Tag: Wild

Flat-headed cat

Flat-headed cat

Flat-headed cat

Found on the Malay peninsular, as well as Borneo and Sumatra, the flat-headed cat is (like so many cats on this list) threatened with extinction, mostly as a result of habitat, which is being turned into farmland, palm oil plantations and human settlements.

Little is known about the wild behaviour of this cat – while it is thought to be nocturnal, in captivity it proved to be crepescular (that is active in early morning and late afternoon.

Fishing cat

fishing cat phot by Kelinahandbasket

Fishing cat

The current range of the Fishing cat

The fishing cat has been classed as vulnerable since 2016.

 It is a midsized cat he fishing cat lives foremost in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps and mangroves. One of the alarming things to look at, is that the majority of this range is likely to be hit hard if sea levels do rise significantly over the last few decades.

Caracal

Caracals are a very lucky sighting, as they tend to be active when people are asleep

Caracal

Caracals are nocturnal, which means that they are often not spotted. Indeed, in our time in South Africa, it was the only local cat which we did not see. It has a huge distribution, which includes Africa, the middle east, central Asia and even parts of northern India and Pakistan. It is an expert jumper, and often catches birds in flight, being able to jump more than 3m straight up. It comes from the same genetic line as the serval and the African Golden cat.

Generally, while it is wide spread and usually relatively plentiful it is an animal that either takes a lot of luck or a great deal of patience to see it in the wild.

Asiatic Golden Cat

An Asian Golden cat Photo credit Karen Stoll Wiki Commons

Asiatic golden cat

The Asian Golden cat is found across Tibet, Nepal, and Sikkim through southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Having said this, they are rarely seen in the wild, which makes assessing their status rather hard, however it is classed as vulnerable. It is a mid-sized cat.

It is considered near threatened. Of course, were this to change it would be hard to do anything about it, given how rarely it is seen. On the other hand, this secretive behaviour does also make it a very hard animal to target directly.

Being only a mid-sized cat, it is not capable of taking on large prey. However, they are effective hunters, and in places where they are farmers in their road, they are not above taking chickens.

 

It is closely related to the Borneo bay cat, and the Marbled cat

Below here is a video of the species, and below that is a list of all blog articles which include mention of this species.

Below that we will include any links that will allow you to see this species in the wild (it is rarely seen, so even being in the right place does not guarantee you a sighting). Never-the-less, visiting the area, will help save this species, and there is always a chance that you might spot it.

 

Lynx (bobcat)

Bobcats are found across most US states as well as parts of Mexico and Canada, it is likely the most numerous wild cat species in the world

Bobcat

Bobcat: This cat is found throughout most of the USA (every state except Delaware) and much of Mexico as well as 5 southern states of Canada. Their population is thought to number between 2.3 million and 3.5 million.

The Bobcat is the smallest of the Lynx family of species, but with 2.2 -3.5 million members spread across northern America, it is the most secure wild cat species.

aaa Pirin mountains and national park

Pirin mountains and national park

Lying in the South West of Bulgaria, the Pirin mountains are stunning

With populations of bears wolves and Jackals, it is a wonderful place to go looking for wild adventures. Boar deer and Chamois can be seen at different times of the day (though in places where predators lurk, expect to see prey less often in Europe), and 159 recorded bird species here, including eagles, hawks, owls, grouse, and woodpeckers (this is around 1/3 of all the birds in Bulgaria

aaa Swedish lapland

Swedish Lapland, far north of sweden

Sweden’s Lapland is a beautiful area. Lying in the far north of Sweden, like much of Sweden the land is heavily forested. Wolves are rare in Sweden, though this is as a result of over hunting – Europe has said that Sweden needs 170-270 wolves for a healthy population. Sweden is a huge country, which could support far more if they were allowed to naturally control their numbers. Being a country about the size of France, but with far fewer people, stating the country can only support 170 wolves is ridiculous. Bear numbers are higher, and there are thought to be around 2000 wolverines within its border (this was a population I was quoted if we visited).

It should be noted, that, the only difference between here and further south, is the number of wolverines – we did not get this far north, and where we were wolverines are just occasional visitors. The one difference is the reindeer presence. There are around 260,000 reindeer in Sweden, though it should be noted that these are only semi wild.

Sweden’s bear population is going up at the moment, and is currently thought to be around 2800. Generally, it takes some local knowledge to see wild bears, and your best chance is in a bear hide. We have one listed in the hides section of of this website. One of the big advantages of doing this in the northern parts of Sweden is the sunlight lasts more of the night. As bears are largely nocturnal, this allows more time to watch. When I visited the bear hide, it got to dark to see at about 2am but got light enough again at 5am.

Below is a video of the area. As you can see, while there is some wildlife, there is not a great deal. Generally you need a guide to take you out as finding the wildlife is a difficult job. We hope to be adding plenty of links below.

aaa Skeleton coast, Namibia

Skeleton coast, Namibia

Lioness with cape fur seal it hunted, on the beach

The skeleton coast in Namibia, is one of the few people where the desert runs right down to the sea. This desert area in Namibia is quite strange, as many species that do not usually live in desert region, but here they do.

Here freshwater springs permeate the barren sands to create life-sustaining oases for small pockets of wildlife in the middle of the desert. Hartmann’s mountain zebra, gemsbok, desert-adapted elephant, brown hyena, giraffe and – occasionally – cheetah may all be found in this wild and rugged landscape. This part of the coast hosts a several large cape fur seals  colonies, which leads to fascinating moments like the above with lions hunting on the beach.

Below is a video, of a hyena deep in the desert, something not likely to be seen elsewhere.

This huge area of wilderness is actually made up of 4 reserves: Skeleton Coast national park, Dorob National Park (which contains Cape cross seal reserve -this is the largest of the 24 cape fur seals breeding colonies, with 80,000 to 100,000  on site at its height. Fur seals are more closely related to sea lions than to seals), Namib-Naukluft national park and Tsau Khaeb national park. Any links will appear below as this site grows.

aaa Niokolo-Koba national park, Senegal

Niokolo-Koba national park, Senegal

River Gambia Niokolokoba National Park Credit: United states Government

A fascination reserve with a wide range of wildlife, this is a place well worth a visit. With a variety of habitats, the range of wildlife that can be seen is not usually available in one reserve anywhere else.

 The national park is known for its wildlife. The government of Senegal estimates the park contains 20 species of amphibians, 60 species of fish, 38 species of reptiles (of which four are tortoises). There are some 80 mammal species. These included (as of 2005) an estimated 11000 buffaloes, 6000 hippopotamuses, 400 western giant eland, 50 elephants, 120 lions, 150 chimpanzees (It is inhabited by a banded forest in the park (Lower Rim) and Mount Assirik. (north-western limit line where chimps are distributed.)), 3000 waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), 2000 common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), an unknown number of red colobus (Colobus badius rufomitratus) and a few rare African leopards and West African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus manguensis), although this canid was thought to be wiped out throughout the rest of the country.[4]

 

Other mammals include roan antelope, Guinea baboon, green monkey, patas monkey, warthog.

 

Around 330 species of birds have been sighted in the park, notably the Arabian bustard, black crowned crane, Abyssinian ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus), martial eagle, bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus), and white-faced duck (Dendrocygna viduata).

 

There are also reptiles such as three species of crocodiles, four species of tortoises

 

aaa Pantanal Biosphere Reserve which includes Chapada dos Guimarães, Serra da Bodoquena, Pantanal Matogrossense, and Emas national parks

Pantanal Biosphere reserve, including Chapada dos Guimarães, Serra da Bodoquena, Pantanal Matogrossense, and Emas national parks.

Pantanal jaguar, credit: Jan Fleschmann

Pantanal Biosphere reserve covers 725 square miles of land at the entrance of the Pantanal, and should we wish to continue to protect the Pantanal we also need to protect its head waters.

However, this area also has an essential conservation status of its own, protecting a wide range of wildlife within its borders. mammals found here include troupes of monkeys, giant anteaters, tapirs, Capybaras, Armadillos, wild dogs, maned wolves, foxes, herds of deer, cougar, and ocelots. There are also over 350 bird species which include Aplomado falcons, burrowing owls, Yellow-faced parrots and maccaws.

Termite mounds litter the landscape and stand as much as 2m high. These are used by a variety of other wildlife. In particular, the larve of the Cumpinzeiro which is a luminescent beetle. If you are lucky, at night, you might get to witness the strange site of vast numbers of these beetles, emerging after rains. They light up the mounds transforming them into strange looking christmas trees.

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