Wildlife Archives - Page 222 of 279

Grazer

Gemsbok (Oryx) are light brownish-grey to tan in colour, with lighter patches toward the bottom rear of the rump. Their tails are long and black in colour. A blackish stripe extends from the chin down the lower edge of the neck, through the juncture of the shoulder and leg along the lower flank of each side to the blackish section of the rear leg. They have muscular necks and shoulders, and their legs have white ‘socks’ with a black patch on the front of both the front legs and both genders have long, straight horns.
PS. Also known as the “Honda” antelope, due to the white markings on the face resembling the Honda logo 🙂

18 July 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Fluff

The common eland is the slowest antelope, with a peak speed of 40 kph that tires them quickly. However, they can maintain a 22 kph trot indefinitely. Elands are capable of jumping up to 2.5 m from a standing start when startled. The common eland’s life expectancy is generally between 15 and 20 years. Eland herds are accompanied by a loud clicking sound that has been subject to considerable speculation. It is believed that the weight of the animal causes the two halves of its hooves to splay apart, and the clicking is the result of the hoof snapping together when the animal raises its leg. The sound carries some distance from a herd and may be a form of communication.

17 July 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Perched

The African stonechat is a species of the Old World flycatcher family. The males have a black head, a white half-collar, a black back, a white rump, and a black tail; the wings are black with a large white patch on the top side of the inner wing. The upper breast is usually dark orange-red, with a sharp or gradual transition to white or pale orange on the lower breast and belly depending on subspecies. In a few, black replaces the orange breast feathers in part or entirely. Its scientific name refers to its appearance and habitat and means “collared rock-dweller”.
PS: First time I’ve seen a tick on a bird?

11 July 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife