We have plenty of Guinea Fowls here in the Western Cape of South Africa, and I asked this guy for permission to take photos of the family.
As a child on a farm long ago, we used to trap guinea fowls for food. My aunt could make a wonderful plate of food with guinea fowl, rice and baked potatoes. There were huge flocks of them after harvesting in the peanut lands, and our method was to make the trap nooses with the long hairs of a horse's end tail brush. That was a very long time ago, and thankfully matters in my life changed drastically over time. So much so that I am now a guinea fowl lover, instead of a hunter :)
Of course, we were out in nature on a farm.
And then there were 4 youngsters.
The guy looked at me and I quickly turned away to take the mountain shot in the photo below this one.
I watched him and all was well, as they were scratching the ground for food again.
And now look, as there were now 5 youngsters.
Suddenly the count jumped to 7 youngsters.
Guinea fowls on average have 12-13 babies and if all of these survived, there would have been 14 youngsters.
But this guy in the photo below is one of the main predators. It is the feared Harrier Hawk flying over high up to scout for babies. Then there are also the Peregrine Falcons, the Buzzards and the Eagles to watch out for.
But the wisdom of the Guinea Fowls has also increased and now they hide the youngsters in the bushes under big trees. The only problem in this case is then the house cats.
And finally, here below you can see the whole family.
Life is life and we all learn how to escape from attackers. In my own life, I have also had many close calls, especially as a teenager from my mom's "boyfriends". When she was not around, they showed me their true colors, and I knew that they were only after having a good time with my mom. She was a very attractive woman, but with a broken wing resulting from the trauma of her divorce from a very violent man. The predators are not only in nature, as they are also very much alive among us humans.
Such is life.
I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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