Africa Wild

Egyptian Free-tailled Bat
Tadarida aegyptiaca
Order: Chiroptera. Family: Molossidae

Nossob - 25.9.2009 - on my pillow



Description
The free-tailed bats are all members of the Molossidae family, a name derived from the Greek word ‘molossus’, which was used to describe a dog used by Greek shepherds in ancient times. This name refers to the bulldog-like, heavily wrinkled faces of free-tailed bats, while ‘free-tailed’ refers to the tail, the majority of which projects beyond the membrane that stretches between the legs of the bat, making the tail more prominent than in other families of bat. The fine, dense fur of the Egyptian free-tailed bat is greyish-brown, turning darker on the head and back and paler on the underparts, particularly around the throat. The leathery membranes of the long, narrow and pointed wings are translucent light brown, and the rounded ears sit fairly closely together on top of the head.

Size
Total length: 10.4 - 12 cm. Tail length: 4.1 - 4.6 cm. Forearm length: 4.7 - 5.6 cm. Wingspan: 30 cm. Weight: 14 - 18 g.

Biology
Like most bats, the Egyptian free-tailed bat is nocturnal, roosting in colonies of three to hundreds or thousands of individuals during the day and flying out at night to forage. This species flies fast at great heights for relatively long periods of time, covering large areas of open land. An insectivorous species, the Egyptian free-tailed bat feeds on beetles, caterpillars, flies, moths, spiders, winged termites, wasps and water beetles, which may be caught in flight or plucked from the ground. As well as its proficiency in flight, the Egyptian free-tailed bat is fairly adept, compared to other bat species, at moving on land. It is able tocrawl on the ground, and scamper to protection when disturbed while roosting on vertical surfaces.
The Egyptian free-tailed bat, and its roosting communities, is reported to have a strong odour. This may be an important factor in social interactions, and the particular smell may be an important sensory cue, aiding the bat’s return to its roost after a night foraging.
The female Egyptian free-tailed bat gives birth to a single young each year, typically in the summer, after a four-month gestation period.

Distribution
A broadly distributed species, the range of the Egyptian free-tailed bat extends throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Habitat
This species occupies a wide range of habitats, from arid savannas to humid hills and valleys. Access to water plays a large part in determining where the Egyptian free-tailed bat may be found, not only as a source of moisture, but also because the insects on which the bat feeds tend to congregate around water pools. It roosts on cliff faces and in caves, as well as within man-made structures, such as old buildings.

Links: ARKive, ADW

Desert Pygmy Mouse
Mus indutus


Seen at night in our kitchen at Kalahari Tented Camp

Distribution
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, northern South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Habitat
Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.

Description
They are very small territorial mammals that occur singularly, in pairs or in family parties. They are nocturnal. Adults have a total length of about 10cm and a mass of some 6g. Their tails are shorter than the length of the head and the body. The upper parts of the body are pinkish-buffy to pinkish-clay. The under parts are white and they have a patch of white hair at the base of each ear.

Diet
Its diet consists of grass and other seeds, as well as insects.

Breeding
It is widely believed that the desert pygmy mouse breeds throughout the year with litters of between 2 to 8. Gestation periods are only 19 days. The young are born in ball-shaped grass nests.

Links: Plate

Red Hartebeest
Alcelaphus buselaphus

rooihartbees [Afrikaans]; Rote Kuhantilope [German]; bubale [French]; indluzele, iqhama, ihlezu [isiNdebele]; ixhama [isiXhosa]; indluzele, inkolongwane, indluzela [isiZulu]; thetele [Sepedi]; thetele, khama, lethodile, kgama, tlohela [Sesotho]; kgama, khama [Setswana]; ngama [Shona]; inkologwane, umzansi [siSwati]; nondo, nondzo [Xitsonga]; thendele [Tshivenda]; ||Khamab [Nama] [Damara]


Kgalagadi 25.3.2013

by Toko

by ExFmem

by Mel

by Lis
Nossob

by Tina
Grootkolk, September 2012

(c) Dindingwe

Introduction
Red hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, but their sense of sight is poor. When alarmed, they tend to mill about in seeming confusion, snorting nervously before running off. Once in its stride, a hartebeest can achieve a speed of 65km/hr, zigzagging left and right in its characteristic bouncing flight, which make it more difficult for predators to catch them. Like the blue wildebeest, it has an uncanny sense of direction and will find water and fresh grazing after rain has fallen a considerable distance away.

Habitat
They are normally associated with open country, occurring on various types of grassland, in semi-desert bush savannah and in some cases open woodland.

Diet
Red hartebeest are predominantly grazers and are water independent, but will drink it if available.

Colouring
Most individuals are a reddish-brown colour, although this does vary to yellow-brown or tawny. Not always obvious is a darker saddle which extends on the mid-back from the shoulders to the base of the tail, not so dark on females. They have a black forehead, with a patch of reddish-brown across the face between and in front of the eyes, and a black band on top of the muzzle.

Size
The average shoulder height for a male is 1.25m and 1.1m for a female. They weigh around 150kg for the male and 120kg for the female.

Breeding
Expectant females leave the herd in early summer and give birth to a single calf, usually between September and December, after an 8 month gestation period. The female visits the calf to suckle and clean it. Once it is strong enough, it joins the herd with its mother, who can recognize their young from a distance of 300m.

Eland
Tragelaphus oryx



The name eland (Taurotragus oryx) is borrowed from the Dutch and means elk or moose.

Distribution:
Elands are a savannah and plains antelope and are native to Botswana, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe but is no longer present in Burundi and Angola. The common eland's population is decreasing but it is classified as "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Description:
Their coat differs geographically with elands in north Africa having distinctive markings (torso stripes, markings on legs, dark garters and a spinal crest) that are absent in the south.The coat is smooth except for a rough mane. Females have a tan coat, while the coats of males are darker, with a bluish-grey tinge. Bulls may also have a series of vertical white stripes on their sides (mainly in parts of the Karoo in South Africa). As males age, their coat becomes more grey. Males also have dense fur on their foreheads and a large dewlap on their throats.

Both sexes have horns with a steady spiral ridge (resembling that of the bushbuck). The horns are visible as small buds in newborns and grow rapidly during the first seven months.The horns of males are thicker and shorter than those of females (males' horns are 43–66 centimeters (17–26 in) long and females' are 51–69 centimeters (20–27 in) long), and have a tighter spiral. Males use their horns during rutting season to wrestle and butt heads with rivals, while females use their horns to protect their young from predators.

The common eland is the slowest antelope, with a peak speed of 40 kilometers (25 mi) per hour that tires them quickly. However, they can maintain a 22 kilometers (14 mi) per hour trot indefinitely. Elands are capable of jumping up to 2.5 meters (8 ft 2 in) from a standing start when startled (up to 3 meters (9.8 ft) for young elands). The common eland's life expectancy is generally between 15 and 20 years.

Eland herds are accompanied by a loud clicking sound that has been subject to considerable speculation. It is believed that the weight of the animal causes the two halves of its hooves to splay apart, and the clicking is the result of the hoof snapping together when the animal raises its leg. The sound carries some distance from a herd, and may be a form of communication.

Social Structure:
Males, females and juveniles each form separate social groups. The male groups are the smallest; the members stay together and search for food or water sources. The female group is much larger and covers greater areas. They travel the grassy plains in wet periods and prefer bushy areas in dry periods. Females have a complex linear hierarchy. The nursery and juvenile group is naturally formed when females give birth to calves. After about 24 hours of the delivery, the mother and calf join this group. The calves start befriending each other and stay back in the nursery group while the mother returns to the female group. The calves leave the nursery group when they are at least two years old and join a male or female group.

Diet:
Elands are predominately browsers and prefer savannah scrub and leaves. They only eat grass in quantity in the summer, as it is not an important part of their diet. They will drink water when it is available, although they are by no means dependent on it, obtaining their moisture requirements from their food. They have been known to go up to a month without water.


Breeding
A single calf is born to a mother after a gestation period of approximately 9 months. Calves can run with the herd a few hours after birth.

by Mel

by Duke

by nan
near Mata Mata

by Tina
Lower dune road September 2012


Links: Chris Stuart, Tilde Stuart: Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa

Bushveld Gerbil
Gerbilliscus leucogaster, Tatera leucogaster

Kgalagadi - 16.2.2011



Identification
Colouring ranges from orange-buff to reddish-brown, depending on habitat.

Size
Total length ranges from 260-280mm. The tail is longer than the head and the body. Weight 70g.

Distribution
This species is widely distributed in Southern Africa, from the equator to about 30 degrees south (excluding parts of southern South Africa, western Namibia and northern Mozambique).

Habitat
The bushveld gerbil is known to inhabit mostly light sandy soils although they can be found on hard ground. It will only dig burrows in sandy soil at the base of small shrubs but will burrow in the open, taking vegetable debris to mat the floor of their resting chambers. They are nocturnal creatures and terrestrial in habitat.

Diet
Insects, grasses, seeds and herbs, enabling to be completely independent of water.

Breeding
Average litter sizes are between 4 and 5.

Links: Peter Apps: Smithers' Mammals of Southern Africa: A Field Guide

Egyptian slit-faced bat/Common Slit-Faced Bat
Nycteris thebaica
Family Nycteridae (Slit-faced Bats)

Diagnostic Features
Recognizable by the characteristic lobed facial slit that runs down its nose, large ears, and rounded wing tips.


This one flew into our bedroom at Urikaruus and flew into the bathroom door. Apologies for posting an injured animal but it's all I have and want to mark it off our challenge list.

Distribution
Widely distributed, extending into Europe

Echolocation
Some bats emit echolocation calls from their mouths and others by their noses. Those who emit their echolocation calls from their noses have nose leafs (sophisticated growths). Some nose leafs are visible (external) and some are not (internal). Horshoe and trident bats have visible nose leafs, while the slit-faced bats are not visible. Their nose leafs are located on the inside of their noses.

These bats, like most other bats, use echolocation for finding prey. However, like other gleaning bats, their echolocation calls are not strong and as a result this species is often called a “whispering” bat. The echolocation that they produce has low intensity, and is multi-harmonic. Echolocation is used when they are assessing the area around them, especially for prey location.

This species uses eyesight more than some bats, probably as compensation for its weak echolocation ability.

Roosting Behavior
This species has a wide habitat tolerance and likes to live under the leaves of palms and to hang from thatch roofs.

Diet
Insects and other invertebrates

Reproduction
A single young is born in early summer months and is carried by the mother on feeding forays

Why Bats Hang Upside Down
It puts them in an ideal position for takeoff. Unlike birds, bats aren't physically constructed to run, walk, or crawl (with the exception of the vampire bat that hops) so they can't launch themselves into the air from the ground. Their wings don't produce enough lift to take off from a dead stop, and their hind legs are so small and underdeveloped that they can't run to build up the necessary takeoff speed. Instead, they fall into flight. By sleeping upside down they are all set to launch if they need to escape the roost.


Links
http://books.google.de/books?id=sdY_sa1 ... 20&f=false

http://books.google.de/books?id=iqwEYkT ... 20&f=false

Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus

Afrikaans: Wildehond Tswana: Letlhalerwa Nama/Damara: !Gaub

Diet: Carnivore
Average life span in the wild: Up to 11 years
Shoulder height: 65 cm
Weight:24 to 30 kg
Spoor: 7.5 cm long with distinctive claw marks

The African wild dog, also called Cape hunting dog or painted dog, typically roams the open plains and sparse woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa.

These long-legged canines have only four toes per foot, unlike other dogs, which have five toes on their forefeet. The dog's Latin name means "painted wolf," referring to the animal's irregular, mottled coat, which features patches of red, black, brown, white, and yellow fur. Each animal has its own unique coat pattern, and all have big, rounded ears.

African wild dogs live in packs that are usually dominated by a monogamous breeding pair. The female has a litter of 2 to 20 pups, which are cared for by the entire pack. These dogs are very social, and packs have been known to share food and to assist weak or ill members. Social interactions are common, and the dogs communicate by touch, actions, and vocalizations.

African wild dogs hunt in formidable, cooperative packs of 6 to 20 (or more) animals. Larger packs were more common before the dogs became endangered. Packs hunt antelopes and will also tackle much larger prey, such as wildebeests, particularly if their quarry is ill or injured. The dogs supplement their diet with rodents and birds. As human settlements expand, the dogs have sometimes developed a taste for livestock, though significant damage is rare. Unfortunately, they are often hunted and killed by farmers who fear for their domestic animals.

African hunting dogs are endangered. They are faced with shrinking room to roam in their African home. They are also quite susceptible to diseases spread by domestic animals.

You will find Wild dogs in a large area of Botswana and may roam as far south as Kgalagadi TP northern section.

Where was a Wild dog spotted by AW member?

Wild dog in CKGR

Here SANParks estimates for mammal abundances in KTP:

Blue wildebeest: 1007
Eland: 80-1110
Gemsbok: 8146 - 8884
Red hartebeest: 1355-2423
Springbok: 2337
Steenbok: 1872-2984
Cheetah: 200
Leopard: 150
Lion: 130
Brown hyaena: 600
Spotted hyena: 375

from Annual Report 2012

Two in one Lion and spotted hyena



by ExFmem
Urikaruus Oct. 2012

by Tina
Lijersdraai October 2013

Another two in one Springbok and BBJ

by Duke

by ExFmem