Wild Dog Chase

We race along the washboard road in the predawn darkness.  Salani, our ranger and driver, takes the bumps at speed, rattling our teeth, jarring our bones. Our speed turns the cold night air into a biting wind.  We put on all our layers and pull the blankets tight up to our chins. The wind gets into my inner ears and they throb.   The prize is worth it. We are on the hunt for wild dogs, spotted less than an hour earlier along one of the park roads.

To  the uniformed, wild dogs may not sound very exciting but they are endangered and rare, only 400 in South Africa and only 130 in all of Kruger National Park.   They have a reputation, undeserved, for being cruel and indiscriminate killers so farmers and early colonial game administrators called for their extermination. That and habitat lost have diminished the population to dangerously low numbers.   Fortunately, now there are measures in place to protect them and reintroduce them back into some game parks.  We have seen them only in a breeding program and so are thrilled at the thought of seeing them in their natural habitat.

As we speed along, the eastern sky begins to lighten and color.   The marula trees are stark but lovely, silhouetted black against the brightening horizon, seashell pink and butter yellow.  

 The colors which had drained from the earth the night before begin slowly seeping back in but early-morning pale and thin.   An soft mist hangs in the air compounding the effect.  The grasses appear silver, only the barest of yellows and greens showing through.  The rich oranges, reds and golds still sleep, waiting to come out, till the sun is higher, warmer. 

Salani is single-minded in his mission so we don’t slow even when we come across a small herd of elephants.  We pause, but only just, when we spot the impressive bull a 100 meters later.  Despite our unusual speed, the dimwitted francolins still believe they can outrun us. They sprint ahead of our vehicle, dodging left and right, sure that even if they can’t outrun us, they can out maneuver us.  Finally, they give up, veering off into the bush or taking flight, angrily chirping a warning.  

We pull alongside game vehicles coming from the direction we are going.  In rapid Tsonga, Salani exchanges information with the other rangers.  No one has seen the dogs.   The sun has now come up fully above the horizon, big and yellow and hot. Only the warmth doesn’t reach us, we still huddle beneath our blankets.

By now our pace has slowed.  Salani says he thinks we’ve gone too far, so we double back.  As he drives, he hangs out his window looking for tracks but with no luck.  The urgency is gone.

I know when Salani slows, and cuts the engine at a herd of impala he has given up the hunt.  Without speaking we all adjust our expectations and settle in for what is before us.  Cameras and binoculars come out.   We watch the long horned male in his sisyphusian  task of keeping his herd of 100 females and off-spring in a manageable area, circling, snorting, corralling.  We watch the young ones leap and kick up their heels.   The wind gone and the sun higher, our blankets come off.   In silence, we drink in the beauty of what has been given us instead.

The Secret (and Genius) Life of Plants

One of the highlights of our stay at Mopane Bush Lodge in July was the morning walk with the Lodge Manager, Andrew Rae, an incredibly knowledgable and personable ranger. He shared all kinds of facts and tidbits about the bushveld animal and plant life.

I was particularly struck by two stories he told us about plants. Near the Limpopo River live the Fever trees - just as Rudyard Kipling wrote about. Earlier in our trip we had gone to the Treetop Walk on the Limpopo River at Mapungubwe National Park and I noticed that there were these big, yellow barked trees each with one big black limb - how strange I thought. Turns out that the ground water near the Limpopo contains a lot of salt - but since these poor trees can't really rely on some factory filtering their water for them, they have no choice but to drink it up. Smart things that they are, they funnel all the salts into one sacrificial limb so the rest of the tree can enjoy pure non-salty water. Clever, huh?

The second even more amazing thing Andrew told us about are these acacia bushes with huge thorns. Apparently, the leaves of these bushes are especially delicious to giraffe and eland. You'd think the thorns would be all the defense the bushes would need, but the giraffe and eland use their long tongues to weave past the thorns to get at the tender delicious leaves. The wily acacia then employs its second defense. As soon as it senses its leaves are being devoured it emits a tannin into its leaves making them much less tasty. Within 5 minutes the giraffe is on its way. I think this is wonderous- but it doesn't end there. The bush also emits a chemical into the air which gets picked up by neighboring downwind acacias letting them know evil leaf eating beasts are about. By the time the unknowing giraffe wanders to a nearby acacia, the leaves are already filled with tannins. But giraffes are no dummies - they have learned to go upwind to find the next acacia. Oh cruel nature!!

>

The Magical Baobabs

I was looking through Chapter 5 of The Little Prince trying to find a clever quote to include in this little bit about baobabs, but the Little Prince doesn't like these magnificent trees and in fact digs the babies up as soon as they become distinguishable from rosebushes. I guess if left to grow they would soon overtake his asteroid and the roots would tear it to bits, so it is understandable that he views them as quite a menace. But they don't seem to pose any such threat to earth and so I love them! I have been thinking about doing a blog on baobabs for a while now - well actually just a blog where I posted a bunch of pics of them. But then, the universe had other plans for me. While at the local library with Q and A, what was on the return book cart but a children's book, This is the Tree, The Story of the Baobab. So the book inspired me to learn a bit more about these plant mammoths. My favorite fact - "the flowers begin to open around sunset, lasting only until the next morning. They give off a strong, rotting smell which attracts bats, bluebottle and nocturnal moths." Bats pollinate the tree when they crash into the flowers as they are chasing insects. But don't pick the flowers because legend has it that you will be killed by a lion. Baobabs are ginormous - up to 10 meters in diameter. They have been hollowed out and used for prisons, stables, bus shelters, dairies, and weavers workshop. We went into one 47m circumference tree that had been made into a pub, which I felt was a bit degrading for such a noble tree. This tree has been carbon dated to +-6000 years old!!!! When the compost that had formed inside the tree was cleared out there was evidence of both Bushman and Voortrekers having lived inside. All parts of the baobab seem to be useful as food or medicine. If you find yourself hungry and stranded, cook up the leaves or roots. Need mouthwash - dry the root and pound into a powder, which just might cure your malaria too. And don't worry too much if you cut the bark in the process as it will heal itself. If the Little Prince had only known how wondrous these marvelous trees are he surely would have figured out a way to have at least one on his asteroid.

Weaver Birds

All of a sudden, about a month ago, I noticed the yellow weaver birds were yellower and busier and all over the place. Spring is the time for romance, so the males had replaced their dull winter coats in favor of bright lemon yellow ones in hopes of attracting a lady friend. Although an attractive plumage will get a female to look his way, the ultimate test comes in his home construction skills. The male works diligently, pulling leaf fibers into fine strips, and using only his beak, masterfully weaves them and twigs and grass into an elaborate pouch shaped nest. The female, using criteria known only to her, inspects and gives the nod of approval or the thumbs down of rejection. If not happy, she will dismantle the nest and the weary male must begin again. P.S. Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone. Not one of these photos is mine - I just can't take a good bird photo,especially with my phone, so I resorted to stealing from the internet.

Amaze Your Friends -- Dung Beetle Facts

If by any chance you read the earlier blog, "Revised, My Favorites in this Order," you'll know that dung beetles are among my favorite living creatures.  Imagine my delight when I discovered right there on my desktop a document called Dung Beetle Facts - a forgotten remnant left over from a school report that Quince had to do months ago, long before I decided that these little unassuming creatures ranked in my top 5.  Personally, I think you would be well advised to stash a few of these little facts in your pocket, because at the right moment you'll get to pull one of these little gem pebbles out, drop it in a conversation and watch the ripples. . .   


PS.  If you read all the way to the bottom, there is a special little surprise.

Facts about Dung Beetles

These are the fact you relate if you want to sound smart and sciencey and like an entomologist.  Skip this first set if you are actually in need of something that will hold the crowd.

• There are thousands of species, or kinds, of dung beetles. Wherever there is dung, there are most likely dung beetles. Dung beetles are found worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. They live in habitats that range from desert to forest.
• Dung beetles range from a length of 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) to 2.4 inches (6 centimeters).
• A dung beetle can live up to three years.
• Most dung beetles are dark colored. Some are shiny metallic colors. Others have bright patterns.
• Dung beetles have wings and can fly. Their six legs are made for rolling dung and digging holes.

Cocktail party facts:

• When an animal such as an elephant chews, swallows, and digests, there are always parts of its meal that pass through undigested. Those undigested bits pass out of the animal in its dung—and that is what provides food for dung beetles
• Some species of dung beetle use their sense of smell to find animal droppings. Other species hitch a ride on their animal of choice. They wait until the creature poops then the beetles hop off, and dinner is served!
• On a busy night, one dung beetle can bury 250 times its own weight in dung.
• A scarab that was worshipped in ancient Egypt is actually a type of dung beetle.
• In parts of Texas, dung beetles bury about 80 percent of cattle dung.
• As a dung beetle rolls its ball of dung, other dung beetles will often try to steal it.

Facts to impress the 10 and under set.

• Dung beetles belong to three basic groups: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers. Those words describe how these beetles use the dung they find.
• Rollers  shape pieces of dung into balls and roll them away from the pile. They bury their ball to either munch on later or to use as a place to lay their eggs.

Tunnelers bury their dung treasure by tunneling underneath the pile.

And dwellers actually live inside dung piles. (charming)

• Dung beetle larvae, or young, eat the solid dung while adult dung beetles stick to liquids. There is a good bit of nutritious moisture in dung, and adult beetles suck up that juice.

Revised. My favorites in this order. . .

A little while ago, I posted a status update with my top 3 favorite animals.   Giraffe, warthog and cow, in that order.  Then today while I driving down Bompas I noticed a Star headline posted on a street sign reminding me of one of my former favorites, making me feel a little fickle and disloyal for having forgotten it so easily.  (For those not familiar, newspapers plaster every available street post with their most sensational headlines to entice us to buy their newspaper.  I never succumb though, figuring the headline gives me all the news I need to know.)

Today's Star Headline:   "Don't Pooh-Pooh Dung Beetle Dance."  I, of course, was familiar with dung beetles before ever coming to South Africa from numerous National Geographic specials.  But I was not charmed with them until I saw one with my very own eyes at Pilansburg Game Reserve.  Wow, what single minded hard workers they are, rolling their personal perfectly round ball of dung at great speeds, sometimes facing downwards and backwards, pushing the ball with their hind legs.

So the Star got me; I bought the newspaper.  Here is what I learned from the article.  The US military is studying these much under-appreciated creatures to understand their navigational system.   Apparently, they use the sun, or on cloudy days, polarized light patterns (whatever that is), to keep their ball rolling in a straight line.  This is quite critical because they are rolling as fast as they can away from the dung pile in order to protect their treasure from being stolen.   God forbid, they end up going in a circle and land back where they started.  A few meters away from the pile, they bury the dung and yum, eat it, or sweet, lay an egg in it.

But listen to this!  In the same article, they talk about the ants in the Sahara Desert that not only use polarized light to navigate but "also appear to count their footsteps."   If I ever saw these ants with my own eyes, they would very likely need to go in my top 3 favorite animals, though I would be hard-pressed to decide which one of my currents to displace.    Better yet, I will keep my top 3 favorite animals, and also have a top 3 favorite insects, dung beetle at the top.