Category: Interesting Facts

This very attractive, well-groomed tree is called a Brown Ivory. They can reach up to 20 metres in height. The Brown Ivory is an iconic tree in the Thornybush Nature Reserve, with its umbrella-like shape caused by giraffe and elephant…

There is a unique story about the Blue Wildebeest told in many African cultures over many generations and it goes like this: After the gods created all the animals they realized that they had made too many spare parts of…

The Leopard Orchid is used as a love charm, an antidote for bad dreams and to ward off lightning at traditional homesteads. This orchid is an epiphytic, a plant that grows on top of another – in this case on…

The scientific name for Wild Cotton is Gossypium herbaceum. The Genus name Gossypium is from the Arabic word “goz” which means soft substance. Gossypium is Latin for “cotton” and herbaceum means herbaceous. This shrub is endemic to South Africa, occurring…

Quite common in the area round KwaMbili is a small shrub called the Corkbush. It has a relatively light green leaf compared to the rest of the foliage and – unbelievably – it is used for fishing! But not in…

Giraffe will generally drink about 12 litres of water a day but a large bull can consume up to 48 litres. With their long necks one might wonder how they manage when lowering their heads to drink. The heart of…

Zebra never appear thin, and this has to do with a very special form of “friendship”. A zebra’s digestive system contains 37 different types of bacteria adding up to thousands in total. These bacteria digest what the zebra has eaten…