Safari lodges

Safari lodges and tented camps come in all different shapes and sizes. And the general rule that applies to all of them is: the bigger the cheaper, the smaller the more expensive.
In a way this is quite strange. Big lodges cost a lot to build, whereas small exclusive tented camps cost relatively little to build. Yet there are tented camps where one easily pays $1000 per night per person. There is only one reason for the big prize difference: number exclusivity.

In the African safari business the reasoning is that the less people stay in a certain area, the better the (wildlife) experience will be for those that are there. And I have to admit that this to a certain extend makes sense, in this respect, that having a feeling of being close to nature can only be achieved without another fifty mini-buses around, full of shouting kids and tourists that can talk to animals and go to the extreme in getting an animal’s attention (Puss…puss,puss. Pssssst, psssssst).

The wildlife experience

Yet, for most (especially first timers), seeing wildlife is more important than the circumstances that surround the viewing experience.  On a first time safari one also lacks the experience of a previous safari so there is nothing to compare it with.
An important question should be answered: Is your wildlife experience worse when you stay in a big(ger) lodge? The answer is not easy, as it sometimes might be and sometimes is not. After all are animals not in a position to decide whether they rather show themselves to up-market tourists or to budget tourists and on many occasions have I seen tourists of both groups watch the same animal interaction.

What we can say though is that in exclusive areas with little traffic, the resident wildlife is more likely to be at ease and therefore behaving in a more natural way. The less stress that is put on the animals, the bigger the chances that they will remain in an area. This will definitely increase your chances of seeing what you came to see.

Small or big?

So far this article sucks, because I haven’t given you something to make your decision easier. Don’t worry, that will come just now.

Go for big when:

-          You have to save money to make a safari.

-          You can’t do without other people around you.

-          You like a tight (eating) time-schedule every day.

-          You are satisfied when your guide tells you that you are looking at an elephant.

-          You like to watch traditional dancers every night.

-          You are sick of talking to your partner all the time.

-          You want to race from sighting to sighting due to radio calls that alert your guide(driver).

Go for small when:

-          Money is not an issue.

-          You prefer nature over humans.

-          You want to be (more)flexible in your daily schedule.

-          You want to use your guide as an encyclopedia.

-          You like to have a quite night around the fire and like to listen to nature.

-          You like romance or want to impress your partner (see money issue).

-          You can decide how much time you spend at an interesting wildlife sighting.

Tip: If you like the experience of ‘small’ but money is an issue, rather save a year or two extra instead of going for ‘big’ and get disappointed.

I am not the owner of a lodge, so I couldn’t care less what you choose. What I do care about is that you have fun. Good luck in choosing and happy viewing!

Don’t miss the boat and start today!

Web 2.0

Not so long ago I made a remark on Facebook: ‘Johan Knols is wondering why not more safari companies embrace social media’.
I received one comment from someone (thanks Kevin!) who is very active with social media and worked in the safari industry before. His answer was: ‘ I also don’t understand’.

The times, that having a website was sophisticated, are over.
We are living in a new era, that of Web 2.0. I am sure that you have heard about ‘Web 2.0’, but do you really know what it means?
In short it means that nowadays we have the technology to communicate with each other online. It is not about the website visitor only being a consumer of your website information, it is about getting engaged (online) with those that are looking for information that you might provide. It is about bringing your message (product) to those who might be interested in doing a safari and interact with them – and hopefully make a sale afterwards.

Getting started

The easy way:

1. Create a facebook ‘page’ for your company.
   This is not the same as your profile! On the page you can let your followers know about ‘deals’, ‘specials’, or general product info. You can make some videos and post them here or relate the latest news about your company.
2. Create a Twitter account for your company.
   If you haven’t heard about Twitter you have been in the bush far too long. Get involved in this 140-caraters-per-message application and let your followers know what you are up to. You can even use Twitter as a search engine. Type in ‘african safari’ or ‘Kenya or anything related to your business and view who is talking in the world about these words. Get in touch with these people and answer their questions. It is fun and costs, apart from your time, absolutely nothing.
   Tip: It is possible to link your FaceBook and Twitter account so that you only have to send your messages once!
3. Search on the web for forums that are dealing with your business. One big forum in the safari business is ‘Safaritalk’. Get involved with the communities and see what is being discussed. When you deliver useful information you will gain credibility and trust. Wouldn’t you want to go on safari with a company that knows what they are talking about?
4. Create a Trip-advisor account.

The difficult way:

1. Create a blog.
   A blog is like a journal, a web-log (like the site that you are on now!). Instead of the short messages that are so typical for FaceBook and Twitter, you create longer blogposts. These blogposts (or articles) can contain stories from the bush, they can contain videos or podcasts (recorded messages that your visitors can listen to) or they contain those awesome shots you recently made during one of your safaris.

   Without going into details about why blogging is a great way of internet marketing, I can tell you one thing, search engines (like Google) love blogs. The more content appears on your blog, the better your company will get found on the web. And isn’t this something we all want?
   Blog-templates are for free, unless you want more sophisticated ones which you have to pay for. Here are some links that can help you getting started:
   - Blogger, – Wordpress.
   If you decide that blogging is something for you and your company and you need advice from an expert, go to the website of ProBlogger and see what Darren Rowse can teach you.

Time, time, time….

The oldfashioned marketing manager is out of the door. A new generation of Web 2.0 managers is taking over. The beauty of it all is that, with all the free online tools that are available, you can become your own marketing manager, for FREE!
But mind you: Being active on the social media sites can be distractive and (very) time consuming. Let alone if you have to write articles for your blog. Yet, in is fun, you make new ‘friends’ and it challenges the mind about how to best promote your company. Don’t expect your internet marketing to skyrocket your safari business soon, it takes (depending on your activities) quite some time. But if you start today, you will avoid your website from sliding down to page 23.754 on Google.

Good luck! Oh….and when you want to make your first steps with Web2.0, then click on the facebook logo at the top of this article. Thanks!

Stats of PlanYourSafari on Google (from 2 feb.2009 till 3 sept.2010) :

Sometimes people don’t stop to amaze me. Especially the ones in the below video.

The video was shot on the Xakanaxa public campsite in Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana and shows a bunch of happy campers playing with their lives.

A few things you should pay attention to while watching:

1. Nothing gets done to prevent the elephant from entering the campsite.
2. The guy in the white T-shirt with the attitude of the biggest-white-hunter- ever-having- lived-on-the-African-continent, seems to be fed up with his life or otherwise with his wife. The elephant (although not aggressive in his behavior) could have squashed him like an over-ripe tomato.
3. Nobody is really surprised when the bull elephant bends over the ‘white hunter’, but when the elephant decides to go for the apples in the tent, all hell breaks loose.
4. To make matters worse, one of the campers rolls an apple towards the elephant. It is like giving the elephant a reward for causing havoc. By the way, feeding animals is prohibited in all national parks of Africa. I warned you!

The consequences of behavior like this:

1. Allowing animals to enter a campsite creates problems. Not only with regards to the eminent dangers for people and the possible destruction of equipment, but also for the animal that eventually will have to be shot by the wildlife department, as it gets too used to humans.
2. How do you think the people in the game drive vehicles that chased the elephant, felt?Due to the stupidity of others they have to witness how their guides have to chase an elephant.  I am sure that this is the last thing they had in mind when traveling to Africa.

In the past I have written an article about how to prevent your campsite from being wrecked. Obviously the people in the video have never read it.

Never repeat what you see in this video!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKc_34AYwMY

This article is co-authored by Simon Blackburn of  Three Tree Hill Lodge and Kevin Leo-Smith.

A new approach

We need a radical new approach -- and you particularly may not like my idea, as it goes against the grain of what you have been preaching or believe in -- BUT for a moment agree with me that the conventional approaches are clearly not working and there is no argument about this -- and our, the Western bunny-hugging, conservation attitudes ARE BUSY pushing the Rhino towards extinction.

BUT, for a moment let’s forget about rhino’s, or elephants, or even Africa for that matter.

Imagine that (for want of a better example) citrus trees were endangered. And despite scientific proof to the contrary there are still lots of people like you and I that wrongly believe that large doses of vitamin C can stave off colds and flu. So vitamin C (in this hypothetical situation) is very expensive and its trade has been curtailed or even banned in some countries. Now this skyrocketing price causes illegal harvesting of the trees which are processed in large vats and their vitamin C is extracted. As a result the tree numbers are dwindling and soon will be extinct. A few astute businessmen know this and are paying silly prices and are hoarding vitamin C because as soon as the trees are extinct they will be sitting on a gold mine. Yet we have a few conservation organisations that have collected lots of vitamin C in strong-rooms but keep it locked up because a Rich-country dominated organisation (them having squandered all their trees decades ago) have deemed illegal trade illegal. All because a some people wrongly believe that large doses of vitamin C will stave off colds and flu

Ignoring the West

We need a multi-pronged approach to solve this problem and we need to ignore the west and come up with an African solution:

Anti poaching -- the problem with this is, as long as there are poor people in Africa there will be both an incentive and avenues for both subsistence and commercial poaching -- rather like the poor fellow stealing a rabbit to feed his family and ending up banished to Australia -- it’s a survival instinct combined with the opportunistic predatory human nature.
Shooting poor people (as advocated by many of the white’s on the internet) who are poaching rhino horns for a few thousand Rands will only turn the poor masses against conservation and against those who are trying to protect wild animals -- “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR RHINOS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN POOR AFRICANS -- KILL THEM ALL!!”

Rather give them a TANGIBLE benefit that is of a higher and more sustainable value! Also -- just think of the logistics and costs involved in protecting 20,000 rhino’s in South Africa. This will cost billions -- not just millions! (BTW do the math: the poachers have harvested much less than 25% of the rhino’s annual population growth to date! Note, approx 21,000 rhino -- both black and white -- in South Africa in 2009 growing at 5% pa before poaching -- approx 1,050 increase pa. Poaching is heading towards 200-250 this year, so poaching (upper end) is 1.2% of the population or 24% of annual increment). Summary: Anti-poaching as a sole solution will only keep the bunny huggers happy and stands a good chance of driving the animals towards extinction at a faster rate as it will simultaneously drive up horn values as populations begin to decline.

Education -- yes -- both at source and destination. Now this is something we can work with -- and it worked in Yemen during their oil boom but remember you are talking about people’s health -- a commodity more valued by people than anything else, so this will not be an easy option -- it will be time consuming and costly both in monetary terms and resources. but IT IS THE BEST LONG TERM SOLUTION. But what happens if we don’t have a long term -- as in the case of the African rhino species.

The driving force behind this acceleration in destruction is purely dollars, a high value at retail ( street level) and the fact that it is perceived to be a finite resource.

The same argument can be applied to the trade in illegal drugs -- look at what is happening today in Mexico and with the S. American drug cartels. Look at what happened during Christian fundamentalism-driven Prohibition in the 1920’s in the USA -- lots of people died and Bugsy Malone and Al Capone made millions -- and people still got drunk! Even look at the problem with Abalone poaching in South Africa -- a state owned resource!

From cradle to grave

If we could bring that price down and legalise the trade we can control it from cradle to grave.

We are sitting on a sustainable harvestable resource, with many millions in value in protected vaults and on live animals. The government of South Africa can easily lay claim to all rhino horns (both live and dead).
For once let’s put our emotions aside and realise that as a short term solution we NEED to tamper with the price mechanism wherever the horns are being sold. And in the process tell CITES to get lost -- they have not saved anything and dictate to Africa generally (like the West) in a most patronising manner. And, as we’re doing this, let’s use the bulk of our resources, both money and manpower for education through massive marketing and advertising schemes -- use Asian celebrities if we need to and SHRINK the demand this way by applying a levy on sales (example cigarette sales paying for health warnings).

Do what you did and you get what you got

If you don’t change anything, then nothing changes. Madness can be defined as -- doing the same thing and expecting the result to change. For close to 100 years we have tried to stop poaching -- it did not work when Africa had 500 million people, why will it work now when it has close to 1 billion people.
Facts are facts -- Asian buyers are prepared to pay R19,000/kg for horn, hundreds of millions of Africans are starving -- sounds like selling horn legally is the closest thing we have to a logical solution -- irrespective of your emotional perspective. The trend is not in favour of more conventional logic (kill the poacher) being applied. It is not an accident that South Africa has the most rhinos, the solution in South Africa has been private ownership and almost free trade in rhino within the country.
Now let’s extend the ONLY example of an increasing and financially valuable rhino population to global thinking. Quick and dirty estimates would value the rhino herd in South Africa at R2.1 to 2.5 billion. What is the real provable value of a live rhino in Kenya -- you can’t tell me, neither can their neighbours -- but the poacher can tell you its value -- DEAD. This is not a difficult concept.

The situation is just like during the prohibition -- where the foxes (mafia et al) wanted to guard the chickens (alcohol) -- lets recognise the illegal traders also like CITES … more than you do … and want to continue guarding the chickens (horn trade). These foxes for illegal animal products are mid- and some upper level officials in governments and conservation agencies, including customs and police officials with their criminal compatriots.

From Johan Knols (administrator):

I have added the below video to show that a lot of people are involved in the protection of the rhino,abeit each person in his own way. Here is a guy who is really desperate and has different ideas than the authors of the above article.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIYtnw6klM0

The main attraction for making a safari is most likely to see wildlife. And since we can’t all allow expensive (zoom) lenses, it can be thrilling to see animals up close and be able to make that great shot. Yet, sometimes encounters can be really close, for some maybe too close..

I have collected videos from YouTube, all made by safari tourists, that show you how close wildlife can get. There are many more videos online than the ones I show you, but I have limited myself to close encounters with the Big Five.

All of the guides in the videos act responsible, apart from the guide in the video with the male lion. Personally I would have advised my guests not to hang limbs out of the vehicle, something that the guide in question thought differently about. But what they all realize well is the fact that when wildlife approaches your vehicle out of free will, it hardly has bad intentions.

Cape Buffalo in Kariega Game Reserve (South Africa)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl8MABHXBz4

Elephant at Shamwari Game Reserve (South Africa)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tODRMcc-pGc

Lion In Masai Mara (Kenya)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmdvaiSeqx0

Leopard at Leopard Hills ( South Africa)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7TvhwIuHCU

Rhino at Kruger National Park (South Africa)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHJ4OcvyWNk

Let these videos not scare you. When you make a trip with your own guide you are generally in safe hands. When you decide to make a safari with your own (rental) vehicle, I leave it up to you how close you get. Staying put is often the best way to avoid a trip to the panel beaters.

Happy safari!

Some questions to ask yourself

If you are considering joining a volunteer program in South Africa then the likelihood is that you are the kind of person who wants to make a positive contribution, be it to conservation or to a community in need. However, before making the decision about which project you want to join there are a few things that you may want to consider…

Does the project have a genuine need for volunteers?

The whole idea of volunteering is for you to make a real and significant contribution to a cause through your specialist skills, or simply through your hard work and enthusiasm!  Be sure that the project/organization is recruiting volunteers because they have a genuine need for them – any ethical organization should be interested in finding volunteers to assist with projects, not creating projects to attract volunteers.

Is the project sustainable?

‘Sustainability’ is a term you come across a lot these days and is definitely something you need to consider when thinking of volunteering. If a project is not sustainable then however much you may put into that project in the short term, in the grand scheme of things what is that project really contributing? Sustainability will help to ensure that the project achieves its long term goals…and that all your hard work won’t become meaningless. Always think about the BIG PICTURE.

What is your motivation for volunteering?

Question your own reasons for choosing to be a volunteer.  For example, if you are thinking of volunteering for a conservation project ask yourself ‘Do I really want to make a genuine difference to conservation, or do I just want to play with cute cuddly animals?’ Obviously any animal lover would be thrilled by that, but if you want to make a real contribution to conservation then just be sure that it isn’t your only motivation – if your dazzled by the idea of all those fluffy animals, there’s a chance you’ll skim over the actual purpose of the project and what it contributes to conservation in the long term.

Is the organization/project ethical?

Do some research, look at the way in which the organization describes its projects; for example if you’re looking at doing a community project (particularly in a developing country) look at how the organization is portraying that community – any ethical organization shouldn’t be telling you that you will be changing the world or suggesting that this community can’t function on its own, they should be inspiring you to come and work together with these people to help them achieve their goals and develop as a community.

Simply look at how much information you are receiving about the projects you are looking at – if an organization has good, ethical projects then they don’t have anything to hide and therefore should be able to provide you with all the information you need about what the projects involve and what your role will be.

Finally, one always has that niggling feeling that you can’t entirely trust the information that any organization is giving you…because it’s the information they are choosing to give to you! So if you’re not 100% convinced by the information you’ve received through them then have a look for reviews or blogs from past volunteers, or ask the organization to put you in touch with a past volunteer. That way you can get a volunteers perspective on what that project is like.

Obviously for most people choosing to become a volunteer isn’t a completely selfless act, it’s about you too– you want to see new places, meet new people, experience new things; and that’s great, volunteering doesn’t have to be solely about contributing to a good cause, it can also be about you having a new experience and growing as a person…but take your time to do some research so you can be sure that you’re signing up for a meaningful, ethical project. That way you’ll get far more out of it in the end!!

For more details on ethical volunteering visit our Facebook page or click here for information on volunteer projects.

By Jo Lancaster – EDGE of AFRICA

Men in green that deserve love, tenderness and care

All national parks and game reserves in Africa have gates through which you enter the protected areas. That is the most common place to find (a) game scout(s).
They are the men and women that are employed by the government and fulfill different jobs within the wildlife departments. Sometimes with a smile, sometimes not.

There tasks range from manning the gate and doing the entrance fee collection, to maintaining buildings and waterholes, to doing regular anti poaching activities. Yes, you might even find them in offices in towns and cities, far away from the actual wildlife areas.
Most of the times you recognize them because of their badges and insignias. So don’t get too impressed and think that everybody with ‘greens’ is a scout.

In Eastern Africa these men and women are often referred to as ‘rangers’, whereas the ones working in Southern Africa are, more often than not, referred to as game scouts. A ranger in Southern Africa is normally the guy or lady that is guiding you: a big difference! (So the situation is rather confusing).

A game scout is someone that you have to get on your side. It sounds weird but it is true.
The scouts often have a lonely life, far away from home and their families for months on end, and their jobs are not esteemed to be very good ones. Yet, they themselves feel (and I agree) that they are doing an important job. So give them the respect they expect. If you do, you will make a friend for life, if you make fun of them or are rude, you will run in all sorts of problems you didn’t even know existed. (How about having to drive back a hundred kilometers because someone in the booking office ‘forgot’ to give you a receipt?)

As these scouts are civil servants, you should know that their speed of working is often accordingly. Never show that you are in a hurry: You won’t have time to exchange pleasantries (something (s)he wants because (s)he hasn’t seen a living soul in two days) and you won’t showing the respect they expect. If you show this lack of courtesy, the working ‘speed’ will drop to a snail’s pace. And guess who gets agitated the most?

Lastly I would like to give you a tip to make a friend and assure you a swift passing of the gate. If you have a (few) sodas left, share them with the scouts. If you are leaving the wilderness and you have a block of ice left, leave it with them (they also look their drinks cold) and if you have anything left in your car that is edible, offer it to them. Not only will you feel good yourself, but you might have made this scout’s day.

Happy gate crossing.

In the video below you can see some of the more extreme work rangers in Virunga National Park do!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdbp55vq6ps

A few tips

Those of you who have been on a safari know the drill: as soon as the time to go on a game drive has arrived the rush to the vehicle starts. ‘I wanna sit there’, ‘No, I wanna sit there!’ (especially when kids are around) can be heard often. Here are some tips that give you an insight in which seats to choose.

The backseats
Funnily enough a lot of people like to sit in the back. True, often the backseats are the highest of the ground and give the best view. You even have the possibility to look backwards. But there are certainly some drawbacks to sitting in the rear.
First of all you sit furthest away from the guide and you might have difficulty hearing what he says. Secondly, you have just climbed onto the most bumpy part of the vehicle. Safari vehicles are often customized and heavier shocks and springs have been put in place, something that doesn’t always make the ride nicer and as you can imagine, some roads in Africa’s national parks can be rough. Especially when the rear seats are hanging over the back of an open vehicle, the bouncing and jumping can be rather unpleasant.
Lastly you are sitting closest to the exhaust. If you happen to be riding with a guide that doesn’t switch off his vehicle when being stationary, you are going to wish for a gas-mask. Also might the sitting close to the build-up frame lead to some unwanted head-banging.

The middleseats
Not too bad. You sit a bit closer to the guide and you might still be a bit higher up than the seats in front of you. Viewing back will be difficult as there are seats (and most likely people) behind you. The biggest asset about sitting in the middle row is the comfortable ride as the bumping of the car is felt less than sitting in the rear.

The frontseat(s)
Definitely my favorite. The guide is easy to understand (even when he whispers) and the shaking is minimal. The biggest set back is the fact that one sits the lowest of all passengers and this means that the view can be limited. At the same time there is a positive here, as the front view will be unobstructed by other travelers. If the game drive vehicle has a tracker on the front, you view might be lousy though.
The biggest advantage however is the angle with which one can take photographs. From the middle and the rear photographs will always show a view ON the subject, as images taken from the front have a natural angle and simply look nicer.

Some advice: It is an unwritten law that during the game drives people change seats regularly. In this way everybody will have a chance to shoot images from different angles. Obviously will old and frail people always have those seats that are easiest to reach.

Have fun!

African animals and their tails

After my article on the horns of African mammals, I decided to write a post about the other end: the tail. It is actually a pity that we human beings have lost our tails, especially in the light of all the uses that tails can have and there are some remarkable ones.

1-3. Tails can be used for balance when jumping ( bush-baby) and like in the case of the cheetah, when running. Tails can also be used in a similar way as a blind person using a stick. When elephants go in reverse, one can clearly see the tail sticking backwards and warning the loxodont about obstacles in its way.

4. Tails can also be beacons that should be followed by offspring in times of danger, think about the white fluffy part of an impala tail ( and those of other antelope) when being erect in flight.

5. The use of a tail as weaponry can clearly be seen when crocodiles and monitor lizards protect themselves. The lashing of the tail can be quite vicious.

6. Than we have of course those that attract lots of flies. Warthogs, zebras and gnus all use their tales as fly-swats and thus prevent insects from laying their eggs..

7. One particular tail deserves a separate mention. A hippopotamus tail is used as a distributor of the very fertile hippo dung. Not only does it spray the dung over a wide area, also the accompanied noise is very distinct.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlIzazbl-WA

8. And how about the use of a tail as an umbrella? A clear example is the ground squirrel that fluffs its tail to protect its body from the fierce south African sun and in this way regulates its body temperature.

9-10. Especially in cats we can tell from the tail what the carnivores have in mind and what excites them. The left to right ‘swooshing’ of cats tail can tell that it is annoyed and that it should be left alone. If the tail is tense and pointing backwards, with only the tip moving, the chances of an attack following is substantial.

11. That a tail is not only used as weaponry by swaying it, we can tell from scorpions that will curl their tail up- and forwards to sting its prey or to fend off an enemy.

12. The funniest use of a tail. ‘Ah, now the enemy thinks he’s got me. But I simply shake of my tail’ says the gecko. And ran off with a stompie..

If I forgot another function of tails or if you happen to know an interesting story involving tails, please let us know by filling in the comments box.

If you look carefully they tell you a lot

Everybody traveling to Africa will see animals with horns. Not only do typical antelope carry them, but also Cape buffaloes, giraffes and rhinos.

The difference between horns and antlers is that antlers get shed once a year, whereas horns continue to grow during the lifespan of the animal.

To have a nice pair of horns has certain advantages. It enables the individual to get a high ranking on the social ladder by being able to fend off the competition and with this comes the reward of getting the best females. It also helps in fending off enemies. Not only those of the same species that want to challenge you, but also those that want to eat you. It is not unheard of for predators to have died from a proper horn piercing.

In the next video we see some mammals using their horns against the enemy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwNJr58Z_k4

When one looks carefully, horns are able to tell us quite a bit about an individual.
From the size we can roughly tell the age of an animal, as the horn shape in younger individuals looks completely different from the shape of those in older individuals.
From the horns it is also often possible (depending on the species) to tell the differences between males and females. Obviously looking at the sex organs would be the normal way to tell that difference, but in thick bush this is not always an option.

Horns of a male and female giraffe

male giraffe

female giraffe

Horns can also tell something about the sexual state of an animal. Antelope that are sexually aroused often dig up (wet) soil with their horns.

Not all horns are beautiful of course. Sometimes you find an male individual with a broken off horn, a sign that he challenged or got challenged by another male and lost a horn due to a weakness in the horn structure. Not only can horns break off, they also sometimes grow crooked after being damaged at an earlier stage.

broken impala horn

Humans have always been fascinated by horns and during evolution horn has been used in many different ways. In the past we made blowing ‘horns’ out of them and in many African countries horn is still used in witchcraft.  Since horns are hollow at the base, they have also served as drinking cups.

‘Maasia blowing the ( kudu) horn’

Sadly enough it is still homo-non-sapiens that is keen on having a pair of horns on the wall.

I have collected a few images of African horned mammals. From the tallest horns, to the tiniest, the most massive and the most precious.

Tallest (kudu)

tiniest (steenbok)

most massive (cape buffalo)

most precious (white rhino)