Tag: brown

Worn

Worn
A cheetah’s paws are less rounded and harder than other cats’ and help the cheetah make quick turns. Cheetah claws are actually semi-retractable and aid in acceleration. Naturally, over time they become blunted from wear. The “thumb” claw or dew claw (at right bottom) is positioned back of the other 4 and higher. This claw is used to hook prey during the chase. Researchers now monitor cheetah populations in the wild by using the footprint identification technique call FIT. This is an international collaboration involving conservation organizations like Wildtrack and AfriCat. The technique assumes that every paw print is unique to a particular cheetah and can be identified similar to a human fingerprint. Local people in Namibia have identified animals from their tracks for many years. As each human fingerprint has a unique pattern of ridges and whorls, each cheetah produces a paw print of unique size, shape and character. Prints are photographed and stored in a computer database.
Info source: http://www.cheetahspot.com/claws.php

Worn

Picture of the day, Wildlife

Comical

Neither graceful nor beautiful, warthogs are, however, remarkable animals. They are the only pigs able to live in areas without water for several months of the year. Warthogs are found in most of Africa south of the Sahara and are widely distributed in East Africa. They are the only pigs able to live in areas without water for several months of the year. By tolerating a higher-than-normal body temperature, the warthog is perhaps able to conserve moisture inside its body that might otherwise be used for cooling. The face is fairly flat and the snout elongated. Eyes set high on the head enables the warthog to keep a lookout for predators even when it lowers its head to feed on short grass. The warthog’s large tusks are unusual: The two upper ones emerge from the sides of the snout to form a semicircle; the lower tusks at the base of the uppers are worn to a sharp cutting edge.

Comical

Picture of the day, Wildlife

Vista

There are another two options that are 2 km (to the Gap and back) and 4 km (to Witsand dune and The Island and back) apiece, but neither of them gives you quite the same access to views, inspirational geology and sightings of whales and dolphins. The route takes one to the point of the peninsula and back. You need to keep an eye on the tides as there are rocky sections that are difficult to manage at high tide. Definitely, no small children should attempt this route. You could choose to break the hike over two days, overnighting in the wooden Fountain Shack provided by Cape Nature. On the eastern side of the route there are some pretty sheer drops for part of the way, and if you have not a head for heights, this may be a little daunting. But the consistent access to Cape fur seals makes it worth it. The north side of the Robberg is prone to unstable sand. The point is a good midway stop for lunch, but the most beautiful section of the hike is said to be the area just past the shack ruin where there are a series of sandstone boulders covered with orange lichen. Be sure to include The Island – connected to Robberg by a beach. Cape Nature has built a boardwalk right around it and it is one of the walk’s highlights. To return you walk the southern shoreline, pass through the Gap and head to the car park. Get your permit at the gate of the nature reserve.
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Info source: https://www.sa-venues.com/…/garde…/hiking-robberg-peninsula/

Vista

Landscape, Picture of the day, Travel