Namibia’s Largest Endemic Carnivore
September 7th, 2010 | 
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Posted in On several visits to the Erongo Mountains of Western Namibia we have been fortunate enough to catch a few glimpses of black mongooses, usually as they streak across the road in front of the car in some remote and rocky area. Twice Jane saw a specimen while I was looking the other way and I missed it altogether. But then our luck changed.
A bit of background. The slender mongoose (Galerella sanguinea) and the yellow mongoose (Cynictus penicillata) are fairly common in Namibia and the slender mongoose in particular seems to have adapted well to the presence of humans.
We often see slender mongooses in Windhoek and regularly find them playing on the sports field of the school just a few blocks from where we live. In the northern part of the country the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) is quite common in the riverine forests and in the woodlands. So mongooses, then, are not a rarity in Namibia.
The black mongoose, though, is something else.
First described some 75 years ago, the black mongoose (G. nigrata) is not a common beast. During the intervening years it has at various times been considered to be a subspecies of the slender mongoose and of the small grey mongoose (G. pulverolenta). In 1993 however, it was given species status within the same family as the slender mongoose. This made it the largest carnivore that is endemic to Namibia. It is largely restricted to the granite mountains of north-western Namibia and has been quite extensively studied since 2004 under an initiative known as the “Shadow Hunter Research Project”. (You probably don’t know this – unless you are a biologist – but animals that live in rocky habitats are called “petrophilous”. Not a word that you find in everyday conversation.)
Walking through the rather isolated veld near our wilderness campsite on the farm Omandumba, in the Erongo Mountains, we found a little waterhole in the rocks where there were an assortment of birds stopping off to drink. We took a few photos – the exquisite violet-eared and black-faced waxbills were particularly plentiful – and decided to return later in the afternoon in the hope that more birds of different species would visit the spot, and perhaps even some of the animals that are fairly plentiful in the area.
Well, we came back and parked the car in a suitable spot, and within a few minutes a black mongoose came wandering onto the rocks. It glanced round and disappeared after just a few seconds, without approaching the waterhole, but gave us a really good sighting. Brilliant! As I was prepared to take photographs of birds, I had my camera ready and in spite of the short display was able to take a couple of photos. This little animal was not black, but rather a wonderfully deep chestnut. To our untrained eyes it looked very similar to the slender mongoose in all but colour.
We waited another two hours, until dark, convinced that the mongoose would return and perhaps come closer, but it never put in another appearance. Not then and not the next day when we spent another few hours in wait. A troop of baboon spent quite a long time on the rocks above us, watching us watching the birds. But of the mongoose, not a trace.
Aren’t these opportunities fleeting?
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The Ghost Town of Kolmanskop
The history of the village of Kolmaskop in Southern Namibia is typical of the boom-and-bust history of many mining towns around the world; towns founded on the presence of exotic minerals that are collected and sent elsewhere for further processing and sale. When these minerals run out the very reason for the town’s existence vanishes, and the citizens move on. In the case of Kolmanskop, the exotic minerals were diamonds and the boom lasted less than 50 years.
History has it that on 14 April 1908 a railway worker by the name of Zacharias Lewala, who was working on the railway line between Luderitz and Aus, found a “shiny stone” lying on the sand and showed it to his supervisor, the railway inspector August Stauch, who recognized it as a diamond. Stauch obtained a prospector’s license and as soon as it was confirmed that the stone was indeed a diamond, the rush to Kolmanskop was on.
It turned out that the stone found by Zacharias Lewala was far from being an isolated example, and diamonds lay on the surface of the ground in great numbers. It was apparently common for prospectors to lie on their bellies and slowly crawl across the sand, picking up diamonds by the dozen.
The German Government quickly stepped in and declared a large area surrounding Kolmanskop a “Sperrgebiet”, or forbidden area. This Sperrgebiet, which still exists today, stretches from the Orange River in the south for some 350 km northwards and from the sea in the west for some 100 km eastwards.
The village of Kolmanskop, named after Johnny Coleman, a transport rider who abandoned his oxwagon near the spot during a sand storm, and located some ten kilometers east of Luderitz in the dunes of the Namib Desert, was soon flourishing. Fuelled by the wealth that lay upon the sand, the village quickly grew to include a hospital (which housed the first x-ray unit in the southern hemisphere), a school, casino, theatre, ballroom, gymnasium, skittle-alley and even an ice factory. Mansions were built for the senior mine officials in the midst of the sand dunes and Kolmanskop became one of the wealthiest communities in Africa at that time.
Of course water was in short supply and some had to be shipped from Cape Town to Luderitz and then carried by mule to Kolmanskop. The balance of the water came via a pipeline from Elizabeth Bay and even from a small desalination plant. Every morning an ice block and fresh water was delivered to each of the houses, bringing some comfort in the heat of the desert. At its peak, some seven hundred families resided in Kolmanskop.
Shortly after the First World War, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, the Chairman of the Anglo-American Company established the Consolidated Diamond Mines (CDM) by buying up the small diamond companies that had operated in the area. CDM, in fact controlled the diamond mining in this area until 1995 when NAMDEB was formed under the new government of Namibia.
It wasn’t long after the First World War, though, that diamond sales began to drop, and with the discovery of rich diamond fields to the south, near the mouth of the Orange River, prospectors began to leave Kolmanskop. The last residents left in 1956 although mining had stopped some years earlier, and the desert soon began to reclaim its own.
Today it is a “ghost town” and a tourist attraction. Many of the buildings have been restored to show something of their former glory, but the real interest probably lies in those that have been more or less abandoned to the desert. The massive sand dunes have moved forward, depositing many tons of sand into the formerly proud residences, providing ample evidence of the effort that must have been applied to keep them clean and livable during the boom years.
Kolmanskop is well worth a visit, and the little museum provides a wealth of information on the boom years of the diamond industry in the area.
Bird of the week – Week 35 : Abdim’s stork
Let’s be honest. The Abdim’s stork is not a beautiful bird. Not as immediately repulsive as the Marabou stork, perhaps, but still not a beautiful bird. It is quite graceful in flight, but on the ground it looks quite clumsy and its red eye patch set into blue cheeks gives the impression that its eyes are terribly bloodshot. But perhaps I’m just being unkind. In some African countries it is considered to bring good luck, especially in the form of rain, which is not surprising really, as its migratory pattern follows the rains. Rather usefully (from the stork’s point of view), superstition requires that the bird is left undisturbed.
The Abdim’s stork is a visitor to Southern Africa, most arriving from its breeding grounds in East and West Africa during November and departing again in April. They are gregarious birds, usually found in large flocks, especially where there are plenty of insects. They are quite large birds, although they are the smallest of the storks, about 75 cm in length, and are mainly black, with a purple sheen to their feathers. The belly and rump are white and the bare skin on their cheeks is blue, although this is somewhat duller when they are not breeding. There is a red patch in front of the eyes. The bill and legs are olive green and their toes and knees are red. Sexes are similar, although the males are a little larger than the females.
During the months that they spend in Southern Africa, the Abdim’s storks remain in the more Northerly parts of the region, restricting themselves to the highveld grasslands and parts of the Kalahari. During this time they are largely silent although there is some bill clattering that takes place.
Abdim’s storks feed mainly on insects, lizards, frogs, and army worms. They seem to be especially fond of locusts, grasshoppers and crickets and for this reason in some areas they are known as “grasshopper birds”. Like several other stork species, Abdim’s Storks defecate on their legs to assist with cooling in the hot weather.
The scientific name for the Absdim’s stork is Ciconia abdimii; Ciconia from the Latin for a stork and abdimii being derived from the name of the governor of Wadi Halfa in the Sudan, Bey El-Arnaut Abdim(1780-1827).
The Gemsbok – courageous, elegant and proud
Namibian’s think so highly of the gemsbok, or Oryx gazella that their national coat of arms depicts two of these magnificent animals on either side of a shield covered with the national flag – representing courage, elegance and pride. If you see these antelope in their desert surroundings, you will understand why they hold such a prominent place in the hearts of all Namibians.
We come across them often in our travels in Namibia and Botswana and they never fail to give us a thrill when we see them. Their coats vary in colour from light grey to light brown, with patches of white, highlighted by dramatic black lines on their backs, legs and faces. These striking markings are offset by long straight horns that are sported by both males and females – the female’s horns being slightly thinner and longer.
Gemsbok can survive in harsh semi-desert conditions and dry savannah areas as they have adapted to tolerate heat better than other antelopes. Able to withstand temperatures in excess of 45 degrees C they use rapid breathing to cool the blood that passes through their noses. This cooler blood is transported to their brains and their body temperature is brought down a few degrees.
They are able to survive for long periods without water. Like most antelopes, they are mainly grazers, but they also eat tsamma melons, bulbs and tubers, which add moisture and fibre to their diet. During the day gemsbok mostly try and find a shady tree to stand under, as they prefer feeding early in the morning, evening and sometimes during the night, when temperatures are cooler.
Lions, hyenas and dogs are their main predators, apart from humans, who hunt them for trophies or meat. We came across a lion kill in the Central Kalahari last year, where a pride of lions had brought down a gemsbok.
The lions guarded their kill very jealously because a large number of black-backed jackals were keen to get any pickings that they could.
Gemsbok give birth to a single calf, arriving at any time during the year, after a nine month gestation period. The calf is usually hidden for the first few weeks of its life before it joins the rest of the herd. The baby’s horns grow very quickly, giving rise to the myth that gemsbok are born with horns, which obviously isn’t true. As can be seen from the photo below, the baby is brown with very few markings.
Wherever we see them – in the sand dunes of Sossusvlei, the savannah grasslands of Botswana or the arid rocky Etosha game reserve, they remain one of our absolute favourite animals and we always admire their grace and beauty.
Bird of the week – Week 34 : Rosy-faced lovebird
I think that many people will agree that the Rosy-faced lovebird is one of the most beautiful birds to be found in Namibia. Unfortunately, as with many small birds, their beauty has resulted in them becoming very popular cage birds. It is a fairly small bird, about 15 cm in length, and is very colourful. It is largely bright green, with a face, throat and breast that is rose-pink. The forehead and eyebrow are bright red and the rump is bright blue; legs and feet are grey; the bill yellowish and the eyes brown. It has a short tail, which adds to its dumpy appearance. Sexes are alike, although the red on the head of the males is brighter than that on the females.
It is classified as a “near-endemic” in the Southern African region, and its range lies almost totally within Namibia, overflowing a little in the north into Southern Angola and a little in the south into the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They are locally common, preferring dry woodland areas and the woodlands that follow the watercourses in the dry countryside.
Lovebirds are very gregarious and occur in small flocks. Their flight is fast and for a reason that I can’t explain they remind me of a Spitfire! They drink regularly and several of the photos shown here were taken near waterholes.
Their diet consists of seeds and berries, and they can often be seen foraging through trees seeking out berries and even flowers. They are quite noisy birds that are often heard before they are seen as they fly past, screeching a shrill “shreek” that is quite distinctive.
Rosy-faced lovebirds are monogamous and are colonial breeders, building a cup-nest out of leaves and grass. Unlike most other birds, the female lovebird does not carry the material to build the nest in her bill, but tucks it into her rump feathers for the flight. Nests are built in rock crevices or in the chambers of a Sociable weaver’s nest (cheeky!). The female lays four to six dull white eggs and the chicks hatch after an incubation period of about 23 days.
The scientific name for the Rosy-faced lovebird is Agapornis roseicollis; Agapornis from the Greek for a lovebird and roseicollis from the Latin for a rose-coloured neck. Hence a lovebird with a rose-coloured neck. Well, it is the face that is red rather than the neck, but I suppose that is close enough.
