Some animals are shy and like to stay out of the limelight. If you happen to see one of the following animals, while enjoying a Kruger Park safari with Vula Safais, consider yourself very lucky!
Porcupine
On top of being a bashful animal your chances of seeing a porcupine are made that little bit more difficult as they are nocturnal animals. These prickly animals have a back covered in sharp black and white quills that reach a length of 50 cm, making it a difficult character to catch. Should another animal try and hunt the humble porcupine, it will turn its back to the hunter and raise its quills in defence. Porcupines use their long claws to get to their staple diet which consists mainly of roots, tubers and bulbs. They also eat fallen fruit and have been seen gnawing on tree bark.
Meerkat
Everyone in South Africa knows them as “Meerkats”, but their English name is Yellow Mongoose or Suricate. Meerkats have the cutest stances when they are curious. And curious they are, as the whole troop will often stand up on their hind legs to get a better view of their surroundings. These animals have extremely good senses and in their natural habitat, will disappear in the blink of an eye should a human try and get to close. Meerkats normally stay in groups of ten; five male and five females.
Aardvark
The Aardvark is also known as an Ant Bear. Curled up in its burrow during the day, the Aardvark is another nocturnal animal, making your chances of seeing one all the more difficult. These animals resemble the kangaroo as they have a long tapered tail and an arched back. Their course grey-brown hair serves as protection from insects. At night they feed on termites and other small insects. Although not much is known about the aardvark, in the Kruger National Park it is believed that they are hunted by leopard and African Rock Pythons. Lions are said to play with them in much the same way that they play with the Pangolin.
Aardwolf
The aardwolf is of the Hyena family, but much more handsome and much smaller, measuring only about 45 cm in height. Unlike the hyena, the aardwolf eats only termites, about 300 000 per night. They have long tongues that they use to scoop up the termites. These are nocturnal animals making your chances of seeing one very rare. Aardwolves are solitary animals, usually only seen in pairs when it is mating season or when rearing their young.
Bat-Eared Fox
The Bat-Eared Fox is another nocturnal animal. These animals are really small too, about 30 cm in height and weigh between 3 – 5 kg. Their sweetest characteristic is their ears. In comparison to their sized, they have huge ears that stand upright. Bat-Eared Foxes are the colour of dry veld grass and so even if one was about in the day time, they are really well camouflaged and usually just lie down in the tall grass or thick bush when they don’t want to be seen.
