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marcus’ highlights of the week

on Jun 07, 2013

Our evening safari was full of laughter and entertainment as we made our way through the reserve, tracking and spending quality time with a variety of different animals. A big highlight for my Guests and I was having the opportunity to capture a shot of this beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller enjoying the last bit of sun as the sun set down to end off another incredible day here at Sabi Sabi. This bird posed perched in the tree as we were enjoying our Sundowners and the silhouette was the main focus when taking the shot. The best part was when he decided to take off and fly right into the last light of the sunset leaving my Guests stunned and excited and the Lilac-beasted Roller became the conversation starter showing that it is not always about the bigger things but also to appreciate the smaller animals out there.

Lilac Breasted Roller

Nottins female has done it again! She did something that most people would not believe. Nottins killed an almost 4 meter long African Rock Python then carried it up a tree to ensure that no other predators around were able to steal her kill. This shot was taken just after she came down the tree to stand on the termite mound and look around the open area to see if there was any danger coming her way. She was the main cause for my guests being completely blown away and they built up so much respect for firstly leopards and secondly for this old but determined female. This was definitely the highlight of my week.

Nottins 01

Solo was found staring into the distance planning his next move and after a short while he decided to get up and roar with everything he had. We were stunned and I remember my guest commenting saying how he felt the call vibrating in his chest, the power and determination was definitely shown in Solo while he went walking from tree to tree scent marking as if the Reserve belonged to him alone.

Solo

The feeling of joining a loc to find wild dogs is better than any other adrenalin chase out there. First you need to find fresh tracks, then the main goal is to allow all of your senses to work together to give you an idea on where these animals are headed. We followed tracks of these wild dogs for over 20 minutes and finally we were able to find these beautiful dogs busy finishing off an impala kill that they had made minutes before we found them. My best memory of this sighting was seeing camera’s taking pictures from all over and secondly was seeing the bright smile and expression on all of the guests’ faces. We were all left with a memory that will never fade.

Wild Dog 2 9

This hippo was found right in front of Earth Lodge in the dam minding his own business. We were shocked to find this hippo in the dam with a 3 meter long crocodile in very close proximity of one another but not having any negative interactions between them. This photo was taken when he decided to show his dominance as well as show us all that he has strength, power and not afraid to attack if need be. Watching him roll around with his mouth wide open was an experience and a half, we automatically understood then why the hippo is such a dangerous animal.

Hippo
  • BY: MARCUS HACK (EARTH LODGE RANGER)
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