Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category
The Turtles and the Teal
I was walking slowly along the edge of the large dam at Namibgrens, trying to get close enough to take a photograph of a pair of Dusky sunbirds that were feeding nearby, when a movement in the murky water a few metres from the edge of the dam caught my attention. I watched the movement in the water for a few seconds before it dawned on me what I was seeing amidst the tangle of plants in the water.
A Red-billed teal lay dead amongst the vegetation in the murky water and was being eaten by a small group of turtles!
The sunbirds were forgotten for the moment as I stood and watched in amazement as the turtles gathered, sometimes as many as five appearing to feed at the same time, pushing at the teal so that it twisted and turned in the water, sometimes presenting as just a pile of feathers, at other times its full duck-shape being obvious. In the gloom of the dirty water the turtles could only be seen when they were near the surface and there could have been more nudging the teal from below.
I watched several of the turtles swim away from the teal, only either to return after a short interval or to be replaced by others. It wasn’t therefore possible to see just how many turtles were taking advantage of this bonanza, but the most that were clearly in view simultaneously, either at the teal itself or swimming nearby, was seven.
I watched the activity for some time before I went back to trying to photograph the uncooperative Dusky sunbirds, but returned to the same spot the following morning to find no trace whatsoever of either the teal or the turtles. The teal could have been out of sight deep beneath the surface of the water, but there wasn’t so much as a feather to be seen.
I should imagine that the turtles were not instrumental in the death of the teal, as, although omnivorous turtles are known to feed on carrion, duck eggs, and even to take young ducklings, this had looked like an adult teal. I did, however come across this rather amazing video clip on You Tube of a turtle taking a pigeon, so who knows what is possible?
Take a look …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhGZ5XUW27E&feature=player_embedded
The Devil’s Darning Needle
What on earth inspired the title of today’s blog you may wonder. As always our research has lead us to some interesting information and in case you haven’t already guessed from the photo below, the Devil’s Darning Needle is one of the many names given to the humble dragonfly! Apparently there’s a myth that says that if children are naughty dragonflies will seek them out at night and sew their mouths together with their claspers.
On a happier note, we’ve been camping twice in January (aren’t we lucky!) and have been privileged to see many beautiful dragonflies around our campsites and at the dams. They aren’t always easy to photograph so it’s especially rewarding when you manage to get a half decent shot of one.
They are worse than birds when it comes to staying still long enough to photograph them and this is because they have these enormous compound eyes with about 30 000 lenses that cover a 360 degree area. They actually sense more than they see so if you approach them they fly off. Sometimes you get lucky though!
I’m not even going to try and write about all the interesting facts and myths surrounding dragonflies as there is THE most amazing website covering absolutely everything you’d ever want to know about them – the Dragonfly Site. Do pay it a visit and prepare to be enchanted learning all about these beautiful little creatures.
The mongoose project
We had to stay in Windhoek over Christmas and New Year, which, to nomads like ourselves who enjoy being outdoors in nature, is tantamount to hell! However, a chance sighting of a Yellow mongoose in our garden a few days before Christmas gave rise to an idea – we decided to put some food out to see if we could attract it and get some close up photographs. Little did we know what pleasure this would give us over an otherwise quiet time alone.
On day two cold chicken was on the menu and sure enough, right on cue, our little mongoose arrived. We could see by its size that it was a juvenile. Still nervous, the meal took more than an hour to eat as the mongoose kept running off with each piece of meat. There was great excitement when halfway through the meal a Slender mongoose arrived on the scene.
They are quite different in colouring – being darker and having a black tip on their tail as opposed to the white tip on the tail of the Yellow mongoose. The Slender mongoose also has a very different face with a pink nose.
By day three we’d almost run out of meat so used cat pellets to supplement the meal. We were delighted when our Yellow mongoose (note how possessive we had now become!) brought a friend along to eat. They weren’t too nervous and stayed eating at the dish, all the while ‘talking’ to each other with little cooing noises. When alarmed by something, they made a completely different warning sound as they ran off. At one stage our cat went outside and one of the little mongooses bushed out its tail and rushed at him in a threatening manner. I was somewhat alarmed by this as I wouldn’t want any harm to come to our beloved cat.
On the fourth day no less than six mongooses arrived. Our little garden was completely overrun by these animals and we decided that we’d taken enough photos and would stop the feeding/photography project. It’s amazing how quickly the word spreads when there is food to be had. One or two still come nosing around during the day looking for food and it’s very difficult not to feel sorry for them and throw a few cat pellets their way.
If you’d like to read more about the variety of mongooses that we’ve seen, click on The Heroic Mongoose and Namibia’s Largest Endemic Carnivore.
The Caracal – one of the cool cats of Africa
One of the fun things about living in Namibia is that most lodges or rehabilitation centres have interesting animals, either that frequent the places for food or are being homed until they can be reintroduced into the wild. We really don’t like zoos at all so these African areas where we can see unusual animals in their natural state are a bonus for us. On our travels one of the more interesting animals that we have come across is the Caracal (also known as the African Lynx or Desert Lynx) – a stocky, reddish-brown wild cat that is not commonly seen.
Caracals are distinguishable by the dark tufts on their long ears, which are black on the back. They are named after this feature as Caracal is derived from the Turkish word ‘karakulak’ which means black ear. In Afrikaans it is called a ‘Rooikat’ (red cat). It looks rather like a domestic cat on steroids with its thickset body and shortish tail (measuring about one-third of its length). The Caracals found in Namibia are the sub-species called the C.c. damarensis and because they live in desert-like conditions they are able to go for long periods of time without water, getting most of their liquid requirements from their prey.
The females are highly territorial, especially against other females, but are not monogamous and mate with up to three males during their estrous cycle of two weeks. During this time they spray urine to invite attention from males. They mate throughout the year, but mostly when they are assured of an abundance of prey. Litters in the wild consist of three kittens, born after a gestation period of between eight and eleven weeks. They have larger litters (up to six kittens) if bred in captivity where food is plentiful. Young Caracals remain with their mothers until they are about a year old. The life expectancy of Caracals depends on their habitat – in the wild they live up to twelve years and in captivity they live about seven years longer.
They are not an endangered species and are also found in large parts of Africa and Asia.
A Southern Vine Snake Drops In
There are a number of tented lodges in Namibia that give guests the experience of camping, but on a more luxurious scale, with proper beds and usually a nice bathroom attached to the tented room. Whist we were camping at Shamvura, in the Caprivi in northern Namibia, guests in one of these luxury tents heard a thud on the roof and when they went out to investigate, found that a Twig, or Southern Vine snake had dropped onto the canvas from the tree above. This obviously caused great excitement!
There are two species of this snake in southern Africa – the Southern Vine snake that is found all the way from Kwazulu Natal in South Africa to northern Namibia and Botswana; and the Eastern Vine snake that mainly occurs in Mozambique and some areas north of the sub-region. The Eastern variety is different from its Southern counterpart in that it has a plain green head with speckled markings on its crown.
Vine snakes grow to a length of approximately 1.2 meters. Females lay clutches of up to eighteen eggs. Their diet consists mainly of lizards, chameleons, frogs and small mammals, snakes and birds. They are well camouflaged and are not easily detected as they remain motionless in trees or shrubs for long periods whilst waiting for prey.
We were pleased that we were given the opportunity to see one of these beautiful snakes up close, without having come upon one in more dangerous circumstances.
