On our (Ulinda
and family) first cache hunt / seek, being introduced to
geo-caching by “ITBRL” and family (great times and memories), I
couldn’t help but notice how the whole scene of a family scratching
around, under rocks and tree logs, turning everything upside down
looking for these hidden treasures, reminded me of one of my
favorite animals, the Honey Badger / Ratel / Ulinda (Zulu).
Mellivora
capensis
The
ratel is very rare in KwaZulu-Natal,
limited mainly to the Bushveld regions and Coast lowlands of the
north-east.
The
diet includes mainly small animals: scorpions, spiders, mice,
lizards, snakes, millipedes, centipedes, and insects (including bee
larvae and honey).
Ratels
appear to be solitary, occasionally being recorded in groups of two
or three
No information is available on reproduction in KwaZulu-Natal.
Elsewhere in Southern Africa breeding does not appear to be
seasonal and litters of two have been recorded.
In some parts of
KwaZulu-Natal ratels are killed for use in traditional medicine and
their body parts are used as protective charms or as charms for
hunting dogs, because they are very rare the killing of ratels has
led to local extinctions. They are occasionally also caught in
traps set for problem animals, or are accidentally
poisoned.
PS. This lovely
creature is one tough mother given a wide berth of respect (all
deserved) by the majority of the animal kingdom.
This cache can be
reached either by foot or mountain bikes. Make sure to take your
binoculars. There is plenty of game & birds. Best time to do
this is early mornings. Happy hunting!
The waypoints of
a close by parking area and the two starting points of the trail
are included.
Startup cache – TB Buggie, Crocodile,
Hippo, Note book & pencil.