I have been privileged to see leopards on many occasions in locations ranging from Kruger Park to the Serengeti and Tsavo. In this post I want to share a few images of these beautiful, lithe, self-sufficient predators with you.

“Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.”

~Alice Koller

A young female leopard in Mashatu, in south-eastern Botswana. It was late afternoon, she was wandering along the river course and had stopped in her wanderings to be quiet and listen.

The next morning, we found her again but this time away from the river. She found a perfect curve in the bough of a tree and made herself comfortable.

Another occasion in Mashatu. We found this young male leopard dozing in the early part of the evening in a dry river bed.

“True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.”

~William Penn

A beautiful leopardess with stunning green eyes.  Very confident and relaxing in the early morning after what may have been a busy night. An iconic leopard pose.

A female leopard walking away from the Chobe river, in northern Botswana, having just had a drink. She was walking back to her cub waiting in a thicket close by.

A big male leopard in Mashatu. It was early morning and this male was waiting in the brush on a bank above a pool of water in the mostly dry river bed.

I kept this image dark as it was early in the morning and this male was lying in the deep shadows just after sunrise. This was a perfect ambush position for anything coming down for a drink of water.

“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi

This young male leopard in Mashatu had caught and killed a female impala. He was moving his catch to a more concealed position to eat in private.

He finally found a spot with greater cover. Sometimes nature reveals unexpected tenderness.

It did not take him long to start feasting. He first pulled the hair off the skin in the area of the carcass he wanted to open up.

A female leopard called “Rockfig Junior” in the Timbavati, adjacent to the Kruger Park in South Africa. She was leading her son to the place where she had stashed her kill about a kilometre away. The dry grass in the background showed that it was winter in the Timbavati.

“Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul. “

~Marcus Aurelius

Early evening and the sun had set in Mashatu. This young female leopard was spread-eagled on a large bow of a branch from a fig tree overhanging the Majale river.

The green-eyed leopardess  shown earlier in this post. It was two years later and it was around 8h30 in the morning and she was walking along a dry river bed. Our guide told us that she was walking back to a cub further down river. We never got to see the cub. She stopped to take in various scents. There must have been many scent signposts along that part of the river.

Another young female leopard stopped in her wanderings in the late afternoon along the Majale river to climb up a fallen branch of a Mashatu tree. She probably wanted to get a better view of the surrounding area and us.

Having assessed the lie of the land, she continued her walk along the edge of the Majale river in Mashatu.

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

~Steve Jobs

A young male leopard in the short grass alongside a series of small dams in Tsavo West National Park in south-east Kenya. This leopard managed to kill a Dik-Dik behind us and close to a large herd of buffalo without any of us or the buffalo noticing. Another vehicle arrived behind us only to tell us there was a leopard eating its prey less than 25 metres behind us.

In the Masai Mara, on the &Beyond Conservancy below the Kitchwa Tembo camp, we found this leopardess “treed”.

Below was a pride of lionesses and their cubs. They had been wandering along the edge of the tree line down towards the Mara river when they came across this leopardess and her cub on the ground.

The lions immediately attacked. The leopardess bounded for the tree but the cub was too young to follow her and a lioness killed it. After the lions milled around the dead leopard cub, a young male lion took possession of the kill.

This was a heart wrenching scene. This leopardess was completely out numbered and all she could do was snarl at the devastation below her. She watched the whole thing; watched her cub being killed and the juvenile male lion running off with it.

He quickly picked the leopard cub up in his jaws and ran off with it.

“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”

~John Steinbeck

After waiting quite a while for the lions to move off, she descended the tree to look for her cub.

She was desperately searching for her cub without moving into an exposed position, but her cub was lying dead some distance off in the open behind a tall tuft of grass so she could not see it.

On a more peaceful note, we found this young female leopard in a huge Mashatu tree. She had stacked her kill in this tree and peered out through this fork in the tree.

She was very relaxed and was not fussed in the least about us underneath the tree.

“Freedom: To ask nothing. To expect nothing. To depend on nothing.”
~ Ayn Rand

Late in the afternoon in the Serengeti. This large male leopard was out in the open lounging on the bough of a large fever tree looking down on the world on his own terms.

We were about fifty metres away on the dirt road so he paid no attention to us.

“It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go.”

~Bob Procter

A leopard peered out from the undergrowth alongside the river in Mashatu.

In the Serengeti, we were driving slowly southwards. This part of the Serengeti is patterned with huge grasslands intersected by groves of acacias. How our guide saw these young leopards way off the road in the grass on our right hand side, I will never know. We had to drive much closer before we could see them. There were two youngsters out on their own.

“I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least – and it is commonly more than that – sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements. “

~Henry David Thoreau

They were playing in the grass running around and chasing each other. It was a carefree early morning playtime scene.

Out of the sun and in the grove of acacias, the colour of the light took on a blue hue in the shade.

It was at the end of January in Eagle’s Rock estate near Witbank in Mpumalanga, South Africa. We were staying with friends Bill and Judy. It had been raining most of the day but there had been a break in the weather late in the afternoon so we decided to go out for a game drive.  As we were driving through an area of natural sandstone sculptured rock there were many flat-topped rocks. I said to Judy wouldn’t it be wonderful if we saw a leopard lying on top of one of these flat topped sandstone rocks. Incredibly, about five minutes later Judy pointed to something lying on a sandstone rock about 100 metres off the road. This big male leopard watched us slowly make our way, by vehicle, towards him. He was completely unperturbed by us.

He watched us but was much more interested in the herd of zebra and wildebeest behind us on the open grassland. He was especially interested in the numerous calves in the herd.

I will never get tired of seeing these beautiful, camouflaged, confident, independent beings.

“No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength.”

~Jack Kerouac

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

There are only three places I have seen Sable Antelope in southern Africa.  Many years ago, I saw a herd of Sable in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. There is a herd in Borokalalo Nature Reserve. I have heard there are Sable in Kruger Park but I have never seen them there. I have frequently seen Sable along the Chobe river, which flows along the northern Botswana border with Namibia. I would describe many of our antelope as beautiful but this is one antelope that I think takes the mantle of regal.

“It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and humility.”

~Rachel Carson

Just down stream from the Chobe Safari Lodge we came across this Sable nursery. Around six or seven females were looking after a large group of youngsters.  It is interesting that they have a roan colouring before they mature. They already have the white markings on their face with the black malar stripe from their eyes.

This female Sable separated from the nursery group. She was looking for a place to drink and being extra careful as away from the herd there were no extra eyes to watch for crocodiles or “flat dogs” as we like to call them.

As a Sable matures its coat changes colour from its brownish roan colour to a black with a beautiful sheen. The males begin darkening and turn black after about three years. Their facial colouring becomes more distinct.  The Sable’s underparts, cheek, and chin are all white while its back and flanks are dark brown to black. The Sable’s has a black stripe on top of its forehead and nose. The hair around its eye is dark and a dark malar stripe extends down to between its nostril and mouth. The dark colouring around the eyes is presumably to reduce glare as these antelope are diurnal.

“We still talk in terms of conquest. We still haven’t become mature enough to think of ourselves as only a tiny part of a vast and incredible universe. Man’s attitude toward nature is today critically important simply because we have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature. But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.”
~Rachel Carson

These semi-adults were very skittish coming down to drink from the Chobe river around mid-morning. One of their favourite drinking spots seemed to be Elephant Valley, which is located  upstream of the Chobe Safari Lodge. This area gives the drinkers a fairer chance against their underwater predators because the approach to the water is flat and the water is shallow.

Adult female Sable have semi-curved horns while adult bulls have full curvature horns. The horns arch backwards and are ringed. Females horns are smaller and vary between 61cm and 102cm. The male’s horns grow to between 81 and 165 cm long.

Elephant Valley is a wide drainage gully leading down to the river’s edge. There is thick vegetation either side of the gully. This is a good ambush area for predators, so at least one member of the drinking group  watches the area behind them.

The slightest disturbance triggers a flight response.

It is interesting to see this female kneeling down to drink. Sable bulls often kneel down when they fight using their head and horns to push each other around. 

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew i would never see it again?”
~Rachel Carson

A Sable has a robust frame with a strong looking neck. The Sable antelope is sexually dimorphic meaning its colouring and shape looks the same. The adult males are physically bigger and have longer fully curved scimitar-shaped horns.

Sables change color as they mature. The calf is grayish-brown and almost without marks, making it very inconspicuous. As it matures and begins to take its place in a herd, its coat becomes a rich reddish-brown, with the belly, haunches and facial markings in greater contrast. At this time the face is largely white, with a wide black stripe running from the forehead to the muzzle, and black stripes from the eye to the muzzle.

It is unusual to see a lone Sable drinking down at Elephant Valley given it is an ideal ambush ally.

“We are not truly civilized if we concern ourselves only with the relation of man to man. What is important is the relation of man to all life.”
~Rachel Carson

This adult female Sable was on her way to drink from the river but was very wary around the water’s edge.

Sable antelope prefer woodland savanna areas and graze on grass in these areas and their muzzles are suited to browsing on leaves.

Sable are never found very far from water and are especially dependent upon it during the dry season which is why we regularly see Sable along the Chobe river.

Having sated his thirst, this Sable bull was strolling back into the bush alongside the Chobe river.

“Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.”
~Rachel Carson

A lone Sable bull drinking from a pool in Chobe National Reserve.

The same lone Sable bull alerted by a noise in the surrounding bush.

The pedestrians were impressed with the passing Sable bull.

Another lone Sable bull came down to the Chobe River to drink. He seemed unfazed by possibility of crocodiles or “flat dogs” in the water.

“Drink in the beauty and wonder at the meaning of what you see.”
~Rachel Carson

Beautiful reflection of the same Sable bull.

This large powerful Sable bull sated his thirst and strolled back into the treeline away from the openess of the riverbank. Look at the sweep of those horns, he was a mature bull. Big cats have died while fighting Sable antelope. They defend themselves from lions and other predators using their sharp scimitar-shaped horns. The Sable has a powerful and very flexible neck so when a predator attacks a Sable from behind, the Sable will arch its neck back and sweep those horns across its back. Any lion trying to hang onto the Sable’s back will get impaled. It is known that a fight to the death can be mortal for predator and prey, with a lion dead still impaled on a the dead Sable’s horns. These massive horns are very effective defensive weapons against natural predators and are used in dominance fighting.

The Sable Antelope is classified in IUCN Red List as of least concern with the population (wild and farmed) estimated at 75,000 in southern and east Africa. That said the Giant Sable is all but extinct. IUCN record total numbers of the Giant Sable surviving in 2007 at 200-400 and is classified as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red list. The giant Sable Antelope is the national symbol of Angola and revered for its power, beauty and visual sharpness.

“Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just ‘home’. It is all these things but one thing – it is never dull.”

~Beryl Markham

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

The African Harrier Hawk has always intrigued me because it is such an unusual raptor, though I do prefer its previous more exotic name, Gymnogene,which means bare cheeks. It has the legs of a harrier and flies like a hawk. Although not threatened, you will not often see this species but it is a thrill when you do because it is such an impressive raptor. It has distinctive colouring, is relatively large and has some unique behavioural traits.

“Strangeness is a necessary ingredient in beauty.”
~ Charles Baudelaire

Generally, hawks kill their prey with their claws, unlike the falcons, which catch prey with the claws but kill with a blow of their beak. Hawks are unusual among birds in that the female is generally larger than her mate. In some species, this difference, called sexual dimorphism, can be as great with the female being much larger than the males, as in the accipiters. This is particularly evident in Fish Eagles. Hawks generally mate for life, and are agressively territorial. Harriers are plain-looking, long-legged, and long-tailed birds with a slender build which enables them to cruise low over grasslands and marshes looking for prey. Harriers usually have small beaks, and their face feathers are arranged in facial discs. The African Harrier Hawk has a clear a mix of both harrier and hawk characteristics, hence its name.

This is a medium to large raptor. It can grow to around 63cm in length with a wing span of 160cm and can weigh up to 950 grams. There is little colour dimorphism between male and female but as with hawks, the female is larger.

African Harrier Hawks are recognised by other birds as nest raiders. When seen in the area, other birds become very vocal warning each other of an impending invasion.  

“Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams

The African Harrier-Hawk is omnivorous, eating anything its can find from fruit to small birds and mammals, reptiles and insects. Its ability to climb, using wings as well as feet, and its long double-jointed legs, enable this bird to raid the nests of cavity-nesters such as barbets, oxpeckers, squirrels and woodhoopoes for eggs and fledglings. This raptor is notable for its habit of actively searching for prey in trees, nests, rock faces, and from underneath objects on the ground. It can often be seen clambering about and hanging from tree limbs, running up tree trunks with wings flapping, or hanging from birds nests as it searches for food. Its featherless legs facilitate this behaviour.

‘There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.”

~Francis Bacon

The plumage is mainly grey, with neat light black and white barring on the abdomen and thighs, but is sometimes absent in individuals. The African Harrier Hawk has a bare facial patch, which is varies in colour, but is usually seen as bright yellow. This facial patch becomes pink during display, and various shades of orange between yellow and red according to its emotional state. 

This particular character was wandering along the bank of the Chobe river looking for a spot to drink. No doubt these raptors are also very wary of the danger lurking below the surface of the water.

The relatively low aspect ratio of the wing allows this raptor to fly surprisingly slowly and deliberately, for such as large raptor, when hunting. A low aspect ratio wing has relatively low ratio of wing length to wing width. Generally, high aspect ratio wings give more lift and enable sustained, endurance flight, while low aspect ratio wings are best for swift maneuverability.

The male and female African Harrier-hawks are similar in appearance, while juveniles have brown plumage, blackish facial skin, a brown tail with four darker brown bars, and variable amounts of whitish, reddish-brown or dark bars or streaks on the abdomen. Adult plumage is not attained until about the third year.

“We are sun and moon, dear friend; we are sea and land. It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honour him for what he is: each the other’s opposite and complement.”
~ Hermann Hesse

This particular character was raiding birds nests in a dead tree trunk. What makes it so unusual is its adaptive flexible knee-joints, being double jointed, enables it to put its feet into hard to get at places. It can probes crevices and hollows for lizards and larvae. It will hang upside down on hanging bird nests to rob their eggs and chicks. You will often see this raptor  walking along branches and up tree trunks, with wings widespread to stabilize it. 

The previous image was of a relative young bird just before its adult moult. We came across this bird one afternoon on the Chobe River. It was busy pillaging a bird’s nest and pulling out the oxpecker chicks one by one and eating them. 

““Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.”
~ Terry Tempest Williams

These raptors although relatively large, with lethal armaments, do not get things all their own way. The birds which usually nest in the surrounding trees can get quite aggressive and persistent. The next image is of a Fork-tailed Drongo giving this harrier Hawk a “rev”.  At times these small attackers land on the flying host and peck at it.

The African Harrier Hawk is an agile flier, capable of soaring in thermals but also mixing it up in woodland savanna and being able, like a Sparrowhawk, to negotiate its way through trees and branches. It is also an excellent tree climber.

Fork-tailed Drongos, rollers, lapwings all give these raptors a good going over whenever possible and obviously always on the wing.

The next image shows a African Harrier Hawk gliding along the river bank with its primary feather testing the wind like fingers. Its pinkish facial skin is signalling its relative state of excitement. This is also seen in Bateleur Eagles which also have yellowish facial skin that changes from yellow to red depending on its level of excitement. When flying, the underside of the African Harrier-hawk’s wings are grey with a wide black trailing edge. It has a white band across its tail feathers and the trailing edge of those feathers also have a wide black tip.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid”

~Albert Einstein

When you see an African Harrier Hawk patrolling the banks of the Chobe river, it is often getting mobbed by smaller birds. This raptor is a major threat to birds which nest in trees and cavities in trees and rocks. When defending their nest and chicks, size seems to be less important. Small birds like Fork-tailed Drongos will fly up and dive bomb the raptor often hitting it on the back or wing. They will undertake remarkably daring attacks to drive this threat away from their nesting sites. The defensive attacks are usually from the back as the front end is considerably more dangerous.

The defensive antics of these smaller nesters can be dramatic to watch employing fearless manoeuvres in their quest to drive the potential raider out of the area.

If the threat is severe enough both members of the protection squad will join in the harassing process.

Although the African Harrier-hawk is lethally armed, in nature it is seldom a one way street.

“Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can offer with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation, but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous, half possession.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

I have not previously done a post on rhino, but have been privileged to have a number of sightings.  My most intimate sighting and interaction with a black Rhino was in 1962. It was over a few months in a suburb of  the then Salisbury, Rhodesia, now Harare, Zimbabwe. The black rhino was a young calf called Rupert, named after Rupert Fothergill. Rupert the rhino calf was being looked after by the Condy family.

“Behind us are memories, beside us are friends, before us are dreams.”

~Unknown

Rupert Fothergill led Operation Noah, which was a wildlife rescue operation on the Zambezi river. John Condy was a wildlife vet and part of a team involved in the extraordinary translocation project to save wildlife from the rising waters of the newly formed Kariba dam. This rescue operation lasted from 1958 to 1964. Black Rhino were among the vast array of wildlife saved. On one particular occasion, a female Black Rhino was darted with a tranquilizer. In those days the doses were experimental and very much an estimation.  After being darted, the female dashed for the water and collapsed in the shallows. The rescuers could not raise her out of the water and she drowned. Only afterwards did the rescuers realise that she had a newborn calf. Needless to say John Condy took the rhino calf back to Salisbury to look after it. In the six months or so that Rupert lived in the Condy home he became part of the family.

“Memories of childhood were the dreams that stayed with you after you woke.”
~ Julian Barnes

Rupert arrived in the Condy household as a very young 150lb calf and was relocated to Matopos Nature Reserve about six months later weighing around 500lbs. The idea was never to keep Rupert but rather to nuture him  until he was big enough to be reintroduced into the wild  and habituate him with another black rhino called Sal.

“I can still feel the tingle of excitement knowing Rupert was racing this way from the other side of the house. A game of chicken with that almost breathless excitement waiting to catch the first glimpse of him and jump into a bush or race up a tree to get out of his reach. What ever the cost you did not want him to give you a ‘lamey’ with that little horn.”

~Mike Haworth

As a result, my interest in black Rhino started when I was very young. It is remarkable to think that these mammals have survived for 50 million years and gangs of human beings have been making a concerted effort to eliminate them within the last 40 years. According to Rhino Org, at the turn of the 20th century there were an estimated 500,000 rhino on earth, and by 1970 the worldwide population had fallen to 70,000. Save The Rhino published a graphic which shows the current estimated population of the five remaining species of rhino.

Source: Save The Rhino

https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/rhino_population_figures

What is even more astounding is that the rhino population has been decimated not for for its food value, but for its horn. The rhino is usually shot and the horn hacked off leaving the carcass and in many cases leaving a mortally wounded animal alive.

The name “Rhinoceros” is derived from the Ancient Greek “ῥῑνόκερως”, meaning “horn nose”.

The Black Rhino is physically distinctly different to the White Rhino. It is smaller, weighing between 900kg and 1350kg. It is a browser, using its prehensile upper lip to shred leaves off branches and shrubs. The White Rhino is much larger, has a square lip and is primarily a grazer.

Much of what we believe about rhino eyesight is based on anecdotal reports. The assumption is that black rhinos are nearsighted, making them unable to discern man and a tree even 20 meters away. There doesn’t appear to be any empirical evidence to support this assertion. Rather it is a convenient and plausable explanation for the species’ sometimes aggressive behavior towards humans.  A recent anatomical study of the black rhino’s retina at an Australian university suggests that the human form should be detectable at nearly 200 meters – 10 times the distance assumed. All four Rhino species have eyes that are much smaller than would be predicted based solely upon body size, as reported in a post on 13 October 2013 on The International Rhino Foundation blog, which seems to add to the suggestion around their poor sight. Rhinos are known for their keen sense of smell and hearing.

This particular Black Rhino was drinking at a waterhole and must have heard something behind it and spun around to sense to get a better sense of where and what its was.

That ancient face and the characteristic prehensile top lip are distinctive features of the Black Rhino.

The next image show a mother and calf – which must have been over a year old. Black Rhino are usually solitary but a Black Rhino mother will nurture and protect her calf for between two and four years before pushing it out on its own. Very young calves are often positioned in front of their mother for protection as their most vulnerable part is their backside.

This female Black Rhino approached our vehicle after having sated her thirst at a waterhole. For a few moments, we thought this  female was going to give us a charge but satisfied she knew what we were, she quietly strolled past us without incident.

One particular afternoon, after initially chasing the male away, this female allowed her calf to interact with the male Black Rhino – probably its father. The tenderness was something special, and not expected at all.

The two adults began to rub their horns together after a tentative approach.

The family bond is clear. I never realised that Black Rhino behaved in this way. I knew they gathered at night around waterholes but never like this. The mother of a calf is not likely to mate with a male until her calf has become independent. This sometimes results in aggression on the part of the male, who wants to rid her of her calf so that he can mate with her. Many calves have been killed by aggressive males for this very reason.

Young Black Rhino – hard to believe that someone would want to kill this animal for its horn.

Black rhinos are browsers that get most of their sustenance from eating the leaves of trees and bushes. They use their lips to pluck leaves and fruit from the branches. In the more arid areas, Black Rhino are known to eat Euphorbia, which are poisonous to most other animals.

Both species of Rhino have ears with a relatively wide rotational range to detect the direction of sounds. An excellent sense of smell alerts rhinos to the presence of predators.

“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious- so wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams from the deep singing wild of the earth.”

~Dale Pendell

This solitary character came down to the waterhole just to drink. We were hoping for a roll in some mud but there was a little too much activity around the waterhole.

As you can see from the water marks on her legs that she walked right into the water. We thought she might lie down in the water to cool down but having had a drink she just wandered off.

As you can see this Black Rhino was not fussed about a lone hyaena behind it. These rhino can spin around remarkably quickly and the hyaena probably knew it.

A male Black Rhino in prime condition.

This male must have been able to see us across the waterhole because the prevailing wind was into our faces. and we were not making a noise.

The game park vets usually notch the ears of rhinos to identify them.

“Cherish sunsets, wild creatures and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth.”

~ Stewart Udall
Late afternoon gathering at the pool!!

The folds in a black rhino’s neck and legs are very evident. According to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust  website (https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/html/companions.html), most rhinos have lesions behind the shoulders and under the chin and stomach. These obviously itch and irritate, because they are rubbed against rocks and trees until they become open weeping wounds that stubbornly resist healing. The culprit for these lesions is apparently a filarial worm that is specific to rhinos in Africa, but is known amongst horses in the far East.

All rhino species have three toes, and each toe has a large stout toenail, giving it a distinctive footprint. The front feet are bigger than the back feet. Black rhino can move surprisingly fast, up to speeds of around 50km/h- faster than you can run. They can change direction surprisingly quickly, and are known to run right through scrub and bushes. They attack with very swift upward swipes of their horn which can easily penetrate a vehicle door. It also means you need to get high enough up that thorn tree to get out of the way of that horn swipe.

I cannot publish a post on Black Rhino without giving some information about their decimation through poaching. The poaching stats do not separate out the black and white rhino poached. Over the past several years, South Africa’s rhino poaching problem has turned into a full-blown crisis. Save the Rhino organisation reports that South Africa has by far the largest population of rhinos in the world and is a vital country for rhino conservation. However rhino poaching levels have dramatically escalated over recent years as shown in the next graphic.

Source: Save The Rhino website, Department of Environmental Affairs, South African Government

This Black Rhino bull was found wandering Zimbabwe’s Save Valley Conservancy after poachers shot it several times and hacked off both horns. Veterinarians euthanized the animal because its shattered shoulder could no longer support its weight. Photograph by Brent Stirton/National Geographic

According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG). By the end of 2015, the number of African rhinos killed by poachers had increased for the sixth year in a row with at least 1,338 rhinos killed by poachers across Africa in 2015. In 2015 in South Africa, 1175 rhinos were poached, slightly below the 1,250 illegally killed in 2014. Around 65% of rhino are poached in the Kruger National Park (KNP) and the rest across all of SA’s provinces.

Significant efforts are being made to protect these mammals and the efforts are starting to pay off with 1054 rhino poached in 2016 according to the Department of Environmental Affairs. This represents the second year of declining rhino deaths from poaching. A total of 1 054 rhino were poached in 2016, compared to 1 175 in the same period for 2015, representing a decline of 10.3%. Specifically for the KNP, a total of 662 rhino carcasses were found in 2016 compared to 826 in 2015. This represents a reduction of 19.85% in 2016. This is despite a continued increase in the number of illegal incursions into the Kruger National Park. The Minister said for 2016 there were a staggering 2883 instances of unrelenting poaching-related activities (such as poaching camps, contacts, crossings, sightings, tracks and shots fired) in the Kruger National Park, compared to 2 466 recorded in the same period in 2015, an increase of 16.9%. According to the Minister’s Feb-2017 report,  although there has been a decrease in the number of rhino killed for their horns in the Kruger National Park and Mpumalanga, the number of rhino poached unfortunately increased in some other provinces and Elephant are being increasingly targeted by Poachers.

“The unending slaughter of Africa’s endangered wildlife is amputating a balancing branch of humanity. Unless the world’s political elite establishes universal, thought provoking legislation and enforcement thereof, species on the brink of extinction will be lost for future generations. In particular, China and Africa stand at the cusp of the most historic leadership embarrassment of civilization.”

~ Dex Kotze, Strategist for Global March for Elephants and Rhinos

The Ministry of Environmental Affairs also reported that during September 2016, a rhino survey using the scientifically accepted block count method recorded that a total of 6 649 – 7 830 white rhino lived in KNP. This is lower than the 8 365 – 9 337 that lived in the KNP during 2015. It must be noted that the natural deaths of white rhino increased due to the unprecedented drought conditions. A total of 349 – 465 black rhino lived in KNP in 2016 compared to 313 – 453 in 2015. The drought effect was not as noticeable on the black rhinos.

“I am so impressed by the courage and dedications of the rangers who, every day, risk their lives to protect elephants and rhinos. It is so important that we make the rangers feel that they area valued”.

~ Dr Jane Goodall.

According to the Project Rhino KZN’s website,  KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) rhino poaching losses reach 73 this year (17 more than this time last year) – with provincial parks currently experiencing the heaviest losses – it’s a big boost to know that KZN’s Provincial Government have committed themselves to intensifying the fight against rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal.

I salute the tireless efforts of the rangers out in the bush fighting a deadly war against organised heavily armed poaching gangs.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6557/0

IUCN Red List Assessment Information

We need to protect our wildlife so that our children are able to experience the wonders of mother nature’s diversity and inter-connectedness.

“We have to stop the blood flow. We have to be relentless in our pursuit for justice; in our pursuit for humanity. Nature is the mother of us all, and within all of us is the spirit of an eco warrior. The war on poaching is a war on greed, but what stands to be lost is priceless”.

~ Jamie Joseph- Saving the Wild founder

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

I have not got a photographic trip planned for the next six weeks so I have decided to do a series of posts on a few species which have caught my imagination.

“Life is just so interesting and complicated and beautiful. Every day, every interaction is different. There’s so much floating around that I would find it really hard to get bored. I’m interested in creating in some way or another, whether it’s photography or writing or just walking through the world.”
~ Alejandro Escovedo

This week I have focused on the African Hawk-Eagle. We find two species of hawk-eagle in southern Africa, the African Hawk-Eagle and the Ayres Hawk-Eagle. The African Hawk-Eagle is resident  and territorial and is found from sub-Sahara to South Africa, while the Ayres Hawk Eagle is an intra-African migrant. The only time I have ever seen an Ayres Hawk Eagle was with my long- standing friend, Adrian Lombard, when we were driving up to his parents farm in Inyanga in the eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe back in the 1960s.

You will usually find this hawk-eagle in woodland and savanna areas, not at high altitudes and dense forest areas.

This raptor first caught my imagination when I was around 10 years of age. Multi-generational family friends, the Condys, always had a wild life menagerie in and around their home in then Salisbury, now renamed Harare, in Zimbabwe. John Condy was a double doctorate veterinary researcher in Rhodesia in the days before it became Zimbabwe. John Condy invariably had all sorts of weird and wonderful wild animals in and around their house. He was one of the first people I came across who practised falconry. He had a profound influence on many now successful falconers in Zimbabwe and South Africa, notably Adrian Lombard.  Besides Lanner Falcons, he had an African Hawk-Eagle which he called Nimbus. The name had serious connotations. Nimbus is a luminous cloud or a halo surrounding a supernatural being or a saint. Nimbus was an adult African Hawk-Eagle. It was large aggressive and had piercing yellow eyes.

“Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows”.

~John Betjeman

One afternoon, John Condy told Mike, his eldest son, and I to get a glove and take some minced meat and go and feed Nimbus. No problem. We naively thought this could be fun so off we went with glove and the minced meat, having never done this before. Once we got into  the “chicken run” enclosure  where Nimbus was being kept, this raptor lunged at us repeatedly. Nimbus was restrained by jesses secured around his legs and the jesses were attached to a rope which was tied to his perch, so provided we did not get too close he could not get hold of us. Nimbus was big, in a 10 year old’s eyes, especially with fully extended wings. I was shaken at the degree of aggression Nimbus displayed. I think it must have been one of the first occasions I realised that there are some wild things that cannot be tamed. Needless to say we threw the minced meat down below Nimbus’s perch and backed out the enclosure intact. The idea of getting Nimbus onto the glove and feeding him was not going to happen.

I never really thought about Nimbus again until I first visited Mashatu Nature Reserve in south-eastern Botswana, a couple of years ago. We had just crossed the Majale river on our way back to Eagle’s Nest camp. As we drove up and out of the river, in a tree overlooking the river next to the dirt track, sat a adult African Hawk-Eagle.

“The very essence of instinct is that it’s followed independently of reason”.

While we were looking at this African Hawk-Eagle, a Fish Eagle flew past along the river course. Instantly, the African Hawk-Eagle saw the Fish Eagle it launched itself out of the tree and flew low and fast along the riverbed after the Fish Eagle.

At the last second of the attack, the African Hawk-Eagle pulled up into a steep climb and rose like a rocket towards the slower Fish Eagle. The Fish Eagle must have heard rather than seen the Hawk-Eagle coming but managed to avoid getting hit. The smaller African Hawk-Eagle quickly banished the much larger Fish Eagle from that part of the river. The speed and aggression of the attack was a spectacle, and reminded me of Nimbus.

On most occasions when we visit Mashatu we see a solitary African Hawk-Eagle. This eagle is known to be a cooperative hunter with one bird initiating the chase and the other finishing the attack. I can only imagine what a show that must be. The African Hawk-Eagle has especially acute eyesight which allows it to be a highly adaptive hunter. At times it is a perch hunter stooping down onto its prey from a high tree. Other times, it displays its Aquila character soaring like an Eagle and hunting cooperatively. It is also capable of hunting more like a Sparrowhawk, manoeuvering through trees using its long tail, which can be fanned out, for steering in tight turns. The next image shows a African Hawk-Eagle perched near  the top of a high tree in Amboseli National Park. The variety of images in this post show that the African Hawk-Eagle is found from Kenya down to around the tropic of Capricorn.

“The world is endlessly fascinating to those who take the time to look.”
 ~Marty Rubin

The African Hawk-Eagle’s scientific name is Aquila spilogaster. Aquila  means “eagle” in latin and “spilo” means “spotted” in Greek and gaster means “stomach” in Greek.  Aquila eagles have the characteristic feathers on their legs and a large hind talon which is used for piercing its prey’s vertebra or skull in the kill. Like most eagles, the African Hawk-Eagle has yellow feet. This Hawk-Eagle preys on small mammals, such as hares, hyrax, squirrels, mongooses and monkeys, and reptiles such as lizards. monitors and snakes, and birds which range from Go-away birds to gamebirds, hornbills, doves, plovers and even herons.

The African Hawk-Eagle is a medium-sized eagle at about 55–65 cm in length. It is much smaller than a Martial Eagle which is around 80 centimetres in length. The upper parts are blackish. Its underparts are white, heavily streaked with black. The trailing edge of the wings and tail have a broad black bar. The sexes are similar in colour but as with most raptors the female is larger than the male. There is active siblicide (younger sibling dies after repeated attacks by the older sibling) among African Hawk-Eagle chicks but the surviving young bird develops a rufous colouration prior to its black adult plumage.

The common wisdom seems to be that eagles are generally  larger birds than hawks. This is a generalisation as the some of the larger hawks are larger than the smaller eagles. The next image shows the distinctive broad black trailing edge on the underside of its wings and tail. It is not always easy to see the blotching on its belly from a distance. From below the African Hawk-Eagle is easily differentiated from a Martial Eagle because its neck is not black to dark-brown and the tailing edges of the wings and tail feathers do not have the broad black band of the African Hawk-Eagle.

“Is it possible, I wonder, to study a bird so closely, to observe and catalogue its peculiarities in such minute detail, that it becomes invisible? Is it possible that while fastidiously calibrating the span of its wings or the length of its tarsus, we somehow lose sight of its poetry? That in our pedestrian descriptions of a marbled or vermiculated plumage we forfeit a glimpse of living canvases, cascades of carefully toned browns and golds that would shame Kandinsky, misty explosions of color to rival Monet? I believe that we do. I believe that in approaching our subject with the sensibilities of statisticians and dissectionists, we distance ourselves increasingly from the marvelous and spell binding planet of imagination whose gravity drew us to our studies in the first place.

That is not to say that we should cease to establish facts and verify our information, but merely to suggest that unless those facts can be imbued with the flash of poetic insight then they remain dull gems; semi-precious stones scarcely worth the collecting.”
~ Alan Moore

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Back in the “big smoke”, our less affectionate name for Gauteng, I can last only a few weekends in town before having a deep need to get out into more natural surrounds again, away from sirens and barking dogs. I also need to practice with my camera. This post shows just a few images from a recent Sunday morning trip to Marievale Bird Sanctuary just outside Nigel south of Johannesburg, South Africa. Marievale is approximately 1 000 hectares in area. The sanctuary is home to a combination of 240 resident and migrant bird species. The sanctuary has  two main biomes, the wetlands where you can see everything from coots, grebes, a variety of ducks, comorants, snipe, gallenules, egrets, herons, terns and flamingoes, and least 65 waterbird species, to large grassland areas which support seed eaters such as queleas, wydahs, larks, starlings, stone chats and bishops and many more. You are also likely to see raptors such as Fish Eagles, kites and harriers hunting in the area. As is always the case in SA you need to be aware of safety, especially when carrying expensive camera kit.

“…no other life form needed man, man needed all the others in which to survive.”
~ Barry Babcock

In the grasslands you will see wydahs, queleas, cuckoos (in summer) and bishops. The most common whydah is the Pin-tailed. There are many widowbirds in the grasslands, especially long-tailed and red-collared, but one could also see White-winged Widowbirds. The main difference between the wydah and widow birds are that the wydahs have a coloured belly and breast feathers while the widowbirds are dressed in black (hence the name) and have either coloured collars or shoulders. Both wydahs and widowbirds are seed eaters.

“Never stop exploring… with Mother Nature by your side, the possibilities are endless.”
~ Cheryl Aguiar

There are three wydahs found in southern Africa, the Pin-tailed, Shaft-tailed and Paradise Wydah. Wydah males grow elaborate long tail feathers. Outside the summer breeding season the male looks similar to the females. The Pin-tailed Wydah is an aggressive male fiercely guarding his harem of females. Like all wydahs, the Pin-tailed Whydah is parasitic and often lays its eggs in the nests of the Common Waxbill, Bronze Mannikin and Orange-breasted Waxbill –  among others. The male Pin-tailed Whydah is territorial, and despite having his harem of females, has an elaborate courtship flight display, which includes hovering over the female to display his tail. Unfortunately, I never saw him displaying but I have seen it in the Masai Mara and I think I was more impressed than the female in front of him.

The Common Waxbill, so distinctive with its red bill and red eye stripe and a pinkish red underbelly. These seed eaters are quite skittish so do not stay around for too long  and seldom let you get close enough for a perfect shot.

When it comes to displaying bright colours to attract females, Southern Red Bishops rank near the top of the list.  The phrase “nuptial plumage” applies to many male bird species which change the colour of their plumage during the breeding season.  The male Red Bishop appears as follows: black beak, the top of the head and area around the eyes are black, the abdomen is black, the wings are brown, and the rest of the bird (chin, throat, chest, nape of the neck, back, under tail, and upper tail coverts) are orange to red in color. Otherwise called the Orange weaver.

Red Bishops nest preferentially in reeds growing in shallow water. The males build several nests and perform  display flights and cling onto reeds with their black breast and red back feathers fluffed up to attract females. They are polygamous and mate with several females. There is another bishop bird that looks like a Southern Red Bishop, the Fire-crowned but has an entirely red crown and is only found along the Zambezi river environs. Strangely this time we saw no Golden-crowned Bishops or Yellow Bishops – perhaps the drought which we had until the end of the year (2016) had something to do with it.

“Speaking of happiness, those distinctive moments are found outdoors – in the fall, in the winter and always in the mountains where people are few, wildlife is abundant and there is peace in the quiet.”
~ Donna Lynn Hope

When it comes to Cisticolas, identification become a little trickier. I think this is a juvenile Levaillant’s Cisticola because of its colouring and distribution.

The Levaillant’s Cisticola are known to perch conspiciously and sing away. They are also found around streams, dams and marshes. This character might easily be mistaken for a Rattling Cisticola but for the fact that it is smaller and its Rattling cousin prefers  bushveld and thornveld areas.

The Male Stonechat has very distinctive markings with a black head and rufous belly, black wing feathers and a white rump. You usually see them in pairs in open grassland areas. 

The female Stonechat is paler overall with brown head and a less rufous coloured belly. The Stonechat is an insect eater and although a local migrant, does seem to protect its food patch.

“Stop and unplug,” say I; “look around you, at the vastness and greatness of the natural world.” Some stop. Others need binoculars to tie their shoelaces.”
~ Fennel Hudson

The African Rail is a strange-looking bird  and is usually heard but not seen. The adult has a red beak and legs, brown back and blue-grey face and chest, and black and white barring on its belly, flanks and under tail. The colouring is hardly cryptic but perhaps from the top it would be difficult to distinguish it from a Marsh Harrier when seeing it in the reeds. Rails, like crakes and flufftails are skulkers which is why they are usually not seen. The adult African Rail is quite big, around 30 cm long.

Rails, like Snipe, have short tails suggesting that they have short highly manoeuverable flight patterns.  This Rail is bigger than a crake and has a much longer beak. The long bill is used to probe the reeds for insects, crabs and other small aquatic animals and their feet have long toes to be able to walk across the reeds .

Widowbirds are also found in the grasslands –  being predominately seed-eaters. These birds are called widows because their nuptial plumage is black and there long black tail feathers resemble the 18th-century grieving widow’s long black veil and train. Male widowbirds are all black in the breeding season but have elaborate colourful collar and wing coverts. The next image is of a Long-tailed Widow with its distinctive pale bill and red shoulders. The male grows his black plumage and long tail feathers for his nuptial displays.

A long-tailed widow in full nuptial display flight. It is impressive, the tail feathers hang down and the male flies slowly, what looks to be just above stall speed, and very deliberately. Like other widows this species is territorial and will aggressively chase away others males.  You will also find the White-winged and Red-collared Widow in Marievale.

The Long-tailed Widow is easily identified by its red shoulder patch and pale grey bill in the summer breeding season. Those wide stubby wings with a low aspect ratio (wing length to width) allow them to fly slowly and in a very pronounced way during their nuptial flights. Outside the breeding season the male looks similar to the female and loses his spectacular tail feathers.

You are likely to see all of the large Herons at Marievale, the Black Headed, Grey, Purple and Goliath. Every time we go to Marievale, we find the Black-headed Herons hunting alongside the road. With a quick glance, the grey and Black-headed Herons could be incorrectly identified but the Black-headed Heron has a Black head and, nape and back of the neck and its legs are black, not yellow like the Grey Heron. This Black-headed Heron will eat anything from rats and mice to small birds, terrapins and insects.

The Black Heron is the size of an egret and used to be called a Black Egret. We watched it using its umbrella type hunting style but I could not get a decent unobstructed image of this hunting technique.

“As the natural world grows smaller, so too does its intensity and the size of the window through which it may be viewed.”
~ Fennel Hudson

Another ubiquitous resident of Marievale is the Whiskered Tern. It is easily recognised by its red bill, black head and grey belly and white wings with grey trailing edges. They are good fliers. Their wing shape  indicates a great deal about how a bird lives. 

Flat, rather high-aspect-ratio wings which lacking slots, and with feathers at the base that streamline the trailing edge in with the body, are found in  high-speed flight specialists like terns. These Whiskered Terns flew hunting runs up and down the length of the open water sections looking for fish close to the water surface. Once they spotted their prey, they would abruptly turn and dive down to the water and pluck the fish from the surface of the water using their beak. 

This was a juvenile Whiskered Tern which seemed to have mastered the hunting technique.

The diversity of bird life in Marievale Bird Sanctuary will gladden any birders heart, and avian photographer’s for that matter. We often see members of a bird club who have gathered to see an unusual bird, the news gets around fast now days with social media.

“Only when the last of the animals horns, tusks, skin and bones have been sold, will mankind realize that money can never buy back our wildlife”
~ Paul Oxton

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

One thing you can be sure about when you are in the bush is that when you venture out you are likely to see something unexpected. On this particular occasion in Mashatu Nature Reserve we were driving back to camp after an afternoon game drive. The sun had set. It was around 19h30,  and the night sky was star spangled.  Once it gets dark we use spotlights to look for the game at night. The rule is not to shine the light directly at the animals as it blinds them, especially the herbivores. These days we use red filters on the spotlights minimise the risk of blinding the animals. I know from past experience that if someone shines a torch light straight in your eyes at night it will take about 45 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to the dark again.

“Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer. Leopards, cobras, monkeys, rivers and trees; they all served as my teachers when I lived as a wanderer in the Himalayan foothills.”

~Radhanath Swami
On our way back, we were travelling on a dirt track approaching the four way intersection, at the Shepherd’s Tree, which was our camp turning. Sometimes on the return journey we turn off the spotlights  allowing ourselves to be mesmerised by the vehicle’s headlights on the road in front. Suddenly in the headlights was a Scrub Hare on the right hand track in front of us. Nothing unusual about a Scrub Hare in the headlights, we saw them every evening on our journey back to camp. What was unusual this time was this Scrub Hare did not run off down the track. Our guide, Maifala, stopped the vehicle telling us to look closer. This was a Scrub Hare doe with her two leverets.

“The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”

~ Eden Phillpotts

There are two hare species in southern Africa – Cape and Scrub. The Scrub Hare is widely distributed throughout southern Africa occurring in savanna scrub and tall grasslands. It is endemic to southern Africa.

There are distinct differences between hares and rabbits. Hares tend to be larger than rabbits, with longer hind legs and longer ears with black markings. This doe was licking the leveret which was lying on its back. The licking not only cleans the offspring’s fur, but also stimulates its breathing and digestive processes.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
~ Albert Einstein

Besides the physical differences between rabbits and hares, their social behaviour is quite different The most stark difference lies in their new born. Hare births peak from September to February, and a hare’s pregnancy lasts 42 days, compared with rabbits’ 30-31 days. Newborn hares, called leverets, are fully developed at birth with eyes open, and their bodies are covered in fur . Usually, there are two to four in a litter,  and they are born above ground. To avoid the entire litter being lost to predators , the Scrub Hare doe will separate the leverets to individual resting places known as a ‘form’.  

By contrast, newborn rabbits, called kittens or kits, are born undeveloped, with closed eyes, no fur, and an inability to regulate their own temperature. 

“As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious.”

~ Albert Schweitzer

The Scrub Hare is usually a solitary creature. The sexes are only seen together for mating purposes. Hares are nocturnal and most often seen foraging at night. During the day they create a small indent in the ground, a form, and lie flat in it motionless  with their ears tucked back to their shoulders. As long as they remain motionless, predators usually cannot detect them because their colouration blends in so well with the scrubland and vegetation.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Scrub Hare does invest little time in parenting their young. The young are basically developed enough to take care of themselves. Although the time until independence is unknown, parents do not provide protection or resources and give them no learning experience. There is some suckling at night, but it does not last for many days. Maifala, our guide, said that in twenty four years of guiding in Mashatu he has only seen a Scrub Hare doe suckling her leverets once before. This was an unusual sighting and we we were fortunate enough to watch the licking and sucking process for about ten to fifteen minutes before the doe moved off out of the light.

The scrub hare has a few known predators such as jackals, cheetah, raptors and caracal.

Every now and then, mother nature will allow you to look closer into her more intimate world. We were all spellbound by this sighting and everyone on the vehicle was quiet for the remainder of the journey back to camp, taking in what we had just seen.

“I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder.”
~ Ansel Adams

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Summer is a wonderful time in the bush! It is sunshine, swimming, and the intoxicating scent of flowers and wild sage. It is a time when there is a liveliness and vibrance which you do not see at other times of the year. It is a time of new life and a time to celebrate being privileged enough to be able to recognise and enjoy this abundance.

“It’s a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do.”

~ Walter Winchell

It is a time when tummies are full.

It is a time of caring parents.

“Summer is afternoon naps in the hot shade, christmas beetle serenades, drowsy day-dreams and distant thunder.” 

~Mike Haworth

It is a time of wonder and soulfulness.

It is a time of being overwhelmed.

It is  pollen time.

“It’s summer and time for wandering…”

~ Kellie Elmore

It is also a time for gathering.

“Summer is when the early morning sun sprinkles gold dust on the animals, flowers and grass.”

It is time to reaffirm bonds and kinship.

“Summertime is always the best of what might be.”

~ Charles Bowden

It is a time for dust bathing.

“I am Summer, come to lure you away from your computer… come dance on my fresh grass, dig your toes into my beaches.”

~Oriana Green

It is a time for swimming.

It is a time for playing.

 He ain’t heavy, he is your brother!!

Enough swimming, time for lunch.

A section of the Majale river late in the afternoon when it is quiet and peaceful.

Early the next morning at the same section of the Majale river with the large fallen branch, when a troop of baboons had taken over.

Every now and then the males seem to get irritiated with all the cavorting.

One of the troop males in full disciplining mode.

Time to get out of the firing line.

Baboons know only too well what lies under the surface of the water.

This is a time to ” high-tail it “so no croc has an opportunity to “lock on”.

You can see the urgency in the movement.

All most there!!

A group of young females with babies attached, make the crossing.

The relief is obvious.

The need for speed …….

Even the big guys take no chances.

Later that day it had warmed up and the sun periodically got a look through the cloud cover.

“Summer evenings, a time when the air is scent filled, there is whoop of a hyaena down in the valley, distant rumbles with streaks of lighting, the sky’s  star spangled canopy spider webbed by the milky way, and “prrrp” of the Scops Owl nearby in the darkness.“

~Mike Haworth

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inner-connectedness and let it be.

“Summer is early morning outside showers, the smell of coffee, late breakfasts, snoozy middays, sundowners watching the sunset, balmy nights, stories around the campfire and nightjars trilling.“

~Mike Haworth

Have fun,

 Mike

This is the third post from our recent trip to Mashatu. I have entitled this post “summer adventure” because we decided not to leave our vehicles at Ponte Drift and catch the Ponte across the swollen Limpopo river but rather to drive to the next crossing up stream which is Platjan. It was an easy drive along tar for most of the way, probably a similar distance to Ponte Drift. There was only an 18 kilometre stretch of gravel road to finally get to Platjan. It was an easy border crossing. The customs officials and police were friendly, which is always a good start to a trip.

”Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure”

~ Bob Bitchin

The Limpopo crossing at Platjan is a low level causeway with no barriers. The water was flowing just under the causeway so we were allowed to cross.

Looking north from the causeway the river looked swollen and muddy due to all the recent rain.

Once in Botswana you immediately get the feeling that you are in the bush. The road from Platjan to Ponte drift was interesting. A romantic interpretation of a rough road,  tough enough to sideline the even the grader!

”Life was meant for good friends and great adventures”

~unknown

The road was rough and you had to drive carefully, even in a 4×4. There were big pools of water across the road and there were some “interesting” sand patches. There were also parts that required some negotiating because the rain had washed away part of the road. That is why a 4×4 is useful and that is why we do it – fun!!! Once you get to your bush destination and are able to reflect on the inbound journey over a few beers around the fire, the angst of the journey is washed away.

Even the Purple-pod Terminalias come alive. They are colourful enough but with backlighting their purply-crimson colours are vibrant. 

About 18 kilometres from Ponte Drift you get to a four way crossing, turn left to Mashatu and turn right to Soloman’s Wall. We turned right to have a look at the Mouloutse river. On the way we were struck  by how lush the bush was and were spellbound by the carpets of yellow Devil-thorn flowers. Looking into the distance on top of the Mmagwa sandstone ridge was Rhodes’s Baobab.

”You must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong.”

~Sue Fitzmaurice

At Solomon’s Wall, a natural igneous dyke which has weathered over the centuries and more recently been breached by the Mouloutse river, we found the sand river with large pools of water. This is the short cut from Platjan in the winter. Crossing this time was not possible unless you had an amphibious vehicle.

Once in Mashatu we travelled on, what is affectionately called, the M1. The road can best be described as eclectic, smooth in parts, rough in parts, but lined gorgeous vistas. We stopped on the low level bridge close to Mashatu main camp where it crosses the Majale river. Up stream it was like a dam due to the debris which had built up on the upstream side of the bridge.

On the same bridge looking downstream it looked like a normal seasonal river with some big pools of water.

Once in Mashatu you leave your vehicle at the camp and are taken around the reserve in Mashatu vehicles driven by Mashatu rangers. To say that Mashatu in summertime is eclectic is an understatement. One minute you are driving through carpets of yellow flowers the next you are in a sand river looking up at two lionesses resting on a gravel bank on one of the tributaries. Each lioness had three cubs. All the cubs were around seven to eight months old and were unfazed and unhurried by life.

The game reserve looked like the Garden of Eden. It was verdant and carpeted with yellow and pink flowers. There was an abundance of game and the birdlife was prolific reinforced by the migrants from higher up Africa, Europe and Russia.

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

~John Muir

Each evening around 18h30, weather permitting, we would drive to a lookout point from which to watch the sunset or moon-rise with a sundowner in hand. It was a daily celebration of life and abundance. The lookout point was normally a hill or ridge with a wonderful elevated view of the whole area from which to watch the wanderings of all the game below. From way down below you could hear the jackals calling and the odd “whoop” of an hyaena scout starting out on its nocturnal hunt.

One evening on our way back to camp around 19h30 we were crossing the rock bed below the weir on the Matabole river when one of our group, George, spotted a male leopard lying in the grass with his infra-red spotlight. How he saw this leopard was a mystery as it was so well camouflaged. This large male leopard was quietly lying in the long grass right next to the river. He must have known that a lot of game comes down to drink from that section of the river. With a little patience his dinner would come to him.  The fact that George could see something in the grass in the dark was amazing. We could only confirm it was a leopard through the binoculars. In the bush you need all your faculties to see, and seeing is about perceiving shape, colour and movement. It is not only about focus and clarity.

The summer migrants were in Mashatu for the insects. This was one of many Lesser Spotted Eagles which had arrived for the insect banquet. They are highly mobile and we only saw them one afternoon and never again.

“All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.”

~Marie Curie

This next image gives you an idea of the carpet of flowers covering the plains in Mashatu. Yellow Devil Thorn flowers interspersed with Wild Spearmint (I am not sure about my flower identification).

The elephants loved the flowers and scooped them up by the trunk full.

It is a remarkable sight to see a lioness lying in a bed of yellow flowers or to see a female elephant walking through  nature’s flower garden.

The giraffe were more interested the lions which were about 50 metres in front of them.

“Follow your bliss, and doors will open for you that you never knew existed. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”

~ Joseph Campbell

The rivers are seasonal. Recent rains had brought the rivers down in flood but the flood waters subside quickly if there is just a thundershower in the upstream catchment area. Once subsided the river is left with numerous pools of clean water, which the animals and birds seem to love.

The elephants really enjoy their summer pools. While we were watching the breeding herd in the previous image, out of the tree line on the far side of the riverbed came another herd of elephants. We watched quietly on the vehicle in the riverbed and  they walked a few metres in front of us. They then walked right past us, unfazed.

This was a Large-flowered Tephrosia on an rock outcrop highlighted by the late afternoon sunrays.

“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”

~Kahlil Gibran

The cubs watched their mothers stalking two giraffe.

Much further way from the lions, this young female giraffe was sitting down. You don’t often see them on the ground like this because they are so vulnerable.

A coalition of three Cheetah males were lying in the grass just below “Cheetah Koppie” , so called because they often walk on top of this hill to get a idea of where the game is on the plains below.

This Eland bull had been digging in the greenery with his horns and seemed quite comfortable with his new look.

This African Hoopoe was having a dust bath, in the late afternoon light, in the middle of the gravel road we were travelling along. It seemed to be quite content so we watched patiently while is undertook is dusty ablutions.

”Do more than just exist”

The next day we found two herds of elephant down at the Majale river. The group in the foreground were have such fun wallowing in the river. I have never seen this section of the Majale with so much water – wonderful to see.

At this time of the year the thunderclouds build up in the afternoons and dump their highly localised bounty.

In summertime the vehicle tracks are clearly demarcated with flowers. In winter, it is grey-brown and desolate.

A female Steenbok  resting quietly  in a sand gully.

Black-backed jackals are ubiquitous. They are usually silent during the day but can often be heard at night, inevitably giving a predator’s position away. They are nimble and crafty creatures who tend to work in pairs.

At this time of the year it is hard not to want to photograph the wonderful selection of wild flowers.

There is an inspiring array of sights, sounds and colours in Mashatu in summer and this Violet Backed Starling just added to the dazzle.

“Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.”

~Rabindranath Tagore

To get a sense of peace and serenity there is nothing better than driving slowly along a dry river bed through a croton grove. It is quiet but for Meve Starlings, squirrels and Turtle Doves. Hobbits would love these areas.

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

”Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell not stuff to show.”

Have fun.

Mike

It is the green season in Mashatu. All the avian summer visitors from Europe and Russia are there. There is water everywhere, the flora is a verdant green and there is an abundance of insects and caterpillars.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

This White-fronted Bee-eater looked to be trying to dust bath but it was doing so on fine stones so maybe it was just enjoying a pebble massage, and an alternative form of dust bath.

It was fun to watch. This little bundle of colour was thoroughly enjoying itself, as it continued for a good couple of minutes, quite oblivious of us.

Normally you see the resident Namaqua Doves pecking at the ground searching for seeds. The adult male has a yellow and red beak and a black face, throat and breast. The adult female lacks the black face and has a red-based grey bill. This little dove is the size of a budgerigar.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
We saw Lesser Spotted Eagles on one of the afternoons, and there were a number of them. The head and wing coverts are pale brown and contrast with the generally dark plumage. In contrast to the brown plumage, the eyes, feet and the skin at the base of the beak are yellow. These eagles migrate south from eastern Europe in our summer mainly for the abundance of insects, especially flying ants. This eagle has stove-piped feathered legs and is smaller than a Tawny Eagle which is smaller than a Steppe Eagle. Our guide, Maifala, said there were plenty of Steppe eagles around but we did not see them. These eagles seem to be highly mobile moving to where the insects are most abundant.

These Lesser Spotted Eagle will not let you get too close but it is wonderful to see these migrants. It is an amazing to think of how far these wanderers have flown to get to our part of the world.

There is water everywhere at this time of the year. Even slight depressions are full of water. Needless to say the frogs have been busy and there are many tadpoles in these temporary pools. The insects and tadpoles attract beachcombers like this Wood Sandpiper which was lightning fast to catch this tadpole. I have never seen a Wood Sandpiper catch anything more than small insects and midges on the surface of the water’s edge.

Anyone who has spent any time in thornveld bush will immediately recognise the call of a Crimson Breasted Shrike. You usually hear them before you see them. This character was not waiting around to show off its majestic crimson plumage. The crimson breast plumage is a vibrant scarlet-crimson colour which I doubt an artist would be able to replicate with oil paints.

“Colours are the smiles of nature.”

~Leigh Hunt

When you hear the sound of a bath-time rubber-duck being squeezed in the bush you know to look for a sandgrouse. This pair of Namaqua Sandgrouse were foraging through the yellow Devil-thorn flowers looking for seeds.

Both male and female have cryptic colouring on their backs because they feed on the ground. The male has a more definitive blonde chest with a white-trimmed chestnut coloured waistcoat marking.

Early one morning we found this Swainson’s Spurfowl declaring his territory to the world from his vantage point. This character’s spurs were disguised in the foliage but the length and sharpness of the leg spur gives an indication of the age of the male.

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
A panorama  looking down through a saddle onto the treeline along the Majale river from one of the adjacent ridges.

A male Kori Bustard with his neck puffed out. This was obviously the season for love, judging from how the male were parading around. We never got to see a full display but it was clear which was the male and which was the female.

“Raise your words, not your voice. It is the rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”

~Rumi

The next image is of  a Long-tailed or Meves Starling. They are ubiquitous in Mashatu. When the sun catches them they radiate these gorgeous  shades of blue and aquamarine.

These Long-tailed Starlings are also very talkative. When in the croton groves they, together with the tree squirrels, act as good alarms systems making it very difficult for predators and snakes  to move around unnoticed.

First thing in the morning, we saw many White-backed Vultures  which were either standing on the ground or perched in trees or bushes. Most birds of prey wait until around 9h00 for the thermals and dust devils to form before taking off  catching their sky lift.

Despite all the scenes of these vultures squabbling over carcasses they always seem to look relatively clean. With all the water around no doubt there was frequent bathing.

Mashatu must be one of the cuckoo meccas. I have never seen and heard so many different types of cuckoo as I do in Mashatu. We saw the Greater Spotted Cuckoo,  heard the Red-chested and Klaas’s Cuckoo and saw the Diedericks Cuckoo,  the Striped and this Jacobin Cuckoo. The Striped and Jacobin look quite similar until you see them from the front. The Jacobin has a pure white front unlike the Striped or Levaillant’s Cuckoo which has black stripes on its white front.

Sabota Larks are ubiquitous residents in Mashatu.

We had been watching a coalition of three male Cheetahs and were moving off when Maifala pointed to this lone Pearl-spotted Owlet. These guides have the most remarkable eyesight and are finely tuned into the bush. It was late afternoon and its seemed relaxed perhaps having just woken up. The white/pale eye brows are a distinctive feature, as is the small size. Next to the Scoops Owlet this must be one of the most distinctive owl calls at night.The song of the male is a series of clearly fluted whistles, rising gradually in volume and in pitch – “feu-feu-feu-fue-feu” and after a short pause, there may be several explosive notes with a downwards inflection – “peeooh peeooh”.

Juvenile Temmnick’s Courser. We often see Temmnick’s Coursers in Mashatu. This diurnal courser eats mainly insects and seeds and seems to prefer drier areas. This species can be found all over Africa from Chad to South Africa. We also got to see the largest courser, the  Bronze-winged Courser, which is nocturnal, but I was on the wrong size of the vehicle to get a decent image – perhaps next time!!

“The earth laughs in flowers.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
This young Temmnick’s Courser did not like all the attention and decided to look for a quieter spot.

The Woodland’s Kingfishers had also flown in for the summer and the abundance of insects. They are inter-African migrants. The males call constantly through the breeding season. The call is very distinctive and unmistakable in the summer bushveld. Their call begins with one sharp, loud, high note, followed by a repetition of trills in descending pitch which eventually fade away.

I was very “chuffed” to see a small flock of Southern Pied Babblers. The only other place I have seen them in southern Africa is the Pilansberg Game Reserve in South Africa.

We often see and hear Arrow-marked Babblers but it is treat to see Southern Pied Babblers. These babblers are co-operative breeders and are highly territorial.

Another summer migrant from higher up in Africa is the Carmine Bee-eater. They can be found in groups scattered across the park. They too were enjoying the abundance of flying insects.

A resident Red-backed Shrike.

A male Diederick’s Cuckoo. Its name is onomatopoeic as it has a persistent and loud “deed-deed-deed-deed-er-ick” call.

“In nature, light creates the colour. In the picture, colour creates the light.”

~Hans Hofmann

Adult males are glossy green above with copper-sheened areas on the back and whitish underparts. They have a broken white eye-stripe, a short green malar stripe and a red eye-ring.

These cuckoos are often found feeding on insects and caterpillars on the ground. There seem to be plenty of caterpillars from the Mopani trees and bushes.

An African Hoopoe on one of the dirt roads in the park. This bird also has a onomatopeaic name. It is named after its call which is a loud “oop!” in sets of three.

Their heads have a distinctive crest with long chestnut coloured feathers which have black tips. The crest lies backwards when the bird is resting, however, if alarmed or excited, the crest opens up and displays a beautiful circular shape. This male was taking a dust bath in the late afternoon.

This character would peek at the soil and then put his head down and squirm in the dust with his wings extended to fully cover himself with dust. He did this repeatedly for about 10 minutes. Dusting or sand bathing, is part of a bird’s preening and plumage maintenance which keeps feathers in top condition. The dust that is worked into the bird’s feathers will absorb excess oil to help keep the feathers from becoming greasy or matted. The oil-soaked dust is then shed easily to keep the plumage clean and flexible for more aerodynamic flight and efficient insulation.

“If your ever want your soul to dance in the clouds, you will at some point have to juggle lightning and taste the thunder.”

~Christopher Poindexter

This White Stork is a European migrant which has also flown down for the summer to enjoy the abundance of insects. They do not breed down in sub-equatorial Africa. These storks are on Jackal and Martial Eagles’ prey lists.

A Crested Francolin foraging for seeds fruit and insects. This francolin has a broad white eye-stripe which contrasts with the dark head, and it has a white throat. When it runs it cocks its tail, like a bantam chicken. Male crested francolins can be distinguished from females and juveniles by their brighter plumage colours and up-curved spurs on their legs. You will only see the crest which is extended when alarmed and gives this francolin a mohawk look.

A ubiquitous Yellow-billed Hornbill. These hornbills were having a field day with all the grasshoppers and ants to feed on. We also saw the Red-billed, Grey and Southern Ground Hornbills in the park.

I have been waiting to get a half reasonable image of a Plum-coloured, now called a violet-backed Starling.  This species is dimorphic and only the male has this irridescent purple-plum colouring which sparkles in the sunshine.

“Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways”.

~Oscar Wilde

This was the first trip to Mashatu where we saw these birds almost everyday. They were difficult to photograph as they would not allow us to get close to them. The male’s upper parts, including the chin, throat and wings are iridescent purple. The underparts are pure white. The coloration varies from dark to rosy depending on the light. The bill and legs of the male are black, the eyes have a yellow outer ring around a brown centre. The female lacks any of the iridescent plumage

A resident Lesser Grey Shrike, a cousin to the Red backed Shrike. Both are insect eaters and can often be seen  on top of the bushes scanning the area for food. They are perch hunters.

A Barn Swallow which has come down from the Northern Hemisphere for summer. This swallow has steel blue upper parts and a rufous forehead, chin and throat, which are separated from the off-white underparts by a broad dark blue breast band. The outer tail feathers are elongated, giving the distinctive deeply forked “swallow tail”. These agile fliers hunt insects on the wing. They were abundant in the park.

A Dusky Lark foraging in among the flowers for insects. This is a large, slender, thrush-like lark with striking facial pattern, very dark upper­parts and boldly streaked breast and primary and secondary coverts.

I hope I have given you a sense of the wonderful bird life which can be seen in Mashatu. Summer time has the added benefit of all the summer migrants but the birding and bird photograph is excellent at any time of the year.

“To find the meaning of life, enjoy the journey, the beauty of the nature, the glint of a dew drop, the warmth of the morning sun, the songs of the wind, and smiles of flowers. These are all there to make your journey worthwhile and make your life meaningful.”
~ Debasish Mridha

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike