South África

By: Charlotte Daireaux

INDEX

• What is South Africa?• History of South Africa• Nelson Mandela• The big five• Elephants• Lions• Leopards• Rhinos• Buffalos

WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA?• South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa.

It is divided into nine provinces. South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognized in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South Africa English and Afrikaans, a language that is spoken by the majority of white and Colored South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language.

HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA

• South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch in the seventeenth century.

• Strategists in the National Party invented apartheid as a means to cement their control over the economic and social system. Initially, the aim of the apartheid was to maintain white domination while extending racial separation. Starting in the 60's, a plan of ``Grand Apartheid'' was executed, emphasizing territorial separation and police repression.

NELSON MANDELA

International pressure over South Africa to terminate the apartheid. An embargo was imposed, and the Springbocks were not allowed to participate in international rugby.

As a result, the ruling white party decided to terminate the apartheid and called for elections open to all citizens (white and black) which were held in 1994.

Nelson Mandela, and antiapartheid leader, who had spend almost half of its life in prision, was elected as president of South Africa. Contrary to all expectations, he pacified the country and is now considered as the father of the new South Africa.

Pictures

THE BIG FIVE         

You will hear about The Big Five often in South Africa.The big five are the five largest types of animals that anyone would love to see appear in front of their camera: the elephant, the lion, the buffalo, the leopard and the rhino.South Africans may also refer to the big six. The sixth animal is the whale. In any case the whale is an unforgettable sight and can be spotted while you are on a boat trip in one of these areas.

ELEPHANTSWidely recognized as the most impressive animal in Africa, the African Elephant measures between 3.2 and 4 meters. The elephant's trunk serves as a multipurpose tool for eating, cleaning, signaling, drinking water, digging, dusting and even as an extra limb when needed.

LIONS• The magnificent African lion is the largest of Africa's

big cats and is primarily active at night, sleeping away most of the day to escape the intense heat. Lions are highly social creatures.

LEOPARDS• Leopards are shy nocturnal animals and hence not easy to

observe. That might be a reason why the leopard is the most prevalent wild cat. It can survive in the most diverse environments, in the jungle as well as in the desert. Its senses of sight, smell and hearing are extraordinarily well developed, and they are good climbers and swimmers.

RHINOS

• The two African species, the White rhinoceros and the Black rhinoceros, are both two-horned. The horns of both these kinds of rhinos are very long, some reaching 2 metres in length. The front, or primary horns, are the longer.

• Rhinoceros horns are made of keratin, the same substance as human hair and nails. The horns are stiff, matted hair, compressed so that it is hard. Rhinos can sharpen their horns by rubbing them on rocks and trees.

BUFFALO• Depending on the subspecies, African buffalo range in color

from dark brown or black (in savannah-living races) to bright red (forest buffalo). The body is heavy-set, with stocky legs, a large head, and short neck. There are no distinct markings on the body, although forest buffalo tend to darken with age and may thus have dark patches mingled with the red base color. The ears are large and tend to droop; they are edged by a long fringe of hairs, including two white tufts in forest buffalo. Both male and female African buffalos have horns.

QUESTIONS

Into how many provinces is Souh Africa divided?

How long was Nelson Mandela in prison?

Who are the big five?

What is the rinocero’s horn made of ?

Thank you for listening to my presentation, I hope you like it and learn as I did.