Kalahari's Scally Ant-Eater

Not too long ago I had shared a post on an enigmatic, rarely seen little creature, which for me was a first in my 15 years of guiding in Southern African reserves. If you know my story you will know I am talking about the ever elusive Ground Pangolin(Manis temminkii).  It seems as though I have broken the 15 year dry spell as I have seen 2 in the last 2 months, both sightings giving me a sneak peek into these creature mysterious lives and the opportunity to photograph them in their natural habitat and the steps taken in the conservation of these animals.

Guest photographing a pangolin in the Southern Kalahari.

A Set of images of a Pangolin taken at Tswalu, in the Southern Kalahari.

My last Pangolin Sighting was an awesome experience as we got to see the little guy unravel out of his tight ball and scamper around the Kalahari desert doing what pangolins do best. We, my guest Lauren and I, spent a great deal of time observing and photographing the Pangolin in it’s environment while we waited for Tswalu Reserves conservation manager, Dylon, to take samples for genetic research and catalogue the individual found on the reserve for population numbers.

Conservation manager Dylon and his assistant Sam collecting genetic samples from the skin and scutes of a pangolin which will be sent to Pretoria for genetic analysis and recording.

They are tagged individually, by drilling holes into specific scales on the tail, thus giving them a unique number to identify them when found in the future. The drilled piece of scale is collected along with loose flakes of skin that are abundant between the scales for genetic research and sent to Pretoria University. This does no harm to the animal as the scales are made of keratin and have no nerve or blood running through them, basically they are just modified hair used for protection.

Skin is carefully collected from between the scutes and measurements taken so that when in the future this Pangolin is found again, accurate records can be taken on growth rates and home range areas.

A hole is drilled into 1,2 or 3 of the Scutes on a specific Row of 3 scutes. Depending on which row and which 3 scutes are drilled will determine the individual Pangolin’s Identity number. In this case the Pangolin would be Pangolin No: 1(ROW) AB (scutes). Scales coloured digitally for presentation purposes. No there are no rainbow coloured Pangolins running around the Kalahari.

After the Data and genetic collection, this individual seemed to suffer no ill effects and carried on as he was when we found him.

Not only was it great to see this little guy going about his daily business, but was awesome to catch a glimpse of what goes on in the background to ensure the conservation of these animals was truly an honour for both myself and Lauren my Guest.

The Okavango Delta Pan-Handle…… Botswana’s birding paradise.

Having just come back from a 4 day birding photography extension in Botswana’s Okavango Deltas Pan-Handle with an Australian group, I can categorically  say that this is a birders paradise, whether you are a twitcher at heart or just want to get some incredible birding images, the Okavango Deltas Pan-Handle is the Place to be.

 With 84 species countered in 4 days and 7 lifers ticked off for my books, bearing in mind that we were concentrating on specific birds like Kingfishers, African Skimmers, Carmine Bee-Eaters and the African Fish Eagle, the species was quite impressive. The days were taken up by early morning and afternoon boat trips up and down the tributaries of the Pan-Handle in search of our birding Quarry.

The first early morning trip up river we decided to target African Skimmers and the African Fish Eagle, with a return trip searching out the Pel’s Fishing Owl on the islands just north of our camp before getting back to Xaro Lodge for a late breakfast.

 

Having filled our cards memories with Fish Eagles in early morning light, we started slowly making our way down river towards the African Skimmers breeding beaches, all the while searching for any other photographic subjects. 

 The African Skimmer is listed as a threatened species by the IUCN, with a estimated population in Southern Africa of 9500 birds. The main threat to the species is the creation of dams along important water sources as they need bare sand banks to breed during the dry season. This colony was one of 3 that we encountered during the 4 days.

Having spent a good 2 hours with the Skimmers we were able to take some creative images of these birds as they flew close to the waters surface, while pursuing prey and each other.

 

We had about an hour of light left and decided to check out the Palm islands that dot their way through the Pan-Handle in search of the elusive Pel's Fishing Owl, which luckily I know of a breeding pair not far from our home base, so we made our way to Loyd's Camp island to see if we could track this mysterious bird.

The group and I returned to base camp in preparation for the next 2 days of birding photography in the Pan-Handle.

The rest of the trip was spent moving up and down river into the Pan-Handles smaller tributaries and channels  in search of the smaller, unlikely species of bird that frequent these smaller water pathways and capturing the nesting Carmine Bee-Eaters in the afternoons, while always keeping our eyes open for any further Fish Eagle and African Skimmers action while on the river.

Keeping the best action for last, the colony of Carmine Bee-Eaters was a treat for the entire group. Although difficult at first to keep up with the birds due to their aerial acrobatics, we had spent 4 hours at the colony and everyone started to get the hang of capturing these birds in flight.

 

The Carmine’s were a great end to the Okavango Deltas Pan-Handle extension, where the group now made their way into Botswana’s great game reserves, the Moremi and Chobe, to see what lay in store for them in the guise of furrier subjects.

Finally, this image of an African Skimmer was the perfect end to the 4 days extension to the rest of the Botswana Safari.