Mass angulate migration

TheLastGreen

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In the Hessequa, (Stilbaai/Albertinia region), a mass migration of angulates is happening. Creeps and caravans are migrating en masse, hundreds of them. They are migrating from an Eastern to Western region.
Everything has remained stable. Weather is constant, no fires, what could cause this?Screenshot_20220118-143108_Maps.jpg20220108_115542.jpgIMG-20220110-WA0011.jpg
 

Lyn W

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Strange! Can't be for breeding if babies are on the move too, unless it's something they learn to do for when they are older by copying the movements of adults.
More food maybe? Is there a rainy season on the way?
Perhaps they know something is about to happen that you don't yet? ? :eek:
 

TheLastGreen

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I thought it may be because if La Niña, I think it's the first year, so it may be that?
In the Western Cape they have Winter rain, so it can't be that, could it?
 

Lyn W

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I think most animals only migrate for all the essential reasons, temps, food, water and breeding etc and maybe loss of habitat forcing them to move elsewhere.
Have you seen lots more of them?
 

TheLastGreen

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I think most animals only migrate for all the essential reasons, temps, food, water and breeding etc and maybe loss of habitat forcing them to move elsewhere.
Have you seen lots more of them?
Hundreds of them. Legally, fynbos is protected, meaning no more tham 1/10 of your land may be deforested (more, and then wild life protection will need to be contacted or heavy fines will be enacted).
What's weird is that they are migrating through fields, miles away from where everyone is building.
(Where the foreman and his wife temporarily lives). He spotted it and let us all know. They live on the edge of the area, covered in dense fynbos, the border farm is cleared, only having grass, but they aren't going through there, the angulates also don't live there.
So food is abundant, no rain, no fire, not human activity?
(Jerome, the tort nibbling the grass, was found by the foreman's shed)
 

Lyn W

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Maybe the km wide meteorite passing earth tonight has upset their internal compass?
 

TheLastGreen

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I'll try to get some more images, I haven't been by the shed in a while. (In the 2 weeks I've been in Stilbaai, I've seen 1 tort, so the hundreds the foreman is claiming does seem a lot, especially as torts don't normally migrate or move in groups)
I'll investigate @Maro2Bear , he did say they were migrating. On average they see about 5-10 a day. Most of them are babies that get stuck on the sand, so they help them get to cover. He said they saw a lot, when you come close to the road, you'll see a few walk across, some large, some babies.
He said it was an unusual amount, all heading in the same direction. Each time they came close to the road or shrubs, they'll see them walk in that direction
 

jeff kushner

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I was disappointed when I opened the thread, I THOUGHT I was going to see Google Maps with ;

Restaurants, Hotels, Turtles, Gas, Entertainment


I thought that maybe it was a New thing! LOL


JMHO

Interesting article and theory/hypothesis....but I have reservations that the activity is being correctly identified.

I do not know the scientific definition of "migration" but scientific definitions by nature are specific so I would suppose that "migration" requires a specific set of repeated behaviors, WITH specific results.........in other words, it maybe is a little deeper than "turtles are moving towards the food or temps"

I make the assumption that animals with free will and ability to move, go where they choose....a lot like we do.

So a couple of examples.....

If there's a 3 day party and hundreds go cause Jeff is having it and we all know he tosses great parties.....is it migration?


When Kerry and I drove down to South Carolina on vacation last summer, I reported seeing hundreds (because it really was that many) of dead turtles along RT 95 in North Carolina...........most were facing the same direction.
Were they migrating and got tagged on the highway?

Cool stuff though.................a lot better than all the other stuff in the yard, with fangs and such!


Full Disclosure; I possess a HS education so never take my word....there are REAL experts here, listen to them!
 

TammyJ

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This is so interesting. I guess you will have to pack up and go with them to see where they end up. Then maybe you will know why they came. Good luck to them!
 
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