Mammals:
African Elephants :
- Also known as the savanna elephants or African bush elephants - The largest land mammal in the world, they weigh up to 10,000 pounds, and grow to 12 feet tall - Their tusks are made of ivory, and their skin is thick to help protect them from deadly predator bites - They are herbivores, and feed on grasses, fruits, tree leaves, bark, shrubs, and vines - Live for about seventy years, and die when their molars wear down; they can't eat so they starve - There are usually 10-15 related elephants in a group - Related family members stay in close range of each other - The leader is always a female - They communicate with sounds lower than human hearing Chacma Baboon (Papio Ursinus) :
- Also known as Dog-faced Monkey and Savanna Baboon - They never wander far from trees, or a source of water - Are the largest member of the monkey family - It has beady, close-set eyes under a heavy brow, and a dog-like muzzle with sharp tusk-like upper canine teeth - They spend most of their time on the ground, the only time they go into trees is to escape predators, get food, or spend the night - Baboons mostly eat fruit from trees, roots, an assortment of plants, and of course, bugs - When they travel they have their own specific formation, dominant male is in the front and the dominant female is behind him other males form a circle with the rest of the females and the offspring in the center - Baboons have a very complicated social system (really just based on becoming and staying dominant) - Have cheek pouches in where they can store food - Baboons can live to be 45 years old Wildebeest (Connochaetes) :
- Can live more than 40 years, though their average lifespan is around 20 years - Two different species, the black Wildebeest and the blue Wildebeest - Famous for their annual long-distance migration, timed to coincide with the annual pattern of rainfall and grass growth - Factors suspected to affect migration include food abundance, surface water availability, predators and phosphorus content in grasses - Herd of wildebeest possesses what is known as a "swarm intelligence", whereby the animals systematically explore and overcome the obstacle as one - Major predators include the lion, hyena, cheetah, leopard, and crocodile - Wildebeest are very strong, and can inflict considerable injury even to a lion - Can reach a maximum speed of 50 m.p.h - Zebras and wildebeest group together in open savannah environments with high chances of predation - Wildebeest can also listen in on the alarm calls of other species - Due to close contact of the 2 species hybrids have been created, hybrids also tended to have strange dental, horn, and skull shapes |
African Wild Dog (Lycaon Pictus) :
- Lycaon Pictus literally means painted wolf - Each animal has a different pattern of colors - Their fur is colored with red, brown, black, yellow, and white areas - They have a thin, long body, and muscular legs with only four toes on each foot, because their dew-claw is missing - The African wild dog is the largest dog in Africa - The only member of the Lycaon genus - The African wild dog is perfectly built for the chase, like greyhounds, they have a light body and long legs - The puppies reach maturity after 12 to 18 months, but don't breed until they are much older - Their life expectancy is about 10 years - The African wild dog is a carnivore and feeds on medium sized antelope, gazelle, and other grazing animals Grant's Zebra (Equus Burchelli Bohmi) :
- Also know as Plains Zebra - The zebra is the horse of the savanna - Grant's zebra is the most abundant of the 3 species of zebra - Every zebra's stripe pattern is different - Live in close-knit groups called families or harems, led by a single male - There can be up to 17 members in each family - They stay close to each other even when they migrate in herds of 10,000 or more - They slow their pace for weak or young members and never leave them - They can live to be 28 years old - If a predator approaches, the herd will bunch together and the predator becomes confused by the strips - The zebra can reach speeds of up to 40 m.p.h. - It will also use it's strong hooves and sharp teeth against a predator - The zebra's main predators are hyenas and lions Lion (Panthera Leo) :
- The lion is the powerhouse of the savanna, and a powerful predator - Weighs in at 265-420 pounds and up to 10 feet long - Males have a distinct mane unlike females - Lions eat gazelles, buffalo, zebras and many other small to medium sized mammals - The only cats that live in groups called prides - Each pride is like a community of 4 to 40 individuals - The pride is made up of one dominant male and maybe a few other males, and related females and their cubs - When the dominant male is killed or driven off by a new male, the previous male's cubs are killed - Cubs are born a little over a month after mating, they depend on their mother's milk for 3 or 4 months - They nurse not only from their own mother, but any other nursing female - Lion's coats are perfect camouflage for sneaking up on their prey - Lions can run up to 40 m.p.h. for short distances |