Category Archives: South African Wildlife

The inhabitants of South Africa’s wild places

A Giraffe with a bone to pick

While on a recent tour of the Pilanesberg National Park we came across this Giraffe comically sucking on an old bone it picked up in the veld. Osteophagia – the behaviour in which herbivorous animals chew on bones – is thought to be a way for these animals to supplement the calcium and phosphate levels in their bodies, especially during the dry season when their usual fodder – leaves, in the case of giraffes – may not be adequately providing in their needs.

Giraffe chewing on a bone in the Pilanesberg National Park

Bushveld Rain Frog

4 Replies

Breviceps adspersus

The adorably rotund Bushveld Rain Frog is found in parts of all South African provinces, with the exception of the Western Cape. They inhabit areas with sandy soil in savanna and grassland habitats, feeding mainly on invertebrates and being especially fond of termites. They walk or run and can’t hop like other frogs do. When feeling threatened they inflate their bodies to become even rounder!

During the dry winter Bushveld Rain Frogs remain underground, but emerge after the first rains when the males start calling from above ground. Adult females, at 6cm in length, are quite a bit larger than the males, and so when it is time to mate the male secretes a glue-like substance that attaches him to the back of the female. She then burrows backwards, male still stuck to her back, to end in a chamber about 30cm deep in the soil. They mate as she lays about 45 large eggs and cover them with a jelly which is thought to turn to a liquid when the eggs hatch. With the female staying nearby the young complete their metamorphosis inside the underground chamber and emerge as fully formed little frogs.

Bushveld Rain Frog

Retz’s Helmetshrike

7 Replies

Prionops retzii

In South Africa, Retz’s Helmetshrike occurs only in the north-eastern corner of the country, from the escarpment and Lowveld of Limpopo to the extreme north of Kwazulu-Natal, which is a clue to its habitat preference, being for tall woodlands and riverine forests in areas with higher rainfall. North of our borders they’re found widely over Africa south of the Equator and the IUCN considers it to be of least concern.

Retz’s Helmetshrike follows a mainly insectivorous diet, though they’ll also take spiders and other invertebrates as well as the occasional gecko. It lives in territorial family groups numbering up to 10, who all work together to raise the dominant pair’s latest brood – the whole group works at building the cup-shaped nest, incubating the clutch of 3-5 eggs that is usually laid in late spring or early summer, and feeding the nestlings which hatch after about 3 weeks and leave the nest roughly the same length of time after hatching.

Retz’s Helmetshrike

Lesser Crested Tern

8 Replies

Thalasseus bengalensis

Lesser Crested Terns occur near sandy beaches at estuaries and lagoons, often foraging inland or up to 6km from shore over the ocean, but usually roosting at the beach, often in mixed flocks with other terns and gulls. They feed mainly on fish, with crustaceans, squid and octopus featuring only occasionally in their diet.

A non-breeding summer visitor to South African shores, while common during this time along the coast of Kwazulu-Natal, the Lesser Crested Tern is found much less frequently in the Eastern and Western Cape. Beyond our borders they occur widely through the Indian Ocean and nearby parts of the Pacific, as well as along the coastline of North Africa. According to the IUCN they’re in no danger of extinction at present.

Common and Lesser Crested Terns on the beach at Umlalazi

Lesser Crested Tern in low-level flight

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Terns

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Terns

Lesser Crested Tern

Lesser Crested Terns

Long-winged Orange Acraea

Acraea (Hyalites) alalonga

The Long-winged Orange Acraea has a limited distribution, being found only on the Drakensberg escarpment and its foothills from Limpopo to northern Kwazulu-Natal. They inhabit montane grasslands. Adults are seen specifically only in two periods of the year; November to January, and again March to May, and have a wingspan of around 6-7cm. The larvae feed on the leaves of plants from the legume family.

Long-winged Orange Acraea

Giant Waterbug

12 Replies

Family Belostomatidae

The Giant Waterbugs – the South African species, of which there are 7, grow up to 9cm long! – are fierce insect predators that inhabit well vegetated ponds, marshes and slow-flowing streams. These insects store air in a chamber underneath their wings allowing them to stay submerged while hunting for prey. They’ll catch and devour anything that they can overpower, including insects, tadpoles, frogs and fish. The adults are strong fliers and often attracted to outside lights. In five of the local species the male carries the eggs on his back until the larvae hatch, which is why they’re also called Brooding Waterbugs, while the remaining two species simply attach their eggs to vegetation.

Giant / Wrestling Waterbug (Lethocerus niloticus)

Great Waterbug (Hydrocyrius columbiae)

Puku

4 Replies

Today, on Endangered Species Day, we feature another African mammal that isn’t indigenous to South Africa.

Kobus vardonii

The Puku is a medium-sized antelope, with rams standing about 90cm tall at the shoulder and weighing around 75kg. The ewes are considerably smaller. They’re particularly picky about their habitat, always having to be within easy reach of water and preferring the limited areas of grassland wedged between rivers or marshes and the surrounding woodland on higher ground. Pukus are almost exclusively grazing animals and they’re most active at dawn and dusk.

Puku ewes and their lambs live in rather unstable herds numbering up to 50, though usually much smaller, passing through the territories of mature rams which try to keep the herd in his area so he may mate with any receptive females. Rams that aren’t able to compete for territory come together in bachelor herds. Ewes give birth to a single lamb at any time of year, with a peak during the drier months, after an 8 month gestation.

Given a clearly declining and fragmented population the IUCN considers the Puku to be near threatened. The population on the Chobe river floodplain, confined to Botswana’s Chobe National Park, likely numbers less than 200. It was therefore a real thrill for me to see wild Puku on a visit there in 2024, during which these pictures were taken. They’re also found in pockets of Angola, Zambia, the DRC, Malawi and Tanzania.

Puku

Gabar Goshawk

6 Replies

Micronisus (Melierax) gabar

The Gabar Goshawk is a raptorial bird that live in open woodlands, especially where Vachellia thorn trees dominate the vegetation. Small birds make up the bulk of their diet, though they will also occasionally catch rodents, reptiles and large insects.

Like many other birds of prey adult Gabar Goshawks are usually bonded in monogamous, territorial pairs. They normally nest from mid-winter to early summer. During this time the female takes about a month to build the stick-platform nest in a large tree before laying her clutch of 2-4 eggs. She also does most of the incubation duty, which takes about 5 weeks, and then stays with the hatchlings for around 3 weeks while the male brings food to the family. The chicks eventually leave the nest at about 5 to 6 weeks of age but remain dependent on their parents for at least another month thereafter.

According to the IUCN, the Gabar Goshawk is of least concern. They occur widely over sub-Saharan Africa and in our country occurs in parts of every province.

Gabar Goshawk

Immature Gabar Goshawk (photo by Joubert)

Gabar Goshawk

Gabar Goshawk (photo by Joubert)

Giant Mantis

9 Replies

Sphodromantis gastrica

The Giant Mantis, also known as the African Mantis or the Common Green Mantis, is an imposing insect, growing to up to 7cm in length. It is a very common mantid species and occurs in practically every corner of South Africa, being as at home in our gardens as it is in more natural surroundings. They are excellent ambush hunters and feed on invertebrates – they are especially fond of caterpillars – but occasionally even bigger prey, like small frogs and geckos, gets their attention.

As in many other kinds of praying mantis the males of the Giant Mantis may be unlucky enough to be eaten by the female, starting at his head, during or after copulation! The female deposits as many as 100 eggs in a soft cocoon-like egg case, with the babies then hatching at the onset of the spring season. There is no parental care whatsoever and the hatchlings disperse quickly to avoid being cannibalised by their parent or siblings. If they make it to adulthood they may live to about a year old. Females are much more plump than males.

Female Giant Mantis / Common Green Mantis

Male Giant Mantis / Common Green Mantis

Heavily gravid female Common Green Mantis

Southern Pied Babbler

4 Replies

Turdoides bicolor

Southern Pied Babblers inhabit drier savanna woodland and thornveld habitats, subsisting on a diet of insects and other arthropods supplemented by small invertebrates like geckos, lizards and frogs, and apparently do not have any requirement for surface water to drink. They usually forage in groups of 3 to 15, often alongside other kinds of birds, taking turns to keep watch for danger. They also breed cooperatively, usually during spring and summer, with all group members helping to build the nest and feed the clutch of up to 5 hatchlings that hatch after two weeks of incubation. While the chicks fledge before they’re 3 weeks old they will be provided food by other group members until they’re about two-and-a-half months old.

The Southern Pied Babbler occurs only in Namibia, Botswana, south-western Zimbabwe and South Africa (Limpopo, Gauteng, North West and the Northern Cape). According to the IUCN it is considered to be of least concern, despite a declining population.