South Africa- Wildlife!

South Africa is no doubt home to many cultural activities but it is also home to an abundance of different species of animals, 200 to be exact! Who knew lions and penguins could exist naturally in the same country?

SA is known for “the big 5”. The big 5 includes elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards and buffalo. Kruger National Park is a world renowned safari destination in the north of South Africa. It is home to over 10,000 elephants and 20,000 buffaloes! The best time to travel on safari in South Africa is in the winter months (May-Sept).

The elephants in SA are very important as in the early 1900’s they were almost extinct to the country! The elephants were brought back from the brink of extinction and now reside in National Reserves. The lion is another animal that lives exclusively in conservation… for some reason they don’t live well with humans… Other than Christian of course!

Most of the big cats live in the north of the country in conservations, such as the cheetah and the leopard. The leopard lives in large spaces such as the far north of the country or the southern cape. The cheetah, what small percentage resides in SA, lives mostly in the north and in conservations.

In addition to the big 5, you can see South Africa’s most endangered animal, the wild dog and the lesser known “little 5”. The little 5 includes the leopard tortoise, buffalo weaver, ant lion, elephant shrew(pictured left) and rhinoceros beetle. Look closely to find these little animals!


Primates are high in population and include bushbabies, vervet, samango monkeys and chacma baboons. Of course, the usual suspects reside in the country as well which include the hippo, giraffe, kudu, zebra and wildebeest. The most difficult species to spot is the clawless otter and the spotted-neck otter.

Another popular wildlife attraction is the Penguin Conservation. It is popular among tourists to swim with these little creatures at Boulder’s Beach near Cape Town. Robben Island, Dassen Island and Dyer Island Conservation Trust are all areas of the country great for viewing the penguins. Penguins, of all the animals living in SA, have a hard time surviving due to the oil spill of 2000, climate changes and fish depletion.

Back in 2000 there was a major oil spill in the south of the country where the penguins reside. South Africans from all over came to help save these little animals. After cleaning up the penguins, the animals were transported to another coast of country and a few were tagged to track their progress back their original nesting site (the oil spilled coast). This gave conservationists a few weeks to clean the waters before the penguins arrived again. Now, the penguins live happily as they used to with the few struggles of being a penguin in South Africa!



What animal would you most be interested in seeing during a South African safari?





Thanks to these sites for their GREAT information!

http://www.southafrica.info/about/animals/wildlife.htm#lesser

http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/us/home