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| She’d nibble on the pellets, but we never saw him take a single bite. He was more interested in her than he was in snacking. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| A female bushbuck climbs the pile of dirt for next door’s construction project. |
Today’s entire post revolves around what could be considered the “Sighting of the Day in the Bush” since the experience is worthy of more than one photo under the daily feature photo. We’re enthralled with the babies of many species of wildlife in the park. And, we gasp in wonder over the enormous antlers of a mature, perhaps senior, kudu who visit from time to time.
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| Both this female and male bushbuck had been in and out of our yard for days. |
We’ve stumbled across only a few opportunities to witness, first hand, the creation of life when the mating process isn’t necessarily easily observed in the open in front of human onlookers.
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| Ironically, we’d mentioned how interesting it would be to see more wildlife mating before our eyes the previous day. |
It isn’t as if wildlife prefers privacy during the act, per se. Most likely, it’s just a matter of us humans being at the right place at the right time to see how procreation occurs in the wild.
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| He made several seeming unsuccessful attempts, but finally, nature took its course. |
We were amazed to see lions mating while on safari in the Masai Mara, as shown in the photo below. Also, here’s the link for that sighting.
Then, in 2016 while living on an alpaca farm in New Plymouth, New Zealand, for three months, we had the opportunity to witness the supervised mating ritual as shown in this link (with a video) and also the below photo:
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| Trish and Neil, owners of the alpaca farm, oversee the mating to ensure all is going well. The macho (the male) is wearing a harness used to bring him to the mating pen. |
We’d considered including “for adult eyes only” in the heading of today’s post. Most certainly, we prefer not to suggest what is appropriate viewing material for your children or grandchildren who may on occasion see our posts.
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| He often kept his eyes on us and was very skittish if we stood from our chairs on the veranda. |
We find all aspects of nature and the life cycles of wildlife a true miracle. Each of us can learn from all parts of nature from conception to birth, from mammals on the hunt and subsequently eating their prey, or to find the carcass of an elephant in the savanna who died of old age, injury, or illness.
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| She was still eyeballing the pellets while continued in the act. |
Bushbucks are one of the most beautiful creatures in the antelope family that we’ve seen in Africa. Their unique markings make them stand out amongst the others. Yesterday, we stopped everything we were doing to embrace the relationship and behavior of these two stunning animals.
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| Graciously, he stopped now and then and let her get back to her pellets and apples we placed on the ground earlier. |
After over an hour of observing the handsome couple, they wandered off into the bush to continue the mating process away from our prying eyes. Oddly, the male never once took a bite of the fresh veggies or pellets. He was focused on ensuring their safety, keeping a tense lookout whenever they were apart, and of course, mating with this female.
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| He was patient but stayed close to her. |
In the early evening, we set up the camera on the tripod with a chair nearby to quietly observe; the handheld camera at proximity; the new bright light to illuminate the yard, and; containers of cut apples, vegetables, and pellets for our now nightly ritual of watching for nocturnal visitors.
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| A while later, they wandered off into the dense bush for more activity. Indeed, it must have been a successful day. |
Surprisingly, the bright light doesn’t seem to keep wildlife away. Please check back frequently to see what we’ve discovered in the dark of night. We’re accumulating, sorting, and choosing photos we’ll be sharing here soon.
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| This is the baby bushbuck we’d shown a few weeks ago who returned with mom (she was nearby eating veggies and pellets we’d put out) who’d grown so much. Please click this link to see the baby only a few weeks ago here. |
Tonight is the “blue moon,” the second full moon in March. We hope you have an opportunity to revel in its glory and enjoy the meaning and purpose of this holiday weekend of Easter and Passover.
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| The baby bushbuck has yet to show any interest in pellets of vegetables instead of waiting in the bush while mom devoured everything we’d put out. |
May God’s blessings (or your chosen higher power or beliefs) grace you this season and always.
Photo from one year ago today, March 31, 2017:
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| There are hundreds of sailboats and motorboats in the Clontarf Marina in Sydney, Australia. Construction was in process at the time, as shown to the left, but it didn’t seem to impede any of the activities. For more photos, please click here. |