Kruger Magazine – Issue 35 Autumn 2026 – Kruger Magazine (1)

It is native to sub- Saharan Africa, favouring semi- arid savannas and grasslands, while avoiding rainforest, arid regions and very cold areas. The species needs to drink daily and is usually found within about 30km of the nearest water source. The origin of the name ‘quelea’ is obscure, but it has been suggested that it derives from the medieval Latin term qualea, meaning ‘quail’ , perhaps alluding to the prodigious numbers of quail said to have fed the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt. In the Kruger National Park (KNP), red-billed queleas are generally seen in small, loose groups, but under favourable conditions they may gather in enormous flocks numbering thousands of individuals.

KRUGER MAGAZINE | Issue 35 – Autumn 2026 Artwork by Johannes Gerardus Keulemans (1842–1912). Dutch-born natural history illustrator whose bird plates defined nineteenth- century ornithological publishing. Based in England for most of his career, Keulemans illustrated many of the era’s most influential ornithology works. Watch this! Scan the QR code or visit https://tinyurl.com/m3huamm9 to watch the video: ‘Wildlife Wonder-Queleas’. Published by 5050 Community. Photo © Round the corner The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that when conditions are favourable, queleas sometimes form nomadic super-flocks that can reach millions of birds.

The species is widely regarded as the most Two other species occur within the genus Quelea: the cardinal quelea (Quelea cardinalis) and the red-headed quelea (Quelea erythrops). Neither species forms large flocks, and neither occurs in the KNP. Red-headed quelea (Quelea erythrops). Photo © Peter Mcintyre Cardinal quelea (Quelea cardinalis). Photo © Owlice KRUGER MAGAZINE | Issue 35 – Autumn 2026 numerous wild bird on Earth, with an estimated global population of around 1.5 billion individuals – a figure exceeded only by the domestic chicken. Unsurprisingly, the red-billed quelea is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.

Watch this! Scan the QR code or visit https://tinyurl.com/442my5cf to watch the video: ‘A large flock of quelea birds in flight | BirdLife’. Published by Lion Mountain TV. Photo © S. Periquet-Pearce Flocks numbering thousands.

ith a new year come new ideas, fresh starts, big goals and, sometimes, positive change. For the Lowveld and surrounding areas of the Kruger National Park, Mother Nature chose to begin the year with a thorough wash in January. Many rivers broke their banks, washing away everything in their path and leaving widespread devastation, yet at the same time cleansing waterways long burdened by pollution.

For people living close to these rivers, the experience was traumatic. For wildlife in and around the Park, it was little more than a temporary shift away from familiar paths to water. Nature adapts, and wild animals appear to understand this instinctively. Our regular contributor, Joep Stevens, was commissioned to document the mega-floods experienced by the Kruger National Park in January, providing insights and comparisons that may seem hard to believe, yet are very real. Read this special report on page 14. This issue also concludes our Red Data Book series, covering the final three bird species listed as Vulnerable for the region on the IUCN Red List.

Largely due to their specialised habitat requirements and dependence on water, these species serve as important indicators of the health and quality of the river systems within their range. Read more about these three birds on page 44. Our Amateur Photo Competition included some challenging criteria in the Ts&Cs, and initially we expected fewer entries than usual. Our photographers were undeterred. We received as many entries as ever and are proud of the standard submitted – well done to all.

View the Top 10 entries on page 88. With the region refreshed and, hopefully, a few New Year’s resolutions still intact, we invite you to sit back and enjoy the Autumn 2026 issue of KRUGER MAGAZINE! I=’N& ,!&I,+I*,D Welcome to the Autumn 2026 issue of “January’s floods brought devastation, but also renewal – cleansing river systems long burdened by pollution.”

THE WORLD-RENOWNED KRUGER NATIONAL PARK I s one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of nearly two million hectares (20 000km²) in the province of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the north-east of South Africa. It extends 360km from north to south and 65km from east to west. It became South Africa’s first National Park in 1926. In 1993, fences between Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) and the Kruger National Park were removed to encourage wildlife migration and the Greater Kruger National Park was born.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

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• File Extension: .pdf
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• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781776433162
• Pages: 133
• Language: English (en)

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