Shot of the Month – April 2009

Ever had friends come over to the house and they just wouldn’t leave?  You just wanted to go to bed but they just keep chatting away, having a grand ol’ time.  The look on the hippo’s face reminds me of that exasperated feeling.

“Shhh, don’t look, but are they gone yet?”

So, what is going on here?  Why is this hippo out on land?  Why by himself?  And why covered in, uh, birds?

I came upon this hippopotamus near the Luangwa River in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.  This gigantic male is lying on a sandy flood plain above the water surface – in the rainy season he would actually be underwater, but at this time, during the dry season, the river has descended into its deepest channel and is a good 20 feet below where he is resting.

Why is he out on land?  Turns out it is not as uncommon as most postcard images would have us think.  Every evening hippos emerge from the water and walk up to five miles to graze on short grass across the countryside.  Hippos will also bask in the sun during the day for short periods (gotta break up all that napping somehow).

Why is he by himself?  Although the classic African scene is that of a group of hippos, a “pod” for those of you keeping track, lounging along the river’s edge, it turns out that hippos are not social animals.  They do not develop social bonds with the other members of the pod and scientists don’t really know why they huddle together.  Perhaps, they are just following the old adage of “safety in numbers.”

And why is he covered with birds?  These are Red-billed Oxpeckers.  Despite the somewhat annoyed look on the hippo’s face, he actually welcomes their presence as they provide a valuable service.  Oxpeckers pick off ticks and other annoying insects that can’t be reached otherwise.

But there is more to this story.  Hippos are very aggressive and males often fight each other for dominance.  If you look closely this huge male is covered in fresh, open wounds.  My hunch is that he was in a vicious brawl the night before and didn’t fare too well.  Exhausted, bloodied, and bruised he took refuge up on the raised bank of the river to rest and heal in peace.  The oxpeckers, looking for a free meal, will continually check the wounds for insects and help keep them pest-free.  Everybody wins, right?

Well, some scientists now believe that the oxpeckers, in fact, may also peck at the wounds to keep them open so they can drink the blood directly, thereby delaying the healing process.  So, depending on the situation, the hippo-ox pecker relationship may be “symbiotic” and in other situations “parasitic.”

Or in less zoological terms, sometimes oxpeckers act like Florence Nightingales (get it?) and other times they act like feathered vampires.  At this point, no one knows for sure where the truth lies.

Life is complicated……

Shot of the Month – March 2009

You gotta respect the attitude of this colorful fellow.  It’s as if he is glancing over at us and cooling asking “And what, exactly, are you doing on my rock?”  This would be attitude a la Agama – agama lizard to be precise.

Unlike many creatures on my website, agama lizards are far from being endangered.  I have seen them in Gabon in West Africa, in Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa, and in most places in between.  There are 31 species of agama lizard spread out across Africa.

In my first visit to Africa, as a Peace Corps volunteer, we called them the “push-up lizards.”  Why?  Well, the males, that would be the colorful ones, have this habit of running hither and thither, stopping abruptly,  and for what seemed to be for no apparent reason would start to do push-ups.  Of course, we all know now that this is all about boys being boys – the males were trying to show off to the lady lizards and/or scare off rival males.  By bobbing up and down they were trying to appear larger than they really are.

Agama lizards live in a very hierarchical world.  In a given space the most colorful agama will be the dominant male or “cock.”  Subordinate males adopt a dull brown color.  A dominant male can have up to six females in his territory for breeding.  We’ve all seen lizards splayed on rocks basking in the sun–even this has its rules in Agama land.  You will find the dominant male at the highest position on the rock, followed next by the sub-males, and lowest on this literal totem pole you will find the females.

Male agama lizards will fight each other to hold or take over a territory.  A challenger will present himself in full splendid Technicolor  – a visual cue that he is here to rumble.  It is a scene many of us can recall from high school dances or from often repeated scenes at the local bar.  First, the two rival males make eye contact – brows furrow.  Soon there is a lot of huffing and puffing at a safe distance.  Then the head bobbing thing.  Then full body push-ups.  If the challenger has not fled away or returned back to monochromatic servitude then the dominant male will charge closer to within a few inches.  More bobbing.  Finally the two charge each other, and then, well, and then they flip around in opposite directions.  Have they lost their nerve?  No, facing away from each other, tail to tail, allows the sword, uh, tail fighting to begin.  They lash at each other until one is sufficiently pummeled and flees.  Apparently, some biting can also occur, but that seems rather unmanly to me.

So there you have it, the glorious, albeit ridiculous, agama lizard – the life form that high school jocks come back as in their next life.  (For those who believe in reincarnation)

Until next month… 🙂

Shot of the Month – February 2009

This month I offer a scene emblematic of the primary holiday of the season (sorry to disappoint all you Ground Hog Day fans) – Valentine’s Day.

In this romantic scene, we have the male Kori Bustard courting a female.  As part of the courtship, he provided her with a steady stream of grasshoppers.  He seemed quite adept at this as I saw him give her 3 tasty morsels in just a few minutes.  Apparently, some males offer snakes as large as 2.5 feet in length as gifts!

Kori Bustards have dramatic courtship rituals where the male will stand straight as an arrow on the top of a small hill and inflate his esophagus to create a brilliant white plume around his neck, as shown on the left.

Shot of the Month – January 2009

If you look at this photo and go “Whoa! This guy is scary!” then I have succeeded.

I chose this shot because I feel that it best captures the seething danger embodied by the Cape Buffalo (CB).

Let me repeat,

C-a-p-e   B-u-f-f-a-l-o.

Not water buffalo.

While these animals may look similar, they are two very different creatures.  The water buffalo lives in Asia, not Africa, is slightly larger, and has been domesticated.  Only about 4,000 wild water buffalo exist in the world and they are declining fast.  There are however about 140,000,000 domesticated water buffalo gently wandering around India (over half live there), Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Thailand.  These animals have been domesticated for over 5,000 years and are used by farmers to toil fields and provide essential meat and milk to humans.  Their dung can be used as fertilizer and fuel when dried.

Cape buffalos live only in Africa, have never been domesticated, and many consider them to be one of the most dangerous animals in the world.  CBs have the honor of being one of the “Big Five” – a phrase used by big game hunters to describe the most difficult and dangerous animals to hunt on foot.  Many hunters consider the CB to be the most dangerous of this illustrious group.  The reason why?  Well, let’s imagine that you are a hunter who shoots a Cape buffalo but the injury is not fatal.  Most wounded animals would do their best to hide in the bush or slink away and recover.  Not the Cape buffalo.  Well, he will sneak away into the bush – not to hide, but to begin his assault on you.  He will stalk you.  He will follow you.  He may circle back on the trail and ambush you from a different direction.  He won’t stop until he has gored you or stomped you to death.  The hunter becomes the hunted.

So, uh, avoid ticking off a Cape buffalo.

Counter to what you might think, if you were walking through the bush and stumbled upon a herd of buffalo you would most likely be safe.  Cape buffalo feel safe and confident when in a herd so they do not feel the need to charge unless seriously provoked.  It is the lone buffalo that you need to worry about.  Male buffalo get irritable as they get old (like many of their human counterparts) and typically will leave the herd and live a solitary life.  If you find a buffalo on his own he may be injured, sick, or in the case of old males, just plain cranky.  Regardless of the cause, a lone buffalo will feel insecure and threatened when encountered and will often lash out.  Stay very, very clear of a lone buffalo.

Cape buffalo are fierce fighters and when attacked often respond as a unified force.  There are many reports of herds of buffalo fighting off hunting lions.  One such scene has been caught in a now-famous YouTube video.  Click here to see the luckiest Cape buffalo calf in the world:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

Bonus:  A reward for those of you who stuck it out to the end of this missive.  Here is the list of the “Big Five” (I know it has been driving you crazy).  In no particular order:

1. Lion
2. Leopard
3. Rhino
4. Elephant
5. Cape Buffalo

Happy New Year!

Shot of the Month – December 2008

Given it is December I thought I should look for an image that is consistent with the holiday season.  The best I could come up with was this photo of some African reindeer.

Ok, ok, they’re not reindeer.  They are Gemsbok.  Also known as Oryx by some.

And they definitely are not at the North Pole — Gemsbok are typically found in some of the hottest spots on the planet and thrive in the deserts, scrublands, and brushlands of Africa.  These chaps were photographed in Botswana in the Kalahari Desert.

Besides their spectacular looks, these creatures are a wonder of adaptation – every aspect of their existence from body shape, to specialized organs, to behaviors, to diet has been perfected to allow these antelopes to survive where most other animals would perish.

While it may seem counterintuitive, being large (about 55” at the shoulder, and up to 550 lbs) helps to survive in the desert.  Their surface area is small in proportion to their mass so they do not heat up nor cool down as quickly as smaller animals.

Gemsbok have learned to graze at night when the moisture content of grasses and plants is higher.  This allows them to get water when none can be found elsewhere for months at a time.  This behavior also allows Gemsbok to be less active during the hottest part of the day.  During the day they retreat to the shade whenever possible to avoid overheating.  At times they will lie down in the shade with their belly on the cooler sand.

No shade available?  In this case, Gemsbok are careful to keep the smallest part of their bodies turned to the sun and the biggest part to the breeze. Their white bellies help to redirect heat and solar radiation from the hot sand away from their bodies.

And we are not done yet.  Gemsbok have two more amazing adaptations up their black and white sleeves.

Most mammals maintain a steady body temperature and release heat by sweating.  When water is plentiful Gemsbok also sweat and maintain a constant body temperature.  But when water is scarce they cannot afford to lose precious moisture in this fashion so they stop perspiring.  They reduce some of the heat by panting and the rest is absorbed by allowing their body temperatures to rise by as much as 7° F to 113° F – a temperature that would cause brain damage in most mammals and kill them.  Why doesn’t it kill the Gemsbok?

Did you notice the long snout on these fellows?  Turns out that the snout is filled with a maze of blood vessels that act like a car radiator.  A network of blood vessels is surrounded by veins carrying blood that has been cooled by evaporation from the nasal passages as the animal breathes.  As warm blood from the heart passes through this network it is cooled as it exchanges heat with the surrounding veins and lowers the temperature of the blood going to the brain.  This heat exchange mechanism can keep the brain 5° F cooler than the rest of the body – the margin between life and death.

Pretty cool, huh?

May you all have a cool yule and a groovy New Year.