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    A2A Safaris - Africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/tags/africa en Ruaha’s Spotted All-Stars https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/ruaha%E2%80%99s-spotted-all-stars <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><h4 style="text-align:center;"><strong>*** Important ***</strong><br /> From 1 March 2015 this website will not be live anymore.<br /> With the launch of our new Asilia Blog all future blog articles about Rubondo Island can be found there.<strong><br /><a href="http://blog.asiliaafrica.com/category/areas/ruaha_national_park/" target="_blank">We invite you to our new Asilia Blog here &gt;</a></strong></h4> <h4>By Pietro Luraschi</h4> <p>Quintessential beauty, unforgettable elegance, striking power, heavenly grace and a perfect balance of many qualities: these are the words that come to my mind every time I see a leopard.</p> <p>Every leopard has its own way and its own character: some are shy, allowing you just a glimpse of them, some are confident in trees but disappear as soon as they climb down, some climb rocks, others prefer trees, and others again do not like much climbing and prefer the undergrowth. There are leopards absolutely relaxed with cars around, then there the one-car-leopards that vanish the moment a second car approaches. Lastly there are the leopards that we never see because they are way too wary of humans – all we find are sets of tracks here and there, but no other sign of them.</p> <p>As guides of <a href="http://kwihala.asiliaafrica.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kwihala Camp</span></a> we know of a good number of leopards around us, not less than fifteen individuals, but if I have to do the maths, there are probably five of them that count for the 80% of the sightings – our five ‘Spotted All-Stars’.</p> <p><strong>Furaha</strong></p> <p>Furaha, which means ‘joy’ in Swahili, is 4 years old, and at time of writing is probably busy with a litter of cubs that she has not yet revealed to the world.</p> <p>We have known her since she was 4 months old. Festo and I were driving guests in the Sokwe Forest when we spotted a shy female up a rain tree no more then 8 metres from the road, and by her side, a small furry cub as shy as her mother.</p> <p>Their impala kill tucked up on a branch kept them there for four days, and then one night the mother went down, killed another ewe and brought it up the same tree where for another four days the leopards enjoyed their meal. That gave little Furaha the time to slowly overcome her fear of vehicles and has made her a real joy for us since. She is a great fan of sausage trees, which are by far her favourite trees to rest in. She does not use trees much when there is good cover on the ground, but she climbs more and more as the dry season advances.</p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140902_074113.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-631" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140902_074113.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140902_074113" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140917_171422.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-632" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140917_171422.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140917_171422" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140917_172749-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-633" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140917_172749-2.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140917_172749-2" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140917_172306-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-634" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140917_172306-2.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140917_172306-2" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><strong>Onca</strong></p> <p>Onca gets his name from the scientific name for the jaguar, as his pattern and shape of rosettes very similar to that of the South American cat. He is three and an half, and we have known him since he was one year old, when he had just left his mother. We found him around Kimilamatonge Hill, which became the centre for most of his activity. He is a very relaxed cat of predictable habits, where he loves the roads, using them to move along the hill to access the best rocks where Hyraxes live. Recently he started killing bigger prey but still stays around the hill where he can count on hundreds of bush hyraxes for easy meals. He has a real love for the mid rainy season, where he likes to sit on granite boulders in the late afternoon when the temperature drops, his elegant body wrapped around the rocks.</p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140731_094850.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-635" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140731_094850.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140731_094850" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140804_124147-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-636" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140804_124147-2.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140804_124147-2" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140908_182445.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-637" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140908_182445.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140908_182445" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140924_182059-3.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-638" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140924_182059-3.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140924_182059-3" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><strong>Bandido</strong></p> <p>Bandido is an old pirate, one ear just a stump, his gums covering the lower incisors, and has a massive body full of scars. He often walks through the camp at night, and he is not afraid of humans: he just keeps a safe distance and does not run away at full speed when we cross his path. Completely at ease when he is up a tree, he does not like to follow roads when he is on the ground, usually moving steadily into thicker areas of undergrowth.</p> <p>An old boy, definitely in his prime, he is one of the princes of the Mwagusi Valley, roaming all the area from Mbagi almost to White Rocks, more or less ten kilometres as the crow flies. He is not the only huge male around, as strangely his range overlaps with that of a very shy, blue-eyed male we call Ghost. Last year we saw him with a female between Lorenzo’s and my tent, and keeping just out of view, he mated with her all night, keeping us and half the camp awake!</p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20141005_191307-bandido.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-630" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20141005_191307-bandido.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20141005_191307- bandido" width="640" height="425" /></a> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140926_125233-bandido.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-629" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140926_125233-bandido.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140926_125233-bandido" width="640" height="425" /></a> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140926_115821-bandido.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-628" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140926_115821-bandido.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140926_115821- bandido" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><strong>BRM and BRF</strong></p> <p>BRM and BRF are two siblings named Black Rocks Male and Black Rocks Female. I know the names lack imagination, but refer to the area where they live. Black Rocks is a basalt ridge surfacing along the Mwagusi River, a good place for hunting hyraxes, one of the favourite prey species of young leopards not confident enough to target bigger mammals. They are probably three years old. When we started seeing them they were around eighteen months old, together with their mother, who was extremely shy. She always moved away from us but the cubs would often stay, curious of cars and people.<br /> At one of the first sightings we had of them, the three leopards were cornered by a pride of lions, perched high up in two huge baobabs! Over time, BRF has become very, very confident, and she is completely unfazed by vehicles even when she is on the ground. BRM loves baobab trees and in recent times has started killing impalas and dragging them up there, but when he is on the ground he likes to keep his distance.</p> <p>They have left their mother to get on with their solitary lives, but sometimes when they meet, BRM always approaches BRF with a friendly manner, and she always tells him off with snarls and growls. This year we found them in a baobab with a third leopard, a male of the same age (BRM2) that seems to have a strong bond with them. He may be a cub of the same litter that left the mother before the other two, and before we started seeing them.</p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140720_172702.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-639" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140720_172702.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140720_172702" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140720_175020-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-643" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140720_175020-2.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140720_175020-2" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140720_175342-4.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-644" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140720_175342-4.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140720_175342-4" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140726_083401.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-645" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140726_083401.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140726_083401" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140824_085712.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-646" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140824_085712.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140824_085712" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140911_081132.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-647" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140911_081132.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140911_081132" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140911_080846.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-648" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/20140911_080846.jpg?w=640&amp;h=425" alt="20140911_080846" width="640" height="425" /></a></p> <p>Sightings of these “Spotted All-Stars” are often the highlight of visitors’ experiences here in Ruaha, with their effortless combination of fierce grace and power, and they certainly are among my favourite animals to photograph.</p> <p>Pietro</p> <p>Visit the <a href="http://kwihala.asiliaafrica.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Kwihala Camp website</span></a> to find out more about the camp and Ruaha National Park. To come and stay, contact your trusted tour operator or <a href="http://kwihala.asiliaafrica.com/Enquire/Kwihala.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">enquire here</span></a>.</p> <p> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/624/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=ruahablog.com&amp;blog=65589608&amp;post=624&amp;subd=ruahaproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/conservation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Conservation</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/safari" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Safari</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/wildlife" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wildlife</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/leopard" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leopard</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/leopards" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Leopards</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div></div> Tue, 03 Mar 2015 11:11:14 +0000 Anonymous 1126 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/ruaha%E2%80%99s-spotted-all-stars#comments Small wonders on Rubondo Island https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/small-wonders-rubondo-island <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#339966;"><strong>*** Important ***</strong></span><br /> From 1 March 2015 this website will not be live anymore.<br /> With the launch of our new Asilia Blog all future blog articles about Rubondo Island can be found there.<strong><br /><a href="http://blog.asiliaafrica.com/category/areas/rubondo_island/" target="_blank">We invite you to our new Asilia Blog here &gt;</a></strong></p> <p>By Akil Halai</p> <p>Rubondo Island on Lake Victoria is not only fascinating for its Nile perch fishing, its introduced population of chimps or its beautiful birdlife. It has a wide range of smaller animals that you don’t see on a normal safari.</p> <p><strong>Off the beaten track</strong></p> <p>Few tourists and guests are actually privileged to have visited the island because the island’s attractions are more low-key and esoteric than the often-visited savannah safari parks. This is changing dramatically nowadays, as visitors seek out more unusual experiences. They have already seen the big and ‘usual’ wildlife, and now crave something different. In this case unique places such as Rubondo are now coming into the picture, offering spectacular and unique wildlife experiences.</p> <p><strong>Small wonders</strong></p> <p>On my recent trip to <a href="http://rubondo.asiliaafrica.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Rubondo Island Camp,</a> I had a chance to tick off some animals I had waited for a long time to see. Watching the behaviour of these creatures was fascinating, and so much worth the time I spent.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_8044.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1907" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_8044.jpg?w=488&amp;h=325" alt="IMG_8044" width="488" height="325" /></a></p> <p>The road from the park headquarters to the swampy Mlaga Bay every evening had a high concentration of colourful butterflies and Serrated Hinged Terrapins, especially after rain in the mornings.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/friar.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1705" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/friar.png?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="Friar" width="300" height="225" /></a> <a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/charaxes1.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1702" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/charaxes1.png?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="Charaxes1" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>The Serrated Hinged Terrapins (<em>Pelusios sinuatus</em>) are a species of turtle in the Pelomedusidae family. They are only found in lakes and rivers in tropical East Africa. I spent many evenings watching them bask in mud banks and puddles on the roads made by wheel tracks. I was even lucky to see a clever one on the back of a hippo! They usually eat water snails, soft-weed and insects. The female terrapins are larger than the males with a carapace of up to 55cm long, and males can be distinguished from the females by their longer tails. For defence, the hinged plastron closes to protect the head and forelimbs, and the terrapin also secretes a foul odour when threatened.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/turtle.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1908" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/turtle.jpg?w=488&amp;h=325" alt="turtle" width="488" height="325" /></a></p> <p>We saw the evidence of many female terrapins having laid their eggs in puddles – they usually lay from seven up to twenty-two eggs. The laying season is from October to January, and cute hatchlings appear from March to April. On Rubondo Island there were so many, we had to actually zigzag on the track to make sure we didn’t drive over any terrapin or its eggs!</p> <p>It is the small wonders like this that make Rubondo such a rewarding place for me to visit.</p> <p>Akil</p> <p>Visit the <a href="http://rubondo.asiliaafrica.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Rubondo Island Camp website</a> for more information about the camp and the island.</p> <p>To come and stay on Rubondo, contact your trusted travel agent or <a href="http://rubondo.asiliaafrica.com/Enquire/Rubondo.aspx" target="_blank">send an enquiry.</a></p> <p><strong>About Aki</strong><strong>l</strong></p> <p><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/akil.jpg"><img class=" size-medium wp-image-1909 alignleft" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/akil.jpg?w=300&amp;h=300" alt="Akil" width="300" height="300" /></a> Tanzanian-born Akil Halai is the Field Operations Coordinator for Asilia Tanzania. A birding enthusiast of note, he endeavours to observe as many avian species as possible upon his travels through Africa.</p> <p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:left;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=rubondoislandcampproject.com&amp;blog=41201705&amp;post=1906&amp;subd=rubondoislandcampproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/wildlife" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wildlife</a></div></div> Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:35:15 +0000 Anonymous 1123 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/small-wonders-rubondo-island#comments A leopard or an expat jaguar? https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/a-leopard-or-an-expat-jaguar <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><h4>By Pietro Luraschi</h4> <h4> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140914_182902-2.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-617 aligncenter" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140914_182902-2.jpg?w=600&amp;h=406" alt="20140914_182902-2" width="600" height="406" /></a></h4> <h4></h4> <p>Rosettes are rosettes, but jaguars have very different pattern and shape of rosettes compared to a leopard. On a jaguar, they are large and geometrical, especially on the back, compared to a leopards tighter and more compact formations.</p> <p>There is a young male leopard that lives on the slopes of Kimilamatonge Hill, where hyraxes are his favoured prey. He is three years old and has a striking pattern of rosettes, a pattern that makes him look so similar to a jaguar that we decided to call him Onca, from the scientific name of the jaguar, Panthera onca.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140921_175702.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-618" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140921_175702.jpg?w=595&amp;h=399" alt="20140921_175702" width="595" height="399" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p>When you look at him you may think you are in the wrong continent, or that he is an expat jaguar that left South America to reach Tanzania!</p> <p>Hyraxes are relatively easy prey, which is why in Ruaha National Park young leopards are often spotted around kopjes and granite formations where the hyraxes thrive.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140802_120606-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-616" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140802_120606-2.jpg?w=573&amp;h=384" alt="20140802_120606-2" width="573" height="384" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p>For the last two years, we always found Onca around the east side of the hill, always hunting bush hyraxes with different techniques: ambushing them in the grass, running them up Pepper Seed trees, and stalking them amongst the rocks.</p> <p>The alarm calls of the hyraxes often helped us as guides to find him, his large rosettes moving through the peterodendron, his paws leaving an easy-to-follow trail on the road. He is a wonderful animal, relaxed and tolerant of our vehicles, but wild and fierce.</p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140727_094603.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-614 aligncenter" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140727_094603.jpg?w=555&amp;h=375" alt="20140727_094603" width="555" height="375" /></a></p> <p>For the first time this year Onca killed a bigger prey species – an impala ram. This is a milestone for him: something that in the future will probably change his behaviour, moving him farther away from the safety of the hyrax hunting grounds towards more challenging but more rewarding prey.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140731_092622.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-615" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140731_092622.jpg?w=546&amp;h=367" alt="20140731_092622" width="546" height="367" /></a></p> <p>We have been blessed to observe his unmatched beauty over the last two years, and hopefully the changes in his life will continue to allow us to enjoy his unbelievable jaguar-like pattern as he roams farther afield.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140727_093551-3.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-613" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/20140727_093551-3.jpg?w=394&amp;h=587" alt="20140727_093551-3" width="394" height="587" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:left;"> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/612/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=ruahablog.com&amp;blog=65589608&amp;post=612&amp;subd=ruahaproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/conservation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Conservation</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/safari" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Safari</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/wildlife" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wildlife</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/leopard" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leopard</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div></div> Mon, 09 Feb 2015 16:30:51 +0000 Anonymous 1117 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/a-leopard-or-an-expat-jaguar#comments Rubondo Island National Park in pictures https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/rubondo-island-national-park-pictures <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><h4 style="text-align:left;">By Ryan Green</h4> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3679-edit.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1887" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3679-edit.jpg?w=592&amp;h=237" alt="IMG_3679-Edit" width="592" height="237" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Although this magical island in Lake Victoria doesn’t have the teeming herds and ravenous predators found just to the north on the fabled plains of the Serengeti, it has a wealth of biodiversity to discover. In the company of a remarkable guide like Habibu Kissio and his acolyte Elisante, the secrets of the water, forests and skies are revealed.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3556.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1883" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3556.jpg?w=611&amp;h=462" alt="IMG_3556" width="611" height="462" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Taking a walk into the forest is like entering another world that lives in the verdant shadow of the canopy.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3539.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1880" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3539.jpg?w=469&amp;h=620" alt="IMG_3539" width="469" height="620" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Giant trees fighting for sunlight in a slow-motion battle are forced to grow buttresses to support themselves in the shallow, loamy soil.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3541.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1881 aligncenter" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3541.jpg?w=483&amp;h=640" alt="IMG_3541" width="483" height="640" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Strangler vines use their hosts to reach the sun, eventually smothering them.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3521.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1878 aligncenter" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3516.jpg?w=462&amp;h=659" alt="IMG_3516" width="462" height="659" /><img class="alignnone wp-image-1879" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3521.jpg?w=329&amp;h=218" alt="IMG_3521" width="329" height="218" /></a>  <a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3495.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1876" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3495.jpg?w=300&amp;h=215" alt="IMG_3495" width="300" height="215" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">If you look closely enough, the forest is full of life and colour, from beetles to emperor moth caterpillars and millipedes.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3672.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1885 aligncenter" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3672.jpg?w=494&amp;h=374" alt="IMG_3672" width="494" height="374" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3509.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1877 aligncenter" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3509.jpg?w=499&amp;h=725" alt="IMG_3509" width="499" height="725" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">When cut correctly, the water vine releases pure, cool water.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3674.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1886" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3674.jpg?w=516&amp;h=252" alt="IMG_3674" width="516" height="252" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">Venturing out of the forest and onto the lake, another world of life is revealed.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8079.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1891" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8079.jpg?w=522&amp;h=349" alt="LF6F8079" width="522" height="349" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">A leviathan slips off Croc Island.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8092.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1892" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8092.jpg?w=526&amp;h=349" alt="LF6F8092" width="526" height="349" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">Cormorants below a moody sky.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8098.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1893" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8098.jpg?w=534&amp;h=355" alt="LF6F8098" width="534" height="355" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">An Open-Billed Stork dries its wings, flanked by an egret and cormorants.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8110.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1894" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8110.jpg?w=482&amp;h=534" alt="LF6F8110" width="482" height="534" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">A tiny crocodile rests in the shoreline vegetation.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8134.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1895" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8134.jpg?w=495&amp;h=688" alt="LF6F8134" width="495" height="688" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">Small islands become heronries teeming with activity.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8160.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1896" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/lf6f8160.jpg?w=501&amp;h=341" alt="LF6F8160" width="501" height="341" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">A magnificent Palmnut Vulture.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3703.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1888" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3703.jpg?w=330&amp;h=210" alt="IMG_3703" width="330" height="210" /></a> <a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3551.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1882" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3551.jpg?w=280&amp;h=210" alt="IMG_3551" width="280" height="210" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">Expert guide Habibu Kissio is equally comfortable on land and water.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3717.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1889" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3717.jpg?w=505&amp;h=345" alt="IMG_3717" width="505" height="345" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">The local bushbuck are unconcerned by human presence.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3611.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1884" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_3611.jpg?w=587&amp;h=444" alt="IMG_3611" width="587" height="444" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">With its easy, laid-back charm and gentle atmosphere, Rubondo is a place that revitalises, while still retaining the spirit of discovery and adventure.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=rubondoislandcampproject.com&amp;blog=41201705&amp;post=1874&amp;subd=rubondoislandcampproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/photography" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Photography</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/birds" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">birds</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/fishing" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fishing</a></div></div> Fri, 06 Feb 2015 08:13:54 +0000 Anonymous 1115 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/rubondo-island-national-park-pictures#comments A life in the wilds – Sue Stolberger. https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/a-life-the-wilds-%E2%80%93-sue-stolberger <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/sue-painting-copy.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-609" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/sue-painting-copy.jpg?w=547&amp;h=371" alt="Sue-painting-copy" width="547" height="371" /></a></p> <p>Sue Stolberger is Ruaha’s “artist in residence” and has lived in the park for many years. She is the author of “Ruaha National Park, An Intimate View”, one of the definitive field guides to the region, as well as “The Ruaha Sketch Book”. Here we discover her remarkable story.</p> <p>Sue was born in Jamaica, but when she was four years old, her parents moved to Tanzania. She grew up enjoying the pristine beaches north of Dar es Salaam, and often travelled with her parents to Tanzania’s wonderful game parks during the holidays. These trips into the wilderness were without doubt a great influence on Sue’s desire to make a career from art and wildlife.</p> <p>Sue began painting seriously after leaving school, and at the age of eighteen she held her first exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya. By the time she was 22, she had decided she wanted to make a career as a wildlife artist, and so took herself off to Italy to learn what she could from the great masters. She remained there for two years, and the knowledge and experience she gained in Italy only served to fuel her dream.</p> <p>Funding everything by selling her paintings, she finally returned to East Africa where her adventures in the bush – paintbrushes in hand – began. Alone in her jeep, she ventured into the wildest of places – places she thought would be interesting – continuing to develop her artistic skills by sketching and painting from life. The more remote and inaccessible the places were, the more she enjoyed it. Her quest for adventure and her wonderful experiences in the African bush coupled with her desire to paint, has created a life of fulfilment and delight.</p> <p>Sue always works exclusively in the field. Over the past nineteen years she has lived and worked in National Parks in Tanzania and Kenya, worked from her mobile camp that could be set up anywhere, sleeping under the stars with just a net for protection, and working under a fly-sheet to keep the sun off. She spent two years painting scenes of the nomadic Somalis and their camels in northeastern Kenya. This was dangerous country where bandits roamed, but she never encountered any trouble. Another project saw her living alongside the Maasai, developing collections of paintings for exhibition. She spent four years captivated by the scenery and wildlife in Tsavo West National Park with fabulous views of the magnificent Mt. Kilimanjaro. Two more years were spent in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. In 1992, she drove solo from East Africa to Namibia and back—an arduous journey that took over six months to complete. On all of her peregrinations, Sue recorded the local scenery, wildlife and people with her paintings.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/workandpaints.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-610" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/workandpaints.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="workandpaints" width="300" height="225" /></a> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/my-studio.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-607" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/my-studio.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="my-studio-" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>For the past eleven years, Sue has been living and working in the Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania, a place she remembers well from her childhood. Her studio is a camp on the banks of the Great Ruaha River. She finds the peace and solitude of the remote area not only conducive to painting but the best way to learn and observe from the vast array of wildlife that surrounds her home. She sketches prolifically, and never ceases to be inspired and enthralled by the diversity of light, colour, patterns and designs that nature conjures up.</p> <p>“My motivation is to direct the viewer’s attention to the fascinating design and beauty surrounding us in the natural world. The patterns and combinations of colours used in display and camouflage are all so perfect in their detail. I like to focus on a subject to highlight its design, which can be almost abstracted from its form and yet still be part of its environment.”</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/ruaha-an-intimate-place.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-608" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/ruaha-an-intimate-place.jpg?w=525&amp;h=378" alt="RUAHA An Intimate Place" width="525" height="378" /></a></p> <p>In a recent article by <a href="http://magazine.africageographic.com/weekly/issue-3/wild-inspiration/" target="_blank">Africa Geographic</a>, Sue Has this to say about her life in the wilds:</p> <p>“It is very hard to capture the true essence of life in Ruaha in words or paint. I am merely a silent observer of a tiny, tiny portion of what goes on, and has gone on, for centuries.</p> <p>I distinctly remember when I was 12; I was on a game drive and I vowed that when I grew up, I would make my life in the bush and the best thing ever would be to live in Ruaha. In 1994, when I was 34, I found myself driving back to Ruaha. I was excited and curious to see how I would find it. It did not disappoint. Ruaha has been untouched since the beginning of time. It is quite honestly one of the finest wilderness areas on earth. That’s why I stayed and I have remained here for the past 11 years.</p> <p>You asked what the challenges are but I am so used to living remotely that I don’t find it challenging at all, to me it is ‘normal life.’ I suppose it does require you to be pretty organized, such as when you go on a shopping trip every six weeks. You do have to eat fresh stuff in a sequence of what goes off first and then what keeps last – cabbage and squash keeps for a long time, but soft fruit does not.</p> <p>People often ask me what I do if I am sick. Most of the time it is nothing serious I just spend a few days being quiet. However, on a couple of occasions I have had to be flown out with a doctor, but it all worked out. The main thing is to be organized, and know your mental and physical limitations.</p> <p>On a typical day I am a very early riser, so I potter about in my pyjamas, before the sun is up, taking in the sounds. I fill up the water baths for the birds and put out a bit of seed for them. My partner and fellow artist, Rob Glen, and I have separate camps, so at about 7.30 he comes over for breakfast: fruit, porridge, toast, tea and coffee. We sit on my veranda for all meals, often joined by birds and small beasts, like squirrels during the day and genets at night. We are usually in our respective studios or out sketching by 8.30am.</p> <p>In the evening I heat up water on the stove in a kettle for a shower, which is the old style bucket shower, hauled up on a pulley. We eat around 7.30pm by candle light with the stars and moon shining above. Even simple things like going down to the river each day to collect water turn out to be a magical moment for inspiration: colour on the water, a fish eagle or a dragon fly landing on a rock.</p> <p>What has always fascinated me is how nature comes up with the most marvellous combinations of colour. It is these combinations of colour and design that spark many of my pictures. I have always loved painting birds; their patterns and colours are superb.</p> <p>When I see something that grabs my attention, be it a sky, an animal, a person or just a combination of colours that I find interesting, I will sketch this in a journal with watercolour and keep it for future reference. Or I may be researching an animal or bird with a definite purpose, in which case I will pay particular attention to all the colours and details and spend a week or more making notes and sketches.</p> <p>I paint because it is what I love to do. I paint what inspires me or challenges me. It is very hard to catch that same spontaneous ‘inspiration’ from someone else’s idea. In the few commissions I have done I am constantly wondering: ‘is this what they had in mind?’ I concluded that it would be unwise to accept commissions as, although one might be tempted to follow this route as it brings in money, in the end it will be detrimental to one’s standard of work and one’s own inspiration. I can afford not to be controlled by fear of not having enough money because I know tomorrow will take care of itself.</p> <p>I have several things that are firing me up at the moment: I am working on a ‘coffee table’ type book that will be filled with paintings of the Miombo woodlands, a pristine yet underappreciated area of Ruaha. In addition to that, I am looking to create a flower and tree guide on the plants of Miombo.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/image1.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-606" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/image1.jpg?w=490&amp;h=395" alt="image1" width="490" height="395" /></a></p> <p>I am in the process of compiling all the countless, little stories of my encounters and observations of the wonderful wildlife using photographs and sketches. And I have many oil paintings that are simmering away in my head waiting for the right moment to appear on canvas. These will be done in a random fashion in between all the other projects.</p> <p>Here in Ruaha a road network is yet to be developed, so huge areas remain unscathed by humans; there is a tangible atmosphere of peace and tranquillity here. When I am alone in camp, I spend every waking moment sketching and painting, and with it being so quiet the animals come in very close – I feel like I might melt into the landscape, as somehow they seem to accept me as part of the scene.”</p> <p>To see more of Sue’s work, visit her website <a href="http://www.suestolberger.com" target="_blank">here</a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/giraffe_outside.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-605" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/giraffe_outside.jpg?w=482&amp;h=366" alt="giraffe_outside" width="482" height="366" /></a></p> <p> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/604/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=ruahablog.com&amp;blog=65589608&amp;post=604&amp;subd=ruahaproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/conservation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Conservation</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/wildlife" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wildlife</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div></div> Thu, 29 Jan 2015 15:30:35 +0000 Anonymous 1103 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/a-life-the-wilds-%E2%80%93-sue-stolberger#comments Life in the Field- update from the Ruaha Carnivore Project. https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/life-the-field-update-the-ruaha-carnivore-project <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><p><strong>By Amy Dickman, Director, Ruaha Carnivore Project</strong></p> <p>Amy Dickman and the Ruaha Carnivore Project were recently voted into the top 3 finalists at the Tusk Conservation Awards for their innovative approach to big cat conservation, an achievement they have every right to be extremely proud of after all the hard work that has gone into the project. To see the highlights of this year’s awards, click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=908886245796565&amp;set=vb.140384132646784&amp;type=2&amp;theater" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled1.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-585" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled1.png?w=521&amp;h=332" alt="Untitled1" width="521" height="332" /></a></p> <p><strong>Dangers of life in the bush – carnivore mortalities </strong></p> <p>Part of RCP’s research is to investigate carnivore mortalities, whether they are caused naturally or by humans. Recently, lodge drivers and guests in Ruaha National Park were lucky enough to witness a pride of lions hunting buffaloes, which are an important prey species in this area. However, they are extremely large and dangerous, and during the hunt, the buffaloes charged and gored two young lions, with fatal results. This is one of the risks of hunting such large prey – but if successful, buffalo hunts provide rich rewards for the entire pride, as a single animal can weigh up to 900kg and would feed the pride for several days.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled2.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-586" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled2.png?w=538&amp;h=256" alt="Untitled2" width="538" height="256" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>One of the sub-adult lions killed during the buffalo hunt</em></p> <p>Later on in the month, a dead lioness was found on village land near a pond that is frequented by people and livestock. From signs on the carcass, it seems like the lioness was snared, and the head was found apart from the body. The team thought that poachers had cut off the head to get back their snare, as metal snare wire can be hard to get out in the bush so is ‘recycled’ from kills like this one. Most snares are put out to catch antelope like kudu or impala for bushmeat hunting, but predators and other species are often killed in them too. Poaching for bushmeat is a major problem across Africa, especially in very poor communities where meat is a rare and valuable commodity, so improving local livelihoods is a fundamentally important element of long-term conservation.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled3.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-587" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled3.png?w=547&amp;h=234" alt="Untitled3" width="547" height="234" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>RCP assistants Mgogo and Justin examining the carcass and taking measurements</em></p> <p><strong>Conflict mitigation – reducing attacks</strong></p> <p>In addition to accidental snaring for bushmeat, local people often intentionally kill large carnivores, mainly because of attacks on their stock. Such attacks can have devastating effects on local households, as livestock is a vital source of both economic wealth and social status. RCP staff members respond as quickly as possible to any reported attacks in the local area so that we can better understand how they occur, and therefore how they can be best prevented in the future. This month, staff investigated several attacks, including one where spotted hyaenas killed one goat and injured another. The goats had become lost in the bush, where they are easy prey for opportunistic carnivores, so improving herder vigilance and livestock husbandry in the bush is a top priority for reducing attacks, and therefore retaliatory carnivore killings.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled4.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-588" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled4.png?w=548&amp;h=216" alt="Untitled4" width="548" height="216" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>Spotted hyaenas killed one goat and injured another after they were lost in the bush</em><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Livestock guarding dogs</strong></p> <p>One method that has proven effective at reducing bush attacks from carnivores is by employing specialised livestock guarding dogs, such as Anatolian Shepherds. RCP is conducting the first trial of these dogs in East Africa, and so far they are doing well. The largest of our dogs, Shujaa, has moved with his herd of goats and cattle to a temporary camp a few kilometers away from his home in Tungamalenga village. Food for livestock becomes more and more scarce towards the end of the dry season and new grazing areas have to be found. As usual we visit him three times per week to ensure he is being taken good care of in this new environment, since this is a physically demanding time for the dogs due to the extended walks with the goats through the bush.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled5.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-589" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled5.png?w=497&amp;h=278" alt="Untitled5" width="497" height="278" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>Shujaa eating his evening meal at his temporary camp</em></p> <p>One important part of the regular dog checks is weighing them, but this is becoming harder every week for the team! Thankfully the dogs are very used to it and are cooperative, which is useful as they are now getting very large!</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled6.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-590" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled6.png?w=341&amp;h=341" alt="Untitled6" width="341" height="341" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>RCP staff members Msago and Mgogo weighing a cooperative Hodari, who tipped the scales at an impressive 41kg!</em></p> <p>Another important part of the health programme for these dogs is their vaccinations, with disease like rabies a particular concern as it is a serious threat to both animals and humans. This month, we vaccinated all the livestock guarding dogs as well as village dogs, in order to reduce the risk for the dogs, large carnivores (who can be infected by village dogs), and local communities.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled7.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-591" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled7.png?w=524&amp;h=396" alt="Untitled7" width="524" height="396" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>One of the Anatolians receiving a rabies vaccination from the local vet </em></p> <p><strong>Kitisi clinic provided with medicine due to help from RCP</strong></p> <p>In order for people to really want carnivores around, it is not enough just to reduce attacks – they have to see important benefits from their presence, which outweigh any remaining costs. Villagers voted that healthcare was one of their most-desired benefits from carnivore presence, so RCP has been working with officials and the local community to equip a healthcare clinic in Kitisi. Thanks to this partnership, the clinic now has its own full-time doctor and nurse, which is very important in this remote area. Recently, the Kitisi clinic was officially registered as a government institution, meaning that it should be able to receive medicines from the government in the future. So far, RCP has been providing medicines and equipment, and this month we provided another three months worth of medicine. To date 1315 patients have been treated at the Kitisi clinic, providing an invaluable benefit for local people.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><strong> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled8.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-592" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled8.png?w=220&amp;h=238" alt="Untitled8" width="220" height="238" /></a> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled9.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-593" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled9.png?w=317&amp;h=240" alt="Untitled9" width="317" height="240" /></a></strong></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>Dr Samuel Dally and the new Kitisi clinic nurse working with some of the medicines purchased with the help of RCP</em></p> <p><strong>Lion Guardian literacy days – lessons under the tree</strong></p> <p><strong> </strong>Another important benefit from RCP’s presence in the local area is the Ruaha Lion Guardians programme, which was developed in partnership with the Kenya Lion Guardians programme and Panthera. This initiative employs and trains young men in conservation-related activities, and enables them to fulfil important roles in the community. Several months ago the Ruaha Lion Guardians established the very popular ‘’Literacy Days’’ as a free education opportunity both for the Guardians and for other pastoralists. Besides the educational aspect, the literacy days help to increase the status of the Guardians and demonstrate additional value of working in conservation.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled10.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-594" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled10.png?w=526&amp;h=396" alt="Untitled10" width="526" height="396" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>The Barabaig Guardians studying hard under a tree by camp</em></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled11.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-595" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled11.png?w=526&amp;h=203" alt="Untitled11" width="526" height="203" /></a></em></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>George (second from left) teaching English spelling and pronounciation, and teaching animal names in English</em></p> <h2>Lion Guardian park trips</h2> <p>We had good trips to the park this month with all the Lion Guardians. Our two newest recruits had never been to the park before, so this was the first time that they were able to see lions, elephants and other game so relaxed and at such close proximity. Previously, these new Guardians had only seen lions and elephants briefly on village land, where the scared animals ran away from them, so this was a great opportunity to really watch wildlife and learn about them in close quarters. Very excitingly, we also finally caught up with the resident pack of endangered African wild dogs that some of the Guardians regularly see while out patrolling their zones.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled12.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-596" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled12.png?w=501&amp;h=330" alt="Untitled12" width="501" height="330" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>The local pack of African wild dogs that are thriving in our area © Sean McEnery</em></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled13.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-597" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled13.png?w=510&amp;h=295" alt="Untitled13" width="510" height="295" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>Lions reproducing! Good news for the lion population in Ruaha © Sean McEnery</em></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled14.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-598" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled14.png?w=511&amp;h=347" alt="Untitled14" width="511" height="347" /></a> </em></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>Lions displaying their more tender and affectionate side © Sean McEnery</em></p> <p>The Guardians in Zones A and B have seen tracks of two mature lions and three sub-adults on many occasions recently. We are hopeful that we may have resident lions in the wilder areas to the north of the villages. Our hope is that these lions will stay around peacefully and continue to avoid killing livestock.</p> <p>Three of the Guardians have had big community gatherings at their homes this month, where all the young people in the area and the many of the elders assembled for story-telling and cultural “games” that include the famous jumping dances. The reason behind these is in an effort to build even closer relations among the Guardians and the communities in which they work. The hope is that, as a result of the close bonds that develop at these gatherings, the Guardians will start to hear about any lion hunts and lion activity in their areas much earlier and with greater reliability. The idea has seemed to have been successful at this early stage, both the community members and Guardians have responded positively, enjoyed themselves and made new allies.</p> <p><strong>Visitors to RCP</strong></p> <p>RCP is lucky enough to receive support from various organisations, such as National Geographic and the safari company Asilia Africa. This month, Erik from Asilia’s marketing department visited RCP to learn more about the project, and generously offered to help us develop marketing materials. In addition, Allison Parrish from Global Adrenaline (a company which works with National Geographic) visited RCP and learned all about our work, so they can better explain to visitors the kind of conservation activities being undertaken in the Ruaha landscape.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled15.png"><img class="alignnone wp-image-599" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/untitled15.png?w=636&amp;h=245" alt="Untitled15" width="636" height="245" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><em>Erik and Amanda learning about the guarding dog programme and other RCP activities</em></p> <p><em> </em></p> <p> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/584/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=ruahablog.com&amp;blog=65589608&amp;post=584&amp;subd=ruahaproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/conservation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Conservation</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/wildlife" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wildlife</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/lion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lion</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div></div> Mon, 22 Dec 2014 18:51:34 +0000 Anonymous 1071 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/life-the-field-update-the-ruaha-carnivore-project#comments The process of chimpanzee habituation https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/the-process-chimpanzee-habituation <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><h4 style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/chimp.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1863" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/chimp.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="chimp" width="300" height="225" /></a> <a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/chimp2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1865" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/chimp2.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="chimp2" width="300" height="225" /></a></h4> <h4>By Dr. Paco Bertolani</h4> <h4>Interview by Ryan Green</h4> <p>Dr. Paco Bertolani, as mentioned in the previous blog post, will be at the forefront of the project to habituate the wild-born descendants of the chimps released on Rubondo Island in the 1960s.</p> <p>Chimpanzees in the wild have a deeply ingrained fear and mistrust of human beings, and at the first sight of an approaching person they will flee immediately. “However, some people think that this fear of humans is the direct consequence of some previous bad experience with humans, i.e. hunters.” says Dr. Bertolani. “This idea is somehow supported by the fact that in very remote areas where it is likely that chimpanzees have never seen humans, the chimpanzees seem more fearless than in other places. Unfortunately these remote areas do not exist any more, thus this hypothesis is basically impossible to test. It is correct that all wild chimpanzees fear humans, but whether this fear is innate or learned we don’t really know.”</p> <p>This makes the process of studying their behaviour in a natural state extremely difficult- until they have become habituated to the presence of humans; it is impossible to closely observe them.</p> <p>Dr. Jane Goodall was the first person to acclimatise a community of chimps in the 1960s in Gombe Stream in Tanzania. As described in her book <em>In the Shadow of Man</em>, she spent many frustrating months attempting to get closer to the Kasakela chimpanzee community in order to study them.</p> <p>In his experiences of habituation processes in Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire, Dr. Bertolani has made some interesting observations in how this is achieved, utilising known social behaviours and primate psychology.</p> <p>“It is best to approach a party of chimpanzees alone, and to sit quietly in a visible place at a distance that the chimps feel comfortable with,” he says, “ this allows them to see you from the safety of their comfort zone.” By displaying a non-threatening posture, wearing drab clothing, moving slowly and maintaining the maximum distance to keep them in sight, the apes can gradually become more accustomed to seeing a human. “In dense forest however, this can be extremely difficult as visibility in this habitat is poor, leading to the chimps being surprised when sighting a person, and immediately fleeing.”</p> <p>This is one of the reasons the process of habituation is extremely time-consuming and frustrating, taking years to achieve in every instance.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco-1.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1867" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco-1.jpg?w=339&amp;h=446" alt="paco 1" width="339" height="446" /></a></p> <p>Mike Wilson, former director of field research at Gombe Stream Research Centre, wrote: “The general rule of thumb is that each individual primate needs about 100 hours to get used to people. In species that travel in cohesive troops, like baboons, every member of the group can see you every time you make contact, so the 100 hours go by fairly quickly, about 3 months. Chimpanzees take longer to habituate, because the entire social group rarely comes together. Individual chimpanzees often travel alone or in small subgroups, so it can take many years for every member of the group to become habituated. In forest sites, such as Kibale National Park in Uganda or Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire, habituation of chimpanzees without provisioning [feeding] has taken 5 or 6 years. Habituation may take even longer in savanna sites such as Semliki, Uganda, where chimpanzees range over huge areas and only rarely encounter researchers.”</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1866" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="Paco" width="300" height="225" /></a> <a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco-2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1868" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco-2.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225" alt="paco 2" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <p>“It was thought that savannah chimpanzees were impossible to habituate, but Fongoli chimpanzees in Senegal became habituated in a relatively short time, even when compared with forest chimpanzees elsewhere. We are talking four or five years, but the Semliki chimpanzees are still not habituated.” Says Br. Bertolani.</p> <p>As recorded by Dr. Goodall, the first chimpanzee to tolerate her was a male that she named David Greybeard. In order to do this, she set up a feeding station that attracted him, and then eventually another male, Goliath. This approach has subsequently been criticised, but at the time, it was the only thing that worked.</p> <p>“Usually a male will be the first to become tolerant of a human presence,” Dr. Bertolani notes, “as they are normally bolder by nature. What you then hope to achieve is to use this male’s tolerance to influence the rest of the community. The next step is to habituate females, who are naturally more wary and protective of their offspring.”</p> <p>What happens next is reliant on ingrained biological urges that occur when hormones take over: “When a female comes into oestrus, males seek them out in order to mate, and this is where we hope that she will be followed by a male that is comfortable with a human presence. If the male is relaxed, she will overcome her natural fear in order to present to the male.” He says.</p> <p>This interplay of hormonal biology and psychology has been the keystone to success on many occasions, where once a female tolerates an observer’s presence, she could pass on this behaviour to her offspring, but this is not always the case. In some instances, mothers have been habituated, but their juvenile offspring have not, or vice versa.</p> <p>This is the enormous task that awaits Dr. Bertolani on Rubondo Island: to habituate a community of chimps that have all been born in the wild. “This is my primary goal, with the secondary aim being to directly observe them in a natural state once this has been achieved. There are many questions related to this community that I would like to discover the answers to.”</p> <p>To read Dr. Bertolani’s paper on habituation in Taï National Park, click<a href="http://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/staff/boesch/pdf/Bertolani_2007.pdf" target="_blank"> <strong>here</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco-3.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1869" src="https://rubondoislandcampproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/paco-3.jpg?w=476&amp;h=360" alt="paco 3" width="476" height="360" /></a></p> <p><img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=rubondoislandcampproject.com&amp;blog=41201705&amp;post=1862&amp;subd=rubondoislandcampproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags" rel="dc:subject"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div> Thu, 11 Dec 2014 17:24:36 +0000 Anonymous 1068 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/the-process-chimpanzee-habituation#comments Small beginnings https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/small-beginnings <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o0327.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-576 aligncenter" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o0327.jpg?w=637&amp;h=433" alt="2R4O0327" width="637" height="433" /></a></p> <p>By Marius Swart, Kwihala Guide</p> <p>It’s the end of the dry season and conditions demand every last bit of everyone’s evolutionary armour to survive. The elephants are focussing their efforts on stripping the cambium layer from trees which are desperate for the rains, impala are now switching to mostly browse as grasses are desiccated and nutrition-less, clouds are building everyday making promises they do not keep and the heat is oppressive…it is a fairly inhospitable environ right now. Despite the prevailing conditions and completely illogically there are however signs of hope! In so many ways the magic of Nature reveals itself when it seems at its most futile. The first newborn impala lambs are greeting the world at its harshest. This one was hiding in mom’s shadow as the sun was beating down particularly fiercely.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o1066.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-578" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o1066.jpg?w=617&amp;h=448" alt="2R4O1066" width="617" height="448" /></a></p> <p>The Mdonya Juu pride also sport four new cubs, two are about 5 and the latest additions only 2 months old! We managed to catch up to them due to the fact that they brought down a giraffe cow and her young calf!</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o1171.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-579" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o1171.jpg?w=613&amp;h=377" alt="2R4O1171" width="613" height="377" /></a></p> <p>The rocky area in the Mdonya River provides a great hiding place for the cubs not to mention playground! Late afternoon when the heat had broken a bit we were treated to a few intimate moments. These glimpses of dearness resonates with our own psyches and one cannot resist but feel a sense of deep connectedness…</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o0369.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-577" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o0369.jpg?w=617&amp;h=411" alt="2R4O0369" width="617" height="411" /></a></p> <p>Of course elephants have their young throughout the year but it was specifically poignant to encounter this calf. I only managed to capture this image when he was already a week old. Festo got to see him on day one!</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o9178.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-581" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2r4o9178.jpg?w=611&amp;h=334" alt="2R4O9178" width="611" height="334" /></a></p> <p>As is usual for this time of the season, the wells are being dug to access subterranean flows. The changing topography of the river courses with every flood, translates into a seasonal variability in the spots where water is available. This season is no exception and places frequented last year are now vacant and new ones discovered. At this well the water was more than 1m below the surface and the little calf emulating mom had to kneel down and eventually lay down flat to stick his trunk in as deep as possible…not quite knowing why. Instead he reluctantly gave up and started suckling. It is not only in the mammalian world where new life is flourishing in these times. Trees have the ability to store reserves in the rootstock and cambium, which grasses can’t. Pre-empting the start of the rains the woody plants burst into leaf and draw on their stored resources in order to get their blossoms and leaves out to capitalise on the increasing daylight hours and be “ahead of the pack” when pollinator insects abound. The baby Tamarind foliage starts off bright red and gradually transform to a light green and eventually a darker hue as they mature. Often magic surrounds us in so many guises but it requires an open eye and mind to recognise and appreciate it.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/mg_2590.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-575" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/mg_2590.jpg?w=413&amp;h=557" alt="_MG_2590" width="413" height="557" /></a></p> <p>Yours in awareness</p> <p>Marius</p> <p>By</p> <p> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/574/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=ruahablog.com&amp;blog=65589608&amp;post=574&amp;subd=ruahaproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/conservation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Conservation</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/safari" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Safari</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/wildlife" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wildlife</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/lion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lion</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div></div> Tue, 02 Dec 2014 13:42:48 +0000 Anonymous 1048 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/small-beginnings#comments Ruaha – Land of Giants https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/ruaha-%E2%80%93-land-giants <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><h4><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6467.jpg"><img class="wp-image-538 aligncenter" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6467.jpg?w=650&amp;h=256" alt="LF6F6467" width="650" height="256" /></a></h4> <h4>By Ryan Green</h4> <p>On my first ever visit to Kwihala Camp in Ruaha National Park I had an inkling of what to expect after reading the reports from people who live and work in Ruaha and watching Owen Prumm’s amazing film about the lion and buffalo conflicts that occur at the end of the dry season (watch the preview <a title="Owen Prumm" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nb4rMD8DSU" target="_blank">here</a>). I had three days to see as much of it as time allowed and was thrilled to come across so many incredible vistas and encounters with wildlife.</p> <p>I wanted to photograph Ruaha’s vast and rugged landscape and its inhabitants the best way I could, but I understand the limits of being a visitor for a short time and expectations being set too high on what you hope to achieve.</p> <p>So loaded with cameras and gear, I stepped off the plane into the searing heat of Msembe airstrip, where the dry air of late October made shimmering mirages over the landscape. This is the best time for game viewing. Animals congregate close to the dwindling sources of water in the Great Ruaha, Mwagusi and Madonya Rivers. The uncomfortable heat is a trade off with the excellent wildlife viewing you can expect in this iconic park.</p> <p>With only a fraction of the park’s 20,000-odd square kilometres being utilised for game drives, I still only saw very few other vehicles while out on safari, comparable to being in a private concession elsewhere. I really enjoyed the company of the guides, Pietro, Festo, Lorenzo and Marius, and each of them has a passion for the wilderness and the magic of Ruaha that is obvious to all who encounter them. Sandy is an excellent and efficient manager, as well as a genial hostess.</p> <p>The images below capture magical days of a truly unique and special place that will stay with me for a long time.</p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6445.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-537 aligncenter" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6445.jpg?w=412&amp;h=541" alt="LF6F6445" width="412" height="541" /></a></p> <p>The river may appear dry, but the elephants know that there is water just below the surface. They dig down to it, and then slurp away. After the elephants leave, other animals are then able to use these holes to access the water.</p> <p><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6495.jpg"><img class="wp-image-539 aligncenter" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6495.jpg?w=611&amp;h=449" alt="LF6F6495" width="611" height="449" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7432.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-553" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7432.jpg?w=609&amp;h=410" alt="LF6F7432" width="609" height="410" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Giraffe, zebra and baboons utilising the water holes dug by elephants on the</p> <p style="text-align:center;">Madonya Sand River.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6438.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-527" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6438.jpg?w=605&amp;h=408" alt="IMG_6438" width="605" height="408" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Ruaha sunset, featuring a trio of the park’s iconic trees: Acacia Tortilis, Hyphenae Petersiana Palms,and the ubiquitous Baobab.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6447.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-528" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6447.jpg?w=622&amp;h=419" alt="IMG_6447" width="622" height="419" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p>Ruaha is known for its Baobabs, but I had no idea there were so many. I think I saw more of these incredible trees in one day than I have ever seen before. They spend 8-9 months of the year completely bare and then at the end of the dry season put out large white flowers that bloom at night, and only last a day. At the same time, they begin to produce leaves that will eventually grow into a thick canopy.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6798.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-543" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6798.jpg?w=642&amp;h=432" alt="LF6F6798" width="642" height="432" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Some trees just budding out with leaves, the others still bare.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6684.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-531" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6684.jpg?w=648&amp;h=436" alt="IMG_6684" width="648" height="436" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A male lion rests in the shadow of the branches above.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6687.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-532" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6687.jpg?w=651&amp;h=438" alt="IMG_6687" width="651" height="438" /></a> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6858.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-544" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6858.jpg?w=657&amp;h=425" alt="LF6F6858" width="657" height="425" /></a> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6870.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-545" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6870.jpg?w=660&amp;h=455" alt="LF6F6870" width="660" height="455" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">We came across a large herd of buffalo resting in the shade of a grove of Tortilis trees.</p> <p style="text-align:center;">Close by, a pride of lions dozed below a Rain Tree, keeping a wary eye on the herd.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6888.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-546" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6888.jpg?w=661&amp;h=445" alt="LF6F6888" width="661" height="445" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6929.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-547" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6929.jpg?w=664&amp;h=422" alt="LF6F6929" width="664" height="422" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A little further on, we found these four females and a cub, resting off</p> <p style="text-align:center;">what must have been a big meal.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6404.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-535" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6404.jpg?w=668&amp;h=513" alt="LF6F6404" width="668" height="513" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Ruaha has one of Africa’s largest concentrations of lions. This male wears the scars of a recent</p> <p style="text-align:center;">territorial battle with another male.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7613.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-555" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7613.jpg?w=689&amp;h=407" alt="LF6F7613" width="689" height="407" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Another pride lies in wait for the unwary, scanning the white-hot glare of the dry riverbed.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6432.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-536" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6432.jpg?w=690&amp;h=457" alt="LF6F6432" width="690" height="457" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A large and colourful Agama Lizard</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6721.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-541" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6721.jpg?w=678&amp;h=488" alt="LF6F6721" width="678" height="488" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A baboon feeding on the fruit of a Sausage Tree (Kigelia Africana).</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6782.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-542" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6782.jpg?w=681&amp;h=449" alt="LF6F6782" width="681" height="449" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Monochrome zebras.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7158.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-548" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7158.jpg?w=679&amp;h=470" alt="LF6F7158" width="679" height="470" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Bat-Eared Foxes are normally very shy so it was a real treat to discover a den close to camp with very relaxed adults and puppies. The three puppies played outside of the den in the cooler temperatures of predawn or evening.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7223.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-550" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7223.jpg?w=674&amp;h=435" alt="LF6F7223" width="674" height="435" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7216.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-549" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7216.jpg?w=673&amp;h=453" alt="LF6F7216" width="673" height="453" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">The pups venturing out from their den.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7369.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-552" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7369.jpg?w=679&amp;h=574" alt="LF6F7369" width="679" height="574" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A tiny Dik-Dik antelope.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7739.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-559" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7739.jpg?w=687&amp;h=462" alt="LF6F7739" width="687" height="462" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A magnificent herd of Eland, the largest of the antelopes, with an</p> <p style="text-align:center;">endless Ruaha vista behind them.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7584.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-554" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7584.jpg?w=689&amp;h=407" alt="LF6F7584" width="689" height="407" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A male Black-Faced Sandgrouse guards his cryptically coloured chick.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7323.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-551" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7323.jpg?w=671&amp;h=612" alt="LF6F7323" width="671" height="612" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">A baboon mother and baby basking in the early morning sun.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6969.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-534" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6969.jpg?w=676&amp;h=455" alt="IMG_6969" width="676" height="455" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Giants of Ruaha : the park has Tanzania’s largest population of elephants,</p> <p style="text-align:center;">estimated at 15 000 animals.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6501.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-529" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6501.jpg?w=577&amp;h=389" alt="IMG_6501" width="577" height="389" /></a> <a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6811.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-533" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/img_6811.jpg?w=412&amp;h=610" alt="IMG_6811" width="412" height="610" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">Baobabs have the ability to heal and grow over the scars created by elephants.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7691.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-556" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7691.jpg?w=606&amp;h=408" alt="LF6F7691" width="606" height="408" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">The landscape just seems to go on forever…</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7699.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-557" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7699.jpg?w=609&amp;h=410" alt="LF6F7699" width="609" height="410" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7700.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-558" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7700.jpg?w=614&amp;h=414" alt="LF6F7700" width="614" height="414" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">And changes dramatically from place to place.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7858.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-560" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f7858.jpg?w=611&amp;h=411" alt="LF6F7858" width="611" height="411" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;">On my last night, I saw Furaha (Joy in KiSwahili), a female leopard with her kill in a tree.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f8047.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-562" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f8047.jpg?w=613&amp;h=413" alt="LF6F8047" width="613" height="413" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6575.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-540" src="https://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/lf6f6575.jpg?w=611&amp;h=412" alt="LF6F6575" width="611" height="412" /></a></p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">This is a land of giants, and of a scale so great that one visit will never do it justice.</p> <p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/526/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=ruahablog.com&amp;blog=65589608&amp;post=526&amp;subd=ruahaproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/conservation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Conservation</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/safari" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Safari</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/wildlife" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wildlife</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/leopard" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">leopard</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/lion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lion</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div></div> Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:13:28 +0000 Anonymous 1030 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/ruaha-%E2%80%93-land-giants#comments Co-founder Bas Hochstenbach explains why protecting Ruaha eco-system is important to Asilia https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/co-founder-bas-hochstenbach-explains-why-protecting-ruaha-eco-system-important-to-asilia <div class="body text-field" property="content:encoded"><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/img_2530.jpg"><img class="alignnone wp-image-198" src="http://ruahaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/img_2530.jpg?w=523&amp;h=263" alt="IMG_2530" width="523" height="263" /></a></p> <p>Ruaha is the next frontier. At over 20,000 km2 Ruaha is one of Africa’s largest National Parks. Definitely the least known, least explored and most exclusive of Africa’s top league of large, iconic parks. Crucial for the survival of the large cat species, with over 10% of the world’s lions in the larger eco-system, and globally important populations of all other large African predators.</p> <p>The park needs a steady flow of sustainable tourism to support the crucial functions of park conservation and anti-poaching management, and to ensure that communities bordering the park build up a realistic existence co-existing in harmony with the park. With the strong base we’ve build up in the core areas of northern Tanzania and Kenya, Asilia is now sticking its neck out to be a driving force in saving crucial, pioneering habitats. Already committed to the plains of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy and the rainforests of Rubondo Island National Park, Asilia now commits to the prolific wildlife and the vast wilderness of Ruaha National Park.</p> <h4>Bas Hochstenbach<br /> Commercial Director and Co-Founder of Asilia Africa</h4> <p> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/ruahaproject.wordpress.com/169/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?host=ruahablog.com&amp;blog=65589608&amp;post=169&amp;subd=ruahaproject&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" /></p> </div><div class="field-tags field-items"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/conservation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Conservation</a></div><div class="field-item odd " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa</a></div><div class="field-item even " rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa/blog/tags/tanzania" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tanzania</a></div></div> Thu, 27 Mar 2014 07:27:38 +0000 Anonymous 831 at https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa https://us.a2asafaris.com/africa/blog/co-founder-bas-hochstenbach-explains-why-protecting-ruaha-eco-system-important-to-asilia#comments
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