Welcome to my world

I am a Freelance ranger/field guide in the Limpopo Province in South Africa.

I love what I do and that includes sharing the big and small secrets of this beautiful area with other people.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING:

Allow me to introduce myself:

My Name is Riaan Booysen and I am a Ranger/Field guide in the Limpopo Province in South Africa.

I love what I do and that includes sharing the big and small secrets of this beautiful area with other people.

Formidable, yet fragile…..

The aura around rhino’s will always imply that size does matter. These huge Phagyderms, thick-skinned animals, are a must to see for every visitor to southern Africa. The two species found in Africa are the White Rhino and the Black Rhino; I will concentrate on the White Rhino for now.



The white rhino is not white, their skin colour is dark grey and the name was derived from the species having a wide mouth. The Dutch settlers notice a considerable difference between the two rhino species in Africa when they arrived in the late 16th century. The Dutch named the rhino’s they encountered on their different feeding habits. The white Rhino was named,”wyd mond renoster”, because  white rhino’s are grazers and they use the wide mouth area to cut the grass they feed on.

Everything about the white rhino is huge. Adults can weigh up to 2000 kg; they can consume 70kg of fodder a day and drink on average 120 litres of water a day. The white rhino is considered a docile animal, yet if they are threatened they can be very dangerous. The infamous rhino horn can flip-over vehicles and many rhino bulls are killed in combat over dominance for procreation purposes. The massive bulk of a rhino can also trample anything to a pulp and with a top speed of 35km/h; a charging rhino is a serious threat to people on foot in the African bush.

Many people think that rhino’s are formidable, prehistoric battle tanks, but sadly they are not and that is why they are a threatened species. Rhino’s are haemophiliacs, or in laymen terms, they are “bleeders”. To kill a rhino is very easy and poachers use this to their advantage when they slaughter these animals for their horns. Most animals are killed with multiple gunshot wounds and the poachers know they only have to wound the rhino; blood loss will slow and bring down the beast.



Lions have been observed to hunt and kill rhino’s, but these actions are taken by lions only under severe conditions. It seems the rhino species have a bulletproof defence against non-human aggression; sadly they have no defence against high velocity bullets. The rhino species are killed, because it is believed that there are aphrodisiac properties in the horns the carry for protection. Rhino horn is compact hair and has no aphrodisiac properties and most people know this, yet the rhinos are in their most fragile part of their future existence. Let’s stand together and if you see an opportunity to be part of a conservation effort to save these animals, please join and make a difference.

Rangerriaan

They walk with grace….

The name giraffe have its origins in the Arabic word xirapha, one that walks with grace. These ungulates are the world’s tallest animals and many a tourist is speechless when they see these beautiful animals for the first time. Enjoying sundowners with a herd of giraffe on the horizon is a sight to be hold and that is the reason for the collective noun, a journey of giraffe, very descriptive indeed. The species name, cameloparadalis, was the description the early explorers give to these tall antelopes. It means, walk like a camel, looks like a leopard.

Biologists are still puzzled over the fact why giraffes evolved the long neck. The latest explanation is the following; the long neck gives the giraffes the ability to spot predators more efficiently from the higher vantage point. The long neck also helps the species with their strongest instinct, procreation. The bulls will engage in a mating ritual called, “necking”. The males will stand next to one another and hit their opponent with the upper parts of the neck and head. The winner of the contest will have the right to mate with the females in his territory.

Gravity is the main force the giraffes have to contend with, what goes up must go down. Giraffes have some amazing adaptation for circulating blood through their body’s and the thickest skin in the animal kingdom is found on the ankles of a giraffe. The skin around their ankles is 13cm thick and the blood pressure is on average 250 over 320 diastole. If the skin around the ankles is not thick enough, the blood pressure will blow the skin and muscles right of their bones.

Pumping blood up to the brain is a major obstacle for giraffes and for a long time people thought giraffes have two hearts. This is not true, giraffes have only one massive heart and this heart  pump’s oxygen rich blood towards the head and brain. The aorta of the giraffe is muscular and can help to pump blood upwards by contracting in unison with the heart.



The giraffe cow is the only antelope in the world with a gestation period that exceeds a year. The cow will give birth after 457 days and will do so standing up. The calves weigh on average 105 kg  and are able to run with the mother 2 hours after birth.

Giraffes can be regarded as the true ambassadors of Africa and I will dedicate a couple of articles on these wonderful animals. Rangerriaan

Stripes 2

 

How to distinguish between stallion and mare, well once again the answer can be found in the stripes of the zebras. Some people will tell you that the males have black on white stripes and the females have white stripes with black stripes imprinted on the white. Confusing and untrue, the person giving out this information is pulling your leg and credit can be given to this person, because he made everybody laugh.

One of the many purposes of the stripes on a zebra is that it helps the zebra to regulate its body temperature. The black stripe will absorbed heat from the sun when it is cold, the white stripe will reflect hot air away from the body when it is hot. The underside of a zebra has wider white stripes, when the earth is baked by the sun the white stripes will reflect the hot air away from the zebra. When it is cold the zebras will turn their rumps toward the sun to absorbed heat trough the black stripes. To distinguish between the sexes you need to keep this concept in mind, because the difference lies in the area where the zebras need to regulate their body temperature.

This photo shows the backside of a stallion, the area to concentrate on is the almost white skin between the hind legs. There is a faint, thin black line between the stallion’s legs and if the reader compares the stallion photo with the next one, you can clearly see the difference.

The width difference of the black stripe between the legs of zebras is the best way for the nature lover to distinguish between stallion and mare. The mares have a thick black stripe between their legs, because they need to regulate their body temperature in these important areas. The female’s reproductive organs are situated between the hind legs and for optimal foetus growth the black stripe is used to absorbed more heat.

One more reason why the zebra species evolved the stripes and there is many more. The zebras are truly “dazzling” creatures and that is why the official collective noun for zebras are, a dazzle of zebra.

Rangerriaan

 

 

Stripes….

“Pyjama donkey”, that was the name given to the zebra in this photo, a descriptive name indeed. Makes you wonder, why did the zebra’s evolved these striking and vivid stripes. With lions prowling around you need to be unseen, yet the zebra species are surviving in the African bush for the last 1.2 million years. The secret lies in the pattern, not the black and white coloration. These unique patterns have been under discussion many times and not one argument has yet been fully proven.

The advantage of the zebra stripes and how it is used to defend the species from predation can be seen in the following photos. Let me show you how these stripes make the zebra unseen to predators, yet visible to the human eye.

Zebra’s may look docile, but they are vicious animals. The stallions kill the young fouls that are not of their bloodline. Many lions bare the scars of zebra retaliation attacks and the kick of a zebra can break the jaw of a hyena. The important thing for the predators is to avoid the stallions and prey on the young and weak. The zebra’s know this and will bundle together while fleeing charging predators. It is while running in herd formations that the stripes make the young zebras unseen to the predator’s eyes.

Predators will always try and attack prey animals from behind. The herbivores of Africa have many defensive mechanisms; this includes sharp hooves, horns and teeth. The predators need to concentrate their efforts on the less dangerous individuals in the herd. This is where the patterns are creating an illusion to the predator’s eyes and the hunters struggle to single out the weak elements in the herd. This illusion effect is enhanced by the fact that the young zebras fouls will always stay in close proximity of the mares and the following photo shows the effectiveness of this unique adaptation.

The zebra species took more or less 500 000 thousand years to evolve this formidable defence mechanism and are still prolific breeders when found in wilderness areas. The patterns give the zebras the ability to hide their weak links in the chain, influencing the predator’s perspective of the herd. The stripes act like a magic cloak under which the future zebra generations can hide. Maybe that is why that young lady on the game drive called them “pyjama donkeys”.

Rangerriaan

The Hunting Tail…..

The previous articles in this category I explained the different dynamics involved in a lion hunt. The different adaptations the lions evolved are all used to better the chances of killing large prey animals. We saw the sharp end of the hunt, the soft colouration of the camouflage and the teamwork amongst the lionesses. All theses special and unique adaptations must be kept on a tight lease and what is holding everything together is the tail.

The tail most important purpose is for communication. Hunting lions need to be deathly quite and communication to co-ordinate the hunt are achieved through signals from their tails. The next photo shows a lioness that was stressed because her cubs were to close to a game viewer vehicle. The lioness tail is swishing from side to side and is a clear indication that she is not happy with the closeness of the humans to her cubs.

The most dangerous situation in the African bush is a confrontation with a lioness with young cubs. The lioness will first warn the intruder with a low growl and the sideways movement of her tail. The rule of thumb is that the lioness will rather flee than fight, but if the intruder refuses to back-off; the lioness will prepare herself for a full charge. The tail will be jerked up and down and the charge is immanent.

The tail is also used for a more docile purpose. The lioness when walking through tall grass is almost invisible and the tail acts as a beacon for the cubs to follow. This black tipped tail is also the source of amusement for the cubs and the young lions will spend lots off time attacking this fast-moving appendix.

In the hunt the tail will come in to its own only in the last moment before the killing bite. Most of the prey animals depend on agility and speed to out manoeuvre the lioness. The tail acts like a rudder for the lioness when she has to do sharp turns when chasing light-footed prey. The next photo the reader can see the importance of the tail and how it keeps the lioness upright and on course with the prey animal.

Well, the warthog the lioness was chasing in this photo didn’t make it, there was nowhere to run too and the hunt was successfully completed. It started only minutes ago and the lightning fast happenings give me only seconds to capture these images. I have whiteness countless killings and some times I wonder, why the bloodshed, is there a less violent alternative. The answer lies in the next photo.

The bloody death of the warthog gave the two lion cub’s nutrients’ to survive and to grow into formidable hunting machines. Until the day arrives when these two super cats makes their first kill, they must depend on the lioness that evolved all these adaptations just to secure her own species survival.

Rangerriaan

Ferocious Fangs….

The combination between sharp claws, excellent camouflage and unique arrangement of teeth makes the lion an efficient killing machine.   Lions will take any opportunity to kill other animals, because they have a very short digestive system, lions are able to eat at short intervals. If food is abundant an adult lion can consume 30kg of meat in a sitting.  To be able to consume so much meat, lions evolved some special teeth adaptations.

The final stage of the hunt is vital to the lions if they want to make a kill.  The prey animals lions target do have many defence mechanisms and the prey has to be killed swiftly.  Lions use only their canines to kill and they make use of three different tactics.  If the prey is of small size the lions will kill it by biting through the nape (back of head) of an animal, crushing the brainstem.  Big animals are killed in two different ways and it is not clear when lions make the decision on which method to implement.  The suffocation bite on the nose area of prey animals are used more often than the strangulation neck bite.  The reason for the favouritism is that some prey animal’s throats are too wide for the lions gaping mouths. The dominant lioness will do the killing and if she wants to give the inexperience young lions a lesson in killing prey, she would only immobilize the doomed animal.

The lion’s canines are huge and are used exclusively in the killing bite.  On average the canines measure about 10cm and are sharpened by the lower canines every time lions close their mouths.  The pre-molars are acting like heavy-duty scissors and the lions will turn their heads sideways when feeding.  The lioness in the next photo is using her pre-molars to cut through tough eland meat.

The molars of a lion is also slightly facing forward, this will prevent chunks of meat to go down the throat prematurely.  The upper tongue region is also rough and acts like sandpaper, lions will first lick the hair off prey animals before they start to feed.

The kill was made and the lions can start to feed, yet there is a misconception on why the male lion will start to eat first.  The lion will allow the cubs to join him in the feast, but the lionesses must wait their turn.  The lionesses need to recuperate from the massive amount of energy wasted in the hunt and while resting they can also protect the kill from other predators.  If his majesty is full, he will take over the guard and the lionesses can feed in peace.

The hunt was successful and in the next article I will explain the importance of the tail in the bigger scheme of things.

Rangerriaan

Hide and Seek

There is a misconception about the role the male lion plays in a hunt.   Lions have been accused of doing nothing in assisting the lionesses in the hunt.  Many believe the lion live on the spoils of the hardworking lionesses, but that is wrong.  The lion has an important responsibility and that is to protect the pride and their existence.

The thick black mane is there to protect the lion’s neck when he fights other lions for dominance over territories.  These encounters between adult lions are ferocious and many lions are killed or badly mauled. “To Fox”, is a term biologists use when young lions are beginning to show there dark manes.

The only drawback is that the dark mane is very difficult to hide. Lions would love to help in the hunt but the lion will chase away all the prey animals and the pride will go without food. The lionesses are better equipped for the hunt and with their iseballine (greyish-yellow) colouration they can stalk the prey more effectively.

This greyish-yellow colouration can be seen in this photo and if the lioness is stalking prey she can almost disappear in the tall grass.  The lioness will keep low to the ground and if the prey animals raise their heads, the lioness will freeze until the prey animals resume grazing again.  The lioness can go unseen even to her own kind and that is why her ears have black blotches at the rear.  The lionesses need to know where each individual is in the hunt if they want to complete it successfully.  The dominant female will lead the way and rest of the hunting party will follow her movement through the grass by means of the black ears and will react to her movements.

The lioness is a powerful hunter and weigh on average about 90kg to 110kg.  This powerful bulk must be unseen in a hunt and the lioness will use the terrain in her advantage when stalking prey. On many occasions in my guiding career, I have seen lions used game viewer vehicles to their advantage in stalking prey.  The lioness in the next photo used the contour line of an airfield to spy on potential prey.

The next article will be about the killing act itself and how lions are adapted to kill large prey animals.  If the readers of this blog wanted to ask Rangerriaan questions about the different aspects of the natural wonders of South Africa, it can be done through my email address.

Enjoy what you do, “totsiens!”

Paws and Claws….

Lions are courser hunters, meaning they chase their prey.  Well, chasing alone is not going to catch the prey and many adaptations are involved in a successful hunt. The paws and claws play a vital role in the hunt and lions depend heavily on their limbs and paws to secure their survival.

The feline paw is unique in the fact that all cats use stealth to get close to prey animals.  Paws on cats are soft underneath to suppress any sound that may come from stepping on noisy undergrowth and cats will carefully place their paws so that the least amount of noise are made.

Lions need to wrestle the prey to the ground with their paws and the long sharp claws help the lions in doing so.  The claws are kept in peak condition and to protect the claws from going blunt the lion keep it in sheaths like daggers. When needed, lions can produce the claws in lightning fast fashion, thanks to a trigger system in the toes. The Cheetah is the only feline that does not fully retract their claws, but we will save that story for another article.

The trigger system in the paws plays two important roles in the hunt. The lions are able to extract the claws halfway; this will give the charging lion more traction when running at high-speed across ruff terrain.  When lions use the full extraction of their claws it is for one thing only, to pierce the skin of the prey animal and to hold on with bloody results.  The next photo might look gruesome but shows the effectiveness of these claws.



This zebra was badly mauled by two young lions and their inexperience led to the to these injuries and later the death of the zebra.  Even young lions are capable of inflicting mortal wounds and they will practise their tactics to take down animals with their claws.

I want to use this to explain to the reader the importance of not buying Jewellery and curio’s that contains animal parts.  Specially paws, claws and fangs of predators in Africa. The tourists are targeted to buy things like lion fang pendants, crocodile teeth earrings and many more hideous creations. Leopards cannot shed there claws, lions do not trade their teeth and crocodiles are going to fight to the death if you try to pull out their fangs. These animals are killed for their paws, claws and fangs.  Rather see these animals in their natural environment and show respect for the important roles they play in the ecosystems.

Rangerriaan

The hunt…

The lion hunt, successful or not, is one of the most rewarding sightings on a safari.  To see these super cats stalking and chasing their prey is a sight to behold.  The lion is also well equipped for the hunt and some of natures most logical yet unique adaptations are found in these felines.

Lions are nocturnal hunters and their eyes are the primary weapon they use in a hunt.   The eyes are adapted to aid the lion in seeing better in low light conditions, but that means they are sensitive to direct sunlight or sharp light.   If you compare the eyes of a cheetah and a lion, you will notice the difference immediately.

The cheetah is a diurnal (day living) hunter and the eye is adapted for strong light conditions.  The next photo shows the dark tear mark running down the cheetah’s face.

The purpose of this tear mark is to lessen the sun’s glare on the eyes of the cheetah while it is hunting in direct sunlight.  There are exceptions and cheetahs have been observed to hunt at night, but this was always with a full moon and the reason for this is obvious.

The eyes of lions are totally different and to hunt successfully in the dark they need to reflect all the available light into their eyes. It is never completely dark and the lions use lunar light and star light to enhance their night sight.  The thick white lines under and above the lion eyes can be seen in the next photo. These lines reflect the light back to the cornea and aid the eye in seeing in the dark.

The yellow arrow points towards a faint tear mark.  Lions are highly adaptable hunters, if the terrain allows better conditions for day time hunting, and then the lions are also able to hunt at these times. The tear mark is not that dark, because the lions prefer the night time hunting and many more adaptations can aid them in doing so.

This article is the start of a new category, the hunt, where I will explain the dynamics that are involved in a lion while it is hunting. The following subjects will be explained.

The roll the paws and nails play in the hunt.

Camouflage and how the lions use the terrain to advance on prey animals.

The teeth count and structure and how these assist the lion in killing prey.

The tail and how it is used in keeping the lion upright.

Rangerriaan

Spot the Leopard

Field Guides in South Africa are so familiar with the following question, “Are we going to see leopards?”  Well, this is where the guide starts to feel uncomfortable, the leopard will watch you, and if the animal feels like it, the leopard will show itself to you.  The guides have very little to say in this matter because they do not see the leopards that often, anyway.

The leopards are well adapted to go unseen and this just ads to the allure of seeing these cats. In the eight years than I have been guiding, I can recall less than fifty leopard sightings.  There is nothing wrong with my abilities;  it is just that the leopard is such an expert in disguising itself.  You need to be at the right place at the right time, but when you spot one, everything will stand still around you; your attention is fixed on this magnificent animal.  This “spotted cat” is truly the animal to see in Africa!

The secret behind the leopard’s ability to disappear, and why it is difficult to spot, lies in the spots itself.  The leopards coat is covered with rosettes (not spots) and in these rosettes lays the secret of concealment.

Look at the picture – I took the” magic wand” on Photo Shop and copied five colours in the leopards rosettes.  These five colours are hidden in different areas in the photo. Can you see them?  Visual concealment is achieved if the leopard is able to blend into its environment.   Light does play an important roll in the process and leopards will actively seek areas where the environment aids them in concealing themselves.

Here is my advice if you want to see a leopard:  Firstly go to the places where they are normally viewed (lodges in the Waterberg/Bushveld, the Greater Kruger area and KZN). There are areas where leopards are still hunted and in these areas it is almost impossible to spot them, because they are afraid of humans.  Believe it or not, there are still those “uncivilized” individuals who want to hunt these animals and pay large amount of money to do so.  The good thing is that more and more people understand the importance of conservation and there are many nature reserves that can advertise leopard sightings.

The time of day is also important. Leopards are felines, and felines love to take naps for long periods of time, normally during daytime.  The Leopard is strictly nocturnal, but becomes crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) in protected areas.  You would also like to have a good spotlight handy.  Their eyes will reflect the light and (this fact is clearly visible in the next photo) this makes it easier to spot them.

Thank you for reading this material and I hope you find this elusive creature on your travels through Southern Africa.  It will be a memorable experience.  But if you share your experience you will educate people on the importance of conserving the leopards of Africa.

Rangerriaan