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Post by htmb on Jan 18, 2021 8:40:26 GMT
Brilliant! Thanks so much, tod!
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Post by lugg on Jan 18, 2021 19:36:12 GMT
Thanks Tod
Some great viewing today at all of the various streams - I do wonder if the camera distorts size sometimes as today I saw Blue Wildebeest for the first time on the cam ; they were absolutely dwarfed by a huge elephant, yes that I could accept ...but they looked smaller than the zebra also on the camera. Tod what do you think ? Are zebra bigger than wildebeest ? Also loved the lilac / blue roller bird on one of the other cameras , so pretty.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 19, 2021 11:45:22 GMT
You know Lugg I'm trying to work out the height/width of Zebra to Wildebeest. The zebra seems to be a constant height shoulder to backside whereas the Wildebeest slopes downwards at its hind quarters. The zebra has a smaller head I think. Or is it just the horns that make a wildebeest look bigger?!
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 19, 2021 13:15:25 GMT
Zebra are generally a tad taller. Maybe 5 - 10 cm.
lugg, as Tod probably knows this, but to determine the sex of a zebra from a distance - females start from the rear with a black stripe and males with a white stripe.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 19, 2021 13:56:57 GMT
Golly gosh Mark, I certainly did not know that! Something like determining the sex of an eggplant.......
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 19, 2021 14:37:29 GMT
Certainly. There is a way to determine the sex of a cheetah as well. You'll normally see females with a handbag and males have pockets at their hips. If you ever see a cheetah lying down with its paws in its pockets, it'll be a male.
Female elephants sit down to pee and male hippos are great comedians. You'll often hear them in the river telling a joke but always end up laughing themselves at it. Just like this one to his mates under the water -
I learnt all these things on safaris and I'm sure they are all true.
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Post by lugg on Jan 19, 2021 19:46:36 GMT
Thanks for the info guys. I have gone back through my photos when I was at Ants Nest but none have wildebeest and zebra in the same image. I learnt how to tell the sex of a giraffe when I was in SA - apparently its all in the head looking at the ossicones ( those two things that stick up like horns between the ears)- if tufted then a female , if bald and round male. Today I was watching a buffalo at Rosie's Pan, it was in there for some time but as I watched it got out and walked to the grass where it had a pee , how civilised But I did wonder if it was ill or injured because normally they are herd animals right ??
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 20, 2021 6:02:59 GMT
Males tend at times to be solitary for a while and often are part of a smaller herd of other males anyway. When it's the mating season they'll get more sociable. The main herds are run by females.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 20, 2021 8:30:23 GMT
You may also see a large group of Impala all with horns. We call this a Batchelor herd. Don't ask me why they group together like this. Otherwise you may see a lone male with only dozens of female Impala. That is known as a male with his Harem.
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Post by lugg on Jan 20, 2021 8:30:45 GMT
Ah thanks Mark, it was definitely a male.
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Post by lugg on Jan 21, 2021 8:43:52 GMT
This morning I have enjoyed the hippos at Oliphants. Great start to the day. Lots of activity at several sites as well.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 27, 2021 21:26:28 GMT
The noise of the night insects is totally deafening right now. A large number of impalas (or other deerlike creatures) are standing around in the dark. I wonder how much sleep they get at night.
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Post by htmb on Jan 28, 2021 0:38:31 GMT
I’ve been thinking I’m very happy I’m not one of those deer-like creatures. They always appear to be on high alert, watching for any sign of danger.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 2, 2021 7:07:04 GMT
htmb - most of the "deer-like"creatures are Impala buck. I see some really mature males with their long two pronged horns and their white under eye make-up. I think it is coming into rutting season soon so we might see some locking of horns quite fiercely.
Anyporters may have heard some gawd-awful incessant cackling of a bird. It is this noisy fowl called the Natal Crested Francolin.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 3, 2021 11:25:20 GMT
Yesterday when I tuned in to Tembe the first bird call I heard was a very familiar one. It came from the Purple-crested Turaco ( pronounced 2 raa co). For a bird as beuatiful and flamboyant as this, it has a dreadful call. Very loud and very noisy but worth the ear-ache when you see it fly. Those bright red feathers on the wings are stunning. So next time you hear that dreadful craaaaak craaaaak craaaak - It;s this guy. I am so glad to see them almost every day in my garden. The second video shows the Turacos beautiful colours.
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Post by lugg on Feb 4, 2021 18:00:15 GMT
Thanks for the info re the birds Tod . I have heard both. I have no knowledge about birds in SA so really appreciate you identifying them.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 9, 2021 13:50:37 GMT
Is it just me or do others also hear the loud shlurping noise that comes from an elephant in one of the mud holes? I wondered if it was from another animal/elephant out of camera shot but the timing of the shlurp to the squirting of the mud on himself and the lowering of the trunk and then the next audible loud sucking noise seems to me that it is the liquid mud going up his nose. Tembe has certainly developed some new mud baths since the heavy rains.
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Post by lugg on Feb 10, 2021 18:47:04 GMT
Is it just me or do others also hear the loud shlurping noise that comes from an elephant in one of the mud holes? I do hear that too. Its the same for some of the other streams you can hear what seems to be an animal but the camera does not catch them. Anyway , I continue to visit at least x1 per day - still really enjoying it and yesterday at Tembe the amount of animals with their babies was just amazing to see.
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Post by lugg on Feb 14, 2021 18:16:29 GMT
Another great few days viewing, I am in awe of the guys who control the camera ... how they spot things from afar and zoom in on them is quite amazing.
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Post by bjd on Feb 14, 2021 19:39:12 GMT
I must be looking at the wrong times. The past few days I have seen nothing except a few small antelopes, and some geese with about 7 goslings.
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Post by htmb on Feb 14, 2021 20:26:34 GMT
I’ve had a similar experience lately, bjd. I’ve seen the geese and goslings, and lots of little antelope(?). Not much else until today when I was able to observe four male giraffes for a bit.
When Tembe is quiet, I’ve gone to another site and watched three giraffes in a small, Greenville, South Carolina zoo. Tod I hope you don’t mind if I post links here. Even though these animals are in captivity, I’ve found them interesting because the female is due to calve any minute. She and the male also have a 20 month old calf and there are two cameras to observe the growing family.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 15, 2021 8:50:00 GMT
When you tune in to Tembe waterhole just double check that although it says LIVE, I have found that it is a recording from as far back as 2020. Something tells me they might be updating their camera in the Hide. I'll go there later today and see if things are really live.
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Post by htmb on Feb 15, 2021 13:19:14 GMT
There did seem to be several days when it appeared to be offline, but looks to me like things are back in order now. There seems to have been a lot of heavy rain lately, too.
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Post by lugg on Feb 15, 2021 19:50:48 GMT
If Tembe is quiet are you checking out the other live streams ? I do flip between them to find the action. ( There are 8 different streams to view)
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Post by tod2 on Feb 16, 2021 10:11:31 GMT
Definitely, especially the LIVE game drives at Phinda etc., and also Alan Birds where he has the most comprehensive bird feeder is very good.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 16, 2021 15:36:09 GMT
just been online at Tembe and was lucky enough to see around 15 elephants all congregate around the puddles and the waterhole. Young bulls mock fighting and one even tried to push an older bull out of his mudbath and was repelled but the youngster never gave up and reversed into the older bull trying his best to get the prime spot! What was a surprise, was that there was a narrator - Never had that before. He was excellent by pointing out the different things that were happening in the herd.
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Post by htmb on Feb 16, 2021 18:52:22 GMT
I briefly saw some of the elephants, but missed the narration. I did catch a glimpse of the males scratching their bellies on what looks like a big rock pile off to the right.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 17, 2021 12:26:47 GMT
htmb - that "rock" is an old termite mound. In the past ( and in repeats) you could see young lions playing on it in the night. For us, it was picked up by the night camera. I don't think it was a floodlight from the hide.
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Post by htmb on Feb 17, 2021 12:43:10 GMT
I had wondered about that, tod. Thanks for the clarification. I wasn’t sure if termite mounds could be as sturdy as this one appears. The elephants sure do seem to utilize it a good bit.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 17, 2021 16:09:18 GMT
. I wasn’t sure if termite mounds could be as sturdy as this one appears. Oh my goodness they get much larger than that one! Actually think that old termite mound has been flattened somewhat. What puzzles me is that it is not wrapped around a tree of any kind. Usually you see the mounds covering the bottom half of a tree with the tree still alive. Thats always puzzled me.
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