I'm back! For anyone wondering why I've been reposting old pieces for the last few weeks, it's because my wife and I were enjoying a much-deserved holiday in South Africa. I'll stick a link to some photos shortly, but for the moment, here's some post-holiday geekery for you.
The trip was a wildlife extravaganza. We spent four days in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve (just south of Kruger), as well as whale-watching, various walks through national parks and four fabulous hours tracking wild meerkats. I'll be sticking up details and photos over the coming weeks/months, but for now, here's a full list of the species we saw.
I've restricted it to only those animals that we saw in the wild, and then only those that I could identify down to the species level (which explains why the bird list isn't longer and why they're all vertebrates). Asterisks denote species that I have photos of.
Mammals
Southern right whale, Eubalaena australis *
Leopard, Panthera pardus *
Spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta *
Meerkat, Suricata suricatta *
Slender mongoose, Galerella sanguinea
White-tailed mongoose, Ichneumia albicauda
Dwarf mongoose, Helogale parvula *
Cape fur seal, Arctocephalus pusillus
Rock hyrax, Procavia capensis *
African bush elephant, Loxodonta africana *
Chacma baboon, Papio cynocephalus *
Lesser bushbaby, Galago moholi
Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius *
White rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum *
Plain's zebra, Equus burchelli *
Warthog, Phacochoerus aethiopicus *
Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis *
Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer *
Nyala, Tragelaphus angasi *
Kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros*
Bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus *
Eland, Taurotragus oryx *
Springbok, Antidorcas marsupalis
Common duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia
Steenbok Raphicerus campestris
Waterbuck, Kobus ellipsiprymnus
Impala, Aepyceros melampus *
Blue wildebeest, Connochaetes taurinus *
Bontebok, Damaliscus pygargus pygargus*
Striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio
Smith's bush squirrel, Paraxerus cepapi*
Scrubhare, Lepus saxatilis
Birds
Ostrich, Struthio camelus *
African penguin, Spheniscus demersus *
White-breasted cormorant, Phalacrocorax lucidus *
Cape cormorant, Phalacrocorax capensis *
Grey heron, Ardea cinerea *
Cattle egret,Bubulcus ibis
Hadada ibis, Bostrychia hagedash *
Sacred ibis, Threskiornis aethiopicus
Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus *
Yellow-billed kite, Milvus aegyptius *
African Fish eagle, Haliaeetus vocifer *
White-backed vulture, Gyps africanus *
Bateleur, Terathopius ecaudatus *
Gymnogene (African harrier-hawk), Polyboroides typus
Wahlberg's eagle, Aquila wahlbergi *
Martial eagle, Polemaetus bellicosus *
Shelley's francolin, Francolinus shelleyi
Helmeted guineafowl, Numida meleagris *
Blue crane, Grus paradisea *
Red-knobbed coot, Fulica cristata
Red-crested korhaan, Lophotis ruficrista
Blacksmith plover, Vanellus armatus *
Three-banded plover, Charadrius tricollaris *
Kelp gull, Larus dominicanus *
Hartlaub's gull, Chroicocephalus hartlaubii
Spotted eagle-owl, Bubo africanus
European roller, Coracias garrulus
Southern Yellow-billed hornbill, Tockus leucomelas *
Black-collared barbet, Lybius torquatus *
Crested barbet, Trachyphonus vaillantii *
Cardinal woodpecker, Dendropicos fuscescens *
Yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava *
Malachite sunbird, Nectarinia famosa
Greater double-collared sunbird, Cinnyris afer *
Lesser double-collared sunbird, Cinnyris chalybeus
Eurasian golden oriole, Oriolus oriolus
Fiscal shrike, Lanius collaris
Magpie shrike, Corvinella melanoleuca *
Fork-tailed drongo, Dicrurus adsimilis
Cape crow, Corvus capensis *
Pied crow, Corvus albus
Red-winged starling, Onychognathus morio *
Cape glossy starling, Lamprotornis nitens
Yellow-billed oxpecker, Buphagus africanus *
Red bishop, Euplectes orix *
Cape weaver, Ploceus capensis *
Blue swallow, Hirundo atrocaerulea
Cape white-eye, Zosterops pallidus,
Lemon dove, Columba larvata
Reptiles and amphibians
Black girdled lizard, Cordylus niger *
Southern rock agama Agama atra *
Foamy nest frog, Chiromantis rufescens *
Leopard Tortoise, Geochelone pardalis