A Slightly R-Rated Post on Baboons: On Safari 15

February 23, 2024February 29, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 12 Comments

Mom checks us out. Given the ‘look,’ I don’t think I would mess with the baby. We were at a water hole in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe when we came on this mother and her baby.

In the animal kingdom, baboons are close relatives of ours, sharing 94% of our DNA. While others are closer (chimpanzees at 99% for example), 94% is close enough to feel a sense of identity, or at least imagine one. This mom’s interactions with her baby were about as ‘human’ as they get.

Assuming we were harmless, junior trotted out for a closer look…

And received a lecture from Mom for his boldness. At least that’s the way it looks!

Like us, baboons are omnivorous. This one has found a tasty stick to chew on….

While carrying on a conversation with another baboon. He may be talking, in a way. Baboons have 10 or more vocalizations they use to communicate.

The baboons here were harvesting the fruit in this tree. Our guide told us they chewed off the outer rind, which was spicy, and ate the sweeter fruit in the middle. Impalas, apparently liking spicy, waited under the tree to gulp down the rinds.

An impala feasting on the rinds is at the base of the tree. Several more baboons can be seen on the ground. Groups of baboons are called troops.

I’ve already featured baboons sifting through elephant dung to find ‘tasty’ tidbits.

Two of them were hard at work with the chore.

We saw lots of baboons going about their business in Chobe National Park. This little fellow seemed to be in a hurry. Maybe mom was calling.

A distant photo caught a mother carrying its baby that was hanging on underneath. We saw another baby riding on its mother’s back like a cowboy rides a horse.

Mom and a teenage baboon make their way through the grounds of the Safari Lodge where we stayed next to the Chobe River.

This handsome dude seemed to be focused on something other than food. (Warning: Now’s the time for the R-rated part of this post.)

And found her. Females have patches on their rear that turn bright red when they are ready to mate. If males are a little slow on the uptake, the females ‘flirt’ by backing up to them. No flirting was required here. That’s it for today. And no more R-rated posts until we get to the mongoose. Monday’s post will feature a number of birds we saw on the safari that I haven’t covered yet: They range from sublime to ugly.

A Flotilla of Over 250 Hungry White Pelicans… The Everglades

February 21, 2024February 21, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 26 Comments

Peggy and I were leaving the Everglades last week when we drove by a small pond that had at least 250 white pelicans working their way back and forth across the pond, herding fish, and downing them as they went.

Having lived in California and Oregon with occasional trips to Washington and the west coast of Mexico for most of my life, I have spent hours watching brown pelicans make their impressive dives into the Pacific Ocean capturing fish. White pelicans are much leas common in the West and have a very different approach to fishing. They don’t dive. Instead, they herd fish as a group, scooping them up as they go. Peggy and I had only seen this process once before. We were at Morro Bay on California’s Central Coast and watched a half dozen white pelicans form a semi-circle and herd fish toward shallower waters. Imagine our surprise when we passed by a pond that had between 200-300 swimming back and forth in unison!

As we were driving by, this is what we saw. More pelicans were off to the right and other birds could be seen in the background. Peggy was driving. She slammed on the brakes and backed up. What you can’t see were all of the mosquitoes and biting flies. Grin.

The Pelicans would cross the pond in one direction and then come back the other way. Great egrets, cattle egrets and snowy egrets were some of the birds seen in the background.

When white pelicans capture a fish, they also get a bill full of water. They then raise their bill to let the water drain out before they swallow the fish.

Some of the other birds. I think the pink flash was a Roseate Spoonbill.

Given the black legs on this bird, I’m guessing it is a great egret.

Friday’s post will feature baboons.

An Ostrich’s Solution to Today’s World? Plus a Town Ruled By Small Penguins…. On Safari 14

February 19, 2024February 18, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 23 Comments

They say that ostriches burying their heads is a myth. But given today’s world??? We found this large male a mile or so away from the Cape of Good Hope, not looking particularly hopeful. (Actually, he was grazing, but burying his head makes a better story.)

Peggy and I are dropping into South Africa for today’s On Safari post where I will feature the world’s largest bird and one of its smallest penguins. We found both of these ‘superlative’ birds on a road trip to the Cape of Good Hope. As mentioned above, the ostrich was a mile or so away from the Cape. The penguins were 20 minutes away on South Africa’s False Bay.

The problem with ‘burying your head’ is that you never know where it might pop up.

On the end of a long neck is a good bet. Check out the toothy grin and the big eyes. The teeth serve the ostrich in biting off its main diet of grass, leaves, and roots. The eyes provide excellent vision for spotting major predators such as lions, leopards and cheetahs. I read in a National Geographic article that the ostrich’s eyes are bigger than its brains! I not sure whether that says more about an ostrich’s eyes or brain.

Just about everyone knows that the ostrich is a large, flightless bird. Large means upward to 350 pounds (150 kg) and 8 feet (2.7 m) tall. The beautiful feathers on this male also suggest why ostrich feathers have been so popular for centuries. Their collection during the Victorian Era came close to threatening the species with extinction. Today’s feathers are obtained from ostrich farms where the birds are raised for them plus meat and eggs.

On our way back from the Cape, our friend was next to the ocean. The question we had was ‘why did the ostrich cross the road?’

The answer may be that with legs like this, he can go where he wants.

He was busy chomping down the brown grass and filling his gullet.

He then had to raise his head so he could swallow it.

Ostriches prefer not to fight. In fact they will lie down in the grass to lower their profile and camouflage themselves. Their long legs provide two other defenses. One, they can run very fast, up to 40 miles per hour (70k) with giant strides that can cover 16 feet (5 meters) in a single stride. They also have a powerful kick, if cornered, using their big feet and 4 inch (10 centimeter) sharp claws.

We left the large ostrich behind in search of one of the world’s smaller penguins near Simon’s Town, the appropriately named African penguin. If you live in the town, it’s not unusual to find them walking down the sidewalks, crossing the streets, or digging large holes in gardens to build nests. They pretty much rule the town. Before heading down to the beach where most of them hang out, we stopped in town for lunch. We were eating when Peggy spotted one of the two-foot-fellows walking up to the door. She jumped up and snapped a photo of the penguin. I think it wanted to know if we were eating fish.

It was looking in the door with high hopes.

I left lunch to photograph it from the inside of the door. Note the pink above its eyes. It actually serves a cooling function like the elephant’s ears, running blood through the pink area so it will be cooled down. The hotter it is the darker the pink, as more blood is forced through.

I noticed that the feet looked like they belonged to a much bigger bird.

It’s these large feet that enable the penguin to swim 12 miles per hour pursuing fish.

Down at the beach, we watched a penguin walking. It was getting nowhere fast.

Another penguin had said the ‘heck with it’ and was using its swimming mode! In water, BTW, they normally dive to around 100 feet. They have actually been found at over 400 feet.

We saw a number of pairs. Penguins stick with their partners for years and seem quite affectionate.

“If you scratch my neck, I’ll give you a stick.”

This is the type of nest you might find in your garden if you live in Simon’s Town. The penguins put guano (bird poop) on the bottom as a nesting material. There were several such holes on the beach as the penguins prepared to lay eggs and raise their chicks.

A number of penguins were hanging out at the base of a huge granite boulder…

While others preferred to sunbathe on the beach.

While this fellow decided that scratching an itch was the best use of his time. He was using his non-flyable wings for balance. Note the spots on its chest. They are different on every penguin. A recent study has suggested that one way a penguin recognizes his/her mate when hundreds of are together is by the spots. “Excuse me but you look familiar. Can I check your spots?” That’s it for today.

Peggy and I were driving out of the Everglades on Thursday when we saw a lake packed with over 200 white pelicans herding and harvesting fish. It was an amazing sight and will be the subject of our next post.

Shedding Crocodile Tears and Other Crocodile Facts… On Safari —13

February 15, 2024February 18, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 26 Comments

It would have been glad to have one of us for dinner. Crocodiles eat hundreds of people in Africa every year. But we were safely ensconced on our boat. This was the first of several crocodiles we would see on our African safari through Botswana and Zimbabwe, including a monster.

Nile Crocodiles are fascinating, fierce predators. You don’t want to mess with them. We were able to see them lying on the shores of rivers, lakes and ponds, slipping through the water, and even fighting. There is nothing endangered about them; they are quite common throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Large males can reach a length of 14 feet and weigh up to 1700 pounds. Females up to 12 feet and 550 pounds.

By the way, have you ever used or heard the expression ‘shedding crocodile tears?’ It means you are being insincere. The derivative? Crocodiles shed tears when they are eating whatever they have captured for dinner.

This is the crocodile I featured above, enjoying the sun on the banks of the Chobe River. A dead Cape buffalo that it may have been helping devour was behind it. (Not in the photo.)

Not quite what I would classify as a toothy grin. Here’s an interesting fact. Crocodiles can go through 4000 teeth in a lifetime. They are able to replace each of their 80 teeth up to 50 times.

This youngster from Chobe National Park that I featured before shows just how many teeth a crocodile has in its mouth. The purpose wasn’t to show us its teeth, however, its mouth was open to help it cool down. It’s called mouth gaping.

We found this monster in Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. It was probably guarding a clutch of 25-80 eggs. The female digs a hole in the sand and buries the eggs where they will incubate for 80-90 days. She can actually hear them peep when they are ready to hatch. She then digs them up and rolls them around in her mouth to help them hatch. The male may help in this process. They then carry them down to the water where they continue to guard them, ferociously, if necessary.

Swimming in Lake Kariba is highly discouraged.

A possible confrontation was about to take place here in the lake. Males are very territorial. I thought the water level perspective on the two crocodiles was interesting.

We were at a small watering hole in Hwange National Park admiring giraffes when the water in the pond suddenly erupted. It was impossible to tell what was making all of the ruckus.

And then it became obvious. Two crocodiles were biting it out! “One of the crocodiles took down a Kudu earlier today,” our guide explained to us. “It is protecting its kill.”

We saw a number of crocodiles on an evening trip up the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls, including this one. Peggy thought it was quite colorful. And toothy. Another interesting fact about crocodiles is they have very weak jaw muscles for opening their mouths. You could hold this fellow’s mouth closed with one hand. Closing is something else. A crocodile has one of the strongest bites of any creature in the world and is capable of exerting up to 5000 pounds of pressure per square inch! I’m thinking that this is something one might want to consider when deciding to experiment with holding its mouth closed.

The colorful tail of the crocodile above. A crocodile uses its tail to propel itself through the water at up to 22 miles per hour. The feet serve as rudders.

Another tail shot of a different crocodile on the Zambezi River.

We thought this was a fun shot of a crocodile sleeping on the banks of the river.

I’ll conclude with this final head shot. You won’t want to miss Monday’s post on the ostriches and penguins of South Africa.

Tropical Plants Galore, Weird Trees and One Bird… The Naples, Florida Botanical Garden

February 14, 2024February 12, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 9 Comments

One of several beautiful orchids we saw in the Naples Botanical Garden.

On our way down to the Everglades after visiting with our son and his family in Safety Harbor, Florida, we stopped In Naples on Thursday. Having never been there, we asked the locals what to do. One thing was to check out the Naples’ Pier. Not impressive. The other was to visit the Naples Botanical Gardens, which turned out to be fantastic. It is chock full of tropical plants from around the world. We spent three hours wandering down its numerous paths. Being on the move, we didn’t have much time to research what we were seeing but want to share some of the plants we admired. Enjoy.

Another orchid. like the one above it was living on a tree.

There were enough water lilies scattered throughout the garden that Monet could have spent a year painting them.

And where you have lilies, you have to have lily pads, right? This photo also gives a sense of the tropical paradise the gardens display.

Like the lilies, the pads came in a variety of shapes and colors.

In their own way, they were as impressive as the leaves. Oh to be a frog…

The trees also had unique, weird personalities. This was a cannonball tree.

We considered this tree even stranger. A sign announced it was a Ceiba Erianthos. Now you know. There will be a quiz.

Or how about this? It’s called a screw pine and we could only wonder how it got that name.

There were a multitude of palm trees in the garden, as one might expect. Many were covered in vines like this one.

A close up of the vines. Quite beautiful.

This tree had its own unique collection.

Time for a little color. This plant was labeled an Annatto.

When the pods open they display seeds that, apparently, are quite important to creating natural dyes.

Have you ever checked out a banana tree?

We heard a guide say that this was a red bellied woodpecker. It must have been hiding it. (Red headed was already taken.) It was one of the few birds we saw in the garden.

My mother used to love plants with colorful leaves. At any given time, a half dozen or so could be found in our house.

And suddenly, this fellow was warning us to leave.

He wasn’t alone. More importantly, nature was calling, so we called it a day.

On the way out, we came upon animals dancing in a circle. Of course Peggy had to join in the fun, positioning herself between an elephant and a giraffe, which takes us back to Africa. On Friday, I will be featuring crocodiles.

Peggy and I are down in the Everglades without an internet connection. I should be back to responding to comments and reading blogs this weekend.

A Stunning Eagle and an Ancient Goose… On Safari 12

February 12, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 16 Comments

This stunning bird is an African sea eagle. Not surprisingly, it is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Its national status, white head, and diet of fish immediately reminded us of America’s bald eagle. We had one that lived near our home in Oregon that flew by on occasion, looking for breakfast along the Applegate River. We watched it vary its diet one day, dive, and take a snake out of our yard, a very unhappy snake. The African fish eagle goes for reptiles on occasion as well. It has a taste for baby crocodiles. It also eats carrion like the bald eagle, but not with the same passion. When I lived in Alaska, I watched bald eagles tear into dead (very smelly) salmon with delight. I found it amusing that Ben Franklin felt that the eagle’s dining behavior gave it ‘bad character,’ and argued that the turkey should be the national bird of the fledgling nation.

Another perspective on the African fish eagle. The chestnut color on its wings adds to its beauty.

Sea eagles are thought to mate for life. We watched one in the distance as it added sticks to its nest. They tend to use the same nest year after year, adding on to it each time creating bigger and bigger homes that can reach over 6 feet in diameter.

It then provided us with an opportunity for an iconic photo. We thanked it.

We caught this photo of a juvenile fish eagle perched on a rock next to Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe.

We have a copy of an Egyptian Goose painting on our wall that I brought back from our trip up the Nile a year ago. The original is in the Egyptian National Museum and came from a temple where it was painted over 4000 years ago. It was considered a sacred bird. I doubt this goose (which is actually a duck) is aware of its ancient history, but it does seem to be aware that it is a ‘pretty bird.’

While the Egyptian Goose’s natural home is on the Nile and throughout sub-Saharan Africa, its striking good looks have led it to be imported into England and a number of other nations where it is now found in the wild.

Egyptian Geese form strong bonds and mate for life. We saw a number of couples. These two on the edge of Lake Kariba seem to be marching in unison.

We were in a park in Cape Town, South Africa when we came upon a gaggle Egyptian Geese.

A lone goose was perched above the gaggle, possibly on guard duty.

I snapped his photo. That’s it for today. On Wednesday we are going to feature the Naples’ Florida Botanical Gardens. On Friday, it will be all about crocodiles! We will be deep in the Everglades for the next few days and without an internet connection. I should be back online Thursday.

In the Jungle, the Quiet Jungle, the Lion Sleeps Tonight. Plus, a Treat… On Safari— Part 11

February 10, 2024February 10, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 27 Comments

Nap time. Just like the cats that hang out in our homes, lions like to sleep: A lot, up to 20 hours a day. We came upon these females snoozing away in their amusing poses in Chobe National Park, Botswana. The whole pride was scattered out underneath the trees, including a large male.

My first interest in lions was brought about by a song whose opening lyrics are included in my heading. I was 10 and my 17 year-old sister had fallen in love with a navy man whose deployment had taken him off to the coast of Africa. I must have heard the song 50 times, or at least enough to burn it forever into my memory banks. I was a little young to fact-check Nancy, but that was okay, I loved the song. Actually lions do most of their hunting at night or during storms when their prey are more vulnerable. Also, not many live in the jungle. They prefer the more open savanna lands of eastern and southern Africa.

This was one of the males that was responsible for protecting the pride. We often hear how lionesses do most of the hunting and ‘bring home the bacon’ (warthog), to the *king of the jungle*. This is true, but one look at this male persuaded us that his life as protector was far from easy. Check out the large scar running down his side! He earned his food.

The sun was going down when we came on the pride sleeping in the sand, obviously taking advantage of its warmth. There were at least 10 lions enjoying the last rays.

There were two males with the pride. This one seemed to be saying, “Mind if I join you?” Note the female’s swishing tail. More cat language.

The setting sun lit up the lions’ eyes. Peggy and I were thinking, “These are kitties we do not want to disturb.”

Would you?

Female lions are excellent hunters. This photo suggests one of the reasons why. In addition to impressive teeth, they can run up to 50 miles per hour and weigh upwards to 350 pounds. We had just watched this lioness hunting. Her yawn suggested that perhaps it was nap time.

Shortly after we took this photo, she made a brief dash after something we couldn’t see and she didn’t catch.

Settling down (before the yawn), she was still on high alert.

We came across a lion that was working its way through a young elephant in Chobe. Malibu storks waited patiently for the lion to leave.

Another lion invited herself to the meal…

Check out the ears on the lion that had been enjoying its meal. If you have a cat, you know that means “I don’t think so.” A lightning fast paw may follow.

So she stalked off past another safari vehicle that had also stopped to watch the action. Is that a hungry look she is focusing on the occupants?

Which brings us to this magnificent fellow that I have already introduced in another post. He was about to give himself a bath. Note the size of his paws.

Like any cat, it started with his tongue!

First, he had to get his washcloth wet, i.e. lick his paws.

And washed each side of his face. I thought this could have been titled: “Oh no, not another blog about me!”

While we are on the post featuring big cats, I have one more:

We were driving down one of the roads through Chobe National Park when we came across these interesting tracks. Our guide explained that a leopard had killed an antelope (probably an impala) and dragged it across the road. The fact that there were no tire tracks over the trail suggested it was very recent. We stared into the bush to see if we could spot the leopard and its meal. No luck. In fact, we would be lucky to see a leopard on our trip at all, the guide noted.

The next evening as we were heading out of the park, he got a call and told us he had a treat, not explaining what. It turned out that a leopard had been spotted.

It didn’t seem particularly bothered by our presence, but it did roll over and face away from us…

A final shot. Next post: The striking fish eagle and a visitor from our trip up the Nile a year ago, the Egyptian goose.

Flamingos and Flowers… The Sunken Gardens of St. Petersburg, FL

February 5, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 32 Comments

The flock of flamingos at Sunken Gardens were busy preening, using oil from a gland to waterproof their feathers.

Peggy and I are presently in Safety Harbor, Florida visiting with our son Tony, his wife Cammie, and their three boys, Connor, Chris and Cooper. Whenever we visit, Tony and Cammie always plan at least one special outing. This year it was to the Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, one of the oldest roadside attractions in the US.

In 1911, George Turner, a plumber with a passion for gardening, bought a sinkhole and immediately started turning it into a garden. Before long his neighbors started showing up to walk through it. The walk became so popular that George figured out he could charge people $.15 to do it. Move the decimal two places to the right and you have today’s price, which is an incredible bargain when compared to most other Florida attractions. We enjoyed the flowers and other plants but I was particularly attracted to the flamingos. Here are some photos. From here we will be heading down to Everglades National Park.

Our blog will continue its focus on our African safari, however. It’s lions on Friday!