Bush Babies Have Come To Eat In The Sabie Park Next To The Kruger National Park
KNOCK-KNOCK
As soon as dusk settles in, bushbabies come floating in from all quarters. These agile nocturnal creatures descend like parachutists on the stoep of Tarlehoet, ready to enjoy a finger supper in the bush. Some of them descend from nests near the ridge of the roof. Others arrive from the east along a fixed route. Some surprise us around the south-west corner of the house.
From the nests (natural nests and/or ones specially erected) the quickest way down is directly against the wall. Those from the east are recognised by the “shuck-shuck” noise they make. A minute or so later, they are to be seen in the knob-thorn in front of the house. From there, they invade a sicklebush, then a Transvaal gardenia, then a massive marula next to the stoep, and eventually a rather shabby common spike-thorn. This is the final station before the dinner table. The alternative route around the corner is via an umbrella-tree with its dangerous thorns. From there it is only one substantial leap to reach the marula. When in an adventurous mood, they sometimes dance towards the spike-thorn via the wall of the swimming pool.
Their dinner table is known as Colin’s table
It was a gift from Colin Hickling, ex- mayor of Bloemfontein. It is a conveniently high table, which serves as a counter on which to lean the arms, as on a bar counter. The bushbabies find the table convenient for another reason. A part of Tokkie’s evening routine is to “lay” the table with bananas – not too ripe. Honey snacks are also favourites. We know friends who swear by little chunks of Bar One and marshmallow. A spoonful of sugar-water is not to be sneezed at.
One evening there was a crisis: a banana shortage. The owner of the house risked his neck by secretly sharing their meal. A pear was offered as a substitute, but it was not well received. An upset Tokkie swore there were looks of reproach in the little round eyes and traces of annoyance in their body language. What about paw-paw? Not a chance.
Bushbabies are most active during the first two to three hours of the evening. Every evening at dusk their bush cabaret is on the programme. It never gets boring, though. All eyes are focused on the spike-thorn from the moment the first little bounder reaches it, spies the land for a while, and then lands on the table with a thump. The slice of banana is quickly grabbed and consumed in the branches of the spike-thorn. Like a cob of green mealie: from end to end. The patriarch has a reserved seat in a fork of the spike-thorn. There the old father sits on his throne, eating his banana in a very superior fashion.
Parachutists is an apt name given to them by André Visagie of Bloemfontein. Tokkie, again, compares them with a Japanese “bullet train”. Their reliability is superlative. Set your watch! How they manage to avoid collisions in mid-air, is inexplicable. Their traffic sense is excellent and their timing perfect. Those coming, keep out of the way of those going. At times when the craving for bananas becomes too much, two of them will land on the table simultaneously. Even three have executed a perfect landing together. But only after the “king” has had his fill.
Three records are broken time and again: how many bushbabies arrive, how long it takes them to clear the table, and how many bananas are consumed. The record attendance is eight, the shortest duration of the meal a mere ten minutes and the most bananas: two and a bit.
When we took transfer of erf 154, Jean Smythe told us of a bushbaby in the ridge of the roof. A dictionary expelled our ignorance. “It’s a ‘nagapie’, stupid, don’t you know that?” A book about mammals further explained the difference between a southern lesser (galago moholi) bushbaby and a thick-tailed (galago crassicaudatus) one, which is found mostly along the river bank or, in Sabiepark, also along the Amazini Brook. The thick-tailed variety is considerably larger and stronger. Their hands are out-size. The little ones (ours) are fond of insects and tree gum. The larger ones live mostly on fruit and gum. Both types are hooked on bananas.