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Species
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Scientific Name: |
Equus burchellii |
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Description: |
The most familiar of the striped members of the horse family, living in harems on the grasslands of Africa. Short-legged and rather fat-looking horses, the most obvious feature of plains zebra is their black and white stripes. These cover the body in a pattern unique to each individual. They are generally vertical down the neck, becoming diagonal towards the rear, and horizontal on the legs. They are relatively broad (compared to other species of zebra). The mane is upright and striped to match the neck. The tail is striped with a dark tassle. |
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Habitat: |
Short grassland areas within savanna woodland and grassland plains constitute the preferred habitat. Their dependence on water restricts the Burchell’s Zebra to wander further than ten to 12 km from water. Densely vegetated areas are avoided. |
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Distribution: |
East Africa. |
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Size: |
230cm long, head to tail standing about 1.4m at the shoulder. |
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Weight: |
Average Mass: 300 kg (660 lb) |
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Lifespan: |
28 years. |
- Hits: 5148
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Scientific Name: |
Ceratotherium simum (Burchell 1817) |
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Description: |
As the white rhino evolved from the black rhino they are similar in appearance. White rhinos have broad, flat lips 20 cm wide for grazing and the head cannot be lifted above the back. The upward swivel of the head is prevented by the first neck vertebra, which has an elongated upper anterior end that interlocks with the skull bone. The body colour bears no relation to the names “white†and “black†as rhinos are fond of rolling in mud baths and the body takes on the colour of the soil. Recent rhinos have only six molars. Adult white rhinos have an average shoulder height of 165-175 cm and a maximum mass of 2 400 kg. Bulls are 30% larger than cows; this differs from the black rhino where the cows are the largest. The skin is up to 20 mm thick on the back and thighs and up to 50 mm on the forehead. There are minor differences between the southern and northern white rhino subspecies. Both sexes have two asymmetrical horns. The horns do not have a bone core and consist of a compact mass of tubular keratin fibres growing directly from the skin. The horns of adult bulls are thicker around the base and have a larger circumference than those of the cows. Cow horns, although thinner, are generally longer than those of a bull. The mean, accumulative mass of both horns of adult white rhinos ranges from 5,8-14,0 kg. The mean horn growth rate of calves is 15 cm during the first year, declining to 5,6-6,4 cm per annum in young adults aged 8-25 years, and 2,7-4,5 cm in adults of >25 years. The anterior horn becomes visible at five weeks and measures approximately 4 cm at three months and 10 cm at seven months. Rhinos, especially bulls, frequently rub their horns against tree trunks and rocks causing the horn tip to wear away. This rapidly reduces the growth to a maximum trophy length of about 120 cm at a prime age of 28-30 years, after which it is further reduced to a maximum of 100 cm at 40 years age. If the horn is lost or harvested, re-growth immediately accelerates to 10-11 cm per annum for the first two years, independent of the age of the animal and then rapidly declines. |
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Habitat: |
White rhino habitat is restricted to areas with an annual rainfall of between 250-800 mm and access to open drinking water at ground level. Veld on a substrate of dolerite and shale is preferred, on granite substrate is marginal and on sandstone is unsuitable and avoided. |
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Distribution: |
In the past, the white rhino lived in an area stretching from Morocco, across the western Sahara and the Sahel, to the eastern, central and southern areas of Africa. More recently, a gap approximately 2 000 km wide appeared between the northern and southern sub-populations. This gap, situated between Uganda and north-western Kenya, contributed to the genetic diversion of the two present subspecies and coincided with the global climatic changes between the humid and dry periods that affected the expansion and retreat of the African forest zones. Scientific findings indicate that tropical forests may have stretched from the Cape to Ethiopia during the summit of the last glacial period around 14 000 to 12 000 years BP. Such conditions would render the central area of Africa unsuitable for white rhino and explain the distribution gap. |
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Size and weight: |
Adult white rhinos have an average shoulder height of 165-175 cm and a maximum mass of 2 400 kg. Bulls are 30% larger than cows; this differs from the black rhino where the cows are the largest. The skin is up to 20 mm thick on the back and thighs and up to 50 mm on the |
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Lifespan: |
35 to 40 years |
- Hits: 4551
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Scientific Name: |
Kobus Ellipsiprymnus |
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Description: |
Despite its name, the waterbuck is not truly aquatic nor as much at home in water and swamps as is the sitatunga or lechwe. It does, however, take refuge there to escape predators. The waterbuck is a large, robust animal; males are generally about 25 percent larger than the females. Waterbucks have large, rounded ears and white patches above the eyes, around the nose and mouth and on the throat. Only the males have horns, which are prominently ringed and as long as 40 inches. The horns are widely spaced and curve gracefully back and up. They are sometimes used with lethal results when males fight one another over territories. The waterbuck has a shaggy brown-gray coat that emits a smelly, oily secretion thought to be for waterproofing. In East Africa two types occur, the common waterbuck and the defassa waterbuck, distinguished only by the white pattern on the rump. The common waterbuck has a conspicuous white ring encircling a dark rump, while the defassa has wide white patches on either side of the rump. Only male waterbucks have horns. |
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Habitat: |
Inhabits only well watered areas, with a strong predilection for dense woody vegetation and good quality medium to tall grasses. The Waterbuck will on occasion venture into open woodlands and floodplains. |
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Distribution: |
In South Africa it is distributed along the major drainage systems of Mpumalanga, Northern Province and northern KwaZulu-Natal. Recently re-introduced at St Lucia and Itala game reserves in KwaZulu-Natal. |
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Size: |
Bulls have a shoulder height of 1.4 metres. Cows are smaller than bulls. |
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Weight: |
Can weigh up to 260 Kg. Cows are smaller than bulls. |
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Lifespan: |
Their life-span is about 14 years. |
- Hits: 4498
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Scientific Name: |
Phacochoerus Africanus |
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Description: |
Common warthogs have large upper tusks that are 255 to 635 mm long in males and 152 to 255 mm long in females. As their name suggests, warthogs have three pairs of facial warts, comprised of cartilaginous connective tissue. The three types of warts are: 1) the suborbital warts, which may grow as long as 15 cm in males; 2) the preorbital warts, which do not develop as much in females; and 3) the submaxillary warts, which have white bristles. The head is large with a mane that goes down the spine to the middle of the back. There is sparse hair covering the body. Color is usually black or brown. Tails are long and end with a tuft of hair. Common warthogs do not have subcutaneous fat and the coat is sparse, making them suceptible to extreme environmental temperatures. Common warthogs can be distinguised from Cape warthogs by the number of incisors. Common warthogs have two upper and four to six lower incisors, in contrast to Cape warthogs, which lack incisors. |
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Habitat: |
Common warthogs are found in open and wooded savannas, grass-steppes, and semi-deserts in Africa. Common warthogs prefer open areas and avoid rainforest and severe desert. They are found on Kilimanjaro up to an elevation of 3000 m and along coastal regions of Africa. Common warthogs often utlilize formerly wooded areas that have been cleared for pastures. |
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Distribution: |
The distribution of common warthogs is limited by cover, human disturbance, and suitable foraging. Warthogs require areas to cool-off in order to cope with high temperatures. These include wallows. They also require areas in which to stay warm in the even |
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Size: |
Head and body length is 900 to 1500 mm. Shoulder height ranges from 635 to 850 mm. |
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Weight: |
Common warthogs weigh 50 to 150 kg with females being 15 to 20 percent lighter than males. |
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Lifespan: |
Wild warthogs can live up to 15 years, and captive warthogs may live as long as 18. |
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Scientific Name: |
Raphicerus Campestris |
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Description: |
Steenbuck resemble small Oribi, standing 45-60 cm at the shoulder. Their pelage (coat) is any shade from fawn to rufous, typically rather orange. The underside, including chin and throat, is white, as is the ring around the eye. Ears are large with "finger-marks" on the inside. Males carry straight, smooth, parallel horns 7-19 cm long (see image left). There is a black crescent-shape between the ears, a long black bridge to the glossy black nose, and a black circular scent-gland in front of the eye. |
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Habitat: |
Steenbucks prefer open areas, but they require cover nearby (Stuart and Stuart, 1995). Steenbucks are never found in wooded or broken areas. They are beginning to be found in slightly wooded areas and areas where the environment is more open due to cultivation and road building. Steenbuck can use a variety of habitats from semi-desert, such as the edge of the Kalahari Desert and Etosha National Park, to open woodland and thickets, including open plains, stony savannah, and Acacia-grassland mosaics. They are said to favour unstable or transitional habitats. |
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Distribution: |
The steenbuck is found in the southern and eastern savanna of Africa. There are two main populations of steenbuck, separated from one another by the miombo woodlands. |
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Size: |
The length of its head and body ranges from 70 - 95 cm. The shoulder height varies from 45 - 60 cm. The tail is very short, with total length ranging from 4 - 6 cm. |
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Weight: |
7 to 16 kg; avg. 11.50 kg. |
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Lifespan: |
Up to 10 years. |
- Hits: 2510
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Scientific Name: |
Chlorocebus pygerythrus |
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Description: |
Both have tail lengths that can vary from 50 to 115 cm. The pigmentation of the male Vervet Monkey's scrotum is a vivid blue that pales when the animal falls in social rank. The hydration of the scrotal skin controls its color. |
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Habitat: |
Vervets are habitat generalists, as is obvious from their widespread range in Africa and the success of introduced populations. They are tolerant of a wide variety of habitats and can live in humid rainforests, semi-desert environments, or swamps from sea level to elevations up to 4500 m (14,764 ft); their only limitation seems to be water availability and the presence of sleeping trees |
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Distribution: |
The Vervet Monkey ranges throughout much of Southern and East Africa, being found from Ethiopia and Somalia south to South Africa. |
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Size : |
Height: 490 mm (M), 426 mm (F). |
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Lifespan: |
7-12 years.It commonly lives in groups or "troops" of 20 or more, however the size of the group is often smaller than 20. Its gestation period is 7 months with a single offspring produced and is known to have a life span of up to 20 years. |
- Hits: 4643
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Scientific Name: |
Antidorcas Marsupialis |
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Description: |
The springbok is a strikingly marked, gazellelike antelope. It has a white face with dark stripes from the mouth to the eyes, a reddish-brown coat that turns to a darker shade and then to white on the lower third of its body, and a white backside. It stands approximately 80cm high at the shoulders and is characterized by a fold of skin that runs from the midback to the rump. This fold can be opened in times of excitement to display a crest of white hair. Both sexes also have black, curved, lyre-shaped horns. Larger males can have horns 36-48cm in length. Their colouring consists of three colours, white, reddish/tan and dark brown. Their backs are tan coloured and at the bottom they are white, along each side there is a dark brown stripe extending from the shoulder on towards the inside thigh. Rams are slightly larger than ewes and have thick horns, the ewes tend to have skinnier legs and longer, more frail horns. |
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Habitat: |
Springboks are mostly confined to game reserves and farms in treeless savanna associated with the edges of dry lake beds. In South Africa springbok inhabit the vast grasslands of the Freestate and the open shrublands of the greater and smaller Karoo. In Namibia they live in the grasslands of the south, the kalahari desert to the east and the dry riverbeds of the northern bushveld of the Windhoek region. In Botswana they mostly live in the Kalahari Desert in the southwestern and central parts of the country. |
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Distribution: |
Springbok range includes south and southwestern Africa, mainly in the countries of Namibia, Botswana, Angola and the Republic of South Africa. |
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Size: |
Medium sized brown and white gazelle that stands about 75 cm high. |
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Weight: |
Springbuck males weigh between 33-48 kg and the females between to 30-44 kg. |
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Lifespan: |
10 years. |
