Let's cut-to-the-chase and get to what we've been waiting for:
#1 African Elephant
African elephants are the largest land animals on Planet Earth. |
- An elephant's trunk is the fusion of its upper lip and nose, it has more than 40,000 muscles
- An elephant calf often sucks its trunk for comfort
- Elephants prefer one tusk over the other, just as people are either left or right-handed
- Elephants use their trunk as a snorkel when swimming
- Elephants waive their trunks up in the air and from side to side to smell better
- An elephants' skin is approx. an inch thick
- Elephants flap their ears to keep cool
- Elephants spend up to 16-18 hours per day eating
- Elephants' tusks grow throughout their lives
- Elephants use their feet to listen. They pick up sub-sonic rumblings made by other elephants through vibrations in the ground.
#2 African Rhino
Black rhinoceros are shortsighted and bad tempered — they have long been hunted for its horns; which is the cause of their near extinction |
- South Africa is home to more than 80% of Africa's rhino population
- The white rhino's name derives from the Dutch "weit," meaning wide, a reference to its wide, square muzzle adapted for grazing
- Rhinos have three toes on each foot
- A group of rhinos is called a crash
- Oxpeckers eat the ticks off a rhino's hide and also warn of danger
- A charging rhino can reach speeds of 35 mph
- A rhino's horn is made of keratin, the composite is similar to a horses hoof
- Man is the rhino's only natural predator
- Rhino's have roamed the earth for more than 50 million years
- Female rhinos are pregnant for 15-16 months
#3 African Lion
African Lions are oft-hailed as the King of the Jungle; having few natural predators besides the occasional buffalo |
- Lions rest around 20 hours a day
- Lion cubs are born with spots (rosettes)
- The size and coloration of a lion's mane shows other males how fit and strong he is, the darker and larger the mane, the stronger the lion is
- Lions do not purr like house cats
- All lion tails end in a hairy tuft that develops when a cub is around 5 months old
- Man-eating lions do exist
- All lions can climb trees, some rest up high more than others in certain areas to avoid buffalo and tsetse flies
- Lions do not like to swim for they do not like water
- As lion cubs get older, they nurse from any lactating female in their pride
- Lions can discriminate the roars of large groups from those of small groups and those of strangers from companions.
- Male lions mark their territory by spraying a combination of urine and scent from glands at the base of their tails
#4 African Leopard
African Leopards are elusive & nocturnal; tend to store their fresh kill up in a tree to avoid it getting poached by lions and hyenas |
- Leopards can kill prey larger than themselves
- Leopards purr
- Leopards are excellent swimmers
- A leopard's spots are in fact irregular circles called "rosettes"
- A leopard stalks and pounces its prey, rather than chase it long distances
- A leopard with no spots and a black coat is called a panther
- A leopard cub begins to hunt with its mother at around 4-5 months old
- The leopards' spots are circular in East African but square in southern Africa
- Leopards can jump 10 feet (3 m) straight up
- White spots on the tip of their tails and back of their ears help leopards locate and communicate with each other in tall grass
#5 Cape Buffalo
Cape Buffalo do not have many natural enemies and are capable of defending themselves against lions. |
- Buffalo will protect their calves by pushing them into the middle of the herd when danger lurks
- Buffalo will mob a predator, especially if there's a calf calling for help
- Buffalo mate and give birth during the rainy season only
- Cape Buffalo have never been domesticated
- M'bogo is the (Ki)Swahili word for Cape Buffalo.
- The ox-pecker bird keeps the Cape Buffalo clean by eating all the parasites that live in its thick hide
- The Cape Buffalo can run at speeds of 35 mph
No comments:
Post a Comment
"Be as smart as you can, but remember that it is always better to be wise than to be smart."