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| Jackal |
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The black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas), also known as the silver-backed or red jackal,[4] is a species of jackal which inhabits two areas of the African continent separated by roughly 900 km. One region includes the southern-most tip of the continent, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The other area is along the eastern coastline, including Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia. It is listed by the IUCN as least concern, due to its widespread range and adaptability, although it is still persecuted as a livestock predator and rabies vector.[3] The fossil record indicates the species is the oldest extant member of the genus Canis.[2] Although the most lightly built of jackals, it is the most aggressive, having been observed to singly kill animals many times its own size, and its intrapack relationships are more quarrelsome.[5] - wikipedia. |
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| Duiker |
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Duikers are shy and elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; most are forest dwellers and even the species living in more open areas are quick to disappear into thickets. Their name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch word for diver and refers to their practice of diving into tangles of shrubbery. With a slightly arched body and the front legs a little shorter than the hind legs, they are well-shaped to penetrate thickets. They are primarily browsers rather than grazers, eating leaves, shoots, seeds, fruit, buds and bark, and often follow flocks of birds or troops of monkeys to take advantage of the fruit they drop. They supplement their diet with meat: duikers take insects and carrion from time to time, and even stalk and capture rodents or small birds. The Blue Duiker has a fondness for ants. |
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| Steenbok |
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Steenbok 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. The tail is not usually visible, being only 4–6 cm long. |
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| Impala |
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An impala (Aepyceros melampus Greek αιπος, aipos "high" κερος, ceros "horn" + melas "black" pous "foot") is a medium-sized African antelope. The name impala comes from the Zulu language meaning "gazelle". They are found in savannas and thick bushveld in Kenya, Tanzania, Swaziland, Mozambique, northern Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, northeastern South Africa and Uganda. Impalas can be found in numbers of up to 2 million in Africa.[2] |
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| Blesbuck |
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The Blesbok or Blesbuck (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi) is an antelope with a distinctive white face and forehead. Its white face is the origin of its name, because bles is the Afrikaans word for bald. Although it is a close relative of the Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus dorcas) and can interbreed with it, creating an animal known as the Bontebles or Baster Blesbok, it does not have the same habitat. The Blesbok is indigenous to South Africa and is found in large numbers in all national parks with open grasslands, from the Transvaal Highveld, through the Free State veld, to as far south as the Eastern Cape. It is a plains species and dislikes wooded areas. It was first discovered in the 17th-century, in numbers so numerous that herds reached from horizon to horizon. |
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| Waterbuck |
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The Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is a large antelope found widely in Sub-Saharan Africa. Waterbuck stand 120 to 136 centimetres (47 to 54 in) at the shoulder.[2] Males weigh 200–300 kilograms (440–660 lb) and females 160–200 kilograms (350–440 lb).[2] Their coats are reddish brown in colour and become progressively darker with age; they have a white 'bib' under their throats and white on their rumps. The waterproofing secretions of the waterbuck's sweat glands produces an unpleasant odor in its meat, unless the animal is skinned carefully. According to African myth the meat of the waterbuck is not edible, but this is untrue—whilst not especially tasty, waterbuck venison is safe to eat. The long spiral structured horns, found only in males, sweep back and up. Waterbuck are found in scrub and savanna areas near water where they eat grass. Despite its name, the waterbuck does not spend much time in the water, but will take refuge there to escape predators. Waterbuck are diurnal. Females gather in herds of between two and six hundred individuals. Males keep territories of around three hundred acres (1.2 km²) during their prime. They usually lose their territories before the age of ten. |
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| Kudu |
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The Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas, due to a declining habitat, deforestation and hunting. |
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| Warthog |
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The Warthog or Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P. aethiopicus, but today that scientific name is restricted to the Desert Warthog of northern Kenya, Somalia, and eastern Ethiopia. The common name comes from the four large wart-like protrusions found on the head of the warthog, which serve the purpose of defence when males fight as well as a fat reserve. |
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| Blue Wildebeest |
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The Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), also called the Common Wildebeest, is a large antelope and one of two species of wildebeest. It grows to 115–145 cm shoulder height and attains a body mass of 168–274 kg.[2] They range the open plains, bushveld and dry woodlands of Southern and East Africa, living for more than twenty years. The male is highly territorial, using scent markings and other devices to protect his domain. The largest population is in the Serengeti, numbering over one million animals. They are a major prey item for lions, hyenas and crocodiles. |
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| Zebra |
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Zebras are several species of African equids (horse family) united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and asses, zebras have never been truly domesticated. |
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| Eland |
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The common eland (Taurotragus oryx) (Swahili: Mbunga) also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is the largest antelope in the African continent. It is native to Botswana, Burundi, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe; and is possibly extinct in Angola. |
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| Red Hartebeest |
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The Red Hartebeest (Alcelaphus caama) is a species[3] of even-toed ungulate in the Bovidae family. It is found in Southern Africa. There are more than 130,000 individuals left. The Red Hartebeest is closely related to the Tsessebe and the Topi. |
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| Gemsbok |
.jpg/220px-Oryx_gazella_(Chudop).jpg) |
Gemsbok are light brownish-grey to tan in colour, with lighter patches to the bottom rear of the rump. Their tails are long and black in colour. A blackish stripe extends from the chin down the bottom edge of the neck through the join of the shoulder and leg along the lower flank of each side to the blackish section of the rear leg. They have muscular necks and shoulders and their legs have white 'socks' with a black patch on the front of both the front legs and both genders have long straight horns. Comparably, the East African Oryx lacks a dark patch at the base of the tail, has less blackish on the legs (none on the hindlegs), and less blackish on the lower flanks. Gemsbok are about 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in)[4][5] at the shoulder, and males can weigh between 220–250 kilograms (490–550 lb) while females weigh 180–210 kilograms (400–460 lb). |
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| Buffalo |
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The African buffalo is a very robust species. Its shoulder height can range from 1 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) and its head-and-body length can range from 1.7 to 3.4 m (5.6 to 11 ft). The tail can range from 70 to 110 cm (28 to 43 in) long. Savannah type buffaloes weigh 500 to 910 kg (1,100 to 2,000 lb), with males, normally larger than females, reaching the upper weight range. A record-sized savannah-type male weighed 1,000 kg (2,200 lb).[2] Forest type buffaloes, at 250 to 455 kg (550 to 1,000 lb), are only half that size.[3][4] Its head is carried low, its top located below the backline. The front hooves of the buffalo are wider than the rear, which is associated with the need to support the weight of the front part of the body, which is more powerful than the back |
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| Sable |
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The Sable Antelope stands 120 to 140 centimetres at the shoulder and weigh 200 to 270 kilograms, males being larger than females. Female Sable Antelope are chestnut to dark brown darkening as they mature while males are very distinctively black. Both sexes have a white underbelly, white cheeks and a white chin. They have a shaggy mane on the back of their neck. Sable antelope have ringed horns which arch backward, in females these can reach a meter, but in males they can reach over one and a tenth meter. The life span of these animals is up to 18 years. |
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| Roan Antelope |
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Roan Antelope stand about a metre and half at the shoulder and weigh around 250 kilograms. Named for the "roan' colour (a reddish brown), they have a lighter underbelly, white eyebrows and cheeks and a black face, lighter in females. There is a short erect mane, a very light beard and prominent red nostrils. The horns are ringed and can reach a metre long in males, slightly shorter in females. They arch backwards slightly. They are similar in appearance to Sable Antelope and can be confused where their ranges overlap. Sable Antelope males are darker, being black rather than dark brown. Roan Antelope are found in woodland and grassland savanna mainly in the Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, which range in tree density from forest with a grassy understorey (such as Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands) to grasslands dotted with few trees, where they eat mid-length grass. They form harem groups of five to fifteen animals with a dominant male. Roan Antelope commonly fight among themselves for dominance of their herd, brandishing their horns while both animals are on their knees. |
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| Bush Pig |
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The bushpig, Potamochoerus larvatus, is a member of the pig family and lives in forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and reedbeds in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduced populations are also present in Madagascar and the Comoros archipelago. Bushpigs are mainly nocturnal. There are several subspecies. Adult bushpigs stand from 66 to 100 cm (26 to 39 in) at the shoulder, and weigh from 55 to 150 kg (120 to 330 lb).[2] They resemble the domestic pig, and can be identified by their blunt, muscular snouts, small eyes, pointed, tufted ears and buckled toes.[clarification needed] Their colour varies from reddish-brown to dark brown and becomes darker with age. Both sexes have a lighter-coloured mane which bristles when the animal becomes agitated. The upper parts of the face and ears are also lighter in colour. Their sharp tusks are fairly short and inconspicuous. Unlike warthogs, bushpigs run with their tails down. Males are normally larger than females. |
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| Caracal |
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The caracal is a slender, yet muscular, cat, with long legs and a short tail. Males typically weigh 13 to 18 kilograms (29 to 40 lb), while females weigh about 11 kilograms (24 lb).[6] The caracal resembles a Eurasian Lynx, and for a long time it was considered a close relative of the lynxes. It has a tail nearly a third of its body length, and both sexes look the same. The caracal is 65 to 90 centimetres (26 to 35 in) in length, with a 30 centimetres (12 in) tail. Compared to lynxes, it has longer legs, shorter fur, and a slimmer appearance. The colour of the fur varies between wine-red, grey, or sand-coloured. Melanistic (black) caracals also occur. Young caracals bear reddish spots on the underside; adults do not have markings except for black spots above the eyes and small white patches around the eyes and nose. Underparts of chin and body are white, and a narrow black line runs from the corner of the eye to the nose. |
