We have a power outage in Hoedspruit. As I have left the park and am resting here just a day before I travel on, I have to type quickly to get this done before my computer battery dies. So here are a few things I saw on my recent evening and morning game drives in Manyolete.

Please click on all photos to enlarge them.

First, a shot I have wanted to take for a long time: a magnificent male Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) with its spiral horns.

Finally I was able to photograph what I consider to be one of the most beautiful birds in Africa, the Fork-tailed Roller (Coracias caudatus). It is widespread in southeast Africa and both males and females have these stunning colors: there is no sexual dimorphism.

And a male impala with curved horns:

After nearly an hour and a half of searching, our guide/driver Dan, following the tracks and droppings of rhinos, made a rare sighting: a large male Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum). It grazed peacefully while we sat silently in our car nearby.

Out of Wikipedia:

The southern white rhinoceros is one of the largest and heaviest land animals in the world. It has a huge body and large head, short neck and broad chest. Females weigh about 1,600–1,700 kg (3,530–3,750 lb) and males about 2,000–2,300 kg (4,410–5,070 lb), with specimens of up to 3,600 kg (7,940 lb) considered reliable and larger sizes of up to 4,500 kg (9,920 lb) claimed but not verified.

They can weigh FOUR TONS!

In the 19th century, big game hunting reduced the population in South Africa to between 20 and 50 animals. Today, the population has recovered and numbers around 18,000. Some are bred for release into the wild. Because the animals are poached for their horns, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine, they are considered “near endangered”. What a crime to kill one of these animals to obtain their horns for worthless medicinal purposes!

Note the birds (oxpeckers) that rid the animal of parasites such as ticks and fleas:

We were very happy about this rare sighting of one of the “Big Five” animals that everyone wants to have on their list.

I wrote to Martim and asked him to identify the oxpeckers. Here is part of his reply:

Congratulations on seeing your target bird, the Fork-tailed Roller, so well and on seeing all the members of a bird family at the same time. And of course, the Big Five.

You have the two species that make up the family Buphagidae on the same rhinoceros. The Yellow-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus), further back, and the Red-billed Oxpecker (B. erythrorynchus).

Some information from Birds of the World (Cornell)

“Oxpeckers are lanky brown passerines that feed on ectoparasites and wounds of large African mammals. Although elephants and some antelope species do not tolerate them, these birds are often seen foraging on other large African megafauna species, using their long, stiffened tails for support, as woodpeckers do when climbing trees. All aspects of their lives are linked to their mobile habitat as large mammals. Oxpeckers spend the entire day on their hosts, feeding, basking and dozing. They even defecate next to their perch and sometimes drink from the waterhole while still clinging to their hosts’ legs. During the breeding season, which they often do cooperatively, they even build their nests out of mammal hair and dung.”

As for beautiful birds that are not so difficult to see, you can now set your sights on the African Paradise Flycatcher (male), it should be near your camp.

Well, of course I had to look for the African Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis), and here is a photo of Wikipedia (This is the male; the species is sexually dimorphic).

Below, the two blunt horns of this rhino. This is explained by the ranger having previously stunned the animal to remove its horns, making it useless for poaching. Yes, the procedure deprives the circumcised animal of a weapon and an adaptive trait, but this is more than made up for by the fact that it saves the animal from poaching (rhino horns are the target of most poaching in South Africa). Unfortunately, as you can see, the horns grow back, albeit slowly:

During the “Sunupper” coffee break we stopped at a “dam”: a large pool of water. A herd of blue wildebeest passed by, drank quickly together and then quickly moved away. I suspect they are cautious because they are being hunted by predators. Wikipedia noted: “They are an important prey for lions, cheetahs, leopards, African wild dogs, hyenas and Nile crocodiles.”

Rhino dung. It is black, unlike elephant dung, which is brown.

Dan told us that these are wildebeest tracks:

We came across a female elephant and her baby in a matriarchal herd. This was quite close to the lodge (about 3km away), so I suspect this is our herd at the swimming pool. (Elephants travel long distances.)

And just at the end of our morning excursion, I completed my sighting of all the “Big Five” animals by coming across an African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). This is an old male (probably about 20, says Dan), and the horns have grown together. From Wikipedia:

A distinctive feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo (southern and eastern populations) is that the horns are very close together at their ends, forming a shield called a “hump”. From the base, the horns diverge downward and then curve gently upward and outward, and in some cases inward or backward. In large bulls, the distance between the ends of the horns can be up to a meter (the record is 64.5 inches (164 cm). The horns are fully formed when the animal is 5 or 6 years old, but the humps do not become “hard” until 8 to 9 years of age.

These older males, driven out of their herd (they are gregarious), are called “Dagga Boys” and are irritable and dangerous. I heard that a ranger was recently badly injured by one of these bulls, but not killed; the bull had to be shot by another ranger.

You shouldn’t mess with this!

Dan pours coffee at our stop. He has his trademark sense of humor and is constantly laughing. He was a fantastic guide and really added to our trip with his ability to spot animals, his knowledge and his sense of humor. Dan has been working as a guide for many years (8 in Manyleti) and apparently has seven weeks on the job – he works 7 days a week from 4am to about 10pm – and then five weeks off where he can visit his family in a nearby village (he lives in the camp while working). He told me he is married and has TWELVE children.

Unfortunately, I had to leave Manyelete after five days. It is not cheap to stay in a place like this, but I found it to be money well spent. I don’t think I will ever see a place like this again – so dry and desolate, yet so full of life.

While I was waiting to be picked up and driven to the gate, the herd of 23 elephants came to the pool again to drink: the lead cow, a few males and the rest females or babies. I sat by the water and watched them, fascinated and enchanted as they interlocked their trunks to bond, occasionally roared and filled their bellies with pool water, sometimes splashing it over their bodies. These are highly intelligent, social animals and I need to learn more about them.

I could have watched them for hours, but then I felt a pat on my back. “I thought I’d find you here,” said Dan, who was carrying my luggage. He knows I love all of Ceiling Cat’s creatures.

Departure was abrupt and Rosemary met me at the gate to drive me to my accommodation in Hoedspruit. I will be here today visiting a few villages in the area to distribute donated food (Rosemary works there). Tomorrow I will be doing two day trips to the Blyde River Canyon, supposedly one of the most beautiful sights in Africa. Then it’s on to Kruger National Park for five days. More pictures to come but I may stop off along the way.

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Jerry’s Big Ten:

I think the list of the “Big Five,” which includes the animals that are most difficult to kill with a spear or gun, is too restrictive, so I’ve expanded it to ten animals. The first five below are the Big Five.

Jerry’s “Big Ten”:

elephant
rhino
leopard
Lion
African buffalo
giraffe
cheetah
kudus
Nyala
and of course the African warthog, of which Ozy is a specimen.

Photos from Lagniappe (power has just been restored):

The herd of elephants by the pool. I was watching them as Dan gently told me it was time to go. Note that they come in all sizes (look at the cute baby!) but only two genders.

A panorama of the swimming pool. Note that there are also elephants at the large pond in the distance. Click to enlarge:

The matriarch splashes water on her body to cool down:

The Eye of the Elephant:

Back in Hoedspruit, which is small but still considered civilised. For dinner I ordered a quarter rabbit with mutton (medium spicy) to take away. Photo by Rosemary.

Onward and upward!