African Wildlife - Living with Wildlife

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The Story of "Buzz" Guess what I rescued from the side of the road yesterday. I was driving along and saw a raptor standing in the grass on the other side of the road. That's not normal behaviour for a bird of prey not to fly off when cars are driving past so I did a u-turn and went back for another look. I saw an injured bird of prey hopping and limping across the road. A big beautiful Steppe Buzzard... he couldn't fly but was so beautiful and proud and wild!! I chased after him and when got close he flipped on his back and offered me his claws and a big beak... smiling... all I had was a soft sunshield screen and a rag... so I very slowly and carefully managed to get his eyes covered and gently take a wing and roll him over so he couldn't claw me with those impressive talons or peck me (like peck describes what that beak would do.... BITE rather). Put him in my owl transporter (leftover from the 3 baby white faced owls I rescued, hand raised and released) and le

Have you ever wondered what the Group Name is for an animal? Antelope: herd, cluster, tribe Apes: shrewdness, troop Badgers: cete, colony Cats (Wild): destruction, dowt, dout Cheetah: coalition Elephant: parade, herd Giraffe: tower, corps, journey, group Hedgehogs: array, prickle Hippo: raft, pod, bloat, thunder, school Hyaena: clan Impala: rank Jackal: skulk Leopard: leap, lepe Lion: pride, sault, sowse Monkeys: shrewdness, cartload, troop, troup Mongoose: business Pigs (Wild): sounder Rhino: crash, stubbornness, herd Wild Dog: pack Wildebeest: implausibility, herd Zebra: dazzle, zeal, cohort Very interesting!!

Wonder where some of our wildlife go their names from? Aardvark: Afrikaans word translation “earth pig” as ears and nose resemble those of a pig, also burrows a lot. Bat-eared Fox: Refers to the big ears resembling those of egyptian slit-faced bat Blesbok: Afrikaans word translation “bald buck” referring to the white blaze on the face Bushbaby: Lives in the “bush” and their call sounds like that of a crying baby Caracal: From the Turkish name “garah-gulak” meaning black ear, with reference to the black ear tufts Cheetah: Hindu word “chita” meaning “spotted one” Duiker: Afrikaans meaning “diver” from the action of the antelope when running away Eland: Dutch word for elk, thought to be related or similar Elephant: Greek word “elphas” and latin word “elephantus” for the species Gemsbok: Dutch word “gems” meaning chamois in reference to colour Genet: Name of area in Spain the species inhabited in the 18th century Giraffe: Arabic word “xirapha” meaning “one who walks swiftly” Har

Animals are all uniquely adapted for life in the wild on the African continent. Below are some fun facts to take on safari. Spotted hyaena often sit in water to cool off. They are unable to perspire and so pant nasally, the evaporation from the moist mouth and nasal cavities cooling the inhaled air and the blood going to the brain. At certain times of the year during winter, sparse vegetation or drought, a leopard tortoise will eat calcified dung to help with shell development or egg laying; giraffe will suck on large bones, using their tongue to manipulate the bone in and out of their mouth to obtain trace elements such as calcium and phosphorous. Wild dogs are not a feral species. They are naturally occurring, evolved in Africa and have maintained their current form for a few hundred thousand years. Wild dogs grab small prey and give the “death shake”, violently shaking the small animal with rapid side to side movements of their head which usually breaks the preys neck or