Caught in the act

Caught in the act

Stories about jackals catching doves and sand­grouse at certain waterholes in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park are well known. I had seen some pictures by other photographers and even taken a few myself. But on this particular occasion I managed to capture proof of a rather specialised hunting strategy.


We left north from Nossob Campsite to go to Cubitje Quap Waterhole, hoping to see some more examples of jackal-bird interaction. But the waterhole was quiet, with not much animal or bird activity. After sitting for a while, my wife and I decided to move further north to other waterholes. There was little action all over that morning, so we turned back to camp, now without any expectations. But when passing Cubitje Quap Waterhole again on our way back, we spotted flocks of sandgrouse coming in to land. There were also two young jackals sniffing around, though they didn’t look as if they were serious hunters.


Suddenly, out of nowhere, a third jackal appeared... Read more in the Photo Tales book. 

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