December 30, 2011
The animals in Africa are amazing! Between Lake Nukuru, Lake
Naivasha, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti, I’ve seen more animals than
I’ve ever seen in my life. Combined. I’ve also learned some pretty fun facts
about them. (Of course, they’re all according to the guides, and depending on
the guide, the facts can change, so take them with a grain of salt.) Some of my favorites:
Elephants
- Elephants live until they are 65
or so, at which point they die of starvation. They grow six sets of molars, but
after the last set is worn away they can no longer eat, and they die of
starvation
- They are the only animals that
have a ceremony when one dies—they cover the body with branches and stay with
them for a few days
- Children stay with their mother
for 13 years. The baby’s gestation period is 22 months!
- Elephants can eat 270 kilos of
food each day and drink 200 liters of water
- Their trunks have 45,000 muscles
- Elephant’s communicate by rumbling
their tummies on the ground
Water Buffalo
 |
| Their horns remind me of old English wigs. |
 |
| Wouldn't want one charging me! |
- Along with hippos, they are the
most deadly African animal to humans
- They shed tears if they charge
something and miss
Impalas
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| Male waiting for his moment to challenge the dominant male of the herd. |
 |
Dominant male trying to spread its seed. It was going around
the herd trying to mate with as many females as possible.
The ladies didn't seem that interested. |
- They can run up to 63 kilometers
per hour; they can jump 3 meters high and 12 meters long
- The dominant male of the herd
(pack? Can’t remember) lives with all of the females. The other males live
together in a bachelor pack until one of them decides to challenge the dominant
male. Whoever wins the fight becomes the new dominant male and tries to mate
with all of the females. It can be a very short reign for a dominant male,
though, because another might challenge him as soon as the dominant male is
weak from mating with the females. (We saw some of this mating and standoff in
action. Fascinating to watch.)
Hippos
- Along with the water buffalo,
these vegetarians are the most dangerous African animal to humans
- They charge humans when humans get
between the hippo and their entrance or exit to water
- They weigh between 1.5 and 3 tons;
a baby weighs 150 kilograms
- They are really ugly (opinion) and
smelly (fact)
Cheetahs (I was really lucky to
see one!)
 |
| Blends right in! |
- They can run up to 115 km/hr
- 70% of their cubs don’t make it
past three months due to genetic problems—too much inbreeding is likely the culprit.
- Instead of killing prey right out,
moms maim prey and take it back to their young to teach them to hunt
Ostriches
 |
|
- They can run up to 75 km/hr
- Their brains are the size of their eye (not very big)
Giraffes
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| Relative jaw/tongue size. Wow! |
 |
| Baby giraffe |
- They are one of the few animals that can
see in color
- They grow to be between 18 and 20 feet tall, babies are six feet tall when born
- Their tongues are 18 inches long
and have antiseptic saliva. The bottom part of the tongue is brown for sun protection
- The gestation period for a giraffe
is 15 months, but mothers can hold on to their babies for an additional three
months in order to find a soft place to give birth. A baby drops 2 meters when
it’s born, and 25% of them don’t survive
- Giraffes sleep only 30 minutes
each night and they sleep with their eyes open to fool predators
While I don’t have any fun facts
about baboons, I can say they are not afraid of people. One girl in our group
took a box of cookies outside to eat while we were waiting for our guides to do
paperwork at the Ngorongoro Crater. All of the sudden, a baboon charged her and
took her cookies. He ate the whole box, and then took the wrapper away as a
souvenir.
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