Thursday, January 27, 2011

Just Your Common or Garden Visitors at the Vic Falls Hotel

Don't be so silly...of course I'm not a statue...

Can't you see I'm eating a mango I've just plucked from the courtyard mango trees?
Please click on the read more button below to continue this post....

I wish you humans would stop gawping and leave me in peace to enjoy my mango!

Oh, don't tell me...you're not coming across to oggle at ME now, are you?

Can't a guy have some privacy around here?

No ways, man!  This is for the birds...I'm off to find myself a different spot!

Oh, we don't mind if you want to come over and look at US!  See how clever we are?  We can play with each other's tails just as you would play with a rope...

We can also leap on to and into anything that takes our fancy...

See???  Bet you can't do this!  Can you?


OOO, Mom! I see TROUBLE approaching...

Please can I hold on to you, in case they want to pick me up?

Much better...now I feel quite safe!

Do you really HAVE to look for fleas while I'm being watched, Mom?

Hurry along now, family.  I think we've chomped this stretch of grass quite enough.  Let's move across the garden to the pool area...it's greener on that side!

See, I told you the grass tastes sweeter here!

OK.  Let's humour the humans and bow down on the count of 3...all together now 1,2,3...

Right, we've done our party trick -  now let's get on with chomping!  We still have a good few hours till nightfall.

Oh dear.  I'm beginning to feel quite weary.  It's been a long, hot day supervising our offspring...
I really just have to take a short nap!


Yes, that feels good.  Just rub my spine on that very same spot!  OOO...AAA...!

That feels better.  Isn't it amazing what a short rest can do?  I'm feeling quite revived, already!

Look!  Those monkeys are up to their old tricks again!  Hope the humans have learnt to keep their bedroom windows SHUT!  Those little guys have thieving fingers!
Large troops of baboons and monkeys arrive at the Victoria Falls Hotel on a daily basis.  Sometimes they are quite brazen and, if given a chance, will grab cups and sugar bowls off the tea tables and scale up the walls of the hotel.  When the baboons decide it's mango picking time, they hurl themselves from tree to tree, wildly shaking the branches so the ripened fruit can fall to the ground.  This happens so quickly and they make a lot of mess.  The hotel groundsmen were busy daily sweeping and hosing down paths to maintain the pristine appearance of the grounds. To monitor these happenings and keep the primates under control, the hotel employs two full-time guards who are each armed with an air-rifle.  The baboons and monkeys know who they are and why they're there and, as soon as the guards shout their warning and run towards the troop, the apes know it's time to leave.  The guards seldom need to actually fire their guns as everyone seems to understand the unspoken language between them.  From a spectators' point of view, the hyper-activity and commotion  that ensues is really rather comical and the monkeys, especially, have great fun 'teasing' the guards, almost tauntingly at times.  
The warthogs arrive once a day and, although they are definitely wild animals, they appear quite relaxed around humans.  One could almost believe they're tame.  They are fearless and will venture quite close to where you're sitting, enjoying your al fresco meal, but they will not tolerate being touched.

Apart from these larger visitors to the gardens, numerous bird species inhabit the many, enormous trees . Early mornings and evenings are really quite mesmerising, as one listens to them all singing...  either  whilst they're greeting the dawn or settling down for the night.

It was such a privilege being surrounded by these wild animals, seeing them going about their business, mostly in peace and harmony with their human counterparts.  To be part of all of this gives one a very special feeling of warmth.  It's a feeling you don't want to have to leave behind!

 

16 comments:

  1. Smart guy cause mangoes are one of my favorite fruits too, only I have to buy them in a grocery store and can't just pick a fresh one - drat!

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  2. Yes, I couldn't agree more. Love them, too :)

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  3. I love to come here everytime darling so nice Agana !!! lovely day....love Ria......xxx

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  4. Oh my goodness! I live in the Pacific Northwest (WA state) so I NEVER have backyard visitors like this guy! What a wonderful moment you captured. I just found your blog and I love looking at all your pictures and hearing about all your travels. I love seeing all the different flora, landscape and creatures. Just wonderful!

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  5. Just catching up with you - stunning scenery from your last few posts. Can't honestly say I'd like monkeys running round Saltaire though!

    I think the AWOL posts, as you call them, are perhaps when, just occasionally, I click 'publish' by mistake rather than 'save', and then have to retrieve the post. I'm sure everyone does that from time to time. I generally put mine on auto-publish so the new ones always appear around the same time each day. Easier that way. As to the potential photo sale, they wanted to print it bigger than my camera resolution will allow (I don't use a DSLR). Am encouraged by the interest but I enjoy my hobby and don't want to make it a job at the moment.

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  6. Hello Desiree....

    Thank you for your reaction on my blog...i'm a new blogger zo i have to watch en learn....but i think i'm already adicticted to it :)

    Looking forward to hear from you.

    Greetings Bianca

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  7. I would love to be surrounded by wildlife like this, though clearing up after the monkeys sounds like a full time job!

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  8. I sure enjoyed seeing your photos and reading about them! I think I've decided I don't mind having squirrels around. The rabbits, I'm still unhappy with, though.

    I also like what you said about the tracks looking like a cat and bird were having a dance of dare. I hope the bird flew off in time.

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  9. Hola Desiree, we don´t see monkeys around here, how different from where I live, gorgeous!!!!
    You have been traveling to beautiful places and your pictures are great.
    It´s funny, but the translator, for some reason, says I´m going to Germany instead of Buenos Aires, Argentina, just in the other side of the Los Andes mountains.
    cariños

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  10. It's hard to imagine seeing these animals just out wandering around, here they would only be seen in a zoo. They look much happier there able to climb trees for mangoes and even getting to tease the guards. I would love to experience seeing them in person the way you did.

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  11. Thank you for putting me there in the middle of this fantastic place. I love primates and find them one of the more interesting of the animals in the world.

    What a wonderful place to go on vacation. I can see that you enjoyed this very much, It comes through in your writing. Well I enjoyed it too!
    kt

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  12. He's a beauty! I don't think I'd like to share a picnic with him though. With the Kangaroo paw plant you can cut them right back, leaves as well in the winter or when they stop flowering and they will come back even bigger and better.

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  13. wow!! baboons and warthogs!! and the young baboon ...how cute!!! what great shots!
    the wildlife...critters and creatures... i encounter here...seem so small compared to yours! HA!
    thanks for the glimpse into your part of the world!
    i'll be back to wander some more...

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  14. Thank you for the WONDERFUL comment. I am glad I found you!

    The animated cartoon is very easy.
    I was bummed when I found out that it just came out as a picture when I tried to add it to my blog.

    Then, for the heck of it, I simply drug it to my page.
    IT WORKED!

    Here are some of the pages I use:
    http://www.amazing-animations.com/

    http://www.professionalanimations.com/Animation-Animals-MS364.html

    http://animatedgif.net/fireexplosions/fireexplosions.shtml

    http://www.animationplayhouse.com/new/reindeer1.html

    http://www.animationlibrary.com/

    kt

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  15. Fun pictures. Just wanted to let you know I've been peaking :-) your blog is wonderful.

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