Results tagged “africa” on Earth Touch Blog
Flickr group: pic of the day – Nile crocodile Jun 10 2008
Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) are freshwater reptiles, closely related to alligators. According to the World Conservation Union, they are found widely in Africa.
Tags: africa, crocodile, flickr, nile crocodile, photograph, photography, reptile, vertebrateWarthog chases cheetahs away Jun 9 2008
The Earth-Touch crew witnessed an unusual encounter in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa, recently. They were filming a group of cheetahs resting in the bush, when a family of warthogs arrived on the scene and the female warthog proceeded to chase the cheetahs away.
Tags: africa, chase, cheetah, feed, forage, hluhluwe, imfolozi, mammal, south africa, vertebrate, warthogThe week’s most viewed stories Jun 6 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 30 May to Thursday 05 June 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Flickr group: pic of the day – leopard Jun 6 2008
Leopards (Panthera pardus), according to the World Conservation Union, are found widely in Africa, as well as parts of Asia and the Middle East. They are the smallest of the cats of the Panthera genus, which includes lions, tigers and jaguars.
Tags: africa, cat, flickr, kenya, leopard, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateFlickr group: pic of the day – southern yellow-billed hornbill Jun 5 2008
Southern yellow-billed hornbills (Tockus leucomelas) are medium-sized birds, with distinctive large yellow bills and red skin around their eyes.
Tags: africa, bird, hornbill, photograph, photography, southern yellow-billed hornbill, vertebrateSpider and ants at dawn Jun 4 2008
After a good overnight rainstorm in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, the Earth-Touch crew set off before sunrise to look for interesting creatures.
Tags: africa, ant, aphid, arachnid, hluhluwe, imfolozi, insect, invertebrate, kwazulu-natal, south africa, spider, symbiosis, webFlickr group: pic of the day – flap-neck chameleon Jun 2 2008
Flap-neck chameleons (Chamaeleo dilepis) are found widely in Southern Africa. They are named for the small protrusion or flap at the base of the heads. They raise this flap when threatened, in order to appear larger.
Tags: africa, chameleon, flap-neck, photograph, photography, reptile, south africa, vertebrateThe week’s most viewed stories May 30 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 23 May to Thursday 29 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Flickr group: pic of the day – rockhopper penguin May 29 2008
Rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) are native to Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay and New Zealand. There are also vagrant populations in Antarctica and Brazil.
Tags: africa, antarctica, argentina, australia, bird, brazil, falkland islands, flickr, hile, new zealand, penguin, photograph, photography, rockhopper, south africa, south america, uruguay, vertebrateSeals crowd onto rocks May 29 2008
Earth-Touch filmed thousands of Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) packed into the rocky outcrop that is the Cape Cross seal reserve in Namibia.
Did you know? Namaqua chameleon May 28 2008
Life in the inhospitable and arid Namib Desert requires some form of adaptation among all the species found there – plant and animal.
Tags: adaptation, africa, camouflage, chameleon, desert, heat, namaqua, namibiaFusiliers feed in sunlit water May 27 2008
The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has a range spanning most of North America and Eurasia, southern Australia and North Africa.
Tags: africa, america, australia, canada, flickr, fox, group, mammal, red foxThe week’s most viewed stories May 23 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 16 May to Thursday 22 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Tags: africa, black rhino, blue, botswana, cub, dolphin, elephant, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, sodwana bay, south africa, western cape, whale, wildebeest, youngFlickr group: pic of the day – bongo May 23 2008
Bongos (Tragelaphus eurycerus) are the largest and heaviest forest antelope. They are a distinctive chestnut colour that darkens as they age.
Tags: africa, antelope, bongo, flickr, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateLife on the edge in Moremi Game Reserve May 22 2008
Having lived in the Earth-Touch camp at Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana for a week now, I feel I have already had my fair share of close encounters with game.
Tags: africa, botswana, elephant, hyena, lion, moremiFlickr group: pic of the day – bat-eared fox May 22 2008
Bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) are native to southern and eastern Africa. They are nocturnal, and live in breeding pairs, with both parents taking part in the rearing of young.
Tags: africa, bat-eared fox, insectivore, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateChocolate dip on coral reef May 22 2008
Not many divers get to see this small reef at Sodwana Bay, part of South Africa’s Isimangaliso Wetland Park, because its uniform coral (Plasticeris) is so fragile.
Tags: africa, chocolate dip, chromis, coral, dive, fish, isimangaliso, lettuce, reef, sodwana, south africaCormorants roost on shipwreck May 21 2008
As the sun began to set at Melkbosstrand on the West Coast of South Africa, close to Cape Town, the Earth-Touch crew filmed cormorants flying in to roost on an old shipwreck.
Tags: africa, bird, blyde canyon, botswana, cape cormorant, cormorant, darter, okavango delta, reed cormorant, south africa, western cape, white-breasted cormorantTwo bulls in the valley May 21 2008
On a late afternoon in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa, the Earth-Touch crew encountered two lone bulls: an African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and a nyala (Tragelaphus angasii).
Tags: africa, african buffalo, bird, hluhluwe, imfolozi, mammal, nyala, pied wagtail, south africaThe week’s most viewed stories May 16 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 09 May to Thursday 15 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Dolphins appear out of the blue
Out in the bay where the waves break, a pod of these marine mammals emerges from deeper water.
Tags: africa, black rhino, blue, botswana, cub, dolphin, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, sodwana bay, south africa, western cape, whale, youngBaboons feed on grass seeds May 15 2008
It’s late afternoon on the banks of the Black Umfolozi River in South Africa’s oldest game reserve, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. In the autumn sunshine, a troop of chacma baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus) is feeding.
Tags: africa, baboon, chacma, eat, floodplain, grass, groom, hluhluwe, imfolozi, mammal, primate, river, savannah, social, south africaFlickr group: pic of the day – lion and cub May 14 2008
Lions (Panthera leo) are unusual among cats because of their tendency to live in groups (called prides). A pride usually consists of two to 12 adult females and their cubs. Usually all the females are related.
Tags: africa, cat, cub, flickr, lion, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateElephants enjoy mudbath May 14 2008
As the seasons change in Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve, large numbers of elephants begin to move to new sources of water and food.
Tags: africa, botswana, elephant, forest, mammal, moremi, mudbath, okavangoDid you know? Marabou stork May 14 2008
Beautiful they are not, and we humans find some of their habits less than attractive too. Yet these birds have to be respected for their survival skills.
Tags: africa, bird, botswana, flamingo, marabou, namibia, okavango, scavenger, storkBounty on Sodwana reefs May 13 2008
There’s always a lot to see at Bikini and Ribbon reefs in Sodwana Bay, which is part of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park on South Africa’s Indian Ocean coast.
Tags: africa, coral, eel, fish, indian ocean, isimangaliso, marine, moray, ray, reef, sodwana, south africa, sponge, turtleDid You Know? Marsh terrapin May 13 2008
The marsh terrapin (Pelomedusa subrufa) belongs to the family of side-necked terrapins. This genus is found in Africa, Madagascar and the Seychelles, and the species is the most common terrapin in southern Africa.
Tags: africa, aquatic, blyde canyon, egg, freshwater, hluhluwe, imfolozi, marsh, reptile, shell, south africa, terrapinFlower makes a meal for a beetle May 12 2008
It’s not only the “big five” that are worth watching in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve: the wonderful construction and function of smaller creatures like the CMR bean beetle (Mylabris oculata) have also fascinated the Earth-Touch film crew.
Tags: africa, beetle, cmr bean beetle, feed, flower, hluhluwe, imfolozi, insect, kwazulu-natal, plant, pollinate, south africa, wild cottonDid you know? African penguin May 12 2008
Formerly known as the jackass penguin, the African penguin (Spheniscus dermersus) got its original name from its call, which is uncannily similar to that of a donkey.
African penguins are endemic to the Southern African countries of South Africa and Namibia, and mostly occur within a few kilometeres of the coastline. Non-breeding birds spend most of their time at sea.
Tags: africa, african penguin, bird, call, cape, conservation, dive, eat, fish, jackass, namibia, ocean, penguin, sea, south africa, swim, threatened, waterThe week’s most viewed stories May 9 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 02 May to Thursday 08 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Unusual reef is full of surprises
It’s a special day at Sodwana, as the Indian Ocean offers up everything from coral and shrimps to dolphins and the world’s largest fish.
Tags: africa, black rhino, botswana, cub, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, south africa, western cape, whale, youngFlickr group: pic of the day – woodland kingfisher May 9 2008
Woodland kingfishers (Halcyon senegalensis) are found widely throughout most of Africa. They are a common species, identifiable by their two-tone beak.
Tags: africa, bird, flickr, kingfisher, kruger national park, photograph, photography, south africa, vertebrate, woodland kingfisherImpala herd grazes in the morning May 9 2008
On a beautiful, rain-refreshed morning in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, in South Africa, the first animal the Earth-Touch crew saw was an impala ram, belonging to a herd of about 200.
Tags: africa, graze, herd, hluhluwe-imfolozi, horn, impala, kwazulu-natal, mammal, prey, ram, savannah, south africaFlickr group: pic of the day – African buffalo May 7 2008
African buffalos (Syncerus caffer) are found widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They mostly move in large herds, grazing and living together.
Tags: africa, african buffalo, buffalo, flickr, graze, herd, mammal, photograph, photography, vertebrateAfrican wild dog pack on the move May 7 2008
It was a wet day in South Africa’s oldest game reserve, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, and a zebra foal was taking shelter under its mother. Then the Earth-Touch crew saw a pack of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) moving fast across the river plain.
Tags: africa, african wild dog, carnivore, communication, hluhluwe, hunt, imfolozi, juvenile, lycaon pictus, pack, rain, savannah, south africa, zebraThe week’s most viewed stories May 2 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 25 April to Thursday 1 May 2008) were:
Number 1
Huge beast shows why it’s one of the most feared and respected creatures in the African bushveld.
Tags: africa, black rhino, botswana, cub, encounter, female, fluke, indian ocean, kwazulu-natal, leviathan, lion, mammal, okavango delta, popular, rhino, south africa, western cape, whale, youngFlickr group: pic of the day – great white egret May 2 2008
The great white egret, also known simply as the great egret Ardea alba, is the world’s largest egret.
Tags: africa, aggression, america, argentina, asia, australia, bird, brazil, canada, egret, europe, flickr, great egret, great white egret, group, heron, large, namibia, protect, white, youngFlickr group: pic of the day – white rhino May 1 2008
White rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) are found in central and southern Africa. According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), they are considered near threatened, with only an estimated 11,670 white rhino individuals left in the wild.
Tags: africa, conservation, flickr, kenya, mammal, photograph, photography, rhino, threatened, vertebrate, white rhinoThe Earth-Touch baby album Apr 30 2008
Over the months, Earth-Touch has been privileged to witness the early days, survival struggles and playful moments of many young animals. Here is a selection of these video clips.
Tags: africa, baboon, baby, bath, bird, botswana, burrow, calf, cape, chick, coast, colony, cub, delta, den, dog, egg, elephant, endangered, fish, fly, foal, giraffe, herd, hluhluwe, imfolozi, juvenile, karoo, kite, kwazulu-natal, lion, mammal, meerkat, monkey, moremi, mud, okavango, piglet, reef, sodwana, south africa, thailand, tree, trunk, video, warthog, water, western cape, whale, young, zebraFlickr group: pic of the day – cheetah Apr 29 2008
Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are members of the cat family, but unique in the fact that they do not climb trees. They are the fastest animals on land, reaching speeds of up to 110km/h (68mph).
Tags: africa, cat, cheetah, flickr, mammal, namibia, photograph, photography, vertebrateThe week’s most viewed stories Apr 25 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 18 April to Thursday 24 April 2008) were:
Flickr group: pic of the day – baboon Apr 25 2008
Olive baboons (Papio anubis) are also called anubis baboons. They are widely spread throughout Africa, including Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Togo and Uganda.
Tags: africa, anubis baboon, ape, baboon, flickr, olive baboon, photograph, photography, tanzania, vertebrateFlickr group: pic of the day – gentoo penguin Apr 24 2008
Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) are an easily recognisable species, because of the distinctive white stripe across their foreheads. According to the International Union for Conservation, they are native in Antarctica; Argentina; Australia; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Southern Territories (Crozet Island, Kerguelen); Heard Island and McDonald Islands; South Africa (Marion and Prince Edward Islands); South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. They are currently classified as near threatened.
Tags: africa, antarctica, argentina, australia, bird, flickr, gentoo penguin, penguin, photograph, photography, south africa, south america, vertebrateThe week’s most viewed stories Apr 18 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 11 April to Thursday 17 April 2008) were:
Did You Know? Papyrus Apr 14 2008
The newest Earth-Touch film location is the Moremi Game Reserve, situated in the heart of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. One of the most common sedge grasses found in this region is papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), the plant used by the ancient Egyptians to make the world’s first primitive paper.
Tags: africa, bird, botswana, egypt, grass, heron, moorhen, moremi, okavango delta, papyrus, plant, squacco, swamp, vegetation, waterbird, wetlandFlickr group: pic of the day – Impalas Apr 14 2008
Impalas are slender, reddish brown antelopes that are mostly found in Southern Africa and some parts of East Africa.
Tags: africa, antelope, browse, feed, flickr, graze, group, impala, male, migrate, season, winter, youngThe week’s most viewed stories Apr 11 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 05 April to Thursday 10 April 2008) were:
