Uploads from Jumbo22, tagged specanimal

Safari

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:34:44 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

This leopard is almost 16 years old, blind in the one eye, but still she almost caught a cheetah yesterday morning.
Elephant Plains, Sabi Sands Game Reserve.

I’m on my knees, asking the world for help, please….

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 03:49:31 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

I’m especially asking my Australian Flickr friends (as well as the Saffies) to take the time to read the following.
How would the Australian public react if a South African mining company were awarded a licence to start an open cast coal mine 7 km from Ayers Rock? I’m sure the outcry would have been enormous, and your government would have, in any case, not allowed this to happen. In SA we do not have the luxury of a government with such high moral values. They have just awarded ‘unconditional new order mining rights' to an Australian company (Coal of Africa Limited - CoAL) to start such a mine right next to Mapungubwe National Park, one of SA’s few World Heritage Sites. The pollution from this mine, as well as the planned coal fire power stations, is going to mean the end of one of SA’s most unique and beautiful areas…not to mention the loss of the rich cultural heritage this park holds.
There are many question marks over the process that was followed to award this license. This includes a high profile ANC member being appointed as CoAl’s executive director, etc. Merely pointing fingers at CoAL will not be fair…the SA government departments are increasingly plagued by corruption (putting it mildly). But it will help greatly if this whole thing gets thoroughly investigated and opposed from SA, and the Australian side.

A concerned SA citizen emailed the Prime Minister of Australia (Mr Kevin Rudd) regarding this issue. He actually received a reply back stating that the matter was handed over to Min. Martin Ferguson of the Dept of Resources, Energy and Tourism as well as Min. Peter Garrett from the Dept of Environment, Heritage and Arts. Sadly it seems it all stopped there. This is however much better than the response from our own President Zuma…which was non.

It will greatly help if the citizens of Australia are also made aware of this atrocity and we all stand together to urge our governments to act responsibly …giving better thought to what we will leave behind for future generations. To my friends in Oz…if you can, please send emails to your newspapers etc informing them, and hopefully many more, about what is about to happen in our country.

Apart from this, there is another way all of us can fight this mine (this counts for people from right across the globe)
A stakeholder group was formed, consisting out of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), WWF South Africa, the Mapungubwe Action Group, the Office of the International Coordinator for the Greater Mapungubwe TFCA and Peace Parks Foundation….and now Birdlife SA has also joined the ranks. They are going to appose this mine through legal action, but for this they need funds. Please take the time to read the following link and consider supporting this more than worthy cause.
.
www.peaceparks.org/News_1090000000_0_0_0_0_832_Objection to coal mine next to Greater Mapungubwe TFCA.htm

PS: this photo was taken this past weekend at the Maloutswa Hide in Mapungubwe National Park. Withing 1 ½ hrs 5 breeding herds of elephants arrived and they went into a complete frenzy, diving into the waterhole that is currently just mud. The mud was flying everywhere; I even ended up with mud on my legs LOL
I’m praying that this will not be the last time I had the privilage to experience the magic of Mapungubwe…..and that the true owners of Mapungubwe will keep on breathing clean air, drink unpolluted water, eat vegetation that is not covered in coal dust and do not have to run in fear from the sound of blasting works.

Looking forward...

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:48:45 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Young Impala and a Red-billed Oxpecker.
Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Some days are stones...

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:55:37 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

A White-crested Helmet-Shrike on the burglar bars...photo taken through the window.
Marloth Park, South Africa.

It was here, somewhere….

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:25:20 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Meerkat.
Kgalagadi NP, South Africa.

Who said an elephant is scared of a mouse? ;-)

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:17:50 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Bushveld Elephant-Shrew (Elephantulus intufi), Kgalagadi NP, South Africa.

After many, many trips to various parks in SA, this is the first time I have seen an Elephant Shrew. We were busy watching the Leopard at the Grootkolk waterhole when I suddenly saw this odd looking mouse next to our unit.
The sad thing is, most visitors to this park will not even consider taking a photo of this little critter while there is a leopard in front of them…yet, your chances of seeing an Elephant Shrew is much smaller (excuse the pun) than seeing a Leopard.
To get the full benefit of this park, one really has to take the time to look at ALL it has to offer…the big and small

Thank you to the guys on www.sanparks.org/forums/ with the help on the ID :-)

Family stands together

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:29:02 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Meerkat (Suricate).
Kgalagadi NP, South Africa

African Jacana (actophilornis africanus)

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:06:21 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Kruger National Park, South Africa

A living legacy

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:48:47 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Our original Bambi (a Grey Duiker) did not make it through the terrible drought we had last year….I think it was a combination of the drought and old age. The last time we saw her it was evident that she was no longer in good health.
But that is nature, I suppose, and nature has a succession plan…this is one of her daughters….now also a regular visitor to our home.

Marloth Park, South Africa.

Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Lens: Canon: EFS 55-250mm F4.5-5.6 IS

Southern African Python (Rock Python)

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:55:46 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

It is an amazing experience to encounter one of these endangered snakes in the wild. At about 1.8m, this one was still a youngster….their average size is 4 meter and they can get up to 6 meters.

Kruger National Park, South Africa

Madam Hosepipe

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:11:02 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

This elderly female waterdog got the name “Hosepipe” after she once attacked our hosepipe, the pipe got stuck to one of her teeth and she sped off into the bush with the hosepipe and its attached storage roll….the faster she ran , the faster the storage roll “chased” her. Lucky for us, the hosepipe eventually gave up the pursuit and we were able to retrieve it. She is now very wary of the hosepipe and snorts at it whenever she sees it.

Marloth Park, South Africa

Barbara Streisand :-)

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:16:40 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Beautiful eyes, long nose…unfortunately this Ground Hornbill does not have the same great voice LOL
Kruger National Park, South Africa

Red-headed Weaver

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Fri, 28 May 2010 06:49:58 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Marloth Park, South Africa

A Secretary without a schedule

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:36:55 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Secretary Bird.
Kgalagadi NP, South Africa

Voyeurism

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:35:26 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Marloth Park, South Africa.

Coffee, tea or me….

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:43:56 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike (Marloth Park, South Africa)

As for the “Coffee, tea or me”, you will have to listen to this bird's call to understand it.
Follow the flowing link…and play the call of the Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike…it can be found under the “Bird calls” heading, most right-hand column, 3rd from the top…listen to the entire recording, and the rhyme will come to you ;-)
www.sanparks.org/ringtones/

For those who are interested, this is the official website of South African National Parks and this link is to some really cool ringtones of South Africa animals and birds, for sale at reasonable prices …and this money goes back into conservation. :-)

Smiling is contagious; let’s start an epidemic

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:12:50 -0700

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Marloth Park, South Africa.

Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Lens: Canon: EFS 55-250mm F4.5-5.6 IS

Red-winged Starling

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:28:15 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Kruger National Park, South Africa

Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Lens: Canon: EFS 55-250mm F4.5-5.6 IS

Banded Mongoose

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:44:17 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Marloth Park, South Africa.

Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Lens: Canon: EFS 55-250mm F4.5-5.6 IS

Kudu

nobody@flickr.com (Jumbo22) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:12:45 -0800

Jumbo22 posted a photo:

Marloth Park, South Africa