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

Lunch Time At Tygerberg

I've been sitting on these photographs for a long time and just couldn't decide what to do the post about. So, here goes...

I first noticed this male Grey Rhebok with a broken horn in June 2011. I don't know if this is still the same male I've camera trapped for the first time in February 2010, or whether this is a new male. Nor can I be sure how he broke the horn, but one would expect it happened during a fight of some sort.

Ever since June 2011, this fellow has been the only male to be seen with the females in the small herd at Tygerberg Nature Reserve.

Grey Rhebok (Vaalribbok - Pelea capreolus) closing in for the kill

The Grey Rhebok in particular seems to have a hard time with flies during the summer months, but that does not seem to hamper their appetite much.

Munch munch munch, the plant had no chance against this experienced plant-predator

I made an animated GIF of another predation event. Look at this sap-thirsty Grey Rhebok tearing a limb from this innocent plant. At least a carnivore's prey has a chance to escape! These vegetarians are a merciless and viscous bunch!



Musk Cats And Iron Pigs Of Berg River

I always like getting camera trap photographs of Large-Spotted Genet. The strange reed-like plants in the background gave this location an interesting look.

Large-Spotted Genet (Grootkolmuskejaatkat - Genetta tigrina) at Berg River Dam

I still can't figure out what happened to this Genet's head... Is this the fabled Headless-Genet of Berg River that the mothers, in nearby town of Franschhoek, use to scare their children with if they don't brush their teeth?

Quick! Spit on the bottom of your shoe and stamp on the ground, or the Headless-Genet of Berg River will give you hiccups!!

It was also nice to get a photograph of a baby Porcupine. He seems like a feisty little bugger!

Baby Porcupine (Ystervark - Hystrix africaeaustralis) feeling spiky

The parents where frequent visitors to the camera traps as well.

Adult Porcupine showing of those quills

Mouse Dogs Of Berg River

A common character in this part of the world is the Small Grey Mongoose. They are fairly attractive little beasts and often seen during the day running along a road or path.

Small Grey Mongoose (Kleingrysmuishond - Galerella pulverulenta) at Berg River Dam

They have a grizzled grey look, with almost short "stubby" hair around the face and neck, but they seem to like warring slightly longer pants.

I like the pose in this photograph, it almost seems to be wearing little black boots

The Large Grey Mongoose is a rarer find, although also active during the day and fairly easy to spot due to their larger size. The two species can be tricky to tell apart in camera trap photographs, but the size difference helps, and in general they seem to have longer hair. They are larger than their smaller cousins and seem to have longer legs.

The Large Grey Mongoose (Grootgrysmuishond - Herpestes ichneumon) seems to prefer wearing knee high black boots

One great thing about camera trapping at Berg River Dam is that I can take the dogs with me. Most nature reserves don't allow dogs, but since the area around the dam where I put the camera traps isn't a reserve I'm able to take the dogs with me.

Mushu being very "helpful" while I try to setup the camera trap

They love coming along and have a blast of a time.

Scout waiting for me to finish setting up the camera trap

Spiky Mice

For me the Cape Spiny Mouse was a new find at Berg River Dam. They get their name from their coat of sharp bristles that is harsh to the touch. The spiny hair on the back seems darker, witch then fades into the yellow brown on the flanks and white on the chin and belly.

Cape Spiny Mouse (Kaapse Stekelmuis - Acomys subspinosus) turning on the cute at Berg River Dam

As can be seen from the camera trap photographs these mice like to hang out near rocky areas. They are mostly nocturnal (active at night) and live alone or in small groups that may share a rock crevice called home.

Notice the darker spiky bristles on it's back

They are omnivores and feed an seeds, berries, insects and other invertebrates. They can be seen as a true Fynbos endemic, occurring only in the mountainous Fynbos region in the south-western corner of the South Africa.

Snack time! Check out that long tail

I was surprised to find images of wasps triggering the camera during the day. I did some digging and it turns out these large wasps where somehow introduced into the Western Cape from Europe.

They usually nest underground or in cavities close to the ground. They construct paper nests that can contain up to 3000 wasps. Most colonies live only one year, with only the new queens surviving the winter to start a new colony.

German Yellow Jacket (Geelbaadjie Perdeby - Vespula germanica) triggering the camera trap

Although the adults feed mostly on sugar, such as nectar, they feed insects and other animal matter to their larva. In turn the larva secrete a sugary substance for the workers in exchange for the protein.

A lot of the photographs seems to show wasps fighting

During the time my cameras where at Berg River Dam a veld fire started on the slope on the far end of the dam. I'm not sure whether the flames somehow managed to trigger the camera, or the wind, or maybe just an animal that isn't in the field of view, but it resulted in some interesting photographs.

Veld fire at Berg River Dam