Rangers...

  So, as most of you know, Jake was super chuffed to have been selected as one of an elite group, known as Junior Rangers, at the beginning of last year.  Sadly, the program came to an close at the end of last year - the National Parks are no longer prepared to fund the program, which is really sad since these kids are the future of conservation in South Africa!

The lady who ran the program through SAN Parks, Christa, has subsequently quit her job at SAN Parks and is now running an amazing rangers program of her own.  The kids are known as Cape Town Rangers and the group is divided into 3 different ages.  As a former Junior Ranger, Jake is in Christa's most senior group, which is awesome and he is learning some really interesting things.  Most of the meetings are held at Cape Point Nature Reserve and so parents are allowed to stay and learn too.  

Last night the kids were invited to try and see the endemic and endangered Western Leopard Toads, which are currently migrating for breeding purposes.  Usually, the toads move en masse and have been known to bring traffic to a standstill, however this year the migration has been very slow due to our drought. The males move to the water and call the girls over, where the mating happens.  Males then leave while the females lay there 25 000 eggs before they too leave.  

Last night, we weren't able to find a single toad out in the wild, however a friend of Christa's had phoned to let us know that they had 2 males croaking away in their yard and invited all of us to go and see them... 

As the toads are endangered, they need to be measured and photographed for researchers, which gave the kids a chance to touch the toads and get a close up look at them...

 Maybe I should've tried giving him a kiss to see if he'd turn into a prince...

 So, these people who so kindly invited us into their home, have converted their swimming pool into a pond and breeding haven for toads, frogs and fish - it's a real ecosystem all in one garden.  To the left of the picture, you can see a pipe pointing down from the roof - all their rainwater goes into their pond...

 ManOmanOman - a breeding pair...  boy on top, bigger girl underneath...

  Um... I'd be lying if I told you that I knew what type of frogs these were, but they were also happily making babies in the pond...

 Another male toad...

 We managed to get the kids to keep quiet and the males began croaking (sounds more like an old man snoring) away...

 

What an amazing viewing - how lucky are we??  Tomorrow is also Jake's monthly meeting, so we'll be heading out to the beautiful Cape Point Nature Reserve for another adventure and hike.  Can't wait - I love seeing Jake growing and learning new things that will help him in his future!

Have a good weekend and keep warm - there's a big storm on it's way to Cape Town!

Sue XXX