Helen and I visited Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve, one of our favourite places in South Africa, in November last year. We try to visit this reserve at different times of the year to experience the differences in the wildlife, flora and scenery each time.

“There is no time to be bored in a world like this.” ~ Unknown

Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve is located in the southern end of central section of uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. The latter is a World Heritage Site. The Drakensberg rises to more than 3,475 metres and extends roughly northeast to southwest for 1 125 km parallel to the southeastern coast of South Africa.

The most-elevated stretch of the Drakensberg, in eastern and southern Lesotho, is composed of severely eroded basalt capping a sandstone base. Its pinnacles, broken and fractured blocks present a steep eastern scarp of 3 000 to 3 300 metres in elevation along the length of the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal; a steep southern scarp of 2 400 to 3 000 metres in elevation lies along the length of the Lesotho–Eastern Cape province border.

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.” ~ Edward Abbey

The main hutted camp in Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve overlooks the Bushman’s river. Looking west from the camp up the Bushman’s river you will see Giant’s Castle peak which is 3 314 metres high. Giant’s Castle gets its name from the outline of the peaks and escarpment that combine to resemble the profile of a sleeping giant.

Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve is about four and a half hour’s drive from Johannesburg depending on road conditions. After checking in and getting settled in our chalet we went for a late afternoon walk along the Bushman’s river trail towards the main caves. This walk revealed many birds on the rocks and on the trees, shrubs and proteas alongside the path. November is summer in South Africa so most of the birds had already adorned their breeding colours. They looked like jewels in the sunshine.

A male Greater double-collared sunbird in full breeding colours perched on a twig jutting out of a lichen encrusted branch of an Oldwood tree.

A Green white eye perched on a young shoot of an Oldwood tree in front of our chalet.

We can see three species of White-eye in South Africa, the Cape, Green, and Yellow. The Green White-eye has a broken white eye ring at the point closest to its beak and has a greenish breast and belly colouring. By contrast, the Cape White eye has the same broken white eyering but its flanks, breast and belly colour is grey.

A Bush Blackcap in a deciduous shrub in front of our chalet. This species has a distinct blackcap and a coral red beak and its underparts are light grey.

The Bush Blackcap has a melodious call. It is musical and varied. With this character singing so beautifully in front of our chalet and sitting in such an open position I just had to pick up my camera and photograph it.

There are numerous Kurrichane thrushes in and around the Giant’s Castle camp. More often than not you will find this species on the ground flicking through loose leaf litter with its beak, probably searching for earthworms. This species has an orange beak and orange flanks. It had been raining so the black malar stripe was not evident. It has the typical repetitive thrush whistle.

“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” ~ Hans Christian Andersen

On our walk out of camp along the trail to the main caves we found this male Buff Streaked chat which was very talkative from his prominent position on the large rocks alongside the path. He has a distinct buff eyebrow, a black face mask and neck and an orange breast which fades to white at his belly and vent. He has distinct black wing and tail feathers. The female is a buff colour but not nearly as strikingly coloured.

A male Malachite sunbird in the process of regrowing his breeding colours. He was perched on a protea stem trying to hang on in a stiff wind. Once he has grown his full breeding plumage he will be a bright metallic green all over and will have a yellow shoulder sash. His tail will consist of two long middle tail feathers.

“The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.” ~ John Burroughs

A male Malachite sunbird in full breeding plumage perched on a dead shrub next to a large boulder trying to get some protection from the strong wind gusting down the Bushman’s river valley.

A male Cape canary on a lichen encrusted rock. The male has a grey nape and mustard yellow face throat, breast and belly.

This male Canary was on his own. The female is a buff colour with heavy streaking on her breast and belly.

A Cape long claw watching the passers by from a prominent bush. This species is one of three in Southern Africa. It has a distinctive orange throat. Like all longclaws it has a black colour, cryptic upper parts and a long hind claw to help it climb over long grasses.

The Bush Blackcaps were very obliging on this trip. In the past I have struggled to see them out in the open.

An adult Gurney’s sugarbird perched on top of a shrub soaking in the late afternoon sun after a rain shower. This species of sugarbird looks and behaves in a similar manner to sunbirds but is in a different family and is much larger than all the sunbirds. This species can often be found on the protea roupelliae, the Silver sugarbush.

“May I dust you lightly with my charisma.” ~ Peter Carroll

In South Africa we can see two species of sugarbird but only the Gurney’s sugarbird is found in the Drakensberg. It has a rufous breast and cap. It has a yellow vent similar to bulbuls. The Gurney’s sugarbird has long tail feathers but they are much shorter than those of the Cape sugarbird.

These were just a few of the birds we saw on our first afternoon at the Giant’s Castle Camp. The weather was variable with sunshine, heavy clouds, winds and sporadic rain showers all of which we expected in late November in this part of the world.

Sunset looking up the Bushman’s river toward Giant’s Castle.

The main purpose of the trip was firstly to get into the wild to refresh our souls with mountain air and allow our eyes to glide over spectacular vistas. The second reason was to spend five days in the Bearded vulture hide. With the weather being so variable we decided one or two days at the hide would be a hit an miss in terms of photographic and avian sighting productivity.

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

This is the last post showing images and telling stories from my fascinating trip to Zakouma National Park with DougMac Safaris in March this year. One of the wonderful aspects about our game drives with Doug MacDonald was the afternoon game drives did not end with a drive back to the Tinga camp after sundowners. Each evening Doug, and our driver Torgi, would show us the “nightlife” in Zakouma.

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” ~ John Burroughs

Each evening we would drive around the eastern section of the park which was mainly the floodplain ecosystem. The days were hot and sunny and the sun set around 18h30. After a sundowner we would jump back on the game vehicle and spend another, at least, two hours looking for nocturnal birds and animals.

One of our sundowner spots was in the southern section of the park. We visited one large pan to watch millions of queleas flying in to drink and roost for the night. Wave after wave of huge flocks of queleas flew to the pan. They created murmurations as they flew down to drink water from the pan. Queleas spend a second or so to drink and then fly off. The sheer number of queleas flying in and out to drink created these murmurations which meandered around the pan. We watched this spectacle for around an hour before it got too dark to see the birds but sound of hundreds of thousands of queleas was quite deafening.

We managed to see African civets on most evening game drives. Interestingly, the nocturnal mammals like civets were not unduly scared by the vehicle or the spotlight, probably because we were not to close to them. Civets have striking markings with bushy coats with black and white spots and stripes. According to Africa Geographic, Civets are creatures of habit at night, moving along regular pathways at a slow, tentative walk with heads held low and relying on an acute sense of smell to guide them to their next meal. They have a broad and indiscriminate palate that extends to small mammals, birds and their eggs, invertebrates, fruit and even carrion.

Individual civets are recognised by the details of their dark face masks, which resemble those of a raccoon, and also white neck stripes but the two species are unrelated. It has a long mane of fur on its back which it erects when threatened to display an aggressive posture. This species has large strong hindquarters and is a good swimmer and good tree climber.

The African civet is the sole surviving member of the Civettictis genus, the largest member of the Viverridae family in Africa. It is a fierce and agile predator, and when cornered, has a defensive growl which is surprisingly deep and unnerving.

“Walking through darkness with thoughts full of colours”.” ~ Prajakta Mhadnak

Civets have middens called civettries. Key signposts such as trees adjacent to these civettries and along well used paths are marked with a pungent pale-yellow pheromone from perineal glands near the anus known as civetone. When concentrated civetone is putrid smelling but when diluted has a pleasant musky smell. Civetone has been used in perfumery as a fixative, enhancing the longevity of other fragrances and adding a musky animalic note. It is one of the oldest known perfume ingredients. According to Pairfum London, traditionally, civet was obtained by scraping the civet paste from the anal glands of wild civets, a process that raised concerns about the animals’ welfare. Today, the perfume industry has largely moved towards using synthetic civet such as ambretone. This synthetic version not only addresses ethical concerns but also offers greater consistency and control over the final product.

The African wild cat remained elusive. This species is also called the Near Eastern wildcat in Chad. The African wildcat is part of the park’s diverse feline population, which also includes lions, leopards, cheetahs, servals, and caracals. We never saw a cheetah or a caracal, much to Sabrina’s (one of the guests in our group) disappointment. This species of cat is characterised by its sandy grey fur, pale vertical stripes on their sides and around their faces, and is small to medium in size. This diminutive cat species is a solitary hunter, crepuscular (active during dusk and dawn) and territorial. It preys mainly on rodents, birds, reptiles and insects.

Two types of duikers can be seen in Zakouma but we only saw the Common duiker clearly and a fleeting sighting of the Red-flanked duiker in the shadows of the spotlight. This species is primarily nocturnal but most active at dusk and dawn. It is shy and elusive. The duiker is omnivorous and browses on bushes, small trees as well as roots, bark, flowers, seed and fruits. It is also known to eat caterpillars, frogs, lizards and even nestling birds.

According to SANBI (South African National Biodiversity Institute), duikers are named for their diving behaviour. The word “duiker” is derived from the Afrikaans word “duik,” which means “to dive,” and the Dutch word “duiken,” meaning “to dive”. This name is appropriate because duikers, when startled, often dive into thick undergrowth to hide from predators.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Zakouma National Park is home to two species of nightjars, the Long-tailed and Standard-winged Nightjar. The Long tailed nightjar is regularly seen on night drives. The easiest way to photograph it is when it is on the ground. It plumage is cryptic and camouflages well with its surroundings during the day. Nightjars hunt insects mostly at dusk and dawn, but also during the night. Nightjars have a wide gape with bristles around their mouth which help them to capture insects in the dark. Nightjars have high aspect ratio (long and thin) wings which are ideal for their nocturnal hunting which requires high-speed aerial manoeuvres and efficient gliding.

Two species of eagle-owl are found in Zakouma the Verreaux’s and Greyish eagle-owl. The latter is also known as the Vermiculated eagle-owl which is only found in the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa in a variety of woodland and savanna habitats. This is a large owl with a body length of around 43cm and is recognised by its ear tufts. It differs from the Spotted eagle-owl in having dark brown (not yellow) eyes and a brownish facial disk marked with a heavy brown circle around each eye.

“The owl,” he was saying, “is one of the most curious creatures. A bird that stays awake when the rest of the world sleeps. They can see in the dark. I find that so interesting, to be mired in reality when the rest of the world is dreaming. What does he see and what does he know that the rest of the world is missing?” ~ M.J. Rose

The Greyish eagle-owl has mottled dark brown, buff, and white upper parts and finely barred (vermiculated) underparts giving a greyish-brown appearance. This species is lighter than the Spotted eagle-owl and has shorter tarsi.

We saw many Servals, sometimes three or four on a single night drive. They were regularly seen hunting along the pans. This is a medium sized cat with long leg and a long neck. Their pelage is tawny with black spots. They have large ears which gives them acute hearing.

“Life isn’t just about darkness or light, rather it’s about finding light within the darkness.” ~ Landon Parham

We were never really got close to the Servals we saw. This meant they were not spooked by the vehicle or the spotlight. Servals have long strong back legs and are known for their jumping ability. The can leap vertically two to three metres and horizontally up to four metres. This incredible jumping prowess allows them to catch prey like birds in mid-flight or pounce on rodents in tall grass.

Servals have an acute hearing. Their large, almost “radar dish” ears help them pinpoint the faintest sounds, even those of prey moving underground. This makes them very effective hunters in dense vegetation where vision is limited. Their acute hearing together with their pouncing ability enables them to hunt birds and rodents in long grass even when they can not see their prey.

A lone Side-striped jackal caught under the spotlight while it was resting. This is a nocturnal jackal which is bigger than the Black-backed jackal.

The Side-striped jackal is omnivorous. Its diet changes according to the environmental conditions. Diet includes small mammals, carrion, fruits, maize, reptiles, eggs and birds. The Side-striped Jackal is less predatory than the Black-backed Jackal.

We were told that seeing a leopard in Zakouma was unusual. There is abundant prey for leopard in this park but their numbers are relatively low compared to other wildlife parks. One of the reasons suggested could be the abundance of troops of Olive baboons. Some estimations are that there are less than 75 individual leopards in Zakouma National park.

This adolescent male leopard seemed unfazed by us. Again thanks to Doug’s expertise we were outside the fight-flight distance. This male quietly went down to the water’s edge and drank in his own time.

After sating his thirst he wandered back towards the tree line around the pan. He was alert and attentive to every sound and movement around him. The recovery in the numbers of prey in Zakouma over the past decade and a half bode well for the expansion of the leopard population.

A White Tailed mongoose foraging at the edge of a pan. This species is the largest of the mongoose family and is nocturnal. Its coat is dark-grey in colour, and the tails are distinctive with long, white hairs. Legs are black and front limbs appear short. It feeds mainly on insects, termites, beetles, grasshoppers and crickets and will go for amphibians, rodents and snakes, when available.

According to Doug, a White-tailed mongoose with a black tail can be seen in Zakouma. A melanistic morph of the tail colour only.

We also saw many genets on our nightly game drives. We saw both the Large and Small-spotted genet on different occasions. Genets belong to the Viverridae family, with civets as their closest relatives. They are more closely related to hyaenas than cats. Genets have long feline-looking body with short legs and a long tail. Their facial shape is sharp and mongoose-like. They all have a black dorsal stripe, spotted coats, banded tails and high-set oval ears. The large-spotted genet has a smaller dorsal crest than its small-spotted relative and is the most widely distributed of the two species. All species have retractable claws adapted to climbing and catching prey.

The two key distinguishing features between the Large and Small spotted genet is firstly the large species is noticeably bigger than the small species. Secondly, the Large species has a black tip to its long tail while the Small spotted genet has a white tip to its long tail.

On our last sundowner next to the pan where we saw the young male leopard, we saw flocks of Black-crowned night herons fly to the pan. We found a juvenile Black-crowned night-heron which had caught a large catfish (for its size). We watched it continually beat this catfish against the ground to subdue it. We had no idea whether it could swallow this fish. It appeared unlikely.

Dusk brought welcome relief from the high afternoon temperatures in Zakouma. In mid-March there were few mosquitos and few biting insects which made our sundowner time so much more comfortable. The evening game drives were balmy and very productive. We could not photograph every bird and mammal that we saw under spotlight in the dark. The reflection of the eyes was crucial to finding wildlife as well as listening for calls. When we drove past water filled pans we could see many crocodile eyes.

Once we got back to Tinga camp we often heard lions roaring and hyaenas whooping in the distance and Scops owl ‘”prrrup” calls. Zakouma is wild and you are always aware of this.

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.” ~ Stephen Hawking

A huge thank you to our guide Doug MacDonald for a fascinating six days showing us around Zakouma, with intriguing information and wonderful stories told with great humour. The staff at Tinga camp were very hospitable despite the fact many of us could not speak french. It was remarkable that they could provide tasty meals and serve cold beers and wine so far from civilisation. A testament to great management working with very long supply lines. A special thank you to African Parks for making such a positive difference to the park’s outcomes.

“Ever felt like the universe is whispering secrets of wisdom and courage directly to you? These inspirational star quotes are like cosmic pep talks, lighting up your inner sky with motivation and a dash of celestial magic. They remind us that the vastness above mirrors the potential within, urging us to dream big and shine bright.” ~ Unknown

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

This is the second last post from my fascinating trip to Zakouma National Park in Chad in late March this year. This post is about the different herbivores, baboons and crocodiles we saw in Zakouma, some of which were familiar and some were not. Those species that were familiar had unique differences.

“If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.” ~ Adam M Grant

Lewel’s hartebeest is relatively common in Zakouma but is classified in the IUCN red list as endangered and in decline. The shape of the horns differentiate the hartebeest species. Their horns face backwards from a pedestal on top of their head, then curve upwards.

Hartebeests are highly social animals. They feed almost entirely on grass and are not highly selective feeders so can tolerate poor quality food. The main differences between a hartebeest and a tsessebe lie in their horns and colouration. Hartebeests have horns that are more lyre-shaped, while tsessebes have horns that are more lunate, meaning they curve outward and then inward again.

A male Buffon’s Kob. This species is more closely elated to reedbucks, waterbucks, lechwe, and puku. Kob are found in wet areas (such as floodplains), where they eat grasses. Kob are diurnal, but inactive during the heat of the day. They live in groups of either females and calves or just males. These groups generally range from five to 40 animals.

The pelage of the kob is typically golden to reddish-brown overall, but with the throat patch, eye ring, and inner ear being white, and the forelegs being black at the front. Males get darker as they get older.

The Central African Sahel buffalo is found in Zakouma which is a stronghold for this species. The Sahel buffalo is a smaller version of the Cape buffalo. In Zakouma over the last few decades the buffalo population has grown from around 220 in 1986 to over 10 000. The buffalo are highly water dependent so need to come down to the remaining pools of water to drink at least once a day. Although there were many crocodiles in the remaining pools of water in the Salamat river, I never saw a croc attack a buffalo. The crocs appeared to swim amongst the drinking buffalo disturbing them but not attacking them.

“When you learn a little, you feel you know a lot. But when you learn a lot, you realize you know very little.” ~ Jay Shetty

For anyone who has been to Odzala Kokoua National Park you will immediately recognise some of the buffalo as forest buffalo. It is smaller than the Cape buffalo. In Zakouma the Forest and Sahel buffalo seem to mingle.

Forest buffalo have a reddish-brown pelage and their ears are much hairier and have white streaks on them.

Much like the elephants, the buffalo were skittish and very wary of human beings. Not surprising considering the level of poaching over a decade ago. African Parks has done exceptional work to re-establish the natural balance in Zakouma by almost eliminating the interference from poachers.

A bull Defassa waterbuck lying under an acacia tree in mid-morning with his back to Rigueik pan. He was looking into the tree line surrounding the pan for any potential threat from predators.

A female Defassa waterbuck and her calf backlit to show their hairy pelage.

A mixed herd of Defassa waterbuck and Tiang in the open grassland section of Rigueik pan in Zakouma. Thankfully Defassa waterbuck are listed as of least concern in the IUCN Red list. What makes them different to the southern African waterbuck is they have a redder pelage and the common waterbuck has a conspicuous white ring encircling a dark rump, while the defassa has wide white patches on either side of its rump.

A bull Defassa waterbuck grazing on the floodplain grass with four Tiang walking past him in the background in Rigueik pan. There were many Marabou storks in the background.

The Tiang is a subspecies of the Topi and is found in Chad, the northern Central African Republic and south-western Sudan. It has less distinct dark markings than a Topi. Tiang are extremely fast like their Topi cousins and pronk in a similar way.

The tsessebe and topi of East Africa are subspecies that could interbreed if they occurred over the same range. There is a slight variation in horn structure and coat shade, and the herd structures of female tsessbes are smaller than those of the topi. The tsessebe are often found with other species such as zebra and wildebeest. There is generally no competition for food as all three species prefer different parts of the plants they feed on. Topi are selective grazers that primarily feed on the youngest, most nutritious blades of grass, especially those in the mid-height range. They use their elongated muzzle and flexible lips to carefully select these tender parts of the grass, avoiding the stems and mature leaves.

A male Bohor’s reedbuck in the open grassland along the Rigueik pan. This species prefers grasses and tender reed shoots with high protein and low fiber content. Consequently it is dependent on water.

This reedbuck is sexually dimorphic, with males 10% to 20% larger than females and showing more prominent markings. Only the males have horns which extend backward from the forehead and hook slightly forward. Both sexes have a bushy tail with a white tip. The Bohor reedbuck is yellower than other reedbucks. The large and diffuse sebaceous glands present on the coat make the coat greasy and give it a strong odour.

A classic scene in Zakouma. Thousands of Spurwing geese along the edge of a drying pan with a small family herd of Kordofan giraffe drinking from the pan. The pelage pattern of the Kordofan is unique and it’s dark patches are less jagged than its cousins. It also appears to be a more orange colour somewhat like the Rothschild’s giraffe.

Zakouma National Park in Chad is a crucial stronghold for the Kordofan giraffe, containing approximately 50% of the world’s remaining Kordofan giraffe population. Zakouma’s giraffes suffered from poaching in the early 2000s, just like the elephants, rhinos and other large species in the park. According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), within the northern giraffe, the Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum) subspecies is particularly vulnerable, estimated at only 2 300 individuals. Over the past 35 years, the Kordofan giraffe has experienced a significant decline of more than 80%, leading to its classification as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2018.

“Pursue what catches your heart, not what catches your eyes.” ~ Roy T. Bennett

The last census in the park in 2021 put the giraffe population at around 1 500 individuals. When you consider the entire Kordofan giraffe population is only estimated to be 2 500 animals, it is clear why Zakouma’s conservation efforts are so important.

A bull Kordofan giraffe like the male Rothschild’s giraffe has five ossicones. His two main ossicones are on top of his head which have had the hair rubbed off due to fighting. It was interesting to see how prominent the ossicone was on his forehead and the two sub-ossicones at the back of his head between his ears. Ossicones are not horns, but bony protrusions covered in skin and fur found on the heads of giraffe and okapis. The ossicones are made of ossified cartilage, not bone. At birth, they are not attached to the skull, and lie flat, to facilitate birth. Later in life they fuse to the skull.

Olive baboons are a common sight in Zakouma National Park in Chad. This species of baboon can be found throughout the Sahel region and as far south as the Serengeti. They inhabit the lush riverine forests along the river that flows through the park, particularly in the areas where the river fragments into smaller pools during the dry season. These baboons are known for their olive-gray coat and their social groups that can range from 15 to 150 individuals.

We watched the antics of these baboons for hours along the Salamat river. They behave in a very similar way to the Chacma baboons.

The Western Greater kudu is found in the Sahel. It looks very similar to the Greater kudu seen in southern Africa. This species in Zakouma in not nearly as common as we find in southern Africa. There were many trees which had what looked like a browse line about two metres off the ground. We asked our guide, Doug MacDonald, if it was caused by herbivores like the kudu and he replied that the apparent browse line was in fact the flood line indicating the level of inundation during the summer floods.

Kudu are social animals, often forming family herds. They are browsers so feed on leaves, shoots and fruits from trees and shrubs. While generally similar to the greater kudu in appearance, there are some subtle differences, including the presence of a mohawk-like ridge of hair on the neck in males and a less pronounced set of black and white bands on the sides. The western greater kudu is found in a specific geographical region, primarily in Chad.

A pair of Western or Harnessed bushbuck frequented the Tinga camp and seemed to have become relatively habituated to all the human activity in and around the camp. I did not manage to get an image of the male who had superb colouring. The Harnessed bushbuck also has horizontal stripes on its sides which differentiates its appearance from the Cape Bushbuck.

One quick view of a Red-fronted gazelle seen on our last drive to the airstrip at the end of our wonderful few days in Zakouma. This species lives in the Sahel and prefers semi-arid grasslands, savannas, savanna woodlands, and areas of scrub. This species seems to be the equivalent of the Thompson’s gazelle found in East Africa but is not nearly so common.

Zakouma is home to the West African crocodile. It is found in the pans and in the Salamat river. This is a distinct species from the Nile crocodile. Although endangered, we saw many West African crocodiles in the Salamat river. This particular male crocodile was roaring at something but I could not see what was agitating him. The night we spent in a fly camp along the Salamat river we heard crocodiles frequently roaring. I have not heard crocs roar like this in the southern African rivers.

“Tell me and I will forget. Teach me and I will remember. Involve me and I will learn.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

We saw numerous West African crocodiles climbing onto a sand bank in the Salamat river to bask and warm up. Needless to say it got very hot by mid day so the crocs frequently moved in and out of the water to control their body temperature. 

One thing I had not seen anywhere else was the numerous caves that had been dug into the river bank which the crocodiles lived in. It was a way to get out of the extreme heat and when the pools of water eventually dried up they would aestivate (a hibernation like state) and wait for the next rains

This is a video of crocodiles herding catfish in the shadows of a pool of water to enable a feeding frenzy.

As you can see the wildlife and their behaviour is quite different in Zakouma. This is in large part dictated by the seasonal extremes. Zakouma is an area of contrasts like many parts of Africa. The ecosystem has two very distinct seasons, the wet season and the dry season. There are however very few areas where the contrasts between the two seasons are so dramatic; affecting fauna, flora and terrain alike. Between June and November Zakouma receives an average of 850mm of rain resulting in the majority of the park becoming completely inundated with water. It is during this time that the park sees a strong seasonal outward migration of many species; mainly the elephant and tiang and to a lesser extent roan antelope and hartebeest, to the drier areas further north. The dry season in comparison, lures the wildlife back to the heart of Zakouma, where pans surrounded by fertile floodplains and pools in the main river systems (Bahr’s Salamat, Korom and Dikere) provide drinking water and grazing throughout the dry months. Large herds of animals as well as thousands of birds congregate at these pools from February to June making for spectacular game viewing.

Zakouma National Park is one of Africa’s most recent examples of a park pulled from the brink that has rapidly returned to a vibrant and spectacular wilderness teeming with life and bursting with biodiversity.

“Don’t just learn, experience.
Don’t just read, absorb.
Don’t just change, transform.
Don’t just relate, advocate.
Don’t just promise, prove.
Don’t just criticize, encourage.
Don’t just think, ponder.
Don’t just take, give.
Don’t just see, feel.
Don’t just dream, do.
Don’t just hear, listen.
Don’t just talk, act.
Don’t just tell, show.
Don’t just exist, live.”
~ Roy T. Bennett

Explore. seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

This post focuses on the elephants in Zakouma and their population recovery under the stewardship of African Parks. Once a stronghold for over 22 000 in the 1970s, the elephant population had been cut down by poachers to around 4 000 by 2002. Between 2002 and 2010 the park lost a further 90% of its elephant population to ivory poachers.

On invitation by the Government of Chad, African Parks signed a long-term agreement to manage Zakouma to protect the remaining heavily traumatised 450 elephants, conserve the park’s biodiversity and re-establish stability in the surrounding communities.

“Africa changes you forever, like nowhere on earth. Once you have been there, you will never be the same. But how do you begin to describe its magic to someone who has never felt it? How can you explain the fascination of this vast, dusty continent, whose oldest roads are elephant paths? Could it be because Africa is the place of all our beginnings, the cradle of mankind, where our species first stood upright on the savannahs of long ago?” ~ Brian Jackman

Perennial water sources in Zakouma National Park serve as a sanctuary for West and Central African wildlife, many of which are threatened within this ecoregion. Around 66 mammal species are found in the park, 16 of which are large mammals. Zakouma is home to a number of threatened or endangered species

The progressive recovery of the park’s elephant population is perhaps most clearest testament of the rehabilitation of Zakouma. Between 2002 to 2010, Zakouma lost 90% of its elephants where often multiple family units would be killed at the same time, and for one thing – their ivory tusks.

According to African Parks, in 2012, six of its rangers were gunned down execution style during their morning prayer in what is considered a reprisal attack by poachers. But because of the tenacity and persistence of the rangers between 2012 and 2014 not one single known elephant was lost to poaching inside the park.

Due to their sustained persecution until 2011, the elephant population in Zakouma is still very skittish and wary of human beings. As soon as the breeding herds sense the presence of human beings they flee in the opposite direction. On this particular morning we saw a small herd of elephants drinking and bathing in the Salamat river. Out guide, Doug MacDonald, cautioned us to be very quiet and tried to keep us downwind of the elephants so as not to alarm them.

We could just see the herd around a bend in the Salamat river so they could not see us. The wind direction, unbeknown to us, changed and from about 400 metres away the herd suddenly bolted out of the river into the gallery of trees lining it. This brought on a discussion about how sensitive elephant olfactory senses are.

According to the Tsavo Trust, an elephant’s trunk is a marvel of nature—a fusion of nose and upper lip, equipped with roughly 40 000 muscles for strength and dexterity. Yet its true superpower lies in its olfactory prowess. With approximately 2 000 olfactory receptor genes—five times more than humans and double that of dogs—elephants can detect scents at astonishing distances.

It was hard to believe that the elephants picked up on us by smell from such a distance because they could not have seen us. Elephants have poor eyesight, especially in bright light, with a range of vision of about 30 feet. However, they are adept at detecting movement, particularly in low light conditions, where they can sense movement at up to 45 meters. Due to the location of their eyes on the sides of their heads, elephants also have good peripheral vision.

Elephants can detect smells at incredibly low concentrations. One study found that savanna elephants can detect a target odour at 50 parts per million (ppm). Elephants’ sense of smell is significantly stronger than that of a bloodhound. Elephants have around 2,000 olfactory receptors compared to a bloodhound’s 800. Elephants rely on their sense of smell for various purposes, such as finding food and water, navigating their environment, and recognising individuals. Elephants can detect water sources up to 19 kilometers away using this incredible sense of smell.

Mid way into our Zakouma trip, Doug took us down to the southern section of the park where the rangers indicated we might be able to find a large herd of elephants. The first thing we saw was the dust created by the moving herd. We decided to approach the herd on foot through the trees at the edge of a large pan. The elephants quickly picked up on us and were off. We never got close to them and only managed a fleeting image of the herd moving quickly into a densely treed area. In minutes, the entire herd disappeared and we never managed to find them again. It is clearly going to take a long time for the breeding herds to become more comfortable with game vehicles and people.

Elephants communicate across long distances using infrasound, which are low-frequency sounds. These rumbles, generated by their vocal cords and feet, can travel for several kilometres, allowing them to coordinate herd movements, locate family members, and warn of danger. Infrasound is a type of sound wave that is below the audible range of human hearing, typically below 20 Hz. There is a growing realisation that herds of elephants may form network nodes which are linked by infrasound. The network may share more information about an extended area than we previously realised.

On the second day of our trip we went to the head ranger’s house to see several bull elephants sequentially drinking water from a hose held by a ranger. A BBC film crew were videoing this unusual interaction. We watched fascinated by how close the large bull elephants approached the ranger’s veranda to access the water from the hand held hose. We were so intrigued by the interaction that on our last day we went back to the ranger’s house to see if the bull elephants had returned for a drink of fresh water from the hand held hose.

It was very hot during the day so the elephants came to the man-made waterhole to cool off and get a drink of water. The bulls did not walk straight up to the house but rather cooled off first and on occasions the younger bulls pushed each other around, all the while accessing whether it was safe to approach the head ranger’s house.

A unique feature of the elephants in Zakouma is a group of large bull elephants that visit the head ranger’s house daily for a drink of fresh water. The water is pumped from a borehole. For years these bulls have been visiting the ranger’s house and this has led to the development of a man-made waterhole which attracts elephants and baboons alike.

“Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.” ~ A.D. Ryan

Our guide Doug MacDonald who has been guiding in Zakouma since 2017 was the first that day to hold the hose to enable the bull elephants to drink clean water from it.

The most remarkable feature of the bull’s behaviour is the apparent trust that has been built up over the last decade. What makes it more special is the context. These elephants must have been among the many tramatised by the ruthless poaching over an extended period of over 40 years. A few of the bulls are still wary of people and remain somewhat skittish but take their cue from some of the older larger bulls.

The acceptance of water from a hand held hose was started by the head ranger and over time the level of trust by the elephants has grown to accept water from anyone holding the hose as long is they are quiet and make no sudden movements. There are times when two or three bulls can be within one to two metres of the person holding the hose. The next gallery of three images shows three members of our group – Ann, Maria and Sabrina – holding the hose enabling the elephants to drink clean water from the hose.

“I hope you have an experience that alters the course of your life because, after Africa, nothing has ever been the same” – Suzanne Evans

Not all of the bulls have learnt to turn up the tip of their trunks to accept the water. This does seem to be a learned skill.

According to a ‘Save the Elephants’ article, as recently as 1970, 300,000 elephants roamed a Texas-sized area that included southern Chad, eastern Central African Republic, southwestern Sudan, and northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Today, only small pockets of elephant populations remain, and they remain under threat but African Parks is doing a sterling job of rehabilitating Zakouma.

“The continent is too large to describe. It is a veritable ocean, a separate planet, a varied, immensely rich cosmos. Only with the greatest simplification, for the sake of convenience, can we say ‘Africa’. In reality, except as a geographical appellation, Africa does not exist.” ― Ryszard Kapuściński

For years, the constant fear of being hunted and killed had made the elephants too stressed to reproduce. But sustained protection and conservation efforts have brought the elephants back from the brink. They are breeding again – there are estimated to be over 750 elephants in Zakouma currently, and the population is predicted to reach over 1 000 in the next few years.

“The wildlife and the landscapes of Africa are iconic across the world. Those landscapes and systems have shaped every culture on the continent. If we, as African Parks, can leave anything behind it is a system of protected areas that African can always celebrate as being a gift to the world.” ~ Peter Fearnhead

African Parks currently manages 22 parks covering an area of over 20 million hectares across 12 countries in Africa. This is a non-profit conservation organisation using the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to take on responsibility for the long-term management of protected areas.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike