We packed lunches to take (I forgot mine!), but I had so much breakfast that I wasn't hungry anyhow. Of course, they drive on the left here, and Jessica drives pretty fast, but safely. We once again spotted wildlife all the way along the road, including lots of baboons! Apparently they are a nuisance species here, numerous and into everything! I have high hopes that the students will also post here, but meanwhile, here are some of today's photos. We have had supper and the students are down in the pool; I may join them if my photos upload quickly. Supper was rice and a chicken and potato dish cooked in sauce, and lovely mixed vegetables with a cheese sauce (I think Jane overheard Hannah saying that the only way she liked vegetables was with cheese!). We also had a cucumber and tomato salad with slices of green apple in it--delicious! And I have to admit that I am really proud of all the students--everybody pretty much tries everything, and likes it.
It was a day full of close encounters with species we have never seen up close before. By the ride back to the lodge, our brains were at overload! Not enough so to prevent our seeing impala and warthogs beside the road, however.
(Update: Photos took forever, so I never made it into the pool. Made it an early night, as we depart at 6:30 am for our first day working with the vets. We are scheduled to help tranquilize and relocate several Dakker (like little deer) and a, get this, for real, a giraffe!)
The gang in front of the gate of the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. This facility rehabilitates injured wildlife, with a specific emphasis on cheetahs. All of these facilities are fenced and gated, as poachers will steal animals otherwise. We watched a demonstration of one of their Belgian Malinois tracking and detection dogs in action!
Inside HESC
Cheetah at HESC
African wild dog. This is one of the most endangered species due to human encroachment on their habitat. These dogs are highly effective hunters with enormous territories. With so many fenced game reserves, they are unable to roam far enough to hunt effectively. They are the size of a large, lean German Shepherd, with coloring like a spotted calico cat.
Although not endangered, most rehabilitation centers have a "Vulture Restaurant", where they put out offcuts and other unusable parts of the meat that they feed their animals each day. The vultures pick the bones absolutely clean, preventing waste and supporting the species. Even vultures are under attack from poachers: Poachers will kill an animal, take what they want--typically tusks or horns--then poison the remainder of the corpse. Thus when vultures feed on it they are killed, which avoids a cloud of circling vultures giving away the location of the kill and helping the poachers evade detection and capture.
The rhino. This guy is massive and was quite curious about us in our open vehicle. He was rescued as a baby, and has imprinted on humans. For that reason, he cannot be released into the wild: With no natural fear of humans, he is too dangerous to anyone he encounters. You can see that even here in the rehabilitation center, he has been de-horned to remove the motivation for poachers to kill him. They cut off his horns about once a year; this one has grown back about halfway.
Two rhinos. I had never realized how strangely shaped their heads are! These are Southern White Rhinos (distinct from the now extinct Northern White Rhino), grazers with necks built for eating from the ground. Northern species are browsers, with necks much more upright so that they can eat from bushes and trees.
They kicked up some dust as they approached. When they began to get too close, the driver moved the vehicle pretty promptly.
My best photo of the rhino; notice the weird head shape! Watching them move around, they are surprisingly agile for something so ponderous-looking. They seem to possess a kind of casual grace that I had not expected.
The zebra. We Americans call this a zee'-bra. Everyone else calls it a zeb'-ra!
Cheetahs at rest. These animals are built for speed: Lean, long-legged and streamlined, they can be clocked at over 60 mph! Since they are speed hunters, they are also the only cat species with non-retractable claws--their nails are like dog toenails!
This pair of cheetahs was hand-raised, so cannot be released. They were confiscated from someone's home as they apparently didn't realize that cheetahs don't domesticate particularly well.
This meercat is adorable! He is in an enclosure near the entrance to our second stop, Moholoholo Rehabilitation Center, and really puts on a show for people as they come by. Here he is stretched out in front of a viewing panel after trying to teach a watching child how to dig. Later, he popped up onto the tree in his area, appearing suddenly next to Chloe's head! She was certainly surprised!
Forgive the repetition, but I wanted to post pictures of each student petting a real, live, wide-awake cheetah.
This is one of two "ambassador cheetahs" held by the center. After undergoing 2 years of training, they are taken to schools, farm meetings and hunting clubs to educate people about cheetahs in hopes of slowing their decline in the wild.
This cat came when called and jumped onto a table to be harnessed, then walked out on a leash!
The other cheetah in the enclosure appeared to feel left out, as he immediately jumped onto the table as well, and tried to follow them out of the gate!
Cheetahs are built much differently from leopards: They are longer, leaner, and have solid spots, whereas leopards are "chunkier" in build and have "rosettes", or black outlines of spots with brown centers.
His fur is quite short and feels like that on a short-haired outdoor tomcat. His tail is remarkably long and heavy, with longer hairs on it. I could have stood there all day!
This hyena was fascinated with Brooklyn. We all were surprised at the size of them: They are much larger and more solid than we had envisioned. They howl to communicate within the pack, and make the laughing noises as they are about to kill and eat their prey.
Fortunately, this one is not laughing at Brooklyn! A hyena has one of the highest bite strengths of any animal on earth.
For contrast, an African Wild Dog. This guy immediately brought us his stuffed teddy bear, just like a pet dog would. Once again, he is here because he was rescued as an orphaned pup and handraised, making him too comfortable around humans and thus dangerous.
Chloe taking a selfie with a Black Vulture. Several of these solicited head scratching from us as we wandered the enclosure!
The rarer African White-headed vulture (left) and White-backed vulture (right). Who knew that scavengers could be so fascinating?!
Brooklyn is impressed by the wingspan of this mature black vulture!
Likewise, Kait says this one is heavy!
James is the tallest of our group, but the vulture makes him appear quite small!
Yes, we were this close! A healthy male lion, confiscated from a home where he was extremely malnourished.
Kitty, kitty!
Those paws are enormous! He has been known to slap the fence of his enclosure hard enough to break the back of a person leaning on it!
What can I say?! He came right up to the fence and I so wanted to touch his mane! However, I want to retire with all of my appendages even more, so I didn't.
Even the king of the jungle (who doesn't even live in the jungle) has a bad hair day now and then!
I hope you have enjoyed a tiny glimpse of our day! This is about 5% of the photos I took, and I anticipate more tomorrow. We are scheduled to go to Kruger National Refuge over the weekend, and Jane is doing our laundry for us before we go! I'm getting soooooo spoiled, I may never come home!
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