Tag: grass

Dense

Described best by local author Dalene Matthee in her series of books set in the forest, Knysna Forest is beautiful, bestrewn with forest walks and hiking trails that allow visitors to explore its perimeters. Knysna Forest, in some places so dense it borders on impenetrable, is a marvellous mix of ancient trees, both local and exotic. Tree ferns, creepers, flowers and the elusive Knysna lourie, its call heard more often than it is seen, are also part of the forest. The thick canopy of ironwood, stinkwood, Outeniqua yellowwood, real yellowwood, Cape holly, white pear, wild fig, milkwood, Cape beech, bastard saffron, assegai and kamassi trees covers 568 square kilometres between the Krom River and Mossel Bay, sprawling across the southern slopes of the Outeniqua Mountains. Together with the Amatole forests, further inland, it makes up Africa’s southernmost Afromontane forest. Today this thick, sweeping forest rich with birdlife and a collection of animals that include the endemic Knysna dwarf chameleon is protected.
Info source: https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsgr/knysna-forest.php
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The photo was taken during October 2016 at Garden of Eden, Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa.

Dense

Landscape, Picture of the day

Poser

As its name would indicate, the waterbuck inhabits areas that are close to the water in savanna grasslands, gallery forests, and riverine woodlands south of the Sahara. Such habitats not only provide sustenance but long grasses and watery places in which to hide from predators. These antelopes are large, robust animals; males are generally about 25 % larger than the females. They have large, rounded ears and white patches above the eyes, around the nose and mouth, and on the throat. Only the males have horns, which are prominently ringed and as long as 100 centimetres (40 inches). The horns are widely spaced and curve gracefully back and up. They are sometimes used with lethal results when males fight one another over territories. They have a shaggy brown­-gray coat that emits a smelly, oily secretion thought to be for waterproofing.
Info source: https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/waterbuck
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The photo was taken during May 2018 in Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Poser

Picture of the day, Wildlife

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

Potbelly

Picture of the day, Wildlife