it's in your nature
WildEarth (WE) broadcast 24/7 from Djuma Game Reserve in South Africa. Each morning and afternoon WE go on a LIVE safari.
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WildEarth.TV Blog
A very sad ending to the 2010 Hornby Island Eagles Nest Season
TThis morning news reached us from Hornby Island that the single eaglet in the nest, Phoenix, unfortunately did not survive.This was a great shock to us and the many, many people that have been following this bald eagle's nest over the last several months.
As Phoenix' conditions worsened over the last couple of days, plans were being made to take Phoenix from the nest to have him examined at the Mountainnaire Animal Rehabiliation Center.
Such an extrication is not easy. It requires permits on the one side, and experienced tree-climbers on the other. They need to know how to deal with a sick eaglet as well as with protective parents that might not like their baby being taken away from the nest, all while high up in a tree. Sadly it proved impossible to get everything in place in time for Phoenix.
In mythology, a phoenix is an immortal bird that, when it dies, bursts into flames and is reborn from its own ashes. "To rise from the ashes of the phoenix" means to make a miraculous comeback. Because the cameras had been resurrected by the Hornby Eagle group with the help of WildEarth, it was decided that the eaglet would be named "Phoenix."
I am sure that Phoenix will also live on in the memories of the many that watched his every move. Hopefully the following two short clips will help with that:
At one point Phoenix pooped on one of the cameras lenses and it was feared that the close-up shots would not be seen. Watch it here. Fortunately the wind and rain cleaned up Phoenix's dirty deed.
More information on the 2010 Hornby eagles nesting season and how things will continue from here, can be found at the Hornby Eagles Forums and Website:
Forums - http://www.ournaturezone.com
Website - http://www.hornbyeagles.com
Water is flowing in Dixie again!!
Its quite difficult to appreciate just how hard life is without clean running water when you live in a 'first world' city like Johannesburg, or in a 'western' country like the United States. You can't properly wash your clothes or yourself. You can't grow crops, so food is scarce. Its unhealthy for kids, and adults, to drink dam water, and cooking with this water is also a bad idea ... but if you have no alternative, that is what you are forced to do.
A few months ago the borehole pump broke. Technically this is the responsibility of the municipality to repair, but they lack the resources, and Dixie is far far away from any of the major towns and therefore quite easy to ignore. Not to mention the fact that there has been a battle raging for control of the land on which Dixie is situated and which rightly belongs to the community.
Every day the people of Dixie, predominantly the woman, have to wake up long before dawn and walk into the bush down to the dam and fill wheel barrows with dirty, muddy water and bring it back to the village. It has been a very very tough period of time.
Finally, after a great deal of effort WE managed to figure out what was wrong with the mono pump (it is an ancient system that few people know anything about). Emily then began the process of getting a new pump manufactured, based on the specifications given to us by the municipality. It took forever to get made in Johannesburg and find its way down to Mpumulanga, and cost a fair packet as well.
When it finally did arrive, we got in touch with Chris Dreyer, a local legend that has done a lot of the building in the Sabi Sands, and has been taking care of the safari.tv and Vuyatela septic tanks and drains for years. He also happens to be one of the only people (other than my father), that I know, who knows anything about mono pumps at all. He made several trips to Dixie and met up with Rex, and they began to slowly get the old pump out of the ground.
When they finally got all the 'rotten' pipe and the pump out of the ground, they discovered that WE had had the wrong pump manufactured!! We were all devastated and nobody more than Rex, who has been working so hard on this project, with so many obstacles to overcome.
There was nothing for it ... WE sourced and purchased another pump, this time the correct one. WE also had to find all the necessary pipe and other items to be able to reinstall the pump. You see the thing with these mono pumps is that if you do not get it put back in correctly it will rip itself apart and once again Dixie would be without clean water.
Chris returned to Dixie with his team and began the slow and arduous process of reinstalling the pump. Finally, a few days ago the people had clean water!!!!
The impact on the lives of the people of Dixie by this event cannot be overstated. This evening safari.tv and Herman Gerber will be hosting a Fire Side Chat at 18h30 CAT (16h30 GMT, 09h30 Pacific and 12h30 East Coast) where Patrick and Rexon will be discussing the difficulties that the village faced not having clean water and how grateful they are to the WildEarth.TV audience for donating the money necessary to solving this situation. Herman and Alex have also produced a short video about the whole process of getting Water to Dixie, which they will show during the Fire Side Chat tonight.
The money used to get this pump replaced and reinstalled was donated by the WildEarth audience last year, and although it was originally intended to provide fresh running water to every household in Dixie, WE felt that it was the right decision to get fresh water to these people now.
The project to provide a tap at each home in Dixie is still forefront of our minds. WE have managed to secure most of the permissions necessary to start this project up again. You see, WE can't raise the money (and we need at least $30,000) to build an engineering plan (so we know the actual cost), purchase all the piping and pay a contractor to come in and reticulate the whole village, until WE can guarantee the donors that we won't be stopped before completion. There are many feuding political factions surrounding this tiny village. The feuds relate to land, as they always do, and development of this village is used as a 'weapon' between the various groups. Essentially one or another authority will veto any development, unless they get what they want ... the land which rightly belongs to the people and community of Dixie. However, WE are very very close now, and hopefully quite soon WE will be able to announce that this project is back on track.
It is though supporting the communities that surround the islands of wilderness that we stand any chance in conserving what little natural heritage we have left. If these communities can feel tangible results in their lives for not poaching and not over grazing these conservation areas, if they can value the fact that people like you watch their natural heritage from afar, then maybe they will see the value in conservation.
So on behalf of WE, the wildlife and above all the people of Dixie, I would like to thank Chris Dreyer, Rexon Ntimane, Laeveld Bou in Hoedspruit, the safari.tv team and most of all you our dedicated viewers for helping this village in such an incredible way. You are all angels. WEangels. Its in your nature.
Written by Graham Wallington
House Wren evicts Tufted Titmouse
Pix Controller are now streaming a nest box camera. This spring they engaged in a nest box project where they built and set up 6 different nest boxes in different sizes and in different, all wild, habitats. This way it is hoped the boxes will attract a verity of birds throughout the nesting season. The camera system will be moved around to different nest boxes as they become active.
Within the first week of setting the nest boxes out they had a bird start a nest in one of the smaller boxes. It turned out to be a tufted titmouse. They quickly installed a camera to and started streaming the nest building process. The titmouse nest, however, was under constant raids by a house wren. The house wren is a smaller bird and will often try and remove competitive birds from their territory. After several weeks the titmouse nest was complete and the female laid a clutch of 6 eggs. After a few days of incubation the house wren returned, destroyed the eggs, are removed most of the titmouse nest. At this point the titmouse pair was unable to defend the nesting site and didn't return.
The house wren didn't waste any time and started constructing a nest. The male house wren will construct several nests filling up as many potential nesting sites as possible to eliminate competition. The male will then take the female to each nest and she will choose the nest to lay her eggs. The male will build the base of the nest with sticks and the female will construct a cut made of soft material such as fur to hold the eggs/chicks. We are now seeing and hearing both pairs at the nest box and we assume this is the nest the female has chosen to lay the eggs.
The camera system installed at this nest box is rather unique. They designed and built a dual camera system. The inside camera is active until a bird is present at the entrance hole. At this time a motion sensor will detect the bird and automatically switch the view to an outside camera for as long as the bird is present at the outside. There is a sound MIC installed too along with an IR camera to view the birds at night inside the nest box. We hope this 2nd camera will help with the education of the nesting process.
Here's a video example of the cameras in action:
WE are still here after 3 years ... :)
Technically it's not really WE's birthday, as WE had been operating at Djuma from September 2006 (preparing all the systems), WE were incorporated in August 2006, and the domain name (www.wildearth.tv) was registered in December 2005.
It's also not the first anniversary of the first LIVE safaris ever broadcast, as that accolade goes to AfriCam, when we did the first VGD (Virtual Game drive) in 1999, and the first streaming video game drives in 2001.
However, today is an emotional day for us. Not only because our whole country is celebrating democracy, but also because today WE can proudly say that for 3 whole years we have broadcast 2 LIVE safaris every day. Well almost every day ... about 98% of the days. :) As many of you know, this has taken a monumental effort from many many people. It is a huge achievement, of which WE are all very proud.
From those early days on the Tank with Nick and Helen (pictured above), WE have endured many challenges. Some have been obvious to all like the limited access to viewers (80 slots), the technical difficulties with the Tank and the broadcast equipment, not to mention the loss of some very well loved crew and friends. Some of the challenges WE have faced have been less obvious like the loss of our primary revenue source and client, Telkom Media, and the financial challenges of employing a full time team at Djuma and broadcasting these immersive safari experiences to a global audience.
What has always kept us going has been a combination of the passion to share our wild places and the support from you our loyal viewer family. I can proudly say that today, 3 years on, our loyal family of supporters has grown substantially and our passion to share our WildEarth burns ever brighter ... it's in our nature.
Crisis With Horned Owl Cam
The camera on Minnesota Bound’s Horned Owl cam has failed and now they are faced with a number of problems to replace it. Minnie and Sota are the adult owls and they will not leave this nest as they are extremely over protective of their children. The US Fish and Wildlife Service had to give permission to the MN Bound folk to go up there and replace the camera as it may have been considered as disturbing the nest. However, permission was granted. Finally, due to recent floods the ground is too soft for a boom truck and so someone will have to climb the 75 foot high tree.
Climbing brings with it a number of issues. Not only is it dangerous from a height point of view and will need someone who is an experienced climber but there is a likely chance of them being attacked by Minnie. Females are bigger than males, so they take on the duty of nest protection. According to Dr. C. Stuart Houston, who has banded over 7,000 Great Horned Owl chicks, something like 7% of all females will physically attack the tree climber. Too many people have scars from protective mother owls, and a few have lost eyes. Not to mention the risk of being knocked out of a tree while you're 75 feet up in the air.... Whoever does this HAS to know what they're doing!
Karla Kinstler ‘the owl lady’ http://www.mnbound.com/karlas-owl-blog/ has contacted the Raptor centre at the University of Minnesota to see if she can find anyone suitable for the job. They have given her the name of someone so we hope this pays off. She has also suggested that the camera is replaced with a camera with night vision and audio so that it can be the first ever streaming Great Horned Owl cam with a day/night camera and audio. Watch this space!
WildEarth Tweets
WildEarth: Huge herd of elephant feeding close to Gowrie dam live here on Safari Channel
WildEarth: Huge herd of elephant feeding close to Gowrie dam live here on Safari ChannelWildEarth: We'll heading out on safari with RE-Marcable Marc Weiner presenting and Tara Pirie on camera and Patrick Gumede... http://fb.me/Ecgr7bh4
WildEarth: We'll heading out on safari with RE-Marcable Marc Weiner presenting and Tara Pirie on camera and Patrick Gumede... http://fb.me/Ecgr7bh4WildEarth: After seeing the lion at Gowrie Dam, we now found two leopards, male and female, LIVE here at Safari Channel http://fb.me/EbY1Sm52
WildEarth: After seeing the lion at Gowrie Dam, we now found two leopards, male and female, LIVE here at Safari Channel http://fb.me/EbY1Sm52WildEarth: After seeing the lion at Gowrie Dam, we now found two leopards, male and female, LIVE here at Safari Channel http://fb.me/wmpJKMzD
WildEarth: After seeing the lion at Gowrie Dam, we now found two leopards, male and female, LIVE here at Safari Channel http://fb.me/wmpJKMzDWildEarth: http://blog.safari.tv/2010/07/live-3d-safaris-are-here.html http://fb.me/EbM7j6Sr
WildEarth: http://blog.safari.tv/2010/07/live-3d-safaris-are-here.html http://fb.me/EbM7j6SrWildEarth: I will be on leave in Capetown for the next two weeks. I wish you ALL a great time and lots of AWESOME sightings!!... http://fb.me/Cp9aQYMO
WildEarth: I will be on leave in Capetown for the next two weeks. I wish you ALL a great time and lots of AWESOME sightings!!... http://fb.me/Cp9aQYMOWildEarth: Hyaena walking along the road and busy sniffing in the air possibly trying to pick up any carrion smell in the area
WildEarth: Hyaena walking along the road and busy sniffing in the air possibly trying to pick up any carrion smell in the areaWildEarth: What a beautiful sunset in the heart of the african bush http://fb.me/DBjkBLnT
WildEarth: What a beautiful sunset in the heart of the african bush http://fb.me/DBjkBLnTWildEarth: A huge breeding of buffalo making their way to Buffelshoek dam to drink. It's the same herd we saw drinking at... http://fb.me/w510WVDS
WildEarth: A huge breeding of buffalo making their way to Buffelshoek dam to drink. It's the same herd we saw drinking at... http://fb.me/w510WVDSWildEarth: Marc managed to find Seesaw at Buffelshoek but no sign of Judge. Presumably he's also in the vicinity possibly... http://fb.me/u7kYtyhr
WildEarth: Marc managed to find Seesaw at Buffelshoek but no sign of Judge. Presumably he's also in the vicinity possibly... http://fb.me/u7kYtyhrWildEarth Flickr pictures
What a day for sightings!
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
7/28/10
lion at Gowrie:Final Control/Afke
giraffes, jackal, lion, 2 leopards: AM Drive/Patrick/Marc
elephants: PM Drive/Marc/Tara
beauty & the beautiful beasts
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
PM Drive 7/27/10
Patrick/Tara
celebrating Nature's beauty
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
7/26/10
AM Drive Tara/Sebastien
Final Control sunrise Afke
PM Drive Marc/Sebastien
the beauty of a hamerkop
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
7/25/10
AM Drive Tara/Afke
WE herd the buffs were back
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
7/25/10
AM Drive Tara/Afke
PM Drive Patrick/Sebastien
the beauty of a Djuma day
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
7/25/10
AM Drive Tara/Afke
Final Control Siphiwe
PM Drive Patrick/Sebastien
more d-ellie-icious sightings
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
PM Drive 7/24/10
Patrick/Sebastien
these sightings were d-ellie-icious
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
PM Drive 7/24/10
Patrick/Sebastien
WE're big fans of elephants
secretgarden1(pat) has added a photo to the pool:
AM Drive 7/24/10
Tara/Afke
WildEarth tagged videos on YouTube
Dad Almost Hits Phoenix with Big Sticks
Author: HornbyIslandEagles
Keywords:
Added: July 27, 2010
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The Thaba Tholo three
As most of you will know, we've been focusing most of our efforts at Thaba Tholo recently, with some interesting results.We have now photographed and tracked three male leopards in the same area!
First is the 'one and only' Lucky, who we collared a couple of months ago. Second is Bo who we collared and released around 20kms away from Thaba Tholo last year. And third is the new male you can see in the attached photographs. Easily distinguished by the black tip on his tail. He is another large male (probably bigger than Lucky).
So how can we have three territorial leopards on a 6,000 hectare estate?
Well we're working on that piece. The current best guess is that Thaba Tholo is in effect cut in half by the home ranges of two males (Lucky and Black Tail). We know from our research that a leopards home range doesn't have hard boundaries and there is a large element of cross over in territories. This would seem to back up that theory.
And as for Bo? Well he plays a clever game, he visits Thab Tholo when the other two males are on their rounds elsewhere and disappears when they return.
Written by Will Fox
The Thaba Tholo three
As most of you will know, we've been focusing most of our efforts at Thaba Tholo recently, with some interesting results.We have now photographed and tracked three male leopards in the same area!
First is the 'one and only' Lucky, who we collared a couple of months ago. Second is Bo who we collared and released around 20kms away from Thaba Tholo last year. And third is the new male you can see in the attached photographs. Easily distinguished by the black tip on his tail. He is another large male (probably bigger than Lucky).
So how can we have three territorial leopards on a 6,000 hectare estate?
Well we're working on that piece. The current best guess is that Thaba Tholo is in effect cut in half by the home ranges of two males (Lucky and Black Tail). We know from our research that a leopards home range doesn't have hard boundaries and there is a large element of cross over in territories. This would seem to back up that theory.
And as for Bo? Well he plays a clever game, he visits Thab Tholo when the other two males are on their rounds elsewhere and disappears when they return.
Written by Will Fox
© 2010 Created by Graham Wallington
