Hopping Into The Summer

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog post. This week we’re going to mob up with our kangaroos. Note that I said “Mob” up, a group of kangaroos is referred to as a mob. Yes a mob, now let’s hop on over to a couple of really cool marsupial facts.

First of all there are 4 different species on kangaroo. The red, antilopine, eastern grey and the western grey. Red kangaroos like we have at Timbavati Wildlife are the largest species of both kangaroo and marsupial. Marsupials are animals which have pouches and they use this to carry and grow their young in.

Kangaroos are the most famous of the marsupials but there are other marsupials like opossums, wombats and dasyurids. The kangaroo seems to just be the most famous marsupial. Here’s how famous a marsupial the kangaroo is. Everyone can tell you that a baby kangaroo is called a “joey” but what do you call a baby opossum? See you didn’t know that, guess what, it’s called a “joey”. Ironically you also call a baby koala a joey, I think we have a marsupial pattern emerging here.

Here’s a great fact, hist history records the word Kangaroo being used on the 4th of August 1770. According to legend, Lieutenant James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks were docked for boat repairs and they saw a roo standing on the banks of the Endeavour River. They asked a local what the animal was called and in his native language he said, “I can’t understand you.” I can’t understand you in his language sounded like Kangaroo in english. So that’s what they called it. Now of course this is all legend but it’s an entertaining legend.

We have roos all day long! We also have private tours available by appointment for those of your who would like an enhanced experience. Check out this video on Kangaroos for more cool fun facts!

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog post. A few residents of Timbavati Wildlife Park happen to be Red Breasted Siberian Geese. These geese hail from arctic Europe and winter in southeastern Europe.

The red breasted goose typically feeds on grass, leaves and cotton shoots. In the winter they will take on wheat, barley, maize and pasture grasses. They will also feed on grubs, seeds, aquatic animals, small fish, crabs, I guess they eat anything they can beat LOL.

The geese begin breeding when they are about 3 years old. They typically will nest in early June. The red-breasted goose likes to nest close to peregrine falcons to protect its nest from other predators. When the mother lays a clutch of eggs she will lay 3-8 at a time. The eggs will incubate for about 25 days.

The red-breasted goose is at Timbavati Wildlife Park all summer. Hopefully you meet him here. Also make sure you check our website for events and specials. We have really great things planned for the entire summer! Take with you all next week! Cheers!

The Wide World Of Wildebeests

Greetings friends and welcome back to Winter 2018 Part II! No I’m kidding but geesh, calling the past week brisk would be an understatement. Luckily this week temperatures are going to rise and we can all get back to the start of spring, at the end of May. Best part about the temps right now though is that they’re perfect for a walk through Timbavati Wildlife Park. One of the first stops on the Safari Train ride gives you a great view of our wildebeests.

Our Wildebeests reside in the Grasslands Area of Timbavati Wildlife Park. The wildebeest is also referred to as a gnu. They hail from southern and eastern Africa. There are two species of wildebeests, the blue wildebeest and the black wildebeest. The blue can weigh up to 595 pounds while the black can weigh up to 340 pounds.

Wildebeests On The Move

During the African migration that occurs at the end of the rainy season about 1.2 million wildebeests join zebras and gazelles as they all travel to the savannas where there is plenty of food and water.

The gestation period of the  wildebeest is 8 and a half months. At the start of the rainy season which is February and March, female wildebeests give birth to baby calves. Calves weigh 44 to 49 pounds at birth. Calves learn to walk within minutes and the join the herd within a few days.

Check out more fun facts about the woolly wildebeest. Remember that we have VIP tours available! We will see you all in the park this week! Cheers!

Thank You Mama And Papa

Greetings friends and welcome to this week’s blog. If you recall, last winter our resident penguin superstars “Mama and Papa” were in a Wisconsin State Lottery Commercial. That commercial was a cute trip through a winter wonderland as the cute little penguin escapes his enclosure and ends up cashing in a lottery ticket.

The commercial was a very proud moment for us at Timbavati Wildlife Park. It’s great partnering with different organizations from around the state and the planet. Part of our involvement in the commercial was for the conservation of penguins.

Mama and Papa are African penguins. They live in colonies off of the coast. They are an endangered species due to overfishing, pollution and the harvest of guano which they need to lay eggs in. The Dyer Island Conservation Trust is an organization that is dedicated to the conservation of the African penguin. Since 2006 they have been working on the conservation of penguins and other marine life that surrounds them at the southernmost tip of Africa.

Timbavati Wildlife Park was able to make a donation to the Dyer Island Conservation Trust and if you’d like to learn more about their conservation efforts you can visit their website at https://www.dict.org.za/ .

In other great news, Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday. To honor mothers on this day, Timbavati Wildlife Park is excited to announce that this Sunday mom will get in for free when you bring the family to the park. Thank you ladies for everything that you do.

Here’s a look at the commercial that Mama and Papa starred in. We have a great day and we will talk soon!