Warning: Buffalo Crossing

South Africa's roads have many different road signs.  Some you see everywhere and sometimes you get those who crop up and make you do a double take.  When it comes to people and animals on the road there are quite a few.  Pedestrian crossing signs.  Warning signs for cattle, tortoises, children, poth-o-les (I'm not sure what a poth-o-le is and what it looks like though.  Must be some kind of nocturnal animal), kudus, cats and even penguins.  I have even seen signs with elephants on public dirt roads through game reserves and signs with dung beetles in Addo Elephant National Park.  But seeing a Buffalo warning sign on a tar road was a first for me.  The Buffalo Warning sign is situated on the R63 outside Graaff-Reinet where the road runs through the Camdeboo National Park.  Camdeboo is home to Cape Buffalo and they apparently often cross the road on their way to the dam to drink water.

Die Groot Vyf

Wie of wat is die Groot Vyf?  Kom ons wees meer spesifiek en sê die Groot Vyf van die diereryk, anders dink mense dalk ons praat van lande, natuurwonders of toerisme-attraksies.  So, wie of wat is die Groot Vyf van die diereryk?  Dis nie die vyf grootste diere of die mooiste vyf nie, maar die vyf wilde diere wat die gevaarlikste was om te voet te jag in Afrika.  Ek sê was want vandag is dit niks om 'n dier vanaf die agterkant van 'n bakkie of uit 'n helikopter te skiet nie.

Die eerste en grootste dier op die lys is die olifant wat tot die familie Elephantidae behoort.  Die Afrika-olifant  (Loxodonta africana) is beide algeheel groter en het groter ore as die Indiese olifant (Elephas maximus), wat beperk is tot Indië en Suidoos-Asië.  Die soogdier wat huidiglik die nouste verwant is aan olifante is ... wag vir dit ... die Suid-Afrikaanse dassie.  Dit is omdat beide dieselfde beenstruktuur in hulle voete het.  Die foto is in die Addo Nasionale Olifantpark geneem wat seker een van die beste plekke in die land is om wilde olifante van redelik naby te besigtig.

Die leeu (Panthera leo) is een van die vier "groot katte" in die genus Panthera.  Dit is die tweede grootste katspesie naas die tier en weeg tussen 150 en 250 kilogram.  In die natuur word leeus tussen 10 en 14 jaar oud, terwyl dié in gevangenskap tot oor die 20 jaar oud kan word.  Hulle word nie verniet die koning van die oerwoud genoem nie, alhoewel hulle nie regtig oerwoud diere is nie en eerder op die savana's en bosveld van Afrika voorkom.

Daar is gereeld besprekings onder mense oor of dit die swart- of wit-renoster is wat ingesluit is in die Groot Vyf.  Die kleiner swartrenoster (Diceros bicornis) kom gewoonlik in bosse voor en is die meer aggresiewe van die twee terwyl die witrenoster (Cerarotherium simum) meer in ooptes voorkom omdat hy gras eet.  Die swart-renoster is die een was oorspronklik ingesluit is in die Groot 5 alhoewel albei oor die algemene aanvaar word.  Renosters is in die laaste tyd verskriklik geteiken vir hulle horings wat op die swartmark in die Ooste verkoop word.  Dit het so erg geraak dat ek nie met veiligheid kan sê waar die foto van die swartrenoster hierbo geneem is nie.

Die buffel is 'n gelyktonige hoefdier van die familie Bovidia, en die subfamilie Bovinae.  Die buffel word geken as 'n formidabele en onvoorspelbare teenstander en kan tot 56km/uur hardloop.  Buffels is sekerlik die mees onderskatte van die Groot Vyf en 'n gewonde buffel is uiters gevaarlik met verskeie jagters wat al gedood is in buffelaanvalle. Ou veldkenners beweer dat 'n gewonde buffel op sy spore teruggaan en die jagter sal voorlê.  Die Kaapse Buffels in die Addo Nasionale Olifantpark het hulle hele manier van lewe verander na hulle amper uitgeskiet is in die vroeër 1900's en het so te sê nagdiere geword todat leeus weer in die park ingebring is in die vroeër 2000's.  Voor die leeus se koms het jy amper nooit die buffels in die park gesien nie terwyl hulle nou weer algemeen in ooptes voorkom. 

Laaste, maar nie die minste nie is my gunsteling dier.  Die luiperd (Panthera pardus) was voorheen as bergtier of tier bekend en is 'n lid van die katfamilie. Luiperds is na tiers, leeus en jaguars die vierde grootste groot-kat met die poema volgende grootste.  Luiperds is nagdiere met 'n volwasse luiperd wat ongeveer 60 kg weeg en'n algemene hoogte van 60 cm bereik.  Die luiperds in die noorde van Suid Afrika word baie meer gereeld gesien as die in die Ooskaap en Weskaap.

Jozi Zoo animals

Following yesterday's post on the Johannesburg Zoo, I decided to post a couple of random animal photos I took on our visit.  I have said so before and I will say so again (and again and again and again) that I much rather prefer to visit a game reserve and look for the animals in their natural environment.  The problem is that not everybody in society gets the opportunity to visit game reserves and thus zoos will always be the only place a lot of people will see wild animals.

The elephants enclosure at Jozi Zoo must be one of it's most popular spots.  Its situated roughly in the middle of the zoo and most of the paths pass it, so a lot of people stop there.  I feel a bit sorry for the elephants in their treeless enclosure if I think of the elephants in the Addo Elephant National Park close to Port Elizabeth with so much space covered in Valley Bushveld and grasslands.

The Cape Buffalo, another of the Big 5 that one can see in the zoo, had a baby in their enclosure.  Now here is where one of the up sides of the zoo happens.  In the wild you probably wouldn't always get such a clear shot of a Buffalo calf unless you sit in one spot for a very long time.  Just a pity the sun wasn't right and threw a shadow on his face.

I loved seeing the hippo. The game reserves around here doesn't all have hippo and you don't always get to see them cause they are more active in the evenings.  These guys seemed quite content on having their afternoon nap in the sun.

Something that doesn't occur down in the Eastern Cape naturally is the Nile Crocodile.  In actual fact there is only one game reserve near Port Elizabeth that has crocs as far as I know.

The last animal I want to show is an exotic.  The Capybara is the world's largest rodent. They are found in southern Central America and northern South America and are semi-aquatic, spending a lot of time in the water.  This guy put up quite a show, rolling and diving around for us in the water.

Big 5

The Big Five was the phrase given by big-game hunters to the five most difficult or dangerous animals in Africa to hunt on foot. These days the Big 5 is high on the list of must-see attractions on a tourist's list of things to do or see when visiting South Africa. I present to you, The Big 5.

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Lion (Panthera leo)

Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) (above) or Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

Leopard (Panthera pardus)