Miscellaneous unrelated photos and stories

      Now that I've been home awhile, I've had lots of time to look over my photos from Moholoholo and I have found several that didn't fit in with my narrative.  I'm going to add them just in case any of you might be interested.

This unattractive little creature is a baby warthog who goes by the name "Mrs. Pig."  One thing that IS glamorous about her is her eyelashes, though.  She was smart and responsive, but--- I don't know---even the most dedicated animal lover doesn't seem to take a warthog seriously.

Here is Athena the honey badger.  I heard she was tame; Charlie in particular really liked her and spent a lot of time keeping her company.  I was leery of her though, having seen the YouTube video "Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit" several times.  How could I forget how incredibly tough and tenacious honey badgers are?  I REALLY didn't want to cross Athena, despite Charlie's assurances that she was very sweet.  And if you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the link to the YouTube video in question, which, incidentally, has been viewed 59 and 1/2 MILLION times (almost as frequently as Elephant Pith):
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg  
[CAUTION: this YouTube video is NOT appropriate for tender ears!]

  

I sometimes forget to even remember, much less mention, how beautiful Moholoholo is.  These are the Drakenburg mountains in the background.  They were surprisingly close and very picturesque.  I had an opportunity to see more of them later (and you will too!)  

Holy cow!  Porcupines in Africa aren't the somnolent slow-moving creatures we're accustomed to here in Wisconsin.  They are BIG!, and ACTIVE!  Run around like  proverbial monkeys, rattling their quills all the while.  This guy was bottle-raised at Moholoholo and then released.  He liked to come to Forest Camp, the gorgeous lodge where we ate most of our meals, for handouts.  One evening he fell asleep under the dining room table.  It was kind of odd to stretch your legs and run into a moving mass of porcupine quills!  I understand some of the guests at Forest Camp didn't really take to this guy.  Can't imagine why not!

There was this fabulous HUGE tree on the grounds of the wildlife center.  I believe it was called a sycamore fig.  Its trunk was amazingly huge and gnarled.  And speaking of huge and gnarled, here's Einstein the Malabar stork enjoying a spot of late afternoon sunshine in front of the tree.

And take a look at this moth I found on the grounds of the wildlife rehab center.  It looked a lot like a white version of the giant silkworm moths we have at home.  Cecropias, for example.  Hey!  I thought:  maybe they ARE a silkworm moth!  I had seen signs for silk farms in the vicinity, but when I asked around, I was told, no, this is not what silkworm moths look like.  But you gotta admit, it's a great bug!