Monday 31 January 2011
ZEBRA REPLY
Here is the answer to the question about the type of Zebra we have here in Kasungu. When I first saw them I knew there was somthing strange about them and that they were not just standard Burchell's zebra.
"The Zebras in Kasungu are Crawshay's zebras, they can sometimes have shadow stripes and most noticeably they have horizontal stripes the full length of the legs and stripes which often extend all the way round the belly. You should be able to find them on the internet on wikipedia or something like that but in books unless you have a very comprehensive mammal book the Crawshay's will be included in plains zebras and may not even include images to compare to."
The talk at WESM went very well and attendees aprreciated my efforts.
All is very quiet here at the moment except for the local people fishing in the dam. It is illegal but they dont seem to care. They say it is done because of poverty so I am going to try and offer some of the more desperate among them some work and see if that helps or not. Only time will tell.
"The Zebras in Kasungu are Crawshay's zebras, they can sometimes have shadow stripes and most noticeably they have horizontal stripes the full length of the legs and stripes which often extend all the way round the belly. You should be able to find them on the internet on wikipedia or something like that but in books unless you have a very comprehensive mammal book the Crawshay's will be included in plains zebras and may not even include images to compare to."
The talk at WESM went very well and attendees aprreciated my efforts.
All is very quiet here at the moment except for the local people fishing in the dam. It is illegal but they dont seem to care. They say it is done because of poverty so I am going to try and offer some of the more desperate among them some work and see if that helps or not. Only time will tell.
Tuesday 18 January 2011
HAPPY NEW YEAR
I have not written anything lately as it has been very quiet here. I have not seen any elephants for about 10 days now although there is often spoor left at night. The hippo and puku are still around the dam and the good news is that one of the hippos is now a mum and has a tiny baby. It is not as long as her head yet. Last year’s babies play a lot of the day and can be seen play fighting. When they are chasing each other they almost leave the water. Even when I go for drives in the bush most of the animals seem to have disappeared although a couple of days ago I did see roan again. Most of the larger water birds have found another place of sanctuary although the fish eagles are still around along with a martial eagle. There are many bats, swallows and swifts.
At this time of year it heaven for botanists as there are many wild flowers and orchids around. I have tried looking some of them up in my book but it does not cover many of the ones I see. If anyone is interested in carrying out a study of the flowers now is the time to do it.
On Monday I am going to Lilongwe to give a talk about the wild dogs and wildlife of Kasungu to members of WESM. I hope they enjoy it.
At this time of year it heaven for botanists as there are many wild flowers and orchids around. I have tried looking some of them up in my book but it does not cover many of the ones I see. If anyone is interested in carrying out a study of the flowers now is the time to do it.
On Monday I am going to Lilongwe to give a talk about the wild dogs and wildlife of Kasungu to members of WESM. I hope they enjoy it.
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