Saturday, April 17, 2004
Sooo many stories
Lazy me. Can't be bothered to update my blog.
it's just that I get no feedback so I'm not encouraged to write on.
your fault, of course.
there were plenty of adventure in the land of the white Oryx in the past 2 months. You can count on me that I manage to
get into trouble more frequently than I wish to.
like that time I received signals from place which is really hard to reach, and I decided to get as close as I can and then walk. This is what I usually do, but that time it meant going in a wadi which is quite hard, and where I damaged the car about 2 years ago trying to go through. At the time, I was happy to just damage the car. I was close to dumping it and walk away. I vowed not to go there again, but this time I decided that I'll just go until it starts to get hard.
so I did. On the way, there was a short and steep ascend. Not easy to pass but not something I haven't done before.
4WD low, 1st gear....... and the wheels just dig in the ground. Second try...... same.
so I reverse the 2 meters. Alas, the angle is too steep, and the car is long. The towing hook on the back of the car get stuck in the ground.
I try putting rocks under the wheels and go forward, but the car just dig them away. There is no forward, and there is no reverse. The car is stuck rather deep in the ground.
luckily, somebody forgot a shovel in the car.
luckily, I wasn't alone.
;LUCkily, we managed to dig it out.
unluckily, it was too late to go to look for the white monsters, who are responsible for all this. I know they did it on purpose.
but some time later, in the eastern side of the kingdom, I received signals from the female Tini, and she was alone.
I went to have a look, and there she was, with something brown next to her. Abdul, the first baby in this herd was born !
(Baby Oryx are brown for their first two months of living, and got perfect disguise. Afterwards, they turn white and shiny and can be seen from miles)
Next weekend I couldn't wait I went there on Thursday,I picked up G. and we went to look for Tini and Abdul. Getting closer, I turned around a hill, and I was staring directly in the eyes of Garus ( a male), who turned and run away, picking Tini with him and the both vanished in the last rays of light. I assumed that they left Abdul in the bush.
Friday I found Tini with a large herd, a few km from there, no Abdul in sight. I went to the place I saw her the day before,
(which was where I saw Abdul for the first time) full of worries about his fate. I've found no sign of any predator around, and no pieces of prey. The chances of finding any evidence for what happened to poor Abdul are really weak. Non where found.
the next day I went to find the last two Oryx I haven't seen the day before - Sati & Sola. After getting to magnificent places I never been before, I got to a hill where I could see Sati, peacefully grazing, and another male laying under a tree.
an ideal couple indeed. From that spot I could see another group, 6 Oryx about 3 km away from that couple. S &T who joined me got all the Oryx they ever dreamed on.
suddenly, while moving the telescope from one group to the couple, I saw a brown movement.
Abdul came out of the bush.
I saw him.
T saw him.
S didn't make it. Abdul was told to get back to the bush.
what was he doing with Sati ? I don't know. Maybe she was babysitting.
the next week Abdul was with the same couple again.
Did I ever mention that my hypothesis is that the Arabian Oryx is a mad cow ?
Sola, on the other hand died somehow next to the Jordanian border. A Jordanians Officer handed over her transmitter and ear tag. May she enjoy forever in the Oryx heaven, or at least reincarnate in a least endangered species.
to end this all is a better mood, 2 more baby Oryx were born in the western population. It also took me to some wonderful places to see them.
it's just that I get no feedback so I'm not encouraged to write on.
your fault, of course.
there were plenty of adventure in the land of the white Oryx in the past 2 months. You can count on me that I manage to
get into trouble more frequently than I wish to.
like that time I received signals from place which is really hard to reach, and I decided to get as close as I can and then walk. This is what I usually do, but that time it meant going in a wadi which is quite hard, and where I damaged the car about 2 years ago trying to go through. At the time, I was happy to just damage the car. I was close to dumping it and walk away. I vowed not to go there again, but this time I decided that I'll just go until it starts to get hard.
so I did. On the way, there was a short and steep ascend. Not easy to pass but not something I haven't done before.
4WD low, 1st gear....... and the wheels just dig in the ground. Second try...... same.
so I reverse the 2 meters. Alas, the angle is too steep, and the car is long. The towing hook on the back of the car get stuck in the ground.
I try putting rocks under the wheels and go forward, but the car just dig them away. There is no forward, and there is no reverse. The car is stuck rather deep in the ground.
luckily, somebody forgot a shovel in the car.
luckily, I wasn't alone.
;LUCkily, we managed to dig it out.
unluckily, it was too late to go to look for the white monsters, who are responsible for all this. I know they did it on purpose.
but some time later, in the eastern side of the kingdom, I received signals from the female Tini, and she was alone.
I went to have a look, and there she was, with something brown next to her. Abdul, the first baby in this herd was born !
(Baby Oryx are brown for their first two months of living, and got perfect disguise. Afterwards, they turn white and shiny and can be seen from miles)
Next weekend I couldn't wait I went there on Thursday,I picked up G. and we went to look for Tini and Abdul. Getting closer, I turned around a hill, and I was staring directly in the eyes of Garus ( a male), who turned and run away, picking Tini with him and the both vanished in the last rays of light. I assumed that they left Abdul in the bush.
Friday I found Tini with a large herd, a few km from there, no Abdul in sight. I went to the place I saw her the day before,
(which was where I saw Abdul for the first time) full of worries about his fate. I've found no sign of any predator around, and no pieces of prey. The chances of finding any evidence for what happened to poor Abdul are really weak. Non where found.
the next day I went to find the last two Oryx I haven't seen the day before - Sati & Sola. After getting to magnificent places I never been before, I got to a hill where I could see Sati, peacefully grazing, and another male laying under a tree.
an ideal couple indeed. From that spot I could see another group, 6 Oryx about 3 km away from that couple. S &T who joined me got all the Oryx they ever dreamed on.
suddenly, while moving the telescope from one group to the couple, I saw a brown movement.
Abdul came out of the bush.
I saw him.
T saw him.
S didn't make it. Abdul was told to get back to the bush.
what was he doing with Sati ? I don't know. Maybe she was babysitting.
the next week Abdul was with the same couple again.
Did I ever mention that my hypothesis is that the Arabian Oryx is a mad cow ?
Sola, on the other hand died somehow next to the Jordanian border. A Jordanians Officer handed over her transmitter and ear tag. May she enjoy forever in the Oryx heaven, or at least reincarnate in a least endangered species.
to end this all is a better mood, 2 more baby Oryx were born in the western population. It also took me to some wonderful places to see them.
