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Marutswa Forest
The Marutswa Forest Trail & Boardwalk is situated in the indigenous mist-belt forest near Bulwer in a region called the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. History of the Forest The Marutswa Forest Boardwalk is built on an old logging area harvested in the late 19th century and is named after a local Zulu man called ‘Mahustjwa’ who harvested Sneezewood trees which he sold and were used to build railway sleepers. The lower walk of the contour trail is part of the old logging route which was used by oxen and mules to drag timber for sale in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Objective The Marutswa Forest Trail & Boardwalk, located close to the country village of Bulwer on the R617, is a joint initiative between the SappiWWF TreeRoutes Partnership, the Bulwer Biosphere group, the BirdLife South Africa, the Southern KZN Birding Route and local conservation groups. They have incorporated the site into the route. The project has so far provided three full-time jobs for loc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bulwer, KwaZulu-Natal
Bulwer is a small town in the KwaZulu-Natal's Midlands region, South Africa. It is situated on the R617 regional road between the towns of Boston and Underberg and around 50 minutes north-west of the town of Ixopo on the R56. The village is nestled in the shadow of the Amahwaqa (the misty one) mountain. Background The town is named after Natal Governor Sir Henry Bulwer, having been founded during his tenure. Bulwer is a prominent tourist destination for various reasons. It's a popular birding spot, a beautiful place to just relax, but mainly it's a flying destination for both hang gliders and paragliders. Both local and international pilots flock to Bulwer for flying around the year. The Old Yellowwood Church The old yellowwood church (Chapel of the Holy Trinity) in Bulwer was built from hand sawn yellowwood in 1885. It was renovated by Mondi Mondi plc is a multinational packaging and paper group employing around 26,000 people with around 100 production sites across more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Reedbuck
The southern reedbuck, rietbok or common reedbuck (''Redunca arundinum'') is a diurnal antelope typically found in southern Africa. It was first described by Pieter Boddaert, a Dutch physician and naturalist, in 1785. It is placed in the genus '' Redunca'' and family Bovidae. This antelope has an average mass of and a body length of about . Taxonomy and etymology It was first described by Pieter Boddaert, a Dutch physician and naturalist, in 1785. It is placed in the genus '' Redunca'' and family Bovidae. It gets its name from two Latin words: ''reduncas'' (meaning bent backwards and curved, while the horns are bent forwards) and ''arundo'' (harundo) (meaning a reed; hence ''arundinum'', pertaining to reeds). Description The southern reedbuck is larger than the other species in ''Redunca'', namely '' R. redunca'' (Bohor reedbuck) and '' R. fulvorufula'' (mountain reedbuck). It stands at the shoulder. Females weigh , while the males weigh . It has distinctive dark lines r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orange Ground-thrush
The orange ground thrush (''Geokichla gurneyi'') is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. Taxonomy The orange ground thrush was described as ''Turdus gurneyi'' by Hartlaub in 1864. It is named after John Henry Gurney Sr., an English banker, politician and ornithologist. There are five subspecies: ''G. g. chuka'' found in central Kenya; ''G. g. raineyi'' found in southeastern Kenya; ''G. g. otomitra'' found in western Angola, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and northern Malawi; ''G. g. gurneyi'' found in eastern South Africa; and ''G. g. disruptans'' found in central Malawi to northeastern South Africa. Distribution and habitat Its habitat is montane forests, namely the afromontane of southeastern Africa. The size of its range is estimated at . It is found at elevations of . Description Its length is . The male weighs , and the female weighs . The upperparts are olive-brown; some parts have a grey tinge. The flight feathers are blackish-brown. Ther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrocarpus
''Afrocarpus'' is a genus of conifers of the family Podocarpaceae. Two to six species are recognized. They are evergreen trees native to Africa. ''Afrocarpus'' was designated a genus in 1989, when several species formerly classified in ''Podocarpus'' and ''Nageia'' were reclassified.Christopher N. Page. 1989. "New and maintained genera in the conifer families Podocarpaceae and Pinaceae". ''Notes of the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh'' 45(2): 377-395. Taxonomy ''Afrocarpus gaussenii'' was based on a single specimen of a cultivated individual of ''Afrocarpus falcatus'' in Madagascar. Its distinctive features might have resulted from the conditions of its cultivation. No species of ''Afrocarpus'' is known to be native to Madagascar.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Timber Press: Portland, OR, USA. . In a recent treatment of ''Afrocarpus'', only two species were recognized; ''A. dawei'', ''A. gracilior'', and ''A. usambarensis'' were sunk into ''A. falcatus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Parrot
The Cape parrot (''Poicephalus robustus'') or Levaillant's parrot is a large, temperate forest dwelling parrot of the genus ''Poicephalus'' endemic to South Africa. It was formerly grouped as a subspecies along with the savanna-dwelling brown-necked parrot (''Poicephalus fuscicollis'') and grey-headed parrot (''P. f. suahelicus''), but is now considered a distinct species. Taxonomy The Cape parrot was described in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham under the English name, the "robust parrot". When in 1788 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae'', he included the Cape parrot with a short description, coined the binomial name ''Psittacus robustus'' and cited Latham's work. The type locality is South Africa. The Cape parrot is now placed with nine other species in the genus ''Poicephalus'' that was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1837. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek ''p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom while the southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Repu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloud Forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level, formally described in the ''International Cloud Atlas'' (2017) as silvagenitus. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained. Cloud forests are among the most biodiversity rich ecosystems in the world with a large amount of species directly or indirectly depending on them. Other moss forests include black spruce/feathermoss climax forest, with a moderately dense canopy and a forest floor of feathermosses including ''Hylocomium splendens'', ''Pleurozium schreberi'' and ''Ptil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tour Operator
A tour operator is a business that typically combines and organizes accommodations, meals, sightseeing and transportation components, in order to create a package tour. They advertise and produce brochures to promote their products, holidays and itineraries. Tour operators can sell directly to the public or sell through travel agents or a combination of both. The most common example of a tour operator's product would be a flight on a charter airline, plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price. Each tour operator may specialise in certain destinations, e.g. Italy, activities and experiences, e.g. skiing, or a combination thereof. Operations The original ''raison d'être'' of tour operating was the difficulty for ordinary folk of making arrangements in far-flung places, with problems of language, currency and communication. The advent of the Internet has led to a rapid increase in self-packaging of holidays. However, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Papilio Ophidicephalus
''Papilio ophidicephalus'', the emperor swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The wingspan is 90–110 mm in males and 100–120 mm in females. It has two broods, one from August to December and the second from January to April. The larvae feed on '' Clausena inqequalis'', ''Calodendrum capense'', ''Citrus'' species, ''Clausena anisata'', '' Zanthoxylum capense'' and other ''Zanthoxylum'' species. Taxonomy ''Papilio ophidicephalus'' is a member of the ''menestheus'' species group. The members of the clade are: *'' Papilio menestheus'' Drury, 1773 *'' Papilio lormieri'' Distant, 1874 *''Papilio ophidicephalus'' Oberthür, 1878 Subspecies Listed alphabetically: *''P. o. ayresi'' van Son, 1939 (South Africa, Eswatini) *''P. o. chirinda'' van Son, 1939 (west-central Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe) *''P. o. cottrelli'' van Son, 1966 (south-central Zambia) *''P. o. entabeni'' van Son, 1939 (South Africa: Limpopo Province) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily (zoology), superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers (formerly the superfamily "Hesperioidea"), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily "Hedyloidea"). Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, as like most insects they undergo Holometabolism, complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon
The Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon (''Bradypodion thamnobates'') is a chameleon native to woodland habitat in the inland Midlands area of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Description Its length is , relatively small for its genus, and it has bulbous scales of varying colors scattered around the body. The head crest is yellow, with white skin on its throat. Males have a short orange stripe around the middle of their bodies and red-spotted eyelids, whereas females are brown with smaller helmet-like protrusions. They otherwise have considerable variation in their colouration. Naming Its specific name ''thamnobates'' means "bush-walker". In addition to the common name ''Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon'', it is also known under the longer common name of ''KwaZulu-Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon''. Relatives and taxonomy This is a very close relative of the black-headed dwarf chameleon ('' B. melanocephalum''), which looks very different due to adaptation to low fores ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mongoose
A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, Africa and Asia, whereas the Mungotinae comprises 11 species native to Africa. The Herpestidae originated about in the Early Miocene and genetically diverged into two main genetic lineages between 19.1 and . Etymology The English word "mongoose" used to be spelled "mungoose" in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name is derived from names used in India for ''Herpestes'' species: or in classical Hindi; in Marathi; in Telugu; , and in Kannada. The form of the English name (since 1698) was altered to its "-goose" ending by folk etymology. The plural form is "mongooses". Characteristics Mongooses have long faces and bodies, small, rounded ears, short legs, and long, tapering tails. Most are brindled or grizzly; a few h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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