General Wildlife
World Wildlife Day
Today is the 3rd of March; it is also World Wildlife Day.
For those of us who call MalaMala Game Reserve home, this is a day to celebrate the ones we spend more time with than our families, those whom we thank for our livelihoods, and those who impart profound lessons simply by being themselves. We’re talking about wildlife.
The Cliffhanger: Klipspringers vs Cape Hunting Dogs
Interactions between species make for some of the most thrilling game viewing. When prey species ingeniously evade predation, one is left marvelling at the distinctive adaptions to each animal that make survival possible. Let me share one such sighting with you – a sighting that has gone viral on almost every social media platform! View the video at the end of this blog.
Anthropomorphism and the naming of animals
Anthropomorphism is a fancy word used to describe the practice of ascribing human characteristics to animal behaviour. All that being said, we do name our lions and leopards. But at MalaMala, the names are certainly not born out of anthropomorphism.
MalaMala goes LIVE
Time flies… we are already 25 episodes into the ‘Rangers in Isolation’ series and it feels like we started yesterday. From the pristine bushveld of South Africa’s original private game reserve to the comfort of your living room, we have been able to share amazing sightings of the incredible wildlife at MalaMala!
Foster Families
Placing offspring in foster care is not limited to human society. Certain bird species, like cuckoos, have evolved to put their chicks up for adoption. The only difference being that the adoptive parents have no consent or knowledge about the agreement. This phenomenon is known as brood parasitism and several of these ‘free-loaders’ can be viewed on MalaMala Game Reserve.
It’s in their eyes
While out on your next safari, take a closer look at the eyes of the animals you are viewing. Take note of the shape of the pupils. You may notice that lions have very different eyes to those of your cat at home. You’ll see that the pupils of a zebra are quite different to those of a crocodile. So, why the variation?