CONSERVATION: The Dik Dik

A dik-dik is the name for any of four species of small antelope in the genus Madoqua that live in the bushlands of eastern and southern Africa.

Dik-diks stand about 30–40 centimetres (12–15.5 in) at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm (19.5–27.5 in) long, weigh 3–6 kilograms (6.6–13.2 lb) and can live for up to 10 years.

Dik-diks are named for the alarm calls of the females. In addition to the females' alarm call, both the male and female make a shrill, whistling sound. These calls may alert other animals to predators.

The name dik-dik comes from an onomatopoeia of the repetitive dik sound female dik-diks whistle through their long, tubular snouts when they feel threatened.

Female dik-diks are somewhat larger than males. The males have horns, which are small, about 7.6 centimetres or 3 in, slanted backwards and longitudinally grooved.

The hair on the crown forms an upright tuft that sometimes partially conceals the short, ribbed horns of the male.

The upper body is gray-brown, while the lower parts of the body, including the legs, belly, crest, and flanks, are tan.

A bare black spot below the inside corner of each eye contains a preorbital gland that produces a dark, sticky secretion. Dik-diks insert grass stems and twigs into the gland to scent-mark their territories.

Apparently to prevent overheating, dik-diks have elongated snouts with bellows-like muscles through which blood is pumped.

Airflow and subsequent evaporation cools this blood before it is recirculated to the body. However, this panting is only implemented in extreme conditions; dik-diks can tolerate air temperatures of up to 40 °C (104 °F).

Dik-diks live in shrublands and savannas of eastern Africa. Dik-diks seek habitats with a plentiful supply of edible plants such as shrubs.

Dik-diks may live in places as varied as dense forest or open plain, but they require good cover and not too much tall grass.

They usually live in pairs in territories of about 5 hectares (12 acres). The territories are often in low, shrubby bushes sometimes along dry, rocky streambeds with plenty of cover.

Dik-diks, with their dusty colored coat, are able to blend in with their surroundings.

Dik-diks have an established series of runways through and around the borders of their territories that are used when they feel threatened.

Dik-diks are herbivores. Their diet mainly consists of foliage, shoots, fruit and berries, but little or no grass. They receive sufficient amounts of water from their food, which makes drinking unnecessary.

Like all even-toed ungulates, they digest their food with the aid of micro-organisms in their four-chambered stomachs.

After initial digestion, the food is repeatedly eructated and rechewed, a process known also as rumination, or chewing the cud.

Dik-diks' tapering heads may help them eat the leaves between the spines on the acacia trees, and feed while still keeping their head high to detect predators.

Dik-diks are monogamous, and conflicts between territorial neighbors are rare. When they occur, the males from each territory dash at each other, stop short, vigorously nod their heads and turn around.

They will repeat this process, increasing the distance each time until one stops. Males mark their territories with dung piles, and cover the females' dung with their own.

Monogamy in dik-diks may be an evolutionary response to predation; surrounded by predators, it is dangerous to explore, looking for new partners.

Pairs spend about 64% of their time together. Males, but not females, will attempt to obtain extra-pair mating when the opportunity arises.

Females are sexually mature at six months and males at 12 months. The female gestates for 169 to 174 days and bears a single offspring.

This happens up to twice a year at the start and finish of the rainy season. Unlike other ruminants, the dik-dik is born with its forelegs laid back alongside its body, instead of them being stretched forward.

Females weigh about 560 to 680 g (1.23 to 1.50 lb) at birth, while males weigh 725 to 795 g (1.598 to 1.753 lb).

The mother lactates for six weeks, feeding her fawn for no longer than a few minutes at a time. The survival rate for young dik-diks is 50%.

The young stay concealed for a time after birth, but grow quickly and reach full size by seven months. At that age, the young are forced to leave their parents' territory.

The fathers run the sons off the territory and the mothers run off the daughters.

Dik-diks are hunted primarily by leopards, caracals, lions, hyenas, wild dogs and humans.

Other predators include monitor lizards, cheetahs, jackals, baboons, eagles, hawks and pythons.

Dik-diks' adaptations to predation include excellent eyesight and the ability to reach speeds up to 42 km/h (26 mph).

People are the dik-diks’ biggest threat and have long hunted them, setting snares along their paths.

Small bones from their legs and feet are used in traditional jewelry. Their skins are often made into suede for gloves.

With the strategic support of African Wildlife Foundation, the Entonet/Elerai Masaai community opened Satao Elerai, a luxury lodge situated on 5,000 acres of land in Southern Kenya.

Revenue from the lodge is reinvested into supporting the community and conserving wildlife such as the dik-dik.

Dikdiks need you.

With your help, AWF can work on projects like supporting conservation businesses in places where dikdiks live as well as helping park rangers and wardens with technology to monitor parks and keep the dikdiks safe from poachers.

Donate for a cause that will help with wildlife conservation and ensure dikdiks never become an endangered species.



Tourism Observer

TANZANIA: Visit Ngorongoro Crater

LOCATED IN NORTHERN TANZANIA, 80 mi (129 km) west of the city of Arusha is the Ngorongoro Crater.
This crater is a caldera formed by the collapse of a large volcano in the Great RIFT VALLEY.
It is considered to be the largest subsidence crater in the world with a width of over 12.5 mi (20 km).
It is the fifthlargest caldera in the world, and of these, it is the largest inactive, unbroken, unflooded caldera in the world.
The rim varies between 7,480 ft (2,280 m) and 8,005 ft (2,440 m) in elevation, and the floor of the crater has an average depth of 2,000 ft (610 m) below the rim.

The floor area of the crater covers 100 square mi (260 square km).
The crater hosts several thousand tourists per year but has no actual human inhabitants at this time.

No one seems to know the origin of the name Ngorongoro though the Maasia, a nomadic people living in the area, say it means "the great or big hole." Besides the size of the crater itself, the crater floor has some unique features such as the Ngoitokitok springs that are a year-round hippo bath, two patches of woodland-the Lerai forest and the Laiyanai forest- the Munge River, several fresh and brackish ponds, and just west of the center of the crater, Lake Magadi.

This lake is 20 mi (32 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide and exists thanks to the volcanic springs that feed it.
These volcanic springs produce a large amount of carbonate of soda, creating a crust on the lake that is dredged and processed into soda ash to be used in glassmaking.

Mainly though the crater floor is a wide grassy savanna.
Ngorongoro is located at the center of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, making up 3 percent of the area covered by the park.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established as a World Heritage site in 1979.

The park is home to approximately 25,000 large mammals, including gazelles, buffaloes, wildebeests, elands, elephants, and the black rhinos.
It is also has the densest populations of predators out of any of the African parks, made up of lions, leopards, hyenas, and jackals.
Lake Magadi and Munge River attract large numbers of greater and lesser flamingos, pelicans, ostriches, grebes, storks, cranes, and more.

The first conservator of Ngorongoro, Henry Fosbrooke, considered the Ngorongoro Crater to be the eighth wonder of the world, and many tourists, after visiting, would agree with him.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a breath taking beautiful setting and the best place in Tanzania to see the Big Five animals. It is` one of the world’s most astonishing and renowned natural wonders.

Any trip to Northern Tanzania has to include the Ngorongoro Crater: it is one of the most beautiful natural wildlife safari sites in the world and an exceptional place to interact with people from the Masaai tribe.

The Ngorongoro Crater and surrounding highlands together form one of Africa’s most beautiful regions. Volcanic craters form stunning backdrops to some of the most fertile and richest grazing grounds in Africa. The most famous such crater is without question the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and home to the highest density of big game in Africa, including all the big five and plenty of predators. The Ngorongoro is justifiably one of the continent’s most famous safari destinations.

Game Viewing

Big5The Ngorongoro is the best place in Tanzania to see THE BIG FIVE. A healthy population of black rhino and some of the largest tusker elephants left in Africa today are the prize spots, but the Crater is also home to strong populations of lion, leopard and hyena along with good herds of wildebeest, buffalo and zebra. Other game in the Ngorongoro includes serval cat, cheetah, jackal, Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelle, flamingo and bat eared foxes along with approximately 400 species of bird.

Activities
Activities inside the Ngorongoro Crater itself are limited to game driving only. There are also picnic spots in the park. A full range of activities is however on offer in the wider Ngorongoro Conservation Area, including walking, trekking, excursions to Olduvai Gorge and visiting the Masai and other tribes around the crater.

When to go
Since the game stays in the crater all year round, there is really no good or bad time to visit. However given that the crater floor does get busy with vehicles, it can be more pleasant to visit during low season. Higher water levels in Lake Magadi (in the center of the Crater) also result in higher concentrations of flamingoes. Whenever you travel to Ngorongoro, you will be guaranteed excellent game viewing

BOTSWANA: Northern Tuli Game Reserve

Spectacular landscapes, rich and varied wildlife, and a host of historical, cultural and natural history attractions define this unique and very striking corner of northeastern Botswana.

Straddling the Shashe, Motloutse and Limpopo Rivers, which serve as natural boundaries with Zimbabwe and South Africa, the Northern Tuli Game Reserve (NTGR) comprises 71,000 hectares of remarkably diverse habitat, including mophane bushland, riverine woodland, and marshland, punctuated by towering sandstone cliffs, basalt formations and unusually shaped kopjes – making for truly breathtaking scenery.

One of the largest privately owned game reserves in Southern Africa and incorporating three major private concessions (Tuli Safari Lodge, Nitani Private Game Reserve, and Mashatu Game Reserve), the NTGR is home to 48 species of mammals and over 350 species of birds, with an estimated 20 000 animals residing in the reserve.

Most naturally occurring wildlife species are present, including elephant, kudu, zebra, impala, duiker, wildebeest, waterbuck, steenbok, and warthog. Large herds of eland – often not seen elsewhere in Botswana – are present, and these are indeed an awesome sight. All major predators, including lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena, are present, and the birdlife is prolific.

The NTGR is adjacent to a larger area of eastern Botswana called the Tuli Block. This is a ten kilometre wide strip of land running approximately Northern Tuli Game Reserve 180 kilometres south to Martin’s Drift that holds a string of commercial agricultural and game farms, several of which also offer tourist facilities.

Travellers keen for a more active safari experience will delight in all there is on offer. You can hike the reserve, bike the reserve, horse-ride the reserve, and even hot air balloon the reserve! At Mashatu Game Reserve, guests can accompany elephant or predator researchers, to gain first-hand insights into the behaviour, feeding habits, territories, demography, and social structure of these animals, as well as critical wildlife conservation issues. A similar experience awaits guests at Nitani – as they come to understand the complexities of a long-term hyena research project.

Molema Bush Camp, a community based tourism project managed and operated by Tuli Safari Lodge, is an ideal way to take part in a tourism concept that is rapidly gaining momentum in Africa. Local communities become active partners in tourism projects, from which they can more readily see clear-cut financial and social benefits.

Molema is a joint venture between three local villages: Motlhabaneng, Lentswe le Moriti and Mathathane and two tour operators: Tuli Safari Lodge and Talana Farms.

Archaeological sites provide an important historical perspective to the region. Iron Age sites demonstrate the formidable skills in pottery, mining, and smelting of the Zhizo, Leopard’s Kopje and Mapungubwe peoples, who practised agriculture and animal husbandry in the area.

Artifacts from the Mapungubwe Kingdom (1220-1290AD), a precursor to the Great Zimbabwe civilisation, reveal the sophistication of the technology and society of its people, and their extensive trade networks.

The NTGR will form the heart of the proposed Shashe/Limpopo Trans- Frontier Conservation Area (TFCA), its signatories – Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa – agreeing to cooperate to conserve and manage shared natural resources. Rich in biodiversity, the proposed TFCA will cover approximately 4,872 square kilometres and will be one of the largest wildlife conservation areas in Southern Africa.

Mapungubwe Hill

Mapungubwe was a prosperous Iron Age metropolis situated on the banks of the Limpopo River that thrived nearly a thousand years ago. It was ruled by a king of the Leopard Kopje people, and its extensive trade networks reached as far as Egypt, India and China.

The kingdom’s capital was situated at the 300 metre long Mapungubwe Hill, which today is only accessible through two very steep and narrow paths that twist their way to the top.

The civilisation of Mapungubwe was highly developed; its unique arts were of a superior craftsmanship and quality. One of the most famous pieces unearthed by archaeologists is a superbly crafted golden rhino. Other pieces include beautiful pottery and jewellery.

Mophane woodlands, riverine forests and sandstone formations create a breathtaking backdrop for Mapungubwe Hill. The area is rich in wildlife, including white rhino, elephant, giraffe, gemsbok, eland, lion, leopard and hyenas, as well as over 400 species of birds.

Motlhabaneng
Local village tours often become a highlight of a trip to Tuli. A delightful morning’s outing to the quaint village of Motlhabaneng consists of a visit to the kgotla for a chat with the village chief or headman, a visit to the local primary school where children don traditional clothing and dance, and a visit to a basket-maker’s home where guests interact with villagers, learn something of their traditional way of life and watch hand-woven baskets in the making.

Ancient rock paintings, almost certainly done by Southern Africa’s original inhabitants, the San, can also be seen at the outskirts of Motlhabaneng. The paintings depict people, animals, hunting scenes and mythological creatures, part of the San’s complex cosmology and belief system.

Solomon’s Wall

This rather amazing natural phenomenon, situated in the Tuli Block, is a 30 metre high basalt dyke that once formed a steep-sided natural dam wall across the Motloutse River.

A full ten metres wide, this ancient dyke once held back a great lake, with waterfalls spilling over the dyke. Evidence of this great lake are the numerous semi-precious stones (e.g. quartz and agate) found along the Motloutse riverbed.

Tall fever trees line the natural beach, making for a shady picnic site. Solomon’s Wall can only be reached with a four-wheel drive vehicle.