All photos: Wildlife Act
Motion-activated wildlife camera traps are vital, non-invasive tools that allow conservationists to monitor the movements of animals that are rare, nocturnal or especially shy.
They're also unsurpassed at capturing some candid moments, as conservationists at Wildlife ACT learned earlier this month.
One of the organization's cameras set up in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in South Africa — one of the oldest game reserves on the continent — caught some unusual scenes involving a large-spotted genet, a cat-like animal, taking a joyride on the backs of some buffalo and rhinos.
Often compared to cats, genets are agile, tree-dwelling carnivores that are most closely related to civets and mongooses. They are known to climb branches, but this is the first time zoologists have witnessed them getting a lift from other animals!
"I have personally never seen or heard of the following two species being seen together," Zoë Luhdo writes on Wildlife ACT's blog, "Never mind being caught doing what they did."
So why has this clever genet taken up hitchhiking as a hobby? Dr. Simon Morgan, the director of Wildlife ACT, shares his speculations:
Baffling discovery aside, it's a pretty amusing tale!
Be sure to check out the parody Twitter account set up especially for the silly little genet (@GenetJackson).
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