Honey Badger Doesn't Give a Shit
Etosha National Park, Namibia
November 28, 2013
Apparently there was a huge wind storm last night, but it did not wake me up...
We left Ongava Tented Camp at 7:00 and headed to the Etosha National Park through Anderson's Gate right after an early breakfast with Abram and the American ladies, Ann Marie and Tooha.
For the first time, we were able to see a Burchel or Plains Zebra by one of the watering holes. There are several watering holes in the park, some are natural and some are man-made.
The park is over 22,000 km2 and has an abundance of species, over 140 mammals, 340 birds, 100 reptiles and 1 fish (cat fish) Our First Lion. They actually have some water fowl during the migration period beginning in January - storks, pelicans, ducks and flamingos.
After driving 17 Km into the park, we stopped for a brief toilet and shopping break at Okaukuejo (meaning a woman that has a child every year) Camp.
After our break we drove through a plains area past a huge Camel Thorn tree with a massive social weaver colony. We were able to witness a young Oryx kindergarten. There were half a dozen young oryx walking single file with an older oryx male trailing behind them. It was like seeing a daycare group out walking on a mini-excursion all in a line. So adorable!
We saw a solitary male African Elephant bathed in lime, therefore looking whiter than the elephants we saw in Botswana. These elephants have shorter tusks due to a nutritional deficiency Implala. This guy was very relaxed and he had his head propped up in a tree for a little rest.
We really enjoyed seeing a pair of male Kudus in a lush green wooded area. One of them stood by the road and contently slurped some muddy water from a puddle created by rain from three days ago. It was so neat to be so close that we could see the water dribbling from his chin.
Further along we were driving through another dry grassy plains area when we came upon a large heard of Springbok. We were lucky enough to see one of the Springbok display the puffing of the fur on his rump. This behaviour is why these animals are classified as marsupials.
As we were driving along a roadway that had patches of short trees, we came upon an eight or nine year old lion male. He looked like he had a really full belly and he was lazily camped out in the shade At the Watering Hole. He was awake and Abram backed up so that we could get a closer look and some really great photos! Abram explained that a study was recently conducted and it is believed that lions in this area are developing an immunity to the naturally occurring anthrax, so if they eat an animal that was killed with this bacteria, they too will not perish.
We took a long, barren and rocky drive to the Nebrowni Watering Hole. Abram had heard that one of the male Black Rhinos was there. We arrived just in time to see him finish drinking and then he started heading out to eat. Black Rhinos have rounder ears, concave spine, hooked lip because it is a browser, not a grazer like the White Rhino. We were able to witness him browsing on some very thorny bushes, it was painful to watch! We were also able to watch him mark his territory, he turned his back to a bush and sprayed it with a large volume of urine!
Abram pointed out a bush with pretty little red flowers called the Fish Poison Bush Black Rhino. It was named this because you can use it to temporarily paralyze fish, then you can just scoop them out of the water with a net, no fishing pole or skill required. This bush is also known as a holiday bush because it blooms during Christmas time.
New birds that we saw today were: Greater Kestrel while on the plains, Red Crested Korhaan walking by the road, Finch Lark in the muddy water puddle, White Backed Vulture flying, Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk or PCG up in a tree (it has a symbiotic relationship with the Honey Badger), Northern Black Korhaan walking by the road, Sociable Weavers in the large nest of the Camel Thorn tree by the watering hole, Wide Brow Sparrow which we have also seen in nests by our room, Southern Masked Weaver by the Curio Shop (males make a cool nest, females will destroy the home if it is sub-par), Cape Glossy Starling at the rest camp (black with green tinge), Red Eyed Bulbul (in our lounge), Montero Hornbill (largest of their species) The Elusive Honey Badger.
We also saw more Black Faced Impalas, Springbok, Warthog (yay!) heading for his mud bath, Kudu, Cape Turtledove (sings "work harder" or "drink lager"), Kori Bustards, Yellow Billed Hornbill, and some giraffes in the distance walking across a plain toward the trees.
When we left the park we visited two Himba Tribe ladies and their two babies. They are from a tribe that is 300 Km NW of here. They live here now and sell handmade crafts.
We arrived back in camp around 1:00 and had some lunch. It was so hot, so we dipped into the pool a couple of times to cool off, then relaxed in the shade. Mid-afternoon it became overcast and we had a few big drops of rain.
After some iced tea and snacks, we took our afternoon drive with Abram and the Americans Namibian Sunset.
For a long time we thought that Helmeted Guinea Fowl was going to be the highlight of the afternoon, until Bill spotted an animal with a black furry tale. I jokingly exclaimed "Honey Badger" and then we watched Abram ponder and ask Bill if it was an animal that he saw, and then he hauled it into reverse. Then darting amongst the dense short bushes, we all saw him, the Honey Badger! Abram tried to corner him for a better look and we searched around and shredded bushes with the Land Rover for at least a half an hour, but we could not get a good view of him. Dang! The Honey Badger certainly did not give a shit!
Did you know that a Honey Badger can climb trees? Did you know that it eats snakes, scorpions, bees and of course honey? Did you know it is immune to venom? Did you know that it releases an odour like a skunk to protect itself? Did you know that it has a really thick skin? Did you know that baby cheetahs do not have spots and its gait resembles that of a honey badger, therefore discouraging some of its prey?
We reluctantly continued on for a while, we went to one watering hole and no one was there More Lions!!. We headed to another and saw two giraffes nearby. The older one had just given birth because we could see the afterbirth still. Abram concluded that the baby must have died because the mother was too relaxed.
Before we left the watering hole, Abram received a call about the two male lions, who are brothers. So, we raced to see them, even the slick muddy road did not slow us down, and were rewarded with seeing both of them! They have been collared and named by the research team, Elton and I think the other brother is Bernard.
At one point Bernard sat up abruptly when I moved in the vehicle, he glared in at us for a long moment, then he swaggered toward his brother. We sat for a while between them both. Bill was trying to get a photo of Bernard with lightening in the background, but was unsuccessful. We did get some great photos of Elton when he was sitting up before he walked away Sleepy Lion.
We enjoyed our sun downer 120 meters away from the lions and while enjoying a spectacular lightening (no thunder) display. At one point after the sunset the lions were having a deep throaty conversation with each other, which was both pretty eerie and incredible. The lightening continued sporadically for more than 30 minutes, then it really began to pick up and the entire sky was light up for at least another 30 minutes.
On our way back to camp the wind whipped up and Abram was racing back to camp. He did his best to outrun the storm and he zigged when we needed to zig and zagged when we needed to zag, but we did not make it before the rain started. We donned our cozy ponchos just before it really started to rain.
It rained heavily throughout dinner and was still raining when we went to bed. I think we received 5 mm of rain during the evening.
