On our first morning drive as we headed north from Twee Rivieren, we were delighted to see a number of Secretarybirds.
After the drive we were on our way back to camp, travelling between Kij Kij and Rooiputs, when we noticed a Secretarybird in the distance, with its wings raised in the bird’s typical behaviour when it spots potential prey. Having seen no fewer than three Cape cobras during our drive, we were anticipating watching a lifeanddeath battle between the bird and a snake.
As we drew nearer, to our surprise we saw that there were in fact three Secretarybirds surrounding an adult blackbacked jackal that was lying curled up on the ground at their feet. The birds repeatedly approached the jackal and raised their wings in a threat display. The jackal seemed fairly relaxed and remained in this position without reacting to the birds in any way.
After several minutes of confrontational behaviour, two of the Secretary birds lost interest and the jackal took the opportunity to stand up and calmly walked away.
This story is from the January/February 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
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This story is from the January/February 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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