SOUTH AFRICA NATURE LOVER’S PARADISE

South Africa is surely one of the few areas in the world that can stand out as a nature lover’s paradise. The abundant variety of plants, wild animals, insects, fish, reptiles and minerals, make this beautiful country very attractive to any tourist or nature lover.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once quoted “ We have not inherited this planet from our fathers, we have borrowed it from our children”

It is our responsibility to keep it in such a state that our children can one day also be proud of it. That our children can, one day, also live in it.

Psalm 37 : 9reads “……………. but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. “

Verse  18:” ………………………………. and their inheritance shall be forever.”

Therefore it looks like we will live here forever!

In this series I will attempt to bring something interesting on a regular basis.

Let us have a closer look to some other creatures and inhabitants of our world.

1.)    FROGS

 

There is a large variety of these beautifull and interesting creatures in our country.

Most frogs and toads prefer to live in wet or moist conditions on land, rather than in the water.

However there is a difference between frogs and toads, most people cannot tell the that difference by merely a glance.

Mostly, toads are blunt nosed and normally have a dry, warty skin and short legs. Toads are also crawling, rather than leaping through the air like frogs.

Toads, normally, lay their eggs in “jelly strings”. Frogs lay them in clumps.

Some frogs can be poisonous when touched. Certain species like the guttural toad  (Bufo gutturalis ), will cause  a skin irritation when touched because of the toxin in its own skin glands.

Most common frogs that you can expect to bump into are:

Platannas, Bullfrogs, River frogs, Reed frogs, Toads and Caco’s.

A more complete list of the genera will look like this:

PLATANNAS

RUBBER FROGS

GHOST FROGS

SHOVEL-NOSED FROGS

KASSINAS

TREE FROGS

LEAVE-FOLDING FROGS

PUDDLE FROGS

FOAM NEST FROGS

KLOOF FROGS

REED FROGS

LILY FROGS

BULL FROGS

TOADS

RAIN FROGS

ORNATE FROGS

SAND FROGS

MICRO FROGS

GRASS FROGS

STREAM FROGS

RIVER FROGS

SQUEAKERS

CACOS

HOGSBACK FROGS

CHIRPING FROGS

Let us have a look at the most common frogs:

1)      COMMON PLATANNA (Xenopus laevis)

This frog loves water and is the most aquatic of all species. I normally find then in dams and in rivers when fishing. They live under water and never come on dry land by free will.

This frog is very slimy, smooth and streamlined.

Fishermen do breed them for live bait, as they make excellent bait for certain fish species.

The upper body colour varies between a pale-grey or green to grey-black. The under parts of the body is normally white or rather a muddy-white colour.

Common Platannas are found in the most parts of our country, except for a very small portion of the far northern and dry regions.

2)      KAROO TOADS (Buffo gariepensis)

Karoo Toads are most commonly found in the Cape, Orange Free State, north western areas of Kwazulu-Natal, a small portion of Southern Mpumalanga and  Southern Swaziland.

They prefer sandy ground, covered by grass and scrub.

The colour is normally brown to khaki, but a blueish grey or green colour is sometimes seen in the north eastern specimens.

Normally hear at night, these toads make a loud , rasping sound and sometimes a shrill human baby like call.

3)      GUTTORAL TOAD (Buffo gutturalis)

Guttural Toads are found in the central and eastern parts of the country. They prefer open grass land and bushy country.

They breed in open pools, dams and more or less permanent water.

The sound is a vibrant snore of about one second, repeated about one in three seconds.

Guttural Toads can normally be heard after some good rain.

The body colour varies from yellowish to dark brown. The under part of the body is granular whitish with a dark thought.

Guttural Toad are not afraid to come close to homes and sometimes into homes in search of food like, insects, snails and worms.

4)      BUSHVELD RAIN FROG (Breviceps adspersus)

The Bushveld Rain Frog is a common specie in the north eastern parts of the country.

However it can also be found in a very small are in the south eastern cape.

It’s Afrikaans name is “Blaasoppie” due to the fact that it puffs itself up when disturbed.

This little frog is only 3 to 5 cm long.

The Bushveld Rain Frog breeds in deep burrows of sandy wooded savanna.

The sound is normally a short creaking chirp with repeated short intervals. Two to three calls per second.

The colour is normally yellow-brown and red-brown with lighter yellow and orange patches. The under parts of the body is white with a dark thought.

5)      BULLFROG (Pyxicephalus adspersus)

Also called, Giant Pyxie, this huge frog is wide found Mpumalanga, Limpopo, northern and eastern Kwazulu-natal, Swaziland and eastern Cape.

The name of this frog arrives from the sound the male frog makes during the mating season.  A low pitched whooping sound with irregular intervals.

They are normally breeding in rain filled areas and vleis. Males call from shallow water in vleis.

Colour is green to brown with sometimes dark olive-green spots. Below, the body is cream or pale yellow.

Bullfrogs are aggressive and can cause a painful bite.

6)      COMMON RIVER FROG (Rana angolensis)

Sometimes called Common Rana. They breed in permanent water like rivers and dams.

The Common River Frog is found in the most central and eastern parts of the county.

They are normally green with brown spots.

The sound is two different calls. A short croak and a sharp rattle.

Please post your pictures of frogs and interesting stories to this weblog.

Look out for the next post on “SOUTH AFRICA NATURE LOVER’S PARADISE”

 

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