African Wildlife

List of African Animals

2011-04-08T22:21:00.010+02:00

Mammals

Order: Insectivora
Shrews

Long-tailed Forest Shrew – Myosorex longicaudatus
Dark-Footed Forest Shrew – Myosorex cafer
Forest Shrew – Mysorex varius
Greater Dwarf Shrew – Suncus lixus
Lesser Dwarf Shrew – Suncus varilla
Least Dwarf Shrew – Suncus infinitesimus
Swamp musk Shrew – Crocidura mariquensis
Tiny Musk Shrew – Crocidura fuscomurina
Maquassie Musk Shrew – Crocidura maquassiensis
Reddish-Grey Musk Shrew – Crocidura cyanea
Peter’s Musk Shrew – Crocidura silacea
Giant Musk Shrew – Crocidura occidentalis
Grey-Brown Musk Shrew – Crocidura luna
Greater Musk Shrew – Crocidura flavescens
Lesser Red musk Shrew – Crocidura hirta
Climbing Shrew – Sylvisorex megalura

Elephant Shrews

Four-Toed Elephant Shrew – Petrodomus tetradactylus
Round-Eared Elephant Shrew – Macroscelides proboscideus
Short-Snouted Elephant Shrew – Elephantulus brachyrhynchus
Bushveld Elephant Shrew – Elephantulus intufi
Rock Elephant Shrew – Elephantulus myurus
Peter’s Short-Snouted Elephant-Shrew – Elephantulus fuscus
Smith’s Rock Elephant Shrew – Elephantulus rupestris
Cape Rock Elephant Shrew – Elephantulus edwardii

Hedgehog

South African Hedgehog – Atelerix frontalis

Golden Moles

Giant Golden Mole – Chrysopalax trevelyani
Rough-Haired Golden Mole – Chrysospalax villosus
Cape Golden Mole – Chrysopalax asiatica
De Winton’s Golden Mole – Cryptochloris wintoni
Van Zyl’s Golden Mole – Cryptochloris zyli
Visagie’s Golden Mole – Chrysochloris visagiei
Grant’s Golden Mole – Eremitalpa granti
Duthie’s Golden Mole – Chlorotalpa duthiae
Sclater’s Golden Mole – Chlorotalpa sclateri
Gunning’s Golden Mole – Amblysomus gunningi
Zulu Golden Mole – Amblysomus iris
Juliana’s Golden Mole – Amblysomus julianae
Hottentot Golden Mole – Amblysomus hottentotus
Yellow Golden Mole – Calcochloris obtusirostris

Order: Chiroptera
Bats

Fruit Bats

Angolan Epauletted Fruit Bat – Epomophorus angolensis
Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat – Epomophorus gambianus
Peters’ Epaulatted Fruit Bat – Epomophorus crypturus
Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit Bat – Epomophorus walbergi
Dobson’s Fruit Bat – Epomops dobsonii
Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat – Eidolon helvum
Egyptian Fruit Bat – Rousettus aegyptiacus
Bocage’s Fruit Bat – Rousettus angolensis

Insect-Eating Bats

Sheath-Tailed and Tomb Bats

Sheath-Tailed Bat – Coleura afra
Tomb Bat – Taphozous mauritianus
Egyptian Tomb Bat – Taphozous perforates

Free-Tailed Bats

Large-Eared Free-Tailed Bat – Otomops martiensseni
Natal Free-Tailed Bat – Mormopterus acetabulosus
Angola Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida condylura
Nigerian Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida nigeriae
Spotted Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida bivittata
Pale Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida chapini
Ansorge’s Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida ansorgei
Big-Eared Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida lobata
Transvaal Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida ventralis
Madagascar Large Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida fulminans
Midus Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida midas
Little Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida pumila
Egyptian Free-Tailed Bat – Tadarida aegyptiaca
Flat-Headed Free-Tailed Bat – Sauromys petrophilus

Vesper Bats

Greater Long-Fingered Bat – Miniopterus inflatus
Lesser Long-Fingered Bat – Miniopterus fraterculus
Schreibers’ Long-Fingered Bat – Miniopterus schreibersii
Yellow House Bat – Scotophilus dinganii
Welwitsch’s Hairy Bat – Myotis welwitschii
Angola Hairy Bat – Myotis seabrai
Lesueur’s Hairy Bat – Myotis lesueuri
Rufous Hairy Bat – Myotis bocagei
Temmincks’ Hairy Bat – Myotis tricolor
Banana Bat – Pipistrellus nanus
Kuhl’s Bat – Pipistrellus kuhlii
Anchieta’s Bat – Pipistrellus anchietai
Rusty Bat – Pipistrellus rusticus
Ruppel’s Bat – Pipistrellus rueppellii
Namib Long-Eared Bat – Laephotis namibenis
Botswana Long-Eared Bat – Laephotis botswanae
De Winton’s Long-Eared Bat – Laephotis wintoni
Cape Serotine Bat – Eptesicus capensis
Rendall’s Serotine Bat – Eptesicus rendalli
Long-Tailed Serotine Bat – Eptesicus hottentotus
Melck’s Serotine Bat – Eptesicus melckorum
Aloe Serotine Bat – Eptesicus zuluensis
Somali Serotine Bat – Eptesicus somalicus
Butterfly Bat – Chalinobis variegates
Schlieffens’ Bat – Nycticeius schlieffenii
Giant Yellow House Bat – Scotophilus nigrita
Yellow House Bat – Scotophilus dingani
Lesser Yellow House Bat – Scotophilus borbonicus
Thomas’ House Bat – Scotoecus albofuscus
Damara Woolly Bat – Kerivoula argentata
Lesser Woolly Bat – Kerivoula lanosa

Slit-Faced Bats

Large Slit-Faced Bat – Nycteris grandis
Common Slit-Faced Bat – Nycteris thebaica
Hairy Slit-Faced Bat – Nycteris hispida
Greater Slit-Faced Bat – Nycteris macrotis
Wood’s Slit-Faced Bat – Nycteris woodi
Vinson’s Slit-Faced Bat – Nycteris vinsoni

Horseshoe Bats

Hildebrandt’s Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus hildebrandti
Geoffroy’s Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus clivosus
Cape Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus capensis
Dent’s Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus denti
Ruppell’s Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus fumigatus
Darling’s Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus darlingi
Lander’s Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus landeri
Peak-Saddle Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus blasii
Bushveld Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus simulator
Swinny’s Horseshoe Bat – Rhinolophus swinnyi

Leaf-Nosed and Trident Bats

Commerson’s Leaf-Nosed Bat – Hipposideros commersoni
Sundevall’s Leaf-Nosed Bat – Hipposideros caffer
Short-Eared Trident Bat – Cloeotis percivalli
Persian Leaf-Nosed Bat – Triaenops persicus

Order: Primates
Bushbabies

Thick-Tailed Bushbaby - Otolemur crassicaudatus
Lesser Bushbaby - Galago moholi
Grants Lesser Bushbaby - Galagoides zanziaricus

Baboons

Chacma Baboon - Papio ursinus
Yellow Baboon - Papio cynocephalus

Monkeys

Vervet Monkey - Cercopithecus aethiops
Samango Monkey - Cercopithcus mitis

Order: Pholidota
Pangolin

Pangolin - Manis temminckii

Order: Lagomorpha
Hares and Rabbits

Cape Hare - Lepus capensis
Scub Hare - Lepus saxatilis
Smith's Red Rock Rabbit - Pronolagus rupestris
Natal Red Rock Rabbit - Pronolagus crassicaudatus
Jameson's Red Rock Rabbit - Pronolagus randensis
Riverine Rabbit - Bunolagus monticularis
Rabbit - Oryctolagus cuninculus

Order: Rodentia
Rodents

Cape Dune Molerat - Bathyergus suillus
Namaqua Dune Molerat - Bathyergus janetta
Common Molerat - Cryptomys hottentotus
Cape Molerat - Georychus capensis
Damara Molerat - Cryptomys damaraensis

Porcupine - Hystrix africaeaustralis

Springhare - Pedetes capensis

Spectacled Dormouse - Graphiurus ocularis
Woodland Dormouse - Graphiurus murinus
Rock Dormouse - Graphiurus platyops
Lesser Savanna Dormouse - Graphiurus parvus

Ground Squirrel - Xerus inauris
Sun Squirrel - Heliosciurus mutabilis
Striped Tree Squirrel - Funisciurus congicus
Red Squirrel - Paraxerus palliatus
Tree Squirrel - Paraxerus cepapi
Grey Squirrel - Sciurus carolinensis
Mountain Ground Squirrel - Xerus princeps

Greater Canerat - Thryonomys swinderianus
Lesser Canerat - Thryonomys gregorianus
Dassie Rat - Petromys typicus
Brant's Whistling Rat - Parotomys brantsii
Littledale's Whistling Rat - Parotomys littledalei
Laminate Vlei Rat - Otomys laminatus
Saunder's Vlei Rat - Otomys saundersiae
Angoni Vlei Rat - Otomys angoniensis
Vlei Rat - Otomys irroratus
Sloggett's Rat - Otomys sloggetti
Karoo Bush Rat - Otomys unisulcatus
Grooved-Toothed Mouse - Pelomys fallax
Spiny Mouse - Acomys spinosissimus
Cape Spiny Mouse - Acomys subspinosus
Single-Striped Mouse - Lemniscomys rosalia
Striped Mouse - Rhabdomys pumilio
Woosnam's Desert Rat - Zelotomys woosnami
Water Rat - Dasymys incomtus
Mozambique Woodland Rat - Grammomys cometes
Woodland Mouse - Grammomys dolichurus
House Mouse - Mus musculus
Pygmy Mouse - Mus minutoides
Setzer's Pygmy Mouse - Mus setzeri
Grey-Bellied Pygmy Mouse - Mus triton
Thomas' Pygmy Mouse - Mus sorella
Desert Pygmy Mouse - Mus indutus
Rudd's Mouse - Uranomys ruddi
Multimmate Mouse - Masyomys natalensis
Shortridge's Mouse - Mastomys shortridgei
Tree Mouse - Thallomys paedulcus
Namaqua Rock Mouse - Aethomys namaquaensis
Red Veld Rat - Aethomys chrysophilus
House Rat - Rattus rattus
Short-Tailed Gerbil - Desmodillus auricularis
Hairy-Footed Gerbil - Gerbillurus paeba
Bushveld Gerbil - Tatera leucogaster
Cape Gerbil - Tatera afra
Highveld Gerbil - Tatera brantsii
Pygmy Rock Mouse - Petromyscus collinus
White-Tailed Mouse - Mystromys albicaudatus
Giant Rat - Cricetomys gambianus
Pouched Mouse - Saccostomus campestris
Large-Eared Mouse - Malacothrix typica
Grey Climbing Mouse - Dendromus melanotis
Brant's Climbing Mouse - Dendromus mesomelas
Chestnut Climbing Mouse - Dendromus mystacalis
Fat Mouse - Steatomys pratensis

LIST TO BE UPDATED IN FUTURE

Rhino Pictures

2009-08-01T20:30:00.007+02:00

For the differences between Black and White rhino CLICK "HERE"

For facts on White rhino CLICK "HERE"

For facts on Black rhino CLICK "HERE"

African Elephant Pictures

2009-05-15T20:33:00.010+02:00

For information on African Elephants "CLICK HERE"

List of African Snakes

2009-05-13T20:00:00.004+02:00

Adders

Berg Adder – Bitis atropos
Gaboon Adder – Bitis gabonica
Many-Horned Adder – Bitis cornuta
Puff Adder – Bitis arietans
Rhombic Night Adder – Causus rhombeatus

Blind Snakes

Beaked Blind Snake – Typhlops schinzi
Bibron’s Blind Snake – Typhlops bibronii
Boyle’s Blind Snake – Typhlops boylei
Delalande’s Blind Snake – Typhlops lalandei
Fornasini’s Blind Snake – Typhlops fornasinii
Schlegel’s Blind Snake – Typhlops schlegelii
Slender Blind Snake – Typhlops obtusus

Cobras

Black Spitting Cobra – Naja nigricollis woodi
Cape Cobra – Naja nivea
Forest Cobra – Naja melannoleuca
Mozambique Spitting Cobra – Naja mossambica
Snouted Cobra – Naja annulifera
Western Barred Spitting Cobra – Naja nigricollis nigricincta

File Snakes

Angola File Snake – Mehhelya vernayi
Black File Snake – Mehhelya nyassae
Cape File Snake – Mehelya capensis

Grass Snakes

Olive Grass Snake – Psammophis phillipsii
Short-snouted Grass Snake – Psammophis sibilans brevirostris

House Snakes

Aurora House Snake – Lamprohis aurora
Fisk’s House Snake – Lamprohis fiskii
Brown House Snake – Lamprohis fuliginosus
Olive House Snake – Lamprophis inornatus
Spotted House Snake – Lamprohis guttatus
Swazi Rock Snake – Lamprohis swazicus
Yellow-Bellied House Snake – Lamprohis fuscus

Mambas

Black Mamba – Dendroaspis polylepis
Green Mamba – Dendroaspis angusticeps

Pythons

African Rock Python – Python sebae
Anchieta’s Dwarf Python – Python anchietae

Skaapstekers

Spotted Skaapsteker – Psammophylax rhombeatus
Striped Skaapsteker – Psammophylax tritaeniatus

Slug Eaters

Common Slug Eater – Duberria lutrix
Spotted Slug Eater – Duberria variegata

Thread Snakes

Black Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops nigricans
Cape Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops conjunctus
Damara Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops labialis
Distant’s Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops distanti
Long-Tailed Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops longicaudus
Peter’s Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops scutifrons
Slender Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops gracilior
Tello’s Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops telloi
Western Thread Snake – Leptotyphlops occidentalis

Water Snakes

Common Brown Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus rufulus
Dusky-Bellied Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus laevissimus
Green Water Snake – Philothamnus hoplogaster
Mulanje Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus leleupi
Whyte’s Water Snake – Lycodonomorphus whytii

Wolf Snakes

Cape Wolf Snake – Lycophidion capense
Eastern Wolf Snake – Lycophidion semiannule
Dwarf Wolf Snake – Cryptolycus nanus
Hellmich’s Wolf Snake – Lycophidion hellmichi
Variegated Wolf Snake – Lycophidion variegatum

Other Snake Species

Boomslang – Dispholidus typus
Cape Centipede Eater – Aparallactus capensis
Cape Coral Snake – Aspidelaps lubricus
Eastern Tiger Snake – Telescopus semiannulatus
Flower-Pot Snake – Ramphotyphlops braminus
Mole Snake – Pseudaspis cana
Natal Black Snake – Macrelaps microlepidotus
Red-lipped Herald – Crotaphopeltis botamboeia
Rhombic Egg-eater – Dasypeltis scabra
Rinkhals – Hemachatus haemachatus
Rufous Beaked Snake – Rhamphiophis oxyrhynchus rostratus
Shield-nose Snake – Aspidelaps scutatus
Spotted Bush Snake – Philothamnus semivariegatus
Spotted Harlequin Snake – Homoroselaps lacteus
Stiletto Snake – Atractaspis bibronii
Sundevall’s Garter Snake – Elapsoidea sundevallii
Sundevall’s Shovel-snout – Prosymna sundevallii
Twig Snake – Thelotornis capensis
Yellow-and-Black Sea Snake – Pelamis platurus

This list of African snake species will be updated in future.

Impala Facts

2009-05-07T22:09:00.005+02:00

Latin Name: Aepyceros melampus

Lifespan: Up to 12 years.

Weight: Mature males 65 kg, females 40 kg.

Sexual differentiation:
The male is larger than the female and has horns.

Habitat:
Impalas are found in savannah, grassland and woodland biomes, often taking shelter under trees and in rocky areas.

Diet and Feeding:
Impala are predominantly grazers but will browse in the drier months if palatable grasses are less in abundance.

Reproduction and Territoriality:

Herding and breeding takes place in autumn. The dominant male herds as many females as possible into his territory with as many as 100 females or even more.

He defends his territory vigorously by chasing out any males he sees as a possible threat to his breeding herd, the threat being the possible loss of any sexually mature females to another male.

Bachelor herds follow the breeding herd within close proximity with eager males often breaking away to challenge the dominant male for ownership of the breeding herd.

Serious encounters between males may result in rutting which normally ends with the one or the other submitting by running away from the stronger, fitter ram.
Rutting between males may become intense with horns breaking off and rarely but not uncommon, death from piercing horns.

In a single breeding season up to 4 different males may dominate the same breeding herd at different periods.

The dominant male advertises his presence vocally by a series of vocalisations including grunting, snorting and roaring. He also scent-marks his territory by leaving fresh and regular deposits of dung on territory markers called “middens”. The number of middens will vary in number and are found throughout his territory with the more regularly marked middens found along the territory boundaries.

He also scent-marks by rubbing secretions of fluid from his face onto twigs and grasses.

The male regularly tests the reproductive status of females within the breeding herd by tasting their urine.

A small pit found in the males’ upper pallet leads to an organ known as the “Organ of Jacobson”. After licking the females urine, particles of urine are passed from the males tongue into the upper pallet pit then through to the Organ of Jacobson. This organ tests the urine and then sends a signal to the males’ brain to inform him of the reproductive status of the female.

After a successful copulation the female goes through a 7 month gestation period and gives birth to a single lamb, very rarely having twins.

Interesting Facts on the Impala:

•Females that have an excess level of testosterone have been known to grow horns. The horns however may grow disproportionately.

•A pregnant female is capable of extending her gestation period by up to 2 weeks if the start of the summer rains are late, which will result in poor grazing value and thus poor nutritional value of her milk produced.

•An impala can jump as far as 12 meters and as high as 3 meters!

Cheetah Pictures

2009-02-28T15:29:00.008+02:00

For infomation on the differences between Leopard and Cheetah click "HERE"
For Facts on Cheetah click "HERE"

African Wild Dog Facts

2009-02-28T10:53:00.002+02:00

Alternative Name: Cape Hunting Dog

Latin Name: Lycaon pictus

Status: Endangered.

Lifespan: 12 years.

Weight: Both male and female 20kg to 25kg.

Habitat:
Wild dogs take preference to areas with few trees and short grass. They are found in savannah, woodland and grassland biomes, as well as hilly areas.

Diet and feeding:
Prey species include medium to small sized antelope such as waterbuck, impala, springbok and duiker as well as wildebeest and warthog.

Of all the large land predators, the wild dog is the most successful hunter with an average of 80% of its attempted hunts resulting in kills. Wild dogs hunt very efficiently as a pack and rely more on stamina than they do on strength and speed.

Once the prey has been targeted, the dogs then take turns in chasing after the animal at a fairly constant speed of 60 km/hour. The running prey is often forced into the direction of other members of the wild dog pack, who wait ahead to have their turn in chasing after the prey.

The hunted animal, exhausted from all the running slows down or stops, giving the wild dogs the opportunity to grab hold of it with their powerful jaws which they then use to tear off chunks of flesh resulting in the prey dying from loss of blood and shock.

Reproduction:
After a successful copulation the female has a two-and-half-month gestation period. The pups are born underground, usually in old abandoned aardvark burrows. The average litter size varies from 7 to 10 young, with as many as 20. The large litter sizes may be as a result of the very high mortality rate of wild dog pups due to various diseases contracted by domestic dogs and predation by lion, hyena and leopard.

The young suckle for roughly three months but are capable of feeding on meat at 2 to 3 weeks of age. After a successful hunt, the adults then return to the den to feed the young by regurgitating the meat.

Other interesting facts:

Wild dogs have very large home ranges, ranging from 200 square kilometres to over 1000 square kilometres.
Their home rangers may extend into farm areas where they are seen as a threat to life-stock and are often destroyed for this reason.

Wild dogs are highly endangered and many attempts in breeding projects have been unsuccessful with most puppies dying in captivity.

A sad fact is that at a certain stage in time, wild dogs were seen as brutal animals in the way that they hunted and how could such a cruel animal be left to live?, resulting in may of them being destroyed.

Baboon Facts

2009-02-27T15:05:00.004+02:00

Chacma baboon

Latin Name: Papio cynocephalus ursinus

Lifespan: Both males and females live up to 18 years.

Weight: Males 32kg, females 15kg.

Habitat:
Chacma Baboons are found throughout southern Africa, except in the very arid regions.

Diet and Feeding:
Baboons are omnivorous feeding on a variety of fruits, leaves, grasses, roots, tubers, tree gum, insects, spiders and scorpions. They will also hunt prey such as reptiles, birds and other mammals.

During the Impala (Aepyceros melampus) lambing season, Chacma baboons have been known to run in and snatch the new-born lambs to feed off them.

Reproduction:
Just below the tail, on the rump area are horny epidermal callosities. With females in oestrus, the callosities swell up substantially and serve as clear signal to the males of their breeding condition.

The dominant males herd and mate with the females in oestrus. The Alpha male does most of the mating.

Young males that have no dominant ranking within the troop have no mating rights. Mature females in most cases won’t give them the opportunity to mate unless the social bond between two is very strong. This type of mating is not tolerated by the dominant males and could prove very dangerous for the young male if caught in the act.

After a successful copulation from one male or a number of different males, the female then goes through a 6 month gestation period and gives birth to a single offspring. Females can give birth at any time of the year.

Youngsters are totally weaned from 6 to 8 months and share a very strong bond with their mothers. In the fist few weeks after birth the mother carries her baby in her hands and arms and as the baby grows it then holds onto its mother by the hair and hangs under her belly while walking. As the youngsters legs get stronger, it then moves onto the mothers back, using her raised tail as a back-rest.

Interesting Facts on the Chacma Baboon:

The canines of a mature Chacma baboon are longer than those of the lion.

Leopard will often hunt baboons, but young and inexperienced leopard can be killed by baboons when mobbed and bitten from different directions by a number of large dominant male baboons.

Young Vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) and baboons will on occasion play together, but as adults baboons will hunt Vervet monkeys.

Male Lion Pictures

2009-02-23T18:05:00.007+02:00

For Information on Man-eating Lions click "HERE"
For Facts on Lions click "HERE"

Nile Crocodile Facts

2009-02-10T15:18:00.002+02:00

Latin name: Crocodylus nioloticus

Lifespan: 80 - 100 years, seldom more.

Length and weight:
Mature Nile crocodiles average 4 to 5 meters in length with exceptionally large specimens reaching 6 meters. Large adults can weigh over 1000 kg.

Habitat:
Crocodiles are found in most game reserves throughout Africa, taking preference to rivers, lakes and wetlands.

Diet and Feeding:
Their diet varies quite considerably depending on its age or size. Hatchlings prey mainly on insects, frogs, small fish and crabs. As they grow larger they then start preying off larger fish like catfish as well as birds.

Adults over 3 meters in length prey on birds, fish, various antelope species, monitor lizards, snakes, other predators including lions, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs as well as other crocodiles.

Crocodiles are opportunistic predators and help clean water sources by feeding off any carrion they may find.

Animals caught by crocodiles are normally dragged under water, causing suffocation. Larger prey species, too large to be dragged under water often die from a loss of blood and shock as a result of a number of different crocodiles gripping and tearing off flesh at the same time.
When feeding off large prey, the crocodile, using its powerful jaws and gripping teeth, thrashes the prey around until small enough pieces to swallow are torn off.

Crocodiles feeding on the same animal under water grab hold of the prey with a tight grip and then spin their bodies in order to break pieces of flesh off.

Reproduction:
Nile crocodiles are sexually mature at about 12 – 14 years. Fertilization is internal with mating taking place in the water.

When the female is ready to lay eggs, she then looks for a suitable nest site with sufficient cover.
A hole is excavated in a sand bank above the flood-line and after depositing a clutch of between 20 and 80 eggs she then fills the hole up with sand again.

The female is highly protective over her nest and defends the eggs from being eaten by predators such as monitor lizards, water mongoose, baboons and monkeys. During this period she does not eat but will on occasion drink water.

The eggs incubate for 3 months and on hatching the young make high-pitched cheeping sounds, which attracts the mothers’ attention to the nest.
The female then digs open the nest and using her jaws, she gently cracks open any unhatched eggs, once done she then carefully carries the hatchlings in her mouth to the river. The young crocodiles stay with their mother for about 2 months before leaving on their own.

Only 2% of crocodiles reach full maturity as a result of being preyed on by monitor lizards, water mongoose, catfish and birds of prey.

Black Rhino Facts

2009-02-10T12:42:00.001+02:00

Alternative Name: Hook-lipped Rhinoceros

Latin Name: Diceros bicornis

Status: Endangered

Lifespan: 40 years

Weight:
Both male and female adults average from 800 to 850 kg, with large adults reaching up to 1000 kg.

Habitat:
Black Rhinoceros are found in dry arid areas as well as savannah and woodland areas with sufficient shrubs and trees to hide in, in the heat of the day.

Food:
Black rhino are browsers, feeding off a wide variety of shrubs and trees. Toxic plants such as the Tamboti Spirostachys africana with its high latex content are also eaten, having no harmful effects on the animal.

The black rhino has a very prehensile upper lip that is used to pull off leaves, shoots and thin branches while feeding.

Reproduction:
Breeding takes place at any time of the year. The female can conceive her first calf at 7 to 8 years of age. A bull will ascertain if a cow is in oestrus by taste-testing the females’ urine otherwise known as “flehmen”.
After a successful copulation, the female has a gestation period of 15 months and gives birth to a calf weighing in at about 40 kg.

The calf suckles off the mother for 12 – 13 months and is fully weaned at 14 months. When the cow is ready to give birth to her next calf, she then chases the older calf away to be on its own or temporarily join up with other adults or youngsters in the area. The calf is usually chased away at 2 to 4 years of age.

Notes:
Black Rhinos do not defend territories but do have home ranges in variable size that they scent-mark in. The bull scent-marks by either spraying urine onto vegetation or by defecating in certain spots called middens. Middens, which vary in number, are large collections of dung left by one bull or a number of different adults over a period of time. The bull after dropping his dung scrapes it into the ground with his hind legs and then spreads the dung further by dragging his feet as he walks away from the midden. Dung stuck under the bulls’ feet helps to further spread his scent as his walks through the area.
The purpose of a midden is to possibly convey information to other adults in the area by the different smells left in the midden.

The black rhinoceros has very weak eyesight but to compensate for that it has a very keen sense of smell and good hearing.

Of the two species of rhino found in Africa, the black rhino is the far more aggressive species. There are however fewer incidents of black rhino injuring or killing people, owing to its much lower population.

The white rhino having a higher population results in more frequent encounters with humans and although not considered as dangerous, accidents have been recorded.

African Rock Python Facts

2009-01-29T12:28:00.002+02:00

Latin name: Python Sebae

Lifespan: In the wild adults can reach up to 30 years of age.

Length:
The African Rock Python is the largest of all snake species on the African continent. Large adults, especially females measure between 4 – 5,5 meters. Larger specimens of 7 and 8 meters have been recorded.

Venom: None.

Habitat:
African Rock Pythons are often found near water in savannah and grassland biomes as well as rocky outcrops. Their preferred retreats are under piles of driftwood and inside old termite mounds and abandoned aardvark (ant-bear) burrows.

Diet:
Mammals such as small to medium sized antelope, dassies (hyrax), rodents, hares, monkeys, monitor lizards, crocodiles and occasionally fish are eaten.

Reproduction:
During the summer months the female lays between 20 and 60 eggs in a termite mound or aardvark burrow. Large pythons can lay as many as 100 eggs.
The female remains with her eggs for the 2 – 3 month incubation period. During this period she will not feed but will leave on occasion to drink.

On warm days she will often bask in the sun and then use the absorbed body heat to help incubate the eggs by coiling around them. By constantly twitching her body she also generates heat to help raise the temperature of the eggs. Another advantage of coiling around the eggs is their protection against predators such as mongoose, rats and monitor lizards.

After the eggs hatch, the female remains with the hatchlings for a further 2 weeks and once the have shed their first skin they then leave the security of the female to go off on their own.

Notes:
The African Rock Python lacks venom glands but is still capable of inflicting a serious bite. Its sharp, recurved teeth often cause severe tissue damage and infection if not disinfected properly.
There are recorded incidents of large African Rock Pythons killing and even eating humans but this is very rare.

Prey that is captured is suffocated to death before consuming. Small prey species are sometimes swallowed alive! Pythons do not crush their prey to death.

The African Rock Python is a highly protected species that plays a very important role in the control of rodent populations.

Boomslang Facts

2009-01-07T19:06:00.000+02:00

Latin Name: Dispholidus typus

Length: 1 – 1,5 m.

Lifespan: Average 8 years in the wild.

Distribution:
Throughout Africa except in the arid regions, preferring grassland, savannah and woodland often found in shrubs and trees.

Diet:
Chameleons, lizards, birds, birds’ eggs, frogs and small mammals.

Reproduction:
10 – 25 eggs are laid in the late spring to midsummer with an incubation of 2 – 3 months.

Venom:
The boomslang has extremely powerful haemotoxic venom.
This venom affects the blood clotting mechanism, resulting in headaches, and loss of blood through the bodily openings and if left untreated internal bleeding of the organs will occur.

Vision:
Unlike most snakes, the boomslang has a full colour vision aiding it in the detection of still standing prey. The boomslangs' eyesight is so keen that it is even capable of detecting motionless chameleons!

Notes:
The Boomslang is a very placid snake, but if provoked it may bite.
It is predominantly arboreal but will also hunt on open ground and has also been known to cross water in pursuit of prey.
A Boomslang can open its mouth as wide as 170 degrees, and even with its fangs at the back of the mouth it is still capable of biting an arm or leg.
The name "Boomlang" derives from the Africans language, meaning Tree snake.

Puff Adder Facts

2008-12-17T14:50:00.000+02:00

Latin Name: Bitis arietans

Length: Up to 1 m.

Lifespan: Average 13 years.

Distribution: Found throughout Africa except for desert regions and mountaintops.

Food: Rats, mice, other small mammals, birds, frogs, toads and other snakes.

Reproduction:
Puff Adders are viviparous (give birth to live young), giving birth to 16 – 40 young, which are born in the late summer. The young are highly venomous upon hatching and are capable of inflicting a serious bite.
The Puff Adder holds the record for giving birth to the most amount young by any snake, 156!

Venom:
Their venom is Cytotoxic and highly dangerous. Once the venom enters the body, the body sends plasma (white blood cells) to the site of the bite to try and dilute the venom. With the venom being so potent, excess amounts of plasma sent cause the body tissues to swell up to the degree where the veins are compressed tightly up against the skin, resulting in loss of blood circulation. The area that swells up will often turns to a blackish-blue color with there being a lack of blood.
If not treated promptly, often amputations may necessary after about 4 hours.

Notes:
The Puff Adder is responsible for most of the serious snakebite incidents in Africa as it is the most common widespread venomous snake on the continent and often does not move when approached resulting in many people being bitten.
It is a rather sluggish moving snake but can strike very rapidly. From a coiled position too striking and then returning back to a coiled position takes just 0,24 of a second!
When approached they will often hiss and puff, hence the name “Puff Adder”.

Most Dangerous Snake in Africa

2008-11-23T23:47:00.000+02:00

What is the most dangerous snake in Africa?

There is no 100% correct answer. Some people say it’s the Black Mamba. In world rankings it rates at No. 42 for the world’s most dangerous snakes. It is a fast striking and moving snake, reaching a top speed of 20km/h. It won’t hesitate to bite and the venom (neurotoxic) is capable of killing a person within 1 hour. If you are allergic to bees, the bite from a Black Mamba can kill you in as short a time as 20 minutes! There are very few incidents of Black Mamba bites throughout Africa every year.

The Puff Adder is also said to be the most dangerous snake in Africa. The reason is they are found throughout Africa and are responsible for the most lethal snakebites every year. Most snakes will move away out of sight if you walk to close to them.
The Puff Adder normally doesn’t move and is often stood on, often resulting in a bite.

The Boom Slang is said to be the most dangerous snake as well. The venom of a Boom Slang is haemotoxic. The venom affects the body’s natural blood clotting mechanism resulting in the bleeding of the internal organs. Sometimes it can take as long as 12 hours before the symptoms of the venom can be felt or seen.
The Boom Slang is a back fanged snake, (fangs at the back of the jaws) which is very misleading, as many people believe that it can only bite you on the hands or feet. This snake is capable of opening its mouth to an angle of 170, so it can grab hold of you just about anywhere.
Fortunately the Boom Slang is quite a placid snake and one would really have to irritate or hurt it to make it bite.

The most dangerous animal in Africa

2008-11-16T12:38:00.001+02:00

Statistics show that the Hippo kills the most people in Africa every year with exception to the mosquito. I don't believe that these statistics are very accurate as the Crocodile also takes many lives every year.
The Hippo is 99.99% a herbivore so after killing a person they just leave the body and go back into the water. A Crocodile will normally eat whatever it kills.
Here are two examples:

David goes down to the river to do some washing and in the process he gets killed by a Hippo. The evidence is very clear that a Hippo killed him as the hippo’s footprints may be visible and the bite marks on David’s body are also clear, so another death is marked off for that year.

David goes down to river to do some washing in doing so gets killed and eaten by a Crocodile. No one saw what happened, all they know is that he is missing.

So it is impossible to say who kills more people, it could be either Hippo or Crocodile. I think it’s the Crocodile.

Animal Collective Names

2008-11-08T18:28:00.000+02:00

Here's a list of the collective nouns for some of the African animals:

Baboons – Troop
Badgers – Cete
Bats – Cloud
Buffaloes – Obstinacy
Cheetahs – Coalition
Crocodiles – Bask
Elephants – Parade or Memory
Giraffes – Journey
Hippos – Raft or Pod
Hyenas – Clan
Leopards – Leap
Lions – Pride
Monkeys – Shrewdness
Owls – Parliament
Porcupines – Prickle
Rhinos - Crash
Zebras – Dazzle

Spotted Hyena Facts

2008-10-28T18:06:00.000+02:00

Latin Name: Crocuta crocuta

Weight: Males 50 – 60 kg, females 60 – 70kg.

Lifespan:
Both males and females live 20 to 25 years in the wild. In captivity the spotted hyena can live as long as 40 years.

Sexual differentiation:
At one stage the spotted hyena was actually classified as a hermaphrodite (to have both male and female genitals).

The females have higher levels of testosterone than the males do, resulting in them being larger. They are also more aggressive. At a glance one could easily mistake a female for a male, as the genitals of both the sexes are very similar in appearance. The female has an enlarged clitoris, which she can erect at will, she also has a fake scrotum that looks similar to that of the male’s scrotum.

Social grouping:
Within a group of hyenas there are predominately more females than males. The males have a loose association with the group, often roaming alone or with other males.

Group sizes vary considerably from area to area. Large clans of spotted hyena may have as many as 70 – 80 related individuals. The females being larger than the males, dominate with a definite hierarchy between the females.
The alpha female (matriarch) is normally the oldest and most experienced member of the clan, her young are of a high ranking at birth and often take over the leadership of the clan, if old enough and should the matriarch die.

Reproduction:
Females looking to mate, seek males from neighbouring clans to mate with, thus reducing the chances of any inbreeding.
After a gestation of about 120 days the female gives birth to 1 or 2 cubs which are hidden in old abandoned aardvark (antbear) burrows. The cubs, if of the same sex will often try to kill each other, otherwise known as siblicide. This allows only the stronger and more dominant cubs to survive. Single cubs also get more food and thus develop a lot faster. The cubs are totally black in colour, gradually getting lighter and developing spots as they mature.
The cubs may suckle for more than a year but are normally weaned by 4 months.
They reach sexual maturity by 3 years of age.

Diet and Feeding:
Although hyenas scavenge off other predators such as lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dogs, they are in actual fact superb hunters.
Instead of speed, spotted hyenas rely more on stamina and as a group they take turns in running after their prey over long distances, until the point when the animal exhausts itself and can’t run fast anymore.
The hyena then grabs hold of the prey with its powerful jaws, often tearing chunks of flesh off, resulting in the animal dying from loss of blood and shock.

Bones are no problem for the hyenas jaws to chew though and make a meal there of.

Habits and Territoriality:
The sizes of spotted hyena territories vary considerably, from as little as 30 square kilometres to 800 + square kilometres. Factors that influence the territory size are the availability of food and water as well as pressure from neighbouring rival clans.

Territory boundaries are marked by scent glands from the hyena’s anal region. When scent-marking the spotted hyena bends its hind legs slightly while walking and then smears a thick paste-like substance onto the grass and sticks.

Encounters between rival clans often start with an increase in scent-marking and vocalisations such as whooping. Vocalising acts as a warning signal to the rivals to move out of the area as well as attracting the attention of the other resident clan members to make them aware of the intruding hyenas.

If the all warnings are ignored, a battle between the two clans may begin, often resulting in serious injuries or even deaths.

Quick Facts:
-Statistically, Spotted Hyenas are responsible for EATING (NOT KILLING) more people than any other predator in Africa every year.
-Their jaws are capable of exerting pressures of up to 800 kg/square inch!
-Another name for the spotted hyena is the “laughing hyena”.

Difference between Leopard and Cheetah

2008-10-22T21:21:00.000+02:00

At a glance one could easily mistake a leopard for a cheetah, but if you take a closer look at them you'll see they are actually quite different.
Here are some of the main physical differences between the two animals:

Leopard

•A very large, muscular predator, weighing 100kg and even more.
•The leopard is a far more powerful animal compared to the cheetah.
•The spots of the leopard are rosette in shape, covering the whole body as well as the face.
•They have white eye-linings at the bottom of the eyes. The white colour assists its vision at night by amplifying light which is reflected off objects around it, into the eyes.
•Just like a "true cat," all of its claws are fully retractable.

Cheetah

•They have a tall and slender build.
•The head of a cheetah is quite small in relation to its body, when compared to leopard, making the cheetah more stream-lined.
•Their nostrils are large in size to allow maximum oxygen in-take for their muscles, while running at high speeds.
•Cheetah's tails are quite flat towards the end, acting as a rudder to balance it while running.
•Instead of having rosette shaped spots, they have single large spots (like thumb prints), covering the whole body. The front of face has very few spots and is more a light brown colour.
•Cheetah's have black "tear lines" which run from the eyes down to the sides of the mouth. They hunt mostly during the day, so the black "tear lines" help absorb light, to prevent a blinding effect from the bright sunlight.
•The cheetah can only retract its dew claw. The dew claw is hooked onto an animal that it's hunting to try pull it down. The rest of the claws are non-retractable, just like dogs, giving the Cheetah better grip on the ground while running.

Difference between Black and White Rhino

2008-10-14T17:43:00.000+02:00

Black Rhino (Hooked-lip Rhino)

•Smaller than the white rhino. A large bull weighs around 1000 kg.
•They have a rather small hooked shaped mouth for feeding on trees and shrubs.
•The black rhinos' natural head posture is face upward, so there is no need for it to lift its' head when feeding off trees.
•Black rhino are often found in thick vegetation which is possibly the reason why the female will often run in front of her calf to clear a pathway.
•The black rhino is short tempered and extremely aggressive compared to the white rhino.
•They are very solitary and seldom join up with other individuals.

White Rhino (Broad-mouthed Rhino)

•Larger than black rhino. Large bulls reaching weights of 2500 kg.
•They have a very broad flat mouth which aids in feeding off large quantities of grass.
•A white rhinos' natural head posture faces downward so its' mouth is always close to the ground while grazing.
•They have a very distinct hump above the shoulders as well as a very prominent fold of skin at the lower parts of the shoulders.
•Being a very social animals it is not uncommon to see 10 or 15 white rhinos moving together and sometime more.
•White rhino are normally found in very open areas such as plains.
•The calf normally runs in front of its mother, with the mother using her horn to direct the calf by tapping it on the rear.

There is no colour difference between the two rhinos. The Dutch people named the white rhino the "Weid mond rhino", meaning “Wide-mouth rhino”. The English thought they were saying "white", so it was all just a misinterpretation of the name.

Even though the white rhino is less aggressive, there are still more incidents of them attacking people as they have a higher population and thus regular encounters with people.

The African Big 5

2008-10-10T23:47:00.002+02:00

What are the Big 5 and how were they chosen?

1) Lion
2) Leopard
3) African Elephant
4) Black Rhino
5) Cape Buffalo

These 5 animals were chosen by the first European hunters as being the most dangerous animals to hunt and were responsible for killing the most hunters on their hunting safaris’

Why is the Hippopotamus not part of the big five, as statistics show it kills more people in Africa than any other mammal?

The Hippo is very dangerous, but not dangerous to hunt. When Hippo are in water they are quite relaxed when approached on foot, making it very easy for a hunter to get close to them without much threat of an attack.

Man-eating Lions

2008-10-09T22:35:00.000+02:00

Why do some Lions become man-eaters?

It has been said that once a Lion eats a person they will often try hunting people again as they then like the taste of human flesh.

This is not the case. A lion does not have many taste preferences, as they will eat just about any meat, especially when they’re hungry. They will even eat rotting meat filled with maggots. A few weeks ago we had a pride of lion eating a large male giraffe, it took them 7 days to finish it. By the 6th day the giraffe meat had tuned into soup it was so rotten, yet the lions kept eating.

The Lions that are most likely to become man-eaters are often old, injured or very ill and are struggling to hunt, so they start looking for alternative prey that might be easier to catch. In some cases a Lion might feel threatened by a person that walks to close to them, and in defence it attacks and kills, possibly turning it into a meal.

Once a Lion has killed a human it may then realize how easy it is to kill us. We are slow and very weak compared to most of the animals that they normally hunt. We are easy prey. In many cases like this, Lions may try hunt humans again, so sadly they must be destroyed to prevent it from happening again.

For more on man-eating lions read: The man-eating lions of the Kruger National Park.

African Elephant Facts

2008-10-09T00:39:00.002+02:00

Latin name: Loxodonta africana

Weight:
The average large Elephant bull reaches a weight of 5.5 tons. Some males can be as heavy as 6.5 tons. The females average about 3.5 to 4 tons.

Sexuall differentiation:
Bulls are heavier in weight and generally have thicker tusks than the cows do.
A cow has a more prominent forehead when compared to the bull. With young calves it is rather difficult to see the difference in the forehead.

Gestation period:
The female is pregnant for 22 months.

Breeding and reproduction:
By 10 years of age both males and females are sexually mature. The male however, may only have his first opportunity of mating at the age of 20 to 25 years of age.
The female can give birth to her first calf at 12 years of age.

Only the stronger more dominant bulls get to mate and roughly once a year for about 1 week or as long as 2 or 3 months, the bull goes into a reproductive condition known a musth. When in musth, the male’s temporal glands start secreting excessive fluid and there is also a very visible flow of fluid from the genitals, which has a very prominent /powerful smell. This is all as a result of an increased level in testosterone.

Bulls in musth actively seek breeding herds to find potential females to mate with.
After a successful copulation the female gives birth after a gestation of 22 months. The newborn calf suckles for 18 months or as long as 2 years.
The reason for such a long weaning period is because of the many thousands of muscles that they have in their trunks, making it very difficult for the calf to control. As the calf learns how to use its trunk, it will start feeding more off vegetation and become less dependent on its mother’s milk.

The female’s on average give birth every 5 to 7 years.

Social Life:
There are two main types of herds to be found, breeding herds and bachelor herds.

The breeding herd consists of predominantly females which are related in some way or another. The oldest female normally leads the herd and is known as the matriarch. The matriarch has the most knowledge of the area in which they live. She knows where to find the best feeding areas as well as water.
Over time a breeding herd can get quite large with as many as 200 individuals or more. Large herds will often split with the second oldest female taking charge of the new herd. The two herds will go separate ways and on occasion will join up again for short periods.

Young males, at the age 13 years are chased out of the breeding herd by the adults to be on their own or to join up with other males in the bachelor herds.
Bachelor herds consist of only males. The size of a bachelor herd changes on a regular basis as the males come and go as they please.
Competition for dominance between males is fierce with a definite hierarchy.

Lifespan & Feeding:
A large Elephant bull will eat as much a 200 kg of food a day. Only 40% of that is digested as they have a very weak digestive system. They will eat on average 18 hours a day.

The age will vary from one area to the next. In South Africa they normally reach 60-65 years. In Kenya & Tanzania about 70-75 years. The world record oldest Elephant reached an age of 86 years.
The reason why there is such an age difference in the different countries is due to the type of vegetation that the Elephants are eating. The softer the vegetation is, the longer the lifespan of the animal.

Excluding the tusks, an Elephant has 8 teeth in its’ mouth, 4 molars on the top and 4 on the bottom. They eat on average 18 hours a day so eventually the teeth start cracking and fall out. A new set of teeth will then replace the old set. An Elephant goes through 6 sets of teeth in a lifetime and at the age of about 47 years the last set will push through. Once the last set of teeth have fallen out Elephant starts rubbing the vegetation between its’ gums to try break it down. The condition of the animal deteriorates as it can’t chew its’ food properly to get enough nutrition and eventually dies.

The Elephants in Kenya & Tanzania feed mainly on grass, which is their favourite food. The grass is soft on the teeth, so the Elephants last set of teeth last quite a long time.

The elephants in South Africa also prefer grass but in the winter period when there less grass to eat they then start feeding more on leaves, roots and the bark of trees. This vegetation is a lot harder on the teeth so the last set of teeth don’t last as long as the Elephants in Kenya/Tanzania.

Elephant's Trunk:
No one knows for 100% how many muscles there are. I have heard two figures, one of
40 0000 and another of 140 000 muscles. With so many muscles so close together it makes it difficult to count. What might look like 1 muscle could be a small group of muscles.
So the correct answer would be "the elephant has thousands of muscles in the trunk".

Quick Facts:
- An Elephant is capable of running at a top speed of 45km/hour.
- The African Elephant's closest relative is the Dassie (Hyrax)
- The collective name for elephant is a parade or memory of elephants.
- A Mature elephant bull produces on average 120 kg of dung every day!!

African Animal Names

2008-10-05T21:01:00.001+02:00

Lion
Sotho - Tau
Tsonga / Shangaan – Ngala
Tswana - Tau
Swahili - Simba
Xhosa - Isigidi
Zulu - Ingonyama
Afrikaans – Leeu

Leopard
Sotho – Nkwe
Swahili – Chui
Tsonga / Shangaan – Yingwe
Tswana - Nkwe
Xhosa - Ingwe
Zulu - Ingwe
Afrikaans - Luiperd

Cheetah
Sotho - Lengau
Tsonga / Shangaan – Xikankanka
Tswana – Lengau
Swahili - Duma
Xhosa - Ihlosi
Zulu - Ingulule
Afrikaans - Jagluiperd

Caracal
Sotho - Thoane
Tsonga – Nandzana
Tswana – Thwane
Xhosa - Ingqawa
Zulu - Indabushe
Afrikaans - Rooikat

Serval
Sotho - Tlodi
Tsonga / Shangaan – Ndloti
Tswana – Tadi
Xhosa - Hlosi
Zulu - Ndlozi
Afrikaans - Tierboskat

Civet
Sotho - Leqaqane
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mfungwe
Tswana - Tsaparangaka
Xhosa - Inyhwagi
Zulu - Iqaqa
Afrikaans – Siwet

African Wild Dog
Sotho – Lekanyane
Swahili - Mbwa mwitu
Tsonga / Shangaan – mahlolwa
Tswana - Lethalerwa
Xhosa - Ixhwili
Zulu - Inkentshane
Afrikaans - Wildehond

Black-backed Jackal
Sotho – Phokojwe
Swahili - Bweha
Tswana – Phokoje
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mangawana
Xhosa – Impungutye
Zulu – Impungushe
Afrikaans – Swartrugjakkals

Side-striped Jackal
Sotho - Phokojwe
Tsonga Shangaan - Mhungubya
Afrikaans - Witwasjakkals

Cape Fox
Tswana – Lesie
Xhosa - uGqeleba
Afrikaans - Silwervos

Bat-eared Fox
Tswana - Tlhose
Xhosa – Motlόsi
Zulu - Udlamhloshwana
Afrikaans - Bakoorjakkals

Aardwolf
Sotho – Thikgwi
Tswana - Mmabudu
Zulu – Nehi
Afrikaans - Aardwolf

Spotted Hyena
Sotho - Sentawana
Swahili - Fisi
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mhisi
Tswana - Phiri
Xhosa - Mpisi
Zulu - Mpisi
Afrikaans – Gevlekte hiёna

Brown Hyena
Swahili – Nyani
Xhosa - Ingqawane
Afrikaans – Strandjut, bruinhiёna

Lesser Bushbaby
Swahili – Komba
Tsonga / Shangaan - Nwana kahina
Tswana - Kgajwanamasigo
Zulu - Nhlathini umntwana
Afrikaans – Nagapie

Vervet Monkey
Sotho - Kgabo
Swahili – Tumbili
Tsonga / Shangaan – Nkawu
Tswana – Kgabo
Xhosa - Inkawu
Zulu – Nkawu
Afrikaans – Blou-aap

Baboon
Sotho – Tshwene
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mfenhe
Tswana - Tshwene
Xhosa - Imfene
Zulu – Isidawana
Afrikaans - Bobbejaan

Porcupine
Swahili – Nungu
Tsonga / Shangaan - Jelwana
Tswana - Noko
Zulu – Ngungumbane
Afrikaans - Ystervark

Giraffe
Sotho – Thuhlo
Swahili - Twiga
Tsonga / Shangaan – Nhutlwa
Tswana - Thutlwa
Xhosa - Indulamithi
Zulu - Indulamithi
Afrikaans – Kameelperd

African Elephant
Sotho – Tlou
Swahili - Tembo
Tsonga / Shangaan – Ndlopfu
Tswana – Tlou
Xhosa – Indlovu
Zulu – Indlovu
Afrikaans – Olifant

Hippopotamus
Sotho – Kubu
Swahili - Kiboko
Tsonga / Shangaan – Ndlopfu
Tswana - Kubu
Xhosa - Imvubu
Zulu - Imvubu
Afrikaans - Seekoei

White Rhinoceros
Sotho– Tshukudu e molomo o sephara
Swahili - Faru
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mkhumbi
Tswana - Tshukudu e tshweu
Xhosa - Umkhombe
Zulu - Ubhejane
Afrikaans - Witrenoster

Black Rhinoceros
Sotho - Tshukudu e molomo wa haka
Swahili - Faru
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mhelembe
Tswana - Tshukudu e ntsho
Xhosa - Ubhejane
Zulu - Ubhejane
Afrikaans – Swartrenoster

Zebra
Sotho – Pisti
Swahili - Punda milia
Tsonga Shangaan – Mangwa
Tswana - Pitsi
Xhosa - Iqwarhashe
Zulu - Idube
Afrikaans - Sebra

Warthog
Sotho – Kolobe
Swahili - Ngiri
Tsonga / Shangaan – Honci
Tswana - Kolobe
Xhosa - Ingulube
Zulu - Intibane
Afrikaans - Vlakvark

Bushpig
Sotho - Kolobemoru
Tsonga – Khumba
Tswana - Kolobe ya naga
Zulu - Ngulube
Afrikaans - Bosvark

Nyala
Sotho - Phuthiatsana
Tsonga / Shangaan – Inyala
Xhosa -
Zulu - Inyala
Afrikaans – Njala

Kudu
Sotho – Tholo
Swahili - Tandala
Tsonga / Shangaan – Nhongo
Tswana - Tholo
Xhosa - Iqudu
Zulu - Umgankla
Afrikaans - Koedoe

Bushbuck
Sotho - Pabala
Tsonga Shangaan – Mbbavala
Tswana - Serolobotlhoko
Xhosa - Imbabala
Zulu - Imbabala
Afrikaans - Bosbok

Common Reedbuck
Sotho - Lekwena
Tsonga Shangaan – nhlangu
Tswana - Sebugatla
Xhosa - Ntlangu
Zulu - Nxala
Afrikaans - Rietbok

Waterbuck
Sotho - Phitlwa
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mhitlwa
Tswana - Pitlhwa
Zulu - Phiva
Afrikaans - Waterbok

Impala
Sotho – Phala
Swahili - Swala pala
Tsonga – Mhala
Tswana - Phala
Xhosa - Impala
Zulu - Impala
Afrikaans - Rooibok

Sable
Sotho - Phalafala
Tsonga / Shangaan – Mhalamhala
Tswana - Kwalata
Zulu - Mpalampale
Afrikaans – Swartwitpens

Roan
Sotho - Hlaba-ka-lela
Tsonga / Shangaan – Ndakadsi
Tswana - Kunkuru
Afrikaans - Bastergemsbok

Gemsbok
Sotho – Nyamatsane
Tswana - Kukama
Xhosa - Inkukhama
Afrikaans - Gemsbok

Eland
Sotho - Phofu
Tsonga / Shangaan – mhofu
Tswana - Phofu
Xhosa - Impofu
Zulu - Impofu
Afrikaans - Eland

Red Hartebeest
Sotho – Tlohela
Tswana - Kgama
Afrikaans - Rooihartebeest

Tsessebe
Sotho - Kgama ya lebasetere
Tsonga / Shangaan – Nondo
Tswana – Tshesebe
Afrikaans - Basterhartbees

Blue Wildebeest
Sotho – Kgokong
Swahili - Nyumbu
Tsonga / Shangaan – Hongonyi
Tswana - Kgokong
Xhosa - Nkhonhoni
Zulu - Nkhonhoni
Afrikaans – Blouwildebeest

Cape Buffalo
Sotho - Nare
Tsonga / Shangaan – Nyarhi
Swahili - Nyati
Tswana - Nare
Xhosa - Inyathi
Zulu - Inyathi
Afrikaans - Buffel

Nile Crocodile
Swahili – Mamba
Tsonga / Shangaan - Ngwenya
Tswana - Kwena
Zulu – Ingwenya
Afrikaans – Nyl Krokodil

Facts about Porcupines

2008-09-26T21:47:00.000+02:00

Cape Porcupine

Latin Name: Hystrix africaeaustralis

Derivation of Name:
The name or word “Porcupine“ comes from the French word “porc- ѐpique” (thorny pig).

Weight: Both males and females weigh 20kg to 25kg.

Lifespan: 12 to 14 years.

Gestation Period: 3 Months.

Habitat:
Porcupines are found in woodland, savannah and forest biomes as well as rocky outcrops. They often take shelter in aardvark (Antbear) burrows which they modify to make more comfortable.

Behaviour:
Porcupines are primarily nocturnal, moving alone or in small groups of 5 or 6 individuals.

The porcupine is Africa’s largest rodent. It is believed that they are capable of “shooting” their quills, but this is not the case. When the porcupine sees predators such as lion, leopard or hyena it will often “freeze”, in the hope that it won’t be noticed. If confronted, it turns its back towards the predator, often running backwards resulting in a face pierced and filled with quills.

If given the chance it will crawl into a burrow face first only to expose its sharp quills, making it rather difficult for predator to dislodge them. Their quills are hollow and exceptionally sharp and upon losing them, they re-grow. The porcupine shakes its tail quills to create a rattling sound as a threatening distraction to predators. They are also capable of erecting all their quills outwards to make themselves’ look larger and more intimidating.

Diet:
Porcupines feed mainly on roots and tubers, which they dig out with relative ease using their strongly built claws. They also eat the bark from trees which chew and tear off with their sharp incisors. Other food sources include the fallen fruit from trees, carrion which is ideal for protein, as well as bones which they gnaw on for the extra calcium and phosphorous intake.
Bones are often taken back to the burrow to feed on at leisure.

The porcupine’s stomach is filled with symbiotic microorganisms which help break down the plants eaten into a usable form.

Breeding:
The female, at night, initiates courtship by presenting herself to the male. Mating takes place with the female’s quills flattened against her body and her tail raised to allow for safer copulation.

Before giving birth the female lines the chamber of the burrow with grass to create a comfortable nest.

After a 3 month gestation, she gives birth to between 1 and 3 youngsters. The youngsters suckle off the mother for approximately 3 weeks before they start eating solids, but are still dependant on the mother for at least another 3 months.

Unlike most mammals, the male also helps the female in taking care of the young.

Elephant Culling

2008-09-23T21:23:00.001+02:00

There are always huge debates as to whether the culling of elephant is ethical or not. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and in my opinion and many others, it MUST be done. If we don’t cull we will still lose many 1000’s of elephants as well as many other different species of game along with them in the future.
The Kruger National Park is a massive 20 000 square kilometres surrounded by a fence and because of this fence it is not a 100% natural environment which as a result requires grooming such as culling, stocking up of rare animal species from other reserves and controlled fires to keep it as natural as possible.

The Problem

150 years ago there were no fences dividing countries which prevent the natural movement of game forced by the change in seasons. Many animals migrating in search of food and or water died, especially old, weak and injured individuals, possibly as a result of not reaching their destinations on time. This would help control the numbers of many game species, leaving only the strong and healthy to survive.
With the development of conservation areas such as the Kruger National Park, with all its man-made dams and abundance of thick vegetation, there is very rarely a shortage of food or water for game resulting in the massive increase in the elephant population.

It’s hard to believe that the Kruger national Parks’ elephant population was almost totally wiped out just 100 years ago due to excessive hunting and poaching and today it sits on about 12 000, which is 4 500 above the natural carrying capacity with the population increasing close to 3% every year!
If populations get too high, the impact on vegetation will be devastating as elephants require huge amounts of food to sustain their large bodies along with their weak digestive systems. Large bulls will eat as much as 250 kg of vegetation and drink up to 180 litres of water every day!

Of all the African herbivores the elephant has the most varied diet in terms of different plant species, eating almost every plant if finds and who knows, with too many elephant how many plant species may be lost forever. The elephants’ favourite food is grass. If an area is over-populated, in time the ground will be totally stripped of all grass which may result in serous erosion as the root systems of the grasses would normally hold the soil together. Areas that have been severely over-grazed and eroded may take many years to recover back to a suitable state and in some cases never recover. Grazing animals such as wildebeest, zebra, white rhino and hippopotamus will eventually die off if there is no grass to eat or nowhere else to find more.
When all the grass has been eaten, the elephant then concentrate more on feeding off trees and shrubs. It’s not just the leaves they eat but also the roots and bark of certain trees. They uproot trees, strip off bark and before we know it there are 1000’s of dead trees as far as the eye can see.
So what use to be lush thick vegetation with allsorts of beautiful trees and shrubs now looks like a desert with lots of sand, heavily eroded areas, tree stumps and the bones of all the animals that have now died of starvation, all of this as a result of nothing been done to properly solve the over-population of elephant.

Solutions?

Relocation of elephants to other game reserves:

Sounds good but it only helps temporarily as eventually space in these reserves runs out and the cost of moving them becomes more expensive as they have to be moved even further away to new areas. With over 300 elephant born into the Kruger National Park every year you can imagine the cost of moving 300 every year just to keep the population constant at 12 000.
Helicopters, pilots, vets, sedative drugs, transportation trucks, fuel, legal papers, all of this costs a lot when moving elephants to other game reserves or countries.

Female Contraception:

The female elephants are given a contraceptive injection that is highly effective but needs to be administered roughly every 6 months to keep working. Not all females are given the contraceptive that still allows the births of a few calves into the herds. This exercise is extremely expensive especially with large populations where 1000’s of females are given the injection every 6 months. The population growth slows down but still doesn’t solve the over-population problem.

Cropping:

Cropping is the process where small amounts of game are shot over a long period of time. An example of this would be taking out say 5 or 10 animals per week over a period of a couple months. Cropping works but has the down side that the visibility may be poor in the summer and early winter months, making it very difficult when shooting on the ground or from helicopters.

Culling:

Culling is the process whereby a fairly large amount of animals are shot within a short period of time, for example; shooting say 200 elephants in the space of 3 weeks. This may come across a very cruel, but to date has been the only real long term effective method used. Culling operations are done in the shortest possible time to lessen the stress on the animals been shot.
Before culling was put to an end in 1997 the Kruger had a very healthy population of elephant. The tusks of culled animals were stored in safe warehouses or often burnt and much of the meat was processed for tin food which was given to poor communities and used by staff members of the park. Hyenas, jackals, vultures and many other scavenging animals made sure to clean up the rest of any carcasses left behind.

For now the game reserves that can afford it are using female contraception and relocating elephants. There are ongoing talks about bringing back culling but still no change. One day in the future ‘they’ will realise that culling is the answer but by that time it will be too late. If only ‘they’ would fully understand.

Facts about Hippos

2008-09-19T22:10:00.001+02:00

Latin Name: Hippopotamus amphibius

Lifespan: Both the males and females live up to 40 years of age.

Sexual differentiation:
The males are much larger than the females, reaching 3000 kg and the females about 2000 kg. The male’s tusks (incisors) are longer than the females, up to 50 cm in length.

Social grouping:
The collective name for a group of hippo is a “raft of hippo”. A typical family unit consists of 1 dominant male, any number of females with their young. The dominant bull is extremely territorial and protective over the females. Males that are not dominant wonder on their own or in small groups of males, often avoiding any confrontations with any territorial bulls in the area.

Reproduction:
Mating takes place in the water. After a gestation of about 8 months the female gives birth in shallow water. The female seems to somehow know the sex of her calf before giving birth as a pregnant cow that has a male calf in her will often leave her family group to give birth in a separate river or dam.
The dominant male reacts very aggressively to new males trying to join his family group even if they are newborn or his own, so for this reason the pregnant female leaves the group to give birth and stay on her own with the newborn male calf until he is strong enough to move quickly and hopefully avoid dangerous confrontations with the dominant bull when they rejoin the rest of the family.
When pregnant with a female calf, the mother will normally give birth in the same river or dam where the rest of the family are.

The cow’s milk has a very thick texture, almost like yogurt. The thick milk makes it possible for the calf to drink from its mother while under water without the milk dissolving too much.

Territoriality:
The size of the male’s territory depends on a number of different factors. If there is a shortage of water in the rivers and dams, hippo start to congregate where ever they can find water, often resulting in a lot of fighting between the males’. With so many males in close proximity, the territories soon become a lot smaller with all the competition. An over-population of hippo can have the same effect. The amount of good grazing grass in an area can also affect the amount of competition between dominant bulls.

The male marks his territory by scattering his dung onto vegetation like trees and bushes. He does this by facing his behind towards the vegetation and as he drops his dung he starts to swing his tale continuously and rapidly from side to side, resulting in the dung being sprayed onto the vegetation. The male will often scatter dung in the same place on land as well as in the water, leaving his own scent throughout his territory.

Feeding habits and sun protection:
Hippos’ are classified as herbivores but have been known to feed off the carcasses of animals, this being very rare of course.
They have a very thin epidermis that very sensitive to too much sun. For most of the day they stay submerged under the water to protect their skins from the sun. If a hippo stays out of the water too long on a hot day, its skin starts to dry out and over extended periods out of the water its skin starts to crack open into wounds.

The perspiration of hippo gives limited protection from the sun acting as a form of sun-block and an anti-bacterial agent. Their perspiration is pink in colour which often looks like blood with excessive sweating.

Hippos’ leave the water after sunset and spend most of the night out grazing. Early in the morning before the sun rises is the time when they return back to the water, where they stay for the rest of the day until night falls again.

During the summer months there is normally a lot of grass, so the hippos’ might only walk 5 or 10km in a night to feed. In the dryer winter months or drought there is less grass, forcing the hippos’ to walk as much as 15 to 20km or more in a night to find food.

Most dangerous mammal in Africa:
Statistically hippos’ kill more people than any other mammal in Africa. The people that get killed are normally living in rural areas where there is no tap water. These people need to fetch water and bath in rivers and dams and often get caught between the hippos’ and the water when the hippos’ are making their way back to the water in the early morning. Hippo often react very aggressively by attacking when their pathways are blocked, resulting in many deaths every year.

Why do Zebras have stripes?

2008-09-16T22:52:00.000+02:00

There are many different theories as to why zebra have stripes; here are the three most common theories.

1) Zebras' stripes are like fingerprints with each and every zebra having a different set of stripes. When a female zebra gives birth she will try as much as possible to prevent the newborn foal from seeing other zebras' strips for a few days. By standing between the foal and other zebras in the herd the youngster then can only see its' mothers' stripes and in doing so learns them. The foal is then able to find its' mother just by sight.

2) The second theory has to do with a type of camouflage against predators like lion.
The lion apparently does not have a very detailed and full-colour vision. When Zebra are being chased by predators they will often run close together, making it difficult for the predator to spot the youngsters, as all they would see is a confusing arrangement of black and white stripes all blending in together.

3) The third theory in an interesting one, which is difficult to believe.
The black stripes on a zebra will absorb a lot of heat from the sunlight, whereas the white stripes will reflect a lot of heat. The result of this is the downward movement of air from the black stripes and an upward movement of air from the white stripes, which then creates many small whirling winds on the zebra body. This movement of air is said to cool the zebra down.

Black Mamba Facts

2008-09-13T19:28:00.002+02:00

Latin Name: Dendroaspis polylepis

Lifespan: Up to 12 years in captivity has been recorded.

Colouration:
The body of the black mamba is grey to brown in colour. The only true black colour is the inside mouth lining.

Habits:
The black mamba is the largest venomous snake in Africa averaging 2 – 2.5 m (6.5 ft – 8.2 ft), with really large specimens reaching lengths of 4.2 m (13.8 ft). The black mamba is a very nervous and fast moving snake capable of moving at speeds of up to 20km/hour (12.4 miles/hour). While moving they are capable of lifting their bodies 2 thirds of the ground, giving them a good all-round view of their surroundings.

If cornered and threatened they can be extremely dangerous and won’t hesitate to strike. Like most snakes mambas are very shy and would rather avoid confrontations and move out of sight before being seen.

The black mamba is much feared and considered by many to be the most dangerous snake in Africa. The reason for this is their aggressive behaviour and potent venom which is predominantly neuro-toxic. A single bite can kill the average man in an hour. A person that is allergic to bees can die within 20 minutes if bitten by a black mamba! The neuro-toxic venom consists mainly of proteins that enter the blood-stream and bond on to the ends of the nerves where the nerves join onto the different muscles. These proteins block off the nerve impulses from the brain which then stops the heart from pumping as well as the muscles which expand and contract the lungs, followed soon by death.

Polyvalent anti-venom is available but many doctors prefer not to use it as there are numerous cases of people reacting allergic to the anti-venom which often consists of the white-blood cells from horses. The alternative treatment that hospitals often use is to put the patient on a life-support machine to keep the heart pumping as well as artificial respirators to keep the lungs going. They keep the machines on until the body is strong enough once again to sustain its self.

The mamba’s venom is very effective for immobilising its prey. Within just a few seconds of biting it prey, it dies from respiratory failure. Their diet consists of mainly small mammals such as; rats, mice, squirrels, dassies (hyraxes) as well as birds.

The black mamba will often have a permanent lair if not disturbed too often. A typical mamba lair would be a hollow in a tree or in the cavities of old termite mounds. They are not considered an arboreal species but can often be seen warming up on cold days high in trees. Black mambas are not territorial as they don’t scent-mark the areas they live in and they defend areas against other mambas.

Reproduction:
Breeding takes place in the early spring. After a successful copulation the eggs develop in the female’s body for about 60 days. Mature females lay between 15 and 25 eggs which are often hidden within termite mounds. The eggs incubate for about 60 days before hatching. The hatchlings are about 50 cm (20 inches) in length and totally independent after leaving the eggs.

Giraffes Facts

2008-09-11T13:59:00.002+02:00

Latin Name: Giraffa camelopardalis

Weight:
The males reach about 1400kg and the females about 1200kg.

Gestation: 15 Months.

Diet & Feeding:
A giraffe will eat between 30 and 40kg of food in one day. They are browsers taking preference to the Acacia trees. They have very long tongues (46cm), which they use to strip leaves off between all the thorns on the Acacias. If a thorn is taken in they simply spit it out.
An amazing adaptation that giraffe have is that they don't have any blood vessels in their gums, so they won't bleed when pierced by a thorn. Their tongues get very rough and damaged by thorns over a period of time, so they are capable of shedding the outer layers of the tongue, leaving it soft and smooth once again.

The collective name for giraffe is a “journey of giraffe." The reason for this name is, that they will not stay in the same area for too long feeding off the same trees. If a giraffe feeds on the same Acacia tree for too long a period, the tree then starts to defend itself by increasing the levels of tannin in its leaves. The increase of tannin makes the leaves taste very bitter and dry, forcing the giraffe to move on. The acacia at the same time releases chemicals into the air, which is carried by the wind to other Acacias as a signal to raise their tannin levels.
With the whole area being tannin infested the giraffe then moves off to a totally different area, often feeding upwind to feed off trees that have lower tannin levels.

Blood Circulation:
Giraffe being such tall animals makes it very difficult for them to drink. They are very wary of predators when approaching water, often stopping every few steps to scan their surroundings for any sign of danger. Once at the waters’ edge, they move their front legs apart and bend them to lower their bodies, then start drinking. In this position they are very vulnerable to lions as it is difficult for them to start running quickly when their legs are so far apart.

When the giraffe lowers its head to drink, it gets no circulation of blood to the brain. Circulation is stopped by closing valves at the point where the main arteries’ enter the skull. These valves re-open when the animals head is lifted up again. This helps the giraffe by preventing a rush of blood into the brain when it lowers its head and a rush of blood out of its brain when the head is lifted, thus preventing it from passing out.

Giraffe very seldom sleep, and when they do they lie down on the belly, with the head resting against a large tree or termite mound. Sometimes they will rest their head on the lower part of the back when sleeping. The head is kept above ground level to ensure the circulation of blood to the brain is not cut off.

Quick Facts:
· Giraffe have 7 neck vertebras, the same as all other mammals. For an adult each vertebra can be as long a 1 foot in length.
·When running they are capable of reaching speeds of up to 55km/hour.
·Just like humans, giraffe have 32 teeth in total. Their dental formula is as follows: I 0/3, C 0/1, P3/3, M 3/3.

Facts about Lions

2008-09-10T13:41:00.003+02:00

Latin name: Panthera leo

Lifespan:
On average, the females live for 17 years, the males 15 years.
The oldest lion possibly recorded was a male living in a Zoo in Sri Lanka that reached a ripe old age of 26.

Lions living in Zoo's don't have the stress of defending territories against other prides and don't have to hunt for themselves, which could possibly be the reason for a longer lifespan.

Weight and weight records:
On average, adult lionesses weigh 150 kg, with larger adults reaching up to 180 kg. Females reach their prime maturity at about 5 years of age.
The average adult male weighs around 220 kg, with really large males reaching 280kg. Males reach their prime maturity at about 7 years.

The heaviest recorded wild lion in South Africa was a man-eating lion that was shot, just south of the Kruger National Park. He weighed in at 313kg.
The heaviest living lion today, if he is still alive, is a male that lives in a Canadian zoo weighing at 366kg.
The World Record is 375kg!

Zoo and circus lions in general are overweight from overfeeding and the lack of exercise.

Feeding and Diet:
Prey species vary from small to large mammals such as hares, monkeys, baboons, impala, gazelles, kudu, steenbok, duiker, zebra and wildebeest. Larger prides may specialize in hunting large game such as giraffe, hippo, rhino and elephant.

The lionesses do most of the hunting, they are also more successful when stalking prey as they have a better camouflage and are far more patient at hunting than the males are.

Mature males with dark manes have the disadvantage that they may be seen from a long distance by their prey, making stalking rather difficult, especially in the dry season.
The males are very capable of hunting and will often join the hunt when it involves large prey such as buffalo, rhino and elephant where the extra weight and power is needed to pull down these animals.

Once a kill is made the males will often take over as they are stronger and larger and therefore take priority in feeding, leaving the females to feed off the scraps or nothing at all.

A mature lion is capable of consuming amounts of meat that are equivalent to 10% of its own body mass, tucking in as much as 25kg on one feeding! Once a lion has eaten as much as it can, it starts to breathe very rapidly, this is as a result of the stomach being so full and putting pressure on the ribcage which makes breathing more difficult. The heavy breathing cools down the lion and slows its metabolism down as well. On a full stomach a lion can go 4 days quite comfortably without having to hunt again.

The under-part of the lions’ belly is very light in colour, almost white and when their bellies are full they will often lay down on their backs exposing the lighter colour to the sun. The light colour absorbs less heat from the sun, thus keeping them cooler, especially in areas with limited shade. Lying on their backs also helps with the uncomfortable pressure off their full stomachs.

On a hot day lions will often lick the pads of their feet, especially the front feet and then turn them upwards to cool them down in the breeze.

Running Speed:
From standstill too sprinting, a lion can reach a speed of close on 80km/h in just 3 seconds! It can run at this speed for 300 - 400 meters.

Interesting Lion Theory:
In many game reserves in Africa there are over-populations of lion and what is often noticeable is how many of the pregnant females are giving birth to more male cubs than females. On average a mother will give birth to three cubs, normally 2 females and 1 male, but in over-populated areas this is often the reverse with the mother giving birth to 2 males and 1 female cub.

Over a period of time as the population increases, there will be far too many males. At the age of about 3 and a half years these males will be forced out of their prides by their parents and then start living a nomadic life until they are old enough to fight for their own territories.

Competition between the males is very tough with there being so many of them in the same area and not enough space, resulting in more fighting and thus an increase in the male mortality rate. Gradually the male lion population will drop, leaving only the strong and healthy ones behind. At the same time, with there being so few female cubs, this will also slow the population growth as there are now fewer females to give birth to their own young in the future.

So nature seems to control its own animal numbers is some way or another.

Facts on Zebra

2008-09-10T13:35:00.002+02:00

Burchell’s Zebra

Latin name: Equus burchellii

Lifespan: Both the males and the females live up to 35 years of age.

Weight: 300 to 320 kg for both sexes.

Sexual differentiation:
The male and female are similar in size. The male’s genitals are not always visible, making it very difficult to see the difference. One clear difference is the black vertical stripe between the buttocks. The male has a very narrow stripe about 1 inch wide and the female has a stripe about 2 or 3 inches wide.

Social grouping:
The collective name used for a group of zebras is called a “dazzle”. There are two different groupings that zebra live in. The first is the harem. A harem consists of 1dominant male, 5 or 10, sometimes more females and their young.
The second social grouping is the bachelor herd which varies in size from 3 individuals and up. The bachelor herd consists of only males which often follow the different harems around at a safe distance. Males will occasionally leave their bachelor herds to join up with the harem to challenge the dominant male for his females.

Fighting between the males involves a lot of kicking and biting until the one or the other gives up. Once the previous male is forced out the new dominant male will often kill all young foals that are still dependant on their mother’s milk by kicking and biting them too death.
The reason for the male doing this is that the females that are still suckling young will not be on “heat”, but soon after losing its youngster will be ready to mate with.

After a successful mating the female is pregnant for 12 months. After giving birth the newborn foal will be dependent on its mother’s milk for almost 1 year before totally weaning.
The females can give birth at any time of the year.

Diet & Feeding:
Zebras are grazers, often feedings along with wildebeest. Wildebeest prefer to feed of the shorter grasses whereas zebra prefer the longer grasses. After the zebra has chewed off the long grass tufts, the wildebeest will often follow after the zebra to chew off the shorter tufts left behind.

Many other herbivores such as giraffe, impala and even warthog can be seen feeding close to zebra. Besides also feeding off grass, this may be a form of safety as zebra have a very keen sense of smell, hearing, sight and are extremely alert of their surroundings which makes it rather difficult for predators to get close to them without been seen.
The more other animals there are, the safer it is for zebra as there is a lesser chance of a predator picking them out in a hunt.

The zebra’s closest relative:
Besides horses being direct relatives of zebra, the next close relative strange enough is the rhino. They have the same dentitional formula, a similar bone structure and at one stage in their lives had similar shaped feet, the rhino having more horse-like shaped feet.

Health:
It is rather difficult to see if a zebra is in a good condition or not as they always have round bellies as a result of all the gasses bloating their stomachs. When there is a shortage of grass or even a drought, zebra still look well fed with their large gas-filled bellies.
A clear sign of bad health is to look at the mane-hair on the zebra’s neck. If the mane-hair is stiff and upright, then the zebra is generally in good condition. If the mane-hair flops, then there might be something wrong with the animal. When a zebra falls ill it starts to lose the fat around its neck first. The fat in the neck holds the mane-hair up and if it burns away the mane starts to flop.

Domestication of zebra:
It is possible to domesticate zebra and through the years zebra have been used by farmers for pulling carts and farm machinery as well as for pulling coaches and carriages. It is also possible to ride zebra like one would ride a horse. It is not possible to race on a zebra as there would be a risk of breaking its back. The backs of most horses have a very deep arch making a comfortable fit for the saddle where as the zebra’s back is more level. The horse’s back bones are loser fitting into one another, makings its back more flexible to allow for more impact on the back while running fast. The zebra’s back bones are tighter fitting thus less flexible making it risky to ride hard without breaking its back.

Cheetah Facts

2008-09-09T14:13:00.000+02:00

Latin name: Acinonyx jubatus

The cheetah is the fastest running mammal in the world, reaching speeds of up to 100 km/hour. From standstill to a sprint they can reach 70 km/hour in 2 seconds, then 100 km/hour in just 3 seconds! The cheetah can only run at these high speeds for 300 / 400 meters before having to stop, if not it could cause possible overheating of its body. The body of a cheetah is built for speed. They have small heads for less air resistance, very large nostrils to allow maximum oxygen intake to fuel their muscles, a slender build with long legs and a tail that flattens towards the end to act as a rudder to help keep its balance while running at high speed.
The cheetah is not very powerful compared to most other large predators, so it needs its prey to run in order to use the prey’s momentum to pull it down to the ground. When chasing after its prey, the cheetah uses its dew claw to hook onto the animal’s lower leg to try trip it. If successful, it then uses its jaws to suffocate the prey by a bite to the neck or by using is mouth to cover the prey’s whole muzzle, which prevents the animal from making too much noise while being suffocated. Too much noise from its prey in distress may attract the attention of unwanted visitors such as hyenas and lions that will inevitably steal the cheetahs kill, as the cheetah would rather flee than defend it.
The cheetah being a rather weak predator loses up to 90% of its kills to lion, hyena, leopard and even packs of jackals, so when a kill is made it quickly eats as much of the soft meat as possible before it is stolen.

The larger predators are more active at night and sleep during the warmer daylight hours making it a lot safer for cheetah hunt during the day. A possible adaptation that the cheetah has is the black tear lines that start around the edges of the eyes, running down to the outer edges of the mouth. The dark colour aids its vision by absorbing excess light, thus preventing too much glare into the eyes.

The female, after a gestation of 90 – 95 days gives birth to 3, sometimes 4 cubs. The colouration of the cubs seems to resemble that of the honey badger. The upper part of the body is white to grey in colour with the lower parts almost black. The manner, in which the youngsters walk, is very similar to that of the honey badger.
Many animals including large predators are very wary of honey badgers, as they have earned a reputation for being rather aggressive and tough to kill. For the cheetah’s cubs to mimic such a fierce animal is a great advantage, as this may increase their chances of survival against other predators for the first few weeks after birth. By 12 – 15 months of age the cub’s colouration is much the same as the adults.

Unfortunately the survival rate of cheetah cubs is very low with a possible 1 in every three cubs living to 2 years of age. Many cubs are killed by the larger predators, especially in the first few weeks after birth, so to keep the cubs as safe as possible the female moves the cubs from hiding place to another every 3 or 4 days.

A female with cubs needs to hunt on a regular basis and as they grow older she may need to hunt every day, especially if she has 3 or 4 cubs. From the age of 6 months the female starts teaching the cubs to hunt and by 14 months the cubs regularly join the female on hunts. By 16 – 18 months the cubs are ready to hunt by themselves which is also the time when they are chased away by their mother, to be independent of her for the first time.

Due to the excessive trophy hunting of the past, the cheetah population in many game reserves is seriously low. The Kruger National park’s cheetah numbers are currently dwindling on about 300 individuals, resulting in a very weak gene-pool. Namibia has the highest population of between 6000 and 9000.
Fortunately there are a number of breeding programs which have had relative success in breeding and introducing cheetah into the wild and by introducing specimens from Namibia into these breeding projects it helps to strengthen the gene-pool and give hope for the future survival of the cheetah.

Cape Buffalo Facts

2008-09-08T14:13:00.002+02:00

Latin name: Syncerus caffer

Weight: Females up to 700 kg. Males up to 1000 kg.

Lifespan: 17 years

Gestation Period: 11 months

Habitat: Grassland and open woodlands

Behaviour:
The Cape buffalo is considered by many to be the most dangerous of the big 5. Large herds of buffalo are generally relaxed when compared to single buffalo or small groups, which are extremely unpredictable. Lone bulls are very nervous as they don’t have the safety and security of numbers and are therefore very quick to charge at any sign of danger. A charging buffalo is difficult to stop and many hunters have fallen victim to them, even after shooting warning shots.

Large breeding herds can reach up 1500 individuals, rarely more. With so many buffalo, the herd has to keep on the move in search of good grazing and water. The old, sick and weak individuals often fall behind until eventually losing their herd. Old bulls that were previously with the herd will often form small groups known as bachelor herds. The bachelors normally settle down into smaller areas of 5 or 10 km² that has sufficient water and food to survive on. When the breeding herds pass through their area, they will sometimes rejoin for a short period before remaining behind once again.

Another name for an old buffalo bull is “dagga boy”. Dagga is the mixture sand, water and cement, used in building, a dagga boy is the person that mixes the dagga. Old buffalo bulls love wallowing in mud and after sitting in the sun for a while, the dried mud on their bodies looks like the dried cement on a dagga boy’s arms and legs, hence the nick name.

Mud wallowing is very good for the buffalo’s skin as it helps remove unwanted parasites such as ticks and mites. When an animal submerges into water, a small air-bubble develops around the tick’s mouth, where the mouth enters the host’s skin. This air-bubble supplies the tick with extra oxygen, allowing it to stay under water without drowning. Mud on the other hand is too thick to allow for these small air-bubbles, resulting in the suffocation of ticks. After good wallowing session, the buffalo then rubs its body against, large rocks, trees or termite mounds to remove the mud along with the ticks.

The horns of buffalo give a good indication of the sex. The male’s horns are slightly thicker than the females and the male has a very prominent boss. The bull in particular makes a regular habit of rubbing and polishing his horns and boss on trees. The purpose of this may be to prevent flies from laying eggs in the cracks of its horns. Eggs laid in the horns eventually hatch into larva and start boring through the keratin layers causing significant damage to the buffalo’s horns.

Diet:
The buffalo is a herbivore, feeding mostly on grass but in the drier seasons they will also eat more leaves.

Breeding:
Within a breeding herd there are a number of dominant males. Only these males are able to mate with the females. At the age of 5 years the female gives birth to her first calf after a gestation of 11 months. The newborn calf has a light brown to auburn colouration which helps camouflaging it while being hidden away and suckled for the first few weeks, until it is strong enough to keep up with the herd. The calf will often stay with its mother until the time when she gives birth to a new calf, which is around every 2 years.

Enemies:
Lions are capable of hunting mature buffalo which may take just a few minutes to pull down or even a couple hours with less experienced lion. Spotted hyena and leopard normally hunt the young calves which are less of a risk as buffalo often team together and put up a good fight and are very capable of killing lions and the other predators.

Diseases:
Cape buffalo have a very low white blood cell count when compared to other animals which results in a weak immune system and makes them susceptible to diseases such as foot and mouth disease and bovine tuberculoses.
The tuberculosis is extremely contagious and by sharing the same drinking water it spreads very quickly through the herd. Buffalo that have T.B. can live for many years as long as they aren’t malnutritioned. During dry seasons or drought the effects of the T.B. may kill many buffalo.

Predators such as lion that hunt T.B. infected buffalo are also at risk after eating the meat of these animals.

White Rhino Facts

2008-09-07T19:17:00.002+02:00

South Africa has two species of rhino, the Black rhino (Hook-lipped rhino) and the White rhino (Square-mouthed rhino). Of the two species, the white rhino has the highest population, numbering +- 4000 in the Kruger National Park and only 400 black rhino. It's hard to believe that less than 100 years ago there were fewer white rhino's than black rhino's. The reason for such a low population of rhino in the park was as a result of excessive hunting and poaching. In the mid-70s’ a huge effort was made to boost their numbers by introducing rhino from Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve into the southern part of the Kruger National Park. Another possible reason for the black rhino being so low in numbers could be the fact that they are very anti-social compared to the white rhino which are often seen in large herds of 10 - 15 and even more. Black rhino breed less frequently as a result of being so anti-social.

White Rhino:

Latin name: Ceratotherium simum

Weight:
Adult males 2 000 - 2 500 kg, adult females 1 600 - 1800 kg.

Lifespan: +- 45 years.

Gestation: 16 months.

Feeding and territoriality:
White Rhino are grazers. They have very broad, flat mouths which makes it possible to chew off large tufts of grass while feeding. They spend a lot of their time grazing in the early morning and late afternoon as well as during the night. On warm days they move into the shade to sleep or cool down in mud wallows or dams.

White Rhino bulls are very territorial and on a daily basis they patrol their territories, chasing out intruding territorial bulls, as well as scent-marking the area to show its' presence. The male scent-marks by spray-urinating on trees and on the ground. After urinating on the ground the bull often drags his feet over the urine covered sand to spread it over a larger area. The urine under the feet also helps to spread the males' scent even further as he walks through his territory. The bull also has a number of middens within his area. A midden is a large collection of dung left by the rhino in the same spot. Every day the bull will try re-mark as many of these as possible. After dropping fresh dung into the midden, the bull drags his feet over the dung to break it up into smaller pieces, often spreading it out to increase the size of the midden. Just as he does with spay-urinating, he spreads the scent of the dung under his feet when walking through his territory.

During the dry winter season or drought the more dominant male will often allow neighbouring territorial bulls that have no water in their territories to enter his territory for a drink of water, as long as they leave right after drinking.

The females and young sub-ordinate males that are not territorial wonder quite freely through the different male territories.

Breeding:
The female White rhino gives birth to a single calf after a gestation of about 16 months. They are often seen accompanied by two or three generations of their own young. The female often chases her older calves away before giving birth to another calf. After 3 or 4 months when the newborn is strong on its legs, the mother will allow the older calves to re-join her once again. The female calves will often spend most of their lives with their mother. Male calves tend to wonder off a bit more the older they get, eventually leaving their mother to try establish their own territories.

Senses:
White Rhino have extremely poor eyesight but are very capable seeing moving objects. They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing. A rhino's ears are always moving to pick up any sound made around it. Even while sleeping their ears still move to pick up any sound.

Leopard Facts

2008-09-05T13:00:00.002+02:00

Latin Name: Panthera pardus

Weight: Females up to 60 kg. Males up to 90 kg

Lifespan: 20 years

Gestation: 110 days

Habitat:
The leopard is one of the most adaptable predators in Africa. They are able to survive in many different types of habitats, taking preference to savannah, woodland, riverine vegetation and mountainous regions. They can also be found living close to human settlements where domestic animals become a source of prey. Of all predators, the leopard is the most likely to become a man-eater as many of them have established territories close to human settlements, resulting in regular encounters with people.

Behaviour:
Unlike lions which are usually found in family groups, the leopard lives a more solitary life. Individuals seen together are most likely to be a mother with cubs, a male and female mating or encounters on the boundaries of their different territories. The collective name for a group of leopard is a “LEAP”.

Both males and females are territorial. The sizes of the different territories vary quite considerably. The males tend to have larger areas up to 100 km² and sometimes more, with several female territories overlapping within.
Leopard mark their territories by spraying urine onto trees and bushes that they periodically return to, to remark.
The leopard also advertises its presence within its territory vocally, by making a series of grunts described as the sound of a saw cutting through wood.

Their beautiful colouration consists of dark-brown to black spots, which form the shape of rosettes. The edges of their eyes are lined with a white colour which may aid their nocturnal vision by amplifying light that is reflected off its surroundings.

Along with its superb camouflage, it is a very silent and stealthy predator with a very high success rate in kills made on hunts. Pound for pound the leopard is the strongest cat in the world, capable of climbing a tree whilst carrying prey that is more than twice its own body weight. If the prey is too large to climb up with, it will often feed on the ground until carcass is light enough to hang to a tree.

They are very opportunistic hunters, sometimes having 2 or more kills at the same time. The leopard is not fond of eating fur, so before opening a carcass to feed on the softer meat, it plucks out the animal’s hair.

Many young and inexperienced leopards don’t drag their kills up into trees often resulting in lions or hyenas stealing it from them. A carcass strung high up in a tree is a lot safer, allowing the leopard to can come and go as it pleases and feed at leisure. In areas with few scavengers, they will sometimes leave the kill on the ground and cover it grass and leaves or drag it out of sight into thick vegetation.

Of all the large predators in Africa it is the second fastest sprinter after the cheetah, reaching speeds of up to 85 km/hour in just 3 seconds!

Diet:
Their diet consists of mainly small to medium sized antelope such as impala, bush buck, steenbok and duiker. They will also prey on kudu, warthog, baboons, vervet monkeys, hares, guinea fowl and francolins. A leopard will even eat insects if it is struggling to hunt for some reason.

Breeding:
Mating takes place at any time of the year. The male locates a female on “heat” by taste testing the urine she leaves behind on the vegetation, after scent-marking her territory. A female that is ready to mate is very vocal, often calling throughout the night to find a possible mating partner.
Once a suitable male is located, the pair may remain together for a week while mating.

The female gives birth to 2 or 3 cubs which she hides in thick vegetation, rocky outcrops or even in caves. Every 3 or 4 days the female moves the cubs as the smell of their urine and faeces becomes very prominent, often attracting unwanted visitors such as lion and hyena that would almost certainly kill the cubs.

Cubs start eating meat at around 6 to 8 weeks of age but still suckle off the female for up 3 or 4 months until weaning. At 12 months of age the cubs keen hunters and by 16 to 18 months they are too large for the mother to feed so she chases them off to be on their own. Cubs of the same litter that are independent of their mother will often keep together for a few months before parting ways.