I was among a small group of photographers who spent four days in Samara in May this year with CNP Safaris following and photographing a unique cheetah family.

“The secrets of nature are quietly revealed. Not the way we humans do it with noise and drama. Nature’s uniqueness, extraordinary skills and endurance are revealed quietly to those who take the time to look and appreciate. The truth lies in plain sight for those who care to look.” ~ Mike Haworth

Samara is a private game reserve, 67 000 hectares in area, located about 25 kilometres east, towards the coast, from Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. The reserve’s lodges are positioned at the foot of the Camdeboo escarpment. The game reserve straddles the the Camdeboo plateau, its escarpment and the beginning of the Great Karoo.

In 2003, three rehabilitated cheetahs were introduced into Samara. These were the first cheetahs in the area for around 132 years. There were two males named Mozart and Beethoven and a female, Sibella. The female came from a Cheetah Rehabilitation Center where she recovered after having been badly mauled by a man and his dogs. Once in Samara, Sibella raised 19 cubs to adulthood but sadly died in September 2015 after being wounded while hunting a duiker.

Today, Samara is well-known for its cheetah conservation efforts and Sibella is one of the most famous cheetahs in southern African conservation history. She contributed to just over 14% of the current South Africa’s cheetah meta-population. Her genes are present in 17 cheetah meta-populations around the country.  

Chilli, a daughter from Sibella’s last litter, was raising eight cubs on her own. The cubs are not all her own as three of them were from her daughter Inara. These two female cheetahs, Chilli and Inara were recorded meeting in 2020 when Chilli was eight years old and Inara three years old. Each was accompanied by her own litter of young cubs, born one month apart. After a short period of unease, both mothers settled and the cubs played together. When they eventually moved off in opposite directions, two of Chilli’s cubs, aged three months old, went off with Inara and her four youngsters aged four months old, instead of their own mother. Over the course of a few days, the Samara team witnessed these two cubs suckling from and being groomed by Inara. The mothers met up again a short while later, and once more swapped cubs and suckled cubs other than their own. The mothers continued to interchange their litters for some time until one day Chilli moved into new territory, taking all the cubs with her.

These two female cheetahs, both with cubs, exhibited what is known as “allo-mothering,” which is when young are cared for by individuals other than their biological mother. While this phenomenon has been witnessed in elephant herds, lion prides and several bird species, until now it had not been witnessed among cheetah. Female cheetahs are usually solitary except when rearing their own cubs.

Inara, left alone, eventually mated again and gave birth to two cubs which she has subsequently raised by herself.

“I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendour of fire.
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.” ~ Saint Patrick

The terrain at the foot of the Camdeboo escarpment is rugged, and very stony in places with lots of acacia thorn trees. I am amazed that these cheetahs can operate so well in difficult conditions under foot. Chilli on her own is a formidable hunter. She needs to be to feed such a large family. As the cubs have grown they have increasing joined in the hunt. This cheetah family now hunts everything from adult female kudu to young eland, springbok and sometimes young warthog.

“Land really is the best art”. ~Andy Warhol

There is a healthy population of kudu and eland in the reserve and for now the lions, which were reintroduced into Samara in early 2019, seem to prefer the Camdeboo plateau. One lionesses has ventured down onto the plains at the foot of the Cambedoo escarpment with dramatic effects on the aardvark population. No doubt the lions will affect the cheetah family dynamics in the months and years ahead.

“One of the things I love about my wanderings in the bush is that every time I think I am beginning to sense the interconnections, I am reminded that the the depth and complexity of nature’s interactions are far wider than my imagination and I am left in a state of wonder.” ~ Mike Haworth

Chilli is hunting every day for her tribe. A young kudu is just enough. Feeding time seems to be a tense affair which makes these cheetah sub-adults skittish. They often give each other a fright when reacting to an unknown sound from the surrounding bush.

It is exceptional to see a female cheetah successfully bringing up a family of eight cubs. Samara gives visitors the opportunity to get off the vehicle and walk with the cheetahs. It is an amazing experience to be able to sit quietly in the bush watching the cheetahs playing and cleaning the blood off each others faces after a meal. The rangers insist on visitors keeping a respectful distance from the cheetahs but sometimes the youngsters walk straight past you a metre to two away. We say we walk with cheetahs but mostly we follow!

“True inspiration comes from within. It is an intuitive recognition. It is a voice deep inside. Learn to listen to it. You have the wisdom within. It comes from incarnations of learning”~ Mike Haworth

One the reasons for going to Samara for a second time in just over a a year was that the sub-adults were due to be relocated to different reserves around South Africa to expand their metapopulations. This visit gave us an opportunity to see and experience this unique natural wonder of eight sub-adult cheetahs and their mother for which we were all extremely grateful.

“Wilderness of not a place. It is a way of life. Conservation of nature is the conservation of a sacred attitude to our world.” ~Alan McSmith

In the mornings and evenings the light can change dramatically with shafts of light illuminating corridors of thorn veld while putting the mountains in to deep shadow. The changing colour and intensity of the light in this part of the world adds so much interest to our photography.

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

Have fun, Mike

Lou Coetzer of CNP Safaris invited us to see and photograph an unusual wildlife experience in Samara in May this year. Samara is private game reserve about 25 kilometres south east of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is 67 0000 hectares in area and was formed by the acquisition of surrounding farms, with the initial farm being Monkey Valley. The owners of Samara wanted to acquire enough land to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that could carry wildlife in the fragile Great Karoo environment.

“Cherish sunsets, wild creatures, and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth! “~ Stewart Udall

This was the second time I have been to Samara. The first visit revealed rhino, cheetah, aardvark, giraffe, black wildebeest, ground squirrels and blue cranes set in vast magnificent landscapes. So I had an idea of what to expect from a wildlife and landscape perspective. This visit was primarily to see a cheetah mother called Chilli and her eight adolescents. Being adolescents, they were close to being forced to strike out on their own. Samara’s raison d’être is conservation so most of the adolescent cheetahs were destined for new homes in other reserves which wanted cheetahs. This meant there was limited time to experience a cheetah mother operating in the wild with her eight adolescents.

Eight cheetah adolescents is highly unusual. Cheetah mothers produce between one and six cubs after a gestation period of around 93 days. It is unusual to find more than four cubs. According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, there are three stages in the life cycle of the cheetah: cub (birth to 18 months), adolescence (18 to 24 months) and adult life (24 months to on average 12 years).

“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Samara is vast and the landscape is rugged. To be able to find Chilli and her family, the rangers used telemetry. Chilli had a VHF telemetry collar. This system is directional and the intensity of the beeps give some idea of distance. Down on the plains of the Great Karoo there are areas of thick bush as you can see from the next image. This Shepherd tree in the foreground overlooked one of the main areas in which the cheetahs were operating

On our first day of this trip we found many herbivores, the largest of which were the South African Giraffe, a subspecies of the Southern Giraffe. At present, the South African Giraffe population is estimated at 29,650 individuals, showing a marked increase over the past three decades. An assessment of the South African Giraffe for the IUCN Red List is ongoing, but with the large increase it will most likely result in a listing of Least Concern.

We found a family herd of nine adult giraffe. Unlike eland they do not run away as soon as they see you. In fact they can be quite curious and will stand to look intently at you. It is only when you get to within that “fight or flight” distance do they walk or run off.

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” ~ James Allen

On our first afternoon, there were clouds to the west which cast deep shadows on the relief of the Camdeboo escarpment emphasising the ruggedness and creating different moods.

Judging from the amount of hair on top of their ossicones, most of the herd seemed to be females. The males had worn most of the hair off their ossicones while sparring and fighting each other. The males also have a distinct penal bump at the lower part of their belly.

Lions were first introduced into Samara in early 2019. They were the first free-roaming lions in the area for 180 years. One of the ways to find a predator is to look in the direction that a giraffe is steadfastly staring. The lion do not have a pride large enough to take down giraffe in Samara and the lions have remained mostly on the Camdeboo plateau where there is plenty of food, most notably black wildebeest.

“We enter solitude, in which also we lose loneliness. True solitude is found in the wild places, where one is without human obligation. One’s inner voices become audible. One feels the attraction of one’s most intimate sources. In consequence, one responds more clearly to other lives. The more coherent one becomes within oneself as a creature, the more fully one enters into the communion of all creatures.” ~ Wendell Berry

At dusk on our first afternoon we found Chilli and her family. With a family of eight adolescents and herself, she needed to hunt every day. Chilli hunted everything from springbok to young eland and kudu.

The introduction of lion into Samara will inevitably change the cheetah dynamics. For now the lions seem to prefer the plains on the plateau and the cheetah the lower plains at the foot of the Camdeboo escarpment. Once the lions increasingly occupy the lower plain they will inevitably start killing the cheetah cubs so the chances of ever seeing another eight member adolescent cheetah family will be very low in future years.

“Conservation is sometimes perceived as stopping everything cold, as holding whooping cranes in higher esteem than people. It is up to science to spread the understanding that the choice is not between wild places or people, it is between a rich or an impoverished existence for Man.” ~ Thomas Lovejoy

Twenty-four years ago Sarah Thompson and her husband bought the first farm which would form the nucleus of Samara. Since that time this Samara team under Sarah Thompson’s guidance has built up a substantial private game reserve where its essence is rooted in conservation and returning this game reserve to its natural ecological state. Samara has produced many conservation firsts in this area. One was the reintroduction of cheetah to this area in 2003 after having been missing for 125 years.

“Life in the natural world is more wonderous than we could ever imagine. There is strength, fortitude and intelligence beyond our imagination. Once we quieten down and observe we begin to see connections which were not evident to a passer by. With respectful, quiet observation we could learn much.” ~ Mike Haworth

Chilli’s story is an intriguing one which I will begin to describe in my next post.

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

Have fun, Mike

One of the most impressive aspects about Samara is that the owners and managers are restoring this game reserve back to its original state. The founders of the Samara Game Reserve, Sarah and Mark Thompson, established the reserve in 1997. Their objective is to restore the reserve back to its natural state, in terms of fauna and flora diversity, which last existed 200 years ago.

“Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs, —
To the silent wilderness,
Where the soul need not repress its music.”
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Samara appears to be a model of cooperation with conservation and scientific bodies to achieve the biodiversity and preservation of the four vegetation biomes in this part of the Great Karoo.

“The earth is what we all have in common.” ~ Wendell Berry

I have not put the images in this post in any sort of order to illustrate the eclectic experience in this wonderful game reserve. The first image was taken on our game drive at dusk looking toward the illuminated sky after the sun had set in the west.

Above the Karoo escarpment on the edge of the plateau looking down onto the flat Klein Karoo and the plains of Camdeboo.

Black rhinos were reintroduced in 2013 and are heavily protected. Several black rhinos were relocated to Samara under a custodianship agreement with SANParks. This initiative expands the range of the species and playing a crucial role in the growth of the metapopulation. They seem to thrive on the difficult to get to slopes of the escarpment.

The first cheetahs were reintroduced to Samara in 2004 after an absence of 125 years. The two cheetahs in the next image are Sibella’s second generation offspring. Sibella was one of the first three cheetahs introducted into the reserve. The cheetah cubs were cleaning the blood off each other after feeding on a kill.

The old farm houses have been restored and converted into luxurious lodges. The next image shows the view looking west over the swimming pool at last light.

The cheetah cubs training lesson. One of the unique features of Samara is that you are able to walk with a wild cheetah family. Perhaps “walk “is the wrong word because even when they are walking it is difficult to keep up with them on the Karoo terrain.

The inside of the manor lodge. It has been graciously restored and modernised.

Samara offers several possible unusal sightings. For me, one of the several highlights was walking with aardvarks. This is a seasonal opportunity and mainly possible in winter when the aardvark comes out to forage for ants in the late afternoon, when it is still warm.

After a busy day walking with cheetahs or rhinos or aardvarks, it is sublime to clean up and sit down in front of the fire and chat about the days activities over drinks.

Samara’s wildlife is diverse and varies dramatically in size, nature and speed.

The manor lodge provides scrumptious meals in a five star wildlife lodge setting. This makes wildlife photography very comfortable with plenty of room to relax and edit your images when you are not out walking with the wildlife.

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
~Jane Goodall

Samara’s elephant reintroduction in 2017 brought back these pachyderms onto the plains of Camdeboo after an absence of 150 years. Both black and white rhinos have been reintroduced.

The view at dusk looking down on the plains of the Klein Karoo off towards Port Elizabeth on the coast around 246 kilometres away.

Occasionally dinners were set outside. The setting was gorgeous, but nippy as it was winter.

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.”
~John Ruskin

A herd of black wildebeest on the escarpment plateau at dusk.

A view of the manor house from across the pool at night with the moon rising in a clear winter sky.

A Gemsbok making its way down from the higher section of the plateau. You can also see mountain zebra, eland, blesbok and black wildebeest up on the plateau.

Samara reintroduced lions into the reserve in 2019. This brings these predators back to this part of the Karoo after an absence of 180 years. This will of course alter the dynamics in the game reserve especially among the predators and the cheetahs in particular.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
~Margaret Mead

Samara is now a big five game reserve. The “big five” being elephants, rhino, buffalo, lions and leopards. While the “big five” has been a good marketing slogan it does not do justice to the fascinating biodiversity in this area.

A big thank you to Lou Coetzer and CNP Safaris for introducing us to this wonderful game reserve. It was a highly productive photographic trip. We spent five fascinating days in the reserve in late winter last year. There is no doubt that the seasonality of the Karoo offers very different experiences in the different seasons.

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.”
~Ernest Hemingway

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

On our second morning at Samara, we were up before sunrise. Fortified after a cup of coffee and a muffin, we left the Manor House Lodge in the pre-dawn light to look for the cheetah family.

“To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.” ~ Aldo Leopold

After a short while our guide found the cheetah family in the low early morning light with the help of telemetry. The family was mobile in the foothills of the escarpment. The sun rose in east but we, and the cheetahs, were on the west side of the escarpment so remained in deep shadow beyond sunrise. The terrain was rough. The cheetahs were moving along a relatively steep slope, the ground was very stoney, and there was thick Karoo scrub and brush.

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.”
~ Edward Abbey

When we found the family they were moving through the scrub and the youngsters were playing. It quickly became evident that we were in for some fun as Chilly was in hunting mode and on the move. The cubs regularly stopped and rested, then would have to run to catch up to their mother.

“In this quiet, peaceful time of twilight there is, in this great circle of life, an awful lot of hunting and fishing and catching and killing and dying and eating going on all around me. As the old fisherman said, ‘That’s the way with life. Sometimes you eat well; sometimes you are well-eaten.” ~ Paul G. Quinnett

The only way to follow cheetahs in this environment is to get off the vehicle and follow them on foot. This must be one of the unique features about Samara for wildlife lovers and photographers.

The cheetahs moved through the scrub quickly and at times we were left well behind. At one point we must have been about 100 or so metres behind the cheetah when we suddenly heard the pounding of hooves. As we raced down hill to see what was going on, we saw a herd of eland bolting away from us.

“Instead of buying your children all the things you never had, you should teach them all the things you were never taught. Material wears out but knowledge stays.” ~ Bruce Lee

Then directly in front of us in an open patch we saw the cheetahs. Chilly had caught an eland calf. Instead of killing it quickly she left it for the youngsters – a lesson in how to finish the kill. Cheetah cubs are usually weaned after around six to eight weeks and these cubs looked to be just over a year old so had been eating meat for many months.

It was clear the five cubs still had not yet learnt how to quickly and cleanly finish the kill. In the next image you can see Chilly lying in the grass watching the cubs tackle the eland calf.

Two of the cubs repeatedly tried to grab the calf by the neck but whenever it struggled they got a fright and one or both of them would dash away from the scene only to return seconds later.

The cubs inexperience was obvious. They had the tripping technique sorted out but the take down was lacking even with four of them on the calf at one time. It appeared that the cubs did not have the jaw strength or the stamina to hold the throttling neck grip for long enough to suffocate the calf..

“As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.” “When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connnected in the great Circle of Life.” ~Mufasa in the Lion King

Every now and then we thought the eland calf had succumbed to its mauling as it just lay still. In response, the cubs would stop their aggression toward the calf and just stand around waiting for something to happen.

The smaller two of the five cubs were very skittish and easily scared by the calf’s sudden movement.

It was surprising to watch the five cubs take so long to get the calf down. In the Masai Mara or Serengeti they would never get this extended leeway. This was a privilege afforded by little predator competition at that time.

At one stage the calf managed to get onto its all-fours and move towards the scrub but the cubs were all over it. I was so impressed with the toughness of the eland calf, and despite an extended mauling by five cheetah cubs it continued to struggle to get back on its feet – quite remarkable.

Once the eland herd disappeared down the hill onto the open plains they never returned leaving this calf to fend for itself. I was surprised that the eland mother did not try to protect her calf as eland are large antelope. Eland females are known to cooperatively protect their young chasing off large predators to give the youngsters a chance to bunch together and run to safety. An eland calf will never outrun a cheetah but I would have expected to see some response from the eland females.

It was always going to end badly for the calf, with six cheetahs trying to kill it and no back up from the herd.

Incredibly, among all the disarray there were moments of quiet when the surrounding bush seemed to hold its breath.

I am not sure how long it took for the calf to finally succumb but it was difficult to watch the cheetah training in action knowing that the young eland calf was getting mauled to death. The kill lesson was taking a long time and Chilly became impatient and moved closer ready to finish the calf off.

According to Bigcatrescue.org, the cheetah is the most reproductive predator cat and after a gestation period of 90-95 days, a female cheetah can give birth to a litter of three to five cubs. This level of fertility begs the question as to why the cheetah is so endangered? It is estimated that 90% of cheetahs cubs die with in the first three months, 50% of which are killed by predators (lions, jackals, large raptors, and hyenas). The other 40% fall victim to lack of genetic diversity where there immune systems are compromised.

“If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”
~ Steve Irwin

Samara has achieved some interesting successes in regard to both of the factors which dictate the high death rate of cheetah cubs. Only belatedly, in their wildlife reintroduction programme, did they bring in lions. Importantly, the low level of predator competition has benefited the successful rearing of cheetah cubs. In addition, Samara has actively worked to achieve genetic diversification.

Adult female cheetahs are solitary unless mating or accompanied by their cubs. The mother cares for her cubs adroitly. Once she gives birth to her cubs she really has her work cut out for her. The cheetah mother must make sure her cubs are safe, feed them and teach them survival skills and how to provide for themselves.

“Think, for a moment, of a cheetah, a sleek, beautiful animal, one of the fastest on earth, which roams freely on the savannas of Africa. In its natural habitat, it is a magnificent animal, almost a work of art, unsurpassed in speed or grace by any other animal. Now, think of a cheetah that has been captured and thrown into a miserable cage in a zoo. It has lost its original grace and beauty, and is put on display for our amusement. We see only the broken spirit of the cheetah in the cage, not its original power and elegance.”

~ Peter G.G Freund

The group of photographers with CNP Safaris watching the cheetahs that day, myself included, were exceptionally privileged to bare witness to nature in its rich, raw, natural form for an extended period. Each day was learning experience for those cheetah cubs, another key to their survival.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Samara is a private game reserve in South Africa with deep roots in conservation. This private game reserve includes vast flat plains and the escarpment of the Karoo mountain complex. It has four of South Africa’s seven natural biomes. It is sanctuary to a variety of antelope, bird life and an eclectic mix of carnivores from African wild cat and Brown hyena to cheetahs and lions. Samara has developed a well-respected reputation for its conservation efforts and its Cheetah Metapopulation Programme in particular.

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

Samara’s cheetah programme started with three individuals, including the well-known Sibella. From the start Samara’s cheetah programme has been a huge success.

What I find so impressive is that the Samara team works cooperatively with university departments and conservation bodies to ensure that these highly endangered big cats are given the best chance of survival. Through the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Cheetah Metapopulation Project, Samara periodically swaps individuals with other reserves. This ensures the long-term viability of the species and the genetic and demographic diversity of the South African population of cheetahs.

“Away, away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs,
To the silent wilderness,
Where the soul need not repress its music.”~

Percy Bysshe Shelley

We visited Samara in mid-August, which is late winter in South Africa. The sun rises lazily in the winter mornings. To walk with cheetahs you need to be up early and be in their area at or before sunrise.

Given the early start, which for a wildlife photographer is par for the course, we were on the side of the escarpment at first light. As good as the modern DLSR ISO capabilities are, I chose a little extra enlightenment with my flash.

“As I walk with Beauty. As I walk, as I walk,
The universe is walking with me,
In beauty it walks before me,
In beauty it walks behind me,
In beauty it walks below me,
In beauty it walks above me,
Beauty is on every side.” ~Traditional Navajo Prayer

Our guide used telemetry tracking to find the cheetahs. The cheetah mother Chilli, and the daughter of Sibella, had a collar which enabled the guides to find her in the thick scrub at the base of the escarpment. Without the telemetry tracking capability the chances of finding the cheetahs would have been low as they are highly mobile.

“We walked in the woods at dawn and came upon these wild ephemeral beings!!” ~ Mike Haworth

Cheetahs generally sleep at night in a safe place while the nocturnal hunters go about their business. What was unusual about Samara is that lions were only introduced into Samara in 2018. This gave the cheetahs many years to establish themselves in the terrain without major predator competition.

Chilli, the daughter of Sibella, is a capable mother and appears to be continuing her mother’s legacy. Chilli raised her entire first litter to independence, which is almost unheard of in the cheetah world, as first-time mothers are normally not very successful. Probably one of the key reasons for this was that predators like lions and hyaenas were missing until 2018 and since then the lions have remained on the escarpment’s plateau for most of the time.

In August 2019, Chilly had four sub-adult cubs. I did not take note of their sexes but I think there were two males and two females.

Chilly’s sub-adult cubs were almost as big as her but still very playful and their hunting skills still needed to be honed. We were very fortunate to watch the family take down an eland calf. This story will be the subject of next week’s post.

“The proper use of science is not to conquer nature but to live in it.”

~ Barry Commoner

One of the aspects about Samara which I found intriguing regarding the cheetahs was the terrain. This is not what I would have called ideal high speed chase terrain. As you can see from the next image at the base of the escarpment, which is where the cheetah’s seemed to have hunted while we were there, the vegetation was thick and it was very stony.

The young cheetahs dashed around chasing and playing with each other over this stony terrain but I never saw one of the cubs trip or put a foot wrong over the stones. It was interesting how well developed their spatial awareness seemed to be.

This was an image of Chilly and her sub-adult family in their environment at the base of the escarpment in the Great Karoo.

A little photographic licence showing the silhouette of the cubs playing in the early morning.

The cubs had spare energy to burn. They were very playful in the early morning but calmed down as the sun rose and it became warmer.

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.” ~Gaylord Nelson

One the benefits of the foothills of the escarpment is that it gave the cheetahs a good visual on the plains below.

We found the cheetah family late one afternoon resting on an earth embankment. This gave them an elevated view of the area in front of them and a degree of protection from unwanted visitors behind them.

It was not long after this photo that Julius, our guide, hurried us to our game vehicle because some of the cheetah cubs had been harassing the buffalo and they were getting quite agitated and we did not want to have to climb acacia thorn trees in a hurry with or without our cameras.

This was clearly a message post with the weekly news. These three young cheetahs spent quite a few minutes smelling all the messages left by passers by. I guess it must be the equivalent of a human finding a fascinating notice board with lots of interesting postings.

Chilly’s family chilling on a stony road along the north-western border to the reserve.

A huge part of the success of the cheetah breeding programme in Samara can be put down to the unique mothers, Sibella and now Chilly. It must also be said that they had an important break from major predator competition. What will be interesting to see is how the breeding balance changes as the predator population becomes more diverse across Samara.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead

Samara is a story about conservation and rehabilitation. This has involved and continues to involve countering habitat loss, it means managing the human-wildlife conflict and unfortunately it requires serious anti-poaching measures. Management, together with the collaboration of university research and international conservation organisation efforts, have engaged in indigenous flora restoration, the reintroduction of cheetahs in the early 2000s, rhinos, elephants and recently lions. Most of these wild animals have been missing from this wild place for between 130 and 180 years.

“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” ~ Jimmy Carter

By bringing back several of Africa’s endangered species, Samara has taken an active role in increasing the chance of building a genetically diverse, healthy population of wild cheetah, rhino and lions in Africa.

Samara appears to be looking to recreate a long lost haven in the Karoo, which last existed 200 years ago. A Karoo where wild lion, black and white rhino, and elephant (not seen in this area for 200 years) join buffalo, springbok, eland, black wildebeest, blesbok, aardvark, brown hyaena, black-backed jackal, Cape mountain zebra, leopard, and cheetah. There are also Ground squirrel and Blue cranes ,and if you take the time to look closer so much more.

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.” ~ Leo Tolstoy

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

We visited Samara in the Great Karoo in late winter. This semi-desert region has extremes in temperature between day and night. The semi-desert environment yields unusual opportunities.

One of Samara’s secrets is the “better than even” possibility of seeing an antbear or aardvark (Afrikaans) in the late winter afternoon.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” ~ Roald Dahl

The antbear should not be confused with an anteaters, like those found in South America. The Giant anteater was the subject of a winning entry in the BBC Wildlife photographer of the year competition which was disqualified for featuring a taxidermy specimen. Like any authentic wildlife photographer we only show what we see naturally without human intervention. Whist every photographer creates a photograph with action, composition and background, we do not use stuffed animals to create an image – in Africa we are fortunate enough to have the real thing – though most of the time a little patience is required.

“The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those have not viewed the world.” ~ Alexander von Humboldt

This world has some wonderful and weird creatures. Just as Australia has the unusual duck-billed platypus, Africa has the usual Antbear or Aardvark. This strange looking animal is nocturnal, it has rabbit-like ears and a kangaroo-like tail. It has a pig’s snout and is an eater of ants and this strange mammal usually forages alone. The Antbear is the only species in the order Tubuliderntata and based on DNA analysis could be associated with elephants.

In Samara we were fortunate enough to see an Antbear on two separate occasions. We happened to strike the timing lucky. In August in South Africa, it is late winter in Samara. This means that the days are warm but the nights can be icy cold.

During the day the Antbears usually sleep in their burrows where the temperature is even and it is quiet and dark. The burrows are used as temporary sleeping quarters and on occasions breeding dens.

Come late afternoon in winter the Antbears come out of their burrows and start to forage. Our guide, Julius, said that you will usually not see the Antbear in the late afternoon but being winter it is warm and the Antbear is prepared to venture out when it is still light because it is not too cold. Later, once the sun has set the bush gets very cold in Samara.

Both sightings of the shy Antbear were in the late afternoon and our good fortune was attributed to the warmth of the late winter afternoon. In summer you are unlikely to see the Antbears as they only come out to forage when it is dark because it is warm enough.

“The beauty of Africa is not man made, it is natures gift to humanity.”
~ Paul Oxton

What was really special was that we could get relatively close, within five to seven metres, to the Antbear while being on foot. As with all wildlife they will tolerate you as long as you don’t make a racket and there are no sudden movements.

Once you spend a little time with these unusual mammals it becomes clear that they have acute hearing and sense of smell.

While foraging in grasslands and forests, Antbears also called “Aardvarks,” may travel several miles a night in search of large, earthen termite mounds. A hungry Antbear digs through the hard dry shell of a termite mound with its front claws and uses its long, sticky, worm-like tongue to extract the termites or ants within. It can close its nostrils to keep dust and insects from invading its snout, and its thick skin protects it from bites. It uses a similar technique to raid underground ant nests.

“Cherish the natural world because you’re part of it and you depend on it.” ~ Sir David Attenborough

Antbears are not the only mammals that eat ants. They are joined by Pangolins, and Aardwolves though not at the same time.

While Antbears have cylindrical teeth but these teeth have no enamel coating so are worn away and regrow continuously. By contrast, Anteaters are toothless. Their physical digestion is aided by the pebbles and debris that they consume when they ingest insects. They have long tongues, up to 18cm in length! Aardvarks are nocturnal while Anteaters are diurnal.

A long, sticky tongue lets antbears slurp up termites from their mounds.

Antbears are considered a keystone species, which means they are an animal that balances the ecosystem around them. Other examples of keystone species are Sea otters and tortoises. Antbears dig burrows which various species use at different times. Wild dogs and hyaenas will use discarded Antbear burrows so too will warthogs. Snakes also enjoy the cool quiet burrows.

The Antbear’s legs are short and powerful and end in webbed toes, four on each of the front feet and five on each of the hind feet. The toes end in long tough blunt claws excellent for digging burrows in the ground or holes in termite nests. The claws are reputed to be stronger than the head of a pick-axe.

Apart from being good diggers, these mammals are important pollinators for some plant species, especially the aardvark cucumber.

Antbears are nocturnal animals, and spend much of their time in underground burrows. To escape the heat, they can dig extensive burrow systems, especially during the breeding season. They are expert diggers, and tunnel systems can exceed 10 metres in length.

“Animals have hearts that feel, eyes that see, and families to take care of, just like you and me.” ~ Anthony Douglas-Williams

Antbears can be found in almost any habitat south of the Sahara Desert that has adequate insects to eat. They commonly live in bushland, grassland, woodlands, and savannas. They are not found in swamp forest or any overly wet habitat, because the moisture makes it impossible to burrow. In similar fashion, they avoid extremely rocky habitats that can impede digging.

These mammals are myrmecophagous, which means that ants and termites make up the vast majority of their diet. The only vegetation they eat is the aardvark cucumber. The Aardvark and the aardvark cucumber have a symbiotic relationship, which means both creatures benefit from the interaction.

An Antbear has thick hair around its nostrils, which acts to filter dirt when eating, and the nostrils can be closed fully to prevent dirt and ants getting in.

“We are, as a species, addicted to a story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” ~ Jonathan Gottschall

Antbears are prey to many animals including lions, leopards, hunting dogs, hyenas, and pythons. Antbears have a keen sense of hearing which enables them to detect approaching predators. If they need to escape, they can dig fast or run in zigzags. If that does not work, they can strike with their claws, tail and shoulders, and have been known to flip onto their backs and lash out with all fours.

Our two sightings of antbears were very special. This is one of the “secret seven” in South Africa. The other six are serval, African wildcat, pangolin, large-spotted genet, African civet and porcupine.

“I love and in a way need, a private secret place. It’s a kind of deep obsession, but I also love to need and be with friends and the two things often need to be together… it’s a painful conflict that will never be smoothly resolved.” ~ Morris Graves

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

In August 2019, it was late winter in South Africa. Helen and I were fortunate enough to join Lou Coetzer on a CNP Safari trip to Samara Private Game Reserve. This was a new unique destination which turned out to be very different to our Chobe, Grumeti and Masai Mara destinations and very different to all the other South African places we have visited. Different and fascinating at the same time with unique landscapes, wildlife and interactions with the wildlife.

“Once a year go someplace you’ve never been before.” ~ Dalai Lama

The Karoo is roughly split into two sections: the expansive Great Karoo wilderness in the north-east, and the smaller and tamer Little Karoo in the south-west.

“Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” ~ Douglas Ivester

Samara lies within the Great Karoo. The latter incorporates around 400,000 km² of semi-desert landscape, a region uniquely defined by its geography, history, geology and climate. This region is characterised by its low rainfall, dry air, cloudless skies, and extremes of temperature during the day and at night. In winter on the plateau in upper mountainous regions, the temperatures can fall to -15c. In summer in the lower lying areas the temperatures can rise over 40c.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” ~ Oliver Wendell-Holmes

Samara is located at the foothills of the Camdeboo mountains. We visited Samara in late winter so it was nippy at night and the early mornings were crisp, but the days were warm and sunny.

There are three aspects about Samara which make it extraordinary: the landscapes are a photographer’s dream; the conservation efforts by the owners provides unique sightings and experiences with the wildlife. Thirdly there is an eclectic mix of wildlife in the park offering good sightings of several rare species.

“At first encounter the Karoo may seem arid, desolate and unforgiving, but to those who know it, it is a land of secret beauty and infinite variety.” ~ Eve Palmer

The conservation efforts have brought both White and Black rhino to the park. We were able to leave the vehicle and walk close to this female White rhino and her (alert) calf.

We walked to within 30 metres of the White rhino. This was a family group with the bull closest to us and the female behind with the calf close behind the female.

Being in the Karoo, you would expect to see springbok in this area….and they are numerous.

One of the more exciting species which we never got close to, was a flock of around 200 Blue cranes. They were very skittish and would not let us get within a few hundred metres of them before flying off. The trick was to find out where they roosted. An experience for another trip.

Being in a semi-desert region we found Ground squirrels. The males were very vocal – alarm calling when standing on their back legs.

“All of our dreams can come true if we just have the courage to pursue them.” ~ Walt Disney

One of the several unique sighting in Samara was of an Aardvark or Ant bear (as we called them in Zimbabwe). This is the first time I had ever seen one foraging in the open in daylight.

These are nocturnal mammals so it was very special to watch this Aardvark going about his foraging out in the open and reasonably close to us. Aardvark are usually very shy animals but this character did not seem to fuss about having us nearby. We had some exceptional sightings which will be the subject of another post.

“Conservation of any endangered species must begin with stringent efforts to protect its natural habitat by the enforcement of rigid legislation against human encroachment into parks and other game sanctuaries.” ~Dian Fossey

After meandering around on the flat open plain section of Samara we headed up the mountains. The journey up the mountain was along steep passes. On our way up, a more unusual sighting was of a Black rhino foraging in the thick bush on the side of the mountain.

Once on top of the plateau, the view down onto the Great Karoo plains was spectacular.

Up on the plateau, as the sun was sinking, we came upon a herd of Black wildebeest. The herd would not let us get too close and bolted every time we attempted to drive closer to them.

As the evening sky darkened, the mood became quite bewitching.

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

As the sun on the south side of the plateau set, the light cast a very different picture. The last vestiges of the day’s sun rays caught the protruding rocks- a last illumination for the day.

It was getting cool up on the plateau as the sun set. It was winter after all. For a photographer, winter can be a magical time to photograph landscapes because of the incredible light and colours which are created in the crisp dusty last light.

“Dark and light striking each other, vividly etching wild colors through the horizon. The charm of sunset makes me want to scurry home.” ~ Tara Estacaan

It was getting dark and time to pack up the drinks (after our sun-downers) and make our way back down the mountain to our gorgeous lodgings at Manor Lodge which took all the hardship out of this rugged terrain.

The last visages of the day were sinking in an electric blue serenade. This was the view from Manor lodge. Inside there was a large log fire burning to entice animated discussion about day’s sightings over a few heart warming drinks.

This was the first day of a five day visit to Samara with Lou Coetzer of CNP Safaris. Over the days that followed we were privileged enough to walk with cheetahs and watch them kill an eland calf and walk with aardvarks in the late afternoon and even get close to White rhino. These experiences will be the subject of my next few posts about Samara.

The vastness of the Karoo pervades your senses. In our short time there, we were introduced to a small selection of the unique animals and birds which live in this wild open place. It got cold at night, being late winter, so dinner and drinks around the fire were very welcome and the evenings were spiced by stories about walking with cheetahs, rhino and aardvark.

Heads filled with stories, we went to bed brimming with expectation about what the next few days would bring us.

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of your life is to give it away.” ~ Pablo Picasso

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be,

Have fun, Mike