Black-Backed Jackals of Botswana

Apart from my Spotted Hyena addiction, I’m also truly fascinated by Black-backed Jackals. From my experience they form part of the list of misunderstood animals. When spending time with them, they are quite the characters, especially when playing, not to mention their iconic howling calls, when communicating to each other during the night or early morning.

Some of the perks of having a fiancé that has work related projects in Botswana, is that I get to tag along and when the work is done, it’s time to explore. One particular morning we set off bright and early towards the Orapa Game Park, which is a conservation area situated in the Orapa mining zone. The park is home to a big variety of animals and hosts an abundance of bird species.

Blending in…

Driving towards the pan, we were greeted by Impalas, Kudu, Blue Wildebeest and Ostriches just to name a few. It was not long when a Black-backed Jackal made his presence known in the distance. With the engine off, we tried to locate the culprit, that’s when I saw him running through the long grass. It was clear, he was out on patrol, marking his territory or even scavenging. I was so focused on trying to photograph this jackal, that I didn’t see a second one a little further back, which I only noticed when she started to call.

That’s when the first jackal I was busy photographing, answered the calls. Not long after they came to greet one another by sniffing and bouncing around excitedly. It was clear that this was a jackal pair, the male being the larger one of the two. it was such a beautiful sight to see these two bonding.

A good morning kiss…

On Patrol…


Did you know?

They are monogamous, which means they are one of the few mammals that will form a pair for life. Both male and female share duties, which include defending territories and taking care of the pups. Sometimes the litter of the previous year will help guard the den or grooming of the pups, like wild dogs they can also regurgitate food for the little ones and the mother.

Marakele Camping & Antelope Antics

For the better part of the night the Black-Backed Jackals and Crowned Lapwings kept me awake as they had quite a discussion going on throughout the night. Eventually dosing off, I got woken quite abruptly as I thought I heard a lion roar in the distance. Not sure if it was just a dream, wide awake, I listened intently and that’s when the culprit lets loose another series of roars. That was definitely a lion!

The rest of the night up until the early hours of the morning we heard the lions in the distance roaring. This kept going on for several hours. Deciding that we will try and find some evidence of what they were up to during the night. We set off bright and early, clearly feeling the result of winter in the air, with the sun barely out. With each hour passing the hope to find the lions started to diminish as they could be anywhere in the thick bushes and we were approaching their bedtime.

Our search seemed endless as the hours passed and the results left us rather empty-handed, but that’s nature for you, but what we found next was just equally incredible. Driving along Mbidi road, with the sun quite high by now, we finally stumbled onto a few Kudus and a lone Blue wildebeest wanting to cross the road. Upon our arrival they had second thoughts and went back to the left side of the road, where they previously came from.

Watching our every move…

With the engine off, they seemed to relax a bit, but still very alert. One of the older cows kept staring off into the distance as if she heard something our ears clearly couldn’t.

The young bull in particular was watching me closely, he finally decided to cross the road to the tasty leaves waiting on the other side. With every mouthful, he just had to check on me again. It was quite entertaining to watch this handsome youngster. This went on for some time. Until they decided to cross the road again and started to disappear into the bushes.

Just checking to see if I’m still there…



Did you know?
Kudus, as well as other spiral-horn antelopes are non-territorial. Reproductive success takes priority over defending recourses or territory. Dominance for reproduction purposes are based on body size or the size of their horns. The horns will continue to grow even after the animal reaches maturity, whereas in other territorial species, the horns will stop growing when the animal reaches maturity

Fascinating Dung Beetles

At first glance, one will find a rather strange little insect, with its smallish yet robust armoured body. What many people don’t know, is that dung beetles have an exceptionally vital role to play in the environment. Not only do they serve as a waste removal crew, by burying balls of dung, they help to return the nutrients into the soil, which in turn aids the germination process of seeds that got caught in the dung. They can detect a fresh pile of dung in seconds and can completely remove it within a day. Southern Africa alone hosts a variety of about 780 different species which varies in size.



Did you know?
Dung beetles can be broken down into four distinct groups.

Telecoprids
They are the species 'the rollers' known to roll the dung into balls and bury them elsewhere for later consumption and breeding purposes.

Endocoprids
These little guys are known as 'dwellers', they live and breed inside the dung.

Cleptocoprids
They steal balls of dung from the ‘ball rollers’ to lay their eggs in.

Paracoprids
Also known as the 'tunnellers', they prefer to bury the dung under the original pile of dung to supply food for their larvae.

Marakele Welcoming Committee

I recently went on a camping trip to the beautiful Marakele National Park. Set a mere 9 kilometres from the small town of Thabazimbi in the sunny Limpopo Province. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived at the park, we were greeted by two camera-shy warthogs grazing close by the gate, but after they spotted me and my camera, they took off.

Checking in at the reception was a breeze with two very helpful and friendly staff members. Eager to set up camp, we wasted no time heading towards the unfenced Bontle camp site, which would serve as our home for a few days.

After doing a few laps through the camping ground to find the perfect spot, we finally settled on a spot close to some thorny bushes. Only because I saw a pair of Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbills playing in one of the Umbrella Thorns.

Observing our whereabouts.

Looking for something to eat.

While setting up, I kept getting distracted by the wonderful birdlife around me. Being the big bird nerd that I am, involves constantly pointing out birdcalls to my fiancé or random takeoffs after a bird, camera in hand.

After another failed attempt of photographing a Crimson-Breasted Shrike, I resumed what I was doing before. Leaving my camera on the front seat of the Everest and my cell phone in the side compartment of the passenger door.

I was mid moving some of my things from the car into the tent, when out of nowhere a Yellow-Billed Hornbill came to rest on the open window of the car door which I left open, where I previously took my bag from. I froze, not wanting to scare off the little fella, as he was so close to me.

That’s when I realised my camera on the seat next to him and my phone right underneath him. How am I going to take a photo now? I cautiously made my towards him, closing the 1 meter gap between us while reaching for my cell, hoping he wouldn’t take off. When I got to about 50 centimetres, he jumped from the open window on top of the bonnet.

Grabbing my phone, I immediately took some photos with it, afraid it might take off again and that I’ll miss this opportunity, but it didn’t mind my presence much. That’s when I got hold of my camera to get a few clearer shots.

Searching for some insects...

I managed to get a few close up shots as

Normally when traveling far, a few unfortunate insects will fly into the windshield and that’s exactly what the Hornbill was after, the little delicacies left behind.

After finishing the small feast of leftover bits and pieces, it took off into a near branch as the sun was starting to set. I on the other hand, had to finish helping with our camp set-up.