Janice Of The Jungle Visits Inverdoorn Game Reserve

Did You Know? - The Karoo (/kəˈruː/ kə-ROO; from a Khoikhoi word, possibly garo "desert") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. There is no exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo, and therefore its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology, and climate — above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold.

Did You Know? - Sprawling across 10 000 hectares in the Ceres Karoo, Inverdoorn Game Reserve and Iziba Safari Lodge is situated two and a half hours from Cape Town. The reserve is home to an abundance of wildlife, including the Big Five and offers thrilling safaris and the best luxury accommodation.

As a conservation stronghold, Inverdoorn strives to save threatened species and return animals to their natural habitat. This is evident from the rescue stories of animals that now roam free on the reserve. In 2012, Inverdoorn introduced elephants into the reserve, marking it as a Big Five destination.

Did You Know? - All members of the Big 5 – the elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and the elusive leopard (we didn't see any leopards) – are represented at Inverdoorn. The game is thriving and during your safari you may come across herds of eland, gemstone and zebra, or hippos wallowing in the dam. The rhinos, with their horns intact, are a distinct highlight at Inverdoorn, combined with the magic of walking with giraffes and watching the cheetah run.

NOTE: They told us the only 2 ways to smuggle the horns was if whole and going through security and what they put in the horns can be detected or if they are ground the dust makes the poachers sick and the hospital and medical personnel know what to look for and will report them. We didn't see any pink horns - here they no longer do that

Did You Know? - The Springbok is a slender, long-legged antelope, the springbok reaches 71 to 86 cm (28 to 34 in) at the shoulder and weighs between 27 and 42 kg (60 and 93 lb). Both sexes have a pair of black, 35-to-50-centimetre (14 to 20 in) long horns that curve backward. The springbok is characterized by a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light brown coat marked by a reddish-brown stripe that runs from the upper foreleg to the buttocks across the flanks, and a white rump flap.

Active mainly at dawn and dusk, springbok form harems (mixed-sex herds). In earlier times, springbok of the Kalahari desert and Karoo would migrate in large numbers across the countryside, a practice known as trekbokken. A feature unique to the springbok is pronking, in which the springbok performs multiple leaps into the air, up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) above the ground, in a stiff-legged posture, with the back bowed and the white flap lifted. Primarily a browser, the springbok feeds on shrubs and succulents; this antelope can live without drinking water for years, meeting its requirements through eating succulent vegetation. Breeding takes place year-round, and peaks in the rainy season, when forage is most abundant. A single calf is born after a five- to six-month-long pregnancy; weaning occurs at nearly six months of age, and the calf leaves its mother a few months later.

Springbok inhabit the dry areas of south and southwestern Africa.

Did You Know? - The buffalo may come across as peaceful and passive at times. They are, in fact, very dangerous and unpredictable. They use their horns for fighting and these are extremely powerful and even bulletproof. Were you to shoot a buffalo’s horns, the bullet would merely ricochet.

As gregarious animals they live in herds, which can number in the thousands and in the wild they can live for up to 18 years. Extremely large animals, their front hooves are larger than their hind ones in order to support the heavy bulk of their head and neck.

Males and females have horns, but the males’ tend to be bigger and are used in fights. Their natural habitat encompasses grass, shade and water as they drink regularly and prefer to stay close to water when feeding.

They only mate and give birth to calves during the rainy season. His main predator is the lion and, of course, humans – having once been a popular trophy for hunters. When danger threatens, buffalo will protect their calves by pushing them into the middle of the herd.

Did You Know? - Capecheetah (yes... Capecheetah) is a rescue and rehabilitation center for cheetahs based at Inverdoorn Game Reserve in the Western Cape. It was founded by reserve owner Damian Vergnaud after the purchase of 7 semi wild cheetahs. In 2008 he saved Velvet, Shady and Joti, 1 month old cheetah cubs who were abandoned in a bathroom.

Today, each of them has their proper thrilling, but sometimes heartbreaking, story. The aim of the center was to rescue more of these species from similar situations with the goal of rehabilitating them and, ideally, releasing them into the wild.

The work of the center was expanded with the implementation of a breeding programme, aimed at countering the decline in the African cheetah population and increasing the genetic diversity in species. To date, Capecheetah has succeeded in both releasing cheetahs back into the wild and seeing two litters of cubs born on the reserve.