Tag: wildlife

12 May 2013

Wildlife Moms on Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to wildlife because all animals have mothers. When viewing wildlife on safari every animal seen is exciting but when you see the youngsters with their Moms it’s a special treat.

The blue wildebeest is born a tawny brown and begin to take on the silvery-blue sheen coloration of an adult at nine weeks old. They are born in the middle of the herd for protection during daylight hours giving them time to practice walking before predators become active at night. Calves are able to stand within seven minutes and run with the herd in less than two hours from birth. They remain close to Mom and suckle up to one year.

African buffalo are born and initially nursed away from the herd of related females who they will protect the young in the middle of the herd if chased by predators. In fact a calf’s distress call will not only get the attention of the mother but the entire herd and if a youngster is captured the herd may even try to rescue it.

African elephant society is arranged around family units made up of around ten closely related females and their calves and led by an old female known as the matriarch. Calves are born after a gestation period of nearly two years. They are cared for by their mother and other young females in the group, known as allomothers. After puberty, male elephants tend to form alliances with other males.

Baboon females tend to be the primary caretaker of the young, although several females will share the duties for all of their offspring. After about one year, the young animals are weaned. Males leave their birth group usually before they reach sexual maturity at five to eight years, whereas females stay in the same group their whole lives.

Female waterbucks gather in herds of two to 600 individuals. Yet for several weeks a new-born will hide in the cover of dense brush or long grass before joining the herd and following their mothers.

Zebras live in small family units called a harem which typically consists of one stallion and one mare with their foals. Because each individual has unique markings at the moment of birth the mother keeps all others away from her foal to imprint her patterns. She nurses the foal for up to a year and eventually the young males leave their family groups while females may stay in the harem until they are abducted by another stallion.

Rhino calves are born early in the dry season after a gestation period of 16 months and stay with their mothers for a period of two to three years, until she gives birth to her next calf.

Hippos are usually found in large social groups called rafts made up of one male and many females with their young. Calves are born in the water and can swim before walking. In cold conditions a young hippo may rest the front part of its body on the mothers back to sunbathe.

Red hartebeests are social animals and form herds of up to 300. The females form sub-groups of five to twelve animals with four generations of young in the group. Births take place in thickets and the offspring is weaned at four months.

Egyptian Geese usually pair for life and both care for the offspring until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Both sexes are aggressively territorial towards their own species when breeding and frequently pursue intruders into the air. Looks like one adult is telling that black-backed jackal to bug off.

Female warthogs live in groups called sounders with their young and other females. When they are about to give birth sows temporarily leave their families to farrow in a separate hole. The sow will stay in the hole for several weeks nursing her litter of two to eight piglets. Females tend to stay in their natal groups while males leave but stay within the home range.

These are a few of the wildlife Moms I saw while visiting Kruger, Mountain Zebra and Addo Elephant National Parks in South Africa. Outside the parks many of these species are in decline due to habitat destruction, hunting, poaching, human settlement and food competition with cattle. I pray that the children of today’s Mothers will still have the opportunity to see wildlife, in the wild.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms!

06 May 2013

A week of wildlife in Kruger National Park South Africa

Joan and I arrived at Crocodile Bridge Gate into Kruger National Park in the dark, after the gate was closed. So we spent the night sleeping in the back of the pickup truck, known as a bakkie, right outside the gate putting us first in line to enter in the morning.

First animals barely seen due to the tall grasses were a pair of lions. This got my heart to pumping and brought back memories of my last visit seeing lions. What an exciting welcome to the park.

Heavy January rains not only increased vegetative growth but caused for severe flooding in northern parts of the park. Some roads and rest camps were closed yet many roads were still open for wildlife viewing.

We camped six nights and saw quite a few animals during the days, both big and small.

A typical day included getting up very early—for me. Joan’s up about 4:30am and out of the bakkie making coffee so when I crawled out of the tent about 5 my cup of java was ready. She really spoiled me and knew how to get me motivated at the crack of dawn.

Camp gates open at 5:30am during February when I was there and close at 6:30pm. Times change in relation to sunrise and set. Fines can be levied for returning late. Rest camps are enclosed by high electrified fences for visitor protection. It was exciting to hear the lions after dark and feel safe in my tent.

This unfortunately doesn’t stop the monkeys and baboons from getting into camp with the potential for problems. Like camping anywhere, it is wise not to leave food laying about or in your tent.

We would often be first out the gate and drive around on the extensive road system at least five hours. Many of the roads are gravel and a few main roads are paved. It’s always a slow drive with eyes looking in all directions in the hope of seeing as much wildlife as possible.

And sometimes they would be easier than others.

During the heat of the day we’d return to camp and often go swimming to cool off, but not with the crocodiles. Most of the main Rest Camps offer a restaurant, food and souvenir shops, and a swimming pool. The ablutions, or restrooms, have toilets, showers and often bathtubs. Plus the communal kitchen area has sinks, stove top, on-demand hot water and sometimes a refrigerator and freezer. And almost all campsites have power. We could even get WIFI with Joan’s modem.

Later in the afternoon we’d head back out and drive more hours looking for wildlife. I was never disappointed. We watched these young hyenas for a while. They were curious about us but wouldn’t come too close and eventually hid in the tall grass and watched us watching them.

We saw so many different birds I’ll have to devote an entire post to them. So this is just a teaser. I was reminded of riding an ostrich, but not in Kruger, on my last visit to South Africa. They’re fast runners at 43 mph (70 kph). The female is the lighter color.

Clockwise: Tree Wisteria, Mimosa, Blue Commelina, Unidentified, Wild cotton, Roadside Pimpernell, Unidentified

Yet visiting a wildlife park is about more than animals. The plant life is spectacularly diverse and beautiful.

Most important when driving around in Kruger National Park is you DO NOT get out of your vehicle. There be predators.

One of the last animals we saw before leaving the park. She appeared to be guarding a den in the rocks.

Or maybe waiting for her pride to return with a meal of something like this little Steenbok. All part of survival in the bush.

One week at Kruger National Park provides time to see a lot of wildlife yet I could enjoy staying longer. I will be back.

Have you been on safari before? What was your favorite animal?

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Kruger National Park, South Africa camping, Kruger National Park, photography, South Africa, wildlife 42 Comments

14 April 2013

Wildlife share the waters in Kruger National Park

Predator and prey alike must share the waters during flood and drought. Yet it can be an eat or get eaten world. Just part of the balance of nature. I love National Parks for offering at least a possibility of that balance, with us included. But that doesn’t mean I want to swim with the crocodiles.

Closed over the Oliphant’s River

Flood & drought

Just like other parts of the world, South Africa deals with the continuous cycles of flood and drought which effects wildlife and human visitors to National Parks. 1991/92 was regarded as being the lowest rain fall in living memory in many parts of the country. Yet large floods occurred in 2000 and 2013 requiring evacuations from camp areas and the closure of roads and bridges in Kruger National Park. An inconvenience for visitors but important because they reorganize the physical environment by eroding and depositing sediment, removing riparian vegetation, and redistributing nutrients.

The winter months from May to August are traditionally dry with little rain. November to March is the typical summer rainy season. Depending on the region, rainfall varies from 1.3 feet (400 mm) to 2.4 feet (720 mm) per year.

My visit during February brought a few nights of down pour yet days were sunny and dry. But because of the heavy January rains the tall grasses provided thick cover making some wildlife difficult to see, until we got near water where they provided quite a sight.

Dams & rivers

Five major river systems traverse Kruger National Park including the Luvuvhu River in the north, the Crocodile River forming the southern boundary, and the Letaba, Olifants and Sabie rivers in-between. Because this near 50 thousand acre (2 million hectare) park was once fenced, natural migration was limited so artificial water sources were added between the 1930s and 1980s by drilling boreholes to create water holes/dams, and some perennial rivers were dammed. Some dams remain open more for tourism purposes than ecosystem management.

After documenting a rise and fall in certain animal populations the park changed its water policy in 1997 in an attempt to simulate the natural distribution of water. In a natural system, the dry season will see natural waterholes disappear so animals are forced to go the rivers and larger pools. However, when the wet season hits, streams, rivers and pools fill with water providing nature with all its needs and the game moves back into the bush. At the beginning of this century fences between adjacent parks and countries started to come down allowing the animals to take up their old migratory routes.

And hanging out by the water is a good place to see wildlife although you might not expect to see Crocs, Hippos and birds in the same stretch of water, it happens. While cruising the roads in Kruger National Park, Joan and me in our car-cage, I mused about this sharing of the water. What eats what that they can all get along? Wildlife, much like humans, vary in being fish eaters, vegetarians and meat eaters.

Omnivores/meat and vegetables

OMG, they’ll eat almost anything.

Social Weavers mostly eat insects and seeds. Lots of insects over the waters where they built this large compound of community nests that consist of separate chambers.

Spur-winged geese are the largest African waterfowl. They eat larvae, pupae, aquatic animals, plant material, seeds, small fish, snails and crabs. The larger black-necked heron seen in this image is actually carnivorous eating fish, crabs, insects, reptiles, small mammals and even other smaller birds. Good thing that’s a big goose.

Black-backed jackals feed on beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, millipedes, spiders, scorpions, rodents, hares, lizards, snakes, birds and young antelopes, plus occasionally fruits and berries. Their eating habits remind me of the opportunist coyotes. But this one didn’t get fowl for lunch that day.

Herbivores/vegetarians

Seems some of the largest animals survive quite well as vegetarians.

Buffalo are primarily grazers, and like to drink twice a day when they often wade into the water up to their bellies.

The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic inhabiting rivers, lakes and swamps. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud and they emerge at dusk to graze on grass.

Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruit, and bark. An adult African elephant can eat up to 295 pounds (134 kilograms) of food and drink about 50 gallons (190 liters) of water each day.

Giraffe are browsers and select mainly leaves and buds on trees and shrubs. Herbs, climbers and vines are also eaten, likewise flowers and fruit are preferred when in season. Getting a drink requires being a contortionist to lower that long neck down to the water.

Carnivores/meat eaters

The ones to watch out for.

The African Fish Eagle is not limited to fish, and will feed upon flamingos, ducks, lizards, baby crocodiles and carrion. Additionally it will also happily steal catches from other birds.

The Hammerkop feeds in shallow fresh water and eats frogs, insects, fish and other water creatures.

Yellow-billed storks primarily eat small crustaceans, fish, frogs, aquatic insects, and small mammals. Because of their taste for aquatic creatures, yellow-billed storks follow the floodwaters, constantly in search of water with a high concentration of fish.

Crocodiles spend almost half their lives in water and eat pretty much anything that will get close enough to the water to be dragged in. The adult usually eat snakes, buffalo, cattle, or anything else that gets near the water. Including humans. The juveniles eat insects, shellfish and fish.

For all the above mentioned animals it’s more about being compatible and sharing the water. Well, except for maybe the crocodile.

Of course many other animals come to the waters both prey and predator and would take the opportunity to eat if offered and needed. The balance in nature is well maintained. Especially if humankind stays out of their environment. These are just a few of the animals I saw while visiting Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Do you think we humans could learn something from the wildlife about sharing the waters?

South Africa Kruger National Park, photography, South Africa, wildlife 24 Comments

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Tag: wildlife

Wildlife Moms on Mother’s Day

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A week of wildlife in Kruger National Park South Africa

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