March 23, 2011
Black-Backed Jackal in Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa

Our last morning in Hluhluwe Game Reserve was slow, then we spent two nights while traveling to Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa, where we spent three nights. The park is named after the mountain zebra, a unique species only found in central South Africa and Namibia. The weather was much cooler in the park than we had been experiencing elsewhere in South Africa with lows in the mid 50s (about 12°C) and highs only in the mid 70s (about 24°C) — Jan loved it. We had a very nice encounter with a black-backed jackal shortly before sunset in Mountain Zebra National Park. It was hunting right next to the road on the right side of the light and in fairly low grass.