Rare moth

Just took a picture of a rare moth. Looked it up and it is the Snowberry clearwing moth. Hemaris diffinis
It flies like a humming bird.

Hunt for the Great Savanah Python!

A few days ago one fisherman arrived at our door asking for the white man and that he wanted to talk with me, so I came out and asked what he wanted and he said that he had laid down his fishing net in the lagoon about 2 weeks ago. Then when he returned, he found a large python entangled in his net. He became very scared and paddled his way back to home. A few days later he returned and decided to cut away as much net he could to salvage the net to make another. Then he heard about the white man who handles snakes and decided to get me. So I went in my car with the old fisherman and drove about 30min in the bush until I came close to the path to the harbor. It was another 30 min on foot through the woods. Came across a fallen tree.

Then proceeded on foot. Then he took us to his boat. There were other boats there but his looked in ok shape, Of course it is full of water so the old man dished it out.

 Then I took 6 men with me for paddling. The ride went well but was very hot. Being on the water was such a calm and peaceful experience.

  We followed what we call a canal that the canoes and boats have carved out as they have been passing for hundreds of years. From long water grass to lily pads. It was all there.

We finally made it after an hour of crossing the lagoon. We were about a few kilometers from the Congo, and entered a wall of papyrus reeds on both sides. The canal became narrower by the min. until the fisherman showed us were the net was. This is what we found.

Nothing more than a ripped up net from the monster. We did get one fish though, He took it how and ate it. By examining the net thoroughly, The python had a very difficult time weaving himself out of it for 2 weeks. With great disappointment I started back. Sometimes you win others you dont.

The water by this time was calm and was flat as glass. Easy to paddle so it took less time to return to our car. But even with the let down, I did enjoy the hunt. I got out of the house. HA!

Fire Branding!

Ready for branding

When rain comes to our village of Kazembe, it causes the grass to grow, flowers to bloom and critters to go hunting. But grass is what I am talking about today. It is what men all over the world need to to do in order to present his domicile a perfect picture. Cutting the grass! Only here the rainy season last for 6 months which means hiring a local to slash the grass from morning to night to reach all parts of our property. A method similar to the cycle that farmers use to cut the wheat down. We tried mechanical means but failed as garden equipment does not work here due to the low quality allowed to be sold in the shops. 

    But this year we are going to use biological warfare! No, not what you are thinking. We will be using animals! Yes animals that cut your grass even when you are sleeping. They love all that green stuff that grows as tall as 5 feet. So I placed a dozen rabbits and two goats in a secure area next to the road. But to secure our investment from thieves, we have to fire brand them. 

I had a welder fab up a branding iron that had the letters K.O. on it. Representing Kazembe Orphanage.

I made a fire with some coals and fanned the fire until the brander was red hot. But then I noticed that one of the letters started to bend due to the heat so I got a pair of pliers and bent them back to the right position. I would hate to brand an animal with a crooked letter. Ugh! I then got the goats and hog tied them until I was ready for them. 

Turmeric is what we use to clean and disinfect the burn after they are stamped. The branding went smoothly and was over before I knew it. I was surprised by the smoke it created for the few seconds I pushed on the hide.

You can see the turmeric ready to be thrown on the wound after a few seconds. The 2 goats are now the proud owners of K.O. Hopefully in the near future, we will get another dozen goats to fill this area.

New Arrival!

Today we got a Savannah Python which was found in near our place called Pembe Lagoon. It is about 2 feet long and as you can see a very young python. So, after doing some research on it, we are going to make a small cage for him.

There is a song by Alick and James Shitumba called ‘Uluse Lwalile Nkwale’, Python Song in Bemba a song that they first recorded back in 1956.This song, based on a well-known Zambian proverb, tells the story of the partridge and the python. A great fire was destroying the world, and as the fire drew near the python felt increasingly helpless. Desperate to escape the flames, the python cut a deal with his neighbor the partridge. The python promised that if the partridge flew him away to safety, he would never eat another partridge. So, the python coiled his body around the partridge and the two flew out away from the flames. As soon as they were safely away from the flames, however, the python started to get hunger pains, forgot about his promise, and ate the partridge. The moral of the story,  is, ‘do not be careless with your kindness, or you will find yourself in trouble one day’.

This will make a great conversation piece for visitors who come to the orphanage along with all the other animals on the property.

Cleaning the snake cage is a bi-monthly job. It takes skill and patience. To clean the cage, we take a protective chicken wire off plus the glass then the frame. Then we remove all waste which is the hair and bones of the digested rats and mice. Then clean the watering bowl and spray it with water. Thats it. It takes me about 30 min. to accomplish this.

If the snakes like these Puff Adders start towards the opening, I have a professional snake grabber that I use to push them back.

Here are one of my favorate kind of snake and that is the Gaboon Adder. There are only 500 left in South Africa and dwindling. I will be dedicating a tab on the blog on my animals.