South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north lie the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory. South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world by area and the 24th most populous country with over 51 million people.
South Africa has a large variety of wildlife, including snakes, birds, plains animals, and predators. The country has 299 species of mammals and 858 species of birds.
In Africa, the big five game animals are lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros.The term big five game sometimes capitalized or quoted as "Big Five" was coined by big-game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. Subsequently the term was adopted by safari tour operators for marketing purposes.The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris.
| Wild Life |  | | Kruger National Park South Africa
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 square kilometres (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from east to west. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.
To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.
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| | Kruger National Park |  | | WILD LIFE IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK : THE BIG FIVE- THE LION ,THE BUFFELO ,THE ELEFANT ,THE RHINO AND THE CHEETA.Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 square kilometres (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from east to west. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.
To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.
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| | The Voortrekkers |  | | The Voortrekkers (Afrikaans and Dutch for pioneers, literally "those who trek ahead", "fore-trekkers") were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony (British at the time, but founded by the Dutch) moving into the interior of what is now South Africa. The Great Trek consisted of a number of mass movements under a number of different leaders including Louis Trichardt, Hendrik Potgieter, Sarel Cilliers, Pieter Uys, Gerrit Maritz, Piet Retief, and Andries Pretorius.
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| | THE ANGLO BOER WAR |  | | The Second Boer War (Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans:Tweede Vryheidsoorlog or Tweede Boereoorlog), commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War (outside South Africa), the Anglo-Boer War (among most South Africans) and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog ("Second War of Liberation"), or the Engelse oorlog (English War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902, between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State. | | (150 Pictures) |
| | BATTLE OF BLOOD RIVER |  | | The Battle of Blood River, so called due to the colour of water in the Ncome River turning red from blood, (Afrikaans: Slag van Bloedrivier; Zulu: iMpi yaseNcome) was fought between 470 Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000 - 15,000 Zulu attackers on the bank of the Ncome River on 16 December 1838, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Casualties amounted to three thousand of king Dingane's soldiers dead, including two Zulu princes competing with prince Mpande for the Zulu throne. Three Trekker commando members were lightly wounded, including Pretorius himself.
In the sequel to the Battle of Blood River during January 1840, the Mpande-Pretorius alliance finally defeated Dingane in the Battle of Maqongqe. Dingane's commander in both battles, general Ndlela, was strangled to death by Dingane on account of high treason.
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| | South Africa and the Nine Provinces |  | | South Africa is divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution changed the borders of seven of the provinces.The Union of South Africa was established in 1910 by combining four British colonies: the Cape Colony, the Natal Colony, the Transvaal Colony and the Orange River Colony. (The latter two were, before the Second Boer War, independent republics known as the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.) These colonies became the four original provinces of the Union: Cape Province, Transvaal Province, Natal Province and Orange Free State Province.
On 27 April 1994, the date of the first non-racial elections and of the adoption of the Interim Constitution, all of these provinces and homelands were dissolved, and nine new provinces were established.
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| South Africa and the Wildlife |  | | The Cape Buffalo, also known as the African cook, is a powerful animal that has few natural enemies. Their power and size means that they are very much able to defend themselves. They have been known to kill lions, hyena, humans, and other wild predators. Because of this they have taken their place in the African big five, elephants, lions, Cape Buffalo, rhinoceroses, and leopards. (The big five are known to be some of the most dangerous and aggressive animals in Africa.) Another African name for the Cape Buffalo is Black Death, because of their colour and their aggressive behavior.
The African Oryx Gazella also known as Gemsbuck or Gemsbok are African plains animals that travel in groups of 10-45. The Gemsbuck's groups are set up with a dominant male and in most cases a few dominant females. Male's horns are straight and pointed at the tip. Because of this they have been known to impale attacking lions. Females horns can be the same but sometimes they are curved backward. *There are two different varieties of Gemsbok, the southern and the northern. The southern variety have longer horns and the northern have black fringed ears. The Northern Gemsbok are rarely seen in South Africa.
Leopards are the most reclusive of the Big Cats. They are opportunistic hunters and will prey upon smaller mammals and rodents when other food sources are unavailable. The diet of leopards consists primarily of ungulates such as Thomson's Gazelles. Leopards have relatively small physical builds in comparison to lions and therefore choose to hunt nocturnally to prevent the possibility of confrontation. In order to protect themselves and preserve their kills, leopards have developed exceptional climbing skills, allowing them to scale trees quickly often with a carcass. Cheetahs have often been confused with leopards on sight and vice versa, but the cheetah's lean profile and eye markings make it easily distinguishable.
The Kudu are split into two different groups, Greater Kudu and Lesser Kudu. The Greater Kudu are regularly found in South Africa. Like the Gemsbok, Kudu are African antelope. They are fast and stealthy. They are a brown-grey color with white stripes that go down the center of their body. For those two facts their African name is Grey Ghost. The males have tall spiraling horns, females regularly have no horns. Kudu are peaceful and are normally not dangerous.
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