Finding Game On Your African Safari

There are very few places on earth where you will not find wild animals but most of the time, only signs of their presence are visible. If you can recognize and read the signs that animals leave and identify the animal, you will know what methods to adopt in tracking the animal. Most mammals are active at first light and last light. The larger and more powerful venture out during the day. Due to the digestive capabilities of larger herbivores, they need a whole day of grazing to satisfy their appetites, which is the reason why you will see most antelope while on your African safari. Smaller mammals, such as rabbits, eat mainly at night and only change their habits when the weather is bad. Using animal feeding patterns is an excellent way to track and spot animals. Animals that feed on other animals hunt at the times their prey is active so if you want to spot lions check out their prey and it's a good place to start.

Most animals are creatures of habit and use regular routes and pathways between watering holes and their feeding areas. Look out for these tracks, which are more obvious when the ground is wet. The size, shape and sharpness of the impression will tell you exactly what animal made the track, how big it is and when it was made, helping you to identify what animal you are looking for. Feeding signs are also a good way to identify animals on your African safari; animals such as zebra and wildebeest move together on their hunt for greener pastures. The wildebeest is a top grazer and the zebra trims the grass down to the root making it easy to track these two species. A skilled eye can often identify the species by the pattern left by tooth marks on trees and small shrubs. For example, those teeth marks left by a deer are vertical. Another fine way of identifying animals on safari is by droppings, which will tell you exactly what type of animal has left its mark. Two general tips are, animals that live on vegetation produce roundish and strawy droppings while meat eaters produce long tapering ones.

Listen to the noises around you and register the smells. Being in touch with nature, so to speak, will definitely help you to spot wildlife on your African safari. One thing you can be sure of is that if you see one kind of animal there is sure to be another bigger one that is waiting to attack. Many people neglect their sense of smell, but keeping your nose to the ground will uncover many animals hiding in the brush. Some animal smells are extremely pungent and if the wind is blowing in your direction, you can smell the animal miles away. Keep your eyes sharp too, on a cold day from a high vantage point you might even see the cloud of condensation, which is formed by a group of large animals breathing.

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Michael Russell Your Independent guide to African Safaris

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