Special interest
Mkuze Falls Private Game Reserve is filled with wonderful and interesting things in nature and evidence of the animals, insects and birds that live here. The fauna and flora of the area covers a multitude of species. On a guided walk many smaller things will be pointed out to you by our expert rangers who have the knowledge and expertise to recognise tracks, signs and a host of other things in the fagile eco-system that is all connected and there for a reason.
We invite you to submit any interesting photos you have taken during your stay at our piece of paradise. Whether it be a nest, insect, plant, track, animal behaviour or whatever else caught your interest and would you perhaps like to know more about from our rangers, we will add it to our Special Interest page for everybody to see.
Warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus)
All warthogs are essentially omnivores, and will mainly graze. They also will browse and eat fruit, seeds and herbaceous plants.
But being omnivorous they occasionally take carrion and even chase wild dogs and cheetahs of their kills. The warthogs in this photo were seen chasing a cheetah of its kill where they continued to eat for about twenty minutes before moving on again. The cheetah only later returned to reclaim its kill.
Warthogs have been observed killing snakes and rats, and eating them. Food is mainly detected by smell.
Redbilled Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus)
This is a common resident in and around larger game reserves but is absent elsewhere. The reason for this is that with cattle farming, animals are treated with a chemical that kills of all ectoparasites and this serves as an important food source for these birds. These birds spent most of their time on large game mammals where they feed on ectoparsitic arthropods, loose skin and wound tissue from the host animal. By doing this they ensure that the host animal has a healthier life and this will be beneficial for both species.
Leopard (Panthera pardus)
The cat in this picture is one of our most well known males. The black, almost solid, natural collar around his neck makes him easy to identify him. For the last few weeks we have been able to spot him at the Mkuze River on a regular basis. It is not even uncommon to see him on his favourite rock two days in a row. It is probably needles to say that he has become a firm favourite of our guests.
Bronzed-winged Courser (Rhinoptilus chalcopterus)
These nocturnal birds, which at first glance can be confused with a Crowned Lapwing, are normally seen in the roads at night. This bird is a summer visitor and a fairly common resident in the northern and eastern parts of South Africa. It is normally during the latter part of the afternoon Game Drive that these birds are seen and it makes for an ideal way for hardy birders to end their day of birding.
The Big Five
The Lion (Phanthera Leo) is the most sociable cat and can not be confused with any other cat. They can live in prides up to 30 animals if the conditions are in their favour. The social groupings are very complex and usually consists of a few related females and their offspring. A "coalition" of two or more males will regulate the pride. In our case, as can be seen in the picture, we have five males who are related and have formed a coalition. Because of their number they will be able to hold a pride for much longer then the two odd years a coalition of two males will be able to do. It is rare to see such a number of males together, but they make for excellent photography opportunities.
Greater Painted-Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis)
This very shy bird is a scarce resident and is placed very high on many birders sought after list. Unlike most other birds it is the female that is the most striking with her chestnut coloured breast and neck. It is also the male that looks after the nest and chicks. This photo of a female was taken where they were skulking amongst the reeds in the middle of our wetlands system.
Lion Cubs (Panthera leo)
It has taken a few months but eventually the lioness of the Northern Pride has decided to show her cubs to the world.
All five of them! Although we had brief visuals of her and the cubs in the past, it was always in the distance and we were not able to get any photo's. These pictures, however, were taken when they killed a giraffe and we were able to spend a few days with them. The cubs soon lost their fear for the Land Rovers and we have been treated to some memorable moments of them playing around the vehicles.
Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) versus African Rock Python (Python sebae).
The Nile Crocodile, that can reach a length of about 6 meters, will prey on almost anything. Although fish makes up a large part of their diet, they will also ambush antelope, zebra and even buffalo coming to drink. In this photo a large crocodile can be seen with an African Rock Python in its jaws. Large food items like this one will be softened by biting. The crocodile then will grab a mouth full and start spinning on its long axis to tear off bits to swallow. This drama played it self of at the waterfall at the Mkuze Falls Main Lodge.
Lunar Moth Caterpillar (Argema mimosae)
On this picture the caterpillar of the very beautiful Lunar Moth can be seen. The Lunar Moth is part of the Saturniidae family, which includes some of the largestmoths in the world. The larvae is green, with fine white bands and rows of long projections on its back. They normally feed on Marula and Tamboti trees. This picture was taken near a dense stand of Tamboti trees.
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
At Mkuze Falls we are fortunate with our hyena sightings. With their eerie whooping and laughing calls they form part of Africa's most memorable night sounds. In this picture a young female can be seen showing great interest in one of our game viewing vehicles. In some parts of Africa hyenas can form clans of up to 40 animals. In areas where hyenas do occur in large groups they have been known to even dominate lions.
Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri)
This very large turkeylike bird forages on the ground using its bill to dig for food. It is entirely carnivorous and will eat insects, reptiles, frogs and even mammals up to the size of hares. These days Ground Hornbills are restricted to large game reserves and is not often seen out of protected areas. We at Mkuze Falls are blessed with sightings of these birds in our southern mountain ranges. On this picture it can be seen preforming its territorial call which can be heard several kilometers away.
Leopard (Panthera pardus)
This elegant and powerfully built cat is normally solitary with the exception of pairs coming together for mating. Although leopards are notoriously shy and secretive, we have been blessed to see some interaction between this male and one of our females. This interaction lasted for about four days and we had several sightings of them. Their gestation period is approximately 100 days and the litter size can range between 2 and 3 cubs. The picture of this male was taken at the river crossing below the Mkuze Falls Lodge.
Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
Buffalo live in large herds of mixed sexes.Bulls and cows have separate dominance hierarchies, and all bulls dominate cows. In this picture is one of our dominant bulls. The broken horn is a testimony of his fighting ability. One can also see how this buffalo is determining the reproductive status of a female by "tasting" her urine. This is when the upper lip is curled up. This process is known as Flehmen. This is when the animal uses his Jacobsen's organ, which lies between his mouth and nasal passages, to detect sexual chemical signals.
Kittlitz's Plover (Charadrius pecuarius)
This little bird is a common resident over most parts of Southern-Africa and favours habitats of wide open shorelines of inland water or even short grass on airfields and dry pans. When nesting it makes use of a deep scrape in the ground or even a hoofprint. This will be filled by bits of soil, small stones and even dry plant fragments. Eggs are covered with the nest material by quick foot movements when the birds leave the nest. This can be seen in the right picture. Note how difficult it is to see the eggs in the nest.