tail Archives - Page 16 of 31

Heart

Springbok are primarily browsers and may switch to grazing occasionally; they feed on shrubs and young succulents before they lignify. They prefer grasses. Springbok can meet their water needs from the food they eat and are able to survive without drinking water through the dry season. In extreme cases, they do not drink any water over the course of their lives. Springbok may accomplish this by selecting flowers, seeds, and leaves of shrubs before dawn when the food items are most succulent. In places such as Etosha National Park, springbok seek out water bodies where they are available. Springbok gather in the wet season and disperse during the dry season, unlike other African mammals.

14 January 2019Picture of the day, Wildlife

Halo

The crowned lapwing is easily recognized by its combination of brown and white colours, with most tellingly, a black crown intersected by an annular white halo. Adults are noisy and conspicuous. Crowned lapwings prefer short, dry grassland which may be overgrazed or burnt, but avoid mountains. In higher-rainfall areas such as parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe, they occur mainly as dry-season visitors. In dry regions of northern Botswana, however, they are attracted in large numbers when good rainfall occurs. In southern Africa, their highest concentrations are to be found in the dry central Kalahari region. Although generally outnumbered by blacksmith lapwings, they are the most widespread and locally the most numerous lapwing species in their area of distribution. Their numbers have increased in the latter part of the 20th century after benefiting from a range of human activities. They live up to 20 years.

7 January 2019Picture of the day, Wildlife

Stately

The Goliath Heron is very aquatic, even by heron standards, rarely venturing far from a water source and preferring to fly along waterways rather than move over land. Important habitats can include lakes, swamps, mangrove wetlands, reefs with cool waters, sometimes river deltas. It typically is found in shallows, though can be observed near deep water over dense water vegetation. Goliath herons can even be found in small watering holes. They tend to prefer pristine wetlands and generally avoid areas where human disturbances are a regular occurrence.

19 December 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife