Category Archives: South African Wildlife

The inhabitants of South Africa’s wild places

Wild Date Palm

Phoenix reclinata

The Wild Date Palm is a characteristic tree of forests and moist savannas in the east of South Africa, where it grows from the Eastern Cape through low-lying areas of Kwazulu-Natal and into the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo and is classified as a protected tree. Beyond our borders they’re found all the way to Egypt. It only grows in well-watered areas and is most common along streams or in marshy areas. It may be encountered as dense multi-stemmed clumps of 3-6m high or more typically palm-like tall long-stemmed trees of up to 12m tall.

While the fruit, which appears towards the end of summer, isn’t as large as commercial dates, it is still a favourite among fruit-eating birds and mammals, including humans. Elephants browse the leaves. Several local cultures use the fronds to weave hats, mats and baskets and make brooms and fish traps from the stems, while an alcoholic drink is made of the sap.

Wild Date Palm blowing in the wind

Kudu hiding in the shade of a small Wild Date Palm

Wild Date Palm

Wild Date Palms

Wild Date Palm on the Western Shores of Lake Saint Lucia

Wild Date Palms on the Western Shores of Lake Saint Lucia

Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbia

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Euphorbia cooperi

The Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbia grows as a bush or small tree of up to 7m tall, occurring in the savanna regions of Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West and most commonly found in rocky parts.

In keeping with most Euphorbia plants the milky latex contained in the branches is highly poisonous to humans and animals, causing severe blisters on the skin, blindness if it gets into the eyes and even death if swallowed – it is so potent that even just the smell of it causes a burning sensation in the airways. In rural areas people soak bundles of grass with the latex and then tie it to a stone before dropping it into the water – soon after paralysed fish start floating to the top to be scooped up with ease.

Hill covered by Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias next to the Tsendze River

Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias on the hill at Shipandani

A closer look at the Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias growing on a hill near Shipandani Hide

Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbia (photo by Joubert)

Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbia

Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias

Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbia

Common Tree Euphorbia

12 Replies

Euphorbia ingens

The Common Tree Euphorbia, which grows up to 12m tall, is a succulent savanna plant that favours hot and dry areas, often growing on rocky outcrops or in deep sand. In South Africa it is found over most of Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Limpopo and the North West Province.

The branches of the Common Tree Euphorbia contain a milky latex that is extremely poisonous, causing severe pain and even death if ingested, blindness if it gets in the eyes and terrible irritation of the skin. This is sometimes used as a poison for harvesting fish in rural areas. While it is a beautiful and hardy specimen plant in a garden it should not be used where pets and children may come into contact with it.

Common Tree Euphorbia on a hill between Letaba and Phalaborwa

Common Tree Euphorbia

Common Tree Euphorbias in fruit

Common Tree Euphorbia in fruit

Common Tree Euphorbia

Blennies

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Family Blenniidae

The Blennies are a family of fish represented by 42 different species occurring along the South African coastline.

They’re mostly found in rocky areas in the intertidal zone and can live remarkably long outside of the water, being capable of storing oxygen-rich water in their gill chambers and absorbing oxygen straight from the air through their slimy, scaleless skin – handy adaptations for when the retreating tide catches them in a dwindling pool, requiring them to walk and even skip on their strong limb-like fins back to safety over dry mud and rocks.

Blennies feed mainly on algae and micro-organisms. They breed throughout the year and females may lay up to 800 eggs in empty shells, with the territorial male then guarding the eggs until they hatch after a few months. The largest species grows to about 20cm in length but most kinds of Blenny are considerably smaller.

Blenny in a rock pool at Cape Vidal

Blennies in a rock pool

Little Blenny fish in a rock pool at Mission Rocks

Chimpanzee

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

Pan troglodytes

The Chimpanzee is considered to be humans’ closest living relative and watching them go about their business it is easy to recognise many of our own traits in them. Adults stand about a metre tall, with males weighing around 50kg and considerably more burly than the lighter (∼30kg) females.

Chimpanzees live in tropical forests and to a lesser extent some woodland associations, often venturing into adjacent grassland clearings when foraging. Fruit and seedpods make up a considerable portion of their diet but they are true omnivores, hunting and eating meat from a wide range of vertebrate sources. They’re among the few creatures that have learned to use tools for various jobs – such as using grass stalks to catch ants or using rocks to crush nuts – and these skills are often taught to others in the community. They construct “nests” using leaves and branches high up in the trees in which they sleep at night.

Communities of Chimpanzees may number between 15 and 125 members, occupying a home range that may extend over areas of up to 400km², although the whole community is rarely together in the same spot at the same time. These communities are organised along a strict hierarchy, with only the most dominant males having mating rights, which often leads to bloody fights. Females give birth to single babies (twins are very rare and seldom survive in the wild) after an 8 month gestation period, with intervals of 4 to 7 years between births as the babies grow slowly, are weaned at around 3 years of age and remain totally dependent on their mothers for the first 5 years of their lives, only becoming fully independent at around 7 or 8 years old. While male chimpanzees usually stay in the community in which they were born, females join other communities when they become sexually mature at around 12 years of age. They have a life expectancy of around 50 years.

Chimpanzees occur naturally in equatorial West and Central Africa, being distributed from Tanzania to Senegal. The IUCN considers it to be an endangered species, citing a declining population estimated at most around 299,000 in 2003. The Jane Goodall Institute established Chimp Eden in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province in 2006 to care for chimpanzees rescued from the pet and bushmeat trades – an ongoing threat despite it being illegal to capture, trade or kill chimpanzees in all the countries where they are found.

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzee female and baby

Chimpanzee baby (photo by Joubert)

Chimpanzee with baby

Chimpanzee

Freshwater Crabs

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Genus Potamonautes

South Africa is home to as many as 19 species of Freshwater Crab, all of them from the genus Potamonautes, and up to 14 of those species are not found in any other country, although the experts still differ on exactly how many species there are and what differentiates them from each other.

Potamonautes crabs are equally at home in cold or warm, deep or shallow, clear or murky and flowing or standing water and are a crucial part of healthy freshwater ecosystems; Freshwater Crabs aerate muddy substrate, break down detritus and control populations of micro-organisms while in turn being a source of food for a multitude of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Most species dig tunnels – often well hidden under rocks and logs and in certain species up to 70cm deep – in which they live an amphibious life, spending considerable time out of the water, especially at night.

Female crabs of this genus carry their fertilised eggs – up to 850 – and developing babies in a “purse” formed by their tail below their stomach, releasing them into the water when they are fully formed miniature crabs.

Crab holding on for dear life at the weir (photo by Joubert)

Freshwater crab in mountain stream

Crab crossing a road

Freshwater Crab

Freshwater crab

Freshwater Crab

African Death’s-head Hawkmoth

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Acherontia atropos

The African Death’s-head Hawkmoth, characterised by the superficially skull-like marking on its thorax from which it gets its name, is a large moth with a wingspan of about 13cm and capable of powerful flight. Adults have the amazing ability to produce a squeaking sound through their proboscis, which it is thought soothes honey bees into passivity when the moth raids a hive for the honey on which this species feeds. The larvae subsist on the leaves of plants in the nightshade family, including tomatoes, potatoes and cannabis, and is considered a minor agricultural pest. They pupate in chambers they excavate underground.

The African Deaths-head Hawkmoth is found all over South Africa and is nocturnal in habit.

African death’s-head hawkmoth

Little Bittern

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Ixobrychus minutus

Little Bitterns are shy birds, usually solitary, active by day and night and almost entirely restricted to dense reedbeds occurring along rivers, streams and dams, in marshes and even at waste water works. They feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates, frogs and fish.

These herons form monogamous pairs, with the male taking responsibility for building the platform nest on the edge of the reedbed. They breed from spring to autumn and pairs often raise two broods per year. Both parents incubate the clutch of 2-5 eggs over a 3 week period and provide food to the chicks after they’ve hatched. The chicks start clambering away from the nest when they’re only around 10 days old and can fly by the time they’re a month old. They’re among the smallest kinds of herons, weighing only about 110g and measuring about 36cm in length.

The Little Bittern has an enormous distribution, occurring over sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, along the Nile, throughout Europe and into western and central Asia. In South Africa specifically it is sparsely distributed through most of the country, but cannot be considered common anywhere, though their numbers are boosted in this part of the world by the arrival of migrating birds from the northern hemisphere in our summer months. According to the IUCN the species is of least concern.

Little Bittern

Immature Little Bittern

Streaky-headed Seedeater

6 Replies

Crithagra gularis

The Streaky-headed Seedeater is a type of canary and, in keeping with many members of the family, has a very sweet song. They occur commonly in South Africa’s southern, eastern and northern regions, and beyond our borders are found as far afield as Angola. They inhabit savannas, woodlands, fynbos and forest edges, often on hillsides and in mountainous terrain, where they feed on seeds, flowers, nectar, fruit and the occasional insect. They’re usually seen in pairs or small groups of up to 8, and regularly associate with birds of other kinds.

Streaky-headed Seedeaters nest in spring and summer, when the female constructs a cup-shaped nest placed in a tree or bush. The female incubates the clutch of 2-4 eggs for around a fortnight while the male provides her with food. For the first few days after the chicks have hatched she broods them continuously while the male brings back food for the female and chicks. They leave the nest before they’re 3 weeks old but remain dependent on their parents for quite a while longer after that. Fully grown these little birds weigh about 20g and measure approximately 15cm in length.

The IUCN lists the Streaky-headed Seedeater as being of least concern.

Streaky-headed Seedeater

Streaky-headed Seedeater (photo by Joubert)

Streaky-headed Seed-eater

Large-leaved Dragon Tree

12 Replies

Dracaena aletriformis

The Large-leafed Dragon Tree is an evergreen plant growing to a height of up to 5m, occurring in coastal and montane forests from the Eastern Cape to the escarpment in Limpopo. It is also a popular feature plant in shady gardens, its flowers being a magnet to bees, moths and butterflies and its berries being rather popular with frugivorous birds.