The Missing Mustelidae

During my initial camera trapping stint at Koeberg Nature Reserve I didn't manage to photograph any of the species that form part of the Mustelidae (weasel) family. On a few occasions I saw Honey Badger paw prints, but I never got a photograph.

Even though the focus of my recent camera trapping was to capture evidence of the Leopard, I still hoped to add some new species to the list.

I was very glad when I learnt from the reserve staff that a Honey Badger walked past one of the camera traps.



Honey Badger (Ratel - Mellivora capensis) snacking on a Springbok carcass

Apparently one of the Springbok got hit by a car and the reserve staff decided to put some of the carcass out in front of the camera trap to possibly lure the Leopard. The Leopard didn't show up. The Honey Badger did, but only after the local Pied Crow(s) and Small Grey Mongoose cleaned off most of the meat.

Honey Badger carrying off what remained of the carcass

Unfortunately this luck didn't last.

There are two more members of the Mustelidae family which I know are present on the reserve, but I still don't have any camera trap evidence to back it up.

First up is the Cape Clawless Otter. I didn't see many signs of them on my previous visit, but this time around the one dam was crawling with footprints.

Otter tracks at the dam

I placed a camera at the dam, but didn't catch the otter in action. I'll have to come back someday to settle the score.

The other missing member is the African Striped Polecat. I found one that was killed by a car on the road just outside the reserve, so I know they are in the area, but I didn't photograph any on my camera traps.

A dead Striped Polecat (Stinkmuishond - Ictonyx striatus) found just outside the reserve

The polecat was in fairly good condition when I found it, so I decided to take it home and try to clean the skull.

The skull is now part of my collection

Camp Scavengers

I took my Bushnell Trophy Cam with me on my December holiday trip. I thought it could be interesting to point the camera at a garbage bin in the rest camp to see what animals come looking for an easy meal.

Video: Rusty-Spotted Genet (Rooikolmuskeljaatkat - Genetta maculate) looking for some scraps to eat

Even though the camp is fenced the Rusty-Spotted Genet was the first one on the scene. I'm guessing the camp will have one or more "resident" Genets. I'm sure all sorts of animals have secret ways in and out of the camp. Maybe the genets climb along the trees that border the fence.

The other visitor to the nightly buffet must likely crawlers underneath the fence when it wants to enter or leave the camp.

 

Video: A pair of Honey Badger (Ratel - Mellivora capensis) looking for bigger spoils

These two Honey Badgers didn't stay long. The garbage bins have a pole-thing next to it that helps to keep the lid on, but I'm sure a determined Honey Badger will find a way in. My bin didn't contain anything worth the trouble, so they just moved on.

Day Time Surprises

This will most likely be my last post for the year, so have a merry Christmas and a happy new year ;)

This is also the last Tygerberg post for a while. I've started camera trapping at a new location that will hopefully keep me busy for a while. Unfortunately you'll have to wait until early next year for the firsts posts from the new location to appear. If all goes well I might do a few posts earlier about any wildlife I might spot during the holiday season.

First up from Tygerberg we have a Honey Badger. This is the first time I've camera trapped one during the day, which is great. Unfortunately there is a lot of motion blur. I would have loved to see that facial expression more clearly!

Honey Badger (Ratel - Mellivora capensis) checking out the camera trap

Next up are some interesting Caracal shots I got during my most recent stint at Tygerberg.

Caracal (Rooikat - Caracal caracal) slinking past the camera

Interestingly enough the Caracal's characteristic ears aren't solid black at the back

Dozing off during the heat of the day in front of the camera

Thiefs In The Night

In general I try to steer this blog clear of social and political issues in South Africa, but when the ever rising crime rate starts to impact my camera trapping it becomes more difficult to do so...

I've been camera trapping, on and off, at Tygerberg for about 4 years now. During this time I've photographed very little "suspicious" activity, until recently.

Thief (Dief - Homo sapiens latro) passing by the camera with, interestingly enough, untied shoelaces...

In September I placed my two Cuddeback camera traps on a road running along the top of Tygerberg. Since this area of the reserve is behind a locked gate I was accompanied by some rangers from the reserve to unlock the gate for me. The plan was to only leave the camera in such a risky place for one week, but after only 4 days I was contacted by the reserve. They informed me that there was a some criminal activity that took place the night before in the same vicinity. Apparently, amongst other things, the culprits cut the chain on the gate using a pair of bolt cutters. My cameras were only a few meters away from the gate, so I rushed to the reserve during lunch time expecting the worst.

In recent month the general Tygerberg area has seen a huge increase in criminal activity. However I think it is important to note that the criminals only seem to travel through the reserve, cutting holes in the fence to get access to the houses bordering the reserve. I feel the reserve itself is still a wonderful and extremely safe place to visit, especially during the day. I'm convinced that you are in more danger at your favourite shopping mall than at the reserve itself.

Still, I was worried about my cameras and didn't want to take any further chances, so I went to fetch them. Luckily both were still right where I left them, but when I viewed the photographs I was unpleasantly surprised.

The criminals passed right by the cameras! To make things worse these are normal white-flash cameras. The flash is very noticeable when it goes off, no matter what direction you are facing.

The Cuddeback takes about 30 seconds to recover between photographs. The first camera the burglars walked past had taken two photographs, 1 minute apart . They must have stood right in front of the camera for at least a minute, trying to figure out what was going on! I'm sure they would have stolen or damaged the camera if they could figure out where the flash was coming from, but luckily they didn't. The night was dark and the moon wasn't out yet.

I usually place my cameras close to the ground since most animals around here are on the small side. The thieves probably didn't realise the camera was only about knee high and almost right in front of them.

My trusty old Cuddeback Capture

I placed my other camera a short distance up the slope, at a T-junction. By the time the second camera flashed the culprits didn't hang around for long and must have skedaddled rather quickly, since I didn't get any other photographs of them.

My not so trusty and not so old Cuddeback Attack

Placing a camera trap on a road or large path might seem like the obvious thing to do, but I usually steer clear of such location. I won't place my cameras on a road if it seems to be frequented by people. If I really feel the risk is worth it, then I'll only leave it out for a very short time.

Another reason I'm not very keen on placing too many cameras on roads is that I believe that some animals might either avoid roads, or only travel along them reluctantly. My theory is that many creatures are shy and reclusive by nature and avoid coming out into the open as much as possible. For them a wide open road is a scary thing and they'll try to stick as close to cover as possible. You have a better chance of photographing such animals on a smaller game trail or at other landmarks.

Porcupine (Ystervark - Hystrix africaeaustralis) zipping past

Not only did the thieves not damage or steal the camera traps, but they presented me with an interesting opportunity. I noticed that a Caracal, Honey Badger and Porcupine all walked past the camera in nearly the same position as the criminals. This makes it interesting to compare the different sizes of each animal to the two humans.



Overlay showing a Caracal, Honey Badger and two thieves

I also created an animated GIF for easy comparison.

Animated GIF showing the Porcupine, Carcal, Honey Badger and two thieves

Readers of this blog might easily forget just how small Tygerberg Nature Reserve is and that it is surrounded on three sides by urban development. The city lights in the background of this Caracal photograph shows just how "urban" the reserve is.

Caracal (Rooikat - Caracal caracal) with the suburbs of Plattekloof and Panorama in the background

Woody Cape Predators

There is plenty of meat available for a hungry predator at the Woody Cape in the form of Bushbuck, Bush Pig, Vervet Monkeys, Blue Duiker, etc. So where are the predators?

The most common carnivores camera trapped thus far have been the diurnal Small Grey Mongoose and nocturnal Large-Spotted Genet (see a previous entry over here). However, these little predators specialise on killing smaller animals such as rodents, bird and insects.

Luckily my most recent set of photographs from the Woody Cape contained some interesting finds. My old Cuddeback captured a distressed young Bushbuck running past the camera.

A young Bushbuck (Bosbok - Tragelaphus sylvaticus) making a run for it

The Cuddeback might take pretty photographs at night, but unfortunately it takes 30 seconds to recover, however that was just enough time to catch the tail of a Honey Badger zipping past the camera.

Honey Badger (Ratel - Mellivora capensis) in pursuit of the Bushbuck?

What makes these images interesting is that Honey Badger usually pray on small animals such as rodents and insects, but they are also know to take reptiles, birds, fruit and other small mammals, including small antelope. These guys are notoriously tough and I'm sure one can take down a small Bushbuck if it really wants to.

The Honey Badger isn't a new species to my camera trapping list at the Woody Cape, I regularly get images of them passing by (see a previous entry over here).

I don't see a Honey Badger as a primary predator of the larger mammal species. So, what other predators are still around in the Woody Cape?

Recently SANParks released a news headline that a Brown Hyena was camera trapped in the Colchester section of the park (story over here). I must admit that I'm a little envious :) The Colchester section is approximately 60km away from the Woody Cape section where I'm busy camera trapping. It has a different habitat and is on the other end of the protected coastline forming part of the Addo Elephant National Park.

Now, the Brown Hyena might be a large carnivore, but it is not really a predator, it is predominantly a scavenger and it is very seldom that it kills it's own food.

But last month I finally got a photograph of a real predator. One with the reputation to back it up and a familiar face for any long time readers of this blog.

A Caracal (Rooikat - Caracal caracal) in the Woody Cape, seemingly on a mission (as always...)

Caracal might prefer to hunt small to medium sized animals, but as any sheep farmer will tell you they are very capable in killing much larger animals as well. I'm sure that they will not think twice about having a young Bushbuck for a meal. They might even take on the odd adult, but since Bushbuck don't have a fixed breeding season there should be a constant supply of youngsters to pick from.

I've been hoping for a Caracal since day one, but I must admit that I was very surprised to finally get a picture of one at this location. This camera was a last minute setup and I had low expectations of it.

But this location had one more predator to reveal.

African Crowned Eagle (Kroonarend - Stephanoaetus coronatus) striking down

The African Crowned Eagle might not be the biggest eagle on the continent (the Verreauxs' Eagle and Martial Eagle are bigger), but it is considered to be the most powerful.

It is a specialist mammal hunter and has been known to kill adult Bushbuck, weighing over six times it's own weight! They have short but broad wings and a long tail to allow them to hunt in the forests and thickets of Africa. They prey mainly on monkeys, dassies and antelope throughout their range. They are even rumoured to kill human children.

The African Crowned Eagle usually hunts by waiting in the canopy for an animal to pass by and then swoops down onto it, crushing it with its powerful talons, easily puncturing vital organs/bones/scull with its 10cm long talons. They will sneak up on their prey if it doesn't move their way, moving through the vegetation into strike range.

The African Crowned Eagle has been listed as Near Threatened in recent years and it is good to see them around in the Woody Cape.

With the predators starting to show themselves I find my hopes rekindles for the elusive Woody Cape Leopard, and I'm still waiting for those Black-Backed Jackal I've seen in the neighbouring cattle farms to venture into the forest. Or maybe I'll find a Brown Hyena in the Woody Cape's coastal dunes when I get around to camera trapping there? Time will tell.

The Black, Grey and White Now In Colour

Honey Badger (Ratel - Mellivora capensis) at the Woody Cape

"I love it when a plan comes together!" I'm pretty pleased with the above photograph of a Honey Badger from the Woody Cape section of the Addo Elephant National Park. It all started a month earlier when I got some repeat visits of a Ratel on one of the Bushnell Trophy Cams. However, the camera was to close to the trail to take a decent photograph of the visitor.

A Ratel swishing past the camera

Not sure what this fellow is doing...

The Bushnell cameras with their grey nighttime images are great for seeing what's out there, but once you know what is out there you want to get a decent colour photo of the culprit. So I decided to place my trusty Cuddeback Capture (the old model) a few meters down the trial where the thicket opened up a bit. I think it payed off well :)

Mr (yes, a mister) Honey Badger showing us his powerful claws

It's good to see some carnivores in the thicket. I've seen plenty of molehills in the area and I'd put my money on it that these guys dig them out. Honey Badgers feed on a wide variety of small animals (mammals, birds, reptiles and insects) and off coarse has a sweet tooth for honey.

Badger Busyness

Two Honey Badgers visited my Bushnell camera trap at Tygerberg in June.

Honey Badger (Ratel - Mellivora capensis) at Tygerberg checking out the camera

This is the same camera as the one that photographed the Caracal with the Mole Rat in its mouth. The day before the Honey Badgers made their appearance the camera was still pointing in more or less the original position I set it to.

Cape Francolin (Kaapse Fisant - Pternistes capensis) walking past

The branch in the center of the frame appeared halfway through the camera trapping session. It might have been the handy work of the Bontebok or a strong wind.

The badgers immediately showed interest in the tuna can that I places in an exposed rodent tunnel.

What is that smell?

Sniff... Sniff...

They investigated the source of the stench. When I placed the Bushnell at this location there was already very little actual tuna left in the can. Most of it was gone already, most likely consumed by fly larva and other insects.

However, the badgers still gave the can a decent investigation. I have no doubt that if they wanted to they could dig out the can and chew it open, but I guess they were more interested in the smell, than a potential meal.

Interesting...

Weird...

But since they were in a rodent neighbourhood, the badgers just could not resist to look down a couple of borrows. One never knows, you might just be lucky.

What's down this hole?

After investigating the tuna can, then the other burrows, they decided to turn their attention on the "strange glowing red thing"...

And what's this thing doing here? Time to settle the score, buddy...

The camera lost the battle and the next morning the it woke up facing in a new direction...

Yes, somewhere in this photograph is a Karoo Prinia (Karoolangstertjie - Prinia maculosa)

The camera was down for 6 days. Not taking photographs of much more than warm vegetation and the occasional bird hopping past.

Then on the sixth day something appeared...

ALERT!! Human detected!!

All camera trappers will know the feeling of seeing these images. When this image first popped up I couldn't help but fear for the safety of my camera. Fortunately, common sense returned and I remembered that the camera was safe. So what was this person doing? I couple of images followed showing this friendly soul picking up the badgered camera and placing it upright once again.

Thanks to this person's help the camera had the chance to get a photograph of a porcupine passing by.

Porcupine (Ystervark - Hystrix africaeaustralis) coming in for a sniff

About two days later I did my rounds and checked the camera. This camera set had a slow start, but in the end it really payed off.

Twice As Sweet As Honey

I was looking forward to plenty of rodent photographs as I approached the new Sony homebrew camera trap at Tygerberg Nature Reserve. As I scanned trough the images I was pleased with the results. I baited the area heavily with bird seed and set the camera to take nighttime photographs only.

I got many rodent photographs, but there where two other species that also visited. The first and most impressive where these two Honey Badgers. I think it might be a mother and her almost grownup youngster.


Two Honey Badger (Ratel - Mellivora capensis) oozing atitude


This is not the first Honey Badgers I photographed at Tygerberg. You can find the previous post and more information about Honey Badgers over here.

I love this picture and I'm very very impressed with the quality of these homebrew cameras. It is a real pity that the lens gears are still giving a few problems. Regardless I'm sure I'll use this camera as often as possible.

Honey Badger At Tygerberg

I was very excited to find these images of a Honey Badger (Ratel) on my "recovered" Bushnell camera. I saw evidence of a lot of digging near the spot I selected for the camera, but I wasn't sure what animal was doing all the work and hoped it would show itself. And show itself it did! I got some great shots of the Honey Badger grooming itself in front of the camera. The infrared images from the Bushnell aren't that great, but it makes up for it by having a quick reset time between photos and it can even record video at night.

Honey Badger (Ratel) arriving at the spot and checking out the camera

Honey Badgers have a silver-grey back which extends to the top of their heads. The lower half of their bodies are black. They often carry their short bushy tail upright when walking. Their tracks can be identified by the long and strong claws of the front feet. The thumb is clearly visible in the print (the track shows all five digits clearly). They are about 30cm in height and 95cm in length. Males are on average a third larger than larger than females.

They have a wide habitat tolerance and are widespread across Southern Africa. Honey Badgers can be found throughout Africa, Arabia and Western Asia, including India. Even though they are widely distributed they are not common anywhere and are even considered rare in some areas.

Relaxing a bit in front of the camera

They spend most of their time on the ground, but are good climbers when the need arises. They will use rock crevices for shelter, but are powerful diggers and will dig refuges for themselves. They dig up a lot of their prey, such as rodents and scorpions. They can dig up to 60 holes per night while looking for food. They eat a wide variety of food, but invertebrates and rodents are the most important part of their diet. They are not dependant on water. They often feed together with some species of birds or Black Backed Jackal.

Honey Badgers are usually found alone, but they also walk in pairs or small family groups. They often move along tracks and roads. They are mostly active at night (nocturnal), but can also sometimes be found active during anytime of the day. In the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park they change from being nocturnal in summer to being diurnal in winter. This is done to cope with the very high temperature on summer days and very low temperatures on winter nights.

Nothing better than a good scratch...

The badgers have been named the most fearless animal in the Guinness Book of World Records. It is also believed that Cheetah cubs mimic the appearance of a Honey Badger as part of their survival strategy.

Honey Badgers are courageous animals. They usually keep to themselves and are shy and retiring in nature, but they can occasionally become extremely aggressive (without provoking them). These animals are very tough and and can become very aggressive. They will even attack an Elephant if they feel threatened. They can produce a foul-smelling excretion from a pair of anal glads. However the Honey Badger is not as prone as the Striped Polecat to use this defence mechanism and will much more likely attack its aggressor. Their skin is very thick and loose. It is said that if a dog bites any part of it the animal can turn around inside its skin and bite back (this is regarded to be true within certain limits). They always come of best when attacked by dog and the dog's teeth seldom penetrate their skin.

Honey Badgers appear to have some level of resistance against scorpion and bee stings. They also appear to have a remarkable resistance against many extremely venomous snakes. After being bitten by a snake that would kill most large animals they appear to only experience some degree of pain and then just sleep it off. Waking up after a few hours without any serious side effects.

During intraspecific fighting each individual tries to invite the other to bite first, because which ever one bites first is at a disadvantage. The second individual will lunge at the first one to bite and aim for the softer skin of the abdomen. It has been recorded that in captivity normally docile individuals will develop "fury moods" and become dangerous, but will just as suddenly return to being calm and docile.

After the grooming session this badger is probably on his way to add some more holes to the slope 

The name Honey Badger comes from their habit of plundering bee hives for the honey and bee larvae. Their other common name is “Ratel” which is Afrikaans for rattle or honeycomb.


Reverences:
Chris & Tilde Stuart (2008). Veldgids tot Soogdiere van Suider-Afrika. Kaapstad: Struik Uitgewers. 142.
John D. Skinner & Christian T. Chimimba (2005). The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. Cape Town: Cambridge University Press. 501-504.