South Africa |
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Online-ZeitungCharlotte |
THE AMAZING FLORA AND FAUNA |
22.02.2015 |
The flora in South Africa The flora in South Africa is very distinct with over 20.000 different kinds of plants, which are 10% of all species from the whole world. In South Africa you can find many flowers, only 1% of the country is filled with woods. In the past there were also rain forests which were removed because they weren't economic worthy enough and the people weren't able to cross them easily. The rest of the woods are almost on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Mostly these woods consist of imported types of trees like pine-trees or eucalyptuses. Hardwoods like Stinkwood, Ironwood and Yellowwood are under nature protection but many other species are already exterminated. A very well-known tree is the Baobab. You can find them in the North-East of the land. The biggest part of South Africa consists of many different types of gras. The vegetation changes from part to part of the country because of the diverse climate zones. In the North-West the land is very dry, that's why there isn't that much vegetation but in this area you can find some plants that can save the water in them. In the North-East the savanna changes into a land with many bushes and which is abundantly covered with them. In the Western Cape Province are about 9000 modes of mood and most of them have very robust leaves. In this area grows the national flower of South Africa: the "Königsprotea". |
The fauna in South Africa Although many types of animals had been exterminated in the last years you can find more than 300 different kinds of mammals, 500 different types of birds and 100 different kinds of reptils plus many special vermins in South Africa. The country has many national parks or wildlifepreserves. There people can visit the so-called "Big Five": Lions, Leopards, Buffalos, Elephants and Rhinos. Of course there are living many other animals but for many visitors these are the most attractive. Some kinds of animals are only existing in national parks that makes the parks more interesting for tourists.The most well-known national park is the "Kruger National Park" in the North-.East of the country. It's about 20000 square kilometres big and was founded on March 26, 1898 to protect the different species from dying. In the savannas in the North are living divers species of antelopes and also at the coast are some interesting animals at home. About 170000 cape penguins are living their under nature protection. Another special feature are the whales, dolphins and sharks that can be observed from some regions. South Africa has the highest (giraffe), the fastest (cheetah) and the smallest ("Zwergspitzmaus") animal. |
National parks in South Africa
One of the most biggest attractions in South Africa are the national parks. On over thousands of square kilometres people can admire the wonderful animals and the landscape. In these parks they offer safaris or the tourists can discover the park on their own. Most Parks have bungalows, huts or tents and visitors can choose the standard they want to have. The parks are an important source of income for South Africa.
The most well-known park is the "Kruger Nationalpark" which is in the North-East of the country. It's 20000 square kilometres big and was founded on March 26, 1898 from Paul Krüger (1825-1904). Since then more than 20 national parks and 400 wildlife parks were built to protect the different species from dying.
Some Parks show the wonderful landscape others focus more on the richness of species. But there are also dark sides of the national parks. People worry about too many animals in the parks who destroy trees or the landscape that other animals need to survive. In the "Kruger Nationalpark" are living too many elephants, they ruin the trees but that's bad for the monkeys or the birds. In the past these animals were killed to protect other species but these days associations for nature protection don't want that so they are searching for another solution. One idea are parks that cross the border to other countries so the animals have more space to live. But for the future people have to think about more ideas to protect the whole nature and wildlife from extinction.
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