A Wild Encounter on the Garden Route: Jackal Buzzard Snags a Cape Dune Mole-Rat!
Hey, fellow birders! If you’re a regular on the Garden Route, you know Jackal Buzzards (Buteo rufofuscus) are a familiar sight, soaring over the fynbos or parked on a fence post, always ready to swoop. They’re so iconic around here that one even star as the logo for our very own www.birdwatcher.co.za!
I recently had a heart-pounding moment near Wilderness that I just have to share. Camera in hand, I watched a Jackal Buzzard dive down, snatch a Cape Dune Mole-Rat (Bathyergus suillus), and fly about 500 meters with several resting stops before landing on its favorite perch to peacefully eat and feed its young sub-adult buzzard. My photos captured this epic saga, and I’m stoked to break it down for you.
The Cape Dune Mole-Rat
The Underground Snack The Cape Dune Mole-Rat is like the heavyweight champ of rodent, big, burly, and built for digging. These guys are the largest blesmols, sometimes tipping the scales at 1.3 kg, about the size of a small rabbit! With a chunky, cylindrical body, a blunt snout, and some seriously beefy claws, they’re made for ploughing through the sandy soils of the Garden Route. Their fur is short and sleek for squeezing through tunnels, and those massive incisors stick out through their lips, letting them chomp roots without swallowing sand. Their tiny eyes are practically just for spotting light or dark. These loners call South Africa’s coast home, from Knysna to Port Elizabeth, digging solo burrow systems in fynbos, grasslands, or even farm fields. They are herbivores, slurping up roots, bulbs, and grasses like they are pulling noodles into their tunnels. You can spot their handiwork from the huge molehills they push up. It looks like sandy volcanoes scattered across the landscape. I see these mounds everywhere in the Wilderness area, especially near the Cape Dune Mole-rat Trail. They rarely pop above ground, but when they do, maybe to find a mate or when floods force them out. They’re prime targets for a sharp-eyed predator like our Jackal Buzzard.
The Jackal Buzzard
Our Local Rockstar. Jackal Buzzards are no strangers to the Garden Rout. I often find them perched on poles or soaring over the hills, and they never fail to impress. With a wingspan up to 1.3 meters and a weight that can hit 1.4 kg, these raptors are a force, rocking a rufous chest, black and white wings, and a short, stiking, rufous tail that spreads when they fly. No wonder we picked one for the www.birdwatcher.co.za logo! They’re pros at the “sit-and-wait” hunt, chilling on a perch like a fence post or tree, eyes glued to the ground for any movement. Their menu is a wild mix: rodents, snakes, lizards, birds, insects, and even carrion. But a plump Cape Dune Mole-Rat? That’s a five-star meal! In my photos, you can see the buzzard I spotted near Wilderness make its move. It was perched on a fence post, scanning the fynbos, when it suddenly dove, talons out, and nabbed a mole-rat caught out in the open. What happened next was incredible: the buzzard took off with the hefty rodent, flying about 500 meters to get to its favourite resting place . a Strong fence post with a killer view of the landscape. It wasn’t a straight shot, though; the buzzard made several resting stops along the way, probably catching its breath from carrying such a big prize. Once it reached the perch, its sub-adult offspring, still sporting some mottled juvenile feathers, was waiting, flapping and begging for a bite. Watching them share the mole-rat in peace was like catching a family dinner in the wild, pure magic.
Why this moment was Epic.
The Garden Route’s fynbos and sandy soils are like a playground for both these species. The Cape Dune Mole-Rat’s molehills are a dead giveaway of their underground lairs, but when they pop up for air, they’re fair game. For a Jackal Buzzard, a mole-rat is a high-energy snack, perfect for fuelling a growing sub-adult. The buzzard’s 500-meter journey, with those pit stops, shows just how much effort it puts into getting a meal to its favourite spot where it can eat and feed its young in peace. This moment I captured highlights how perfectly these ecosystems work. The mole-rat’s rare surface trips meet the buzzard’s eagle-eyed hunting skills. Plus, with Jackal Buzzards being such a common sight around here, it’s no surprise they’re a symbol of our birding community at www.birdwatcher.co.za. My photos tell the story: the buzzard’s lightning-fast dive, the mole-rat in its talons, the stop-and-go flight, and the shared feast on that perch. It’s the kind of sighting that makes birding on the Garden Route so addictive. Next time you’re out in Wilderness or cruising the coast, watch for those molehills and a buzzard circling above, you might catch a show as wild as this one!
Check out my pics below, and drop a comment if you’ve spotted a Jackal Buzzard hunting on the Garden Route!
Happy birding.
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