The Famous Ground Squirrels of the Kalahari

[Gabriela Plesea]

Those were the famous Ground Squirrels of the Kalahari...mischievous, entertaining, always hungry, and also kind of crazy - especially since they lived so close to humans at Mata-Mata camp and thus food was available at all times. Campers seemed to forget a lot of food items around their tents and our protagonists here knew where to find a few morsels...Nowadays people are more aware of the damage they can cause to their health by feeding them, but in the past all it took was just a few crumbs - or nuts in this case - to have some fun with those cuties...

Those images were taken a few years ago, and things have changed a lot in the meantime - more accommodation was built, more campers, and more vehicles...soon the squirrels realised it was no longer safe to dig a big hole in the middle of all that traffic so they moved away from humans, their "homes" now just metres away from the fence surrounding the camp.
I shall not go on to describe what happened here, those images speak for themselves. I hope my short story sequence sequence brings a smile to your face... and on this note I bid you good night:wave:

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gab, fully agree with your resentiments regarding the situation in KTP .............. not going the route i would prefer or like .
I still remember my first visit to that magical place in 1998, done with VW Golf Citi , would laugh about myself today.On long stretches on the parks tracks i hardly could see something , because of the lovely low car and driving through the softv sand was not always fun.
by that time i just showed up and could choose between camp sites , it was in may , in Nossob there have been maybe 10 campers plus some in the huts , and itb was not that much of a race as it is today , sadly .
Well times change ....................
But hope i can return again with you my beloved friends , soon !!!!!!!!:wave:

BTW stunning action images in your sequence , very well executed my little sister :5.

Yours Mr B.E.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Andreas my B.E. Boetie,

So glad you still remember those days...I wonder if back in 1998 you saw jackals lying under the shade on the side of those sandy roads, we saw them up until about three years ago... now people drive furiously, as if they have to tick certain species off their list (lion, leopard, cheetah), sadly they do not care about the little things out there, like birds, lizards, mice, etc. The jackals have learnt very fast while the other, smaller mammals - like those squirrels - get killed on a daily basis. Next time you join us we will make sure we camp in the most remote places, there you are free to even wear different colour socks, LOL. We miss you too Boetie, very much, thank you for taking a look at my squirrels and for such kind comments, I truly appreciate it!

Warmest regards,

[Nancy Bell]

Totally captivating and darling! Outstanding to capture them doing their jumps and scrambling around.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - This thread and the squirrels' antics bring a smile to my face. You captured them very well.

TFS,
Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dearest Rachel,

I would just love to share "breakfast time" in one of those Kalahari camps with you:)

Kindly click on this link, it will take you to a short video on YouTube (Crazy African Squirrel Chaos- That's How We Roll,) compiled by our videographer friend Patrick van Rensburg from clips I have given him : www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFH8HkpCtnA

Warmest regards,

[Marc Mol]

Wonderful action sequence here Gabriela, with the lighting/exp nicely handled,......I gather this was with the D3s?

TFS

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Marc,

I will check, I am quite sure it was the D3S:w3

Glad you like them naughty little things... hope you have a moment to watch the video, it is short but really funny...

[Marina Scarr]

What a fun series, and love all those crazy poses!

[Gabriela Plesea]

I have hundreds more Marina, I love the little chaps...

Except for that one day when they chewed our power cable, LOL

Warmest regards,