Today, the 22nd of September is labelled as, ‘World Rhino Day.’ A day that is dedicated to raising awareness in order to combat the plight of an iconic animal.

Once I knew what they were talking about, my heart rate and excitement skyrocketed. The ranger that had spotted them earlier said it looked like they were ready to be on the move again.

African Rock Pythons are currently listed in the South African Red Data Book as vulnerable. Large ones are often killed as they are a threat to local communities and their livestock. Therefore, the really big ones are an incredibly rare sight.

We decided to try the nearby water sources and see what nature had in store for us. Nothing was found near the water sources so we decided to go back to the kill site and follow the tracks from there. But that was not necessary!

I made my way north along the river to see if maybe we could spot a crocodile or even some Hippos, when we had the best possible surprise and sighting of the morning!

This action is commonly referred to as necking, but in fact is known as ‘sparring’. ‘Necking’ refers to the behaviour between males and females during courtship or bonding.