The Kori Bustard is the largest bird native to Africa that can fly. They generally weigh between 12-42 pounds and are found in Southern Africa as well as Eastern Africa. They seldom fly and forage on the ground for food as diverse as seeds, insects and small reptiles.
The only true fox found in Southern Africa is the Cape fox, also called the silver fox. Typically they are solitary hunters at night so we were fortunate to have a rare sighting in the Kalahari in the day time.
One of the most fascinating experiences we had was time spent with the San people: the Bushmen of the Kalahari. They have survived at least 20,000 years in that arid part of Botswana and Namibia. They started this camp fire by spinning fire sticks to get sparks to ignite dry vegetation.
A South African oryx is also called a gemsbok. It’s a very large antelope that weighs around 400 pounds and is designed for desert life. Despite the long, sharp horns they carry they depend primarily on their speed to escape from predators.
This family of Cape ground squirrels typically forages most of the day. They get the moisture they need from their food instead of drinking water. Their bushy tails serve as umbrellas to protect them from the desert sun. The underground burrows protect them from extreme weather as well as from predators.
