The Africn Helmated Turtle

The African Helmeted Turtle is a relatively small turtle with a shell length of 15-18 cm (6 to 7) as an adult. The shell is very thin oval shaped, and brown to olive in color. The head is brown to olive colored and may be mottled with darker or lighter tones. The tops of the tail and limbs are a grayish brown, while the underside is yellowish. They are found throughout Africa, as far west as Ghana, and south all the way to the Cape of Africa. It has also been recorded in parts of Madagascar, and is undistinguishable from those in east Africa. They are semi-aquatic animals, living in marshes, creeks and rain holes. During the dry season, they will bury themselves in the bottoms of mud pools and estivate until the next rainy season, where they travel from mud hole to mud hole, distributing themselves widely. When eating and courting, the relatively small African Helmeted Turtle becomes quite aggressive. During feeding, it will seize its prey in its mouth and tear it to shreds with its forefoot claws. Where populations are dense, and competition for food becomes heightened, several turtles may attack larger prey together, and drag it underwater before tearing it apart. The African Helmeted Turtle often basks midday in temperate climates where the sun is not too hot. It has a carnivorous diet, feeding on a variety of insects, small crustaceans, fish, earthworms and snails. In large groups they will drown and eat small aquatic birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Credits go to: Honolulu Zoo

African Animals Cetching Pray

Cheetah

Lions

Hyena

Credits Go To: YouTube

African Knife Fish

The African Knifefish also known as the African Knife, Brown African Knife, and Black Knifefish, Clown Knife is pretty and graceful. It has the ability to swim backwards and forwards. They are nocturnal animals, and prefer ato come out at night. And lives where their is dense plant life. An ideal home for the Knifefish is a dark PVC tube. They like floating plants, and dark rocky substrates.The African Knifefish can grow to be quite large. When mature, they average 12 inches in length, which is much bigger than other knife species. They are still large fish and stays in large areas with only other large fish around. The Knifefish has one continuous fin in place of the caudal and anal fin, which looks like a knife. This fin is undulated enabling it to swim forward and backward. When not open the Knifefish's mouth looks small. It can open quite wide however to eat small fish. The African Knifefish has the unusual ability to produce sounds during mating and danger situations. The sounds are produced by pushing air through their swimbladders. African Knifefish, or Xenomystus nigri, are found in Africa and Southeast Asia. Their native habit generally consists of still waters. Credits Wikipedia and Google

African Ground Hornbill

The ground hornbills are the only ground dwellers among hornbills. The large bill characteristic of the Bucerotidae family may be why hornbills are the only birds with the first two neck vertebrae fused together. Hornbills are notable for their long eyelashes and rather stubby legs and toes, with broad soles and the bases of the three front toes partly fused. The African Ground hornbill's throat skin is inflatable, and sometimes inflates when it makes its guttural call.
The hornbill lives in the treetops of Africa.The African ground hornbill inhabits the African savanna south of the equator. Ground hornbills prefer steppes and savannas with a fairly low grass growth, which makes the search for food easier. They have very large territories of about 100 sq. kilometers. In South Africa there has been a large decline in their numbers for a number of reasons. They are popular to use as "muti" or tribal medicine among some of the indigenous people of South Africa. The brain of a ground hornbill, if kept in a village, is reputed to bring the village luck. Irate homeowners kill them because they will attack windows, breaking them, if they encounter their reflections. They are also vulnerable to picking up poison baits that are set out for predators. The African ground hornbill's food consists largely of small vertebrates and larger insects, although they sometimes use their pick-like bills to subdue prey as large as hares, tortoises, snakes and squirrels. Territorial, defending areas as large as 36 mi2 (100 km2) in S. Africa. Hunts on the ground in cooperative groups.

Lilac Brested Roller

The average size of the Lilac Breasted Roller is 14.5 inches. The green head is large, the neck is short, the greenish yellow legs are rather short and the feet are small. The beak is strong, arched and hooked-tipped. The tail is narrow and of medium length. The back and scapulars are brown. The shoulder of the wing, outer webs of the flight feathers and the rump are all violet. The bases of the primaries and their coverts are pale greenish blue and the outer tail feathers are elongated and blackish. The chin is whitish shading to rich lilac of the breast. The underparts are greenish blue. The bill is black and the eyes are brown. It has large wings and strong flight. The Lilac Breasted Roller feeds on grasshoppers, beetles, occasionally lizards, crabs, and small amphibians. They take prey from the ground. Rollers get their name from their impressive courtship flight, a fast, shallow dive from considerable elevation with a rolling or fast rocking motion, accompanied by loud raucous calls. All rollers appear to be monogamous and highly territorial. The Lilac Breasted Roller will perch on a dead tree, surveying the area for prey. One typical aspect of its behavior is that it also preys on animals fleeing from bush fires. They actually breed 'on the wing'. They live in pairs or small groups, but are often seen alone. Their call is a loud harsh squawk, 'zaaak'. They are partly migratory, but in some areas they are sedentary. To feed they swoop down from an elevated perch next to their prey and eat it on the ground or return to a perch where they batter it before swallowing it whole. They are territorial, also defending temporarily small feeding territories; hence individuals are regularly spaced along roads. They drive off many species from near their nest hole, even after breeding. They live in grasslands, open woods and regions where palm trees grow singly. The species ranges more or less continuously throughout eastern and southern Africa from the Red Sea coasts of Ethiopia and northwest Somalia to the Angola coast and northern South Africa. Lilac Breasted Rollers inhabit acacia country with well spaced trees, rolling bushy game lands, riverside areas and cultivated land, but they do not associate with human habitation. Credits: Birds

Yellow Billed Hornbill

The Yellow-billed Hornbill is a common resident in South Africa. They are commonly seen in scrub and dry woodland areas. It is a medium sized bird, with length between 48 to 60 cm, characterized by a long yellow beak with a casque (only in males). The skin around the eyes and in the malar stripe is vivid red-coloured. White belly, grey neck, and black back with abundant white spots and stripes. It lives in Southern to northeastern Africa. The Yellow-billed Hornbill feed mainly on the ground surface, where they forage for seeds, small insects, spiders and scorpions. Termites and ants are a preferred food source in the dry season. It makes its houses in dry thorn fields and broad leafed woodlands. Females breed between September to March, and will lay between 2 to 5 eggs. The female will seal herself up in a hole in a tree prior to laying the eggs, and will shed all her feathers once fully sealed up. She relies solely on the male partner to bring her food while she incubates the eggs, which is about 24 days, and will only leave the nest once the hatching's are half-grown. The young fledglings leave the parental nest after about 45 days. Credits:Hornbill

Secretary Bird

The Secretary bird is so named because of the crest of long feathers at the back of its head that resemble quill pens that 19th century clerks stuck in their wigs. The genus Sagittarius refers to the birds resemblance to an archer, and the species serpentarius refers to the fact that the bird preys on snakes. The Secretary bird is an unusual bird. Unlike the other birds of prey, the Secretary Bird has very long legs and tail feathers. Its plumage is light gray, except for the black wing tips, tail, and thighs. Its face is covered in red and yellow skin. The diet of a Secretary bird consists mostly of insects, lizards, snakes, tortoises and rats. Small prey are picked up in the bill and swallowed. Larger prey are first stamped to death and then eaten. The Secretary bird also stamps its feet on the ground to flush out prey. Although they hunt on the ground, the Secretary bird can fly very well, but rarely does so. Although they are usually seen on the ground, they nest in trees (usually acacia).Their nest can reach 8 feet across, even though it only holds 2-3 eggs at time. Secretary birds are found throughout Africa south of the Sahara. Around trees and open plains. The basic social structure in Secretary birds is a life-long pair. However they are not particularly gregarious. In fact, members of a pair are usually not together but instead stay a small distance apart. Credits: Secretary Bird Credits: Amazing Birds

Lovebirds, Agapornis, and African lovebirds are terms that can refer to nine different species of lovebird parrots. Peach faced lovebirds are sometimes named by their color mutations: pied lovebirds, violet lovebirds, Dutch blue lovebirds, normal peach face lovebirds, orange face lovebirds, and mauve lovebirds, to name a few. These lovebirds all belong to the species Agapornis roseicollis. Love birds are about the size of a toilet role, and weigh about a pound fully grown. Lovebirds and Masked lovebirds are DIFFERENT species of lovebirds, Inter-species breeding sometimes results in mules (that is, lovebirds that cannot reproduce), but when it doesn't, the consequence is pollution of the pure gene pool for these various species of lovebirds. There are several other species of lovebirds, commonly known as black-cheeked lovebirds, black-collared lovebirds (Agapornis Swindernia), Madagascar lovebirds Nyasa lovebirds (A. lilianae), Abyssian lovebirds (Agapornis taranta), and Red-Faced Lovebirds. These species are relatively rare in American aviculture (although the black-cheek lovebird is more common than the others). Love birds are very social animals and enjoy the company of humans.

Humpback Whales

Megaptera is from the Greek, mega (big), and pteron (wing) which refers to the enormous flippers which are characteristic of this species. The specific name novaeangliae is Latin for "New England" because the first specimen to be scientifically described came from that area. Humpbacks are black dorsally and have variable combinations of black and white underneath. As with all rorquals, the ventral surface contains pleats which run longitudinally from the chin to the navel. The humpback's huge flippers, at one-third the body length, are proportionately larger than those of any other cetacean. On the head are numerous knobs called tubercles, each of which contains a single white hair. Humpbacks have a dorsal fin which varies considerably in shape and size, from very low to high and falcate. The underside of the tail has a pattern of black and white markings which is unique to each animal and is used by scientists to identify individuals. Adults average about 14 m, with a maximum recorded length of about 18 m. Females are about a meter longer than males. Maximum weight is 40-45 tons. The humpback is widely distributed in the waters of this continent. Throughout its worldwide range, the species makes a long migration from summer feeding grounds in high latitudes to tropical mating and calving areas in winter. Thus most African humpback populations are seasonal, coming to warm water areas in the region to breed. Known concentrations occur off the Cape Verde Islands (a now-small breeding population from the North Atlantic which was heavily exploited in the 19th century), off Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa (a breeding stock which feeds in the Antarctic), off equatorial West Africa (breeding populations which may come from both hemispheres at different times of year), and off the Arabian Sea coast. The latter is an interesting group in that it appears to be the only population of the species in the world which remains in tropical waters year-round. Little is known about humpbacks off southwestern Africa, but they are almost certainly present ther during the austral winter. More is known about humpbacks than any other large whale, although African populations are generally poorly understood. Humpbacks make one of the longest migrations of any mammal (up to 5000 miles one-way). They feed on euphausids (krill) and various species of small schooling fish. Males sing long songs during the breeding season (and sometimes at other times) which are perhaps the most complex such vocalizations in the animal kingdom. Their purpose is probably primarily to attract mates, but they may also serve to maintain spacing among males. Males humpback also engage in highly aggressive competition for females in winter, with protracted and often spectacular fights being common. Humpbacks were heavily whaled, notably this century. Most populations were reduced by perhaps 95% of their original size notably in the Antarctic where almost a quarter million animals were killed. Today, most populations appear to be making a strong recovery, although little is known about the status of this species off Africa. Whaling for humpbacks occurred in this and the last century in various places, including South Africa, Madagascar, Congo, Gabon and the Cape Verdes. There is thought to be a continuing aboriginal whaling operation for humpbacks off the remote island of Pagalu (equatorial West Africa), but it is unlikely that this has significant impact on the population concerned. Humpbacks are often entangled in coastal fishing gear, including off Oma, but the magnitude of this problem in African waters is largely unknown.

African Marine Mamals

African Okapi

The Okapi is called African Unicorn, Rain forest Zebra.Their height is about 5 feet at the shoulder, the adults weigh around 460 to 550 pounds. They live about 30 years in captivity, in the wild their lifespan is still unknown. Okapis have a sleek deep brown coat that is almost purple. The sides of its face are a dull red. There are horizontal black and white rings on its hind-quarters, thighs, and tops of forelegs. They eat leaves, fruits, seeds, fungi, and a certain clay that give them their mineral content. It is a mostly solitary animal that only comes together to mate. Okapi are only active during the day and OBVIOUSLY sleep during the night. But still the Okapi surprises us with its uniqueness and scientists have still not found out everything about it. The Credits go to: Okapi Facts
Picture Credits go to: Google.com

African Genet

The small-spotted genet is found in the more dense forest regions of africa. Its spots are round and elongated. Similar to the civet, the genet produces secretions conveying messages about sexual, social or territorial behavior. When angry the genet can squirt a foul-smelling substance that scares enemies. Genets also have retractable claws adapted to climbing and catching prey. Several types of genetsare in East Africa including the forest species the savannah-area species are the most widely distributed species of genets which is found in a variety of habitats.Genets are mainly nocturnal but are often spotted during the day in the rainy season. Genets can squeeze their slender and flexible bodies through any opening larger than their head. They also climb trees to hunt nesting or roosting birds. Female genets are thought to be territorial, as they generally return to the same area if captured and released while males do not. Adult genets are solitary except during periods of mating or when a female is accompanied by her young. A female may have up to two litters a year with two to four young in each. Kittens are born in a burrow, their eyes and ears are shut at birth and do not open for about 10 days. They receive their first solid food at about 6 weeks. Genets mature in 2 years and live about 8 years in the wild. The genet is classified as a carnivore, but it actually is omnivorous and will eat whatever is most available. This can be small mammals (especially rodents, shrews and bats), birds, and their eggs, frogs, millipedes, centipedes, scorpions and various fruit. Credits go to AFW Wild life. Picture credits go to Kostich.com!

African Civet

The African civet lives in the savannas and forests of central and southern Africa. It has short dense fur that is a greyish color with black spots arranged in rows along their bodies. Their legs are short and ,their tail is black with about a third of the base of their tail having striped markings. Their face is solid grey except for a white mouth area and black markings around the eyes that go down the face. Their long necks have bars of white and black running down the sides. They have a short mane of about 1-4 inches in length that runs along their back. This mane goes strait up when the animal is frightened.The African civet are omnivorous. It will eat a variety of fruits, plants, insects, rodents, eggs, reptiles, and birds. They are able to consume animals and plants that are poisonous to most other animals, such as the Stychnos fruit, certain species of millipedes, and carrion that is decayed and pungent. The African civet does not use its paws to catch food; instead it picks it up with its teeth. Small mammals are usually killed by shaking them violently until their neck snaps. These animals are going extint because people are killing them for their fur. Credits go to: Lion crusher

The Straw Colored Fruit Bat

The straw colored fruit bat is found in Africa, and is the most wide spread of the African fruit bats. Its body is about 215 mm and its wingspan can reach 762 mm. Adults can weigh 230-350 grams! The coloration is yellowish brown or blackish. Their wings are long and narrow and are adapted to flying long distances. The wings are also used in climbing. It inhabits forest and savannas and is found at elevations of up to 2,000 meters. It is a very social bat and prefers to nest in tall trees by day but has also seen to find homes and in caves. During daytime they are often noisy and restless and even flies about from place to place. At night groups fly out of the nests in search of ripe fruit. Juice of various fruits are the choice food, though this bat also feeds on the blossoms and perhaps young shoots of the silk-cotton tree.The bats will eat directly into the fruit of palm trees, and has the unusual habit of chewing into the soft wood, probably to get moisture. The straw-colored fruit bats occur in enormous colonies of 100,00 to 1,000,000. Female bats have one young per year, and a newborn can weigh 50 grams. In some areas these bats are hunted and eaten by humans. They are considered a delicacy in the African tribes.
Credits go to: Bat Conservation
Picture credits go to: Google

Black Rhino

The Black rhino normally lives up to 40 years. Both male and female adult rhino's average weight is from 800 to 850 kg, with large adults reaching up to 1000 kg.Black Rhinoceros are found in dry areas as well as savannah and woodland areas with sufficient shrubs and trees to hide in, in the heat of the day. Black rhino are browsers, feeding off a wide variety of shrubs and trees. Toxic plants such as the Tamboti Spirostachys africana with its high latex content are also eaten, having no harmful effects on the animal. The black rhino has a very gritty upper lip that is used to pull off leaves, shoots and thin branches while feeding.Black Rhinos do not defend territories but do have home ranges in variable size that they scent-mark in. The bull scent-marks by either spraying urine onto vegetation or by defecating in certain spots called middens. Middens which vary in number are large collections of dung left by one bull or a number of different adults over a period of time. The bull after dropping his dung scrapes it into the ground with his hind legs and then spreads the dung further by dragging his feet as he walks away from the midden. Dung stuck under the bulls’ feet helps to further spread his scent as his walks through the area.The purpose of a midden is to possibly show information to other adults in the area by the different smells. The black rhinoceros has very weak eyesight but to compensate for that it has a very keen sense of smell and good hearing. The credits go to : AFW Wildlife

Picture credits go to : Google

Aardvark

The name aardvark comes from a word meaning "earth pig." The aardvark has a short neck connected to a massive almost hairless body with a strongly arched back. The legs are short, the hind legs longer than the front ones. The head is elongated, with a long, narrow snout and nostrils that can be sealed. The long, tubular ears are normally held upright but can be folded and closed. The short but muscular tail is cone-shaped. The thick claws on the forefeet are well adapted for digging. Aardvarks are found in all regions from dry savanna to rain forest where there are sufficient termites for food, access to water and sandy or clay soil. If the soil is too hard, aardvarks, despite being speedy, powerful diggers, will move to areas where the digging is easier. Aardvarks are mostly solitary and nocturnal, but sometimes will come out during the day to sun themselves. When aardvarks sleep, they block the entrance to their burrow, leaving only a very small opening at the top, and curl into a tight ball. Especially during the rains, aardvarks may dig themselves new burrows almost nightly. Many animals, including ground squirrels, hares, civets, hyenas, jackals, porcupines, warthogs, monitor lizards, and birds use abandoned aardvark holes as shelter. When pursued, an aardvark will furiously dig itself a hole, and when attacked, may roll onto its back and defend itself with its large claws or use its thick tail to somersault away from its attackers. As it is nocturnal and has poor eyesight, the aardvark is cautious upon leaving its burrow. It comes to the entrance and stands there motionless for several minutes. Then it suddenly leaps out in powerful jumps. At about 30 feet out it stops, raises up on its legs, perks up its ears and turns its head in all directions. If there are no sounds, it makes a few more leaps and finally moves at a slow trot to look for food. Aardvarks are specialized for eating termites. They move from one termite mound to another, dismantling the hills with their powerful claws. Insects are trapped by the aardvark's long sticky tongue (as long as 30 cm), which is covered with a thick saliva. Sometimes the aardvark will press its snout against an opening in a mound and suck up the termites. Aardvarks, with their keen sense of smell, also hunt for the long columns of termites that move outside the mounds at night. The adult aardvark's enemies are human (who sometimes kill it for meat), lions, hyenas and leopards; pythons sometimes take the young. Credits go to : AFW Wildlife
Picture credits go to: Google

Black backed Jackal

The Black backed Jackal lives in the grasslands of East Africa. The Jackal is about as big as a small Labrador. The Jackal is golden in color and has a large black strip down its back, and its legs are made especially long for running. The Jackal hunts in packs of about 5-7, but sometimes members get cast out by dominant males. It eats small antelopes, reptiles, small rodents, birds, fruits, berries, and grass. Also the Jackal picks up scraps from larger carnivores kills. Female Jackals have 5-6 babies per year and take care of the male pups for about 2 months before they start living on their own. But the female pups stay with the mother their whole lives, and only the dominant male and female of the pack would have the pups and the other half of the group would basically help babysit. The predators of the wild Jackal are humans and have been losing habitat because of the growing, living places of the humans. Credits go to: AFW Wildlife

Picture credits

African Spotted Hyena

The Hyena is a dog like animal with a sturdy build, high shoulders, and long muscular limbs. The hyena has a large head, broad, rounded ears. It's coat is rough, comparatively short and is reddish brown or tan in color growing lighter when getting older. The tail and nose are black. The spotted hyena has the strongest jaws in the animal kingdom. Of the three species of hyena in Africa, only the spotted hyena is shy and rare, striped hyena are found in East Africa. They stand 28 to 35 inces high at the shoulder,and weigh 90 to 190 pounds.Spotted hyena are cunning and resourceful. Although usually considered scavengers (they pick over kills made by larger preditors)), they also hunt and kill a variety of prey. The hyena eats vertebrates of all kinds, especially hoofed mammals, it seldom eats invertebrates, fruits, or vegetables. Utilizes carcasses of large vertebrates more efficiently than other carnivores. Eats everything but rumen contents and horn bosses of the biggest antelopes, even deriving nourishment from mummified carcasses. Bones, horns, hooves, even teeth are digested completely within 24 hours. The spotted hyena livs in Savannas, grasslands, woodlands, forest edges, subdeserts and mountains to 13,000 feet. The hyena is the most abundant large carnivore in areas where antelopes and zebras are found in masses. Information taken from: South African Wildlife
The picture is from: AFW Wildlife

African Leopard

The most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores, the leopard is also the shrewdest. Pound for pound, it is the strongest climber of the large cats and capable of killing prey larger than itself. Leopards come in a wide variety of coat colors, from a light buff or tawny in warmer, dryer areas to a dark shade in deep forests. The spots, or rosettes, are circular in East African leopards but square in southern African leopards.Dense bush in rocky surroundings and riverine forest are their favorite habitats, but leopards adapt to many places in both warm and cold climates. Their adaptability, in fact, has helped them survive the loss of habitat to increasing human settlement. Leopards are primarily nocturnal, usually resting during the daytime in trees or thick bush. The spotted coat provides almost perfect camouflage. Leopards are solitary creatures and predominately nocturnal. Each individual has a home range that overlaps with its neighbors; the male's range is much larger and generally overlaps with those of several females. Leopards continually move about their territory, seldom staying in an area for more than two or three days at a time. Ranges are marked with urine and claw marks and leopards announce their presence to other leopards with a rasping cough. Leopards also growl, roar and purr. A litter includes two or three cubs, whose coats appear to be smoky gray as the rosettes are not yet clearly delineated. The female abandons her night time wandering until the cubs are large enough to accompany her. She keeps them hidden for about the first 8 weeks, giving them meat when they are 6 or 7 weeks old and suckling them for 3 months or longer. The most elusive of the large carnivores, the leopard is a cunning, stealthy hunter, its prey ranges from strong-scented carrion, fish, reptiles and birds to mammals such as rodents, hares, hyraxes, warthogs, antelopes, monkeys and baboons. Both lions and hyenas have been known to take away a leopard's kill. To prevent this, leopards store their larger kills in trees where they can feed on them in relative safety.The most widespread of the felines, leopards occur in regions across both Africa and Asia. Indeed, their adaptability to both warm and cold climates has helped them survive the loss of habitat caused by increasing human settlement. This information was taken from: AFW Wildlife
The picture is from: african leopard pictures on google

African lynx spiders

Lynx spiders body length ranges from 3-25mm. They are easily recognized by their long legs, distinctive eyes, numerous spines on their legs, and bright colors in some species. Some have patterned coloration.The body is longer than wide, high and angular or rounded with a wide, flattened tip. The abdomen is usually oval shaped and angles to a point.Lynx spiders have eight eyes. with inferred vision
They live in primarily tropical and subtropical in distribution, but also in temperate zones. Like Southern Africa.Most species are found in the southern states, although. Primarily they live by vegetation and are found in grasses, shrubs, and trees. For food they eat insects and spiders. They are nocturnal hunters, and some species are active during both day and night. They use their vision to detect and legs to catch prey, sometimes jumping up to 2cm into the air to catch insects in flight. Some lynx's also capture prey by jumping from a stationary location.Some lynx's may produce several egg sacs, while others only one. Lynx's are very protective of their egg sacs, guarding them avidly. Many will not eat while guarding eggs, and often die of starvation as a result. The picture was taken by Family Oxopidae that is also where I got my information.http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/arachnids/spiders/oxyopidae/index.htm

Red-billed hornbill

The Red-billed hornbill, scientific name Tockus erythrorhynchus, measuring 20 inches, is distinguished by a red bill. It does not have the point on the bill that many other hornbills have. It is brownish black with white markings and white on its stomach. Hornbills are notable for their long eyelashes and rather stubby legs and toes, with broad soles and the bases of the three front toes partly fused.The Red-billed hornbill lives in African trees and bushes of the savanna. Red-billed hornbills usually occur in pairs or small parties. They are some time solitary and defend a permanent territory that may range up to 25 acres.Short wings and a direct flight support their foraging habits. They utter clucking calls with the head bowed and the wings slightly opened during display. These birds are omnivorous, taking both plant and animal food. They skillfully seize swarming termites in flight and pursue grasshoppers on the ground. This picture was taken by "travel pictures." The credits go to http://www.honoluluzoo.org/red_billed_hornbill.htm