Wildlife on the farm
Since we emigrated to South Africa, we have been able to buy a lot of animals. You can watch them on a walk with us.
Giraffe King "George"
- probably the most famous giraffe in Germany
King George has been at home in our Familodge since August 2015. He is about 6 years old, a young bull and comes from the neighboring Amakhala Private Game Reserve. Actually, he should have female company from the start - unfortunately there were several problems with the seller, so that he had to wait almost a year for company! We were all very sorry for that! But since June 2016 he has had two giraffe women to accompany him. Since then he's also been much more balanced.
Giraffes Queen "Elizabeth" and "Victoria"
The two giraffes came to us in June 2016.
The Queen Elizabeth is pregnant and we are expecting a baby giraffe in the next few months.
Here are some facts about giraffes:
Size: 4m to 6m;
Weight: 800 kg and 1600 kg
Speed: up to 55 km / h
Food: Acacia species (our Sweet Thorn)
Gestation period: 14-15 months, only one calf is born!
Special features: only 7 cervical vertebrae
Our young giraffes
On July 4th, 2018 "William" was born on our farm.
What a great event that was!
The giraffes seem to have settled in well with us!
Zebras
We bought a total of 8 zebras from the Amakhala Private Game Reserve in September 2015.
In December 4 zebras were born with us. That was of course the absolute stroke of luck for us!
Now we are expecting more offspring this year. We are excited!
A few facts: plains zebra
Size: 1.1m to 1.6m; Length up to 3m
Weight: 170kg to 350kg
Diet: grass and leaves
Gestation period: 360-390 days
Kudu
We have always seen male kudu on our farm. Only female kudu have always been lacking. So we decided to buy 4 more female kudus at an auction.
Here are a few facts: antelope species,
Length: about 2m-2.5m
Size: shoulder height 120cm to 160cm
Weight: 160kg to 350kg
Food: Young twigs
Gestation period: 30 weeks
Impalas
Oh, these are such beautiful animals! And they don't belong to us. Our guest Dorly bought it at auction. She always thought Impalas were so beautiful and just didn't have the opportunity in Switzerland
to keep your own impalas. So she got the idea to buy Impalas and let them run on our property. A great idea!!
Here are a few facts: antelope species, shoulder height: 90cm,
Weight: 40kg to 55kg
Gestation period: 180 to 210 days
Food; Grasses & herbs
Waterbuck
We also bought 4 waterbucks from the Amakhala Private Game Reserve.
3 females and 1 male. A waterbuck was born on our farm.
Here are a few facts: Antelope species
Shoulder height: 130cm, length: 190cm to 220cm,
eweight up to 270kg; Gestation period: 260 days
Food: grasses and young twigs
Nyalas
Nyalas are very tame and often hang around people.
Here are a few facts: Length: approx. 140 cm
Shoulder height: approx. 110 cm
Weight: 55 kg to 125 kg
Food: grasses, herbs & fresh twigs
Gestation period: approx. 7 months
Blocks
At another wild animal auction in 2016, we were able to bid for Blesboks.
Here are a few facts:
Shoulder height: 90cm, weight: 60kg to 90kg
Food: grasses & herbs
Gestation period: 230-240 days
Ostriches
We were able to buy a total of 4 ostriches from a neighbor:
2 females and 2 males. Here are a few facts:
Size: 170 cm to 250 cm
Weight: 90 kg to 130 kg
Special features: males have black plumage, females brown
Food: grasses, herbs, seeds, insects
Reproduction: The female lays eight to twelve eggs. The eggs weigh approx. 1.9 kg and have a diameter of approx. 15 cm (approx. 24 chicken eggs), the eggshell is approx. 2-3 mm thick
