Babies Growing Fast

Our babies are starting to grow quite fast and more pregnant mommies are expectant soon. Our eco-park at Mogale is expanding nicely.

The Ice Chick has tripled in size since she arrived 3 weeks ago. Mommy and daddy Blue Crane are very protective over their single baby. But poor Mr and Mrs Black swans, they lost one of their cygnets, and are down to two since they were born two weeks ago.

Last week a duiker gave birth but now it looks like poor baby duiker has been left on its own to fend for itself while mommy goes foraging. The little thing is so inquisitive and comes out of hiding to check us out. Every time the sound of the camera triggers, a shiver runs up the back of the duiker which is about a metre away from us. All the best little ones.

Mr and Mrs Black

With South Africa colour has once again become a big issue with “F#<& White People” not being racist but the colour purple is. I am starting to feel down, no depressed about what the future holds.

Anyway my thoughts are transgressing, back to real black swans, the Cygnus Atratus. Over shadowed by the baby blue crane that was born last week, Mr and Mrs Black Swan had triplets. Now we have three little grey cygnets waddling around.

Demoiselle Crane

With an afternoon storm threatening, I took this photograph of the pair of Demoiselle Cranes, sitting in the foreground waiting expectedly for the large drops of rain mixed with small hail that would soon deluged us.

The Demoiselle Crane are the smallest of the crane family but the second most abundant, not in Africa but in Euroasia. In this photo along with the Demoiselle you can see 3 Helmeted Guineafowl running for cover, a single Black Swan, an Egyptian Goose, and a pair of Blue Cranes. All water off a duck’s back so to speak.