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Potbelly

The common warthog is found in much of Africa, below the Sahara desert. They are abundant in East Africa and Southern Africa, with their favourite habitat being grassland, savanna and woodlands. The name ‘warthog’ comes from their large wart-like protuberances found on its face. Technically they are not warts, but rather they are made of bone and cartilage. The male (boar) has two pairs of these ‘warts’ and the female (sow) one pair. Warthogs like to live in abandoned burrows that were dug out by other animals, such as aardvarks or porcupines. These burrows are used for a number of reasons, such as for sleeping, where they raise their young, and a safe place to escape from predators. In order to ensure their safety, and when protecting themselves from pursuing predators, they will slide into a burrow backwards, tail first, so that they can use their formidable tusks to defend themselves against unwanted guests. When startled or threatened, warthogs can be surprisingly fast, running at speeds of up to 50 km per hour!
Info source: https://africageographic.com/blog/warthog-facts-you-need-to-know/
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The photo was taken during January 2016 at Mabula Private Game Reserve, Rooiberg, Bela-Bela, Limpopo, South Africa

26 July 2019Picture of the day, Wildlife

Salty

The graceful impala is a slender, medium-sized antelope so adaptable that it is found from southern Africa to the northern limits of East Africa. The body is reddish-brown with white hair inside the ears, over each eye and on the chin, upper throat, underparts and buttocks. A narrow black line runs along the middle of the lower back to the long tail, and a vertical black stripe appears on the back of each thigh. Unlike other antelopes, impalas have large, brush-like tufts of long, coarse black hair that cover a scent gland located just above the heel on each hind leg. Grazers and browsers, Impalas eat tender young grass shoots in the wet season and herbs and shrubs at other times. During the dry season, they drink daily.
Info source: https://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/wildlife_impala.php
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The photo was taken during August 2018 at Segaia Bush Retreat, Buffelsdrift, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.

25 July 2019Picture of the day, Wildlife

Curious

A characteristic of the Blesbok is the prominent white blaze on the face and a horizontal brown strip which divides this blaze above the eyes. Body colour is brown with a lighter coloured saddle on the back, and the rump an even lighter shade. The legs are brown with a white patch behind the top part of the front legs. Lower legs whitish. Both sexes carry horns, ringed almost to the tip. Female horns are slightly more slender. The Blesbok is a grazing species, showing a preference for short grass, and particularly favours fresh green grass appearing after a veld burn. The Blesbok is closely related to the Bontebok. Historically, the distributions of these two species did not overlap. Interbreeding on lands where both subspecies are now located has been recorded. Prefered habitat is open grasslands with water. Being closely related to the Bontebok there has been a great deal of interbreeding between the species to such an extent that the exact numbers of the pure strain of each species are debatable. The name comes from the Dutch term for a blaze, which refers to the white forehead.
Info source: http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_blesbok.html
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The photo was taken during September 2018 at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.

19 July 2019Picture of the day, Wildlife