Embarking on an African Safari is an exciting adventure filled with the anticipation of seeing many animals for the first time. For most, there is an emphasis on spotting the Big Five. Ranger Robbie Ball recently wrote a story about The Big, The Little, and The Ugly Five. However, there is another set of mysterious creatures that are just as thrilling to see but far more elusive. They are known as the Shy Five.
The Shy Five are the most elusive and little-known African species, namely the Aardvark, Pangolin, Cape Porcupine, Bat-eared Fox, and Aardwolf.
These rare animals are a treat to behold for wildlife enthusiasts, nature lovers, and safari guides alike. Despite their intriguing and elusive nature, little is known about these mammals, as they are not seen very often. I’m going to explore what we do know about them.
Aardvark
The Aardvark is the strongest and arguably the strangest-looking of the group. They are incredibly rare and difficult to see; Ranger Sean Zeederberg explains why in a previous blog. Aardvarks have very straight ears and a long nose. A strictly solitary and powerful termite-eating digger that uses its formidable excavation prowess to break open termite mounds and dig burrows. The burrows are used as a shelter to rest in during the day and will have many escape routes. Its old holes are often renovated and occupied by many other mammals, such as warthogs, wild dogs, and hyenas.
The Aardvark is usually active in the middle of the night and moves from one termite mound to the next, hunting termites, ants, and other insects. And during the day, it sleeps soundly in a burrow deep underground.
This was not taken at Londolozi but is a fantastic depiction of how unusual the Aardvark’s appearance is.
Bat-eared Fox
With a close resemblance to the dog family, the bat-eared fox is beautiful with its fluffy tail, robber-mask face, and huge ears. This insect muncher will stand peering at the ground, detecting every tiny twitch of termites, larvae, or beetles underground. It digs them up with its elegant, black-stockinged forelegs, then trots on, usually with its family.
As bat-eared foxes enjoy arid and semi-arid areas and are found in a number of reserves in Southern Africa as well as East Africa, they sadly do not occur at Londolozi. The closest one may go to see one is in the northern parts of the Kruger National Park.
A pair of bat-eared foxes embrace the morning sunshine. The ‘robber mask’ face is fairly evident here.
Porcupine
The most prickly customer is the porcupine, a large, quilled rodent that devours juicy bulbs, fruit, bark, berries, and roots. When threatened, it deters predators by stamping its feet and rattling its black and white quills. If that doesn’t work, it will charge in reverse, driving its sharp quills into predators. They detach easily from the porcupine’s skin and lodge into the skin of the predator’s face, and fester painfully. Very few carnivores will attack a porcupine twice.
The Cape Porcupine is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, going as far north as Uganda and Rwanda and all the way down to South Africa. The Kruger National Park is a great safari spot to see this feisty member of the Shy Five.
A once-in-a-lifetime sighting of a pride of lions circling a pair of Porcupines, attempting to catch them without getting stabbed by a quill was very unlikely…
Pangolin
The pangolin is an incredibly strange and unique animal. It is a scaled mammal that hobbles around on its back legs, with its upper body hunched over, forelimbs armed with enormous claws, and head hanging low, close to the ground. Pangolins feed on termites and ants. They excavate into the mound with their powerful front legs and then use their long tongue to manoeuvre through the intricate tunnels in the colonies within termite mounds. The best chance of seeing this special scaly mammal is during the winter months when the rains begin to abate and the grass starts to thin out. But don’t be mistaken; pangolins are incredibly rare to see due to their solitary, nocturnal, secretive, and elusive nature.
With very long claws on its front toes and a snout designed to dig in small areas, the Pangolin is able to effectively excavate termites from the small tunnels.
The scales on a Pangolin are wonderfully unique, as seen on this female and her pup. Seeing one of these animals in the wild is a true spectacle.
Aardwolf
The Aardwolf looks like a miniature brown hyena at first glance, but this dog-like animal lives on a steady diet of termites too. Its jaws are most unlike those of a hyena – small and weak with peg-like teeth. It frightens away attackers by puffing out its huge mane and making scary roaring noises.
An Aardwolf comes out at sunset to forage in Southern Africa.
With a preference for semi-arid plains and grasslands, these harmless carnivores are mainly found in Botswana, the Karoo region in South Africa, and the Northern Cape.
The Pangolin, Cape Porcupine, and less frequently, the Aardvark are three of the Shy Five that have been seen on Londolozi before.
Apart from a couple of sightings in recent years, a camera trap set up by ranger Chris Taylor captured an Aardvark on Londolozi near an active termite mound last December. Their tracks and evidence of them foraging and feeding on termites are found fairly often, but due to their secretive nature and nocturnal habits, our paths very rarely seem to cross.
Fresh tracks of an Aardvark captured in the early morning crossing the road near Camp. Here, the three large toes on the hind foot are distinctive, and the smaller front foot track is seen just above them.
A sighting of a Porcupine at Londolozi is surely one to be cherished. They are usually seen moving around at night or in the early hours of the winter mornings. Their tracks are often seen, and evidence of them digging up roots or bulbs near the side of the road with the odd quill laying around is a sure sign that they were digging the night before. Of the Shy Five, the porcupine is probably seen the most frequently.
Pangolin sightings at Londolozi can be incredibly intimate and are often a special experience at Londolozi. If you get a chance to see one, soak it up, take as many photos as you can, and really appreciate being in the presence of a highly elusive animal that only a handful of guests have seen before.
The Bat-Eared Fox and the Aardwolf are the remaining two species of the shy five that have not been seen on the reserve before. The reason for this is that they enjoy a more arid habitat that is dry and cool. Places such as the Kalahari Desert are where these animals are usually found, particularly the Aardwolf. Whereas the Bat-eared Fox can be seen in the northern regions of the Kruger National Park.
Observing the Shy Five in the wild is truly exhilarating. The rarity of the occasion and its being somewhat unexpected make it a memorable experience that is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone fortunate enough to witness it.
Let me know in the comments if you have ever seen a member of the Shy Five on Londolozi!
Nick Tennick
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