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Game Warden

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2 hours ago, africaaddict said:

A black cat crossed my path!............a rare melanistic Black Serval

 

On my last Serengeti assignment (Aug '19) I had the privilege to witness and document a rare melanistic male Black Serval, currently believed to be one of only 4 in all of Africa.
For me a dream sighting!
It's difficult at the best of times to locate your normal "garden variety" Serval so finding this small cat was never going to be a simple task, and one I specifically spent 3 weeks tracking.
Such a rare and special treat to witness this magical small predator hunting, gotta love those piercing golden eyes!

 

Have been most fortunate to have these images published recently in a few Wildlife magazines.

 

Clearly this beautiful male is comfortable with vehicles as he went about his business including hunting without a care for surrounding vehicles, and just thankful he's in an area where that was sufficiently  limited,

can only imagine what a "circus" he'd create (pre CoVid)  if this was in Seronera or dare I say the Mara.:rolleyes:


"Manja" was first spotted by guide and naturalist *Manja* of @asiliaafrica and has since adopted his name!
With an incredibly high concentration of cats in the area, Manja is so far faring well in avoiding predators and threats.
Will be back here again in March (granted our beloved Govt opens up our international borders :rolleyes:) for Gnu calving and hopeful "Manja" will make an appearance again.

 

Namiri Plains, Eastern Serengeti- TZ

Nikon D5
Nikkor 180-400E PF FL VR +1.4tc
f/5.6
1/1250s
ISO6400 @560mm.

 

D05_4652BPN.jpg.3de086b862ef66eb494e90a385e0e5d4.jpg

 

 

Nikon D5
Nikkor 180-400E PF FL VR +1.4tc
f/5.6
1/640s
ISO3200 @450mm.

 

D05_4631BPN.jpg.0e07d1708a678b98c8cf2012fd2a4b5f.jpg

 

 

 

Nikon D5
Nikkor 180-400E PF FL VR
f/5.6
1/1000s
ISO11400 @400mm.

 

D05_4739aBPN.jpg.b780b976e322c51d13c45f6279ae9da1.jpg

 

 

 

 

Nikon D5
Nikkor 180-400E PF FL VR
f/5.6
1/640s
ISO7200 @250mm.

 

D05_4601BPN.jpg.18c1fa2cea357380fa4318b06a41d91b.jpg

 

 

 


Nikon D5
Nikkor 180-400E PF FL VR
f/5.6
1/1000s
ISO9000 @400mm.

 

D05_4718BPN.jpg.88a9ff2b54ca97281c75d17a24152bd3.jpg

 

 

 

 

Nikon D5
Nikkor 180-400E PF FL VR
f/6.3
1/2000s
ISO720 @250mm.

 

D05_6443BPN.jpg.24a2cbb9ef751a0a92eb39611466d0dd.jpg

 

 

Cheers
Marc

 

This is truly amazing.....

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An extraordinary sighting, such a beautiful cat. Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing! But only four melanistic Servals all over Africa? That seems unlikely to me - while I´ve never been lucky enough to see one there I do know they are regularly seen in the Aberdares for example.

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18 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

An extraordinary sighting, such a beautiful cat. Wonderful photos, thank you for sharing! But only four melanistic Servals all over Africa? That seems unlikely to me - while I´ve never been lucky enough to see one there I do know they are regularly seen in the Aberdares for example.

 

Thanks Michael & JPS

 

Whilst it's true they are (more often) seen in the Aberdares, (and occasionally in RSA & Gabon) it's the same 1 or 2 that are seen as of '19/'20. That statistic was passed onto me by Serengeti Cheetah research, not something I've created.

It's most likely there are certainly more than 4 in all of Africa, we're just not always sighting them. ;)

Edited by africaaddict
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madaboutcheetah

@africaaddict- will be there in April in Namiri (or so I hope) ...... Even if i don't see a thing, I'd be delighted just to be there!!! But, I bet there are Cheetahs that await me! 

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Let's hope our paths will cross Hari, however if I was a betting man, I'd say my chances are far less than 50-50. :rolleyes:

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offshorebirder

@africaaddict - I agree with @michael-ibk in being skeptical of the claim of such a low number of melanistic Serval in all of Africa.   

 

A safari guide and former camp manager told me of a sighting at Mt. Kenya 6-7 years ago - as he was camping near the end of the road that goes past Castle Forest Lodge.  

 

 

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@africaaddict if you could hear the oooohs and aaaaahs and wooooowwws from hubby and me. sterling shots.

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12 hours ago, offshorebirder said:

@africaaddict - I agree with @michael-ibk in being skeptical of the claim of such a low number of melanistic Serval in all of Africa.   

 

A safari guide and former camp manager told me of a sighting at Mt. Kenya 6-7 years ago - as he was camping near the end of the road that goes past Castle Forest Lodge.  

 

 

@offshorebirderI think you need to read my response to @michael-ibkplus a sighting at Mt Kenya 6/7 yrs ago has minimal relevance to today's sightings & numbers.:rolleyes:

Edited by africaaddict
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offshorebirder
1 hour ago, africaaddict said:

Mt Kenya 6/7 yrs ago has minimal relevance to today's sightings & numbers.

But it is an example that more are out there than they know about.

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  • 11 months later...
  • 1 year later...


Female Servel with a cub in Kidepo Valley NP, Uganda. February, 2018.
 

750_3443_DxO-1.jpg

 

750_3446_DxO-1.jpg

 

750_3448_DxO.jpg

 

Edited by FlyTraveler
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