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May 31, 2005

New Monkeys!

New species are just appearing left and right! First there was the new rodent species found in the Southeast Asia market. Now Science has covered the discovery of a previously unknown species of primate. Again, this is another case of the locals being aware of a creature, but the scientists not necessarily knowing about them until they ask.

A previously unknown monkey species has been found in the mountains of southern Tanzania.

The animal is believed to be a critically endangered species, with no more than perhaps a thousand individuals remaining.

The highland mangabey, as it is called, lives in the trees and is thought to be closely related to the baboon family.

More at: BBC NEWS | New African monkey discovered

This also underscores the need to protect the wilds of Africa from deforestation and other human factors. Who knows what other flora and fauna exist in these areas that we don't know about yet. I think the reason a monkey gets so much press compared to a new insect or star, is because these human cousins could shed more light on our own evolutionary path.

The discovery of a new monkey species in the mountains of Tanzania highlights the potential for uncovering a trove of as-yet unknown fauna in Africa, scientists who reported the find said.

The identification of the "Highland Mangabey," the first new monkey species discovered in Africa in more than 20 years, also underscores the need to protect such areas from human encroachment

More at: New monkey find in Tanzania suggests wealth of undiscovered African fauna

Another good article about the monkey and the rodent: New Mammals: Coincidence, shopping yield two species

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Some Facts About Africa

I'm always looking for interesting information about Africa. We didn't study much of Africa in school, and I'd be hard-pressed to name all the countries and their capitals (although this is shortly to be remedied).

Fact: Current research has led scientists to believe that the earliest human beings came from Africa. The Olduvai Gorge, located in the eastern Serengeti of northern Tanzania, is a noted archaeological site for human development.

Fact: With the exception of the Mediteranean, Europeans did not begin to explore Africa until about 600 years ago (late 1400's). Before this time, the Arabs were the primary explorers there.

Fact: Northern half of Africa is primarily Muslim.

Fact: The eastern coastline of Africa, as far south as Madagascar, is also Muslim, primarily due to the spread along the Islamic trade routes by sailors and merchants.

Fact: There are about as many Christians as Muslims in the whole of Africa. Christianity was brought by Missionaries in the 1800's.

Fact: Very few people still practice the native religions, about 13%.

Fact: Northeast Africa is refered to as the "Horn of Africa", due to its shape.

Fact: Safari is a Swahili word meaning journey

Source: Cultural Atlas of Africa

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72 Hours In San Diego

Shane and I wanted to get away for the weekend without spending too much money. Since we have a yearly membership with the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, we decided one of the most affordable three-day weekends we could do would be to do the following:

• Drive down to San Diego
• Stay at a Starwood Hotel on points
• Spend the weekend at the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park
• Eat & Drink well but cheaply

I picked up Shane at the airport in San Jose at about 3pm, and we immediately headed out of the Bay Area on Highway 101 towards Los Angeles. With minimal stopping, we made it to hotel in San Diego around midnight. We checked in and crashed.

The next morning we woke up, showered, packed a lunch and drove the 8 minute drive to the San Diego Zoo. Shane had misplaced his membership card, but luckily we had the free passes that came along with our membership, so we still both got in for free. It was supposed to be partly cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon but it did exactly the opposite. I wore the Samsung pedometer that I got at CTIA in New Orleans a couple months ago, and by the end of the day, it had registered over 18000 steps - that's about eight and a half miles.

After the park closed, Shane and I walked over through Balboa Park, past the Prado theater, the manicured gardens and reflecting pools filled with waterlilies and ducks. We stopped at the Prado restaurant, where numerous weddings were going on. We walked right into the Prado lounge and had one of the best mojitos ever, as well as some excellent chips & salsa and a pair of mahi mahi tacos. The bill was a total of $30, but we were quite full, regardless. Exhausted, we walked back to the car and drove back to the hotel. We considered going in the hot tub, but it was a bit crowded. Instead, we watched National Treasure on TV, which was amusing, while we drank a nice bottle of pinot noir (David Bruce '97) and ate brie and rye toast until all hours.

The next morning we were up and off to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. The weather was hot and sunny, and we ended up with a bit of a sunburn. We noticed, not for the first time, that both parks attract a lot of local wildlife as well - great blue herons, egrets, bunnies, squirrels and mule deer. As we walked along in a forested area near the Heart of Africa, a very young spotted fawn ran in front of us and charged up the hillside. While we were still gawking in its wake, it came tearing back in the other direction again. We've both never seen one so little, or alone. While the zoo had been busy but not crazy, the wild animal park was a bit overcrowded. After walking another 7 miles around the park, we went to take the train around the large open enclosures, only to find a 2 hour line. We decided it wasn't worth the trouble - we'd seen it all before. Not that it's not a fantastic exhibit, it's just that we were already tired, hot, and not feeling like dealing with upset and angry tourists and their bawling kids for 2 hours to get on it (especially considering the park closed in 2 hours and it was a 50 minute ride so we weren't even guaranteed a spot!)

Instead we left around 4pm and went back to take showers and go out on the town. We dressed up a bit and then went down to Old Town. We got a reservation at the Old Town Mexican Cafe and then walked around the historical site. It was a nice warm, night. We visited the apothecary shops and the mexican trinket carts before heading back for a mojito and getting seated for dinner. The mole we had wasn't bad - but the tamales and chiles relleno were excellent. The mixed drinks were strong but not particularly well-made, but they had lots of great beers on tap and by bottle - including two different Dos Equis brews - yumyum! We left with as much leftover food as we had managed to eat, the portions were huge!

After dinner it was another night of movies and a yummy room service dessert - a sweet cinnamon tortilla with fried apples and cinnamon and vanilla ice cream.

In the morning, we woke up and packed to leave. Instead of stopping for breakfast, we used the delicious handmade corn tortilla leftovers and made mole-tamale-chile-relleno tacos. We got home with very little traffic, despite hitting LA at midday on a holiday.

All in all, San Diego was great fun - and all for basically the cost of the gasoline to get there.

Our Favorite Activities

San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park
Browse Old Town
Walk Around Coronado Island
Dine In The Gaslamp District

Our Favorite Restaurants & Bars

Prado Lounge
Old Town Mexican Cafe
The Beach

Our Favorite Hotels

The W San Diego
The Sheraton at the Marina
The Sheraton San Diego Hotel, Mission Valley

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Warthogs

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Zebras

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Galápagos Tortoises

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Tigers

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Snakes

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Primates

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Meerkats

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Lizards

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Lions

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Koalas

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Gorillas

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Japanese Serow

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Giraffe Faces

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Feeding A Baby Antelope

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Flamingos

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: African Elephant

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Duiker

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Crocodiles

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Ankole Cattle

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Takin

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Camels

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Birds

o·ol·o·gy - noun
The branch of zoology that deals with the study of eggs, especially birds' eggs.

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Bighorn

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Bats

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San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: Antelopes

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DO NOT TALK TO MY PARROT!!!

Wanda's dishwasher quit working so she called a repairman. Since she had to go to work the next day, she told the repairman, "I'll leave the key under the mat. Fix the dishwasher, leave the bill on the counter, and I'll mail you a check."

"Oh, by the way don't worry about my bulldog. He won't bother you. But, whatever you do, do NOT, under ANY circumstances, talk to my parrot!"

"I REPEAT, DO NOT TALK TO MY PARROT!!!"

When the repairman arrived at Wanda's apartment the following day, he discovered the biggest, meanest looking bulldog he has ever seen. But, just as she had said, the dog just lay there on the carpet watching the repairman go about his work.

The parrot, however, drove him nuts the whole time with his incessant yelling, cursing and name calling. Finally the repairman couldn't contain himself any longer and yelled,

"Shut up, you stupid, ugly bird!"

To which the parrot replied, "Get him, Spike!"

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May 26, 2005

He Wants To See The Cheetahs

So I asked Shane if there was anything he particularly wanted to do on our East African honeymoon. He thought about it for a minute and then said:

"I want to see the cheetahs."

That was all he said.

Cheetahs are either really easy or really hard to spot in the wild. In South Africa, I saw them on two seperate occassions. Once in Kruger National Park, and once in Pilanesburg National Park. We were on a night drive in Kruger, near Shimuwini bush camp, and it was just after sunset. We came upon three cheetahs - a mother and two cubs almost old enough to be left on their own, laying together and rolling about in the grass. They had finished hunting for the day and were settling in for the night.

The second time I spotted a cheetah, I was driving and I happened to notice one hiding in the shade of a bush on a hot day. The only reason I saw it was that she passed within my line of site as I drove (carefully watching in case animals ran across the road).

I have never seen them run. I have never seen any cubs. So I am hoping that Shane and I will not only see cheetah - we will see cheetah running, eating, and with cubs.

Cheetah means "Spotted One"

Cheetahs are the fastest land animal, topping off at sprinting speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. They can go from standing to 45mph in two seconds. At one time, the highly adaptable cheetah lived all over Africa and the Middle East as far as India. There's even some evidence that humans once tamed them and trained them. The Indian emperor Akbar the Great kept 3000 cheetahs he used for hunting. Over time, cheetahs were killed for their coats, and now they are an endangered species living only in a few protected nature preserves in Africa.

Female cheetahs are relatively solitary, but the males hunt in packs and can bring down larger creatures like wildebeests. All cheetahs are vulnerable after they've made a kill because they tire from sprinting, and their kills are often stolen by lions or hyenas. Cheetahs hunt during the day and rest at night and during the hottest parts of the day, in the shade. Cheetah's predators include lions, hyenas, leopards and humans, but have never been known to attack humans.

Cheetahs communicate several key times: to warn away other cheetahs, to communicate within their family over long distances, and to communicate between mothers and cubs. Litters are between 1 and 4 cubs, and newborn cubs are blind and clumsy. They don't growl and purr, but make chirping noises when they're happy. Mothers stay with cubs for a long time. As they get older, mother will hunt and then call her cubs to her to eat. If a mother cheetah calls to her cubs and they do not come, she will often leave a large kill and go retrieve her cubs. This is another way a cheetah may lose her kill, making it difficult to feed her young. Because of all these factors, only 1 in 20 cubs survives to adulthood.

Young cheetahs will often role-play "Hunter & Prey". These mock hunts serve a purpose, to train the young ones to feed themselves when they are older.

Sources:
Endangered! Cheetahs by Shona Grimbly
My Cheetah Family by Matto H. Barfuss
Cheetah Conservation Fund

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May 24, 2005

The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans

You may remember last week when I wrote about the The Earth's Last Wildernesses. In particular, I mentioned the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, with it's man-eating tigers. You might remember that I suggested further reading on this subject...

The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans opens with a chilling narrative of some Indian honey-collectors slipping illegally into the Sundarban Tiger Reserve to make their living. I've run across these stories everytime I find a source on the Sundarbans, where tigers reside in unparalleled numbers. Men risk their lives to collect honey and chop wood to bring to market. On this particular night, a huge tiger swims up to the boat and makes off with one of the men! Thus opens this book devoted solely to these unique man-eating tigers.

The Sundarbans are a tangle of flooded tidal forest, and only (somewhat) accessible by boat. Tiger footprints are everywhere along the banks as you float along. Pink dolphins swim along, and crocodiles gape. This is a tidal forest, and changes so drastically that mapmakers must survey and redraw their maps every three years! If you think the tiger is your only worry - you're wrong. The saltwater crocs are the same color as the water, venomous sea snakes slither about and many dangerous sharks swim in the murky waters.

Author Sy Montgomery attempts to discover the answer to the question: Why do these strange saltwater-drinking tigers, who love to swim, eat people? What makes these tigers man-eaters, unlike their relatives? They display several behaviors unlike other tigers in the wild. For example, they always seem to attack from the back, leading villagers to wear masks on the back of their heads to help confuse the tigers. Is it a matter of encroachment of people into tiger territory, the decline in other food sources? Are the tiger populations sickening and looking for the easy meal? Regardless, the tiger populations are declining so much that many of the species are endangered or extinct.

This book has a lot of great information about the Sundarban man-eating tigers as well as the people who live with them. It covers not only the ecosystem in which they live, but the myths, legends and real-life encounters of the people; this makes The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans special. The only disappointment I had was that although the book contains superb photography, the Royal Bengal tigers photographed were all captive tigers (zoo!). I appreciate that some close-ups of man-eating tigers might not have been wise, but after going on about how prevalent they are in the Sundarbans, I expected to see a picture or two of our striped friend in the wild along with the other Sundarban footage.

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May 23, 2005

Uninvited Guests - The Effects Of Wildlife Encroachment

Suburban wildlife encounters are on the rise, says one expert. This isn't news to me.

My parents live in rural Vermont. They've seen all manner of wildlife in their backyard - bears, moose, deer, raccoons. Wildlife encounters in Vermont are not surprising - people expect such things.

In California, even natural areas like Yosemite have a more urban feel - and so you're often surprised when you see an animal. California has such a population that new development is constantly encroaching on wilderness territory; the animals being displaced have to go somewhere. A couple different things seem to happen - the animals are pushed farther into the uninhabited areas, they find a way to live within the developed areas, or they die.

It can be heartbreaking to watch new construction on previously undeveloped areas. Shane and I once came upon a new housing development and golf course being developed in what was previously a livestock farm in the mountains seperating the San Francisco Bay area with the Central Valley. Most of the homes were still just numbered plots, but the golf course was just about ready to open when we drove through on sunny day. What we saw was very disconcerting. Previously, the area had had your typical Central California look - golden fields, hot, hazy sunny days. The heavily watered golf course cut a heavy green swath through the otherwise dry and golden valley. Large snakes - both rattlers and gopher snakes, lay dead all over the newly paved roads. Rabbits darted back and forth, reminding me strongly of the day in the field in The Secret of NIMH. A lone deer walked past our car, and weaved its way between two large, silent bulldozers. The wildlife was fighting to keep its home, but clearly the habitat had been severely shaken. What really sent the message home for us though, were the squirrels. We parked alongside one of the lush fairway of the golf course and watched hundreds and hundreds of squirrels munch away on the new growing grass. Any small noise we made caused literally a hundred little heads to pop up and listen to us. We counted 35 little guys on just one green alone. This, we saw, was a recipe for disaster. Given all the money devoted to development of the golf course, these furry residents would ultimately be relegated to pest status, despite being the initial resident of the area. Frankly, we think that all these little critters deserve to stay - and if they dig holes or steal balls, well it should be just part of the golfing experience, like it is at Riverside Golf Course in Edmonton in Alberta, Canada.

Golfers often have to deal with the frustration of watching their golf balls swallowed up by sand traps or water hazards.

But at Riverside Golf Course in Edmonton, players have another type of obstacle to watch for – squirrels.

The furry critters regularly sprint from the bush, scoop golf balls from the green, and run off with them, particularly around the 10th and 18th holes.

More at: Thieving squirrels par for the course for Edmonton golfers

It's one thing when you're displacing deer, bunnies, squirrels and raccoons. It's a whole different ball game when you're doing it to predators. When I first came out here to California to attend university, one of the first things I was warned about were the mountain lions in the hills above campus. Residential development pushed deer and other smaller animals up into the mountains. The denser populations of prey make the perfect habitat for the mountain lion. Humans - on bikes and on hikes - make their way through mountain lion territory, resulting in more and more incidents. Humans are also another possible food source for the mountain lion. In the past several years, there have been several high profile incidents of mountain lions attacking people, including bikers and joggers, even from main roads which border undeveloped areas where the lions roam.

While they'll warn you about the possibility of encountering a mountain lion, it's still a bit of a rarity to encounter a black bear in suburban California. But not for this neighborhood down near Los Angeles...

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A 140-pound bear wandered into a suburban neighborhood and took a dip in a swimming pool before being tranquilized and returned to the wild.

More at: CNN.com - Wandering bear takes dip in family's pool

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May 22, 2005

The Ultimate X-File: King Tut's Demise

How cool is this? National Geographic has just released its new virtual tomb of King Tutankhamun. Especially surprising to me - the Royal Wrapping feature shows that King Tut wasn't resting in one sarcophagus but more like a set of Russian nesting dolls. Sarcophagi inside sarcophagi inside boxes, inside boxes. I suppose it's a preventative measure - makes it difficult for the mummy to get out and go on the rampage.

Since his tomb was discovered in 1922, King Tut has been a great favorite of those interested in Egyptology - the posterchild pharoah, if you will. Recently, a lot of new evidence has also come to the fore regarding the details of the youthful king's short reign. New forensic evidence is showing that the original thoughts on how the king of the 18th dynasty perished may actually be childhood wounds he recovered from, and surprising new possibile reasons for his death.

More at: National Geographic Magazine - Unraveling the Mystery of King Tutankhamun

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May 20, 2005

Chocolate Fountains: A Catering Necessity

Shane and I have been discussing the catering of our wedding reception. So far, we have made several decisions. Decisions are great! Finally, decisions!

The Cake

We've decided that the cake will be catered by a Santa Cruz bakery called The Buttery. This was also the bakery used in Shane's father's wedding, and so you could almost call this a new Conder tradition. We haven't yet decided on the filling(s) but it will likely be decorated in the wedding colors of orange and green. I'm currently leaning towards Italian Rum as at least one of the fillings, although we may also include the hazelnut buttercream as one of the tiers. Note the only decision made is which bakery. I am hoping we can go samples some of the fillings before we make our final decisions on content.

The Food

So we've decided that the reception will be a rather informal affair food-wise. We will be having some dishes catered, and others we will be doing ourselves. We have decided to serve "our favorites". It will not be an elegant well-assembled combination of flavors for palate pleasure. Instead it will be more of a choose-your-own-adventure. Shane and I have already selected the dishes we wish to serve, but we don't want to give away anything, so I'm not going to tell you any of the details here really. I will say, though, it will not include any foods we dislike - for example, shockingly, "a mess of eggs" will not be appearing on the menu. Also, Dad, there is a grange in Norwich, Vermont.

Where's The Chocolate?

When Shane and I attended a conference last year, they had this really cool catering job with chocolate fountains. Basically, you serve lots of chocolate-dippables like strawberries and rice crispie treats and pretzels and such, and you rent yourself a chocolate fountain. It looks like a champagne fountain from a classic film, only it oozes chocolately goodness instead. The lucky attendees use fondue forks to spear the goodies and then swipe them under the river of chocolate. Shane insists on having one, and I heartily agree. When are we going to have another opportunity to justify such decadence? Thus we will likely be using San Jose Chocolate Fountains to help cater dessert!

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The Earth's Last Wildernesses

I recently read The Atlas of Wild Places: In Search of the Earth's Last Wildernesses by Roger Few and noted the places worthy of adding to my list of places to visit before I die.

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, most of the wild places covered in the atlas are barren, isolated and not very inhabitable. I find that I am more attracted to the areas with wildlife, interesting cultures, or really stunning views as opposed to large empty spaces no one shows much interest in.

Each plot of wilderness is accompanied by some stunning photography of local wildlife and landscape, as well as maps and diagrams of the area.

The Pantanal of Brazil
Amidst photographs of cute baby capybaras and swampy pools of the croc cousin, the caiman, Roger Few illustrates how the landscape of the Pantanal transforms with the seasonal floods. Piranhas patrol beneath the murky water as large waterfowl like the jabiru stork patrol above it.

More reading: Brazil: Amazon And Pantanal (Traveller's Wildlife Guides)

The Tibesti Mountains of Chad
The Saharan Desert is not just a barren land of sand dunes. The Tibesti Mountains cover a wilder area than Switzerland, a landscape of sandstone rock towers and ancient volcanos. Few creatures can live in this hot, dry place. Cute litte birds called sandgrouse live here. One self preservation tactic: they can use their belly feathers to soak up water to carry to their young.

More reading: Michael Palin's Sahara

The Serengeti of Tanzania
No fences. No boundaries. The Serengeti is one of the last places on Earth where African game seems to thrive. Like a shot out of the Lion King, the grasslands of the Serengeti are food for the one and a half million wildebeest that make their great migration across northern Tanzania annually. Talk about a circle of life, the grasslands teem with wildlife - zebra, gazelle, buffalo, elephant, lion, hyena, and more!

More reading: Mara-Serengeti: A Photographer's Paradise

The Okavango Delta Of Namibia and Botswana
Nestled between Namibia and Botswana, the Okavango Delta is a floodplain of the Okavango River. But the area is slowly drying out, and someday the delta will no longer exist. For now, the lush oasis, with its brilliant wildflowers and lush green vegetation, attracts thirsty game from far and wild, making it a great place to spot wildlife.

More reading: Frantz Lanting's Okavango: Africa's Last Eden

The Swedish Lapland
Jagged peaks, glaciers, snowfields and fjords make up the expansive mountain range of the Lapland, which separates Sweden and Norway. Some elevated areas are so rugged that nothing will grow but lichen, and some areas north of teh Arctic Circle allow no plant growth at all. The Swedish Lapland is also a great place to view the Northern Lights. The Sami people are nomads that live in the northern regions of Lapland fishing and herding reindeer.

More reading: Adventure Guide to Sweden

The Bialowieza Forest of Poland
Ancient forests used to cover most of Europe, filled with game and fowl and, unfortunately, lumber. the Bialowieza Forest is one of the last, small plots of old growth. Small herd of buffalo, wild tarpan horses and wild boat now roam in this sanctuary of briar and bramble.

More reading: The Rough Guide to Poland

The Royal Chitwan National Park of Nepal
In southern Nepal, nestled between the Indian border and the snowcapped Himalayas, the Royal Chitwan National Park is a marshy wetland. This is a haven for abundant waterfowl - hornbill and ibis, storks and herons, and my personal favorite - the kingfisher. In the marshy waters, you'll also find the unique water-loving Asian rhinoceros and a rare fresh-water dolphin. And let's not forget the tigers!

More reading: Royal Chitwan National Park: Wildlife Heritage of Nepal

The Sundarbans of Bangladesh
Speaking of tigers, the jungle along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, where mangroves and brackish swampy marshes is called the Sundarbans. This is an area governed by the tides and has similarities to a Louisiana bayou with its shrimps, lobsters, crabs, snakes and frogs - not to mention some serious predators: saltwater crocs, massive pythons and more Bengal tigers! Some locals believe that wearing a face mask on the back of the heads helps keep them safe from tiger attacts.

More reading: The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans

The Highlands of Irian Jaya
Irian Jaya is the western half of New Guinea in Indonesia. Roger Few depicts this wild place as relatively uncharted - an area of significant geological interest not to mention a Mammalogist's dream - where new species of mammals are still being discovered.

More reading: Islands in the Clouds: Travels in the Highlands of New Guinea

The South West National Park of Tasmania
Lastly, it's marsupial madness at the South West National Park. Here, we zigzag our way through jungle-like forests that seem to grown horizontally, and encounter duck-billed platypi, Tasmanian devils and perhaps even the Tasmanian tiger!

More reading: National Parks of Victoria, South Australia & Tasmania

* Note about the pictures: With the exception of the platypus, which I snagged from the Australian government wildlife program, all pictures were taken by me, just not in or of the locations mentioned. I made my best attempt at matching pictures I have taken to the locations we are talking about here, to illustrate what lives there and what the landscape is like.

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Living With Predators - Crocs

First they thought the disappearances were the result of the tribal war being waged in the area. Then they thought the bizarre occurrences the work of a serial killer. Lake Tanganyika in Burundi is home to Gustave, proported to be the largest freshwater croc in Africa - some seven meters long. The locals rely on the lake as a water source - for drinking, washing, fishing, and bathing; but they live in fear of the great beast. More than three hundred deaths have now been attributed to Gustave's hearty appetite - not to mention that he supposedly once ate a full-grown hippo. Some even claim he pulls fisherman from their very boats! Repeated attempts have been made to capture Gustave, who may weigh as much as a two tons, but all they've managed to capture is a bit of video.

People live with crocs throughout the world, but while the people of Australia and the United States think of them as a bit of savage wildlife that might occassionally swallow a pet, the people in Africa have a much closer relationships with this predator. The tender meat and rough skins have significant value to the villagers, and the removal of these creatures can often increase the safety of the peoples who live along the rivers and lakes of Africa.

This tenuous relationship between people and crocs makes it difficult to work for conservation of crocs. Few people feel warm and fuzzy about these snaggle-toothed lizards. Now many species of crocs are declining, threatened or extinct.

The crocs are not doing anything wrong. They are just being crocs. In that area, their historic food supply is gone. People have overfished the lake.

We saw very few fish of any size. And a big croc isn't going to make a living by just eating fish. It will sometimes pull down an antelope or a baboon—something like that. But we saw no animals there—literally none—other than people.

The crocs are survivors, so they've turned to the next available food source. Unfortunately, that means humans.

Of course the people [there] are just trying to survive as well, so it's a delicate situation.

More at: Croc Capture Offers Lessons on Living With Killers

Many people deal with crocs and gators everyday. Read the latest news at Underwater Times. You can also learn more about crocs at Crocodilian Biology Database.

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Living With Predators - Hippos

Most people think hippos are fat, squat docile creatures that bob up and down in the rivers and lakes of Africa much as the manatee, or sea cow, does off the coast of Florida. Cute pastel versions are portrayed in the Milton Bradley pre-school game Hungry Hungry Hippos.

But do you know what African animal kills more people per year than any other? Surprisingly, it's not the lion. Hippos are the most feared animals in Africa. Each year more people are killed by hippos than by all the other animals combined. They bite people, trample people, flip boats, and otherwise inspire fear in people throughout Africa.

On my last visit to Africa, I got to experience these creature - up close and personal. During one rather foolish encounter on our part, we left the safety of our vehicle to look over a rise, only to see a herd of hippos grazing on the other side of a river, about 1/8 of a mile away. We were standing upwind of the herd, and within seconds they had scented us, and went charging into the river in such a violent fashion that we also went charging - straight back to the car. Another day, when we were taking a guided walk in Kruger National Park, South Africa, we walked quietly along a riverbank (quietly so as not to attract the crocs) and came upon some rather disgruntled hippos in the water. Despite being trained otherwise, the armed guides braved the hippo's displeasure and approached very close - ignoring warning signs like snorting, wiggling their ears and showing teeth. Our party hung back, poised to bolt for safety. Yet another experience involved an adult female hippo and a newly born calf. Just after dusk, a rather foolish lioness attacked the pair, only to be thrashed soundly by mama.

Hippos are very fierce and very misunderstood. For example:

Claim: Hippos stay in the water all the time
Fact: Each evening, hippos leave the water and graze on the land, sometimes miles from their primary water source. They also like to sun themselves during the day, but don't often stray far from the safety of the water.

Claim: Hippos are excellent swimmers
Fact: Hippos don't actually swim very well. Instead, they bounce off the bottom. Young calves often bounce on their mother's back in order to breath more often, and in deeper water.

Claim: Hippos are slow & clumsy.
Fact: Hippos are agile both in and out of the water. Outrunning them is often futile.

Claim: Hippos are very fat
Fact: Although they're barrel shaped, they actually have very little fat on them.

Claim: Hippos yawn because they're tired
Fact: Hippos show their teeth as a threat gesture

Male hippos are highly territorial and actually have rather complex rituals for confrontation between challengers. I've also seen adult hippos (very likely mothers) mock-fight with their young. In National Geographic's Most Amazing Moments, they included a rare scene of an alpha male killing a young hippo calf because it was not his offspring.

But one of the most affecting features of the hippo for me has always been its vocalization. I spent some time at Shimuwini bush camp on the banks of the Letaba River. A heard of hippos lingered along the banks, not 100ft from our backdoor, making the snorts and grunts.

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Check out our Frolicking Hippos podcast - a video program highlighting these playful animals!

Check out our Kenya Waterhole podcast - a video program experiencing a sunrise in Africa!

Posted by sorsha at 1:37 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Killing More Than 3000 African Children A Day - That's 1 Every 30 Seconds

Go to the doctor before a trip to Africa, they'll tell you a couple of things:

• Get immunized for Hepatitis, Typhoid, and Yellow Fever
• Don't drink the water, or eat raw foods
• Wear your seatbelt - the last thing you want is a blood transfusion
• And whatever you do, protect yourself from mosquito bites

They'll give you preventative meds, which a lot of people scorn, but that's really not good enough nowadays. When I was in South Africa, I always wore long pants and long sleeve shirts, I took my meds (Mefloquine at the time), and I sprayed DEET insect repellent all over my stuff and stunk the whole trip!

It's an insidious disease, malaria. Despite its far-reaching effects, this relatively well-understood and somewhat preventable disease has reached pandemic proportions. Victims suffer not because we don't have the answers, but because they have been inadequately implemented. Some people conjecture that half the world's deaths over the course of all time may be attributed to malaria. Depending on your source, today malaria affects between