Scenes From Etosha Pans - One

It hasn't been all work and no play the last eight months - I've managed a few trips to the Etosha National Park, an hour's drive from my home:


Klein Namutoni Waterhole at Sunrise - there's nothing I like more than sitting quietly at a waterhole watching the comings and goings.


Giraffe at Twee Palms Waterhole. 
The trees are Ilala Palms (Hyphaene petersiana) and they occur in a broad swathe across northern Namibia. Known locally as the 'Makalani Palm' the fruit, a hard nut, is called 'Vegetable Ivory' because of the hard inner kernel which is used for carving trinkets and curios. 

The outer part of the fruit has a thin layer of ginger-flavoured pulp, much loved by Elephants and Baboons.


My first sighting of a Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis).

Honey Badgers are generally solitary, nocturnal creatures and have a reputation for being mean, aggressive fighters, even taking-on animals as large as Buffalo, going for the groin and genital organs, causing it's enemy to bleed to death.

Curiously, according to my Reference, "These animals are easily trainable and make interesting pets ..." - mmm, a Guard Badger?


Honey Badgers are omnivorous, feeding on rodents, snakes, insects and spiders. It's favourite food though, is Honey.

The Honey Badger's association with a bird called the Honey Guide (Indicator indicator) is well known - the bird locates a bees' nest then goes to 'call' a Honey Badger. The Badger breaks open the nest, protected from stings by its tough hide and underlying layer of fat, then shares the feast with the bird.


A Termite mound which has been raided by an Aardvark - the hole probably serves as a temporary home for some-or-other creature, like the Honey Badger, or Hyaena.


I was thrilled to spot this Caracal (Felis caracal) running across the road and into the bush where it stopped briefly to give me a photo-op - my first Caracal sighting in Etosha.

Caracal are the number one 'problem' animal in Namibia - they are responsible for considerable stock losses and are powerful enough to kill full-grown goats and sheep.


Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudata) - a common bird in Etosha.


I managed to get close to three male Spotted Hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) walking resolutely alongside the road. 

They are strange creatures in appearance and behaviour; feared and associated with Witchcraft and Evil in African lore. However, "researchers regard the Hyaena as an animal of superbly adapted build, with a functional beauty of its own."


One of the Hyaena stopped to examine the car and I felt distinctly uneasy as it regarded me with unfathomable liquid eyes - the same eyes I've seen on kids who sniff glue ... almost like a death glaze ...


Etosha Agama (Agama etoshae) - Endemic to the Etosha Pans and surrounding area.


A visitor records the scene at a Waterhole, framed in his rear view mirror - I couldn't resist this shot.


I bought this Owl from a vendor at the Namutoni gate - it now hangs against a newly-painted Orange wall ... :)

... to be continued ...

References:
Amy Schoeman - Notes on Nature.

Rhino and Hyaena

More pics from a trip to Etosha:


Two Zebra sparring - Spring is in the Air!


These two Gnu were locked in mock-battle - we stopped to watch them ...


... after about a minute, as if on cue, they both paused and turned to stare at us ...

Gnu are You?


It was a chilly morning and the wind was blowing hard ... we didn't expect to see much.

Suddenly, a young male Spotted Hyaena lying in the grass just off the road ...


... and a Rhino appeared from across the open plain.


The Rhino stopped to graze on some bushes and also mark his territory.


Hyaena started following the Rhino ...

... it was then that we spotted the pride of Lion in the distance to the left and on either side of the central tree - it was likely a kill ...

the Lion were watching the Rhino.


Rhino became irritated and started chasing the Hyaena ... it was not a serious charge and soon ended.


The Hyaena slunk away and went to lie down in the grass again.


A few minutes later we encountered another young male heading in the direction of the Lion.

He took fright at the car, turned around and came charging back across the road.

Hyaena have a really strange gait, their hind legs appear weak.


I was really chuffed about the Spotted Hyaena because I'd never seen them before ...

... not bad for a day when we expected to see nothing at all.

Blog buddy Joan, at SA Photographs, recently did an informative post on these fascinating creatures - check it out here.
.

A Jumbo Day In Etosha

I spent two days in Etosha with buddy Stretch - we traveled in his new second-hand Mini-bus Camper which has a cool hatch in the roof, great for Game viewing and photos:


Hand-crafted curios for sale just inside the Namutoni entrance gate.

I was disturbed to also see carved wooden Porcupines covered with real quills - saddened because I know that the animals the quills came from were probably caught in snares and died a torturous death.


We saw many groups of Elephant on day One - the first being these two bulls ambling along the road.

Strangely, on the Second day, a chilly wind was blowing and we didn't see one Jumbo.


Something I've heard about but never seen - people getting out of their cars and walking around at waterholes - despite being given a list of 'Dos and Don'ts' upon entering the Pans and signs at almost every waterhole saying 'Stay In Your Car'.

In one day we came upon four separate groups walking around at waterholes and Stretch, being bolder than me, minced no words when ordering them back into their cars.

For my part, on these occasions, I was disappointed at not getting pics of a Lion Feast ... :)


We encountered two separate pairs of Lion mating.


A Bus-load of Tourists jostle to get a view of the Big Cats doing the Deed.


An Elephant drinking at a waterhole - he surprised us by sticking his trunk through a hole in the ground to get to the water under the ledge ... considering the water level, this shows how long his trunk is.


A Kori Bustard takes off - these heavy birds don't fly very far, just enough to get out of danger.


Black and White.


Young Black-faced Impala drink at a waterhole.


Close-up of an Elephant drinking.

Etosha's Elephants are the largest in Africa but they have the smallest tusks.

Notice how small and worn his tusk is - due to a mineral deficiency in their diet.


A Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk surveys the world from the top of a thorn tree.


A small herd of Elephant approach a waterhole near sunset - the camp gates close precisely at sunset and sadly, it's impossible to linger at a waterhole as the sun goes down.
.

Big Birds and a Bigger Cat

At the beginning of May I spent a few days in the Etosha Pans, 100km from Home:


There was not much game to be seen at this time of the year because, following a good Rain season, there was still ample water and grazing in the bush.

Often tourists are disappointed because they fly in for a few hours expecting to see every kind of animal.

For me, the magic is in just sitting quietly at a Water Hole in the knowledge that the scene unfolding is thousands, perhaps millions, of years old.


This Elephant was drinking at the waterhole when it suddenly took fright and stomped off in a huff.

I could see no other animals around which might have alarmed it - maybe Elephants just don't like me.


King Of The Road.

I was forced to spend 15 minutes staring at this fellow's butt as he ambled along the road.

He eventually moving off into the bush when another car appeared from the front.


For the first time I got quite close to Marabou Storks - a gang of about thirty hanging-out at a shallow pool of water.

They're scavengers and I'd seen them before in the distance, once waiting hopefully near a Lion kill.


It's difficult to decide which are uglier, Vultures or Marabous.

According to Wiki 'Marabous eating human garbage have been seen to devour virtually anything that they can swallow, including shoes and pieces of metal.'


I don't know what was going on in this Warthog boar's head.

He was feeding peacefully with his mate and two offspring when he suddenly started chasing after them making grunting a squealing noises - this went on for about ten minutes, with them all running around in circles.


There were a quite few Zebra around - but not the large herds seen in Spring when water and grazing is scarce.


Who are You? - Giraffe and the Moon.


The highlight of my visit occurred shortly after entering Etosha - the first thing I saw was the distinctive tail in the grass - the first time I've been close to a Leopard.


The sighting was over in a flash as she disappeared into a culvert underneath the road.

She glanced up once but totally ignored me - in that moment I felt completely exposed - I knew that she could reach me in one bound ...


.

A Few Bucks ...

A few of the Buck to be seen in Namibia's Etosha National Park:


Kudu - Tragelaphus strepsiceros
Widespread throughout Namibia.



Damara Dik-Dik - Modoqua kirkii
A tiny buck, with a shoulder height of about 40 cm.



Black-faced Impala - Aepyceros melampus
Restricted to an isolated population in northeastern Namibia.



Gemsbok - Oryx gazella
Widespread throughout Namibia, even in the desert.



Springbok - Antidorcas marsipialus
Early travelers relate that they saw herds of hundreds of thousands of these buck which took hours to pass.



Steenbok - Raphicerus campestris
Solitary animals ... I've not seen many of them but they are widespread throughout the subregion.



Sorry, I just couldn't resist posting this lucky shot of a young Kudu jumping again.
.