Expecting the day to be a real cooker I was out early working on the Mahande looking for elephant. There was evidence of them around Makeche but I still wasn’t comfortable with off road travel and the potential of doing some serious damage to the veld, that i wasn’t able to follow.
This herd of buffalo were in the vicinity but didn’t hang around for me. A couple of hundred eyeballs goggled at me and then took off into mopanie.
But the dung beetles were of course always in action. There’s more than enough sh..t to keep them happy.
Also down in the Makeche area I bumped into a couple of sable herds. They’re doing so well at the moment but with the good rains and long grass, conditions are prime for ticks, and it’s likely the sable youngsters will take a lot of strain under the increased tick load this year.
The rains came threatening again in the afternoon and although it did rain a little it wasn’t really worth recording.
Oh, Kim! That was absolutely hilarious!! Only you could make a dung beetle race entertaining. Thanks for a wonderful laugh to end my day with.
Terrific!!!!!!!!LOL
Funnnnnyyyyyyy ! I laughed the whole time !
hahahahahahahaha LOL
Had a good laugh. Do they always work in pairs?
Hola Kim,
Mercy! Well, should the Kentucky Derby ever need a new, exciting announcer, I know of a great candidate!! Great fun. And dratty puter wil put an insipid funny face, but I prefer just using the keyboard….
b.
Hi Kim
Happy New Year! Very funny - though I don’t think you should apply to commentate at the July Handicap just yet……. Glad to see you love all wildlife - Great and Small!
Do they always roll with two beetles? Does the second beetle just ride the ball or do they trade jobs? I can’t see what the second beetle’s purpose is…
Great laugh!!
I found this tidbit, but Kim can confirm or refute it. ‘The “rollers” roll and bury a dung ball either for food storage or for making a brooding ball. In the latter case, two beetles, one male and one female, will be seen around the dung ball during the rolling process. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, with the female hitch-hiking or simply following behind. In some cases the male and the female roll together.’
moira
That’s right Moira. The girls sit back and enjoy the ride!
Oh that’s mean, we saw them helping with the reconnaisance!
I never thought that I would be looking up dung beetle behavior on the web, thanks for the inspiration, Kim.
Excellent call of the big race Kim. I have no doubt the South African tracks will be contacting you soon should they need a fill race day caller. Our entire family watch your videos daily, they always provide a good laugh and fill us with greater appreciation for the creation. My 7 year old daughter has been imitating your race call all day while playing Chutes and Ladders, thanks Kim! Your girls must love their silly Dad.
ROTFLMAO
Thank you!