Ranger Kiegan Bailey joined the ranger’s team a few months ago. He is an easy-going, friendly and passionate guide. In the upcoming months, Kiegan will be guiding at the Bayethe Lodge.
Name: Kiegan Bailey
Title: Game Ranger
Started at Shamwari: 01 August 2018
Hometown: Johannesburg
Previous roles: I started at my career at Sibuya Game Reserve for a few months as a student and then I worked at Nambiti Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal for a year. Thereafter I moved up to Pilanesberg National Park for another year before heading down to the Eastern Cape again.
Qualification:
FGASA Field Guide
Hobbies:
Photography and birding.
Passion:
I’m passionate about big cats and endangered species protection.
Favourite part of the job:
Being a field guide and experiencing wildlife in the wild with my guests.
Quote:
“If men could only know each other, they would never idolize or hate” – Elbert Hubbard
Favourite animal:
Elephants.
You can’t help but be amazed by their family interaction and their boisterous nature. Elephant calves are my absolute favourite animals to watch, they are very amusing!
Favourite animal in a sighting:
Leopard
They are incredibly elusive so catching a glimpse of a leopard in the wild is a phenomenal experience.
Most exciting encounter while on game drive:
I was guiding out of Long Lee Manor with three couples on my vehicle. It was a misty rainy morning and we headed out to see what we could find in the not so great weather conditions. When we came onto an area called Springbok Flats, we found a herd of elephants in the out in the open. As I approached, they seemed very uneasy.
Suddenly, two young bulls came running down a hill in the distance trumpeting and making a racket. The herd took one look at them and decided to head in the opposite direction. The two bulls chased the herd around for about half an hour hoping to mate with the females in the herd. The breeding herd ran away, trumpeting at their displeasure of the sight of the males.
One of the biggest bulls on the reserve appeared shortly afterwards and he ended up chasing the two young bulls away for about two kilometres. It was such an incredible sighting that my guests didn’t mind the rain one bit.
