Did you know that Giraffes only
sleep deeply for a few minutes at a time.
Sitting on the ground they bend their long necks
down until their heads rest on their hind haunches?
What a pain in the neck, literally!
•
Amazing fact: The word 'Giraffe'
comes from the Arab word 'zirafah' which means 'the
tallest one'.
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Did you know that giraffes have
seven vertebrae in their necks, the same as humans?
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Did you know that elephants can
be left or right 'handed' in the use of their tusks?
Like most humans elephants tend to be right
'handed'.
•
Did you know that an Elephant's
trunk can be up to 2 metres long, weigh up to 100
kilos and can carry about 17 litres of water? That's
some baggage!
•
Amazing fact: An African
Elephant possesses such manual dexterity in the tips
of their trunks that they can actually turn the
pages of a book with it.
•
Did you know that the African
elephant is the only mammal with a life span similar
to humans?
•
Did you know that the wart-like
growths on the warthog's face, which gave rise to
its name, are not real warts but natural physical
features.
•
Amazing fact: You can identify
the sex of a warthog simply by seeing its face.
Males have two pairs of 'warts', while females only
have one. Girls are always prettier.
•
Did you know that hippos are
specifically adapted for life in the water.
Their eyes, ears and nostrils are positioned to be
above the water when the rest of their body is
submerged.
•
Amazing fact: hippos can run at
speeds up to 30km/h. Just like a small truck.
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Did you know that the reddish
colour the hippos hide sometimes shows is a
glandular secretion that protects their skin against
sunburn?
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Did you know that rhinoceroses
belong to the same family as horses? I
wouldn't advise trying to ride these fellas!
•
More people are killed in Africa each year
by crocodiles than by lions. Don't go
paddling!
•
Did you know that the Gaboon Viper is highly
venomous and has the longest fangs of any snake
in Africa. It also has the nasty habit of
not letting go of its prey once it has struck.
Yuck! Lucky for us it is virtually unheard of in
Southern Africa and is most at home in the
jungles of Central Africa.
•
Amazing fact: The animal with the highest
human kills in Africa is not a meat eating
predator, it is actually the fat and funny
hippopotamus. Although he is not so funny
when you get between him and his watery home and
he either runs you over like a three ton truck
or puts a hole in you with his ivory tusks.
This is something like being hit by a huge 'hole
punch'! Ouch!
•
Did you know that the world's biggest
hospital is in Soweto, South Africa?
•
Did you know that the word 'crossword' in
Kiswahili is 'chemshebongo' which, when
translated, means 'boils brain'. I think
our African cousins are more accurate than us.
•
The world's largest diamond was the cullinan,
found in South Africa in 1905. It weighed
a massive 3,106.75 carats uncut. It was
then cut into the Great Star of Africa, weighing
530.2 carats, the Lesser Star of Africa, which
weighs 317.40 carats and 104 other diamonds of
nearly flawless colour and clarity. They
now form part of the British Crown Jewels.
Be nice to find something like that while on
safari!
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Did you know there are about 280,000
windmills on farms across South Africa, second
only in number to Australia. Lot of 'hot
air' in both countries.
•
Amazing fact: Lake Malawi in Southern Africa
is home to around 500 different types of fish.
That's more than anywhere else in the world!
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Did you know that the only street in the
world to house two Nobel Peace Prize winners is
in Soweto, South Africa? Nelson Mandela
and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both have houses in
vilakazi Street. We would hope it is a
nice 'peaceful' street to live in.
•
In East and Central Africa the British Army
is still remembered. One regiment is known in
Kiswahili as 'Magi Bareedi Askari', which
translates to 'Water Cold Soldiers' or in other
words the 'Cold Stream Guards'.
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Did you know that the Namib Desert is the
world's oldest desert and the only desert in
Africa inhabited by elephant, rhino, giraffe and
lion?
If you would like to find out some
other interesting facts about Africa and where we
travel, give me a call or drop me a line. I can
talk about Africa all day. It would be nice to
hear from you.
