The Rhino or Rhinoceros is another of the “big five” and is in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of the species in this family are native to Africa and three to southern Asia. The three species that are most endangered are the Javan Rhino, Sumatran Rhino and The Black Rhinoceros. The Indian Rhino is also endangered with less than 2700 remaining in the wild. The White Rhino is registered as vulnerable with around 14,500 remaining in the wild.

The Rhinoceros family is branded by the large size and all of the species are capable of achieving a weight of around a ton or more. They have a herbivorous diet and a thick protective skin that is around 1.5 – 5 cm thick and the skin is formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure and is highly impenetrable when compared with other animals. They have relatively small brains for mammals of their size – around 400 – 600 grams) and of course the large horn.

They generally eat leafy substances although their ability to ferment food in their gut means they can eat more fibrous plant matter if need be. (more…)

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The Cape Buffalo may be more commonly known as the African Buffalo and is a bovid from the family of the Bovidae. Generally Savanna type buffalos are up to 1.6meters high and 3 meters long and weigh around 500-900 kg – males are usually bigger than the females and are the only gender to reach the high end of the weight range whereas Forest type buffalos are only half the size of savanna buffalos.

The African Buffalo is commonly mistaken for being related to the slightly larger water buffalo but actually its ancestry is unclear to this day.

The African Buffalo is one of the most successful grazers in Africa and they generally live in swamps, floodplains as well as mopane grasslands and forests of the major mountains of Africa.
Buffalos are adaptable and can live in a variety of areas from the highest mountains to sea level areas but they prefer habitats with dense cover such as reeds and thickets. Herds have also been found in open woodland and grassland. (more…)

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When you have the urge to relieve yourself or litter in a nature reserve or wilderness area in the Western Cape, consider that:

Cape Nature Conservation manages most of the protected areas representing the Cape Floristic Region, the smallest and most threatened of the world’s six floral kingdoms. The Cape Floristic Region is one of the world’s “hottest biodiversity hotspots”: it contains 9 000 plant species, of which 6 000 are found nowhere else on earth. This plant kingdom is threatened by invasive plants, agriculture, urbanisation, pollution, poaching, soil erosion and unseasonal fires.

Large tracts of the Western Cape mountains, including privately-owned land, are proclaimed catchment areas. This means that they are managed as an important source of fresh water. Protected mountain catchments constitute only nine percent of the surface area of the Western Cape, yet they provide 60 percent of the water generated in the province.

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The draw to this wonderful park is the diversity of flora and fauna and the remote almost inaccessible forests. There are no roads in the park, you have to be prepared to do lots of hard hiking, and indeed this is a hikers paradise.

It is remarkable that these forests have remained untouched before they received National Park status. This is due largely to traditional taboos and beliefs that kept the local people from destroying and clearing these forests. There are important natural caves in the park which are of a significant cultural importance. There are many plant species found nowhere else in the world including over 160 medical plant varieties.

The Udzungwa hosts animals that are found in most Tanzanian parks including elephants, buffaloes, lion and leopard; also including the African wild dog, which is only found in Southern Tanzania. However, most of these are not present in large numbers and visitors will have a hard time spotting these game animals in this Park. A park ranger and/or guide must accompany all hikers.

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