African Penguins

The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is endemic to Southern Africa and the only penguin species to nest on our mainland. Vagrants of other species are occasionally seen off our coast but are very rare. Once abundant in the region, African Penguin numbers have declined dramatically and the IUCN now lists the species as Endangered.

The University of Cape Town is very involved with penguin research on Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for years). The island hosts the second largest African Penguin breeding colony and is also an important breeding site for other seabird species. So it was a treat for me to be invited to set up camera-traps on the island. The birds are nesting currently and the aim was to get some insights into their nocturnal movements.

On Robben Island the penguin nests are either shallow depressions under low-hanging vegetation or in artificial nest boxes.

I think penguins are pretty cute.  It's fortunate, for research purposes, that no two individuals are exactly alike. They all have unique spot patterns and many have been fitted with numbered flipper bands over the years.They are curious but nervous of anything unusual in their surroundings which makes for easy camera-trapping opportunities.

Their breeding success is improved if they use the artificial nest boxes but it was pleasing to see both eggs and chicks at many nesting sites.

I'm pleased that I don't have to analyze the many thousands of images that the cameras obtained (Good luck Kate, and thanks!). Instead I'm happy just to smile at these photos of penguins going about their normal business.

For more info on the penguin research being done on Robben Island look at:

 www.penguins.adu.org.za

Our Rarest Rabbit

I was privileged  to spend a few days last week with members of the Endangered Wildlife Trust's  Riverine Rabbit Programme. For those of you that don't know, the Riverine Rabbit (Bunolagus monticularis) is one of our rarest mammals and is listed in the Red Data book as "critically endangered". The number of remaining rabbits is not known but is no more than a few thousand, and possibly less. I won't attempt to describe what great work both the Endangered Wildlife Trust and their Riverine Rabbit Programme do, but would urge you to look at their website or the Riverine Rabbit Programme page.

With the rabbits being nocturnal the researchers don't see these rabbits often so I offered to take some cameras into likely riverine habitats to see what we could find. I wasn't encouraged by what I initially saw: thick chest-high scrub with very few clearings. Not the easiest place to set up cameras. Nevertheless we used the few small clearings that we could find and also set some up some cameras along the farm road. The first night didn't produce anything interesting but then.......

Success! The distinguishing line on the jaw, white ring around the eyes and and a lack of any white on the tail left no doubt that we had a Riverine Rabbit. And over the next few days we got more...............

Everyone was hugely excited. Not only that we'd obtained these rare images but also that many of them were obtained at dawn - indicating that that these guys were also crepuscular.

The cameras also picked up the following carnivores:

A caracal (Caracal caracal), likely to be one of the major predators of the rabbit.

African Wild Cat (Felis silvestris lybica). Its not known whether this cat would take an adult rabbit but presumably the young rabbits would be very vulnerable.

So, a succesful few days!
Many thanks to Christy Bragg and the other EWT staff for allowing me to be part of this great project.

In Search of Elephants

A friend and I recently spent some time in the Knysna forest with the aim of getting a camera-trap photo of an elusive forest elephant.  The managers of the area, Sanparks (South African National Parks) admit that there is at least one elephant in these forests but are reluctant to say much more. Gareth Patterson in his book The Secret Elephants believes there to be at least a handful of individuals, including some youngsters. However many people believe that elephants no longer inhabit these forests and that the occasional sightings are some kind of elaborate hoax.
These forests, better described as our Southern Afrotemperate forests, are vast and magical - and so different to most of Southern Africa. They're inhabited by reclusive animals and filled with strange (to me anyway) plants and trees.

So, in between hiking through the area we put out a few cameras, hoping for the best.
 Herewith some results:

A Bushbuck ewe (Tragelaphus scriptus)

Some Bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus)

A Large-Spotted Genet (Genetta tigrina)

But did we, or the cameras, see any elephants? Sadly not. We saw some signs of recent activity and a ranger we met on the trail warned us of a bull in musth that was in the area.
Perhaps its better that we didn't get any photos, although I was secretly hoping that some good shots might make me famous! However the Knysna forests are such a special place that it would be tragic if they were overrun by humans  intent only on seeing an elephant here. These wonderful creatures deserve to be left in peace.

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.