The recent baby rhino photo got me curious to see some of the pets you have seen in camps and compounds while in Africa. We didn't have real camp pets in Zim but there were lots of monkeys in the trees in camp. When we drove in the first day, a monkey ran out of the kitchen with a big piece of cheese in its mouth. I have heard of all kinds of pets from cheetahs to kudus to bushpigs. Let's see some photos.

For that matter, Saeed should post some of his pets too.

Constantia Safaris had a pair of border collies, great animals and no exotics.

Here's a couple of ones I have heard of...




I think JJ Hack has a cheetah.

No pictures, but as you know the camp at Makuti has a "pet" leopard that wanders the camp at night. Thankfully I took Ambien most nights and only heard her sniffing around my tent one night.

Yes, how well I know that. She is looking for her 2 boyfriends that were shot this year near camp.

She's still sniffing tents at night? That's funny.

I have been in several camps that had guniea hens as pets. The "staff" would catch them as chicks at the start of the season. During the season they would be great snake alarms, and at the end - a last supper.....

2 Meerkats in Namibia. They loved to be picked up and scratched. If one got to you first and tugged on a trouser leg for attention, then just like kids, the other one instantly tried to horn in. They were lots of fun.
Gary

I had the same experience of GaryL, but it was only one meerkat.
[URL= ]Meerkat[/URL]

A very friendly pet.

Banded Mongoose in Namibia

PH Pieter Ventor with pet Warthog and Mongoose in Northern Province of RSA

Cheetah in Nambia

Was the cheetah friendly? A friend hunted with Vaugan Fulton and saw a pet cheetah in a cage that was kind of nasty tempered.

Tame impala ewe:



Jochen Hein's lions:

The Cheetah in the above picture was one of a pair of kittens that were rescued from a brush fire in central Namibia by Markus Rogl of Otjiruze. They were both very much like house cats and would purr when you rubbed their ears.

Ann, the impala photo is really interesting. What is the story on the 2 lions?

Thanks for the cheetah info. I have heard they can make good pets. Saeed, are yours well behaved?

I've seen pet meercat (2003), red duiker (2006), white rhino (2006), warthog (2006), nyala (2006) and southern grey duiker (2007).

UEG, surely you have some photos?

Yes I do of some of them, but not with me right now. I have pictures of the meercat, the white rhino, and the southern grey duiker. The red duiker, nyala and warthog I did not take photos of. The meercat was a mean SOB and was very protective of his owner. He slept on the top of the couch in front of a big picture window in the PH's house. He even attached the dogs if they got too close and ruled the roost at feeding time. The southern grey duiker could be called in by calling her name Bambie. She would rush in from the bush for her two to three bottles of milk and just follow you around, even coming into the lodge. The red duiker, nyala, warthog and white rhino literally lived right on the front lawns of the landowners/PH's where they made it their territory. You could approach them and get close to them, but they would not allow you to touch them. Oh, by the way, there were tame bushbuck and even some wildebeest at Kruger in one of the camps this year. They would stay right on the lawns and you could get fairly close to them too, but couldn't touch them. I also have pictures of me holding a baby cheetah in 2005. The wildlife rehabilitation center run by Brian Jones near Hoedspruit was raising two cubs to use in school wildlife demonstations in South Africa, and they allowed us to hold one of the cubs. Man, do those little guys have the sharpest of claws!

Among several dogs, the camp on my first safari included a pet skunk.

Not really camp pets, but rather house pets. Between them, Anne Whittall and my mother, Madelon, have raised an extraordinary assortment of wild animal orphans. Anne has raised a couple of lions, a leopard, a buffalo and now Jimmy. My mum has raised an otter, a serval cat, a pangolin and civet cats. Both ladies have also cared for many antelope, bushpigs, warthogs etc. All of these animals have been successfully returned to the wild, with the exception of a couple of zebra. Zebra are the most difficult of all, especially the males. A couple of male zebras had to be shot as they became dangerous.
I shall post some pictures soon of Anne and Mom's orphans, but I need to scan the photos first. There really are some amazing pictures - lions and leopard reclining in the lounge at Humani etc

Dave

One camp I was in had a baby hyena named Stinky. All the blacks in camp were terrified by him. I was told they are bad magic by one tracker. Another camp had a tame eland that would beg cokes from you. You held the bottle and he would drain it in about two seconds. I often wonder who gave him his first?

My PH told me some amazing stories about pets on their farm growing up. The baboon pets never worked out long term and always had to be shot in the end...nasty things and I do mean nasty.

Let's see some photos of this stuff guys.

Tino and Amanda Erasmus have a tame genet -really nice animal but care has to be taken when handling!

I never thought I would call a warthog cute but....

quote:

Originally posted by cewe:
Tino and Amanda Erasmus have a tame genet -really nice animal but care has to be taken when handling!

quote:

Originally posted by cewe:
Tino and Amanda Erasmus have a tame genet -really nice animal but care has to be taken when handling!

I have also heard that he sometimes has a tame Dane, called Frank?!

Ker and Downey, Botswana, has time to time a "tame" 60 pounders Elephant bull visiting the Shinde Camp in the Okavango Delta:

Not really a pet. More of an uninvited dinner guest.

David-The first time I was at Humani Ann had a pet eland named Rosalyn. The next trip she had a zebra that liked to come into the office and eat the hot faxes as they came out of the machine.If my memory is correct she lost that one to a snake bite.

That "tame" elephant bull would make me real nervous. No thanks. There is a reason why you don't see African elephants in the circus.

A zebra that ate hot faxes? Now that is something I have never thought of in my whole life. That would be a great photo.

Rob and Barry Styles at Buffalo Range Safaris had a bird spider (some folks call them bird-eating spiders)that lived behind the fireplace at their main lodge. I was only there a few hours for dinner, but was warned that she might come down the wall and visit me in the chair I was sitting in that had one corner touching the fireplace wall. I quickly found another place to sit.

I never saw it, but Widowmaker416 was staying and hunting there at the time and I'm sure he could provide more details (pictures?).

You mean one of these?

I found this info...The most dangerous thing about the goliath bird-eater is its ability to flick urticating (stinging) hairs from its body at any creature it perceives as a threat, including humans. This is not a species of tarantula you'd keep as a pet. The tiny, almost invisible hairs that it voluntarily sends floating through the air are extremely irritating to our skin, and can cause real problems if they got into delicate mucous membranes around eyes and mouth. We are accustomed to seeing spiders silently, stealthily crawling across walls, floors, and the sidewalk. But when feeling threatened, the goliath bird-eater is capable of making a pretty loud hissing noise by rubbing bristles on its legs together. Called stridulation, it can be loud enough to be heard up to 15 feet away!

How nasty is that? You can throw that plate away as far as I'm concerned.

The one in your picture is a South American bird eating spider, and are reputed to be quite nasty. Since I never saw the one at Buffalo Range, I don't know for sure what species of tarantula it really was. I suspect that it was a baboon spider, which the books say are common in the area.

Again, this is a question for Widowmaker416 who has stayed there a half-dozen times or more.

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
That "tame" elephant bull would make me real nervous. No thanks. There is a reason why you don't see African elephants in the circus.

A zebra that ate hot faxes? Now that is something I have never thought of in my whole life. That would be a great photo.

It was quite interesting passing him at 10 paces with no rifle, but with my wife and two children 8 and 11 years old. One evening, he was just outside our tent at 3 paces, but then we had the (unarmed) guide with us. Bigfoot as he was called, was totally relaxed and strolled around for 3 days and then left quite amusing i must say!

bad photo, but he is there!

Anne Whittall's orphaned buffalo. I think her name is Miranda or Marinda or something to that effect. Her mother had to be shot by a PH in self defense.

Dave

Dave,

That is a face only a mother could love!

Now here is a face everyone can love!



Umfolozi moochers



While at camp I had the most awful crackers and these warthogs showed up. I sat on the steps of the tent and set crackers one at a time on the snout of the female and she would flip them like a dog and eat them. Good way to get rid of icky food.

David,
Amazing experience!!
I have been studying Leopards for a long time now...what are they like having them around the house? I have heard that they are unable to be domesticated like cheetahs. What is their personality like? I am very interested to hear your comments.

Thanks!!!

Ann, do you have more photos of the baby elephant? My girls would love to see any you might have. I can't tell what it is reaching up towards...are you sitting in a truck?

Ok. Here are some of the pics of the camp pets that I promised.