SANParks.org Forums • View topic - The webcams made me do it!

Another great installment .... Not to be selfish or heart less did you leave the snake like that ?

Poor bugger must have suffered till he became someones lunch :big_eyes:

nice giraffes, sad about the snake.

Glad you had such a good time with MG and family.

:popcorn:

WOW........ :dance:

Mel, great TR so far...just caught up with it.......beautiful photos and a great story!!!!
THANKS!!!!

Hi Melph

As always love those giraffes.

Feel really sad about the snake

One day we had one slither across the road in front of us, much too fast to get a photo. Never been quite sure what it was, it was very very bright green and very beautiful. So now I looked up the name you gave and yes it was a Natal green snake. Thanks for the unintentional id

Just caught up again. :dance:

Poor snakie.........so sad. :cry:

Love the Geeraff vid, and the sparring Impies. :clap:

Hello again!

And a huge thank you Meandering Mouse, Melrockson, lion queen, hilda, Rookie2009, haileyidaho, Sharifa, RonnieL, Pumbaa, RichardJ, Radman, chirinda, koedoe, VicRob and Crested Val for following our adventures and providing such supportive and insightful comments :gflower:

Radman wrote

Not to be selfish or heart less did you leave the snake like that ?
Poor bugger must have suffered till he became someones lunch :big_eyes:

Hi Radman

I really laboured over whether or not to post that photo of the snake as I didn't want to upset any readers.
In the end I decided that it was a part of our overall Kruger experience, albeit a very sad one

Back home in Oz I am a reptile biologist, so whenever I see a snake or lizard on the road I always park and jump out of the car to have a look. If the reptile is dead I will move it far off the side of the road, as often raptors that fly down to get the free meal are also then struck by cars.

On this particular day in Kruger, several factors influenced my course of action when we came upon the wounded snake. First I was not confident about the species of snake it was, and second, I could not get out of the car. Finally we decided to take a photo and drive off. I still don't know if that was the right decision for the snake or not

But we just had to press on....

So without further ado, on we go with the drive to Skukuza in our quest for braai supplies :thumbs_up:

Berg-en-Dal Day 1 continued again.....

Next up Dad and I decided to take the H1-1 to the famous Transport Dam :thumbs_up:

We were impressed by the horns on this fellow but he simply refused to lift his head out of the grass for a good photo :doh:

When we arrived at Transport Dam there was not an animal in sight.
Still, it was a nice place to stop and rest a while, so we pulled into a little patch of shade at the edge of the parking area.

With our windows down we could hear all the sounds around us, including some kind of rustling coming from behind the bushes where we had parked?
More rustling and then a kind of grunting growling noise!!
OMW, was there some kind of cat in there? :shock:

No, it was waterbuck. A very pretty female wandered out of the bushes.

But still the grunting noises continued from behind the bushes near our car :hmz:

Then we saw this fellow over the other side of the dam, staring intently at the female.

Almost immediately the owner of the grunting noises walked out of the bushes in front of us.
He in return was staring intently at the male across the dam.

And then all hell broke loose. The male near us charged out of the bushes towards the male on the other side of the dam. He even leapt into the air and kicked out his hooves right in front of our car.

In the blink of an eye the males had made up ground between them and were having a tussle, over the girl!!
I thought I had taken a video of the action, but I must have pressed the wrong button in all the excitement :slap:

On our way again and we came across some warthogs grazing on the side of the road :thumbs_up:

Followed by a DCG roadblock

It was so hot that the road was shimmering with heat, but still this bird wandered about for some time in the open before another car came along and scared him up into a tree.

On the last stretch to Skukuza I finally found the famous klipspringers that I have seen in so many TRs over the years :mrgreen:

I was absolutely thrilled :dance:

Hi Mel!

How lucky to witness a waterbuck fight - all over a girl! Talk about right place at the right time! :dance:

And even luckier to see two klipspringers! :dance:

That kudu's horns are also magnificent! :shock:

Loved this next instalment! As always, waiting with the :popcorn:

for more

Indeed an impressive set of horns that Kudu has! :clap:

I love the Warties, and especially those cute Klipspringertjies! :dance:

'Followed by a DCG roadblock'

Hi Melph

ok is DCG some code for 'I don't know' :think:

otherwise excuse my igorance but I don't know that bird ??

I love Waterbuck..........and that male is beautiful!!! :clap:

I can only imagine how very exciting it must have been to see the clash over that girl!!! :dance:

Your photos of my favorite Klipspringers are stunning!!!

VicRob wrote

'Followed by a DCG roadblock'

Hi Melph

ok is DCG some code for 'I don't know' :think:

otherwise excuse my igorance but I don't know that bird ??

Dark Chanting Goshawk.......... :thumbs_up:

lion queen wrote

VicRob wrote

'Followed by a DCG roadblock'

Hi Melph

ok is DCG some code for 'I don't know' :think:

otherwise excuse my igorance but I don't know that bird ??

Dark Chanting Goshawk.......... :thumbs_up:

Thank you Lion Queen.

What a nice looking bird

It's a pleasure..........and they are beautiful birds!!! :clap:

I love your stately buck, Mel

and as for the Klippies

gorgeous pictures. They are often very shy, so lovely to see such a beautiful pose.

:popcorn: