Trip to Selous and Ruaha , Adansonia paranoia !

[madaboutcheetah]

Wow - All fantastic photos - The skimmers and the wet FE stand out!!!!

[SafariChick]

Just stunning photos, loving reading this report!

[Game Warden]

Muchas gracias Paco. Wonderful images from a gentle river safari.

[TonyQ]

Great pictures -especially like the skimmers, and the Egyptian geese with babies

The boat trip looks very enjoyable

[Atravelynn]

Stop to smell the roses and for sky on fire shots. Good call on your part. That spoonbill, croc, flying fishing series will never be duplicated. Beautiful pride shots of lion family life.

[Atravelynn]

 

 

 

@@africawild

 

What does Siwandu consider an appropriate start time in the morning? I have heard that their sister camp in Ruaha (Jongomero) does the same thing... a late start...

8 a.m. ? Can you believe it !!! I am glad our Ruaha part was not with their sister camp.

 

 

8am? Any particular reason for this?

 

Hari , they say that "due to the topography of the land and the animals dependance on drinking water the main game movements in Selous occur a little later in the day as most animals make their way down to the lakes to drink only after the sun has come up "

 

I was told this in Katavi also. My observations proved that the statement was true for the herd activity. But there species active at night, or small predators, that you might miss with the late start That same logic of late morning activity at the waterholes definitely held true in Tarangire. Each day the big ele herds were absent until about 9:30 am. But Guide George and I were still out and about shortly after 6:00 to catch some lion activity, a honey badger, bat eared fox, and even some early rising cheetahs that were quite active before 8 am.

[Atravelynn]

Terrific report on Selous of which we missed on our Sept. adventure. Now I am sorry we did not add in on. Speaking of departure times for game drives-"

though we walked.....

 

We left our camp everymorning about 7am; Moli our guide (formerly with Jongomero) would often say about 9:30am, "Now this is the magic hour when they come out"...so apparently it is norm in Ruaha/Sealous to see game later than we are accustomed to - say in Botswana. Though it was hot in September we did see many wild animals all times of the day. One day I looked at my watch at 9:30 and sure enough that is when we came up the lion in wait for the impala, and just about everyday the elies, giraffes, birds etc.

 

Terrible lighting for pics but great time was had! Not sure professional photogs would be as happy. But we loved being out all day long no matter the light.

I just made a comment about Tarangire and 9:30 am BEFORE even reading yours. That must indeed be the magic hour.

[Dam2810]

beautiful pictures!!!

[Africalover]

I were i Selous in feb. and sep. Camping Lake Manze and Lake Tagalala and it is quite evident,that elephants are hard to find, due to heavy poaching. What was your impression ? I dont see many elephants on your fantastic pictures. I look foreward to read about Ruaha, were there in feb. Fantastic place, going back next year.

[Dam2810]

As @@Africalover, i am trying to know more about the elephants situation in Selous. Would be great to hear your impressions about it. Would be good to know also what guides/camp managers in selous were saying about it. Ruaha is supposed to be amazing, looking fwd to it

[Sangeeta]

Amazing images, Paco! All of them - simply superb.

[Soukous]

Not to steal anyone's thunder but the only place I have regularly seen elephants in Selous, every visit, is by the river in the late afternoon.

Hardly ever saw them when out on game drives

[Dam2810]

I read that it could be as low as 15,000 now ;-(

[Sangeeta]

Just 5 years ago, flying back to Dar from Ruaha, we had 2 Selous stops to drop off passengers. In that half hour of low altitude flying, I must have seen at least 5-6 very large herds of eles - each at least 50-60 strong. Gave me the impression that the Selous was certainly on par with Bots for ele density. I too thought that the precipitous decline in numbers was quite recent. How long have you been visiting, @@Soukous?

[Rwenzori]

I read that it could be as low as 15,000 now ;-(

Save the Elephants has conducted a census in Selous GR in october. I e-mailed them and they said that the results will be available within few months.

 

I have been in Mikumi NP in 2011 when the carnage was supposed to fury and it was absolutely plenty of elephants.

 

By 2011 the Selous-Mikumi Ecosystem was still holding a population of 53,488 elephants (range 41,109 – 65867 within 95% confidence interval) of which 75% were found inside Selous Game Reserve. http://wwf.panda.org/?205666/JOINT-STATEMENT-ON-THE-STATUS-OF-ELEPHANT-POPULATION-IN-SELOUS-NIASSA-ECOSYSTEM

 

I don't believe in commonly quoted figure that claims that about 10,000 elephants are killed every year in Selous GR. We have no data to support this quote. I have read in a paper (now I can't find it) that even TAWIRI considered the 2006 census greatly inflated.

 

It was exactly the difference between the censuses taken in 2006 and 2009 that supported these claims.

 

I will believe in a decline of this magnitude only if it will be proven scientifically.

 

We will have an answer within few months.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Rwenzori

[africawild]

Thank you all again !

 

In our 3 days in Selous we did not see many elephants . We saw a small family around camp one morning from our room and then at night we saw them again , both times they were running

 

We also saw a couple of solitary males walking in camp , very calm around lunch area during the day . At night feeding beside the tents.

 

We did not walk but a british couple in our vehicle told us they saw a few while walking ??

 

From the boat we saw just a couple but also running away fast . However in our first day we came across a small herd while driving . The guide stopped the car and they started to approach our vehicle very confident , they were 13 of them and with some small ones , it was very nice to see them so calm walking past beside.

 

From the air i managed to see a couple of small herds around the Mtemere airstrip but none around the lakes .

 

We asked our guide about the elephant population in Selous and about the poaching problem. He told us that in the last aerial survey that took place 2 years ago the estimation was around 50.000 in the Selous-Mikumi ecosystem. He did not know or did not wanted to talk about the poaching ???

 

We discussed the issue with the belgium couple . They were coming from Katavi and Ruaha were they heard the government had sent 300 soldiers to each place to help the anti-poaching units. We later confirm that in Ruaha . It looks like Selous have not received any soldiers to combat poaching .

 

I was hoping to see some more herds anyway as I had always thought Selous was a specific destination for elephants .

 

Ruaha was another complete different story , we had plenty of elephants there , big families , small ones , big herds coming to drink at the river , on every drive , in camp , from the air ...

 

Paco

Edited December 2, 2013 by africawild

[Dam2810]

Thx a lot Paco and Rwenzori.

@@Rwenzori, It can be determined by ADN tests that most of the ivory that is seized comes from Tanzania. Let s hope that the population of elephants will be safer now and that the census will be +

[Rwenzori]

Thx a lot Paco and Rwenzori.

@@Rwenzori, It can be determined by ADN tests that most of the ivory that is seized comes from Tanzania. Let s hope that the population of elephants will be safer now and that the census will be +

It can come even from western Tanzania or Niassa game reserve. These populations live in the same habitat and they are still interconnected or they used to be.

 

We know that the carnage is going on in Niassa, the local population halved in the last 10 years.

 

The fact that the DNA test says that most of the ivory seized in Dar comes from southern Tanzania doesn't mean that the 10,000 figure is verified. It could be lower or higher, only an elephant census can probe how many are left there.

 

If the 10,000 figure was true we would have had not more than 35,000-25,000 eles left in Selous in 2011. This was not the case.

 

I'm not saying that we don't have a problem. I think that thousands of elephants have been killed in the last 5 years in Selous GR but I don't want be over-pessimistic before having seen some scientific evidences.

[penolva]

 

The spoonbill and croc is extraordinary, love it. Yes to the Jurassic foot.

 

Here is a crop of that foot !!!

Wow that FX certainly paid off!

[Atravelynn]

I have that bird book! Your layout of camera equipment exposes your artistic flair and eye for arrangement that is evident in the composition of your shots. You are really outdoing yourself on the bird shots, whether perched, wading, flying singly or in flocks.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Atravelynn

[Soukous]

@@Sangeeta to Selous only 10 years.

[Geoff]

I love the chaos of motion in the second skimmer image.

[africawild]

After our brief visit to Selous I would describe the place as an interesting destination that combines perfectly with Ruaha when planning a southern circuit.

I liked the lush green landscape, with abundant lakes to ensure water supply for animals and also the feeling that if you try you could spend the day away from other visitors.

I had the feeling that there are many animals around and bird watching is excellent, especially during water activities, something not possible in most Tanzania destinations.

 

If I was to visit the south again I would like to combine a camp near the Rufiji and have the option to do more safaris along the river.

 

In our last morning we had the flight to Ruaha at 9 so we just had breakfast in camp , with a male elephant coming to say goodbye and then head to the airstrip . In the way we came across a solitary hyena , the only one we saw in Selous . The British couple who flew with us to Ruaha had a very good hyena viewing while on foot the previous morning and bush pigs as well .

 

 

During the 90 minutes flight to Ruaha i took many aerial pictures that can give an idea of ​​the high contrast and difference between the two most visited destinations of southern Tanzania.

 

Giraffes and Greater Kudus by the airstrip

 

 

Green and water

 

 

 

 

 

 

After passing what I thought were the Udzungwa mountains, the landscape and the colors change dramatically , from green to ocher and from abundance of water to the thirsty and naked land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iringa from the air

 

 

 

And after Iringa , in the distance we could see the Great Ruaha River that did not look so " Great "

 

 

 

 

Ruaha looked extremely dry from the air !!

 

 

 

 

 

But there were elephants under every shade !!

 

 

 

Ruaha , here we come !!!!

 

 

Paco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

Can't wait!

 

 

Brilliant aerial shots.

[madaboutcheetah]

Stunning!!!!