Dungbeetle Tours Competition

15/01/2020

CONGRATULATIONS MONIQUE ROOSWINKEL
WINNER OF OUR FINAL DUNGBEETLE TOURS PHOTO COMPETITION. 2019
We will shortly forward Certificate and information to you

11/01/2020

We will announce the winner of the 2019 Photo Competition on the 15th
January, 2020
Watch this space!!!!

27/12/2019

Three new photo's entered into our Competition. Just in time!!!!
Please open the Album.......Like the photo of your choice and help one of the entrants to get a three day stay for two at Dungbeetle River Lodge

27/12/2019

Photos entered into our Competition for 2019. Friends need to like the individual photo. The most likes will be entered into a Finalist album and the winner will come from those entrants

24/12/2019

24/12/2019

From the banks of the Sundays RIver in front of River Cottage

24/12/2019

Competition drawing to a close.....31 December...the winner will be announced mid January. This is the final competition of Dungbeetle Tours.
Please go into the 2019 Photo Album and like the photos of your choice.

07/12/2019

Mike's first viewing of Warthog piglets this season

07/12/2019

PHOTO COMPETITION ENDS 31ST DECEMBER........HAVE YOU SENT YOUR PHOTO TO ENTER??

08/11/2019

OUR FINAL PHOTO COMPETITION
ENDS ON DECEMBER 31ST 2019.
PLEASE SEND US YOUR PHOTOS.

29/10/2019

07/10/2019

Photos of the twin ellies born in Addo Park.

20/09/2019

First close encounter with Tembe in the Addo Elephant National Park.

Meet 35-year-old Tembe, which was recently introduced into the Addo Elephant National Park. It is the first of three bulls that will be brought in as a donat...

17/09/2019

20/08/2019

Wonderful photos by Mike while in Addo National Elephant Park. Where are photos by our guests......remember the 2019 Competition closes on the 31st December, 2019.

16/08/2019

To all our photgraphers.
The final competition closes on the 31st of December,2019
Prize valid until Dec: 2020

08/08/2019

Bird selection taken by team member Mike

19/07/2019

18/06/2019

Dungbeetle River Lodge

The Magnificent Flightless Dungbeetle:
IUCN vulnerable species
(International Union for Conservation of Nature)

There are over 800 species of dung beetle in Southern Africa and over 7000 varieties internationally. Of all of these the Circellium bacchus, flightless dung beetle is endemic to a few areas in South Africa with the largest pocket being in the Addo Elephant National Park and is highly endangered. They have a low breeding capacity and a low ability to disperse due to their flightless nature. It walks from dung pat to dung pat to feed and collect the dung it needs to build dung balls. Feeding might take place at the dung site, but younger adults usually prepare a small ball and roll it away to eat in a protected location.
The Addo Flightless Dung Beetle prefers the coarse dung of elephant, rhino and buffalo, but will feed on dung from a variety of species. Buffalo is preferred for breeding.
Female beetles produce one offspring per breeding cycle, sometimes two per year. Fecundity is therefore low. When breeding, the female removes a portion of dung from the pile, pats it into a ball and rolls it from 7 to 80 metres away, depending on when she finds a suitable site. A dung beetle can roll a ball 50 times its own weight! Unlike other dung beetles, the Flightless Dung Beetle male trails his mate by a few centimetres but does not help roll the ball. When the ideal site is decided on, the female excavates the hole and the male then positions himself on top of the dung ball and sinks down with it, the depth varying from 17 to 37 cm.
Mating then takes place and the egg is deposited. The male returns to the surface and the female remains with her brood throughout the early (larval) development. This is critical for the survival of the larva as she constantly clears away fungus that develops on the outside of the dung ball. The development time from egg to adult ranges from 120 to 140 days.
The young adult then feeds for another 50 to 65 days before becoming sexually mature. Their life span is between 5 – 7 years. Therefore a sexually mature female who produces only one or two babies a year will only produce about 8 babies in her lifetime.

1) It is one of the largest species of dung beetles.
The flightless dung beetle is regarded as one of the largest species of dung beetles in the world. Coming in at between 22 and 47 mm in size, the Addo Flightless Dung Beetle punches way above its weight class as the Hercules of the animal kingdom.

2)Their inability to fly makes them unique: As opposed to wings, flightless dung beetles have a tightly sealed elytra (wing case), which creates a convective cooling system where heat is drawn away from their body. Thus, they are perfectly suited to hot regions

3) Their survival is dependent on animal dung: These insects feed on elephant, rhino and buffalo excrement. Breeding balls are also made from dung. Coming in at between 22 and 47 mm in size, the Addo Flightless Dung Beetle punches way above its weight class as the Hercules of the animal kingdom. The beetle has vestigial wings that cannot support it in flight.

4) Dung beetles navigate via the Milky Way: According to recent studies in South Africa, dung beetles use the milky way to navigate their way at night and move in a line to reflect it. Astonishingly, they are the first known species to do this in the entire animal kingdom.

5) Their movements are environmentally friendly: When they roll their dung along the ground, the movement helps to aerate the soil and fertilize the ground by spreading animal matter like compost.

Their survival is dependent on animal dung: These insects feed on elephant, rhino and buffalo excrement. Breeding balls are also made from the dung.

Some Information extracted from Wikepeadia.

14/06/2019

Dungbeetle River Lodge

Mike took this marvellous photo of a rhino in the mist. We must never allow this beautiful species to disappear into the mists of time.

08/06/2019

Dungbeetle River Lodge

Dungbeetle River Lodge

Nick Neil- Boss lives in our village and is passionate about conservation.He composed this wonderful song Tears for a Rhino . He has given us permission to copy it onto our page. We hope you will enjoy listening to it. Please share it...we need to spread the message far and wide.

03/06/2019

Dungbeetle River Lodge

Our area is renown for our Addo Elephant National Park, but there are many other wonderful activities on our doorstep.

25/05/2019

Regina Schiele

24/05/2019

Autumn is upon us. Cool mornings and evenings but beautiful warm days.
These photos are an assortment of Dungbeetle Tours team member Mike....not too late to book a tour and start your own album. Look on our webpage www.addo-tours.co.za for more information.

11/05/2019

We have an Instagram account.
Please load your photos onto !!!!!
We will transfer the photos to our Dungbeetle Tours Photo Competition.

03/05/2019

Photos received from happy guests taking part in the activities we offer while you are holidaying at Dungbeetle River Lodge

03/05/2019

Dungbeetle River Lodge

Appetite Wetter: Feast your eyes on our Autumn photos from River Cottage.Check our winter rates.

19/04/2019

We welcome the Easter Weekend in with this wonderful video from MIke of the Dungbeetle team.