Just Elephants

In many parts of Africa the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is under huge threat. Habitat loss and the ivory trade are the major reasons over the last century. Recently we've heard appalling reports of  cyanide poisoning in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.

But there are a number of wildlife reserves in Southern Africa where elephant populations are flourishing. I'm not qualified to comment on whether these reserves have an overpopulation problem or not, but amongst those that are qualified to comment, opinions are divided. The Kruger National Park has in excess of 16 000 elephants and these numbers are growing.

This was brought home to me in a very real way while I was camera-trapping there recently. My cameras probably recorded more elephants than any other mammal species at the water-holes where they were installed. They were so abundant in one area that I decided it would be financially irresponsible to leave cameras there (even though I consider losing the odd camera to be an occupational hazard!).

Herewith a few of the many camera-trap images:

What particularly struck me was the high proportion of youngsters in the breeding herds. For many of them it won't be long before they too are consuming in excess of 100kg of vegetation per day.

There is lots to love about elephants - their intelligence, gentleness and the way they care for their ill and elderly members. But I've just added another reason to love them: because they didn't mess with my cameras! There is no doubt that they knew the cameras were there but they left them alone, and as a result we can enjoy these photos.

And that is more than we can say about another iconic mammal that I will blog about shortly.....

A Comical Bird?

We're fortunate in Africa to have both the largest land mammal and largest bird in relative abundance. However, while the African Elephant is always a joy to watch the Ostrich is ...well....just an ostrich. There is no question that the elephant is a worthy inclusion in an African 'Big 5' (mammal) list but I'd argue that the ostrich is nowhere near charismatic enough to make a birding 'Big 5' list. Give me a Secretary Bird, Martial Eagle, Pels Fishing Owl, Kori Bustard or Marabou Stork any day.

Perhaps if I got to study ostriches I'd feel differently. Perhaps I'd also feel differently if I hadn't been chased by one as a youngster - much to the amusement of my friends. My reason for doing the 'bat out of hell' impersonation with the ostrich behind me was:
- they can grow over 8ft tall
- can weigh up to 300 lbs
- can run at speeds of up to 40mph
- have a booming call that, some say, sounds like a lion
- and have powerful legs with razor sharp claws that can slice you open with one well-directed kick!
(this last point being the one that comes to mind when faced with an angry bird)

Experts say that in the event of a determined ostrich attack there are a few survival strategies (running away is not usually on that list). One of them is to 'play dead'. Perhaps this explains the images, below, that I obtained when I set up a camera at a 'salt-lick' recently.

And now for my first trick.........playing dead.

Next....the headless chicken routine

So could the ostrich be the comic of the avian world? With their brains reputedly smaller than the size of their eyeball I somehow doubt it. I guess they're just being......well.......ostriches.