If you’re heading out on safari, it’s a great idea to do a little research on some of the animals you’ll encounter while you’re in the bush. We’ve rounded up15 interesting safari trivia facts that you can wow your fellow safari-goers with!
Helmeted guineafowls spend their days feeding on the ground but roost in trees at night to avoid predators. Some Luangwa leopards, however, have become adept at hunting them in the treetops!
Did you know that a crocodile has three eyelids? As well as the top and bottom, there is a clear eyelid that protects the eye underwater.
An elephant’s trunk is probably the most versatile and useful appendage on the planet. It is a nose, an arm, a hand, a voice, a drinking straw, a hose and much more, but youngsters may take years to truly master its usage.
A giraffe is one of the few animals born with horns. A baby giraffe’s horns lie flat against the skull when it is born and pop upright during the first week of life. The ‘horns’ are formed from ossified cartilage and are called ossicones.
The Nile Crocodile has between 64 and 68 cone-shaped teeth, which are constantly being replaced as they get lost or damaged. An individual tooth lasts for about 2 years and a single crocodile might go through over 2000 teeth in its lifetime.
Play, both with adults and littermates, helps young lions to develop such skills as stalking and pouncing.
The pied kingfisher is believed to be the world’s longest bird (measured bill to tail) that can sustain hovering flight in the air. This hovering ability allows it to hunt over shallow water without a perch.
The horns of a male buffalo differ from those of a female by broadening into a heavy shield, known as a boss, across the forehead. Horn length may be as long as 160 cm along the outer curve in large males, with a horizontal spread greater than 90 cm.
Did you know that baby hippos are usually born on land or in shallow water, but suckle underwater? They remain with their mothers for up to eight years.
Leopards tails are so long so they can act as counterbalances when running, jumping or climbing trees.
Did you know that the collective noun for a group of oxpeckers is a “fling”?
Leopards have been recorded feeding on over 90 different prey species. Their diet includes insects, rodents, birds, reptiles and carrion, but medium-sized antelopes are a favourite target.
Recent research shows that a clear record of an elephant’s diet can be obtained by analyzing the proteins that make up their tail hairs.
Spotted hyenas make up to ten different types of vocalization. Recent studies have shown that the pitch of the hyena’s “laugh” reveals its age. “whoops”, with long inter-whoop intervals, are primarily used to signal that two individuals have become separated while “grunts” or “soft growls” are emitted when hyenas of the same clan come into close contact.
Thanks to their habit of wallowing, warthogs often develop a mud ball on the end of their tails? When it gets too heavy it pulls out the tail hairs and falls off… leaving a rather unusual item for the safari guide to identify!
