Click to visit the Moremi Game Reserve page.
Grab this swicki from eurekster.com
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By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News
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The little pink calf was spotted in amongst an 80-strong elephant herd
A pink baby elephant has been caught on camera in Botswana.
A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta.
Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants.
They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf.
Mike Holding, who spotted the baby while filming for a BBC wildlife programme, said: "We only saw it for a couple of minutes as the herd crossed the river.
The baby elephant seems to be sheltering under its mother to protect itself from the sun
"This was a really exciting moment for everyone in camp. We knew it was a rare sighting - no-one could believe their eyes."
Documented evidence
Albino elephants are not usually white, but instead they have more of a reddish-brown or pink hue.
While albinism is thought to be fairly common in Asian elephants, it is much less common in the larger African species.
Ecologist Dr Mike Chase, who runs conservation charity Elephants Without Borders, said: "I have only come across three references to albino calves, which have occurred in Kruger National Park in South Africa."This is probably the first documented sighting of an albino elephant in northern Botswana. "We have been studying elephants in the region for nearly 10 years now, and this is the first documented evidence of an albino calf that I have come across."
He said that the condition might make it difficult for the calf to survive into adulthood. "What happens to these young albino calves remains a mystery," said Dr Chase. "Surviving this very rare phenomenon is very difficult in the harsh African bush. The glaring sun may cause blindness and skin problems." However, he told BBC News that there might be a ray of hope for the pink calf as it already seemed to be learning to adapt to its condition.
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SATELLITE TRACKING OF WATTLED CRANES IN SOUTH-CENTRAL AFRICA
In 1993, the International Crane Foundation hosted the African Crane and
Wetland workshop in Maun. Crane experts from all over Africa pooled their
knowledge of cranes in their countries, in an attempt to derive an estimate of
their numbers – an important exercise to assess their threat status. Although the
global Wattled Crane population was pegged at 15,000 birds, there was general concern
that there could have been some double- counting as it was suspected that this
species moves widely throughout its range. A suggestion was made that satellite
transmitters be fitted to some birds to determine whether this was the case.
Fifteen years later, we are none the wiser about regional movements of
Wattled Cranes. However, we are about to find out! Thanks to the generous
sponsorship of Ngami Toyota, Ngamiland Adventure Safaris and CCAfrica, we
have ordered six satellite transmitters which will be put on birds from the
Makgadikgadi area, the Okavango Delta and Linyanti.
The rationale for targeting birds from these three areas is as follows:
Cranes are found in the Makgadikgadi Pans area only during the summer
months. As the area dries out they definitely move away – to where, we
do not know;
The Okavango Delta is the main Wattled Crane breeding area in
Botswana – in biological terms, it is a ‘source’ area from which birds
disperse. Again, we do not know to where the surplus birds move.
For more information contact Birdlife Botswana webpage.
Click to see a selection of videos in and around the Okavango Delta. Yours truly is truly amazed at the viewership of the video. It is great that so many people having qlimpses of the Okavango Delta and it's wildlife - looking at my shaky, 1950's kind of home movies style, a kind of 'delta minimalism.'
There are also a few shots of construction equipment in operation.
Comments (1)
Anonymous said
at 8:38 pm on Dec 6, 2007
Looking for specific information about the Okavango Delta and I have yet to cover your topic - let me know. Ill give it a shot.
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