Be Alerted About our Best Sightings as they Come in
/newsl
Organ Sabiepark, 31, who works at Sabie Park near the Paul Kruger Gate, recently captured an unforgettable moment in nature that left him both astonished and humbled. With a front-row seat to the wildlife in South Africa’s renowned Kruger area, Organ describes his job as a dream come true. “I have the best job in the entire world!” he shares. “Spending the day among animals, there is nothing like it.”
But even for someone accustomed to extraordinary wildlife moments, what Organ witnessed recently was a first. While working at a nearby picnic site, he heard a commotion and quickly scanned his surroundings. What he found was a life-and-death struggle between two unlikely adversaries: a Sparrowhawk and a Jacobin Cuckoo.
“I had never seen an eagle or hawk actually attacking and killing something before,” he explains. As he observed, he felt a surge of sadness watching the Sparrowhawk’s relentless attempts to subdue its prey, clamping down with its beak while the cuckoo struggled to break free. The intensity of the struggle was striking as the cuckoo fought valiantly for survival.
In a remarkable turn of events, after a prolonged fight, the Jacobin Cuckoo managed to escape, leaving Organ with a sense of relief. “I felt so much better seeing it get away,” he says, reflecting on the emotional complexity of witnessing such raw displays of survival in the wild.
Sparrowhawks, known for their reliance on the element of surprise, often follow set routes to stealthily approach their prey, catching them off guard. This encounter serves as a powerful reminder of the unpredictable beauty and raw power of the natural world—a world Organ Sabiepark is privileged to witness up close.
For nature enthusiasts, moments like these highlight the delicate balance of life in the wild and reinforce the value of preserving such extraordinary habitats.