Feb 21 2020
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Stinging Sensation – Black Scorpion @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

When we first moved into our new home – in Sibaya/ Sodwana Bay, there were quite a few small black scorpions living in our house, most would hide under cupboards, the washing machine and anything that could provide shelter for them. This was quite a scary ordeal for us, as we had gotten a Jack Russel pup just a few weeks prior to moving and she loves playing with any foreign thing, her favorites are Shongololos and what we call puppy beetles (Fork-nosed Dung Beetle). But when we first came to Sodwana Bay even the scorpion was fair game. We felt like parents of a baby learning to explore and experimenting with everything. Every time she yelped or started barking at something we would jump up to try and save her, just in case it might be dangerous. There were definitely a few close calls, but none that actually prevailed. Luckily as a rule of thumb big pincers and thin tail, with small stinger usually means not poisonous. Some are described as less painful than a bee sting, and then fat tail with large stinger and thin/small pincers are highly venomous and need medical attention as soon as possible. We now and then find a straggler that wonders into our house and have had a few near stinging experiences, but these Scorpions seem to be just as cautious with their stinger as we are to stepping on them, they seem to rather warn you then just go on the attack… We have a special bottle already where we chuck all unfortunate creatures who stray into our home, we call it the “rescue” bottle, anything small enough which can fit in the bottle, we’ll try catch and release it in the furthest corner of our yard. So here’s the question: Which Scorpion is this? I have done some homework and tried to figure out which Scorpion it could be… I am no expert on Scorpions, so like most people I could confuse this Scorpion with any number of species. The 4 Species below are commonly found in our region – Sibaya/ Sodwana Bay, but honestly I can’t tell the difference, which one do you think it is? The tree creeper Drakensberg Creeper (My most likely candidate) Jones’s Creeper Southern Rock Scorpion (Least likely candidate) These are my suggestions but not exactly sure which one it is and unfortunately wiki was not very helpful in this topic… Here’s a link to to check out these Scorpions: africansnakebiteinstitute.com Leave a comment below to let me know what you think, if we can get an accurate answer I will right a follow up post describing this Scorpion and more info on its habitat… If you have any questions about Sodwana Bay or the odd creatures you have encountered please feel free to send us an email, with your question and maybe your story of the encounter and we will do our best to find the answer and share your story – Don’t forget to add a picture or video….   info@sodwanabayinformation.co.za

Feb 17 2020
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It’s a slithery business – Eastern Green Snake @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

***Harmless Snake*** – A beautifully-marked bright green snake that is active during the day… Every night we take our pups for a walk in the garden to let them do their business before we go to bed. We have this tree close to the house that grows these green pods that look almost like pea pods… On this particular night, Tom decided he wanted to play a little joke on me, his plan was to grab one of the pods and yell snake. Well I am so glad he didn’t… Why??? Because the really was a snake in that exact tree!!! In fact it was sitting right next to the pod that he wanted to grab. The snake is a perfectly harmless Eastern Green Snake (a constrictor), but still has teeth and will readily bite when threatened. The next morning we thought it had left its tree to find a more private tree to live in, until a family member pointed out that it looked like it was still in the tree. It wasn’t exactly where they said it was but when we went to check again we saw its head sticking out of the tree. It was almost perfectly camouflaged with its environment, except it’s gorgeous big golden brown eye. It posed for us for a while, got quiet a few nice shots of it, and then it decided it was tired of the spotlight and started to sway from side to side as if to tell us “leave me alone now please”… A few fun facts about our pretty Snake here in Sibaya – Sodwana Bay: They are day snakes, often hunting for geckos and frogs, I guess they like to catch their prey while they sleep, as most frogs and geckos are nocturnal… They are excellent climbers and often found in very high trees to escape the attention… They are super shy and not very fond of attention. If you wanna pick one up, you might want to put a pair of gloves on, although not venomous they are still ready to bite when handled, and I guess like any snake their teeth could be super sharp. Although I wouldn’t suggest handling a snake until you are absolutely sure what snake it is, and even then rather get a snake guide to approve of the snake. Eastern Greens are often needlessly killed, they are often mistaken for a green Mamba or a boomslang, since these venomous snakes also live in trees. Before killing a snake you might wanna do your homework, our team is very pro-life… Don’t get me wrong if you find a venomous snake on your property that is highly aggressive, you might not have a choice but to kill it, especially having small kids or pets and livestock. But try to rather re-home the snake before going to such extreme measures. The Eastern Natal Green Snake has keels on the belly as well as the underside of the tail and tends to be bright green with some light yellow on the belly. They can grow on average up to 90 cm, but some are known to grow up to 130 cm So next time you see a green Snake, don’t assume the worst, do so homework quickly before needlessly killing a harmless snake… All fact base information Source: https://www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/snake/eastern-natal-green-snake/

Feb 05 2020
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Mysterious friends… – Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

I don’t know about you, but I have always thought about frogs and toads as been real mysterious creatures. I bet our little friends that live in our kitchen have loads of funny stories to tell, especially having the best vantage point of being able to see and hear everything that goes on in our house. It’s as if they are little spies, acting so peaceful and chilled in their little hiding spots taking in every story they can, to tell to their friends. One of the species of frog we have living in our kitchen is the Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog. Our first friend  we discovered the day we moved into our new home when we were testing all the lights out. He was sitting on one of the light switches, smiling away as if he was the happiest frog alive. Although there were gloomy days as well, he especially hates overcast, dark gloomy days. He use to always stair out the window, most probably observing his dinner for the night. But than one day… He disappeared, well I can’t blame him for moving cause he was starting to get a little thin. A few days later we found him in a little cup, smiling again. But that didn’t seem to be so comfortable either, so eventually he went to sit by our kitchen sink. Well that was a bit stressful for him and I. Cause I was worried I would by accident squish him or he would jump on me (I think he had the same concerns). So I moved him to the back of the sink. But than he realised  that there was a pretty girl Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog living in a spoon just above him, so he started climbing the wall and went to sit with her and keep her company. His smile is now bigger than ever!!!! On a later time in the middle of winter we found another Grey Foam nest Frog sitting in a tree in front of our house… Clearly it was getting cold judging by its color! Some fun facts about Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog: Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog seem to like living with humans, I think humans attract alot of bugs for these cuties to eat. They have really freaky suckers on their feet, obviously being a tree frog they need can climb trees, but never thought they would be able to climb walls. Now this is pretty interesting, Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog change skin color according to their environmental temperature. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Their skin color varies between white and brown. So if you wanna know what the temperature for the day is just ask mr/mrs Grey Foam-nest Tree Frog. They grow up to 90mm(9cm) in size. Thats really small, so just be careful not to hurt the poor little thing if he/she comes to visit. Grey Foam-nest Tree Frogs are actually quite intelligent when it comes to easy food… Instead of staying close to waterbeds and aquatic areas they much rather come attach themselves to a human family (not literally). But they do prefer living in peoples homes cause we attract all their favorite foods through our wastage. For more fun facts like these check out – Sodwana Bay Wiki Sources: Wikipedia

Dec 12 2019
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Strong like a Bull – Dung Beetle @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Fun fact, did you know that dung beetles are super heroes to the animal kingdom? Yeah, its true. It sounds gross and weird that such a little beetle that rolls poop for a living could actually be a super bug. These cuties actually help save the planet by rolling and eating other animals poop. Without them animal dung will take longer to decompose and release even more toxic gas into the atmosphere polluting the earth even faster. There are plenty of varieties of Dung Beetle Species around the globe. They can live and adapt to any environment on the planet, except on the poles believe it or not. Well I guess nothing can really survive there anyway. So don’t feel bad Mr Dung Beetle, I wouldn’t wanna live there either. Here are a few fun facts about Dung Beetles and their behavior: When the male Dung Beetle has a good ball of Dung the female will latch onto the ball while the male rolls her to a safe spot. Dung Beetle Females will lay their eggs in dung Balls and the whole family can feed off the dung for weeks to come (Depending on the size of ball and family) So in the dung Beetle world you can divide individuals into 3 categories – Rollers, tunnelers and Dwellers. Dung Beetles have a great sense of smell. Most of the Dung Beetles will rather find Herbivore dung than Carnivore Dung. The Dung Beetle Species belongs to the Scarabaeoidea Family. Dung Beetles are one of the few beetles that will actually care for their young till adulthood. Dung Beetles can push up to 50 times their weight.

Dec 10 2019
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Sodwana Bay Traffic @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

For those of you that are wondering if there is a lot of traffic in Sodwana Bay. The answer is NO!!!! OK, except the peak season, the main town – Mbazwana and maybe at the beach gate can get a bit congested. Outside of that the only traffic you will be getting is your local rural animals. We have goats, chickens and most probably the biggest farm animal available in Sodwana is the Nguni Cattle! The Nguni’s are indigenous to Southern Africa . They are a medium sized cow breed that have been bread between american cows and later on European cows and eventually mixing with South African breads that we now call the Nguni cows. Honestly in my opinion these are one of the most beautiful cow breeds I have ever seen. They are great for milking, slaughtering for meat and overall just mowing your lawn for you. They are actually a great help keeping the tall grass at bay. They have a diversity of colors: some are completely black, some look like the milking cows (black and white), we have even seen the cutest little brown and white calf that looks almost like our little Jack Russel. Some of them can look like the Brahman cow, the white – grayish speckled kind. If you do happen to encounter a herd on the road from a safe short distance start litely hooting in short bursts usually this signals them to move. Try not to startle them to much otherwise you might have a stampede on your hands.