Gallery - Askari

Askari Gallery

A very Happy Mother's Day from our pride to yours

A very Happy Mother's Day from our pride to yours ❤

Stunning capture of one of our barbet species here

Stunning capture of one of our barbet species here on the reserve, a 'Crested barbet' #askariwcp

Imagine having to work so hard for a drink every t

Imagine having to work so hard for a drink every time?!

Plenty of sightings of the Askari pride recently,

Plenty of sightings of the Askari pride recently, and what better backdrop than that of the magnificent Drakensberg mountains

Beautiful winter morning light on the eyes of fema

Beautiful winter morning light on the eyes of female cheetah 'Rumi' #askariwcp

World hyaena day 🥳🥳...and also Freedom day h

World hyaena day 🥳🥳...and also Freedom day here in South Africa. What a day to celebrate my favourites and the 2 species of hyaena we see here on Pidwa

Our February newsletter is now available on our we

Our February newsletter is now available on our website, catch up on all the news and sightings from around the reserve #askariwcp https://askariwcp.com/2021/04/20/february-2021/

A stunning sunrise on a crisp 8 degree morning. Wi

A stunning sunrise on a crisp 8 degree morning. Winter is on the way!

A juvenile bateleur waiting over a carcass this we

A juvenile bateleur waiting over a carcass this week

Today we bid farewell to our recent group 'High 5

Today we bid farewell to our recent group 'High 5 Big 5'. It's been a fantastic month of sightings and work around the reserve and obviously so special to have our volunteers back - check out what we've been up to here

The team adventuring on a stunning early morning b

The team adventuring on a stunning early morning bush walk today

A beautiful sub-adult Dark-chanting goshawk on our

A beautiful sub-adult Dark-chanting goshawk on our drive

A fantastic morning for the team yesterday cruisin

A fantastic morning for the team yesterday cruising the Olifants river. Some great birds, crocs, hippo, buffalo and elephant

Male cheetah 'Luca' received the second treatment

Male cheetah 'Luca' received the second treatment for his fungal skin infection this week. Again he was washed with a fungicide shampoo and dried off. He and brother 'Rocco' have now been released back into the wild. Close monitoring will continue and further treatment may be needed but in the meantime they can continue to hunt for themselves

A lion pride spotted during our herbivore count dr

A lion pride spotted during our herbivore count drive this weekend

So good to be back in the Kruger National Park wit

So good to be back in the Kruger National Park with our group 🥳. Plenty of elephants, hippos everywhere with all the water, chameleons, great birds, lots of corn crickets to dodge and some real Kruger magic to welcome us back......a big 5 combo of lion and elephant! #askariwcp

The sun sets on another day at Askari

The sun sets on another day at Askari

Yes you're seeing it right....that's a hair dryer.

Yes you're seeing it right....that's a hair dryer....and we're using it on a cheetah 🤣 (photo 3). Male cheetah Luca received his test results this week confirming he has a fungal skin infection. The team worked with Dr Peter Rogers to treat him while under anaesthetic. He was washed thoroughly with a special shampoo, this was rinsed off with special alcohol. We then dried his hair to ensure he didn't lose heat. We had already purposefully chosen the hottest day of the week for the treatment but this was just to be sure! We will monitor him closely and likely repeat this treatment a number of times #askariwcp

This morning, even this spotted hyaena got its sha

This morning, even this spotted hyaena got its share of the sable carcass ensuring nothing goes to waste in the bush

The death of a Sable antelope gave the opportunity

The death of a Sable antelope gave the opportunity for a vulture feeding frenzy. In this photo you can see hooded, white-backed AND Cape vultures

Plenty of catching up to do from the past few days

Plenty of catching up to do from the past few days starting with this amazing sighting of the Askari pride. We spent 2 hours with them as they groomed, interacted, drank and much more. Incredible 😍

Wow have we got a MUST WATCH video for you today!

Wow have we got a MUST WATCH video for you today! (Link in bio). This incredible sighting between a Leopard and male cheetahs 'Rocco' & 'Luca' was witnessed by Assistant manager Andrew this week.
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It's a tough life for cheetah in the wild and here the cheetah boys lost out on a kill when it was stolen off them by a leopard. They put up an impressive challenge but eventually walked off and abandoned the kill. Luca is doing most of the work here while Rocco is the growling sound you can hear as he sits close by to Andrew.
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We've put this one on YouTube as it's definitely going to be one you want to share. Link can be found in our bio. Once in a lifetime stuff!

It has been a busy and action packed first week fo

It has been a busy and action packed first week for our new group. But we have made time to give our introduction to birding and get started learning some of the amazing species around the reserve. Including this European roller and Brown snake eagle

Back where we belong on a Friday night. Around the

Back where we belong on a Friday night. Around the Askari fire with steaks on the braai 🥳. Complete with fiery-necked nightjar calling and everything!

This morning the team worked with Dr Peter Rogers

This morning the team worked with Dr Peter Rogers to check on male cheetah 'Luca'. Over the last few days we started to notice injuries/sore patches on his skin and decided we needed to take a closer look. Once darted, he was lifted onto the bakkie so we could work on him as brother 'Rocco' was doing a very good job of keeping a close eye on him!

Luca was found to have a lot of lice. Some patches of skin were missing and very sore and even with a little infection. Everything was inspected and cleaned and biopsies and samples were taken.

Although lice could be the problem we will also be checking for a fungal skin infection. With all the rain and heat and humidity this is also a possible cause for his sores. While we await results and decide on the course of treatment, Luca has been placed in a smaller 20 hectare camp to allow close monitoring. Although Rocco is looking good and healthy we have also put him in the camp just to keep the brothers together and minimise stress to either one. It seems likely that Luca's immune system is slightly compromised and that's why he is showing these symptoms whereas normally, cheetah (& in this case Rocco) have a natural resistance to these occurrences in small amounts.

Although we are confident that this pair hunt and sustain themselves completely, this case highlights the importance of our continued monitoring and why we still check on them every few days. Left without treatment, this problem would have likely become life threatening for Luca.

We will keep you posted on what is found and the progress going forward.

A fantastic sighting of the Askari pride yesterday

A fantastic sighting of the Askari pride yesterday for the team. By the time we'd spent an hour with them and then watched some playful hippos we didn't even have time for our planned herbivore count! A brown hyaena sighting on the way home too just to top off the perfect afternoon. You can't ask for much for than that!

And that's it! Our final solo sunset 🌅. Tomorro

And that's it! Our final solo sunset 🌅. Tomorrow we do it properly..... with volunteers and sundowners. We can't wait! 🥳

Happy Mother's Day! While we can't all be with our

Happy Mother's Day! While we can't all be with our mothers today; we can still celebrate them and everything they do for us. Thinking of all mums near and far

Wow wow wow, another very special bird sighting fo

Wow wow wow, another very special bird sighting for the team, it's been quite the season for them! Far from its natural range and considered as 'Near threatened', this black coucal was an amazing find and a first for the Askari team on Pidwa

Yesterday the lions heard that the volunteers are

Yesterday the lions heard that the volunteers are on their way so they popped up to say hello in preparation 🥳

It's a great week for the reptiles with this harml

It's a great week for the reptiles with this harmless 'Giant legless skink' being our first find of the day today

'World wildlife day' - Mammals and birds, big and

'World wildlife day' - Mammals and birds, big and small, today and every day, we celebrate them all

Back home, go get 'em girls

Back home, go get 'em girls

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