Mammals:
- Baboon
- Buffalo
- Bushbuck
- Cheetah
- Duiker
- Eland
- Elephant
- Giraffe
- Greysbok
- Hippopotamus
- Spotted Hyena
- Impala
- Black-Backed Jackal
- Klipspringer
- Kudu
- Leopards
- Lion
- Banded Mongoose
- Nyala
- Porcupine
- Roan Antelope
- Sable Antelope
- Smaller Carnivores
- Steenbok
- Tssessebe
- Vervet Monkey
- Warthog
- Waterbuck
- Blue Wilderbeest
- Wild Dog
- Zebra
Animals found in the South African National Parks
Mammals
South Africa is well known for its abundant wildlife. It boasts some 200 mammal species and 480 reptile species. From the famous Big Five to the lesser species, all play a vital role in the sensitive ecosystems. South Africas National Parks offer visitors a chance to experience and appreciate this wildlife.
The Big Five, given this honourary title as being the most dangerous animals to hunt, include the Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard. These magnificant animals can be seen in some of the bigger parks. A lot of these animals were on the brink of extinction and thanks to the foresight of conservationists past and present, their numbers have increased. There are still some animals on the seriously endangered list, including the Wild Dog.
South Africa's bushveld and savannah regions are still home to large numbers of the mammals universally associated with Africa. The Kruger National Park alone has over 9 000 elephants and 20 000 buffaloes. Both these parks are home to the Big Five. The big cats are also very popular, the Lion with its reputation of being at the top of the food chain with few animals posing a threat to it. The Leopard and Cheetah known for there beautiful markings. The Cheetah is also the fastest land mammal capable of dashes of almost 100 kilometres per hour.
South Africa's Parks are also home to some remarkable well known animals like the giraffe, zebra, hippo and some 25 antelope species. Primates also rank high on the viewer list. In South Africa they include the nocturnal bushbabies, vervet and samango monkeys, and chacma baboons. Visitors to the National Parks are encouraged to go on a night drive where available as you are offered a chance to see the secretive nocturnal aardvark (eats ants) and the aardwolf (eats termites and is related to the hyaena). Both are found in most of the National Parks.
The South African National Parks located around the coastal regions offer the vistor the chance to see the biggest mammal, the 33m Blue whale. Whale watching has become very popular amongst tourists and the most frequently seen is the southern right whale. This imposing creature comes into coastal bays to calve, allowing for superb land-based viewing.
Reptiles and other creepy "crawlies"
Unfortunately, man has always rather disdained, even disliked, the reptile world. Perhaps this is because of the scaly, stealthy and secretive appearance and habits of these creatures, as well as the poisonous nature of some. Nevertheless, reptiles are a very large and fascinating group with a very important position and role in the general web of life. They help substantially to maintain that delicate balance so critical for survival of all life. Secretive and quiet they may be, but they are largely responsible for containing the populations of small animals such as rats, mice and birds at a level which the environment can support. They help also to control the teeming millions of insects which so abundantly inhabit our planet. In turn, reptiles are preyed on by many species of birds and mammals.
Reptiles — including snakes, lizards, tortoises, terrapins and crocodiles — differ from birds and mammals in that they are unable to generate body heat internally, and thus maintain a temperature above that of their environment. Thus on cold days they are sluggish, and in colder countries they are forced to hibernate. This is why reptiles so often bask in the sun: to warm their bodies and speed up their metabolism. Unlike most amphibians, such as frogs, they are not restricted to water for breeding, but have evolved to a stage where they produce eggs covered by protective membranes and a shell which prevents the fragile embryo from drying out. The eggs are generally laid in the soil or on land, although some snakes and lizards retain the eggs within their bodies until they hatch, then give birth to live young.
Scaly, stealthy and secretive appearance and habits of these creatures, as well as the poisonous nature of some. They help substantially to maintain that delicate balance of nature.
Small creatures — together with insects, ticks, mites, crustacea and a few others — share certain characteristics which make them close relatives of each other and allow them to be grouped together as the Arthropoda. The arthropods are so numerous that they comprise about four-fifths of some 1,25 million animal species known to man. Most of these are insects, which are described in a later section.
All these arthropods have several pairs of jointed legs arranged along the sides of the body. Another shared character is that they have a tough skin, or cuticle, made up of a substance called chitin. Un like humans, who have an internal bony framework, these animals have a fairly rigid skin as a skeleton to which all the muscles are attached. The skin also protects them against the hot, drying rays of the sun, allowing them to move into the open to hunt and search for mates.
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