FASCINATING ANIMAL FACTS

FASCINATING ANIMAL FACTS
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Baboon

Baboons

Vervet

Colobus

Baboons - Colobus and Vervet Monkeys ...

There are about 264 known monkey species
Most monkeys have tails
Monkeys have four feet
Monkeys jump and run along the tops of branches or on the ground
Monkey eat fruit, leaves, insects and grass
Monkeys can live for about 30 years
Monkeys can be found in Asia, Africa and South America
Monkeys are very impatient

Cheetah in the Masai Mara

Cheetahs ...

The fastest land animal in the world
Can run as fast as 113 km per hour
Can accelerate extremely fast
Growls, hisses, purrs and snarls, but does not roar
Have extremely good eye-sight, but poor night vision
Have a good sense of smell
Hunt for food during the day
Cannot climb trees
Females are solitary animals, but males live in small groups
Only drink once every 3 - 4 days
Can live for up to 12 years in the wild
Considered an endangered species

Crocodile in the Masai Mara

Crocodiles ...

Live in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia
Will rest with their mouths open to keep cool as they sweat through the mouth
Lay their eggs in the sand and are hatched by the heat of the sun
Hatchlings are eaten by monitor lizards, large fish or herons within the first year of life
Can mover very fast over short distances
Are ambush hunters
Are cold-blooded
Eat fish, birds and other animals
Average age is 50-60 years (some known to live to over 100 years)
Can swim at a speed of 25 miles per hour

To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaw, push your thumb into its eyeball
Will always grow new teeth to replace the old ones
Cannot stick its tongue out
Eat stones - it is believed that these are used as ballast when diving
Can feel you swimming nearby
Has so much acid in its stomach, it gan digest steel
Can grow 50 new sets of teeth in a lifetim
Is an endangered species

ROCK HYRAX

The tiny Rock Hyrax is the closest relative to the Elephant
The Asian elephants ears are smaller than those of the African elephant
Eats grasses, leaves fruits and bark
Has poor hearing
Cannot jump
Eye are very small and their eyesight is poor
Ears are used to aid ventilation and keep them cool
Use their trunks as snorkels when they are swimming
Skin is an inch thick
Tusks grow throughout their lives
Both male and female have tusks
Can get sunburned, so they protect themselves by throwing sand / earth on to their backs
Have no natural predators
Have the largest brain in the animal kingdom
Can live up to the age of 70
Spend about 16 hours a day feeding
Live in social herds led by an older matriarch
Males leave the herd between the ages of 12 and 15
Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale
Are the only animals that cannot jump
Apart from humans, elephants are the only land animals that cry
The African Elephant can produce approximately 100 kilograms of manure per day … and this manure is eaten by beetles

Giraffes ...

Masai Giraffe

Rothschild Giraffe

Reticulated Giraffe

The Okapi is the closest living relative to the giraffe
Are the tallest mammals in the world
Have the same number of bones in their necks as most other mammals, including humans
Eat leaves and twigs of the thorny Acacia tree
Can go without water for longer than a camel, mainly because the leaves of the Acacia tree contain a lot of water
Drinking is one of the most dangerous times
Can drink about 12 gallons of water at one visit to a waterhole
Has excellent eyesight
Both male and females have horns - the females' are smaller
Each mark on a giraffe is unique to it
Sleep only about 2 hours a day
Newborn giraffe have to fall about 6ft to the ground
Can clean their ears with their very long tongue
Lives for about 10-15 years, or up to 20+ in captivity
Are used by other animals as observation post for predators
Are the only animal born with horns
Only has 7 bones in its neck - the same number as a human
Are extremely gentle animals

In Kenya, you might see:

The Masai Giraffe - South Kenya and Tanzania
The Rothschild Giraffe - Kenya and Uganda ... down to the last few hundred
The Reticulated Giraffe (also known as the Somali Giraffe) - Somalia, North Kenya and South Ethiopia

Spotted Hyena

Hyenas ...

Are closely related to cats
Are scavengers
Can travel for large distances
Are skilled and intelligent hunters
Have good hearing and excellent eyesight
Hunt in packs
Have strong jaws so that they can eat bones, teeth and hooves
Eat birds, lizards, snakes, insects and wildebeest
Females are dominate over males and known as the matriarch
Can go several days without water
Live in groups, known as a clan
Can live for up to 25 years
Has a cackling laugh
Main predator is the human being

There are 4 species of Hyena:
1. Aardwolf hyena - eats only termites
2. Brown hyena
3. Spotted hyena
4. Striped hyena

Monitor Lizard

Reach about 10 feet in length
Are the heaviest lizards on earth
Live only in Indonesia
Can run up to 12 miles per hour
Has an excellent sense of smell
Eat carrion, deer, pigs, small komodo dragons, water buffalo and humans
Can swallow prey as large as a goat
Their saliva is poisonous
They can swim
Live for about 30 years

Leopard

Leopards ...

Can run up to 37 miles per hour
Are nocturnal and very elusive
Can purr
Are strong swimmers
Eats gazelles, elands, hares, rodents, dogs, monkeys, bush pigs, sheep, goats, fish, crabs, insects and snakes
Are very agile climbers
Will haul a carcass up a tree or rocky outcrop to protect their food supply from other predators
Main predator is human beings

There are 12 different types of leopard

Lion Cub

Lions ...

Are the second largest big cat species in the world - second to tigers
Can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, in short bursts
The roar of lion can be heard 5 miles away
Live in prides
Live around 12 years
Lionesses are better hunters
Male lions r
est for about 20 hours a day
Eat mice, lizards, tortoises, warthogs, wildebeests, zebras, buffaloes, young elephants, rhinos, hippos and giraffes
Can go 4-5 days without water, if they have to
When a male takes over a pride, he usually kills the cubs
Lions cannot roar until they are 2 years old
The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers
Mountain Lions are also known as Cougars, Catamounts and Pumas

Ostrich

Ostriches ...

Are the tallest and heaviest bird
Have long, strong legs for running
It can run about 40 miles an hour for a short distance
Cannot fly
Has a very strong kick
When in danger, it will lie low to hide, stretching its neck along the ground
Eat grasses, shrubs, seeds, roots, leaves, flowers, locusts and grasshoppers - occasionally, they may eat lizards and mice
Eat small stones and sand to help grind up the food in their digestive system
Don't need to drink as they make their own water internally
Have the largest eye of any land mammal
All the females lay their eggs in the nest of the dominant female
The dominate female's eggs are laid in the centre of the nest which the protects them
The nest may have 15-60 eggs in it
Eggs hatch after about 40 days
An egg is as big as 24 chicken eggs
Its egg is bigger than its brain
It would take about 40 minutes to boil an ostrich egg
Live between 30 - 40 years

Rhinos

Rhinoceros ...

Get their name from their horns
Rhinoceros comes from the Greek rhino (nose) and ceros (horn)
White rhinos are considered to be the second largest land mammal (after the elephant)
White rhinos are actually grey
The horn is thickly matted hair, growing from the skull
Have small brains
Have poor bad eyesight, but good hearing
Like to roll in mud to protect themselves from sunburn
Black rhino eat leaves, buds, shoots, bushes and trees
White rhino eat grass
Main predator is human beings
Can live 40 - 50 years
Only charge when they are startled, otherwise they are even tempered animals

Termites

Termite Mound in Tsavo East

Termites ...

Colonies are found in the ground or in wood
Have wings that they shed once they have found a suitable place to nest
A colony may house several million individuals
Most prefer a warm, moist environment
Feed on each other's faeces
Are descended from a cockroach-like ancestor
Are very sociable and well groomed
Queens can lay thousands of eggs per day
Workers build and maintain the nest - foraging for and storing wood, leaf litter, soil and animal dung
Soldiers defend the nest
Workers and soldiers are blind
When a soldiers detect danger, they tap warning signals to the colony
Never sleep
Mounds can be very tall

There are about 4,000 termite species

Young Tortoise

Adult Tortoise

Tortoises ...

Live on the land
Have a heavy, domed shaped shell
Have short and sturdy feet
Are herbivores
Can live 80 - 150 years
Lay eggs on the ground in a burrow
The oldest recorded tortoise was 188 years old

Green Back Turtle

Turtles ...

Live in the water
Have a flat and streamlined shell
Have webbed feet
Are almost exclusively omnivores
Can live 60 - 70 years
Lay eggs on the ground in a burrow
The eggs are slightly soft and leathery

Vulture

Vultures ...

Are birds of prey and scavengers
Prefer fresh meat but may eat really rotten carcasses and this helps to prevent the spread of diseases from old, rotting corpses
May attack extremely sick, wounded and infirmed animals
Have an excellent sense of sight and smellThere are 23 different species of vultures
Are quite sociable and will often feed, fly or roost in large flocks
Can smell a dead animal from a mile or more away
Have bare heads and often bare necks - this stops parasites and bacteria burrowing into their feathers
Urinate on their legs and feet in order to keep cool on hot days
When threatened, they will vomit to lighten their body weight in order that they can escape danger

Zebras ...

Plains Zebra

Mountain Zebra

Grevy's Zebra

The only wild zebras live in Africa
Eat grass and graze all day
Rainfall will drive the zebras to migrate to greener pastures. The migration, unfortunately, makes them very susceptible to predators - lions, tigers and leopards ... and from crocodiles whilst crossing rivers

Every zebra has a unique pattern of black and white stripes - like a human fingertip

The stripes act as camouflage and when congregated together, and act to confuse the preditors by affecting its judgement of the the size of the zebra
A foal can recognise its mother by her stripes
Stand up while sleeping
Run from side to side when being chased by a predator
Have never been fully domesticated

There are three species of Zebra:
1. Plains Zebra (Burchell's Zebra) - the most common of the zebras
2. Mountain Zebra - has a flap of skin on his throat, known as a dewlap and the stripes widen towards the rear
3. Grevy's Zebra - has closer stripes and a black line running the length of its spine

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