5 African animals you may not recognise!

The majority of people head to Africa for that "Big 5" experience... Lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffalo! They enjoy the sight of a few antelope, some giraffes and perhaps a cheetah or two. But Africa is not known for it's richness and diversity for these animals alone, there is a great range of animals that make up this wonderful environment and, if you're heading out to Africa on Safari perhaps you could challenge your guide with a request to see one of these guys! 

1) Serval
Servals are pretty elusive. They are members of the cat family, although certainly bigger than your cat snoozing on the sofa, they are of the small cat family, and mainly hunt rodents and small birds. They are stunning animals and I have been lucky enough to watch one hunting for a good half an hour - an extremely rare sighting that I am unlikely to forget. 

Not one of my best quality photographs (several reasons for this): Serval hunting on Shamwari Game Reserve

2) Pangolin 
Pangolins are one of the strangest of creatures I have ever come across in my life. Unfortunately I have never had the luck to see one, although I continue to hope. They are small mammals often referred to as "armoured anteaters"; when threatened these creatures roll into a tight ball and the scales on their back are so strong even lions struggle to attack. What I find so funny about them is that they rarely walk on four feet but rather use mainly their back legs for walking, and their front for digging! 

Photo from: www.wildlifesafari.info

3) Honey Badgers
I hold a strange fascination with Honey Badgers, which are perhaps one of the most ferocious animals you'll ever come across. Their main prey includes venomous snakes and honey stolen from stinging bees - when bitten by the former they will simply fall asleep and wait for the venom to wear off before resuming their meal. One thing that makes the honey badger so successful is it's loose skin which, when grasped by a possible predator, allows them to twist around and attack! I've been lucky to have a couple of glimpse sightings of honey badgers, but never enough to take a photograph! 

Photo from: www.kickstarter.com

4) Caracal 
Caracals, similarly to Servals, are of the small cat family and prey mainly on rodents and birds. They are extremely pretty animals with an almost egyptian-like quality to them.

Caracal at N/a'an ku se Wildlife Sanctuary 

5) Brown Hyena
Now pretty much everyone has heard of a Spotted Hyena, who amongst the lions and leopards are one of the most well known animals in Africa. But rarely seen or spoken of is it's cousin, the Brown Hyena which lives quite a different lifestyle! Although Brown Hyenas will den together they hunt and scavenge as individuals and you are unlikely to see more than one at a time. I was lucky enough to study my field guiding on a reserve that had an abundant population of Brown Hyenas and even saw one come into conflict with a couple of cheetahs who had just made a kill.   

Brown Hyena finishing off a stolen kill - Shamwari Game Reserve.

So if you are ever lucky enough to go on Safari in Africa don't just ask to see the animals you see on the television, remember that there is a whole abundance of animals that don't always make it onto the shows! And you are likely to find your guide will be extra enthusiastic to talk about animals he/she doesn't often get to show off. 

I'd love to hear from anyone who has seen any of these animals, or perhaps even other African wildlife that is rarely seen! Please feel free (and encouraged) to comment on any of my posts :)