Nature Clan of South Africa

Remember Steve Irwin

Steve Robert Irwin aka "The Crocodile Hunter" died on 4 September 2006 when the barb of a stingray pierced his chest and damaged his heart. He has been an inspiration in my life and has increased my love for wildlife a hundred fold. He used to say "crikey" a lot and liked getting very close to his animal subjects. Steve's love for nature oozed out of him at every opportunity. The Sea Shepherds ship was renamed after Steve's death and are doing excellent and necessary work in the worlds oceans "fighting" off whalers that are killing whales under the name of science. Check out Whale Wars on Animal Planet.

Protea Compacta

This tree protea (also called a sugarbush) was photographed in the Marakele National Park while going up the two towers mountain.

Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus)

Photo taken in the Marakele National Park.

Shoulder Height: +-1.2m

Weight: Males +-140kg. females +-125kg

ID pointers : hartebeest like body, shoulders higher than rump, dark facial blaze, reddish-brown in colour, horns widely lyrate, purplish sheen.

IUCN Status: Least concern

Warthog

Photographed in the Marakele National Park.

Shoulder Height: +-60-70cm

Weight: Males 60 - 105kg. females 45 - 70kg

ID pointers : pig like appearance, sparsely haired body, large wart-like lumps on the face, curved upward pointing tusks, thin tail with dark hairy tip held erect when running.

Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)

This magnificent animal was photographed in the Marakele National Park.

Shoulder Height: +-1.4 to 1.6m

Weight: Males +-250kg. females +-180kg

ID pointers : Large type of buck, 6-10 vertical strips, grey-brown in colour, large rounded ears, bulls carry long spiral horns.

IUCN Status: Least concern

African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

This very young animal was spotted at the Heia Safari Lodge outside JHB. Also a dangerous animal when cornered/wounded.

Shoulder Height: +-1.4m

Weight: Males +- 700kg. females +-550kg

ID pointers : Very cattle like appearance, very large, massive horns that covers the top of the head. found mainly on savanna plains.

IUCN Status: Least concern

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)

Taken in the Heia Safari lodge just outside JHB. Very dangerous and unpredictable animals.

Shoulder Height: +-1.5M
Weight: Males 1000 - >2000kg. females 1000 - 1700kg
ID pointers : Large barrel shaped body, short thick legs, massive head, broad muzzle, close to water.

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Plains Zebra (Equus quagga)

This was also take in the Heia Safari Lodge. This Zebra is also called the Burchell's Zebra.

Shoulder Height: +-1.3m
Weight: 290 - 340kg
ID pointers : Stocky pony like build, sometimes a shadow stripe (brown stripe between), black & white stripes extend onto the underparts.

IUCN status: Least concern

White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum)

This was taken at the Heia Safari Lodge just outside JHB. Seen here with a calf.
Shoulder Height: +-1.8M

Weight: Males 2000 - 2300kg. females 1400 - 1600kg
ID pointers : Broad square muzzle, large head carried low, hump on the neck, large pointed ears

IUCN Status: Near Threatened

Strelitzia Reginae

This great white strelitzia photo was taken in Margate.

S. reginae (+- 1,5m) high produces stunning orange and purplish-blue flowers, along with massive dark green leaves.

Big Birding Day 2008 (29 Nov 2008)

You may be asking why we would have a national birding day in SA. Well it is all explained on the following website: http://www.birdlife.org.za/index.php?p[IGcms_nodes][IGcms_nodesUID]=94cf40026546f1f7a7cffe7713706731

The purpose of Birding Big Day is to raise funds for bird conservation. There is no fee to take part, but teams raise sponsorship for BirdLife South Africa. There are different categories for all levels of competence. To participate, you have to count the number of bird species you see during a twenty-four hour period, between midnight and midnight and within a radius of 50km.

What is nice is that you don't have to exert too much effort in order to compete. You may even decide to enter the “Garden” category and count the birds seen in your garden on the day.

IUCN Explained

You will see that in my post on Lions, I inserted an IUCN rating for the Lion (Panthera Leo). Below is a very quick explanation & mission on the very important organisation. We have to protect the environment as much as we can. God gave us a very responsible duty when he made us master over nature.

Description
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation.

Mission
IUCN's mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

Website: http://www.iucn.org/index.cfm

Lions (Panthera Leo)

Seen in the Madikwe Nature Reserve
Date: 26 Sep 2007
Weight: Between 150 to 250kg (male) 120 to 182kg (females)

The 2 bachelor brothers killed a seemingly sick Eland. Here they are guarding the carcass from other predators. They quickly scared off a brown hyena when it smelled their scent. You can see from the photo how full they have eaten themselves.

IUCN Status: Vulnerable