Hi Mitch,

Yes, we saw quite a few of those fly traps (the guy w/the blue jacket got quite alarmed). But we never saw a single fly. We also saw the "fly trap" guys who drove around and checked on them. They'd always get out of the truck with a gun. Couple of times they even helped us find animal tracks. What a profession that must be!

Judy

Hi Nyamera,

There are plenty of books and scientific articles on the visual systems of various animals, but they'd probably give you way, way too much information (and be rather dry to boot). You can't necessarily ask how animals perceive the world, but you can find out whether they have the biological tools to see colour, for instance, by looking at their retinas. There are certain types of cells which are specialised for high resolution and colour vision, and others which are specialised for motion and contrast detection which do not detect colour. We have more of the former, and most non-primates have more of the latter. I'm not a veterinarian, so I can't give you much more detail than that, I'm afraid.

Cheerrs,
Julian

Thanks, Julian, I’ll keep my eyes open for this kind of books, but I’m so self-centred that I’ll probably continue wondering about how animals perceive for the rest of my life.

"perceive me"

I was unlucky enough to sit behind a gentleman who was dressed like a tetse trap (bright blue shirt with black trim). The tetse fly bit ME before finally landing on the gentleman's head. Lucky for him, he was wearing a hat.

PLEASE don't wear bright blue in the tetse infested parts of Botswana.

Nyamera
I don't have any close friends.
You might spot me in an Aloha shirt and observe me nose diving termite hills somewhere.
Kindest regards from your ever humble African Troublemaker

Troublemaker,
Even if my name can lead you to think I’m an alcelaphine, I’m really a primate with very good colour vision – so I’ll have no problem spotting you.

Nyamera

Are you sure that you are not a damaliscine rather than a alcelaphine?

Michael

I’m Damaliscus lunatus of the Alcelaphini tribe, am I not? But, why is my colour vision so good? I’m probably just confused. Now I don’t know if I’ll see this Troublemaker. I have to catch him when he’s diving and not when he is stuck nose down.

at least you should be able to catch up with him with your incredible running speed!

Thanks, Michael, at least I've got my speed!