Dark Spots in the Tall Grass (eBook)

Where the cheetah runs to the restrooms

Next morning, William took us to the de Wildt Cheetah Centre, also known as The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre, on the R513 to Madibeng near Brits in the foothills of the Magaliesberg Mountain Range, 50km from Pretoria.

The wildlife sanctuary has been established in 1971 to conserve, breed and reintroduce endangered species, in particular the cheetah and the king cheetah. Reduced in numbers by hunting, poisoning and indiscriminate killing for nearly a century, their survival has been ensured for the time being. On account of the organisation’s conservation and breeding success, cheetahs were no longer on the list of endangered animals as they had been in the 1960s. Besides caring for the fastest of the big cats, de Wildt was also a safe place for other animals at risk such as wild dogs, brown hyenas and vultures.

After a brief introduction to the organisation and their conservation projects, we climbed into an open vehicle for a tour around the centre together with a dozen other people. Visitors were not allowed to walk around on their own. While driving along the enclosures, we were briefed on their temporary and long-term residents.

Recyclers, pest controllers, dancers

A congregation of Cape vultures was assembled in a large aviary. Their bills were black, head and neck were bald except for a compact white ruff. Their body feathers were of cream and sand colour with a dark tail. Considering their business, they looked very stylish. You need a good amount of poise going around breaking bones and pulling guts from a blood-dripping carcass, dressed in smart beigecoloured trousers. Minding their ruined finery after the feast, vultures are in the habit of bathing after a feeding session. A beak covered in blood would not go well with a chic outfit.

Unfortunately, their flamboyance does not help them very much. The huge birds have become one of the most threatened species of southern Africa. The scavengers are essential to a healthy ecosystem, as they are able to spot dead animals within half an hour and dispose of them efficiently. Nothing much is left of a carcass they have dismantled, thus they are cleaning up nature. Disregarding their usefulness, the vultures are in serious danger by persecution, electrocution, poisoning as well as by shortage of carrion and loss of foraging habitat. With the result that their numbers are declining at an alarming rate in Africa.

Not only vultures are threatened by poisoning, owls are also killed that way, and their numbers are reduced by parasitic infections. They too are beneficial, since they feed on rodents and large insects as well as small reptiles, thus removing vermin. Nearby, a few beautiful large owls were residing in a spacious aviary dotted with medium sized trees and shrubs. They were spotted eagle-owls with distinct small ear tufts. Their plumage was mainly of an elegant grey-brown colour. Their faces were white with grey bars and yellow eyes. One or two were sitting tight and motionlessly on the ground, some were roosting up in the branches.

What was on their minds being gazed at all day, I wondered. Had they asked me what I thought about them, I would have told them how adorable they were.

Two dashing crowned cranes, resplendent with their distinctive golden feathery crest were strolling in the tall grass. While their feet, legs and bill were black, their eyes were pale blue. Their cheeks were white and the throat had a red pendant wattle. Their plumage had areas of white, grey, black and chestnut brown feathers.

They are known for the elaborate dancing routine during courtship. They hunt for reptiles or insects but also eat grasses and cereal crops which enrages the farmers. Their numbers are declining because of loss of wetland habitat, overgrazing, pollution with pesticides and illegal removal of their eggs in the wild for commercial reasons. Strikingly beautiful birds, they are captured and sold to wealthy individuals who are using them as a status symbol.

Since the tall birds were not kept in an aviary, we assumed they were just visiting, calling on the neighbours for a morning chat.

Stalkers, pouncers, hunters

They probably would not be too keen to meet one of the next residents we saw, predator cats. Also called desert or African lynx, the caracal is a small cat of about 40cm in height with a dense short yellowish-brown coat. It has black lines in its face and long narrow pointed ears with distinct long black tufts on the tip. A nocturnal hunter with a long athletic slender body, long legs and a long tail, the animal is adept at climbing trees. This is a skilled stalker preying on rodents or other small mammals, even catching low-flying birds by leaping up into the air. It can mainly be found in dry savannah and scrub country. Since significant numbers are being killed by farmers on account of their taking domestic livestock, the caracal has become rare in South Africa.

The serval, called tierboskat in Afrikaans, was another pretty cat of about 60cm shoulder height. Its pale yellowish coat was marked with black spots, it had a slim body with long legs and big ears. Preferably hunting in long grass country, a serval leaps in the air before pouncing on its prey, primarily rodents. The main threat to the animals is the loss of wetland and grassland. They are also killed by farmers, though they do not attack livestock.

Only eating fresh and recent kills, a couple of young cheetahs were just about to be fed with horse meat or chicken. We watched them at close range and could clearly see the tear-marks in their faces.

We were also introduced to the beautiful king cheetah. Because of its rare fur pattern mutation it was not often seen. Its yellowish fur had dark blotches and dark stripes on the back; in general it looked darker than the common cheetah. Hunted for its magnificent coat, the king cheetah was among the species threatened with extinction. Owing to the breeding program at the centre, this is no longer the case.

A black honey badger was pacing up and down his enclosure. He seemed to be grumpy and bored, not having a good day by the looks of it. Fittingly, he was dressed in black with a grey mantle covering the top of his head and the back. Had he known that his species was recognised as one of the most fearless creatures, perhaps he would not have taken such a dismal view of life. No one had told him, I guess.

Also called ratel, the honey badger is a creature of dry open grassland and forest. Favourite foods are bulbs and roots and such delicacies as scorpions and snakes and, yes, honey. Not considered an endangered species, it is still under protection in the Krugerpark and the Cape province. However, without a dense population and a slow reproduction rate it was on the list of threatened wildlife.

Among the vulnerable species was the rare brown hyena, a resident of the dry savannah and the semi-desert. Its coat of long rough hair was dark and heavy with a kind of mane on neck and shoulders. The bulky head had large ears with pointed tips, its back was sloping towards the rear. The powerful shoulders and sturdy forelegs were in contrast to shorter and slighter hindquarters. A nocturnal and secretive scavenger, his teeth were specialised in crushing even the strongest bones. The inquisitive curiosity of the animals is described by two researchers, who shared their work, and at times their tent in the desert, with hyenas and other residents. Mark and Delia Owens tell the story in Cry of the Kalahari.

We came to a large enclosure where the wild dogs were kept. Irregularly shaped blotches of colours such as black, white, and a pale yellow-brown ensured they were perfectly camouflaged when out hunting. Wagging their white-tipped tails incessantly, the pack greeted us with high-pitched twittering cries. The excitement was not about our presence at all. The eagerly awaited food, which was just being put into their feeding bowls, delighted the dogs. They all dived into their breakfast with relish.

The lean and muscular animals looked almost like domestic dogs, but their large round ears suggested they were not. Those ears enable them to catch far away sounds, which is where they would point their noses to and run, coordinating the hunt on the way. Their high-endurance chasing tactics of tiring out their prey, makes those dogs one of the most efficient hunters.

Close-by, in a separate enclosure, a wild dog mother was taking care of her three pups. They were only a few days old, tiny, sweet and clumsy. She was proudly fussing over them.

Most of the animals in the sanctuary were on the most recent South African Red Data List of 2016; not all were classified as ‘threatened, endangered or vulnerable’, at least some of them were considered as ‘of least concern’.

The de Wildt rescue centre has saved many animal lives, and the staff devote all their efforts to prevent more of the endangered creatures going extinct by the doings of man.

After the tour, I was in need of a bathroom and looked for information. I spotted a colourful wooden board attached to a tree that made me smile. A cheetah pointed the way. With a wry grin on his face, he knew where to go. His footprints on the white arrow below led the way. He, however, was more in a hurry than I was. In the posture of a runner, the figure kept his shoulders back and his torso upright with arms held up so as to give more speed. The facial expression indicated that it was a matter of urgency.

‘You definitely left it a bit late, I do hope you made it in time.’

I followed at a slower pace. What a delightful idea to put up...