Africa – Page 3 – See Animals Wild

Black backed jackal

Found across much of southern

and eastern Africa, they are relatively small (similar size to a red fox) and for the most part are scavengers, though when they have to, they can be successful hunters in their own rights.

If you spend more than a few days in the wildernesses in either country, you are likely to encounter black backed jackals.

In the Drakensburg mountains of South africa, they have been recorded at a density of 2-3 per square km, while in the Serengeti, they are found at densities of 50-80 per 100 square km.

They are far from endangered, but not the easiest animal to spot.

We aim to list some places where this is an easy animal to see, at the bottom of the page

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Atlantic Humpback Dolphin

The Atlantic humpback dolphin is a dolphin species that is found on the west coastal areas of Africa. Unfortunately the IUCN classes it as critically endangered. Apart from their difference in range with the Indo-Pacific dolphin, they are also different in appearance, particularly colouring.

It is found along the coast from the Sahara to Angola, generally in water less than 20m deep. It is generally shy, does not ride the bow wave of boats and ariel jumps are pretty rare. Usually found in groups of 1-8, occasionally they have been seen in groups of 20-40.

Generally they look for food in the shallows, and occasionally right in the surf. They have been known to engage in cooperative fishing methods with Mauritanian Imraguen fishermen. They do this by driving the fish towards the shore and into the nets. They favour inshore fish such as mullet.

As in many other parts of the world, and other dolphin species, one of the biggest threats they face is incidental capture in gill nets.

It is considered critically endangered, partly because it has been shown to be damaged by coastal development, and this is increasingly common in its range. We are eager to support its future survival, through any tourism (this helps giving value to the species, and therefore makes sure that local people are invested in its future survival. If you work in tourism of this species, click on the “list your wild place” link on the home page. These links when added, will be added at the bottom of the page. If you work in conservation of this species, do join as a member, we are keen to publish any news that you might have.

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Pygmy Sperm Whale

The Pygmy sperm whale is one of just two species from the Superfamily Kogiidae, the other one being the Sperm whale. They are seen very rarely, with the majority of the knowledge about them, coming from carcasses that wash up on the beach. It was first described in 1834 based on a skull that washed up on the coast of france in 1784 (50 years earlier). While originally placed in the same genus as the sperm whale, it was moved to its own genus Kogia, as it is actually a species which is half way between the dolphins and the sperm whale.

They grow to around 3.5m, which is smaller than many dolphin species.

It has a far smaller brain than the sperm whale (even by comparison size) which my explain why it has such a lot more simple social life.

Pygmy sperm whales are found throughout the tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, though there are also seen regularly off Russia. Fossils in Japan, Italy South Africa have been found, suggesting that they were more widely spread. The problem is, that seen rarely at sea, and with most of what we know about coming from carcasses, we have little idea if dead and dying animals behave differently to healthy ones.

Seen rarely, I have been unable to find out how long they can hold their breath, though as the sperm whale can hold its breath for 90 minutes, so its likely that the pygmy sperm whale is also an impressive breath holder – this would explain why they are seen so rarely.

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Southern right whale

The Southern right whale, like the other species in its genus, was hunted incredibly close to extinction. As a wide ranging species, when the population fell possibly as low as 300 in 1920 – so this species was saved by its low numbers, not the ban on hunting in 1935, which likely would have come too late.

It should be noted that Russia ignored this role until 1970. During these 35 years, many were killed by Russia, and when I say many, we are talking hundreds of thousands of species that everyone else was trying to save.

The population is now thought to be around 13,600, which is an impressive increase in around 100 years, of around 45 times increase. The historical population is estimated to lie between 55,000 and 70,000.

So where can they be watched? Far and away, the best known place to see them is Hermanus in South Africa, where around 100 whales congregate each year. I have seen them here, and it is a relatively easy species to see if you are in the right place. They are found from around around 20 degrees South to 65 degrees South around the world. In the past New Zealand was a fantastic place to watch them, and in recent years they returned for the first time in 80 years. They are also naturally seen in big numbers around Australia, and places like Patagonia.

Links will appear below as we make them

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Elephant

Elephant family tree

African Savannah African forest, and Asian Elephant

There are 3 species of elephant in the world (these come from two closely related genera, Loxodonta (the African elephant genus, and Elephas the Asian elephant genus, both are dealt with on this page). They are a good indicator species, as if an area is capable of supporting elephants, it can probably support most other species as well (those above are in the same order, should you not recognize them).

The African Savannah elephant (left) and African Forest Elephant elephant (right) are both part of the same genus – Loxodonta. The Asian elephant (only one species, though a 3 subspecies Sri Lankan elephant, Mainland Asian elephant and Sumatran Elephant) is the only member of the genus Elephas. It is important to remember, that while the mammoth is a well known extinct species like the Elephant, it is estimated that there have been 180 different elephantine species in earths history.

Click on the one you are interested below, to find out more (along with seeing longer videos on each separate species), or scroll down to read all the articles we have written on elephants.

African Savannah Elephant

Asiatic Elephant

African forest elephant

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We already have a number of places to view wild savannah elephants. Click on wild places or here, for all our savannah destinations in Africa. All the savannahs have elephants, Except the mountain gorilla reserve, which has forest elephants – often seen on a walk in this reserve.

Should you work in tourism or conservation, and would like to list another destination, either of this species of elephant, or indeed of African forest elephants or Asian elephants, you will find a link at the top of the main page “list your wild place” or alternatively click here.

Bovini family or wild cattle

Bovini or the family of all wild cattle species

Bovinae is a biological family of cloven hooved family Each of these three tribes encompass a variety of species and we will deal with these tribes one by one. The Bovinae family includes all bovids, which are ruminant mammals (cloven hooved) which include all of the worlds cattle, yaks, bison, buffalo antelopes (which include goat-antelope) goats and sheep.

This family currently has 143 surviving species, with 300 known species. it has 11 major families and 13 major tribes.

This family first appeared 20 million years ago. Below is the initial splits into 3 in this family. It should be noted that not all these families will be relevant at the current time – but as destinations grow all should be fully relevant.

four-horned antelope

African buffalo

Tragelaphini (spiral-horned antelopes) A Kudu

So, firstly Borselaphini, this consists of just 2 species, the Nilgai and the 4-horned

four-horned antelope

Nilgai

The next tribe (below) is Bovini, which includes 3 families. These vary in size quite widely with the middle one only containing one species

Bovini Family - here an African Buffalo

psuedorygina Family - containing just Saola

Bos Family - here American Bison

The first family Bubalina contains 2 Genus Syncerus only contains one species (first) the rest are from Bubalina

Genus Syncerus Genus Bubalus

African buffalo

Lowland Anoa

Mountain Anoa

African forest buffalo (congo buffalo)

Tamaraw

water buffalo

The second family contains one genus psuedorygina which contains one species the Saola

Bovina contains 1 Bison subgenus (it used to contain 2 but the Genus Bos became a subgenus (it should be noted there are far more subgenus that are extinct). Also, for simplicity sake, any subspecies will only be mentioned in each species page.

Subgenus Bos poephagus Bison & Bos Bibos

Bos is domestic cattle

_Taurus originate in Africa, _Mutus=wild Yak, Bos_Indicus Domestic cattle Originate in Himilayas Originate in India, fatty hump (first on second row) and Aurochs

Finally tribe Tragelaphini or spiral horned antelope contains 5 genus. The first 4 contain 1 species (in order) the last genus has 3 species. If I cover subspecies these will be in their own pages

Genus Ammelaphus Genus Nyala Genus Tragelaphus Genus Taurotragus Genus Strepsiceros

lesser kudu - Genus Ammelaphus

nyala - Genus Nyala

Eland - Genus Taurotragus Wagner

greater kudu - Genus Strepsiceros

Mountain nyala

giant eland (eastern and western)

Bushbuck

Bongo

Situnga

Bovidae family (including Aegodontia &Boodontia & Caprinae) or Antelope family tree

Bovidae family (including Aegodontia &Boodontia) or Antelope family tree

Antelope lie in the Bovidae family, and account for around 2/3 of the 135 Bovidae species that exist in the world. It should be noted that deer come from the family Cervidae, which means that despite looking extremely similar, antelope are more closely related to cattle than they are to deer.

There are 91 antelope species in the world with 72 found in Africa, 14 in Asia, with the last 5 found in Eastern Europe.

There are 8 subfamilies in Africa

1. Bovinae (Bushbuck)

2. Reduncinae (Boher reedbuck)

3. Peleinae (grey rhebok)

4. Alcelaphinae (Hirola)

5. Hippotraginae (Beisa Oryx)

Impala

7. Antilopinae (Bates’ Pigmy Antelope)

Abbott’s Duiker

1. Subfamily Bovinae

Spiral horned antelopes made up of tribe Tragelaphini: 9 species 4 subspecies.

1. Bovinae (Bushbuck)

common eland

Giant eland (eastern and western subspecies)

2. Subfamily Reduncinae

Rhebok, reedbucks, and waterbucks 8 Species, 11 Subspecies

2. Reduncinae (Boher reedbuck)

3. Subfamily Peleinae:

1 Species

Grey rhebok

4. Subfamily Alcelaphinae

Sassabies, hartebeests, and wildebeests: 6 Species (depending on how you count, it can be anywhere from 6 to 10) , 19 Subspecies

4. Alcelaphinae (Hirola)

Tsessebe (Topi Sasseby and Tiang)

Bontebok

Genus Alcelaphus, Hartebeest

Blue wildebeest

Black wildebeest

5. Subfamily Hippotraginae

Grazing antelope: 7 Species, 4 Subspecies

5. Hippotraginae (Beisa Oryx)

scimitar oryx

6. Subfamily Aepycerotinae

Impala: 1 Species which is impala, 2 Subspecies

Impala

7. Subfamily Antilopinae

Gazelles, dwarf antelopes

- Tribe Antilopini: 10 Species, 4 Subspecies

Slender horned gazelle

Tribe Ammodorcadini: 1 Species

dibatag

Tribe Neotragini: 13 Species, 4 Subspecies

7. Antilopinae (Bates’ Pigmy Antelope)

8. Subfamily Cephalophinae

Duiker: 17 Species, 7 Subspecies

Grey Duiker or common

If you want to return to the Ruminants family page click here

Caprinae

The Caprinae family is a close relation of Alcelaphinae & Hippotraginae (subfamily 4 and 5 on this page) but this family consists of the worlds goats and sheep.

This consists of 9 genus with just 1 species in each (and one further extinct so not included here) and then 5 genus with more than that.

Firstly dealing with each genus with only one species.

Arabian Tahr

Barbary Sheep

Bharal genus Pseudois

Himalayan Tahr

mountain goat

Musk ox

Nilgiri Tahr genus Nilgiritragus

Takin genus Budorcas

tibetan antelope genus Pantholops

Next the Capra genus, which consists of the worlds Ibex species

west asian ibex or wild goat

West Caucasian tur

Next the Ovis family (sheep species)

Two species of Chamois remain

Alpine chamois

Pyrenees chamois

The second last group is the Serow (6 species)

The last group is the Goral

Domestic cat

Domestic cats are thought to have been first tamed back around 10,000 somwhere in the middle east. Unfortunately, as this is the cat that makes up the worldwide domestic cat population (almost exclusively) in many regions like Scotland, while reduction in numbers made specific subspecies of wildcat endangered, it has often been hybridisation that has pushed them over the edge.

There is little point in showing a map of the world, as they are found in almost every human population. It is thought that there are at least 200 million across the globe

Domestic cats are thought to have been tamed in Israel, which has unfortunately meant that this species of wild cat is now spread across the globe – many local species of wildcat have become extinct through hybridisation, the British wildcat is just one such example. There are now only pure British wildcats in captivity, and while there are still quite a few living wild in Scotland they have Asiatic wildcat features. This has happened in many places and solutions are not yet forthcoming.

While unfortunate, there is still work being done. In the UK there are plans to clear a peninsular of domestic cats, and re-establish a wildcat population. Only in situations like Scotland is hybridization likely, the most common reaction to a wildcat meeting a domestic cat is for the wildcat to kill the domestic cat. I hope to live to see the wildcat roaming Scotland once more, but we will se what happens.

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They are not hard to see if you are in the right place. I have seen them in Africa, take a night drive in almost any nature reserve. Links will be added below.

Cougar (Puma, mountain-lion, Catamount even Panther)

Cougar, Puma or mountain-lion

This cat is a large cat that is native to much of North and South America, second only to the Jaguar.

For most classifications, the cougar misses out on being a big cat, as it does not have the vocal structure to roar, as the others do.

It is largely solitary, and is generally a nocturnal or crepuscular cat (that is active at night or in the early morning and late evening). They have been persecuted since the colonization of north America by the Europeans, which has lead to patchy coverage. The Eastern Cougar is extinct, except for a sub-population called the Florida Panther which is isolated from any other Cougars. It is in better state in the west of the USA. In Southern and central America, it is still found in every country. In fact, it holds a classification of being the most widespread mammal to be found in the Western hemisphere.

It is a close relative of the Cheetah, which is believed to have initially evolved in the USA before migrating into Asia and Africa. The only animal which shares the same clade is the jaguarundi is the cougar, though the larger family called a Lineage and does include the cheetah

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Caracal

Caracals are nocturnal, which means that they are often not spotted. Indeed, in our time in South Africa, it was the only local cat which we did not see. It has a huge distribution, which includes Africa, the middle east, central Asia and even parts of northern India and Pakistan. It is an expert jumper, and often catches birds in flight, being able to jump more than 3m straight up. It comes from the same genetic line as the serval and the African Golden cat.

Generally, while it is wide spread and usually relatively plentiful it is an animal that either takes a lot of luck or a great deal of patience to see it in the wild.

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Tag: Africa

Black backed jackal

Atlantic humpback dolphin

Atlantic Humpback Dolphin

Pygmy Sperm Whale

Southern right whale

Southern right whale

Elephant

Elephant family tree

African Savannah African forest, and Asian Elephant

Bovini family or wild cattle

Bovini or the family of all wild cattle species

5. Subfamily Hippotraginae

6. Subfamily Aepycerotinae

Caprinae

Domestic cat

Domestic cat

Cougar (Puma, mountain-lion, Catamount even Panther)

Cougar, Puma or mountain-lion

Caracal

Caracal

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Casual readers and watchers

Atlantic Humpback Dolphin

Southern right whale

Elephant family tree

African Savannah African forest, and Asian Elephant

Bovini or the family of all wild cattle species

Bovidae family (including Aegodontia &Boodontia) or Antelope family tree

1. Subfamily Bovinae

2. Subfamily Reduncinae

3. Subfamily Peleinae:

4. Subfamily Alcelaphinae

5. Subfamily Hippotraginae

6. Subfamily Aepycerotinae

7. Subfamily Antilopinae

8. Subfamily Cephalophinae

Caprinae

Domestic cat

Cougar, Puma or mountain-lion

Caracal

Read more news

Join as a wild memberto list your wild place & log in

Join as an Associate memberto assist as a writer, creator, lister etc & to log in

List a wild destination

List a destination in the shadow of man

List a hide for animals more easily seen this way

Highlight some newsmissed, or submit a one-off article

Browse destinations for fun or future travel

Temporary membershipstart here if in a hurry

Casual readers and watchers

Join as a wild member
to list your wild place & log in

Join as an Associate member
to assist as a writer, creator, lister etc & to log in

List a destination in
the shadow of man

Highlight some news
missed, or submit a
one-off article

Temporary membership
start here if in a hurry