The Big Five
Lion, Elephant, Rhinoceros, Leopard and Cape Buffalo
The Black Rhino Reserve’s rich and rare mix of scrub, sweet veldt and Tamboti trees, means this corner of Pilanesberg is the perfect habitat for the most magnificent of all of South Africa’s wild animals. Savannah Safaris is not restricted to just the Black Rhino reserve; their rangers have first-hand knowledge of the whole of Pilanesberg. In our high specification open vehicles our guests, just like the wild creatures they have come to see, can travel freely anywhere.
Thanks to the tireless work of Operation Genesis, the numbers of endangered species within the Pilanesberg Wildlife Park are extremely healthy, and because it is far smaller than game reserves like the Kruger, they can be seen in greater concentrations, with the result that our visitors have more opportunities for close encounters of the rarest kind.
The park actively protects against poaching, of both Elephant and Rhino. Hunting (other than with a telephoto lens) is not permitted. We also believe that Savannah’s ranger-guides are the best; the most skilled, knowledgeable, professional – and friendly.
Black and White Rhino
Pilanesberg has established itself as a stronghold for both types of rhino.
How to tell the two apart? The white rhino is larger and is a grazer, eating mainly grass from the ground, whereas the black rhino is a browser, preferring fruited bushes and shrubs. Should you be fortunate enough to have a close sighting, the white rhino has a wide flat lip (its name is a mistranslation of the Dutch word wijd, meaning wide, not white), while the black rhino (also mis-named to distinguish it from the white rhino) has a more pointed one. The upshot is that the white rhino isn’t white, nor is the black rhino…black.
Leopard
The leopard is a rare beast indeed – they are reclusive, possibly because they are smaller in size than the lion and prefer the safety of dense forests and inaccessible mountains where larger predators seldom venture, but they do seem to favour the hilly, rocky ridges of Pilanesberg and its wooded valleys. Perhaps they are attracted by the abundance of antelope, their favourite prey, and a frequent visitor to the reserve, although there are plenty of smaller mammals and rodents for them to feed on as well.
Lion
The tallest to shoulder height of all of the great felines, the lion really is the king of the beasts. They conserve their strength by sleeping for up to 20 hours a day and our safari drives are planned to coincide with dawn and dusk, when they are most likely to be seen hunting, feeding or on the move. In Pilanesberg we tend to come upon them in prides of five or six females with their assorted cubs and one male, although it is not unusual to see nomad males singly or in pairs because at the age of two or three, they leave their original family group for pastures new. They like to feed on wildebeest, impala, zebra, warthogs, and buffalo and although the female does most of the hunting it is the male who will dominate the kill.
African Bush Elephant
If you want proof that Operation Genesis is succeeding in its conservation aims, then look no further than the proliferation of the African Bush Elephant in Pilanesberg. Almost hunted to extinction for the precious ivory in their tusks, they are now a frequent sight around the water holes in the game reserve and it is a privilege to observe their social interactions – they are among the most intelligent of mammals as well as being the largest.
They form matriarchal groups, with the oldest female in charge of her younger female relatives, although the herd acts collectively to protect their calves. Once they reach puberty, young males leave the group to live alone or form smaller groups with other males.
Cape Buffalo
Cape Buffalo, also known as African Buffalo, play a vital part in the delicate ecosystem of Pilanesberg – because they are large and successful grazers, they clear the plains of tall and coarse grasses leaving the more manageable vegetation for smaller animals. It is this sort of natural interaction which accounts for the profusion of wildlife in the park and is why so many distinct species can be supported within its biosphere. For guests on our luxury safaris buffalos are a particularly impressive sight, gathering in herds around permanent water holes, not just because of their powerful size but also because they have been known to kill lions, hyenas and other wild predators.