DIFFERENT MAMMALS
Aardvark
Erdvark (Orycteropus afer)
Size: Length (including tail) 1,6m; weight 52kg.
Colour: Pinkish or yellowish grey skin sparsely covered in coarse reddish brown hairs. The skin is apt to be stained darker, depending on the colour of the earth in which the animal burrows.
Habitat: Wherever termites and ants are available as food, and where the earth is soft enough for burrowing. The aardvark avoids stony or rocky terrain and high forest, but occurs in open woodland and grassland areas.
Aardwolf
Aardwolf (Proteles cristatus)
Size: Shoulder height 50cm; weight 9 kg.
Colour: Sandy to yellow-brown body with four to eight dark brown, vertical stripes. Black feet and tail tip. Thick, distinctive dorsal mane from back of head to base of tail, which is tipped with black.
Habitat: Open sandy plains and scrubland.
Bat-eared Fox
Bakoorjakkals (Otocyon megalotis)
Size: Shoulder height 30cm; weight 4kg.
Colour: A brindled greyish brown, with underpartsa little paler. Both the upper side and the end oj bushy tail are black, as are the feet andlegs. Muzzle dark brown to black; chin and area around the mouth black; backs of ears brown, and insides of ears white.
Habitat: Open country with low rainfall: semidesert scrub, grassland, bushveld.
Black-backed Jackal
Rooijakkals (Canis mesomelas)
Size: Shoulder height 38cm; weight (m) 8 kg, (f) 7kg.
Colour: A predominantly black ‘saddle’, shot through with silver, runs from neck to root of the tail. The long bushy tail is mostly blackish; head, flanks and legs reddish brown. Throat, chest and belly whitish. In the west of the distribu-tionarea, male’s winter
Habitat: A wide range of habitats (excluding forests), particularly drier areas and open terrain.
Cape Fox
Silwerjakkals (Vulpes chama)
Size: Shoulder height 35cm; weight 3 kg.
Colour: A speckled silvery grey, the underparts being whitish with a huff or reddish tinge to the chest. The hairs of the long,’bushy tail are huff-white at their bases, hut dark brown or black towards the tip. The head is reddish, hut with much white hair on the
Habitat: Open country, whether semi-desert scrub, grassland orfynhos – often in the vicinity of a rocky outcrop.
Caracal
Rooikat (Felis caracal)
Size: Shoulder height 45cm; weight (m) 15kg, (f)11 kg.
Colour: Coat reddish, varying from pale sandy to brick-red along back with paler, usually spotted, abdomen. The face has black and white markings. The pointed ears end in long black tufts.
Habitat: Open, dry country from semi-desert to savanna. Sleeps in crevices among rocks, stones or fallen trees, dense cover, trees or appropriated burrows.
Chacma Baboon
Kaapse Bobbejaan (Papio ursinus)
Size: Length (including tail)(m) 1,5m, ( f ) 1,2m; weight (m)32kg,(f)16kg.
Colour: Dark yellowish brown, sometimes greyish, coat. Pale chest; dark hair along crown and spine. ‘Shepherd’s crook’ tail dark brown. Pink patches around female rump become scarlet and swollen when she is in season.
Habitat: Rocky country, savanna (usually with abundant trees) and mountainous areas. Nearby water essential.
Common Duiker
Gewone duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia)
Size: Shoulder height (m) 50cm, (f) 52cm; weight (m) 18 kg, (f) 21 kg.
Colour: A greyish buff throughout, except for white underparts. Front of forelegs dark brown; dark line runs from forehead down to the nostrils.
Habitat: Bush country, although it happily adapts to other types of habitat, with the exception of thick forests and vegetation-less desert.
Grey Rhebok
Vaalribbok (Pelea capreolus)
Size: Shoulder height(m) 0,8m, (f) 0,7 m; weight 20 kg
Colour: Grey-brown or grey above, but slightly yellowish brown on face and legs. Underparts, including underside of tail, white. Whitish patches around eyes, and on muzzle and chin.
Habitat: Rocky hills or mountain slopes, and rocky plains with grass cover.
Klipspringer
Klipspringer (Oreotmgus oreotragus)
Size: Shoulder height (m) 60cm, (f) 65cm; weight (m)
Colour: From yellow to grey, speckled with brown; the top
Habitat: Rocky locations, including mountains and gorges.
Kudu
Koedoe (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)
Size: Shoulder height (m) 1,45m, (f) 1,25m; weight(m) 250 kg, (f) 200 kg.
Colour: Greyish fawn, with narrow, vertical white stripes on sides and rump, a short ridge of white hair along the centre of the hack, and a white chevron between the eyes. Males have a brown and white fringe from throat to base of neck.
Habitat: Savanna woodland or scrub, especially close to water and rocky terrain.
Leopard
Luiperd (Panthem pardus)
Size: Shoulder height 75cm; weight (m) 60 kg, (f)32kg.
Colour: Ground colour is off-white to golden, with black spots on the legs, shoulders, head and hindquarters, and irregular, light-centred ‘rosettes’ scattered profusely over the back and sides.
Habitat: Wide range of habitats includes open savanna, forested terrain, mountains and rocky hills.
Mountain Reedbuck
Rooiribbok (Redunca fulvorufula)
Size: Shoulder height (m) 0,8m, (f) 0,7m; weight (m) 30 kg, (f) 28 kg. Only males carry the short, ridged, forward-curving horns.
Colour: The soft, woolly coat is reddish grey or grey fawn. Undersides, including underside of short brown bushy tail, are white. Black gland patches under ears.
Habitat: Dry, grassy hill- slopes and lower mountain-slopes, usually near water.
Porcupine
Ystervark (Hystrix africaeaustralis)
Size: Length 84cm; weight 17kg.
Colour: White, black-ringed quilb and spines cover flanks, tail and upper part of body, while the head carries a crest of flexible black spines with white tips. Remainder of body has coarse black hair, fading to brown in older animals.
Habitat: A wide variety of habitats including mountains, though not forests or dry desert.
Rock Hyrax
Dassie (Procavia capensis)
Size: Length 55cm; weight(m)3,75kg, (f) 3,55kg.
Colour: Various shades of brown, from dark brown to yellow-grey, with brindling. Neck and flanks lighter than back. Throat and belly lighter brown, but not whitish. A patch of long black hair covers dorsal gland in centre of back.
Habitat: Rocky outcrops in the form of koppies, krantzes and mountain slopes.
Small Grey Mongoose
Kleingrysmuishond (Galerella pulverulenta)
Size: Length (including extended tail) 64 cm; weight (m)900g,(f)680g.
Colour: Speckled dark grey (but lighter grey in dry regions). Underparts occasionally lighter and less speckled.
Habitat: Wide range of habitats, from dry bush country to rocky slopes and forested areas, and from coast to Karoo.
Springhare
Springhaas (Pedetes capensis)
Size: Length (including tail) 80cm; weight 3 kg.
Colour: Varies from pale reddish brown to yellowish grey, and with a slightly darker tail broadly black at the tip. The underparts (including tail) and insides of legs white or whitish yellow. Large, dark eyes which shine bright yellow-orange in torchlight.
Habitat: Sandy ground covered with scrub, low bush or low grass; this includes the fringes of cultivated land and vleis.
Steenbok
Steenbok (Raphicerus campestris)
Size: Shoulder height 52cm; weight 11 kg. Only the ram has horns – usually about 9cm long.
Colour: Varies above from a rich reddish brown to a lighter reddish fawn. There is a dark patch above the nose, and a dark marking on the forehead. Throat, eyebrows, abdomen, underside of tail and insides of legs are white. Upperside of tail reddish fawn.
Habitat: Prefers flat, open country, grassy or lightly wooded, and avoids mountain slopes. Cover is essential.
Suricate
Stokstertmeerkat (Suricata suricatta)
Size: Length (including tail) 50cm; weight 730g.
Colour: Varies from silver-grey to greyish brown, with irregular, often indistinct brown or black bands across the back, from shoulders to base of tail. Head and throat often whitish, with dark nose, ears and circles around eyes. The tip of the tail is also dark.
Habitat: Arid, open country, including scrub, grassland and fynbos in the southwestern Cape.
Yellow Mongoose
Witkwasmuishond (Cynictis penicillata)
Size: Length (including tail) 50cm; weight 590 g.
Colour: A varied spectrum, from brindled grey in the north of the distribution area (Botswana) to reddish yellow or yellowish brown in the south (Cape) – with intermediate gradations of colour. Southern specimens have a white- tipped tail; Botswana specimens have uniformly grey tails. The eyes are yellow.
Habitat: Open country, from semi-desert scrubland to grassland in the vicinity of vleis. The species avoids deserts, thick bush and forests.