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The hunting hornbills of Kruger National Park

3/6/2015

2 Comments

 
Ground hornbill, Kruger National Park
By Roxanne Reid
A big thrill when you’re exploring the savanna and open grasslands of the north and north-east of southern Africa is to come upon a small family of Southern ground hornbills. It’s special because they’re classed as ‘vulnerable’ in the Red Data Book of endangered and threatened species, but also because they’re so entertaining. Case in point: the hunting hornbills of Kruger National Park.

You’ll see these large, turkey-sized birds with the eyelashes of a supermodel either in pairs or in groups of up to eight. They forage on the ground, walk stiff-legged and dig into the ground with their fearsome bills in search of food. 
Ground hornbill, Kruger National Park
What you might not realise is that they’re carnivores of the serious Banting persuasion. Plant life is not at all what they’re looking for. Although they’ll deign to eat insects, they’re at their happiest when they’re scoffing meaty reptiles, frogs, snails, even tortoises and mammals up to the size of a hare. Yes, a hare – my bird bible (Roberts) says so.

I’ve never seen them eating anything quite so big, but on a recent trip to Kruger, we came across four ground hornbills stalking the veld on the lookout for brunch.
Ground hornbill, Kruger National Park
One of them caught a brown wriggling thing. A chameleon. The bird dropped it on the ground and stabbed it five or six times quite viciously with its huge bill, picked it up, tossed it in the air and tried to catch it at the right angle to gulp it down. It had to do this three times before everything came together just right and the chameleon disappeared mostly from sight, just a tail and one leg still visible.
Ground hornbill, Kruger National Park
The poor creature must have still been fighting for its life because soon out it came again for another few stabs of the beak on the ground. Then the hornbill picked it up, aligned it and finally got it down all the way.
Ground hornbill, Kruger National Park
Sometimes when you ask people back at camp if they had a good day, they’re disappointed if they haven’t seen lions. For me, watching lions sleep – as they usually do in the heat of the day – is as boring as peeling potatoes in Pofadder. I’d much rather have some hornbill stab-and-stomp action that keeps me alert and awake, thank you very much.

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Hunting ground hornbills of Kruger National Park #SouthAfrica #birding #wildlife
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
2 Comments
Chris link
13/6/2015 08:12:22 am

We also came across a couple of ground hornbills in Kruger. check it out in my blog. I love Kruger and seeing different animals and not just the big 5. My animal wish list is
1. Ardvark
2. pangolin
3. Ardvolf
Love your blog. Thanks plenty plus!

Reply
Roxanne
14/6/2015 03:04:34 am

Thanks for the positive comments, Chris. Loving small stuff improves your experience, doesn't it? We've been lucky enough to see an aardwolf for a few seconds in Etosha and an aardvark at Mokala, but pangolin is still on our list too.

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    About 

    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
    Use this website to discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

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