mammals
AFROTROPICAL Tropical & Subtropical Savanna

The African savannas are famous for the incredible diversity, size and spectacle of their mammals...

Order Proboscidea

Loxodonta africana, 'African (Bush) Elephant'

Order Primates

This diverse order includes lemurs, monkeys, apes, and of course us! 

Family Cercopithecidae: Old World Monkeys

Chlorocebus pygerythrus, 'Vervet Monkey'.

'Vervet Monkey' in troop.

Order Cetartiodactyla, Even-toed Ungulates and Cetacea

Family Bovidae: Cattle and Antelope

Alcelaphinae

These are the antelope with 'long faces'.

Wildebeest  (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, South Africa).

Aepycerotinae

This small subfamily includes the Impala.

Aepyceros melampus, 'Impala'.

Bovinae

These are larger and 'spiral horned'. 

Syncerus caffer,  'Cape Buffalo' (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, South Africa). Because of their grumpy disposition, the African Buffalo has never been domesticated, in contrast to the Asian Water Buffalo.

Tragelaphus angasii, '(Lowland) Nyala' (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi-Park, South Africa). They are among the most sexually dimorphic of all antelope; the male (pictured) has horns (with yellow tips), a shaggy appearance and dark colours, while the female (and young male) is lighter brown, more obvious white stripes, no horns, and quite slim (pictured below). They are usually seen on the edge of the more thickly forested areas within the savanna. They are reported to follow troops of baboons or vervet monkeys, feeding on the fruit they knock down out of the trees.

Female and young male Nyala are lighter brown with more obvious white stripes, and have no horns.

Family Giraffidae

Giraffa camelopardalis, 'Giraffe'  (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, South Africa). 

Order Perissodactyla, 'Odd-toed Ungulates (Hoofed) '

Family Equidae: Horses & Zebras

Family Rhinocerotidae, Rhinoceroses

White Rhino  (Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, South Africa).

Order Carnivora

Family Herpestidae: Mongoose

Mungos mungo, 'Banded Mongoose' (Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda).

To go back to the page on the African savanna

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Thinking of travelling again after everything settles down? The first expedition I am booked to work on after the virus is Micronesia, New Guinea & Indonesia in 2021 with Silversea.