The fun encyclopedia of animals is here! See pictures, wallpapers and videos and read fun reviews of products for animals, how tos, and fun stories about our animal friends here.
Africa is known for its vast landscape and the animals that live in it. Some people are lucky enough to visit this beautiful place and see the animals in their natural habitat. Below are the most common animals you can find in the African safari.
Lion
Known to be the king of the jungle, they’re
the main attractions of any safari. During the day, you’re likely to see these
big cats lying around and sleeping than actively chasing prey since they
usually spend 20 hours a day resting. Since they’re social animals and live
along with others in a pride, they’re very easy to spot.
Elephant
The biggest land mammal on the planet, you’ll definitely be awed when you see this majestic animal for the first time. They’re commonly found in the savanna, deserts, forests and woodlands, spreading across more than 30 countries in the sub-Sahara Africa. They’re peaceful animals, but it’s best if they’re left alone.
Giraffe
Another animal that’s easily spotted in any safari, the giraffe is known for their long, delicate necks. They’re the tallest animal in the planet, so you really can’t miss them when you’re out in the field. Because of their long necks, they actually have a special blood valve and veins that stops them from blacking out when they lower their heads to drink.
Leopards
One of the big cats that prowl the safari, there are actually more leopards than African rhinos. However, they are a bit difficult to find since they’re fur is designed to help it bend into the safari. They commonly climb trees and stay there, using them to stay safe as they observe the surrounding.
Rhino
Rhinos are divided into two species, the white and black rhino. The population of black rhinos has drastically declined over the past few decades, so it’s very rare to see these animals in the safari. White rhinos on the other hand are more common and can be seen in South Africa. They’re large animals and are best viewed from afar since they can have a bit of a bad temper.
Cheetahs
A beautiful and rare big cat, they’re one of the fastest animals on land. They’re very agile and flexible, making them a top predator in the safari. Human occupation is one of the biggest threats to these animals since they have a preference for wide, open areas that are being converted into cattle grazing zones. They’re seen in the eastern and southwestern areas of the African safari.
Elephants, apart from their massive sizes, are also known for their tusks, considered to be an essential elephant feature that everyone knows about, regardless if a person in question has actually ever seen an elephant or not.
Though tusks have become readily identifiable elephant attributes, not everyone is aware of the 1980 movie entitled Tusk, telling the tale of a young girl and an elephant who happened to be born on the same day.
Based on the novel written by Reginald Campbell, the French language movie has been considered by many as a waste of time, but as it is based on the realities of the threats elephants are faced with in poaching, the movie’s message is far from being that of trivial.
As a part of the elephant’s physiology, tusks are actually the “teeth” of an elephant, defined as their second upper incisors. Unlike how humans and other mammals use their teeth, an elephant uses its tusks for digging, pushing, and other tasks that their trunks can not effectively do.
Thinking of them as “arms” is also apt, since elephants are known to have certain inclinations with which tusk they are more prone to use, with “left-tusked” and “right-tusked” elephants being around. Also, unlike human teeth, the tusks of an elephant is known to grow like how fingernails would grow.
The tusks of elephants are often valued for their ascribed exotic value, with many finding the ownership of real elephant tusk items as a symbol of wealth. Utilized in the making of jewelry items, souvenirs, accessories and other items, elephant populations are threatened by illegal poaching activities, primarily targeting the tusks of elephants as the “score”.
Though elephants are large, their size makes them big targets, which doesn’t really do anything in protecting them from being taken down. Their tusks, an important part that elephants need to have to survive, continue to be hunted by poachers, and as the movie Tusk shares, encouraging the demand for elephant tusks stands to be the best move in protecting them as a species.
