Hans Merensky Wilderness
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Hans Merensky Wilderness
Hans Merensky Wilderness, also known as the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve, is a protected area in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It has an area of about 5,268 ha and lies in the Lowveld between the Kruger Park and the town of Tzaneen. It is located within the UNESCO Kruger to Canyons Biosphere on the banks of the Great Letaba River, a tributary of the Olifants River. The Reserve is named after Hans Merensky, a South African geologist and conservationist. There is an ethnographic museum, the Tsonga Kraal Museum, displaying the culture of the Tsonga people. Wildlife Wildlife in the area include Selous' zebra, blue wildebeest, warthog and South African giraffe, as well as the more elusive nocturnal animals like African leopard, black-backed jackal and spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is l ...
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Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is situated in Lebowakgomo. The province is made up of 3 former homelands of Lebowa, Gazankulu and Venda and the former parts of the Transvaal province. The Limpopo province was established as one of the new nine provinces after South Africa's first democratic election on the 27th of April 1994. The province's name was first "Northern Transvaal", later changed to "Northern Province" on the 28th of June 1995, together with two other provinces. The name was later changed again in 2002 to the Limpopo province. Limpopo is made up of 3 main ethnic groups namely; Pedi people, Tsonga and Venda people. Traditional leaders and chiefs still form a strong backbone of the province's political landscape. Established in terms of the Limpopo House of Tr ...
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Tsonga People
The Tsonga people ( ts, Vatsonga) are a Bantu ethnic group primarily native to Southern Mozambique and South Africa (Limpopo and Mpumalanga). They speak Xitsonga, a Southern Bantu language. A very small number of Tsonga people are also found in Zimbabwe and Northern Eswatini. The Tsonga people of South Africa share some history with the Tsonga people of Southern Mozambique, and have similar cultural practices; however they differ on the dialects spoken. History The Tsonga people originated from Central and East Africa somewhere between AD 200 and 500, and have been migrating in-and-out of South Africa for over a thousand (1,000) years. Initially, the Tsonga people settled on the coastal plains of Northern Mozambique but finally settled in the Transvaal Province and around parts of St Lucia Bay in South Africa from as early as the 1300s.Junod, H.A (1912), ''The Life of a South African Tribe: The Social Life'', Imprimerie Attinger Freres, Neuchatel. One of the earliest reputab ...
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Protected Areas Of South Africa
The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private landowners. Most protected areas are intended for the conservation of flora and fauna. National parks are maintained by South African National Parks (''SANParks''). A number of national parks have been incorporated in transfrontier conservation areas. Protected areas may also be protected for their value and importance as historical, cultural heritage or scientific sites. More information on these can be found in the list of heritage sites in South Africa. Special Nature Reserves Special nature reserves are highly protected areas from which all people and human activities are excluded, except for conservation and scientific research. The Prince Edward Islands, which are South African territories in the Southern Ocean, have been declared as a ...
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Spotted Hyena
The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN on account of its widespread range and large numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. The species is, however, experiencing declines outside of protected areas due to habitat loss and poaching. The species may have originated in Asia, and once ranged throughout Europe for at least one million years until the end of the Late Pleistocene. The spotted hyena is the largest known member of the Hyaenidae, and is further physically distinguished from other species by its vaguely bear-like build, its rounded ears, its less prominent mane, its spotted pelt, its more dual-purposed dentition, its fewer nipples and the presence of a #Female genitalia, pseudo-penis in the female. It is the only placental mammalian species where females ...
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Black-backed Jackal
The black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas),'' also called the silver-backed jackal, is a medium-sized canine native to eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly 900 kilometers. One region includes the southernmost tip of the continent, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The other area is along the eastern coastline, including Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. It is listed by the IUCN as least concern, due to its widespread range and adaptability, although it is still persecuted as a livestock predator and rabies vector. Compared to members of the genus ''Canis'', the black-backed jackal is a very ancient species, and has changed little since the Pleistocene,Kingdon, J. (1977), ''East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa'', Volume 3, Part A: Carnivores, University of Chicago Press, p. 31 being the most basal wolf-like canine, alongside the closely related side-striped jackal. It is a fox-like a ...
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African Leopard
The African leopard (''Panthera pardus pardus'') is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have also been recorded in North Africa as well. Taxonomy ''Felis pardus'' was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758. His description was based on descriptions by earlier naturalists such as Conrad Gessner. He assumed that the leopard occurred in India. In the 18th and 19th centuries, several naturalists described various leopard skins and skulls from Africa, including: * ''Felis pardus panthera'' proposed by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1778 based on descriptions by earlier naturalists * ''Felis leopardus'' var. ''melanotica'' by Albert Günther in 1885 from the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa * ''Felis leopardus suahelicus'' by ...
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South African Giraffe
The South African giraffe or Cape giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa'') is a subspecies of giraffe found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It has rounded or blotched spots, some with star-like extensions on a light tan background, running down to the hooves. In 2016, the population was estimated at 31,500 individuals in the wild. Taxonomy and evolution The IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies. The Cape giraffe, along with the whole species, were first known by the binomen ''Camelopardalis giraffa'' as described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in his publication ''Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen'' (''The Mammals Illustrated from Nature with Descriptions'') during his travel in the Cape of Good Hope in 1784. Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert also described it under the binomial name ''Giraffa giraffa'' whilst also identifying the nominate specimen of ...
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Warthog
''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly considered conspecific under the scientific name ''Phacochoerus aethiopicus'', but today this is limited to the desert warthog, while the best-known and most widespread species, the common warthog (or simply warthog), is ''Phacochoerus africanus''. Skull Although covered in bristly hairs, their bodies and heads appear largely naked from a distance, with only the crest along the back, and the tufts on their cheeks and tails being obviously haired. The English name refers to their facial wattles, which are particularly distinct in males. They also have very distinct tusks, which reach a length of in the males, but are always smaller in the females.Novak, R. M. (editor) (1999). ''Walker's Mammals of the World.'' Vol. 2. 6th edition. Johns Hopk ...
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Blue Wildebeest
The blue wildebeest (''Connochaetes taurinus''), also called the common wildebeest, white-bearded gnu or brindled gnu, is a large antelope and one of the two species of wildebeest. It is placed in the genus '' Connochaetes'' and family Bovidae, and has a close taxonomic relationship with the black wildebeest. The blue wildebeest is known to have five subspecies. This broad-shouldered antelope has a muscular, front-heavy appearance, with a distinctive, robust muzzle. Young blue wildebeest are born tawny brown, and begin to take on their adult coloration at the age of 2 months. The adults' hues range from a deep slate or bluish-gray to light gray or even grayish-brown. Both sexes possess a pair of large curved horns. The blue wildebeest is a herbivore, feeding primarily on short grasses. It forms herds which move about in loose aggregations, the animals being fast runners and extremely wary. The mating season begins at the end of the rainy season and a single calf is usually born a ...
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Selous' Zebra
Selous' zebra (''Equus quagga selousi'') is a subspecies of the plains zebra distributed across southeastern Africa. It is found mostly in Mozambique. Taxonomy This subspecies is similar to the Burchell's zebra, but it can be distinguished by its legs, which are striped to the hooves. Description These subspecies have clean black-and-white banding without the brown shadow stripes of the Chapman's zebra Chapman's zebra (''Equus quagga chapmani''), named after its describer James Chapman, is a subspecies of the plains zebra. They, like their relatives, are native to the savannah of north-east South Africa, north to Zimbabwe, west into Botswa ... subspecies. These are extended down the flanks and over the whole body except face and neck. The upper half is covered with horizontal stripes, mostly faded, that do not go around the legs. The belly is partly striped. Their average mass is , and the average shoulder height is 59inches . Their track measures x . References {{ ...
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Ethnographic
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining the behavior of the participants in a given social situation and understanding the group members' own interpretation of such behavior. Ethnography in simple terms is a type of qualitative research where a person puts themselves in a specific community or organization in attempt to learn about their cultures from a first person point-of-view. As a form of inquiry, ethnography relies heavily on participant observation—on the researcher participating in the setting or with the people being studied, at least in some marginal role, and seeking to document, in detail, patterns of social interaction and the perspectives of participants, and to understand these i ...
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South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ...
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