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High jump heavyweight: the eland
OK, so the common eland (Taurotragus oryx) is just an antelope. But it’s a biggie. With bulls standing some 1.6m at the shoulder and weighing up to 900kg, this heavyweight herbivore rivals the buffalo as the largest African member...
Palmnut vulture: the vegetarian alternative
Devotees of death; connoisseurs of carnage: vultures are surely the most confirmed carnivores of the bird world. With eyesight that can clock a carcass from two miles away and a meat-hook bill for ripping through its hide, these birds...
Walking on water: the African jacana
Walking on water is not as hard as you might imagine, as long as you have the right feet for the job. The African jacana (Actophilornis africana) has exceptionally long toes, which spread out to distribute its weight, allowing it...
Spotted at night: the slinky allure of the genet
Sometimes, watching African wildlife leaves you conflicted. My first sighting of a freckled nightjar is a case in point. As a birder, the fact that this elusive nocturnal species was at that very moment struggling for its life should have...
Where eagles dare
As awe-inspiring in reality as in myth, eagles dominate African skies. Mike Unwin focuses on the remarkable adaptations of the continent’s species and suggests the best places to see them for yourself Eagles are undeniably compelling. As predators, they...
In conversation with Dr Kim Young-Overton
Dr Kim Young-Overton, Cheetah Program Director for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation, tells Travel Africa about the world’s fastest animal, the threats it faces and what is being done to address them. Picture credit Paul...
Shady dealings: the black heron
Is it a bird or is it a bin liner? Has somebody lost their umbrella? What is that strange black object flapping about in the shallows? A fishing black heron (Egretta ardesiaca) is a bizarre sight. With its head and legs hidden,...
Hard act to follow: the African rock python
You know that post-Christmas lunch stupor – slumped in an armchair, feeling as though you’ve swallowed a whole turkey? Well, welcome to the world of the African rock python (Python sebae). This voracious reptile would happily down a turkey in...
Making a splash
Say ‘African mammal’ and most people will immediately envisage elephants, lions and other celebrated beasts on terra firma. But the oceanic waters that wash the continent’s shores are also home to many marine species, including an impressive selection of...
Keeping track of cheetah
Nick Dall sets out in South Africa’s Mountain Zebra National Park to search for the world’s fastest feline, and learn about its behaviour and interaction with its cousin the lion. Image copyright Mike Dexter. I’m breathless and starting to...
Crowning glory
Shock! horror! Giant eagle swoops down and snatches up small child in its talons. This sensational story runs, in one form or another, from ancient legend to YouTube hoax. It has spawned numerous lurid ‘true life’ accounts. But could it...
Death in the long grass
Grab, toss, gulp! Grab, toss, gulp! Grab, toss, gulp! Plucked in quick succession from their nest in a low bush, three quelea chicks meet a quick and gruesome fate. Chase, stamp, gulp! With a little more effort – but no...
10 Hyena facts
Despite their reputation of being cowardly animals, hyenas can be aggressive and dangerous, but its hard not to respect them. Throughout history, there are tales of hyenas being in close contact with humans. For instance, it is thought ancient...
Grevy’s strain
The majestic of zebra species struggling for survival in northern Kenya Of all the rare species that are found in northern Kenya, the Grevy’s zebra is easily the most striking. Known as punda kanga in Kiswahili, it is stunning...
Photographing carmine bee-eaters
There’s no doubt that Carmine bee-eaters are one of southern Africa’s wildlife highlights, but capturing them on camera in an interesting way is certainly difficult. Knowing how to set up your camera, how to track the movement of the...
Nile monitor
Crash, slither, splash! You’re pursuing an elusive bush shrike through a riverine thicket when an unholy commotion in the undergrowth stops you in your tracks. An angry hippo, perhaps? A huge croc? Relax. It’s only a lizard. But what a...
Unearthing the earth pig
I remember the occasion as though it were yesterday: May 1997, a night drive in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal and an unfamiliar, humpbacked creature shuffling away from our spotlight beam. Not until my binoculars alighted on those telltale ears did I...
Gone fishing
Fish seems like the ideal diet: succulent slabs of protein in apparently inexhaustible abundance. But catching this slippery prey takes skill, technique and the right gear – as any long-suffering angler will tell you. Africa’s birds have risen to...
Swamp thing
Ask a first-time birder to Africa what tops their fantasy feathers list, and chances are the outlandish shoebill will be somewhere up there. The appeal lies both in its bizarre appearance – think outsized heron with a Dutch clog stuck...
The ostrich (Struthio camelus)
The Wakamba gazed upon the white glaciers and black rocks of the hill, likened it to an ostrich and therefore named the bird Kiinya. Today it's name is anglicised, but how the hen that lays the biggest egg received...
