Animal Sightings

These are some of the animals to be seen at Bivack:

	Lion The lion is not known as the "King of beasts" without reason. As the largest of the cat family, its strength lies not only in its impressive muscular presence but also in the size of its family group or pride, the size of which can be up to 12 in members. Despite his fearsome reputation, the male lion is surprisingly indulgent of his offspring, their vigorous play a training ground for their futures as hunters.
	Leopard Champion of the bush, the leopard is sleek and solitary. Although physically smaller than the lion, it is bigger in spirit and with its excellent vision and hearing, makes a formidable nocturnal hunter. It stalks its prey in complete silence before puncing on it and killing it. If it believes its prey is at risk of being snatched, it will drag its prey up a tree, even where the animals weighs 70 kilograms.
	Caracal One of the smaller cats, a caracal is usually identified by the black and white markings on its face and the black tuft of hair at the top of its ears. The caracal hunts mainly small to medium-size mammals, up to the size of bushbuck ewes. It stalks its prey as close as possible and then relies on a direct pounce or short, fast run.
	Hippopotomus This large rotund animal with a mass of up to 2 tons spends much of the day lying in water, only coming out at night to move to feeding grounds, sometimes travelling up to 30 kilometers at a time. The hippo is extremely vocal and its deep roaring grunts and snorts constitute one of the typical sounds at Bivack (our resident hippo is one of the reasons we do not encourage people to go walking around at night!)
	Elephant The elephant is the largest land mammal in the world and is easily identified by its long trunk, large ears and its tusks. Its trunk is extremely mobile and is almost as efficient as a human's hand, whereas its large ears assist in cooling the body. Although the elephant is active in the night and day, it usually rests in the shade in the heat of the day. Usually a peaceful animal but when wounded or sick or in defence of a calf, it can be quite dangerous.
	Blue Wildebeest Reaching a weight of up to 250kg, this animal is dark grey in colour, with a mane of long black hair down the back of the neck and a beard of black hair on the throat. Both sexes have horns and they have a black horse-like tail. Blue wildebeest are mainly grazers, showing a preference for short green grass. Access to drinking water is essential.
	Waterbuck A large robust animal, it is grey-brown in colour and is easily identified by the broad white circle on its rump (according to folklore, the waterbuck walked off with their toilet seats). They are always associated with water, preferring areas with tall grass as well as woodland.
	Giraffe With its long legs and neck, and the patchwork patterns all over its bosy, the giraffe cannot be mistaken for any other species. Giraffe are very active during the day and night but usually rest during the hot midday hours. They are primarily broswers, their long necks and legs giving them access to a wide variety of trees and bushes beyond the reach of other animals. Although they are generally believed to be silent, they do have a range of grunting and snorting calls.
	Lesser Bushbaby The Lesser Bushbaby is nocturnal and feeds mainly on the gum of trees but they also eat insects, which they catch with their hands. Although they have small heads, their eyes are very large in comparison, with black rings around them. They are impressive athletes, jumping considerable distances from branch to branch and tree to tree. The eyes of the Lesser Bushbaby normally reflect a reddish glow in torchlight.
	Cheetah Also known as the "greyhound of cats" (both because of its appearance and because of its incredible speed), is probably the most elegant member of the cat family. Its distinguishing features are the black dots that appear all over its body and the black lines ("tear marks") that run from its eyes to its mouth. As the fastest mammal on earth, its hunting skills normally involve a short stalk and then a sprint in for the kill. Although they may reach top speeds of more than 70km per hour, this can only be sustained for a few hundred meters.
	Rock Dassie Often found in rock habitat, they are quite small with a stocky build. Normally they only become active after sunrise, when they lie for some time in the rocks in the sun to warm up before moving off to feed. While the group basks in the sun, a "guard" stands watch for predators, giving a sharp cry if they are disturbed. Feeding usually takes place on the ground but they will climb trees to feed on leaves, bark and fruits.
	Spotted Hyena In the past labelled as a cowardly scavenger, it is now known that the Hyena is an effective hunter. With its extremely powerful jaws, it rips its prey to pieces, whether hunting alone or in packs. Numerous dark brown spots or blotches cover its body and its heavily built forequarters stand higher than its rump. Although nocturnal, they are often seen in the day as well. They are responsible for some of the most haunting noises heard around the fireside at Bivack...
	Black-backed Jackal Of medium size and with a dark, white-flecked "saddle" on its back, this animal looks very similar to a dog in appearance. It is well known for its wariness and cunning and is known to eat a wide variety of food items, from antelope to insects and berries. Its call is quite characteristic and has often been heard at night at Bivack.
	Suricate Small in size, the Suricate frequently stands on its hindlegs, using its tail for support. It is active during the day and lives in groups of between 5 and 40 in number. When foraging or on the move, it maintains communication with a constant soft grunting. It eats mainly insects but is also known to like reptiles and birds.
	Banded Mongoose This small animal has 10-12 distinctive dark bands on its back (hence its name). It is highly social species, forming groups of more than 50 members at a time. Like the suricates, they communicate with constant soft calls and enjoy eating insects, reptiles and birds.
	Vervet Monkey This is a well-known animal with its grizzled grey hair, black face and typical monkey appearance. Living in troops of up to 20 or more, they are active in the day and sleep at night in trees. There is a clear "pecking order" in each group, a fact often seen on Bivack! They are mainly vegetarian but also eat birds from time to time. They tend to raid crops and gardens and are consequently heavily persecuted.