Looking Good At The Woody Cape

Camera trapping at a new location usually results in some form of a surprise, and the Woody Cape was no exception.

Aardvark (Erdvark - Orycteropus afer) photographed on a hiking trail in the Woody Cape section of Addo Elephant National Park

I must admit I was surprised to find a photograph of an Aardvark on my camera trap. I consulted my field guides and learnt that these strange critters are in fact widely spread throughout South Africa and can be found in a wide range of habitats. In short they are found anywhere they can find their primary food: ants and termites. In general they prefer ants over termites or other insects, but it is also believed that they might have a sweet tooth for the fruit of a plant called the Aardvark Cucumber.

The other new face that showed up on the camera traps might not be such a big surprise, but I'm glad to finally get a photograph of one on my camera traps inside the reserve.

Common/Grey Duiker (Gewone Duiker - Sylvicapra grimmia) sneaking past the camera trap during the day

What struck me about this Common/Grey Duiker was the rich and dark colour. The Duiker I'm used to seeing are much lighter or greying in colour. As the common name suggests. The dark legs also threw me off. (See some of my older posts over here for comparison.)

In general many of the Woody Cape creatures have struck me as having richer and darker colours than some of their relatives living elsewhere in country.

And while I'm on the topic of colour variation below is a collection of Bush Pig photographs illustrating the colour variation found in the Woody Cape.

First up we have an almost black Bushpig (Bosvark - Potamochoerus larvatus) showing us that going Goth is still not cool

This one sports dark undertones, while showing just enough orange-brown to pull off a classic two-tone look, this youngster finishes off the look with a daring side comb to compensate for the lack of a proper mane

The next pig has nothing to hide, strutting in with confidence and sporting a solid grizzled mane, the rich blaze of orange-brown shows some class and the pose says it all



Needing no fancy poses this fellows laughs the opposition out of the competition, with golden flanks, a bristling mane, dashing cheek whiskers and a snout any mother would be proud of, this pig puts the "ush" in Bushpig

A Dog's Day Out

I've seen a couple of Black-Backed Jackal while traveling through the farmland going from Cannon Rocks towards the Alexandria section of the Woody Cape. However, I was still glad to finally get a photograph of one inside the nature reserve.

 

Black-Backed Jackal (Rooijakkals - Canis mesomelas) darting past the camera in the Woody Cape 

Unfortunately it didn't hang around for long. This is the best photograph I got.

To make up for the lack of Canine images I'll indulge myself and post a few photographs of our dogs enjoying the holiday instead :)

Mushu and Scout interested in something in the sand

Mushu might have the same enthusiasm as Scout, but he doesn't have the same endurance...

 

Cruzin' on the dunes

Scout contemplating where to run off to next

The Woody Cape offers amazing coastal dune landscapes

 



Ahhh nothing better than a siesta after a long day on the beach...

Now, with that out of my system I'll be able to dedicate the next post to the two new faces that showed up on the cameras.

One Night Stand

I believe all camera trappers are doomed to succumb to the allure of a one night stand every once in a while. Fellow camera trapper Jeremy recently shared his latest heartbreaks with us (over here) and yours truly also tried his luck during the festive season with "modest" results.

My first one night stand over the festive period was a total no-show. After spending some time looking for a suitable location, getting to close for comfort to some fighting baboons, being terrorised by vicious ants and fearing that my stealth cam exploits would be exposed I finally found a decent enough looking spot for my romantic date with camera trapping destiny.

Most one night stands are also stealth cam setups. Fellow camera trappers should be familiar with stealth camming: looking for camera trapping rapture in dangerously exposed areas and without proper permission. The key to stealth camming is to pull the whole thing off without anybody knowing. I remember first hearing the term being used by the Codger over here. Few things beat the thrill of the rebellious pursuit of mammals in forbidden areas.

My Bushnell camera trap on the lookout for mammalian action in Xxx National Park

The area was crawling with ants and Oogpisters so I had to be quick. Oogpisters are fascinating creatures, but I'll leave it to David Attenborough to explain why over here.

I decided to play it safe and didn't get too close to the Two-Spotted Ground Beetle (Oogpister - Thermophilum homoplatum) since their Afrikaans name translates to "eye pisser" and gives fair warning of what they are capable of

I took the Oogpisters as a good sign and thought my destiny with the camera trapping goddess was set for a night of mammalian delights... However, as all camera trappers will know, camera trapping is a cruel vixen that enjoys crushing our dreams just as much as she delights in exceeding our wildest expectations.

In the end I didn't photograph anything at all. The usual collection of false triggers was like a slap in the face. Camera trapping can be cruel...

Our cottage at Addo's Matyholweni camp

Like any star struck lover I was back in the game two nights and 230 km later.

It all started when my wife called me to see the mouse in the cottage's kitchen. We were only staying over for one night and having an interesting rodent in our kitchen sounded like a good omen. I grabbed my digital camera and managed to get a few photographs of the visitor before it jumped back out of the window.

A shy Woodland Mouse/Woodland Thicket Rat (Woudmuis - Grammomys dolichurus) paying us a visit

The photographs turned out good enough to make a positive identification. This little fellow is a Woodland Mouse and a rather attractive rodent. I liked the reddish-brown splashes on the sides, sporting a respectable dark mouse-grey on top and a dashing white below. I would love to camera trap these charmers in more detail in the future...

Unfortunately it was a bit camera shy

After managing its escape I felt my heart stirring anew for the excitement that comes with a one night stand. I decided to put one camera under the wooden deck of our cottage and another in the road that leads up to the camp's gate.

An early morning visit from a Scrub Hare (Kolhaas - Lepus saxatilis) was a pleasant surprise

At the one camera only a Scrub Hare showed up, but one Scrub Hare is better than none at all. It's a decent photograph and I was happy, although I would have liked a Genet as well.

The other camera captured a video clip of a Giant Eagle Owl hopping around on the road.

Video: Giant Eagle-Owl (Gevlekte Ooruil - Bubo lacteus) dropping in for a visit

In the end, as always, after toying with your heart, the vixen gives you a tease and leaves you wanting more. I'm already thinking how and when I can sneak away for another stealthy one night stand.

Now, on a different note...

I usually try and keep the posts on this blog informative and fun, but I believe all emotions are good in their own way...

While on holiday this year we drove about 4000 km and noticed road killed animals everywhere. It is always sad to see an animal killed by a car, but of all the killed animals we saw the Woodland Mouse below moved me the most and possibly illustrates the animals' plight the best. I know nature is both kind and harsh, but somehow being killed by a car while going about your daily activates just doesn't seem natural. I found the Woodland Mouse below on the road in Addo Elephant National Park. (I must say that we saw very little road kill in the park itself and in general people that visit the park drive responsibly, but unfortunately sometimes accident do happen.)

Its a sad loss...

Caracals at Candlelight

I'm just back from the Woody Cape and the gamble with the cameras payed off! First up is the familiar (at least on this blog) profile of a Caracal.

Caracal (Rooikat - Caracal caracal) walking down the hiking trail in the Woody Cape thickets

Caracal are by no means scarce and seems to be camera trapped quite frequently in many places in South Africa. However, I haven't photographed many at the Woody Cape, and this is the first one I've photographed in this area of the Woody Cape - the thickets next to Cannon Rocks.

I placed the camera trap looking directly across the trail. The Cuddeback cameras have a wonderfully fast trigger speed and a very narrow detection zone making this setup the easiest and most effective.

My camera trap mounted to one of the trees

About two weeks later the same animal walked down the trail again. Caracals aren't easy to uniquely identify, but I've used the stripes on the insides of their legs in the past with reasonable success, so I'm pretty sure this is the same individual.

Looking a little sulky compared to the first image?

This was the first time we were able to take our dogs with us and I just can't resist slipping in some photographs of them. This one of Scout was taken by the camera trap when we went to fetch the camera. She's a "rescue dog" and we've had her for about 9 months now. She really turned out well and was having a blast the entire trip.

Our domestic dog (Hond - Canis lupus familiaris) aptly named Scout

You might think she is looking in the wrong direction, but after reviewing the photos from this camera I noticed that she is actually looking down a small path that is occasionally used by the animals to join up with the mail trail.

Watery Ways

Next week this time I'll be back in the Eastern Cape. The past year I've been helping my mother finish the retirement home they started building before my father passed away. This December will be the first time we are going to stay in it and I'm very excited to experience the (almost) finished product :)

Some finishing touches are still needed, but at least it doesn't look like this anymore...

I've been a little concerned about my camera traps recently. The previous time I was in the Woody Cape I decided to take some risks with a few of my cameras because I was under the impression that I'll be back two weeks later. I was planning to receive the truck with furniture from Johannesburg, however my mom was able to fly down and do it herself, so there was no need for me to go as well.

It is now over a month and a half later and I hope I find them where I left them...

As some of you might have noticed the Woody Cape has been a somewhat "slow" location. I was glad to finally get another new species during my last visit. Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time during my next visits to explore new locations I couldn't get to during my house building trips.

A Marsh/Water Mongoose (Kommetjiegatmuishond - Atilax paludinosus) at the Woody Cape

Not the greatest photograph, but I'll take anything at this point.

It has been raining heavily in the Eastern Cape during the time the cameras where out. The photograph below shows a dune that was washed away by the small temporary stream that turned into a small river after some heavy rains. The water normally stops towards the back of the photo, in the thickets, and never runs all the way to the see as it did during this visit.

The heavy rains at Cannon Rocks resulted in the spring going into flood and washing away a large portion of the dune

Maybe a better way to illustrate the heavy rains are the following selection of images. The photos were taken by the same camera as the Water Mongoose above, but about a week later.

A young Bushbuck (Bosbok - Tragelaphus sylvaticus) next to a temporary puddle/stream

You can see the ditch in the ground has filled up. The next image was five days after the one above.

Aaaah, nothing like a foot-spa to work up an appetite

By now the ditch has turned into a stream with water everywhere!

But all of the rain didn't dampen the spirits of the resident animals. One of the other cameras got some interesting photographs of two Bushbuck males getting a little frisky.

A Bushbuck male raising the long hair on his back in response to the other fellow approaching in the background

If we can get the internet sorted out at the new home, and if I'm in the mood I'll try and do some posts over the holiday period. If I don't get around to it: Have a great holiday time and rest well.