Ever since I read ‘Seven deadly colours’ I have been fascinated by colour presentation of the multitude of fauna that exists. Often, the colour of an animal is not actually a pigment, but a sophisticated means of tricking the viewers brain into registering something very different to reality, a means of disguise. Then there are species with elaborate structural colours (one of the 7 colour … Continue reading The deception of colour.
“I think you need to come and look at this again” called Dr Martin Lockley. Dr Charles Helm, his wife Linda and myself were walking away from an overhang of aeolianite with a series of fossilized tracks on the under surface to look at another series of fossil tracks which Dr Helm describes as a work of art. When an ichnologist and paleontologist as renowned … Continue reading Cast in Stone : The Cradle of Human Culture.
In the past 6 months there have been over 10 whale carcasses washed up, including a rare Sperm Whale, in the Garden Route. Depending on where they washed up, their handling varied from leaving them in situ to burying them or removing the remains for disposal elsewhere. Where possible, sampling was performed for DNA profiling and parasite collection. Generally, with the carcasses there is a … Continue reading Whale Strandings – the harsh reality of nature.
Date: Sunday 2nd September 2018 Location : Swartvlei Beach By Mark Dixon. Late Sunday morning the much awaited autopsy of the beached Sperm Whale carcass got underway. Joining the research team were Dr Stephanie Plon from NMU with Dr Greg Hofmeyr from Bayworld visiting briefly while en route to Cape Town. The most noticeable external observation was of the advanced onset of bloat that had … Continue reading Preliminary Sperm Whale autopsy report.
Date : Sat 1st September Location : Swartvlei Beach Sperm Whale washed ashore. By Mark Dixon It is remarkable that in the past two months no less than two whales have washed up on Swartvlei Beach west of Sedgefield. Even more remarkable is the fact that both whales washed up a few hundred meters apart, testimony to the consistency of currents along the shoreline. The … Continue reading Rare incidence of a Sperm Whale washing up on Swartvlei Beach beach in the Garden Route.
Garden Route Trail 