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Arrogant

Yellow-billed hornbills feed mainly on the ground, where they forage for seeds, small insects, spiders and scorpions. This hornbill species is a common and widespread resident of dry thornveld and broad-leafed woodlands. They can often be seen along roads and watercourses. It is a medium-sized bird and is characterized by a long yellow and down-curved beak. This beak is huge in comparison to its body. They have a white belly, grey neck, and black plumage with abundant white spots and stripes. The neck has grey spots and the chest is lightly striated with black.

20 August 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Proud

Waterbuck is rather sedentary in nature. A gregarious animal, the waterbuck may form herds consisting of six to 30 individuals. These groups are either nursery herds with females and their offspring or bachelor herds. Males start showing territorial behaviour from the age of five years but are most dominant from the age of six to nine. The waterbuck cannot tolerate dehydration in hot weather, and thus inhabits areas close to sources of water. Cows are smaller than bulls. Waterbucks have a brownish-grey shaggy coat. The eyes and nose are patched with white, and there is a white collar under the throat. The rump has a characteristic white ring. The large rounded ears are a prominent feature. Only the bulls have long, forward curved horns. Both sexes emit a not unpleasant musky smell which normally lingers at resting sites.

16 August 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Misty

The blue wildebeest is a herbivore, feeding primarily on the short grasses which commonly grow on light and alkaline soils that are found in savanna grasslands and on plains. The animal’s broad mouth is adapted for eating large quantities of short grass and it feeds both during the day and night. When grass is scarce, it will also eat the foliage of shrubs and trees. Wildebeest commonly associate with plains zebras as the latter eat the upper, less nutritious grass canopy, exposing the lower, greener material which the wildebeest prefer.

14 August 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife