Simon Thomsett

Category: Conservancies | Date: Sep 10 2009 | By: sheryl bottner

by Sarah Higgins

I am pleased to report that Waddlesworth is not only in fine feather but is also in perfect health.

Thanks to the many responses that we had to our appeal for information on our ‘squishy’ bird, I can now report that Pelicans are supposed to feel as if they have bubble wrap just under their skin because they actually do have the bird-equivalent of bubble wrap just under their skin! These are little air-filled pockets are designed for floatation, insulation and protection when diving. I have been absolutely fascinated by the amount of information that has come in and am very grateful for all of your responses - and also very relieved as it means that there is nothing wrong with Waddlesworth!

Waddlesworth has been for his third flight which, by his standards, was an epic trip. He was so disgusted at being tagged that he actually left home, got lost and ended up in our sheep field behind the house. As we hadn’t seen where he had landed he spent the night there – his first night out in the big wild world! We didn’t discover him ’til the next morning and, as he still wasn’t talking to us, he refused to come home. So I left him there and told our staff to just keep a distant eye on him. By lunch time Sammy (his foster mum) couldn’t bear it any longer and went up to the field, caught him and carried him back home under his arm (much to Waddles’ disgust). At that stage we were still worried about Waddle’s ‘bubble wrap’ so it was decided that he should remain in the walled garden (which he can’t fly out of) until we were sure that he really was OK – which, of course, we now know that he is.

Waddlesworth’s freedom has now been restored to him but he seems to have decided that he is not so interested in this flying business and that life holds far too many interests right here at home. I open his gate every morning and herd him out into the big garden where he mucks about and flaps his wings a lot but still he refuses to fly. On the one hand we are delighted, as we all love that bird to bits (especially Sammy, who is ‘mummy’), but on the other hand he should be getting on with his life. Still - the option is there and the decision is his. He has made friends with Batelle (the new Fish Eagle) and spends hours watching her. He is also pals with ‘Shale’, the tortoise.

Oh not again!

I’m getting out of here!

It is totally ridiculous watching Shale and Waddlesworth sunbathing in the morning. Shale parks himself in the sun and sticks all his limbs out of his shell, Waddles comes along and plonks down beside him and amuses himself by very gently trying to catch Shale’s head, which is smartly withdrawn into the shell, only to reappear a few seconds later. Shale will put up with this for a bit but then gets fed up and moves few inches further away so that his head is not actually reachable and then settles down again.

Out of reach

Waddles then plays at trying to pick him up, which of course would be impossible. It really is the silliest thing to watch. Waddles’ beak is very gentle and he is not capable of doing any harm, except with the fish hook on the tip, which he doesn’t seem to use except for picking up his fish. The tortoise doesn’t seem to mind this treatment and is perfectly happy to settle down with Waddles - when he is not being a pest and trying to catch his head!

Peace at last

Tags: little owl sanctuary, shale the tortoise, waddlesworth

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Category: Conservancies, Raptor Expedition, vultures | Date: Mar 02 2009 | By: Laila Bahaa-el-din

We were finally ready to go! The expedition launched from Nairobi on February 15 and there was no going back (we hoped). We started with a few more days in the Mara to see if we could catch any vultures. Again, we found no dead animals around, making it impossible to try to catch the vultures. We resorted to following hungry-looking lions hunting. We found three prides, all in hunting mode, but never witnessed a kill. We had given up hope, when on our final morning, on our way towards the exit of the Mara (keen to move on to the Serengeti), we spotted five lions. We just had to go and see.

So we got to the spot and watched as the lions licked at the remains of a topi. A few metres away, 10 jackals were fighting over their own small piece of the kill. And on the sidelines, 12 bloodied hyenas lay watching, looking distinctly peeved. Simon concluded that the hyenas must have made the kill and been pushed off by the lions who now lazed about looking fully fed. One thing was for sure, there was nothing left for vultures to come down to.

Lion with topi head

Jackals

Despite not having caught any vultures on this trip or the previous one a month ago, we learned some interesting things about their ecology and the whole Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. It was already known that the vultures were few in the Mara during this time of year while the wildebeests give birth to their calves in the Serengeti. And it’s not surprising! When the wildebeest migration is in the Mara, there are millions of animals and among them, old and sick ones which die and become food for the vultures. The lions, leopards and cheetahs also have a larger prey-base and kill much more often, leaving remains for the scavengers such as vultures. But during this quiet time of year, predators hunt much less frequently, and when they do, they are hungry and don’t leave anything spare. No wonder there were no vultures around!

We looked forward to getting to the Serengeti to see what the vulture situation was down there.

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Tags: jackals in the mara, lion eating a topi, mara conservancy

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