‘The Tribe Endangered’ No. 1. George
Where’s George today?
Elder statesman of the tribe
Perhaps its long-lived Chief
George we’ve already introduced
In another verse, but here he is again
Unknowingly enjoying his fame
He lives his life on a beach
An Atoll called Cousins
At a giant tortoise pace
Aldabra Giant Tortoise
Aldabrachelys Gigantea
Lumbering around
In his mobile helmet home
OK, because that’s what he is
And that’s what giant tortoises do
The same driving rules as us all
Hunger and passing on genes
Links in an unbroken chain
But his cousins had theirs broken
Eaten out of house and home
By historically hungry sailors
Only Aldabras remain, like George
But what’s in a name ?
A being worthy of living a life
Left to his own devices
Doing what giant tortoises do
Looking at the sea and sky
Searching for today’s meal
Or a rather attractive slow-walking rock
Hiding away when it gets too hot
More than a hunk of a ‘living rock’
Who likes to break things*
Plodding around for longer than us
Living more than a hundred years
Some even two or longer
That’s George’s life
On his island paradise
His home long before they were known
As the Seychelles
(Now open again)
George and his kind
Are not strictly endangered
Just limited in numbers and range
George is safe when tourists are around
Contributing to upkeeping his home
On YouTube amusing some of them
Going into battle with a rival table
Or a pretender barbecue
Upstart, to be upturned
Or was that just an amorous advance?
Either way, short-sighted at a glance
Visiting his island keeps him in home
He carries his own house
Then visitation dried up interminably
That story can’t be told in one line
Just now begins the trickle back
Only two threats now are known
Drip feeding of existential funding
Or any change to his home
Just this little change of climate thing
That threaten his shores, not alone
George may well outlive us
But right now he needs help directly
Your money is your proxy
Keeping the conservation going
Until you can greet him personally
It’s up to the rest of us in our homes
To ensure his home remains
An Atoll
Above the sea
For George to keep doing his thing
Master and Commander of his islandship
Defender of the realm of living rocks
Legend in his Aldabran mind
So remember to mind your table!
A.E.(Anthony) Lovell
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The Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill is distributed to evergreen forests and savanna across equatorial Africa, in central and western Africa.
Females have a smaller casque and a black bill. The purpose of the casque is unknown for males, although suggested to be for sexual characterization.
The black-and-white-casqued hornbill has very mobile eyes which is not a common trait in birds.
This means that its eyes themselves can move in their socket, while other birds tend to have to move their heads to see.
It is capable of displaying emotions through the feathers at the top of the head, which allows it to communicate its emotional state.
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are quite vocal, with a large repertoire of calls, one of which can be heard from a distance of 2km.
A monogamous species. Pairs commonly nest in naturally formed cavities 9 to 30 m high in large (>3 m circumference) rainforest trees.
Due to the rarity of these nesting cavities, there is a high degree of intraspecific competition for nesting sites. In order to protect their nest, pairs seal the cavity with mud pellets collected by the male. Inside, the female lays a clutch of 2 eggs, which are white in color with pitted shells. The eggs are incubated for 42 days while the male delivers food to the female hourly through a small slit, regurgitating numerous fruits, mammals, and insects. The male can bring up to 200 fruits per visit.
Usually, only one offspring is reared, with the chick from the second-laid egg dying of starvation. Newly hatched chicks have pink skin and open their eyes at 20 days of age. The offspring fledge in 70 to 79 days and can feed themselves by 40 to 72 days after fledging.
The diet consists mainly of figs, fruits, insects, and small animals found in the trees. Black-and-white-casqued hornbills are mainly frugivorous, with fruit comprising 90% of their diet, 56% belonging to Ficus species. They forage by hopping from branch to branch in the rainforest canopy and reaching for fruit with the tip of the bill, which they then swallow whole. This species is known to consume over 41 plant genera. The black-and-white-casqued hornbill does not consume water directly and seems to instead hydrate itself from the water contained in the fruits that represent most of its diet.
Black-and-white-casqued hornbills mediate seed dispersal of rainforest trees, by defecating or regurgitating seeds.
Carnivores, apes, monkeys, snakes, raptors, and humans all prey on these hornbills.
#Birdsofeastafrica
#visituganadarwandatanzania
Marabou stork is a large, unusual-looking bird. In addition to hollow leg bones, marabou storks have hollow toe bones. In such a large bird, this is an important adaptation for flight. The African Marabou storks reach a wingspan of 2,6 m and a height of 1,5 m.
Marabou storks are bald-headed. Males can be identified by their large air sacs. In addition, males are generally slightly larger and taller than females. Sexes are alike in coloration. A juvenile has similar coloration but is duller. Immature birds have a woolly covering on their heads and do not gain the black in their plumage until about three-years-old.
Its soft, white tail feathers are known as marabou. Its neck and head contain no feathers. The Marabou stork has a long, reddish pouch hanging from its neck. This pouch is used in courtship rituals. The naked 18-inch inflatable pink sac is particularly conspicuous during the breeding season. It connects directly to the left nostril and acts as a resonator allowing the bird to produce a guttural croaking. While usually silent, the Marabou Stork will also emit a sound caused by beak clacking if it feels threatened.
They mainly feed on carrion and scraps. Although it doesn't seem to be very sympathetic in human eyes, this behavior is of great importance to the ecosystem they inhabit; by removing carcasses and rotting material, Marabous help to avoid the spreading of pathogens. They are scavengers, they eat anything from termites, flamingoes and small birds and mammals to human refuse and dead elephants. They also feed on carcasses with vultures and hyenas.
Marabou storks are attracted to grass fires. They march in front of the advancing fire grabbing animals that are fleeing.
Marabous breed on the treetops, where they build large nests. It reaches sexual maturity when it is approximately four years old and usually mates for life. They are colonial breeders, their nests are a large, flat platform made of sticks with a shallow central cup lined with smaller sticks and green leaves. Usually, 2-3 eggs are laid during the dry season. Both sexes incubate; eggs hatch in 30 days. Their young are helpless at birth. Both sexes tend and feed the young. The fledging period is 3-4 months.
Marabou Stork defecates upon its legs and feet. It helps in regulating body temperature, and also gives the false appearance that the birds have lovely white legs. Like many birds, the Marabou Stork also pants when it becomes hot, again to lower its body temperature.
These are particularly lazy birds and spend much of their time standing motionless, though once they take flight they are very elegant, using thermal up-draughts to provide the needed lift. Like other storks, they fly with their especially long legs trailing behind, but unlike their cousins they keep their neck tucked well in and bent into a flattened S; this allows the weight of the heavy beak to be taken on the shoulders. #birdsofeastafrica.
THE MAWANA ELEPHANTS by Lion Expose - March 26, 2024
Mawane reserve, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Good News, and sadness and sympathy...
After all we have been through trying to protect this persecuted
herd, prevent them from being culled, and mostly, get help to protect the
communities that live with them.
Extensive networking skills and an ever developing circle of
incredible humans in the specialised field of Elephant and Rhino, whether it be
translocations or educating on coexistence in our rural areas, has had some
real success..
The Good News
In a few short weeks LionExpose has received much support and
interest to try and assist the Mawana Elephants.
The first stages are being discussed and would see the collaring
of three Elephant bulls.
Between several people and two Global NPOS this seems to hold
real possibilities.
A next step will be more, but talks to the three communities
affected and with Farmer Sithole to start looking at the community fences and
where to start to protect their crops and cattle when the elephants come to
their farms as part of their Migratory route.
And later possibly a bee fence project which will be offered,
and again will need a sponsor, but this will attract researchers as there are
literally two PGRS in South Africa doing this and the Bee Fence Researchers
will love to come and study this project.
So we are hoping all goes to plan and that Mawana manage these
issues as they need to be working really hard to keep these Elephants safe in
their range and keep the communities safe and show them care, and be grateful
communities will be happy to try and exist with this wonderful herd and see how
we can make it sustainable.
Thanks go to EKZN for being patient and clearly communicating
with Mawana and thank you Sithole for being open to lots of communication in
this regard.
The sad news.
A young herder was badly injured last week fetching his cows, he
was gored by an elephant, he was really in trauma and is in hospital, and right
now he is doing better but has many months of recovery ahead - he was extremely
lucky to survive.
Mawanas people are visiting him in hospital tomorrow to show him
we will offer him support, and a fund will be started for him.
He will be supported all the way.
It must be noted that Mawanas Elephants have been facing extreme
danger of a cull since 2018 and are still in danger as long as all these issues
exist.
But elephant lovers keep watching and supporting how much work
it is to save elephants that live close to humans and to give them the peace
they deserve and, vitally, to keep our humans safe.
Update
The herd have wondered back into the "Red Area", close to where communities are situated. Tribal leaders are calling for them to be hunted down immediately!!
