Common Tree Euphorbia

Euphorbia ingens

The Common Tree Euphorbia, which grows up to 12m tall, is a succulent savanna plant that favours hot and dry areas, often growing on rocky outcrops or in deep sand. In South Africa it is found over most of Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and the North West Province.

The branches of the Common Tree Euphorbia contain a milky latex that is extremely poisonous, causing severe pain and even death if ingested, blindness if it gets in the eyes and terrible irritation of the skin. This is sometimes used as a poison for harvesting fish in rural areas. While it is a beautiful and hardy specimen plant in a garden it should not be used where pets and children may come into contact with it.

Common Tree Euphorbia on a hill between Letaba and Phalaborwa

Common Tree Euphorbia

Common Tree Euphorbias in fruit

Common Tree Euphorbia in fruit

Common Tree Euphorbia

Blennies

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Family Blenniidae

The Blennies are a family of fish represented by 42 different species occurring along the South African coastline.

They’re mostly found in rocky areas in the intertidal zone and can live remarkably long outside of the water, being capable of storing oxygen-rich water in their gill chambers and absorbing oxygen straight from the air through their slimy, scaleless skin – handy adaptations for when the retreating tide catches them in a dwindling pool, requiring them to walk and even skip on their strong limb-like fins back to safety over dry mud and rocks.

Blennies feed mainly on algae and micro-organisms. They breed throughout the year and females may lay up to 800 eggs in empty shells, with the territorial male then guarding the eggs until they hatch after a few months. The largest species grows to about 20cm in length but most kinds of Blenny are considerably smaller.

Blenny in a rock pool at Cape Vidal

Blennies in a rock pool

Little Blenny fish in a rock pool at Mission Rocks

Chimpanzee

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Today, on Endangered Species Day, we feature another African mammal that isn’t indigenous to South Africa.

Pan troglodytes

The Chimpanzee is considered to be humans’ closest living relative and watching them go about their business it is easy to recognise many of our own traits in them. Adults stand about a metre tall, with males weighing around 50kg and considerably more burly than the lighter (∼30kg) females.

Chimpanzees live in tropical forests and to a lesser extent some woodland associations, often venturing into adjacent grassland clearings when foraging. Fruit and seedpods make up a considerable portion of their diet but they are true omnivores, hunting and eating meat from a wide range of vertebrate sources. They’re among the few creatures that have learned to use tools for various jobs – such as using grass stalks to catch ants or using rocks to crush nuts – and these skills are often taught to others in the community. They construct “nests” using leaves and branches high up in the trees in which they sleep at night.

Communities of Chimpanzees may number between 15 and 125 members, occupying a home range that may extend over areas of up to 400km², although the whole community is rarely together in the same spot at the same time. These communities are organised along a strict hierarchy, with only the most dominant males having mating rights, which often leads to bloody fights. Females give birth to single babies (twins are very rare and seldom survive in the wild) after an 8 month gestation period, with intervals of 4 to 7 years between births as the babies grow slowly, are weaned at around 3 years of age and remain totally dependent on their mothers for the first 5 years of their lives, only becoming fully independent at around 7 or 8 years old. While male chimpanzees usually stay in the community in which they were born, females join other communities when they become sexually mature at around 12 years of age. They have a life expectancy of around 50 years.

Chimpanzees occur naturally in equatorial West and Central Africa, being distributed from Tanzania to Senegal. The IUCN considers it to be an endangered species, citing a declining population estimated at most around 299,000 in 2003. The Jane Goodall Institute established Chimp Eden in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province in 2006 to care for chimpanzees rescued from the pet and bushmeat trades – an ongoing threat despite it being illegal to capture, trade or kill chimpanzees in all the countries where they are found.

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee female and baby

Chimpanzee baby (photo by Joubert)

Chimpanzee with baby

Chimpanzee

Three new Lodges added to DeWetsWild’s portfolio: Cliffhanger, Leopard Rock and Recce

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DeWetsWild is pleased to announce that we’ve added three more wonderful lodges to the portfolio of destinations to which we offer a reservation service, can use on guided tours or for hosting photographic safaris and workshops. The lodges are located on a private game reserve just outside of Bela-Bela in the Limpopo Province, about 160km north of Pretoria. All three are ideally suited for groups of family and friends looking for a comfortable self-catered breakaway within easy reach of the Gauteng metros. The Kritzinger Family, the lodges’ owners who have decorated them very tastefully and furnished the houses with all the modern conveniences, very graciously hosted us there last week to experience it first hand.

Recce Lodge

Recce sleeps up to 12 guests in four air-conditioned en-suite bedrooms, each with a queen-size bed. Two of the rooms also have a loft with two single beds each, suitable only for children.

Recce Lodge

Leopard Rock Lodge

Leopard Rock boasts 3 en-suite bedrooms with a queen-size bed each, two bedrooms also having a loft suitable for 2 children on single beds with a third separate loft providing three single beds, thus accommodating a total of 13 guests.

Leopard Rock Lodge

Cliffhanger Lodge

Cliffhanger has a lovely setting overlooking a dam and the expansive bushveld beyond. Three en-suite bedrooms are furnished with a queen-size bed below and a loft with 2 single beds above (accessed with a ladder and only suitable for children), while a fourth bedroom with a queen-size bed, perfect as a honeymoon suite, perches below the main lodge.

Cliffhanger Lodge

The most direct route to Recce Lodge entails a drive of 18km gravel roads, while that to Cliffhanger and Leopard Rock is about 8km of gravel. Cliffhanger and Leopard Rock Lodges are located in an exclusive-use area of the reserve where private vehicles are not allowed on the game-viewing routes. Guests can however rent an open safari vehicle for self-guided traversing over this part of the reserve, or can book to join guided walks and drives. These options are also available to guests staying at Recce Lodge but guests who overnight there may also access the wider reserve road network which is open to all visitors in their own vehicles, though a vehicle with high ground clearance would be recommended. Aside from the attractions on the game reserve itself guests staying at Recce, Cliffhanger and Leopard Rock can use them as bases from which to explore other attractions in the Waterberg, not least of which is some terrific golf courses located nearby.

Nyala ewe

Plains Zebra

Giraffe and Impala

South African Tree Squirrels

Kudu cows

Kudu bull

Blue Wildebeest

White-backed Duck

Waterbuck bull

Guinea-fowl Butterfly

African Black Ducks

Nile Monitor

Waterberg Bushveld Scenery

If you’d like more information or would like to make a booking at Cliffhanger, Leopard Rock or Recce Lodge, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You are welcome to email us on dries@dewetswild.com with your request or alternatively complete the following form if you would like DeWetsWild to take care of your next reservation in the bushveld (the more detail you provide us, the better service we can provide to you):

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Name & Surname

Please give us the email address we should use for correspondence related to this reservation only.

Please tell us which of the three lodges - Cliffhanger, Leopard Rock or Recce - you'd want to stay at?

Please tell us how many adults and children the required reservation is for (and please provide the ages of the children at the time of the visit)

Please tell us the dates of your intended visit, and please be as specific as possible about your first night, last night and number of nights you're hoping for at the destination, etc.

Any other information you'd want us to be aware of? Give us as much information as possible so that we can provide you with the best possible service.

Freshwater Crabs

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Genus Potamonautes

South Africa is home to as many as 19 species of Freshwater Crab, all of them from the genus Potamonautes, and up to 14 of those species are not found in any other country, although the experts still differ on exactly how many species there are and what differentiates them from each other.

Potamonautes crabs are equally at home in cold or warm, deep or shallow, clear or murky and flowing or standing water and are a crucial part of healthy freshwater ecosystems; Freshwater Crabs aerate muddy substrate, break down detritus and control populations of micro-organisms while in turn being a source of food for a multitude of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Most species dig tunnels – often well hidden under rocks and logs and in certain species up to 70cm deep – in which they live an amphibious life, spending considerable time out of the water, especially at night.

Female crabs of this genus carry their fertilised eggs – up to 850 – and developing babies in a “purse” formed by their tail below their stomach, releasing them into the water when they are fully formed miniature crabs.

Crab holding on for dear life at the weir (photo by Joubert)

Freshwater crab in mountain stream

Crab crossing a road

Freshwater Crab

Freshwater crab

Freshwater Crab

African Death’s-head Hawkmoth

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Acherontia atropos

The African Death’s-head Hawkmoth, characterised by the superficially skull-like marking on its thorax from which it gets its name, is a large moth with a wingspan of about 13cm and capable of powerful flight. Adults have the amazing ability to produce a squeaking sound through their proboscis, which it is thought soothes honey bees into passivity when the moth raids a hive for the honey on which this species feeds. The larvae subsist on the leaves of plants in the nightshade family, including tomatoes, potatoes and cannabis, and is considered a minor agricultural pest. They pupate in chambers they excavate underground.

The African Deaths-head Hawkmoth is found all over South Africa and is nocturnal in habit.

African death’s-head hawkmoth

Little Bittern

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Ixobrychus minutus

Little Bitterns are shy birds, usually solitary, active by day and night and almost entirely restricted to dense reedbeds occurring along rivers, streams and dams, in marshes and even at waste water works. They feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates, frogs and fish.

These herons form monogamous pairs, with the male taking responsibility for building the platform nest on the edge of the reedbed. They breed from spring to autumn and pairs often raise two broods per year. Both parents incubate the clutch of 2-5 eggs over a 3 week period and provide food to the chicks after they’ve hatched. The chicks start clambering away from the nest when they’re only around 10 days old and can fly by the time they’re a month old. They’re among the smallest kinds of herons, weighing only about 110g and measuring about 36cm in length.

The Little Bittern has an enormous distribution, occurring over sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, along the Nile, throughout Europe and into western and central Asia. In South Africa specifically it is sparsely distributed through most of the country, but cannot be considered common anywhere, though their numbers are boosted in this part of the world by the arrival of migrating birds from the northern hemisphere in our summer months. According to the IUCN the species is of least concern.

Little Bittern

Immature Little Bittern

Streaky-headed Seedeater

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Crithagra gularis

The Streaky-headed Seedeater is a type of canary and, in keeping with many members of the family, has a very sweet song. They occur commonly in South Africa’s southern, eastern and northern regions, and beyond our borders are found as far afield as Angola. They inhabit savannas, woodlands, fynbos and forest edges, often on hillsides and in mountainous terrain, where they feed on seeds, flowers, nectar, fruit and the occasional insect. They’re usually seen in pairs or small groups of up to 8, and regularly associate with birds of other kinds.

Streaky-headed Seedeaters nest in spring and summer, when the female constructs a cup-shaped nest placed in a tree or bush. The female incubates the clutch of 2-4 eggs for around a fortnight while the male provides her with food. For the first few days after the chicks have hatched she broods them continuously while the male brings back food for the female and chicks. They leave the nest before they’re 3 weeks old but remain dependent on their parents for quite a while longer after that. Fully grown these little birds weigh about 20g and measure approximately 15cm in length.

The IUCN lists the Streaky-headed Seedeater as being of least concern.

Streaky-headed Seedeater

Streaky-headed Seedeater (photo by Joubert)

Streaky-headed Seed-eater

April ’24 update from Rietvlei Nature Reserve

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Isn’t it amazing how quickly the things we enjoy doing fly past!? I can’t believe another month of guiding drives at our local Rietvlei Nature Reserve is behind me already. Time then to take a look at what Rietvlei dished up in the month of April. Autumn is most definitely here and it is noticeable not only in the changing colours of the grass and leaves but also in the absence of most of the birds that visit our part of the world during summer.

Sunrise at Rietvlei

Julia Skimmer Dragonfly

Nile Monitor trying to swallow a huge crab

Reed seed

Black-chested Snake Eagle – with prey – in silhouette

Sharp-tooth Catfish at Marais Dam

Yellow-billed Duck in silhouette

Nile Monitor

Leopard Tortoise (photo by Joubert)

Buffalo in the wetland

Island View

I ticked 93 species of birds while guiding guests through the reserve this April.

Blacksmith Lapwing (photo by Joubert)

Immature Little Bittern

Bokmakierie

Red-knobbed Coot

Reed Cormorant (photo by Joubert)

White-breasted Cormorant

Pied Crow (photo by Joubert)

Cape Turtle Dove

Fork-tailed Drongo

African Black Duck

Yellow-billed Duck

African Fish Eagle

Immature Black-chested Snake Eagle

Cattle Egret

Peregrine Falcon

Black-necked Grebe

Little Grebe

Helmeted Guineafowl

Hadedas

Hamerkop

Black-headed Heron

Sacred Ibis

Giant Kingfisher (photo by Joubert)

Black-winged Kite

Wattled Lapwing

Rufous-naped Lark

Common Moorhen

Female ostrich (photo by Joubert)

Male ostrich (photo by Joubert)

Southern Pochard

Tawny-flanked Prinia

Streaky-headed Seed-eater

African Snipe

Cape Glossy Starling

African Stonechat

African Swamphen

Red-billed Teal

Cape Wagtail

Southern Masked Weaver

Long-tailed Widowbird male in transitional plumage

Red-throated Wryneck

One of the highlights of the month was watching this pair of Pied Starlings sharing tiny red berries.

African Pied Starlings

African Pied Starlings (photo by Joubert)

African Pied Starlings

African Pied Starlings (photo by Joubert)

African Pied Starlings

Fifteen species of mammal showed themselves during our drives in April.

African Buffalo

Blesbok (photo by Joubert)

Eland

Hippo

Black-backed Jackal

Black-backed Jackal (photo by Joubert)

Yellow Mongoose

Waterbuck

Waterbuck (photo by Joubert)

Black Wildebeest

Plains Zebras

Plains Zebra

Plains Zebras

List of mammals seen at Rietvlei Nature Reserve in April 2024:

Scientific	Afrikaans	English
Alcelaphus buselaphus	Rooihartbees	Red Hartebeest
Antidorcas marsupialis	Springbok	Springbuck
Canis mesomelas	Rooijakkals	Black-backed Jackal
Ceratotherium simum	Witrenoster	White Rhinoceros
Connochaetes gnou	Swartwildebees	Black Wildebeest
Cynictis penicillata	Witkwasmuishond	Yellow Mongoose
Damaliscus pygargus	Blesbok	Blesbuck
Equus quagga	Bontsebra	Plains Zebra
Herpestes sanguineus	Swartkwasmuishond	Slender Mongoose
Hippopotamus amphibius	Seekoei	Hippopotamus
Hydrictis maculicollis	Kleinotter	Spotted-necked Otter
Kobus ellipsyprymnus	Waterbok	Waterbuck
Syncerus caffer	Buffel	Cape Buffalo
Taurotragus oryx	Eland	Eland
Microchiroptera	Insekvretende vlermuis (spesie onbekend)	Insect-eating bat (species unknown)

List of birds seen at Rietvlei Nature Reserve in April 2024:

Scientific	Afrikaans	English
Acridotheres tristis	Indiese Spreeu	Common Myna
Acrocephalus gracilirostris	Kaapse Rietsanger	Lesser Swamp Warbler
Afrotis afraoides	Witvlerkkorhaan	Northern Black Korhaan
Alopochen aegyptiaca	Kolgans	Egyptian Goose
Amandava subflava	Rooiassie	Orange-breasted Waxbill
Amblyospiza albifrons	Dikbekwewer	Thick-billed Weaver
Anas erythrorhyncha	Rooibekeend	Red-billed Teal
Anas sparsa	Swarteend	African Black Duck
Anas undulata	Geelbekeend	Yellow-billed Duck
Anthus cinnamomeus	Gewone Koester	African Pipit
Apus caffer	Witkruiswindswael	White-rumped Swift
Ardea melanocephala	Swartkopreier	Black-headed Heron
Batis molitor	Witliesbosbontrokkie	Chinspot Batis
Bostrychia hagedash	Hadeda	Hadeda Ibis
Bubulcus ibis	Veereier	Western Cattle Egret
Burhinus capensis	Gewone Dikkop	Spotted Thick-knee
Butorides striata	Groenrugreier	Green-backed Heron
Cecropis cucullata	Grootstreepswael	Greater Striped Swallow
Centropus burchellii	Gewone Vleiloerie	Burchell’s Coucal
Ceryle rudis	Bontvisvanger	Pied Kingfisher
Chalcomitra amethystina	Swartsuikerbekkie	Amethyst Sunbird
Chrysococcyx caprius	Diederikkie	Diederik Cuckoo
Cinnyris talatala	Witpenssuikerbekkie	White-belled Sunbird
Circaetus pectoralis	Swartborsslangarend	Black-chested Snake Eagle
Cisticola tinniens	Vleitinktinkie	Levaillant’s Cisticola
Colius striatus	Gevlekte Muisvoel	Speckled Mousebird
Columba arquatrix	Geelbekbosduif	African Olive Pigeon
Corvus albus	Witborskraai	Pied Cow
Corythornis cristatus	Kuifkopvisvanger	Malachite Kingfisher
Crinifer concolor	Kwevoel	Grey Go-Away Bird
Crithagra gularis	Streepkopkanarie	Streaky-headed Seedeater
Curruca subcoerulea	Bosveldtjeriktik	Chestnut-vented Warbler
Dessonornis caffer	Gewone Janfrederik	Cape Robin-Chat
Dicrurus adsimilis	Mikstertbyvanger	Fork-tailed Drongo
Elanus caeruleus	Blouvalk	Black-winged Kite
Estrilda astrild	Rooibeksysie	Common Waxbill
Euplectes albonotatus	Witvlerkflap	White-winged Widowbird
Euplectes ardens	Rooikeelflap	Red-collared Widowbird
Euplectes orix	Rooivink	Southern Red Bishop
Euplectes progne	Langstertflap	Longtailed Widowbird
Falco biarmicus	Edelvalk	Lanner Falcon
Falco peregrinus	Swerfvalk	Peregrine Falcon
Falco rupicolus	Kransvalk	Rock Kestrel
Fulica cristata	Bleshoender	Red-knobbed Coot
Gallinago nigripennis	Afrikaanse Snip	African Snipe
Gallinula chloropus	Grootwaterhoender	Common Moorhen
Hirundo albigularis	Witkeelswael	White-throated Swallow
Hirundo rustica	Huisswael	Barn Swallow
Icthyophaga vocifer	Visarend	Fish Eagle
Ixobrychus minutus	Klein Rietreier	Little Bittern
Jynx ruficollis	Draaihals	Red-throated Wryneck
Lamprotornis bicolor	Witgatspreeu	Pied Starling
Lamprotornis nitens	Klein Glansspreeu	Cape Glossy Starling
Laniarius ferrugineus	Suidelike Waterfiskaal	Southern Boubou
Lanius collaris	Fiskaallaksman	Common Fiscal
Lybius torquatus	Rooikophoutkapper	Black-collared Barbet
Macronyx capensis	Oranjekeel Kalkoentjie	Cape Longclaw
Megaceryle maxima	Reuse Visvanger	Giant Kingfisher
Microcarbo africanus	Rietduiker	Reed Cormorant
Mirafra africana	Rooineklewerik	Rufous-naped Lark
Motacilla capensis	Gewone Kwikkie	Cape Wagtail
Netta erythrophthalma	Bruineend	Southern Pochard
Numida meleagris	Gewone Tarentaal	Helmeted Guineafowl
Passer diffusus	Gryskopmossie	Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Passer melanurus	Gewone Mossie	Cape Sparrow
Phalacrocorax lucidus	Witborsduiker	White-breasted Cormorant
Phoeniculus purpureus	Rooibekkakelaar	Green Wood-hoopoe
Ploceus velatus	Swartkeelgeelvink	Southern Masked Weaver
Podiceps nigricollis	Swrtnekdobbertjie	Black-necked Grebe
Porphyrio madagascariensis	Grootkoningriethaan	African Swamphen
Prinia subflava	Bruinsylangstertjie	Tawny-flanked Prinia
Psittacula krameri	Ringnekparakiet	Rose-ringed Parakeet
Pternistis swainsonii	Bosveldfisant	Swainson’s Spurfowl
Pycnonotus tricolor	Swartoogtiptol	Dark-capped Bulbul
Quelea quelea	Rooibekkwelea	Red-billed Quelea
Saxicola torquatus	Gewone Bontrokkie	African Stonechat
Scopus umbretta	Hamerkop	Hamerkop
Sigelus silens	Fiskaalvlieevanger	Fiscal Flycatcher
Spilopelia senegalensis	Rooiborsduifie	Laughing Dove
Streptopelia capicola	Gewone Tortelduif	Cape Turtle Dove
Streptopelia semitorquata	Grootringduif	Red-eyed Dove
Struthio camelus	Volstruis	Common Ostrich
Tachybaptus ruficollis	Kleindobbertjie	Little Grebe
Tadorna cana	Kopereend	South African Shelduck
Telophorus zeylonus	Bokmakierie	Bokmakierie
Threskiornis aethiopicus	Skoorsteenveer	African Sacred Ibis
Turdoides jardineii	Pylvlekkatlagter	Arrow-marked Babbler
Turdus smithi	Geelbeklyster	Karoo Thrush
Urocolius indicus	Rooiwangmuisvoel	Red-faced Mousebird
Vanellus armatus	Bontkiewiet	Blacksmith Lapwing
Vanellus coronatus	Kroonkiewiet	Crowned Lapwing
Vanellus senegallus	Lelkiewiet	Wattled Lapwing
Zosterops virens	Kaapse Glasogie	Cape White-eye

If you’d like to join me on a guided tour of Rietvlei – on a hike or on an open vehicle drive – you can book through melanie@rietvleicoffee.co.za / +27(0)74-820-9926.

Large-leaved Dragon Tree

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Dracaena aletriformis

The Large-leafed Dragon Tree is an evergreen plant growing to a height of up to 5m, occurring in coastal and montane forests from the Eastern Cape to the escarpment in Limpopo. It is also a popular feature plant in shady gardens, its flowers being a magnet to bees, moths and butterflies and its berries being rather popular with frugivorous birds.