A Dassie Story

Let me introduce myself: I'm Dassie, a Rock Hyrax. You might think that I look like a rabbit, but please, take a closer look - do my small rounded ears really remind you of a rabbit? And although you can't see it in this photo, dassies don't have (external) tails! As you CAN see, I'm a grazer, in contrast to my cousin, the Bush or Tree Dassie, which is known as a browser: it survives on nutrition derived from foliage. We "crop" vegetation with the sides of our mouths whilst using our molars, instead of the incisors, as most other mammals do.

A dassie's habitat is any rocky area in mountain ranges or isolated outcrops, and we are widely distributed throughout South Africa - we certainly frequent the coastal areas (left) i.e. we LOVE the Tsitsikamma Region.



Back to our relatives: believe it or not and although we look like rodents, our evolutionary relationship is CLOSEST to the elephant (and the dugong). Our name is derived from the Dutch dasje (= bager), so please, don't call us rock-rabbits!








Check out those 2 upper-front incisors (left)! Don't you think they resemble tusks? I did mention that we are related to the elephant, right? By looking more closely at these 2 sharp teeth (watch out!!), you can tell my bru (= SA slang for 'brother') is a male: a male's incisor teeth are triangular in shape whilst a female's are rounded.


Look at my cute little siblings (right) - we are all part of a large colony (up to 50 dassies tend to associate together), in contrast to the Tree dassie, which tends to associate in pairs. You can tell us apart by our "coats": Rock dassies are covered by yellow-grey to dark-brown hair with lighter underparts, whilst a Tree dassie has longer and more woolly hair. Another difference is that rock dassies are nocturnal whilst we love sunbathing!

Talking about the sun: we have a low metabolic rate and a poor ability to regulate body temperature. To compensate for that, we only become active after sunrise, when we tend to bask in the sun before moving off to feed. At night, we all huddle close together to keep each other warm in our shelters - to conserve warmth/energy.

After a lengthy pregnancy (= gestation period) of up to 240 days (again, compare that with the elephant!), our young are born fully haired and with their eyes open so that we look like perfect "miniatures" of our parents. Although like all mammals we do suckle milk from our mothers, we are able to move about and eat vegetation soon after birth. The other day, I overheard a human say that my little cousin (above) looks just like a hedgehog - can you believe that?

Talking about "looks" - I also overheard the woman, who took this photo (left), comment that this dassie specimen looked to her like a little koala bear! Weird, these humans! I wonder if they are aware that unlike them, we don't need to consume regular intakes of water? Because our diet consists of plenty succulent food (grass, shrubs and succulent leaves), we can survive on the nutrition (fluid) derived from that or occasionally, sip some water from small pools in rocks.

As I've explained just now, humans make weird comparisons but have an even weirder way of saying things. Like this little fellow (left) prettily posing for a photo. Guess what the female photographer said in response? "Ag, shame!" Now I would have understood if she had said: "How cute!" but no, it was "ag, shame".

Footnote: the photographer explained "nicely" to me that "ag shame" broadly denotes a sympathetic feeling + that someone admiring a baby might say that to emphasize its cuteness!!

By way of closing off, I wish to remind the human race how dependent they are on our ......... urine! Yes, you heard me right.

Did you know that hardened dassie urine (known as hyraceum) is highly sought after by perfume makers - to give an animal-like "note" to fragrances?

A Hippo Story

My Hippo Story starts in the Kruger National Park, where we saw our first hippo "walking about" - probably because it was a cloudy and cool day - since hippo usually only emerge at dusk to graze on dry land.

Did you know that once, hippos were widespread throughout Southern Africa (wherever a body of water with gently sloping banks existed, bordering grassy plains); whereas today, these formidable amphibians are mainly found in the Mpumalanga Province and the coastal belt of northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The story "gains momentum" as soon as we visit Lake St Lucia (an estuary as well as a lagoon - also a UNESCO World Heritage site), where about 800 hippos reside. During a boat cruise, we see this hippo emerge.........


............before we realise that protectively, it is trying to "screen" its youngster from our view.





Further along, other hippos are dozing in the sun whilst lazily leaning their heads on the backs of others in the colony.





Massive heads with small ears, protruding eyes and nostrils projected just above the water's surface, are popping up "all over the show".




Although a hippo's skin is protected by a glandular secretion, we detect a few hippo that appear "sun-burnt".......







..........or is the "excessive" pink colour perhaps the result of a kind of mutation?






Not only does a hippo have a huge, barrel-like body, but it is the most dangerous animal to encounter on land - hippos have killed more people in Africa than the wild animals "belonging" to the BIG 5..........



.........or than the crocodile!!








A visit to the St Lucia estuary/lagoon certainly includes "spotting" crocodiles, where about 2 000 crocodiles (like the hippos) have adapted to the brackish water conditions: a mixture of fresh and sea water -
and that's where our story today ends.

For further information on The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, you can visit my blog-entry on Sunday, 20 April 2008 - "A World Heritage Site".

A Rhino Story

Like my elephant story (previous entry) this story also starts in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve.

Did you know that the lip structures reflect the 2 different African rhino species' diets?

On our way out of the park late in the afternoon and to our delight, we spot not 1 BUT 4 White Rhino (= square-lipped rhinoceros).




Just ahead of us, the female (on right with the longest horn) and 2 youngsters reach the road. As the grazers they are, they keep their heads low and close to the ground.



The 4th rhino, a male, also reaches the road and sniffing (probably to establish if we, in an open safari vehicle, represent a possible threat), the male rhino momentarily resembles a black rhino (= hook-lipped rhinoceros = a browser). Doesn't it look as if he's trying to "tell" us to back off??

The 4 rhinos cross the road - but why do the 2 youngsters suddenly turn back? Are they "sensing" the presence of someone other than us?



Sure enough, a 5th white rhino approaches and strangely, the youngest rhino reveals great interest in the arrival of another male, instead of feeling cowed by the potential "invader".

The large male sniffs - is he invading another bull's territory? If yes, he'll take "avoidance" action - OR a fight might ensue!






However, instead of fighting each other or defending one's territory, quenching their thirst appears to be the uppermost instinct right then.





Peacefully, the female and its young offspring move on whilst the sun sets for the day.




Actually, the rhino story
started a few days before when at the Mkaya Game Reserve in Swaziland, we were privileged to encounter the White & Black rhino species together!

The Black Rhino is somewhat smaller than its counterpart, and uses its prehensile upper lip to manoeuvre leaves and twigs into its mouth. It also is a solitary beast and therefore tends to be more aggressive than the White rhino - it will charge anything from a vehicle (dangerous for us!!) to a butterfly!

More on rhinos and accompanying photos - see my blog-entry: BIG 5 - 4 September 2008.

An Elephant Story

As promised - a photo-story about elephants today.


It happened during the last tour in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve - we rounded a corner and there before us, a young elephant male takes a mud-bath.










Suddenly he notices that he isn't alone anymore.









Not sure if we represent a possible threat, he lifts his trunk to clean his eyes so he can see better. First his left eye..........









............then his right eye.


Yes, that's better. But obviously, our young male elephant doesn't like what he sees: a safari vehicle filled with gawking and happily snapping tourists.




Determined to demonstrate that he isn't in the least intimidated by us, he moves closer, ears flapping.

Guess who won this "battle"? Not sure if it was a mock attack or a real show of aggression, our ranger reverses.




Having made his point, the elephant bull loses interest in us - or has he sensed the presence of others?





And there they are - close by, a herd of females and youngsters. As our young bull happily rushes towards the herd drinking at the nearby river, our attention is caught and held by the antics of the herd.




For a while, camera clicking "furiously", I concentrate on two young females drinking "in tandem"........








........ or like a mirror-image of each other.








Eventually and after having their fill, the herd leisurely moves on.





And now for the highlight - a "goose-flesh" moment: the herd "congregates" around the tiniest amongst them; carefully trudging on whilst protectively surrounding the baby elephant.


There they go - leaving a lasting impression on all those privileged to have experienced this endearing encounter.

Last Tour

Back home again after another tour with wonderful people - and of course lots of photos. While in Cape Town and during a township tour, we visited the Disa Primary School in Bonteheuwel, where the principal, Mr Andy James, asked for a photo with the group (above). I was happy to oblige and can now pass it on to him via this blogspot and his email - and what about the 13 people I had so much fun guiding through our beautiful country? I hope you "enjoy" this photo I happily dedicate to you.

During the following days I'll "post" some photo-"stories" of what we encountered along the way, whilst today "represents" a broad "outline": we saw quite a few Red-collared Widows fluttering about in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve. These small birds with their long tails are difficult to photograph because they seldom settle down long - and close enough. However I managed to eventually capture one (left).



From small to large - a magnificent Goliath Heron (right), which we saw during a boat-cruise on the St Lucia estuary. By way of a comparison - the Red-collared Widow breeding male (above) is 15cm without its long tail, whilst the Goliath Heron is 140cm tall!






"Trigger happy" as I am (camera-wise!) I took this photo (left) of White-breasted Cormorant flying in "formation" across the sky in Wilderness. This cormorant species is a common resident in most parts of South Africa.







We also encountered this Spotted hyena (right) in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve. This (mainly) scavenger with its exceptionally powerful jaws was also difficult to photograph because the tall grass kept "hiding" the animal from our view. Spotted hyenas live in matriarchal clans of approx. 30 animals, but most encounters with this animal in the wild "comprises" of one hyena.


Although I mostly "concentrate" on photographing wild animals and birds, I do have "an eye" for whatever else looks appealing - like this water lily (left). I have a large "collection" of flora-photos, but as I've "confessed" before, I'm not very good at identifying flora.



The same goes for insects - I admire what looks "great", but certainly can't (fully) identify this butterfly. I'm happy though to share this photo, because it's "pretty".







During this last tour, a visit to Didima Camp at Cathedral Peak in the Drakensberg mountain range is part of the itinerary - mostly a highlight on this particular tour. Unfortunately thick clouds started moving in when we arrived - and the following day was completely "washed out". Instead of enjoying the magnificent scenery, we were forced to spend the whole day indoors, because it rained "non-stop".

Soon after our arrival, the clouds "split open" for a few seconds, and the "Cathedral's" peaks were momentarily visible - just long enough for me to capture this one photo (right).


Luckily it wasn't cloudy or it didn't rain all the time during the last tour - as this photo (left) of the beach at Wilderness "testifies". The day started with a thick cloud cover and a bit of rain, but the sun "emerged" during the afternoon, when I felt privileged to be able to take this photo from a "bird's view" through the window of my room at the Boardwalk guest-house.

We did experience one magnificent sunset across the bay at Hermanus - and I must admit, I felt quite guilty that I was the only one in our group, who "carried" a camera to capture it! Everybody else had left their cameras at the hotel, since we were out having dinner at a restaurant. I must also say that it was "strange" visiting this part of our country during a time of the year, when there are no whales around, since Hermanus is known as our "whaling capital".

Away on Tour

I'm away on tour (as tourist guide) until 22 February - "see" you then!