5 Fascinating Facts About the Ground Hornbill
As big and black as turkeys, wielding bills like hatchets, these charismatic birds cut an unmistakable dash as they strut around the bush in small family parties. There are two similar species: the southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) is much the more widespread and better known; the Abyssinian ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus) occurs only north of the Equator.
5 Fascinating Facts About the Klipspringer
This antelope’s name is Afrikaans for ‘rock jumper’ and the animal certainly lives up to this description, leaping around among cliffs and rocky outcrops like a mountain goat. A typical view will be of one individual standing stock-still on top of a rock. Look closer and you will invariably spot its mate nearby.
Hippos in Katavi National Park
Katavi National Park is a very seasonal park with huge floodplains that dry up after the rains from June onwards. The Katuma river also dries up, until all that’s left is a small stream with a few muddy ponds. The big concentration of hippos ..
5 Fascinating Facts About the African Elephant
The biggest of the Big Five – indeed the biggest land animal on the planet – this immense herbivore needs little introduction. Quite apart from its size, no animal with ears like kitchen tables and a nose that can pull down trees should pose much of an identification problem.
5 Fascinating Facts About the Secretary Bird (Sagitarius Serpentarius)
This is one of Africa’s weirdest birds, strutting about the savannah with the head of an eagle and the legs of a stork. In reality it is a bird of prey, with a family all to itself, and its snake-killing prowess is the stuff of legend.
5 Fascinating Facts About the Nile Crocodile
This massive reptile is probably the most feared predator in Africa – and with good reason: it is one of the very few animals for which human beings regularly feature on the menu.
5 Fascinating Facts About the Honey Badger
Hard-nut or head-case? Either way, this stocky little member of the weasel family has a ferocious reputation that belies its modest size. Known for its tenacity and aggression, even big cats will think twice before taking one on.
5 Fascinating Facts About the Flapneck Chameleon
How much weirdness can you handle in one animal? Chameleons have it all: skin that changes colour, swiveling eyes, an extendable tongue and the head of a dinosaur. No wonder these perfectly harmless lizards excite fear and superstition across rural Africa. This species is one of the most common...
A Wildebeest River Crossing in the Serengeti
Arguably the greatest wildlife spectacle in Africa, the migration of two million wildebeest across the Serengeti Plains climaxes with a series of perilous river crossings. The build-up to a Mara river crossing is tense and unpredictable...
5 Fascinating Facts About the Spotted Hyena
‘Ugly’, ‘cowardly’, ‘thieving’… It seems that nobody has anything good to say about Africa’s commonest large carnivore. Look beyond the popular prejudice, however, and you’ll find a complex, efficient and versatile predator, with some fascinating secrets...
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