Animals of Africa (that we saw): Part 1 - Mammals (By JB)

So, Wendi asked me to put together a post of all the animals that we saw during our 6 weeks in Africa. Yes I actually did keep track of them! :)

I'll start off with the mammals - these are what most people are interested in anyway. So let's get started - I know you are as excited as I am!

Please note: These are not our photos. We got some good ones, but I didn't have them all loaded yet. And no, these are not photos of our group either!

We saw the Vervet Monkeys all over the place, and there were signs up not to feed the Baboons at almost every park we went to. The reason had something to do with the possibility of a baboon attacking, blah, blah, blah. I don't see why that would be so concerning.

We saw one Jackal coming to get a drink at a watering hole at sunset. Every night drive, there were Scrub Hares hopping out of the way of our jeep. We even saw one of the most rarely spotted animals in the parks, the African Wild Cat. It is strictly nocturnal and looks almost like a house cat. It is one of the elusive "Secret Five" along with the porcupine, pangolin, bat eared fox, and something else I can't remember off the top of my head. :)

I think Tara and I are the only ones who saw the Dwarf Mongoose as it stuck its head out of its burrow. We also saw one Water Mongoose dart into the reeds by a small stream. As for the bats... Every night in Nigeria, the sky would be full of very large bats coming out to hunt high in the sky. Closer to head level would be very small bats zipping around eating insects. In South Africa there were bats out each night, but the darn things won't stay still long enough for me to identify the species. I was disappointed, but I don't think anyone else was.

There are many, many types of antelope species in Africa. We saw a few Duiker, a few Steenbok, and hundreds of Impala - those guys were everywhere.

We were able to see a few Nyala while we were in at the Hlane (the Royal hunting grounds) in Swaziland. We also had almost tame Bushbucks (mainly female and fawns) walking around our camp in Kruger. I think I was the only one to see a Reedbuck in a small marshy area on our drive to Addo Elephant park.

The Kudu is an beautiful animal - also makes tasty steaks! We also had a chance to dine on Eland (the largest antelope species - like a really nimble cow) in the form of biltong, a type of jerky. The Waterbucks were also pretty big and were all over the place.

We were able to see quite a few of the Blue Wildebeest. I think we only say one or two of the Red Hartebeest. And we saw quite a few Springbok (another animal we ate in the form of biltong) on our drive through the southern portions of South Africa.

Our experience with a Hyena was watching it try to steal pieces of a Duiker that the Leopard had killed. Awesome! The Warthogs were again fairly numerous in Yankari (Nigeria) and Addo Elephant Park (South Africa). The Hippopotamus - that large tub of lard - is responsible for killing more humans than any other animal in Africa. These guys get out of the water each night to graze in the fields and forests near their rivers. Just avoid getting between a Hippo and its water - unless you want to see it run 35 miles an hour and see their 14 inch long teeth up close. Our guide thinks the most deadly animal is the Crocodile, but there is not enough proof since the Croc eats the evidence.

The Plain's Zebra (formerly Burchell's Zebra) may have been Wendi's favorite animal. We were able to see a lot of elephants - even able to drive right into the middle of a large pack of females and babies foraging. We only saw a few Giraffes - they are a little more common north of where we were at.

Wendi already wrote about our encounter watching the Leopard stalk the Impalas then chase the Hyena from its Duiker kill. What an amazing animal. Weighs about as much as I do, and only slightly more athletic.

The lions were also very impressive, but fairly lazy. These guys doze like 18-20 hours a day! But these cats are pure muscle and can weigh a quarter ton! I've seen many lions at zoos and I've always been pretty impressed. But when you are sitting in an open jeep less than 10 feet from a lioness who regularly kills animals much faster than I am, and you are told not to stand up because then it may see you as prey, you gain a whole new respect and see why the lion is called King.

Finally we get to the Cape Buffalo. This is the fourth of the "Big Five" we saw along with the Lion, Leopard, and Elephant. We didn't see a Rhino. The "Big Five" are historically the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt in Africa. I know, you are looking at the Buffalo and thinking, "It's just a big cow, right?" Well, kindof, but when you realize the Cape Buffalo regulary maims and kills several people each year and it is capable of defending itself (and sometimes killing) against lions, you sort of have to rethink things.

So that is it as far as mammals go. I think I'll show you the birds we saw next.