Awesome Guiding Experiences

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". 

 



 

Sex, drugs, rock and roll…

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….

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.

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.

Best regards, Lorraine

January 2016 - Sex, drugs, rock and roll…

https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/images/42521/b2ccdbb0bc7c21e2a9cdfc040da20117.jpg

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.

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…

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 (Ziziphus mucronata) or the Velvet Bushwillow (Combretum molle). 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.

 

https://www.ispotnature.org/sites/default/files/images/45530/54cff76e0062d62023ff7225c6d15bc5.jpg

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’…

So, gentlemen, if you thought that ‘Singles bars’ and ‘Chasing after the ladies’ were the

brainchild of humans – think again!

https://www.ispotnature.org/species-dictionaries/sanbi/Paussinae

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!

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.

 

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.

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.

 

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.

 

Photo credit: Nicky Glennie

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.

 

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. 

I hope you have enjoyed this short foray into the hidden life of beetles and will join us next time...

Until then, in the words of another ‘Beatles Group’, I’ve got a “ticket to ride”…back to the bush…

The ANT Blog

GraduANTs Refresher Weekend 2015

We hope that you are surviving the heat wave! Phew, a GraduANT's Refresher weekend (for past Nature Enthusiast Course students) seemed like a good idea at the time...

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.

The Southern African Python, basking - Photo by Justin van Doorene

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. 

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! 

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.

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. On Saturday morning, each team was given a decorated, colour-coded pizza box which contained some necessary items.



Well done to the Blue team, who won The Amazing Race - Smarties!
From left to right: Salim, Rooksana, Sue, Ditmar and Shayleen

The tasks were to do with identifying plants, collecting samples of those and some dung, taking photographs of certain things and identifying some reptiles. 

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).

The training team guided the students through and everyone really enjoyed it and learnt a lot! 



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.

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.

Professor Graham Alexander with a zebra skull we found in the veld

The Prof was very disappointed that we never actually found any snakes, let alone the Python, but he did come across a snake skin! 

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! 

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.

Nyala bull drinking - photo by Caroline Culbert

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. 

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.

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.

In the morning, we had an early start and set off in small groups and enjoyed a wonderful bird walk. 

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.

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!

This image  of the yellow morph was taken by the 'birthday girl', Caroline Culbert

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 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.

The ANT Blog

Correspondence Course Practical September 2015

Hi there everyone!

The first summer rains have arrived.
 

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!

The beautiful Narrow-leaved Morning Glory

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.
 

The bush is alive and it’s just getting better!

 

Inspecting an old buffalo skull

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!

The students arrived on the 19^th of September and we wasted no time in getting them into the swing of things.

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 ;)
 

Always amazing to see...

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.

The first few days were spent learning about trees and birds.

Just one of our spectacular sunsets

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!
 

A group of vultures patiently waiting...

One day stood out in particular: the 25^th 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!
 

Joe and the bull elephant

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!

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!
 

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!
 

The herd of buffalo

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.

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!

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.

The ANT Blog
written by Chanyn-Lee Zeelie

What a great group of people!



A lioness with her meal in the background



Conrad exploring Jacana Pan

A group of Blue Wildebeest graze as the sun starts to set



A beautiful picture of the end of another day in Africa



Nkombe Camp managers - Chanyn and Conrad Zeelie

Surprise Bush Breakfast!

Christin's practical assessment

A silhouette of a windmill near Nkombe Camp

 

For the Birds!

Sunset at Andante Game Farm - one of the views that all South Africans treasure!
Photo credit: Justin van Doorene

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”
Robert Lynd

"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."
Victor Hugo

This morning, Trevor Hardaker posted a question on the Facebook page of BirdLife South Africa.

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.

Together with John Graham he also runs Zest for Birds, a pelagic trip and
bird guiding company.
Source: http://www.hardaker.co.za/about.htm

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.

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!

We think that Trevor's question and the responses people have provided show two important things that are worth noting and writing about:

1. South Africans are interested in birds!
2. This interest takes various forms.

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!

Where else can you go to such an array of habitats and encounter hundreds of birds during the course of one day?!

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.

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.

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.

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

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.

Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike - Photo credit Catherine Earnshaw

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.

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.

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 Savanna Bird Course 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: 012 667 5440 or info@AfricaNatureTraining.co.za.

The ANT Blog

All good things...

...must come to an end...eventually!

Another successful day in the lowveld as we enjoy a 'game drive selfie'!

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!

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.

Perhaps you are one of our graduANTs, nodding in agreement as you read this!

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!

The ANT Blog

The year starts off in our lecture venue - Henley Business School - with an orientation
evening - here Nicky is talking about why and what we recycle

Andre shows Mariana what to look for when examining a leaf at our introductory tree practical

Chris and Sara look closely at features like the leaf margin and venation

Arlene makes expert use of her loupe to see if there are any secretory cavities

Even the smallest students are treated with care - here Lorraine shows them a special leaf

Annie shows Dave an infloresence - the key to identifying grasses

Salim uses his loupe to great effect as he admires the Red Grass spikelet



Dave and Jenny make use of the outdoor classroom to teach a few grass id basics

Meet some of our mentors - Carla is the rose between the thorns here
- sorry Stephan and Dave junior!

Camping is completely new to some of our students, but they soon grow to love it!

The pool is an attractive feature during summer...but this year has been
an unusually rainy one, so it's been somewhat under-utilised!

The most effective way to learn how to identify grasses is by using display samples

One of the field work groups has a practical session with our resident expert, Lorraine

Rod oversees Deepak as he works out which grass is which

Andrew Hankey - the tree expert -  is one of our favourite lecturers who liberally
shares his knowledge with us on weekend practicals




Deepak holds his leaf up to the light to see if there are any bacterial nodules

Chris enjoys putting his newfound skills to use

What bushveld experience is complete without a good old South African braai?!



Welcome to our piece of paradise in the lowveld - your home-away-from-home ...
...Nkombe Camp! We trust that your week here will leave you with many happy memories!



Our friendly photographer, Justin van Doorene,
goes to great lengths to capture that perfect image!



...and here you have a bird's eye view of our social centre



Rowan gave Justin a run for his money whilst trying to capture
a dragonfly in flight over this pond



One of our favourite drainage line crossings onto an open area



During summer, we have the added challenge of water crossings!

One of the groups after their bush interpretation weekend

It's such a treat to walk in the bush! Here Freddy discusses the finer points of tracking

The first group were fortunate enough to have seen Wild Dogs on foot - what a triumph!

One of our favourite parts of the day involves reading the 'bushveld newspaper'

Chanyn explains to Lee and Mariana how you can tell which direction the elephant is going

Everyone cranes their necks to see the three rhinos
that are just on the other side of that bush...exciting!

Before each walk, the students get a chance to give the pre-trail brief

Our trails guides explain the rapid digestion of elephants



Conrad watches Keegan and Lee as they dig in a dry riverbed for water

After just having watched a crash of rhinos coming down to drink at the waterhole,
we had an opportunity to look at their tracks and signs



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!

The following animal pictures have been captured by one of our students - Mariana Arnoldi - thank you very much for sharing them with us all - enjoy!



Is this a male or female warthog...and how can you tell?




Knowing the scarcity of these animals makes it
even more of a thrill to see them!

Not much water around, yet this Green-backed Heron!



Fork-tailed Drongo - look out for that wine-red eye!

Female buffalo just chewing the cud



We thought this was a funny place for the oxpecker to sit!



This hornbill waited for our crumbs to drop at the coffee stop

 

This guy's stomach was so distended we think he may well have eaten an entire buffalo by himself!

We end off with a cute shot of this mother and baby Waterbuck - what an amazing experience!