Yellow mongoose.. Kalahari Gemsbok Park.

Yellow Mongoose (Cynictis penicillata)

It sometimes referred to as the red meerkat, it is a small mammal averaging about 1 lb. (1/2 kg) in weight and about 20 in (500 mm) in length. A member of the mongoose family, it lives in open country, from semi-desert scrubland to grasslands in South Africa.

The yellow mongoose is carnivorous, consuming mostly arthropods but also other small mammals, lizards, snakes and eggs of all kinds.

Predators of the yellow mongoose are birds of prey, snakes and jackals. When frightened, the yellow mongoose will growl and secrete from its anal glands. It can also scream, bark, and purr, though these are exceptions, as the yellow mongoose is usually silent, and communicates mood and status through tail movements.

These two little fellows paid us a visit at our tent, and entertained us with the antics… Son naturally had to feed them, so we had less to eat….

Bat-eared Fox.. Kalahari Gemsbok Park.

The bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) is a canid of the African savannah, named for its large ears.

The bat-eared fox , also referred to as big-eared fox, black-eared fox, and cape fox, has tawny fur with black ears, legs and parts of the pointed face. It averages 55 cm in length (head and body), with ears 13 cm long.

The bat-eared fox commonly occur in short grass lands as well as the more arid regions of the savannah. In addition to raising their young in dens, bat-eared foxes use self-dug dens for shelter from extreme temperatures and winds.

The bat-eared fox is an insectivore that uses its large ears to locate its prey. 80–90% of their diet is harvester termites. When this particular species of termite is not available bat-eared foxes feed on other species of termites and have also been observed consuming ants, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, millipedes, moths, scorpions, spiders, and rarely birds, small mammals, and reptiles. The insects they eat fulfil the majority of their water intake needs.

The bat-eared fox is predominantly monogamous. In contrast to other canids, the bat-eared fox has a reversal in parental roles with the male taking on the majority of the parental care behaviour. Females gestate for 60–70 days and give birth to litters consisting of 1 to 6 pups. Beyond lactation, which lasts 14 to 15 weeks, males take over grooming, defending, huddling, chaperoning, and carrying the young between den sites.

A males job is never done….

Continuing on in the Kalahari Gemsbok Park..

To continue with the trip… our first 50 km we took 4 hours to do… we were on the Twee Rivers Nossob road… lets show you a map to help keep track….. (to see the whole area map, click on it to enlarge….)

We had passed Kij Kij and had heard from a fellow visitor there where Lion at Melk vlei…. this required a bit more speed but we must have been too late.. so a stop at the picnic spot was called for….

Now just to give you an idea of the feel of this park, there are no fences around the picnic spot, so before you alight from your vehicle, you tend to check to see if there is anything around that might want to make a snack of you… nothing there unfortunately, so we used the toilets… Remembering to close the entry door so you don’t get a visit whilst doing your thing…. mind you the appearance of a lion peeping at you, could work well as a laxative…..

With everyone feeling better and after partaking in a little sustenance,  we were on our way up to Dikbaardskolk and then over to Kamqua for an eventual stop at the Kalahari Tented Camp our home for the night…. and these are a few things we saw on the way (remember I will be doing photo posts of these sightings in detail later on)… enjoy an entrée…

And then we found him.. or should I say them…. BIG and MEAN… now I’m talking nonsense, lovely looking, healthy and beautiful….in his prime.. Can’t wait to show you more of these photos…

MAN I HOPE WE REACH THE CAMP SOON – SEE YOU TOMORROW…..