At Mwagusi,
nobody feels hungry!
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It's been a month with many party meals!
At Mwagusi we make sure nobody walks around with an empty stomach. Our chefs prepare fresh food every day, using local produce supplied by nearby farmers and the nearest town market.
Even wildlife around camp are not missing out on anything. Many lions have passed close to camp at night the last few weeks. On their way looking for a meal. Causing a lot of excitement for our guests and other animals nearby. The last few weeks our guests have been able to witness lions, leopards and even a water monitor lizard feasting on a frog.
Did you know most monitor lizards are almost entirely carnivorous, consuming prey as varied as insects, crustaceans, arachnids, myriapods, mollusks, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals? Most species feed on invertebrates as juveniles and shift to feeding on vertebrates as adults. Some monitor lizards have sharper teeth than others. But teeth don’t necessarily make a difference, as monitor lizards will typically swallow their prey whole. The epiglottis prevents food and water from entering the larynx, allowing a monitor lizard to breathe while it swallows its food. A monitor lizard’s teeth, unlike human teeth, are replaced on a regular basis throughout their life.
Did you also know that lionesses do most of the hunting? Males in charge of a pride won’t hunt as much as the females because they’re patrolling their territory (although kills are made during this time) or resting out of the sun (their manes can cause them to overheat). They need to be fresh because if intruders come to try and take over, they’ll have to fight them off. Still, sometimes they’re recruited when more muscle is needed. Males will be the first to eat, often allowing the cubs to join or feed after the males have had their share. The females are often left to fight over the remains, leaving them hungry. Because of this, they will often attempt to hunt again.
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If a frog leaves the swamp for the mountains,
it means it is in danger.
(African proverb)
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Photo credits: donhamiltonphotos.com
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After a big meal, all you need is some fresh water!
Our guests Charlotte and Po have been very lucky to meet a couple of giraffes, drinking water from a small pool underneath the vehicle. This couple wasn't shy at all!
A few facts & figures:
The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world, standing at around 4-5m high, and the tallest giraffes ever recorded have been up to 5.9m.
A giraffe’s neck is too short to reach the ground. As a result, it has to awkwardly shuffle and spread its front legs to reach the ground for a drink of water.
A fully grown giraffe can raise or lower its head by up to 5m, so it might actually pass out were it not for a dense network of fine capillaries (the ‘rete mirabile’) that cushions its brain against rapid changes in blood pressure. Still, the giraffe can't bend his head down for too long, the pressure in the head builds up and could be fatal.
Fortunately giraffes only need to drink once every few days, as they can get most of their water from all the plants they eat. If water is easily available, like in zoos, they can drink 10 gallons (38 litres) a day!
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Foxes Community & Wildlife Conservation Trust
FCWCT oversee a rainforest conservation project in Mufindi, preserving native species, protecting it from damaging agricultural practices, and ensuring water security. The project currently focuses on the facilitation of ongoing ecological monitoring by deploying locally trained anti-poaching units into the scarp forests of Mufindi. Venturing into the forests from four forward operating bases, patrol teams are adept at monitoring both human activities/impacts and the presence/absence of native wildlife. A heavy focus lies in the removal of snares and traps used in illegal poaching activities. Spatiotemporal data concerning illegal human activity and occurrence data of several mammal species are collected daily by patrol teams, contributing to a data inventory which may reveal annual trends in forest resource consumption (illegal human activity) and provides insight into the population dynamics of wildlife species. Ongoing monitoring provides a strong baseline for appropriate law enforcement and forest management practices; safeguarding the ecological and economic values that these forests yield to local communities and stakeholders.
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Guest review
We have absolutely loved it here. The food has been great, Baldon our guide has been welcoming and hospitable and has a huge amount of knowledge. We have really enjoyed getting to know other travellers in camp and Trudie is so warm and relaxed. It has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much, we will miss Mwagusi!
The honeymoon couple, James and Charlotte Gadbury
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