South Africa is well known for its remarkable plant diversity and extraordinary plant species. Some of the most impressive plant species are the quiver trees. Formerly quiver trees were part of the genus Aloe, but a new genus Aloidendron was created for tree aloes.
#EachforEqualCampaign
The focal point of this year’s International Women’s day campaign under the theme #EachforEqual is to accentuate the importance of equality. “An equal world is an enabled world. We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender-equal world”.
The researchers at the National Museum go on regular field expeditions to collect animals, plants, and fossils for research and to build the collections. Such a field expedition is quite complicated to organise. Here is an example of a field expedition of an approved project to explain the process.
Dung beetles in the tribe Sisyphini represent some of the most charismatic members of the subfamily Scarabaeinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), notable for their distinctive dung-rolling behaviour. The tribe Sisyphini was proposed to accommodate the genus Sisyphus Latreille.
Secretarybirds are loved and admired by birdwatchers, tourists, farmers and conservationists. This bird is also the first bird species which is referred to when I speak with farmers. Secretarybirds are grassland specialists known for catching snakes and killing them by kicking them with pin-point accurate stomps of their powerful feet. They also forage on grasshoppers, rodents, reptiles like lizards and also small birds. They even swallow grassland birds’ eggs like those of francolins and even a Northern Black Korhaan while foraging for food and bring these back to their nests.