Meet the locals
Words: Sophy Grimshaw Forget landmarks – you know you’ve arrived at your destination when you spot one of these distinctive natives Nile crocodile, Egypt The Nile crocodile is Africa’s largest species of croc, growing up to 20 feet in length. In ancient Egyptian mythology it was the crocodile god Sobek who created the world and ruled the Nile. The amphibians [...]
Words: Sophy Grimshaw
Forget landmarks – you know you’ve arrived at your destination when you spot one of these distinctive natives
Nile crocodile, Egypt
The Nile crocodile is Africa’s largest species of croc, growing up to 20 feet in length. In
ancient Egyptian mythology it was the crocodile god Sobek who created the world and
ruled the Nile. The amphibians now live around the Aswan Dam rather than in the Nile
itself. According to National Geographic, they still kill up to 200 people a year so you
may feel safer with the mummified crocodiles at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo where
hundreds were discovered embalmed in the pyramids and ancient tombs.
Egyptian Museum, Midan El Tahrir, Cairo, +202 578 2448; www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg
Flamingos, Caribbean
The problem with wildlifespotting
on holiday can be
failing to encounter the
animal you were hoping
to meet. You can’t miss
flamingos, though. The
vividly coloured wading
birds are native to Barbados
and also Antigua, and feed
together in large groups.
See them at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, Farley Hill, St Peter, +1 246 422 8826;
www.barbadosmonkey.org
Konik horse, Netherlands
In Leyland, about an
hour’s train ride from
Amsterdam Central
Station, you find the
vast nature reserve of
Oostvaardersplassen.
It’s a favourite for
birdwatchers (250 bird
species breed here),
and home to the Konik
horse, whose grazing has
knock-on benefits for
other wildlife here;
http://oostvaardersplassen.biofaan.nl
Diana monkey, Sierra Leone
Tiwai Island Wildlife
Sanctuary in Sierra Leone
(capital Freetown) is
home to 11 species of
primate, including the
rare Diana monkey.
Visitors can camp
overnight (ready-pitched
tents are provided) and
take a night-time river
tour in search of the rare
pygmy hippopotamus.
+232 76 755 146; www.efasl.org.uk/tiwai
Sealife, Scotland
In Oban, Argyll (fly
to Glasgow), Sealife
Adventures charter seal
and whale-watching
trips. A small pod of orca
whales lives near here,
but you’re more likely to
see grey seals. The longer
cruises offer you the
chance to see nesting
golden eagles, too. (Book
a month in advance.)
Sealife Adventures, +44 (0)1631 571 010;
www.sealife-adventures.com
