Verney’s Camp Wildlife Stories March 2025
The abundant rains of the season have come to an end. At Verney’s Camp, the once-green grass has turned dry and brown, and our focus has shifted to cutting firebreaks to ensure we’re prepared for any potential wildfires ahead.
In March, Predators and prey were less active during the hot days and became more lively in the cool early mornings and evenings, making night drives a popular excursion.
Wild Dogs, Wild Hunt
During an early morning game drive, we came across one of the greatest pack hunters on the African continent, African wild dogs.
The pack of five were preparing to hunt, and no sooner had we arrived than three of them disappeared into some tall grass.
We followed the remaining two dogs and realised they were circling to create a trap.
We continued to follow them until they vanished in the tall grass near a flock of ostriches. As we watched the dogs head deeper into the grass, we noticed a herd of impala nearby. Suddenly, the impala scattered, releasing alarm calls that warned the rest of the wildlife of the impending threat.
We didn’t manage to see a kill, but we can only imagine what those five hunters got their teeth into!
Two Inquisitive Hyenas
We had an amazing hyena sighting on a late afternoon game drive. As the last rays of light painted the plains gold, we found ourselves driving to a hyena den at the back of camp.
When we arrived, we saw two sub-adult hyenas sitting in the middle of the road. As we approached them, their curiosity took hold. We stopped the vehicle, and they came closer to inspect it.
After their investigation concluded, the pair went right back to their original spot to bask in the final rays of sunlight.
Bat-Eared Family
It took us no less than 30 minutes to spot some dazzling birds for our birding guests during an early morning game drive. We stopped to take in the striking creatures when our attention was grabbed by a family of four bat-eared foxes.
This critically protected species is a rare sighting at Verney’s. They posed for a few pictures before running down the road. We followed them for a while until we returned to our birding expedition.
Climb Cheetah, Climb
Sometimes our keen-eyed guests spot the most amazing sightings before we do. As we were driving past a watering hole not too far from camp, a guest spotted something drinking from the pan.
We immediately stopped to double-check, and what we found was incredible. It was a male cheetah having a leisurely sip of water. The cheetah started moving around the pan, and we could tell it was looking for a tree to climb. Luckily for him, he found one he was very familiar with and nimbly arranged himself on a big branch.
This was the perfect spot for the cheetah to survey the area for potential prey and for us to take some spectacular pictures.
March started and ended with some of the rarest sightings of 2025. We look forward to seeing what April has in store.
Until next time,
Stanley
Verney’s Camp
