This update will be reptile-themed and features pictures from the Reptile Park in Hoedspruit. There are 143 species of snakes in Southern Africa, of which 37 are considered dangerous (or even lethal) to humans. It is therefore, perhaps, surprising to know that only about 14 people die from snakebites each year.
The first animal encountered at the park was this very curious Ostrich that did his best to pose for the cameras. They sound a lot like distant lions and this one was quite vocal…
The most venomous snake in Southern Africa, the Boomslang, is also the cutest of all snakes (Anja). The amount of venom needed to kill a human is so small that you need a magnifying glass to see it. The venom is Haemotoxic which means that the blood loses its ability to coagulate. The venom is slow working but eventually the victim will start to bleed from old wounds and scratches and soon also internally. After a couple of days the victim will suffer from massive internal bleeding, blood oozing through the skin and every opening in the body. Fortunately the Boomslang (Africaans for Tree snake) lives most of its life high up in trees and when confronted is very reluctant to bite. Male Boomslangs are usually green while females are brown or brownish grey.
The Puffadder is responsible for most human casualties as a result of snakebite. The Puffadder is an ambush predator and most people get bitten when they step on it or try to handle it. The venom is cytotoxic meaning that it is tissue destroying – the tissue around the bite will start to bleed and rot. Even with treatment there’s a huge risk of secondary infection. Truly nasty stuff! Some people in our class handled it with a stick, picking it up just to get a feeling for what it is like before doing a snake handeling course later on this year.
The Cobras (above) and Mambas have Neurotoxic venom that is fast working and in the case of the Black Mamba (below) 100% lethal, if not treated.
We witnessed the Green Mambas getting fed with mice and they fought eachother for the food, biting and actually drawing blood.
The parrots at the park were very social and followed people around if they had something to eat… even biting their shoes to get ice cream. This one was lucky enough to snatch some sugar.
Chameleons are always fun to watch, especially when they are about to get fed…Oh, and those tracks in our last update were made by a male lion.
/A & J
One of the many birds of prey you can see here in north eastern South Africa is the Bateleur. The very short tail is an easy give-away and if you look closely you can also see the feet sticking out. The colouration tells you that it is a juvenile (adult Bateleurs are black and white: they change coulours when they are about six or seven years old). As you can see this Bateleur is brown and white and that also tells you that it is a male. So, in conclusion, this is a picture of a male, juvenile Bateleur.
Earlier you learnt that we have got some pets at the camp… this guy was unfortunately forgotten! We call this species Toilet Frog (Foam nest frog). There are three of them hiding out in the girls’ bathroom, in the toilet roll holder. All five of us girls are very fond of them and try to disturb them as little as possible.
Game drives are always great fun and some days you see a lot! Today there were Elephants running like crazy through the reserve (chased buy a bull elephant with intentions…), Giraffes around every curve and Kudus at every other turn…
… and then some Warthogs in between. This is a very cool animal that is often overlooked as it is quite common and also don’t mind your presence.
We hear Jackals every night and early in the mornings, but we rarely see them and if we do, it’s usually just a glimpse. This one was standing still though… for obvious reasons.
Next blog update will feature: the Reptile park.
The rhino calf is about two months old and was the highlight of the day for everyone in my car.
An elephant herd passed us quite close by and gave plenty of opportunities for some decent photos.
In Jonny’s car they also had a close encounter with giraffes.
but there are also a lot of birds around the camp. This forktailed drongo is only one of the approximately 65 we need to learn to identify, not only by sight but also by sound.
In the evening (after the run, that unfortunately ruined my jogging partner’s knee for the coming month) we had a braai (barbecue) and talked around the camp fire for a while.