Alzu Petroport

Location: Middelburg, South Africa
Address: N4, Alzu Petroport,
Date: October 2018
Website:  www.alzu.co.za

  We left Johannesburg and we were headed towards Kruger National Park.  We were still more than half way to our destination when our tour group stopped for refuelling at Alzu Petroport.  So far we had not seen any large mammals on our trip and did not expect to see any until we were closer to the Kruger boundary.  What awaited for us at the rest stop was very unexpected.

  Behind the rest stop was a large watering hole surrounded by animals.

  The closest animals to us was a group of southern white rhinoceros.  Sadly all of these rhinos had been dehorned due to the poaching threat.  Don't worry the horns will grow back in a few years.

  The Petroport has a small museum set up explaining the plight of the rhino.  In the photo above there is a hippo skull on the left and a rhino skull on the right.

  Rhinos are hunted mainly for their horns.  The horns are made of keratin like our toes and fingernails.  Killing a rhino for their horn is like killing a person in order to clip their toenails.

  The Petroport also has a lot of artwork around the grounds.  There was a large rhinoceros sculpture outside.

  On our way to the washrooms there was a beautiful rhino mosaic on the wall.  This mosaic was sponsored by Nando's which was one of the restaurants in the Petroport.

  After visiting the facilities we came outside again onto a balcony.  Below us was a charging elephant bursting forth from the gift shop.  From the balcony we could get a better view of the animals.
 

  We could see cape buffalo as well as a group of eland (above).

  Far back along the fence was a group of antelope called red hartebeest. 

  For some reason there was an emu.  Emu are native to Australia.  Emu are the second largest bird in the world after the African ostrich.

  We also saw a few smaller birds like this cape sparrow which flew onto the fence.

  Greater striped swallow swirled around above our heads.

  As our tour group prepared to depart we had to leave these animals and the very entertaining Petroport behind.   We spotted a triangular spotted pigeon up in the rafters as we left the balcony.  Soon we would be spotting wildlife in the Greater Kruger area.  We never did see any wild rhinos, but hope that there will still be some to see when we have a chance to return.

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Map of Our World

Alzu Petroport

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Post # 234

Something Smells At The Zoo

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  2000 Meadowvale Road
Date: Sept 2018
Website: www.torontozoo.com

  Many people head to the Toronto Zoo for the sights and sounds of the animals.  What is often unexpected is the smell.

  The former gaur exhibit wins top prize for the stinkiest exhibit.  Nothing like a small, closed house filled with the largest bovines in the world.  Many a visitor would open the door just to recoil from the wall of stench.  "Eeeewwww!!" cried the children.

By the way it is pronounced "gow-er".  We always used to call them "gar" like in cigar. 

  Other contenders for worst smell are the marmosets.  In the Americas Pavilion you can find a group of these tiny primates.  While you might share your exhibit with sloth, saki, and double-striped thicknee, when it comes to smell we are looking at you common marmosets.  What gives these little guys such a big smell anyway?

  We visited the zoo recently for a special olfactory reason.  A titan arum or corpse flower was in bloom.  This flower may bloom for anywhere from 8 to 36 hours.  We had seen these plants before in Niagara Falls.

  When a titan arum is in bloom it smells much like a rotting corpse.  This helps attract the bugs that help it pollinate.  The zoo had some of these beetles out on display.  We were also attracted to seeing the corpse flower in bloom.  Finally, Thursday evening the bloom was on.  We were not able to visit until Friday night.  Good thing we did as by Saturday the show was over.  The zoo extended its hours for those wishing to see and of course smell the plant.

 We lined up and moved slowly forward until we entered the greenhouse where the plant was on display.  Suddenly there it was.  We didn't even smell it coming.

  The titan arum plant usually looks like the tall green plant on the left.  Once every 4 or 5 years it produces a flower.  The flower at the Toronto Zoo grew to be almost 43 inches tall.  It was named Pablo “Pe-ew” Caso.

  When it was our turn the staff was letting us get right up close to really get the scent.  We leaned in and took a long breath in through our noses.  Not much.  Just a faint unpleasantness.  A staff member we chatted with told us that first thing in the morning it had been downright offensive.  With the greenhouse door open to visitors all day and the bloom fading, the smell had dwindled.

 In the African Pavilion the gorillas sometimes have a strong scent coming from their exhibit.  It is probably just Charles letting us know that this is his domain.  After over 40 years at the zoo Charles, we know you are large and in charge.  The zoo had grains of paradise growing in the greenhouse.  The plant acts as an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory for the gorillas.

A hockey bag mid season?  A dead mouse under your porch in the summer?  The gaur pavillion?  Maybe if we had been there when it first bloomed the titan arum may have been the strongest smell at the zoo.  We still give our vote to the gaur, but we have got our noses on you too little marmosets.

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Map of Our World
Toronto Zoo (Indo-Malaya Pavilion) , Toronto Zoo (Americas Pavilion) , Toronto Zoo (African Rainforest Pavilion) , Toronto Zoo (Gaur Pavilion)
Toronto Zoo Greenhouse

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Post # 227

Snowy Day At The Leslie Spit

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  1 Leslie Street
Date: April 2018
Website: www.tommythompsonpark.ca

  Snowy Owls are large white owls that spend most of their lives up in the Arctic.  They are usually found in Alaska and the territories of Canada.  We traveled to Churchill, Manitoba which is almost as far north as Nunavut and hoped that we might see one there.  We were not so lucky.  They breed even further north still, even as far as the top of Greenland.  In the winter they do come south and this is when you might see them in southern Ontario.  We had heard that some owls were out on the Leslie Spit in Tommy Thompson Park so we went to try and spot one.

  It gets very cold out on the spit which juts out into Lake Ontario so most people don't get too far in the winter.  Snowy owls like the terrain out there as it reminds them of the Arctic tundra they usually call home.  Since snowy owls are almost completely white it is very hard to spot them in the snow.  It is still a difficult task even when the snow has gone.  This photo could have contained an owl but it is just a tree stump.

  Owls do like to perch on something where they can survey their territory.  In the photo above a seagull is doing the exact same thing an owl might do.  Sorry seagulls, but we already see you everywhere we go by the lake.

  On our first very cold outing we didn't see any owls.  We did see a poor duck who had possibly fallen prey to an owl, or one of the other raptors like a hawk or falcon that frequent the spit.

  On our second attempt we came across a photographer who had seen an owl up near the end of the spit.  We decided it was worth braving the cold to catch a glimpse of these beautiful birds.  It takes up to an hour to walk to the end of the spit and then the same time to get back again.  We made it all the way to the end but we didn't see any owls.  We suspect that the owls saw us.

  While we didn't get to see owls we did get a different view of Toronto.  At this point we were further into Lake Ontario than the Toronto Islands.   In this photo above you can see the Toronto skyline behind the Island trees.

  The third time is the charm.  Once again we saw a photographer with a large, zoom camera.  We asked if they had seen anything exciting.  "There was a snowy owl" they said.   They kindly told us that they had seen it just beyond the floating bridge.  The floating bridge is usually a good spot to see swans, geese and ducks.

Sorry swans, geese and ducks but today it is all about the owls.

  Luck was with us as not too far past the bridge on a long, curved branch sat a female snowy owl.  Adult females have the dark barred pattern, while the adult males are almost completely white.

 

  We spent a good deal of time watching the owl watching out across the spit.  Unfortunately, we are not designed to sit happily in the cold winds that blow across the lake and decided we must head back.

  We took one more look back at the owl.  You might be able to spot it in the two curved branches on the left of the tree above.

  We were headed back to the warmth of the city.  Soon spring will be here and the owls will leave and head back to the cold of the Arctic.  Thanks for spending some time down here with us.

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Map of Our World
Leslie Spit

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Post # 213

Witless Bay (Birds, Whales & Ice)

Location: Bay Bulls, Newfoundland, Canada
Address:  90 Northside Rd
Date: June 2017
Website: gatheralls.com

  People go to Newfoundland for many reasons.  Three popular reasons are puffins, whales and icebergs.  If your timing is right you can arrive in Newfoundland right when all three seasons cross.  Iceberg season usually peaks in May.  The birds returning from the sea reach their peak in July and the whale population peaks just after that.   Between June and July if you are lucky you can catch the triple play.

  We took a boat tour with Gatherall's based out of Bay Bulls, Newfoundland.  Bay Bulls is the closest port to Witless Bay.  We had hoped to see the triple play while in Newfoundland and we hit a home run on our first outing.  The first thing you will see along the coast is the huge cliffs and rocks revealing their layers of history as they jut out into the sea.

THE BIRDS

  We spent a great deal of time admiring the cliffs, but what we came for was the wildlife.

  Before our boat tour had even begun we were treated to northern gannets flying by.  These birds have a long sleek body that changes from white to yellow near their head.  They have bright blue eyes.

  Gannets will fly high over the water and when they spot a fish they will dive bomb straight down and capture their prey.  In order to do this they have special adaptations so that they do not get a concussion when entering the water.  Their nostrils are located inside their beak instead of on the exterior and more importantly, they have special air pockets in their heads and chest which reduce the impact as they hit the surface of the water.

  As the boat moved further along the coast, we were treated to a bald eagle soaring overhead.  Our guide also pointed out some black guillemot and we managed to catch a glimpse as they hurried past.  Black guillemot are black birds with red legs and a white patch on their wings.

  The Witless Bay Ecological Reserve is made up of four islands.  They are Gull, Great, Green and Pee Pee.  During breeding season there could be well over a million birds in the area. We were headed to Gull Island and as we drew closer the birds made their presence known.  Soon the sky was filled with little black dots as if a swarm of bugs surrounded us.  Everywhere you looked birds were landing in the water or flying back and forth from the island they call home.

  On Gull Island the birds crowd in for space.  The common murre (above) were packed very tight for space and breeding season had not yet reached its peak.  As one may expect from so many birds in such a tight space there is a lot of waste and yes we could smell it.  They don't waste space but waste in their space.  The murre lay eggs which are very pointy as this allows the bulkier end of the egg to stay up and out the build-up on the cliff face.

  There are over 260,000 puffins that spend almost their entire year at sea and only return here for overcrowded breeding.

  Immature puffins will not return for several years after birth until they are able to breed themselves.  The puffin has a distinctive colourful beak and puffy cheeks which make it the favourite bird on the tour.

  Other birds included the black-legged kittiwake which looks very similar to a regular seagull.  Seagulls normally have pink or yellow legs so if you see a seagull with black ones, it is probably a kittiwake.

  Common murre are also know as common guillemot.  The breeding plumage around their eyes makes it look as if they are wearing glasses.  One would image that with thousands of almost identical birds on the cliffs, the process of finding your mate when you return would require all of your senses.

  Razorbills are also black and white, but have a white line along their beak. The razorbills seemed to be far out numbered by the puffins and murres of Gull Island.

 THE WHALES
   

  As we spent our time watching little birds fly over our heads, the whales did not want to be forgotten.  A white shadow beneath the surface passed under the boat.

  A humpback whale took a breath and then dove back down below the surface.

  As the boat headed into the bay a smaller minke whale also made a brief appearance.

 THE ICE

  While ducking the little birds of Gull Island we saw something floating in the distance.

   This was an iceberg that had likely travelled from Greenland to wind its way around Newfoundland.   It has been slowly melting the whole time as it made its journey.

  The blue veins would be filled with pure glacial water and made a beautiful pattern across the berg.  Now we had seen it all.  After enjoying the natural beauty, the only thing left to do was be screeched in.  A soggy foot, a wet puffin doll in the face and a mouth full of rum later and we were now true Newfoundlanders.

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Map of Our World
Gatherall's Puffin & Whale Watch , Witless Bay

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Post # 207