From the editors desk Last Month’s Top Shot Winner Facebook Cover Shot Winner Volunteer Encounters Ranger’s Report
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Community Focus
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Photography Reflections Photography Focus
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Research Update Research Focus
The hard work and insurmountable dedication brought to the projects by all the staff here at Dumela Lodge is something that can’t be compared to anywhere else in the world – and this is none the more evident in what Lorna Bonnington and Jason Kipling brought to their roles and everyone they touched. Filling their shoes was always going to be a daunting task as they parted ways from us, heading to Lorna’s home country of Scotland to pursue other prospects and adventures. As always, the ache in our hearts is softened by our sheer pride and excitement for the both of them. We wish them nothing but the absolute best in the world and know they’ll be continue to make their impact no matter where they are in the world. We would wish them good luck, but quite frankly they don’t need it…
Subscribe by mailing: warthogpost@africanimpact.com to keep yourself updated with the latest news! Cover shot: Head First – Samuel Cox, Second Photographer, England
I first decided to volunteer at a wildlife conservation project because I love nature and above all animals, but also to try something new, and last, but not least, because I am starting a university course in wildlife conservation next September. My first volunteer experience was in Greece in 2016, then I volunteered in Victoria Falls with African Impact. Now I am finishing my stay in South Africa, at the Large Predator Conservation Project in the Great Kruger Area, again with African Impact. Volunteering is not just about making an impact, there is so much more behind it. It is a life changing experience, a way to learn about wildlife and its habitat, but also about the culture of an area and a way to meet new and amazing people. In all the feedback forms I have completed, there is always a question asking what were the highlights of my stay. Was it seeing leopards, lions and all the amazing African animals? Saving sea turtles? Teaching children? Even though my passion for animals is huge, as a human, the best part above all, by very far, is meeting unique and incredible people that might share your passion for nature or travelling, and the feeling that you are actually making a difference, making an impact. Money comes back, time doesn't; so travel, volunteer, make an impact, feel you are doing something worth your time. Enjoy life, meet new people, go crazy, and change the world. This is a once in a life experience, try it.
The Grey Ghosts Of Africa The Kudu is the second largest antelope in the world (after the Eland) and are found in more in woodland areas, usually seeking cover during the day. Due to their grey-ish colour, speed and stealth they have become known as the Grey Ghosts.
Crop however you like When you see a picture hung on the wall, what do you look at first? The picture or the frame? I hope it’s the picture! As such, the picture is greatly more important than the surrounding frame, so don’t limit yourself to the standard 6x4, 7x5 and 8x10 aspect ratios that are easily accessible. It’s YOUR photograph so crop it however you want. Don’t give in to compromise, go for those ultra wide panoramics and super tall portraits!
Reading Club Walking into the school library is always very exciting. The children are so energetic and keen to learn new words, improve their English and be rewarded through certificates. At every reading club, we spend 1-to-1 time with the children where they read to us, we read a book to the class and we also play a game that tests their comprehension. It’s so rewarding to see them develop week on week and they genuinely enjoy themselves because we make sure to make it fun too! Conservation Education (Con-Ed) Every week we teach Conservation Education to Grade 8. The children are so clever and really listen to us; we always leave feeling like they really have learnt something. We teach them about the importance of preserving wildlife; for example, last week Ulises and I taught them about the effect of using pesticides on the food chain and alternatives for protecting crops. These lessons will hopefully help them and generations after them, save time and money as well as helping to conserve their environment. We also had the opportunity to go off curriculum and decided to let the students know about different countries and cultures around the world. Each volunteer talked about where they were from and we had fun activities such as playing basketball and drawing flags, and after visiting every ‘country’ they got their (pretend) passports stamped!
The Greater Kruger region of South Africa experiences severe unemployment, with 15-24 year olds making up 70% of all those unemployed in Mpumalanga. The cycle of poor education, poverty and health issues create an environment in which communities struggle to escape. Even if the youth in the area receive an education they are often without the skills to be able to get jobs and create a stable income. This further contributes to the unemployment in the area and an increase in poverty levels. Our goal is to equip young adults to theoretically and practically apply their skills to a career and identify and establish entrepreneurial opportunities. We will create a community garden to help local community members sustain themselves and their families and increase income generation. To help out, visit www.happyafricafoundation. org/ donate
Sasekile Gardens Driving up to the gate in Maphutho Ditshaba secondary school for the first time was very exciting. We hopped out of the car and were greeted by the four gardeners; Bhekimuzi, Taelo, Portia and Remember. They are eager to start working on the latest project, the fence which protects the garden. Working together on the fence was long but fun. When we finished it, a sense of accomplishment is shared amongst volunteers and the gardeners. Garden maintenance was done all together. Tasks such as checking the garden beds for weeds or pests, watering plants and doing mulching were shared. One gardener, Bhekimuzi, is very intrigued in gardening. He is especially fond of his chili pepper plants. Seeing them enjoy their gardens makes me joyful to see that African Impact has really helped the community. African Impact African Impact and their volunteers do an amazing job of working with the community to help them achieve their goals. Students are being assisted in their studies through programs such as Reading Club and Conservation Education (ConEd). Sasekile Gardens allows others to have opportunities to be educated on gardening and other important life skills. Our favorite part about spending time with the people in the community here is that you can really see how important our support is to them and how much they appreciate our time.
Hello from the wonderful city of London. I’ve been asked by Tim, the Photography Manager, to write a short article to introduce myself as a past volunteer (x4) and tell you about my exciting fundraising ventures. Hopefully it inspires you as others have inspired me. I’m Shilla from England, UK, living and working as already mentioned in London. I’m currently a trainer, delivering and designing courses for the London Fire Brigade, mainly around equality, diversity and inclusion. I’ve been doing this for just over 13 years and love making a difference. I’ve recently turned 44 and in these years I have been extremely fortunate to be able to achieve some of my goals and dreams. One of these was to travel to Africa to volunteer and learn the skill of photography. Both have a lot of meaning, Africa because my mom was born in Mombasa, Kenya, and with my dad lived there in the early years with some of my older brothers and sisters. Photography is also a passion because it allows me to tell a story and be creative. If there’s anywhere where you can tell a story, it’s the beautiful, diverse continent of Africa.
I discovered African Impact by chance. I had just turned 30 and was looking for a life changing experience. I knew 4 things; I wanted to fly out by myself, to Africa, to a volunteer project, involving photography. This was the first time that I would venture out alone so I was looking for a charity / organisation that would help me develop self-confidence as well as making a difference and impact. So after searching on the web using the words ‘Africa’, ‘Conservation’ and ‘Photography’ I came across the ‘South African Photography and Conservation’ project in St Lucia (now in Greater Kruger). That search truly changed my life and took me into a whole new direction. I had volunteered prior to the St Lucia project at school and in my community, raising money for various charities, including those in Africa. My inspiration was growing up as a young child and teenager listening to some of my favourite songs like ‘Man in the Mirror’, ‘We are the World’, ‘Rhythm Nation’ and ‘State of the World’, by my two role models and idols Michael and Janet Jackson. Those songs as well as others made me want to make a change, however small.
I wanted to fund raise initially for African Impact and The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF) because the project managers, guides, other project coordinators and volunteers inspired me. The projects we were involved in were phenomenal and I saw the difference that African Impact was making. As soon as I came home to London I had the urge to want to continue this, but also raise awareness amongst my family, friends and work colleagues of the importance of conservation in Africa as a whole. It allowed me to tell a story. My whole purpose had altered. For the 3 Peaks Challenge, which is climbing the 3 tallest mountains in Scotland (Ben Nevis), Scafell Pike (England) and Snowdon (Wales) in less than 24 hours, and selling my ‘An African Story’ photography book I raised £1,500. For the two half marathons that I ran in 2016 I raised £455. With African Impact and The Happy Africa Foundation, one of the rewards was seeing where the money went. The project managers and coordinators sat down with me and went through the possible projects where the raised funds could be used. This allowed me with their support to make an informed decision and left me empowered knowing where the money was going. The money I have raised has made a huge difference to the community, building a toilet block in the local school and buying dictionaries and stationery for schoolchildren. I was also sent images of the projects, which I have used in work newsletters and social media to communicate the fantastic causes that have benefitted from the raised funds.
So what’s next? Well, after coming back from the Great Kruger Project in January I have already started to fundraise again for THAF by running several half marathons and 10kms around London. The training has been tough during the cold winter months and scorching summer weeks (yes England can be very hot ). I’ve applied for the London Marathon ballot for 2018 so fingers and toes crossed, in the meantime I will keep running. To help raise additional funds I’m in the process of creating a children’s photography book based on my images of Africa’s stunning landscapes, rich diversity of cultures and wildlife. I’m also keen to organise a fundraising day early 2018 for past volunteers. My vision is for the volunteers around the world to unite and organise an event / activity on the same day in their own cities and towns to raise funds for THAF and make - like the name says – an African Impact. If you are interested in this, or any other kind of fund raising and need some pointers, you can contact sophie@happyafricafoundation.org
Gamedrives are an essential part of any visit to Africa and nothing can compare to being on a Land Cruiser, bumbling through the African bush and playing hide-and-seek with the wildlife (even if you end up losing that game!). However, when photography’s concerned there are other ways of getting close to animals and few more effective than that of Hide photography.
Don’t get hung up on technicalities Yes, we all want sharp photos and every one of our subjects to be in clear focus – however, this isn’t always going to be the case. If a photo isn’t 100% ? sharp it’s not always the end of the world; crop out, find a different way to edit around it and try going for an abstract look. Otherwise you’ll end up with once-ina-lifetime sightings that you’ll just throw away because it might be minimally soft..
At times it can be hot, uncomfortable and patience testing but sitting in a hide and waiting for the wildlife to come to you as opposed to seeking it out on a noisy and smelly cruiser brings a completely different vibe and level of appreciation. Of course all hides are different and some are more effective than others but it’s an essential type of wildlife photography to get to grips with if you’re to be a success in this career option. The winning factor, for me, is you appreciate and photograph more of the smaller things more than you ever would before. Birds bathing in water, or butterflies drinking can be infinitely more interesting to photograph from a hide than say on a bushwalk and of course when the bigger mammals come your way they are now entering your space as opposed to the other way round. It’s a very privileged position to be in and the key is to appreciate and take advantage of every moment – even if you’re just sat waiting, listening to nature all around you – it’s peace like you’ve never known.
We chose to make an article about bird photography because we think that these animals are an interesting subject to take pictures of. First of all they are quite a difficult subject in wildlife photography because they are very fast and shy of humans so ultimately getting any picture of them is always cool. Secondly, most of them are extremely photogenic subjects because of their vibrant and varying colors. You can take pictures of birds with nearly any camera, there are just a few things which can make bird photography that much easier: a long lens lets you get images of birds when you can not get close to them, and a high shutter speed to freeze the motion of these fast subjects. For bird photography the best mode is Speed (S), as with this you can choose the speed of the shutter, most of the time up and over 1/1000 of a second!
Ungainly as it is, the hippopotamus is the world's deadliest large land mammal, killing an estimated 500 people per year in Africa. Hippos are aggressive creatures, and they have very sharp teeth which you would not want to get stuck under; at up to 2,750kg they can crush a human to death.
When they’re seen ‘yawning’, this is more often a display of dominance, showing off the size of their teeth, to warn intruders from entering any closer to their territory.
Tips: Most of the time the light should come from behind the photographer, so that the bird is lit properly, but sometimes it can give a good effect if the light is coming from the front, so that the bird is just a black silhouette!
A pair of black backed jackals will mate for life living in a pack with their offspring. Throughout May to August mating will take place. During this time they become vocal and territorial making sure that no other jackals invade their territory. The black backed jackal is an omnivore. During a study the primary component of their diet was found to be insects. They also feed on rodents, hares, young antelope, carrion, lizards, marine animals, mussels, and snakes. Some black backed jackals have been seen taking down a rhinoceros that was wounded at the time. Frequently they eat small bits of grass.
Nearly all birds are really shy. That means if you are not careful you can easily scare them away. The loud shutter of a DSLR has disturbed a lot of birds in the past, and it will in future. That’s why it is important to be silent, and if possible to use the silent mode of your camera. Wildlife photography is not like taking portraits of humans. You can’t tell the birds how they should look into the camera. Being patient is the only thing you can do, one day you will shoot the perfect image! Learning a lot about the behavior of your subject can also help you a lot!
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As a child I was very artistic. I was always crafting, painting, and beading. Anything I could get my hands on, I loved making into designs and pictures. Sadly, when school became more difficult I found myself sacrificing this hobby for homework and studying.
Photography isn’t JUST about wildlife Take advantage of every moment you’re out in the African bush; whether it’s a game drive or a bushwalk. You’re constantly travellng past amazing plants, trees, patterns, textures and new perspectives… why not show them to the world too? All too often are things ignored in the anticipation of the next Big Five sighting and it’s such a shame to see.
During school I discovered a new passion for science and research, and put many of my other interests aside. In college I began studying neuroscience, and found it so fascinating that I put nearly all my attention into academics. I chose to focus on research, because I like the idea that my work can help people. Although I enjoy my studies, it always made me sad to think about how I had neglected my creative side. So last semester I decided to make a change. I enrolled in an introductory photography course, where I was exposed to the works of famous photographers throughout history. What amazed me the most was how beautifully a photographer can tell a story through his images. Of course, this made me want to tell my own story. My desire to learn more about photography, along with my passion for research and volunteering, are what led me to African Impact. I was excited to find an organization that would not only teach me photographic skills, but also teach me how my images can aid in research and promote awareness of wildlife conservation. In other words, I was drawn to the idea that my photos could make an impact.
Upon arriving at Dumela lodge, I was greeted by friendly faces. Both the guides and professional photographers here are fantastic – I have never met people so passionate and eager to share their knowledge. Their enthusiasm has led me to learn more about photography and African wildlife than I thought I ever would. Coming into the program I expected to focus mainly on photographing animals, but I have already learned a wide range of skills including macro, landscape, portraiture, and astrophotography. The thing that surprised me the most about my experience here was how different it is to look at something through the camera than through the eye. When I peer through my lens, I am totally consumed by the animal in front of me. It becomes my whole world for that moment. Photography is a way of looking closer, analyzing, and learning. When I look through my camera I notice the tiny details that make an animal unique and special. I’ve learned a lot about animal behavior while photographing because I’m able to watch their movements and see how the animals interact. Through this I have gained a massive respect for wildlife, and thus a drive to make an impact in wildlife conservation.
Giraffes seem to defy physics when drikning water, what with their long necks and the angle from which they drink… but an interesting report done by Philippe Bender goes to suggest it’s a relationship between using different parts of its mouth and jaw to ‘pump’ water into the esophagus at a controlled rate… and then, when the giraffe raises its head, gravity takes care of the rest. This also ends with a dramatic spurt of water, perfect for photographers.
I arrived in Cape Town with (I presumed) a lot more knowledge than the average volunteer coming to stay with African Impact. After all, I’ve worked with them for over two and half years now so at least I had a rough idea of what I was doing. Still, I was greeted like an old friend at the airport and whisked away to their town house in the Observatory (or OBS) section of this sprawling, bohemian city. My job here was simple – to capture the activities on project showing what it is that African Impact do within the communities on a day-to-day basis. Simple, but not easy. For a start, I knew I had to contend with those two legged animals called humans, and after photographing (mostly) the four-legged variety for the past two years, I knew there would be challenges along the way. Challenge number 1, I was prepared for; kids from any culture, when they see a camera, want their photograph taken. Most don’t even care to see the end result, they just want to be the centre of attention (and I can relate to that…) but in order to report events accurately, any journalistic photographer or reporter knows that you must be separate from the events. To be part of something is to change it by your very presence, so a degree of clinical objectivity was necessary. Sorted.
Challenge number 2, which I suspected was the case but didn’t realise to what degree, was taking photographs indoors – very low light situations. Many of us take for granted the shining, bright beacons of light that are Ungainly as it is,atthe our homes night-time, hippopotamus the money, but electricityiscosts world's large will do and ifdeadliest one lightbulb land mammal, killing an at night and there’s natural estimated people sunlight 500 everywhere, why per year in Africa. Hippos would you spend hard are aggressive creatures, earned money on things and theyyou have very sharp that didn’t need? teeth which would and Seeing theyou townships not want to get the fact thatstuck nothing is under; at up to 2,750kg thrown out, nor anything they can crush human wasted – notaeven a single tounit death. of electricity – was well worth the small amount of When they’re stress whenseen arriving at the ‘yawning’, this is moreI had to location. Realising often a display in of someone’s photograph dominance, showing living room while off kids or the size of their teeth, to young adults were playing warn or intruders being from taught was entering any closer to to the nothing compared their territory. privilege of being there.
Those were the two main challenges I foresaw, but what else could go wrong? In one word – underestimation. Underestimating (massively!) the sheer breadth and depth of subjects I would be photographing within a short space of time, having to simultaneously photograph three subjects in one moment, for example. Children are known to be difficult to work with, but it’s for the wrong reasons. Their sheer exuberance and lust for life is difficult to keep up with, let alone catch on record. A smile can become a frown and then back again as friendships are made, broken, forgiven and forged anew within a matter of seconds. I saw one girl boisterously tackle a young boy on the football field (at which point I would having been crying for my mum, or ambulance, or both) only to turn round moments later to help him up and see them walk hand in hand back to the game.
Underestimating my own abilities came into play too – not necessarily to do with photography, but emotionally. To see kids playing with skipping ropes, footballs, reading colourful stories and playing with lego, it was extremely difficult not to ditch the camera altogether and join in. I freely admit that my mental age ranges between 7 and 14 on a good day; all I wanted to do was muck in and Ungainly as it is, the staying focused became more and more hippopotamus is the difficult with each shoot – especially when the world's deadliest large kids are looking up at you with those clear, land mammal, killing an untainted eyes wanting nothing more than to estimated 500 people kick a ball back and forth. per year in Africa. Hippos are aggressive creatures, Seeing these life-changing projects at work, the and they have very sharp structured play, the encouragement in hard teeth which you would and soft skills, with the volunteers treating not want to get stuck them like the little people they are and could under; at up to 2,750kg be was a fantastically rewarding experience. It they can crush a human allowed me to see a side of Cape Town that to death. people don’t see in their tourist brochures – the real Cape Town – and although I will go When they’re seen back to do the scenic routes, the sky diving and ‘yawning’, this is more seaside adventuring it has become famous for often a display of some day, I can safely state that not a second dominance, showing off of anyone’s time there, with African Impact, is the size of their teeth, to wasted. warn intruders from entering any closer to their territory.
As a returning volunteer, I was very interested in how the research projects had progressed over the past year. The Guernsey leopard research in particular has advanced a huge amount, even just over the last few weeks, with lots of new data collected! On one very exciting night in early August, a leopard – later identified as FBL1 – was caught on a camera trap recently donated by a volunteer and placed on the Dumela property. This is the first time ever that we have been able to ID a leopard on our property, which is an excellent step forward for the project. Not only this, but the same night we also captured pictures of a large male leopard on our property! While we were unable to identify him, the fact that there were 2 separate leopards on our property in one night was an incredibly exciting discovery. However, this was only the start of the Guernsey leopard-craziness. Less than a week later while relaxing in the boma one evening we heard a leopard calling very close by - when the next day we found enormous tracks of a male leopard passing within 40m of the rondavels, and a camera trap photo caught the leopard walking there while we had been in the boma, we realised just how close it had been!
Know your camera The best teaching you can possibly get in order to know your equipment is through experience. Of course we can teach you everything you need to know, but without you going out into the field and practicing – it’s all worth nothing. Consequently, don’t be afraid to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. So grab your camera, go out there and embrace the unknown with the right attitude to learn and develop. Very few professionals know every detail and function of their camera, so there’s always something to learn for everyone.
To properly understand population densities and distributions of leopards we must conduct camera trap surveys, record spoor and signs of predator presence. Ultimately, this focused research is vital to the development of sustainable conservation solutions that will protect the future of this iconic apex predator. Sign up for regular giving or a one – off donation below to help support the protection and better understanding of leopards in Southern Africa. https://www.globalgiving.org /projects/leopard-research/
After all the leopard activity on our own property, we headed out on drive in Buffaloland for one of the most exciting drives of my time as a volunteer. Less than 10 minutes into the drive, we were alerted to the presence of a predator by kudu barking and quickly spotted a leopard! We succeeded in keeping her in sight for about 10 minutes but she eventually disappeared into a drainage line. A lucky photo allowed us to identify her as FBL1 – the same leopard we had caught on the camera traps at Dumela just the week before. This definitive evidence that she has moved between the properties in such a short space of time was extremely valuable. We were all still buzzing from this incredible sighting when at the end of the drive we saw yet another leopard! After temporarily losing visual and hearing impala alarm calling, we turned a corner to find her with a fresh impala kill - to watch her recovering from this kill and later eat the impala was an incredible experience. We were able to identify her as CBL12 – FBL1’s cub, who is now about over a year and a half old. Identifying leopards has become a favourite activity here at the lodge!
The cherry on the cake of an incredible 2 weeks of leopard activity was having a total of 9 camera trap photos of leopards from Buffaloland. These captured both CBL12 and FBL1 again – but what was most amazing was finding camera trap photos of FBL1, taken about an hour and a half apart, at two separate camera traps, 2 km apart! It’s so valuable to have this evidence of the speed at which leopards cross their territories, and amazing to have more photos of these beautiful leopards.
What drew you to want to work in this field? The past month has flown by for the volunteers and staff here at Dumela. It has been a whirlwind of camera trap checking, lion data taking, Elephant Id’ing, as well as adding a new partner into the mix. Recently we have been working on acquiring new camera traps for our leopard survey. Through the “datacation” of our wonderful volunteers we have been able to purchase more camera traps which will allow us to gather the much needed information on the elusive leopards in the surrounding areas. One volunteer’s donated camera, which he named “Killa Cam’s Cat Cam,” has been integral in capturing some of the best data to date about the leopard corridors through our property. With this information we can understand the corridors in which leopards use to pass through residential properties and which land use areas they are heading into. As our leopard survey continues to expand we are trying to garner more camera traps in order to learn as much as we can about these elusive big cats. The elephants this month have given us some epic sightings which has enabled us to monitor the same few bulls for a few weeks in a row. B19, or “Mr. Chill” as he has come to be known, has become a volunteer favorite as he hangs around the local watering holes allowing us to monitor him with his very nonchalant attitude with the vehicles. We hope he hangs around for some time so we can continue to monitor his movements with his bachelor group of males.
Getting to meet and interact with new people from across the globe.
What do you like most about your job? Every day is completely different from the next and each one full of its own surprises. What makes you smile here? The friendly and loving atmosphere contributed by all here at Dumela Lodge
The yellow-billed hornbill is mainly an omnivorous ground feeder, eating small insects, spiders, seeds and occasionally fruit. The species is known to forage co-operatively with dwarf mongoose, catching prey items that the mongoose scratch up from the ground. They are distinguished by their very large, downwardly curved yellow beaks. As such they’ve required the flattering nickname of the ‘flying banana.’
Early this month Kyle from the APNR Ground-Hornbill Project came and spoke at the lodge about the work this fellow conservation organization is doing. We learned so much about these magnificent creatures as well as the amount of information still needing to be discovered in order to save this species from extinction. Ground Hornbills are classified as Endangered and are facing massive declines due to their long growth period and need for very specific roosting trees. These magnificent birds are in need of our help as their numbers continue to decline. We are proud to say we will be assisting this project with any sightings of these birds as well as any other relevant information we can gather about the individuals within our area. Organizations like the APNR GroundHornbill Project are working to protect and research these threatened animals and we look forward to helping this project with their mission to protect and preserve these beautiful birds for the future.
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Frogs and toads all fall under the order Anura. Toad is just a name given to a certain group of frogs. However there are marked differences between what we know as frogs and toads. In the bush there are some simple ways to determine if what you are looking at is a frog or a toad. Frogs are generally more slender with long legs adapted for swimming and jumping, and have moist, smooth skin. Whereas the toad is stout and compact with shorter legs and drier skin with glandular bumps. If you happen upon some frogs’ spawn there is an easy way to determine if it belongs to a frog or a toad; toads lay their eggs in lines like a string where frogs lay in clumps. The habitat we find the individual in is also important; frogs tend to be found in or close to water whereas the toad will spend most of its life on land away from water. However in nature there are always exceptions.
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Rain frogs are an exception; we generally refer to them as frogs even though they may share characteristics with toads. There are 15 species of rain frogs all of which are endemic to southern Africa. The Bushveld rain frog is a common occurrence in the lowveld and is sometimes referred to as the grumpy frog as it looks to be grumpy. Rain frogs are stout with short legs as they neither swim or hop (they walk), they are terrestrial so they have no need of ponds or pools of water as they spend most of their time in burrows only emerging to breed. When threatened they inflate themselves to try and intimidate their attacker, this is how it gets is afrikaans’ name ‘blaasop’ (blow up). One of the most interesting things about the rain frogs is that they have no free living tadpole stage like a normal frog would. The rain frog after mating will dig down about 40cm to lay the eggs, they will be deposited in a thick jelly coating which protects the eggs and keeps them hydrated. The tadpoles will remain in the jelly coating feeding on the yolk within the egg case until they metamorphose into froglets and they emerge as mini versions of their parents. So if you ever come across the humble bushveld rain frog you may look past its ‘good looks’ and marvel at how well adapted it is to living out of water.
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