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Maria Moroka Nature Reserve
Maria Moroka National Park is named after Chieftainess Maria Moipone Moroka of the Barolong Tribe in Thaba Nchu. The national park is near Thaba Nchu in the Mangaung District of the Free State (province), Free State Province, South Africa. The park perimeter surrounds the Moutloatse Setlogelo Dam (previously known as the Groothoek Dam) which is a popular angling area. The Thaba Nchu (Tswana language, Tswana for "Black Mountain") mountain range is to the north of the national park. Climate The national park comprises grassland vegetation. The area is a summer rainfall region with most rain falling between November and March. The winter season between May and August is clear although temperatures can drop to below freezing at night. Frost are frequent in the winter and snowfall occasionally occurs in the mountainous regions. Wildlife The animals found in the reserve include several species of mammals such as Burchell's zebra, black wildebeest, Common eland, eland, springbok, blesbok ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thaba Nchu
Thaba 'Nchu is a town in Free State, South Africa, 63 km east of Bloemfontein and 17 km east of Botshabelo. The population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established in 1873. The town grew larger following the 1913 Natives' Land Act that stated Thaba 'Nchu as a homeland for Tswana people. It was known among the Voortrekkers as Blesberg (blazed mountain, bald mountain). History The three Barolong clans (boo-Seleka, boo-Ratlou and boo-Tshidi) under their Chiefs, migrated here in December 1833. A decade earlier, these clans were driven from their land of origin, over the Vaal, by Mzilikazi, and sojourned at a place they called Motlhaana-wa-pitse (Jaw-bone of a horse), in what is now the western Free State. Upon reaching an agreement with King Moshoeshoe I, they settled at Thaba 'Nchu with their Wesleyan Methodist Missionaries- Samuel Broadbent and Thomas L. Hodgson. Then their numbers were augmented b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Hartebeest
The red hartebeest (''Alcelaphus buselaphus caama''), also called the Cape hartebeest or Caama, is a subspecies of the hartebeest found in Southern Africa. More than 130,000 individuals live in the wild. The red hartebeest is closely related to the tsessebe and the topi. ''Alcelaphus buselaphus caama'' is a large African antelope of the family Bovidae, one of ten subspecies; it is sometimes treated as a separate species, ''A. caama''. Commonly known as the red hartebeest, it is the most colorful hartebeest, with black markings contrasting against its white abdomen and behind. It has a longer face that other subspecies, with complex curving horns joined at the base.hartebeest Encyclopædia Britannica Online. The average weight of a male is about 150 kg, and female is 120 kg. Their average should ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tswana People
The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the population of Botswana in 2011. Batswana are the native people of south and eastern Botswana, and the Gauteng, North West, Northern Cape and Free State provinces of South Africa, where the majority of Batswana are located. History Early history of Batswana The Batswana are descended mainly from Bantu-speaking tribes along with the Khoi-San. Tswana tribe migrated southward to Africa around 600 CE, living in tribal enclaves as farmers and herders. Several Iron Age cultures flourished around the 900 CE, including the Toutswemogala Hill Iron Age settlement. The Toutswe were in the eastern region of what is now Botswana, relying on Tswana cattle breed held in kraals as their source of wealth. The arrival of the ancestors of the Tswana-speaker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Caves Of The Basotho
For thousands of years, a pilgrimage has been made by the Basotho people to a network of sacred caves to communicate with the spiritual world. The caves also contain dinosaur footprints and ancient rock paintings. The caves are located between the eastern parts of the Free State (province), Free State and Lesotho. These sacred caves are often described as 'the key to religion' in Southern Africa. Caves Caves have been known throughout human existence, religion, and culture as isolated spaces perfect for meditation and reflection. The Basotho people traditionally regard caves as a dwelling place for ancestors. The caves are visited by thousands of people to perform spiritual rituals. The Fertility Caves lie outside Clarens in the Free State at the foot of the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho. The Matouleng Cave Heritage site is 18 km away from Clarens, Free State, Clarens. The caves lie below the second largest stone overhang in the Southern Hemisphere. Peripheral to the Matouleng ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Braai
Barbecue varies by the type of meat, sauce, rub, or other flavorings used, the point in barbecuing at which they are added, the role smoke plays, the equipment and fuel used, cooking temperature, and cooking time. The meat may be whole, ground (for hamburgers), or processed into sausage or kebabs. The meat may be marinated or rubbed with spices before cooking, basted with a sauce or oil before, during or after cooking, or any combination of these. Africa South Africa In South Africa, a ''braai'' (plural ''braais'') is a barbecue or grill and is a social custom in much of Southern Africa. The term originated with the Afrikaners, but has since been adopted by South Africans of many ethnic backgrounds. The Afrikaans word ''braaivleis'' (; ) means grilled meat. The word ''vleis'' is Afrikaans for meat, cognate with English ''flesh''. ''Braai'' is regarded by some as another word for barbecue, in that it serves as a verb when describing how food is cooked and a noun when desc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Crane
The blue crane (''Grus paradisea''), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Description The blue crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, but is fairly small by the standards of the crane family. It is tall, with a wingspan of and weighs . Among standard measurements, the wing chord measures , the exposed culmen measures and the tarsus measures . This crane is pale blue-gray in color becoming darker on the upper head, neck and nape. From the crown to the lores, the plumage is distinctly lighter, sometimes whitish. The bill is ochre to greyish, with a pink tinge. The long wingtip feathers which trail to the ground. The primaries are black to slate grey, with dark coverts and blackish on the secondaries. Unlike most cranes, it has a relatively large head and a proportionately thin neck. Juveniles are similar but slightly lighter, with tawny coloration on the head, and no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Rhino
The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists of two subspecies: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 19,682–21,077 wild-living animals in the year 2015, and the much rarer northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies has very few remaining individuals, with only two confirmed left in 2018 (two females: Fatu, 18 and Najin, 29), both in captivity. Sudan, the world's last known male Northern white rhinoceros, died in Kenya on 19 March 2018 at age 45. Naming A popular albeit widely discredited theory of the origins of the name "white rhinoceros" is a mistranslation from Dutch to English. The English word "white" is said to have been derived by mistranslation of the Dutch word "wijd", which means "wide" in English. The word "wide" refers to the width of the rhinocer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blesbok
The blesbok or blesbuck (''Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi'') is a subspecies of the bontebok antelope endemic to South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia. It has a distinctive white face and forehead which inspired the name, because ''bles'' is the Afrikaans word for a blaze such as one might see on the forehead of a horse. Taxonomy The blesbok and the bontebok (''D. p. pygargus'') are subspecies of the same species and can readily interbreed, the hybrid offspring being known as the bontebles or baster blesbok; the differences between the two subspecies have arisen due to preferences for different habitats in the wild. Distribution The blesbok is endemic to southern Africa and is found in large numbers in all national parks with open grasslands, from the Highveld north of the Vaal River southwards through the Free State, to the Eastern Cape. It is a plains species and dislikes wooded areas. It was first described in the 17th century, in bountiful herds.Gordon-Cumming, Roualeyn. Five ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free State (province)
The Free State, known as Orange Free State until the 28th of June 1995 when its name was changed, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later Orange Free State Province. History The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans were abolished and reincorporated into South Africa. It is also the only one of the four original provinces of South Africa not to undergo border changes, apart from the reincorporation of Bantustans, and its borders date from before the outbreak of the Boer War. Law and government The provincial government consists of a premier, an executive council of ten ministers, and a legislature. The provincial assembly and premier are elected for five-year terms, or until the next national election. Political parties are awarded assembly seats based on the percentage of votes each party receive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Springbok
The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780. Three subspecies are identified. A slender, long-legged antelope, the springbok reaches at the shoulder and weighs between . Both sexes have a pair of black, long horns that curve backwards. The springbok is characterised by a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light-brown coat marked by a reddish-brown stripe that runs from the upper fore leg to the buttocks across the flanks like the Thomson's gazelle, and a white rump flap. Active mainly at dawn and dusk, springbok form harems (mixed-sex herds). In earlier times, springbok of the Kalahari desert and Karoo migrated in large numbers across the countryside, a practice known as ''trekbokking''. A feature, peculiar but not unique, to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Eland
The common eland (''Taurotragus oryx''), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Taurotragus''. An adult male is around tall at the shoulder (females are shorter) and can weigh up to with a typical range of , for females). It is the second-largest antelope in the world, being slightly smaller on average than the giant eland. It was scientifically described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766. Mainly a herbivore, its diet is primarily grasses and leaves. Common elands form herds of up to 500 animals, but are not territorial. The common eland prefers habitats with a wide variety of flowering plants such as savannah, woodlands, and open and montane grasslands; it avoids dense forests. It uses loud barks, visual and postural movements, and the flehmen response to communicate and warn others of danger. The common eland is used by humans for leather, meat, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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