Human wildlife conflict: In memory of Poppy, killed by a hyena

 

From left to right, Poppy, Maji and Moto

We've got a few dogs at camp, ostensibly for security but in reality they are basically doing their own thing. All the dogs are local breeds (most likely ancestors of Basenji)that come from the local villages which is important in our environment due to the many hazards of disease (mainly African Trypanosomiasis) and wildlife (snakes, lions, hyenas, etc). The local dog breeds are robust and independent but still have the ability to form strong relationships with those at their home. 

Our environment is truly harsh with limited veterinary care. In my five years we've lost four dogs, one to snake bite, two to disease, and one to a hyena. The latest casualty is pictured above left, Poppy. Poppy was one of the largest village dogs that I've ever seen and when we got him on a good diet he became seal-like in his proportions. We couldn't get a collar on his neck because his thick hyena-like neck caused all the collars to slide off. He was a true warrior; he lost most of his vision in a bout with trypanosomiasis, and lost the rest of it when he was bit by a Black-necked Spitting Cobra (he was in fact, bit on two separate occasions). Although his senses were not what they once were, it never stopped him from trotting around camp and pursuing any food scraps that he could find. One of his most notable characteristics was his helicopter tail wag. 

One night there was a hyena roaming through the villages. All the households communicated with each other noting an aggressive hyena, possibly rabid. By the time it came through our camp the dogs tried to drive it off and apparently Poppy got bitten in the head. His jaw was likely broken and he couldn't eat so we had to make the tough decision to put him down. He was around six years old, a decent age for a village dog to live, and we'll sorely miss him at camp!

August dry season

Classic sunset.

Some nice color of the sunset in our backyard

 

I'm trying to blog more this year but August has been a light month due to taking my annual leave in July and August. It's been a frantic return back to work and thus I haven't had much time to get out and enjoy myself. 

We usually take our annual leave in July/August and it's always shocking to come back to the heart of dry season. In May and June you can still feel the transition from the rainy to dry season but by the time August comes around the dry season has settled comfortably in. The landscape is mostly bare and the dust gives way to epic sunsets that Ruaha is famous for. 

The temperatures are not quite so high yet and the nights remain very cool. There is a windy season around this time that picks up in the evenings and night time. As the primary water dry up, lions and other wildlife huddle around the nearby river to lock down any existing water source. As a result we hear lions from camp relatively frequently this time of year, something which is always a treat.

Flora and fauna: Combretum purpureiflorum

 

The striking red flower. The seed pods are also pictured here, very typical shape of the combretum family

A large shrub, you can see how they stick out in the dry landscape

One of the most distinct early dry season flowers is that of the combretum purpureiflorum, a distinctive climbing shrub that comes alive with vibrant red flowers in August. The birds in the area feed frantically off the pollen and this time of year you can see the birds with distinctive red color on their beaks. This plant is a very common on in the acacia-commiphora ecosystem. There is a very similar plant, Combretum longispicatum, that looks nearly the same except it has a much larger flower and due to it's horizontal nature, it's known as the "large toothbrush tree". This smaller plant is known as a "toothbrush tree" by westerners but this is not to be confused with the other "toothbrush tree", which is named not for it's visual similarity to a toothbrush but rather for its actual use as a toothbrush.

I'll try to get a photo of the birds and update this post because they frequently come to our birdbath to clean up and it's evident that the plant is one of the only few that producing anything edible. 

Update: Here is a photo of a weaver with residue. They naturally have NO red in their plumage!