South Africa 2011

Monday February 14, 2011
AFRICAN ODYSSEY: LARGE TO LITTLE, PLUS A GRUFFALO

In which we try not to run over a daft black beetle, see elephant dung in a new light, and discover the Origin of the Species known as the Gruffalo

Consider for a moment the miserable life of the black dung beetle. It spends its entire life in shit. Its main occupation is creating balls of elephant dung larger than itself, which it then proceeds to move to a safe location by the bizarre method of standing on its head, well actually its front legs, and pushing the ball with its hind legs.

Now the trouble with all this is that the dung beetle is very small, and it seems to like performing its Sisyphean task by rolling the dung ball across the roads in the park. Like I say, it is very small and our car is relatively quite large, though not as large as an elephant as was noted in yesterday’s blog.

There are red triangular roadside signs in the Addo Elephant National Park here in South Africa with the message: "CAUTION Dung Beetles have right of way" there is also an exhortation: "Do NOT drive over elephant dung. The dung is used by the scarce flightless dung beetle for food and reproduction".

So the question is how do cars, never mind 10-ton elephants, avoid crushing the beetles? I cannot speak for the elephants, but for us it meant adopting the slalom skiing technique, shifting our wheel from side to side to avoid one on the left then another one on the right.

Why the dung beetle feels compelled to cross the road with all the inherent dangers is beyond me. Could it not adopt the elephants’ tactic of playing "peek-a-boo" with humans or decide to only move during lunchtime and dinner time. Isn’t the survival of the species dependent on adaptation?

Mind you, when a herd of elephants suddenly emerges from the bush and crosses a road, the dung beetle must feel elation and apprehension in equal measure. Food and death in one apparition. Put on your flak jacket and wait till the shelling stops would be my advice.

Why does the dung beetle do this? Well it seems to like dung for food and reproduction functions. Seems to be something about burying the sperm in the balls. I think men already do that!

The average dung ball looks about the size of a golf ball, but this crazy beetle can push a ball of dung up to 50 times it's weight, which perhaps explains why it has to do the moving in an upside-down position.

And why elephant dung, you ask? Well elephants are veggies and it seems the poo of vegetarians is the beetles’ favourite, though in a push (pun intended) it will make do with the droppings of omnivores.

I think that’s more than enough discussion about such an unsavoury subject in both appearance and practice. But before I quit for the day, I want to pass on a vital discovery of interest to all small children, their parents and grandparents:

There is an animal running wild in the Addo Park called a Wart Hog. It is pig-like and resembles a boar. It is everywhere, usually accompanied by up to half a dozen baby hogs.

Now here is the exciting news, one look at it's ugly face with its curved horns and ugly warts and you will realise, as I did, that this is the Origin of the Species "The Gruffalo".

For those who do not know what I am talking about, consult a child!

Me, I feel like Darwin!

David Lennon
14 February 2011