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Rhulani Insights 155 – The Dung Beetle Hijacker

  • January 03, 2021 | Rhulani Safari Lodge

Look behind the scenes of Rhulani Safari Lodge.

Today we see Rhulani's ranger Ralf for the first time on a “Rhulani Insights” blog, and he gets his hands dirty with a wet Dung Beetle Ball.

We're learning some interesting new things about this beetle today. In particular, that there are four different types, and that a so-called "hijacker" has actually landed on this ball and is competing for the female.

We also learn that because of the dung beetle and its balls, there are relatively few problems with flies in South Africa.

“It may not be irrelevant to note that even very modest forms of life, like earthworms, dung beetles and fiddler crabs, have no trouble identifying the real problems they must deal with if they are to survive.” – Edward Goldsmith, Environmentalist

Stay tuned for the next episode on 17 January when ranger Alasdair presents us his favorite animal