** Africam - Book (3)

A F R I C A M   W I K  I

THIS IS AN     --  A  TO  Z 

INFO  SITE  ON  - E.P & NK

EXAMPLE

B

• Big 5 - Buffalo, elephant, lion, leopard, rhino,
• Bokkie - an afrikaans word for an unidentified smaller antelope.
• Boma -our boma is a friendly gathering place where like-minded people come together to discuss the sights & sounds on Africam, share comradery and often times build lasting friendships.
• Bomite - see Africammer
• Buff(s) - buffalo(s)
• Buffalo - buffalos seen on NK and EP are Cape buffalos, shangaan name - nyathi/nyari, collective name - obstinacy, herd, troop, gang
• Buffering - term used when picture freezes and streaming video stops, you will see the spinning wheel in the center of the image.

click here

*  CAMBELL *   said   hello from  NKORHO PAN

Jono , Campbell   Gabbi   and Karen

ITS WAS HOT THIER TODAY 105 F 40.55 CELCIUS

**   7   lovely   dancers  came to the water hole  -

and they  sang and danced for us ( and they were wonderfull)

WE ASK QUESTIONS TO THE NKROHO  &

ELEPHANT PLAINS - AND THEY ANSWER OUR ??

A  D A Y  I N  T H E  L I F E  OF A  N K O R H O    - R AN GE R

--------------------------------------------------------------

HOWZIT -   A QUESTION TO ANY  RANGER

WOULD ANY RANGER LIKE TO  GIVE US WHAT

ITS LIKE TO BE A RANGER AT NKORHO FOR ONE DAY

FROM WHEN YOU WAKE UP  -TILL YOU GO TO SLEEP

photos  of your day would be great also ( if possible)

THANK YOU  BARRY-

typical day when guides are driving

- Wake up at around 4h30

- open lodge and make sure coffee machine is ready for use and  help pack hotboxes for morning drive

- 5h00 wake up all guests going out on drive

- 5h30 to 8h30 game drive

- 9h00 breakfast

- 10h00 walk for about 1hr30min or so

- one guide goes off for the morning between the time they get back from the walk and the 13h30

- lunch is at 14h00 guides sit all meals with their guests

- next guide goes off straight after lunch till 4h00

- ensure your cooler boxes are packed as soon as you come back

- 4h30 afternoon game drive leaves

- 19h30 game drive comes back

- 20h00 diner

- after dinner the guests return to the bar and guides stay up till the guests go to bed.....

- for the guide who is on duty while the other is off they have to make sure guests are happy and served drink when needed also do luggage for guests checking in...

for the guides not driving

- wake up at 06h30 at the lodge at 07h00

- check the pools and do maintenance

- help with guest checkouts

- in charge of clearing roads ad road maintenance

- responsible for waiting for the guests who are late arrivals till the drive come back

- usually off from 17h00 till 19h00 when they come back and do welcome drinks for the game drives coming back.

- help with first round of drinks till guests go down for dinner

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Bush greetings Barry

Yes they do check the area and guests who are in room 7 are walked to and from their room at night because of the distance from the main lodge. guides doing wake up calls have to walk around turning on lights and doing wake up cllas generally do this while they are checking around

hope this helps

Bushie

N K O R H O    -  M A P

SEE WHERE THE  NKORHO LODGE IS

CLICK  HERE

NKORHO  - FIRE PROTECTION

NOON

kru-kab bowser b.c. wrote:

HOWZIT  -    couple of questions on the   **  FIRE KING  **

WATER PUMP -   how many gallons ( or litres) does

the tank hold 800 liters ( 211 gallon) -        how  long does it take to

empty the tank 25-35 minutes depends on at what strengh you spraw the water and how long to fill the tank with water 1 minutes

and how long is the fire hose 150 meters

and does each lodge in your area have a ( fire truck set up

like yours ) there is only one lodge out of the 7 that doesn't have a Fire King.

thank you

barry

----------------------------------------------------------

P.S    I USE  30 COMMENTS PER PAGE

AND  DATE   OLDEST  FIRST

ACROSS FROM THE MICROPHONE

some technician to some minor repairs

after   some more adjustments   camera working fine

Wed, 21/11/2007 - 5:12pm

we were told about some of the animals found on this great contenent

one was the king of beasts

photo -  by -  PENNY-2 --    NKORHO

PHOTO - PENNY-2 ---

NKORHO

              IN THIS AFRICAM BOOK YOU WILL SEE CAM

              PICS FROM  --NKORHO AND ELEPHANT PLAINS

              SOME  ARE  OF   ANIMAL - BIRDS -REPTILES

              THAT HAVE BEEN CAPTURED ON  CAM

              FOR THE FIRST TIME (THAT I KNOW OF )

        Yellow-billed Kite ~ Milvus aegyptius ~ NK

Bushbuck ~ Tragelaphus scriptus

 photo by    ingwe  -- christy   aug - 2009 nk lodge

Nkorho Ranger

THIS BUSHBUCK WAS TAKEN AT  NKORHO  

OCT- 28   - ARE THEY RARE TO SEE  AT NKORHO

I CANT REMEBER SEEING ONE ON THE CAMS ?

THANKS  BARRY

Morning from Nkorho.

Barry I have been at NK 11 months, and this was the first Bushbuck sighting for me at NK. When the Bushbuck left from the wh she came right into the lodge infront of room 3 eating the grass. I phoned Karin to tell her and she didn't believe me and Karin has been at NK 5 years.

Jacquesquote

 water monitor lizard

           NKORHO  AND ELEPHANT PLAINS

    EAGLE PERCH AND DRAGON PERCH

                   CAM PHOTOS

                              CLICK HERE 

    NKORHO    ADDED THE EAGLE PERCH TO THE PAN

     NEW ADDITION TO THE  ELEPHANT PLAINS  PAN

     HOWWA - a member named the log  ** THE DRAGON **

     ONE OF THE BIRDS TO USE THE LOG

      Hadeda Ibis ~ Bostrychia hagedash ~

QUESTIONS ARE ASKED MY MEMBERS-

RANGERS ANSWER THEM

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pump for the pan runs off an old Lister motor that is what you hear when we start the pump, the boreholes for the lodge is west of the pan and runs on electic pumps

We try and pump the wh on Tuesdays only because of the noise the pump makes. Other wise when the water level is really low we start the pump.

Jacques

NKORHO  LODGE  JEEP

Our safari jeeps are Toyota hilux 4x4 vehicles.
They carry at the max, 10 people but we try keep it at 6 people per
vehicle
so it is as comfortable as possible.

The game drives are 3-3 1/2 hours long and it all depends on the
sighting,
such as a leopard kill or lion pride, in km it can vary from 10 to 50
km.
But we try to keep driving to a minimum and rather enjoy a sighting for

longer and have a memorable experience.

Bush greetings
Gabbi Shires
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOU WILL FIND MANY POSTINGS

TO AND FROM  NKORHO AND

ELEPHANT PLAINS  RANGERS

kru-kab bowser b.c. wrote:NOTE  THE ODD COLOR OF THE ONE BULL

9.22 C.A.T  -    NKORHO

IS IT BECAUSE HE IS OLD BULL ???

ALSO THE STRIPES ARE MISSING ALONG THE BACK

THANKS FOR THE ANSWER ON THE ELEPHANT

Bush Greetings Barry

Hope this helps have attached info relating to mange this is common during long periods of little to no rain often cause by stress due to the conditions of the veld and lack of water, all hair in some animals will fall out and only then regrow however some animals are permanently marked by the effects of the mange.

Mange is a general term for several skin ailments caused by tiny mites that infest skin or hair follicles of dogs, cats and other mammals. Mange mites cause an allergic reaction and intense itching. Most commonly the term is used to describe the condition caused by the sarcoptic mange mite (near right), Sarcoptes scabei. This is the same mite that causes scabies in humans.

The other common "mange" is caused by the follicle mite Demodex sp. (far right). Normally this tiny mite lives in hair follicles and causes no symptoms. Occasionally, however, populations explode causing hair loss and itching. Demodectic mange (demodextic mange) is often associated with stress, or other illness, which predisposes the animal to an outbreak.

Mange is a very serious condition and should be treated. The stress brought on by the intense itching and the secondary bacterial infections caused by wounds opened by scratching can be fatal.

Thanks

And then a heard of beautiful zebras came down and finished a perfect day

** THE ** CAPE BUFFALO SKULL **

        24 DAY 9TH MONTH 2007

http://www.africam.com/wildlife/monday_24th_sept_2007_streaming_cam_pics

         CAM PICS  FROM   SEPTEMBER 24  2007

Hi Barry

Thanks for your mail.  The skull is lying in the tall grass,

  -- but  KAREN will have it moved closer to the

webcam - so you all can get a good look at  it !!

BUSH GREETINGS

                   MAJESTIC EVEN AFTER DEATH

               SOME HORNS SPREAD  MEASURE

               40 -  to -   48  -INCHES

               NYATI  -MEANS  BUFFALO    

               WE CALL HIM   **  OLD FAITHFULL **

                   HE IS LOOKED AFTER  BY                        

Nkorho Ranger  

Jacques 

  i have a real love for the cape buffalo skull

ever since you moved it for us to view and i click picks of

all the differnt animals that go near It and put them in the aficam book

my ?? is i see it often tipped over or moved  by animals

 who  is setting it back up  each time and facing it towards the cam

i have not seen anyone set t up 

thanks  barry 

Hey Barry.

The fun is mine of moving it back ore picking it up to face the cam again for pic's.

Jacques 

SLIDE SHOW  PAYS TRIBUTE TO

*** O L  D    F A I T H F U L L  ***

CLICK - HERE

many thanks to  ** PENNY  (2) *  JANUARY  27 - 2009

Hi Barry

Thanks for your mail.  The skull is lying in the tall grass, but Karen
will
move it closer to the webcam so you can get a good look at it!!

Bush greetings

BUSH WALK   - THANKS TO  JACQUES

Briefing before bush walk:
1. Rules regarding handling of firearm
2. Cameras photography only with ranger consent
3. Trail rules- single file behind the ranger, stay close and no lagging behind
4. Minimum noise
5. No smoking
6. No littering
7. Pre- arranged communication signals
8. Emergency drill: no this point all depends on the danger and what is happening. Your main aim is to back-up and move quietly out of the sighting.
9. AN NEVER RUN
10. enjoy the walk

They leave for bush walk after breakfast all depends on what time the game drive came back and how long breakfast takes, but generally at 10 am.

Max number on bush walk 8 guest if a back-up walks with and only 4 if the ranger walks alone.

A walk is between a 1hour and 1 and a half hours. ( I have been on a 2 and half hours walk before at Nk) depends on the guest.

CAPE BUFFALO  DIES OF  

                        NATURAL  OF NATURAL CAUSE

                        SEPTEMBER 24 2007

It sure has been a couple of exciting days at Nkorho...

The Rangers have informed me that the Buffalo near the pan suffered from a disease that affected its respiratory system and prevented it from being able to breathe.

This particular disease does not effect carnivores, only grazers. The animals are clever enough to know the difference and knew that this carcass was fine to feed on.

The Jackals arrived first, being that they are resident in the area and extremely opportunistic.

The vultures were right behind them. When vultures are not currently at a feeding site they circle all day looking for a new one covering very large distances. Once they have found one they will alert many others.This is how they were able to arrive before any other animals.

The hyaenas arrived next. They operate on a very similar system. They are usually solitary but when food is discovered they approach in numbers for safety. There is a very good chance that a hyaena saw the vultures circling and then called for reinforcements before approaching the site.

There were no lions in the area yesterday. However it did not take long for the Styx pride to hear about the Buffalo and make their way to the pan. They arrived early Tuesday morning.

            SASSABUCK  -  MADE THIS BEAUTIFULL TRIBUTE

                                     OLD FAITHFULL

             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ar_qx_8eqc

THE MARULA TREE ( NAMED MIKE)

HAS TWO MICROPHONES ON IT

DISTANCE FROM CAM to water ege    45   feet

distance   across  pan is                         68   feet

distance from  water to  marula tree      150 feet

-------------------------------------------------------------------

263  feet  in total

The new mics are just behind the shrubs on the termite mound directly to the left of the marula tree, the old mic on the cam tree still works but only in mono so it is not on but is there as a back up we can switch over to it any time.

Greg

THE NKORHO PAN IS    80  x  68  FT

Water Level: The Nkorho pan is in fact a natural waterhole. So of course its water level rises and falls depending on the rains and what animals are drinking from it. It also contains an underwater pump that is used to artificially supplement its water level in extreme situations. Sometimes you can even hear the pump through the Africam audio. A good example of a time to use this pump would be after a large herd of Buffalo stops by for a drink.

(true story )

Good day Barry.

From the bottom going up: the first small box above the ground is the power supply. the big box is the audio and  video unit, then the cam with a steel roof over. on the left branch there is a IR light with housing and a mic. On the right branch there is three IR lights with housing.

Hope this helps.

Jacques

cam is  800mm zoom lens or  16 power

Nkorho RangerPosts: 499
Joined: 2008-02-19
Location:
-->Wed, 20/08/2008 - 11:04pmkru-kab bowser b.c. wrote:

thank you - JACQUES - for information

on the cam tree

NEW QUESTION - much chat -- about how far the

microphone,s can pick up sounds

it may be a tough question for you to

answer - ? - ( thanks barry )

Bush greetings Barry.

We can't really say 1 mile or 2 miles because we don't know, but to give you a idea how far you can hear. Every morning a Ranger reads the chatroom to see what you have heard at night. Many times even in the day you have heard lions roaring and we hear nothing.

The other day all the viewers heard a gun shot we heard nothing.

Hope this helps

Jacques

      THE CAMS ARE ON  24 - 7  SO WE HAVE

             N I G H T  - L I F E

Leopard ~ Panthera pardus ~

White rhino ~ Ceratotherium simum ~

Elephant ~ Loxodonta africana ~

Lion ~ Panthera leo ~

Verreaux’s (Giant) Eagle Owl ~ Bubo lacteus ~

Scrub hare ~ Lepus saxatilis ~

Egyptian Goose

In spite of their names, the Egyptian, spur-winged and pygmy geese are not geese, but ducks. There are, in fact, no true geese south of the Sahara. True geese lack iridescent plumage and have an irregular, net-like surface to the tarsus (that part of the leg between the 'ankle' and 'knee'

YOU WILL SEE RAW NATURE AS IT HAPPENS

snake - hanneke photo

and a heron eating a toad

 thanks to  geschue  for use of photo,s

*** gone but not forgotten ***

1995 - 2007 ( november)

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/10/01/html/ft_20011001.5.html

The Rock Drift male (Tjololo)

TJOLOLO – THE LEGEND
This morning Tjololo was found on Mala Mala in a really bad way.
His was very lean, his coat looking terrible and had many porcupine quills stuck in his body. A vet was called in and Tjololo was darted. He had quills in his throat his chest and even his paws. Some quills about 5 inches deep in his body. The vet removed these all and cleaned him up, but Tjololo never came round again after antidote was administered.
This was probably the best way for him to go, as he would probably just have continued to suffer in ill health.

I first saw Tjololo in 1999 as a young 4 year old leopard setting up his territory on Mala Mala Game Reserve. It was then I made a film about him, “Stalking Leopards” for National Geographic. I spent 18 months in the field with him following his every movement every day. He became a close friend as this image alone speaks to.
Tjololo had just killed this kudu cow and was dragging it off. I got out the vehicle and lay on the ground to take photos. He could drag the carcass anywhere, but wanted to go where I was lying, and so did just that. He dragged the kudu within touching distance of me and didn’t so much as give me a glance. What a trusting dude.

He was small male leopard but feisty. As time went by Tjololo began to take control of a larger territory encompassing nearly the whole of Mala Mala. On several occasions he came across much bigger males who we thought were REAL dudes and in just about every confrontation the little man came out the victor. And then in time he started trespassing outside Mala Mala still increasing his domain. He RULED!
But in the last 6 months his condition has been seen to deteriorate as he’s been getting on and would now be 12 years old. Not a bad innings for a male leopard.
I left Mala Mala in 2005 in which time I’d made another 2 films, “Predators at War” and “Hyena Queen”, both of which featured Tjololo in numerous sequences.
He also did me really proud when he was the feature of my cover story in the National Geographic Magazine 2001.
He was a very special leopard and I’m just so grateful to have shared so much time with him.

drif.htm

 THE NKORHO   ZOOMI OPERATOR GIVES US GREAT

REFECTION  CAM PICS

        AND OTHER GREAT  CAM PICS

Impala ~ Aepyceros melampus

WE WERE TOLD ABOUT THE ** WILD DOGS *

SOME OF US WERE TREATED TO 4 WILD DOGS ONE DAY AT THE WATER HOLE ( A RARE SIGHT )

WILD DOG VIDEO AT NKORHO WATER HOLE

ht

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/african_hunting_dog.htm

TAKE THE WILD DOG  QUIZZ

A F R I C A ,S      the “magnificent seven”: the “big five” (elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard) plus cheetah and wild dog.

Ranger  - josh

Hi Barry
You asked for a story on wild dogs. I was fortunate to view them fairly regularly when I worked in Madikwe Game Reserve. I saw some great social interaction. Two of my favourite stories are the 2 kills I watched. I watched them take down and kill a wildebeest. There was another vehilcle in the sighting. When we arrived the dogs were chasing the wildebeest around. After a couple of minutes 1 managed to grab the wildebeest at the muzzle and another got the tail. A few then started to bite at the flanks and another the stomach. This may sound a bit gruesome to some but its only natural. The adrenalen pumping after watching something like that is incredible. Josh

                      **  BIRDS THAT HAVE BEEN  TAGGED  **

              ** Marabou STORK **

http://www.odensezoo.dk/site/dyr_engelsk/afrika/fugle/Marabou_stork/

               *  White backed Vulture  *

http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/accipitriformes/white-backed.vulture.html

 YOU WILL SEE  CAM PICS OF MANY

 ANIMALS  PAYING TRIBUTE TO

  OLD  FAITHFULL  -  AS HE IS CALLED

IN   2008    WHEN THE  BABIES

COME WITH THIER MOMS

THE CAM PICS WILL BE POSTED

BY MANY  AFRICAM MEMBERS

     IN THE  BOOK YOU WILL READ ALL BOUT THE

     ELEPHANY PLAIN  LODGE AND CAM

Elephant Plains, like Nkorho, is a luxury lodge located in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin. The lodge is situated on the bank of the dry Manyeleti riverbed

 THE NAME  MANYELETI   MEANS

              Place of Stars

New Streaming Camera at Elephant Plains

After countless hours of work by the Africam Team and a massive amount of anticipation from the loyal members of Africam, we are pleased to announce the upcoming launch of our second live streaming camera: Elephant Plains.

Elephant Plains, like Nkorho, is a luxury lodge located in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin. The lodge is situated on the bank of the dry Manyeleti riverbed. The area encompasses clay based plains, broad-leafed, hilly woodland interspersed with dolerite ridges and mature riverine habitats, creating a fantastic diversity of flora and fauna. A natural waterhole is the centrepiece of this region that provides a drinking spot for all the big five, as well as more rare predators such as cheetah and wild dog. Upon hearing the details of this location it didn’t take the Africam team long to see exactly where their new camera would have to be.

Roughly 20 metres from the waterhole is a large Jackalberry tree. Fortunately for us it houses a large branch extending completely parallel to the ground, with nothing between it and the bush. The camera has been mounted underneath this branch providing a perfect vantage point of the waterhole and the surrounding area. In addition, its ability to rotate 360 degrees will give our viewers the ability to observe wildlife in all directions, including from above. Just imagine the sight of the elephants, which this area is famous for, passing UNDERNEATH the camera.

Of course the location of this new camera made for an interesting installation process that took almost a week - the highlight of which was an encounter with a hyaena. The team had elected to stay at the waterhole after dark in order to properly adjust the infrared lights. It wasn’t long before a young hyaena came to investigate what this strange new group was up to. We kept an eye on him while we finished our work, and watched him observe us as he circled the entire area. He eventually lost interest and headed over to the waterhole for a quick drink before departing, and in doing so, provided us with our inaugural sighting on the new camera.

All of us at Africam know how long our members have been awaiting this new addition. The camera has been fully installed, and is currently undergoing active testing. At this point the remaining logistics are out of our immediate control. However, we have every confidence that the camera will be going live in the next few weeks.

http://www.elephantplains.co.za/home/index.html

Africam Admin

 YOU WILL SEE  BIRDS OF  PREY

Wahlberg’s Eagle

         WATER  IS  LIFE  -  AND ALL KINDS  OF

         ANIMALS   -  BRDS - AND REPTILES

        COME TO THE  PANS

Bateleur ~ Terathopius ecaudatus ~

 Giraffe ~ Giraffa camelopardalis

                TERRAPINS

Black-backed jackal ~ Canis mesomelas ~

Named for the broad, dark saddle on the upper body, which extends from the neck to the base of the tail, the Black-Backed Jackal is a nocturnal scavenger, although they also kill for themselves and prey on small mammals and birds. The black-backed jackal is known for its habit of trailing lions and other carnivores when a kill is made: up to 10 jackals will keep a distance until the big predators have had their fill from the carcass. They also dine on newborn buck, springhares, mongooses, mice, rats, lizards and insects. The black-backed jackal is known as a wary and cunning animal. They are one of the few mammalian species with a long term pair bond. From 5 to 7 young are born, in holes in the ground, which are very often disused aardvark burrows adjusted to suit their needs.

                  BLACK     BACKED     JACKAL

 http://www.encounter.co.za/article/177.html

These jackal are the most abundant and widespread of the larger carnivores in sub-Saharan Africa.

NKORHO 

                           BLACK BACK JACKAL

BLACK BACKED JACKAL

NKORHO     Black-backed jackal