The fact that the bear knew to leave when police showed up means this wasn’t his first rodeo. This bear knew what he was doing
The bear grabbing the Snickers and immediately dipping out is hilarious. This is a hardened criminal.
He’s not stealing, he’s offering protection: “Be a shame if the other bears knew about your little store. However, for a small fee, I can make sure they won’t.”
the bear grabbing one last snack before escaping the police is absolutely hilarious to me, it was not leaving empty handed
At a privately-owned wildlife park in South Africa, Or Lazmi has integrated herself into a group of four of lions. Having known her since they were cubs, the lions treat her as a dominant figure and allow her to get kissably close.
Never ceases to amaze me how people think the animals are just stupid and dumb.. they are sentient beings just like we are… And they have feelings and emotions just like humans… The fact that she’s been with them since they were Cubs… Helps her because the associate her as being their mom… . They probably will never attack her… But the same can’t be said for another human. ️
No one is talking about how brave the interviewer woman is?!? I would be terrified to step foot in that enclosure even knowing they are under control
After starting my life in South Africa additional financial support form my Family allowed me to evolve and develop the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis for 2 Years without having to depend on any income sources such as offering touristic visits / programs, breeding or trading of animals, donations or any other monetary businesses!
About Hakuna Mipaka:
The Hakuna Mipaka Oasis is located on around 400 hectares (four million square meters) in the wilderness of South Africa! It is home to thousands of different wild animal species! Besides that, the oasis also serves as a life-long home to a few rescued wild animals, which were born in captivity! We also do rehabilitation programs with different animals, which are then being released back into the wild.
The Hakuna Mipaka Oasis is my personal home and a private sanctuary that is NOT open to the public. We don’t cater to tourists and don’t allow any day visits or animal activities! We don’t breed animals and we are also not trading animals. I built this place for animals and not for humans. The Hakuna Mipaka oasis is a secure, wild & lifelong home to the animals that live here.
I am a 27-year old Swiss guy, who dedicated his entire life to the animal world! Nowadays, I live in Africa, I am a member of a lion pride, my wife is a hyena and I’m a daddy of two monkeys. Besides that, I have built a global voice for our planet’s wildlife over the past two years!
Born in Switzerland (Zurich) on October 3, 1992, I was blessed to grow up in a loving family with my sister (one year older) and my parents, who were always very supportive and loving. My mother is originally from the Balkan region (Southeastern Europe), while my dad is a Swiss citizen. I discovered my deep passion for wildlife at the age of six or seven, through the legendary Steve Irwin! He was the one who brought wildlife into my living room in Zurich and inspired and educated me about all kinds of different animal species.
Even though I was so passionate about animals, I originally followed a very ordinary path to adulthood, eventually ending up in the finance industry as a financial advisor. After a very successful year, I decided to found my own company, which then, over the next three years, allowed me to generate the financial foundation to launch the Hakuna Mipaka project at the age of 23-24.
During an early morning safari in Chobe National Park, 63-year-old Desmond Clack, a seasoned tour guide, captured this unique scene. Desmond shared the footage and story with LatestSightings.com.
“We set off at dawn, entering Chobe National Park at 6 a.m. in search of elephants, we headed to a remote watering hole inland, as we hadn’t seen any the night before along the river.”
Upon arrival around 6:30 am, the first sight that greeted them was a pride of lions feasting on a young buffalo. “It was a special sighting, but what followed was extraordinary,” Desmond recalls. Just then, a female elephant, accompanied by her twin calves—a rarity in itself—approached the watering hole. Seeing an elephant with twins is a very rare occurrence. It must have been very difficult for the mother elephant to take care of two tiny babies at the same time. She had to find enough food and water for both and keep them safe.
“She was unaware of the lurking danger as she led her babies to quench their thirst. The mother elephant was desperate for water. The dry season had left few water sources, and this isolated waterhole was their only hope. Despite the risks, she had no choice but to lead her twins there. Suddenly, she realised the presence of the lions. The pride, having just fed, surprisingly turned their attention to the new arrivals.”
“The mother elephant realising the danger, tried to fend off the lions. The lions retreated but soon regrouped, and this time they encircled the mother and calves. In a bold move to fend them off, she charged at them, hoping to scare them away. This left her calves momentarily unguarded. It was during this critical moment that the lions seized the opportunity to attack. In the chaos, one of the calves tripped, and a male lion saw its chance. He pounced and grabbed it!”
“The mother elephant rushed back, realising the danger to her other calf. In a frantic bid to save her offspring, she was torn between protecting the second calf or rescuing the first calf. She rushed at the lions that had grabbed the first calf, leaving the second exposed. The lions took this moment to go at the second calf. Luckily for it, the mother returned in time to save it. However, the first calf was not so lucky.”
Just a short drive from the Lower Sabie camp, John’s guide from Travel Buggz was informed of a wild dog sighting ahead, this got everyone excited. Upon arriving at the location around 7:30 a.m., they found the dogs asleep. Wild dogs are endangered, making each sighting precious. John took the moment to take some pictures of the dogs lazing around. Other visitors came and went, but John stayed, intent on capturing the beauty of these wild dogs.
The atmosphere shifted when a couple in a nearby car used their binoculars to look further into the bush, signalling something unusual. John decided to look for himself through his camera, and that’s when he eventually spotted a leopard behind a bush, its gaze fixated on the sleeping dogs. Despite several cars at the scene, a hush fell over the area, and the tension could be felt.
The leopard, using the wind and bushes to its advantage, began a stealthy approach towards the dogs. It used the direction of the wind to blow its scent away from the dogs so they could not be alerted. The thick bushes were perfect camouflage for the leopard. Moving closer to the unsuspecting dogs with each step. The leopard was careful not to make a sound, placing each paw precisely where the 1st was. Its eyes, sharp and focused, never left the dogs as it moved. The dogs were completely unaware. The leopard’s movements were so silent and calculated that it was able to get within a few meters of the sleeping dogs!
Just then, one wild dog lifted its head and saw the leopard a few meters from it, instantly shifting the dynamics. The leopard turned in shock and began running, and a chase ensued as the dogs all took off behind the leopard. The confrontation ended as quickly as it began, with the dogs triumphantly returning to their resting spot. For the dogs, they were extremely lucky that one of them picked up the leopard’s presence, had they not things might have not ended so well for one of them!
Leon Badenhorst, a 37-year-old accountant who’s also a big-time wildlife photography enthusiast, witnessed this very unique sighting. Leon had this unbelievable experience while driving on the H9 tar road near Phalaborwa Gate in Kruger National Park. He caught the whole thing on camera and shared his footage and story with LatestSightings.com.
Leon left Letaba Camp early in the morning. He wanted to spot some nocturnal birds like Nightjars. As he was driving, something really exciting happened. He saw not one, not two, but three male lions just lying in the middle of the road. Leon was the first car there.
“I stopped my car, hoping the lions wouldn’t mind me being there. They were relaxed with me and did not move off. So, I slowly inched closer, to get a better angle for photos and videos.”
“After spending a few moments with them, one of the lions got up and started sniffing at something on the road. I thought it was just some buffalo dung at first. But when I zoomed in with my camera, I realized it was a tiny, tiny baby animal! At first, I couldn’t tell what it was. It could have been a dwarf mongoose or even a hyena cub because of its color.”
“The sight of this tiny creature, alive and all alone with these lions, made me feel sad and curious all at the same time. I could hear tiny squeals, but my camera couldn’t pick up the sound. The lion seemed curious and was strangely gentle with the little one. Using its paws, it tapped and “played” with the baby animal.”
“After the lion was done with its investigation, it realized this was something it could eat! At that exact moment, I realized what I was looking at, it was a tiny honey badger! the lion then picked it up with its teeth and walked off into the grass. When the lion came back, the baby was no longer with it, and I didn’t hear the squeals again.”
Kim Hathway, a consultant broker for Discovery, saw the entire scene play out in Etosha National Park.
Kim and her friends were the only people at the Aus waterhole on the day, having no luck with their sightings, they were just about to move on to their next location. Then, out of nothing but luck, a lioness stuck her head over the hill.
The pride of lions made their way toward the waterhole, filling the atmosphere with excitement. Kim had a feeling that they were ready for action.
A few minutes on, a large black rhino came galloping over the very same hill. Exhausted by the Namibian heat, it headed straight for the little that remained in the waterhole. It instantly plonked itself down, trying to cool off in the muddied water.
Kim couldn’t believe her luck. At the time the rhino couldn’t seem to care about the nearby predators, it was too set on getting a drink, but the lions were certainly aware of it.
The pride inched their way closer and closer, but the rhino didn’t let out much of a reaction. It was almost as if it couldn’t…
This is when Kim realized that something was wrong. The waterhole was quite deep and with the thick mud at the bottom, the rhino was simply stuck and became a sitting duck for the hungry pride of lions.
The lions eventually realized what was happening too and decided to make the most of their luck. Although they knew it was stuck, they were still fully aware of how dangerous a rhino can be. They approached with caution and used hunting tactics to try and finish the job.
Sadly, there wasn’t much that the immobile rhino could do, but all the commotion created by the lions amazingly gave the helpless rhino a lifeline! A passing herd of elephants saw what was happening and acted immediately. They charged at the pride as a unit, and the lions were forced to back off.
With the threat out of sight, most of the herd continued on their way, but one elephant wasn’t happy to leave the rhino at the mercy of the lions. It desperately tried to get the rhino out of the waterhole. Using its tusks and foot, it pushed and pushed, without any luck. At one point the ellie even looked like it was on top of the poor rhino.
This lasted for hours and it unfortunately came to the point where the elephant could simply do no more. It had to move on, even knowing that the lions were still around.
29-year-old Cameron Schmidt, the System Head Ranger at Pumba Private Game Reserve, captured this cute and playful sighting on camera. Cameron shared the sighting with LatestSightings.com.
“It was a typical day at Pumba; we had found the resident lion pride when I noticed the big dad lion resting, with the rest of his pride nearby, and the cubs playing in the thicket.” The playful cubs, full of curiosity, decided to explore their surroundings until eventually, their father’s flicking tail caught their attention.
The dad lion’s tail was swishing back and forth, not out of playfulness, but because of the flies buzzing around the kill they had just made. However, to the mischievous cubs, this moving tail seemed like the perfect plaything. They kept sneaking up on it, pouncing, and pulling, totally focused on its movement.
The dad lion, trying to rest, grew a bit grumpy with this game, he was losing out on some precious sleep. He let out a few growls, hoping to teach his little ones a lesson and chase them off. But the cubs, much like naughty kids, weren’t easily discouraged. They would take a few steps back reassess, and come right back and start all over again!
Finally, after a few more attempts at tail-catching the cubs got brave enough to grab it with their teeth, that’s when the dad had enough! He jumped up in frustration and that was when the little cubs decided that it was best if they stopped. They ran off, like little rascals that have been caught red-handed. You could even hear their playful chatter, responding to their dad’s shouting, as they moved on to find new games to play.
“We’re one of the few reserves in the Eastern Cape, similar to Sanbona in the Western Cape, to have free-roaming white lions.” Contrary to some beliefs, these white lions are not albinos but have a genetic condition known as leucism, giving them a distinctive appearance with eye colors ranging from green to blue.
“These lions, including the white ones, are thriving here. They’re experienced hunters, having taken down prey as large as giraffes. Despite their bright white color, they seem to still find a way to stalk and hunt their prey in the green eastern Cape landscape.”
Caspar Siebel, a student and photographer, filmed this once-in-a-lifetime sighting during a trip in Sabi Sand, part of the Greater Kruger.
“My dad and I were the only guests on the safari vehicle, and we’d only seen birds for most of the morning’s drive. Then suddenly, a leopard with intent came walking along the road,”
“He quickly rushed across the road in full hunt mode, which brought a rush of excitement to all of us. Our guide decided to circle in the direction that the leopard was headed. After tracking him for about half an hour, we finally found him near what seemed to be a warthog’s burrow.”
“This was the perfect setting for an epic wildlife sighting, but no one knew just what we were in for… The leopard snuck around the burrow and created a commotion at an entrance opposite us. He was trying to draw them out to the entrance closest to our side, and that’s exactly what happened! The father warthog was the first to leave and darted out as quickly as he could into the bushes. This is when I pulled my phone out and started filming.”
“The piglets tried following their father but were sadly just too slow, and by the time the first had gotten out, the leopard was already there, and he quickly grabbed it. The second piglet came out too, but after seeing the leopard with its sibling in its mouth, it froze in fear.”
Leopards don’t usually risk losing their kills and would normally take to the trees as soon as they manage to catch something. This time, things were different…
