From the Field Archives - Lisa M Roberti

July 25, 2023July 25, 2023

African Jacana carries its babies

The legs are tucked in a little higher but the feet are still dangling

I've seen African Jacanas many many times and never quite understood why my driver guides were always so excited when seeing one.

They aren't rare but they are cool. With huge feet, they appear to be walking on water.

an african Jacana bird - brown wings white neck a little blue on his beak and head with gray legs and super long toes

Notice the grey legs and the super long toes -- it's a bit hard to see with all the grass - but zoom in. These feet and long legs make it appear as if he's walking on water...he is actually just using the foliage to walk across.

On my recent trip to the Chobe River, Botswana, we were lucky to see an African Jacana with chicks...I say lucky because it was a bit late in the season for chicks.

It was a difficult sighting because they were in tall grass as opposed to the Lilly pads they can often be found on.

The babies are just little puff balls.

African Jacana bird with a little chick walking towards him

Do you see the little fluff ball chick walking to dad? The dad will call to them when there is danger.

Once the eggs are laid, the female leaves and the male is responsible for incubating the eggs and taking care of the young.

The babies are in danger from Eagles and other predatory birds. For the first two weeks of the babies life, when the father hears or sees an eagle or predator, he will squat down low and open his wings.

the baby gets in position to crawl under the African Jacanas wings

another baby gets into position under the father african jacana wing

The above images show the babies getting into position to fit under the wings.

all the babies are tucked under the african jacanas wings

All the babies are now stowed safely.

The babies will crawl under the wings and then he will carry them off to safety -- all you can see is many legs and feet dangling from under the wings.

The male African Jacana is carrying the babies. You can see all the legs under the belly

It's hard to see in the grass, but if you zoom in, you can see all the little legs under the belly of the father Jacana.

The legs are tucked in a little tighter, but you can still see the tiny feet dangling under the dad.

It was hard to see with the grass, but the male did carry the young ones away and then later set them down. We stayed with him for quite a while (at a respectful distance of course) in hopes he would pick them up...and our patience was rewarded.

Maybe one day, I'll get to see this when they are on a Lilly pad with a better view.

As always, I'd love to know what you think about the African Jacana!

February 16, 2023March 24, 2023

A Lion’s Dilemma: Witnessing the Complex Behavior of an Older Male Lion Who Reluctantly Shares A Kill with Two Other Males

lion with a little bit of a black mane laying behind a dark carcass in the green grass

- From: Namiri Plains, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

From a distance, my driver spotted 2 male lions walking across the plains. Through the binoculars, they looked like stunning blond males. Big boys with flowing blond manes.

Because it was very wet and muddy, it took us about 15-20 minutes to circle around to find them.

But at first, we didn't find them. We found a beautiful lion with a little bit of black on his mane with the remnants of a kill. (I refer to him as the black-maned male for ease through the rest of this article.)

It was obvious that he didn't make the kill himself as the carcass was almost gone and he didn't have the huge belly that would have indicated a large meal. So many questions remain unanswered - who made the kill? Where is the killer now? How did he get the kill?

We then spotted the 2 blond males further away laying low in the grass. It was obvious the black maned male knew they were there.

The 2 blond male lions laying in the grass close to each other and quite a distance from the male with the carcass

The two brothers were closely bonded and they demonstrated that through several greetings of head rubbings while we watched them.

The black maned boy eventually stood up and took a few steps towards the blondies.

The male with a darker mane walks a few steps towards the 2 younger males

He appeared undecided as he looked back at his kill and then back at the interlopers - not sure what to do.

The older male looks back towards the carcass as if undecided what to do...leave the carcass or confront the interlopers

As he approached closer, the blond males displayed submissive behavior.

The behavior of the black-maned male was not overly aggressive and I really had no idea what to expect.

Unfortunately, I switched cameras to get a wider view and the camera I switched to did not have the audio set up correctly, so I missed the vocalizations of the tiff between the lions.

Within 10 minutes of that slight tiff, one of the blond males moved over 1/2 way towards the black-maned male and his prize possession carcass.

The black maned male ate a little bit and watched the blond male a little bit.

After about 7 minutes, the other blond male joined the first one..he was very slow and submissive and the two brothers did a bonding greeting.

10 minutes after the blond lion closed the distance - he made his move. His brother quickly joined him.

The lions continued to feed on the carcass with a little bit of tension. The original black-mane male laid on the carcass to try to keep it from the others but a bit of tug of war happened.

The hyenas came to wait their turn and so did the vultures.

We left while they were still feeding fairly harmoniously.

General Lion Behavior during a "meal"

Lions are notoriously possessive around their kill. A male lion much more so than any other.

Females generally make the kill (although males are certainly capable of making their own and often do). If a male is in the area when a female(s) make a kill, he will come running in and chase the females off the kill.

Sometimes, the males will let young cubs eat, sometimes not.

When the male has his fill, he will then allow the females and the older cubs to eat.

Male lions are also very territorial. They will often fight to the death to hold their territory and aggressively keep intruders out of their territory.

When a male is too young or too old or just not experienced enough to hold its own territory, he will be a nomad - the nomads stay on the outskirts of other lions territories and try to survive until they can fight to gain a territory or until they die.

I'm not familiar with the lions in this region so I have no idea who any of them are or if there is any relation between the three of them.

Based on the behavior witnessed over the hour we sat with them, we had a few guesses.

They were all nomads - the 2 blond boys together and the black-maned one alone and therefore there was no territory dispute
a father with 2 sons that were not together but tolerated

I will never know the real reasons behind what transpired. It was really interesting to witness to the unusual behavior.

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January 22, 2023March 24, 2023

Leatherback Turtles Nesting in Gabon

one of the guests near the turtle to show her size

As I stroll along the sandy shore, the soft grains of sand shift beneath my toes. The ocean stretches out before my eyes, its surface rippling and glinting in the sunlight.

The water is warm and inviting and as I wade through the shallow waves, I can feel the rush of the water running over my feet and hear the soothing sound of it flowing over the shoreline.

It's a moment of pure peace and tranquility, a moment that seems to last forever. The world fades away, and all that matters is the gentle roar of the water and the feeling of surrender.

I breathe in the salt air and savor the simple joy of being alive, of feeling the sand and the water beneath me. It's a moment of pure magic, and I am forever grateful for it whenever I can experience it.

For me, walking on the beach is one of my absolute favorite past times and it's usually very relaxing and calming.

But on December 20, 2022, it wasn't relaxing and calming -- it was exciting and full of anticipation and curiosity and darkness.

I was in Gabon with The Odysseia Collection on a photo adventure. During the day, I had my tranquil time on the beach with the sun beating on my skin...but now it was night. 10 pm actually and it was time for a new adventure.

Our group was joined by some others staying at the lodge along with 2 naturalists - our goal was to hopefully find turtles nesting on the beach. There were 4 species of turtles that used this beach as a nesting spot.

The white lights from flashlights or other artificial lights can disorient the turtles, so we had to walk with no lights. There was some ambient light from the sky and occasionally the naturalists would shine their red lights on the beach so we could see any obstacles (like big logs and branches and debris that had washed up).

It was an in-between tide time. There wasn't much dry sand and there wasn't much hard compacted wet sand to walk on ...so we ended up walking in mushy wet sand - sinking up to our ankles with almost every step.

The night was pleasant and we were walking in silence out of respect for the wildlife.

I'm not even sure how long or how far we walked but we were getting to the point of wondering if we would ever see a turtle -- and quietly asked -- do we know how often they actually see one?

We were all quite tired from the long adventurous trip we had already undertaken and were longing for a good nights rest.

Several of the guests were wondering if it made sense to turn back when we saw a light a little bit further (ok a lot a bit further) down the beach and our naturalist said that the conservationists had spotted a turtle just down there.

So we continued to walk. Then they had us stop and we waited. It felt like we were waiting forever. We had no idea what was going on. Couldn't see anything or hear anything and then they had us just walk about 10 more feet and there she was!

1 hour and 43 minutes and 2.5 miles to our first turtle - a leatherback. The largest of all turtles.

She was still digging her hole for her eggs and we were not allowed to use our cameras because the light on the back panels (or on the phones) could disorient her. So we just watched in awe as this magnificent leatherback turtle.

She completely ignored us as she laid her eggs. At some point, they go into a trance and that's when the volunteers measure her and tag her.

volunteers measuring the turtle under the red lights

At that point they offered us a chance to touch her.

OHHHH... I REALLY WRESTLED WITH THAT ONE. I wanted so badly to touch her and feel what her skin and shell felt like but I also believe that we should not interfere with wildlife and just being there and watching her, wasn't that interfering enough? Does she really not care if all these people touch her? Can our human touch and human germs somehow effect her? .... I wrestled with the decision...for awhile and then chose to NOT touch her. I still wonder what she would have felt like, but I do not regret my decision to override my own desire for hopefully her benefit.

We stayed with her for a short time and once she started covering her nest, they told us we had to go. She would not leave if we were there and she needed to get back to the ocean. So we left her to finish her work.

It's really hard to put into words what that short sighting of her meant. What it felt like. But we were all invigorated.

As we walked back the way we had come, they had found a second nesting turtle. I was walking quite slow so by the time I got to her, I didn't get to spend much time before she was burying her nest and once again we had to move on to leave her to her work.

We continued to walk back to the hotel and then saw a third turtle. This one was coming up from the ocean onto the beach. Without the red lights on we didn't see her until she was disoriented by all of us and she went back in the water and then back on the beach...we all quickly moved along to let her orientate herself and get to her business of laying eggs.

By now, it was 12:30 the next morning. Our adventure had lasted 2.5 hours. The tide was up and we couldn't continue to walk the beach so we had to go up onto the "grass" area and all climb into a buggy to get driven the last .4 miles back to camp.

I had no idea what to expect on this night, December 20, 2022, that started full of anticipation and curiosity and darkness. The night ended with awe and wonder and a newfound respect and love of turtles.

The pictures and video were all taken with my iPhone. We were under the guidance of naturalists and researches the entire time. Because lights can greatly disorient the turtles, the naturalists and researchers were the only ones allowed to have lights.

About the Leatherback Turtle

The leatherback turtle, also known as the lute turtle or leathery turtle, is a truly remarkable species. With a scientific name of Dermochelys coriacea, this turtle is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth heaviest reptile in the world.

The females can reach up to 6.5 feet long and weigh up to 2000 pounds and the male can grow to 5.5 feet long and 1100 pounds.

One of the primary nesting areas for the leatherback turtle is in Gabon, a country located on the west coast of central Africa. In fact, Gabon is home to the largest leatherback turtle nesting population in the world, with over 6,000 females coming to nest on the country's beaches each year.

Leatherback turtles can migrate long distances and can travel up to 12,000 miles per year.

One of the most interesting things about the leatherback turtle is its ability to inhabit a wide range of environments, from tropical to temperate waters.

Even with this flexibility, the leatherback turtle is listed as a critically endangered species, and conservation efforts are underway to protect these amazing creatures and their nesting areas.

In Gabon, organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) are working to conserve and protect the leatherback turtle and its habitat.

The nesting process for leatherback turtles is quite an impressive feat. Female leatherbacks will come ashore at night to lay their eggs in a nest that they have dug in the sand. Once the eggs are laid, the female will cover the nest with sand and return to the ocean, leaving the eggs to incubate and hatch on their own.

Because the leatherbacks are endangered, the nests are marked and monitored by the volunteers. They are left mostly undisturbed. If a nest is attacked by a natural predator, the volunteers will remove any surviving eggs and put them into an artificial nest so they can incubate. If the nest is too close to a lodge, they will fence off the nest with a small fence so as it stays undisturbed until such a time as the turtles are due to hatch.

Unfortunately, one of the major challenges facing the leatherback turtle and the other nesting turtles in Gabon is the issue of pollution and marine debris. Gabon's beaches are often littered with garbage (mostly plastic) that has washed up from the ocean, much of which is from neighboring countries. This garbage can pose a serious threat to the leatherback turtle and other marine life, as it can get tangled in their habitats and even ingested as well as prohibit the turtles from getting up the beach to a safe location for a nest.

Efforts are being made to address this issue in Gabon and work towards cleaner beaches and oceans. For example, the WCS is collaborating with local communities to cleanup the beaches and educate people about the importance of reducing marine debris.

Another issue for the turtles is the logging industry. Many logs are transferred over the ocean and so many of the logs fall into the ocean and are washed ashore on the beaches. At times, the turtles can get "stuck" behind a log and not be able to get around to get back to the ocean. Many times, the volunteers and locals have to work together to pick up the turtle to move her around the logs.

Where I was staying, in Pongara, the beach was kept clean by the conservation community and by the lodges. Where tourism isn't so prominent, the beaches are littered with plastic. This plastic is not coming from Gabon but from neighboring countries and the Congo river basin.

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September 18, 2022

Leaf Cutter Ants at Napo Cultural Center Ecuador

I don't know much about leaf cutter ants. I've only seen them on two occasions. Once on a night walk in Costa Rica and once in the Ecuadorian Amazon when I was staying at the Napo Cultural Center.

Doing a quick search on the internet, I've read that the name "leaf cutter ant" is generic and there are 47 species of ants that can be considered leaf cutters.

I also read that they can destroy crops - and I believe it after what I saw.

But with all that - they are fascinating creatures!

At the Napo Cultural Center lodge, there were a lot of walkways and natural areas all around the lodge area.

Walking from the main dining area to my tent, I couldn't help but notice the ants carrying the leafs across one of the pathways.

As I looked, the path was really far starting further than I could see, over the grass, down and over the walkway over the grass, across another walkway until their hole in the ground. Even the grass path was trampled down by these tiny little ants.