Rhinos of the             Kruger National Park

White Rhino mom and her very young calf leaving the waterhole in a hurry

Young White Rhino taken on a guided night drive in the Sabi Sands Reserve

White Rhino image taken on a Guided Safari in the Greater Kruger National Park

The tail end of a White Rhino, image taken in the Kruger Park

White Rhino walking towards the camera, for his photo shoot!

Black Rhino about to cross the road, taken on a Guided Safari in the Kruger

If you struggle to find rhinos on your safaris or you feel your images are not impressive, then this eBook is for you! We have been visiting the Kruger Park for more than twenty years and we and our co-author, Trevor Barnett, have had many sightings of white rhinos on our self-drive safaris. The black rhino, however, is the challenge! In over 20 years we have just 5 black rhino sightings and Trevor just 3 sightings.  

In this eBook we provide all our tips on how to find these endangered animals and then how to best photograph them. 

Should you wish to get the eBook, click on the book cover above, then click 'Add to Cart' where you'll see a button called 'Add Promo Code'. Click on it then add the word K2K and the 33% discount will be automatically applied. This code is valid until the end of the month, so don't delay!

"Planning a Kruger trip? A new guide by pro photographers holds the key to good pictures.  Learn from the folks who spent 517 days in the park and make your photos sing!"  - Romi Boom, Editor of Wildcard Magazine, South Africa

We were staying at Mopani camp and spotted the dead hippo at Bowkerkop waterhole near the camp. It was difficult to see what happened to the hippo due to the long grass - we assumed another hippo had killed it during the night.

We decided stay for awhile to see if any predators or scavengers would arrive.

Instead a white rhino arrives and starts investigating the hippo from all angles, rests his head on the hippo, stands up on the hippo and then tries to mount the dead hippo!

White rhino 'Ore' trying to mate with dead hippo near Mopani camp.

When we spoke to the Mopani camp manger, he said that the rhino was named 'Ore' ('ears' in Afrikaans, due to the missing ear), and he had been recently relocated from the boma in Skukuza. 

That's all he could tell us so we submitted the series of photos to 5050 so they could find out from their experts  why they think the rhino wanted to mate with the dead hippo.  

Only after the program was run, Professor Leith found out the following...

"I have done a bit of digging to find out more about this rhino Ore from one of the vets that looked after him while he was in the bomas at Skukuza. 

It turns out that he actually spent quite a long time in these bomas and was quite a bit older than what I thought; despite him looking like a youngster he actually was old enough to be a mature adult.

While he was in the bomas he was exposed to many female rhinos that were in heat but because he was kept separate from them he possibly became very frustrated. So after his release this dead hippo may have been too enticing for him to not take an opportunity to try and mate it.

So this mating behaviour could have also been a misplaced/aberrant behaviour from him being in captivity for a long time where he was "teased" by cows that were often on heat next to him.

I suspect that it may be too late to add this comment to Monday's programme, but if something could be added to what I wrote previously, it may put things in perspective. However, it will obviously add some more speculation, but will possibly explain this abnormal behaviour that one would unlikely see in wild rhino bulls." 

The above explanation from Professor Leith sounds plausible - we just hope he eventually found a female! The camp manager that was at Mopani Camp told us that Ore was killed by another male rhino a few weeks after we saw him, so maybe he was killed fighting over a female? 

Should you wish to get the eBook, click on the book cover above, then click 'Add to Cart' where you'll see a button called 'Add Promo Code' - click on it then add the word K2K and the 33% discount will be automatically applied. This code is valid until the end of the month, so don't delay!

"...the majority of images are really impressive, each chosen for a practical reason, sometimes annotated to stress a point. The authors clearly know what they are doing. For decades they have mapped their sightings, and in explaining how they achieved their images, they’re sharing invaluable tips on understanding wildlife behavior, reading the signs and getting yourself in the best position for the shot. There is a phenomenal wealth of information here; real substance." - Craig Rix, Editor,Travel Africa Magazine, UK

A Black Rhino's pose before the charge!

Two White Rhinos having a snooze in the riverbed

Two White Rhinos sniffing the road

Black Rhino mom and calf, image taken on the S30, Salitje road in the Kruger, she charged us three times!

White Rhino mom with her very young calf coming down to drink

White Rhino mom and calf drinking at a waterhole

Old Joe Stone painted according to latest news items, such as rhino poaching

Black Rhino taken on a guided safari in the Greater Kruger National Park

White Rhino drinking with a Redbilled Oxpecker taken on a self-drive

White Rhino heading for a drink at a waterhole in the South of Kruger Park

The majority of these rhino photographs were captured on self-drive safaris, on normal tourist roads, when we were on our vacations, which are anything from a few days over a long weekend, to annual holidays of 14-17 days duration.

Should you wish to get the Kruger eBook, click on the above book cover, then click 'Add to Cart' where you'll see a button called 'Add Promo Code'. Click on it then add the word K2K and the 33% discount will be automatically applied. This code is valid until the end of the month, so don't delay!

"This is an indispensable guide to getting the best out of Kruger, camera in hand or not!” - Caroline Webb, Associate Editor, Getaway Magazine, South Africa

Photograph taken of a White Rhino after it's mud bath

Walking with the White Rhinos, taken on a guided walking safari

White Rhino collecting mud on its horn!

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