The Ugly Five
Namuncura Mckoy
There are a lot of animal "lists" when you go on safari in Africa. Perhaps the list that no animal wants to be on is this "Ugly Five" list. Even so, animal babies are cute, and with a bit of imagination, you might find each of these less-than-ideal-looking animals has some attraction to them.
When your name includes the word "wart" you're destined to be on this list. Add a face that can be a mangled mess, surrounded by wispy hair and tough little tusks and the warthog is an obvious selection among the Ugly Five.
While the lappet-faced vulture is the official member of this list, pretty much any vulture could be a member of the Ugly Five. As scavengers their role in cleaning up carcasses of dead animals leaves a bit to be desired. While impressive in size, they're not so impressive in looks.
What is it really? Who knows. When wildebeests were created they seemed to receive some leftover pieces of other animals. A bit like a horse, a little like a buffalo, but it's really an antelope. Somehow predators still find them tasty, so they serve some purpose.
Nicknamed the "Undertaker", this is one mean bird you don't want to mess with. It is among the largest birds in the world with a wingspan of 11 feet. These birds are carnivores, eating anything from dead animal carcasses to fish and other birds (even flamingos!)
Baby hyenas definitely have a cute factor to them, but it does not take long for them to grow up and lose that appeal. Aggressive looking, with a strange profile and famously eerie vocals, the hyena easily fits into this list of misfits and ugly animals from Africa.
Who's that singing on the savannah? It's the top-five ugly animals in Africa! The wildebeest, warthog, vulture, hyena and marabou stork swagger proudly across the savannah, rejoicing in their ugliness - and delighting their babies, who think they're perfect just the way they are. Inspired by the real-life Ugly Five safari animals, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's brand-new picture book is a jubilant celebration of animals who are often rather unloved. The funny, heart-warming rhyme is a joy to read aloud, while bold, comical illustrations bring the savannah spectacularly to life.
It was suggested at some point that the ugliness of the creatures should be even more extreme and exaggerated, but I felt they should look more naturalistic (as much as my drawings ever are) and that the animals - who are not really ugly - should keep their dignity.
You would imagine that the Ugly Five would be something from a horror movie. Instead, this is the expression used for a group of animals on safari. There are a few of these groupings, being: the Big Five, the Ugly Five, the Small Five, and the Shy Five.
Their unfortunate looks have earned them a spot in this classification, despite being fascinating birds. Marabous can eat anything, including termites, flamingos and small birds, mammals, and even human refuse and dead elephants. They often share carcasses with other scavengers like vultures or hyenas.
They have a bald, pink head and neck for easy cleaning. Being one of the largest birds in the world, they measure 1.5 metres in height and have a wingspan of 2.6 metres. A fascinating fact about marabou storks is that they have hollow legs and feet that ease their weight while in flight.
Most people would agree that these animals are so ugly that they are considered cute. Warthogs are often found in family units, grazing or wallowing in mud. At night they enter their burrows backwards with their tail first.
If this is the kind of experience you want, visit one of our 10 Game Lodges which offer everything from safari camps to 5-star accommodation, catering and game drives. At Nambiti Private Game Reserve, we pride ourselves on taking care of the flora and fauna in our reserve and providing a memorable safari experience that you will not easily forget. Make your booking now at nambiti.com/explore-lodges/.
Scientists have estimated that there are 8.7 million animal species on Earth. So it's not really surprising that searching for wild life, engaging or otherwise, features heavily on many travel agendas. And I've met some travellers, who are undoubtedly obsessed, especially with big cats, or other mammal lists. Middle of the night expeditions in search of pangolin or aardvark are common. I've been up to my knees in mud, with a flashlight, impaled on thorns in the middle of the African bush. It's worth it, if there's an uncommon sighting. And, if not, I can always get to sleep in. Unless there's another call.
In Africa, the Big Five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. The term was first coined by big-game hunters, and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt, and kill, on foot.
Not to be mistaken for the far more peaceful water buffalo, from Asia, or the American bison. Though they're all from the same family they are distinguished by their home, hump, and horns. Sorry, Neil Young, but you can't believe everything you hear in songs - buffalo do not roam on the range...
African elephants communicate across large distances at a low frequency which cannot be heard by humans. These magnificent mammals spend between 12 to 18 hours eating grass, plants and fruit every day. Even their poo is useful, as many plant species have evolved seeds that are dependent on passing through an elephant's digestive tract, before they can germinate. At least one third of tree species in West African forests rely on elephants in this way for dissemination.
Lions are the most sociable of all big cats, which probably makes them the most interesting to observe. They live in groups called prides, which usually consist of related females and their cubs. A pride of lions is usually made up of related females and their cubs, together with a male, or small group of males, who defend their pride. The lionesses rear their cubs together and cubs can suckle from any female with milk.
In the wild, there are two formally recognised lion subspecies. The well known African lion (Panthera leo leo), found south of the Sahara Desert. And the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), which exists in one small population, in western India. Fascinatingly, the lions in west and central Africa are more closely related to these Asiatic lions, than to those found in southern and east Africa.
The rhino is the most endangered species of the Big Five. Rhino poaching is being driven by an Asian demand for horns, made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers who are now using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high calibre weapons to kill rhinos. Often, they saw off the horn and leave the carcase. Very few rhinos now survive outside national parks and reserves.
The antlion is the size of an ant and found in sandy, arid areas throughout Africa. It has a wide body and large jaws and is actually the larvae stage of a flying insect known as the Antlion Lacewing, which looks similar to a dragonfly. Antlions are nocturnal and dig small funnel-shaped traps about 50 millimetres deep in dry, sunny spots. They wait at the bottom of it, covered in sand so that only the head is protruding. Ants are their primary prey, hence the name.
Leopard tortoises live across East and Southern Africa in savanna habitats and are herbivorous, eating grass and succulents. They are name for their leopard patterned markings and at an adult size of 25 centimetres, they are amongst the largest of the Little Five. One must never pick up a leopard tortoise (or any tortoise) during the winter months, as it may eject its stored urine and water as a deterrent. Due to the distance it must cover to replenish this lost moisture, the tortoise could die of dehydration. I know I've seen them, but I can't find the picture!
Rhino beetles are part of the largest species of beetles in the world, reaching six centimetres in length. They have two large horns on their bodies, which the males use in fighting. Proportionally to their size, Rhino Beetles are among the strongest animals in the world. (Surely this one should be on the ugly list too?)
The hyena is Africa's most common large carnivore. There are three hyena species - spotted, brown, and striped and the aardwolf is also related, but that's on the Impossible List). Spotted hyenas are the largest. They are fairly big in build, but have relatively short torsos, with lower hindquarters, and sloping backs. All their strength is in their bone-snapping jaws. Hyena live in clans of one to two dozen and are attracted to carcasses, along with their ugly friends, the vulture and the marabou stork. These scavengers will hide food in watering holes and never waste anything. They will even feed on the hooves of their prey.
But The Lion King didn't do them any favours and hyenas generally get a very bad press. They are actually excellent hunters and kill most of what they eat. Spotted hyenas can bring down prey many times their size and have been recorded killing cape buffalo and giraffes.
How can you not like a warthog? Pumbaa, from The Lion King, ambles the plains inoffensively, tail erect, it seems. Though their tusks can inflict severe wounds. The tusks are ivory, so warthogs are at danger from hunters, who take them to carve, like elephants. Warthogs, as one might guess from the name, are swine, related to pigs, boars and hogs. The patches on their faces are not actually warts, but thick growths of skin, which act as padding, for when the males fight during mating season.
Warthogs are lazy, or maybe their tusks make it hard to dig and they live in dens made by aardvarks (see the Shy List). The males usually live alone, but the sociable females (sows), live in groups of up to 40, called sounders.
Although they might look fierce, warthogs are mostly herbivorous, foraging for roots, berries, bark, bulbs, grass and plants. When food is in short supply, warthogs may eat meat, but only dead animals, worms or insects.
Wild life conservation organisations say that vultures are vital in cleaning up carrion. I've read that some smell really sweet, like talcum powder. I'm not keen to get close enough to find out. I've also read that vultures are on the verge of extinction.
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