Waters in the Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta is an inland delta in southern Africa, with waters formed by seasonal flooding. When the water is here, wildlife abound.

More info: Okavango Delta Wikipedia.

Hippos and Elephants, Botswana

The Delta is flat and vast, covering 5,800 square miles (15,000 sq. km.); on the edge of the Kalahari Desert.

We visited this UNESCO World Heritage Site years back in August, when the Okavango River floods the Delta and wildlife congregate.

Large African antelope called waterbuck are often found around water because they cannot tolerate dehydration.

Little Bee-eaters perch as they wait for bees. If you watch bee-eaters long enough, you have the pleasure of watching one sally out in a flash, grab a bee, whack it against a tree, and come back to the perch to consume it.

Little Bee-eaters, Botswana

Hippopotamuses are semiaquatic mammals; they spend their days in lakes and rivers, staying cool in water or mud. At night they graze on grasses.

Hippopotamus, Botswana

This is a rufous-bellied heron we watched wrestling with a carp. He swallowed it whole.

Rufous-belied Heron eating a carp

Other bird species we commonly found foraging in the Okavango Delta waters were jacana and the fish eagle.

Jacanas have feet designed to evenly distribute the weight of the bird so they can walk atop lily pads. But in many parts of the Delta their long legs take them through shallower waters.

African Jacana, Botswana

The African Fish Eagle, a raptor, was fierce and vigilant and commonly found in many watery parts.

African Fish Eagle, Botswana

Other raptors were the African Barred Owl and Black-shouldered Kite. They, too, found their perches and stealthily waited.

African Barred Owl, Botswana

Black-shouldered Kite, Botswana

Wattled cranes, the largest cranes in Africa and globally threatened, forage on aquatic tubers and rhizomes of submerged sedges and water lilies. It was thrilling to find this trio, for this crane species is rare to find.

Wattled Cranes, Botswana

The hamerkop is one of my favorite birds, named for the hammer shape of its head. We didn’t see them too often but when we did, we watched intently.

Hamerkop, Botswana

Blacksmith Plovers in their bold patterning were often seen in the waterways.

Blacksmith Plover, Botswana

We passed this hippo pond at sunset and watched their antics until the day’s light had receded.

Hippo Pond at sunset, Botswana

There are over 5,000 species of wild mammals and over 10,000 species of birds on this planet. I am glad I could share a few of them from the Okavango Delta with you.

Written by Jet Eliot.

All photos in the wild by Athena Alexander.

Giant Kingfisher, Botswana

The Common Warthog

Common Warthog, Botswana

Warthog pair, Zambia

Warthogs are tough little animals…they have to be in the African savannah. The sun is unrelenting, food can be scarce, and the much-bigger megafauna live a brutal existence.

 

When I saw my first wild warthog, on a trip some years back, I was struck by its most unusual looks.

 

That short and stout body with a really big head. The curved tusks protruding from a flat face. Face bumps and whatever else all hidden by whiskers and bristles.

 

The bumps or warts, for which the animal gets its name, are tough, thickened skin that protect the warthog.

 

Every warthog has four tusks, to defend against their many predators including leopards, lions, crocodiles, hyenas, and humans.

 

Leopard, Botswana

 

Lion, Botswana

 

When you spend enough days out in the field, you see warthogs quite often. I found them curious and enjoyable to watch.

 

Warthog, Botswana. Photo: Athena Alexander.

 

They have a compact, swift way of moving, often with the tufted tail extended straight up in the air.

 

Warthog, Zambia. Photo: Athena Alexandra.

 

Sometimes they were barely visible in the tall grass.

Warthog, Botswana

 

While grazing, they are frequently seen kneeling; have callused knee pads for this purpose.

Kneeling Warthog, far left, Botswana

 

Often they were in groups, called sounders. They have an elaborate social system with family groups of females and their young. Males typically separate from the families, but stay in the home range.

 

During the day we saw them in the grass foraging, socializing, and raising their young. At night they bed down in abandoned aardvark burrows.

 

The burrow is also where they nurse their piglets. The piglets are tiny, weighing a pound or two (450-900g).

 

Because the warthog has neither hide nor fur for protection or insulation, they stay warm by huddling together or staying in their burrows.

 

When it is hot, warthogs roll around in mud holes and coat their bodies with a protective layer of mud.

Warthogs in mud, Botswana

 

Muddy Warthogs, Botswana

 

They have a large and varied diet, eating grasses in the wet season, and digging for tubers, rhizomes, and roots during the dry season. But they will eat anything from bark and fungi to insects, eggs, and carrion. Survivors.

 

Although warthogs can sprint up to 30 mph (48 km/h), they are slower with less endurance than most savannah animals. So the burrows are essential for survival.

 

Adults back into the burrow tail first, so they can come charging out, tusks first,  if threatened.

 

One day we were on a walking safari.  Our guide, always armed with a rifle, warned us never to stand in front of a burrow because an aggressive warthog could come charging out any time.

Botswana safari, Jet behind Guide Brett

 

We were passing by a burrow, quickly, as instructed, but just then there was a tremendous screeching and uproar and I thought for sure we were about to be attacked by a warthog.

 

It was only a ground bird we had startled.

 

Often over-shadowed on the savannah by more elegant mammals, warthogs may not be showy specimen, but they are crafty survivors.

 

They can outsmart their predators, defend their young, stay fed in any season, and live among some of the most ferocious creatures on this planet. That’s an impressive animal.

 

Written by Jet Eliot.

Photos by Athena Alexander.

Warthog, Botswana. Photo: Athena Alexander.

 

Range Map, Common Warthog. Green=distribution; Brown=possible range or accidental records. Courtesy Wikipedia.

 

Watching Lions

Lioness, Botswana

Lion at sunset, Botswana

Every single moment of watching lions is a privilege. The pure power of this animal is inspiring. It is easy to see why they are one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture.

 

They are not, however, really kings of the forest, as the saying goes, because lions don’t live in forests. They live primarily in grassy plains and open woodlands, in sub-Saharan Africa. (See map at end.)

 

Panthera leo are as ferocious as we are led to believe, and are skilled hunters and scavengers. Even a simple yawn, like in the photo below, has us shaking in our safari boots.

 

Lioness yawning, Africa

In general, female lions do most of the hunting and protect the cubs; males establish territory and maintain dominance. But there are differences among prides.

 

Groups of female lions often hunt together. Their prey varies depending on where they live.

 

Lion cub with siblings, Botswana

 

In the Serengeti, my favorite place to watch lions, the prides generally hunt the common ungulates: impala, wildebeest and zebra.

 

During the day you may find the lions under a shade tree, or resting on rocky outcroppings or kopjes (pronounced “copies”).

Overview of kopje, Serengeti. Photo: Athena Alexander.

Lion cubs, Serengeti. Photo: Athena Alexander.

 

In Botswana’s Chobe National Park, where large populations of elephants live, lion prides are known to hunt elephants, which is unusual. They target younger, more vulnerable elephants or very old bulls, near Savute.

 

Lioness, Botswana

 

There’s a good reason juvenile elephants stay close to their mothers.

Elephant juvenile, Botswana

 

In the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, one of my favorite places on earth, different animals populate this enclosed crater than on the open plains. For example, no impalas live here.

 

We watched this lioness stalking four buffalo at the Ngorongoro Crater. She is calculating the energy cost and distance factors here. We waited about a half hour to see what she would do.

Lioness, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa

 

She aborted the attempt.

Buffalo seem like an animal not to trifle with….

Buffalo, Africa

 

Lions are heavy animals and relatively low to the ground. They can’t sprint like a cheetah, and they don’t have a big heart for long runs, like a hyena.

 

Instead, lions take their prey by surprise, the attack is short and powerful. They leap and pounce, pull the animal down by the rump, then deliver a strangling, fatalistic bite to the throat.

 

Most of the time they hunt at night. Often we would see the effects of a night of lion-hunting at dawn. Successful lions have noticeably full bellies, and are often seen lazing beside a water hole, or sleeping. Other lions might be licking a gash or nursing a wound.

 

At night we heard big booming roars that electrified the vast darkness. Roars can be heard from five miles (8 km) away.

 

This fully mature male shows signs of numerous fights on his scarred face.

Lion, Botswana. Photo: Athena Alexander.

 

Lions are also great scavengers. They will saunter onto a kill site where other animals are avidly engaged in devouring a dead animal and take over, as if it was theirs all along.

 

They will frequently respond to hyena calls, arriving at the scene of a hyena’s fresh kill. But hyenas are formidable and ferocious animals, too, and are not easily bullied, even by lions.

Spotted Hyena, Zambia

 

Lions are the only wild cat to have a social structure, and it is fascinating. Pride hierarchy differs from venue to venue, and local safari guides are always very familiar with each pride and its individual members. Guides enthusiastically tell you stories about the lion family as if it was their own flesh and blood.

 

Lion, Botswana

 

Lion Wikipedia.

 

With their piercing golden eyes, confident swagger, and feline agility, lions continue to be one of the most majestic animals on this planet.

 

Written by Jet Eliot.

All photos in the wild by Athena Alexander.

Lion Distribution. Red = historic, blue = present. Courtesy Wikipedia.

Lion populations continue to decline, mostly due to humans. If you are concerned, you can start by visiting here: African Wildlife Foundation on Lions 

 

Black (as Night) Friday

Spotted Hyena, Zambia

This is the day in America when shoppers are enticed into stores for big sales. But for those of us who find greater value in fresh air and nature scenes, I thought it would be fun on this Friday to take you into the black night of Africa.

 

Except for the light of the moon, the nights are pitch black.

 

Giant Eagle Owl, Botswana aka Verreaux’s Owl

 

Safari Night Drive. One night in Zambia we were slowly driving along in the dark when our guide stopped and told us to get ready. We couldn’t hear or see anything, but he told us which way to face. Cameras went up.

 

Then he turned on the spotlight and right in front of us was a pool with about a dozen hippos quietly grazing on the water plants.

 

Hippo Pool, Zambia

 

Most of the time, guides keep the spotlight turned off to avoid disturbing the animals; they slowly drive the jeep with just parking lights.

 

With the spotlight off, all you can see are the animals’ eye-shine piercing through the deep dark. It is eerie to look out over a grass field and see dozens of those colored eyes looking at you. You don’t know if it’s a snarling hyena or an antelope.

 

You never ever step out of the vehicle.

 

Leopard, Zambia

 

The metallic-like colored dots are at various heights. Low to the ground are the hares, mongooses, rodents, and night birds. Several inches higher up are the small wild cats like civet or genet.

 

Genet, Tanzania

 

Gabon Nightjar, Zambia

 

Even on the blackest, darkest night, a good guide can identify the animal just by the eye shine. Eyes can be close together, far apart, and different colors according to species. Animal identification also depends on where the eyes are:  in tall grass, on tree limbs, in water, running, or not running.

 

We came across this leopard pair in the Luangwa Valley in Zambia. We saw them a couple of times, and at one point the male had caught a bird that hung limply from his jaws. They walked off to enjoy their midnight snack, and we never saw them again.

 

Leopards, Zambia

 

Wild Cat, Botswana — Ancestor to the Domestic House Cat

 

The elephant was one of my favorite experiences in all of life. The photo is not the greatest, but the memory is. That night we were awakened by a stormy rustling.

 

It turned out to be a mother and her calf just outside our flimsy door. What sounded like a rain storm was the mother elephant tearing apart a tree, eating the leaves.

 

We remained silently watching, not making a sound.

 

Elephant, Zambia, the structure with windows on the left is our cottage

The story: The Night the Elephants Came to Visit

 

Here’s to enjoying the wild mysteries of the night.

 

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

African Civit

 

The Power of the Lion

Dear friends, I am humbled and grateful for your kindness and support from all over the world. Although I am unable to respond to each individual at this time, please know I am reading your comments, a blanket of comfort.

 

We are still displaced from our home, and will be at least a half year or more, so the tasks are tremendous, and mounting with each new day.

 

In order to keep my courage up, I have been thinking a lot about the bold, raw power of the ferocious lion. This is a post I published two years ago: Lions in the Serengeti.

 

Lioness, Ngorongoro Crater, Africa

 

Photo credit: Athena Alexander

 

 

Birds of the Okavango Delta, Part 2 of 2

Lilac-breasted Roller, Africa

When you joined me in Botswana Africa’s Okavango Delta last week, I presented birds that frequent the water.  See Part 1 here. Today we’ll complete the series with birds that tend to occupy the grassland and woodland habitats of the Delta.

The lilac-breasted roller is a favorite for many people, because of their astounding beauty. So-named for their aerial acrobatic rolling, they are about the size of a crow.

They hunt for insects and lizards, and perch in open spots, then flutter out like a ballerina in the air, and spin and roll with dazzling beauty.

Another very colorful and acrobatic bird, bee-eaters can be found on numerous continents; in Africa there are 20 species, with seven in Botswana.

Little Bee-eaters, Botswana

As you might have deducted from their name, the bee-eaters hunt bees; and are often seen on a limb whacking a freshly-caught bee–they are eradicating the bee’s stinger before consumption.

And then there’s the comical oxpeckers.

Sable with Oxpeckers

Usually found on the body of a large mammal, they eat the pesky ticks, and sometimes ear wax and dandruff. Not a charming diet, but a bird that is a fun to observe. Just looking at this photo starts you wondering where they venture….

Post by Jet Eliot about oxpeckers.

Another resplendent beauty, the Greater Blue-eared Glossy starlings shimmer in the blazing African sun.

Long-tailed Shrike

Other birds pictured here are the long-tailed shrike, a thrill to watch flying as his tail waves through the air like an unfurled flag; and the coppery-tailed coucal with their copper tail and scarlet eye.

Coppery-tailed Coucal

Common in Okavango Delta, hornbills are known for their massive casque bills. There are seven hornbill species in Botswana alone. A previous post on the hornbills.

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Then there’s the very cool hammerkop, whose name translates to hammerhead, in describing the bird’s unusual hammer head-shape.

Hammerkop, Africa

One bird has so many unusual features, you don’t know what to think of it: the secretary bird.

Secretary Bird

This elusive bird of prey has the body of a raptor and the legs of a crane, with funky quill-like feathers on the head. They use their half-pantaloon/half-bare legs to stomp prey. Funny-looking but ferocious, they also use their large, hooked bill to strike prey.

The secretary bird is one of my favorites, read more at Loving the Secretary Bird by Jet Eliot.

Giant Eagle Owl, Botswana, Africa – aka Verreaux’s Eagle Owl

The largest owl in Africa, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl is a towering force in the woods, eating mammals, birds and insects.

But even this bird, also known as the Giant Eagle Owl, has a soft side: when you find them sleeping, you see their pretty pink eyelids.

Because it’s an African safari and birds are only part of the adventure, I’ve also included a few other creatures we observed in the Okavango Delta.

Thank you for joining me on this two-part series, celebrating the wide variety of birds in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

Zebra, Okavango Delta

Leopard, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Written by Jet Eliot.

All photos in the wild by Athena Alexander.

Kudu with Yellow-billed Oxpeckers on back

Rock Hyrax

Lilac-breasted Roller, Africa

One day years ago we were traveling through northern Kenya, not far from the border of Somalia.

 

We were isolated, on dirt roads, en route to our next lodge when our driver  heard that a different tour bus ahead of us had come upon bandits.

 

The unlucky tourists had stopped on the side of the road, were looking at something, and subsequently robbed.

 

We were warned we were not going to be making any stops until we reached our next lodge, except for one bathroom pit-stop. They assured us we would be fine, but no dallying was the strong message.

 

Eventually we stopped for our bathroom break, privately dispersed behind the rocks. The guides watched for suspicious travelers while we hurried.

 

I was there behind a rock when a terrifying, shrill scream erupted.

 

I didn’t know what to do. So I waited a minute, heard nothing more. Then I peered out from behind the boulder, shaking and rattled, ready and resolved to surrender my precious wedding band and binoculars.

 

But the only vehicle there was ours, and my safari mates were calmly filing back into it.

 

Back on the road, my heart still pounding, I asked what that horrible scream was. That’s when I learned what a rock hyrax was.

 

Rock Hyrax. Photo B. Torrissen, courtesy Wikipedia

Soft, furry creatures, the wee size of a guinea pig.

 

Procavia capensis live in rocky outcroppings in Africa and the Middle East (see range map below).

 

A small mammal, the rock hyrax have a hearty diet. They eat quickly, never lingering long.

 

Leopard, Africa

There is a good reason they hide inside rocks and don’t linger, they have many predators:  wild cats, like leopard, as well as hawks, owls, and eagles.

 

Cobras, puff adders, pythons, and wild dogs also hunt them.

 

Egyptian Cobra, Africa

More rock hyrax info here.

 

The rock hyrax have many tools for survival, including more than 20 different vocalizations.

 

They communicate within their large colonies with growls, twitters, whistles, and songs. When the sentry senses danger they scream and shriek.

 

Apparently I was the perceived danger.

 

Rock Hyrax. Photo: Siegmund K.M., courtesy Wikipeida

Click here for the shriek.

 

What a crazy little animal. Small body, ferocious scream. I was glad we were not accosted by bandits, but I could’ve used a gentler introduction.

 

Rock Hyrax Range Map, courtesy Wikipedia

Photo credit: Athena Alexander unless otherwise specified

 

 

 

Here’s my newly released novel. Suspense that will rock you.

Click here to purchase or at Amazon or any other major book retailer.

 

Hornbills

Red-billed Hornbill pair, Zambia

These showy birds in the Bucerotidae family can be found in Africa and Asia.  Characterized and named for their large bills, it is this feature that makes them entertaining to observe.

 

Hornbills are the only bird with the first and second vertebrae fused together, a feature that helps support the large bill.  Powerful neck muscles also offer support.

 

Southern Ground Hornbill, Zambia

There are approximately 55 species of hornbills in the world, pictured here are four species we observed in sub-Saharan Africa.  Except for the southern ground hornbill, most hornbills are arboreal.

 

Species vary in size.  All the birds here range around 20 inches (50 cm) long, except the ground hornbill at about a meter tall.  More hornbill info here.

 

Crowned Hornbill, Zambia

Their diet is omnivorous, and includes fruit, insects, and small animals.  While the large bill is used for catching prey, the bill is so long that the tongue cannot reach the food.  You will often find one vigorously shaking the head, to aid in swallowing.

 

In addition to preening and fighting with the bill, another important use is for nest building.  Most hornbill species are monogamous.  They construct the nest in a cavity, and when the female is ready to lay her eggs, they do a peculiar thing to prepare a safe environment.

 

Yellow-billed Hornbill, Botswana

They build the entrance just large enough for the female to enter.  Then she enters and the male seals it shut, almost entirely.

 

Using mud, fruit pulp, and droppings to seal it, he leaves enough room to pass food through.  When the chicks are ready, she breaks the seal open.

 

Not only is it a fascinating bird to watch, but the sounds are great too.  Click here for my favorite hornbill sound:  the southern ground hornbill.

 

Photo credit:  Athena Alexander

Barn Swallows–stirred up by rhinos

Barn Swallows, Lewa, Kenya

What I love is near at hand, Always, in earth and air.

~~ Theodore Roethke

Photo credit:  Athena Alexander

Cheetah: Fastest Land Animal on Earth

Cheetah, Tanzania, Africa

They can go from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3 seconds.  When  Acinonyx jubatus is in pursuit it is one of the most agile dances I have ever seen; effortlessly switching directions, sprinting, swift in pursuit.

 

But I cannot remember a time when I watched the cheetah race across the plains that I was wholly exuberant.  I knew the prey (usually an impala or gazelle) was soon to perish.  And yet it was all undeniably thrilling.

 

Photo credit:  Athena Alexander