Leopards and elephants and rhinos, oh my

I’m back! For anyone wondering why I’ve been reposting old pieces for the last few weeks, it’s because my wife and I were enjoying a much-deserved holiday in South Africa. I’ll stick a link to some photos shortly, but for the moment, here’s some post-holiday geekery for you.

The trip was a wildlife extravaganza. We spent four days in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve (just south of Kruger), as well as whale-watching, various walks through national parks and four fabulous hours tracking wild meerkats. I’ll be sticking up details and photos over the coming weeks/months, but for now, here’s a full list of the species we saw.

I’ve restricted it to only those animals that we saw in the wild, and then only those that I could identify down to the species level (which explains why the bird list isn’t longer and why they’re all vertebrates). Asterisks denote species that I have photos of.

Mammals

• Southern right whale, Eubalaena australis *
• Leopard, Panthera pardus *
• Spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta *
• Meerkat, Suricata suricatta *
• Slender mongoose, Galerella sanguinea
• White-tailed mongoose, Ichneumia albicauda
• Dwarf mongoose, Helogale parvula *
• Cape fur seal, Arctocephalus pusillus
• Rock hyrax, Procavia capensis *
• African bush elephant, Loxodonta africana *
• Chacma baboon, Papio cynocephalus *
• Lesser bushbaby, Galago moholi
• Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius *
• White rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum *
• Plain’s zebra, Equus burchelli *
• Warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus *
• Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis *
• Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer *
• Nyala, Tragelaphus angasi *
• Kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros*
• Bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus *
• Eland, Taurotragus oryx *
• Springbok, Antidorcas marsupalis
• Common duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia
• Steenbok Raphicerus campestris
• Waterbuck, Kobus ellipsiprymnus
• Impala, Aepyceros melampus *
• Blue wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus *
• Bontebok, Damaliscus pygargus pygargus*
• Striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio
• Smith’s bush squirrel, Paraxerus cepapi*
• Scrubhare, Lepus saxatilis

Birds

• Ostrich, Struthio camelus *
• African penguin, Spheniscus demersus *
• White-breasted cormorant, Phalacrocorax lucidus *
• Cape cormorant, Phalacrocorax capensis *
• Grey heron, Ardea cinerea *
• Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
• Hadada ibis, Bostrychia hagedash *
• Sacred ibis, Threskiornis aethiopicus
• Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus *
• Yellow-billed kite, Milvus aegyptius *
• African Fish eagle, Haliaeetus vocifer *
• White-backed vulture, Gyps africanus *
• Bateleur, Terathopius ecaudatus *
• Gymnogene (African harrier-hawk), Polyboroides typus
• Wahlberg’s eagle, Aquila wahlbergi *
• Martial eagle, Polemaetus bellicosus *
• Shelley’s francolin, Francolinus shelleyi
• Helmeted guineafowl, Numida meleagris *
• Blue crane, Grus paradisea *
• Red-knobbed coot, Fulica cristata
• Red-crested korhaan, Lophotis ruficrista
• Blacksmith plover, Vanellus armatus *
• Three-banded plover, Charadrius tricollaris *
• Kelp gull, Larus dominicanus *
• Hartlaub’s gull, Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
• Spotted eagle-owl, Bubo africanus
• European roller, Coracias garrulus
• Southern Yellow-billed hornbill, Tockus leucomelas *
• Black-collared barbet, Lybius torquatus *
• Crested barbet, Trachyphonus vaillantii *
• Cardinal woodpecker, Dendropicos fuscescens *
• Yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava *
• Malachite sunbird, Nectarinia famosa
• Greater double-collared sunbird, Cinnyris afer *
• Lesser double-collared sunbird, Cinnyris chalybeus
• Eurasian golden oriole, Oriolus oriolus
• Fiscal shrike, Lanius collaris
• Magpie shrike, Corvinella melanoleuca *
• Fork-tailed drongo, Dicrurus adsimilis
• Cape crow, Corvus capensis *
• Pied crow, Corvus albus
• Red-winged starling, Onychognathus morio *
• Cape glossy starling, Lamprotornis nitens
• Yellow-billed oxpecker, Buphagus africanus *
• Red bishop, Euplectes orix *
• Cape weaver, Ploceus capensis *
• Blue swallow, Hirundo atrocaerulea
• Cape white-eye, Zosterops pallidus,
• Lemon dove, Columba larvata

Reptiles and amphibians

• Black girdled lizard, Cordylus niger *
• Southern rock agama Agama atra *
• Foamy nest frog, Chiromantis rufescens *
• Leopard Tortoise, Geochelone pardalis