Speckled Cape Tortoise: South African Endemic

Measuring between 6 and 8 centimeters (males are smaller than the female) this is the smallest Chelonian in the world. 
It´s known also as Speckled Padloper Tortoise (which means "path-walker" in Afrikaan). 
These tortoises are categorised as Near Threatened  specially because females lay only one egg each summer!

It´s found only in an arid region in the West of South Africa named Little Namaqualand along with just 4 other species of the genus Homopus.
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Phalaborwa Copper Mine: South Africa

Measuring 1.5 km by 2.4 km and 550 meters in deep, it is visible from space.
The Phalaborwa copper mine is the largest hand-made hole in Africa. 
The bottom of the oppencast pit is presently around 230 metres below sea level and its diameter, nearly 2,000 meters. 
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Cape COBRA: South Africa´s Endemic

It is very agressive and its neurotoxic venom, more potent than in other cobra species...

If bitten and antivenom is not applied, death occurs in less than 10 hours. 
The Cape Cobra is diurnal and  about 1.2 to 1.4 metres (3.9 - 4.6 ft) long.

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Six Snakes


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Boomslang Snake: South African Most Venemous

Measuring between 1-1.8 meters long (6 ft) these shy snake is rarely seen on the ground and has the ability to inflate its throat when threaten...

With the exception of the Northern Cape and part of the Free State, the Boomslang Snake is found all over South Africa, in lowland forest, savannah, grassland, fynbos and Karoo scrub. 

It´s got a slow action haemotoxic venom whose symptoms can take 24 hr to appear; its victim dies from internal and external bleeding.
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The Mouse and the Lion


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The PieD PipeR


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World´s Smallest...The African Pygmy Mouse

Adults weigh 3 - 12 grams (0.11 to 0.42 oz)  measure between 30-80 mm in lenght (1.2 to 3.1 inches) + the tail which can be 20 - 40 mm (0.79 to 1.6 in) long...
It lives 2-4 years and are active both during the day and at night. 
In the wild they gather pebbles in front of its burrow and in the morning they drink the dew deposit on them overnight...
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Augrabies Flat Lizard: S. Africa´s Endemic

This lizard lives in the rocky savannahs of the lower Orange river and Northern Cape Province.
The male with the highest UV (ultraviolet) levels in its throat, will be challenged less by other specimens because it will be considered dominant.
Augrabies´ lizards will follow bird flocks to find the ripe berries of the Namaqua fig tree.

They have 3x more UV photoreceptor cells in their retina than any other lizard!
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CrEEp CraWLey CaLypso


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Red Roman Spider: S. Africa

This is a Solifugae a different order from the true spiders, know also as camel, wind, sun or solifuges spiders! 
Red Roman spider, Western Cape province, South Africa photo
 Hein von Horsten, courtesy of, and copyright, South Africa Tourism
Found in the Western Cape Province, they are known as beard or hair cutters due to the belief that they use  their impressive jaws, to cut human hair to line their underground nests.
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William Kentridge: South African Artist

He makes his animation films by drawing with charcoal, filmimg or photographing the initial picture and erasing to add small changes to be filmed again one after another.
JOURNEY TO THE MOON
William Kentridge
THE NOSE

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Handspring Puppet Company: S. African Puppeteers

This puppeteer company started designing puppets for children´s productions but later changed to adult productions inspired by the West African puppet traditon.

They now perform across South Africa, England and the USA.

Handspring Puppet Company is a puppetry design, performing and scenic company founded in 1981 in Cape Town by Adrian Kohler  and Basil Jones. Thys Stander is the chief puppeteer.
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The Tooth Mouse: S. African Legends

In South Africa, when a child´s tooth falls, 

he or she puts it in
 his or her slippers...
 
 And a mouse picks it up and leaves a present!
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The Prieska Fort

Block House, Prieska.
Photgraph by Neville Curtayne
This fort was built during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) with raw Tiger´s Eye
a semiprecious stone abundant in this town.
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Mike Horn: South African Explorer & Adventurer


In 1997 and during 6 months, he traversed the Amazon river´s 7000 km to its source in the Andes, descending it with a hydrospeed all the way to the Atlantic ocean.

Then in 1999 for 17 months, he traveled around the world along its Equator on foot, by boat and bike in accordance to his project: "Latitude Zero: 40.000 km from which to meet the world".
Then, at the beginning of 2002, during initial preparations to reach the North Pole he suffered the amputation of the tips of three fingers due to severe frostbite...
The 20.000 km circumnavigation of the globe following the Arctic Circle named project Arktos, soon followed. This adventure lasted 2 years and 3 month sand was achieved on foot, bike, kayak, sailing, skiing and ski pulled by a kite !
During this expedition he endured two Arctic winters with temperatures  of -62 ° C  and established the record for the crossing of Greenland in only 15 days!

In 2006 Mike Horn and Borge Ousland launched a two month  journey of 1.000 km to reach the North Pole at night during the Arctic Winter, without refueling or assistance, pulling a 160 kg sled with the supplies and equipment.
Project Route: as the four-year expedition makes stops on all seven continents, Horn will periodically leave the boat to trek on land and meet the boat again at another location. Over the course of the journey, he will walk, kayak, cycle, paraglide, ski and sail
His next 4 year project is a trip around the world in 1.460 days, with the sustainable sailboat Pangaea on a 7 continent eco-voyage!  Follow Mike Horn as he travels the world on: 
http://www.mikehorn.com/en/pangaea/  and/or
http://www.mikehorn.com/portal.php#/yep/
Over the course of Mike Horn´s newest expedition, 12 groups of educational specialists and specially selected students ages 13-20 (Young Explorers Programme), will meet up with Pangaea for 10-12 days at a time...Mike Horn´s newest expedition expands with the admission . 
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Rico Schacherl: South African Cartoonist

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S. African EnDanger Species: SaddLe-BiLLeD StorK


There are less than 150 individuals according to a South African 1990´s survey, most of them found at the Kruger National Park.
It lays one or two eggs which can weight 146 gr and are incubated for about a month in big nests. They don´t breed in colonies.
saddlebill. The Saddle-Billed Stork is an egyptian ba hieroglyph ideogram representation for "great", "tall", "big" and "powerful", used since the Late PreDynastic Period (6.000 BC). 
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BiRDS in the Spring


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The AnviLHead or HammerHead: A Peculiar South African Bird


The Hammerkop is considered an ill omen by many african tribes...?! 
Its feet are partially webbed and the middle toenails have an edge (like a comb) to groom its feathers!
When soaring its neck is streched out (like an Ibis) but while flapping its wings it curls it like a Heron.
They are also practise false mounting and in groups of up to 10 individuals interesting displays...Watch!
They build as many as a dozen nests that withstand the weight of a man in their territory (1.5 m deep and 50 kg) but use just one and only once!.
 This nest take up to 6 months of pair work; they can partake its home with other animals like Barn Owls, Egypian Geese, Comb Ducks, even Monitor Lizards and snakes!

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Grant Baker: South African XXL Big Wave Surfer

Listen to what it feels like to wipe out while surfing a 25 foot (7.62 m) tall wave...
Check out how to surf a 70 foot tall wave (21.33 m) in South Africa´s Dungeons looks like...
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Chris Chameleon: South African Musician


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Theo Krynauw: South African CartOOnisT



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SAVE the RHINOCEROS from EXTINTION


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The RHINO Symbiosis and SonG


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Rhinoceros: A Critically Endangered Species


The Black Rhinoceros or "Hook-Lipped Rhinoceros" is one of the 8 subspecies of rhinoceros native to South Africa as well as the South Central Black Rhinoceros found in KwaZulu, Natal.White Rhinoceros Kenya Wallpaper HD Wallpaper
The other African rhinoceros is the White Rhinoceros; the word "white" comes from the dutch word wijd (wide), due to its square upper lip.
 Big Image
In the picture above USA President Theodore Roosevelt.
Finally, the Cape rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis bicornis) or Southern Black Rhinoceros was the largest species and lived in great numbers from the Cape of Good Hope to Transvaal, but excessive hunting and habitat destruction extinguished it around 1850.  
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