Wednesday 29 August 2012

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Ellies


I know that I need to get my eyes tested when everyone else in the car can see that red rock over there as an elephant before me. However I believe that even if my eyes had seen him, my brain would have said  Ellies aren't that red - they're grey!



We watched as he dug repeatedly with the back side of his front foot, scraping and scraping



unearthing a root similar in size to a sweet potato and then tapped in on his right tusk a few times before chomping. I suppose if you're eating that much crunchy stuff all the time those extra sandy bits won't freak you out like they do me.


 He looked permanently half asleep. The naughty bull ellies get injected to prevent them from coming into must and causing trouble with the ladies and Shamwari's guests.
Male ellies have a head that is rounded. Female ellies have a more angular shape to their heads, 45 degrees.



This beauty walked right passed us. I snapped many pics wondering all the time if I could edit that white goop out of her eye. Nothing says control freak more, hey? She walked past showing that side, I could have reached out and touched her, but chose not to.






 Elephants have their mammaries in the front. They only suckle their own babies unless the mother of the infant dies when another female relative will adopt the baby. They are pregnant for 2 years and suckle for two years.


 This baby was less that a month old and we were told was still learning to control his trunk. He kept trying to catch the tail of the baby in front of him. Naughty little bugger.



Sweet and such a gentle giant. Round head =boy, even though it may look like a girl.

Taking the Mickey





 Elise's Pieces sells at the Digichick.

Monday 27 August 2012

Bacon boys

 These beautiful buffalo cost R400 000 each so when the wild dogs took to killing them for sport the wild dogs were shipped off Shamwari and the buffalo were secluded to begin breeding and increasing their numbers again. These are certified disease free buffalo.
 They don't look very bright and apparently give no warning before they charge (think Rottweiler) so the ranger stayed far far away from them.
 Having a quick drink of Mother's milk.
The Italian family we were with wanted too see hippo - in and out of the water. At first we thought this may be the only view we got of hippo, this bachelor heading into the thicket. Take my word for it...Hippo.
 Then from further away we saw these. Some snuck into the water as we approached but these stayed and watched us, unnervingly.
 We were coached on the differences between male and female warthogs.
Either way they are ugly~. The females had beards and the males had two lots of wart-like protrusions on their faces. Fred began calling them bacon boys.
 Female with beard -enough to scar Fred for life.

Male - no beard and bigger tusks.

cruisin



Saturday 25 August 2012