The Ultimate
Wildlife
Guide
to Africa’s Big Five (And Where to See Them!)
The Ultimate Wildlife Guide to Africa’s Big Five (And Where to See Them!)
When it comes to epic wildlife encounters, it’s tough to beat Africa. The continent boasts the biggest diversity of large mammals on Earth, as well as the largest number of hoofed mammals, or ungulates, such as antelope, giraffe and zebra.
Whether you’re following the Great Migration of millions of wildebeest, zebra, antelope and other herd animals across the Maasai Mara in Kenya; cruising the rivers and wetlands of Botswana past hippo, crocodile and vast herds of elephants; trekking through the jungles of Uganda and Rwanda in search of chimpanzee and mountain gorilla; or spotting lion and leopard on game drives in South Africa, you’re sure to return home with a head full of memories (and a camera full of photos and videos!) of the continent’s iconic creatures.
See iconic African wildlife on Natural Habitat Adventures’ African Safaris! Learn more at nathab.com/africa
Contributing Authors:
Valerie Gleaton
Emily Goodheart
Jon Jared
Michelle Peters
World Wildlife Fund
© K de Bruyn
What fills you with awe?
You’ve no doubt had moments in nature that have filled you with wonder. Since founding Natural Habitat Adventures, I have had the good fortune to experience my fair share of such moments: Exchanging an intelligent gaze with a mountain gorilla in Rwanda. Crawling inside a vacant polar bear den on the Canadian tundra. Snorkeling with inquisitive sea lions in the Galapagos.
What I felt in each of these instances is an emotion that has captured the recent interest of scientists: awe.
Psychologists have found positive effects when humans experience awe. Awe triggers oxytocin, which calms the nervous system. It makes people feel small, prompting them to redirect concern away from the self and toward the wider world.
Researchers have discovered that people find awe in nature more than any other context. And that’s good news for conservation and the well-being of the Earth!
I would venture that the best thing about traveling with Nat Hab is the chance to experience awe. Where will you find it?
I hope to see you out there,
Ben Bressler Explorer, Founder, President Natural Habitat Adventures
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MEET THE BIG FIVE LION LEOPARD
Although Africa is replete with wildlife, from fish and reptiles to birds and mammals of all shapes and sizes, there are a few that top almost every safari-goer’s list. Africa’s Big Five— lion, leopard, African elephant, rhinoceros and African buffalo—were once the target of big game hunters. They were grouped together due to their size, their unpredictable behavior and how difficult they were to kill.
Now, as ecotourism grows increasingly popular and tourists trade in heads, hides and other trophies for photographs and videos, the Big Five are coveted sightings for photographers and wildlife enthusiasts rather than big game hunters.
© B Le Baron
Physical Characteristics
• The largest of Africa’s big cats, lions weigh two to four times more than leopards and cheetahs.
• Lions show greater differences between the sexes than other cats. Males have manes that are fully developed by 4 years old, and they are up to 50% heavier than females.
• Newborn lions have spotted coats, which, over the first two years, gradually become a nearly uniform tawny color.
• Both lions and lionesses roar, but the male’s vocal call is deeper and louder.
Habitat
Lions are extremely adaptable and can survive in a wide variety of habitats, including dry forests, thick bush, floodplains and semi-arid deserts. However, despite being referred to as the “king of the jungle,” lions typically favor open savannas: mixed woodland-grassland areas with trees widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. This environment makes it easy for the big cats to stalk their prey, while also offering opportunities for shade and shelter.
A lion’s roar can be heard from up to five miles away
Lion Behavior
Lions are the most social members of the cat family. They live in groups called prides, which generally consist of two to 15 females, their young cubs, and a group of three or four males. The males are often brothers that are unrelated to the lionesses. Lionesses remain with the same pride for their entire lives, while adolescent males leave to compete for control of another pride.
Lion prides are ever-changing, as males only hold sway over a group of females for an
average of 18 months before they are ousted by stronger or more numerous newcomers.
Leading males defend their territory by marking it with urine and roaring to scare off intruders. A lion’s roar can be heard from up to five miles away and generally lasts 30 to 40 seconds, recognizable as a series of lengthy moaning grunts followed by a sequence of short ones. Roars can also be used to locate one another, as lions can identify individual calls.
© B Le Baron
Feeding Habits
Lions routinely tackle prey, such as Cape buffalo, that are beyond the abilities of other predators. They stalk and ambush like cheetahs and leopards; but like hyenas and African wild dogs, they also hunt collectively.
The majority of a lion’s prey is medium to large ungulates, such as wildebeest, antelope and zebra. However, they are opportunistic and will eat small prey such as rodents, fledgling birds and ostrich eggs if given the chance. Males need to eat approximately 20 pounds of meat a day, while females need to consume about 11 pounds.
Females lions do most of the hunting, but males, with their superior strength and weight, gain first access to a kill once the dirty work is done. There is a reason for this: Males have a distinct disadvantage in stalking due to their manes, which are obvious to prey.
Lions sleep up to 20 hours a day, and most of their hunting is done at night or early in the morning. Their eyes easily adapt to the dark, making it is easier to sneak up on prey at night. However, they may also hunt during the day if there is enough vegetation to hide their approaches.
Although lions can reach speeds of nearly 37 miles per hour, most of their prey can sprint faster. This means a lion must get within 100 feet before charging, overtaking, and finally attacking its victim. Once captured, the prey is subdued and suffocated with a relatively quick neck bite or a sustained bite over the muzzle. When several lions hunt together, they tend to try to encircle prey to cut off lines of escape.
Newborns have a spotted coat, which, over the first two years, gradually becomes a nearly uniform tawny color.
© L Kamogelo
Breeding
Along with hunting for the pride, female lions are responsible for raising their offspring. They typically give birth to a litter every two years and may produce as many as six litters during their lifetime.
Lionesses come into season sporadically, with the period between heats varying from a couple of weeks to months. Estrous lasts about a week, during which time males compete for receptive females.
It is normal for either partner to initiate mating. The male’s technique begins with the so-called “mating snarl,” which has been described as a sneeze-like grimace. The female, if she initiates, keeps unusually near the male and may rub her head on his shoulders and sides, emitting a deep, sensuous rumble, walking sinuously around him and flicking her tail. She may even back into him and crouch to stimulate his interest.
During copulation, the female yowls and the male often bites her neck in a manner similar to the subduing neck bite of domestic cats. After mating, the male leaps off, often to avoid a blow from the female, who may spin around when his weight is removed. Both animals then lie down. During one consorting week, the pair may copulate more than 300 times. A successful pride male may mate 20,000 times in his lifetime.
Gestation is relatively short—only three and a half months. In a secluded, well-hidden spot, often among rocks or dense riverside
vegetation, the lioness will give birth to two or three cubs on average. She suckles and remains with them for long periods, only occasionally returning to the pride to hunt and feed. After about a month, the cubs are led to the pride.
Lionesses appear to synchronize breeding activity; it is not unusual for several females in a pride to have litters at the same time. Unlike other mammals, lion mothers will commonly tolerate suckling by cubs of others in the pride, since they are generally all related.
Nomadic males regularly kill cubs, presumably to eliminate rivals’ genetic material from the population. Cubs are also at risk from other predators, such as hyenas and leopards. Due to these threats, a lioness keeps her brood well-hidden and will relocate to a new spot if the original location is disturbed.
© A Morgan
Where to See Lions in the Wild
Lions once roamed throughout all of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. However, the species is now found only in fragments of sub-Saharan Africa, along with an endangered subpopulation in West Africa and a small population of Asiatic lions in India’s Gir National Park.
Maasai Mara, Kenya
Recent data suggests there are currently about 20,000 lions in the wild, and one of the best places to see them is Kenya’s Maasai Mara. This open savanna is home to multiple prides of lions, which are easy to spot on the open plains. The Maasai Mara is a highlight of Natural Habitat Adventures’ Great Kenya Migration Safari, an immersive adventure following the migration of millions of wildebeest, zebra and antelope (and the predators who stalk them). For serious
wildlife photographers, our Kenya Migration Safari Photo Expedition will give you unparalleled opportunities to capture images of these iconic big cats.
Etosha National Park, Namibia
Etosha National Park has the largest population of lions in Namibia. The apex predators are often spotted near waterholes, which they visit both to quench their own thirst and to stalk prey. We visit the vast salt pan at the heart of Etosha—once an ancient lakebed where perennial springs draw a multitude of game—on Nat Hab’s Great Namibia Wildlife Safari, as well as on our Epic Botswana & Namibia Safari and on our photography-focused Botswana & Namibia Photo Expedition and Wild Namibia Photo Expedition.
LEOPARD
Physical Characteristics
• The leopard is the largest spotted cat.
• A hefty build, rosette spots and broad, white-tipped tail differentiates the leopard from the lither cheetah.
• Male leopards have distinctly deeper calls than females.
Habitat
Leopards live in all but the most arid African habitats, and you’ll often spot them resting on boulders and kopjes (outcroppings of granite that look like rocky islands on the otherwise flat, grassy plains) or lounging in tall trees along the riverside. They are some of the most widespread of the big cats, found even in suburban areas. Leopards can make their homes anywhere there is an available food supply and limited external interference.
A leopard’s spots are called “rosettes,” and their pattern is unique to each leopard
Leopard Behavior
Leopards are solitary animals. Individuals usually inhabit territories spanning anywhere from one to 12 square miles, depending on access to food. Territories for males and females frequently overlap, but they guard their regions fiercely against members of the same sex. Female territories tend to be smaller, and several may be encompassed within one male territory. Males often fight over their space and will mark trees and logs throughout their area by clawing bark and spraying urine.
The leopard’s most common call is a guttural, rough cough. It’s often described as sounding like someone sawing wood. This call is usually repeated 10 to 15 times and
serves to advertise the leopard’s presence and to discourage other leopards from trespassing into its territory, thereby avoiding destructive territorial fights.
Greetings are often accompanied by a short growl. The beginning of an aggressive charge may be heralded by two or three short coughs. Anyone foolish enough to corner a leopard will never forget the beast rearing up on its hind legs and uttering a blood-curdling scream!
Leopards have few natural enemies, and their skill in tree climbing assures their protection from all but the most aggressive lions.
© M Goddard
Feeding Habits
Leopards are carnivores. In Africa, most small to medium herbivores, large birds, rodents, and primates, as well as smaller carnivores such as servals and jackals, are fair game for these powerful predators.
Leopards hunt primarily at night, using stealth and surprise to capture their prey. Like cheetahs and lions, they are stalkers. But the leopard’s tree-climbing abilities add a third dimension to their hunt; a common tactic used by leopards is to leap out of trees upon their prey. After making a kill, leopards often carry their prey up into the trees to protect it from other predators.
A leopard’s most common call is a guttural, rough cough, almost like that of a sawing wood.
Breeding
Breeding can occur at any time of year. Leopards, like all other cats except lions, are solitary breeders. The only long-term social bond is between a leopardess and her cubs.
Females come into heat for about one week every 20 to 50 days. They advertise their receptiveness with the “sawing” call, attracting the nearest territory-holding male. A pair will then consort during the week of heat, where mating frequently occurs. Males court, consort and mate, but when the mating period ends, they leave and take no part in cub rearing.
The gestation period lasts about 100 days. Between one and six (average three) young are dropped in solitary retreats such as rock crevices and caves. At birth, the cubs are blind and do not emerge from their birthplace to follow the female until they are six to eight weeks old. Young leopards are weaned after three months and become independent after two years, after which point they set out to claim their own territories.
©
S Chilimuri
Where to See Leopards in the Wild
Although they are widely distributed across Africa and Asia, due to habitat fragmentation and loss, the leopards’ range has been reduced by more than 30% worldwide in the past two decades. Experts estimate that there are currently around 700,000 wild leopards in Africa.
Greater Kruger Region, South Africa
Nat Habitat Adventures’ small-group safaris in South Africa feature intimate, top-quality camps and private reserves with secluded wildlife encounters—including leopards. On our Secluded South Africa safari and our Secluded South Africa Photo Expedition we visit the Greater Kruger ecosystem, a region with one of the highest densities of leopards in Africa. While there, we scan the lush vegetation and high-branched trees for them in the Sabi Sand, Marataba
and Madikwe reserves, alongside massivetusked African elephants, squat rhinos and sleek lions.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Another great place to see leopards is Botswana’s Okavango Delta, where the abundant water attracts thirsty animals, including the big cats and their prey. The Okavango is a highlight of our flagship Secluded Botswana Safari and photo-focused Secluded Botswana Photo Expedition through Botswana and Zambia, our Botswana Explorer, our Botswana: Kalahari, the Delta & Beyond (which takes place during the green season, when baby animals abound!) and our Epic Botswana & Namibia Safari and Photo Expedition. While in the Okavango Delta, we visit privately with an on-site predator researcher, learning about local studies on leopard, cheetah and African wild dog.
© K de Bruyn
AFRICAN ELEPHANT
Physical Characteristics
• African elephants are the planet’s largest land animals, growing to heights of 8.2 to 13 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing in at 2.5 to 7 tons.
• The elephant’s dexterous trunk contains around 100,000 muscles.
• African elephants are adapted to live in hot, arid environments. For instance, their wide, arching ears radiate heat to help cool the body.
• African elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild.
Habitat
Elephants occupy all African habitats, from near-desert to closed canopy forest. They move both daily and seasonally between different parts of their home ranges—which may comprise thousands of square miles— from woodland to grassland, and from bushland to swamp and back again. For most of the year, the availability of grass is important, and the presence of perennial water within their range is essential.
An
adult elephant can eat up to 300 pounds of vegetation a day
Elephant Behavior
The basic social group within the elephant herd is the family unit, comprising up to around 15 related adult females and their immature offspring. This unit is led by the eldest cow—the matriarch. Adult males tag along with family units for short periods of time to inspect females for their readiness to mate. These visiting bulls play no leadership roles within the group, although they will assist in defense if necessary.
Bulls drift from family unit to family unit, and from time to time, into loosely knit bull groups—two to 20 males who move together for a day, a week or a season. A bull group’s composition changes continually; larger bulls, newly ousted from their family unit, find companionship and safety within the groups.
During the rainy season, family units often join together in larger groups that can number more than 1,000 members. Bull groups will satellite around such assemblages, with many bulls entering the group to test the females. The frequency of mating is high, and this seasonal gathering of families may help to facilitate breeding in a species that is usually very wide-ranging and extremely mobile.
Older elephants provide the family unit with an important historical memory of watering holes, the location of seasonally available fruits, and other dispersed features of their environment. Menopausal cows can retain their roles as matriarchs, suggesting that wisdom, not just fertility and vitality, is a predominant quality for an elephant decision-maker.
African elephants are extremely sociable. Greeting elephants may put their trunks in each other’s mouths or touch and smell each other’s temporal glands. Such welcoming gestures probably reveal subtle states of mood, as well as identity. Like many other African herbivores, elephants may urinate or defecate to mark territory and for recognition. When two family units reunite after several days or weeks of separation, there is much squealing and trumpeting, pirouetting, backing up, greeting and excreting.
At least once a day, elephants bathe, wallow or dust to cool off and to rid themselves of parasites. Trunks full of liquid or dust are blown between the legs, on top of the head, and along the flanks. The habit of frequent mud bathing and dusting leaves elephants more the color of local soil than the natural gray of their skins. Adopted colors range from light gray to red to dark brown, allowing the observer to guess from which location a group of elephants has recently come.
Elephants are highly vocal animals. Lowfrequency sounds, well below or at the very edge of human perception, allow elephants to maintain contact with each other for up to six miles. The deep rumble heard from time to time is a contact vocalization, (“Here I am. Where are you?”) which just barely enters the range of human perception. Elephants also roar and scream audibly through the trunk to produce classical trumpeting. This may be done either in anger or exultation, depending on the situation.
Elephants are active during both night and day. This is because they have a 16- to 20hour waking period, the bulk of which is spent feeding. A midday siesta in the shade is common. In addition, if the group feels secure, they will indulge in a period of deep sleep at night, even lying down.
Group defense is a common practice among elephants. If simply moving away from a threat is not effective, adult females may form a formidable wall facing the intrusion, with heads high, ears out, alert. For security, the young members of the group are pushed towards the rear. In full retreat, however, the group runs off in a tight bunch, with the young protected in the middle.
A wounded or sick elephant causes great concern within the group. Faltering animals will be kept upright between two or more
adults. Fallen animals will be fussed over with trunks and feet, and elephants may even break their tusks in attempts to lift a downed companion. The strange habit of burying a dead or immobilized animal is also well documented. Trunks full of dirt are tossed over the animal; branches are broken off and laid tenderly over the body until it is completely covered.
Although African elephants are generally curious about or indifferent to humans, they are protective of their young and other members of their herds. When threatened, they may become defensive or even aggressive. A vigorous headshake, often accompanied by an audible ear snap, is a strong warning to stay away. A serious charge, on the other hand, is strangely quiet; the elephant runs at nearly 22 miles per hour, ears out, head lowered, trunk curled under.
Feeding Habits
Elephants are herbivores, but their diet is varied, including staples such as grass, as well as trees, bark, seeds, herbs and creepers. While feeding on grass, elephants sometimes detect the occasional herb or creeper by smell and pluck them out. In this way, odd individuals break the feeding pattern as they come across an interesting “side dish” or a new bulk food. The entire group may then shift to the new delicacy. Elephants are also attracted to overripe fruit trees and have been known to gorge themselves to the point of intoxication on fermenting fruit.
Elephants feed for up to 16 hours a day, using their trunks to reach food sources from ground level to nearly 16 feet high. The trunk, an astonishingly mobile and dexterous collection of muscles, evolved from a combining of nose and upper lip. It has a “two-fingered” tip used for smelling, picking and plucking.
Tusks are also important tools and are actually modified front biting teeth, not canines. Elephants use their tusks for chiseling, digging, prizing, levering and stabbing. On average, an elephant’s tusks
© K de Bruyn
grow about four inches per year, so the frequently broken tips are continually replaced by new growth.
Elephants also have 24 molars, which they use for chewing. The teeth are large, eight to 12 inches long, and grow progressively forward, which provides scientists with a means of telling an elephant’s age. Since elephants spend most of the day eating, they are almost continuously chewing!
An adult elephant can eat up to 300 pounds of vegetation a day. Water is also
essential—123 to 158 liters per day—both for cooling and helping with digestion. Water is sucked into the trunk and then tipped and released into the mouth. Until they learn this trick at around six months old, young elephants drink from a kneeling position, sucking water directly into their mouths. At wells or at a normal watering hole, elephants easily displace all other animals, including buffaloes and rhinos, and have been known to kill if it comes to a fight.
AFRICAN
Breeding
If not pregnant or lactating, females may come into season every two or three months. This makes it necessary for males to move among family units, constantly testing for female readiness to mate. An interested male will walk past a female, surreptitiously sniff her vulva and then put the tip of his trunk into his mouth to confirm the test.
It was once thought that only Asian elephant males came into sexual season, a period of ill temper called musth. Recent studies show that African elephant males also show seasonal fluctuations in their temper and sexual motivation and display conspicuous physiological indicators. This annual two- to three-month period of irascibility is accompanied by the penis taking on a characteristic greenish hue and strong smell. The odor is detectable to human observers,
so it must be nearly overwhelming to other elephants.
The signs of musth, usually attributed only to irritable males, are now known to be inherent in both sexes. A liquid oozes from the temporal gland, a modified tear duct halfway between the ear and the eye, leaving a conspicuous dark stain along the side of the face. This secretion, called temporin, accompanies states of excitement, such as when there is a frightening disturbance or if close relatives reunite after a period of separation. A bull in musth is more likely to displace his peers when it comes to winning the favors of a female.
Occasionally, a female in estrus and a large courting bull, usually in musth, will consort for a time; they stay close together,
© T Bacon
pay attention to one another and exclude others from any intimacy. Consorting pairs sometimes move some distance away from the family unit and other bulls; this may account for the old tale of elephant “marriages.” Consorting may not always be so tender, however, and often the male may first have to “catch” the female. If the consorting female breaks into a run, the male will take off after her. A female can usually outrun a male if she wishes; getting caught is likely her way of choosing the bull that she prefers.
The female will usually stop once the male touches her, particularly if he is able to lay his trunk along her back or across her shoulders. He then rests his head and tusks on her rump and heaves himself up on his hind legs. Copulation lasts less
than a minute. The rest of the family unit is either indifferent to the copulation, or reacts with great excitement—vocalizing, ear flapping, head shaking, turning, backing and excreting.
Elephant calves spend several years dependent upon and learning from the adults, during which time there is nearly constant contact between mother and young. Young calves will suckle for a period of up to five years. Bulls tend to stay with their family units until they reach puberty, which females often stay with the group for life. Juveniles play with each other by chasing, mounting, play fighting and even engaging in games of tug-of-war.
An elephant’s long period of childhood is matched only by that of higher primates, including humans.
© M Hickey
Where to See African Elephants in the Wild
Elephants once roamed freely throughout Africa; now, they occupy only one-fifth of the continent. In East Africa, their numbers have been reduced by nearly 90%, primarily due to illegal poaching for their ivory tusks, human-animal conflict, and habitat loss and fragmentation. However, they are comparatively protected in Southern Africa, where you can find them in large numbers in Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. Experts estimate that there are currently between 700,000 and 1 million African elephants in the wild.
Chobe National Park, Botswana
Known as “The Land of The Giants,” Botswana’s Chobe National Park is home to Africa’s largest population of elephants. Chobe is the country’s first national park, and at 4,500 square miles, it is the third-largest park in Botswana. There are an estimated 120,000 elephants in the park, with individual herds numbering in the hundreds.
Visit Chobe on Natural Habitat Adventures’ Southern Africa Odyssey, which also includes Namibia and Zimbabwe; our Secluded Botswana Safari and photography-focused Secluded Botswana Photo Expedition through Botswana and Zambia; and our green season Botswana: Kalahari, the Delta & Beyond trip in Botswana and Zambia.
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Located on the border between Zimbabwe and Botswana, Hwange National Park— Zimbabwe’s largest and most renowned national park—allows elephants roam freely between the two countries. Huge herds of the massive mammals forage between the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers and Hwange’s permanent waterholes, which the elephants use as guide points for navigation. See the elephants of Hwange on our Southern Africa Odyssey, which also includes Botswana and Namibia.
© K de Bruyn
Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth which first appear when elephants are around 2 years old. Tusks continue growing throughout their lives.
© K de Bruyn
AFRICAN
RHINOCEROS
Physical Characteristics
• Both black rhinos and white rhinos are actually gray. The white rhino’s name is a corruption of the Afrikaans word for “wide,” referring to its broad upper lip, which is designed for grazing.
• Rhinos are odd-toed ungulates, like their close relative, the horse. They possess three large toes, which make a clearly recognizable footprint.
• African rhinos have two horns, the shorter one set behind the longer. They are distinct from their cousin, the Indian rhino, which has only a single horn.
• Rhino horns are not bone, but keratin—the same material as hooves. Keratin is a naturally produced protein also found in human hair, skin and nails.
Habitat
The majority of wild African rhinos currently live in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Black rhinos range from moist forests to semi-arid bushlands, whereas white rhinos prefer drier grassland environments. Black rhinos can be difficult to spot, as they are notoriously shy and often hide in dense vegetation during the day. Rhino horns are made from keratin—a protein also found in human hair, skin and nails
Rhino Behavior
Rhinos are not very social creatures, especially black rhinos. White rhinos, however, have been known to form small family groups. These can include several females and their young. White rhino females also often engage in friendly noseto-nose greetings when they meet.
This also extends to male white rhinos; two males may spend an hour staring at each other from a short distance, sometimes nose to nose, as if greeting, occasionally wiping their horns on the ground. They then turn around suddenly and trot back to the center of their perspective territories. Black males, on the other hand, tend to be less amiable. Upon encountering each other, serious fighting can result if one rhino does not give way. Sometimes gaping wounds are inflicted by the upward sweep on an opponent’s horn.
Male rhinos are habitually solitary creatures, with their main purpose being to defend territories. The territories of mature males vary from just over a square mile in forested areas to 35 square miles in open grasslands.
Territory is marked both around the edges and throughout the middle with large, conspicuous dung piles, or middens. These middens may be a couple of square yards in extent. Other rhinos may approach and sniff the piles, but only the dominant male defecates and scatters his latest addition on to the midden with his hind feet. Horn rubbing in the pile is common. A white rhino
territory may have 20 to 30 middens located around its boundaries. Scientists think that middens might be a sort of range “mailbox,” allowing all rhinos in an area to keep track of who is in the neighborhood, as well as their reproductive state.
Both black and white rhinos are fond of rolling on their sides in mud or dust wallows; they cannot roll on their backs because of the elongated, blade-like protrusions on their spines. They also frequently rub their bellies, flanks or faces on rocks and stumps; “polished” rubbing sites are seen throughout rhino country.
The white rhino is a partly nocturnal creature. The black rhino is more strictly diurnal; however, it may become partially or totally nocturnal in regions of persecution.
© A Morgan
Man is the rhino’s main predator, although lions and hyenas may try to attack very young calves. Rhinos have keen senses of smell and hearing to compensate for their weak eyesight. They are able to turn their ears to locate the source of any disturbance, which they usually counter with a series of short but intimidating 30-mile-per-hour charges. They often stop short of the target
rather than following through with an attack, as though the real purpose is to get close enough to identify and intimidate the threat.
Rhino’s eyesight isn’t great, and it’s difficult for them to see a motionless person at a distance of 3 ft.
Corbett
Feeding Habits
Black and white rhinos have different feeding habits, with each physically suited to their preferred diet. Black rhinos are browsers and have pointed upper lips, which allow them to grasp twigs, vines, leaves and fruit. They are not very selective eaters and will ingest almost any type of plant, except grasses.
White rhinos, in contrast, have been described as possibly the largest pure grazers that have ever lived. These bulk feeders have square, broad mouths, with
upper lips and teeth that are very well adapted for grinding grass. Both black and white rhinos have evolved to rely purely on their lips to collect vegetation, having lost their front biting teeth altogether.
In addition to their differing mouth shapes, black rhinos have longer necks than white rhinos, which help them to reach up into vegetation for browsing, while white rhinos’ longer heads enable them to reach the ground to graze.
© C Whelan
Breeding
The territory of the white rhino male is set up to ensure that it has access to receptive females. Once a female is found, she is continuously, but gently, herded within the boundaries of the territory for up to two weeks, often accompanied by her most recent calf. This may in part explain the length of time the male spends maneuvering and tagging her—as much to get away from the “teenager” as to get close to her. Once close, the male prods the female gently with his horn, rests his chin on her back, rubs his face on her flank and generally softens her up for the final approach.
A courting male and female may consort for several days. Mating may last as long as an hour, during which the male ejaculates several times. This does little to dispel
the popular perception of the aphrodisiac qualities of a rhino’s horn.
Females usually calve for the first time at about 5 to 7 years old. Single calves are born after a gestation period of about 16 months and most commonly during the rainy season. Newborn rhinos are very small at birth, only one-twentieth of the female’s weight. Females will often seclude themselves at this time; white rhinos may even isolate themselves from other animals for up to a month after calving.
Calves will stay with their mothers for two to four years, depending on the birth of the next offspring. Rhinos have relatively long lifespans; some live in the wild for up to 50 years.
© J Reppy
Where to See Rhinos in the Wild
Rhinos once roamed throughout ancient Europe, Asia and Africa. At the turn of the 20th century, there were approximately 500,000 rhinos in Africa and Asia. Today, only about 27,000 rhinos remain in the wild across both continents. In Africa, that includes around 6,500 critically endangered black rhinos (down from 100,000 in the early 1900s but up from a low of 2,500 in 1995) and around 16,800 white rhinos.
This precipitous decrease in rhino numbers has been driven by poaching for their horns, which are used to make items such as knife handles. Rhino horn is also said to have medicinal and/or aphrodisiac properties.
Safari tourism plays a crucial role in rhino conservation efforts, funding protection projects and helping curtail illegal poaching.
At Ol Pejeta Private Conservancy you can meet Najin and Fatu, the last
two Northern White Rhinos.
© A Morgan
Kenya
On Natural Habitat Adventures’ new Rhino Conservation Safari, travelers meet with conservationists on the front lines of rhino protection in three leading private conservancies in Kenya. The trip includes the Lewa Conservancy, where we search for both white rhinos and endangered black rhinoceros on game drives, hikes, and scenic flights; a private tour of the Daphne Sheldrick Orphanage, where we get to meet orphaned baby rhinos and elephants that are being rehabilitated to return to the wild; and a visit to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa and home of the world’s last two remaining northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu.
Palmwag Concession, Namibia
Namibia is home to more than a third of Africa’s black rhino population, with the world’s largest free-roaming population on the Palmwag Concession in Damaraland, one of Africa’s last great wildernesses. Visit the Palmwag Concession on Nat Hab’s Great Namibia Wildlife Safari, where we search on foot for rare desert-adapted black rhinos alongside field experts from Save the Rhino Trust. We also track these massive mammals in Damaraland on our Epic Botswana & Namibia Safari
© D Jinks RHINOCEROS
AFRICAN BUFFALO
Physical Characteristics
• There are four subspecies of African buffalo: forest buffalo, West African savanna buffalo, Central African buffalo, and southern savanna buffalo (also known as the Cape buffalo).
• Size ranges widely among the different subspecies of buffalo, from 600 to more than 1,800 pounds.
• Savanna buffaloes start out reddish-brown, usually turning dark gray or black as they reach adulthood. The smaller forest buffalo maintains its red color even as an adult.
• Adult buffalo lose hair as they age.
• Both male and female African buffalo have heavy, ridged horns that either grow straight out from the head or curve downward and then up. The horns are formidable weapons against predators and are used by males in fights for dominance within the herd.
Habitat
In general, buffaloes favor grassland, whether it be open, wooded or bushed. African buffalo feed and travel most often during the early morning, evening and nighttime. They spend the rest of their time lying in shade, although they sleep for only an hour or two per day. Buffalo are never farther than a few miles from a water source, since they must drink every day.
African buffalo only sleep for a few minutes at a time, and for only an hour or two each day
Buffalo Behavior
Buffalo herds have relatively stable compositions, changed only by births and deaths. Herd size is rarely larger than 20 for the forest subspecies. Cape buffalo groups average about 350 members, but especially large herds may contain as many as 20,000 individuals.
Large herds tend to fragment during the dry season and regroup in the rainy season, which aids in spreading the grazing load when grass is in short supply. During the dry season, there is a tendency to concentrate along the rivers. In the rainy season, spacing over the habitat is quite regular. Each herd has a fairly constant range, and there is little overlap between adjacent herds.
Within herds, the basic social unit is an adult female, her suckling calf from last season’s breeding and her two-year-old. When any one of the three is incapacitated, the other two will stick together.
Cow-calf groups do not appear to have obvious leaders. Decisions on which direction a resting group should move next seem to be taken by a form of “voting.” During the period of resting and rumination, individual females occasionally stand up, face a particular direction for a few moments and then lie down again. After a couple of hours, the entire herd will move in the direction that most buffaloes faced when standing. Voting seems to pay off for the herd, since it appears to take them in the direction of the greatest amount of grass in the area.
Bachelor groups of 10 to 15 members are common, and may consist of either old, retired bulls that no longer compete for females or younger bulls nearing their prime during the mating off-season.
When a buffalo herd is threatened by a lion attack, the bulls will form a protective semicircle around the cows and calves, shielding them from harm. An explosive snort from a buffalo heralds alarm. This is followed by a nose-up posture oriented at the intruder, who should begin looking for the nearest tree if the buffalo is a lone male. An alarm in a cow-calf herd will bring the others to attention, and those close to the intruder may even move forward, as if to have a better look. If the intruder stands its ground or even advances a few paces, the buffaloes will invariably turn tail with high head tosses, and the entire herd will run off.
Solitary old males or small bull groups are the ones likely to charge intruders. Their enormous size (and that of their horns) offer them ample protection. However, without
© J Wong
the protection of numbers, solitary bulls still sometimes fall prey to lions. It is not uncommon, however, for lions to be fatally injured during a prolonged battle with a wounded buffalo.
Male buffalo sometimes fight each other for dominance within their herds. Fighting males will circle each other for long periods, pawing the ground and squaring off to accentuate their horns with tossing, hooking movements and by thrashing nearby bushes. Such displays usually end with one animal giving up by simply walking away, but when fights do occur, they consist of terrific headon clashes.
Wallowing in mud holes (also called
“wallows”) is a common practice that appears to have a social function in addition to keeping the buffaloes cool, protecting their skin from the sun, and discouraging skin parasites. Apart from being foul smelling in its own right, a particular wallow may take on the scent of the bull that lays claim to it, thus serving as a passive territory marker.
Cattle egrets can often be found in the company of wallowing buffaloes, giving away the presence of buffalo concealed within a mud hole.
Vocalizations play only a small role in social encounters between African buffaloes; calves bleat and cows grunt in order to call their calves. Otherwise, buffalo remain relatively silent, without the typical bovine lowing.
© P McClure
Feeding Habits
Buffaloes are strictly grazers. Different species of grass are selected on a basis of smell, taste and protein content. The amount of protein within vegetation is related to its tenderness, so grazers can distinguish the nutritious from the coarse based on the amount of effort needed to pull the plant apart.
Seasonal changes in grass availability and nutritional value dictate the local movements of buffalo in semi-arid areas. During the rainy season, they will feed on open plains; in the
dry season, they retreat to woodlands, hill slopes and river fringes.
These enormous animals are excellent swimmers and have no problem crossing rivers to reach areas better suited for grazing.
Buffalo are excellent swimmers and won’t hesitate to cross a river to escape a predator.
Breeding
Male buffalo test for females in heat by sniffing their urine and genitals; fortunately, competition for their attention does not entail much fierce fighting. Posturing and mock battles serve as substitutes for conflict, which helps keep these large, powerful animals from injuring one another. Courtship entails a temporary male-female bond, which ends shortly after mating.
The principal calving period occurs between December and February. Calves are carried for 11.5 months and are then dropped in the midst of the herd, usually during the rainy season. The afterbirth is eaten by the mother and the calf is licked clean, stimulated to defecate and suckle, after which it joins the grazing herd.
© D Cama
Where to see African Buffalo in the Wild
Buffalo can be found across sub-Saharan Africa, and because they move in large, obvious herds, they are one the easiest of the Big Five species to spot while on safari. The African buffalo is also the only member of the Big Five that isn’t listed as vulnerable or endangered.
Greater Kruger Region, South Africa
The MalaMala Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger region is one of the oldest and largest reserves in South Africa. Its fenceless border with Kruger National Park allows wildlife to roam freely between both protected areas. MalaMala’s Cape buffalo herd numbers more than 1,200. Sticking together in groups to avoid falling prey to lions, you can often spot them feeding near the reserve’s dams and cooling off in the mud of watering holes.
Travelers on Natural Habitat Adventures’
Secluded South Africa safari stay on the private MalaMala Reserve along the Sand River, where visitor numbers are strictly limited. Our Secluded South Africa Photo Expedition gives you extra time and photography tutelage to make sure you go home with stunning photos of these iconic creatures.
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
For more buffalo sightings, head to Hwange National Park—Zimbabwe’s wildlife crown jewel. This vast expanse of savanna and sandveld is renowned for big game, which we explore on 4x4 drives and bush walks during our Southern Africa Odyssey, which also includes Botswana and Namibia.
© A Morgan
You can distinguish between adult males and females by looking at their horns. If the base of their two horns come together and form a solid structure (called a boss) then it is a male. The horns of an adult buffalo cow don’t touch.
