avatarAnne Bonfert

Summary

The website content discusses the challenge and excitement of spotting wildlife, particularly a cheetah, during a safari in an African national park, emphasizing the importance of sharp observation and a bit of luck.

Abstract

The article recounts the experience of going on a safari and the difficulty of spotting animals, even large ones like elephants, due to factors like their positioning and the time of day. Despite these challenges, the author, along with her partner who is an experienced guide, successfully spots a cheetah in the wild. The article highlights the rarity and thrill of such an encounter and the advantage of having knowledgeable company on a game drive. It also touches on the author's previous wildlife experiences and invites readers to explore more through related links and an email list.

Opinions

  • The author believes that spotting animals on a safari, including the cheetah, requires a combination of skill, experience, and luck.
  • There is an appreciation for the cheetah's physical attributes, describing it as a muscular and fascinating animal.
  • The author suggests that being on a safari allows for a deeper connection, beyond the lack of WiFi, implying that the experience offers a more meaningful engagement with nature.
  • The article conveys a sense of awe and privilege about witnessing wildlife in their natural habitat, especially the fastest land animal, the cheetah.
  • The author values the shared experience of wildlife spotting, noting the collaborative aspect of a game drive where someone in the vehicle needs to spot the animal.
Credit: Anne Bonfert

Do You See the Animal?

A search image

And no, I am not talking about the three ostriches in the background. There is a more spectacular, a more popular animal of the wild in the front. Test your eagle eyes. Would you have spotted the animal?

When going on safari you’re always on a searching game. It is less a who is potting the animal as long as someone in your vehicle does spot it. It is more a “will we be able to spot anything?”

In some national parks, the animals are in such abundance that even spotting lions isn’t a challenge. But throughout the different times of the day and different seasons in the year, it makes it easier or more difficult to spot those animals you’re looking for.

While you’ll most probably always see some antelopes in most African national parks it does get more difficult to spot other animals. In some parks, elephants are seen everywhere while in others they just seem to be non-existing.

Thinking about their sheer size one thinks you can’t miss them in the bush. But that is wrong. The elephant just has to stand at the right angle behind a tree and you will never be able to spot him.

On my most recent game drive through the country's biggest and most popular national park we did see a lot of animals despite nature being in its strongest thriving moment.

While I did expect us to see giraffes since they are simply taller than most trees and bushes in this part of the country I did know it would be more difficult to spot big cats in the high grass.

Having my partner on board who used to be a guide in this park for almost two years and myself who’s also been on several game drives before we did have an advantage over most other self-drive tours.

On our first day, we spotted already two cheetahs walking across the plain when this next morning we got another one next to the road. The cheetah was sitting up for a moment, otherwise, we would have had no chance spotting it from the moving vehicle.

After knowing where it was we did see it lying down in the grass. But only while we were standing. There is no way I would have spotted his head in the high grass otherwise.

This is part of going on safari. You need a certain portion of luck. Always.

I hope you enjoyed this search image of the fastest land animal on earth. It’s a very muscular and incredible fascinating animal. In my eyes at least. This was the first time I did see a cheetah in the wild in this country.

More about my wildlife experiences…

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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.

Travel
Safari
Wildlife
Nature
Photography
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