Indeed, it's just a shame that I didn't get better video than this, although perhaps with better video editing software, I could improve this I don't know, my photos are rather better, a very special bird to see.
There are 2 different species of african buffalo in this national park like Central African buffalos and forest buffalos but they live in mix herds which is very surprising and extremely rare
I am no expert, but I think that they are a distinct local subspecies of African Buffalo, that has evolved over a very long period of time from the mixing of Forest and Savanna Buffaloes. When I first visited Zakouma in 2014, my understanding was that they are Central African Savannah Buffaloes (Syncerus caffer aequinoctialis), but I have also seen them lumped together with the West African Savannah Buffalo (Svncerus caffer Brachyceros), I’ve stuck with the name Central African Buffalo because that is what I have always known them as. Within one herd, you can find individuals that look a lot like Cape Buffaloes and then ones that look a lot like Forest Buffaloes and a range of different colours, in general they are smaller than Cape Buffaloes and larger than Forest Buffaloes. I've not seen West African Savanna Buffaloes but they do also come in a similar mix of colours, they also exhibit a mix of horn sizes and shapes, Forest Buffaloes which I have seen are usually light brown or red brown and have very noticeably smaller horns that sweep back to make moving in rainforest easier. Since African Parks took on Zakouma, the population has recovered and grown so well that early this year, they captured 900 buffaloes and moved them to nearby Siniaka-Minia National Park, where animal populations are still very low. I have 3 albums of photos from Zakouma on Flickr here’s a link to the most recent one, if you want to see photos of more of Chad's wildlife, www.flickr.com/photos/24544467@N02/albums/72177720297325067
Yes I am afraid they are endangered because of the illegal pet trade, poachers in order to catch young macaws will sometimes cut down the trees that they nest in, as they nest in large holes this can be major problem, the chicks are stolen and the adults are then left without any suitable nest trees, as the all the ones with holes have gone. These particular macaws in this area I think, mostly nest on cliffs, so loss of nest trees isn't a problem, in other areas if there aren't enough nest trees, they will nest in boxes put up for them. They are feeding on palm fruits, this is their natural diet, but in this case the fruits have been collected in sacks and then put down to attract the birds, so that tourists can photograph them from a hide/blind, the owner/manager of this set up, used to be an illegal trapper, now he is protecting the macaws and making an honest living from wildlife tourism In areas that are visited by tourists the birds are usually doing okay, landowners won't allow trappers onto their land.
Thanks, I’m glad you like it, standing at Molly’s Bar on the Thursday evening after first walking in, it seemed very strange to be back and thinking that nothing had changed, and still feeling that on the Sunday night, the same great festival, same old WOMAD that I’d enjoyed in 2019 and back to 07 when it first moved to Charlton Park.
Thank you for sharing this sweet video of Hyacinths! They are such beauties with those little cute faces! What a treasure to be able to see them like this with your own eyes, in nature. xo
Living in a flock, away from humans and no cage to sleep in, living just like a bird should be. honestly hate that these birds have been seen more often in a household than in the wild
Hi, sable are not that easy to find in Ruaha, they’re most common in the miombo woodland, we found this herd, somewhere that I have to say is a fair way outside the main tourist area of Ruaha, southwest of the old original park boundary, near a place that I believe is called Ilambakitari Mbuga, this is not somewhere many tourists visit, we were camping on the Ruaha River some distance away, you won’t find this place on most maps of Ruaha as they tend to only cover the main tourist area and don’t show the whole park. I have seen Sable in the main tourist area close to Mkwawa Springs and also on a drive towards Lunda. I have an album of photos on Flickr from my most recent visit to Ruaha, when I took this video. www.flickr.com/photos/24544467@N02/albums/72157715313014472
@@inyathi Ok, thank you for your answer. You mean the area around Mpululu? I have tryed to look for them on the road to Lunda but without luck. Never seen roan there etheir but never the less a fantastic place. Katavi also, especially around Ikuu.
You certainly can see Sable up on the escarpment on the road to Mpululu, but they are not that easy to find. You need a fair amount of luck to see Sable in Tanzania, one of the best places I have been, where I’d suggest you are almost guaranteed to see Sable, is Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, they are very common there and are not at all difficult to see. Seeing Roan in Ruaha is a challenge, I have had great views of Roan in Ruaha, but also not seem them at all there, on other visits to the park, on my last visit just before this encounter with the Sable, we had a very distant view of some the other side of a huge mbuga, too far away for photos, Katavi is a much more reliable place for Roan. Otherwise the Busanga Plains area of Kafue National Park in Zambia and Nyika National Park in Malawi are excellent places to see Roan, Zakouma National Park in Chad is another excellent park to see Roan. @@lezigue1714
As you say these antelopes are not easy to see in Tanzania. I have never been to Hwange but I have been a few times in Kafue and I have seen both sables and roans there, I also så a herd of roans when crossing North Luangwa. In Malawi roans a lot and sables in Liwonde. I also saw one male roan in Kasungu np.Talking about unusual sighseing I saw a lesser kudu in Seronera during my last visit.
There could be some truth in that, the particular subspecies of African buffalo found in this region of Central Africa could represent a hybrid population as they possess a mixture of characteristics, they come in a range of colours and some have features typical of forest buffaloes and some features more typical of Cape buffaloes. True forest buffaloes don't occur in Chad, but both forest and savanna buffaloes do occur south of Chad in CAR, it may be that they originated in that area and spread north into Chad and then westwards.
