Some fun facts about Rhinos.

The word rhinoceros comes from two Greek words...

rhino, meaning nose and ceros meaning horn.

Together with Hippo and elephants,

rhino are one of the largest land mammals on the African continent.

Despite all the anti-poaching measures in place,

they are still the most poached species after the pangolin.

There is a thriving Eastern market for rhino horn

and it is claimed to have medicinal properties.

Originally it was used as an aphrodisiac,

but of late it has also been used as a cure for certain types of cancer.

Neither of these claims is correct as the horn is made up of keratin,

the same substance that our nails and hair contains.

Yellow billed Oxpeckers have a symbiotic relationship with rhino,

and several other mammal species.

They help get rid of ticks and other extoparasites.

They can also act as an alarm and will warn the animal if there is a possible threat. 

Male rhino mark their territory by spraying urine 

and by defecating into well used areas called middens.

These middens are used as "message boards" by the local rhino population.

Males can tell if females are ready to mate, 

and they can also be made aware if other males are encroaching on their territory.

Unlike the Oxpecker, the relationship between a cattle egret

 and a rhino only suits the former!

The Egrets will use the rhino as a vantage point and they will eat

the insects disturbed when the rhino walks through the grass.

They offer the rhino nothing in return...

The White Rhino is not white, it is in fact grey.

The name is derived from the Dutch "Wijd" meaning wide.

Being a grazer, the shape of the mouth is very important.

Rhino have a great sense of smell and hearing, 

but have poor eyesight, often having difficulty identifying objects beyond 30m.

The rarely seen Black Rhino.

Again the name has nothing to do with the colour.

This species is a browser and the mouth has a hook like appearance.

This prehensile upper lip is used to remove leaves and twigs when it forages.

There are 5 living rhino species found currently in the wild.

The White and Black, found in Africa.

And the Indian, Javan and Sumatran all found in Asia.

The collective noun for all species is a "crash".

Rhino love to wallow.

The dried mud on their skin protects them from the sun.

They will rub off the mud against trees and rocks, 

removing both the mud and parasites at the same time

Most wild rhino calves will never meet their fathers,

as the males play no role in raising the young.

Females will reproduce every 2.5-5 years

and the calves normally remain with the mother for around 3 years.

Don't turn your back on the opportunity to enjoy some time 

at one of the current Tented Adventures campsites.

Check out their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/

To find out more about what we offer,

visit our website:

http://www.tentedadventures.com

Tented Adventures recently won a Lilizela Tourism award!

Well done to all concerned.

then check out their Facebook page and make a booking:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/

Hip, hip Hippo...not an animal to be trifled with

THIS is usually the first inkling at a guest gets

that there might be a hippo in any given body of water.

Much like an iceberg, the majority of this creature is hidden beneath the surface.

Interesting fact: Hippo can neither swim nor float!

To get around in the water, they sink to the bottom and run.

Their closest living relatives are the whale family.

They are currently found only on the African continent,

but together with lions and other African animal species,

they roamed prehistoric Britain.

Hippo remains have been unearthed in Trafalgar Square.

Hippo are relatively social mammals, often living together in pods.

That being said, bulls can be very territorial in the water

 and will defend their space vigorously.

In times of drought, when water resources dry up, 

these fights often end in death 

Turtles seem to like to use the back of a hippo as an island.

In several instances, more than one turtle has been recorded on a single hippo.

Hippo have to surface every 3-5 minutes to breath.

This action is automatic, and even if they are asleep underwater

they will rise to the surface without waking.

Something not often witnessed.

This hippo was rolling over in order to get rid of the turtle.

Once it surfaced and was again relaxed, the turtle climbed back on!

This is when hippo are the most dangerous.

The people that they kill usually get caught when a grazing hippo is returning to water.

Seeing that the animal eats mainly at night, 

this scenario often plays out where humans and animals share space.

Although they are not included in the "Big 5", they should be.

Hippo are extremely aggressive and are responsible for more human deaths

 on an annual basis, than all of the other 5 combined.

Only the mosquito claims more African lives.

Hippo can be "playful".

As can be seen in this interaction between a cow and her calf.

Much like human playtime, there is always a lesson to be learned.

The cows have one calf every two years and

 the youngsters weigh in at about 45kgs at birth.

This interaction lasted for about 20 minutes before the calf tired

and decided that lying on mom was a better idea.

Calves can suckle on land or in the water.

The word Hippopotamus come from the Ancient Greek

and it means River Horse.

Although bull can weigh up to 1500 kg, (3306 lb)

and cows 1300 kg,( 2866 lb) they only consume 1.5% (68kg/150 lb)

 of their body weigh in food daily.

They will forage for around 4-5 hours per night and can travel up to 10 km.

Although bulky, they can attain speeds of up to 30kph (18 mph) when running on land.

Not a usual sight...

Hippo are not normally seen grazing during the day 

and certainly not amongst other species.

Hippo do not sweat, but they secrete a reddish oily substance, 

giving rise to the myth that they are sweating blood.

This substance acts as a moisturiser as well as a sunblock.

Don't turn your back on the opportunity to enjoy some time 

at one of the current Tented Adventures campsites.

Check out their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/

To find out more about what we offer,

visit our website:

http://www.tentedadventures.com

Tented Adventures recently won a Lilizela Tourism award!

Well done to all concerned.

then check out their Facebook page and make a booking:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/

The elephant in the room...fun facts about Loxodonta africana

The first time that guests set eyes on the largest land mammal

in the world, the reaction is often incredulity.

"We never realised that they were so HUGE"

Bull elephants can reach a shoulder height of 4m (13ft)

and weight of  around 6000kg (16000lbs)

The largest recorded African Elephant was 4m (13ft) tall

and weighed 11000kg (24000lbs).

A juvenile trying to intimidate this photographer.

Even at this size and elephant can inflict severe damage. 

That being said, the "cuteness" factor is one that keeps guests enthralled.

This youngster looks like it has a very quizzical look on its face.

Up close...

The eyes of wisdom?

Looking down on the rest of the world,

with no natural enemies other than humans.

To this day they are still hunted for their ivory.

Elephants can spend up to 18 hours a day foraging for food and water.

They regularly consume 660kg (300lbs) of plant material

and drink in excess of 22lt (52.8gal) of water on a daily basis.

They do sleep, but that is usually done in an upright position.

Lying down, which they can accomplish, puts a strain on their internal organs.

Fun fact #125: If lost, tail hairs to not re-grow. 

Often called "Grey Ghosts" they can appear and disappear in almost silence.

This is as a result of their foot structure.

The foot is made up of a thick spongy pad that acts as a shock-absorber,

and the animal is actually walking on its toes...

Cows are fiercely protective of their offspring.

The herds are controlled by a matriarch and 

the rest of the females will fulfil the role of aunts.

The young are well cared for and the herd will discipline and educate them,

Young bulls are forced out of the herds when they reach sexual maturity,

and have to go off and fend for themselves. 

Elephants do not have great eyesight,

but they have a well developed sense of smell.

Their trunks are amazing.

Consisting of 40000 muscles, they can use it to drink water,

tear down branches or even pick up tiny objects.

Both bulls and cows can have tusks. 

These are actually upper incisor teeth that have evolved,

and can be up to 2m in length.

When stressed, both sexes will flap their ears to make them look larger than they are.

The ears are also used to cool the animal down.

There are a series of veins an capillaries in the back of the ear 

and when the ear is active the movement cools the blood.

Don't turn your back on the opportunity to enjoy some time 

at one of the current Tented Adventures campsites.

Check out their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/

To find out more about what we offer,

visit our website:

http://www.tentedadventures.com

Tented Adventures recently won a Lilizela Tourism award!

Well done to all concerned.

then check out their Facebook page and make a booking:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/

Is glamping the new authentic Safari experience?

When your world feels like this,

it is time to head into the bush.

Time and space to cleanse your soul of its urban layer, 

even if only for a short while.

Accommodation at Tented Adventures, ready and waiting

Here, the only thing that takes time is unzipping the fly screen on your tent.

And, Hey Presto, this is what guests find when the screen is unzipped!

All that need to be done is to open your suitcase and relax.

Even the chairs on the small deck were ready and waiting.

Seeing that everything had been done from an accommodation point of view,

guests can take time to stop and smell the flowers.

 Helmeted Guinea Fowl must rate as one of THE most stupid birds on the planet.

They seem to have no idea that they can actually fly.

As a result they spend a lot of their time in camp running up and down the fence...

trying to figure out a way to get over it.

Eventually one bird will actually fly over, followed in amazement by the rest of the flock.

Once on the other side, they begin the process all over again, in reverse.

In this image they are resting between attempts to escape and return.

But a visit to the bush, is not only about the accommodation or the food. 

It is all about the game drives, especially for the International visitors

The canvas sides on the Tented Adventures game drive vehicles

 can be raised when the weather is good.

Unlike private game reserves, in Kruger the gates to the various camps open and close at set times.

Heading out almost as soon as we were allowed, this is the

sunrise through the rain on the windscreen of Enock's vehicle.

Only in Africa!

And our first sighting for the day!

A young female Leopard on the branch of a tree.

Back to camp for a breakfast of champions.

There were also tomatoes and mushrooms on offer, 

lest you think that the plate looks "empty".

ROAD BLOCK

This is what can happen on a return from an evening drive.

It was close to gate closing time, but the elephants did not seem to care about that.

It was feeding time for them, and they certainly were in no hurry to allow us to pass.

Camp manager, Michael, engaging with the guests around the fire.

Also known as "bush TV", fire has the most hypnotic effect on guests

and it is often difficult to drag them to the dinner table.

What an interesting mix of guests.

At this table were Canadians, Estonians, Russians and Germans.

A veritable United Nations in Tented Adventures.

And more importantly, they all interacted with each other.

Most of the conversations at meals revolved around politics and sport...

with a smattering of wild life thrown into the mix.

Interacting with guests from foreign counties is a way of finding new destinations to visit.

The Russian guest spoke in such glowing terms about Siberia as a tourist destination,

that other guests said that they might consider it as a possible destination.

Dinner is served.

The menu is rotated, meaning that if you stay for three nights

 you will not get served the same food on consecutive meals.

The protein is usually steak, or in this case chicken.

There is also a starter and a dessert served.

If, like this Brown Snake Eagle, you want your eyes opened

 to the joys of what Tented Adventures can offer,

check out their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/

To find out more about what we offer,

visit our website:

http://www.tentedadventures.com

Tented Adventures recently won a Lilizela Tourism award!

Well done to all concerned.

then check out their Facebook page and make a booking:

https://www.facebook.com/tentedadventures/