AWF Blog

• Meet Nnzumbeni Tshikalange

  Posted: June 26, 2009, 10:22 pm by admin

  I would like to introduce you to Nnzumbeni Tshikalange who is running the Limpopo Leopard Project for the next few months. Nnzumbeni hails from the Limpopo Province near Thohoyandou, the capital city of the former Venda. She obtained her bachelor degree in Zoology from the University of Limpopo.

  This is a bit dark, but here I am with Nnzumbeni.

  Prior to my departure from the field, I had the opportunity to spend three days with Nnzumbeni. The aim was to introduce her to the study site and see if she would be interested in a life in the bush. On the first day we were lucky to find numerous samples, leopard scats to be specific (three). These we collected and I was happy to see that Nnzumbeni was keen to have a go at collecting some of them. In the process we went out to check the cameras. There was a lot of walking in the sun, but it was fun at the same time.

  The following day we went out to track Gudzane male, the leopard we collared in January. The previous weeks I had tried in vain to locate the animal, mainly because it so happened that there was a buffalo cow with the same frequency collar in the study area. The interesting thing about this buffalo that I hope you will appreciate as much as I do is that it was collared about 150 km south of the leopard study site. I guess no one anticipated that she would migrate that far.

  Anyway, the first time I went out to try and locate Gudzane male and the telemetry pointed me into a herd of breeding buffalo, I was baffled because it meant that the leopard must have been surrounded by the buffalo. Was the leopard trying to get one of the calves? Did the buffaloes trample on our study animal and destroy it? These were some of the questions that ran through my head. I decided to approach them in the vehicle (my fort) and realised that perhaps the herd was too large, some of the bulls were already starting to follow the car half curious and half threatening. I decided to leave them there and try the following day instead.

  The following day I went to the same spot and there was no signal, instead the signal pointed in the direction I came from. I followed up on the signal and guess what I found after one and a half hours of searching? Buffaloes! Is this leopard a Buffalo fan, following them wherever they go like an obsessed fan following their hero? That was my day two question. I decided to stay with the herd this time. There must have been around one hundred of them. The signal pointed directly into the herd. That was an interesting thing to see.

  I was wondering how I was going to explain this kind of behaviour. “A leopard that thinks he is a buffalo,” that would make a nice piece of story to tell. Suddenly the herd sort of moved and out walked this cow sort of trying to tell me not to get my hopes high about finding a leopard among the herd. Around her neck was a collar and the signal pointed directly at her. I took her picture and disappointed I headed back to the lodge. After that it became my routine, following a buffalo cow. It turns out that the telemetry equipment responded to the buffalo collar more than it did for the leopard collar. In the end Dr. Peter Buss decided it was enough and came and removed the buffalo collar.

  Mystery solved: It turned out the leopard collar was competing with the collar on this buffalo.

  The collar removal coincided with Nnzumbeni’s arrival, hence after the buffalo collar was removed I was excited to go out and find the cat. He had been out of sight for five weeks at that point. We woke up early the following day and headed out in search of the leopard. The leopard was nowhere to be found. We searched the whole concession. We even went as far as Olifants Camp, which is to the north of our study site, but there was no success. To this day the leopard is yet to be found.

  On the third day, there was an opportunity to wash the scat that I had been collecting in the last year. Nnzumbeni enjoyed that as well ,and by the end of the day we had washed all the scats in the stockings and left them out to dry. The following day I took Nnzumbeni to the bus station. After that I went to Skukuza, where I was going to attend the annual Kruger Park Network Meeting and to present my findings in the first year of study.

  In the next post Nnzumbeni will talk about her experience in the field.

• Naming Gorillas in Rwanda

  Posted: June 24, 2009, 6:46 pm by admin

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  Jamie – the IGCP Communications Officer – here again. I am recently back from Kwita Izina – Rwanda’s mountain gorilla naming ceremony. Kwita Izina is held every year to name all the baby gorillas that were born in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda in the past twelve months. This year eighteen babies were named, and a great diversity of officials and special guests were given the honor of picking the names.

  The early 7 am start was misty and cool, with a several huge tents, a giant stage and a flock of volunteers ushering in guests and serving breakfast at the foot of the mighty Sabyinyo volcano near Volcanoes National Park headquarters. It was one of the world’s most spectacular settings for such a ceremony. The grounds filled up quickly, with a crowd of several thousand revelers. I took a seat outside with my IGCP colleagues and settled in for drumming, dancing, singing, theatre and several speeches before the main event of visiting dignitaries coming on stage and giving their chosen name to a gorilla.

  The energy of the dancers was amazing.

  Favorite performances were hard to pin down, as most of them were a totally new experience, which kept my camera, and my clumsy dancing feet, busy. I always am amazed by the energy of the traditional Intore dancers, though, with their long headdresses that look like a lion’s mane and their boundless energy. Another favorite was a singing quartet of American teenagers, who performed a note-perfect rendition of the Rwanda national anthem in Kinyarwanda! The quartet, in colorful traditional Rwandan dress, got one of the biggest applauses of the day.
  

  This American quartet was a favorite of the crowd's.

  As noon approached, it was finally time: the giving of names. The chosen givers represented a cross section of society from which inspiration springs, for gorilla conservation and human development, including senior Volcanoes National Park rangers, African musicians and governing body officials and special envoys, such as Ian Redmond, longtime mountain gorilla researcher and conservation professional who now serves as the UN ambassador for the 2009 Year of the Gorilla.

  The gorillas were represented by people in costume.

  Each giver had an interesting personal story to tell about the name they chose, as “gorilla families” (people in gorilla costumes) roamed the grounds playing and grunting contentedly. The names often reflected the circumstances into which the babies were born, or characteristics of the babies themselves, as carefully observed by the Park rangers. Some reflected hope for the future of the species and the people of Rwanda.

  Names included Ijeneza (“future is bright”), Shyrambere (“go forward”), Umuganda (“work together”), and even Umutesi (“Spoiled Child”). One young gorilla that immigrated from elsewhere into Rwanda – her origins are a mystery – was named Umurinzi, or Protector.

  As the clouds parted and the hot sun finally lit up Sabyinyo volcano and the crowd, Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Bernard Makuza, closed the ceremonies with a speech highlighting recent achievements, with an eye and firm pledge to continued success in the coming year. All that remained was a closing song from the Rwanda All Stars (famous Rwanda pop musicians) and a hearty lunch for hundreds, as a local reggae band sent revelers down the mountain with a skip in their step.

  A mother and her infant -- every birth is a victory for conservation. Paul Thomson took this photo while he was in Rwanda for AWF.

  With all the bad news in recent times about loss of biodiversity, climate change and environmental degradation, Kwita Izina was, for me, a rare chance to celebrate a success. In the 1980s, researchers and organizations estimated mountain gorilla numbers to be between 300 and 400. Today there are approximately 700. Kwita Izina is a chance to celebrate that fact, and Rwanda and its conservation partners, in particular, have built a strong conservation record. One that is truly successful and continues to expand and evolve as the challenges of conserving the mountain gorilla and its natural heritage expand and evolve. Exhausted and elated, I slept well that night, looking forward to getting up and going to work for the gorillas on Monday, not full of dread, but of hope…..

• Hippo Hullabalooza!

  Posted: June 19, 2009, 12:38 am by Erin

  I have received quite a few emails from people asking about one of Africa’s most treasured and famous residents: the hippo.

  “Can hippos swim?”

  –Scott- Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A.

  Despite the fact that they spend the great majority of their day in water, adult hippos cannot truly ‘swim.’ The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious) is enormous, with adult males sometimes reaching a weight of over 3,000 pounds. Being such a large, heavy animal, it is nearly impossible for hippos to possess the buoyancy necessary to swim freely throughout the water. Instead, when adult hippos ‘swim’ they actually sink and walk or trot along the bottom, using the water’s natural buoyancy and their feet to propel them forward. Pretty much the same as when you’re in the pool and you use your feet to ‘walk.’ Underwater, they are surprisingly quick and graceful.

  “I recently read an article in my local paper about the birth of a hippo in India. Are hippos native to India? I thought hippos were only native to Africa?”

  Robert- Tampa, FL, U.S.A.

  Hippos are, indeed, native to Africa and are found nowhere else in the world. In researching your question, Robert, I found the recent article in which you are referring regarding the birth of a new calf by the ‘hippo’ Hartali (see the video here) . Although referred to as a ‘hippo,’ Hartali and her calf are not hippos but Indian Rhinos. The only reason I can think of that Hartali and her calf are referred to as ‘hippos’ is because in Hindi (which is just one of the 18 official languages of India), the word for Hippo is ‘Jal Hasti’ meaning ‘Water Elephant,’ which I suppose could be seen as a deviation of the Hippo’s scientific name, which translates to ‘river horse’ or ‘water horse.’ This still doesn’t really explain why rhinos are being called ‘hippos’ but in any case, Hartali and her calf are, indeed, Indian rhinos and not hippos.

  “Is it true that hippos sweat blood?”

  -Susan, Norfolk, VA, U.S.A.

  The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious) does not sweat blood…they don’t even have sweat glands! Instead, to protect their skin from sunburn and infection, they have mucous glands that secrete a special substance to coat the skin. Because this natural sunscreen is reddish in color, it is sometimes called ‘blood-sweat’ but in actuality it isn’t blood or sweat–it’s a modified mucous product.

  Bonus Fact:

  For those of you who had your thinking caps on you may have started wondering, ‘Gadzooks! If hippos don’t have sweat glands then how do they stay cool in the hot African sun?’ But luckily those of you who had your double thinking caps answered, ‘They live in the water!’ This is true: to keep themselves from getting hot and bothered in the African sun, hippos are mostly nocturnal, coming out of the water to feed on grasses at night.

  Wait! Before you go…

  It’s June and as such, Father’s Day and graduations of all levels are right around the corner. If you don’t yet have a gift for your Dad or Grad-don’t sweat it! Feel free to stop on by AWF’s online store at  [shop.awf.org]. For Dad, we have everything from outdoor vests to books and BBQ cooler tote bags. For the recent grad, we have great gifts such as beaded bracelets, stylish new belts and even safari gear for that last free-for-all backpacking trip before joining the Real World.

• Bonobo Caught on Film

  Posted: June 19, 2009, 7:50 pm by Valentin

  Getting to see a bonobo in its natural habitat is  a rare and thrilling privilege;  there’s no way to truly capture being there, but as a start, I thought I’d share with you a video taken some months ago of a bonobo sighted in the research area.  I will try to share more videos when I can.

• Ligers, Tigers and Bears-Oh My!

  Posted: June 15, 2009, 8:22 pm by Erin

  “Does Africa have bears?”

  Janice- Shreveport, LA, U.S.A.

  Sadly, not any more. The only known species of “true bear” indigenous to the continent of Africa was the Atlas Bear (Ursus arctos crowtheri). It was a subspecies of the Brown Bear that was reported to have lived from Morocco to Libya. The last reported specimen was killed in theTetuan Mountains of Morocco in the 1870s.
   
  “I’m in 9th Grade and I am currently doing a report on Tigers. I found your website and while it is very informative, there is no information on Tigers which surprised me. I would think the African Wildlife Foundation would have information on Tigers. Why don’t you have information on Tigers?”

  Leatrice- New Castle, PA, U.S.A.

  “Why doesn’t AWF have information on Tigers?” I get asked this question a lot. The honest-to-goodness reason AWF does not have any information on Tigers on our website or anywhere in our offices is this: there are no Tigers in Africa. No fooling. This is not a trick. A Tiger is many things, including beautiful, fierce, majestic and flat-out magical. But one thing a Tiger is not, is native to Africa.  That being said, there are plenty of other interesting and beautiful cats in Africa both big and small—Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, Servals, Caracals, Sand Cats and Wildcats to name but a few.

  “I was watching the movie, ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ the other day and the movie mentions an animal called a ‘Liger’—a Lion crossed with a Tiger. Do Ligers really exist or were they just made up for the movie?”

  Justin- Omaha, NE, U.S.A.

     Ah yes, the Liger. “It’s pretty much my favorite animal. It’s like a Lion and a Tiger mixed… bred for its skills in magic.” (Napoleon Dynamite from the film, Napoleon Dynamite).”
   
       Actually there is such a thing as a Liger. Ligers are a hybrid species created by mating a male Lion (Panthera leo) with a female Tiger (Panthera tigris). They grow to enormous sizes. In fact, the largest known living cat is a Liger: His name is Hercules and he weighs 900 pounds. (For comparison, a very large Lion can weigh around 650 pounds.)  Ligers are faintly striped, exhibit a lion-like face, and are maneless. They are the largest cats in the world, with Siberian Tigers being the #1 largest pure-bred sub-species. It is interesting to note that the male Liger, much like that of a more common hybrid, the donkey, is sterile and cannot have offspring,  while female Ligers are fertile and can have cubs.

  Ligers are a hybrid species created by mating a male Lion with a female Tiger.

  While we’re all on the subject of Lion/Tiger hybrids, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Tigon. It’s a cross between a female Lion and a male Tiger. Unlike the Liger, male and female Tigons remain roughly the same size as their Lion mothers.  There have also been reported cases of Li-tigons (female Tigon and male Lion) and Ti-tigons( female Tigon and male Tiger).
  Neither the Liger nor the Tigon have ever been known to exist in the wild.

  Wait! Before You Go…

  Since we were talking so much about cats today, I wanted to remind you all that June is Adopt-A-Cat month! While AWF heartily supports everyone going down to their local animal shelter to rescue the newest member of their family, we also hope you keep in mind Africa’s cats. Please visit us at our adoption center at http://www.awf.org/adopt  to adopt Loli the Leopard or Auntie Botlhe the Lioness. You can also help the cats of Africa by helping AWF acquire as much land as possible to give the cats as much room to roam as they please. Adopt an acre (or more) of land today or visit us at [www.awf.org] to find different action opportunities to help AWF help the Big Cats of Africa!

• Back to eastern DRC — a first visit since the war

  Posted: June 9, 2009, 4:59 pm by admin

  Hi, this is Wellard again –writing to tell you about the rest of our visit to DRC, a journey of mixed emotions.

  After leaving the beekeepers, we traveled another 12 kilometres of bumpy road to the T-junction to the local army base and the National Park authorities’ offices, Rumangabo Station. There we saw an amazing sight: the government army working together with former rebels. This is something that would not have been possible just a few months ago.

  We then proceeded  towards Rumangabo station to visit the women commonly known as “ba mama ya Wellard”, meaning simply Wellard’s women, or “ba mama ya champignons”: mushroom women. IGCP supports these women (who are either park rangers’ wives or the widows of rangers killed in the line of duty) in producing mushrooms for sale. During the height of the conflict Rumangabo station had been captured by rebels and  everyone had to flee. Only recently have people been able to return.

  The "ba mama ya champignons" or mushroom women

  We headed straight to the mushroom lab and found women busy working. I thought life was back to normal. But that impression soon changed when I entered the lab. To my disappointment and shock, everything was gone!  More than 200 kg of mushrooms gone… spoiled, with nothing left but the equipment. I felt like crying. All the hard work disappeared and we were back to square one.

  The woman leader then told me: “chef tulikibiyaka na ma champignons zetu zika aribika” (Chief we fled and all our mushrooms got spoiled). I was hopeful though, due to the fact that they were still very knowledgeable in the mushroom production process. It’s a pity after the amazing commitment shown by these women, and I still felt really bad. But we had to move on, and before leaving the station we had a quick chat with the Chief Park Warden and some rangers.

  Jars and equipment used for mushroom cultures

  It was way past mid-day when we headed to the Bukima ranger station via the almost non-existent road. My driver was really struggling with his steering wheel. We got stuck not in the mud, but in the jagged volcanic rocks that make up a section of the road. We had to push a Land Cruiser!  This road was not good before the war, however, and had not been used for almost two years.

  At Bukima a number of beekeepers were waiting for us, as well as some members of HUGO (Human Gorilla conflict- a team that is used to help encourage gorillas back into the forest when they leave the Park and go crop raiding). Bukima and the surrounding area is an exceedingly beautiful and open place. From the Park station you can visit three gorilla groups, in addition to enjoying the breathtaking scenic view of Mikeno and Karisimbi Volcanoes.

  While I was standing on the hill surveying the amazing Bukima view I felt like a mighty silverback gorilla looking at his bountiful bamboo kingdom. One whose life would be hopeless if this kingdom is destroyed. I tried to measure the effects of the war on people and on our activities and projects. It was tough getting my head around it: how to re-start things when you realise effort alone is not sufficient.  You need stability as well. Which is slowly coming back to this area.

  Time was quickly running out for us to go deeper into more villages, thus we had to rely only on the warm and emotional (again) brief exchanges that we had with the local people, beekeepers and HUGO members. On the way back we were shown battlegrounds, fronts and enemy lines where the most recent outbreak of war had taken place. I realized the whole IGCP operating area was affected.

  Dusk was upon us when we passed the lone volcano still active, the smoking Nyirangongo, a brooding red cloud on top reminding us,“well I am still here, the permanent threat…” .

  The smoking and always active Nyirangongo volcano

  The Land Cruiser was still dodging holes on the bumpy road near Goma when one of the partners asked me, “Wellard how do we manage to be that close to these people?” My answer was simple: “I don’t know… just be a part of them”.  Goma was just ahead….

• Are penguins found in Africa?

  Posted: June 5, 2009, 8:15 pm by Erin

  
  

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  “I am currently doing a report on penguins. Upon researching my subject a friend of mine told me that there are actually penguins in Africa. I told him penguins only live in cold climates but he swears Africa has penguins. Is this true?”
  

  –Casey of Cleveland, OH, U.S.A.

  Penguins? In Africa? Yes-Africa.

  Africa does, indeed, have penguins. Let’s travel now to the beautiful land of southern Africa where the African Penguin (Spheniscus Demersus) is a must-see, attention grabbing native.

  African Penguin

  The African Penguin (also known as the Black-Footed Penguin, and because of its braying vocalizations, the Jackass Penguin) stands approximately 28 inches in height and can weigh between 4-11 lbs. Besides its distinctive vocalizations, this penguin is most identified by the long, black stripe across its chest, which is also dotted with small black spots. Each pattern of spots is unique to each penguin, much like the stripes of a zebra or fingerprints for human beings.

  As with the stripes of zebras on the savannas, the black and white coloring of the penguin acts as a camouflage in the water: when predators (namely sharks, seals and occasionally, orcas) in deep waters look upwards, they see the penguin’s white underbelly reflected against the bright African sun; for predators looking down into the dark water, they see the black backside.

  Like many other African species, the African Penguin has also faced serious threats to its existence. Due to the harvesting of eggs for food and destruction of habitat, the African Penguin was almost on the brink of extinction. Currently, the African Penguin is listed as a Vulnerable Species.

  Did you know…?

   

  -The African Penguin can swim at a top speed of approximately 20 km/h (about 10 mi/h)

   

  -When swimming, the African Penguin can stay submerged for up to two minutes

   

  -The African Penguin is the only penguin species to breed in Africa and is not found anywhere else in the world.

   

• My first field visit after the war

  Posted: June 1, 2009, 8:32 pm by IGCP

  Hi, everybody!

  I am Wellard Makambo. Makambo means “issues or words” in my mother tongue. Fortunately I don’t have many issues in my life at the moment. I am proud to be the IGCP Enterprise Officer for our Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Programme. I am in charge of developing alternatives for communities bordering Virunga National Park. These alternatives take the form of economic activities that generate income for local communities, thus improving their livelihoods. Which in turn will help us to conserve the mighty mountain gorilla.

  Today I want to share with you my visit to DRC communities after the political upheaval that engulfed the region.

  The gorillas live on the slopes of the dormant Mikeno Volcano

  The eastern DRC near Virunga National Park went through some rough times due to the recent war.  Consequently, field visits have been very limited. I am happy that I can now travel again in this region, which is slowly building its own peace.

  The early morning in Goma (the region’s main town) was colder than usual, but still as dusty as ever… my driver Jerome was making a final check up to ensure that everything was perfect. This was, after all, my first visit after the fighting. We did not know what to expect, yet were excited. In eastern DRC, you should always expect the unexpected.

  One thing we made sure to pack was water: this region suffers from a severe lack of drinking water, and getting even a single bottle of it is a luxury, let alone having it with an actual meal. I was accompanied by a few people, including Papa Mutiri, the Chairman of the local beekeepers.

  Papa Mutiri, Chairman of the local beekeepers

  IGCP supports beekeeping as an important project, since conducting this activity in the National Park is a serious threat to its biodiversity and health. Yes, I admire this man. He is 81 years old but as fit as ever, and always on time no matter what! Amazing! (Embarrassing to some that an old man can be that punctual…).  We were also joined by the Community Conservation Warden from ICCN (the Park authority of Congo), a building contractor and other partners.

  The drive had to start early since we had quite a number of projects to visit and people to meet. By 6:30 am we rumbled out of Goma, passing by the crumbling, but still operational, international airport. A few minutes later our Land Cruiser hit the dusty, bumpy road pointed towards Kibumba village, the location of the honey processing plant. During the war it had been looted, and was currently almost a ghost house, as we had only managed to move a few of the processing machines to Goma before it was ransacked. The building had even been taken over by other enterprising citizens in name of the Local Chief. Windows were shattered, part of the fence wall was brought down, water tanks destroyed, doors broken – one could question whether we were making progress or going backwards.

  Meeting at the Park headquarters in Rumangabo (I am on the far right)

  While the contractor was assessing the damages, I kept wondering how we should repair the house and re-start operations. I looked at a very thoughtful Papa Mutiri, who turned towards us and said: “let us always pray for peace, peace is very important for our development”. I couldn’t put it any better than that. Outside the gate, beekeepers were waiting for us. What a reunion after difficult times!  Hearing the famous word used to refer to me, “chef”, which simply means chief or leader, was music to my ears. Hugging and handshakes ensued, followed by storytelling on how the keepers fled or hid during the conflict. It was a sad and emotional moment, but everyone was optimistic about the rebuilding of lives and the restarting of our activities.

  After Kibumba, we stopped in Rugari village to see a beekeeping project near the National Park in a remote area. We had to leave the car and walk about two kilometres into the forest. This very same place was surrounded by a rebel army about a year ago. We put on our usual honey-harvesting netted hats to protect us from any angry bees (trust me you need them!), and found, fortunately, that everything was intact.

  The Rugari beekeepers with one of their hives

  I will end today on that note — an encouraging starting point for rebuilding the project — and check in again soon to let you know how our other work in the eastern DRC has fared.

• The Little Five

  Posted: June 1, 2009, 5:36 pm by Erin

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  “I know the Big Five animals of Africa, but what are the Little Five?”–Babu

  Ah, the Big Five. It’s a phrase that has sparked the imagination of many people across the globe for many decades. For those of you who may not know, the Big Five of Africa are the elephant, rhino (both the black and white rhino), leopard, lion and African buffalo. The term ‘Big Five’ was anointed to these species by big game hunters as a way to identify the top five species that are hardest to hunt by foot, not, as the term would suggest, by the size of the animal.

  By comparison, it would stand to reason that since there is a listing for the Big Five of Africa there must also be a Little Five, right? Right! Named in honor of their fierce and fiercely beautiful namesakes, the Little Five of Africa are as follows:

  The Leopard Tortoise (photo courtesy of SouthAfrica.Info):

  The Leopard Tortoise

  Found in the arid savanna of Africa, these tortoise are so named because of their shared distinctive spots with the leopard (Panthera pardus).  The leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis) is the most widely distributed tortoise in southern Africa and may be found in lands from Sudan all the way to the Cape. The leopard tortoise can live up to approximately 100 years and is the fourth largest tortoise in the world.

  The Elephant Shrew (photo courtesy of SouthAfrica.Info):

  The Elephant Shrew

  The elephant shrew (Elephantulus myurus) is an African native that gets its name from-you guessed it– its long trunk-like nose. Feeding only on insects, this tiny species gets around quite easily due to its elongated hind legs, which for its size (elephant shrews can vary in size from 4-12” in length and weigh between a mere 2 oz. to 1 lbs.) enables the shrew to ‘hop’ along easily to find food.

  Antlion (Photo courtesy of SouthAfrica.Info):

  The Antlion

  The antlion  (Myrmeleontidae) is a remarkable creature. Found in sandy, arid regions of the Earth, there are more than 2,000 species worldwide. The term ‘antlion’ refers to this species while it is in its larval form. The Antlion digs small pits in soft sand and waits, open jawed, for its prey to walk by before snatching it up. The antlion may have gotten its name due to early scholars studying this behavior and likening the ‘hide and pounce’ approach to that of lions.

  Rhinoceros Beetle (photo courtesy of SouthAfrica.Info):

  Rhinoceros Beetle

  The rhinoceros beetle (Scarabaeinae dynastinae) is one of the largest beetles in Africa; it gets its name from its characteristic horns, which look much like the horns of its namesake. Along with being one of the largest beetles in Africa it is also one of the strongest animals on the planet (in relation to its size): these beetles can actually lift up to 850 times their own weight!

  Buffalo Weaver (photo courtesy of SouthAfrica.Info):

  Buffalo Weaver

  The buffalo weaver is one smart cookie, err…birdie. Known as the ‘Architect of the Bird World,’ the nests for buffalo weavers are incredibly constructed. Nests usually contain several ‘rooms’ which the weaver enters from the bottom of the nest. To protect against predators, the weaver lines the branches that construct the outside of the nest and the branches leading up to the nest with thorny, prickly and sticky twigs.

  So, there you are! These are the Little Five of Africa. Amazing, aren’t they? Let it never be said again that all good things come in large packages.

  Wait! Before you go…

  Although we focused on the Little Five today please don’t forget about their larger counterparts. To help AWF conserve and protect Lions, Leopards, Elephants and Rhinos, please visit our adoption center, where you can adopt Loli the Leopard, Jabari the Rhino, Oltupai the Elephant and Auntie Botlhe the Lioness. You can also help AWF give wildlife room to roam by adopting an acre (or more) of land today!

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes