Don’t forget the Little Five

Thousands of people go to the Kruger National Park every year to see the Big Five: lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant.

But many forget there is a whole realm of wonderful creatures in addition to the big five, albeit more difficult to spot. South African National Parks has compiled a list of the Little Five to look out for.

First on the list is the elephant shrew. Despite looking like a mouse, these small, insect-eating mammals indigenous to Africa are more elephant than mouse. They like rocky areas where they hide from predatory birds and can leap from rock to rock.

They get their name from their long, flexible noses, which resemble an elephant’s trunk. Elephant shrews aren’t shrews at all, but are a separate species. They eat invertebrates, fruit, seeds and leaves.

The second member of the Little Five is the antlion. In their larval stage they have flat heads and sickle-shaped jaws, but adult antlions are dragonfly-like insects. Antlions make funnel-shaped pit traps in the soil to catch small insects.

The only winged member of the Little Five is the red-billed buffalo weaver. These are one of few birds that have an organ resembling a penis.

In the bird world, size matters, as females prefer to be inseminated by males with larger organs. Copulation can last up to 20 minutes and result in orgasms. A female can take more than one male companion and they all defend the nest together.

The scariest-looking member of the five is the rhino beetle. The mighty horns of the strongest animal on the planet are capable of carrying 850 times its own weight. The horns are used for fighting and digging. Males can live for up to three years, but females rarely live long after mating. Adult beetles eat nectar, fruit and plant sap.

Last on the list is the leopard tortoise, pictured, the fourth-largest tortoise species in the world. It’s native to southern and eastern Africa and is the only tortoise able to raise its head as it has no protective shield above the neck.

The gender of hatchlings is determined by the temperature: 21 to 31°C results in males and hotter temperatures produce females. Adults reach sexual maturity after 15 years and can live to a 100.