The Dung Beetle

Yesterday we walked, did laundry, went out to eat as a group, and laughed a lot. Today we did another game drive. We saw some of the animals we had already seen up close and personal. It was a good day.

We saw 3 giraffe out in the field, baboons on the road and in the trees, warthogs in the streets and beside us. We saw a couple water buffalo – boy, are they big – but couldn't get a picture. They bolted. We saw 2 gatherings of rhinos – still with their horns, Thank God. One of the gatherings was a mother and baby. And lots of impala.

 

And then, lo and behold, we saw a dung beetle. There were quite a few of them in Addo Park. Having so many elephants, you can imagine how much dung they have. One dung beetle will remove 1 ton of dung a year. They work so hard. The dung beetle collects dung into a ball and begins to roll it back to their home. They put their front legs on the ground and with their back legs they roll the ball. It reminds me of rolling logs down a river. And the ball moves very well. Sometimes it rolls back, and the beetle has to redo those steps. Sometimes the beetle falls off the dung ball and he has to reposition himself and start again. Sometimes he gets the ball stuck, maybe by a clump of grass or twig, and he has to choose a different direction for a while. But he always ends up going in the right direction to take his prize of dung back to his sweetheart. “Hey, honey, I'm home, and guess what I've got for you.” We missed seeing any of these beetles in Addo or any other park. This time we were stopped at a camp and going to use the bathroom. I was ahead and saw this movement by my feet. I turned to Barb and asked if she had her camera. I took a couple videos and lots of pictures.

We had a very eventful day. In addition to the animals we had a mishap with our MH. The roads we followed today were terrible. I mean TERRIBLE!!!! We went over this small concrete bridge which bottomed us out when we were coming off it, and then up a small hill. There was this horrible noise. We stopped and got out, thinking maybe we were dragging a rock. When we bottomed out the spare tire was shaken loose. It was down at the end of the little bridge, and I pushed it up the little hill. Meanwhile Barbara was looking under the couch, and decided we could tie up the rack. She brought out a plastic tablecloth and the clothes line. We kneeled/laid down on the tablecloth and both tied a side of the grate to the trailer hitch. It seemed to do the trick. We put the spare tire in the coach and called to tell the Wagon Master what had happened. Georgia asked if we were in a protected area. Oh!!!! You mean there are lions and rhinos and hippos - OH MY!!!!! We didn't even think of the danger. Later we heard a couple of the other MHs both got flat tires at the same place. While a ranger stood guard, the two guys changed the flat tires. They have a picture of one of them working on the tire while an elephant watches them. Later they heard there was a lion close by. I guess she had eaten a few days earlier.