Dec 2007 – Cape Clawless Otter
photograph by Greg Sneddon
This young Cape Clawless
Otter was found in the Westlake River in the Kirstenhof area. It was
sighted a number of times away from the river in peoples gardens, and
eventually the SPCA were called and it was taken to the Grassy Park
dept.
Please call Cassy
Sheasby (Zandvlei Nature Reserve) on 021 701 7542 if you find any
animal away from its natural habitat.
Cape Clawless Otters on Uitsig Peninsula again...
At last I grabbed my camera and took a picture of an otter in my garden. I am forwarding it nevertheless, because they are around so often, and I am always talking about it. Although recently, I have stopped doing so because I thought that the non – production of proof would lead people to think I was imagining it.
photogrpagh by Lucia Rodgrues
Cape Clawless Otter
This morning I saw Cherry
Giljam on Park Island and she told me her story of 6 otters in her garden.
It seems from her account that the youngsters of a previous season hang around and they form a family group.
Today at 18h00 this mister, I am sure it's a male, was sitting quite comfortably in my garden, rolling and rubbing himself.
I eventually got my camera and through vertical blinds zoomed in through
glass, so that I can remind myself that I am not dreaming. I realise no one has ever said I must be dreaming.
It's just that these wonderful animals have this, here now and gone the next
minute quality, that always leaves me wondering, did I dream this?
And this is the first time I have seen one in DAYLIGHT!!!! Life at the
Marina is quite wonderful!!
Lucia Rodrigues.
PS: I have a theory, which I chatted to Cherry about,
from reports of sightings, it seems the otters favour gardens that have large dogs.
I think that if otters do tend to show themselves more in gardens with big
dogs, could it be that they are always trying to stamp their authority on
the garden?
They are always defecating and rolling around as though they want to overwhelm the area with their scent.
Cape Fur Seal
Una Hartley reported seeing a Cape Fur Seal swim over the rubble weir near the Royal Road bridge at about 18h00 on 26/07/2007.
Cape Clawless Otters on Uitsig Peninsula
photograph by Anthony van Zyl
Cape Clawless Otters
On Wednesday morning 23rd May 2007 very early, before dawn, I was rudely awakened by my barking dogs, who sleep inside at night. By their frantic tone, I knew the otters had returned to my garden, as they are wont to do at this time of year.
Opening a window and peering into the gloomy darkness, I spotted several shapes rollicking and rolling about in my garden. I counted five otters, two smaller than the rest. This time though, their behaviour was different. Normally the hiss, whistle and snap at each other playfully, rolling about and standing up on their hind legs from time to time to sniff the air and look around.
This morning however two of the larger otters seemed to be fighting, grunting and yeowling, rolling into the water, leaping back out again. Their calls reverberated across the water and woke some of my neighbours. After a few minutes they grew silent, seemed to disperse, but not for long before the whole performance started up again. The fighting seemed quite ferocious and I feared it would not stop until one was badly injured. But after about 20 minutes they seemed to have settled their differences and magically slipped silently away.
I am always left with a feeling of having dreamt it all. Such commotion one minute and all gone the next. Still not sure what it was all about, but imagine it could have been a territorial fight?
Lucia Rodrigues
See a previous story below about another sighting.
A juvenile Porcupine (Hystrix africaeustralis) being handled to educate people about these animals, found at Zandvlei and on the Muizenberg and Steenberg mountains.
They are nocturnal and sleep in burrows during the day.
On the 16/06/2005, before the Arbour Day planting at the Westlake Wetlands Garden, those present saw for the first time the spoor of a Grysbok at the pond below the pathway.
photograph by Una Hartley
A Grysbok Grysbok footprint the dark indent in the middle.
photograph by Una Hartley
Grysbok footprint indented in the soft mud, a closer view.
Una Hartley's observations and photographs of this moles activiities on the 0 at the Zandvlei Nature Reserve, in the so called "designated Road Reserve" just off Henley Road.
photograph by Una Hartley
This unusal occurrence of the mole coming out of its burrow and digging up the roots of grass (kukuyu) in the compacted gravel roadway and then returning with a mouthful of roots to the burrow. This was repeated numerous times and was recorded at 14h00 in cloudy weather, with imminent rain.
photograph by Una Hartley
A
number of motor cars had passed over the site a few minutes before, and
within 1 meter of the burrow entrance in the thick kukuyu grass on the
verge of the road.
The mole seemed detemined to fetch the material for the burrow, with a
few other people standing around the mole watching its activities. It
was unpreturbed by their presence. The area already cleared was about 2
long x 1 wide (meter) before we arrived.
photograph by Una Hartley
The duration of the observation was about 10 –15 minutes, before we had to get on with the task of the afternoon, of removing the alien (exotic) vegetation from the Nature Reserve.
photograph by Stephan Wolfart
On the evening of 30/10/2003 Clifford Dorse, added a new mammal
to the Nature Reserve mammal list. This was in the form of a Cape
Fox!
Clifford says "maybe they (the only true fox in Southern Africa)
are on the way to adapting to the urban environment like their close
European relative? We can only hope!"
Cape Clawless Otter – Aonyx capensis
An observation at Zandvlei
At about 21h00, on Wednesday the 20th August 2003, a strange call drew me outside. It was a very still and cold evening. I walked out onto my patio that is raised about two feet off the lawn. My German Shepherd seemed agitated and she indicated that there was something in the garden. With the patio light on, I saw what I first took to be four large cats, bounding towards me from around the corner of my house. I immediately saw I was mistaken, because clearly they were otters!
All four were the same size and they seemed to be in high spirits, confident but cautious and not overly concerned by our presence. I shut my dog away immediately and continued to stand on the edge of my patio, watching the otters.
They kept on bouncing up onto their hind legs, loudly sniffing the air and then lying flat on the lawn wriggling on their bellies and rubbing the underside of their jaws on the grass like dogs often do.
I found myself calling out to them like I would to a nervous dog and they actually moved closer to within 6 or 8 feet of me. It seemed as though they were expecting to be fed or could not quite figure out what I was.
They then quietly slipped into the water and disappeared.
The whole magical episode probably only lasted about three minutes.
I have lived here since 1987 and during the first few years used to see an otter every once in a while. Always after dark and always on clear still evenings. It could be that the stillness made it easier to notice them. I mostly noticed them in the water and only once before had two fighting (I assumed, because it did not look friendly) on my lawn in the early hours of the morning. But for years now, as more development has taken place, I have not seen them.
This was a most thrilling experience.
Lucia Rodrigues.
