Final arrival at Lake Panic, in the Kruger National Park.

On arrival after yesterdays showing what was encountered on the way, we found a dam full of diverse birds awaiting us. firstly the hippo that approached closer to see who had arrived.

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And another hiding behind the tree, if from us or the approaching family member , who knows, maybe they play “Hide and Seek” like us.

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To the one side i saw the juvenile grey heron on a mission to capture food, a frog or two.

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Searching deep amid the grass cover for whatever he could find.

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Not far from him (or her) a pair of cavorting African jacana a photographers dream with their colours and long toes, a great subject to have so close.

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They even have a certain beauty in their reflection.

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I will leave the rest we saw for another blog, as there are so many.

Lake Panic, a Bird hide in Kruger National Park.

One of my favourite places in the Park is Lake Panic, situated near to Skukuza Rest Camp, this is a birders paradise. An area were allowed to alight from the vehicle and proceed to a wooden structure built out over the waters edge. On this particular day we had headed there from Crocodile Bridge, a fair distance to travel, but on the way we got to see firstly a Cheetah.

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With its tearful eyes it watched us. Further on we got a great sighting of the Kori Bustard, a biggish bird and lucky to catch it in the open.

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    It is often found in newly burnt veld or open grass lands, as can be seen this is veld recently control burnt for grass improvement. Further along the road we found a small group of red-billed Oxpecker seeking parasites on the Impala’s backs, not only on the back but even inside the ear.

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and before we arrived there, a Rhino still enjoying his rest.

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Now its taken so long to get there, I’ll leave for tomorrow what we saw at the hide.

The inherent dangers of climate change, the natural instinctive to survive.

REAWR | Big-Cat Conservation

The Times of India

HYDERABAD, INDIA: It’s not denizens alone who seem to be reeling under a severe water crisis this summer. Even animals in the state’s largest tiger belt, the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR), are hit by the shortage with only a handful of manually filled ‘saucer pits’ to quench their thirst. The smaller lakes in the tiger reserve, with a tiger population estimated between 52 and 67, have dried up. Experts note that the tigers usually travel the 25 km distance to reach Krishna river in search of water and could be doing the same now.

While the shortage of water seems to be most severe this time around, experts note that the NSTR belt has always been a parched region. Tigers in the belt, they say, are often forced to travel to the Krishna to quench their thirst. “This belt, which is a plateau, is known for…

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