At Klipspringer Lodge in Selati Game Reserve there is a photographic hide. It is positioned about 100 metres down the hill from the lodge. The hide looks onto a man-made waterhole. The hide is positioned about 15 metres from the near side of the waterhole and the waterhole is roughly circular with a 20 metre diameter. This means you need a short focal length lens for large mammals and a very long focal length lens for the small birds on the far side of the waterhole.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” ~ Walt Disney

Birds, like mammals, are very sensitive to sounds in the bush around the waterhole and from the hide itself. Each month the hide is in place the wildlife is becoming progressively more habituated to it, which helps the photographers.

“You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.” ~ Nate Berkus.

There is an open section around the waterhole which is about 15 metres in width at its narrowest point which provides adequate thick cover for francolin and spurfowl to run into when alarmed and for the smaller birds to fly into the surrounding trees.

We visited the hide in mid-September which is early spring in southern Africa. This means that none of the migrant birds have arrived yet. That said there was still a remarkable diversity of birdlife in Selati.

Throughout the day Crested francolin visited the waterhole with the males chasing the females around the water’s edge. Its small size and rhythmical call makes it a francolin. This francolin has a distinctive thick white eyebrow and it lifts its tail up like a Bantam chicken when it runs.

At around 18h00 each day many Double-banded sandgrouse arrived in pairs and small groups to drink at the waterhole. The males fluff out their breast feathers to absorb water which they carry back to their chicks. The water is collected by repeatedly “rocking” and shaking his belly feathers in the water. This process can take as long as fifteen minutes which makes the males vulnerable to predation. The sandgrouse chicks use their bills like tiny squeegees, “milking” their father’s belly feathers for the water they need. You can hear these sandgrouse flying in as they make a instantly recognisable call.

Crested barbets came down to drink a few times each day. They can be quite aggressive chasing other birds away from the edge of the water. Like sandgrouse we could often heard barbets before we saw them. Most birds flew into a nearby tree overlooking the waterhole to look around and make sure there are no threats before flying down to the water’s edge.

A Black-collared barbet at the water’s edge taking deep long drinks of water.

We were excited to see a Dark Chanting goshawk. It few into the trees away from the waterhole and spent some time looking around possibly for potential prey before eventually flying down to the water’s edge to drink.

Like many raptors, this Dark Chanting goshawk scooped up water with its beak. Birds generally do not have the ability to suck liquid into their throats so they fill their beak with water then tilt their head back to enable gravity to pull the liquid down their digestive tract.

Early on the second morning just after the hyaenas had stopped to drink, this dark morph Tawny eagle came down to drink. It was overcast and the light was low making the photography tricky. This Tawny did not stay long and left just as quietly as it arrived.

The arrival of birds at the waterhole was usually quiet unless it was a sandgrouse, barbet or drongo. This meant that you needed to be alert and watching the waterhole all the time. The birds arrive and departed much faster than the animals.

We only saw Red-billed oxpeckers around the water hole. Many oxpeckers arrived on the backs of impala, Sable, Kudu and Nyala. This species of oxpecker has olive-brown plumage with a vivid red eye and beak. Around the eye is a bright yellow eye ring.

A lone Red-billed oxpecker grooming itself after having been foraging through a young Sable antelope’s pelage. The Red-billed oxpecker feeds on ticks and parasites on the antelope’s hide. This species of oxpecker has a narrow bill which it uses to comb through the antelope’s hair to pry out parasites. These birds will also clean up open wounds and lesions.

After much practice we eventually managed to get reasonable images of the Emerald-spotted wood-dove taking off from the water’s edge after having slated its thirst. The five emerald spots are clearly visible among the tertiary wing feathers.

It is vital to watch these Emerald-spotted wood-doves to establish their pattern of behaviour around the waterhole when they are drinking. Without this pattern you will not consistently be able to capture these birds taking off from the waterhole. The ten primary wing feathers propel the bird through the air and the secondary wing feathers give it lift.

A Three-banded plover feeding on insects at the water’s edge. With its small sharp beak it plucks insects from the mud and the water surface. Its three distinct breast bands are clearly visible, two black and one white.

A Golden-Breasted bunting. We saw many pairs of these buntings at the waterhole. The male is instantly recognisable by its bright yellow breast. All southern African buntings have the characteristic black and white striped face.

A Groundscrapper thrush standing tall on long legs. It has a heavily streaked white breast and throat. Its face is strongly marked and its back feathers are brownish-grey. These thrushes are usually seen in pairs.

A Kurrichane thrush flying in for a drink. We usually saw individuals not pairs. This thrush has quite different colouring to its Groundscrapper cousin. It has a white belly, buff-orange flanks and underwing feathers. It has a light brown throat with a black moustache and a bright orange beak and eye-ring. This thrush loves picking through leaf litter for insects.

“Many birds have eye-rings, which are either brightly coloured feathers or bare skin around their eyes. These eye-rings are thought to convey different signals between birds. These signals may be associated with sexual maturity, age and health. They also provide birders with a vital aspect of identification.” ~ Mike Haworth

We saw this Pearl-spotted owlet fly in and land next to the waterhole. It was only the movement that caught our eye otherwise we would never have seen it as it blended into the ground perfectly.

After having spent some time on the ground, this Pearl-spotted owlet flew into a nearby tree overlooking the the waterhole. This one of the few owls that is often seen during the day. It has white speckles on its back and tail; white spots on the crown and head and brown streaks on its breast which are diagnostic. This owlet has an iconic and instantly recognisable call with an accelerating series of upslurred, piping “fwooo” notes, followed by a set of downward “puuueeeww” whistles ( Source: eBird).

It is always a thrill to see Green pigeons. They are beautifully coloured with light green body and head feathers with darker olive green back feathers. It has muted burgundy shoulder feathers. It has a pale coloured eye, red cere and pink feet with bright yellow leg feathers. This pigeon is often heard but not easily seen when it is high up in the trees because of its green colouring. Pigeons and doves are among the few birds that can suck water while their head is down so don’t need to lift their head to swallow.

The Green pigeons flew to the edge of the waterhole quickly and silently, drank quickly and flew off just as quickly and silently.

A flock of Red-headed weavers flew down to the far side of the waterhole to drink and bath. The male weaver has a red plumage on his head and throat during breeding season. The females have yellow plumage on their heads and throats. Both sexes have a yellowish-pink coloured beak.

Apart from their colourful bathing antics they looked to be really having fun. The breeding season is October to March which is when the males develop their characteristic red heads, which they use to impress females – and as a sign of maturity. Once the male has completed his nest a female will inspect the nest and, if she accepts it, she will line the nest with leaves as a sign of approval. After the eggs are laid the parents remain on high alert as the Diederik Cuckoo is a well-known brood parasite of the Red-Headed weaver.

The waterhole was frequented by a pair of Brown-hooded kingfishers. It has a brown head and blackish and turquoise wings. The wing coverts are mostly brownish-black, and the secondary flight feathers are turquoise. The rump is azure-blue. This kingfisher is an insect eater and unlike the Woodland is not migratory.

Often during the warmth of the day, this kingfisher would dive off its perch and dunk itself in the water to cool off.

“When you look at something what do you see, what do you hear and what do you feel and what were you looking for? ” ~ Mike Haworth

Another bird which is usually heard before it is seen is the Black-headed oriole. Often you will see flashes of bright yellow flitting between the trees before it eventually comes down to drink. This bird is immediately identifiable with its black head, red eyes and pink beak and most noticeably its bright yellow body plumage.

This bird prefers the acacia and broad-leafed woodland habitat and feeds on nectar, fruit and insects. It has a beautiful musical liquid call that sounds like “wholeucoo”.

Photographing birds from the hide at Selati was a treat. The birds tended to avoid the waterhole when the animals are drinking. I can only assume that it would even better with more diversity during the summer months once the migrants had arrived. For all but the raptors, you need a long focal length lens of a minimum of 600 mm and preferably 800 to 1000mm to photograph birds at the waterhole.

“Our eyes are wondrous things, but they have limits. Seeing is a much more intellectual process than looking. Perception and perspective can limit what we are looking at. That is the purpose of camouflage. Stop making a noise, pay attention and tune in. Use your ears and sense of smell to see. Pay attention to things and make the connections. When you do this the world around you will become infinitely more fascinating than you coulkd have imagined.” ~ Mike Haworth

It was fascinating to see how colourful the birds were in the the passing parade. The wonderful array of colours begs the question of whether birds see colour. The variety of colours suggest they do. A Yale/Cambridge study showed that birds not only do see many more colours than humans, but they see many more colours than they have in their plumage. Birds have additional colour cones in their retina that are sensitive to ultraviolet range so they see colours that are invisible to humans.

“Perception is your understanding and/or interpretation of people, situations and the world around you – it’s your mental impression. By contrast, perspective is the angle you are looking from – it’s your point of view.” ~ Sara Ballinger

There are times when there is so much bird activity around the waterhole that it was difficult deciding where to focus. With birds you have to pay attention all the time as they do not announce their arrival. Recognising bird calls helps in anticipating which birds are likely to come in to drink. They fly into the trees overlooking the waterhole to ensure the area is clear before flying down to the water’s edge to drink.

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew i would never see it again?” ~ Rachel Carson

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Selati’s Klipspringer Lodge has a photographic hide which is positioned about 20 metres from a man-made waterhole. The hide is about 100 metres down the hill from the lodge. With the addition of lights and camera supports from CNP Safari, photographers can use the hide day and night.

The main purpose of a hide is to conceal the photographer from the alert eyes of wildlife. As soon as wildlife sees a person out in the open it will normally flee. A permanent hide becomes part of the environment and the wildlife becomes progressively habituated to its presence and ignores it – providing the photographers are quiet in the hide.

“Proficiency in photography techniques and composition will yield you good images. But, true passion and love for wildlife will make you a better wildlife photographer.” ~ Alvis Lazarus

There is something special about being in the hide in the dark in the middle of the bush. It is quiet and the lights focus your attention on the waterhole as the colour of the evening sky fades into a midnight blue and then a star spangled black. You are filled with anticipation about what might come to drink. It could be anything from sandgrouse to a duiker or a Sable bull, White rhino or elephant, or perhaps even a lion or leopard – you just never know.

“A good photographer records: a great photographer reveals.” ~ David Glen Larson

One of the intriguing aspects of the hide during the transition period from sunset to full darkness is that the colour of the sky changes dramatically which provides ever changing background colours while the spot lights keep constant illumination. The changing colour in the sky is reflected in the bush and the water.

Early one evening just as the sun was setting behind the hill overlooking the Klipspringer Lodge, a group of elephant bulls walked up to the waterhole to drink. It is breathtaking to see these giants approach the waterhole in the last light. They did not make a sound. Being early evening it was just a drink, not time to bath or play.

A special thrill for me was watching this band of Sable bulls come to the waterhole to drink at last light. Their massive scimitar shaped horns glistened in the last light.

“The painter constructs, the photographer reveals.” ~ Sun Sontag

The early evening light can play tricks on your senses. The intensity and hue of the light can be so subtle and sublime you have to pinch yourself. These three young Kudu came to the waterhole to drink. It was a vulnerable time for them and they were alert and very careful when they quickly took their evening drink of water.

A few Eland came to the waterhole to drink at that in-between time just before the light fades. That in-between time seems to be a moment when mother nature holds her breath as the daylight transitions into night. That in-between time can be still with not a breath of wind. The bush is quiet as the diurnal wildlife makes its way to find a place to sleep and the nocturnal wildlife is waking and beginning their evening’s activities.

As the last oranges of the evening’s light transformed into blue, a large elephant bull emerged from the gloom of the surrounding bush. He drank deeply, illuminated in the spotlights. His presence was imposing but he drank his fill in peace and walked back to feed in the bush through the night.

Duiker are mainly nocturnal. They are naturally very wary when approaching a lit waterhole in the depth of night. This Grey duiker would wander back and forth in the penumbra of the lights away from the waterhole for many minutes assessing the safety of the area. Eventually the duiker would come up to the edge of the water to drink but the stretched pose showed that he was ready to bolt at the slightest sound.

At night the animals rely on their hearing and the slightest sound from the hide will stop them drinking. They look up and assess the direction of the sound and whether it represents a threat or not. After a short while of assessment the duiker relaxes and continues to slake his thirst.

On a different night a lone Sable bull proceeded cautiously towards the waterhole to drink. After assessing all was safe he came to the edge of the water to drink. After a few minutes of deep drawing drinks he stepped back and walked off into the night.

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.” ~ Duane Michals

Unexpectedly, a small herd of wildebeest came into the light to drink. They were reasonably relaxed considering they were exposed but were obviously thirsty. They drank without incident and quietly went on their way.

Without a sound a female White rhino came into the light to drink. Despite her size she did not make a sound, even when drinking.

“Between fact and context is judgement. A photograph captures the fact, the composition and frame creates the context which can have a profound effect on the opinion and appreciation.” ~ Mike Haworth

From a photographic point of view you hold your breath when three rhinos come into the light to drink. It is a time of peace when a mother brings her two calves in to drink. They are quiet, there is no fuss just peace.

At around 18h00 each evening, like clockwork, the Double Banded sandgrouse came to the waterhole to drink. They flew in with their characteristic squeaking so typical of sandgrouse. Many pairs flew in each evening. Some stayed and just rested.

The quiet before the revelation. As a photographer you just sit quietly in the dark, swimming in your own thoughts, reflecting on all that you have seen during the day and the conversations you have had with fellow nature watchers. It is cool, not cold, but quiet. The Fiery Necked nightjars are calling in the surrounding bush. Every now and then a Pearl-spotted owlet “buuurps”.

“A photographic hide is like a studio in the wild.” ~ Mike Haworth

This male Grey duiker was clearly intrigued by the fragrance of this female. The interaction was quiet and gentle. Not pushing just quiet acceptance. The larger female got to drink in peace and the pair walked off into the night after about 15 minutes.

A male Double Banded sandgrouse resting after his fly in. In many cases these sandgrouse fly many kilometres to drink and when they have a chick to feed, they soak their breast feathers in water to take the moisture back to their waiting chicks.

A female Double Banded sandgrouse drinking at the waterhole just after 18h00. Many pairs flew in at that time to drink. You can them hear them flying in from afar with their unique and musical “kellie-wyn”.

Early one cool morning this young hyaena came to the water hole to drink. Eventually it was joined by two others from the clan. There was no noise. They were dead quiet and it watched attentively as they drank. As quickly as they arrived they disappeared, not to be seen again for the remainder of our stay.

The hide was set about 100 metres below the lodge. It was a real thrill to walk down from the lodge in the dark at around 5h30 not knowing what you would find. The feeling was the same leaving the hide in the dark at various times at night.

“I love the nightlife where we hide in plain sight and where life is rife.
From sunset to sunrise, the stage is lit with special appearances from a changing moon.
The actors are natural, experienced and unscripted.
The set is bejeweled with a kaleidoscope of colours, courtesy the weather and moon.
Beyond the lights an infinite ceiling is spangled with twinkling stars.
The music is choired with the melodies sung by frogs, nightjars and owls.” ~ Mike Haworth

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

One of the main features of Selati Game Reserve (SGR) are Sable antelope. I spent a week with CNP Safaris in September last year at SGR with a group of wildlife photographers visiting the newly commercialised Klipspringer Lodge to experience its photographic hide and unique wildlife, flora and landscapes opportunities.

“The most beautiful gift of nature is that it gives one pleasure to look around and try to comprehend what we see.” ~ Albert Einstein.

The Selati Game Reserve is a large reserve, with diverse topography and biodiversity. In the east, there are large granite hills, where Verreaux’s eagles and Klipspringers can be found. The dominant vegetation types are Combretum and Mopane woodland. This habitat is well-suited to the large elephant and giraffe population found there. Special species occurring in this reserve are Sable and Eland.

This game reserve hosts several wonderful lodges nestled below and among magnificent granite outcrops and pockets of verdant indigenous flora, which provide SGR’s unique topography and lowveld vistas.

“The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.” ~ Edward Abbey.

The reserve has a strong conservation orientation where its objective is to manage the area back to its original state of biodiversity while keeping the indigenous species intact and tourism impact low.

There are four species of Sable antelope in Africa : Southern, Zambia, Eastern and Giant or Angolan. The Sable species found in SGR is the Southern species. Between 1930 and 1960 in the Letaba/Gravelotte area of Limpopo, the number of Sable antelope decreased from an estimated 20 000 to 1 500. Research revealed that the development of livestock farms, deterioration of habitat and uncontrolled hunting were the main reasons for this dramatic decrease in animal numbers. Sable had been freely roaming in SGR when the reserve was formed in 1993 and SGR focused on breeding Sable as a crucial source of income to fund the nature reserve.

The populations of several herbivores in the Kruger National Park (KNP) declined further in the 1970s and 1980s, partly due to several years of low rainfall. With the increase in rainfall in the 1990s, numbers of most species increased, but the Roan, Tsessebe, Eland and Sable numbers failed to pick up. The population growth rate of Sable and Roan remained depressed despite improved rains, suggesting that rainfall was not the only contributing factor to their low recovery rate. The young male in the next image is attempting to improve the low recovery rate with a young female.

Sable antelope numbers in KNP crashed from an estimated 2 240 in 1986 to 1 232 in 1993 and again dropped to around 507 in 1999 and around 300 today. The population estimate does not include formally and privately protected areas outside the natural distribution range which expand the population of mature individuals to a range of between 643 and 857 individuals. Available census methods are not accurate enough to determine the exact size of this small population.

Over the period 1991–2015, there has been an estimated decline in KNP of 71% ; and an overall decline, based on 10 protected areas within the natural distribution range, of 65%. The KNP subpopulation appeared to stabilise between 2004 and 2012 at around 385 to 400 individuals.

There is an estimated 6 995 individual Sable existing on private game farms and ranches within and outside the natural distribution range. Less than 10% of these individuals could be considered wild (at least 68% existing in breeding camps or enclosures). The total number eligible for the Red List ranges from between 84 and 490 mature individuals, bringing the total estimate of the wild and free roaming population of between 820 and 1350 mature individuals.

Between 1930 and 1955, KNP built earthen dams to sustain water supply in the more arid central and northern parts of the park. More artificial water points were built between 1955 and 1959 on concerns of reduced access to sections of the Sabie river at that time. In the following 20 years, park management began to notice, especially along the western boundary of Kruger, that the seasonal migrating species such as Zebra and Blue Wildebeest were no longer following their summer / winter grazing routes but rather begun to anchor around these artificial water points. Sable need water daily so they also began to concentrate on the artificial water points.

“All things are bound together. All things connect. Whatever happens to the Earth happens to the children of the Earth.” ~ Chief Seattle.

The initial decline in Sable numbers was attributed to deteriorating habitat quality and increased predation pressure following the installation of artificial water points.

The increase in herbivores around the water points attracted lions and hyaenas, increasing predation. At the same time, the Zebra, Wildebeest and Buffalo probably changed the types of grass growing in the erstwhile Sable strongholds. Sable are known to be selective herbivores while zebra and buffalo are less selective and graze on all types of grass.

The Sable Antelope is an “edge” species which frequents the woodland/grassland ecotone. They are selective feeders with a preference for fresh growth grasses (40– 140 mm) of both sweet and sour species, found in mixed veld. Sable are dependent on drinking water and will drink daily so are susceptible to droughts when there is a rapid depletion in forage quality. They also do not like severe cold spells and seek out thick vegetation to shield against the cold and winds.

The Sable and Roan antelope are members of the Hippotragus family. The scientific name, Hippotragus is a composite of two greek words, where “hippo” means horse-like and “tragus” meaning goat. The Sable antelope has horse-like physical features with a long face and caprine (goat-like) ears. It has a powerful neck and shoulders. The adult Sable antelope is characterised by its glossy black coat with white under parts and white facial markings. Cows and young are dark brown in colour. Both sexes have stiff black manes along the dorsal aspects of their necks. The shoulder height of bulls is around 1.4 metres, and they can weigh up to 270 Kg. The bull only reaches full maturity around six years of age.

“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.” ~ Matt Hardy

There is little dimorphism in body size. A mature bull is larger than a female and his scimitar shaped horns are longer and more curved. Females and juveniles form herds, while sub-adult males tend to stay with the herds for longer than other antelope and eventually form bachelor groups.

Both sexes have long horns, which are ridged, and which curve backwards. Tips of horns are smooth and sharp pointed. The scimitar-shaped horns of mature bulls can be up to 1.6 m in length. Horns on females are shorter and slimmer. A Sable’s ears are brick red at the back and shorter than that of the Roan antelope. The horn of young become visible at the age of two months.

A young sable bull. His pelage was darkening and his horns were not fully developed. His gender is evident from the penal sheath at the base of his belly.

Sable antelope occur in herds between 10 and 30. As they grow older, Sables change colour. Calves are born reddish-brown, with virtually no markings. As they age, the white markings appear, and the rest of the coat gets darker — the older the animal, the more striking the contrast.

A small herd of adult Sable bulls. Bulls compete for females and territory. The fights are ritualised. Initially they posture and attempt to show their dominance without resorting to battle. When bulls do decide to fight they drop to their knees and engage in robust horn wrestling battles.

“Photography helps people to see.” ~ Berenice Abbott

You will notice, lighter coloured skin patches on male’s foreleg knees where the hair has been worn away and callouses have formed as a result of them kneeling down to horn wrestle.

“The pictures are there, and you just take them.” ~ Robert Capa

When attacked a Sable antelope can run at speeds of just under 60 kilometres per hour for up to three kilometres. When cornered or wounded, a Sable antelope will fight back. The Sable will slash with their horns back and forth across its back at great speed in an attempt to impale their adversary. Many years ago, Dr John Condy, a family friend’s father and wildlife vet in Zimbabwe, told a story of finding a lioness and a Sable both dead but with a lioness impaled on the Sable’s horns.

The Sable together with the Roan antelope are considered rare antelope. They are both striking in appearance. The first time a Sable emerged from the trees behind the waterhole it was a real thrill to see this regal antelope approach the waterhole. It would stop and listen at the edge of the open area around the waterhole and when satisfied there were no threats it would approach the water.

Invariably the Sable would stand at the edge of the water and listen and look around again before bending down to drink. This gave us many opportunities to capture their poise and stature. The Sable came to drink every day, mostly during the day but sometimes at night. The Klipspringer hide proved to be a wonderful feature from which to photograph Sable in numbers.

“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” ~ Jay Maisel

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Along with a group of fellow amateur wildlife photographers, I visited Klipspringer Lodge in Selati Game Reserve in September 2021 with CNP Safaris. Selati Game Reserve had, until recently, been a private game reserve which only the land owners could access.

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.” ~ Wilfred Peterson

Selati Game Reserve comprises a group of like-minded conservation oriented land owners who took down the internal fences to allow the free movement of wildlife within the reserve. The reserve now has only an external fence. Selati Game Reserve is located west of Kruger National Park between Gravelotte and Mica in the Limpopo Province.

_{Source: tembalodges.co.uk}

Selati Game Reserve comprises an area of around 30 000 hectares and has the Ga-Selati river flowing from west to east through the reserve.

“You must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong” ~ Sue Fitzmaurice

Recently several landowners in Selati decided to open up their lodges to commercial operation creating the opportunity for us to be able to visit the game reserve. Klipspringer Lodge is beautifully located against a granite outcrop which is home to a family of Klipspringers. The lodge is well appointed with a verdant oasis in the bushveld.

Below the Klipspringer Lodge, the owners have built a photographic hide. CNP teamed up with the lodge owners to provide night lights and camera supports to be able to photograph wildlife day and night from the hide.

Up at 5h30 on our first morning we were keen to see what would come to the waterhole in the early morning. We were fortunate enough to have three Spotted hyaenas visit. The sun had not yet risen and their stay was brief. In fact the sun did not show its face much as the weather was generally overcast during our stay at Klipspringer.

Although there are lions and leopards in Selati Nature Reserve we did not get to hear them or see them during our stay. Presumably there were other water sources which they found more compelling.

I had never seen an adult hyaena get down on its foreleg knees to drink water. All the while they were very alert and stopped drinking to listen at any slight sound.

Several Grey duiker came down to drink at the waterhole night and day. Duiker are generally nocturnal and quite shy. There seemed to be a pair of Grey duikers around the waterhole with several individuals coming in to drink early in the morning and at night. Only the male has horns but the female is larger than the male.

On the odd occasion when the sun showed its face the drinkers were beautifully reflected in the still water. The duiker feeds mainly on leaves, but is one of the few antelope known to eat carrion and insects.

There are 21 species of duiker and the Grey duiker is one of the largest. Duikers in the genus Cephalophus have the same distinctive body type, although the different species vary in size. They have low-slung bodies on slender legs, wedge-shaped heads topped by a crest of long hair, and relatively large eyes. Environment and habitat influence the overall body shape and colouration of animals. As a consequence, duiker living in an open habitat are longer-legged, less hunchbacked, and lighter in color (tawny or grey) than the species that inhabit dense, dark forests.

Moderate sized impala herds frequently came to drink at the waterhole. They were quite skittish and tended to easily scare each other. There are two types of impala, the Common and Black-faced. Only the Common was abundant in the woodlands of Selati.

When viewing an impala from the side you will notice a marked difference in the shading pattern on the back of the animal, which becomes increasing lighter towards the underside. This biological camouflage serves to break up the 3-dimensional form of the animal, aiding in background matching with their environment. Impala are the only antelope species to have metatarsal glands above the hoof of the hind legs. It has thought that the scent released from this gland may act as a chemical cue for other herd members to follow during a chase.

Impala tend to be most active during the day. They congregate in three distinct social groups from territorial males with their harem of females to bachelor herds and female herds. Most of the time we saw herds of females interspersed with juvenile males. There was no snorting or fighting by rutting males which is so evident during the rutting period in April and May.

The kudu found in southern Africa are Greater kudu. Lesser kudu are found in central and the drier regions of north eastern Africa. Greater kudu live in clans which are social groups of about seven to ten individuals. These clans consist of adult females, juveniles, and adult males less than two years old.

A beautiful female kudu at the waterhole – constantly alert. I have never found out why several African antelope have white lips such as the Kudu, Eland, Impala, Water buck, Reedbuck, Roan and Sable antelope. Mother nature always has a reason, I just have not found it yet.

Kudu, like Nyala, are sexually dimorphic meaning the male and female of the same species are different in physical appearance. The Kudu male has horns and the female does not have horns. The Kudu female is generally larger than a Nyala female and greyer in colour. They both have white stripes down their sides but the Nyala’s stripes are more numerous and distinct and the Nyala female does not have a ridge of white hair along her spine and a brown mane along her neck.

A Nyala bull has corkscrew horns with a yellow tip. It has a thick dark brown coat. Both male and female Nyala have white spots on their checks below their eyes. The white chevron marking between the male’s eyes is thought to be for camouflage purposes breaking up the shape of the face in the light and dark areas of a woodland thicket.

The male Nyala’s legs are particularly colourful being dark brown on his thighs, black knees and ochre coloured calves with black fetlocks and hooves. A male Nyala horns are around 70cm in length and have one to two spirals depending on its age.

A male Nyala can be particularly aggressive. Their threatening posture is to arch their back, fluff up their tails and and raise their dorsal manes. I have even seen a male Nyala threaten a Sable bull with this dominance posture.

The Nyala female has a distinctive chestnut pelage with many more white body strips than a Kudu and white spots on its belly and upper thighs.

“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Any antelope smaller than a Nyala male is a ram and larger is a bull. A similar idea applies to a Nyala female where any antelope smaller is a ewe and any antelope larger is a cow.

Although a giraffe has seven vertebra in its neck, the same as a human, each vertebra is around 25cm long. Even with its exceptionally long neck and a tongue around 46 cm in length, it is too short to reach the ground to drink of water, so the giraffe has to spread its legs and bend down in an awkward position that makes it vulnerable to predators. Giraffe do not need to drink water every day as they get most of their water from the leaves they feed on.

Looks can be deceiving. Looking at the front legs, a giraffe’s elbow (joint between humerus and ulna) is the top joint and what looks to be the elbow is in fact its wrist ( joint between the ulna and metacarpus).

Pelage patterns are important in distinguishing giraffe sub-species. The pelage is medium-to-reddish brown, broken into splotches by buff-colored borders. Blotches of some individuals (particularly males) tend to darken with age. Every giraffe has a unique pelage pattern much like a human fingerprint and does not change with age.

“The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling.” ~ Anonymous

Until recently, it was widely recognised that there was only one species of giraffe, and nine subspecies. New genetic research, conducted by Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and partners, has shown that there are in fact four distinct species of giraffe, and five subspecies. All four giraffe species and their subspecies live in geographically distinct areas throughout. Source: giraffeconservation.org

The South African giraffe has star-shaped patches in various shades of brown, surrounded by a light tan colour. Their lower legs are randomly speckled with uneven spots.

Giraffe are always very cautious when approaching a waterhole. They can stand and watch wait and listen for many minutes before they are satisfied it is safe to approach the water. Male giraffe tend to be taller than females and a female’s ossicones are normally smaller than a males and tuffed with hair. This group looked to be females.

An adult bull Kudu has two complete spirals with a striking ridge on each horn. Dominance ranking between males is based on age; males emphasise their size by hunching their backs and raising their manes, but posturing usually sorts out the dominance ranking. They will only start sparring if they are equal size.

You can tell a Kudu’s age by the direction of the tips of the horns: If the tips point back and out, for instance, the male is about 3 three years old. The number of twists in its spiral horns signal its age with a fully mature male having two and a half to three full twists. The horns do not begin to grow until the bull reaches 6–12 months, twisting once at around two-years-of-age and not reaching the full two-and-a-half twists until the age of six.

Kudus have excellent vision and hearing. They communicate mostly through sight and sound. They follow each others’ scent trails. Body signals, such as flashing the white undersides of their tails, are used to indicate the movements and presence of predators. Kudus have a loud bark to warn others of danger and this can be heard for quite a distance through the thick fauna of the bushveld.

The Eland were very wary during the day and preferred to visit the waterhole at night. This appeared to be a young male judging from the stout spiral horns and emerging hair on his forehead and growing dewlap. Unfortunately he did not stay long and never came in to drink at the waterhole during the day.

It is only the young warthogs that have hair on their bodies which they lose as they get older. There mane grows down their neck and along their spine. Females can produce up to eight piglets. These piglets are favourite snacks for lions and leopards. Piglets are weaned around four months and mature around 20 months.

A male warthog with a few followers. This character has five Red-billed oxpeckers enjoying the ride. This male had particularly long tusks making him a formidable prey for any lion or leopard. The not so attractive warts on his face have an important protection role when he is fighting. Common warthogs have two upper and four to six lower incisors.

The hide turned out to be a superb place from which to observe and photograph wildlife during the day and at night. The mirrorless cameras, on silent mode, are ideal and providing photographers are not talking or rustling bags or papers, the wildlife takes no notice of them in the hide.

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

A big advantage of the hide is repeat business. If you are getting to grips with a new camera as I was with my Olympus OMD-E M1X, and missed the shot or needed to refine settings, there would always be another opportunity in the next few days. The hide is a wonderful place to put your new ideas or settings into practice.

“I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” ~ Eric Roth

There was a plethora of wildlife during the day and at night with a huge diversity of mammals and birds. The lighting conditions varied enormously during the day due to the cloudy weather with intermittent patches of sunshine. The night lights created constant light at a constant colour.

“The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” ~ John Muir

My next blog is about the numerous sable antelope which are a feature of Selati Game Reserve.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike