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Kyle Gordon

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Kyle was born and raised in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. His childhood was spent scurrying barefooted along the banks of various rivers and dams, fishing rod ever-in-hand, enjoying the beauty and freedom of outdoors. Kyle obtained a degree in construction from UCT ...

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on The Unfathomable World of Scent in the Wilderness

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Beautiful text! Facinating topic indeed!

So very interesting! Those trackers are amazing!

Thanks for the information about scent in the animal kingdom. It is truly a method of communication we as humans do not possess to the extent that animals do. Thanks for the update Kyle.

Thank you for this Kyle, explaining how scents are part of how animals not only survive, but utilize to their advantage. Each time I go on a drive, I marvel at how the trackers have the instinct, or gut knowledge, of where to go to find the animal belonging to tracks in the sand. I truly look forward to more lessons in the bush next year, when I shall return again to my place of tranquility.

What a great pic of the hyena – one of my favorites! (And last time in Africa, I saw the aardvark!)

So interesting, so fascinating and so informative. While most of us have some understanding, albeit limited, of the importance of the sense of smell to an animal, I don’t think we appreciate the amount of information they gain from the simple act of smelling the air, the soil or dung. You have whetted my appetite to understand more about the Jacobson’s organ.

Master Tracker

fascinating , great article. 👍👍👍

Kyle that was a good information you gave us regarding the animal behaviour. Foto’s are fantastic as you see them smelling the air and surroundings in order to see if there is a female in estrus. How stunning is the elephant who smells water 12km afar. Never under estimate an animal.

Great photos.
I often wonder what this world of smells is like for animals. It would be fascinating to be able to smell for -let’s say- only an hour what animals can smell. We would probably be overpowered by these smells.
Amazing that an elephant can smell water over a distance of 12 km and an aardvark can smell termites underground. And – by the way – I was so lucky as to watch one of those fascinating animals for about 20 minutes digging busily and in a very relaxed way for termites right in front of the car.

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