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Plains zebra
Look for broad stripes wrapping around the rump and a stout, horse-like build. Plains zebras are widespread across eastern and southern Africa. Where their range overlaps with Grevy’s zebras, the difference in stripe width helps tell them apart.
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Common Warthog
A warthog can drop onto its front knees to graze, giving you a better look at its tusks, long snout, and the pads on its face. It’s easy to overlook while the vehicle is moving. Give it a few minutes in the open and you might see why it can feed so close to the ground.
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Hippopotamus
Watch for eyes and nostrils near the waterline before looking for the whole animal. The Shire River in Malawi’s Liwonde National Park is a good place to watch hippos in their element from a guided boat. Much of the animal can stay underwater while it looks and breathes above the surface.
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Masai giraffe
A Masai giraffe can come into view above the shrubs before you see a leg. Look for the jagged edges of its dark patches. Kenya’s Amboseli and the Masai Mara both hold populations of this species, one of four now recognized by the IUCN.
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Meerkat
Kgalagadi’s mammal checklist includes meerkats. On open, arid ground, look for one standing upright while others nose around for food. The upright animal is often a lookout. Watching the group for a while lets you see how differently that individual behaves from the ones feeding around it.
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Common ostrich
A male’s black body and white wing and tail feathers stand out in the open. Females are much browner. The common ostrich can look like two different birds at a distance until you see the same long neck, small head and long stride on both.
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Chacma baboon
Chacma baboons spend much of the day foraging on the ground. A heavy brow and a long, doglike muzzle are good clues when a troop comes into view. Slow down to look at what individual animals are doing. Some will be searching for food while others pay much closer attention to the group’s surroundings.
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Cheetah
Cheetahs can be hard to pick out even on open ground. Look for a slim cat with single dark spots and black lines running down from the inner corners of the eyes. A clear view of the face will tell you more than a quick impression of a spotted coat.
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Spotted hyena
The sloping back and rounded ears often show before you can make out any spots. Zambia’s Liuwa Plain is worth knowing about if hyenas are a priority. They’re a major predator there. A sighting is a chance to watch a hunter in its own right, especially if more than one animal is moving together.
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Secretarybird
Search open grassland for a tall bird striding on the ground. The long legs and dark crest help give away a secretarybird, but the stop-and-start walk is often the easiest clue from a vehicle. It hunts by walking through grass and striking prey with its feet.
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Southern ground hornbill
An adult’s bare red face stands out against its black feathers. The younger birds can have pale faces, so scan the whole group when you see one. Kruger is a strong place to look for these hornbills walking on the ground to feed.
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Serval
A serval’s large ears can give it away even when tall grass hides most of the spotted coat. Wet grassland is a better place to pay attention than an exposed dry plain. Keep watching if it pauses with its ears up. Servals rely on sound to find small prey they can’t see.
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Shoebill
A shoebill can stand so still at the edge of a marsh that the easiest clue is the broad bill. Zambia’s Bangweulu Wetlands offer a better chance than a typical savanna drive. Water levels affect access and where the birds feed, so ask the park about conditions before planning a visit around one.
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Aardvark
Set your expectations for an animal that does most of its feeding at night and spends much of the day underground. Kgalagadi records aardvarks, but even there a daylight drive is a poor bet. If you see one out, the long ears and tapering snout make it easy to recognize.
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Honey badger
A broad pale mantle over a low, dark body makes a honey badger look striped at first glance. It’s on the Kgalagadi checklist, where a glimpse can be brief. A good view of the coat is enough to identify it, even if the animal keeps moving.
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Ground pangolin
A glimpse of Temminck’s ground pangolin is unusual. It mostly comes out at night, and the scales and heavy tail can be easier to see than the small face. Treat one as a lucky sighting. You’ll have more to watch on most drives if you keep looking for the other animals around you.
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African wild dog
Big rounded ears and irregular patches of black, white and tan help identify a wild dog. Packs range widely, which makes seeing one much less predictable than seeing grazers. If a guide does find a pack, watch the other animals as well as the first one you spot.
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