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I photographed this humpback whale at The Point in Mossel Bay in October last year. It was a lovely day and there were lots of whales playing in the water. People stood on the rocks to watch them. It was a tricky photo to take: The whales move so fast underwater; you never know where they’ll surface!
RIAAN HAMMOND, Hartenbos
My husband Tom and I camped in the Kruger Park in October last year. Early one morning, we were driving along the S41 near Satara when we noticed a vehicle next to the road. The man inside pointed to the left: A lion was resting in the grass. Tom wasted no time getting a pic.
After a while, the lion got up, sauntered over to the other side of the road and continued his nap.
ELSABE NAUDÉ, Pretoria
There are lots of agamas in my garden. For 11 years, I’ve been trying to catch a female in the act of laying her eggs. It took a lot of patience, but I finally succeeded.
This female agama dug a hole in my lawn and laid her eggs. When she noticed me, she scuttled off to hide. I went back inside the house and peered through the window: She returned after a while and carefully buried her eggs.
I can’t wait to see the babies hatch.
YVONNE SWART, Rustenburg #174
Every month our experts answer your questions about birds, bugs and beasts. Send your photos and questions to
LOURAINE LOUW from Kenhardt writes: This porcupine had a feast in our vegetable garden. We caught it and set it free in the veld. Why is the porcupine white and how do we keep it out of the garden?
Wildlife expert LD VAN ESSEN says: Even though all animals have colour variations, this Cape porcupine is probably leucistic – a condition caused by a lack of melanin, most likely because of a genetic mutation.
There’s no scientific evidence that leucistic animals have a lower chance of survival in the wild, and it certainly won’t have an effect on a porcupine since they mostly move around at night.
A chicken-wire fence is the only way to keep porcupines out of your garden. You have to bury the bottom of the fence at least 30 – 50 cm under the ground or they will just dig a tunnel. Porcupines are also said to climb fences, so you should have the top of the fence lean over at an angle of at least 60 degrees, or run an electric wire along the top.
Porcupines have been known to ringbark trees, especially in winter. You can protect your trees by loosely wrapping chicken wire around the trunks. You can also regularly spray a capsicum mixture on the ground to keep them away.