Penguins are very interesting creatures with many quirks. There are between 17 and 20 species (depending on who you ask), and each has its own unique traits. 1. Why wings? You may wonder why, as penguins are flightless, they still have wings. The answer is that they are not actually wings at all, but rather
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A seahorse is one of those creatures that is so distinctive and we are mesmerised by them – they make us think of mermaids and unicorns, for some reason. Let’s find out what are the ten cool things about them. Tiny horses Seahorses get their name from the way their heads are shaped, because they
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The honey badger was named the World’s Most Fearless Creature by the Guinness Book of World Records. This animal is so tough, he has a South African military fighting vehicle named after him – The Ratel (honey badger in Afrikaans). Let’s find out what else is cool about the honey badger. 1. Clever Houdini The
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Bunnies are very social animals who love companionship and, once they trust you, they will love you. They might not show their love like humans do – they do it in their own ‘bunny’ way. It is important to understand that a rabbit’s behaviour differs from that of cats and dogs. Here are six signs
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We all know these beautiful birds and we talk in general about them as peacocks, while we should be referring to them as peafowl. Find out what else are cool about these birds. 1. Family name These majestic birds are known as peafowl. Male birds are called peacocks and the females are known as peahens.
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It’s the time of the year when reindeer ‘visit’ our shops and ‘appear’ in various displays, which makes us wonder – what is so cool about this animal? Let’s find out. 1. The nose knows Unlike Rudolph’s famous nose, those of other reindeer don’t glow red. However, they still have some pretty cool functions to
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Does the South African law truly view animals as sentient beings, or is there room for improvement? It’s a question that Rui Lopes, Managing Director at Lopes Attorneys, has been asking. “We are in a position where South Africa’s Constitution does not specifically cater for animal rights in the same way some other countries do. For
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Blood Lions and World Animal Protection recently conducted a study, and found that the captive lion breeding industry in South Africa poses a serious health risk to thousands of tourists, industry workers and communities. According to a recent statement by Blood Lions, they found five major diseases that are harmful to people: human ehrlichiosis human
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When we think of bees, we tend to assume that all of them live in beehives with other bees. But that is not true of solitary bees, who are also important pollinators in South Africa. They are called ‘solitary’ because the female bee builds and lives in her nest alone – no queen or hive
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Draw more birds to your garden and build a bird feeder to provide them with seeds and fruit. Not only will you attract more birds to your garden, but you will also feed some wild birds. What you’ll need 8 pieces of 12mm plywood cut to 100 x 40mm and edged on the long sides
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Ever looked at the little creature who wiggles his way up the wall, or over the paving, at the speed of light, and wondered exactly what he is? Is he a gecko or a lizard? There are over 200 species of lizard and 61 species of gecko in South Africa, and some of them inhabit
Understanding the biodiversity of gardens can make us so much more tolerant of the creatures living there. Instead of ‘fearing’ creatures much smaller than us, like frogs, we should learn about them to understand their purpose. Actually, we should embrace their presence. Bullfrogs African bullfrogs, or pixie frogs, love any garden with lots of insects,
