Seekoraal is the Afrikaans term for the Salicornia natalensis plant, which used to belong to the Sacocornia taxonomic genus before being reclassified under the Salicornia genus in 2017. Salicornia plants are succulent, halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plants that are part of…

The manufacture of bow strings from plant materials is a skill that has been practiced by Bushmen for a relatively short period of time. Around the year 1900, they learned from neighboring Bantu-speaking tribes how to use Sansevieria fibers to…

Sourplums, which belong to the Olacacea family, comprise two species: the Blue Sourplum (Ximenia americana) and the Great Sourplum (Ximenia caffra). Blue Sourplum The Blue Sourplum is naturally distributed in semi-tropical and tropical countries around the world, as shown on…

Weaver ants of the genus Oecophylla consist of two different species. One species is Oecophylla longinoda, which occurs in equatorial, tropical African regions. The other species is Oecophylla smaragdina, which is distributed in tropical Asia and Australia. Both of them…

Baboons are one of the largest sized monkeys worldwide. Due to hybridization, their taxonomy is contested and overlapping. In Africa there are six species of baboons, and in Southern Africa lives one species, which are Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). Chacma…

Ghost praying mantises (Phyllocrania paradoxa) fit perfectly into our new homepage section called ‘Wonders of Nature’, due to their unique appearance and behavior. They are a species of praying mantis and there are four characteristics which make them special. These…

Zulu knobkerries are basically wooden clubs with a knob on one end. Together with assegais (throwing spears), they are the symbols of the Zulu nation in South Africa. And these two weapons are even part of the South African Coat…

Koppie Foam Grasshoppers (Dictyophorus spumans) are indigenous to South Africa and prefer sparse and low vegetation on rocky outcrops. They are flightless and got some kind of aposematic coloring, which are yellow or orange stripes on the warty thorax shield…

Determining cardinal points by trees in Southern African savannas (Southern hemisphere) is a common method. It is useful in case of being lost and the sun cannot be seen. So, at least it can be determined where the cardinal points…

Milkplum (Englerophytum magalismontanum (Sond.) T.D.Penn). Common names: (Afr) Stamvrug. (Eng) Milkplum, Wild plum. (isiZulu) Amanumbela. (Northern Sotho) Mohlatswa. (siSwati) UmNumbela. (Tshivenda) Munombelo. (Xitsonga) Nombhela. Old name: Bequaertiodendron magalismontanum Distribution Milkplum is widely distributed from Central Africa to Botswana and Eastern…

Termite mounds are primarily made of soil, which is excavated below the mound and carried to the surface by these insects. They use the soil to construct the mound, forming it into a variety of shapes depending on the termite…

A safari toilet is an essential facility for any temporary tented camp in the wild. For a Trails Guide course at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, we had for eight students, two mentors and one cook a total…

Puff adders (Bitis arietans) are widely distributed over whole Sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of dense rainforest areas and Madagascar. A puff adder got a tell-tale flat head with a straight line between the eyes, thick body with chevron markings…

The bluebottle jellyfish, also known as Physalia utriculus, is commonly found along the coasts of non-tropical regions bordering the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. These creatures are not actually jellyfish but rather siphonophores, which are composed of multiple organisms known…

The Red-billed buffalo weaver (Bubalornis niger) is a common bird in parts of Southern Africa. These birds got the largest body size of all weavers and are common in dry woodland and savannas. And Buffalo weavers have got the peculiar…

In Southern Africa, both Harvester termite alates (Hodotermes spp.) and Mound-building termite alates (Macrotermes spp.) swarm within a certain area usually once a year. These alates are winged termites, which are kept by termite workers within certain chambers in the…

Marula season in Southern Africa is normally in February each year. When Marulas (Sclerocarya birrea) are getting ripe, they are turning from green to yellow and fall from the female Marula trees. On the ground they are ripening up fully…

Natal Mahogany (Trichilia emetica) trees have got a dense canopy of dark green, glossy leaves and a round outer shape of the tree silhouette. They preferably grow at moist places and riparian forests along drainage lines. Natal Mahogany is easy…

Buffalo thorn tree (Ziziphus mucronata) is called in Afrikaans “Blinkblaar-wag-‘n-bietjie” for its shiny leaves and two thorns, which are holding people back when getting caught by them. The shrub or tree has got distinctive zigzag branchlets with pairs of two…

Rumen fluid is a greenish colored liquid substance with an aromatic and slightly sour smell. This fluid is uniformly distributed in the rumen of antelopes and is mixed with grazing or browsing roughage as well as fermentation gases and bioactive…

In Southern Africa, there are fourteen species of Bushwillows, which belong to the Combretum family. Other trees of the same Combretum family are Clusterleaf species, but also Leadwood and some others. Interesting enough, not all Combretum species are suitable for…

The Greenthorn tree (Balanites maughamii) is easily recognizable in Southern Africa due to its triangular, fluted or buttressed trunk. Its spines are green like its twigs and often forked. It is very spiny and hard to climb. It mainly grows…

The Double-banded Sandgrouse (Pterocles bicinctus) is commonly and colloquially called by its abbreviation ‘DBSG’ in Southern Africa. Its main distribution area is the savanna biome and especially Mopani Bushveld. There are three more species of sandgrouses in Southern Africa, all…

Danger of buffaloes is overrated The ‘Cape buffalo’ (Syncerus caffer caffer) as a subspecies of the ‘African buffalo’ (Syncerus caffer) is the typical buffalo species of the Southern African savannah biome. The denomination of ‘African Black Death’ was coined by…

Musth is a condition of elevated testosterone levels in the blood of elephants (whether African- or Asian elephants). African elephant bulls are coming into their first musth when they are between 15 – 17 years old. The length of musth…

Purslane, or spekboom (Portulacaria Afra) in Afrikaans language, is a succulent plant, endemic to South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. It got light-green soft leaves and red colored stems. The leaves can be eaten raw, as pickles, chutney, jam or used…

Letaba Ranch, Limpopo province, South Africa; Elephants are a kind of dung producing machines African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the wild are foraging about 150 – 180 kg plant material per day. And they also drink about 350 liters of…

Many National Parks, Private Game Reserves and Game Farms in Southern Africa are under heavy pressure of snares for poaching. Not only poaching for rhino horn, but also indiscriminate poaching for meat. Rhino horn poaching is mainly organized by internationally…

Where to dig One of the most important techniques of finding drinkable water in Southern African natural environments is digging for water in areas which are holding water underground. These water holding structures can be situated next to an open…