tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39572510757734237542024-03-21T07:18:49.445-07:00The ANT BlogAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-80887150925387430212017-12-22T02:15:00.001-08:002017-12-22T02:15:46.514-08:00Elephants, bees and the marriage tree...<div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><b>Elephants,
bees and the marriage tree...</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Legend, tradition and folklore abound in
Africa and are often viewed with some skepticism in this, the post-modern era.
Yet it would seem that much received wisdom still has the potential to reveal
startling information about the natural world in which we live; elephants, bees
and the marriage tree being no exception…</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3NWROddIkO-fNtV9IpkTraAz1ei_B4KAyr94nlfVzcW8Q0Iy1lB0NA2sos2anQVRhfF_2zwszf6-NjwiY7_sTsf9rIzwtppt6iRYY3nWasf1v_pkInAyWXEN0fLW0FTkDckC-CT12Gc/s1600/SmallEleTrunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1480" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji3NWROddIkO-fNtV9IpkTraAz1ei_B4KAyr94nlfVzcW8Q0Iy1lB0NA2sos2anQVRhfF_2zwszf6-NjwiY7_sTsf9rIzwtppt6iRYY3nWasf1v_pkInAyWXEN0fLW0FTkDckC-CT12Gc/s400/SmallEleTrunk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Photo and text by Lorraine Doyle</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Legend has it that Hare acted kindly towards
Elephant during a year of drought by helping him to find water, and was
rewarded with a tusk. This he planted in his garden where it grew into a
beautiful fruit-bearing tree which he named Marula. So precious however was the
tusk to Elephant that to this day he seeks it out under the Marula tree,
devouring vast quantities of the fruit every season to sustain him in his quest.</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Known
scientifically as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sclerocarrya birrea</i>
the Marula tree is of great importance not only to elephants but also to
humans.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A profusion of flowers bloom in
the early summer at which time the background hum of bees is ever present.
Then, from February to April fruits the size of large apricots, are borne on
the female trees. During these three months, in keeping with the legend, elephants
(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Loxodonta africana</i>) are never far
away from this bountiful food source often shaking the trees to make them give
up their valuable prize. Containing 54mg/100g of vitamin C - two to four times
that of citrus - bull elephants in musth (</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">a periodic cycle in which
their impulse to mate goes into overdrive and they become very aggressive</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">) consume
particularly large quantities of the fruit in order to boost their immune
systems during their pursuit of females. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Archaeological
evidence suggests that humans have utilized the Marula tree for some 12,000
years as a source of food and alcoholic beverages but also for medicinal and
ritual purposes. Since the trees are dioecious (male and female flowers are
borne on separate trees) and must grow in close proximity in order to produce
fruit they hold great significance in matters of the heart. In many traditional
cultures it is believed that marriages held under the Marula tree are divinely
blessed whilst marital conflict resolution can be accomplished by tying husband
and wife each to the relevant gender tree and leaving them there until they
make friends…</span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The African honey
bee (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Apis mellifera</i>) is the hereto
missing link between elephants and the marriage tree. As the primary pollinator
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sclerocarrya birrea</i> it ensures
that Elephant is provided with sustenance for both the search for his tusk and
females. However as with many legends there is a sting in the tail… Elephants
are terrified of bees! Evidence of this entered the scientific community in
2002 when Fritz Vollrath and Iain Douglas-Hamilton were discussing possible
methods of preventing further elephant damage to Fever trees (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Acacia xanthaphloea</i>) growing along the
Ewaso Nyiru River in the Laikipia area of Kenya. Interviews conducted then, and
later by Lucy King from Oxford University for her doctoral thesis, revealed
that scenes of elephants being chased up to five kilometers by angry bees had
been documented by local people for decades and had been part of Masai legend
for generations. King’s research demonstrated that elephants utter a
distinctive rumble in response to the sound of bees after which they run away
shaking their heads. Her study provided the first evidence of an alarm call in
the species. Tapping into elephants’ well-documented intelligence and memory
King et al went on to devise a simple strategy of deterring elephants from
damaging trees and local farmers’ crops. This they achieved by </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">hanging beehives from
wooden posts at 10-metre intervals with a long metal wire linking them all
together. When an elephant hits the wire, it shakes the hives and sends angry
honeybees swarming into a defensive frenzy. Elephants associate the noise with
previous severe pain in their trunks and depart without further ado!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So, not only has legend and the observations of our
ancestors stood the test of scientific scrutiny but the use of marula fruits to
make alcohol has passed unbidden into the 21<sup>st</sup> Century; now where
did I leave my glass of Amarula…?</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">As featured
in the October 2017 edition of my monthly column (The Wild Guide) in SA 4x4 magazine
</span></i></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-62790732294665647632017-08-02T07:50:00.000-07:002017-08-02T07:50:01.194-07:00Up close and personal <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUoS1gyUXmETt2r_C8yJMjBnxglQ_Qp_zsOuFs-ffVrT2krUxl2N76E0E80ee-wL9Fed_TFWsfWDD2BxrXdJXVynIse9wpRkKa6jQbMKmiqT5DvMiWnXkWxcuA0aWIXVcv5phvYnLHU4/s1600/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUoS1gyUXmETt2r_C8yJMjBnxglQ_Qp_zsOuFs-ffVrT2krUxl2N76E0E80ee-wL9Fed_TFWsfWDD2BxrXdJXVynIse9wpRkKa6jQbMKmiqT5DvMiWnXkWxcuA0aWIXVcv5phvYnLHU4/s400/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000088.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Nothing can be more special than to get up close and personal with the inhabitants of the natural world. And to do so on foot, with no artificial barriers between humans and animals, that is the ultimate experience.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Jaco Buys, Safari Guide of the Year 2016, is leading the participants on <a href="https://www.africanaturetraining.co.za/" target="_blank">Africa Nature Training's </a>Trails Guide course currently running at Intibane camp at Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Jaco sent through this enthralling and exhilarating account in words and pictures of what has transpired during the first 12 days of the course...</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFX1rcsXzXmvNA6kpJlxKAL6yMXMVsVHDjYpM73O787tJg4UNitCnfjnIELJ9D9LsIn9TyfO_7fp9u8zkbIjrjdoZMw6nYG5um7yR8P4jJeTTZn_SW-n1flJRbtdJlH94wyBS8xcvnrhg/s1600/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFX1rcsXzXmvNA6kpJlxKAL6yMXMVsVHDjYpM73O787tJg4UNitCnfjnIELJ9D9LsIn9TyfO_7fp9u8zkbIjrjdoZMw6nYG5um7yR8P4jJeTTZn_SW-n1flJRbtdJlH94wyBS8xcvnrhg/s400/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000091.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">"We celebrated our 10th encounter this morning by tracking a young lion male for about 2,5 kms. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">"Twelve days into the course and we have reached the FGASA benchmark of 50 hours and 10 encounters. It has been achieved through hard-working and many hours on foot. Our future trails guides have logged 57 hours over more than 100kms on foot. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">"T</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">he fluctuating weather and rain made tracking and finding potentially dangerous animals challenging, but has allowed us to focus on track and signs, orientation and navigation, and situational awareness. Unexpected rains allowed us to do very necessary rifle maintenance and we did a spotted hyena presentation to increase our knowledge of potentially dangerous animals. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgUosXvLOp9nCcxmu9mGnUpjyWyFYmsfhvu2n4arYITT5sy-eS8L-bNkYQS4WvUXcWU_J5PFcb6vXUqkXn-8Vg4PQ97h_R3hSFSXcNgQXnaYRN9fzxjtN97wjBjWJnj1duzlWN390cUw/s1600/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="581" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgUosXvLOp9nCcxmu9mGnUpjyWyFYmsfhvu2n4arYITT5sy-eS8L-bNkYQS4WvUXcWU_J5PFcb6vXUqkXn-8Vg4PQ97h_R3hSFSXcNgQXnaYRN9fzxjtN97wjBjWJnj1duzlWN390cUw/s400/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000092.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">"T</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">his morning capped off the guides endurance and dedication as our patience was rewarded with a great lion sighting on foot. The male was unaware of our presence at about 25 meters and we left him as we found him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">"Guides have now been able to log buffalo, white and black Rhino, elephant and lions on foot through hard work. We discovered a potential leopard den and are assisting Andi Webster of Ulwazi Research in gathering leopard data. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUxjSzgvHazeXuk2oCv5bVNpfezKHdv7Z4vTYNY7TFqdYWD5oGnNVwmt81HSoiibh7DoR-tBjQw7qx6zo2X8uGqgllB9wHXXosWW2dpHZI2lY32Q2MbOVXgc6yowkQxVSM85EjPGlglE/s1600/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="863" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWUxjSzgvHazeXuk2oCv5bVNpfezKHdv7Z4vTYNY7TFqdYWD5oGnNVwmt81HSoiibh7DoR-tBjQw7qx6zo2X8uGqgllB9wHXXosWW2dpHZI2lY32Q2MbOVXgc6yowkQxVSM85EjPGlglE/s400/2017-08-01-PHOTO-00000101.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">"We now need to focus on completing our work books, preparing for the theory exam and Back Up Trails Guide Practical Assessments, whilst still fine tuning and honing our skills on foot. We have a rose amongst the thorns in Christa Bohmer joining us for a contact week!"</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-15085314300430230192017-06-26T07:48:00.001-07:002017-06-26T07:49:41.203-07:00Life on course<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Mc-1bCGKIu2urutJ1ED6u0alANw5qErDEKaFQpI-7MzpyeZm8xQGOAg4BO6xLRnghojuycrvpMmfXt7Jj8tnTiZHFsIphZ_IF_fCn2hJwaxym92adikUfjeGhdGnSQucmsKKDbYVBXs/s1600/matthew2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Mc-1bCGKIu2urutJ1ED6u0alANw5qErDEKaFQpI-7MzpyeZm8xQGOAg4BO6xLRnghojuycrvpMmfXt7Jj8tnTiZHFsIphZ_IF_fCn2hJwaxym92adikUfjeGhdGnSQucmsKKDbYVBXs/s400/matthew2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";">Wonder what life is like on an Africa Nature
Training course? The proof lies in the pudding as they say… And in this case it
comes from the mouth of Matthew Haynes. He is currently at Intibane camp at
Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal participating in the FGASA Level One course.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Matthew is having the time of his life.
There is evidence in abundance from his diary of the past week. In his own
words: “Overall another AMAZING week at Thanda Safari. We are blessed!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Sit back, relax and let him take you right
to the action. The chances are that you’ll book your own spot right away…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">MONDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We all saw our first Parabuthus, or Buthidae
scorpion, with its thick tail and small pincers indicating its venom's
toxicity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">TUESDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">It was the most glorious of days as we took
a 13 km hike through the stunning scenery of the Sand forest. The Purple
Crested Turacos were calling all day and we saw a flock of rare Crested Guinea
fowl, one even flew about 8meters straight up to sit in a tree, which I did not
know they could do and had never seen before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We saw many new trees, especially the
enormous Lebombo wattle with its sprawling canopy and plethora of epiphytes
clinging to it as well as a stunning silver cluster leaf tree with its
shimmering silvery leaves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">On one of the Lebombo wattles we saw a
Strangler Fig squeezing the life out of it as it creeped up the tree reaching
for the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We saw many red duiker running through the
under growth. We also saw many porcupine tracks and a few quills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Another 2 interesting sites were 3 large
leaf nests stuck to the branches of a tree as well as an enormous termite mound
that was about 2meters high and about 5meters wide at the base.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We then drove to the lake after the hike and
viewed the huge Lake St Lucia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">WEDNESDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">On our usual morning drive we managed to
tick the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">A Juvenile crowned eagle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">4 Crowned hornbill calling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">2 Burchelles Coucal close up doing a duet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Male and female Kudu together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">A Slender mongoose running for its life
across the road<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Ally and Andy gave a lecture on Ulwazi (Research
initiative at Thanda Safari) which was very interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">THURSDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We spotted 3 young inquisitive nyalas with
their beautiful orangey colour and huge ears. They jumped very acrobatically
into the bushes when we stopped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tSeWiY7zlmO1eU47t2MEN9LAATQsg_Eauwn2xrpyOtlN_saf31Hh8OQPtSevrB5va6uk7VUdKIRQKfVxHV6Mu4gpCrseEDFh3DI6d-XF2agiTSvYPVsy6nAuPRhsvCvT142IsQic0LI/s1600/matthew1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tSeWiY7zlmO1eU47t2MEN9LAATQsg_Eauwn2xrpyOtlN_saf31Hh8OQPtSevrB5va6uk7VUdKIRQKfVxHV6Mu4gpCrseEDFh3DI6d-XF2agiTSvYPVsy6nAuPRhsvCvT142IsQic0LI/s400/matthew1.JPG" width="225" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">FRIDAY</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the
sighting of three very lazy and well-rounded lionesses. They were near a
buffalo carcass, just being very content. Two of them were play-fighting and
purring loudly as we watched from about 15m away. The third was eating the
buffalo where we could clearly hear the carnassial (scissor) teeth shearing the
buffalo’s flesh as she tried to get a mouth full.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We also witnessed two male girraffes
fighting about 600m away from us, headbutting each other so hard that we could
hear the impacts of the very hard hits to the legs and chest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The sighting of the gorgeous Grey/Common
Duiker 10meters from the road was really special. It was not scared of us at
all and then we saw 2 more 100meters down the road. They were more skittish and
bolted as soon as we got closer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We also saw 2 red duiker on 2 separate
occasions, but they were too fast and we only saw flashes of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">SATURDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The sighting of a herd of about 20 elephants
spotted right near Intibane camp in the valley was really special – from a huge
bull to a tiny calf. We watched them for quite a while from a distance and they
actually came closer to us while we sat quietly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We also found red sand leopard tracks on the
side of a reservoir as well as tracks inside the reservoir which means the
leopard jumped up and into the reservoir that was over 2m high.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">SUNDAY<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">In the afternoon we saw our first black-shouldered
kite for two weeks after seeing them everyday since start of course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">There was also a sighting of a zebra skull
in a tree showing huge canines that we didn't know they had.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">We watched two lions on the road looking for
prey until it got dark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">On our way back we came across a huge buffalo
thorn that was knocked over across the road and we had to turn around. It
was a good thing as we then saw a black-backed jackal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-74918749501405872402017-06-12T04:48:00.000-07:002017-06-12T04:48:29.769-07:00The newspaper of the bush<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzmHShqml5-NhcHT1tTRI7et1jf-OqqzNLKccCQ9TK5yWmY5aviYeFuH3fEcAJB36TMu4F2hYjrT01EcvpJXVec73j1fEfOJrAB3-1uAvj7dO063QHyvLeW7WEe8GZJ58agLQWO2bz2U/s1600/track1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzmHShqml5-NhcHT1tTRI7et1jf-OqqzNLKccCQ9TK5yWmY5aviYeFuH3fEcAJB36TMu4F2hYjrT01EcvpJXVec73j1fEfOJrAB3-1uAvj7dO063QHyvLeW7WEe8GZJ58agLQWO2bz2U/s400/track1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #16191f; font-family: 'System Font Regular'; font-size: 14pt;">The bush has its own way of telling stories, without uttering a word. The
inhabitants of Mother Nature leave no stone unturned and no blade of grass
unbent of what they are doing and where they are going. That is, if we only had
the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the patience to wait…</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #16191f; font-family: "System Font Regular"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "System Font Regular";">The ability to track an animal or the ability to look at spoor and tell
what sequence of events has taken place is both an art and a science. No wonder
Master Tracker Elmon Ndlovu says, “to track and find the animal you need to
think like the animal”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfyZWopv0gUd80OLviB3j_x9M_imKJnKFc-vPfiThQKVKEFRi6Z9Qhy28F5fYZ77VbB6exWPrp1uFuKzkOq7A-Y62MOOlA_9JmoQJCnWLHQ2F4tgvqx3fvMoEt9vSdCEanmvHvjfUZiU/s1600/track2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfyZWopv0gUd80OLviB3j_x9M_imKJnKFc-vPfiThQKVKEFRi6Z9Qhy28F5fYZ77VbB6exWPrp1uFuKzkOq7A-Y62MOOlA_9JmoQJCnWLHQ2F4tgvqx3fvMoEt9vSdCEanmvHvjfUZiU/s400/track2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPNzq_CITYoAXg6l5bd9kSRKjK7POd2KDHbn0OyOYhnZkuI5jXr7Pjqhg_x1SazmqRRwe9sQo482H3gBpF3paLgBfJkHcQnL_Oit4D_aAcT-LI1KmUuent9y0vJ3-C57gbRGtSRCFvcrw/s1600/track3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPNzq_CITYoAXg6l5bd9kSRKjK7POd2KDHbn0OyOYhnZkuI5jXr7Pjqhg_x1SazmqRRwe9sQo482H3gBpF3paLgBfJkHcQnL_Oit4D_aAcT-LI1KmUuent9y0vJ3-C57gbRGtSRCFvcrw/s400/track3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #16191f; font-family: 'System Font Regular'; font-size: 14pt;">The </span><a href="https://www.africanaturetraining.co.za/" style="font-family: 'System Font Regular'; font-size: 14pt;" target="_blank">Africa Nature Training</a><span style="color: #16191f; font-family: 'System Font Regular'; font-size: 14pt;"> Track & Sign Course is an introduction to
the wonderful world of spoor and tracking. Our aim is to give the participants
on this course a taste of what awaits every time we walk in the veld. By the
end of this extraordinary experience we know that you will see the activities
of animals, and the story they leave behind, in a different light. And it is a
definite that the knowledge you would have gained will serve as the beginning
of a lifelong association with the signs of the wild.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PhgJYgvIjjT6fzYKFMZY9pUJQqhBL5BvkUe_DOMK-C32_dcy8gkDigMB33M9Y-UAJOByeus9IYu4XpnhO1MVBn4dsqtdFvxdS87vi81AdgSwGUh2SPGxHaZIF5qpIFEFbbKxmJrmglE/s1600/track4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PhgJYgvIjjT6fzYKFMZY9pUJQqhBL5BvkUe_DOMK-C32_dcy8gkDigMB33M9Y-UAJOByeus9IYu4XpnhO1MVBn4dsqtdFvxdS87vi81AdgSwGUh2SPGxHaZIF5qpIFEFbbKxmJrmglE/s400/track4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #16191f; font-family: 'System Font Regular'; font-size: 14pt;">ANT’s next Track & Sign course at Intibane at Thanda Safari </span><span style="color: #16191f; font-family: 'System Font Regular'; font-size: 14pt;">from 13-16 July will enable you to enhance your natural wilderness experience
greatly. This is a course that will make you look at the natural environment
with new eyes, being able to interpret the clues and signs left by animals in a
whole new way. At the end of the course, you'll be able to identify spoor and
dung/scat as well as territorial or behavioral signs of animals.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwTR3DWaLSsbevhEacOzC0nHGk0V_D7CpQ0bFw2B-ZuywjGHVA44Fdr6BKdSb8daOWIyAL_lL0AfsYTkaKx72i-1n0-tawp5AzdrMrTGmaN5RBDG_7j1UFyDIr0sa0avids6QlOJYcc4/s1600/track7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKwTR3DWaLSsbevhEacOzC0nHGk0V_D7CpQ0bFw2B-ZuywjGHVA44Fdr6BKdSb8daOWIyAL_lL0AfsYTkaKx72i-1n0-tawp5AzdrMrTGmaN5RBDG_7j1UFyDIr0sa0avids6QlOJYcc4/s400/track7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #16191f; font-family: 'System Font Regular'; font-size: 14pt;">The course teaches the art of tracking; you will in a sense have to
become the animal. And then use the broad tracking principles of observation,
identification and interpretation to find the animal.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #16191f; font-family: "System Font Regular"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "System Font Regular";">Because as Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in
seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-83904270007638919352017-02-24T13:32:00.002-08:002017-02-24T13:32:28.435-08:00ANTics of another kind...<div>
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What's in a name you might ask? Well, apparently a lot, especially if you are attending an African Nature Training course and start playing around with words in stead of facts.<div>
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This social media conversation transpired when the participants on the current FGASA Level One course were up to ANTics of another kind...</div>
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Happy valANTintes day!</div>
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Good bANTer...</div>
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FANTastic in fact!!</div>
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We are looking forward to your arrival in ANTicipation. Let's hope it isn't an ANTiclimax...</div>
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Oh eh eh... We are clearly all brilliANT today!</div>
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I'm waiting with much ANTicipation for the next chirp...</div>
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Agh man, don't be so ANTsy!</div>
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Ha ha ha, this conversation actually needs to end, I cANT keep it up...</div>
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Mmm... Seems you got your wish, it seems to have gone dormANT...</div>
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(Image: http://naldzgraphics.net)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-69837934103975051622017-02-02T01:50:00.000-08:002017-02-02T01:50:26.187-08:002 February - Celebrating World Wetlands Day <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_JOEIlMoVp8-lDN9BIqzPY-xbDHvQWjoVVgHgngAy6Rv_AjEq0nkAao6KeQn3c90b4zUORmHwA95odKvMfVKUSPScURCcq0ApXH_s3C9g_j5wDP3GPRYTuHUCKW6SjiazJn8slm9y-0/s1600/Image+2017-02-02+at+11.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_JOEIlMoVp8-lDN9BIqzPY-xbDHvQWjoVVgHgngAy6Rv_AjEq0nkAao6KeQn3c90b4zUORmHwA95odKvMfVKUSPScURCcq0ApXH_s3C9g_j5wDP3GPRYTuHUCKW6SjiazJn8slm9y-0/s320/Image+2017-02-02+at+11.46.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">World Wetlands Day, celebrated annually on 2 February, provides an opportunity to celebrate a natural resource that is critical for people, the environment, and biodiversity. Wetlands come in all shapes and forms, from estuaries along our beautiful coastlines and high altitude inland wetlands within the grasslands of Mpumalanga, to the hard working wetlands within our urban landscapes. Much of our conservation effort within the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is centred around the protection, restoration, and management of wetlands and the catchments that feed them, and we encourage you to celebrate World Wetlands Day with us.<br /><br />Two of South Africa’s three crane species, the Grey Crowned and Wattled Crane, are completely dependent on wetlands for their survival – yet both are threatened with extinction. Their threatened status mirrors the loss of wetlands in our country, with an estimated 50% of wetlands completely transformed in South Africa. The African Crane Conservation Programme (ACCP), a partnership between the EWT and the International Crane Foundation, has used these charismatic, long-lived birds as flagships for wetland protection, restoration and management.<br /><br />The ACCP’s South Africa Regional Manager, Tanya Smith, confirms that the efforts of the ACCP team and its partners have ensured the protection of nearly 100,000 ha of grasslands, wetlands and associated rivers in important catchments for people and cranes in South Africa over the past five years. The protection of the key water resources contributes to the long-term security of our water supply for millions of people in South Africa.<br /><br />From large charismatic cranes to the small and slippery, wetlands are home to many. Globally, amphibians are the most threatened class of vertebrate with 32.5% of species currently listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. Approximately 800 species of amphibians make exclusive use of wetland habitats. Here in South Africa, a tiny frog the size of your thumbnail is found only in 25 wetlands along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. Therefore, a key focal species of the EWT’s Threatened Amphibian Programme (TAP), is the Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog. These coastal wetlands are unique in their structure and are themselves classified as Critically Endangered. “The presence of flagship species that depend on wetlands for their survival really helps leverage support for the protection and restoration of wetlands,” says Dr Jeanne Tarrant, TAP Programme Manager. The EWT embarked on an ambitious journey to restore four of these wetlands in the Durban area through alien plant control, re-establishment of indigenous plants and assessing wetland rehabilitation needs and this year will be working towards formal protection of two of these wetlands through community stewardship models.<br /><br />This year’s World Wetland Day theme is “Wetlands for disaster risk reduction” and this theme truly celebrates the services wetlands provide for us free of charge. Wetlands greatly reduce the impacts of flooding by slowing down the flow of water, and reduce the impacts of droughts by slowly releasing water to our streams and rivers. In the current drought gripping much of South Africa, the role and protection of healthy wetlands has never been more important.<br /><br />The EWT is involved with several World Wetlands Day celebratory events around the country. In KwaZulu-Natal, World Wetlands Day will be celebrated at the Greater Edendale Mall wetland in Pietermaritzburg on 2 February from 10am. This is a collaboration of all partners of the KwaZulu-Natal Wetland Forum and will see over 300 children learning about and experiencing the value of wetlands. In the Eastern Cape, the EWT and the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa have partnered to get our future generation’s hands dirty experiencing the wetlands of the Amathole area, where the EWT has been implementing catchment restoration work for the past three years. Lastly, in Gauteng, World Wetlands Day will be celebrated on 17 February at Tembisa Esselen Park Pan. A fun day of activities is planned, so be on the lookout for the EWT stand.<br /><br />Later on in the month, you can get involved in raising awareness for our special wetland dwellers, the frogs, by joining in on a number of Leap Day for Frogs activities, including the EWT’s attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest game of leapfrog on Friday, 24 February. This exciting event gets underway at 10am on the Durban beachfront promenade near uShaka Marine World. Find out more by visiting <a href="http://ewt.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=5bad3884f5aa27d68b21df29a&id=0aa3d6f819&e=18754dd656" style="color: #2baadf;">www.leapdayforfrogs.org.za</a> or emailing <a href="mailto:JeanneT@ewt.org.za" style="color: #2baadf;">JeanneT@ewt.org.za</a></span><br /><br /> </h1>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">You can make a difference to our wetlands all year round in a number of different ways, including:</span></h1>
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<li style="text-align: left;">Planning a wetland clean up in your community with local schools and parents.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Reducing your waste, reusing bottles and containers you would normally throw away, use reusable shopping bags and recycle! Our water resources like rivers and wetlands are heavily impacted on by litter and waste, so these small actions can make a huge difference.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Reporting any illegal dumping in wetlands and rivers to your local municipality or police station.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Supporting the efforts of organisations like the EWT in protecting wetlands on your behalf.</li>
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(Story: Endangered Wildlife Trust)<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-12300193054164133802017-01-16T04:44:00.000-08:002017-01-16T04:44:07.871-08:00The man behind the uniform – Gary Lyon <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNiCFEJ8683C3cW1c4QNCXPmOYH7Xo3DxCMXWO0VcfuJukh_SUtvd9Gx8LdttqyF6_gff7Qf9Uw12AxS7pi_9mDg3wKvD6XxFtcW4eZgWeY1UJyT8Ego7C_1WIvQ_s5c6sF3uL9c1uqQ/s1600/IMG-20161106-WA0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNiCFEJ8683C3cW1c4QNCXPmOYH7Xo3DxCMXWO0VcfuJukh_SUtvd9Gx8LdttqyF6_gff7Qf9Uw12AxS7pi_9mDg3wKvD6XxFtcW4eZgWeY1UJyT8Ego7C_1WIvQ_s5c6sF3uL9c1uqQ/s320/IMG-20161106-WA0013.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Africa
Nature Training pride itself on the calibre of instructors that is chosen to
conduct our courses. Gary Lyon is one such man. With 20 years’ experience, he
is a gem and participants under his tutelage walk away with a wealth of
knowledge and an experience par none. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Get to know
him better…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Why do you do what
you do?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The natural world has captured my imagination for as long as
I can remember. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When I was at school we attended veld school periodically. Some
people hated veld school and similar school tours to the bush but for me it was
the best thing since bread and jam... On one of my trips to the Soutpansberg, a
teacher handed me a copy of the South African Tree list. I ran off into bush where
I managed to see lots of trees, identify none and got myself stung by a nest of
paper wasps. But it captured my imagination like nothing else and I have loved
trees ever since.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once I began to learn about nature it never stopped and it
never will. I have been taught many things by many individuals, often by my own
students, and I am grateful for the knowledge they have shared with me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Most favourite
wildlife experience?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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My most favourite wildlife experience has to be finding
something new and unusual that I hadn’t expected to see, like a pair of Cape
Clawless Otters appearing unexpectedly in a pool, or a Giant Legless Skink
appearing after the first heavy rains.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Favourite animal and
why?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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I love the honey badger for his sheer tenacity,
determination and drive, his fearlessness and his versatility, as well as, his adaptability
and intelligence. All these characteristics make the honey badger an amazing
animal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What does the future
hold for the guiding industry?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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As our wildlife becomes more and more threatened there is a
need for better custodianship. This begins with an appreciation of what we have
and what we have to lose. To appreciate what we have we need to see it and
experience it, so that we can come to understand it and value it. Guiding is
the way trained individuals introduce people to nature through ecotourism.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The guiding industry has transformed since I first began
working as a guide in 1996. While we have always tried to be professional, the
standards of training and level of knowledge has grown tremendously. This is
attributable to the hard work of many and the input of numerous stake-holders
in the industry including individual, private and public entities and through
government legislation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The industry now has professional guides, at various levels
in their training and development that are well-trained and equipped to provide
the safest and most informative nature experience possible. Guides are now able
to specialise in various fields – once they have acquired the highest level as
professional safari guides – and can now focus their attention on their
individual passions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The industry is already at a high level as far as
professionalism is concerned and will continue to improve but future wildlife
experiences will be defined by a more conscious effort to ensure the welfare of
the wildlife with more care taken to ensure that animals are not disturbed
excessively just to satisfy the need for a good sighting for a paying client. The
industry will also be more conscious of the footprint we have on the
environment as we traverse it, on foot , by vehicle, on horseback or by boat. Guides
will be conscious of this as they strive to continue to drive the industry
forward. Along with this the industry is also moving in a direction that will
allow more access to less well-heeled individuals and where the client
experience will change from a passive observation to active learning about
wildlife.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What are you
currently busy with?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
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I am constantly working to improve my credentials as a guide
and presentation as a guide trainer. This includes working towards an
SKS-Birding qualification, among other goals.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-78800683672166761742017-01-10T10:30:00.001-08:002017-01-10T10:30:35.062-08:00Awesome Guiding Experiences<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words then a video must be worth at least ten thousand! It is incredibly difficult to capture moments in time and reduce them to an image on a flat screen. So much is lost, the sounds, scents and emotions receding into invisibility. That said I hope this short visual clip inspires you to join us on our field guide course and experience for yourself both that which is represented here as well as those things which, in the words of Helen Keller "...cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart". </span></strong><br />
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<span class="_D8e"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-18572386393436956692016-01-20T06:24:00.000-08:002016-01-22T01:01:04.310-08:00Sex, drugs, rock and roll…<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><em>So how do you entertain your clients on days of incessant rain when every creature from ants to zebras have entrenched themselves in the deepest cover to avoid the deluge? Or on those nightmarish days of bright sunshine when nothing is moving, not even a mouse….<br /><br />In an attempt to answer this question I came up with the idea of sharing some of the wonderful, occasionally weird, but always interesting plants and animals in whose space we work.<br /><br />I hope this series of monthly blog spots will not only help to fill rainy days with your guests but will also inspire you to delve deeper into the marvels of our remarkable natural heritage. <br /><br />Best regards, Lorraine</em></span></div>
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January 2016 - Sex, drugs, rock and roll…</h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/images/42521/b2ccdbb0bc7c21e2a9cdfc040da20117.jpg"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/</span></a><a href="https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/"></a><a href="https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">images/42521/b2ccdbb0bc7c21e2a9cdfc040da20117.jpg</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Whilst the extinction of the dinosaurs ended the rule of reptiles and ushered in the era of mammals, in sheer number terms our planet is currently very much the domain of insects. Three quarters of all living species on earth are insects, amongst which the beetles (Order: Coleoptera) reign supreme. <br /><br />As the most diverse order in the entire animal kingdom, beetles have derived an amazing range of adaptive and fascinating behaviours. What follows is sex, drugs, rock and roll – beetle style…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Glossy and colourful the Fruit Chafer (pictured above) males have developed an interesting, and energy efficient, strategy for attracting females. They congregate in ‘juice-bars’– created when damage to the bark of a tree results in sap flows. Favourite ‘hang-outs’ are the Buffalo Thorn (<em>Ziziphus mucronata</em>) or the Velvet Bushwillow (<em>Combretum molle</em>). Competition is fierce as the males jostle with one another to be able to mate with the females who are attracted to the sweet juice. Winner takes all.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lKZ-ntGK1DhmYag38icfoRCXS9gOiENRrU1k9yGyrJ9HgiTSrm2EthFln_-phT3f0TuXhUkFkS4uyWobVNQpusXah83Ir3sUECHEiYqpniw3WQ-Oz8ZJN-ii92ZZ9VBaDBsOkncLnSE/s1600/Long-legged+darkling+beetle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lKZ-ntGK1DhmYag38icfoRCXS9gOiENRrU1k9yGyrJ9HgiTSrm2EthFln_-phT3f0TuXhUkFkS4uyWobVNQpusXah83Ir3sUECHEiYqpniw3WQ-Oz8ZJN-ii92ZZ9VBaDBsOkncLnSE/s400/Long-legged+darkling+beetle.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/images/45530/54cff76e0062d62023ff7225c6d15bc5.jpg">https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/images/45530/54cff76e0062d62023ff7225c6d15bc5.jpg</a> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The less attractive Toktokkies (Tenebrionids) require more stamina to stay in the running for a mate. In some species found in our sub-region a whole string of males will follow a female around. When the female runs, they run and when she stops to feed, they stop. However, so intent are they on not losing sight of her they do not even feed. It has been recorded that more than a few drop out of the pursuit from sheer exhaustion. The chase continues for days on end until the female is ready to lay her eggs. Then, the first in line, and only he, is allowed to mate with her. Strangely males further back in the line do not attempt to queue jump to be the ‘lucky one’…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, gentlemen, if you thought that ‘Singles bars’ and ‘Chasing after the ladies’ were the </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">brainchild of humans – think again!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusyTrdIWOhQeMMV-PjIOjVyrDH2tYVUCb18pZKBhl6mHqi09RjTFMVJfznFoN8VXHRYmKcS1aUiZXdN01BTnQdKXLY8XeGBViKfWowx-mf3lWd9QnYNnOXGunhJAzaWSIpUhVbQgJcxg/s1600/Ant%2527s+nest+beetle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiusyTrdIWOhQeMMV-PjIOjVyrDH2tYVUCb18pZKBhl6mHqi09RjTFMVJfznFoN8VXHRYmKcS1aUiZXdN01BTnQdKXLY8XeGBViKfWowx-mf3lWd9QnYNnOXGunhJAzaWSIpUhVbQgJcxg/s1600/Ant%2527s+nest+beetle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">https://www.ispotnature.org/species-dictionaries/sanbi/Paussinae<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Beetles also understood the tranquillising effects of chemicals many moons before humans did. Ant’s guest beetles (Subfamily Paussinae) produce a glandular secretion on their antennae and body that is highly sought after by ants. As the name suggests upon finding an ant colony these beetles invite themselves in as guests, albeit through drugging and subterfuge! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The glandular secretion they produce - which is so sought after by the ants that they will actually lick it off the beetle - contains a volatile substance which appeases them and suppresses their usual antagonism towards intruders. This tranquillising effect, combined with the beetle’s ability to use an acoustic mechanism to successfully imitate the sounds of an ant queen, permits them access to the nest without alarming the colony. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In return for their ‘drug fix’ the ants feed the beetle and its larvae. In some instances however the beetles are less altruistic and their larvae feed on the ant brood…perhaps ‘deceptive diners’ rather than ‘sneaky guests’ on those occasions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And last, but by no means least, are the rollers of the beetle world. Dung beetles evolved at least 65 million years ago as the number and size of mammals (and their droppings) was increasing. Specially adapted to working in and with dung these remarkable creatures have been cleaning up our planet for millennia. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are some 6,000 species world-wide of which only 10% are rollers. More correctly called Telecoprids these beetles roll away the dung they collect from the dung pat. This behaviour is thought to have evolved from competition for dung amongst the many species that arrive at fresh dung. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshPs678j9sspM5_RimddzHGllbuHXu_U7ggtcImqNxob2sByuSle9dr9Z0uFq4-fFw1_LTpTGnoTtgDvpHynDW0IvrOcpVZo1KaNiwh3uZsQJZmScNr9o0a59VLFMU69v7nvOJEdWa0Q/s1600/DungBeetleFight-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshPs678j9sspM5_RimddzHGllbuHXu_U7ggtcImqNxob2sByuSle9dr9Z0uFq4-fFw1_LTpTGnoTtgDvpHynDW0IvrOcpVZo1KaNiwh3uZsQJZmScNr9o0a59VLFMU69v7nvOJEdWa0Q/s320/DungBeetleFight-sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit: Nicky Glennie</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thousands of dung beetles may arrive at a single Buffalo pat within an hour, so its gets crowded, fast. Removing your portion not only reduces onsite crowding and competition but if you have already ‘scooped your poop’ and are making a quick getaway you also have a better chance of keeping hold of your spoils. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That said, whilst on drive a few weeks ago I witnessed the ‘rock’ to accompany the ‘roll’ in the Telecoprid world. A male was happily rolling his ball of dung, climbing atop it every couple of minutes to orientate himself, when in flew an interloper. The interloper then proceeded to also climb onto the ball and rock it aggressively in attempt to knock off the rightful roller. A fascinating fight ensued with the original owner eventually regaining ownership of his ball and rolling it off. <br /><br />I hope you have enjoyed this short foray into the hidden life of beetles and will join us next time...<br /><br />Until then, in the words of another ‘Beatles Group’, I’ve got a “ticket to ride”…back to the bush… <br /><br />The ANT Blog</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-90904798039018734262015-10-14T03:01:00.004-07:002015-10-14T03:27:09.962-07:00GraduANTs Refresher Weekend 2015<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We hope that you are surviving the heat wave! Phew, a GraduANT's Refresher weekend (for past <a href="https://www.africanaturetraining.co.za/product/nature-enthusiast-course" target="_blank">Nature Enthusiast Course</a> students) seemed like a good idea at the time...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">By way of background to this story, two of our mentors have developed a habit of staying at the training venue in the Waterberg until late on Sunday afternoon before heading back to the city. One weekend earlier this year, they were going for a walk in the northern part of the (two hundred and fifty hectare) farm and they stumbled upon a huge Southern African Python, basking in the sun.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvHk9uTaodxcNSOPlhFs3LUF9N1bTcWq6e5GsBrMULw9-_udT0sx4Pp4Gll52vI-w1SjnEBQo-Dqz32ABtptoiJPzTlDrIsPtfFQnTyN-VFrSoGstJNV8RnvkoRUN6huX_eAPxd-hJ8c/s1600/iphonepix-17aug2015+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvHk9uTaodxcNSOPlhFs3LUF9N1bTcWq6e5GsBrMULw9-_udT0sx4Pp4Gll52vI-w1SjnEBQo-Dqz32ABtptoiJPzTlDrIsPtfFQnTyN-VFrSoGstJNV8RnvkoRUN6huX_eAPxd-hJ8c/s320/iphonepix-17aug2015+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The Southern African Python, basking - Photo by Justin van Doorene</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We sent a photo of this snake to one of South Africa's leading herpetologists (a lecturer on the Nature Enthusiast Course), Professor Graham Alexander of Wits University, and asked him if this animal interests him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He replied, saying that the snake is a female, probably between four and five metres long and that (at the time) she would be looking for a mate and would be laying eggs in October...and yes, he is interested! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We invited him to participate on our GraduANTs Refresher Weekend by giving us a lecture on the digestive physiology of Pythons and taking us to look for this animal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One of our mentors came up with a lovely idea, called The Amazing Race, which involved giving four teams a set of tasks to accomplish within two hours. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On Saturday morning, each team was given a decorated, colour-coded pizza box which contained some necessary items. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFblLdx7D-OGG9flVBDg1s62FNRFLbS1orPZFXJ2QmNgk7BAgNPy-VSyJE4Vwt-qzfUNhBW8AYcn4jbGXMMdAXeFD92259iBpH9dg5VuHA4X7U_kJh6kThuq2w6vSgZcEc9QzSaIyCDA4/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFblLdx7D-OGG9flVBDg1s62FNRFLbS1orPZFXJ2QmNgk7BAgNPy-VSyJE4Vwt-qzfUNhBW8AYcn4jbGXMMdAXeFD92259iBpH9dg5VuHA4X7U_kJh6kThuq2w6vSgZcEc9QzSaIyCDA4/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Well done to the Blue team, who won The Amazing Race - Smarties!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">From left to right: Salim, Rooksana, Sue, Ditmar and Shayleen</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The tasks were to do with identifying plants, collecting samples of those and some dung, taking photographs of certain things and identifying some reptiles. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each team received a puzzle piece for each correct answer and had to put together the puzzle pieces...then, on Sunday morning, give us all a short talk on the animal in their picture (Pangolin, Black Rhino, Wild Dog, Riverine Rabbit). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The training team guided the students through and everyone really enjoyed it and learnt a lot! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On Saturday afternoon, three groups went through an hour-long rotation of photography, looking for the Python and interpreting a staged tracking scenario. It was excruciatingly hot, but everyone drank plenty of liquid and managed not to get dehydrated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Below is Professor Alexander with a zebra skull that we found when we went searching for reptiles. He's carrying a tool that herpetologists call a 'stump ripper' - which looks a bit like a golf club - which is used to pull up dead logs and other debris, to see if snakes are underneath.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP1Rm5DqhpUgRPdqSST2gGGQ9SkwYmMzwQXW6cEc44KubMW4Q7Y1TALvrV8vcAU99RirpmXZumaz4QXi7jr2apBMAxQ0zEGNNYx5ea44gC61AtLHAl7GuPcy03rEUvouibIzTfTbW978/s1600/GrahamAlexander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP1Rm5DqhpUgRPdqSST2gGGQ9SkwYmMzwQXW6cEc44KubMW4Q7Y1TALvrV8vcAU99RirpmXZumaz4QXi7jr2apBMAxQ0zEGNNYx5ea44gC61AtLHAl7GuPcy03rEUvouibIzTfTbW978/s400/GrahamAlexander.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Professor Graham Alexander with a zebra skull we found in the veld</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Prof was very disappointed that we never actually found any snakes, let alone the Python, but he did come across a snake skin! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He cut this open (they shed their skin like we take off our sock, so inside-out) and counted the scales, (which is how you identify them, 19) and concluded that it was a Snouted Cobra...famous for being predators of Puff Adders. So that was very exciting! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In a way, I think people were relieved that we didn't find a live sample. The area apparently isn't rocky enough to be good habitat for snakes.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAeKp6SQd8ms46u3s8UijohyGrcPnlTemYpwPyCjELXZXTJzzdkVgZeFgdYBgg091SBJMzp4yFd9B58OSvv4UNSmG0fDl6OGcoj1n3VKNx-1duyQePn3ZdDvgvyHMUDeDyM23zKhQwm4/s1600/Nyala-CarolineCulbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAeKp6SQd8ms46u3s8UijohyGrcPnlTemYpwPyCjELXZXTJzzdkVgZeFgdYBgg091SBJMzp4yFd9B58OSvv4UNSmG0fDl6OGcoj1n3VKNx-1duyQePn3ZdDvgvyHMUDeDyM23zKhQwm4/s320/Nyala-CarolineCulbert.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Nyala bull drinking - photo by Caroline Culbert</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">During one of the photography sessions, a beautiful male Nyala came down to drink at the dam...which is as dry as a bone, but there is a concrete basin into which they pump water for the animals. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Shame, the poor thing could hardly reach the water, as it was a bit too steep on the sides. Anyway, that was a lucky sighting and everyone had a chance to practice their skills.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We had sundowners at the dam and then returned to the campsite for a communal braai. Below is the lapa area (lesser bushbabies shelter in its roof!) and pool. It's a beautiful place to camp.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In the morning, we had an early start and set off in small groups and enjoyed a wonderful bird walk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Some of the highlights were a nesting Fork-tailed Drongo and a trio of Marico Sunbirds shouting at each other from the top of a tree, with their iridescent colours glistening in the sunlight! The Drongo chose a particularly silly place, given that the sun was very unforgiving and that she is black (therefore a heat sink) - it was a bare tree, out in the open.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It would be remiss of us not to mention the rare and much sought-after yellow morph of the Crimson-breasted Shrike, which also made several appearances for us - what a special treat!</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoFfTTw05RnRkONuv8JjGSjgY3sIwdK_DgwnKdpr9NDjC53Iw7KjZr4rHluvR0Uh3oAFERC2yziM4KZIuqecy8o5Er6Kq7jeZseTpuDHfb7l5uYfkydpW8ioVMq7j4YGykb5luZ9FBV4/s1600/S51A3822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYoFfTTw05RnRkONuv8JjGSjgY3sIwdK_DgwnKdpr9NDjC53Iw7KjZr4rHluvR0Uh3oAFERC2yziM4KZIuqecy8o5Er6Kq7jeZseTpuDHfb7l5uYfkydpW8ioVMq7j4YGykb5luZ9FBV4/s640/S51A3822.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This image of the yellow morph was taken by the 'birthday girl', </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Caroline Culbert</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ps. Andre and Justin stayed late again and checked the camera trap that we had set up...the python apparently came out to bask from 12:39 until 13:03 about two metres from where she had originally been seen! Prof. Alexander said that </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">she has not yet laid her eggs and so will probably leave the hole to find another nest site very soon. It would be great if we could find out where she goes – when the babies hatch, there would be a two week period where there would be many babies basking outside the hole throughout the day. Based on the assumption that she is about to lay, they are predicted to hatch in the second or third week of February.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-47130689959040064522015-10-05T01:04:00.000-07:002015-10-05T02:15:52.642-07:00Correspondence Course Practical September 2015<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hi there everyone!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first summer rains have arrived. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This means that the bush has taken in a breath of new energy
and is changing colours day by day. I can never decide what my favourite season
is in the bush but I must say… when we arrived at Nkombe Camp early September,
I was blown away! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRqn3Ro__YxpiJPZvlQIENNTkg9xt06ntr3hCkYhZLlALINQ5loxMf7sPZBiW1Bi9G6y_Ogsm6Wcauh-BTQEy90WQooyN7z9Bv194hcUhZvrvTu1HYCXsYzLu-RDG6qCDmLK-ei7y6QE/s1600/IMG_2627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRqn3Ro__YxpiJPZvlQIENNTkg9xt06ntr3hCkYhZLlALINQ5loxMf7sPZBiW1Bi9G6y_Ogsm6Wcauh-BTQEy90WQooyN7z9Bv194hcUhZvrvTu1HYCXsYzLu-RDG6qCDmLK-ei7y6QE/s320/IMG_2627.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The beautiful Narrow-leaved Morning Glory</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The earth had been craving water for so long and finally the
thirst has been quenched. My senses were more awake than ever… the smell of
fresh vegetation and wet soil – an earthy scent that cannot be bottled or
replicated. I absolutely love the sounds of buzzing insects calling incessantly
at dusk and the characteristic calls of many male frogs in the hopes of
attracting females. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The bush is alive and it’s just getting better!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2-OyslqEjQMjrLlTSE0QARQPMeTlSlNpDMs7XPY7BroJ5j1vzqyt764dOayG_xscR-0u8Tg1wiP_bX4DIMwx20SkyHJMZqpK_u1UDms_AXVG0hYNWiuq74tngSw7lf5I9nz5FUS0b2o/s1600/IMG_1943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2-OyslqEjQMjrLlTSE0QARQPMeTlSlNpDMs7XPY7BroJ5j1vzqyt764dOayG_xscR-0u8Tg1wiP_bX4DIMwx20SkyHJMZqpK_u1UDms_AXVG0hYNWiuq74tngSw7lf5I9nz5FUS0b2o/s320/IMG_1943.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Inspecting an old buffalo skull</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This blog is, however, not dedicated to the wonders of the
ever changing bushveld. It is dedicated to our first Correspondence Course
practical of 2015! Students from all corners of the earth came together for two
spectacular weeks with one thing in common – an everlasting passion for
nature!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The students arrived on the 19<sup>th</sup>
of September and we wasted no time in getting them into the swing of things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first thing they saw, before even arriving at the famous
Nkombe Camp, was the most beautiful female leopard. She was lying beneath a
tree with a couple of Spotted Hyaenas lurking nearby. This is because she had
made an impala kill which we saw dangling in the tree above. What a way to get
settled in ;)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sSjj2Hg76DAlHISLGKN-lbnTgM5P7idIF2qM6aCDf4h7bHH0KjrAbJUCqNaG_fitYy6u_R23JRWXwbq0xJQtC4bTjy1xqFhU-7zBQMcfzkD6arKF6rvWW698yBvw19ejGAPDiSJnuBM/s1600/IMG_2567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7sSjj2Hg76DAlHISLGKN-lbnTgM5P7idIF2qM6aCDf4h7bHH0KjrAbJUCqNaG_fitYy6u_R23JRWXwbq0xJQtC4bTjy1xqFhU-7zBQMcfzkD6arKF6rvWW698yBvw19ejGAPDiSJnuBM/s320/IMG_2567.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Always amazing to see...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next thing on the agenda for the first day was
'welcoming sundowners'. We unfortunately didn’t see the sun go down as the
weather was not ideal and continued to drizzle for a day or so. That being
said, we were so impressed with the students, as they never once let the
weather get the best of them. We had an amazing sundowner stop under an
impressive Jackalberry tree and enjoyed Mandla’s homely chicken potjie around
the captivating fire whilst getting to know each other.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first few days were spent learning about trees and
birds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq4O337boZYLQDHhK8wRziYmbcudo77DxZur8hwHAM2jMFecq7RCfwHaBGDBZl-LXjPPM3AH__jTL0OMKkeUlj3LncMdicUa2zxzrF4txN8wgtZqxF2_vV6ln2iFXU6MbiFgh6mMqz1M/s1600/IMG_1423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuq4O337boZYLQDHhK8wRziYmbcudo77DxZur8hwHAM2jMFecq7RCfwHaBGDBZl-LXjPPM3AH__jTL0OMKkeUlj3LncMdicUa2zxzrF4txN8wgtZqxF2_vV6ln2iFXU6MbiFgh6mMqz1M/s320/IMG_1423.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Just one of our spectacular sunsets</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dave Strydom (our expert birds and trees lecturer) truly has
an impeccable way to give students the tools to gain the skills of successfully
identifying trees and birds. We enjoyed bush walks every morning, as one tends
to learn more whilst on foot. There is
more to see, smell and hear without the noise and distractions of a vehicle.
The one thing I was not so keen about was all the pepper ticks! I walked
through at least three nests and I sit here now itching and itching with over
thirty bites (yes, I counted)! It seems they have grown immune to Tabard.
Nevertheless, it was completely worth it!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDt6nyYXj44jlMf2o6yT5dUCPLbZ3M596SZHFEncIr41RSBmVxX7jVidWX-T9f4dm7C7PfJbZK8x03kSn3Rj2TQMSGN4bxxu6ryJtYgZhl1xX7pqmGKT5VDOMI0d_04LVCRGHd_Mf4ZM/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDt6nyYXj44jlMf2o6yT5dUCPLbZ3M596SZHFEncIr41RSBmVxX7jVidWX-T9f4dm7C7PfJbZK8x03kSn3Rj2TQMSGN4bxxu6ryJtYgZhl1xX7pqmGKT5VDOMI0d_04LVCRGHd_Mf4ZM/s320/IMG_1715.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A group of vultures patiently waiting...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One day stood out in particular: the 25<sup>th</sup> of
September. We went for a long game drive to the south of the reserve and had
two absolutely stunning sightings. The first was of a pride of lions on a
buffalo kill. This was the Southern Pride – experts in eating
buffalo. We also enjoyed seeing a massive dead tree covered in various species
of vultures waiting for their turn to devour the leftovers. What an
unforgettable scene! This was also the first ever sighting of lions for one of our
students! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPe2Rh42mocacAkdXGRf9gPnSCclFxAseKvX076nzJRo07KOgtyV8SOfKqwwH4thLnTVZaAxWKnGsycbtPQ7-tcA73eGO947todYbHrK5IvUtr6aeHv9bfAg4knIhz_QRm66zZ16xKB0/s1600/IMG_1850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPe2Rh42mocacAkdXGRf9gPnSCclFxAseKvX076nzJRo07KOgtyV8SOfKqwwH4thLnTVZaAxWKnGsycbtPQ7-tcA73eGO947todYbHrK5IvUtr6aeHv9bfAg4knIhz_QRm66zZ16xKB0/s320/IMG_1850.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Joe and the bull elephant</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The other magnificent sighting was of a herd of elephant -
our favourite animals of all. It started as we saw a bull elephant on a
mission. He covered a lot of distance in a very short time. After following the
determined elephant, we came across a breeding herd. The bull was in hot
pursuit of the females, but they were showing no interest. I predict the bull
was too young and not in musth. After failing to impress the females, he
moved off. It was that perfect time of day just before the sun started to set.
We parked our vehicle some distance from the herd and let them approach us. It
was incredible. The females passed right by us, carrying on with their usual
activities. One relaxed female even fed on a tree less than five metres away
from Joe (a student from England). He claims this to be one of the best moments
of his life. A young calf was gently guided by her mother - stunning to watch.
My best sighting of the week! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This day also happened to be my birthday. I couldn’t have
been happier spending it in the bush with this amazing group of people. The
students even made me a special gift – they carved onto a piece of wood and all
wrote a special message on it. Thanks again guys!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before we knew it, it was assessment time! We treated our
students to a surprise bush breakfast with an amazing view of a dry riverbed
and the open plains beyond it. This was also our way of saying 'good luck!' to
everyone for the upcoming days. We are so proud of each and every one, as they
all passed their assessments with flying colours as well as their FGASA 1
exams. Congratulations ANTs!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIweM4rpZITM_TB6EYa1hhdKZEdreRQcu_E2xiYd2SxG0_idSPvQ13NHWwxrUz8CW4mjR0ZH8xrGBy-kpSP2rB6WdRzW_oX1QOolwe8uKsKk5_PpWrabk0JAU770mTjsp_nPlA7xg0s4/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIweM4rpZITM_TB6EYa1hhdKZEdreRQcu_E2xiYd2SxG0_idSPvQ13NHWwxrUz8CW4mjR0ZH8xrGBy-kpSP2rB6WdRzW_oX1QOolwe8uKsKk5_PpWrabk0JAU770mTjsp_nPlA7xg0s4/s200/IMG_2659.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The herd of buffalo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We haven’t even spoken about half of our fantastic
sightings…We were treated to a visit by wild dogs which spent the day less
than five hundred metres from camp! They are always fantastic to see and we loved the fact that
they were so close to us for so long. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The majority of the time spent at Nkombe
Camp was focused on the smaller aspects of nature which are no less important
than the famous Big Five. The rest came naturally, as we saw all of the Big Five on the last
day without even trying. We saw female lions on another buffalo kill, as well as
a gorgeous female leopard which recently had hunted a duiker. We were
privileged enough to see a massive herd of buffalo, after which we stopped at a
famous granite outcrop to have some refreshments overlooking the reserve. What a day it was!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After this course, we can all agree that we will never look
at the bush the same way and we have a much better insight into the
never-ending world of nature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">written by Chanyn-Lee Zeelie</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSayiXlMaSfNh8qjgtP-5Y82zZwOOCEusEBtelU16oUH__9x0f6hg83_OqZvwwUm-KSDEqY7S_1Sfb9KfZPDh7iERtDJ1QQxZFiOwQT1g0A3bSAH7Qs4YoBhB1xGiH54YpydmrOOZtGOQ/s1600/group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSayiXlMaSfNh8qjgtP-5Y82zZwOOCEusEBtelU16oUH__9x0f6hg83_OqZvwwUm-KSDEqY7S_1Sfb9KfZPDh7iERtDJ1QQxZFiOwQT1g0A3bSAH7Qs4YoBhB1xGiH54YpydmrOOZtGOQ/s400/group.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">What a great group of people!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJx6Yb0_JHIxqlxIW9IENwFfVhYRNegdoWdoBrcQS2otd26csaC7TUB3bAF-GBj7QnBlbdv9mtmc5C7ZkJaHYLK_HoAJndUznoQ5EZuri1L7Uehrv8EbbI_j0rdn9VPebtha2_5juZC8/s1600/IMG_2668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnJx6Yb0_JHIxqlxIW9IENwFfVhYRNegdoWdoBrcQS2otd26csaC7TUB3bAF-GBj7QnBlbdv9mtmc5C7ZkJaHYLK_HoAJndUznoQ5EZuri1L7Uehrv8EbbI_j0rdn9VPebtha2_5juZC8/s320/IMG_2668.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A lioness with her meal in the background</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpiDSReQwM5GCKVxrDRtQy44kW2bfdcBh8BPPehRldKMn1Unxhi1dsVNB_BDppz2LzpgdCBxnjjA-DUrcwf7VdSDyCyH3joHfoRjWnv_Og_IPUkA6Glrx2KQ9s3QwjW7ZEgPJNm_DSuE/s1600/IMG_2428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpiDSReQwM5GCKVxrDRtQy44kW2bfdcBh8BPPehRldKMn1Unxhi1dsVNB_BDppz2LzpgdCBxnjjA-DUrcwf7VdSDyCyH3joHfoRjWnv_Og_IPUkA6Glrx2KQ9s3QwjW7ZEgPJNm_DSuE/s320/IMG_2428.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Conrad exploring Jacana Pan</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpRZuT7-iV7ZZ8T_3ihrxYjdgW4iOXxQXCiKRhHH9BddkV1GoobJK3HjjE6oj_cjkKJjDpNZ1YROtZRGMEzTfyXR7DsIPAFEhRN4QA1jKM4Mu8WPmEKg74fGvtT5wKW17UGesOTLIyAc/s1600/IMG_1598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpRZuT7-iV7ZZ8T_3ihrxYjdgW4iOXxQXCiKRhHH9BddkV1GoobJK3HjjE6oj_cjkKJjDpNZ1YROtZRGMEzTfyXR7DsIPAFEhRN4QA1jKM4Mu8WPmEKg74fGvtT5wKW17UGesOTLIyAc/s640/IMG_1598.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A group of Blue Wildebeest graze as the sun starts to set</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRL5ly1Ran20qBY3Mbspb3tLey2jqz6eqa6z3dAnPGnAPd6o8H4EGJa6nwGkmCwJYj_P0St8PBCLOEZPgdrlkQjE_q8quTgiiAA4sqyw5A_WxtRxlq-veydfUnp3uOko_UkXbLQ5yRcAQ/s1600/IMG_1615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRL5ly1Ran20qBY3Mbspb3tLey2jqz6eqa6z3dAnPGnAPd6o8H4EGJa6nwGkmCwJYj_P0St8PBCLOEZPgdrlkQjE_q8quTgiiAA4sqyw5A_WxtRxlq-veydfUnp3uOko_UkXbLQ5yRcAQ/s640/IMG_1615.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A beautiful picture of the end of another day in Africa</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzZ9_Nt3u4N8l-orduq8QrzppAATkWjIoQc78iS4cD8m_Wf6-QQSL5iwDtFzjD8rDXd76DHhfeZLMcHjxA5QyMf2lGfpqmxC8negfaLrBE9J126bGGnxauMbeUN6mU8FEF5okhB8PKCs/s1600/IMG_1792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzZ9_Nt3u4N8l-orduq8QrzppAATkWjIoQc78iS4cD8m_Wf6-QQSL5iwDtFzjD8rDXd76DHhfeZLMcHjxA5QyMf2lGfpqmxC8negfaLrBE9J126bGGnxauMbeUN6mU8FEF5okhB8PKCs/s640/IMG_1792.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Nkombe Camp managers - Chanyn and Conrad Zeelie</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkoP5FxBvxSKEyfVC6PatKsyeHiEqEQbnAfekqTZOqRUHSw5_7a6TY3E5z8mUhZmmBPp5nezDulwJoChFM-mCjv2cRzMbjskQcZNvxvhzsLKEvMcFUhEpyxxZtAGlQp2UNc1cvDtpELY/s1600/IMG_1913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkoP5FxBvxSKEyfVC6PatKsyeHiEqEQbnAfekqTZOqRUHSw5_7a6TY3E5z8mUhZmmBPp5nezDulwJoChFM-mCjv2cRzMbjskQcZNvxvhzsLKEvMcFUhEpyxxZtAGlQp2UNc1cvDtpELY/s640/IMG_1913.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Surprise Bush Breakfast!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwwQ27CVh5wElsIDeEe-YuDVYv38Y6-W_RFs9nrhisTVrXYYhlvLvtpnuwd9voN3ZoM60V-Q21hQPHov01A_lVd0mfq0D-6Q9VL1WvN5k6kbB2ilRv_OT8n2tao15aCtNCOG6KqnKVII/s1600/IMG_2124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBwwQ27CVh5wElsIDeEe-YuDVYv38Y6-W_RFs9nrhisTVrXYYhlvLvtpnuwd9voN3ZoM60V-Q21hQPHov01A_lVd0mfq0D-6Q9VL1WvN5k6kbB2ilRv_OT8n2tao15aCtNCOG6KqnKVII/s640/IMG_2124.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Christin's practical assessment</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNWa0k8MJmHO5WNtwcFnXrDRBlWVA43jXCrnFvVzr89vMEg-AtAwbIyQcf9pA7qohIF9EAWmRywHDf7r-62usz-1yIp_zfeh6P-DzmDYRdS4g60JoB9hzjVXslDrEjacWHknA0z3CLFY/s1600/IMG_2029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNWa0k8MJmHO5WNtwcFnXrDRBlWVA43jXCrnFvVzr89vMEg-AtAwbIyQcf9pA7qohIF9EAWmRywHDf7r-62usz-1yIp_zfeh6P-DzmDYRdS4g60JoB9hzjVXslDrEjacWHknA0z3CLFY/s640/IMG_2029.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A silhouette of a windmill near Nkombe Camp</span></td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-88425009093618447322015-08-26T05:51:00.003-07:002015-08-26T05:58:33.147-07:00For the Birds!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhnXturquMTKZFqqIuaY0kTM8VHdxsbl_6A7HMmqf4lwSXw7WOwcuxjiSjMaIbG-o7XR7k_rYMpJLVDIiTwEmenSk3fdCHFuQzl_GWHzJhnvcpuN3uTQ-_EP0G7ciBuVJ6KRHdZDjAP4/s1600/Bunde-JVD-sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhnXturquMTKZFqqIuaY0kTM8VHdxsbl_6A7HMmqf4lwSXw7WOwcuxjiSjMaIbG-o7XR7k_rYMpJLVDIiTwEmenSk3fdCHFuQzl_GWHzJhnvcpuN3uTQ-_EP0G7ciBuVJ6KRHdZDjAP4/s400/Bunde-JVD-sunset.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sunset at Andante Game Farm - one of the views that all South Africans treasure!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit: Justin van Doorene</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“<em>In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence</em>.” <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Robert Lynd</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"<em>Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings</em>."<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Victor Hugo</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">This morning, Trevor Hardaker posted a question on the Facebook page of BirdLife South Africa. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Trevor is a well-known personality in birding circles. In 2007, he became only the second person ever to pass the magical 900 mark on his Southern African list, sharing this milestone with the legendary Ian Sinclair. He currently serves as the chairman of the South African Rarities Committee.</span></em> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_kEdK01TY7Yi7NMhICHaI78wtcKNGdWAO1f6LmP0dwj0tm_JPRtbeMTWCRD45he5jug4vIx9nqF6fXhnWLPw6ayIzRWqRu_2EYmQQT6GcmYR-CqYOgktlstxT3IkpXs2dfBIH5RXfts/s1600/BLSA-Hardaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_kEdK01TY7Yi7NMhICHaI78wtcKNGdWAO1f6LmP0dwj0tm_JPRtbeMTWCRD45he5jug4vIx9nqF6fXhnWLPw6ayIzRWqRu_2EYmQQT6GcmYR-CqYOgktlstxT3IkpXs2dfBIH5RXfts/s400/BLSA-Hardaker.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Together with John Graham he also runs <a href="http://www.zestforbirds.co.za/" target="_blank">Zest for Birds</a>, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">a pelagic trip and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">bird guiding company.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Source: </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.hardaker.co.za/about.htm">http://www.hardaker.co.za/about.htm</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Throughout the day, this has received (and no doubt will continue to receive) a flurry of comments and 'likes' and replies from across the birding fraternity all over South Africa.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">As we begin to tangibly feel the onset of spring in Gauteng, Africa Nature Training is getting ready for a busy period of peak bird-watching...summer is coming! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">We think that Trevor's question and the responses people have provided show two important things that are worth noting and writing about:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismUM5DZ7Op31X3FFUziyTSaWs71aPDRgiu9hjmQASZD41-2iMCPpHyk5Ob21VqN1b-i7sz9zFc-ovmWSpOKgdajC7hCGj60-JXQ1s0fdswWiu-dWDT2KaOsGw1FrkAwZEO9Gfug0WYeY/s1600/BLSA-Hardaker-Q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismUM5DZ7Op31X3FFUziyTSaWs71aPDRgiu9hjmQASZD41-2iMCPpHyk5Ob21VqN1b-i7sz9zFc-ovmWSpOKgdajC7hCGj60-JXQ1s0fdswWiu-dWDT2KaOsGw1FrkAwZEO9Gfug0WYeY/s400/BLSA-Hardaker-Q.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1. South Africans are interested in birds!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">2. This interest takes various forms.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first point (which is also mentioned in one of the responses), is that South Africans are blessed to have such an abundance and variety of our feathered friends!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Where else can you go to such an array of habitats and encounter hundreds of birds during the course of one day?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">This is a highly rewarding hobby for anyone who takes an interest, no matter what the form. It could be that you feed the birds that visit your garden. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Perhaps some of them are even nesting in your garden and you simply observe the process. It could be that you notice every bird you see as you take your dog for a walk around the park. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">It could be that you take binoculars and watch birds wherever you go on holiday. It could be that you spend every spare bit of time looking for more new species to add to your 'life list'. It could be that you participate in citizen science by regularly 'atlassing' and providing data for SABAP2. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPG8aJaQOQR9gA3UefuokFp0MgDqssKJUyiwkBgqFfZy5WecHYHa0h3l303exyWukylJaDQJMJzKvyzZtCZ1tU_qxEIumIuFTLfXYwAL8Hr1EgZ5TO5fQ5atj1VMGmhTZyOWxgsbCn-24/s1600/ipadpix-30jun2015+100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPG8aJaQOQR9gA3UefuokFp0MgDqssKJUyiwkBgqFfZy5WecHYHa0h3l303exyWukylJaDQJMJzKvyzZtCZ1tU_qxEIumIuFTLfXYwAL8Hr1EgZ5TO5fQ5atj1VMGmhTZyOWxgsbCn-24/s320/ipadpix-30jun2015+100.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">It could be that you actively support NGO's in their efforts to save bird species. It could even be that you hear about a rare vagrant and spend vast amounts of time and money dashing across local, regional or international boundaries to look for it. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxOW2Sc5aKLOpn0IBPRIT-7azRIkpAax4FO7EqrDyo4VHAISGEodhEU-NDKd-wa0-rOglTITcGN9HQ1ktn1Z4ESfngC4D2DQJjNsicRBC06H0bVm6Hm0PBP_bEkf4QtOvSiKLyGPcFhs/s1600/CatE_shrike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqxOW2Sc5aKLOpn0IBPRIT-7azRIkpAax4FO7EqrDyo4VHAISGEodhEU-NDKd-wa0-rOglTITcGN9HQ1ktn1Z4ESfngC4D2DQJjNsicRBC06H0bVm6Hm0PBP_bEkf4QtOvSiKLyGPcFhs/s320/CatE_shrike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike - Photo credit Catherine Earnshaw</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Whatever the form, we would like to encourage you to take an interest in birds! As well as being beautiful creatures in their own right, they have really interesting biology...if only people would take the time to notice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">What better way to spend your time than to focus on something good and pure...rather than on the 'not so positive' things that bombard us every day in the media.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">If you would like to step into this wonderful world of birds but have no idea where to start, we are offering a part-time <strong>Savanna Bird Course</strong> to Gauteng residents that starts with an evening lecture on 4th November and ends with a weekend away to Nylsvley Nature Reserve on 29th November. Please contact our office for further details or to book your place: <strong>012 667 5440</strong> or <a href="mailto:info@fricaNatureTraining,.co.za"><a href="mailto:info@AfricaNatureTraining.co.za">info@AfricaNatureTraining.co.za</a>. </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
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<img height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismUM5DZ7Op31X3FFUziyTSaWs71aPDRgiu9hjmQASZD41-2iMCPpHyk5Ob21VqN1b-i7sz9zFc-ovmWSpOKgdajC7hCGj60-JXQ1s0fdswWiu-dWDT2KaOsGw1FrkAwZEO9Gfug0WYeY/s400/BLSA-Hardaker-Q.jpg" style="left: 415.32px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 713.56px;" width="68" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-66065416663517026132015-08-05T07:57:00.001-07:002015-08-05T08:02:02.434-07:00All good things...<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">...must come to an end...eventually!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfejj5tWpF9YASsQC-FvSC1ejnHXWo0SSwiJgnof144N-T75IegJC9cHM0VoqZO4kSnX975oZfZUl1fWWNNqJGeVCs7qnZVLV3J-qbuTq6Ztd2pxHKBddFOuhHxU6MpFdKyz_rjlyugI/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqfejj5tWpF9YASsQC-FvSC1ejnHXWo0SSwiJgnof144N-T75IegJC9cHM0VoqZO4kSnX975oZfZUl1fWWNNqJGeVCs7qnZVLV3J-qbuTq6Ztd2pxHKBddFOuhHxU6MpFdKyz_rjlyugI/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+256.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Another successful day in the lowveld as we enjoy a 'game drive selfie'!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our 2015 part-time Nature Enthusiast Course is drawing to a close with the assessment weekend coming up in two days' time. This is always the toughest challenge but, as we reflect back on what has been an incredible year, we are grateful for the things we've learned and the lifelong friendships that have been made!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each year at graduation we have students who tell us that they wish they could capture and 'bottle' the essence of the course so that they can somehow explain to and share with others how wonderful and how life-changing this course has been for them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Perhaps you are one of our graduANTs, nodding in agreement as you read this!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The best we can do, for those who are yet to experience the magic, is to take you on a visual stroll through time as we present our 'Nature Enthusiast Course class of 2015' in pictures - enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjDxH3V3QR07vBDRogn0F-2vUu8_4bIMB-jCJE2GooKsxENAyoSHtnmkJjgVz4UReRfHVzl_m3JbQWv53Lmu4iP66Lki6CswXXAWoomtpp3QjK4P0oOGF_Xm7pz8QLGO-xb-reB3fKZw/s1600/DSC_7869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjDxH3V3QR07vBDRogn0F-2vUu8_4bIMB-jCJE2GooKsxENAyoSHtnmkJjgVz4UReRfHVzl_m3JbQWv53Lmu4iP66Lki6CswXXAWoomtpp3QjK4P0oOGF_Xm7pz8QLGO-xb-reB3fKZw/s400/DSC_7869.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The year starts off in our lecture venue - Henley Business School - with an orientation </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">evening </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">- here </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Nicky is talking about why and what we recycle</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nDR1liuf1wANzskPOTpOzfjDVt4mtIQfzpH3ZD8YmWWbmyhBEZQ9HyRM3vS2mKDp4kBXr0KLDXsnncW6l-KFrZ416yoB2s_BspSd66FDOcUlnu1ffsYNRPskKcT26k93exeXO-0L87E/s1600/DSC_8048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nDR1liuf1wANzskPOTpOzfjDVt4mtIQfzpH3ZD8YmWWbmyhBEZQ9HyRM3vS2mKDp4kBXr0KLDXsnncW6l-KFrZ416yoB2s_BspSd66FDOcUlnu1ffsYNRPskKcT26k93exeXO-0L87E/s400/DSC_8048.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Andre shows Mariana what to look for when examining a leaf at our introductory tree practical</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6MlzsrIxQVSMTyDnojwDmxgKNzMXUxLq_EA8Xw2m4SOfBxAvN9T2rUpal8daQ38Irp3dtP8oVnFHv5zeYC20Az6GJCclkViEDmaTgkZma4wYYjk_1RtIarRomPxZSFNkmSUwRRdsJkk/s1600/DSC_8056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6MlzsrIxQVSMTyDnojwDmxgKNzMXUxLq_EA8Xw2m4SOfBxAvN9T2rUpal8daQ38Irp3dtP8oVnFHv5zeYC20Az6GJCclkViEDmaTgkZma4wYYjk_1RtIarRomPxZSFNkmSUwRRdsJkk/s400/DSC_8056.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Chris and Sara look closely at features like the leaf margin and venation</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInQ08GFPLH6Q9UufaeFJhWj_LEOWSiLz4GguqyB_Sk6WHyEYZX8J1YLCFRDdKg_c2tk17p3vC4JnHAlv0ss7OaO6HlqNfeZQ7LsDWeqQhpmf03u1lF-0zVrBe70R26EDNarw72Rpkej0/s1600/DSC_8088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInQ08GFPLH6Q9UufaeFJhWj_LEOWSiLz4GguqyB_Sk6WHyEYZX8J1YLCFRDdKg_c2tk17p3vC4JnHAlv0ss7OaO6HlqNfeZQ7LsDWeqQhpmf03u1lF-0zVrBe70R26EDNarw72Rpkej0/s400/DSC_8088.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Arlene makes expert use of her loupe to see if there are any secretory cavities</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0CH76lvBp1Zevsuhz9XM5uE6Lenpxjo5RlFUXkUhYTF5G0FqxYEHr0nCmAIxaiGz4WhK_KhcILuVUNbki8yJRasCrwDjNwZo54U-6clfOpjjE36AYx6bSlqcAKMO4mqPSxf5j8N74HE/s1600/DSC_8189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0CH76lvBp1Zevsuhz9XM5uE6Lenpxjo5RlFUXkUhYTF5G0FqxYEHr0nCmAIxaiGz4WhK_KhcILuVUNbki8yJRasCrwDjNwZo54U-6clfOpjjE36AYx6bSlqcAKMO4mqPSxf5j8N74HE/s400/DSC_8189.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Even the smallest students are treated with care - here Lorraine shows them a special leaf</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlNUKbXTUqLoeDkUfVDJOTc6AniJ0b2YX6cMJ3HFgvDEtyMRDaoq2_0MfvzNh3LYBjv9wk9lguVVxQuvfemCMn9T5gaQ44ZAeio0sQcmgN1a6abARetjOH_rTZRuNMq6NpfLb0Rqfe4Y/s1600/DSC_8304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlNUKbXTUqLoeDkUfVDJOTc6AniJ0b2YX6cMJ3HFgvDEtyMRDaoq2_0MfvzNh3LYBjv9wk9lguVVxQuvfemCMn9T5gaQ44ZAeio0sQcmgN1a6abARetjOH_rTZRuNMq6NpfLb0Rqfe4Y/s400/DSC_8304.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Annie shows Dave an infloresence - the key to identifying grasses</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-0vtzQa8791anM2gpuiKcP6s-Lsq29F8w_86uLHPQC3hkyWrqqE9Q5n8pTdyoB_9MYnqaM4NuVDBaPh_1MCUVX4xg1CkKbwL48UYwPu8pXvxs5tECsIcg8Po0kw-mbOmdE-z5Z97ALI/s1600/DSC_8314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-0vtzQa8791anM2gpuiKcP6s-Lsq29F8w_86uLHPQC3hkyWrqqE9Q5n8pTdyoB_9MYnqaM4NuVDBaPh_1MCUVX4xg1CkKbwL48UYwPu8pXvxs5tECsIcg8Po0kw-mbOmdE-z5Z97ALI/s400/DSC_8314.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Salim uses his loupe to great effect as he admires the Red Grass spikelet</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVkr3Q270KQaSfTT1sXkcOqV8FCVui5pXwXaGM0RE6pTCfAPusa_qo4RC9lprijRJAkap2qxEWPJRMdjEcD3K-X8d6Q7O5zAH2leRUgzf3rxY0jvd5IFrdAKk2fCWOPBhUitWtyj3D9o/s1600/DSC_8317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVkr3Q270KQaSfTT1sXkcOqV8FCVui5pXwXaGM0RE6pTCfAPusa_qo4RC9lprijRJAkap2qxEWPJRMdjEcD3K-X8d6Q7O5zAH2leRUgzf3rxY0jvd5IFrdAKk2fCWOPBhUitWtyj3D9o/s400/DSC_8317.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Dave and Jenny make use of the outdoor classroom to teach a few grass id basics</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIPXPlxkki6jn39cgOslvproZtn3CG5JfxraMI5zZCpady3r5LZ2plMVyQtAvtBBluv05MapF_VklV_g4ZEGl0U_1IknnpFuC_2TZeO3MJcPTF5G_pI1PwB4d1GcqgYQZOGhwXqhtIuk/s1600/DSC_8332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIPXPlxkki6jn39cgOslvproZtn3CG5JfxraMI5zZCpady3r5LZ2plMVyQtAvtBBluv05MapF_VklV_g4ZEGl0U_1IknnpFuC_2TZeO3MJcPTF5G_pI1PwB4d1GcqgYQZOGhwXqhtIuk/s400/DSC_8332.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Meet some of our mentors - Carla is the rose between the thorns here </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">- sorry Stephan and Dave junior!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnude0G7YjCq50dBYZWnDGFbjsKaYgSvSpsxNgehps47u1poKiLL2z6tRNcHrz6xD2pewVnGP9Qia6WgPskeIS3xL4iL2TZ0XZabgrOR0OYC2nornRPhlXYfSpvZp-Kv87hH60RkiY8wY/s1600/DSC_8733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnude0G7YjCq50dBYZWnDGFbjsKaYgSvSpsxNgehps47u1poKiLL2z6tRNcHrz6xD2pewVnGP9Qia6WgPskeIS3xL4iL2TZ0XZabgrOR0OYC2nornRPhlXYfSpvZp-Kv87hH60RkiY8wY/s400/DSC_8733.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Camping is completely new to some of our students, but they soon grow to love it!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DGmw8JYo9HOzEegizaSbfhuHey7CRTwxyJ1QyPlHvrx3Ug17na2MFKAmoRfRKPc3SjgO_SwIiDNakTqWBPd2ohg9iFyNWJ3uabXx8KN9lJPl91dQK0gv7VyzB4WJXM29yQfqfYfZ7-8/s1600/DSC_8742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DGmw8JYo9HOzEegizaSbfhuHey7CRTwxyJ1QyPlHvrx3Ug17na2MFKAmoRfRKPc3SjgO_SwIiDNakTqWBPd2ohg9iFyNWJ3uabXx8KN9lJPl91dQK0gv7VyzB4WJXM29yQfqfYfZ7-8/s400/DSC_8742.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The pool is an attractive feature during summer...but this year has been </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">an unusually rainy one, so it's been somewhat under-utilised!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLRIm0AWZAs7hlRn70tGtjdF2kz1aFrIYO83v0gGQfeTIUY3bJ2-kCsJeMKPqM3So80USfBJTX6Aa0Ablo0MRY90fgcnNXjjMAR6LdJOhzG8Y2hsR9M8s24eh96vkuj2daB5x7RY95dM/s1600/DSC_8773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLRIm0AWZAs7hlRn70tGtjdF2kz1aFrIYO83v0gGQfeTIUY3bJ2-kCsJeMKPqM3So80USfBJTX6Aa0Ablo0MRY90fgcnNXjjMAR6LdJOhzG8Y2hsR9M8s24eh96vkuj2daB5x7RY95dM/s400/DSC_8773.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The most effective way to learn how to identify grasses is by using display samples</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hdwX83loLntbQ_sMdEPTGhNsWVtVGjKYHfZD5-rz4Nd_a-bE5ZvCZI0Uy-aycRkecLsN2JwullvZHYHnPCVaT2yShukB-oaujtrrf27_UGYLY78WpubC7ZSqj7yBJfA2E70W8TDLOK4/s1600/DSC_8806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hdwX83loLntbQ_sMdEPTGhNsWVtVGjKYHfZD5-rz4Nd_a-bE5ZvCZI0Uy-aycRkecLsN2JwullvZHYHnPCVaT2yShukB-oaujtrrf27_UGYLY78WpubC7ZSqj7yBJfA2E70W8TDLOK4/s400/DSC_8806.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">One of the field work groups has a practical session with our resident expert, Lorraine</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacyMskPxTYWuR2sIQ8BcgWT_6TEYFtBb_v_Z67bigbJN_5DS8MxOm5g1LFaHWAwj5XSXqd0Sii8bl26oJj9OW3PlPUQ-ZKQNYfzZsBuBgVsknCcTKmaxphhK2KZXgFt4A2RXhmXFLTJs/s1600/DSC_8858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjacyMskPxTYWuR2sIQ8BcgWT_6TEYFtBb_v_Z67bigbJN_5DS8MxOm5g1LFaHWAwj5XSXqd0Sii8bl26oJj9OW3PlPUQ-ZKQNYfzZsBuBgVsknCcTKmaxphhK2KZXgFt4A2RXhmXFLTJs/s400/DSC_8858.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Rod oversees Deepak as he works out which grass is which</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhaMEfAOynwB2ERyXPf4DjmGlIm8BA3KU-H7bX8pp_GNATjcc5v-a7221qbNkg2BNJL6aBqriKfAgoU1RWgTWX9ZgNmDVNajcG-dYe9smJKc7ksJmL8l1X-g4LfnRTuP_3sldSMDj26I/s1600/DSC_8949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhaMEfAOynwB2ERyXPf4DjmGlIm8BA3KU-H7bX8pp_GNATjcc5v-a7221qbNkg2BNJL6aBqriKfAgoU1RWgTWX9ZgNmDVNajcG-dYe9smJKc7ksJmL8l1X-g4LfnRTuP_3sldSMDj26I/s400/DSC_8949.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Hankey - the tree expert - is one of our favourite lecturers who liberally </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">shares his knowledge with us on weekend practicals</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyprHgvGHtx4rdRP1zF4gglJ9DcCwQi2XOrp_PWKIQkuyn4wtaNCe03Axn3qCQOCo76T5my9S0ZoPEyJnbhjKeO_bXjZkKRFFwA2IRnEOMG6aoN8KMGGP2Y920og0oOvtudWSuUzYmnus/s1600/DSC_9117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyprHgvGHtx4rdRP1zF4gglJ9DcCwQi2XOrp_PWKIQkuyn4wtaNCe03Axn3qCQOCo76T5my9S0ZoPEyJnbhjKeO_bXjZkKRFFwA2IRnEOMG6aoN8KMGGP2Y920og0oOvtudWSuUzYmnus/s400/DSC_9117.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Deepak holds his leaf up to the light to see if there are any bacterial nodules</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJpA27QjBGWgkmk0xo4hmUr4kaTUtirSS6p3wNxOhArMQbkItjdKU-Qv_m6ltXU5i_fJaUzpkr7UDAG4iRIfgLZ9B8-uXDdXeGksEXiEJ3X9QvN9JzxMrvAsA1Vhl-4K7xAt_zIOVVXk/s1600/DSC_9129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJpA27QjBGWgkmk0xo4hmUr4kaTUtirSS6p3wNxOhArMQbkItjdKU-Qv_m6ltXU5i_fJaUzpkr7UDAG4iRIfgLZ9B8-uXDdXeGksEXiEJ3X9QvN9JzxMrvAsA1Vhl-4K7xAt_zIOVVXk/s400/DSC_9129.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Chris enjoys putting his newfound skills to use</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwQbhQeC6_jzwRGnu7u3zfVtRznIOkLKTHmU6SpAbpYnXOAw_p7vpgZKgsMxvuoRa6okmi38aNM8AigHAlGd2LqfDzkCioR3qAnR8UkVVzkbcqhhSpflXiM6tPY6mZHfeumcj_CMc2TU/s1600/DSC_9093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwQbhQeC6_jzwRGnu7u3zfVtRznIOkLKTHmU6SpAbpYnXOAw_p7vpgZKgsMxvuoRa6okmi38aNM8AigHAlGd2LqfDzkCioR3qAnR8UkVVzkbcqhhSpflXiM6tPY6mZHfeumcj_CMc2TU/s400/DSC_9093.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS; font-size: xx-small;">What bushveld experience is complete without a good old South African braai?!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2XHB_tzg2t2baaVoOmRT4ilICk261b8bbMqp0kiL4a9BWYzOLyO5_LSM3tEOnC8qZN_FGeQIE7WnfLT608AyCksrJtaCQJt3q3nyJXEa-BplqFGaClK15XOLiddvqGZRGatBtjRw6_w/s1600/DSC_9725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2XHB_tzg2t2baaVoOmRT4ilICk261b8bbMqp0kiL4a9BWYzOLyO5_LSM3tEOnC8qZN_FGeQIE7WnfLT608AyCksrJtaCQJt3q3nyJXEa-BplqFGaClK15XOLiddvqGZRGatBtjRw6_w/s400/DSC_9725.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Welcome to our piece of paradise in the lowveld - your home-away-from-home ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">...Nkombe Camp! </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We trust that your week here will leave you with many happy memories!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKupa_S6Q2H9-Lqu3KhgIGLOqUSnV1ARaORtWYHRUapHWtB-ewQWKN3b20aHStUrEpD4p_ZzFVotNarHiGhBb4zqbXQdGIUoybelT3707An7NpCNJP5WEa5Rf1B1LXnrF6vERmh1Gw64w/s1600/DSC_9794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKupa_S6Q2H9-Lqu3KhgIGLOqUSnV1ARaORtWYHRUapHWtB-ewQWKN3b20aHStUrEpD4p_ZzFVotNarHiGhBb4zqbXQdGIUoybelT3707An7NpCNJP5WEa5Rf1B1LXnrF6vERmh1Gw64w/s400/DSC_9794.jpg" width="265" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Our friendly photographer, Justin van Doorene, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">g</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">oes to great lengths to capture that perfect image!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsDt_t1rfQc05_Gu5oArTS4SaHYo4frUWPlqUelMvBqVrDosITVQIJMX01OduSRWtgjp2mOOPS21jOzM0NmlOM6KeQxe7wjXx460yLBkpuZBQMG3HV8LNx0aF62TorMqnlyY-xFX-ra8/s1600/IMG_1563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsDt_t1rfQc05_Gu5oArTS4SaHYo4frUWPlqUelMvBqVrDosITVQIJMX01OduSRWtgjp2mOOPS21jOzM0NmlOM6KeQxe7wjXx460yLBkpuZBQMG3HV8LNx0aF62TorMqnlyY-xFX-ra8/s400/IMG_1563.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">...and here you have a bird's eye view of our social centre</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdj7BitPKhCVff0qSBI7KZJIbisV6zzZB4h63SpLyzlAjXajh2ADjTNnPDs0aepJmdm70hy0hCukjGBvasYVkyIg35YjGk7p_77LFbNJJBLFgP1cNFp-QjcnhcIr5UJ669MqJaXXX8MI/s1600/DSC_9851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdj7BitPKhCVff0qSBI7KZJIbisV6zzZB4h63SpLyzlAjXajh2ADjTNnPDs0aepJmdm70hy0hCukjGBvasYVkyIg35YjGk7p_77LFbNJJBLFgP1cNFp-QjcnhcIr5UJ669MqJaXXX8MI/s400/DSC_9851.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Rowan gave Justin a run for his money whilst trying to capture </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">a dragonfly in flight over this pond</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNNz8dMRclR_b6FYGhMz9x0Xp3x-9vEMk7A9141oOV0iak69HY8gq-tu3k4DWINq6HVX9CvjYTIpzOEZRHMvgYGiYfG4657b-Cjg-ZU6ZSup1OiZuG7-l9GHHvCiKYIpewm9unnPYDss/s1600/DSC_9886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNNz8dMRclR_b6FYGhMz9x0Xp3x-9vEMk7A9141oOV0iak69HY8gq-tu3k4DWINq6HVX9CvjYTIpzOEZRHMvgYGiYfG4657b-Cjg-ZU6ZSup1OiZuG7-l9GHHvCiKYIpewm9unnPYDss/s400/DSC_9886.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">One of our favourite drainage line crossings onto an open area</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8D8WdmT-D52H7VRES4PJWPdvX6u56jAp2mjWGlKF_Ih6ZzFgR00lavFDWRQANuRFJRFn44IkjWdcMW3_EXC0y5w_kKN-6JxJC8iRXZCwwrcP1Nw26hRWOk5PZdqD3vUQ4-XfNcxuJ7ys/s1600/DSC_9906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8D8WdmT-D52H7VRES4PJWPdvX6u56jAp2mjWGlKF_Ih6ZzFgR00lavFDWRQANuRFJRFn44IkjWdcMW3_EXC0y5w_kKN-6JxJC8iRXZCwwrcP1Nw26hRWOk5PZdqD3vUQ4-XfNcxuJ7ys/s400/DSC_9906.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">During summer, we have the added challenge of water crossings!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH_i8AGQ72GENp0VQbvrcbXmPOcLcI3Wxoh6ekKjVwG5ILBdvkt4iq0TXq189GF2pvq3JRLbx-DfI0ZML4HV22rGmWfZ6qe8D19NI5OmaSSpKm8cQ0e3FgMYU_kQjHiD88uVPD10_DZs/s1600/DSC_9919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH_i8AGQ72GENp0VQbvrcbXmPOcLcI3Wxoh6ekKjVwG5ILBdvkt4iq0TXq189GF2pvq3JRLbx-DfI0ZML4HV22rGmWfZ6qe8D19NI5OmaSSpKm8cQ0e3FgMYU_kQjHiD88uVPD10_DZs/s400/DSC_9919.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">One of the groups after their bush interpretation weekend</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNwm1-z6MTy3WI7xfSPriMHShgmjOFgDT1G27-jH6n62o6tuDcPynJaD02psmSn9Cp3BOqKrc68yjYVoAf9sdvwWYR9Jya-5lQrQBcev7c-4Aw3OV2LVfj0NRO5FNK0s12paaeAD11pw/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTNwm1-z6MTy3WI7xfSPriMHShgmjOFgDT1G27-jH6n62o6tuDcPynJaD02psmSn9Cp3BOqKrc68yjYVoAf9sdvwWYR9Jya-5lQrQBcev7c-4Aw3OV2LVfj0NRO5FNK0s12paaeAD11pw/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+048.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">It's such a treat to walk in the bush! Here Freddy discusses the finer points of tracking</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSUhwoyxjtxPqIfjtWE0CyXqdOu4c5LnrKesE3Q2HWkL-6ffdic3Lkv-zKvqXC_voTC-apS1TXjOMNNXGRE8OvczgM5qYvqqjvMcyTvzwfZtq7GZIHhlB_reLSUFhS5u3mkY4BZmtE24/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSUhwoyxjtxPqIfjtWE0CyXqdOu4c5LnrKesE3Q2HWkL-6ffdic3Lkv-zKvqXC_voTC-apS1TXjOMNNXGRE8OvczgM5qYvqqjvMcyTvzwfZtq7GZIHhlB_reLSUFhS5u3mkY4BZmtE24/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+117.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The first group were fortunate enough to have seen Wild Dogs on foot - what a triumph!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDBirWTtewfNmJGL1ljPLpHsHjZuXtGaDwSxR05iBPM7h2HnpngHq2Q9Ve0YlgbRfd6qAAQs4YQWdBySp0nayeOjYNOCiTi4_Hyfmzo9SGAJO8AhPVM-0Up2wEmYiRAmwPJyyFz6hkjs/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDBirWTtewfNmJGL1ljPLpHsHjZuXtGaDwSxR05iBPM7h2HnpngHq2Q9Ve0YlgbRfd6qAAQs4YQWdBySp0nayeOjYNOCiTi4_Hyfmzo9SGAJO8AhPVM-0Up2wEmYiRAmwPJyyFz6hkjs/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+183.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">One of our favourite parts of the day involves reading the 'bushveld newspaper'</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguawaBL0CK9qEQsQdumjliTpOhN_fNIvaxwbn_WSaffaYig_eNI_KzCrB7INNcwT9Zw6IPQOaTLVCunSNwd1R1O-6Tlo3_YUraxRWVqNK5Ny2GrRnGPJPQCGUrBqQp77aVvcl_Dfib_zU/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguawaBL0CK9qEQsQdumjliTpOhN_fNIvaxwbn_WSaffaYig_eNI_KzCrB7INNcwT9Zw6IPQOaTLVCunSNwd1R1O-6Tlo3_YUraxRWVqNK5Ny2GrRnGPJPQCGUrBqQp77aVvcl_Dfib_zU/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+322.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Chanyn explains to Lee and Mariana how you can tell which direction the elephant is going</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1wTrP2vwlmluUNpqxOv1qyHvXbaWqwHGA-HtAxV6pPeVwcPuDorWA4Ng00uZ3yTZ2tt7RaMR48qfHATx4xnorMqzgkh5BcPVanidH3bwyykoAGaUru281aS7CNs-bEhTFzH5Tuq0Bp0/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1wTrP2vwlmluUNpqxOv1qyHvXbaWqwHGA-HtAxV6pPeVwcPuDorWA4Ng00uZ3yTZ2tt7RaMR48qfHATx4xnorMqzgkh5BcPVanidH3bwyykoAGaUru281aS7CNs-bEhTFzH5Tuq0Bp0/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+390.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Everyone cranes their necks to see the three rhinos </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">that are just on the other side of that bush...exciting!</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEimIaDS-wZaE25U7fklst2Ysznx1XIl50I3Ms6k3RBQX5sBVVGHx6zg0grte6Qff8lPrplX0bGLcwhb0cigdsXYoZXLK2ftLZynafbnmRsrrYSJ3dsQaxMtw8G6soXcmghayh-Bwe-I/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEimIaDS-wZaE25U7fklst2Ysznx1XIl50I3Ms6k3RBQX5sBVVGHx6zg0grte6Qff8lPrplX0bGLcwhb0cigdsXYoZXLK2ftLZynafbnmRsrrYSJ3dsQaxMtw8G6soXcmghayh-Bwe-I/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+466.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Before each walk, the students get a chance to give the pre-trail brief</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKxQF3VMs34bXAsxYNS4cLIrONz_kxKgtWAlVaaI7c6_F1rWBPHSzc-rLTxlORWjvWOmcNNiysow8NmzPRYUF5g4PIeoE0V7H2qnob4nCJU-jdzynfJloUtObbPwXAhdML5t9ia3HPf4/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKxQF3VMs34bXAsxYNS4cLIrONz_kxKgtWAlVaaI7c6_F1rWBPHSzc-rLTxlORWjvWOmcNNiysow8NmzPRYUF5g4PIeoE0V7H2qnob4nCJU-jdzynfJloUtObbPwXAhdML5t9ia3HPf4/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+540.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Our trails guides explain the rapid digestion of elephants</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx3eC8pf3MfB3XXrmcEW9BI96OTbdKFzVQ47fB1d_59WHcP6usGKooUP0LVB2XSiYcEfNYly79Oozqysp_CJVW-iZreb9I4oR3TLnk45HVMwGI-aNfYET2P4KGq-nmO-6OlR1MpWOxpw/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx3eC8pf3MfB3XXrmcEW9BI96OTbdKFzVQ47fB1d_59WHcP6usGKooUP0LVB2XSiYcEfNYly79Oozqysp_CJVW-iZreb9I4oR3TLnk45HVMwGI-aNfYET2P4KGq-nmO-6OlR1MpWOxpw/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+663.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Conrad watches Keegan and Lee as they dig in a dry riverbed for water</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wgtmJSxPy9l5nbDBBc5wwHQuFQy4ExPxBIH_K1obve5kWdPlttSRzWcu7jBJSu-4xVLEJCjfs-HU0LTlgNpR_ODSzAMkIuVOdeAdcGOKp3ffTy_ZN2ApOb5nXZ3lxOr8Msmr1_Md-Jg/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wgtmJSxPy9l5nbDBBc5wwHQuFQy4ExPxBIH_K1obve5kWdPlttSRzWcu7jBJSu-4xVLEJCjfs-HU0LTlgNpR_ODSzAMkIuVOdeAdcGOKp3ffTy_ZN2ApOb5nXZ3lxOr8Msmr1_Md-Jg/s400/iphonepix-29jun2015+584.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">After just having watched a crash of rhinos coming down to drink at the waterhole, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">we had an opportunity to look at their tracks and signs</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8kF1u3zlMcNaT6_vayrmAK2UXLOaqO4BMh536Aydc4bOhMOtPAxNyRgZln3aAxz_D56_hrub12j78-IkRi6SwIFYyRP2nutKuHNqc4C2PRVQcOfYKFVIl1mVxXwRqYDa65Xtigw35Uc/s1600/iphonepix-29jun2015+632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8kF1u3zlMcNaT6_vayrmAK2UXLOaqO4BMh536Aydc4bOhMOtPAxNyRgZln3aAxz_D56_hrub12j78-IkRi6SwIFYyRP2nutKuHNqc4C2PRVQcOfYKFVIl1mVxXwRqYDa65Xtigw35Uc/s640/iphonepix-29jun2015+632.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This occasion was very special - we heard a female kudu making regular, loud, alarm calls and we noticed the group all staring in the same direction...but as much as we looked, we could not see what she was warning them about...until a yellow blur dashed across the road in front of us and into the riverbed - it was a leopard - what an amazing sighting and all the more special to see the textbook come alive!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The following animal pictures </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">have been captured by one of our students - Mariana Arnoldi - thank you very much for sharing them with us all - enjoy!</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CVOLTRAs0qr7SDV8fzxbjfMetb5WKzoWPXFxPy40s7TPg7IxClegY3w4ft1VKbgUD3JQWatRJkgba_m-43yNupmy-ZdRGnv7vbV0hRwTKAvmnhHwJreTTKi7_HwsZC6hUNwC7B9t7oE/s1600/DSC_8209s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3CVOLTRAs0qr7SDV8fzxbjfMetb5WKzoWPXFxPy40s7TPg7IxClegY3w4ft1VKbgUD3JQWatRJkgba_m-43yNupmy-ZdRGnv7vbV0hRwTKAvmnhHwJreTTKi7_HwsZC6hUNwC7B9t7oE/s400/DSC_8209s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Is this a male or female warthog...and how can you tell?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJryluxxDIXpRxViaXKS2AKF5tfSLZtKqft5uCTO63Xx-ApfS2JIXYFlbSowb8h3xo8dBo33ysp1xhUwp3Yf6LFNP6DZGOdQRok6bMXafiKFOUoyXmHwWT_AOKWTptfm6vkMxkPCtusI/s1600/DSC_8247s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJryluxxDIXpRxViaXKS2AKF5tfSLZtKqft5uCTO63Xx-ApfS2JIXYFlbSowb8h3xo8dBo33ysp1xhUwp3Yf6LFNP6DZGOdQRok6bMXafiKFOUoyXmHwWT_AOKWTptfm6vkMxkPCtusI/s400/DSC_8247s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Knowing the scarcity of these animals makes it </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">even more of a thrill to see them!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJt-kcmAqgnJ2kIXeBGQIkTOcYCRx58awwHUlTSIXGtR6LaUX6Ru7gwszJLefh1-os8VjjPbPkSAGc9yDvy02QVZyixDVpL5Kh-DP445_807hwmF56UoJLPXLKMuWA3cE28YTjETIvFU/s1600/DSC_8276c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJt-kcmAqgnJ2kIXeBGQIkTOcYCRx58awwHUlTSIXGtR6LaUX6Ru7gwszJLefh1-os8VjjPbPkSAGc9yDvy02QVZyixDVpL5Kh-DP445_807hwmF56UoJLPXLKMuWA3cE28YTjETIvFU/s320/DSC_8276c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Not much water around, yet this Green-backed Heron!</span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9naID8JZmh5vPuga1BD9xrJSavDNbntG1ZOfYZhQr7Qpfv34b2V3v0SvwzAaIf01RViUUTceft2Ogro16ANIpz65V2J9t5XnRmWJXWYgXz30_kYW-T7k5rSwYSKsJ5B5usHg-ITazJ8/s1600/DSC_8301c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9naID8JZmh5vPuga1BD9xrJSavDNbntG1ZOfYZhQr7Qpfv34b2V3v0SvwzAaIf01RViUUTceft2Ogro16ANIpz65V2J9t5XnRmWJXWYgXz30_kYW-T7k5rSwYSKsJ5B5usHg-ITazJ8/s320/DSC_8301c.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Fork-tailed Drongo - look out for that wine-red eye!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgQk16ZFOEtrMCDP_nK2HXv016O5OsjBcHTFYKIonZ8dbAD106bIMNMIGET_v4fiCpHYSXBpk9059aFHkpBK5QXRTOyt6tktmdw5j2kkzJDYhAIl6jIGflhSupqab1N1aeFYs1AiJHmA/s1600/DSC_8346s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgQk16ZFOEtrMCDP_nK2HXv016O5OsjBcHTFYKIonZ8dbAD106bIMNMIGET_v4fiCpHYSXBpk9059aFHkpBK5QXRTOyt6tktmdw5j2kkzJDYhAIl6jIGflhSupqab1N1aeFYs1AiJHmA/s320/DSC_8346s.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Female buffalo just chewing the cud</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjvkLCYY0nS-jdbi-K7RZdyCndH-LFXUJU40hTOIXsWJPC1SLdwLkRi4ZSXhrkXc2eSA6l66z_FajHOrmW-hnWN2IyC2HcgYOvW5Jh8lhQEH9RDPrBs1nnYaUtNrXsRVYRc5LgixHqIE/s1600/DSC_8355s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjvkLCYY0nS-jdbi-K7RZdyCndH-LFXUJU40hTOIXsWJPC1SLdwLkRi4ZSXhrkXc2eSA6l66z_FajHOrmW-hnWN2IyC2HcgYOvW5Jh8lhQEH9RDPrBs1nnYaUtNrXsRVYRc5LgixHqIE/s400/DSC_8355s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We thought this was a funny place for the oxpecker to sit!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WtY1heyApyHmUukt8wBFeJh_PJWk2oflbt_PfCuR-2ZV7wfhvtQqN4d5mEsb4KrsyPJTh25tB5n1pRe6DTWx0V1ZBE5i1DCq_jZKLdshbdnc31bC36VZu-hrxiDPnFk_47KqLKOJkKI/s1600/DSC_8380s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WtY1heyApyHmUukt8wBFeJh_PJWk2oflbt_PfCuR-2ZV7wfhvtQqN4d5mEsb4KrsyPJTh25tB5n1pRe6DTWx0V1ZBE5i1DCq_jZKLdshbdnc31bC36VZu-hrxiDPnFk_47KqLKOJkKI/s400/DSC_8380s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This hornbill waited for our crumbs to drop at the coffee stop</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2miXdlkJX87W45oZEcv4vLxk__RQOI-_ZheVEqnPI0SjyBOw_6yE1o6UpdJxyBr4Rl4JCHXIw7ZJ5s2FddDzJvPvAbxw43dB3psSUvgzyqiW9TgDr488qXMS5swkAqDLrkWNXtCTh40/s1600/DSC_8410s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja2miXdlkJX87W45oZEcv4vLxk__RQOI-_ZheVEqnPI0SjyBOw_6yE1o6UpdJxyBr4Rl4JCHXIw7ZJ5s2FddDzJvPvAbxw43dB3psSUvgzyqiW9TgDr488qXMS5swkAqDLrkWNXtCTh40/s400/DSC_8410s.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This guy's stomach was so distended we think he may well have eaten an entire buffalo by himself!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFj3jqDF-_T4iHSNBzbw-wSiEqh6B-UqGZ3V9mAaiifHutb78ot1_stL8jn80-vZ-AQ1dAWjCXyHecNvxk0fmeB9lYBM-YbdzLjE5a60pwSlPiJ_cwkLgTGbzEGGS4JEzJnqetVlEVjv0/s1600/DSC_8495s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFj3jqDF-_T4iHSNBzbw-wSiEqh6B-UqGZ3V9mAaiifHutb78ot1_stL8jn80-vZ-AQ1dAWjCXyHecNvxk0fmeB9lYBM-YbdzLjE5a60pwSlPiJ_cwkLgTGbzEGGS4JEzJnqetVlEVjv0/s640/DSC_8495s.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We end off with a cute shot of this mother and baby Waterbuck - what an amazing experience!</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-82776219788142401092015-06-16T07:15:00.005-07:002015-07-02T02:00:59.076-07:00What a week to be on foot...<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hi there everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had an extremely special week filled with
unforgettable sightings of big game as well as invaluable experience and
knowledge gained…</span><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TAHxC5tVUpmZmRMhwydE95XxuuIzEtNupqJUpKv9xtkrD9IM1_T3KXpP1Fsjw8N7oVG5IpA11J6wZyjr0fTfwGn98S1aO-o0De2fUAVk2MvFRz3D1fqpEgklYR46j8R1w2gR3XLBC74/s1600/5A9A1264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0TAHxC5tVUpmZmRMhwydE95XxuuIzEtNupqJUpKv9xtkrD9IM1_T3KXpP1Fsjw8N7oVG5IpA11J6wZyjr0fTfwGn98S1aO-o0De2fUAVk2MvFRz3D1fqpEgklYR46j8R1w2gR3XLBC74/s320/5A9A1264.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Walking in the bush is such a treat!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To experience the African bush on foot is truly a
wonderful privilege. One uses all of one's senses to become a part of the
wilderness. To view the Big Five on foot is a whole different experience than
from a vehicle and, even though you can’t get as close to the animals on foot, I
feel it is still a much better, priceless experience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our trails guides were lucky enough to experience
this as they had all these brilliant animals on foot… in only one week! <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On one particular day we were walking in the south
of the reserve, which is an extremely beautiful area to be in on foot. We came
across some buffalo, which we soon realised was a breeding herd. We planned the
approach and halfway in we spotted some ears flicking around in the grass. We
almost couldn’t believe our eyes as six lionesses were lying camouflaged in the
tall grass not too far from the buffalo! We then did a successful (and
unforgettable) approach on the lions as well as the buffalo before extracting
out of the area. After walking a couple of minutes we then again found some
buffalo in the distance. We planned another approach when, to our surprise, we noticed the
lionesses to our left following the breeding herd! This was an unbelievable
sighting as we got to see these animals in their environment carrying on with
their natural behaviour - amazing!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1_4lR2DqOq8Z9uegNPC0dmB5GGys71A31t3EOlzvmcwZzInjyYztSCSp-Q29d8uSY8H_OBHWNlzqBIJzqDwdXbmBKzxViWqz-meBdLeL42mQy8FzOC6dA-t3QM_89xQ7IB7EkyCj1Bg/s1600/5A9A1245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1_4lR2DqOq8Z9uegNPC0dmB5GGys71A31t3EOlzvmcwZzInjyYztSCSp-Q29d8uSY8H_OBHWNlzqBIJzqDwdXbmBKzxViWqz-meBdLeL42mQy8FzOC6dA-t3QM_89xQ7IB7EkyCj1Bg/s320/5A9A1245.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We heard stories about other people's experiences with rhino middens</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Another incredible walk took place as we approached
a couple of elephant bulls very close to where our camp is. We approached and
had a beautiful look at these magnificent animals as they continued feeding
along the drainage line. As we extracted back to where we had come from, we heard a
horrifying sound coming from a very short distance to our right. No-one knew
what had made this frightening sound until we saw a leopard explode from the
bushes only metres away from us! The female cat had dashed away from us into
the drainage line and we actually had a surprisingly good visual of her as she
walked on the other side of the dry riverbed. Something none of us will
forget!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As if the above is not enough, we had what we
called an 'Elephant Friday'…It all started on Thursday evening as the camp was
woken up in the middle of the night by the majestic rumbling sound of elephants,
followed by numerous trumpeting calls. All of this took place literally in our
camp. This was the followed by the whooping and cackling of a hyaena clan in
camp, as well as the moaning of a male lion coalition. It was one of those
evenings where all the activity was at Nkombe Camp and it was definitely the
place to be! </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The next morning we set out for our walk, expecting some elephant
encounters…and that is exactly what we got! We had encounter after
encounter as the reserve seemed to be booming with elephants. We then
experienced something extremely special and it must go down as my favourite
sighting of all time… </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Aaoa1eMNdUUeHQMs9-s_sR8vzv9P69ucRhbRJyM4tjwLtIRbRT38sBNSb6nqcxYOzMZq7gsClLz44gE-H0h5j8YLtwS-rsZCINoGUa4XCR1QLWOwakg2q9gw1f4IdxHZ7i-WXd1S8hM/s320/5A9A1295.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Watching the elephants going about their business</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Aaoa1eMNdUUeHQMs9-s_sR8vzv9P69ucRhbRJyM4tjwLtIRbRT38sBNSb6nqcxYOzMZq7gsClLz44gE-H0h5j8YLtwS-rsZCINoGUa4XCR1QLWOwakg2q9gw1f4IdxHZ7i-WXd1S8hM/s1600/5A9A1295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We approached a breeding herd of elephant that
were far in the distance. We had elevation on our side, as well as a big termite
mound on which we stood and viewed the animals. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8J_1HNHZoOEoV93ofmWP8dmN7Q0FU5jKTn8eSWSjD7OO36cC8KzQqOXXxE8tp87rQ74MGLput47IkY6nFcObJLgi3I4JYtbn-o4eyypIIF4RctYhyphenhyphenGm-0KwwdwtwavguJVfYqb5og1W8/s1600/5A9A1354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8J_1HNHZoOEoV93ofmWP8dmN7Q0FU5jKTn8eSWSjD7OO36cC8KzQqOXXxE8tp87rQ74MGLput47IkY6nFcObJLgi3I4JYtbn-o4eyypIIF4RctYhyphenhyphenGm-0KwwdwtwavguJVfYqb5og1W8/s320/5A9A1354.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">We were lucky to see so many elephants!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">We watched them from across a
relatively open area, whereupon they decided to approach us. We stood our ground, knowing that we had the perfect extraction point, as well as being secure in the fact that it was the
elephants choosing to approach us. We watched in admiration as the matriarch
lead the rest of the group towards us. They eventually walked past us only
twenty metres away and continued feeding on the go. It was such a spectacular
sighting!</span><span lang="EN-US"></span><br /><span lang="EN-US"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These are only a couple of examples of what the week
had in store for us and what a fANTastic week it was! Unforgettable moments and,
as always, so much to be learnt!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Ps. </span><span lang="EN-US">A big thank you to Craig Fitt for all the photos!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6O1iWczHrbrb-MfEt5WxNesF5UXW3eBx6W-mFe39NeVa71grpPuKq4hi4rY50bcScJNdSvAdVF6e5Yb4cD4eioK_evgWdlODOsQPwaab9pbG3jFQsPwGc5KwvvtuVFHKqITzKONCxsY/s1600/5A9A1362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6O1iWczHrbrb-MfEt5WxNesF5UXW3eBx6W-mFe39NeVa71grpPuKq4hi4rY50bcScJNdSvAdVF6e5Yb4cD4eioK_evgWdlODOsQPwaab9pbG3jFQsPwGc5KwvvtuVFHKqITzKONCxsY/s640/5A9A1362.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The group enjoys a moment to reflect on their amazing time in the bush!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-73706486077739001372015-05-04T07:56:00.001-07:002015-05-12T07:36:47.580-07:00The best sighting EVER...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hi there everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I’m not sure where to begin as this past week or so has been
so eventful and has been filled with endless unforgettable,
unbelievable sightings…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">First of all, we have received some unexpected and much
needed rain and this has brought forth a wide variety of life in the area (even
more than usual!). The bush has started to turn a refreshing shade of green,
with new shoots emerging on the recently burnt areas. This has made for fantastic scenery, coupled
with the stunning animals which have been showing off for us these past few
days.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Every day here in the middle of the African bush is a
special one as each day brings new, unpredictable sightings along with more
knowledge...which leads to a better understanding of how nature works. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One day in particular stood
out far above the rest and it started out like every other day. We woke up to
an overcast morning and decided to go out for a game drive to see what the
bush had to offer. It turned out to be more than anyone would ever have expected…
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQi0FLYocvCilz6Lll2KPbGZXXoErZ_Rf8Zh-eV6HuEWP6aaW1xyOUCAYs9y3HHmIJ_mZacMCdxBNdRBZNuldEplW6nVAfPaRkAIfBGLYY1OwfGM98AV6NRgMBJZd1KKn15138p8NbmUk/s1600/buffalo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQi0FLYocvCilz6Lll2KPbGZXXoErZ_Rf8Zh-eV6HuEWP6aaW1xyOUCAYs9y3HHmIJ_mZacMCdxBNdRBZNuldEplW6nVAfPaRkAIfBGLYY1OwfGM98AV6NRgMBJZd1KKn15138p8NbmUk/s320/buffalo.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A young Buffalo calf</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first incredible sighting was one of an enormous herd of
buffalo. We switched off the vehicle and watched in amazement as we became
surrounded by these amusing bovids. We were lucky enough to see all sorts of
behaviour from youngsters suckling to impressive bulls head-butting one
another and even saw how one male actually mounted another in order to show his
dominance! At times we had no clue where to look, as all this entertaining
activity was taking place around us. I personally love viewing buffalo as they
each have their own facial expressions
which ensure there is never a dull moment…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The gorgeous male leopard</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We then came across a scene in which a very young male leopard had
stored an impala kill in a massive Jackalberry tree. He had been feeding on this along
with his mother for the past two days and he was panting from gorging himself
on his well-deserved meal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We found him lying comfortably with his limbs
hanging either side of a large branch with his kill not too far away on a lower
branch. This was an absolute treat as we could view the gorgeous cat only
metres away from us without any obstructions. We then realised that his mother was lying
in a patch of dense vegetation in close proximity to the tree, which was even
more of a bonus. Scanning the surroundings of the open area, we saw a couple of
old buffalo bulls which were also very close to the leopard. They showed
interest for a moment or so then remained unfazed with the predators nearby and
carried on with their normal behaviour. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a couple of minutes, something
appeared in the far distance across the plains…a lion! We could not believe
our eyes, as we looked through our binoculars to see a dishevelled and hungry-looking male lion which appeared out of nowhere. We decided to drive closer to
inspect the scruffy cat as he sat staring into the distance towards the leopard
kill. We stopped near the lion, expecting him to remain lazy and lethargic, as
most lions do during the day...until the wind direction changed and he got a
whiff of a much needed meal! He immediately got up and walked past and behind
our vehicle (as if deliberately using it as cover) and made his way across the open area
towards the leopards.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6TzzKggn1DLYkmGCMheVJ99KAWC1KTt9tkn6muTO9IFJf-350jlxrxmxWMTdZNT9jQIAAWpuG5iwDuE8H_9KNi8SJsWXx7amDtScSR2Q2ZShmamNZ10Xlmg4ZaVDRC6LxpAGn4fIyP8/s1600/lion+steal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ6TzzKggn1DLYkmGCMheVJ99KAWC1KTt9tkn6muTO9IFJf-350jlxrxmxWMTdZNT9jQIAAWpuG5iwDuE8H_9KNi8SJsWXx7amDtScSR2Q2ZShmamNZ10Xlmg4ZaVDRC6LxpAGn4fIyP8/s400/lion+steal.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The lion stealing the kill</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">His eyes remained focused on the lifeless impala and he
started to gain speed and run to the tree, without even glancing in the
direction of some very angry and alert buffalo nearby. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We were absolutely stunned by the scene unfolding before our eyes and
somehow it was all happening so quickly…Before we knew it, the mother leopard
had scattered out from behind the bushes and disappeared in a flash. The young male shot higher up
the tree and found himself balancing amoung the flimsy, thin branches, left only
to watch dumbfounded as the lion clumsily climbed the tree to steal his kill. The lion
struggled to keep his balance and quickly returned to the ground with the
remains of the impala. He then proceeded to consume the rest of the kill,
biting and chewing through the carcass in minutes, whilst the leopard remained helpless
in the safety of the Jackalberry. The sighting of a lifetime!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A magical moment...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We were convinced we had seen it all and thus didn’t expect
to have another unbelievable sighting but, once again, we were proven wrong…
After some classic sundowners in the bush, we were on our way back to camp
when one of the students spotted some eyes reflecting in the distance. We assumed
it was Impala, as usual, until we approached closer...to find that it was actually
a leopard! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When we got close enough, we were delighted to see that it was in
fact a mother leopard as well as her cub. We could not believe our luck as
we followed these two leopards and watched the playful cub wander about and
interact with her mother. It was a
unique sighting and we spent quite a bit of time with them, enjoying observing
their natural behaviour. The leopards
eventually came to a water-hole where they had a drink before moving off into
the night. It was such a memorable
experience! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Life's tough in Africa!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After this we had another fantastic sighting of a male
cheetah as well as at least fifty Marabou storks, African Fish eagles and many more! We
have been extremely lucky and never take anything for granted…Today the
students start with lodge placements at one of the prestigious lodges in the area
where they will get the full experience of how a lodge environment works.
Exciting!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Stay tuned to see what happens next…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Another fantastic sighting of two lions doing what they do best!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The King of the Jungle stares intently into the distance...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A Spotted Hyaena near the Leopard kill</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-37698851538333270892015-04-17T23:44:00.002-07:002015-04-20T03:34:37.948-07:00Unforgettable memories made!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hi there everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As you can imagine, a lot of incredible things
have happened in the course of the last ten days or so… Every day the pieces of
nature’s puzzle get put together to form a bigger picture and, as the time
passes by, we are able to see and understand more and more about the African
bushveld. This is, of course, accompanied by unforgettable sightings which are always
a pleasure to witness!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYDflKtyXS3jtFPPkmx2X4ExRheyuBbA-93w0GGzKyM7Hsr7Ciu1NB1StPBZ0Bhas8XEJcbgTg-fQUSheEU598NLFYGieVlItLHwVjq7Uv12G_tujIvEMH0trj9Dagq0rXbiBwXKPV7E/s1600/IMG_5907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAYDflKtyXS3jtFPPkmx2X4ExRheyuBbA-93w0GGzKyM7Hsr7Ciu1NB1StPBZ0Bhas8XEJcbgTg-fQUSheEU598NLFYGieVlItLHwVjq7Uv12G_tujIvEMH0trj9Dagq0rXbiBwXKPV7E/s1600/IMG_5907.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A Blue Wildebeest calf suckling</span> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The bush is extremely dry this year, but this has
had no ill effect on the high density of thrilling animals surrounding our
camp. These conditions have also brought some unusual birds into the area such
as Namaqua Doves and Wood Sandpipers, which we have never seen here before! We
have also had some great raptor sightings, the most exciting of which were the African Hawk-Eagle and
Martial Eagle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The game viewing is also at an all-time high - we
have been visited in camp by Giraffe, Elephants, Buffalo and elusive Spotted Hyaenas
this past week alone!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There is truly never a dull moment at Nkombe camp, as we
are often interrupted by the chattering alarm calls of Tree Squirrels, the barking
of Bushbuck and the nervous distress calls of the Vervet monkey whilst going
about our daily activities. </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The walking has been absolutely amazing as we have
been studying different tracks and signs from small birds to impressive lion
tracks. Bird watching is also at its best when on foot, as we often find
ourselves only fifty metres from camp with so much to look at! </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had a couple of
exciting encounters on foot as well. It is a whole new experience to view
animals on their level in their environment as opposed to from the game-viewer. We had
fantastic encounters with a couple of Buffalo bulls as we watched them from a
distance scratching themselves on trees and continuing with their natural
behaviour. We also had an exciting Elephant encounter as we watched a mighty male feeding on
nearby vegetation after which we followed fresh lion tracks! </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The beautiful cheetah!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 18.39px;">We added an all-new, elegant creature to our '<i>exsighting'</i> list as we found a beautiful Cheetah lying in the shade in the heat of the day. This was a first for many and still spectacular for the rest, as we don't often get to see these charming cats. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We were lucky enough to find a fresh impala kill
hoisted up in a tree one morning. The Leopard responsible for this was
nowhere to be found. After scanning the area for a few minutes, we moved on, but
decided to revisit the site later that day. On our return that afternoon, we
suddenly heard the thumping sounds of massive Hyaena paws crashing through the
bush, literally scraping past our vehicle. We decided to stay put at the site
of the kill and just observe these misunderstood creatures with the hope that
the Leopard would come back to her trophy...</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After about half an hour of waiting,
we were just about to move on when Gus spotted her hiding on top of a
termite mound not too far away from where the vehicle was parked moments ago.
She shot up the enormous Marula and continued feeding on her meal, with
Hyaenas’ mouths watering below as they waited for scraps to drop. The carcass started to
slip due to her feeding and ,despite all her manoeuvring around the tree, she
could not keep the kill from falling. As soon as the carcass hit the ground,
she knew it was over and that the Hyaenas outnumbered her. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We then spent the
rest of the time observing these creatures’ powerful jaws crushing through
bones and hooves until there was almost nothing left but the horns of a once
living impala ram. One of the most amazing sightings ever, just proving that
patience is everything!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A curious elephant decides to investigate our vehicle</span></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Elephant sightings that we have been experiencing
are personally at the top of my list! We
have seen every form and size of Elephant from the cutest baby trying to
manoeuvre its clumsy trunk to the most striking and impressive bulls.
The students sitting right at the front (on the tracker seat) have had a few
unforgettable moments as a few of the Elephants approached the vehicle
curiously from the front. These memories will stay with all of us forever…</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The coalition of male lions</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">As if all of the above is not enough, we had an intimate sighting of two new male Lions in the area. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I must say, they were more energetic than our previous coalition, in that one managed to stand up and </span><span style="line-height: 18.39px;">re-position</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> himself only a metre or so away and then returned to being its lazy, lethargic self! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">This was still an absolutely incredible sighting, as we were alone with the respectable cats and had the </span><span style="line-height: 18.39px;">privilege</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of watching and inspecting them for half an hour or more. It was remarkable!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sunrise at Nkombe Camp...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It has been an incredible journey so far to see these
great students grow and learn every day. I personally (Chanyn) can’t wait to see what amazing field
guides they will become…</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">To another day in Africa - cheers!</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The cutest, smallest African carnivore - Dwarf Mongoose</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A rare sighting of a juvenile Southern Ground Hornbill</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A majestic Elephant bull crosses the open plains</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A Red-billed Oxpecker in its element, scissoring its way through the hair on a Buffalo's back</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The curiosity of a Giraffe</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Those magnificent eyes!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The king of the jungle!</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-67255546598032860722015-04-07T04:22:00.001-07:002015-04-08T01:01:48.150-07:00The wild and wonderful welcoming of the new FGASA level 1 students to Nkombe Camp!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hi
there everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am
extremely happy to be blogging about 2015’s very first FGASA level one course!
This week has been an exceptionally exciting one as our students arrived to the
legendary Nkombe Camp filled with great enthusiasm and anticipation for what
the next two months has to offer…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Staying
true to its reputation, the wild and wonderful camp lived up to its
expectations, with some interesting visitors that gave our new students an
African warm welcome. The first evening was spent under the stars and around
the fire getting to know each other. We definitely have another fantastic group
this year. Coming from different sides of the world, we all have one thing in
common… nature!</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A
couple of elephant bulls decided to make an appearance that evening as we heard
them feeding on the favourable vegetation surrounding the camp. The night was
filled with the thrilling sounds of elephants feeding, the alarm calls of the
Side-striped Jackal as well as the bone-chilling whoops of the Spotted Hyena.
Even the incessant disputing between a troop of baboons was heard very early in
the morning. This alone was a wonderful welcome to the African bush for the students!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Dagga boy</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We
started bright and early the next day with yet another visitor in camp to greet
our students. As we enjoyed our first cup of coffee, three old buffalo bulls
decided to rest in a bed of Red grass only ten metres away from us. Relaxed, they went
about their business as if we were not even there. They stayed in that same
spot even after we had left camp for our bush walk. This again was another big
bonus!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There
is no better way to experience the bush than on foot as there is so much more
to see, hear, smell and touch! We had a magical walk, taking in the remarkable
surroundings with everything from the smallest tracks and listening to the
melodies of the various bird calls to watching an impressive elephant bull
crossing an open plain in front of us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNcrvCouj1mIbaQVr1wsnfOzXM-NpINH1Ezz6lT5RqjSpry14KJ0U1eHAWeUX1I23ZNtDS1wdKb9ZRgmPEbq6kx9Uet5bFy2uzn8TQPX3jazBPcGjjusz8MT-4nKwOFh11GvLeNzJTKY/s1600/IMG_5851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNcrvCouj1mIbaQVr1wsnfOzXM-NpINH1Ezz6lT5RqjSpry14KJ0U1eHAWeUX1I23ZNtDS1wdKb9ZRgmPEbq6kx9Uet5bFy2uzn8TQPX3jazBPcGjjusz8MT-4nKwOFh11GvLeNzJTKY/s1600/IMG_5851.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A coalition of three male lions</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After
coming back to camp we hopped on the vehicle and went for a short drive and
then had the privilege of seeing a coalition of three male lions! They were as
lazy as ever, lying in the shade of a Magic Guarri tree. They did, however, lift
their heads every now and again as if they had just caught the scent of a fresh
meal. This was because of a massive herd of buffalo less than half a kilometre away! We
were hoping for some action, but the heat of the day proved too much for the
lethargic lions to try and hunt an 800kg buffalo…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRZ8lOcauxxqDYnTa8RhkeLZP0aaNUzaY_B6lpYgsxqpKeq1iXajRtFyjirAzahUJRO0liJHSF3mm6XnhP4K7gIIjUj5d63uzYOOZ7iY7s8jwTP7fOONtqsuUvsuZHkoYP2QSCxdCfcA/s1600/IMG_1505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRZ8lOcauxxqDYnTa8RhkeLZP0aaNUzaY_B6lpYgsxqpKeq1iXajRtFyjirAzahUJRO0liJHSF3mm6XnhP4K7gIIjUj5d63uzYOOZ7iY7s8jwTP7fOONtqsuUvsuZHkoYP2QSCxdCfcA/s1600/IMG_1505.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The female leopard in camp</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After
another amazing day in the bush and a couple of lectures, we relaxed around the
fire as the sun started to set. The last thing we expected was to be visited
yet again by a new magnificent creature which walked straight into camp…a gorgeous
female leopard! The relaxed cat passed the students’ tents and we watched in awe
as she walked calmly through our home. It caused absolute delight as well as
an immediate adrenalin rush for all of us. She again visited us a couple of days later whilst relaxing in the road next to camp! How Lucky...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I find it astonishing how
we can live in the middle of the African bush and experience so much that
nature has to offer and yet we will never know it all or be able to predict
what will happen next. We watched the most fantastic scene unfold whilst
sitting under the shade of a dense canopy underneath a Natal Mahogany tree. A very
opportunistic Common Scimitarbill had found a spider that looked particularly
delicious right next to the kitchen. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We
watched as the bird destroyed the Golden Orb Web Spider’s home, ripping the web
apart with its bill. This continued for a couple of minutes as we found
ourselves silently cheering for the bird to catch the motionless spider as if we were
watching a soccer match. And finally the bird scored a meal…to our absolute
pleasure :)</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XuPRJMMGFaPKbzx34msYJnB67mH7MvS74ZwAWckAO261CrfqRDAYSR1faZW1irH3O0DLyIMO2ku6ezRg8pHEl4YR14CG1m3-hDHAvPIjyiI8gH3_cESY4ovTg0zV8bCjpyxLgYSM2LU/s1600/IMG_1549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XuPRJMMGFaPKbzx34msYJnB67mH7MvS74ZwAWckAO261CrfqRDAYSR1faZW1irH3O0DLyIMO2ku6ezRg8pHEl4YR14CG1m3-hDHAvPIjyiI8gH3_cESY4ovTg0zV8bCjpyxLgYSM2LU/s1600/IMG_1549.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A Spotted Hyaena closely following the two leopards</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had yet another unpredictable sighting as one of our students spotted something in the distance. It turned out to be a leopard in a tree very close to camp (pun intended!). We climbed on the game viewer to get a closer look and were surprised to find a Spotted Hyaena following not one, but two leopards! It turned out to be a mother and her cub which is almost full grown. The hyaena eventually lost interest and we had the pleasure of watching the two leopards playfully groom one another. It was one of the best sightings I have ever had. What made it even better was the fact that a massive elephant bull decided to walk behind our vehicle whilst all of this was going on. It was absolutely amazing!</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0Szte5mVVvRLHUw2W3gx-qeemshAMuq2SZWHt1ielIESzFscK-0WAYNLzskRIQVtYObl4pJXjNrBcTfA3BwvHkd51DdHjc8lPQIApL-VvUp8PiAACL_OJfOnhmAbMkFn20IoGnaTbeY/s1600/IMG_1580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0Szte5mVVvRLHUw2W3gx-qeemshAMuq2SZWHt1ielIESzFscK-0WAYNLzskRIQVtYObl4pJXjNrBcTfA3BwvHkd51DdHjc8lPQIApL-VvUp8PiAACL_OJfOnhmAbMkFn20IoGnaTbeY/s1600/IMG_1580.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Taking it all in :)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Besides
seeing the Big Five in under a week, we have learnt and seen so much more than
that. It is the smaller things that make us understand the way nature works and
that is what our passion is. We are now handling trees and birds and already
this has opened our eyes to a whole new world. It is truly amazing what one can
learn in a week and to think, we have seven unbelievable and exciting weeks
left! Who knows what will happen next…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The ANT Blog</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErNN0Su-8XP4RLMVguXUlWdN1PSs0WSbOqRWqEsLQk8a9o9hgEwXTxyUPDyKDSotjAhqEX0qynOu9fCLoeb88PYvkZqW7-IdkDnQnSbhIOefBW-O-sVmj4k9DOC2t1Q9l0Ah8phjg1ro/s1600/IMG_1494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErNN0Su-8XP4RLMVguXUlWdN1PSs0WSbOqRWqEsLQk8a9o9hgEwXTxyUPDyKDSotjAhqEX0qynOu9fCLoeb88PYvkZqW7-IdkDnQnSbhIOefBW-O-sVmj4k9DOC2t1Q9l0Ah8phjg1ro/s1600/IMG_1494.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The cutest young zebra!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrBHFaCn2b4yaA_NWOqfTkKcDp2_nlkesM8nzpC3KM5XGSWBoRaakYArzIgERDa9S-CWcmDLGiGpfXEj_BXkLEQ4jqgbAJL2ET5g-2DsrT04PXmfnUrBaDTEY-2ueZjLkr3M9b-5Yb64/s1600/IMG_5865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrBHFaCn2b4yaA_NWOqfTkKcDp2_nlkesM8nzpC3KM5XGSWBoRaakYArzIgERDa9S-CWcmDLGiGpfXEj_BXkLEQ4jqgbAJL2ET5g-2DsrT04PXmfnUrBaDTEY-2ueZjLkr3M9b-5Yb64/s1600/IMG_5865.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Mother and son</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NQJnbzQCH6ajGBYmUqYNoyNk5E3WG3S1VRAgQHOs_fdeOOSxwm7LaTo1F1FZjsltwDvz6ilNtR-8SN4zEaEyS9iFnoJxTjlMVBlRR_0emMBOPfneTNeu8GAVMKehGbxw_pQegQkQDcw/s1600/IMG_5898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NQJnbzQCH6ajGBYmUqYNoyNk5E3WG3S1VRAgQHOs_fdeOOSxwm7LaTo1F1FZjsltwDvz6ilNtR-8SN4zEaEyS9iFnoJxTjlMVBlRR_0emMBOPfneTNeu8GAVMKehGbxw_pQegQkQDcw/s1600/IMG_5898.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Strengthening bonds</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiwNnJwn3JKuShnp7-gUNeltUNKFSn_0PI9sKB-x0RrRY_hTYZk2kDTOqDJNWJ84B7siJ0kK6VhipHqu8xICcbpk_3OqH2H-H8QQo9ujAHioKvHhf6X0zgjPl67BOgLF927bcOPixvk8/s1600/IMG_5881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiwNnJwn3JKuShnp7-gUNeltUNKFSn_0PI9sKB-x0RrRY_hTYZk2kDTOqDJNWJ84B7siJ0kK6VhipHqu8xICcbpk_3OqH2H-H8QQo9ujAHioKvHhf6X0zgjPl67BOgLF927bcOPixvk8/s1600/IMG_5881.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Gorgeous leopards</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxZabZnIAjCfXvnpeB-auRXieDBtezJ5zzspIfMaaGf08rRwSsPAJEj7-z_UKlwtUDomZKeg6xzOvdcBjcXLQdaYeiolskGJr6Gsv_qsskZygBlNaNzijvpAF_H6JtkceaHnXsTOR-6k/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimxZabZnIAjCfXvnpeB-auRXieDBtezJ5zzspIfMaaGf08rRwSsPAJEj7-z_UKlwtUDomZKeg6xzOvdcBjcXLQdaYeiolskGJr6Gsv_qsskZygBlNaNzijvpAF_H6JtkceaHnXsTOR-6k/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">FGASA 1 group of 2015</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-86575888232667258422015-02-20T03:37:00.003-08:002015-02-20T03:38:20.973-08:00Pangolins in Peril - World Pangolin Day 21st February<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvCXFX4diSxQxc4Po79kPG3p9D5nGIBa9N_vh9ap7WI1zNf4gTk4Ki5WoPVUkV83siFTjx8V_GJSCNzC-r4UH2eXn_lh-P8J55Q2Ik0hHCVq8A3e-rO2vvbxSzV4q6dW74dSXJT6F1ZA/s1600/Pangolin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvCXFX4diSxQxc4Po79kPG3p9D5nGIBa9N_vh9ap7WI1zNf4gTk4Ki5WoPVUkV83siFTjx8V_GJSCNzC-r4UH2eXn_lh-P8J55Q2Ik0hHCVq8A3e-rO2vvbxSzV4q6dW74dSXJT6F1ZA/s1600/Pangolin1.jpg" height="236" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Photo
courtesy of the African Pangolin Working Group<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.pangolin.org.za/">http://www.pangolin.org.za</a> </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Many people don't know what a pangolin is...and there are even fewer people who have ever been lucky enough to have seen one in the wild during their lifetime! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">They are scale-covered mammals that are most active at night, feeding almost exclusively on certain species of ants and termites and have an endearing habit of carrying their babies around on their tails!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Temminck’s Ground Pangolin (</em><u>Smutsia</u> <u>temminckii</u><em>) is one of four species of pangolins found in Africa and is the second largest (typically 7–12kg). </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>It is the most widespread of these species and the one that is likely to be seen in northern South Africa (also through most of East Africa, Southern Sudan and Chad). </em></span><br />
<em></em><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Its preferred habitat is savanna and woodland, with an average territory of between six and fourteen square kilometres in which to find its main food source of ants and termites. Following a gestation period of 139 days, a single young youngster is born in June or July.</em></span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There are eight species of Pangolin worldwide: three in Asia, one in India and four in Africa.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnz174z4o2XT5mLv0ovMoL8niLFVJMvhuqUEU3Sa4R55ITJ7X6fmo9ElmoBn7aWEnaiA9wKpbdIectkv8Teq7eSMBHTLC54Isj-Y1cijFwYWEf7sBcb_TupxLdi3fH3_fHrHGxWfEv3s/s1600/Pangolin-map.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnz174z4o2XT5mLv0ovMoL8niLFVJMvhuqUEU3Sa4R55ITJ7X6fmo9ElmoBn7aWEnaiA9wKpbdIectkv8Teq7eSMBHTLC54Isj-Y1cijFwYWEf7sBcb_TupxLdi3fH3_fHrHGxWfEv3s/s1600/Pangolin-map.png" height="320" width="164" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Distribution
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Smutsia temminckii</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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Pangolins are classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of threatened species and their Global population is believed to be decreasing. It is estimated that the total population has decreased by at least twenty percent in the last thirty years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As of 2013, the estimated total density in the Kruger National Park is one individual every 8.4 square kilometres...but these numbers are hard to verify, given that pangolins are nocturnal and seldom seen.<br /><br />The reasons for the drastic population decline are various and include poaching (for illegal bush meat trade, illegal use in traditional medicine, illegal exportation to Asian food markets), loss of habitat and encounters with electric game fences. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">According to the IUCN Species Survival Commission, <strong>more than one million individuals</strong> are believed to have been taken from the wild in the past decade. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Pangolins are considered a delicacy in Asia and are now the most illegally traded mammal in the world.<br /> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvO-VPXzDD9mRM7xei-vxhILT4ziSnrS76-53hivdiVZwpnGRJcyiMcSZq5yWuSoBCZfJX5W5-f_FiOEYQEvg8z7qSBD9735N-JmWIvX-0IY2DdMd-M_PnvNP75XP2pzgrlBnoly_jJM/s1600/Pangolin2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvO-VPXzDD9mRM7xei-vxhILT4ziSnrS76-53hivdiVZwpnGRJcyiMcSZq5yWuSoBCZfJX5W5-f_FiOEYQEvg8z7qSBD9735N-JmWIvX-0IY2DdMd-M_PnvNP75XP2pzgrlBnoly_jJM/s1600/Pangolin2.png" height="147" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The name <em>pangolin</em> comes from the Malay word </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><em>p</em></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><em>enguling</em> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">meaning <em>something that rolls up</em>.</span></td></tr>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think we all know about the poaching and illegal wildlife trade, but the reason for pangolin losses that hit me hardest was when I read of the huge numbers that are killed when pangolins encounter electrified game fences. This is one of the notorious challenges in conservation practice that we have today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When a pangolin comes into contact with an electrified fence, its immediate reaction is to curl up to defend itself against the initial shock...but, unfortunately, they remain curled around the live wire and are eventually electrocuted until they die - a truly nasty way to go! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The <strong>African Pangolin Working Group</strong> (which officially launched on 19th February 2015) is looking at various options to improve the design of electric fences to eliminate the killings. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They request that you report any sightings and submit photos to them on the following link: </span><a href="http://www.pangolin.org.za/sighting.html"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://www.pangolin.org.za/sighting.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF9BRqvrDl6Y1TpfYcU9IF_Lll89Gq4rHgYyAqZMyyOIRUfgNgZF6wDHzT15MMq_cBFAsloI-prLAK4e4s9Tcuo00hLJbdTbkHiytqDMI9Rb-CaFqbK-pBNsUb21NFS92WX1XOPfY6cI/s1600/Pangolin3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEF9BRqvrDl6Y1TpfYcU9IF_Lll89Gq4rHgYyAqZMyyOIRUfgNgZF6wDHzT15MMq_cBFAsloI-prLAK4e4s9Tcuo00hLJbdTbkHiytqDMI9Rb-CaFqbK-pBNsUb21NFS92WX1XOPfY6cI/s1600/Pangolin3.png" height="275" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We wish you happy searching...and, of course, would love to hear about any of your sightings - all photos are welcome! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> The ANT Blog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Written by Jenny Bell</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-31475436869426816122015-01-30T03:51:00.003-08:002015-01-30T03:53:54.560-08:00Autotomy: The 'Tail' of a Great Escape<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Self-mutilation, self-amputation, separation of a body part: it all comes down to one thing – autotomy can be ‘Life over Limb’!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As a little girl, I remember watching in horror as a lizard I was trying to protect from my pet cat suddenly ran off without its tail, leaving my cat and I staring in bewilderment at a wriggling lizard tail. I now know that this was a great example of ‘autotomy’.<br /> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbb-we178o46XfvPcRYUYCc6nERR0SKVA_VeEBq9XjqGhfEvAYiKY0WwCBbRzCOCFEaJhN7aETwnSmvmw_5LAxBAeLaBHaOjOKvbSdlNUu78dmIcOGsJT71uyqZ8QCsRRlYK3-I0j-DE/s1600/Autotomy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbb-we178o46XfvPcRYUYCc6nERR0SKVA_VeEBq9XjqGhfEvAYiKY0WwCBbRzCOCFEaJhN7aETwnSmvmw_5LAxBAeLaBHaOjOKvbSdlNUu78dmIcOGsJT71uyqZ8QCsRRlYK3-I0j-DE/s1600/Autotomy1.jpg" height="313" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Image source: </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrB8o.hnuxT.wwAZFGjzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBtdXBkbHJyBHNlYwNmcC1hdHRyaWIEc2xrA3J1cmw-/RV=2/RE=1408044833/RO=11/RU=http%3a%2f%2fbuzz-master.com%2fwp-includes%2fcaudal-autotomy/RK=0/RS=G2P8vuehR9eFYfi_OfcXyaA2JLA-"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="color: blue;">buzz-master.com</span></span></a></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Autotomy is a self-defence mechanism that many animal species can utilise. For example, if a predator seizes the tail of a striped skink, the skink can detach its tail from the rest of its body, sacrificing the tail, but escaping with its life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If the predator does not consume the tail, the skink may return to the 'scene of the crime' once the predator has left and eat its own discarded tail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As the skink’s tail is an important site for the storage of nutrients, the skink can ‘win back’ some of the nutrients lost in the fight (glad I’m not a skink). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Further, in the case of the striped skink, the animal can regenerate the sacrificed tail.<br /><br /> So the question remains - despite its immediate advantage in terms of survival, does autotomy have a downside? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The answer is most likely 'yes'. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">http://blog.thereptilezoo.com/post/Auto-Whaty!.aspx</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The animal could have impaired locomotion and reduced ability for foraging in the event a limb is lost...and even limited reproductive options if the detached body part is important for mate attraction.<br /><br />Is autotomy really the 'great escape' or merely a short-term survival mechanism? We'd like to ask what <strong>you</strong> think...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Written by Jenny Bell)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-48521671216651537562015-01-16T01:49:00.005-08:002015-01-16T01:55:41.183-08:00New year, new beginnings...Happy New Year everyone! <br />
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All of us at ANT hope that you had ample opportunity to rejuvenate during the festive period. Just before we closed for the year in 2014, we received an e-mail from the Chairman of the Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (who attended our Savanna Bird Course), which we thought you might find interesting, even though it's not exactly 'hot off the press' now.<br />
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<em>Hi All,<br />It has been some time since I last updated you on what is happening.<br />Our juvenile “Jono” is still in the natal area although the aggression towards him has started to escalate, and it won’t be too long now before he will have to leave and fend for himself. The latest newsletter below will explain this a little more.<br />The project itself received a huge financial boost on Monday this week when Silverstar Casino handed over a cheque for R 157,433.50 to us at a special function. Their support for our work has been absolutely amazing and we are indeed privileged to have them as our main sponsor. Watch our Facebook page for a full report, and we also hope to see the Press coverage in the next few days.<br />Remember our website address is </em><a href="http://www.blackeagles.co.za/"><em>www.blackeagles.co.za</em></a><br />
<em>Regards<br />Gerald Draper</em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpku1QHsqoXP3KSlNOK6XD7PkUTCOkZQQbxa9IpSDZzRGrlWzCn7PBO-7lfdDaRexEF02-nrR_zUt1_2VeiU0hTNnu927lA9exMaedMpVCjVop9dyiMVEmY4bCB36-9gkQjqZwf-BYfb0/s1600/Juvenile+Ernest+Porter+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpku1QHsqoXP3KSlNOK6XD7PkUTCOkZQQbxa9IpSDZzRGrlWzCn7PBO-7lfdDaRexEF02-nrR_zUt1_2VeiU0hTNnu927lA9exMaedMpVCjVop9dyiMVEmY4bCB36-9gkQjqZwf-BYfb0/s1600/Juvenile+Ernest+Porter+4.jpg" height="640" width="508" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Jono, an immature Verreauxs' Eagle, surveying the gardens before he was forced to leave forever</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">A note about the naming of the offspring by the 'Black Eagle Project Roodekrans':</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Jon Oliver, CEO of </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Africam.com</span> <span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">sadly passed away just a few days before Emoyeni's chick was born in June 2014, therefore, we think it only fitting that this eaglet should be named 'Jono', which is what he was always called by his friends and family.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySgqDO5r1gJMtEvziwQmBWvUQcNlJiF41g5UZumcn7kvI3eTzOKkYuVwkHjOPdR32eGnzsZ5eYF4pSyipaQgH1ypanh1zWPbRHefpU-yo5sbzauJbDoWxvodzQ_yYv-A83FC1vvk9cr4/s1600/Aggression+Ernest+Porter+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySgqDO5r1gJMtEvziwQmBWvUQcNlJiF41g5UZumcn7kvI3eTzOKkYuVwkHjOPdR32eGnzsZ5eYF4pSyipaQgH1ypanh1zWPbRHefpU-yo5sbzauJbDoWxvodzQ_yYv-A83FC1vvk9cr4/s1600/Aggression+Ernest+Porter+1.jpg" height="459" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The juvenile Verreauxs' (Black) Eagle had only been off the nest for six and a half weeks </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">when the first unsuspected parental blows of aggressive behaviour struck him </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">during the weekend of 25/26 October!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>12 November 2014</strong>:</span></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This behaviour is deemed far too soon by any standards for this species and should only have commenced during the tenth week, post fledging. Having thus requested that the 'Black Eagle Project Roodekrans' members specifically monitor this behaviour, the juvenile had been fortunate in that there did not appear to be too much conflict during the following week and weekend, thus being quite relaxed.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8QBABk9J4fOfFANaE3NXQS0ZVyKd2att4-x2buIpXpIZIJ_Bt_4wP4G2and0bCLhGrrjxjWQntKA18KXKp_fbB1OoAqamFoetiPXjnD4C616Cwo5ZwwWFbbqqSbh_p7s4gqCSJIPKh0/s1600/Aggression+Ernest+Porter+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8QBABk9J4fOfFANaE3NXQS0ZVyKd2att4-x2buIpXpIZIJ_Bt_4wP4G2and0bCLhGrrjxjWQntKA18KXKp_fbB1OoAqamFoetiPXjnD4C616Cwo5ZwwWFbbqqSbh_p7s4gqCSJIPKh0/s1600/Aggression+Ernest+Porter+3.jpg" height="315" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">It's not fun having your parents turn on you so aggressively...</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8QBABk9J4fOfFANaE3NXQS0ZVyKd2att4-x2buIpXpIZIJ_Bt_4wP4G2and0bCLhGrrjxjWQntKA18KXKp_fbB1OoAqamFoetiPXjnD4C616Cwo5ZwwWFbbqqSbh_p7s4gqCSJIPKh0/s1600/Aggression+Ernest+Porter+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></a><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The calm before the storm was short-lived in that a major onslaught rained upon him from all directions on Saturday 8th November, with the female contributing for the first time too! One can only imagine how the juvenile must have felt…here he is biding his own…his parents bring him prey…he still roosts on the nest…then without any warning whatsoever the adult pair launch a very aggressive and prolonged attack upon him, and as the proverbial saying goes “you have to be cruel to be kind” rings true in this regard under these circumstances! Some of the most hardened avian photographers that have been recording the onslaught mentioned that at times it was too difficult to observe as the juvenile called incessantly in his attempt to escape the blows, be it in flight or perched…his world is coming down on him…fast and furious! Interestingly however, that Sunday, 9th November, was a quiet day with no aggression noted…as if nothing happened, which will confuse the juvenile even more in the days to come.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Jono will have no choice but to leave his parents' territory</span></td></tr>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ultimately, in an effort to escape the relentless harassment, the juvenile will gradually be pushed out of its natal home range (territory) by the adults, which is a gradual process that can last two or three weeks and, during this period, he is unable to return to the nesting gorge that was his home since hatching five months ago. One can really feel for him, he will soon be unable to sleep on the nest that was his comfort zone and will be obliged to roost in a tree just like his parents have been doing…something he is not used to...yet.<br /> <br />As mentioned in October, it is imperative that the juvenile achieves 100% in all his subjects as, without these qualifications, his chances of survival lessens should he be unable to grasp the importance of tuition during the post fledging stages. Sleeping on the nest during the first month after fledging is acceptable, but not during the second month and beyond...mainly because when he is shoved out of the home range area, there will be no nest anywhere that awaits him and suddenly his own instinct will have to be engaged to ensure that he must roost out of harm’s way…most preferably on a sheer inaccessible rock face or a tall secure tree.<br /> <br />More so, he has never been taught to hunt, he has never accompanied his parents on a hunting sortie and, for as long as he has been at the nesting gorge, prey has always been delivered to him and all he had to do was consume. Whilst he is yet within the home range, they will continue to feed him, but not too frequently and possibly only half a meal every two or three days maybe more. Quite inadequate for a growing juvenile and instinct will once again drive himself to hunt his own prey and this may be difficult as he will never be certain of a successful hunt. During the first few attempts, he may only get lucky once in every tenth try, which is particularly nerve wracking! On the positive side though, whilst growing up from chick to eaglet to juvenile stages, he had imprinted all the prey types that were brought to him and this should give him a head start to survive as he will recognise the items within a split second of seeing them and specifically hunt that prey type. It is finding these that will put him to the test once more...<br /><br />Written by Bo van der Lecq, Black Eagle Project Roodekrans</span></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Photos by Ernest Porter</span></span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>12 November 2014 - reproduced here with permission (and grateful thanks from ANT!)</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Jono was last seen at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens (Johannesburg) on 12th December 2014...and we wish him a successful future - hambe kahle Jono!</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span></span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-58858938708543116882014-11-25T07:00:00.002-08:002014-11-25T07:05:55.371-08:00Savanna Bird Course - part 2<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's Wednesday night again and the lecture begins with the ins-and-outs of getting your Savanna Specialist Bird Guiding qualification through FGASA. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After listening to the various elements involved, it seems pretty daunting...and I think we all have a newfound respect for our ANT lecturer, who obtained the qualification earlier this year. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Evening lectures are held at Henley Business School</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcde2Rp_3jQnSTtw_A6jbS96Ar8RkzJS_C6rkSSQTVo7yw8r5y7-toh_GJEgZ5M2H7g01V5PEW1dLJ0WK3Tw9zMSNeIBHztOOHJIq4FbJ72HhFx43x2_3WZsEvSRd8S6qIefVu9iwQWUk/s1600/SBC-part2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcde2Rp_3jQnSTtw_A6jbS96Ar8RkzJS_C6rkSSQTVo7yw8r5y7-toh_GJEgZ5M2H7g01V5PEW1dLJ0WK3Tw9zMSNeIBHztOOHJIq4FbJ72HhFx43x2_3WZsEvSRd8S6qIefVu9iwQWUk/s1600/SBC-part2-2.jpg" height="200" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Southern Red Bishop male</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXGbfJ02QstBl3eVrwJ85cz3jRKr4UlYQB5SWZ2C4wwvQQXn3g6h5nTw58AgdhZa_BE2amJ996BOLsCThbdOTopgFFJN_xFDXw_9TVXRG89VJ_f3vohAQHLw0Onuf8JBCdjmOT2U7drU/s1600/SBC-part2-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXGbfJ02QstBl3eVrwJ85cz3jRKr4UlYQB5SWZ2C4wwvQQXn3g6h5nTw58AgdhZa_BE2amJ996BOLsCThbdOTopgFFJN_xFDXw_9TVXRG89VJ_f3vohAQHLw0Onuf8JBCdjmOT2U7drU/s1600/SBC-part2-3.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Purple Heron</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wFAepKAD6Y11jF-OrYiSK0pj_Fni9Yzw5sBQcUiFYgbm9mBeG3mWL0jtVk2KVD1ZT_4yVfr8TkLLvnNWNM4RyQFfLkV10bGAgRalKCiqTmXXQO5QLcG-07v-JoC9JyGF_bf_L7UVmbA/s1600/SBC-part2-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wFAepKAD6Y11jF-OrYiSK0pj_Fni9Yzw5sBQcUiFYgbm9mBeG3mWL0jtVk2KVD1ZT_4yVfr8TkLLvnNWNM4RyQFfLkV10bGAgRalKCiqTmXXQO5QLcG-07v-JoC9JyGF_bf_L7UVmbA/s1600/SBC-part2-4.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Malachite Kingfisher</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt89LmMZd6K8cR9VnKccje4Fx2sXFlj5ufG29Xl2WEvvPYcFmZm3mddG06X6-wOwb2TNF3VZ2n-9jHbTjsdvKELKMLMBWoiQFkAfur86G1d09N2ltD5-J5FPKO60ydLoNoaptT1Ashndo/s1600/SBC-part2-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt89LmMZd6K8cR9VnKccje4Fx2sXFlj5ufG29Xl2WEvvPYcFmZm3mddG06X6-wOwb2TNF3VZ2n-9jHbTjsdvKELKMLMBWoiQFkAfur86G1d09N2ltD5-J5FPKO60ydLoNoaptT1Ashndo/s1600/SBC-part2-5.jpg" height="200" width="135" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Claire watches as Kagiso finds her target</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfAXmg3wmTR-6fK_v_ZOgrD6_RdKPiDMJjvHSL-YZVpJfpP0RKJ1gj9220fjW1rG5C6m4xIw3k0SDB-_KaeSgz8L-unRDWAm14p5LrEyCgS_5aYv9RYMstG7e5fRrefgk6bUdu0YMD8g/s1600/SBC-part2-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfAXmg3wmTR-6fK_v_ZOgrD6_RdKPiDMJjvHSL-YZVpJfpP0RKJ1gj9220fjW1rG5C6m4xIw3k0SDB-_KaeSgz8L-unRDWAm14p5LrEyCgS_5aYv9RYMstG7e5fRrefgk6bUdu0YMD8g/s1600/SBC-part2-6.jpg" height="260" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Was it a bird...was it a plane...?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WuUhMPL2CfT5oXo-V9Fk8Fvc1m9fFn423tUZRowNoDep8d8dI48ojWkgo1lWW5t7Qf0euK7zSGNPA7Judqdx_S3CENOXw8KO8m1kLHj5TWJLhp1FBb9DLtNZu2RHtJKu6Jkd5f-SlKA/s1600/SBC-part2-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WuUhMPL2CfT5oXo-V9Fk8Fvc1m9fFn423tUZRowNoDep8d8dI48ojWkgo1lWW5t7Qf0euK7zSGNPA7Judqdx_S3CENOXw8KO8m1kLHj5TWJLhp1FBb9DLtNZu2RHtJKu6Jkd5f-SlKA/s1600/SBC-part2-7.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">It was exciting to watch a pair of Cape Rock Thrush on the rocks</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Saturday morning was another early start at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort. Gerald Draper, Chairperson of the Black Eagle Project (and one of our students), gave us some insight into the project. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">he infamous Verreaux's Eagle pair, Thulane and Emoyeni, have successfully raised a chick this year - named Jono - who had his maiden flight on the 10th September. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Apparently there is some concern about the constant fighting between father and son over the territory. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the birds in flight, but we did get a look at the family perched on a rock face in the distance, being harassed by the resident pair of Peregrine Falcons. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Male Cape Weaver</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We wandered around the garden, then on to the Sasol Bird Hide, along the stream and ended at the spectacular waterfall. <br /><br />A number of specials were seen: Verreaux’s Eagle (of course) and Peregrine Falcon top the list, followed closely by Striped Pipit (with its pleading chick!), Bokmakierie and a magnificent Purple Heron. After a thoroughly enjoyable morning of birding, we all met at the coffee shop for some well-deserved refreshments. <br /><br />A total of 72 species were observed by the three groups.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Another first, although flightless, was the Koppie Foam Grasshopper (<em>Dictyophorus spumans</em>). This grasshopper extracts and stores the toxins from the plant on which it feeds (mainly Milkweed) and exudes them as foam when attacked! Its aposematic colouring certainly screams danger!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEmJbbvT2NFN53jBuTwA9WfmEjNk5aX0F0GHTzNHGF9YMtyTuv0pqm-bQFe5YMTpTY6aj_WAHRRzAgSAGGDBI2FFnnDTt7A5RyLRdAWIZBjHbe8lcpkhx3VAsFTcp22ESoHNbYcMTdnY/s1600/SBC-part2-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEmJbbvT2NFN53jBuTwA9WfmEjNk5aX0F0GHTzNHGF9YMtyTuv0pqm-bQFe5YMTpTY6aj_WAHRRzAgSAGGDBI2FFnnDTt7A5RyLRdAWIZBjHbe8lcpkhx3VAsFTcp22ESoHNbYcMTdnY/s1600/SBC-part2-9.jpg" height="200" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Koppie Foam Grasshopper</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Birding in an urban setting: Bishop Bird Park</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Searching for the elusive Cuckoo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On Sunday morning we had a leisurely and most welcome later start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We spent a few hours wandering around Bishop Bird Park in Centurion, a lovely little nature reserve in the heart of suburbia. <br /><br />The overcast weather made sightings difficult, but we still reached a total of 42 species...among which was 'the one that got away' and which looked suspiciously like a Great Spotted Cuckoo! <br /><br />Once again there was more to keep our interest than birds. After the recent rains some bulbs of the <em>Amaryllis</em> Family had emerged giving us a beautiful display of bright pink.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke7J1nEMWbOHeZeUpSFsX4mzfuNh9A7bC3uJZqHBVRCrcYJ9Js4NgCyQ3-tl2-bwqvkfKA9pMeC7VtFRL6rEc9WXuWqoRIBK45CzUGaeNd_YxdLm_GlfdzFcsnHwpo6DJsTi_bKBNnkI/s1600/SBC-part2-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjke7J1nEMWbOHeZeUpSFsX4mzfuNh9A7bC3uJZqHBVRCrcYJ9Js4NgCyQ3-tl2-bwqvkfKA9pMeC7VtFRL6rEc9WXuWqoRIBK45CzUGaeNd_YxdLm_GlfdzFcsnHwpo6DJsTi_bKBNnkI/s1600/SBC-part2-15.jpg" height="261" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A splash of colour, fondly referred to as 'Vlei Lilies'</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNEmJbbvT2NFN53jBuTwA9WfmEjNk5aX0F0GHTzNHGF9YMtyTuv0pqm-bQFe5YMTpTY6aj_WAHRRzAgSAGGDBI2FFnnDTt7A5RyLRdAWIZBjHbe8lcpkhx3VAsFTcp22ESoHNbYcMTdnY/s1600/SBC-part2-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The ANT Blog</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(<em>with grateful thanks to Jenny Bell for the text and images</em>)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Fiscal Flycatcher or Common Fiscal...you decide...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFODg9quhYTyTNJLVYOmS-SOc2H7LBhKnqHriixmF7vvTgFuDfGdaEdGidpJNSgEXJNeR3sZD9ThaVgMkxAhDfP-s1N9L84T4Q6ug0YiWnXbbsbDsq_2jknEtDwtOhT2E1br_Wrxs4qw/s1600/SBC-part2-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFODg9quhYTyTNJLVYOmS-SOc2H7LBhKnqHriixmF7vvTgFuDfGdaEdGidpJNSgEXJNeR3sZD9ThaVgMkxAhDfP-s1N9L84T4Q6ug0YiWnXbbsbDsq_2jknEtDwtOhT2E1br_Wrxs4qw/s1600/SBC-part2-13.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The ubiquitous Helmeted Guineafowl</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-65342180351525223032014-11-14T02:52:00.000-08:002014-11-25T04:51:33.724-08:00The FGASA level one course is more than half way!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hi there everyone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A lot has happened yet again since our last update on the FGASA level one course. Spectacular memories have been made and the 'once in a lifetime' sightings continue to prevail...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every single week unexpectedly out-competes the previous one. We spend all our nights around the fire discussing how incredible each day has been and how unbelievable it is to learn and experience countless incredible things in the bush every single day. To wake up with that hunger for the day to begin and the utter excitement to see what nature has in store for us is truly amazing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lo1LIjKn9aMHwN6ngXQ-ypsmNalSLVDBb-IE923_OiVY04KsUkExkb4DSVYzQFj5ynnChltgWxmNoRlaRw3VNStIGK2KzdGeyeoG-tfSCBKpCSuit0HAQ4sRQeZrLs4ILTGU8d0NXGU/s1600/_MG_4660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lo1LIjKn9aMHwN6ngXQ-ypsmNalSLVDBb-IE923_OiVY04KsUkExkb4DSVYzQFj5ynnChltgWxmNoRlaRw3VNStIGK2KzdGeyeoG-tfSCBKpCSuit0HAQ4sRQeZrLs4ILTGU8d0NXGU/s320/_MG_4660.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The yawn of a cheetah...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We had our very first cheetah sighting! It was a beautiful male cheetah resting in the heat of the day. We spent quite a bit of time observing the rare cat as he elegantly posed and yawned for us. We also had another stunning lion sighting. Three gorgeous males doing what they do best... resting! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have had countless majestic elephant sightings, even in camp which is always absolutely incredible. Our wild dog sightings have also improved as we had the privilege of seeing these gorgeous animals around the reserve. All this and a blood-curdling three metre long black mamba! A highlight for many on the course. We have been so incredibly lucky!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZxT1PV6niBQjGnBaL57gQ8mPby8EG-cdLQ-hegr2aiiPxwib-gPop8H23bF9G1zx5mUjQDzptA1gW0cTviM-jOWUWkymlckn7COYndrc0dOVbmkKpd1PPdqRrf41cTuz4D9uctbnH4Q/s1600/_MG_5045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZxT1PV6niBQjGnBaL57gQ8mPby8EG-cdLQ-hegr2aiiPxwib-gPop8H23bF9G1zx5mUjQDzptA1gW0cTviM-jOWUWkymlckn7COYndrc0dOVbmkKpd1PPdqRrf41cTuz4D9uctbnH4Q/s320/_MG_5045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A large female leopard with a Nyala kill</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The lucky leopard sightings haven't been scarce either! We have had many unique and unforgettable sightings of these magnificent cats... One in particular was when a female leopard and her cub sat in a tree and protected their meal (and themselves!) from an impressive female spotted hyena lurking below waiting for any scraps to fall to the ground. To see a leopard cub is wonderful enough... but to see this whole interaction was priceless! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another unbelievable scene took place as we watched a different female leopard rip a Nyala to pieces as she fed on her well-deserved meal. We watched her in awe as she enjoyed her meal in the safety of a Marula tree with her cub lying in the shade of a small shrub on the ground below. No one can describe the adrenaline rush after witnessing something like this! Our most recent leopard sighting was when we were out on drive scanning the area for grasses to identify when all of a sudden we spotted a leopard right next to the road on a termite mound. We enjoyed the sighting before speculating which grass the leopard was lying on :)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLklKZco8ySM8t-K1glIRedgv-CRKdKXjNoCGfpzRamhUDgFk-rIQSPtlEqPhQkLr1d031pZ9b-POWxa4V6Uk_X59dxMhJM50-U0rgm8vH6QnHy7YfTgXgqaUz4htJOSxHpNlQ63OLeY/s1600/_MG_5210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLklKZco8ySM8t-K1glIRedgv-CRKdKXjNoCGfpzRamhUDgFk-rIQSPtlEqPhQkLr1d031pZ9b-POWxa4V6Uk_X59dxMhJM50-U0rgm8vH6QnHy7YfTgXgqaUz4htJOSxHpNlQ63OLeY/s400/_MG_5210.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A curious female buffalo approaching a pack of wild dogs!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We approached an enormous herd of buffalo which we saw in the distance when suddenly we got a huge surprise and found the wild dogs... again! They spent the heat of the day lying down under a couple of Magic Guarris until the buffalo started grazing in their direction. Both parties were completely unaware of each other and we couldn't wait to see how their unexpected meeting would unfold... A curious female buffalo was the first to break the ice as she approached the pack and gave a short burst of a chase to intimidate the scurrying dogs. Absolutely unforgettable!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19XCf6sfp2LJMiKA3DR6OOrTXNeVV_v4j9s-6ppldgGmnim1KBdBAi1-C05xp92v8WO6YkQaNnwNUAwVVhuUVDYYnizbAolnvDa_uo1xYZBtaL2FT0LTLzVRt88T6raBa1NM9-x1h-w8/s1600/IMG_5232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19XCf6sfp2LJMiKA3DR6OOrTXNeVV_v4j9s-6ppldgGmnim1KBdBAi1-C05xp92v8WO6YkQaNnwNUAwVVhuUVDYYnizbAolnvDa_uo1xYZBtaL2FT0LTLzVRt88T6raBa1NM9-x1h-w8/s320/IMG_5232.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The class of September 2014</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The lodge placements were a massive success as all of our students learnt how a five-star lodge operates...inside and out! They had the opportunity to learn first hand from experienced field guides how to conduct the ultimate guided experience. They worked in the kitchen learning how the food is prepared and the procedures that take place to make sure everything runs smoothly. They learnt how to change tyres on the game viewer as well as how to do a basic service on the vehicle and to make sure that is is spotless and polished at all times. They were involved in habitat management as they had the opportunity to implement a number of conservation management practices. Laundry was another department where they learnt what goes on behind the scenes to ensure the guests' rooms are immaculate. The students had the opportunity to see some of the fully furnished rooms and what has to happen on a daily basis to maintain the highest standard. All in all it was priceless experience!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3ms_bHGOGgvbAb29KQ_ha5lE23lEWMqH3YH7FIj61_LjM4MNxdl7EEXDiuA34iCisLdNUIpKYwNuObqtnZTDB2ROoGWlmhvUJcN8LDd5Bz-TWs_PcBURWzf2ryk9_Q2y5oPvHFHLzmM/s1600/IMG_5588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3ms_bHGOGgvbAb29KQ_ha5lE23lEWMqH3YH7FIj61_LjM4MNxdl7EEXDiuA34iCisLdNUIpKYwNuObqtnZTDB2ROoGWlmhvUJcN8LDd5Bz-TWs_PcBURWzf2ryk9_Q2y5oPvHFHLzmM/s320/IMG_5588.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sand River males</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We recently saw the most beautiful lion brothers. The bond between the two was truly incredible to see. They are in a coalition with one other male and seem to be the dominant male lions in the area at the moment. It has been an amazing couple of weeks in terms of experience and knowledge gained as well as unforgettable sightings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-vFghjKvwV8ZxFtgJFNqDFqbyELw79QBNV9ZDFH3nZ5_DG_VbrTtdJP7gbtu4Aa-sxIyc6FxK_adwJ826fd5LV0dpRWYxi50PVvp1yli-JBw_x42TQxp9gfkxduyrRqeTXrrnNd_ueU/s1600/_MG_4156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-vFghjKvwV8ZxFtgJFNqDFqbyELw79QBNV9ZDFH3nZ5_DG_VbrTtdJP7gbtu4Aa-sxIyc6FxK_adwJ826fd5LV0dpRWYxi50PVvp1yli-JBw_x42TQxp9gfkxduyrRqeTXrrnNd_ueU/s320/_MG_4156.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Another amazing bush walk</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp81KsnJ2k0x2zcVZfoyI2Nh6EP1uMRIKlvVvF3cGSGfdCtKafLiYCaudivDzSjcI-1xNei2Lf3ygPpU5HQaH9XFiijIbgfo7Ss_2BcHoBBWAa0nSESlnXfYL0CNwAXzj53rxxqTfh7jw/s1600/_MG_4402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp81KsnJ2k0x2zcVZfoyI2Nh6EP1uMRIKlvVvF3cGSGfdCtKafLiYCaudivDzSjcI-1xNei2Lf3ygPpU5HQaH9XFiijIbgfo7Ss_2BcHoBBWAa0nSESlnXfYL0CNwAXzj53rxxqTfh7jw/s320/_MG_4402.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The stare of a buffalo bull</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUGmfMwxGW5ocmeVkg6ifxZXiHzKIJOzUDyPDO-lWQYrEjWPg_cvPMB5SwDkHkA6JnErZKxopmobUrezOXJ07o6E5q6EMC_JJKwKrzta5DEBHu-9JkM_n-l-lKb39_gkZdrBn6R7o2UQ/s1600/_MG_5097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUGmfMwxGW5ocmeVkg6ifxZXiHzKIJOzUDyPDO-lWQYrEjWPg_cvPMB5SwDkHkA6JnErZKxopmobUrezOXJ07o6E5q6EMC_JJKwKrzta5DEBHu-9JkM_n-l-lKb39_gkZdrBn6R7o2UQ/s320/_MG_5097.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">What an incredible sight!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha51naZE8wISZFP9AzLASj8OExDFFPQCxVB0zA6Fn_EaGucHrp5N9aZX3dRAu1bOdggT6khCNn4lUCFToWE9fE-odZum5gLf2lOjSkAm70JjemgToVYUfkYLU7TF1EmROyNcL-b6GEdcw/s1600/_MG_5624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha51naZE8wISZFP9AzLASj8OExDFFPQCxVB0zA6Fn_EaGucHrp5N9aZX3dRAu1bOdggT6khCNn4lUCFToWE9fE-odZum5gLf2lOjSkAm70JjemgToVYUfkYLU7TF1EmROyNcL-b6GEdcw/s320/_MG_5624.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">More of the wonderful wild dog...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJb5GxVW0P6Ia7wy16SHZTtHmboJ-1jCsGkFRoAYFLaGrQhydjKA9zyNG8rmwboObAtFdHc60mn6bKWoypG29EbGg7CAQOO-qv2-jL5ln04x0I0D5kghNdqJptQ6I1tDzU3JEDTUFgkA/s1600/_MG_5691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJb5GxVW0P6Ia7wy16SHZTtHmboJ-1jCsGkFRoAYFLaGrQhydjKA9zyNG8rmwboObAtFdHc60mn6bKWoypG29EbGg7CAQOO-qv2-jL5ln04x0I0D5kghNdqJptQ6I1tDzU3JEDTUFgkA/s640/_MG_5691.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">ANT's FGASA level 1 students - September to November 2014</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-35517219121834274922014-11-07T01:19:00.000-08:002014-11-07T01:19:16.866-08:00Savanna Bird Course<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Savanna Bird Course has started and, if the first weekend’s sightings are a sign of things to come then we are in for a real treat!</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After an entertaining lecture by Ulrich Oberprieler entitled “Birds: Our Fascinating Friends” we were all set for the weekend’s birding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> We had learnt about the characteristics of birds, the basics on migration, bird communication and what characteristics to look for when identifying birds.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LGZrWQ7snu_4b3nzEdKwElZjL7ZyXVKNsBH2dzyng4E7B9TTyorAyFw9T_S59etfTtXh_Gxr0c3MSRkgpU-RWx22auMLQlr1sHWXS8qo8VvOMR1NdBeN_3Mor7EQuNSu3LqjcmtgI5M/s1600/Marievale1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LGZrWQ7snu_4b3nzEdKwElZjL7ZyXVKNsBH2dzyng4E7B9TTyorAyFw9T_S59etfTtXh_Gxr0c3MSRkgpU-RWx22auMLQlr1sHWXS8qo8VvOMR1NdBeN_3Mor7EQuNSu3LqjcmtgI5M/s1600/Marievale1.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Saturday morning arrived and, after a very early alarm call, we met at Marievale Bird Sanctuary (near Nigel) for a 5:30 start. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> It was a chilly 12˚C as we enjoyed the spectacular sunrise waiting for the gates to open. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIThdlccb8xgyRZvRSZCuBfazBaHL9tRMmLEtvcCioGHr5DRErtWyQqnHdac2lLaKOvJlqhhiobU89d3FNfh6ukKv8dxUiuXwdbqL1sPaRSe5_TrRbrD4FwgHA2-cPozMNGTTYnHS6Vo/s1600/Marievale2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIThdlccb8xgyRZvRSZCuBfazBaHL9tRMmLEtvcCioGHr5DRErtWyQqnHdac2lLaKOvJlqhhiobU89d3FNfh6ukKv8dxUiuXwdbqL1sPaRSe5_TrRbrD4FwgHA2-cPozMNGTTYnHS6Vo/s1600/Marievale2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Some of us don't get to see a sunrise very often...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We soon forgot about the early wake-up call as we started to identify the specials the wetland area has to offer. A total of 90 species were identified by the various groups. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Specials included the African Snipe, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Black Heron, African Marsh Harrier and Ruff (with the non breeding male white morph causing much debate).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aPFeqpgb8Gsc8LI_3oTNkNGijzl83q8h7cVVfqW1GFJnLch_jiMVKcGTosuQMBL3ek-b72pSdSKavtMJMGRyR6DeutZei3o-kKNzQ9sl0pqXLDgBp51241BlN7zySjBKoeoNnjGETcg/s1600/Marievale3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aPFeqpgb8Gsc8LI_3oTNkNGijzl83q8h7cVVfqW1GFJnLch_jiMVKcGTosuQMBL3ek-b72pSdSKavtMJMGRyR6DeutZei3o-kKNzQ9sl0pqXLDgBp51241BlN7zySjBKoeoNnjGETcg/s1600/Marievale3.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">It was amazing how many species we saw in a short space of time!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On Sunday morning we headed to Rietvlei Nature Reserve and, with the rain still falling, we started our birding at the Bird hide at Marais Dam. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The rain eventually stopped and the weather started to clear but, unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the sun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We ticked off some nice waterbirds and a variety of grassland species. A total of 88 species were identified. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">S</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">pecials included the Anteating Chat, Cape Grassbird, Malachite Kingfisher, Cape Longclaw, Fan-tailed and Long-tailed Widowbirds. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-k5mn02LEvN6DbJXAxZbuhlUlwhHJwOq9O5vLo13DjZMVusQ1AI0GDZNRHEP7bdP-bzU8HLJ3q9rR7jKNKCBaBC65YYCEN5PxRwh2G3kum6DDQ01E_9iADTGdMuj1gKtS4B-fXw4yB8/s1600/Rietvlei2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-k5mn02LEvN6DbJXAxZbuhlUlwhHJwOq9O5vLo13DjZMVusQ1AI0GDZNRHEP7bdP-bzU8HLJ3q9rR7jKNKCBaBC65YYCEN5PxRwh2G3kum6DDQ01E_9iADTGdMuj1gKtS4B-fXw4yB8/s1600/Rietvlei2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Despite the gloomy weather, everyone turned up!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The day’s outing ended for most with a nice warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate at the Rietvlei Coffee shop whilst we watched three white rhinos enjoying their breakfast. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(with grateful thanks to Rod and Jenny Bell for the text and images)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKHx4seWf8NXkIblJSX1NOFo0qni6whWK-6GuBB3St1nsk0l11k10Y0DZ9gV5RqbyG3Berct3ucWl11p1snU_KsDVpC-9jzN8Mvpmpw5SrNqQ86bldXZl479oNI_7Uo1P2GMzqvNQrlg/s1600/Marievale4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKHx4seWf8NXkIblJSX1NOFo0qni6whWK-6GuBB3St1nsk0l11k10Y0DZ9gV5RqbyG3Berct3ucWl11p1snU_KsDVpC-9jzN8Mvpmpw5SrNqQ86bldXZl479oNI_7Uo1P2GMzqvNQrlg/s1600/Marievale4.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The Black Heron has special significance to us :-)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQnfmU6CmiosME0l3Esa-emyvevAJODZy-_h4wzQTQf0u__7KoDpuBND6CyzHjkfobcTO0lhyphenhyphenvfhEobtHIUAIq0MjUkJ2OLl2u12SHaoFESR-Jsl7PWzMAZ8e_FvQCqZiK10xGIVp5Kc/s1600/Marievale5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQnfmU6CmiosME0l3Esa-emyvevAJODZy-_h4wzQTQf0u__7KoDpuBND6CyzHjkfobcTO0lhyphenhyphenvfhEobtHIUAIq0MjUkJ2OLl2u12SHaoFESR-Jsl7PWzMAZ8e_FvQCqZiK10xGIVp5Kc/s1600/Marievale5.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Pied Avocet with an amazing recurved bill</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MhYRyS3rr-3d_MXDwI4xq8In3L2gYB5N3J-4FFK1YotqL7G_hKRth1Mlhj_sI4DtlKuSri_WE-LOTBUYIdrvDpLlEbOcdWGH74iRrPYr7u7_NTfezzuRcIZfif549tYg0KY2lVjl-vU/s1600/Marievale6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MhYRyS3rr-3d_MXDwI4xq8In3L2gYB5N3J-4FFK1YotqL7G_hKRth1Mlhj_sI4DtlKuSri_WE-LOTBUYIdrvDpLlEbOcdWGH74iRrPYr7u7_NTfezzuRcIZfif549tYg0KY2lVjl-vU/s1600/Marievale6.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">African Snipe next to a male Ruff in non-breeding plumage</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVkw8oIh8mTdpdDTtnwW0o-Gl6Wwq-00xt9vLPS0cPo2b3A73QtYunonyQo3zeT610vMcwSZIm8f1tkJJB8HRxKU656QqcAGOodIN3C-Ze4UfGI2KihkrxOxWVRI5LHzGGNsyp3zdArU/s1600/Marievale7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVkw8oIh8mTdpdDTtnwW0o-Gl6Wwq-00xt9vLPS0cPo2b3A73QtYunonyQo3zeT610vMcwSZIm8f1tkJJB8HRxKU656QqcAGOodIN3C-Ze4UfGI2KihkrxOxWVRI5LHzGGNsyp3zdArU/s1600/Marievale7.jpg" height="320" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">There were plenty of Red-knobbed Coots</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBFXp6hwk6NqNEL0Tq0L3uDE_jDIJDUjygnfSmtvyoWdWGwYuqurU0Xe57NGnHhwoZJlHfsYjqSjdnet4lYufG4_TP3AxpLcM_S6nnNZzpGW3VIAdTHbMXL8kNbLZA9iEVYI68mJZlNY/s1600/Rietvlei3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBFXp6hwk6NqNEL0Tq0L3uDE_jDIJDUjygnfSmtvyoWdWGwYuqurU0Xe57NGnHhwoZJlHfsYjqSjdnet4lYufG4_TP3AxpLcM_S6nnNZzpGW3VIAdTHbMXL8kNbLZA9iEVYI68mJZlNY/s1600/Rietvlei3.jpg" height="320" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Levaillant's Cisticola - a wetland favourite!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfUZdP1WjL7RdzVos2lQNCfHNHehiE0b-Dr15uzqMBmn0J3I0ogzVQnB3mMUxOLv0t2gHaDnXbVE4xBIgi4Wn57DnThQt4Q8YV4ER4MohAff0XYpKNrAiQH27LYA3vexHFLHHwDXe80s/s1600/Rietvlei4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgfUZdP1WjL7RdzVos2lQNCfHNHehiE0b-Dr15uzqMBmn0J3I0ogzVQnB3mMUxOLv0t2gHaDnXbVE4xBIgi4Wn57DnThQt4Q8YV4ER4MohAff0XYpKNrAiQH27LYA3vexHFLHHwDXe80s/s1600/Rietvlei4.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Cape Longclaw, displaying a beautiful orange throat</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_9m7TFe2kJ0IA5pTnNzKvLEEkrkctmCHmudgbZa1So8hoVG2o8uup-Hdy3Rip4u5rG_3F0A16hwxLO9q4zQ7ck_8cfTXmGNAOMBm74nGtt-mvbLeeDBcbzRur3kZPZp3xXPBmlDWeB0/s1600/Rietvlei5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_9m7TFe2kJ0IA5pTnNzKvLEEkrkctmCHmudgbZa1So8hoVG2o8uup-Hdy3Rip4u5rG_3F0A16hwxLO9q4zQ7ck_8cfTXmGNAOMBm74nGtt-mvbLeeDBcbzRur3kZPZp3xXPBmlDWeB0/s1600/Rietvlei5.jpg" height="296" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Magnificent male Long-tailed Widowbird in his breeding plumage!</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-25992249497980496972014-10-31T02:40:00.003-07:002014-10-31T02:46:43.168-07:00All Refreshed!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj45eBbmXRoEThw82kNd9lq0iC3RAKL-CqQ4zJyDrzdMXKctg462Eh2Ips8Z_-4xjUQk_x-8FUKrLqm_jL5EP1P6D4-NpBVdKzvUd70fx-fjCpuI7aUfd5NdNonEyrCCFcqL3dcuwE7pQ/s1600/Refresher-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj45eBbmXRoEThw82kNd9lq0iC3RAKL-CqQ4zJyDrzdMXKctg462Eh2Ips8Z_-4xjUQk_x-8FUKrLqm_jL5EP1P6D4-NpBVdKzvUd70fx-fjCpuI7aUfd5NdNonEyrCCFcqL3dcuwE7pQ/s1600/Refresher-11.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sunset at the dam, which was really more of a puddle - end of dry season</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncAMS_AxHug-JjsaYI-SyvBfnyLCY9shhmt0dfZ9f3QEogSMfAk3Con_GCKuCcHnNlRvwq0z_4lmAfBSzwzwKAFGGWXkYi9g6IpwpmFlbEOzaEoN5xi-dv1aei2cNmyWqL44-uOo0bpQ/s1600/Refresher-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncAMS_AxHug-JjsaYI-SyvBfnyLCY9shhmt0dfZ9f3QEogSMfAk3Con_GCKuCcHnNlRvwq0z_4lmAfBSzwzwKAFGGWXkYi9g6IpwpmFlbEOzaEoN5xi-dv1aei2cNmyWqL44-uOo0bpQ/s1600/Refresher-2.jpg" height="320" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Lesser Bushbaby peeping out from the roof - photo Rod Bell</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Recently, twenty three Africa Nature Training students (NEC alumni and a few correspondence course students) enjoyed an awesome weekend in the Waterberg Mountains. No pressure, no notes, just pure enjoyment! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> As usual the ANT team laid on a full weekend’s entertainment, very different from our usual course weekends, with four teams and four very different activities. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">It was fantastic to meet students past and present, and share information and ideas - a great way to learn and make new friends.<br /><br />Most participants arrived on Friday evening and, after a leisurely walk round the farm, we settled in to watch ‘Bush TV’ with a difference. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Not only did we have a lovely fire burning, but wagers were exchanged as to what time the resident Lesser Bush Babies (<em>Galago moholi</em>) would emerge from their roost under the thatch of the lapa. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AhmP1ApPn5dGm_PrpBahEfjNtcCajaDBXLDEV6C0B14Oi086zwdljryV_hJ5zOfNkr13Gh5WqRX8jyGoml8V73SmR33MPW3sHhMVgT79-Bcnqu2xLZBOWExyoHicHUyg_eW8o081_zk/s1600/Refresher-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AhmP1ApPn5dGm_PrpBahEfjNtcCajaDBXLDEV6C0B14Oi086zwdljryV_hJ5zOfNkr13Gh5WqRX8jyGoml8V73SmR33MPW3sHhMVgT79-Bcnqu2xLZBOWExyoHicHUyg_eW8o081_zk/s1600/Refresher-1.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Watching bush tv!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">It was great fun watching them (watching us!) and eventually by 18:35, they had all emerged and disappeared into the surrounding trees to forage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Saturday morning started early with practical tracking. We tracked the usual suspects and even found the spoor of a few specials, including Puff Adder, Brown Hyaena and African Civet (including pastings).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">For me, though, the highlight had to be the fresh Water Monitor spoor we found at the dam. It was so fresh, even impressions of the scales on the reptile’s foot were visible!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaD-WxyRGiF8-ITGWJIIV5MfF81VoDRNf9xmHVBxR2ohqjA-xFOavzZAlkubuCuTqNc_pAsjgj92XUlaDojxxIv4L8c5aKcu8CuwgGiyHGCmuFbwckyeCtgtV-OQMEKetBh5hj9x-OZE/s1600/Refresher-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaD-WxyRGiF8-ITGWJIIV5MfF81VoDRNf9xmHVBxR2ohqjA-xFOavzZAlkubuCuTqNc_pAsjgj92XUlaDojxxIv4L8c5aKcu8CuwgGiyHGCmuFbwckyeCtgtV-OQMEKetBh5hj9x-OZE/s1600/Refresher-3.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Andre found a grasshopper and showed us the tracks they make!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepf2XJ9_95zJkaB_Gznt3wLd5KsOqRtE2tTVO8VadZVbDRnMrqXItiz2GeruM2NuGOKZx5IE4SItptr_msmo8SSWEqFiCMRUCAD2GlSIyKYVp_lJKws1Re8tfy7p21ByCwJhKwmAM9b4/s1600/Refresher-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepf2XJ9_95zJkaB_Gznt3wLd5KsOqRtE2tTVO8VadZVbDRnMrqXItiz2GeruM2NuGOKZx5IE4SItptr_msmo8SSWEqFiCMRUCAD2GlSIyKYVp_lJKws1Re8tfy7p21ByCwJhKwmAM9b4/s1600/Refresher-4.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Fresh Water Monitor track with scales visible</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jyZ2g6C09GF0hmac1hIwFppV1qcc3R1SE7d3qXzhyphenhyphenHeC9nucRJy3rFRPXkc7cIKYRtpg2P5y4EdnIix8XcyqrGqsqg8eKucWZOuzVX0EEAO__qI_VIzWZo4IFi3KYckdK-u8_g0U2jw/s1600/Refresher-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jyZ2g6C09GF0hmac1hIwFppV1qcc3R1SE7d3qXzhyphenhyphenHeC9nucRJy3rFRPXkc7cIKYRtpg2P5y4EdnIix8XcyqrGqsqg8eKucWZOuzVX0EEAO__qI_VIzWZo4IFi3KYckdK-u8_g0U2jw/s1600/Refresher-5.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Puff Adder track, with diagnostic 'tail drag' through the middle</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a tea break, we headed out for a re-cap of the trees in the area. Most trees had new spring growth so keying out species new and old was an excellent refresher. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3qBWjeQS8LFSYlFUGbM3NWNAQLCkAJTeDOEoRYViiVDv7HCJ_dHGsIqizz9ZGNS1xIPpRlYYjFhoRp9OtPjEmcQCq5acbLDV8QcvJqqS9SOKw31oJVrjsSMmyronISTWFh2ODoMmY9c/s1600/Refresher-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3qBWjeQS8LFSYlFUGbM3NWNAQLCkAJTeDOEoRYViiVDv7HCJ_dHGsIqizz9ZGNS1xIPpRlYYjFhoRp9OtPjEmcQCq5acbLDV8QcvJqqS9SOKw31oJVrjsSMmyronISTWFh2ODoMmY9c/s1600/Refresher-6.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We also had a chance to identify André Veenstra’s collection of indigenous bonsai trees. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I must admit that the miniatures were far trickier to identify than their grown-up cousins. Just shows how much we rely on the 'jizz' (GISS) of the tree for identification purposes!<br /><br />After a long siesta we headed out on an interpretive walk. The brief was for each team to use their knowledge of the medicinal uses of indigenous plants in order to find a cure for Ebola using various plants found on Andanté. So, with books in hand, we started to research and find specimens for our various remedies. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OmY_m7sSyZOposNWnS6FEb_UYU1KaH_Mf8wmORypwgppS_C-BqMk9VeKIa-ENZe8rHvMw5PurixL88muExn8GjIhkRtZqdjhb0i_mN3to6Mfu-1i4gPxAQ2Id89d7DT2j8bTCiBKX3M/s1600/Refresher-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OmY_m7sSyZOposNWnS6FEb_UYU1KaH_Mf8wmORypwgppS_C-BqMk9VeKIa-ENZe8rHvMw5PurixL88muExn8GjIhkRtZqdjhb0i_mN3to6Mfu-1i4gPxAQ2Id89d7DT2j8bTCiBKX3M/s1600/Refresher-10.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Doc 'shake-shake' Veenstra in action, shaking those bones</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The teams all met at the dam for sundowners and delicious snacks, laid on by the ANT team, but before we could relax and enjoy the surroundings we had to present our ‘Ebola cures’ to the visiting Sangoma, Doc ‘Shake-Shake’ Veenstra.<br /><br /> At sunset we strolled back to the Lapa and enjoyed a lovely evening round the fire sharing bush stories, with some reminiscing a little longer than others!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_vs8ciur5ojJPVdDO7PpdqQd8WjAg8_O_d3QTG6m5ddmuKsED6KYrtk8sKs4G9zKyUuYkhetNbmNyT2wv8PaDzf6AyZ9taZck01v5oZTaitE4XO2robE60_WJ9rlhm4otqp3-BXbut8/s1600/Refresher-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_vs8ciur5ojJPVdDO7PpdqQd8WjAg8_O_d3QTG6m5ddmuKsED6KYrtk8sKs4G9zKyUuYkhetNbmNyT2wv8PaDzf6AyZ9taZck01v5oZTaitE4XO2robE60_WJ9rlhm4otqp3-BXbut8/s1600/Refresher-14.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Birders putting their skills into practice</span></td></tr>
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It was an early start on Sunday for our bird ID walk. We spotted LBJ’s, raptors, passerines and a very special colour morph!<br /><br />We then met back at the Lapa for a team quiz challenge. Nicky certainly outdid herself here, creating a quiz with three sections (trees, spoor & birds) that encouraged great debate between team members and some serious searching of the ‘grey matter’ for answers. The Nyala team were ultimately victorious with 30 points!<br /> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkm37WepPL1bpOYDqyu0eE7c0WxCg8t9DdJHk9TP_IBCmK-mnofzwp1mLoBtsVohP36eGc_MHAYAG-kO4GKTmWAqPSejqmmS7H9w-Cz7kbzAvcguBC2bVFPtVWlZHTQO8yukigGellnrs/s1600/Refresher-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkm37WepPL1bpOYDqyu0eE7c0WxCg8t9DdJHk9TP_IBCmK-mnofzwp1mLoBtsVohP36eGc_MHAYAG-kO4GKTmWAqPSejqmmS7H9w-Cz7kbzAvcguBC2bVFPtVWlZHTQO8yukigGellnrs/s1600/Refresher-19.jpg" height="111" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Boil-treating the seeds that had been collected</span></td></tr>
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During our weekend activities we collected various tree seeds and, having soaking them overnight on Saturday, we had the opportunity to plant them out under the guidance of André on Sunday morning. <br />
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Hopefully his tuition will enable us to propagate our own little indigenous bonsai trees.<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZG04dtzsaaPl-fzqikOBmYSWnPqP-OzmUskb-O5euqDEDqVoaXcaVL58FLYWipdS9GOHxg5qUqs1CSp4ltoDV0HKHXIJSkacFq7IyiIL7V3_v-y32wCfsTM_IloNeFbubc5k4N-pYvo/s1600/Refresher-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZG04dtzsaaPl-fzqikOBmYSWnPqP-OzmUskb-O5euqDEDqVoaXcaVL58FLYWipdS9GOHxg5qUqs1CSp4ltoDV0HKHXIJSkacFq7IyiIL7V3_v-y32wCfsTM_IloNeFbubc5k4N-pYvo/s1600/Refresher-20.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Adding seeds and potting soil to seedling trays</span></td></tr>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a sad farewell to friends new and old, we vowed to return in 2015! <br /><br /> So, make a note in your diaries now for the ‘2015 ANT Refresher Course’ which is set for the weekend of 10th and 11th October 2015. Book early to avoid disappointment!<br /><br /> The ANT Blog<br /><br /> (With grateful thanks for text and images to Jenny and Rod Bell)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWVFAfzuRKTHliMrI2mJquvJSDWce7SUg8xUf8QOHSf_7d01iNpHt0ttO3u0zVkJuczhfUSZL20Cp-tSE36BGjwO5oY-US4Vx7ATzELmyUO5Bs2jckwpvlDr2eldf3zZyaY_72nacX9w/s1600/Refresher-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWVFAfzuRKTHliMrI2mJquvJSDWce7SUg8xUf8QOHSf_7d01iNpHt0ttO3u0zVkJuczhfUSZL20Cp-tSE36BGjwO5oY-US4Vx7ATzELmyUO5Bs2jckwpvlDr2eldf3zZyaY_72nacX9w/s1600/Refresher-7.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Students doing a bit of revision on identifying trees</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx-Gy4PNYNDZIoRKUHFn9FswHRWr8sqAJMhyphenhyphenOLidGP_T0y4XA9nHE5ekLLt5CTtsXjqBD2z2uuf_PyM0aC9kO7WRqjLho_MDxQaD_H5BCRMr-U6k4zWpY6BjYNEccFohCMzC87WLRvNk/s1600/Refresher-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx-Gy4PNYNDZIoRKUHFn9FswHRWr8sqAJMhyphenhyphenOLidGP_T0y4XA9nHE5ekLLt5CTtsXjqBD2z2uuf_PyM0aC9kO7WRqjLho_MDxQaD_H5BCRMr-U6k4zWpY6BjYNEccFohCMzC87WLRvNk/s1600/Refresher-8.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The Puzzle Bush (<em>Ehretia rigida</em>) in flower - gorgeous sight!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZVBv8o3OgElSf9DPrnr_faaanIuSTjf7quoApD67k9Kxw5WXYEFeQkhJ9hNFDOrW75zf7PiEQ68cVOFg3MVcF7DAjlLtlIMQaL2dBLJemThc6JBoxDQ6S3y5pcsKRbniPRt1Tig9rok/s1600/Refresher-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZVBv8o3OgElSf9DPrnr_faaanIuSTjf7quoApD67k9Kxw5WXYEFeQkhJ9hNFDOrW75zf7PiEQ68cVOFg3MVcF7DAjlLtlIMQaL2dBLJemThc6JBoxDQ6S3y5pcsKRbniPRt1Tig9rok/s1600/Refresher-9.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Camphor Bush (<em>Tarchonanthus camphoratus</em>) - we tried, this time unsuccessfully, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">to light our fire using the flowers, but decided in the end that they simply weren't dry enough!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQ01yFhzv3ZQrLPFTwat9SYi7do-kRgW1aqxt7UTGgbwtrUMdT97arc-1pWnfMi-i9g8-EqSW1pgEtSq6vpGzXugz-zx8WW2ZkuUG94yJn8jlR6wRcjkrOiK05S0SE722fYg09CmxgaU/s1600/Refresher-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQ01yFhzv3ZQrLPFTwat9SYi7do-kRgW1aqxt7UTGgbwtrUMdT97arc-1pWnfMi-i9g8-EqSW1pgEtSq6vpGzXugz-zx8WW2ZkuUG94yJn8jlR6wRcjkrOiK05S0SE722fYg09CmxgaU/s1600/Refresher-12.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">From left to right: Anne, Kevin, Carla, Andre, Jason, Gert and Pat</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5PG93H9Kn33LJRTupRe0TenrJZt4jMaOKz5OD7KbYGIddOODo9V0ZjiC13rEIp-xssFt3FHPsTnh51UJZ597P_dhLGQFvZPATZolHx_1yMDg3oPSF_2JsT8pP0aAfcg4zHRZV1OXVA0/s1600/Refresher-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5PG93H9Kn33LJRTupRe0TenrJZt4jMaOKz5OD7KbYGIddOODo9V0ZjiC13rEIp-xssFt3FHPsTnh51UJZ597P_dhLGQFvZPATZolHx_1yMDg3oPSF_2JsT8pP0aAfcg4zHRZV1OXVA0/s1600/Refresher-13.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Monique and Sabine posing with the star of the show!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihdwyLgBe6vhIV3UxmbfT_OGM3baDiu65_9NI-epY2TJc-HVKhmu_IC7-A76F4BjUUEz0WLZlCxlws4OFNIp-1a47Hod7T_Nwh3LujncUC9I2i7gOcvAbTXMZPpYoEZeAiEAaYrlA2Nk/s1600/Refresher-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihdwyLgBe6vhIV3UxmbfT_OGM3baDiu65_9NI-epY2TJc-HVKhmu_IC7-A76F4BjUUEz0WLZlCxlws4OFNIp-1a47Hod7T_Nwh3LujncUC9I2i7gOcvAbTXMZPpYoEZeAiEAaYrlA2Nk/s1600/Refresher-15.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Is that an African Pipit?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7ekC1M8z9GiecWkvvvL_nDwmd736x77lXEIHDr64KE2zEiUfeso40vgg5vMMm4wILNIkvPEl44jsUGghO8vJI08nzZqnB6YOUQyEh3jvXcjiOB54VVxcJ4iHzZ6FkMZVRQg-n3C1QRE/s1600/Refresher-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7ekC1M8z9GiecWkvvvL_nDwmd736x77lXEIHDr64KE2zEiUfeso40vgg5vMMm4wILNIkvPEl44jsUGghO8vJI08nzZqnB6YOUQyEh3jvXcjiOB54VVxcJ4iHzZ6FkMZVRQg-n3C1QRE/s1600/Refresher-16.jpg" height="320" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Purse-like nest of a Grey Penduline-Tit</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpgsy5tpTdFdR7CACRlaXABfLCBSQSBqkBYXQZqPtjb_FZubzYwBaNIHqu7D9sddhIk8uKMQl5Y7NSoJSZoSBiLF7yWv3MKQEW4hjRSZwL9JxaqGI0fLjZCPZ-BoWAZZgwM0ZCRPrxGQ/s1600/Refresher-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpgsy5tpTdFdR7CACRlaXABfLCBSQSBqkBYXQZqPtjb_FZubzYwBaNIHqu7D9sddhIk8uKMQl5Y7NSoJSZoSBiLF7yWv3MKQEW4hjRSZwL9JxaqGI0fLjZCPZ-BoWAZZgwM0ZCRPrxGQ/s1600/Refresher-17.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Dave and Carla set off with their group on a bird walk</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3957251075773423754.post-65129068267983576512014-10-24T05:58:00.002-07:002014-10-31T03:17:05.400-07:00Summer is here... and the bush is alive!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hi there everyone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It seems as if the bush has transformed overnight. The long-awaited rains have brought upon new life and a new energy in the bush as everything has suddenly come to life! The dust has settled. The dry grass and leafless trees are a thing of the past. Previously burnt areas are now sprouting fresh, nutritious new-growth grass which attracts a variety of grazers and thus predators as well...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3E12mAQw7opI8QFiv-23TCMjkO4ywm6GayWgXypcpf2158_mu1Qe-ZuJ_JLL4h8X2iq1NVYg9lTE07KLafPBpsyOuf16_YyKCO3Le5ukT8lFc0nJIGc2uxGBmtZBNAf1tcEUQeo8mR2Y/s1600/_MG_3964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3E12mAQw7opI8QFiv-23TCMjkO4ywm6GayWgXypcpf2158_mu1Qe-ZuJ_JLL4h8X2iq1NVYg9lTE07KLafPBpsyOuf16_YyKCO3Le5ukT8lFc0nJIGc2uxGBmtZBNAf1tcEUQeo8mR2Y/s1600/_MG_3964.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The Wild Dogs drinking</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK1KGUBdfgzjbhPdMnD84_WF7TGlg3eIlxBr8gkpJmMbP7HJvwmJoihov249VmMInHF2SSKre0Aa9nUFKlZ2boU15la3q5GU2l1GT8XWUA62nWp7-qrChrd6ypAPpdNr1kTrm5vk9bIw/s1600/_MG_3886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEK1KGUBdfgzjbhPdMnD84_WF7TGlg3eIlxBr8gkpJmMbP7HJvwmJoihov249VmMInHF2SSKre0Aa9nUFKlZ2boU15la3q5GU2l1GT8XWUA62nWp7-qrChrd6ypAPpdNr1kTrm5vk9bIw/s1600/_MG_3886.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">What a sight!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite all the amazing sightings we had the first two weeks of the FGASA level 1 course, the last couple of days have been even better! The density of game is increasing now that the conditions are becoming favorable for all life - big and small. So favorable that we had the absolute delight of seeing one of the most endangered mammals in Africa... Wild Dogs! We had not only one, but two spectacular sightings of these wonderful canines. The first was as the family of dogs started to get active after their afternoon siesta. They stretched, scratched and then decided to drink water from a rock pool which provided for the most beautiful setting. The following day we sat with them for at least half an hour studying their behaviour and habits. There</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">were around twelve dogs including four pups which are very quickly starting to grow in size! We had a good laugh as they rolled and yapped just like a domestic dog, even biting off bits of grass with their tails continuously wagging. It was breathtaking!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our students have also started driving the game-viewer in preparation for the final assessment. We are making good progress and the understanding of nature is becoming all the more clear. Everyone can now give an excellent pre-departure brief and entertain guests with many interesting facts about not only mammals, but the smaller things like termites, trees, birds and much more! Very soon it will be time for them to work and gain valuable experience at the lodge in various departments as well as to 'shadow' the field guides to see how everything works together in the tourism industry. Exciting!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFHx0MfhApSvNwVAJrXk2b3E2ousavSXtORzTFWbmuzsdtRmGuvAJJmjgxp7uCfinE8cLG-WeSH86f580Ax6EmZ0ZVIaIueOh4We9QeY9ByKWXQIKtwos3jiXi9HWGvXAbNKiIm0ke4A/s1600/_MG_4414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFHx0MfhApSvNwVAJrXk2b3E2ousavSXtORzTFWbmuzsdtRmGuvAJJmjgxp7uCfinE8cLG-WeSH86f580Ax6EmZ0ZVIaIueOh4We9QeY9ByKWXQIKtwos3jiXi9HWGvXAbNKiIm0ke4A/s1600/_MG_4414.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The young male leopard</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1p6ajkNfnOsDa7bnkzx8x9PFfQFoT0_NglEWllV3PiI_4kJZW9WxXN1KMLWtdryfE4KJbnwLz9tHSpKKE0sPCxZiCjmuXLvW_q0K00_bqW2IchrLiGx_BdDVa-WILrr7WeWIaBcwYA4A/s1600/_MG_4421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1p6ajkNfnOsDa7bnkzx8x9PFfQFoT0_NglEWllV3PiI_4kJZW9WxXN1KMLWtdryfE4KJbnwLz9tHSpKKE0sPCxZiCjmuXLvW_q0K00_bqW2IchrLiGx_BdDVa-WILrr7WeWIaBcwYA4A/s1600/_MG_4421.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Male lion and his meal</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRK4PtSDdgvD0WDGQ-3XmkZe0B5P7Zqze4ZAjNiajmHCzUpu4U_eUJEEUTQBs1cZRLw_rYOePda4XI6fgvU4S7Eot5oW_ZANrVfBJpSDvEP0VoXa1HxI_85w3HPes-sJg8xmD01gpRMO4/s1600/_MG_4582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F_aMAx12Uyb4PjZVA8yURqv4anpLOAhFTgh1nHK2BSvyOmdmJI_aN3mrXehoEuUc1dt5p0rgaSQiQyQGfmcwVVIPGBFSaoSYPKz33V7ulxF-AVARr-jk1KM_NOFUHTSNiuq_7uIbgo4/s1600/_MG_4567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F_aMAx12Uyb4PjZVA8yURqv4anpLOAhFTgh1nHK2BSvyOmdmJI_aN3mrXehoEuUc1dt5p0rgaSQiQyQGfmcwVVIPGBFSaoSYPKz33V7ulxF-AVARr-jk1KM_NOFUHTSNiuq_7uIbgo4/s1600/_MG_4567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F_aMAx12Uyb4PjZVA8yURqv4anpLOAhFTgh1nHK2BSvyOmdmJI_aN3mrXehoEuUc1dt5p0rgaSQiQyQGfmcwVVIPGBFSaoSYPKz33V7ulxF-AVARr-jk1KM_NOFUHTSNiuq_7uIbgo4/s1600/_MG_4567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtylDvGiaYqHCO7Wyzb-73byaaJ2Tp2hzVKThbBq80_L0L6oHA2hgy6iNqIm_DLhoB83fTaePSBmcJ66fDMGVXXKkmKaCU_d7z2BixKU1WbOPjiQg4uXQi-xq57DqKfGC97SlY1ewlseQ/s1600/_MG_4572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another unforgettable scene took place yesterday as we ventured in to the south of the reserve. Ashlee (one of our students and an excellent spotter) somehow spotted a leopard next to the road. He is a well known, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">recently independent male leopard around two years old. Little did we know this was only the beginning as, a few minutes later, we came across an impressive, magnificent male lion! He had made a buffalo kill the previous night and we were fortunate enough to see him feeding on his well-deserved meal! The buffalo must be at least three times heavier but he manoeuvered it as if he was flipping a pancake. To see this power was an eye-opener for us all... As we sat and observed the lion feeding, a couple of Hooded Vultures arrived at the scene to scavenge on possible scraps left behind. The lion was not too impressed with this, of course, as he frequently chased the large raptors away. No words can describe that overwhelming feeling whilst looking at something like this. Amazing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It never ceases to surprise me how much mother nature has up her sleeve. Every single day is a story waiting to be told. Let's see what happens next!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The ANT Blog</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtylDvGiaYqHCO7Wyzb-73byaaJ2Tp2hzVKThbBq80_L0L6oHA2hgy6iNqIm_DLhoB83fTaePSBmcJ66fDMGVXXKkmKaCU_d7z2BixKU1WbOPjiQg4uXQi-xq57DqKfGC97SlY1ewlseQ/s1600/_MG_4572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtylDvGiaYqHCO7Wyzb-73byaaJ2Tp2hzVKThbBq80_L0L6oHA2hgy6iNqIm_DLhoB83fTaePSBmcJ66fDMGVXXKkmKaCU_d7z2BixKU1WbOPjiQg4uXQi-xq57DqKfGC97SlY1ewlseQ/s1600/_MG_4572.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Hooded Vulture on the left, with two White-backed Vultures in the background</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Magnificent White-backed Vulture in flight</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">That power...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Smile!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">More Buffalo</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVtagS9Jc0ESfCM2v9o7Lr9_ZXRmIKY-0kiJdpSBO7XMZdtIE25k1NS4CJA4i46mG4gjNi1SwM5G85UyMFfaGVTGJTweyzwoIDDz1Yxf7J4QA7G-OsyZCukKd50hQ3y44v6PiRmG237M/s1600/_MG_4409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVtagS9Jc0ESfCM2v9o7Lr9_ZXRmIKY-0kiJdpSBO7XMZdtIE25k1NS4CJA4i46mG4gjNi1SwM5G85UyMFfaGVTGJTweyzwoIDDz1Yxf7J4QA7G-OsyZCukKd50hQ3y44v6PiRmG237M/s1600/_MG_4409.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A Chin-spot Batis in her nest</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRK4PtSDdgvD0WDGQ-3XmkZe0B5P7Zqze4ZAjNiajmHCzUpu4U_eUJEEUTQBs1cZRLw_rYOePda4XI6fgvU4S7Eot5oW_ZANrVfBJpSDvEP0VoXa1HxI_85w3HPes-sJg8xmD01gpRMO4/s1600/_MG_4582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRK4PtSDdgvD0WDGQ-3XmkZe0B5P7Zqze4ZAjNiajmHCzUpu4U_eUJEEUTQBs1cZRLw_rYOePda4XI6fgvU4S7Eot5oW_ZANrVfBJpSDvEP0VoXa1HxI_85w3HPes-sJg8xmD01gpRMO4/s1600/_MG_4582.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">That expression! (and look at the Buffalo's tongue)</span></td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11531797860485403380noreply@blogger.com0