Table Mountain Dassies and Cape Town Harbour Seals.

Dassie or Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis).

'If you get up Table Mountain, don't forget to bring back a picture of a Dassie for me' said my son Dan, who'd visited Cape Town a couple of years previously.

So when we arrived in Cape Town in June this year from the Madikwe bush camp (see post), and Jos was settling into the first day of her Dentomaxillofacial Radiology (head & neck stuff) conference at the ICC , I decided to tackle the mountain the hard way, on foot. It was a wonderful climb, through unfamiliar and fascinating Fynbos vegetation, with great views over the city, sea and mountains beyond; great views that is, below the cloud base at about 700 metres. Above that was a world of swirling mists and dripping cliff faces up to the 'Lost World' of the summit plateau at over 1000 metres.

Viewed from Cape Town, Table Mountain looks like a completely flat plateau but the apparently flat top really consists of tortuous, Fynbos covered rock formations of weather sculpted, lichen encrusted limestone; a veritable Japanese garden. Approaching the top cableway station from Platteklip gorge, my ascent route, I spotted my first Dassie, the handsome, smiling chap below.

Dassie or Rock Hyrax at top cable car station, Table Mountain.

I had an extreme wideangle (10-22mm) lens fitted to the camera, normally quite unsuitable for photographing small timid mammals, so should I swap it for a telephoto and risk him running off?

The Dassie (locally pronounced Dussie) or Rock Hyrax has poor body temperature regulation and becomes quite sluggish in the cool conditions experienced in winter at this altitude, so I decided to stick with the wideangle and after a few exploratory exposures from a distance to test his reactions, it became clear that he was not going to move in a hurry, so I tentatively moved in closer. In fact the above shot was taken with the lens not much more than a foot (0.3 metres) from his nose and I must say I was impressed by his trusting nature.

Close by was a Hyrax family group feeding on vegetation at the plateau edge. Here are a couple of the youngsters.

Young Rock Hyrax showing us his interesting dentition.

Portrait of young Rock Hyrax.

Looking out over a break in the clouds from the 'flat top' of Table Mountain.

Surprisingly, the closest relative of the Rock Hyrax in the animal kingdom is the elephant, in terms of its genotype, parts of its skeletal anatomy and more obviously, its dentition. Like the elephant, the Hyrax has no primary incisors but has modified secondary incisors. These are developed to the extreme in the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in the huge tusks but are enlarged in adult Hyraxes too, as you can see in the mist shrouded individual below. Of course, the differences between Loxodonta and Procavia are rather pronounced too but it does demonstrate that genetics can throw up some intriguing ancestral connections.




Mature Rock Hyrax demonstrating principle phenotypic evidence of relation to Loxodonta africana (baby tusks).

Because they lack primary incisors, Hyraxes graze the Fynbos vegetation using the lateral teeth and take in food from the side of the mouth, as seen in the Dassie below, who's actually feeding and not taking a nap.

Hyrax feeding on Fynbos vegetation.

Goofy and comical though these animals may seem to us, we should resist the temptation to see them as an intermediate species on the evolutionary road to some future 'elephanthood'. They are well adapted to the harsh, mountainous landscapes in which they live and have a widespread distribution, from the southern tip of Africa to parts of the the Middle East.

Brief interlude:-

Conversation on Table Mountain with teenage American high school girls (AHSG's) encountering Dassies for the first time:

1st AHSG: 'Oh my God -- What the hell's THAT! Oh my God it's a huge RAT!'

2nd AHSG: 'Oh my God -- does it bite?'

3rd AHSG: ' Eeuugh -- Oh my GOD'

1st AHSG: 'Don't touch it'

2nd AHSG: 'Don't go near it'

3rd AHSG: ' OH MY GOD'

ST: ' It's a Rock Hyrax.'

1st AHSG: 'A what? ..... a HIGH RAT? Oh my Gaaaaaad''

ST: 'A Hyrax. They're related to elephants.'

1st AHSG: 'Elephants? Hey they're related to Elephants'

2nd AHSG: 'You don't say'

3rd AHSG: 'Does it bite?'

ST: 'It won't hurt you'

1st AHSG: 'Hey that's really cute'

2nd AHSG: 'Aww ain't that cute?'

3rd AHSG: 'Yeah look at its cute little eyes.'

1st AHSG: 'Hey thanks for tell'n us about the Hyrax thing mister.'

ST: 'Pleasure' - 'Bye'

End of brief interlude.

Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus).

Back down at sea level and intrigued by tales of seals in the harbour from fellow hotel guests, I set out for a stroll round the docks, expecting to see a couple of seal heads bobbing in the water and not much else. But as so often on this South Africa trip, the encounter exceded expectations and there were three seals hauled up on a jetty among the yachts, on custom made steps and in just the right poses for photographs. These shots are taken with a Canon 100-400 mm, forcibly hand held because I left my tripod back in the hotel room.

Having a good scratch! Cape Fur Seal, Cape Town harbour.

A tender fishy moment.

Male CFS portrait. Squinting and head rolling is more or less continuous.

Hydrodynamic female CFS . Notice the closeable nostrils, ear flaps, small eyes and mouth and slightly retrousee nose; ideal features for shearing through water at speed.

When I took my leave of the seals there was a small queue of people behind me waiting with their cameras and below, you can see just how confiding these animals are.

'Is this is my best side?'