If you are a part of the extremely privileged minority lucky enough to have experienced a safari adventure, there is no doubt that you have witnessed some of the majestic animals that can be seen at game reserves around South Africa including a Sabi Sands safari and Kruger Park Tour. South Africa is lucky enough to be home to an array of wildlife animals, all with their own unique animal facts, making every animal in these African game reserves different. If you are a fact fundi and enjoy learning about animals, then here is a list of weird and wonderful animal facts about the wildlife that inhabit game reserves around South Africa.
Cheetah facts:
1. Even though the Cheetah can be found in South Africa, the origin of its name comes from India. Cheetah is an Indian word and it quite simply means “spotted one.”
2. An animal fact that you might not know is that a cheetah cub is not born with a golden, spotted coat. A new born cub is blue-grey in colour and this only changes when the cub is a few weeks old.
3. Many of us know that a Cheetah can run up to 96 kilometres in one short burst, but many of us do not know that this happens quicker than we can imagine. It takes a cheetah only three seconds to accelerate from 0-100kmph.
Elephant facts:
1. If you thought carrying a child for nine months of your life was difficult on your body, then this must be an easy task for an elephant. The gestation period for a pregnant elephant is 22 months (nearly two years) before they give birth.
2. An elephants trunk is made up of 40 000 muscles and has an astonishing amount of dexterity. Elephants use their trunks for a variety of functions, including picking up their food and greeting one another with a friendly trunk twist.
3. Animal facts can be similar to human facts too! An elephants tusks can be left or right handed just as we are. The dominant tusk is normally shorter as it is used more. This tusk is also known as the major tusk.
Giraffe facts:
1. A giraffes tongue can be as long as 45centrimetres – that is the length of one and a half rulers.
2. Giraffes are not big on getting a full night’s sleep. Unlike other animals that sleep for hours on end, the giraffe only needs anywhere from five to 30 minutes of sleep over 24 hours. And when it does sleep, it does this standing up.
3. Giraffes contain elastic blood vessels in their neck. This is how they can lean down to a stream and drink water without fainting from the strain.
These are only a few interesting animal facts that make wildlife animals some of the most fascinating species on earth.