A stroll on the Sishen Golf Course….

KUDU… I do love this animal with its steady stance and twitching ears that give it away…

Gotcha…. a successful track, find and stalk…

A favourite past time of mine when visiting Kathu, is the tracking, finding and stalking of the kudu that live near the golf course. They are not tame but are not as skittish as others I’ve tracked…

It is still a huge thrill to firstly find the fresh spoor (tracks) and then to quietly follow the tracks of the animals… and when you find them – spot them first and then stalk them to get as close as possible before they take flight… and here is the photo evidence of my morning entertainment…

First the spotting before the stalking… I see them but they not me…

They know I’m out there, they hear me, but can’t see my statue like posture… camera to eye naturally…

Then it’s time to move off… away from the danger they sense…

And then on the way home to find a scene like this…

Kudu Portraits….

If there is one antelope I love to see it is the Kudu. They are so gracious in their movement, their poise and composure. Their grace in flight with the loping canter and almost casual stance when watching your movement, all goes to making them a favourite of mine…

Here’s a few more photos I took recently… the male strolled across the road and the female stood posing with little to no concern of our proximity….

and now our lady poser…

Mission Impossible… Should you accept…..

Your mission, should you accept, is to proceed to the Sishen Golf Course before sun-up, ignore your normal avian friends, then to search and photograph the Kudu.

If you are successful, chocolate will be the reward, should you fail…… a kick in the arse should be administered, as you have lost your touch…

and the result…. proof it is before sun rise…

and the sun rises…..

Following fresh tracks I manage to find them…. light is not good, but the mission is successful… covered in grass seeds and ticks from sneaking in long grass to get captures….

They are actually so well camouflaged… this one didn’t even know I was there….

and then I found the bull and had to do a bit of creeping around before he saw me to get these captures…

He knows I’m there somewhere, but as yet has not seen me… then he does and the result a pleasant goodbye…

and then around the next bush I find one of his offspring… the youngster….

Now this was a good mission that gave me some confidence that I’ve not lost it as yet…. now for the chocolate….

Kudu and their camouflage..

I came across these photos I took a while back to illustrate the camouflage of the Kudu. These where fairly close but yet can so easily disappear within the bush they are eating from…

Look how he blends in with the tarmac… and car for that matter… (now that got you calling me an idiot..)

And here he is in the bush.. (he was really close…)

And this Mother and Youngster kept disappearing in the bush they were feeding on..

If it wasn’t for their ears you’d have trouble seeing them…

Below there is the Mother in the back ground… can you see her.??