SOMETHING NOT apparent in The Lion King was Pumba the warthog's most remarkable magic trick: the ability to disappear. Surprise a warthog in the African wild and it'll take off like a Formula One driver. Often you can trace its course through the grass by its aerial-like tail, which is at full mast when sprinting. Then, suddenly, it'll vanish as if it had never been there.
Being a favourite dish of so many predators, warthogs are constantly on alert, and they seldom venture far from their burrows, into which they'll escape when threatened. Typically deep and narrow, these underground lairs are where they seek shelter, and rear their young. But warthogs, and many other animals, are in fact rent-free lodgers. They have no part in the design and construction of their homes. That is left to another remarkable creature, the aardvark (which means 'earth pig' in Afrikaans).
I was at Khoisan Karoo Conservancy in South Africa's Northern Cape to see the Shy Five, a pentad of extraordinary creatures on the opposite end of the spectrum to the safari industry's Big Five (leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino). Safari operators deliver truckloads of tourists to within mobile-phonephoto distance of all five within a week. But ask for an aardvark, bat-eared fox, porcupine, aardwolf or black-footed cat, and your guide will ask nervously: "How long have you got?"
I had three days - two nights to be precise, for that is when the critters typically appear. My expectations were not high; it is notoriously difficult to see any of them, never mind all five on one trip.
DURING THE DAY, CONSERVANCY owner Piet Cronje 'PC' Ferreira drove me to his favourite birding spots in a game-viewing vehicle. PC's family have owned this and neighbouring farmland for generations. He belongs to this soil and has an unbreakable determination run through with bubbling enthusiasm.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2024 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2024 من BBC Wildlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Jump Around - Bagheera Kiplingi - The acrobatic spider with a predilection for veggie food
Spiders eat flies, right? everyone knows that the 45,000 or so spiders in the world are all obligate carnivores, more or less – eating other animals, mainly invertebrates. Nature, however, loves an exception, and one particular spider missed out on that ecological memo. It goes by the wonderful scientific name of Bagheera kiplingi, and its claim to fame is that its diet is – at least mostly – vegetarian.
Female of the Species - Zebras - A strong sisterhood is key to staying safe
Zebras are masters of confusion. Their collective noun is ‘a dazzle’, which is fitting since their bodies and behaviour have been surprising scientists for centuries.
See It, Save It? - Wildlife tourism can be a powerful ally in protecting nature - but it can also harm it. We weigh up the pros and cons.
The sums of wildlife travel aren’t as simple as more tourists equals happier nature. How much did my visit really contribute to the conservation of Lady Liuwa and her habitat – and was that outweighed by carbon emissions from my flights? Did my presence disturb the animals’ natural behaviour more than it reduced the threat of poaching or benefited local communities?The question of whether wildlife travel is, on balance, good for wildlife is a complex one – and there’s no simple answer.
Can Your Really Offset Emissions? - Planning an overseas wildlife-watching trip entails facing some inconvenient truths
Imagine (or maybe you don't need to) that you hanker after the safari trip of a lifetime in sub-Saharan Africa. A 17-day tour beginning at the iconic Victoria Falls, passing through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, taking in some of the continent’s most wildlife-rich national parks, and ending on the lush island of Zanzibar.
Metamorphosis: a life-changing event
WITH EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST JV CHAMARY
New series for BBC One: Asia
Settle in this autumn for a new natural-history extravaganza on BBC One and iPlayer: the longawaited Asia, presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Loss of Antarctic sea ice could impact seabird food supply
Albatrosses and petrels may be forced to fly further to feed
Tarsiers in trouble
Urgent action is needed to ensure survival of the Yoda-like primate
SNAP-CHAT
Chien Lee on shrew loos, rogue drones and being rained out of bed
VISIONS OF NATURE
The winners of the Wildlife Artist of the Year competition 2024, from David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
