Eagles Hunting Lion Cubs | Tiny New Chameleon | Mantis Morning
Eagles Hunt Lion Cubs in Kenya
Martial eagles are Africa's biggest birds of prey. A new study suggests they’re also the apex of apex predators.
Researchers gathered details on what appears to be the opportunistic hunting of lion cubs weighing up to six kilogrammes (13 pounds) by martial eagles in the Mara region of south-western Kenya.
Female martial eagles are bigger than the males, and it’s likely they are the ones hunting lion cubs, the study says.
In one notable example a martial eagle, probably the same individual, was recorded hunting all three cubs from a pride in Maasai Mara National Park. In another incident, which shows just how dangerous lion hunting can be, a martial eagle that tried to take a lion cub in the Mara North conservancy was thwarted by a lioness that leapt into the air towards the bird.
The study documents a total of nine lion cubs hunted by martial eagles.
The greater Mara region is closely monitored by safari guides and their clients, but the martial eagle has a range that extends across large parts of East and southern Africa.
It means similar encounters could be happening on a wider scale but not being recorded.
"These predation events are probably rare but widespread and underreported in the literature," the study’s authors state.
There have been isolated records in the past of martial eagles killing the young of other mammalian carnivores, including a leopard cub, a caracal kitten, a cheetah cub and an African wild dog pup.
But the high density of lions in the greater Mara region, and the presence there of at least 20 breeding pairs of martial eagles, provides researchers, tour guides and their clients a unique opportunity to observe this rare behaviour.
A Martial eagle in the Mara region of Kenya | Francesco Veronesi | Wikimedia Commons
Tiny new chameleon discovered in recovering patch of rainforest
Researchers have described a new species of miniature leaf chameleon, which when fully grown measures around half the length of a human forefinger.
The tiny critters were found living in a remnant patch of Madagascar’s threatened littoral forests.
It’s the first time a leaf chameleon has been discovered living in one of these forests, which are thought to have once stretched along most of Madagascar’s eastern coastline. Now, only around 10% of this habitat is estimated to remain in small, disconnected patches.
The new leaf chameleon, named Brookesia nofy, has probably only survived because the forest patch where it lives is near a popular hotel and the owners have allowed the surrounding trees to regenerate over the past 20 years.
Despite their miniscule size the leaf chameleons were easy to spot in torchlight during a night walk the research team did when they collected specimens for their study.
The new leaf chameleon’s specific name, nofy, means “dream” in Malagasy. This, the researchers say, is a fitting tribute to the regeneration of its tiny forest patch which “is a dream come true” for a species already deemed critically-endangered.
Supporting ecotourism ventures such as “chameleon safaris" will not only support local communities, but will be key to helping the littoral forests and their animals to survive, one of the researchers told me.
"As a tourist, specifically going on a chameleon safari [in Madagascar], you can make a difference that probably outweighs the harm that you are making by your carbon footprint [in getting there]."
The new species of leaf chameleon discovered in eastern Madagascar | Miguel Vences
Nature Notes: A Mantis Morning
Growing up in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe, I’d take regular walks with my father in a nearby nature reserve.
We would always see something: a bachelor herd of of kudu, those large antelopes with gracefully twirled horns, standing frozen at the grassy edge of miombo woodland; a martial eagle – Africa’s biggest – launching itself soundlessly from its nest high up in the branches of a round-leaved bloodwood tree; a superb false tiger moth sitting flattened on a leaf in a forested ravine until it took off flashing scarlet underwings.
Over the years my wife and I have tried to instill that same thrill of discovery in our own children’s hearts, even though we live in a city. Working on the principle that we wouldn't be left without a reward if we made the effort, my daughter and I set off last Sunday morning to Harare’s National Botanic Garden.
After just a few minutes in the garden we came across a mouse-eared combretum tree in flower. There, among the profuse, ivory-coloured blossoms, was an eyed-flower mantis.
These praying mantises have a distinct eyespot pattern on their backs to ward off potential predators. The one we saw appeared to realise it wouldn’t fool us with the eye marking. Instead, it turned its back to us, becoming invisible thanks to the camouflage on its underside that matched the combretum flowers.
Seeing the insect, and allowing our daughter to photograph it with my smartphone, was validation of my own childhood lesson — that a walk in nature will invariably leave you feeling much richer, and wiser.
