WILDLIFE

ROCKY MOUNTAINS & COLUMBIA MOUNTAINS OF CANADA
I did my first hike in 1974 in Waterton Lakes NP in the Canadian Rockies. I then interned in Victoria on Vancouver Island and In 1977, I started my medical practice in Castlegar in the West Kootenay of BC. During the next 36 years, I actively hiked and climbed in the Canadian Rockies and the Columbia Mountains of south-central BC.
Being in remote areas many times, I had the fortune to see wildlife in its natural setting. Other than black bears which can be urban pests, seeing critters is unlikely for the short-term casual hiker.

Whenever you speak to foreigners, their first concern is bears. Humans are bad news for bears and they try to avoid contact. Many hikers in the wilderness use ‘bear bells’ to alert bears of your presence and bear spray, a hot pepper irritant that can repel a bear about to attack. I have never carried either.
Every community in BC has a “Bear Aware” program. Aimed primarily at black bears, everyone keeps their trash indoors or has expensive bear-proof containers outside. All bears have a voracious appetite in the fall as they fatten up for their winter hibernation. Part of Bear Aware is picking your fruit in the fall or black bears can destroy your fruit trees.
Black Bears. Go to any garbage dump in BC to see black bears. When I lived in Warfield BC, we saw a black bear less than 10 m away every night in the neighbour’s seed pile under her bird feeder. It is common to see purple bear scat in the fall – huckleberries, a delicious type of wild blueberry are black bears’ favourite fall food.
Grizzly bears. I have had 6 sittings of grizzlies, all in remote, often high-altitude situations. They rarely show much interest in humans. The only dangerous situations may be surprising them, getting between them and a food stash or when a female bear has cubs. Bear attacks are rare. There are many suggestions if a bear does attack – curl up and protect your face and front. It would be a horrifying experience.
Grizzlies can be seen in hiking areas in the alpine. If known to be in an area, it is recommended to hike in groups of six or more – grizzly bears have never been known to bother groups that size.
A guaranteed place to see grizzlies is on the Whitewater trail in Goat Range PP in the West Kootenay of BC. They forage on the south-facing slopes across the valley. Bring binoculars. I have also seen them in Denali NP, Alaska along the 98-mile road that bisects the park. They are resident on Sofa Mountain in Waterton but no one goes there.
I have seen a grizzly in Glacier National Park in Montana turning over rocks to feed on the ladybugs under the rocks.
Seeing brown bears (a type of grizzly) is part of many tours on the coast of Alaska fishing in the fall.

Cougar (mountain lion). Like all cats, they are predatory and will make unprovoked attacks. They are more dangerous than bears. The ones on Vancouver Island are more aggressive. I have only seen a cougar once – crossing a highway.

Wolverines are noted for their strength, cunning, fearlessness, and voracity, and the species is renowned for its ability to face down and fight larger predators that are more than twice its size. The wolverine resembles a small, squat, broad bear. The wolverine is generally regarded as a solitary nocturnal hunter, preying on all manner of game, including voles, porcupines, squirrels, moose, deer, sheep and other livestock.
I’ve been fortunate to see wolverines three times in the wild. Once a wolverine passed within 10 metres coming down a snow slope above Mulvey Basin in the Valhallas of the West Kootenay. I saw one when I climbed Mt Custer in Glacier NP in Montana.

Mountain sheep are common, often hanging out in parking lots. I’ve seen large groups at Lineham Lakes and Mt Crandell in Waterton Lakes NP. They also are resident along Arrow Lakes in the West Kootenay.
Mountain goats have gorgeous long white coats. They hang out on Lineham Cliff in Waterton Lakes, the only place I’ve seen them in a non-habituated setting. Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park in Washington has many goats along the trail. I’ve seen habituated goats twice in Glacier NP in Montana. They were known for stealing things out of hiker’s tents.
Deer are common and most often an issue at night on highways. I have hit deer at least three times – they can produce a lot of damage.
Elk live in herds. Hundreds hung out around the park headquarters before the introduction of wolves in Yellowstone NP. I was at a hiking camp in the Purcell mountains where the elk trails were worn down a foot from the resident elk herds.
Moose are solitary and rare animals to see. I have only seen them twice.
Martins, weasels and porcupines are occasionally seen.
Bison are not seen in the wild except at Wood Buffalo NP on the North West Territories border. Otherwise, they are in controlled areas (Waterton Lakes NP has a herd).

SEA KAYAKING on the WEST COAST OF BC
Killer whales are resident in southern Georgia Strait and are common sightings from the interisland ferries. Transient orcas return to Johnston Strait in the summer. Robson Bight is a protected area where they rub their bellies on rocks.
Humpbacks are also common. I’ve seen them bubble hunting and once making great leaps and slapping down.

Sea Otters were eliminated for their thick fur but were reintroduced in the 1960s and are now common on the entire west coast of Vancouver Island usually in rafts of up to 50 animals. They float on their backs and ‘spy hop’ to look at you in your kayak. When absent, kelp forests were decimated by sea urchins. But now that they have returned, sea urchins are a favourite food and the kelp forests have recovered.
River otters are also common on the land of the coast. They are often confused with sea otters who never come on land.
Black bears are commonly seen foraging on shore. My favourite place is the tiny channels in the Pinkertons, a lovely set of islands near the Broken Islands in Pacific Rim NP on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The channels are completely covered by overhanging trees. Bear can be less than 4 m away.
Wolves are also common on the outer coast. They are a leaner, smaller wolf that feeds on seafood. They are a menace when camping as they get into any food and stoves. Metal boxes are provided at popular campsites to store food.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY RESERVE Mexico
We hired a car for 400 pesos in Anangueo (2980m) to make the rough drive up the mountain for another few thousand feet to El Rosario.
Every autumn millions of Monarch butterflies arrive for their winter hibernation having flown over 4,000 km from the Great Lakes region of Canada and the US. At night and in the morning the butterflies cluster together covering fir trees and weighing down the branches. As the day warms up, they start to fly and completely cover the ground like a brilliant living carpet. They mate in March and over 2-3 generations make the return trip to Canada.
At the sanctuary entrance (cost 35 pesos), we were assigned a guide who took us on the one-hour climb to the butterflies. It was the most incredible experience of the trip so far, especially when the air was filled with fluttering butterflies. We were alone in the forest with the symphony of thousands of beating butterfly wings and the sound of cascading water.

MONTEVERDE Costa Rica
Costa Rica is renowned for its undisturbed tracts of rainforest with 21% of the country in its natural state. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is known for its bird life. The naturalists communicate where birds are. Besides other unusual birds, we saw 2 magnificent quetzals, the national bird of Guatemala and the name Guatemala’s currency. With a bright red breast, impossibly long tail feathers and a bright lime green back and head (with an Iroquois cut), it was amazing to watch it eat avocados. The bird swallows five at a time, digests the fruit of the pit and then spits out all the pits at once. The guides had spotting scopes and we watched for half an hour. The quetzal moves up and down the mountains eating the 11 varieties of avocado that produce fruit in different seasons.

One of the best things to do was a night walk – we saw many sloths (one came down to within 3 feet), snakes, coatis and many spiders.

KINABATANGAN RIVER  Sabah Malaysia 
This is Sabah’s longest river, with 560 km of chocolate-brown water lined with rainforest. I arranged a 3-day/2-night tour with Bilit Kinabatangan Heritage B&B (bilitkinabatangan.com), a small operation with good reviews. After a 4-hour bus ride back towards KK, I was picked up at the Meeting Point with a pleasant older German woman who winters in Bali but was on a visa run in Sabah. I had a dorm all to myself, basic but clean.
Day 1 River cruises are popular with dozens of lodges offering the same trips. On a two-hour downriver trip and up a small tributary, we saw many long-tailed macaques, silver langurs (youngsters are bright orange and only along Kinabatagan does an orange variant persist into adulthood), proboscis monkeys (they only exist in Borneo), monitor lizards, a gorgeous ivory-billed kingfisher, and rhinoceros hornbills.

There were 8 tour boats with about 70 tourists trying to see an invisible snake up in a tree. With only two of us in the boat and the only ones with binoculars, we had a superior tour. Oil palm plantations come down to the river in a few places and behind the jungle lining the river. That night, there was a jungle walk that was a washout for critters.

Day 2 Up at six for another boat trip up river, we saw more of all three kinds of monkeys, a kingfisher, an orangutan, a huge 5m long crocodile, river otters and an oriental pied hornbill with a huge white bill.
A 3-hour jungle walk was on the agenda for the morning. After sloshing around in the mud being eaten by mosquitos and attacked by leeches for an hour, we encouraged our guide to turn around. This is all secondary growth with few critters. We could hear many birds but they are all hidden high up in the canopy. If virgin rainforest is desired in Sabah, the best place to visit is the Danum Valley.
The afternoon tour repeated the first day with most of the same animals. We saw a snake bird that fishes and then sits high in trees with its wings spread out to dry. That night we went on a night boat trip. With an incredibly strong searchlight, our guide spotted several owls and monkeys. This guy had an unbelievable ability to spot animals.

Day 3 Up at 6 again for another river trip where we saw many crocodiles. Many of the people who went downriver saw pygmy elephants. Besides the orangutan, elephants are the iconic species at Kinabatangan.
I returned to Kota Kinabalu to catch my flight to Taiwan. 

KOMODO ISLAND, Indonesia 11,13,29/01/2015
Flores Island has beaches, bay islands, exceptional diving and snorkelling near Labuan Bajo. The interior of Flores has perfectly shaped volcanoes, jungle, and rice fields. Labuan Bajo is the only access to Komodo National Park and its famous Komodo dragons.
Komodo National Park. Rinca is the best island to see Komodo dragons. 20 animals congregate near the small national park headquarters. The rangers carry a forked stick to fend off an attack from the scary-as-hell small dinosaurs. We saw dragons from baby 18-inch ones to monsters 2m long. It was then a 1-hour walk past a nest and up a hill for panoramic views of the island. There are two and three-hour walks. The Rangers are a treasure trove of information.

THE PANTANAL Brazil
From Campo Grande (pop 724,000), I took a 3-day tour to the southern Pantanal. This major ecological attraction in Brazil is a lowland in western central Brazil that varies in elevation by only 1-2 meters. During the rainy season, it is inundated with water-producing patches of dry land where animals cluster producing an enormously rich feeding ground (650 bird species and 80 different mammals). The rainy season is from October to March and the water rises in the Pantanal as much as 3m above dry season levels – in March in northern Pantanal and as late as June in the south accessed from Campo Grande. The hot tourist spot is Bonito, a 5-hour bus ride but I had already arranged a 3-day tour with Gils Pantanal Discovery.
It was a 4-hour drive into the Pantanal to a lodge on the side of the Miranda River. We went on a truck safari where we saw howler monkeys, capybara (the largest rodent in the world), coatis, caiman alligators, brock deer, foxes, raccoons, and many kinds of birds. Normally there would be a metre of water everywhere but now it was dry (the guide thought that it has been drier for the last 5 years and he thought it was because of deforestation and subsequent soybean planting).
Cattle are the major economy here. On a horse ride (no galloping was allowed), we saw white-lipped peccaries, rheas, storks, hyacinths macaws, toucans, and many more birds. That afternoon was a long boat ride along the river to see many capybaras, caiman, swamp deer, giant river otters, kingfishers and more birds. The next day was piranha fishing where we caught 7 and had them for dinner (very bony). Jaquar are fairly common but not often seen as they are nocturnal. very hot and humid and lots of mosquitos.

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands 900 km (560 mi) west of the mainland of South America. The Galápagos are famous for their endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution through natural selection.
Darwin’s voyage on HMS Beagle was part of an extensive British survey of the coasts of South America. Ecuador formally occupied and claimed the islands on 12 February 1832
There are 7 large islands, 7 small islands and many tiny islands all volcanic in origin and relatively recent in origin (1-5 million years old with the oldest islands in the east and the newest in the west) and there is still volcanic activity with the most recent eruption in 2010. Fernandina has been the most active volcano since 1790, with recent eruptions in 1991, 1995, 2005, and 2009, Straddling the equator, islands in the chain are located in both the northern and southern hemispheres, spread out over a distance of 220 km (137 mi).
With no natural enemies for millions of years, all the wildlife is amazingly tame (or habituated or genetically primed to not respond to non-threatening humans). Absolutely nothing reacts to your presence.
This was still the dry season (wet season January to May) and the islands all are very rugged and desolate. The main tree is the Palo Santos tree, and with no leaves, a grey twiggy tree covering the barren lava fields and multiple volcanic cones. Wildlife is everywhere but mostly consists of iguanas (land and marine), sea lions (common and fur) and many birds – pelicans, blue-footed and Nasca boobies, albatross, magnificent frigate birds, mockingbirds, G. falcons and of course the famous 13 varieties of finch).

There are only 116 visitor sites in the Galápagos: 54 land sites and 62 scuba-diving or snorkelling sites. Small groups are allowed to visit in 2- to 4-hour shifts only, to limit impact on the area. All groups are accompanied by licensed guides.

I had booked the cruise ship, the Galavan 1 for a total cost, including flight and NP fees of $2,000. Many ships cost $5-6,000 for the same trip. The boat is the second lowest of 5 levels of cost but turned out to be a great deal with good food, rooms, guides and itinerary. For the first 4 days, we had 13 on the boat and for the second 4 days, there were 18.
With 54 sites that allow visits, we went to 2 to 4 sites every day, seeing slightly different critters at each.

We also snorkeled 1–2 times per day and I was able to identify 23 different kinds of fish by the end. Watching sea lions fishing a few feet away and cruising by you constantly was amazing. Several sites also had green sea turtles and it was incredible to float above 2 or 3 at once. With significant distances between sites, a lot of time was spent motoring for several hours every day, mainly at night. That is why several islands are inaccessible when travellers try to see the Galapagos from the two towns.
Unfortunately, I developed a severe case of ¨tourista¨ that responded well to antibiotics that were available on the ship. I spent 2 extra nights in Puerto Ayora and then flew back to Quito.¨The Beak of the Finch¨ is fascinating reading as it won the Pulitzer Prize several years ago.

Day 1. Flight from Quito via Guayaquil to Isla Baltra, A short bus and boat ride to Santa Cruz and a one-hour bus ride took us to Puerto Ayora, the biggest city in the Galapagos. We went out to the Galaven 1, got our rooms and then bussed to Rancho Pemiso, a private ranch in the highlands with large numbers of giant tortoises. They were everywhere and extremely tolerant of close approaches. Each island has its own species. Of the 14 original species, 3 are now extinct – they were a favourite of the buccaneers as they could be kept alive with no food or water on board ship for up to a year and were a valuable source of protein. The ones on Santa Cruz weigh up to 600 lbs, live 200 years, are all herbivores and get all their water from the plants they eat. The ones on Santa Cruz have very domed shells and most of the others (where the cactus is taller and they have to stand on their hind legs to reach the pads) are called saddlebacks. Nearby are lava tubes – these are huge with 20-foot high ceilings and spiral shapes with the longest 1 km long.

Day 2. We motored from 3-6 AM to Santa Fe. We had a wet landing to see many Galapagos common sea lions with many young as they birth from Oct – Dec. They have only 1 pup and breastfeed exclusively for 1 ½ years. There is one male to about 20 females. The M/F sex ratio is 40/60 but most of the males are killed in dominance battles. Habituated, they allow easy close-up looks. Many large tree-like prickly pears served as food for iguanas. We snorkeled for one hour and the water was quite cold. In the PM, we motored to South Plaza Island on the east side of Santa Cruz, a small island with many sea lions and marine and land iguanas.

Blue Footed Boobies

Day 3. Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill) on the north side of Santa Cruz. Many black marine iguanas eat seaweed. We visited the brackish lagoon to see flamingos but none were there as the water was low and thus little food. White-tipped reef sharks in the shallows. We snorkelled from the beach. In the PM we motored to Bartolome, a small island just north of Santiago. All volcanic with a 120-year-old lava flow visible on Santiago. We walked up a long boardwalk to the top of the cone with great views and snorkelled around the prominent rock. We spent the night at Chinese Hat, a small island just off the shore of Santiago.

Day 4. Motored from 5:30 to 7 to Rabida, a small island on the S shore of Santiago. Red sand beaches with red lava and palo santos trees not yet in leaf give a grey look to lava in the distance. The punta cactus had very short trunks. We used a panga along the shore to see many birds – great blue heron, yellow warbler, flycatchers. lava heron and marine iguanas. Galapagos fur sea lions ++. Great snorkelling east of the beach. There were many flamingos on Bainbridge – an amazing volcanic cone with a central caldera and a large lake that we could look into from the boat. PM motored to James Bay on the NW side of Santiago. Black sand beach and a long walk on the shore to lava along the ocean with many arches and surge channels forming Darwin´s toilet. Many large groups of black marine iguanas and G fur sea lions. When snorkelling, we saw many green sea turtles including three very close.

Day 5. Took a panga to Black Turtle Cove on the N coast of Santa Cruz. It is a mangrove lagoon with many eagle and sting rays, white and black-tipped reef sharks, copulating green sea turtles and other turtles. We returned to Baltra and dropped off 6 and picked up 11. We motored to North Seymour and saw many frigate birds – males with big red pouches and young.

Day 6. After a long overnight boat ride to Espanola, we snorkelled on Bahia Gardner, a beautiful big white sand beach with many sea lions off the beach and deep water snorkelling along the wall watching 2 sea lions fish not very successfully at very close range. Then, we motored to Punta Suarez with many marine iguanas – males green and red, Nasca boobies with eggs and chicks, albatross with young.  The coastal volcanic cliffs had many blowholes.

Day 7. Motored to Floreana. Stopped at Post Office Bay with a barrel full of non-stamped postcards meant to be picked up and delivered by hand. Went down a lava tube with sea water up to mid-chest. Snorkelled off a yellow sand beach. Motored to Punta Cormorant with its brackish lagoon and no flamingos, and then walked overhead land to the bay with many stingrays and green sea turtles visible from the beach. Hermit crabs.

Day 8. We motored back to Puerto Ayora on Thurs night and visited the Charles Darwin Research Centre’s tortoise breeding program. Lonesome George, the last of his species is there. He has been unable to breed (since then in the spring of 2012, he died). I stayed in Santa Cruz 2 more nights just hanging out, sleeping and reading.
Fish seen while snorkeling: king angelfish, razor surgeonfish, gray bar grunt, black striped salema, giant damselfish, G ringtail damselfish, yellowtail damselfish, panamic sergeant major, scissor tail chromis, panoramic graysby cabrilla, leather bass, pacific creolefish, mottled soapfish, blue chinned parrotfish, bicolor parrotfish, azure parrotfish, chameleon wrasse, spinster wrasse, wounded wrasse, cortez rainbow wrasse, mexican hogfish (all 3 variants), glasseye snapper, pink cardinalfish, panamic fanged blenney, pacific leopard flounder, giant hawkfish, coral hawkfish, orange side triggerfish, sting ray, eagle ray, blue and gold snapper, yellowhead sheephead, bulls eye puffer, pacific box fish, green sea turtles, G. common fur sea turtle.

DRILL RANCH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY Nigeria
This is one of Nigeria’s most attractive tourist attractions. Home to a colony of rescued drill monkeys and chimpanzees in the Afi Mountains in Cross River Province in southeast Nigeria. It is run by Oregon-based Pandrillus, one of Africa’s most progressive primate conservation bodies.

The drill monkey is native only to Cross River State in Nigeria, the southwest corner of Cameroon and the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea. It is one of Africa’s most endangered monkeys – the biggest threat comes from poachers who hunt it for bushmeat. Often, after having killed a nursing mother, the poachers will sell the babies for pets – something they become increasingly unsuited for as they grow – and it is these infants, seized by authorities or given in by members of the public, that are rehabilitated in the center. They also take in chimpanzees in similar circumstances. These are both large animals with the strength of 8-10 humans and can become dangerous as adults
The sanctuary has rehabilitated over 86 lone drill monkeys into 6 social groups, now bearing a new generation, and over 500 drills have been born at the project. The release of drills back to the wild is planned in the future. They not infrequently escaped the enclosures and there was no attempt to recapture them. Drill monkeys are magnificent animals. About the size of chimpanzees, they are stocky and grey with a great black face. The mature males have the most vivid sexual colouring: a bright red penis with the red extending in a band along their groin and extending down their thighs. Their scrotum is medium blue and their rump is blue blending into a pink around their short tail (monkeys have tails, primates don’t).

Drill Ranch also provides a lifelong home for orphan chimpanzees. They are kept in a large natural enclosure with an electric fence. There were about 11 adult chimpanzees and two babies. All the supposedly sexually mature male chimps had had vasectomies but a young male was able to impregnate two females (they thought he was not sexually mature).
There are four subspecies of chimpanzee. All the ones here belonged to the same subspecies but had regional variations in colour and appearance. The one Equatorial Guinea chimp was grey and had a more elongated face. The Nigerian chimps had a blond tinge and rounder faces.
The chimps started a loud chatter and acted aggressively when we approached for the noon feeding. Some threw fruit and stones at us but the electric fence stopped most of the rocks. Chimps are extremely sexual – the alpha male was sitting and several females backed onto him with the screw lasting a few seconds.

Afi’s gorillas belong to the most endangered subspecies – the Cross River gorilla.
This was a wonderful experience and well worth the effort and minimal cost. It shows how inhumane keeping both drills and chimps as pets is. Adults are poor pets and dangerous. Volunteering here would be a great experience. It is one of the few free volunteer projects where lodging and food are free. Shayla had spent almost 1 ½ years here and thought it a wonderful experience. But her education and interest in life are primates, had worked with them in Oregon for 6 years and already had loads of experience.

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK, Namibia
Covering an area of more than 20,000 sq. km, Etosha National Park ranks as one of the world’s greatest wildlife-viewing venues. Its name, which means Great White Place of Dry Water, is inspired by the vast greenish-white Etosha Pan, an immense, flat, saline desert covering more than 5000 sq km, 21% of the park area. For a few days each year, it is converted by the rains into a shallow lagoon teeming with flamingos and pelicans.

Originally thought to be a dried-up lake, another theory is that it was formed by NE winds that eroded the sediment cover. Seasonal water erosion formed the mammoth depression and dunes in the west and NW rim. The surrounding bush and grasslands provide habitat for Etosha’s diverse wildlife. Although it may look barren, the landscape surrounding the pan is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 16 reptile and amphibian species, one fish species and countless insects.

Rest Camps. Three rest camps serve the park:
Okaukuejo Rest. Pronounced ‘o-ka-kui-yo’, this is the site of the Etosha Research Station and functions as the official park headquarters and main visitor centre. The Okaukuejo water hole is probably Etosha’s best rhino-viewing venue, particularly between 8 pm and 10 pm, you’re almost guaranteed to spot zebras, wildebeest, jackals and even elephants virtually any time of the day.
Halali Rest Camp. The middle camp is between several incongruous dolomite outcrops. The best feature is its floodlit water hole, a 10-minute walk from the rest camp and sheltered by trees with huge boulders strewn about.
Namutoni Rest Camp is at a whitewashed German fort, a colonial relic. The water hole is filled with reed beds and vocal frogs.

Only the eastern two-thirds of the park is open to the general public. There’s no public transport into and around the park, so you must visit either in a private vehicle or as part of an organized tour.
Everything was a nice green with 2-foot-high grass. This did not bode well for seeing wildlife as the animals did not have to congregate around the water holes. The terrain altered between thorn savannah, salt pan and grassland on a loop drive. Initially, we saw a warthog running across the road but on the return loop, we saw a herd of 28 wildebeest and one zebra, 7 giraffes in the distance, 2 separate groups of ostrich, a herd of springbok, 20 zebra, and several impala.
We took a side road extending into the pan and saw a fox. Also on this road, we met two overland trips – one was Dragoman (we had also seen one of their trucks in Togo) and Nomad Tours going from Cape Town to Victoria Falls, then Kruger NP and finishing in Tanzania.
We camped at Halali with a restaurant and hot showers. The water hole is lit at night. There were five rhinos. A few of us slept overnight at the waterhole on the large flat rocks hoping to see critters but we saw only one rhino at 12:50 and nothing else. But it is a pretty waterhole with a rocky shore and islands that you look down to from the viewpoint.
On our drive exiting the park, we saw red hartebeest and a large red antelope with nice spiral horns. The view was yellow short grasslands forever. A bustard chased a jackal.
Over 3 hours of driving, through dead-flat, treeless or occasionally thorn grassland, we see few animals – the occasional oryx, springbok, a raptor in a tree and a rabbit. A large herd of zebra had one with no stripes but a dark brown trunk. We exited at the Andersson gate.

ODJITOTONGWAE CHEETAH FARM Namibia
This cheetah sanctuary is on a farm about 10 km due east of Kamanjab. For 65N$ 5US$), we were treated to 3 completely habituated cheetahs – petting and licking you, laying around completely relaxed in the guy’s back yard. All three were born in the wild and rescued at around 2 weeks – one from a litter of 5 that the mother couldn’t handle, one with an infected eye, that he treated and the mother would not take it back and one with a broken leg discarded by the mother. He bottle-fed them every 2 hours in his house. Three jack Russel terriers mingled with all of us. We could not wear hats (they like to play with hats), sunglasses (they don’t like to see their reflections) and flip-flops (they play with these too). We were also to avoid touching their feet or bellies but head, ears, neck and back were all tolerated amidst much purrrrrring. We all hung out in the backyard for at least an hour.
Then we boarded a truck to feed cheetahs in the wild. Four animals were in the first group all close to the truck. Huge chunks of horse meat were thrown to the 4 cats. Then a mother and her three eight-month-old cubs were thrown large chunks of meat. There are no natural animals for them to hunt and are fed by the sanctuary. They will never be released as 80% would be shot by farmers. There are 10 cheetahs in the “wild” state here. Cheetahs live for 18-20 years.
This was nothing short of amazing and a screaming deal. We camped in their nice campground.
This is different, much better and much cheaper than the Afri-Cat Foundation at the Okonjima Lodge near Otjiwarongo for orphaned or problem lions cheetahs and other cats.

ADDO ELEPHANT NP South Africa
This great park has more than 450 elephants, zebras, black rhinos, Cape buffaloes, leopards, lions, birds and the flightless dung beetle. One must have your own vehicle to drive in the park.
Colchester is 72 km north of Port Elizabeth and the main entrance to the south end of Addo Elephant Park. The park has seven sections. Six and Seven are east of Colchester, along the ocean and low-clearance drives. North is the Colchester section and the best entry point to the part of the park accessible to low-clearance vehicles with Matyholwent Camp the camp at the entrance gate. There are several loops to drive: Yukani, Mbotyi, Ngulube, Harvey’s and then the Southern Access Road and the Southern Gate. South Africa road signage is very poor and we entered the park at Addo Main Camp at the north end of this section and drove via Marion Baree Waterhole to the Mpenzi loop and Hapoor Dam. Gwarrie Pan at the north end had many elephants. Then we drove the Gorah Loop and finished at Donkrag Dam to the exit of this part of the park.
We saw at least a hundred elephants, some very close, a water buffalo, many warthogs, zebra, kudu and several kinds of antelope.
West and slightly north of Addo Main Camp are four sections of the park suitable for 4×4 vehicles only: Nyathi (Nyathi Rest Camp above a water hole), Zuurberg (guided horse trails only), Kabouga and Darlington both entered via Narine Bush Camp or Kirkwood. Birding is a popular activity in these sections. There are three private lodges in the park and 8 rest camps.

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK South Africa
The 128km drive to Satara can be done on nice pavement. We immediately took a loop drive on hard-packed dirt to the east (we had been told there were a lot of rhinos here) but we saw little game other than a cheetah. Rejoining the main road, we saw many animals: 3 hippos next to a bridge and dam, 4 giraffes, 12 elephants, 2 water buffalo, 3 hyenas very close, zebra, 6 lions, kudu, springbok, and several different kinds of antelope. It rained all day but we were happy with all the critters we saw despite the weather.
Satara Rest Camp. May 1,2. The cost of a campsite per night in Kruger – is R367 for 3 people Conservation fees per day in Kruger are R304. The campground was a surprise – no tables, random campsites and camp kitchens with only a hot plate and sinks (no pots or utensils). I ate in the restaurant and the boys cooked (after buying a pot).
We went on 3 “safaris” at Satara: a night drive starting at 8 (R330), we saw 9 lions (all on the road keeping warm, 2 males and pride of 7 females and youth); a sunset drive – starting at 5 pm (R280), this was mostly in the dark, and saw little: 1 elephant, a hippopotamus out of the water, and a giraffe; The next morning, Mark and I had a morning walk starting at 5:30 am (R505). Again this was disappointing but saw a herd of about 25 cape buffalo (these are easily the most dangerous animals in the park as the males especially are very aggressive) and 6 giraffes plus the exceedingly common impalas. Animals don’t react to people in a vehicle but get quite skittish to people on foot. A sunset drive was also disappointing.
In retrospect, I would not pay for any of the driving safaris again but would drive my own car on the side roads around each rest camp. The guides have no way of communicating and have little more idea where the animals are than you do. Buy 1-2 spotlights that plug into the cigarette lighter. Because of all the recent rain, the game was not very plentiful around Satara. There had been a significant drought that ended in December when half of all the hippos died and many animals, especially rhinoceros, migrated south where it is wetter.
The next day we left Satara at 1 pm and took almost 5 hours to drive to Pretoriakop Rest Camp for another two nights. On the drive, we saw 2 rhinos, giraffes and elephants.
Pretoriakop Rest Camp. The morning walk here was cancelled as the second ranger could not access his rifle which was locked in a safe, but we were given a complimentary drive. It was great as we followed 2 huge male lions on the road for about 15 minutes watching them scent all bushes about every 30m. There was also a solitary cape buffalo (after they are past their reproductive capacity, older males often leave the herd and spend a solitary life), elephants and giraffes. On the sunset drive, there were many hyenas on the road. They live in the culverts under the roads and we saw at very close range at least 4 females each with 2 cubs. We also saw 3 white rhinos, but the highlight of the entire Kruger experience was a leopard that had dragged an impala up into the tree and it lay sleeping on a branch above its kill. It was incredibly relaxed with its long tail and both hind legs dangling down. It stood to reposition itself and now we could see his head and face much clearer.
Two kittens were playing in the bushes at the base of the tree. Leopards don’t have confluent spots but two half-circles of brown. It was a great day – not only did I see all the Big Five but spent the day with a lovely English woman, a physiotherapist working in Hong Kong for five years.

GUNUNG LUESER NATIONAL PARK Sumatra
The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra World Heritage Site comprises three Indonesian national parks in Sumatra: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park, and the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park with outstanding scenic beauty, varied habitats, and outstanding biodiversity in both lowland and mountain forests. This once vast island of tropical rainforest has been condensed to secluded areas in 50 years.
They are located on the spine of the Bukit Barisan Mountains, known as the “Andes of Sumatra”. The three sites make up 50% of the total plant variety in Sumatra. There is also both the world’s largest flower (Rafflesia arnoldi) and the tallest flower (Amorphophallus titanum).
Gunung Lueser NP is in the north of the island, 150 km long, over 100 km wide, and is mostly mountainous. 40% is steep, and over 1,500 m. 12% in the lower southern half is below 600 meters and 25 km runs down the coast. Eleven peaks are over 2,700 m with the highest, Gunung Leuser (3,466 m).
174 mammals, 3 being endemic and 21 listed as threatened in 2000. 380 species of birds 13 endemic and 52 threatened. Important species include the orangutan, Sumatran rhinoceros, and the pigtailed monkey. Important plants are Rafflesia Arnoldi, and Amorphophallus titanum. Important birds: Rueck’s blue flycatcher, and white-winged wood duck.
Gunung Leuser, receives 3000 mm of rainfall in the north, and 4657 mm in the lowland south. Temperatures are 21°C to 28°C and the humidity is always above 60%, especially when over 1700 m.
The visitors center is in Bohorok, 3 hours from Medan city. Normally a tour is booked out of Medan and they provide the transportation. The road is tolerable with some sections of potholes through very populated areas.

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The Bohorok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center was created to save orangutan babies who were collected illegally by killing their mothers and sold as pets. When they grow up and become unmanageable, they are abandoned. The purpose was to train them to survive in the wild with some supplemental milk and food. The center is closed and the few orangutans kept there were released.
The forest can no longer sustain the numbers so the rangers supplement their food supply.
Orangutans in the wild – a dozen including alpha males, females, and young and newly born orangutans. Seeing the park requires demanding trekking with several climbs and slippery descents. The orangutans near the centre a habituated so feeding them was not a problem but cannot feed the baby if his mother is not eating – she beats the baby and takes away the food.

Others include white-handed gibbons, black gibbons, long-tailed macaques, pig-tailed macaques, Thomas’ leaf monkeys, silvery lutungs, Sunda slow loris, monitor lizards, jungle peafowls, Salvadori’s pheasants, Roll’s partridges, Sumatran Laughing thrushes, Sunda Laughing thrushes, Rueck’s Blue-Flycatcher and countless butterflies.

Sept 1-3 2023. The three-day/two-night tour to Gunung Leuser National Park would get me much further into the jungle and greatly increase my chance of seeing Orangutan and much more wildlife. Tubing down the river was necessary (10€) total 120€.

Day 1.
Bukit Lawang Indah was the hostel from which we started the walk. I joined a group of six others. We soon entered the national park Many Thomas Leaf Monkeys.
latex trees (many trees were being tapped, and guys walked by carrying a huge rectangular block of latex).
We soon saw our first orangutan, a habituated female, and her baby sitting in a chair on the deck with over 40 other tourists gaping and taking photos.
On the way, we saw several long-tailed macaques and pig-tailed macaques, any giant ants, a few millipedes, and several other kinds of ants.
The walking was relatively easy with a big climb and steep descent at the end down to a small river for our first night camp. It was hot and incredibly humid, but there was not much mud on the trail. Everyone went for a swim. We saw 3 orangutans in the camp, likely wild as they stayed high in the canopy.
ON Jungle camp. Constructed lean-tos with a mattress, pillow, and light nylon sleeping bag.

Day 2. In the morning we had much better views of the same three orangutangs. It seems the baby goes wherever she wants and everyone follows.
Today was harder walking with many ups and downs and a long, punishing descent down a muddy route to the river. Hot and very humid.
At our lunch stop high on a ridge, I saw a 4 white-handed gibbons move close overhead through the canopy using incredibly acrobatic moves, a siamang and a mother orangutan and her tiny baby clutching on her abdomen. They were very close.
Further on the trail we had a very close encounter with 4 siamang (also called black gibbons, it all got very confusing). One came to within 3 metres and may have been threatening.
ON Jungle camp 2. Similar lean-tos with mattresses and a pillow. On a large fast fast-moving river.

Day 3 We tubed down the river on inner tube rafts of huge truck inner tubes, 2-3 lashed together for the guests, and small truck inner tubes on the ends for the guides who steered them with long poles. We sat two to a tube on mats and life vests for a very comfortable but wet 30-minute ride with many rapids down to Bukit Lawang. ON Bukit Lawang Indah.