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  1. #1
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    Default The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.

    It rained today and there were a few pools of water for a few minutes here and there, its pretty bad down here really dry things are dying. The farms I know have lost all the grazers - every single animal dead.
    Ponds I know here on the coast from childhood 50 years ago are dry and have been dry for a year. Even when it rains as it has been for last week - 6mm - two days later 3 mm - 2mm - 6mm the old ponds only have surface water for perhaps a hr or two, then soaked away.

    Today we did not work because of rain and as I am apt to do, I took a ride out to range. I shoot - its fun.
    Near the range entrance, the ANC has been hard at work bettering our lives and the road is almost gone and full of pot holes. As I passed one pot hole I saw movement and being me I stopped to look what was bit unnatural about that pot hole.
    In the pot hole I found a turtle (terrapin) making the best of the moment. After a short video I moved away and waited to see what he would do. It would seem I have a answer for how they move such great distances over dry land - he leaves one pot hole/ water catchment spot and rush's along to the next temporary water and does so over and over while it rains or shortly there after. I noticed at the holes he stopped he tried burrowing himself in each one, I am guessing that he will travel wet spot to wet spot stretching his travels to last wet moment and bury himself in a wet spot till next rains knowing that when it rains water will collect there as it did before.
    In this way he can move great distances to water far away, I wonder now if his come from place has dried up and how he knows it is a better bet to risk travel than to wait it out where he grew up - what does this creature know about the next few months and rain that we do not see understand.
    For those interested here are two videos, - I followed him for half hr then took him down to the old river at bottom of high ground he was descending, perhaps later - a million years later when we meet in the great here after the old terrapin will remember the man who helped him, put a good word in for Dave, gonna need it.

    https://flic.kr/p/2hBQKWq
    https://flic.kr/p/2hBMSNp

  2. #2
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    Default Re: The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.

    poor thing!

  3. #3
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    Default Re: The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.


  4. #4
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    Default

    I am not sure where you live but I visit Kruger often and re the drought I am convinced that Kruger is becoming a desert...does anyone else agree?

    Too many elephants.. that destroy tall trees without time to replace them.. gets hotter each year.. less grassland... Etc...

    Quote Originally Posted by treeman View Post
    It rained today and there were a few pools of water for a few minutes here and there, its pretty bad down here really dry things are dying. The farms I know have lost all the grazers - every single animal dead.
    Ponds I know here on the coast from childhood 50 years ago are dry and have been dry for a year. Even when it rains as it has been for last week - 6mm - two days later 3 mm - 2mm - 6mm the old ponds only have surface water for perhaps a hr or two, then soaked away.

    Today we did not work because of rain and as I am apt to do, I took a ride out to range. I shoot - its fun.
    Near the range entrance, the ANC has been hard at work bettering our lives and the road is almost gone and full of pot holes. As I passed one pot hole I saw movement and being me I stopped to look what was bit unnatural about that pot hole.
    In the pot hole I found a turtle (terrapin) making the best of the moment. After a short video I moved away and waited to see what he would do. It would seem I have a answer for how they move such great distances over dry land - he leaves one pot hole/ water catchment spot and rush's along to the next temporary water and does so over and over while it rains or shortly there after. I noticed at the holes he stopped he tried burrowing himself in each one, I am guessing that he will travel wet spot to wet spot stretching his travels to last wet moment and bury himself in a wet spot till next rains knowing that when it rains water will collect there as it did before.
    In this way he can move great distances to water far away, I wonder now if his come from place has dried up and how he knows it is a better bet to risk travel than to wait it out where he grew up - what does this creature know about the next few months and rain that we do not see understand.
    For those interested here are two videos, - I followed him for half hr then took him down to the old river at bottom of high ground he was descending, perhaps later - a million years later when we meet in the great here after the old terrapin will remember the man who helped him, put a good word in for Dave, gonna need it.

    https://flic.kr/p/2hBQKWq
    https://flic.kr/p/2hBMSNp

  5. #5
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    Default Re: The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.

    Quote Originally Posted by scubes View Post
    I am not sure where you live but I visit Kruger often and re the drought I am convinced that Kruger is becoming a desert...does anyone else agree?

    Too many elephants.. that destroy tall trees without time to replace them.. gets hotter each year.. less grassland... Etc...
    I think climate change will do more damage to kruger than the elephants ever will. You can easily close up the boreholes to force some of the water dependent species off the dryer areas and take pressure off the grazing.. some will die and the bunny huggers will freak out about starving animals, but that is nature.

    Climate change will destroy plant and animal diversity in the park that will not recover in our lifetime or your children's or grandchildren's.

    Simply put, it would take a few weeks to cull a few hundred elephants in Kruger, but we could never get governments to accede to issues of climate change.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.

    Listen to Ron Thomson on elephant population.

    The Kruger is completely overstocked.

    Add climate change to it.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.

    Addo has a far worse elephant over population.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.

    Just saw a petition that calls for pressure on Botswana to not allow elephant hunting again. This despite Botswana being home to at least 30% of all elephants on the continent.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. #9
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    Default Re: The drought - terrapins - nature that I saw.

    SANParks are already b reaking up drinking troughs and man-made water-holes in KNP to force the migrating species, especially ellies, to do what they naturally do, ie. go in search of natural water whether in Zim or Moz or wherever.

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