Tag: south africa

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Picture of the Week 48 – Tallest

This week’s picture of a South African Giraffes was taken at Kings Camp, Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa.

Enjoy the picture!

For more Giraffe pictures go to www.sperka.biz/giraffe (Wild South African Giraffes) or www.sperka.biz/giraffes (Masai Giraffes at the Nashville Zoo)

About Giraffes:
The Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is the tallest of all land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant. Its scientific name refers to its irregular patches of color on a light background, which bear a vague resemblance to a Leopard’s spots, and its face, which is similar to that of a camel. In addition to these features, the Giraffe is noted for its extremely long neck and legs and prominent horns. It stands 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall and has an average weight of 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) for males and 830 kilograms (1,800 lb) for females.

It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest relative, the Okapi. Different authorities have recognized different numbers of subspecies, differentiated by size, coloration, coat pattern and range. Up to nine subspecies are recognized:
G. c. angolensis (Smoky or Angolan)
G. c. antiquorum (Kordofan)
G. c. camelopardalis (Nubian)
G. c. giraffa (South African)
G. c. peralta (West African)
G. c. reticulata (Reticulated or Somali)
G. c. rothschildi (Rothchild)
G. c. thornicrofti (Thornicroft or Rhodesian)
G. c. tippelskirchi (Massai)

My pictures are mainly of South African Giraffes (www.sperka.biz/giraffe) and of Masai Giraffes(www.sperka.biz/giraffes).

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Picture of the Week 47 – We are playing – don’t interrupt!

These two Cape Hunting Dog puppies were playing when they were rudly interrupted by the photographer 🙂

The picture was taken at Thanda Private Game Reserve, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.

Enjoy the picture!

For more Cape Hunting Dog (or African Wild Dog) pictures go to www.sperka.biz/chd

About Cape Hunting Dogs / African Wild Dog:

The Cape Hunting Dog (Lycaon pictus) is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf. This dog is the only canine without dewclaws which are the claws that are on the inside of the front feet.

The Cape Hunting Dog has a the highest biting force of any extant mammal of the order Carnivora, although exceeded by the Tasmanian devil a marsupial carnivore.

Litters can contain up to 19 pups, though ~10 is the most common. The typical gestation period is 70 days. Females will disperse from their birth pack at 14–30 months of age and join other packs that lack sexually mature females. Males typically do not leave the pack in which they were born.  In a typical pack, males outnumber females by a factor of two to one, and only the dominant female is usually able to rear pups. The species is also unusual in that some members of the pack, including males, may be left to guard the pups whilst the others, including the mothers, join the hunting group.

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