie - Male Lion
AWC
Bakore - BEF
Jakkalse - Jackal
Gewone wild - General Game

Night Drive

Leeu Mannetjie - Male Lion
Rooikat - Caracal
Bruin Hyaena - Brown Hayena
Springhase - Springhare

Hello KG,

So now even the cheetah started to kill the eland?
Poor elands
I am glad I saw so many before all of them are killed.

Do you know why the eland are such a favourite snack?
Is it because they are slower than the other antelopes?
Or don't they fight as much?
Or does their meat have a special taste?

Do you know if the eland can "switch that clicking off"? When they approached waterholes in the dark, we could hear them long before we saw them and thought that it was like a "hi, I am here, kill me" signal.

Great sightings in Nossob. Wish I was there.

Nina

Hi there Nina,

It is purely because the Eland is not the fastest animal and also that their numbers are in abundance at the moment. There is also plenty meat on an Eland which can keep predators going for day and also support a larger number of a certain predator specie.

Here some info on the clicking of the Eland:

'Scientists from the Zoological Society of London and the University of Copenhagen reported in recorded the journal BMC Biology that the depth of the clicking sounds produced by walking eland bulls correlates to body size and are signals to show the bulls' fighting potential thus establishing mating rights. The sound is thought to be made as a tendon in the animals' legs slips over one of the leg bones, and can be heard from hundreds of meters away. "The tendon in this case behaves like a string being plucked, and the frequency of the sound from a string correlates negatively with both its length and diameter," said Jakob Bro-Jorgensen. That means that the sound signals how large - and thus how fighting fit - the Eland bulls are. The bulls can thus establish mating rights among each other while avoiding actual fights. The unusual approach adds to the list of signals that are known in Eland bulls to provide an indication of their status, like the dewlap under their throats which indicates age, and the darkness of their hair which indicates levels of aggression.'

WOW KG

Now I shall look at the Eland with new eyes - thanks for the info - much appreciated.

Nice sightings too

KG, thanks for all info

I heard Elands every evening/night at Urikaruus and is was... so special

An other side... predators can also heard them

Hello KG,

Thank you for the interesting information about the elands' clicking noise.

Nina