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
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