Water Hyenas

Following my last blog on Rubondo Island’s small wonders, I was yet again lucky to visit this “Jurassic Park”. Unfortunately, it was work related but nevertheless I did have plenty of opportunities to explore the lakeshores by the Rubondo Island Camp on boat every evening. 

This time the spotted necked otters (Lutra maculicollis) captivated my fascination.  Otter is derived from old English and Indo European root words that also gave rise to the English word for water. Fisi maji or "water hyenas" in Swahili.  They are usually found with slim bodied, short legs, white markings on underside of neck and chest, webbed hands and feet, claws on all four limbs & long tapering tail slightly flattened top to bottom. Their fur offers superior insulation. Otters do not have blubber as seals do to keep themselves warm. Otters are near sighted thus adopting themselves for underwater vision. They have long whiskers (vibrissae), which aid in finding fish in musky waters.

They were not that difficult to find. As they say patience is the virtue. I was blessed with sightings of females with offspring; adolescent groups and male groups were also seen in a stance of 4 days. I was not that fortunate to get clear photographs whilst on board, as the evening waves on the shoreline tend to be fierce. Although I did get to draw a quick sketch, while enjoying the sightings.

Once again, it is small wonders like these that make Rubondo such a rewarding place for me to visit. I cannot wait to get back and explore.

Akil Halai – 1^st July – 5^th July 2015

Rewarding Rubondo‬

Rubondo Island on the Lake Victoria is not only fascinating for its Nile perch fishing, its introduced population of chimps or its beautiful birdlife. It has a wide range of smaller animals that you don't see on a normal safari. Few tourists and guests are actually privileged to have visited the island because the island's attractions are more low-key and esoteric than those often visited savannah parks. This is changing dramatically nowadays. Visitors want more on offer. They have already seen the big and usual wildlife, and now crave for more. In this case unique places such as Rubondo are now up-market and slowly coming into picture. They definitely do offer spectacular need-to-see game.

On my recent trip to Rubondo Island Camp, i had a chance to tick off some animals I had waited to see for a long time. Watching the behavior of these animals was fascinating and so much worth the time i spent. The road along the park headquarters to the swampy Mlaga bay every evening had a high concentration of colorful butterflies and the serrated hinged Terrapins, especially after it rained in the mornings. The serrated hinged terrapins (Pelusios sinuatus) is a species of turtles in the Pelomedusidae family. They are only found in tropical East Africa in lakes and rivers. I spent many evenings watching them bask in mud banks and puddles on the roads made by wheel tracks. I was even lucky to see a clever one on the back of a hippo. They usually eat water snails, soft-weed and insects. The female terrapins are larger than the males with a carapace of up to 55cm long. Males can also be distinguished from the females by their longer tails. For defense, the hinged plastron closes to protect the head and forelimbs, and the terrapin also secretes a foul odor when threatened.

We had seen many female terrapins having laid their eggs in the puddles. They usually lay from seven unto twenty two eggs. They are also quite near to the water. Google states that, they usually lay their eggs from October to January. Cute hatchlings come to life from March-April. We had to actually zigzag on the track to make sure we didn't drive over any terrapin or its eggs.

Rubondo, was once again rewarding.

Lush slopes of the mighty Usambara and Pare eastern arc mountain ranges

I have been to this park a number of times now. 4 to be exact. I just love everything about this beautiful park. Placed under the lush slopes of the mighty Usambara and Pare Eastern Arc Mountain ranges and overseen by highest peak of Africa – the Kilimanjaro, Mkomazi a astounding beauty exhibiting unique natural treasures and spectacular landscapes of hilly semi – arid savannah. I have before hand witnessed many stunning & picturesque sightings, which include – a stripped sand snake feeding on a green-winged Pitilia, An ECG feeding on a red-billed Hornbill, 2 different cheetah sighting’s (one with mother & cub), plenty of oryx, elands and gerenuks, other browsers and not to forget to mention more than 170 different species of birds. It is a fantastic destination for birders, with more than 450 avian species recorded, among them dry – country endemics such as the cobalt – chested vulturine guineafowl, other large ground birds such as ostrich, kori bustard, secretary bird, ground hornbill and some migratory species including Eurasian Roller and the Northern Carmine & European Bee-eaters.

I attached herewith photos from my latest trip in February ’14 accompanied by a good friend and guide Lorenzo Rossi.

All photos copyright @ Akil Halai - All rights reserved

Rubondo Island – Lake Victoria - Treasure Island

God has kept this secret sanctuary only for special people. From the landing to takeoff everything about this unique place is mystic. Landing on the grass runway with a champagne welcome – classy.

A deep forest covers most of the park, providing a diversity of wildlife habitats ranging from savannah, open woodland, swamps to dense forest. These habitats form a home for various wild creatures such as sitatunga (also endemic to the Gombe ecosystem), bushbucks, velvet monkeys, genet cats, spotted necked otters, hippopotamus and crocodiles which share the ecological niches with introduced species such as chimpanzees, elephants, giraffes, black & white colobus monkeys, suni and African grey parrots. The Island holds a variety of migratory birds from different parts of the planet. This is the best time to sight them. It truly is a birder’s paradise!

The chimps are yet again to be rehabilitated. Between 1966 and 1969, 17 chimpanzees had been captured in the wild and then spent various amounts of time in European zoos. Later on they were released in Rubondo. Now there is a healthy population of chimpanzees (we don’t have the exact numbers), and it is likely that there now is a second generation of Rubondo-born primates. Asilia, through many projects are helping out with this enormous task.

The Rubondo Island Lodge (Asilia), is a place camouflaged perfectly for such a habitat. It has all you possibly need. From friendly staff to good food, you wont go wrong with this choice. The activities are plenty to choose from. Sport fishing (catch and release), walking trails & hikes, guided game drives, boating safaris, canoe safaris, bird-watching, forest walks, chimps trekking or relaxing by the lake – this beautifully set-up lodge has everything to offer. Henk & Janine are very experienced and wonderful company to be with. Henk with his fishing expertise & Janine with her broad wildlife knowledge will keep you busy throughout. There is so much to see here. Days will fly by without realizing its time to leave. After wonderful bird sightings & walks assisted by Habibu, our very knowledgeable guide and fellow bird-watcher, it wasn’t easy to bid farewell to this small & un-spoilt paradise.

I will surely be back.

For more info: Contact: www.asiliaafrica.com

Akil Halai – 26.01.14

All photos copyright. All rights reserved.