http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/national-symbols.htm
The country's national animal is the springbok, which also gives its name to the South African rugby team - fondly known as "the Boks".
The springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) gets its common name from its characteristic jumping display - pronk in Afrikaans. The animal stands 75cm high and weigh about 40kg.Both sexes have horns, but those of the ram are thicker and rougher. The species has adapted to dry, barren areas and open grass plains, and so is found in the Free State, North West and Karoo up to the west coast. They move in small herds during winter, but often crowd together in bigger herds in summer.
The national bird of South Africa is the blue crane (Anthropoides paradisia), the distribution of which is almost entirely restricted to the country. Standing about a metre tall, the bird is a light blue-grey, with a long neck supporting a rather bulbous head, long legs and elegant wing plumes which sweep to the ground.
Blue cranes lay their eggs in the bare veld, often close to water. They are common in the Karoo, but are also seen in the grasslands of KwaZulu-Natal and the highveld, usually in pairs or small family parties. Although usually quiet, the blue crane can emit a distinctive high-pitched and rattling croak which can be heard from some distan
The giant or king protea (Protea cynaroides) is widely distributed in the south-western and southern areas of the Western Cape, from the Cedarberg up to just east of Grahamstown. South Africa's national flower is the largest of the proteas, which make up an important part of the Cape Floral Region, a major global biodiversity hotspot and a Unesco World Heritage site. The proteas also give their name to South Africa's national cricket tea
South Africa's national fish is the galjoen (Dichistius capensis). The galjoen was chosen as the country's national fish because of its endemism - it is found along the coast from Namibia to Durban, and nowhere else in the world - fighting qualities, abundance and popularity. It keeps to mostly shallow water, is often found in rough surf, sometimes right next to the shore, and is known to anglers as a game fighter. Near rocks, the colour of the galjoen is almost completely black, while in sandy areas the colour is silver-bronze.
The yellowwood family is ancient, having grown in this part of Africa for over 100-million years. The real yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius), South Africa's national tree, is found from Table Mountain, along the southern and eastern Cape coast, in the ravines of the Drakensberg up to the Soutpansberg and the Blouberg in Limpopo.
In forests, the trees can grow up to 40m in height with the base of the trunk sometimes up to 3m in diameter. But trees that grow in unsheltered places such as mountain slopes are often short, bushy and gnarled. The bark of the real yellowwood is khaki-coloured to grey when it is old, deeply split and peels off in strips. The crown is relatively small in relation to its height and is often covered with grey lichen. 