Strange bird meals
Seeds, fruits, insects and meats are the first things that generally jump into people’s minds when they think of what birds eat. This is generally the preferred diet and case with most birds, whether it be an eagle feeding on a kill or a waxbill jumping around feeding on grass seeds. Sometimes birds will go […]
The Great Apes and Migration
Last year I got a call from two of my repeat guests, Annette and Patsy, saying that after they had a magic safari here in South Africa with me, they were ready for another trip to the continent. The ladies themselves are very well travelled, and so I knew something adventurous would be on the […]
Common Safari Questions – Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, we have mentioned that we will be answering some commonly asked questions that we, as guides, are used to getting on safari. Some of the previous questions answered, were about impala and their young, hippos swimming and white lions. In this Part 2, we will be having a look at some more of these questions and giving you the real facts and stories for these, squashing any myths or legends around them.
Teaching the cubs
When we have a look at mammals across the globe, one of the things that all mothers do is look after their young. In some species, the father is also involved, and in others, it takes a whole group to raise the young. One thing all young animals need, though, is parental guidance for the first few steps of their new lives.
Eastern Cape Escape
As the endless clouds continued to empty their buckets of rain over the lowveld and our English counterparts had to remain in Johannesburg, an intelligent decision was made to contact Ryan (Wandering Thru), and with the help of Ale, we escaped the deluge via Helicopter.
Kingfishers – A deceiving family name
The name kingfisher often throws people off into believing that all members of this bird family feed on fish. This is most certainly not the case, as yes, some of them do, but a lot of them feed on other foods. They all feed on proteins and will hunt animals smaller than themselves. They are […]
The Lazy King
As soon as you hear someone say, “The King of the Jungle”, everyone immediately thinks of a beautiful male lion, walking through the grassland as his beautiful mane blows in the wind. This is the picture that a lot of people expect to get whilst on a safari. Unfortunately, male lions don’t always play their […]
Common Safari Questions – Part 1
Often when going out on a safari, there are old “folk” stories that go around about certain animals or situations. Unfortunately these are often picked up by and used by younger and less experienced guides. Rather than doing a bit of research and correcting themselves, they run with it as it sounds fun and interesting […]
Bird Besties
When we talk about relationships between mammals and birds, the first one that pops into mind is the oxpecker. These little birds are found on all of our large mammals and help rid them of external parasites. This relationship is known as mutualism, as both the buffalo and red-billed oxpecker gain something. The buffalo gets […]
Zambia Part 2 – Lower Zambezi
After we landed in Lusaka from Mfuwe, we had a couple of hours to reflect on our South Luangwa trip. Over a small lunch, of which none of us were brave enough to try the chicken muffin, we chatted about what we’d just experienced. Luckily we were the only people on our small flight to […]
