Next up is a proper Kruger special, a whole clan of spotted hyenas, Different ages, different colors.

The very dark ones are the still very young pups, fresh from the den.

It's late, early morning and the little ones are buzzing with energy, wrestling, annoying the adults, the usual chaos.

They're denning right next to the road in these old drainage pipes.

It's typical Kruger free real estate for them.

And here's a very fun bit.

In hyena society, males actually do more babysitting than females.

And even then, the lowest ranking female still outranks the top male

Matriarchy with teeth, if you will.

On the H 4-1 beside the Sabi River, stands a solitary male giraffe.

They're not herd animals, as many assume, more like polite acquaintances who occasionally share a tree.

This one's just doing what giraffes do best, eating leaves other animals can only dream about.

A few dwarf mongoose popping out by their burrow, one of Africa's tiniest carnivores in the bush's busiest bodies.

They spend most of their day darting around like caffeine on legs, but always keep an eye out for snakes and eagles.

There's no such thing as a quiet day in Mongoose society

This is a rock fig tree.

They wedge their roots deep into the cracks in the rock, finding every drop of trapped rainwater.

You will find them on almost every single rocky outcrop in the Kruger, sort of nature's proof that stubbornness is sometimes a survival strategy.

They make for good perching spots for birds of prey during the day and the odd leopard having a lounge on one of their horizontal cross branches early in the morning.

While they do not have a massive canopy, they don't offer too much shade, and it's very unlikely that during the heat of the day, you'll find something in it.

Here's some Oxpeckers hard at work.

They're nature's so-called perfect symbiotic relationship.

They remove ticks and parasites from larger mammals like this giraffe seen here, which sounds very noble and all, but they also have a dark side.

They like to peck open wounds and keep them open to drink the blood.

And this often time causes lesions and in worst cases, infections.

So, yes, they are helpful, but with a bit of a horror twist.

Funny enough, out of all of the big mammals, elephants won't tolerate them at all.

Apparently, they don't appreciate unsolicited piercings.

One of the more endangered and unique bird species to see, these are two ground hornbills walking along foraging for anything that moves from grasshoppers to lizards.

They'll even sometimes peck at the grass seeds.

While these two are two males, these birds are pair bonded, so that means they mate for life.

They're also among the bushes' best conversationalists.

They're booming calls can carry for kilometers, like a subwoofer in the savannah

Perched on a dead tree is a white backed vulture, one of the most important and most threatened species out here, often misunderstood, but absolutely essential.

Their stomach acid can dissolve bones.

So cleaning up carcasses before disease can spread is one of their most important ecological roles.

Without them, the bush would be in real trouble.

And sadly, their numbers have been decreasing rapidly in the last years or so, and that's mainly attributed to the ill actions of humans in terms of poaching.

The poachers will often times poison the carcasses of poached rhinos or animals, in an effort to stop the vultures from alerting authorities that something has gone drastically wrong.

Classic scene out of Africa, right here, wildebeest and zebra grazing together.

They feed on different parts of the grass, so they're not in direct competition to one another.

Just efficiency and safety in numbers.

One keeps watch while the others eat.

Teamwork at its finest.

And for the individual, a of five chance of being eaten by a lion versus a out of chance is much better.

The magnificent male kudu, easily one of Africa's finest antelope.

They are the high jumping champions of the bush, clearing fences with effortless grace, hence all those road signs warning you to keep an eye out.

They take free roaming quite literally.

They quite easily clear the fences of the reserves and often times end up on the public roads late at night.

Weighing in around 250 kilograms for a fully grown male can do some serious damage.

They typically spend most of their time in rocky and mountainous areas, and their defense tactic is quite literally just standing still.

They got these beautiful spiral horns which simulate branches on trees and they've got these white lines dotted all over their body just to break up the bigger body mass.

And when you're out on game drive, if they don't move, it's actually quite hard to spot them.

And to wrap things up, my personal favorite, the bateleur.

Not a true eagle, technically, because of the short tail and lack of feathers all the way down to its talons.

This one is a full adult with a brilliant red face and black plumage, feeding on something I can't quite make out but those talons say it all.

Elegant, efficient, and just a bit dramatic.

The perfect bird to end a drive with.