We try to place the camera pointing at a used wildlife path that nocturnal animals are likely to use, usually on the way to the water.
Probably because they smell different, camera traps attract attention from some of the passing animals as it happened in this occasion.
We were camping at the Masuma dam picnic site, one of our favourite places in the Hwange National Park where a new fence had just been placed in an effort to separate campers from large mammals. So, as usual, before midnight, we retired to bed after placing our camera pointing at a path that followed the fence towards the dam. “That should be a good spot.” I remember commenting with my son. It was…
In the early hours of the morning, apart from the usual hyena calls, a lion started to roar nearby, a futile effort to compete with the louder noise the elephants were making at the water edge closer to the camp.
The following morning we went to collect the camera and it was not there! We searched for it until we found it a few metres away from its original place. The strap had been chewed and the protective carcass was cracked! We collected the pieces and, anxious to look at its memory card, we returned to camp.
It took a bit of study to understand what had taken place. (The first 4 pictures are stills from the short videos taken by the camera).
First sign. Dust that indicates that an animal walks past.
The camera being moved.
Camera still in movement and the culprit appears briefly.
The camera is dropped on the floor and lies pointing towards the fence.
Although the camera was on the ground by now, the unmistakingly shape of a lion flank can be seen. The animal moves from top to bottom.
Finally, we recovered the camera. Luckily, we managed to recover the memory card and reconstruct the events that had taken place.
We have camped in this same spot for several years without nocturnal incident showing once again that tents are safe.
The impundulu (a Zulu word), known in Zimbabwe as Kondo (a Shona word) is one of the best-known lightning birds in Zulu mythology. This bird is no other than the hamerkop or hammerkop (Scopus umbretta) (1).
Why this rather inconspicuous bird had been given this status escapes my understanding. However, it is believed that it is able to summon thunder and lightning with its wings and talons.
The (for me) greatest wildlife film maker Alan Root made a documentary that he called “The legend of the lightning bird, Hamerkop, the king of all African birds” (2) and I always wondered about the name he used. Now I know.
Despite being a medium sized bird, unique member of the family Scopidae and a relative of pelicans, they are well known for building several very large nests during the year. This is an enormous task for a bird of this size as each nest can weigh up to 50kg and it takes over one month to build!
During one of the drives near the Olifants river we came across a really humongous nest, larger than any other hamerkop nest we have seen before. In doubt we consulted one of the rangers at Letaba Rest camp who assured us that it was indeed built by the impundulu and that it was the largest he had seen.
(1) Other lightning birds include the ground hornbill and the secretary bird.
I remember these “lorry-buses” as a common feature in Zimbabwe in the 90´s. A heavy-duty tractor unit (horse) pulling a large passenger coach as a trailer.
I always found them an interesting vehicle and I managed to get a bad picture of one the other day, before they disappear forever!
Checking on their origin and history, these buses were born in the 1920´s in Europe and North America to economize on the cost of moving people based on the principle that it was cheaper to pull rather than carry a weight! They became very popular during WWII as factories were making military vehicles and truck “horses” (tractors) were available. To this, passenger “boxes” were attached. Below is an example of a similar vehicle used by the Royal Air Force at the time (Royal Air Force official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
Before being adopted in Zimbabwe, the idea was widely used in South Africa as early as the 1950´s and then it came to Zimbabwe in the 1980´s. They were used to transport migrants to major cities and the state-run Zimbabwe Omnibus Company (ZUPCO) moved thousands of workers daily from townships to industrial areas.
Three main features secured their long-term use: (i) the possibility of replacing only the truck (horse) in case of breakdown by unhitching the passenger trailer and attaching it to another one or even a commercial truck; (ii) their resisteance to some of the rough roads and; (iii) being a practical and low cost answer to vehicle shortages.
Note after publication: I have just learnt from WordPress that this post unlocked an achievement as being a Palindrome Post!!!
Several species of doves occur in Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe. Some of them such as the Ring-necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola) is frequently ignored because of its abundance.
During one of our visits to the park in September 2018, among a flock of these doves we spotted one that did not quite match the expected bird, so we looked at it more carefully.
From a distance, its plumage appeared paler that its companions and it looked “washed” in certain areas of its body.
We had seen leucism before (See: https://bushsnob.com/2017/01/05/odd-bird/) and I have described the phenomenon as follows: “Animal coloration can deviate from the standard, from complete melanism to albinism. Leucism (leukism) is one of the intermediate forms defined as a phenotype resulting from blemishes in pigment cell differentiation during development with the consequence that the entire animal or patches of its body being white as they lack the cells capable of making pigment”.
I believe that what we observed this time is a case of “dilution”, a condition where the plumage colour often appears ‘washed out’ (i.e. ‘diluted’). In dilution, melanin cells are present (unlike in leucistic birds) but produce less pigment than normal. Clearly, humans need to classify everything!
Gwango Heritage Resort, just outside Hwange National Park.
While walking around the place we came to this scene that reminded me of some very large leeches I saw in swampy areas of Western Ethiopia that attached inside the mouth of cattle.
Clearly the elephants were having a drink from the pool to dilute the muddy water they got from the waterhole!
I have somehow neglected writing posts as I have resumed writing a novel I had shelved years back. This activity has taken more time than I thought and I am now determined to finish it to resume other writing projects, including the blog.
Despite the above, we still travel to the bush and, a few days back we had the visit of friends and relatives with whom we travelled to our favourite spot in Zimbabwe, Masuma dam in Hwange National Park, where what we saw brought me back to the blog.
It is rather amazing how cold it can get at night in Hwange. We had already experienced this earlier and came prepared. However, I still needed to put on my polar jacket to be able to gain some warmth. In any case, we survived.
The night before our visitors had agreed on an early game drive and I heard them departing the camp at about 06:00hs. I like to get up early so by 06:30hs I was at the viewing platform where I met the two ladies in charge of the camp, doing the daily cleaning before other toursits arrive. The dam was quiet and the sun was starting to warm things up so, seeing the prevailing peace, I decided to go back to the camp (about 50 metres towards the back) to make myself a cup of coffee.
I had just put the water to boil when one of the ladies came running to tell me that “the painted dogs have chased an impala into the dam and a crocodile ate it!”. Cursing my coffee idea and after shouting “wild dogs” to my frozen wife (she came in a flash, happy to leave the cold tent!), I run back to the dam. As expected, I could not see anything apart from the usual pod of about twenty hippos that were still where I had seen them earlier.
It was an upset Bushsnob that my wife found when she appeared. “I cannot believe what I missed” I said, “for a cup of coffee!”. Sensing the mood, she went out of the viewing platform to have a better look as we could still hear the dog calls coming from the nearby hill at the back of the camp!
Then, the amazing thing happened. As if a second take was needed by some nature director, galloping sounds came from the hill behind the camp and another female impala jumped into the dam again and started to swim away from the dogs. I managed to get the camera in video mode and register the last seconds of the impala’s life as well as the amazing sight that it was calm again a few seconds after the event! (please note that it shows a scene that some may find too strong!).
After recording the impala´s demise, I focussed on the disappointed wild dogs (about eight of them) that had worked hard for a meal and twice lost it to crocodiles. They were watching the water and, after some of them drinking, they departed again to find another prey and we did not see them again.
The above sequence shows the dogs after arriving to the dam, contemplating their prey disappearing!
Do I need to add that the early birds that had gone for the game drive and seen the usual herbivores were rather surprised and disappointed when they hear our news on return?
Driving on Zimbabwean roads is full of surprises and there will be a few more entries under What on earth?! that are related to roads and streets in Zimbabwe!
Re-treading used tires is no longer common, probably because of safety regulations so people have found other uses for them. As far as Zimbabwe goes, door mats and sandals are the most common. Strips of tire rubber are also useful to hold car suspension parts in an emergency (and often permanently!) and there are many other uses, I am sure.
We overtook this pick-up (I should say bakkie) loaded with a very ingenious way of re-using old tires. I would like to sit on one to see how comfy they are!
I must confess that until recently I was ignorant of the details of hair extensions (due to reasons that are apparent if you follow this blog!) and I was surprised to find out that hair extensions similarly to wine and other products can be marketed based on provenance! The following sign in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe provided my first insight into the, clearly more complex than I expected, business of hair extensions. I did not know that hair from various countries would be on offer until we came across this sign offering them to the ladies in Bulawayo.
This complexity was even further evident when a few days later we came across the below headline indicating that just like in other products, once in a while a bad batch appears with potentially adverse consequences for the end user!
I did not followed-up the issue further so I am unable to tell you in which way hair can be “harmful” and why this happened with Brazilian and not with hair from another origin!
This Christmas we decided to spend it in Zimbabwe, camping at Masuma dam and Robins Camp in Hwange National Park.
Our camp at Masuma.
Already in the rainy season our expectations of a green Hwange were confirmed, a marked change from our usual visits that take place in September, during the dry season. We also knew that the animals would not be so dependent on the permanent water holes and that they would be scattered in more remote and unreachable areas of this very large park. Finally, there was a good chance of having daily showers. Despite these drawbacks, it was a suitable time and place for a family reunion so, we took the challenge.
We prepared well for a wet camping experience adding a large awning to our usual dry season gear and packed our rainproof jackets, just in case. As it happened, the latter precautions were only useful for the first two days when we had a couple of showers as, luckily for us (but not for the park!) the weather continued being dry over us although there were some spectacular rainstorms around us.
We counted twenty-three hippos and about half a dozen crocodiles at the dam as well as a large population of geese (both Egyptian and Spurwing) as well as a few Knob-billed ducks. The few resident Senegal thick-knees were there, busy protecting their nests against the threatening advances of the monitor lizards.
Senegal Thicknee vs. Monitor lizard. Picture by Julio A. de Castro.
Numerous impalas, waterbuck and greater kudu frequently visited the dam, mainly to graze on its now lush green shores as they were drinking in safer places, avoiding the dam´s crocodiles. So, we did not witness any of the crocodile ambushes to drinking herbivores that we had witnessed before (See: https://bushsnob.com/2015/02/22/hippos-from-hell/ and related posts). Below there are pictures of some of the animals we saw:
Riding in comfort. A young baboon on mum´s back. Picture by Julio A. de Castro.
The rare Roan antelope. Picture by Patricia Ruiz Teixidor.
A male lion in good condition walks in front of the car. Picture by Julio A. de Castro.
A rainbow skink sunning itself. Picture by Julio A. de Castro.
Yawning before going grazing. Picture by Julio A. de Castro
Elephant fun. Picture by Patricia Ruiz Teixidor.
Elephants arriving at Masuma dam. Picture by Patricia Ruiz Teixidor.
Masuma dam with resident hippos, crocodiles and Egyptian geese. Picture by Patricia Ruiz Teixidor.
A curious giraffe. Picture by Patricia Ruiz Teixidor.
An elephant bull.
Although the elephants did not come in the we see in September, they still came, particularly during the days when fresh water was pumped into the dam, either they had a way of knowing this by the pump noise or they exhibited an amazing sense of smell! The later is more likely as the pumps are operated by solar energy and they are quiet!
Although we spent many hours at the water edge, we failed to see any predators coming for a drink or a possible kill. We did see a couple of young lions mating near Kapula Camp, and a family of two lioness with four cubs and a male on a buffalo kill, just opposite the Shumba picnic site. We heard them and hyenas almost every night at camp and Mabel heard the unmistakable rasping cough of a leopard while it walked up and down the new (rather weak) fence that now encloses the picnic area.
We had some nocturnal excitement on our first day. After midnight Flori and her boyfriend Giacomo (new at camping in Africa) were rudely awakened by very loud banging noises coming from the ablution area. The following morning a large hole was found in the fence through which an elephant had entered the enclosure, probably in search of clean water. His adventure got interrupted by the appearance of the camp attendant that stopped it from doing more damage. The elephant retreated, not through the entry hole but crashing the gate!
We needed to work hard to find large game but luckily had more luck in the bird department. We were able to watch and photograph a shaft-tailed wydah, a bird that we had not seen for years. We also watched several bee-eaters, rollers, and orioles, among other small birds. We were happy to see several groups of ground hornbills, including one feeding their young at a nest.
Great take of a flying Lilac-breasted roller. Picture by Patricia Ruiz Teixidor.
Carmine bee-eater. Picture by Julio A. de Castro.
Carmine bee-eater and beetle.
Yellow-billed stork. Picture by Patricia Ruiz Teixidor.
Grey Crown crane. Picture by Julio A. de Castro.
Grey Crown cranes. Picture by Julio A. de Castro.
Finally, on Christmas day we had some of a reward for our efforts. Flori, Giacomo and I went to have a look at Little Toms, a small stream near Robins Camp. I did not have much hope to find anything special based on earlier experience. I was wrong! Perhaps two hundred metres before we got there, we caught a glimpse of many elephants in and around it. Although we approached the water very slowly, to our dismay, they started to move back to the bush.
We were disappointed but we remained very still and quiet, waiting. After a few minutes of uncertainty, a few of the larger animals turned and started to come back. Soon we had a couple of hundred back at the water.
As I am not able to do justice to what we witnessed, I present you with two videos that Flori and I took of this truly magical thirty minutes!
There is no doubt in my mind that Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe is one of the best places we have visited. Despite having the “Big five”, you are allowed to walk and animals are everywhere, including your campsite. Among several close encounters, we vividly remember the time a buffalo bull was killed by lions a few metres from the entrance to our bungalow posing some problems to our planned movements!
Despite this, we were not prepared to have an elephant welcoming comittee outside the reception!
It was also curious to see that the pachiderms in Mana Pools are exempt from the majority of the rules as can be seen below:
A Bushsnob in Africa 