Bat-eared Fox family

We've been scrutinizing every inch of the Auob riverbed for more than a month. We almost missed them curled up among the fallen branches of a camelthorn..... only the enormous ears exposed them: a pair of bat-eared foxes. In the Kgalagadi, you often see these charismatic little foxes trotting along the riverbed, backs arched, dish-shaped ears pivoted forward. Acting as parabolic reflectors, their ears can amplify the slightest sound, even beetle larvae and harvester termites located deep underground. When it hears something, the fox stops, digs frantically with its forefeet and then chomps triumphantly on a termite. But this pair of foxes have finished foraging for the night. The sun will soon rise over the red dunes flanking the banks of the Auob. A Kalahari Robin strikes up a few tentative notes, announcing the coming dawn. As if responding, the female fox rises, stretches and shakes the dust from her coat. She scans up and down the riverbed before approaching us. We are parked within 5 meters of an old aardvark burrow. The fox approaches the entrance and calls softly. Two black-tipped ears twitch in the first rays of light... a fluffy face peeps at us, eyes blinking, then disappears back into the darkness. We remain motionless. Minutes pass.... Then magically two pups emerge. Legs firmly planted, the female braces herself. The pups attach themselves to her teats, bushy black tails wagging, front paws pummelling her belly to stimulate milk flow. When the female's finished nursing, the male attends to grooming each pup thoroughly and keeping a watchful eye as they charge from one bolt-hole to another, tumbling in the thorny scrub and collapsing in plumes of dust. This is undoubtedly the highlight of our past two months in the Kgalagadi.....  And will keep me busy at the easel for many months!

Lisette

Lisette is the magnificent female cheetah I painted for Judy and Grant McLachlan.  But in February 2006, she was a desperately thin young cub.  Her mother had died tragically and Lisette, along with three siblings, was left to fend for herself in one of the most unforgiving places on the planet. 

 

 

Maybe divine intervention is at work in that desert.  One morning the cubs were slaking their thirst at the waterhole.  I was parked under the acacia at Craig Lockhart, sketching, when a Landcruiser pulled up.  It was none other than Dr Gus Mills, head of Carnivore Conservation EWT.  I’d read every one of his books, beginning with his doctorate on brown spotted hyenas, his Kruger based findings on wild dogs and subsequently his research on behaviour, hunting patterns and reproductive success of cheetahs in the pristine Kalahari ecosystem.  Over a 5 year period, Gus would fit radio collars on a number of cheetahs and compile a comprehensive data base.  Individual cheetahs can be identified by their unique spot patterns, especially inside the limbs.  The first cheetah Gus fitted with a collar for this Kgalagadi Cheetah Project was Lisette and she has remained a stalwart of the project ever since.

 

Today Lisette is a granny.  One of her cubs gave birth to 4 kittens in the dunes on my last night there in February this year.  Gus and Margie left for Oxford in March to write up the findings of their research, but we continue to keep tabs on the cheetahs.  The McClachlans and I are planning a trip early in 2013, hoping to locate Lisette.  For now, she is immortalised in oil, beautifully framed in the McClachlan’s lounge and the lucky newlyweds are on honeymoon....tracking Cape Mountain Leopards at the luxurious Bushmans Kloof.  Cape Leopard Trust has been monitoring these predators in the Cedarberg since the 90s, using GPS collars and camera traps.  Research has revealed surprising data regarding their territories and diet, dispelling many myths about the impact leopards have on livestock and helping researches to implement innovative ways to protect livestock and assist farmers.
 

They’ll be tracking Cape Mountain Leopards at Bushmans Kloof until 29 July, I’ve already started sketching my next cat......

Triptych

Triptych of 9 month old Kgalagadi lion litter mates. Their mother had deserted these three muscateers for 4 days before returning. Gus Mills said they are still too young to fend for themselves, but I’ll never underestimate the instinct to survive after encountering Lisette, featured in my next post.