Following a Wallowing

I had a camera set up at a water-hole recently and returned to find it covered in mud. Not just a little muddy, but plastered with mud! The sensor and flash cover were caked with the stuff but, luckily, the lens appeared clear. I was pretty sure that a warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) had done the dirty deed since the camera was mounted at a height of about 40cm. Warthogs are great wallowers and love to rub off the mud on a convenient tree or stump.

However, when I saw these images I soon realized that one shouldn't presume anything too quickly!

It was a youngish black rhino (Diceros bicornis) and they're usually not very respectful of human property. I'm grateful that I still have a camera in good working order.

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.

Who said Vultures were dirty?

I don't recall ever being called a bunny-hugger but that isn't a label that would worry me particularly. But a vulture-hugger....mmmm...I don't think so! I've seen way too many vultures with their bald heads covered in blood and whatever else they find in the body cavities of dead animals. So I was delighted to see these images on a camera-trap that  we'd set up at a small water-hole for a few days. 

The early-morning shift was quiet but the water-hole soon became a popular spot for White-Backed (Gyps africanus), Cape (Gyps coprotheres) and Lappet-Faced (Aegypius tracheliotos) vultures. Birds that had probably recently squabbled over bits of carrion suddenly became bathing-buddies.

So am I now a vulture-hugger? Probably not.

Precious tracks

Late last year I was involved in a fascinating project where we attempted to link images of black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) to their footprints using camera traps. Linking these rhinos with their tracks doesn't sound like a particularly difficult task given the size of these animals (and their tracks) but it can be. This is mostly because the black rhino is a browser and spends almost all it's time in thick vegetation. So when you come across one suddenly there is almost always running involved - either them or you. They are pretty foul tempered and so following one with a tape and camera is not an option for anyone who cares to see his family again!

I have debated for some time whether to actually post the images that follow due to the horrific amount of  rhino poaching currently taking place. I have no interest in helping the poaching syndicates locate these precious animals. So for that reason I can't tell you the location of the project but I'd still like to show you the images.

So why is a project like this useful? Its simply that wildlife reserve managers don't see their rhinos very often but regularly come across their tracks. So if you know who the tracks belong to then you can get some insight into the movement of these beasts and can confirm that they haven't fallen prey to the poachers.

So we set up a number of cameras at water-holes that showed evidence of recent rhino activity. But it's not just rhinos that visit water-holes and we recorded over 30,000 images in just over a week. These were some of my favorites:

Black-Headed Heron

Young Impala ram

Ostrich with his chicks

Red Hartebest

But did we get what we were really after? You bet we did.....loads of great images that should forever help the management of this reserve monitor their precious rhinos.

R.I.P. brave little Bushnell.

Bushnell Trophy Cam serial # B101214948 has probably taken its last image. Having withstood the fiercest Cape storms, ignored the biting ants that invaded its battery compartment and photographed Africa's beasts without flinching, my trusty camera-trap was taken. The culprit is unknown but could either be a lion or a hyaena - there were tracks of both where the camera last stood. I guess 'taken by a lion' has a better ring to it but the odds must favour the hyaena. Either way, the last image it took probably looks something like this:

It could either represent the inside of a lion's mouth or the gloom of a hyaena den. Expert trackers have had a go looking for the camera but to no avail. I would love to find it though. However, I guess its not so much the camera that I'd like to see again - but rather those last images on the memory card.

One Morning at the Suricate Den

Meercats (Suricata suricatta) generally live in the drier parts of Southern Africa and are much loved by almost everyone who comes in contact with them. They can be habituated to the presence of humans fairly quickly and didn't seem overly concerned when I set up a camera at their burrow. Within minutes of me walking away the first noses poked out of the ground to see what the commotion was about.

Meercats are entirely diurnal and my camera showed absolutely no activity between just after sunset and just after sunrise - when the following images were taken. It was a cold night, just above freezing, so the early morning sun must have been welcome. And, much like my household, the parents were up before the kids.


7:20 am - the first sign of life

7:24 am

7:30 am

7:31 am

7:32 am

7:33 am

7:34

7:35 am  

Things that (don't) go BUMP in the night.

I've just returned from a great trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. I always love going there but this time was particularly special since I got to set up some cameras at various sites not accessible to the public (thanks Jan!). I'll post a few images of those sites in due course but, for today, some images from our camping site.

The campsite was unfenced so there was a good chance that lions would wander through - as they often do. So I set up a few cameras in the hope of getting some shots of these beasts bumping into my tent!
Well, it never happened. The big cats came pretty close one night but not close enough for a photo - and maybe that's a good thing.

But we weren't entirely alone:

 A Cape Fox (Vulpes charma). I know foxes are considered to be vermin in some parts but around here seeing one is a treat. These guys seldom get habituated to humans so generally behave as foxes should: pretty furtive and secretive.

A Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas). They're not nearly as cute, in my opinion, as the Cape Fox. Known for their cunning and wariness their nocturnal calls are a feature of the African night.

..and lastly....

A Brown Hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea). It's always a treat to see these guys too. They're pretty solitary and nocturnal and, unlike their Spotted relatives, never very vocal. Even though they can weigh over 40kg and are pretty capable of ripping up carrion there is nothing too scary about them. They're welcome to bump into my tent any time!