Clear night sky by Phillip Wessels

Monday

The predicted rain didn’t show up, which meant the week got off to a better start than initially expected. Hopefully this will give the bush a little more time to dry out, so that everything can return to normal. This morning we had a very brief sighting of Shadow, but as is so often the case [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2012/01/rangers-diary-23-29-january/

Rhino bull drinking by Phillip Wessels

Sunday

This morning we saw a large rhino bull, and then another group of three, consisting of a male and a cow with her young calf. The mother was not very happy about the male being in such close proximity to her little one though, and grunted and charged at him a couple of times. [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2012/01/rangers-diary-15-21-january/

Wild dogs feeding by Susan Simoneau (guest)

Sunday

What a start to the week! We kicked off the morning drive with the pack of nine Wild dogs. This fantastic sighting was quickly followed by an equally amazing one of impala running, stotting, and jumping to incredible heights in order to avoid becoming [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2012/01/rangers-diary-8-14-january/

Bateleur or Short-tailed eagle by Susan Simoneau (guest)

Sunday

Happy New Year everyone, we wish you all a great year! Let’s hope the animal sightings are as good this year as they were in 2011.

Things got off to a quick start this morning when we found tracks of a lioness going past the front of the lodge. [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2012/01/rangers-diary-1-7-january/

African sunset by Ryan Johnston

Note: Although we have used this photo before, it seemed a fitting image to head up our last post for the year!

Sunday

First off this morning we happened upon two elephant bulls feeding on the eastern side of our airstrip. We spent some time watching as they tucked into the dew-laden grass, before moving west across our airstrip. A [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2012/01/rangers-diary-25-31-december/

Kahuma male lion by Ryan Johnston

Big elephant cow by Susan Simoneau (guest)

Sunday

Although this morning was fairly quiet, we did manage to find the two Kahuma lionesses and their two cubs feeding on a giraffe. The afternoon drive was considerably more rewarding however. We saw a male rhino and an elephant bull, and we also ran into an impressive herd of about 200 buffalo. We went back to the [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2012/01/rangers-diary-18-24-december/

Jason Bagg (ranger) and Chris Khoza (tracker) with cheetah by Phillip Wessels

Monday

The week got off to a fairly quiet start, with us finding only three buffalo bulls to begin with. We persevered though, and our efforts paid off when we eventually came across Mvula resting next to the road. After a while he got up and wandered around in a thick [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2011/12/rangers-diary-5-11-december/

Armand “Mabonzo” Minnaar (ranger) & Roy Mkansi (tracker) with Wild dogs by Phillip Wessels

Sunday

This morning we found Thandi wandering around scent marking. She then turned her attention to a nearby duiker, and we watched as she patiently stalked her way closer to the unsuspecting buck. Unfortunately a band of Dwarf [...]]]> http://blog.arathusa.co.za/2011/12/rangers-diary-27-november-3-december/

Female leopard 'Ntima' by Phillip Wessels