other wildlife, Kruger National Park

These are photo shots taken once every 30 seconds. It may happen that the update is disrupted due to power failure ( this camera is in the African wilderness after all), or bad weather conditions.

Wonderful.. even I love to watch this web cam, will give the web site!!
If this site does not work please go to the sanparks site at:
( you will have to copy and paste) and click on the WEBCAMS option

www.sanparks.org

Zebras have tightly knit family groups, which is fundamental to their survival. A lone zebra is a very easy kill. Each stripe on their body is different, and this helps them recognise one another.

Unfortunately many people today still make use of animal skins for clothing and their furniture.

We have had many encounters with giraffe over the years. I think the best one was when we rounded a corner having just left Olifants restcamp, and had to almost immediately apply the brakes. There was a HUGE giraffe, sedately walking in the middle of the road!

That is was blocking the way was not something it was aware of, and we followed it for about 300metres, till it disappeared into the thick bush on the left. We were so close, we could almost reach out and touch it.

This begs the question of whether it is good that animals are so domesticated that they dont worry when a car is travelling behind it... hmm...

The word HIPPOPOTAMUS comes from 2 Greek words, meaning RIVER HORSE. They are closer relations to the pig though, than to the horse.

Little baby hippos are born underwater, swimming before they van walk! Haha

They have this red coloured pigment that seeps out of its skin that lubricates and helps protect it.

2 more images

The giraffe is a creature that many people find intriguing. It seemingly doesnt make any noise (although this is untrue, they do, this is called 'infrasound'), and is rather aloof and mysterious.

They live to about 25 years old, with a tongue that can reach 53 centimetres long! They are 'prehensile'.. which means that they can easily grab and hold onto various objects with this tongue. They are the tallest creature in the wild, standing a proud 1.9metres tall at its birth (and in its socks haha)

Zebras are wrongly deemed passive and non-agressive - do not let this fool you! They can be very unpredictable and can cause harm. If their ears go back, it is a sure sign that you should make tracks, and quickly!

Baboons are prolific in the KNP. You might get excited when you see your first one, but when, 20 minutes later, you have seen at least another 30 or so, the enchantment fades somewhat haha. Much like springbok, they too are beautiful creatures, but they are everywhere in the KNP, so people often just glance casually at them, looking for the more elusive animals.

Baboons spend a lot of time grooming each other and taking care of each other. They are looking for ticks and fleas continuously it seems.

However much you would like to do so, please do refrain from feeding them peanuts or any other treats. They have become domesticised to a certain degree due to feeding by the public, and this is alien behaviour in a wild game park. They are wild and must not become at all dependent on humans.

Hippos love water. They lounge about in it, submerged, for most of the day, mostly due to the intense heat on the surface. They are keen swimmers albeit their heftiness. When they lie in the water one can only see the tips of their nose, ears and eyes, so they are still totally aware of what is going above water, but keeping cool at the same time.

It is because of this too that so many people are killed every year by hippos. They cause the most deaths to humans than any other creature. They lurch out of the water at their unsuspecting victim, who might be swimming or washing their clothes, and with jaws like these, there is little chance for survival.

We had been trying for about 45 minutes to photograph this hippo with it's mouth open. We had nearly lost hope, when it gave this delicious yawn :)