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Birdlife Zimbabwe

Silent Trumpets

TEXT & IMAGES EVELYN ROE

Ipomoea rubens

Colourful trumpets silently herald a new day: morning glory flowers unfurl at dawn, the tubes of fused petals remaining a little creased from their night of twisting in tight buds. These twining herbs and shrubs are found throughout the tropics, and in Zambia there are many species, some native and some visitors, flowering across the seasons. Thus, we can almost always find an example of the Convolvulaceae in bloom, even in winter.

Ipomoea shirambensis

Among the native species, Ipomoea shirambensis (locally known as lukuli) brings an astonishing burst of colour to the otherwise parched landscape at the end of the dry season, while I.rubens decorates riverside and swampy vegetation for months on end.

Convolvulus sagittatus

Ipomoea pestigridis and Convolvulus sagittatus, named after the tiger-foot and arrow-like shape of their leaves respectively, are also indigenous to this region of Africa. A non-native, but much-planted Ipomoea is the sweet potato, I. batatas, which probably originated in South America. Its leaves and tubers are highly nutritious and are among the most prominent of vegetables in Zambia, known locally askandolo, chimbwaliand ngulu.

Not only do the tubers taste sweet, they also help to balance blood sugar levels by reducing insulin resistance and thus alleviating symptoms of type-2 diabetes. Ipomoeaaquatica, found floating at the edges of the Zambezi, and other rivers and swamps, is biochemically very similar to the sweet potato, and both species contain compounds known to inhibit HIV replication [reference* given below].

Ipomoea tricolor

Ipomoea tricolor, a garden escapee originally from tropical America, may turn out to be one of nature’s gifts to help us fight the dreaded Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which have become resistant to a wide range of antibiotics: extracts from leaves and roots contain a range of compounds which act synergistically to disable the mechanism of resistance, thus allowing the active substances in prescribed antibiotics to take effect. Other than the species which are known to be edible, do not consume morning glory plants. Many of the seeds are poisonous, with effects ranging from mildly laxative (interestingly, since the other common name for the family is ‘bindweed’!) to psychosis. Ipomoea tricolor seeds, for example, were used by the Aztecs in shamanistic rituals to give their victims mind-altering horror trips.

However, literally hundreds of species of Ipomoea worldwide are known to have effective and wide-ranging medicinal properties, so perhaps we should promote research into our local species. After all, they can’t blow their own trumpets.

*[ref: Meira, M. et al. (2012). Review of the genus Ipomoea: traditional uses, chemistry, and biological activities. Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy, 22(3): 682-7134]

Read more articles from this issue:
Main menu (Issue 16, March 2014)
Full contents listing
Birds & Birding

More from the Zambezi Traveller:
Livingstone Destination Profile
Livingstone News

More articles in this series:
Christmas crackers (ZT, Issue 15, Dec 2013)
Don't eat the daffodils (ZT, Issue 14, Sept 2013)
Rainforest Riches (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
Berry banquet (ZT, Issue 12, March 2013)
Marvellous Mangoes (ZT, Issue 11, December 2012)
Underground Forests (ZT, Issue 10, September 2012)
The healing powers of Aloes (ZT, Issue 09, June 2012)
Dogbane Drugs (ZT, Issue 08, March 2012)
Devil’s Claw (ZT, Issue 07, December 2011)
Elephant Toothpicks (ZT, Issue 06, Sept 2011)

The Victoria Falls Big Tree

The Victoria Falls Big Tree, 2011 (Image credit: Peter Roberts)

The Big Tree of Victoria Falls is one of the important heritage sites in the area. This massive baobab (Adansonia digitata) stands proud just off Zambezi River Drive. It is known throughout Zimbabwe and indeed across the globe, for over the last century thousands of visitors have seen this giant of the veld.

Early visitors to the Big Tree, 1915 (Image credit: Percy Clark)

Along with photographs of the Falls themselves, there are countless historical images of the Big Tree. Those in my collection show surprisingly little change over the last century, other than the two stems towards the Zambezi. This suggests that on the whole the tree is no longer actively growing and expanding outward. There is a possibility that the main trunk actually consists of several fused stems, a not uncommon feature of baobabs.

The Big Tree, 1950s

The tree is just under 17m in diameter. Some have suggested, on the basis of data collected from growing baobabs, that this equates to an age of 1,500 to 2,000 years. Indeed this may be so, but for how long has this tree been in stasis, expanding no further? We will probably never know and all respect is due to this grand old lady of Victoria Falls.

While by no means the largest baobab in Zimbabwe, the Big Tree of Victoria Falls has been silent witness to centuries of human change. It was there when the first farmers started to till the soil in this area. It has seen shifting tribal groups and political alliances – Tonga, Leya, Lozi, Nambya and Ndebele.

The Victoria Falls, painted by Thomas Baines, 1863.

Being near to the Falls it was a popular camping spot for European travellers in the precolonial period. Not however David Livingstone. His travels were on the north bank of the Zambezi when he first documented the Falls, but others have camped here, like hunter James Chapman, artist Thomas Baines, trader George Westbeach and Czech traveller and collector Emil Holub. Could the large baobab illustrated in one of Baines’ paintings on the far left distance be the big tree? Dated to 1863 it probably is. It certainly appears on Holub’s 1870 map of the Falls.

It was near here that Albert Geise, the man who first pegged coal at Hwange, had a trading store long before the town of Victoria Falls existed. Also nearby was one of two south bank crossing points for those wanting to go north. Later the Victoria Falls Hotel used the spot when it had its own launches for early Zambezi Cruises. The now abandoned jetty was linked to the hotel by a narrow gauge rail track on which trolleys were pushed by human effort.

Sadly the Big Tree was scarred by many of its early visitors, as well as some more recent. What pride can one take in spoiling a tree like this? There is also concern that elephants, that have damaged this area that was once a thick forest, could smash it. Some years ago, no one can tell me just when, the local authorities fenced in the tree. This has never really worked for long and the fence is periodically replaced. It is an unfortunate visual scar spoiling modern photographs, while I see that it still doesn’t exclude humans.

The Big Tree, 2009 (Image credit: Rob Burrett)

When next you get to pay homage to this old lady, remember her age and treat her with respect. Even the slightest scar can get infected and cause death. We will all be losers should we lose the Big Tree so that she cannot also be gazed upon by our children’s children’s children.

Read more articles from this issue:
Zambezi Traveller (Issue 13, June 2013)

Read more about baobabs:
The Big Tree (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
Succulent folds of grey (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
The baobab’s secret (ZT, Issue 13, June 2013)
In love with baobabs (ZT, Issue 09, Sept 2012)

Read more about the region in our destination guide:
Victoria Falls

Fungus Growing Termites

With thanks to Wildlife Camp, South Luangwa for this piece from their newsletter.

Termites. We’ve all heard of them, most of us have seen them, but very few of us know how fascinating they are! Fungus-growing termites (macrotermites) are the ones that build those massive mud mounds scattered all over Southern Africa. They produce a certain type of fungus within these nests which allow them to process cellulose without a gut-parasite commonly found in other primitive species. But did you know that within these mounds, magic happens? You see, just like people, termites prefer their homes air-conditioned. The mounds inside consists thousand of small tunnels, a central chimney, a food store, a royal cell, fungus combs and a nest chamber. It’s inhabited by a single queen, a slightly smaller king to fertilize her, workers to do all the daily jobs that termites need done and soldiers to protect the nest. Seeing as the queen can lay 25 000 eggs each day and live for up to 20 years, you can imagine that millions of termites live together in one such mound.

Macrotermes michaelseni

Air in the nest chamber, heated and depleted of oxygen from all the various activities that take place, rises up through the central chimney and into ventilation flues, just below the mound’s surface. Here, a carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange takes place and the air cools. Heat flowing from below pressurizes this air and the cooled down, oxygen-rich air follows another passageway into a cavity below the nest chamber, passing though specially constructed veins kept damp by the worker termites. This cools the air further, before it rises up again into the nest chamber. Amazing, isn’t it! And other animals think so too! Monitor Lizards (Varanus niloticus) are known to lay their eggs inside these mounds to ensure a constant incubation temprature. Baboons often use these nests as lookouts. And speaking of baboons.

Source: Wildlife Camp, South Luangwa, News March 2014.

Zambezi Traveller Desitiona Profile
Luangwa

Epic wildlife interactions in South Luangwa

Source: Daily Mail (UK).

When two tribes go to war: Incredible moment legion of hippos turn and flee after stand-off with more than 100 crocs in epic Zambian river battle

They are some of the most fearsome creatures to stalk the waterways of Africa.

But when a army of crocodiles got snap happy with a herd of hippos, it seems that the mammals were in no mood for a fight.

Wildlife photographer Marc Mol witnessed the ignominious retreat in a river at Zambia's South Luangwa National Park, where hungry crocs were preparing to rip one hippo to shreds.

For more images and full text visit original article in the Daily Mail.

Zambezi Traveller Destination Profile
Luangwa

Zambezi Traveller Issue 16 (Mar 2014) Full Content Listing

Zambezi Traveller Issue 16 (Mar 2014) Full Content Listing

The March 2014 issue of the Zambezi Traveller looks at birds and birding across the KAZA transfrontier area, with a special focus on vultures as species of conservation concern.

Cover Story

 

White-backed vulture (Tom Varley)

Wingbeats over the KAZA

Feature Story

The Four Corners: Birding paradise

Chobe

 

Egyptian geese (Tom Varley)

The delights of Chobe National Park

Sacrifice for an iconic species

New lodge seeks name

Feel the pulse of Africa

Warthogs have right of way

Kasane gets to grips with strays

 

Openbill stork (Tom Varley)

Snail and shell specialist

Okavango

 

Wattled crane (Pete Hancock)

Okavango – drawing global birders

Celebrating the elderly

Moremi - a conservation benchmark

Kariba & Middle Zambezi

 

Goliath heron (Tom Varley)

The value of citizen science

Atlassing and carcasses in Kariba

To bird or not to bird? That is the question!

Spectacle and theatre in Mana

Toy planes help children

Harare

 

African pitta (Richard Peek)

BirdLife Zimbabwe website relaunched

Pangolin take centre stage

Zim tourism gets import boost

Victoria Falls

 

Rock pratincole (Tom Varley)

In search of the Zambezi trio

Park’s insect life under scrutiny

Royal treatment at The Kingdom

Landmark year for Victoria Falls Safari Lodge

Imvelo to open Zambezi Sands

The Grand Lady marks 110 years

A lifetime with birds

Explore the gorges on foot

A second chance for two vultures

Children, art and wildlife

 

Slaty egret (Bradley White)

Special habitat - special birds

Ancient African link with Czech Republic

A new lodge for Victoria Falls

A man ahead of his time

Bulawayo

Challenged to make a difference

Banff Lodge gets a facelift

Hwange

 

Red-billed Teal (Mike Myers)

Brilliant summer birding

A unique bush experience

Don’t knock twitchers!

Livingstone

Pratincoles and fishing owls

Silent trumpets

Tree planting honours Mandela

Lions of the sand

 

Shoebill (Rory McDougall)

Four birds you’ll see nowhere else

How the rapids got their names

The capture of Shuckmannsburg

New arrival is the centre of attraction

Safpar turns 25

A timeline to success

Luangwa

Friendly people and beautiful birds

 

Lilac-brested roller (Tom Varley)

Flock to the Luangwa Valley

Lusaka

A bounty of birds

Have collar, will travel

The benefits of bats

Where taste meets flavour

Ben Japp – bringing good wine to Lusaka

Kafue

 

Ground hornbill (Stephanie Turner)

A bird’s eye view of Kafue

Game Rangers International

Backpages

 

White-backed Vultures (Tom Varley)

Can vultures survive in KAZA?

The ‘Vulture Man’

Why come to WTM Africa?

Mount Kilimanjaro Fact File

The first World Wildlife Day

Spectacle and theatre in Mana

Shelly Cox, African Bush Camps
PHOTOS: Tammy Smith, African Bush Camps

The dry season in Africa provides a harsh environment,demonstrating the survival of the fittest for all species including birdlife, which flourishes in Mana Pools National Park.

Kanga Pan, located inland of the Zambezi River, is the only water source in the area year round, providing a formidable stage for travellers,wildlife fanatics and birdwatchers to experience up-close-and-personal encounters with species battling to survive the dry months of August through to November.

In September 2013, our team at Kanga Camp captured incredible photographic footage of the daily spectacles which can be experienced inland of the Zambezi River.

Two resident fish eagles had been living off the smaller catfish species inhabiting the pan in front of camp. Equipped with powerful talons to enable the eagle to grasp slippery aquatic prey, these eagles had been successful in their hunting over the previous months.

Whilst this species mainly subsists on fish, the fish eagle is opportunistic and may take a wider variety of prey, such as waterbirds. As the water in Kanga Pan slowly began to recede and marabou storks depleted the catfish numbers, leaving only the larger fish which the eagles battled to carry in their talons, the competition for food increased.

Maribou Stork

With only the largest of the catfish left in the pan’s muddy waters, and after several unsuccessful fishing attempts, the two eagles resorted to feeding on doves that would frequent the pan in the early mornings to drink

Fish eagle in water

On the morning in question, guests were having breakfast looking out over the pan watching the two fish eagles sitting up in a nearby tree. Suddenly in a swoop of feathers and talons, the two eagles fell upon a juvenile sparrow hawk which had been drinking from a small puddle

The resident eagles

A battle between the two eagles ensued over the impending meal and guests watched in awe as the two majestic birds fought for the day’s sustenance

The battle begins

Finally one of the fish eagles made a break and took off with the sparrow hawk securely in its talons. Resting in the safety of a tree on the outskirts of the pan, the successful predator was left to feed on its prey

Factfile

- Despite only one in every seven or eight fishing attempts being successful, the African fish eagle rarely spends more than ten minutes per day actively hunting.

- Calling and duetting, whilst perched or soaring, is an integral part of the breeding display, and is combined with dramatic aerial dives and falls, with pairs interlocking talons in mid air.

- The female normally lays one to three eggs, which are incubated for around 44 days before hatching.

- In the wild those fish eagle young that are fortunate to survive the first year have an estimated life expectancy of 12 to 24 years.

- The estimated current population size is 300,000. The species remains widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa in suitable habitat and is not considered to be threatened.

World Travel Market comes to Livingstone

Derek Houston of Houston Travel Marketing Services, Reed Travel Exhibitions & World Travel Market Africa invites you to a presentation on World Travel Market Africa & Africa Travel Week on Friday 14 March at David Livingstone Hotel Livingstone, 10h00 - 11h30.

RSVP derek@houstonmarketing.co.za Tel +27824640901

Programme:

Ø WTM Africa, Cape Town, 02 - 03 May 2014 - East Africa Pavilion
Ø IBTM Africa, Cape Town, 28 - 30 April 2014 - MICE event
Ø ILTM Africa -Luxury
Ø Additional opportunities at other Reed Exhibitions events

More from the Zambezi Traveller:
African Travel Market

Victoria Falls Fun Enduro

In aid of Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust

For more information visit www.facebook.com/VictoriaFallsWildlifeTrustFunEnduro