Eye to eye with The African helmeted turtle - Pelomedusa subrufa in The Meerkat Magic Valley Reserve

• published: 07 May 2015
• views: 8

The African helmeted turtle; African side-necked turtle; crocodile turtle; marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa) is one of the many amphibians that visit the variety of water features located in The Meerkat Magic Valley Reserve - home to the Ungulungu meerkats and Tsebokolodi yellow mongooses, including a river and numerous dams and canals and ponds. Numerous new and expanded water features are being hand excavated – human muscle power only (no machinery) on the reserve to create additional aquatic habitat and migratory corridors for the African helmeted turtle and a vast number of other reserve species including amongst others: Aonyx capensis – The Cape clawless otter; Atliax paludinosis – Water mongoose; Galerella pulverulenta – Cape Grey mongoose; Heprestes ichneumon – The Egyptian mongoose; Suricata suricatta – meerkat (Ungulungu meerkat group and others); Cynictis penicillata – The yellow mongoose (Tsebokolodi yellow mongoose group); Orycteropus afer – aardvark; Hystrix africaeaustralis – African porcupine; Otocycon megalotis – bat-eared fox; Canis mesomelas – Black-backed jackal; Vulpes chama – Cape Fox; numerous bird species and small antelope including Raphicerus campestris - Steenbok; Sylvicapra grimmia - common duiker. These aquatic excavation eco – engineering habitat creation projects done by The Meerkat Magic Conservation Project have been done over many years and will continue and are attracting many species into the protected habitat of The Meerkat Magic Valley Reserve. Displaced and homeless species from surrounding intensively damaged stock farming areas that have lost their natural habitat due to generations of agricultural development and soil compaction from stock trampling are making the reserve their home. All the species that occur in The Meerkat Magic Valley Reserve are protected, no matter how large or small, aerial, aquatic, below or above the ground. Adopt a Wild meerkat and help support conservation - signed supporter certificate, meerkat poster and meerkat conservation information delivered globally from Britain: http://www.giftrepublic.com/Product.aspx?ProdID=MEERKATADOPTIT Wild and Free Meerkat Conservation Tweet tweet...follow updates as they happen and subscribe for video, images as they go live here: https://twitter.com/The_Meerkat_Man Don't miss my magazine article: Field guide to meerkats and their conservation http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/world/Field-guide-to-meerkats.html#cr For Grant's international scientific meerkat publications links: http://www.meerkatmagic.com/modules.php?name=News&file;=article&sid;=469 The Meerkat Magic Conservation Project's MEERKAT MAGIC MOMENTS are Wildlife Films from Grant M. Mc Ilrath - A.K.A - The Meerkat Man a professionally qualified Nature Conservation Biologist and internationally published wildlife researcher and Director and owner of The Meerkat Magic Conservation Project and The Meerkat Magic Valley Reserve - involved with numerous meerkat / suricate films with the BBC; National Geographic; Discovery Channel and more since 1993 and ongoing (over 20 years of fieldwork with two subspecies of the 3 recognised). Bringing you the REAL wildlife film - no post editing or pre-determined scripting or set ups when filming wildlife here - an unedited wildlife documentary behind the scenes and science. No tame, or fed, captured, marked, radio collared, handled animals here - only Wild and Free reserve protected species. There are 150 + free online conservation videos from MEERKAT MAGIC MOMENTS - UNCUT of our Wild and Free meerkats and free meerkat greeting card images from our Wild and Free meerkat conservation research since 1993 and ongoing: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMeerkatMan Your anonymous vote can help spread an awareness about the meerkat / suricate pet trade and aid Conservation Through Education – please vote here: http://www.meerkatmagic.com/modules.php?name=Surveys&pollID;=5 ** FREE TO JOIN ** The Meerkat Magic Conservation Project CAUSE and Help conserve Wild and Free meerkats / suricates in the wild! Every Wild and Free meerkat / suricate conservation supporter is asked to help spread an increasing awareness about conserving Wild and Free meerkats / suricates and their habitat- being in our cause is FREE and the objective is to encourage CONSERVATION THROUGH EDUCATION - so for every additional person who joins our cause, we are achieving this goal - thank you! ** GLOBAL MEERKAT FRIENDS become a WILDLIFE PROTECTOR = Applied Global Conservation Through Education = Wild and Free meerkats and their habitat conservation = Protecting Wild meerkats since 1993! ** The Meerkat Magic Conservation Project - Help conserve Wild and Free meerkats in the wild! The Wild and Free meerkat / suricate conservation cause with The Meerkat Magic Conservation Project: http://www.causes.com/causes/483084 #aquatic #habitat conservation #helmeted turtle #turtle conservation #meerkatmagic #adoptameerkat