If I Were Going...: Africa: Kruger National Park Game Drive/Some Quintessential Animals

But, let’s talk about some quintessential African animals …

Clockwise: Giraffe, Zebra, Nile Crocodile, Chacma Baboons, Spotted Hyena

Burchell’s Zebra

Let’s start with the Burchell’s Zebra (also called Damara Zebra), of which there are about 28,000 in Kruger. We saw quite a few, but never the large herds (actually, a herd of Zebra is called a “dazzle” or “zeal”) you imagine when you think of Africa. That’s because this was the bush, not the plains. Large herds, especially when mixed with other grazers such as Wildebeest, provide safety because there are more eyes and ears to look out for danger and large numbers can make it harder for a predator to single out individual prey.

Burchell’s Zebra

Smaller on average than the Mountain Zebra and the Grévy's Zebra, Burchell’s stand from 3.6-4.8 ft. at the withers, are 7-8 ft. long (not counting a 19-22-inch tail) and weigh 380 to 850 lbs., with males weighing 10 percent more than females.

Burchell's Zebras on a Termite mound

With typical black-and-white stripes, no two look exactly alike. All have vertical stripes on the forepart of the body, which tend towards the horizontal on the hindquarters. The background color is dark and the white is an addition – in case you wondered.

A suggested function for the stripes is to provide camouflage in tall grass or dappled shade.

But, other striped species, such as the Kudu, tend to be quiet and stealthy while Zebra are active and noisy and make no attempt to hide. So, perhaps the stripes affect a predator's judgment of the Zebra's size, distance and direction when it is moving.

Great to see; Photo: Becca Stevens

The stripes protect Zebras from biting flies because the monochromepattern throws off the flies' visual systems. A Zebra's coat also disperses more than 70 percent of incoming heat, preventing the animal from overheating in the African sun.

Zebras are highly water-dependent and are usually found close to a water source.

The Zebra’s major predators are Lions, Spotted Hyenas and, when crossing water, Nile Crocodiles.

Wild Dogs, Cheetahs and Leopards prey on Zebra foals. Zebras have a strong bite and a kick powerful enough to kill land predators.

They usually stand their ground with smaller predators, but, with speeds up to 40 mph, often outrun larger predators. Foals can run with the herd within a few hours of birth.

Like Horses, Zebras sleep standing up, and usually only when in the safety of a group.

Grazing

The Burchell’s Zebra is highly social and usually forms small family groups called harems, which consist of a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring.

In the trees

South African Giraffes

And, how about Giraffes? We saw quite a few. Once again, because this was the Bush, we didn’t see huge groups loping across the plains. Rather, we saw small groups and individuals grazing among the trees …

We saw lots of Giraffes

… and crossing the road …

But, why?

... and getting a little frisky ...

Giraffes in bushes

When we asked what kind of Giraffes were in Kruger, we were told “just Giraffes.” But, my after-visit research indicated that they were South African Giraffes (sometimes called Cape Giraffes because, well, they like to throw “Cape” on almost everything).

Male, left, and female, right

These Giraffes have rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running down to the hooves.

We did notice a pretty broad range in colors – some tan fading to almost white and some a very dark rusty brown.

Like human fingerprints and Zebra stripes, Giraffes' spots are unique. Females tend to be lighter than males. Both males and females have short horns, but the tops of the male's are almost always bald and the female's horns are covered with hair.

The tallest animal in the world, male Giraffes can exceed 18 ft. tall; females 15 ft.

Giraffe's legs are taller than an average person

Their long necks, which account for much of their height, have a complex circulatory system that researches still don't understand. Big males can weigh more than 2,500 lbs., while females usually weigh 1,800-2000 lbs. Their feet are about 12 inches in diameter -- the size of a dinner plate -- and their tongues are about 21 inches long.

Impressive

Because of their long necks, Giraffes are able to feed on the foliage of trees that is not accessible to other herbivores.

They use their long prehensile tongues to grab leaves, seeds and pods and then use their incisor teeth to strip them off the stem.

They spend most of their time eating and need only about a half an hour of sleep every day. Giraffes seldom drink water because they get most of what they need from the plants they eat -- plus, bending down is probably a pain.

Giraffes are quiet and calm -- their slow, loping gait even gives them a slo-mo feel. Occasionally, when disturbed, they snort and, when attacked by predators, they bellow.

Among the more interesting things we witnessed was a pair of juvenile males play sparring by whacking their necks. It seemed all rather casual, with no danger of real injury.

They fight by slamming their necks together

We saw males, females, juveniles and at least one baby.

Giraffes are fairly social and get together in herds from time to time. However, there is no group bonding.

A herd of Giraffes is a "tower"

Here's an interesting fact I found: Giraffes have never been observed swimming.

In 2016, there were an estimated 31,500 in the wild, of which Kruger has about a third. In 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature moved the Giraffe from a species of Least Concern to Vulnerable status, meaning that they face extinction in the wild in the medium-term future if nothing is done to minimize threats to life or habitat.

Spotted Hyena

Another well-known African animal is the Spotted Hyena, also known as the Laughing Hyena for its laugh-like cry. A fierce predator, Hyenas are famous for their capacity to eat and digest skin and bone as well as meat. They occasionally scavenge, but not as frequently as their cousin, the Striped Hyena.

We didn’t see any adult Spotted Hyenas, but, on two occasions, we saw young ones. Our first encounter was with two juveniles who were lounging in the morning sun just outside their den (the driver was familiar with the den, so he took us there on purpose).

We didn't see many Hyenas, but a few is better than none!

The second was a very young baby that may have been out of its den for the first time. It was still quite wobbly when it walked around. We saw this one in the late afternoon when the light was fading. But, it was quite a treat.

Baby Hyena

The Spotted Hyena has complex social behaviors similar to those of primates, but far more competitive rather than cooperative. Females provide only for their own cubs rather than assist each other, and males don’t care for cubs at all.

Almost cute

With three times as much testosterone as males, females are more muscular and aggressive. In the matriarchal Spotted Hyena society, offspring of dominant females outrank adult females subordinate to their mother. Low-ranking adults may be aggressive toward higher-ranking cubs when mom is absent.

Adult Spotted Hyenas measure 3-5 ft. in body length and have a shoulder height of 2-3 ft. Adult males weigh an average of 149 lbs., while females weigh an average of 153 lbs. Exceptionally large weights of almost 200 lbs. have been reported.

A little bit wary

Unique carnivores, Spotted Hyenas are born with their eyes open and with small canine teeth and incisors. Cubs will attack each other shortly after birth, often resulting in the death of the weaker cub (up to a quarter of cubs are killed by siblings).

Resting

At ten days old, cubs can move at considerable speed. They begin to lose their black coat and develop a lighter spotted coat when they are two-to-three months old. This means that the first cubs we saw were several months old and the second was still quite young.

Spotted Hyenas do not have a preferred prey, but they tend to avoid adult African Buffalo and Giraffes because of their size. They track live prey by sight, hearing and smell and detect carrion by smell and the sound of other predators feeding. During the day, they watch vultures descending upon carcasses and they can hear predators killing prey or feeding on carcasses up to six miles away.

Spotted Hyenas have also been found to catch fish, tortoises, Black Rhino, Hippo calves, young African Elephants, Pangolins and Pythons and humans There is at least one record of four hyenas killing an adult Hippopotamus in Kruger National Park.

An interesting animal

A single Spotted Hyena can eat at least 30 lbs. of meat per meal.

Although they act aggressively toward each other when feeding, they compete mostly by eating quickly rather than by fighting as Lions do.

Spotted Hyenas do not require much water, and typically only spend 30 seconds at a time drinking.

Where Spotted Hyenas and Lions occupy the same area, Lions typically ignore spotted hyenas, unless they are on a kill or are being harassed by them. There exists a common misconception that hyenas steal kills from lions, but most often it is the other way around. Hyenas will steal prey from Cheetahs and Leopards. Although they do catch prey in water, Spotted Hyenas will avoid Crocodile-infested waters.

Chacma Baboons

Another animal you tend to think of when you think Africa is the Baboon -- indeed, there are five species on the continent. Like on the Cape, the Baboons in Kruger are Chacma Baboon s (or – you guessed it -- Cape Baboons). I wrote about and posted some pictures of them in my Cape of Good Hope blog.

Why the long face?

One of the groups we saw in Kruger had both a frisky youngster …

A baby

… and a tiny baby clinging to its mother …

A great sighting; Photo: Caty Stevens

An Old World Monkey like its cousin the Vervet Monkey, the Chacma Baboon is large -- 20-45 inches long with a tail length of 18-33 inches. Males weigh 50-100 lbs. and females are considerably smaller, at 25-55 lbs.

Grooming; Photo: Caty Stevens

Baboons are omnivorous with a preference for fruits.

They also eat insects, seeds, grass, smaller animals and fungi.

They are generally scavengers when it comes to game meat, rarely hunting large animals.

Chacma Baboons live in social groups called troops characterized by a dominance hierarchy. Female ranking within the troop is inherited through the mother and remains relatively fixed, while male ranking can change.

A pair; Photo: Becca Stevens

Humans and Baboons share 94 percent of their genes. So, it is not surprising that Baboons behave much like humans. They can "talk," with at least 30 different vocalizations. The also communicate by yawning, shrugging their shoulders and smacking their lips. Young baboons often play together like children, participating in games like wrestling, swinging from vines and chasing each other.

They tend to wake up at about 8:00 a.m. every morning and have a mutual grooming session while the "children" play. Then, they head off together to "work" at gathering food. They have an afternoon siesta and hunt some more. Then, they return to their sleeping site, have another mutual grooming session and settle down for the night.

A common sighting in South Africa

Nile Crocodiles

I already talked about Hippos, but I must mention that we continued to see pods of Hippos throughout our drive – some in the water ...

Entering the river

...and some were basking in the sun, often with our next subject, the Nile Crocodile. In fact, although Crocodiles may be either aggressively displaced or killed by Hippos, it is common to see them together sleeping on the shore.

Hippo, Nile Crocodiles and Yellow-billed Storks

There are approximately 4,400 Nile Crocodiles, the largest freshwater predator in Africa, in Kruger. On average, the adult male Nile Crocodile is between 11 ft. 6 in. and 16 ft. 5 in. long and weighs 500-1,650 lbs. However, specimens exceeding 20 ft. and 2,400 lbs. have been recorded. Females are usually about 30 percent smaller than males.

Sunning

Like Hippos, the Nile Crocodile’s nostrils, eyes and ears are situated on the top of the head, so the rest of the body can remain concealed underwater. An opportunistic ambush predator, the Nile Crocodile is capable of taking almost any animal within its range. They can wait for hours, days and even weeks for the suitable moment to attack.

They have 64-68 sharp teeth (about a dozen less than alligators) that can be replaced if they break. They apply high levels of force for extended periods of time to hold large prey underwater to drown. Bite force is exceptionally strong, but the muscles responsible for opening the mouth are exceptionally weak, allowing a person to easily hold them shut with a small amount of force.

An enlarged 4th lower tooth fits in a notch in the upper jaw; it's visible when the jaw is closed

Relatively social, Nile Crocodiles share basking spots and large food sources, such as schools of fish and big carcasses, with the largest males eating first. A group is called a “bask” or a “float.” They lay eggs, which are guarded by the female. The hatchlings are also protected for a period of time, but hunt by themselves and are not fed by the parents. The Nile Crocodile is responsible for hundreds of human deaths every year.

A group is called a “bask” or a “float”

Typically, Nile Crocodiles are relatively inert, basking with their jaws open if conditions are sunny. If their jaws are closed in extreme heat, they can die from overheating. Nile Crocodiles normally dive for only a few minutes at a time, but can swim underwater for up to 30 minutes and can hold their breath for up to two hours if they are still.

A Black Crake tiptoes past a Nile Crocodile

They normally crawl along on their bellies, but they can also "high walk" with their trunks raised above the ground.

They can briefly run up to eight mph on land and can swim up to 22 mph, more than three times faster than any human.

In general, big cats and Crocodiles have a relationship of mutual avoidance. Occasionally, if regular food becomes scarce, both Lions and Crocodiles will steal kills or carrion from each other. Most conflicts over food occur near the water and can lead to a tug-of-war over a carcass that can end either way, although seldom is there any serious fighting or bloodshed between the large carnivores.