Camera-Trapping in the Tankwa

There are many extraordinary places in South Africa but the Tankwa Karoo National Park is certainly one of them. Its a place of harsh beauty where one can only admire the failed attempts of pioneer farmers to eke out a living here.

So its not what I'd call a camera-trappers paradise.

However I doubt many people do any camera-trapping around here so my friend Dave and I decided to give it a go. We certainly weren't expecting things to be easy but were disappointed that the windmills and waterholes marked on our map were bone dry.

There were certainly signs of life but not always the sort that I catch on my trailcams.

So our best option seemed to set up in a seasonal river bed where there were numerous game trails. Trees for mounting the cameras on were at a premium but there were plenty of large rocks which did the trick.

Not surprisingly it didn't take us long to go through the images each day but there were a few that turned out well:

A Small Grey Mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta) which posed for one quick image....

..and a mangy looking Common Duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) who did hang around for a while.

But the image I was most excited about:

Its an African Striped Weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) and the first image of a live one I've ever taken. I consider these little guys to be quite rare and, sadly, seen most often as road-kill.

So while the Tankwa would never be called a place of abundance it remains, for me, a very special place.