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| The Common Warthog |
Just for fun, and to dilute the focus some of our international safari guests have on the Big 5 check list, we also have other animal check lists....... The Little 5, the Big 5 mammals, the Big 5 Birds and so on.
The one I enjoy trying to achieve is the "Ugly" 5.
It's a little insulting to call anything truly natural Ugly, but it's still fun to try and find. As with all the "lists" some of the animals are harder to find than others.
I'm not going to give you a lot more in the way of words, just some pictures for you to enjoy.
A fairly obvious contender for the "Ugly" list is the Common Warthog.
Not always easy to get close to, except where they have found a home in the camps and lodges.
Here they are not tame, but habituated to human presence.
The Spotted Hyena (which is one of my favourite predators) can be very ugly indeed, but also very cute!
We count ourselves lucky when we see them on safari.
I've previously dedicated a whole post, with lots more pics, on this amazing animal.
Click on this link to see.....
Encounters with The Spotted Hyaena (Crocuta crocuta)
The Lappet-faced Vulture is probably the hardest of the Ugly 5 to find. This is the largest vulture in Kruger, and is generally uncommon.
It's a magnificent bird, and I'm always extra excited when we see one (or usually 2).
And then the other bird on the Ugly 5 list is the Marabou Stork. I will admit that I find it difficult to see any "beauty" in this bird.
Like the vultures it is mostly a scavenger so I suppose it's beauty is in it's critical function in nature.
Last, but definitely not least, of the Ugly 5, is the Blue Wildebeest (aka Brindled Gnu).
Not ugly to me, but rather "different" looking in many respects. I love their little eyes!
