Hafidh's Safaris
  • YOUR SAFARI
    • About Hafidh Safaris
    • Accommodation - Camps and Lodges >
      • Amboseli
      • Lakes Nakuru and Naivasha
      • Masai Mara
      • Tsavo East National Park
      • Tsavo West National Park
      • Samburu / Buffalo Springs and Shaba
    • Accommodation - Hotels >
      • Mombasa - Beach and North Coast
      • Mombasa - South Coast - Diani, Ukunda and Tiwi
    • Road Safaris - From Mombasa - 1-4 days >
      • Tsavo East
      • Tsavo East
      • Tsavo East and Tsavo West
      • Tsavo East and Tsavo West
      • Tsavo West and Amboseli
      • Tsavo East and Amboseli
      • Tsavo West, Amboseli + Salt Lick
      • Tsavo West, Tsavo East and Salt Lick
      • Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli
      • Tsavo East and Salt Lick
    • Road Safaris - From Nairobi (3-8 days) >
      • Masai Mara
      • Samburu
      • Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara
      • Samburu, Sweetwaters and Lake Nakuru
      • Samburu, Lake Baringo and Lake Nakuru
      • Mount Kenya, Samburu and Sweetwaters
      • Masai Mara, Samburu and Sweetwaters
      • Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria
      • Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Samburu
      • Amboseli, Mount Kenya, Samburu, Masai Mara and Nairobi
    • Air Safaris - From Mombasa (2-3 days) >
      • Masai Mara - 2 Days
      • Masai Mara - 3 Days
    • Kenya/Tanzania Combined (12 days)
    • Mountain Climbing Safaris (4-8 days) >
      • Mount Kenya (Naro Moru Route)
      • Mount Kenya (Sirimoni Route)
      • Mount Kenya (Sirimoni Rute)
      • Mount Kilimanaro (Machame Route)
  • THE WILDLIFE
    • Fascinating Animal Facts ...
    • Animal and Environmental Welfare
    • National Parks and Reserves
  • TOP TIPS
    • Security
    • Immunisation
    • Mosquitoes and Malaria
    • Kiswahili
    • Nothing to Declare ...
    • Code of Conduct and Etiquette
    • Code of Conduct on Safari
    • Useful Facts
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
    • Hotels, Lodges, Camps
    • Animal / Bird Insect/Snake Photo Gallery
    • Plant Photo Gallery
    • Mombasa Photo Gallery
  • Testimonials
    • Meet me ...
  • CONTACT
    • Site Map

FASCINATING ANIMAL FACTS
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Baboon
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Baboons
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Vervet
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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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Monitor Lizard
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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Termites
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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

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Young Tortoise
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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

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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

PictureVulture
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 ...
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Plains Zebra
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Mountain Zebra
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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

TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE
Hafidh Mohammed
HAFIDH'S SAFARIS
Mombasa
KENYA
________________________________________________________
Cell phone:  +254 720483950
www.hafidhsafaris.com
________________________________________________________
Acknowledgements:
  • Past clients:  
  • Wikipedia and National Geographic  for some wonderful information and photographs.

Maintained by:  Polly Healy
COPYRIGHT:  
 www.smoothguide-kenyacoast.com


  • YOUR SAFARI
    • About Hafidh Safaris
    • Accommodation - Camps and Lodges >
      • Amboseli
      • Lakes Nakuru and Naivasha
      • Masai Mara
      • Tsavo East National Park
      • Tsavo West National Park
      • Samburu / Buffalo Springs and Shaba
    • Accommodation - Hotels >
      • Mombasa - Beach and North Coast
      • Mombasa - South Coast - Diani, Ukunda and Tiwi
    • Road Safaris - From Mombasa - 1-4 days >
      • Tsavo East
      • Tsavo East
      • Tsavo East and Tsavo West
      • Tsavo East and Tsavo West
      • Tsavo West and Amboseli
      • Tsavo East and Amboseli
      • Tsavo West, Amboseli + Salt Lick
      • Tsavo West, Tsavo East and Salt Lick
      • Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli
      • Tsavo East and Salt Lick
    • Road Safaris - From Nairobi (3-8 days) >
      • Masai Mara
      • Samburu
      • Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara
      • Samburu, Sweetwaters and Lake Nakuru
      • Samburu, Lake Baringo and Lake Nakuru
      • Mount Kenya, Samburu and Sweetwaters
      • Masai Mara, Samburu and Sweetwaters
      • Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria
      • Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Samburu
      • Amboseli, Mount Kenya, Samburu, Masai Mara and Nairobi
    • Air Safaris - From Mombasa (2-3 days) >
      • Masai Mara - 2 Days
      • Masai Mara - 3 Days
    • Kenya/Tanzania Combined (12 days)
    • Mountain Climbing Safaris (4-8 days) >
      • Mount Kenya (Naro Moru Route)
      • Mount Kenya (Sirimoni Route)
      • Mount Kenya (Sirimoni Rute)
      • Mount Kilimanaro (Machame Route)
  • THE WILDLIFE
    • Fascinating Animal Facts ...
    • Animal and Environmental Welfare
    • National Parks and Reserves
  • TOP TIPS
    • Security
    • Immunisation
    • Mosquitoes and Malaria
    • Kiswahili
    • Nothing to Declare ...
    • Code of Conduct and Etiquette
    • Code of Conduct on Safari
    • Useful Facts
  • PHOTO GALLERIES
    • Hotels, Lodges, Camps
    • Animal / Bird Insect/Snake Photo Gallery
    • Plant Photo Gallery
    • Mombasa Photo Gallery
  • Testimonials
    • Meet me ...
  • CONTACT
    • Site Map