Safari
Live Drive - April 27 Sunrise
Good
Morning Everyone!!
We have James as our guide and David on Camera. The Temperature is a balmy 12 degrees C.
Let's go on a SAFARI!
And all of a sudden we are off to a very fast Start as there are reports of WILD DOGS!
Even though it is still dark, James
is up to the task.
He
is following tracks towards Sydney's Dam.
And
Stefan will be doing another Bush walk for us today
There
are sleeping Impala so the Dogs most likely didn't pass along here.
They
could pass into Simbambili.
REPORTS-
They are at Sydney's Dam.
And we are off on a Wild Dog chase!!
 |
| And the Dog Chase Begins! |
James
is going super FAST!
HOLD ON TIGHT
They
should be coming into view.. There is the DAM just up ahead.
Wild
Dogs are Diurnal. they will move in the cool of the dawn and dusk.
There they are and the dogs are on the chase.
Click below to connect to You Tube
James
had trouble getting Wendy (jeep) to start.
The
dogs are all coming back now.
James
heart rate is up immediately he says.
You must check out the video
of James chasing the dogs. EPIC! ( video above)
This
is the Investec pack. They are down to 8
dogs in their pack.
The
dogs are listening very carefully with their large ears.
Now
it is quiet.
There is the sound of a Burchell's Starling in the background.
There is the sound of a Burchell's Starling in the background.
 |
| Wild Dog |
 |
| Wild Dog |
 |
| Wild Dog |
 |
| Wild Dog |
 |
| Wild Dog |
 |
| Wild Dog Pack |
One
of the females has an obvious injury but James doesn't think its life
threatening.
 |
| Injury on Wild Dog |
The
dogs can run 13 km at top speed before
they get tired. The sprint that the
video shows is almost negligible to what they are capable of.
James
is saying this chase did not look like teamwork. They went in all different
directions.
The dogs will be active again very soon. So don't
get too comfy everyone!
They
are heading off like a team now.
Jame's
vehicle is coughing and sputtering again.
The
dogs are moving North and will most likely move out of our Boundary.
James
is back on the hunt and driving fast.. But it looks like the dogs are going to
the other side of Sydney's Dam.
The patterns on each of the dog's are different but usually they all have
the white tips on their tails.
No
super zoom camera today because it has "issues".
Beautiful
view of Sydney's Dam
 |
| Sydney's Dam
And off the Wild Dogs go. BYE BYE DOGS!
|
James
talking about Sam's Elephant.. and if it fell off.. He would have to make a decision. To chase the dogs or
retrieve the elephant figurine.
 |
| See Sam's Little Elephant on the Dash? |
With Stefan now.
He is looking
for an animal path and listening.
Quite
close to a crest. Vegetation is quite uniform.
Soil
is very well drained. Good for grasses.
Heading
downhill.
Stefan
saying the biggest mistake humans can make in the bush is a lack of respect.. You must always
realize you are part of the food chain.
We see a quick shot of a termite mound and then back to James
 |
| Termite Mound |
James confirms that the dogs have
gone north to Manyeleti.
James
saying anywhere in the Sabi Sands water is available within a mile or so.
Tech
Difficulties..
Back
with James and then he is gone again.
 |
| Those Darn Gremlins |
Another
tech problem.. See above PIC .
Finally
back with James- they lost battery power because of the cloud cover and it didn't
charge.
Conner
is driving around trying to find the repeater.
James
did see Leopard tracks but they were
quite old.
James
having a lengthy discussion about various research methods. Some are self
serving from Companies who have their own interests at heart whereas some are
the compete opposite.
And we see Buffaloes.
And we see Buffaloes.
James
has come recently to the realization that the cars revving might make a
difference in for example the hearing of the wild dogs while they are hunting
because they depend on sound.
As guides they must
be careful not to cross the line. It is a struggle at times.
Having a camera behind you puts pressure on the guide
to get the best shot possible.
You
must keep your ego out of it even though it can make great TV but sometimes not
the most sensitive thing to do and we always evaluate ourselves.
Crested Francolin
Crested Francolin
 |
| Crested Francolin |
The
Gowrie repeater is back up so we can move along.
Back
with Stefan
Stefan
has worked here for 17 years. And yet he feels lost in this unexplored drainage
line.
 |
| Wallow |
Late
summer grass. Sedgy almost.
Bryan
did a 360 showing that there is no one else around except him and Stefan.
Gorgeous
unidentified flower.
Stefan is taking it with him because he doesn't know what it is.
 |
| As yet unidentified Flower |
 |
| Beautiful Bloom |
Stefan is taking it with him because he doesn't know what it is.
Stefan
says he has confirmed that Lions follow people and Elephants follow
people. He saw it happen in the mountain
ranges.
Back
to James
James
sees white flowers.
That
is Spectacular he says! Worth the spike he got from the thorns.
He
is going to pick one because there are lots of buds.
Floral
scent. Bit of Jasmine
Click on Title to play in You Tube
James
has carefully placed the flower with the elephant(Sam's Ellie) on the dash of
vehicle.
 |
| James places the pretty White Flower with Sam's Elephant |
James
says he will not write a field guide book because his concentrate ability is
questionable.
And Now we have Buffs
And Now we have Buffs
 |
| Buffs |
James
says it is all about learning their place in the bush.
Lots
of lessons to learn from the culture here much more then anything he learned at
University
James tells us we are going back
to Stefan who has found us a hole.
We look at a watercourse with Stefan
We look at a watercourse with Stefan
 |
| Watercourse |
Stefan also calls the watercourse a seep.
He talks about tracks
of an Aardvark.
Tingana
is doing his fair share at eating many Aardvarks.
 |
| Aardvark Hole |
We see an Aardvark hole.
Stefan says he is in there because the soil is very fresh.
We also see a Red Headed Weavers Nest. The nest is quite untidy.
 |
| Red Headed Weavers Nest |
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| Close up of very untidy Red Headed Weavers Nest |
Off
to the right we see a large Tambouti
tree. ENORMOUS!
(didn't have a chance to get a pic of it as we lost signal again.)
The wood from this tree goes by various names such as Tambotie, Tambooties or Tambuti. Its actual scientific name is Spirostachys Africana.
It is about 400-600 years old.
(didn't have a chance to get a pic of it as we lost signal again.)
The wood from this tree goes by various names such as Tambotie, Tambooties or Tambuti. Its actual scientific name is Spirostachys Africana.
It is about 400-600 years old.
Now back in a flash with James doing bird calls.
Browned
Crowned Shagra (bird) has beautiful call. We cannot see it so James is
going to play us the song it makes from his bird app.
going to play us the song it makes from his bird app.
Click Below to Play Video in You Tube
OR
Click Below To View Video Within Blog
On
our way to Buffleshoek Dam.
James hasn't seen Mvula for a long time. He doesn't know where he is.
Back
to Stefan
Will you look at THAT! There are creatures in this hole!
This hole is jam packed with frogs of some sort says Stefan. He is trying to identify the species.
Will you look at THAT! There are creatures in this hole!
 |
| Russet Backed Sand Frog |
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| Russet Backed Sanded Frog |
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| Russet Backed Sand Frog |
Stefan lists Puddle Frogs, Sand Frogs and Rain Frogs. He is positive it is not a Rain Frog.
OR
click video to view within Blog
Stephs tells us the difference between toads and frogs..
Anytime
you are in a compromised position (black Mamba for instance) move backwards and
that usually diffuses things.
A
viewer suggested it could be a snoring puddle frog.. Stefan says no because
this toads skin is smooth and a snoring puddle frogs skin is granulated.
We pop back over to James.
ELLIES!!
Let's
sneak forward shall we?
The Elephant is tossing
sand on its back.. good to prevent parasites plus it feels good no doubt.
 |
| Little one off to the left feels left out of the Elephant games |
James
says the little one is excluded from the bigger ones and they wont let him play
so he is seeking comfort from mom
Ellies
eat 18 hours a day. the little one doesn't need to eat as much so he has time to
play.
Ellies
remain cool by staying in the shade and covering themselves with mud.
Click on link below to view on You Tube
OR
Click video to view in Blog
BIG
one coming.. very close. James says that is far enough.. Ellie moved away.. was just curious.
Back with Stefan who has an amazing Spider to share with us.
 |
| James says That is Far enough |
 |
| Now moving along calmly |
Back with Stefan who has an amazing Spider to share with us.
Tiny
tiny little spider .. caught a fly.. Watch the video. SO COOL.
Striped
legs and cryptic mark on abdomen.
She
is mashing up the fly and turning it into jelly and sucking out the insides and
spitting out the husk.
 |
| Orb Web Spider |
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| Web Orb Spider showing Perspective in size Clink Below To Load Video in You Tube |
OR
Click Video Below to Play Within Blog
 |
| Orb Web Spider |
Lost Signal a few times back and forth
Back with Stephan
Back with Stephan
It is a LYNX SPIDER!
This spider is half
as big as his palm
 |
| Green Lynx Spider |
 |
| Green Lynx Spider |
The Lynx Spider does
not live in a web.. uses camouflage..
They are active little hunters. This one is a male.
They are active little hunters. This one is a male.
This
spider does an elaborate dance. but if he doesn't do the dance correctly The
female will attack and kill him immediately.
Most
often Lynx spiders are not venomous .
Lost signal so we jaunt on over and catch up with James.
We pop back and forth quickly between Stefan and James as there are Gremlins (Tech problems)
Lost signal so we jaunt on over and catch up with James.
We pop back and forth quickly between Stefan and James as there are Gremlins (Tech problems)
James is driving
to the southern boundary. Looking to see if we can view Karula from the
boundary. we might be able to spot her from the southern boundary.
There is a HUGE Warthog..
 |
| Large Sow Warthog |
James calls this Sow "The Beyonce
of Warthogs.
James calls it VOLUPTUOUS!
James calls it VOLUPTUOUS!
James laughs and says "he cant believe he just said that"
Usually
only male leopards would tackle a male warthog of this size. A female the size
of Karula would not do it but
Tingana would enjoy the bacon on the sides of this Warthog.
Back
with Stefan
ANOTHER
NEW SPIDER!
It is a Violin Spider.
The violin spider is quite an aggressive Spider. It lives under logs. It has a Cytotoxic venom.
Stefan is not aware of any antidote. The Venom works by breaking up all of the cells, which releases the contents of the cells.
It is a Violin Spider.
 |
| Violin Spider |
 |
| Violin Spider |
Click on Link below to view on You Tube
OR
Click on video to view within Blog
The violin spider is quite an aggressive Spider. It lives under logs. It has a Cytotoxic venom.
Stefan is not aware of any antidote. The Venom works by breaking up all of the cells, which releases the contents of the cells.
We lost signal with Stefan and are magically connected once again to James.
He is driving "somewhere"
He is answering a viewers question regarding research going in in the area.
The Kruger Park has literally thousands of research studies going on in all aspects of life.
The Kruger Park has literally thousands of research studies going on in all aspects of life.
It
is the one thing his government hasn't botched completely is their national
parks..
James is looking
for Karula and her cubs.
We
see people looking at the leopard.. She must be in the tree!! KARULA!
Karula
killed an impala yesterday and hauled it into a tree.
We
probably wont get a view with this camera.. I guess we cant go over the boundary.
James
talking to another guide in their native language.
 |
| Getting a quick update as to where Karula is |
Chitwa
Chitwa Quide and he is going to see the leopard.
We can not go to go see the leopard as it is past our Boundary.
We longingly look off into the distance where Karula is. So close and yet so far.
We can not go to go see the leopard as it is past our Boundary.
We longingly look off into the distance where Karula is. So close and yet so far.
 |
| Karula is close but too far for us to go there |
Signal lost again so Shall we go see what Stefan has found for us on this amazing bush walk today?
We see a porcupine
burrow.
Stefan is looking for Quills
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| Porcupine Burrow |
 |
| Porcupine Burrow |
Stefan is looking for Quills
Back to James and we see a long Wildebeest Bull
James explains that Wildebeest do not occur in large herds here.
James explains that Wildebeest do not occur in large herds here.
 |
| Large Single Wildebeest Bull |
And in an instant we fly back to Stefan
We look very closely into a sneeze Wood branch and what is in there?
We look very closely into a sneeze Wood branch and what is in there?
If you look closely you can see it.
It is a Praying Mantis
It is a Praying Mantis
Click On Link Below To View On You Tube
OR
Click On Video To View Within Blog
The Praying Mantis shoots out its arms bringing the prey in and biting its head off.
A female Mantis will bite the head off of its mate.
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| Praying Mantis |
 |
| Praying Mantis |
Hunting
in this Sneeze Wood tree, it is totally camouflaged.
Back with James to sign off.
James
finally realized he doesn't have to chase the wild dogs with the car and that he
can let the camera man with ZOOM capabilities follow the chase.
He says Goodbye
to everyone.
Back to Stefan for a moment.
Stefan said it has been a very pleasurable morning. He loves all the awesome questions
that keep them motivated.
And now we say
we leave with the sound of birds.. and back to the Dam cam
NOTES:
The Drive times will be changing May 01, 2016 as noted below
Don't forget to visit below links to experience the amazing coverage of the Live Drives that Wild Earth provides us. Sign up and become a member.
NOTES:
The Drive times will be changing May 01, 2016 as noted below
 | ||
| Drive Time Changes |
Don't forget to visit below links to experience the amazing coverage of the Live Drives that Wild Earth provides us. Sign up and become a member.
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