Stalker62
Well-Known Member
A recent post about Pointers got me to thinking (a rare thing).
What, for you, is the most amazing thing in nature?
Last year I was sat alone in the back of a Toyota Landcrusier.
I was fortunate enough that that Landcruiser, was parked up in the middle of nowhere, in northern Mozambique.
I was there 'half-gunning' with a mate. They had gone off on the trail of a Buffalo. Not wanting to add to their 'footprint', I elected to stay and guard the truck, and thereby increase his chance of a successful hunt.
I watched my mate, the PH and tracker, disappear off over the horizon. The 'jungle' (it's not jungle, but that is what we will call it), soon settled down to an undisturbed sense of wonderful, utter wilderness. Other than occasionally checking over my shoulder - that I was not being hunted from behind by a man-eating Lion, I just enjoyed the 'me time' and the awe of being back in Africa.
After about an hour, I became aware of a constant 'chirping' from behind me.
Obviously I checked it was not a man-eating Lion...
It's wasn't. It was some fairly bland looking bird, that would not stop 'chirping' at me, and would not leave me alone.
After about hour hours, the (empty-handed) posse returned to the truck.
The PH immediately identified the bird (still chirping away) as a Honeyguide. I had never heard of such a thing.
The Honeyguide (the clue is in the title), has developed an unbelievable, symbiotic relationship with man.
The bird and man will 'chat' to each other. My Honeyguide had been 'chatting' to me, only I was deaf to its message.
The bird tells man, where to find honey. Man takes the honey (inaccessible to the bird) and leaves the wax and combes for the bird.
Legend has it, that if the man does not give the Honeyguide their share of the spoils, the next time the Honeyguide will lead him to a man-eating Lion...
Just extraordinary.
It appears that different tribes in Africa, have different calls for their local Honeyguides.
I don't know about you, but this kind of stuff keeps me awake at night.
This rather wonderful video may be of interest to some.
What, for you, is the most amazing thing in nature?
Last year I was sat alone in the back of a Toyota Landcrusier.
I was fortunate enough that that Landcruiser, was parked up in the middle of nowhere, in northern Mozambique.
I was there 'half-gunning' with a mate. They had gone off on the trail of a Buffalo. Not wanting to add to their 'footprint', I elected to stay and guard the truck, and thereby increase his chance of a successful hunt.
I watched my mate, the PH and tracker, disappear off over the horizon. The 'jungle' (it's not jungle, but that is what we will call it), soon settled down to an undisturbed sense of wonderful, utter wilderness. Other than occasionally checking over my shoulder - that I was not being hunted from behind by a man-eating Lion, I just enjoyed the 'me time' and the awe of being back in Africa.
After about an hour, I became aware of a constant 'chirping' from behind me.
Obviously I checked it was not a man-eating Lion...
It's wasn't. It was some fairly bland looking bird, that would not stop 'chirping' at me, and would not leave me alone.
After about hour hours, the (empty-handed) posse returned to the truck.
The PH immediately identified the bird (still chirping away) as a Honeyguide. I had never heard of such a thing.
The Honeyguide (the clue is in the title), has developed an unbelievable, symbiotic relationship with man.
The bird and man will 'chat' to each other. My Honeyguide had been 'chatting' to me, only I was deaf to its message.
The bird tells man, where to find honey. Man takes the honey (inaccessible to the bird) and leaves the wax and combes for the bird.
Legend has it, that if the man does not give the Honeyguide their share of the spoils, the next time the Honeyguide will lead him to a man-eating Lion...
Just extraordinary.
It appears that different tribes in Africa, have different calls for their local Honeyguides.
I don't know about you, but this kind of stuff keeps me awake at night.
This rather wonderful video may be of interest to some.
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, any good at skinning the little blighters?
