If there’s one critical piece of advice I can give you for a game drive, it is this: it’s better to be the know-it-all than be subject to one! Arm yourself with these awesome facts about South Africa’s record breaking animals and other fascinating wildlife.

Fastest land animal:

In a short burst, the cheetah can reach a top speed of up to 113km/h in only a few seconds. Their average running pace when hunting is 93km/h. That’s almost 3 times faster than Usain Bolt’s top speed of 12,27m/second (44,17km/h). In fact, 3 of the 5 fastest land animals live in South Africa: the cheetah, wildebeest, and lion.

Fastest flying bird:

The peregrine falcon can reach speeds of 250 – 380km/h when catching its prey.

Largest land animal:

The average African elephant weighs an impressive 5 tons (5,000kg), but can grow up to 7 tons!

Largest marine animal:

At birth, the blue whale calf weighs a whopping 2,7 tons and is about 7m long. They grow at a rate of about 44kg a day, finally reaching between 100 and 150 tons.

Largest and fastest 2-legged animal:

The ostrich is the world’s largest 2-legged animal, growing up to 2,7m and weighing up to 160kg. It is also the fastest 2-legged, running at a speed of 70km/h. The ostrich’s weakness, however, is that it runs around in circles when alarmed, making it easy prey for attackers.

Tallest animal:

An average adult giraffe will reach a height of 5,5m, while some male giraffes can grow to 6m. This is equivalent to a two-storey building. The giraffe’s windpipe alone is 2m long.

Smelliest animal:

The zorilla, also known as the African striped polecat or African skunk, squirts a potent secretion that leaves its victim temporarily blinded. The nauseating odour lingers for several days.

Oldest fish:

The coelacanth, thought to be extinct for over 70 million years, was discovered off the east coast of South Africa in 1938. Scientists believe the species dates back to over 360 million years.

Rarest amphibian:

The only place on earth where the critically endangered Table Mountain ghost frog, also known as Rose’s ghost frog, can be found is within a 10km² area on Table Mountain. This rare amphibian only comes out at night.

Heaviest beetle:

The Goliath beetle grows to over 10cm in length and weighs 100g.

Heaviest flying bird:

The Kori Bustard weighs up to 18kg.  It reaches a height of 1,5m, with a wing length of up to 2,6m.

Strongest animal:

Adult rhino beetles are an impressive 2,5cm – 5cm long and proportionally the strongest animal in the world, known to lift 850 times their own weight. That would be equivalent to a human carrying 15 elephants.

15 more interesting animal facts

1. Approximately 900 bird species are found in South Africa alone, representing 10% of the world’s total bird species.

2. The antelope with the longest horns is the greater kudu. The horns have an average straightened length of 120cm, with the maximum being 187cm. Male greater kudu horns grow at just over a turn every 2 years.

3. Zebras leave the herd to give birth. This allows the foal to imprint the mother’s unique stripe pattern into their memory.

4. At least one species of African dung beetle, Scarabaeus satyrus, uses the Milky Way as a guide to steering its dung ball home.

5. An elephant’s trunk contains 40,000 different muscles (the human body only has 639).

6. Growing to an average 2,5m, the black mamba is the longest venomous snake in Africa and the second longest venomous snake in the world after the King cobra. It is also the fastest moving snake in Africa and its venom is the most rapid-acting of all snakes.

7. The Klipspringer is the highest jumping antelope, relative to its body height. Klipspringers grow to only 0.5 metres tall, but can jump 10 times their own height.

8. It is commonly believed that zebras were white with black stripes. Embryological evidence, however, shows that the animal’s background colour is black, while the white stripes and bellies are additions.

9. Unlike many antelope, Dik Diks are territorial and monogamous. They cover their dung to avoid detection by predators.

10. Baby white rhinos usually walk in front of their mothers, while black rhino babies follow behind.

11. Hippos get sunburn.

12. Elephants are either left or right-handed. You can tell by the direction in which they grasp objects with their trunk.

13. Cheetahs are the only big cat that cannot roar. They emit bird-like calls and purr loudly, especially when grooming or lying with other cheetahs.

14. Hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs, and even more closely related to meerkats.

15. South Africa is not only home to the Big 5 (rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, and buffalo), but also the Small 5, who are named for their larger counterparts: rhino beetle, elephant shrew, antlion, leopard tortoise, and buffalo weaver.

What awesome facts can you share about South Africa’s wildlife?