African Wildlife - Living with Wildlife

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...