Donna Moreau - Writer On The Road

  A couple of things are going on in this photo.  First, the ubiquitous bush butt shot. The rear-angle view of animals is so common that a friend of mine has a series of animal bottoms framed and hung on her bathroom wall.  I have about a million bottom shots languishing on a flash drive, I hate to get rid of them, but I’m not sure what I should do with the backside collection. Secondly, have a look at this trio of male giraffes. Elder, younger, and the one in the middle.  In this photo, the animals seem like pals. The three were playing rather than foraging on the treetops for food, so the sighting was special. Playing around to male giraffes looks like a neck-swinging dance and is weirdly elegant. The behavior is called “necking,” and it can cause damage if the play turns aggressive. It’s a dominance thing, a way to sort out who’s the boss of the females in the tower (or journey if they are moving).  As it turns out, male giraffes, like human males, have testo...

  I LOVE this photo. The silhouette of vultures perched on a dead tree at sunset is eerie and dramatic. I like dramatic anything, so I find these creatures fascinating.    I imagine these vultures waiting in the twilight for the wail of a captured impala as a pack of African wild dogs serves the antelope up for dinner. Or, perhaps they are listening to a trio of lionesses taking down a baby giraffe. The sound can never be unheard, but hearing the growls and pitiful cries is like a dinner bell for the birds. Why? Because raptors are scavengers that eat dead animals, whatever is left when the dogs or the lions are sated becomes a delicious and nutritious meal. Sounds disgusting, right?   But know, there is nothing gratuitous about the merciless events that take place in the animal world. It's survival.   Vultures are vital to the ecosystem. According to National Geographic, "They remove bacteria and other poisons in the environment quickly, consuming carcasses bef...

  This young man is Dean, and he is a ranger at Tandala Trail Camp in the Dinokeng Reserve. Dean is not just any ranger; he is my favorite ranger. At 25, his wealth of knowledge about bush flora and fauna equals any seasoned ranger I have gone with to the bush. In this photo, Dean hopped out of the vehicle to explain why elephants eat the bark of certain trees. It is because the bark of some trees is sweet and delicious. Dean also explained that the damage done to the trees will kill them unless the ellies only tear the bark from one side. If there is bark left on one side, the tree can mend itself, basically grow back the bark that acts as a shield against destructive weather and invading insects.   There are many things that I appreciate about Dean. His ability to identify birds by their call, tracking skills, and knowledge of the flora are remarkable. But the best thing is that he won’t carry a gun. Instead, he has a long stick that can help control a situation if an a...

  Raptors are pretty darn majestic as predator birds go.  Watching them purposefully soaring over the savannah with wings spread wide in search of a critter for dinner is a stunning sight.  This beauty is an African Hawk Eagle. At least, I think it is an AHE. Identifying species of birds in the bush can take years. And years.  My friends and I watched this bird for a long time because it looked in distress. Notice the bump in the back of his neck; doesn’t it look a bit malformed.  We watched as the bird hacked and choked and did a little neck stretch dance, and we were concerned it was going to fall off its perch and die.  After many minutes, we watched in awe as the bird projectile vomited a big bunch of yuck.  As it turns out, this behavior is normal. Predatory birds gobble down their prey, digest the good stuff, and then regurgitate up the bad stuff - like feathers and fur, and sometimes bones. All the detritus that has no nutrition.   I w...

  See the person walking in the middle of the road.  It’s a beautiful road canopied with an assortment of deciduous trees lush with leaves in all shades of green.  Look closely; a sprinkle of pale lavender jacaranda blossoms compliments the scene. It is a lovely image with various shades and shadows, and the lone figure gives it a sense of solitude.  The street is located near a large grassy area in an upscale suburb of Johannesburg.  A friend and I stopped at the park along this street to visit an ART under the Sun open-air exhibition. A dozen local artists were selling their artwork anywhere from a few hundred rands to thousands of rands. A great deal of money for the majority of people living in South Africa. When we got in the car to leave, we noticed this scene.  We were curious as to who this person was lumbering along dressed in an unseasonable amount of clothes (the temp hovered around 90F/33C) and carrying a couple of bags hiked up on slouching sho...

  A big question I have asked myself over the last year is what film will it take for me to return to the movie theatre - a place that I have missed more than anything else during the hateful pandemic we have had to and continue to live through. Admittedly, I have missed many things - teaching without a mask, concerts, going to the many markets in South Africa where I am a sucker for buying treasures I don’t need, and even the gym. Well, maybe not the gym so much. But movies, the big screen, the surround sound is easily the list topper. I have loved going to the movies since my parents gave me a quarter to go to the Saturday matinees when I was a kid. It’s a sacred ritual. I buy my ticket, purchase popcorn, find my favorite seat - on the right side aisle slightly more than halfway up - eat all the popcorn during the trailers, and prepare myself to be whisked to other worlds, and other peoples’ plights while sitting on the edge of my seat as protagonists fight monsters and demons, e...

  In celebration of National Cat Day, let me introduce you to The Royal Family of Lionesses.  In the foreground is the Queen. On the left in the background is the Queen Mother.  The lovelies to the left of QM are the princesses. In the photo on the right, two of the princesses are having a precious moment together.  The ladies are calm, beautiful, and very photogenic.  And terrifying. Moments before they settled into their poses, the felines sauntered by our vehicle. In fact, they surrounded us as they passed. I know they could have cared less that we were there - they only see a big blob that smells of diesel fuel, not something wonderfully delicious. Nevertheless, there are rules to follow during an encounter with a dangerous animal.  Move as slowly as a chameleon pretending not to exist, fight flailing your arms even if a spider is crawling on you or a wasp is circling your nose, whisper, don’t stretch outside of the frame of the vehicle to “get the shot...