African Wildlife And Environment Issue 73

Illala palms close to Crooks Corner a good spot for the special Lemon-breasted Canary

Of interest to note is the occurrence here of the Sycamore fig, Fever tree, Nyala, Samango monkey and Crested Guineafowl, which link the area to the intriguing pockets of sand-forest of Maputaland in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Bats are especially well represented, and 13 species occur only in this part of Kruger, including the Egyptian fruit bat, Wood's slit-faced bat and the Madagascar large free-tailed bat. The largely nocturnal bushpig and the rare Sharpe's grysbok attain their highest densities in the Park in this region. In the 1980s, a total of 95 Samango monkeys were released in riverine forest at Pafuri, where they have since formed small troops. Apart from the more common

Pafuri picnic site. Crooks Corner makes an ideal spot for lunch, while you watch the Limpopo and Levubu rivers as they flow by on their way into Mozambique. Here you may enjoy the calls of African Fish Eagles overhead, the elusive Gorgeous Bush-shrike calling from the riverine thickets, the White-crowned Lapwing often patrolling the picnic site, and the array of kingfishers as they move up and down the river in search for a meal. Normally the river consists of large sand banks unless in flood with numerous crocodiles dotted along it. The Levubu Bridge is a well-known stop where one can alight from one’s vehicle. It provides a great vantage point for bird and game spotting.

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