What was your best game sighting ever?
 

I have come to realise that many of the people contributing to this forum have been to many wonderful game reserves and lodges. I am now extending an invitation to all you game enthusiasts to post your best ever game sighting. Maybe it's a pied kingfisher making a kill or even a pride of lions taking down a lone buffalo(Matt!). Post it and tell us at which lodge you saw it.

Regards,

KL

Okay, i'll participate......

Many great sightings...i will list a few

1.)Female cheetah at Lebala- August 2006, spent the better part of 4 days with her. Best photo op was of her at Twin Pools area in brilliant evening golden light....never forget that moment

2.) Same female cheetah in 2005 with her two sub adult cubs- between Lagoon and Lebala trying to hunt all afternoon (sighting can be credited to Lagoon)

3.) Female leopard killing Nyala on a night drive and hoisting it up a tree (Exeter-Dulin)

4.) Selinda pack interaction with elephants in evening light - Zibalianja June 2007

5.) My first safari (Masai Mara) where everything was over-whelming.....impala to migration to cats to birds....

6.) The current 4 lion co-alion at Lebala feeding on baby elephant june, 2007- can credit this to both Lebala and Lagoon....

7.) My first sighting of the famous 3 cheetah bros in the savuti channel (from Kings Pool). Have seen them as a two brother co-alion twice, since (at both Kwando and Selinda)

8.) The famous Burnt Ebony male leopard (biggest leopard i have ever seen!)

9.) EVERY MINUTE IN AFRICA- should be on top of the list, i guess.....

Rgds,
Hari

That is phenominal Hari!

oh! how can i forget the two mysetery wild dogs from 2006!!! According to the guides that was the only ever sighting of those particular dogs.....(atleast, that's Spencer's story....)

It is very difficult to say but I have a tie for first place.

1) 3 Cheetah Brothers hunting all day and eventually killing a pregnant Tssebe at Selinda in 2002.

1) The Wild dogs at Selinda fighting with Hyena over 3 Impalla, following them back to the cubs and the ensuing feeding frenzy.

3) Any good day at the waterhole at Okakuejo Etosha, but in particular the evening where it was visited by two seperate prides of Lions and later13 Black Rhino at one time (I have a dodgy video)2002.

4) The 3cheetah brothers climbing trees in Leballa,2004.

5) The 3 extra large male lions fornerly in charge of the "Great" Selinda pride at Leballa in 2005.

6) The Wild Dog pups at Kwando (Lagoon Pack) on a day trip from Leballa 2007.

That's it but I also have one sad sighting of what is believed to be last sighting of the 3 brothers together, the one that died was extremely sick from snake bite, at Selinda in June 2005.

All in all very similar to Hari.

Is Twin Pools the most beautiful place on Earth?

Hi KL & Hari

That is really too hard to answer as I have so many best ever game sightings! Now, it is seeing something unusual or something that I do not see very often, or even never seen before. Certainly my serval sighting at Londolozi was fantastic. Part of a great sighting is being able to watch as long as you want, and not every guest is happy to do this, as many do not realise how lucky they are!

I now only go to MalaMala, and every day I have fantastic gameviewing - I would never have one gamedrive, that I don't see something that makes me think I am one lucky gameviewer! It can be a bird sighting, a great photo of a kudu bull, anything taking a drink, seeing a sweet little chameleon or getting a great snake photo - so many things, I could be here for a long time, but I think you get the idea!

Kind regards

Kaye

Hi Kaye,

I agree!

Hi Sniktawk,

I'm with you RE Twin Pools.....

Hari

Like you I agree that any sighting however small is precious. In addition to my best, I would have to add any good sighting of Kudo, Sable and Roan plus a decent Sitatunga (at Kasanka).
I am glad you reminded me of Serval, I had an exceptional sighting at Selinda in 2001.There are as you say too many to remember them all.

Believe it or not, my only sitatunga sighting was at Lebala 2005. My sister and cousins have it on video.

Kaye,

I totally agree with you. Just to be in the bush is so wonderful and the thing that makes it even better, is the fact that you never know what you could see on the next bend. That serval sighting sounds absolutely brilliant! They are so agile and still gracious at the same time. I saw one hunting mice just outside Skukuza when I visited Kruger in july. Extraordinary cats!

The one thing that I still want to witness(and photograph) is red lechwe running through water in the okavango delta. Looks amazing!

My personal best sighting would probably have to be lions chasing a giraffe on a tar road. Giraffe slips and lions make the kill!

Thanks for all the contributions!

Regards,

KL

In Matusadona near Lake Kariba in 2000 we were on a walking safari. An orphaned female Black Rhino allowed us to approach her. I took a risky photo op and embraced her. She is still alive today and has just had her first calf. The other is not actually a game sighting but the complete solar eclipse of 2002 next to a baobob tree "some where" in the wilderness of Botswana. All of nature became quiet but for the collective sighs of awe from the 50 or so of us witnessing the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RKBllKd590

Easy ... sitting motionless in the vehicle for almost 4 hours while a giraffe went through labor and finally delivered.

Thanks NFS - That must have been an awesome experience!

Regards - KL

Thanks NFZ - That must have been an awesome experience!

Regards - KL

Mombo Camp (June2007)
19(!) male juvenile lions gently wandering and rough housing through the tall grasses as the sunsets in the Delta.

Kim

You mean a pride of 19 of which all of them were male lions? if so, that's a BIG coalition?

Pride of various aged females and lots of sub adults and cubs. Mombo has two huge prides of around 20 Lions, and a dominant coalition of 4 males.

okay.....that makes sense!