African Wildlife Name Origins

Have you ever wondered where an animals name actually originates from? Below is a list of safari animals and how they came by their names.

Aardvark
Afrikaans word translation "earth pig" as ears and nose resemble those of a pig, also burrows a lot.

 

Bat-eared fox
Refers to the big ears resembling those of egyptian slit-faced bat

Blesbok
Afrikaans word translation "bald buck" referring to the white blaze on the face

Bushbaby
Lives in the "bush" and their call sounds like that of a crying baby

Caracal
From the Turkish name "garah-gulak" meaning black ear, with reference to the black ear tufts

Cheetah
Hindu word "chita" meaning "spotted one"

Duiker
Afrikaans meaning "diver" from the action of the antelope when running away

Eland
Dutch word for elk, thought to be related or similar

Elephant
Greek word "elphas" and latin word "elephantus" for the species

Gemsbok
Dutch word "gems" meaning chamois in reference to colour

Genet
Name of area in Spain the species inhabited in the 18th century

Giraffe
Arabic word "xirapha" meaning "one who walks swiftly"

Hartebeest
Afrikaans word translation "heart cow" with reference to the shape of the horns

Hippopotamus
Greek "(h)ippo" meaning horse, and "pot-amus" meaning flowing river ñ a river horse

Honey Badger
Eats honey, badger from French word "becheur" meaning digger

Impala
Zulu name "imphala" and Tswana name "phala" for the species

Jackal
Persian name "sagal" for the golden jackal

Klipspringer
Afrikaans word translation "stone jumper" with reference to the bounding action in rocky habitat

Kudu
Khoikhoi name for the species

Leopard
Greek words "pardus" for panther and "leo" for lion, shortened to leopard from leopardus

Lion
Greek word "leon" for the species

Mongoose
Indian name "mangus" for the species

Nyala
Zulu name "iNxala" for the species

Pangolin
Malay name for "peng-goling" for the species, which means "the roller" from their habit of rolling into a ball for protection

Porcupine
Greek word "porcus" meaning pig and "spina" meaning species, direct translation "spined pig"

Rhinoceros
Greek word "rhis" meaning nose and "keras" meaning horn, direct translation "nose horn"

Springbok
Afrikaans meaning "jumping back" in reference to their unique jumping action called "pronking"

Warthog
Refers to the outgrowths or warts on the face

Zebra
Portuguese or Italian name of the species in the Congo region

 

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