Archive for September 7, 2011

First road cruise of the summer!

Well guys and girl, summer is now here, at least for us!

After a number of snake call-outs in the area we decided that the snakes were on the move making it road cruise time!

It was quite a quiet cruise with only one snake, sadly Dead on Road (DOR) :(
A real shame as it was a beautiful male puff adder.

 

 

But we did find plenty of sleeping chameleons, although we only harrassed one with the camera flash.

 

 

And loads of frogs!! This greater leaf-folding frog we brought home to take a photo of this morning.

 

 

But we also found lots of other frogs such as Rubber frog, shovel-nosed frog and a few of what we believe to be guttural toads.

 

For the furry fans out there, we also saw grey duiker, bushbabies, and a spotted eagle owl!

 

Things are hotting up here in the KwaZulu Natal, so the snakes should be moving soon. This means the next cruise can only get better!

 

10 – 14 days inclusive of;   Telemetry Project - Cobra and Mamba tracking - Basic handling and ID course for African snakes likely to be encountered - Herping night-drives/ road cruising - Field herping - Overnight field trip - Help with problem crocodiles (where available) - Tracking white rhino - Game drives at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi - Sea Turtle experience - assisting research teams - Call outs - removing problem animals from rural residences - Frogging  - Over 50 species!  Based at Umkhumbi Lodge - Hluhluwe with possible excursions to Swaziland and Mozambique

 

Did You Know – Cocktail Ant

See below the factsheet for the South African Cocktail Ant
Cocktail Ant Scientific Name: Crematogaster peringueyi Description: Small ant species indigenous to South Africa.  Habitat: Diverse habitat, usually found in a forested area. Distribution is along the East Coast of South Africa.  Predators: Surprisingly few due to red colour and irritant fluid. Tend to be preyed upon mainly by birds.  Food:  Worker ants tend aphids and coccid insects for honeydew.  Social structure: Like all ants they form colonies which comprise of a queen and worker ants. There are many different types of worker ant - some work in the nursery, some collect food, some protect the colony e.t.c.  Communication: Unknown, presumed same as standard ant - Using pheremones (scents). e.g. an ant that finds food will leave a scent trail on his way to the colony for other ants to follow.  Male or Female: This doesn't really apply to Ants.Two types of ant instead;   Queen - Body length 6mm Worker ant - Body length 3-6mm, 2 segmented waist, head, thorax and legs reddish brown and black.  Life Expectancy: Unknown, presumed to be the same as a standard ant -  90 days (worker ant)  Did you know? Cocktail ants will build their nests near birds nests so that as the birds protect their own nests from predators they inadvertently protect the ants. Cocktail ants are called that because they cock their tails in the air and squirt on the bite.