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The African Fish Eagle – An African Magnificence

African Fish Eagle

The fish eagle is the national symbol of many African countries and finds itself stuck on most of the historical flags. Why this loud bird is so favored is a mystery since the list of other birds of prey is endless. The answers are not definite nor conclusive especially if one has not seen this bird visually. Attempts to answer the question lie in the imagination and narration of one who is mesmerized by the huge eagle through a defined description of its features.

The fish Eagle is a large fish hunter with white feathers stretching from the shoulder to the head up to the nostril at the demarcation where the yellowish strong hooked black tipped bill ends, just slightly below the eye. Below the shoulder comes the  brown/black feathers  running all the way to the tip of the wings. The under parts constituting the belly and the breast are russet, while the upper back reveals the white V-shape which narrows to the centre of the back. The wing is sliced underneath into two colors representing the russet belly to the front and brown/ black  at its back and this can be seen when the bird stretches its wings or in flight. The legs are yellow, with conspicuous scales while the black sharp talons tell the story of what they can do when the eagle is in action. The tail feathers are white, adding the surface area for the white color which is used to reflect heat from the blazing sun during long hours of patiently waiting  for prey to avail the best chances for it to successfully charge and make a kill. It has black Eyes of an efficient skilled killer designed to pull images closer in binocular fashion that has made it a name through spotting slight movements of fish in the water. Combined with accurate judgment of distance the fish eagle rarely missed its target.

Knowing what the bird looks like and its potentialities as a hunter is not enough! Getting a story on what the African Fish Eagle did in one good August afternoon at Susuwe Island Lodge in the Bwabwata National Park will create the great appreciation and respect for the bird. Our guests on this particular game-drive were not really birding, but they loved birds and found pleasure in stopping and watching every little or big beautiful bird. We had seen from the little Grey backed warbler, rattling cisticola, plovers, doves spur fowl, ducks, up to vultures,  stocks and many more from the more than 300 species of birds that can be seen in the area. This gave all the feeling of accomplishment- what a great day! While we were settling in for our sundowners at Little Serengeti, we picked up a little image of white up on the summit of a tree and suddenly fumbled for the binoculars. Some said it was a white egret, others said it was a heron,stork etc. While we were all still wondering what bird it was, the whole image shot out of the tree with great speed and hissed towards the River Kwando waters. In one swift movement the bird dipped its yellow legs with  a loud splash into the water while opening its talons and emerged with a wriggling 900 grams Zambezi bream. What a striking moment for all of us! No one had a doubt that it was indeed the African Fish Eagle. What a beauty! We watched the bird gracefully flap its wings while ferrying its quarry further south until it perched again on another tree and started pecking on it steadily with its sharp bill. This was the moment of the day, and in all of us this was an experience not to forget. Yes we had seen a kill more so from such a majestic bird of prey. It was beauty and the bird and not the beast, adding to the splendors and surprises at Susuwe Island Lodge.

The beginning of the story quickly flowed back into mind and many questions were answered, that such extreme beauty of a bird was more than attractive. Who would not want to see such a wonder bird, and who on this earth would not want to have the Fish Eagle on their Logo or emblem of the country. The Fish Eagle lives by the Kwando River with the spirit of excellence as a predator among others and represents true African magnificence above beauty, both of which it obviously possesses without prejudice.

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It has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that snakes can kill and eat other snakes for so many reasons, some linked to inter/intra-specific competition and others much to do with the predatory instincts based on being opportunistic in their methods of acquiring food. Cannibalism of killing and eating one’s own kind or relation is amazing, more so it has to go against the ethics of fair survival and subsistence and such a sight of species interacting that way can be shocking if not interesting. Observing a fight between two snake individuals trying to bite and introduce venom in each the other is like watching heavy weight wrestlers attempt to catch the other by surprise using speed and accuracy. At the beginning of February, 2010 we had a wonderful observation of an Egyptian Cobra and Puff-Adder fight at the Old Bushman School in the Bwabwata National Park.

There were several thrusts by both snakes which resulted in misses. The Egyptian cobra measuring 2 meters swayed from side to side and ducked away when the Puff Adder made attempts to strike. The shorter, stout but sluggish Puff Adder obviously new that it was facing a much superior and bigger predator cousin than itself and needed to stand firm and fight for its life. After some 5 minutes the Puff Adder finally took a decision to turn around and run, a big mistake which the cobra was waiting for. In a swift movement the cobra struck the puff Adder at the upper part of the tail and although the adder tried to retaliate, it proved too slow. The cobra quickly took advantage of the shocked adder and started swallowing it from the tip of the tail until three quarters of it had disappeared into the cobra. I felt very sorry for the cobra for once upon a time I had watched another cobra killing and prematurely swallowing a puff-adder, being bitten from inside resulting in the mortality of both snakes in less than an hour. This particular cobra seemed to be hearing me from my silent talk and quickly regurgitated the puff adder. He slowly moved to the head of the adder, probably to try and check its consciousness which was a wise thing to do and saved the cobra’s life for a moment. On just getting close to the adder’s head, the cobra had to sway back hastily to avoid two strikes from the adder. This was astonishing, for after 30 minutes one would have thought the adder had passed the stage of paralysis and maybe in rigor mortis. Another car came by and its vibrations forced the cobra to flee into the bushes, leaving the puff adder just as still as ice. There was now a worry that maybe the cobra would not turn back to finish off the mission and the poor puff adder’s fate would not have saved any purpose as far as nature is supposed to take its own course is concerned.

The other car went by, to avoid running over the puff adder who just by looking at it one would presume almost dead. Dead silence now prevailed with the other vehicle gone and observation of these ophidians continued. It was shocking to see the Puff Adder start moving, rolling itself onto the track road, stopping for a moment and wriggling slowly as if finally dying. As it continued to push as if in labor, a huge clump of black droppings came out with a splash of uric acid. This was probably a method of its body system trying to get rid of the cobra’s venom. After this the cobra then moved on slowly on the sand, tried to move out of the track a few times but lost balance as it was tired and in big pain. Suddenly the Egyptian Cobra reappeared from the bushes, searched everywhere for its prey, getting lost almost frequently and finally picking up the scent from the last spot it had left the puff adder. The cobra smoothly pushed itself over the sand and followed the puff adder that he finally could not find. When the cobra was about 2 meters from catching the adder, the adder got to some hot sand which forced it to put effort to exit the road into the nearest bushes. Just before the cobra realized that its prey had faced another difficulty, it also found itself in the same catastrophe! The cobra wriggled around and quickly thrust itself out of the road and disappeared into the bushes. After some 10 minutes, the cobra came back to the road but far ahead of where the Puff Adder was hiding obviously having lost the scent to keep on following its prey. The cobra then went to the different side of the road and probably still intending to carry on searching for the puff adder. This was an hour and a half of observation and it had to stop at that moment. When the vehicle passed by, the puff adder lay still and breathed heavily, a sign that it was struggling. If the cobra finally found puff adder then its own life would have been saved. It would then consume the adder at a time when it could be dead or so week not to respond.

When this happens always one gets that satisfaction of seeing nature do the best it can to shape or deface itself without man’s interference for its own benefit. The Bwabwata National Park is one wildlife sanctuary where a visitor can still expect to see such interactions unfold because of its being entirely natural.

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A jungle without a King is like an abandoned Palace and the throne is just devoid. This is a stead-fast belief in any community that deserves dignity, stability and continuity. The Bwabwata National Park was not an exception a few years back when human pressure had caused many wildlife species to disappear. Truly, the King of the Jungle ‘The African lion’ is among the species that were forced to the margin without doubt. For 10 years the Bwabwata National Park lions have not been very visual except for some calls and a few tracks to mark their presence. This has changed overwhelmingly resulting in frequent sightings of different individuals and prides that have now become a common sight at Susuwe Island Lodge and the famous Horseshoe Bend. The King of the Jungle has finally come to claim back his Throne in full force, all confirmed by the observations that follow.

Kathy Rabkin our recent guest had a feast of lion sightings. Soon after picking her up from Kongola Check Point, we drove into the Park without any inclination on what surprise waited for us ahead. Of course this was Kathy’s first time in Bwabwata and a very rustic Conservation area compared to others she has visited before, and this she loved and confessed repeatedly.

The storm had just passed by and the wet sand made our tracks on the road like a high-way. Soon as we arrive at Old Fort Doppies we picked up fresh tracks of what we all agreed was 4 male lions and the fact that the storm had only passed some 15 minutes back, experience plus instinct told us that the animals were just around. We drove further up the embankment and as we reached up the peak, suddenly two lions walked away into the bushes. The other two had obviously walked ahead of the two we could see. We gave the lions time to settle down so that we could verify the numbers and gender. Four individuals came back to the road in turns but went back into the bushes when we started the vehicle. Suddenly all the lions started calling as a result selling out the presence of the fifth individual who was still behind us. We had to drive back to look for him but he hid and then came onto the road behind us. On our way back there he was, running towards the rest in a gentle trot. Alas! This proved to be the biggest of all the males, with his glistening mane shinning as if oiled from the saloon. He stood and looked back, walked, stopped and looked again before disappearing into the bushes. We stayed with the lions for the next 45 minutes as they walked on the road towards Susuwe Island Lodge. The sun was going down and soon it would be dark, meaning we had to leave and leave our dear friends until the next day. I was happy for Kathy since this was her first lions seen so close in the wild.

Kathy was warmly welcomed at the Lodge whilst she still could not believe how quickly the whole drama unveiled. The lions roared over the whole night while baboons and monkeys responded with highly pitched calls of fear for their lives.

During the following day we had to go on an Afternoon Game Drive. We switched our game-drive to birding, termites and bones of animals although we did not take off the thought about our magnificent male lions. We picked up tracks of a female lion and a cub at Nambwa and I told Kathy that the two will be at Horse-shoe. Yes but not quite right! Just on arrival at Horse-shoe we sighted a sub-adult male and sub-adult female who were ambushing impala but abandoned the mission and ran to the nearest bushes. Kathy had all the luck for the Susuwe Predators and made sure it also crossed a female cheetah who lazily relaxed at a termite mound under a sweet thorn acacia tree.

We came back to horse-shoe for a lovely sunset with the hippos, baboons, kudu, impala and Hadida Ibis. What a wonderful sunset!

On our way back to the lodge we took the back road from Horse-shoe in an attempt to look for leopard but unfortunately we got back to the main drive road without any signs of the elusive cat. As we enter the main drive road, we again picked up fresh tracks of 4 male lions that were heading towards to Horse-shoe having walked on top of our previous tracks. Even though it was getting dark, we were enticed to turn around and follow them. Just 3 minutes after that they were on the road. They stared at the vehicle and then just slowly walked into the bushes. We drove closer and had a full view of all the four. We realized the lions were marking and probably trying to catch up with the pride of females. This is a good indication that our Bwabwata National Park lions at Susuwe Island lodge now have a strengthened gene pool and have discovered this space for ever, ensuring high probability of our guests having a great experience and viewing of them. This will give a complete consortium of Africa’s Big Cats being sighted at Susuwe since leopard and cheetah now feature very well in the area.

We bid Kathy Farewell and she obviously would have wanted to stay longer to share even more of the Susuwe magic. We had to drop her to Kongola Check-Point and drove back with the memories of her and the company she gave us over the past three days, and the lions.

Long live the King of the Jungle of the Bwabwata National Park at Susuwe wild Kingdom!

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At Susuwe we have had a really fantastic winter as far as game experience and sightings are concerned. On every golden morning and diamond afternoon our excellent guides together with our deserving guests have had the opportunity to enjoy the Bwabwata National Park in all aspects, the moderate weather, clear skies, remarkable fresh African bush smells, exceptional landscapes and flora. Above all the bliss has been the consistently out of this world game sightings making Susuwe and the Park one of Africa’s major theatres.

Our guests have been blessed to have an average of 2 sightings of leopard per week, a good sign the population of this species is stable and probably on the increase in the area due to exponentially growing population of antelopes e.g. impala, Greater kudu, red lechwe and water buck. The dry season movement of hundreds of buffalo into the Bwabwata has had an influence with different nomadic lion prides flocking to the area. The local prides which had a wide home range are now frequently seen, a good sign their area of traverse is now subjected to limits because of other prides trying to extend their territories into the Bwabwata. Our lion sightings have improved by more than 50% over winter and they still remain good up to now, with a few females showing signs of denning. Three big male lions who possibly could be brothers/ cousins have been in the area for the past three months and seem to have declared themselves as being in charge of the territory. Among other cats sighted in the area are caracal, African wild cat and cheetah.

The canid population in the area is impressive, with hyena featuring through calls in the night. Due to lion presence, there have been good sightings of hyena in the mornings as they are kept busy while competing for meals. Wild dogs have been sighted a couple of times, whilst in transit, and the tracks have been seen many a time indicating that they are also around.

Huge herds of elephant have been a daily occasion with herds of between 20 and 200 elephant together. These majestic creatures of the wild have so much contribution in shaping the habitat for other species and seeing them live while interacting with the rest of the game and vegetation gives an amazing feeling.

The winter period at Bwabwata had so much to offer above the game sightings. The birdlife, insects, reptiles and the beautiful night skies have given the guest their lifetime memories of Susuwe. The boat cruises have been also beyond excellent, with beautiful sunsets and the sight of the numerous hippopotamus  and Crocodiles of the Kwando River.

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The Lions had been spotted the previous day by Beavan who had initially seen the vultures hovering in the sky about 5km’s SW from Horseshoe. He decided to follow the vultures and sure enough – he was rewarded with three lionesses on a buffalo kill – about 60m from the road and with an unobstructed view. When I returned the next day with all our guests… the three lionesses were still there, although there was a young male who had joined the group. He must have been there the whole time but had not been seen the day before. What was amazing to see was that all the lions were in such fantastic condition. They were truly a sight to behold!

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We had just passed Long Lagoon on a drive with our two guests. We were lucky enough to be able to join them as the camp was quiet that day and there were no other guests. Phourie had once told me of a previous leopard spotting in that area and so I had my eyes glued to the bush. Sure enough, luck struck and I spotted a small female leopard walking right next to the road. When she spotted us, she lay down in the short grass giving us a good two minutes to appreciate her beauty. She then got up again and walked over a thicket and out of sight.

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 As the sun was rising over the horizon, the still, quiet of the early morning was shattered by the cries and laughs of the pack of hyenas who were trying to distract the pride of lions which had stalked and finally killed a buffalo. As soon as we were able to get out on a vehicle, we went in search of the lion kill. We were following the cries and the tracks of the hyenas, but were unable to catch a glimpse of the lions or the hyenas for that matter…

It was early evening when we received a radio call from Bevan. We all waited in anticipation as Phourie answered the radio. We were convinced that the other vehicle had found the lions. We were wrong, he had not found lions, but instead a pack of wild dogs had made their way down to Horseshoe bend. We raced to the scene and were able to catch a glimpse of a pack of wild dogs just finishing off a meal of impala. They were a little hesitant to come out of hiding at first. We decided to sit tight and see what happened. We were rewarded with a fantastic sighting as all the dogs made their way out of hiding and proceeded to finish off their meal a few meters from the vehicle. We sat watching them for as long as 30 minutes or so. This pack of wild dogs is quite elusive and we were very lucky to have seen them, especially on a kill. They were very relaxed which made for a brilliant sighting.

Wild Dog after impala kill

More wild dog after Impala kill

After seeing the wild dogs we were sure that nothing more would be seen on our drive back to the lodge, but we were very mistaken. The last thing we expected was to see lion as they had been so elusive the past few days. It was dark as we made our way back along the sandy roads and as we turned a bend the spotlight fell on two young lions lying in the road. We were all very excited. The lions moved off the road and walked past us to carry on walking down the road. We turned around and continued to follow them down the road. In the end there were six young lions in the pride all walking single file down the center of the road. We followed them until they again disappeared in the thick bush and were gone.

Lions on night drive

Young male lion on night drive

All six of the lions had full stomachs, so we imagine that they had made their way from their buffalo kill and were patrolling their newly claimed territory. Hopefully they will make the park their new home and we will be able to see them more often than in previous months. 

As always there were plenty of elephants around. We encountered a number of breeding herds with plenty of young ones. A few of the mothers were a little grumpy with us being there, so we had a look and moved on so as not to agitate them any further.

A few of the young bulls were trying to show us who’s boss, by kicking up the dust and giving us a few mock charges. But in the end the vehicle ruled the roost.

Male Elephant

Male Elephant kicking up dust

 

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