Sunday, July 31, 2011

The outcast




I go there the whole 75 day gestation period. I'm there the morning they are born, i waited for four weeks for them to emerge from the burrows for the first time and i'm there every afternoon to see if all of them come back from foraging for the day. I am sometimes there to see a predator take one of my baby,s, i stand by helplessly when a cobra is down in the burrows killing a whole generation of baby's. Yes it is a cruel world where i can get attached but i cannot interfere.
This week one of the girls are going through one of the toughest experiences and there is nothing i can do about it.
She was born 25th January 2010, one of five girls and one boy, a larger than normal batch of baby's. Normally there is between 3 to 5 baby's.
All six survived well for 6 months when the first girl were taken by a predator. I was not there so i did not know what happen, but she did not make it back home that night.
Three weeks ago a strange male came through the area and two days later one of the girls followed him and is now starting a new family somewhere.
It is tough but i know she has a companion and she is not alone.
But Wednesday afternoon when i got there for my afternoon watch i saw one of the girls standing alone far up the slope to the west of the territory, witch was not unusual because there is always someone on guard but usually the swap guard duty within an hour. But she was just standing there watching the rest of the family the whole afternoon. At sun down when everyone was at the burrows she came down to join them, but obviously she has met a young male somewhere trough the day and there was some strange smells on her.
Moner (the dominant male and her father) Started attacking her very viciously and started biting her and cent marking her. The whole family turned on her and she were forts to flee for her life.
She has been sleeping on her own for the last three nights, But i am watching her and hoping she would rejoin the family the moment the sent from the strange male has faded.


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Beautiful days




The day are getting beautiful. Meerkats are getting up earlier. Had a vissit from a steenbok this morning. It is still cold but it is great.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Come summer come


Season is changing, it is getting warmer again, more tours, in general things are just looking better.
We can still get some very cold weather in the next couple of months, but the season has turned and me and the meerkats like that.
A pare of jackal and their cubs are in the area and the meerkats keep on running into them. Saw the female this morning but the bushes around her were to high to see the cub's but i found the footprints of two cubs.
Otherwise it is very quiet in meerkatville.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Cold meerkats


It is CCCCooooolllldddd, i am freezing my butt of, and to crown it all im having either equine flue or swine flue or bird flue, i can only tell you guys it is not fun. but i'm sure i will live. Even flue has it's pride and won't stay around to long.
The meerkats are all healthy and if i'm not mistaken Liefie is either overeating or she and Moner might have been naughty. You will unfortunately have to wait till i can get better photographic proof.
The Swartberg mountains are covered in snow and we still get these misty mornings.
But all is well in our little meerkat valley.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Down to 14

At first i thought it was Nikki the second oldest daughter that has gone and find herself a man. But no it is one of the girls from the pasella 6 that was born last year January and became the pasella 5 6 months later when one of them got caught by a predator. They have in the meantime reached sexual maturity so now one of them has gone after one of the bachelor males that has moved through the valley. So now they are down to the pasella 4.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

a Kiss for prince charming


The weather? very peculiar!! It must be the coldest wettest winter in a long time, I'm asking again, where is global warming. If scientists can lie about that what else do they lie about.
Had a very wonderful experience yesterday afternoon. I went out to see where the meerkats would sleep and with the weather so cold and windy i found a spot against one of the burrows and i layed down in the sun and i waited for the meerkats to finish foraging. Enjoying the late afternoon sun i closed my eyes and just enjoyed the warm ray's, when after a while i felt a soft kiss, first on my head and then on my cheek. I slowly took my phone out of my pocket and pointed it at myself where i'm laying and took a picture, what a surprise.