Pictures of African animals

Pictures of African Animals Elephant Shrew and Elephant Shrew Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant Shrew and Elephant Shrew Informations

Elephant Shrew or Jumping Shrew is a small insectivorous mammal native to Africa. Elephant shrews are not related to shrews. They are widely distributed across southern parts of Africa. Although very uncommon but Elephant shrews can be found in any habitats from the Namib deserts to boulder-strewn outcrops in South Africa to thick forests. They were first discovered in Loxton, Northern Cape Province in South Africa.

Elephant shrews vary in size from about 100-300 mm long and with a weight of 50-500 grams. They are quadrupedal with mouse-like tails and rather long legs proportionate to their size. Size of the trunk varies from one species to other however; they are capable of twisting it in search of food. Lifespan of elephant shrews is around 2-3 years. They feed on insects and other small creatures such as beetles, spiders, worms, ants and termites. They also eat seeds and some green shoots. They are very active, wary, well camouflaged and difficult to trap. They stay well hidden and thus it is rare to spot an elephant shrew.

Pictures of African Animals Elephant Shrew and Elephant Shrew Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant Shrew and Elephant Shrew Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant Shrew and Elephant Shrew Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant Shrew and Elephant Shrew Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Fin Whale and Fin Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Fin Whale and Fin Whale Informations

Fin Whale is a marine mammal that is second largest whale and second largest living animal after blue whale. Fin whale is also called as Finback whale, razorback whale or common whale. Fin whales can grow up to 27 meters (88 feet) long. Body of fin whale is long and slender, which is brownish-gray with paler underside. Fin whales can be found all the major oceans of the world from polar to tropical waters. In the waters close to the ice pack at both northern and southern poles and in small areas of water away from the open ocean, fin whales are absent. Highest population density of fin whales occurs in temperate and cool waters.

Fin whales can generally be distinguished by their length and slender body. Average size of fin whales is around 19-20 meters, with some of the species up to 24-25 meters. Although it is difficult to weigh full sized adults but as per the estimates, a 25-meter animal could weigh as much as 70,000 kg. Fin whales achieve full maturity only during 25-30 years. They have lived up to the age of 95 years. Fin whales feed on squids, small fish and crustaceans.

Pictures of African Animals Fin Whale and Fin Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Fin Whale and Fin Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Fin Whale and Fin Whale Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

Golden Mole is a small insectivorous burrowing mammal native to South Africa. Golden moles almost exclusively live underground beneath grasslands, forests, swamps, deserts or mountainous terrains.

Like other burrowing mammals, golden moles have short legs with powerful digging claws, very dense fur that repels dirt, moisture, and toughened skin. Eyes are non-functional and covered with skin and fur. Ears are just tiny openings. They have muscular shoulders. Golden moles have an enlarged third claw on the forelimbs to aid digging. Fifth digit is absent and first and fourth digits are vestigal. Hind feet retain all five toes, which are webbed to allow efficient backward shoveling of the soil loosened with the front claws. Touch is the primary sense of golden moles. They are very sensitive to vibrations that may indicate approaching danger. Size of golden moles is about 8 to 20 cm. They feed on small insects that are searched with the sense of hearing. Majority of the species construct permanent burrows while the desert species can swim through loose sand. Burrows created by golden moles could be as deep as one meter below the ground.

Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

Pictures of African Animals Golden Mole and Golden Mole Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

Elephants are the largest land mammals with three living species African Bush Elephant, African Forest Elephant and Asian Elephant or Indian Elephant. Elephants have appeared in cultures across the world. They are famed for their memory and intelligence. In Asian cultures, elephants are considered as symbol of wisdom. Once numbering in the millions, population of African elephants has dwindled to around 500,000 to 700,000 owing to the increasing human poaching. African elephants are currently found in 37 countries in Africa.

African elephants can be easily distinguished from Asian elephants with their much larger ears. African elephants are typically larger than Asian counterparts are and have a concave back. Elephants typically live for 50-70 years. Largest elephant ever recorded weighed 12,000 kg with a shoulder height of 4.2 meters (14 feet). Healthy and adult elephants have no natural predators. However, lions may take calves or weak animals. Elephants are herbivorous animals, spending 16 hours per day in collecting their food. They feed on plants, grasses, leaves, twigs, barks, roots, fruits, seeds and flowers.

Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

Pictures of African Animals Elephant and Elephant Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Eland is a genus of antelopes of the African savanna. Elands are the largest African antelopes. There are two species of elands – common elands and giant elands. In many aspects, elands are quite bovine. Elands live on the open plains of South Africa and along the foothills of the great South African plateau.

Male elands range in size with a length of 240-340 cm from snout to the base of the tail and stand tall 150 to 183 cm at the shoulder. They weigh about 600-800 kg. Male elands have a darker tan coat with bluish-grey tinge and females have a tan coat. Horns of both the sexes of elands are about 65 cm long. Elands feed on grass, branches and leaves. Meat of elands contains more protein than cattle meat and lesser amount of fats. Milk of Eland has a very high content of calcium. Size of bull elands generally discourages predators however; female elands are vulnerable to attacks by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs.

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

Pictures of African Animals Eland and Eland Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

Dugong is a large marine mammal, which is one of the four living species of the family Sirenia. The closest modern relative of Dugong is Steller’s Sea Cow, which was hunted to extinction in 18th century. Dugong is the strictly marine herbivorous mammal. Dugong is often hunted for its meat and oil. In many parts of the world, hunting of Dugong has cultural significance. Besides large-scale hunting by humans, due to its long lifespan (70 years) and slow rate of reproductions, many populations of Dugong are becoming extinct.

Dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fins or hindlimbs. Instead, they possess paddle-like forelimbs, which are used to maneuver themselves. They can be easily distinguished by their fluked and dolphin-like tail. The skull and teeth are also unique. Dugong weighs anywhere between 250-900 kg. Dugong is heavily dependent upon seagrasses for its subsistence and thus is restricted to the coastal habitats. Large Dugong concentrations can be typically found in wide, shallow and protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels and the lee sides of inshore islands.

Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

Pictures of African Animals Dugong and Dugong Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

Buffalo is a large African bovid that can be found in savannas usually close to the source of water. Buffalo are diurnal animals and thus can be found in herds comprising of hundreds of buffalo. Due to the unpredictable nature, African buffalo is dangerous to human beings and thus it has not been domesticated unlike its Asian counterpart – Domestic Asian Water Buffalo. They are the most successful grazers in Africa. They live in swamps, floodplains as well as in grasslands and forests of major mountains of Africa. They can be found from the highest mountains to sea level areas. Buffalo prefer their habitats in dense cover such as reeds and thickets. Herds are also often found in woodlands and grasslands.

Size of buffalo can be up to 1.7 meters high, 3.4 meters long and a weight of 800-900 kg. Like plains Zebra, buffalo can subsist on tall and coarse grass. They will not stay on trampled or depleted areas for long. African buffalo have very few predators except human beings. They can defend themselves even against lions and sometimes can also kill lions. Lions do kill and eat buffaloes regularly but for bringing down a single adult buffalo, at least couples of lions are required. Exceptionally large male lions can sometimes singly kill a buffalo.

Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

Pictures of African Animals Buffalo and Buffalo Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Blue Whale is the largest marine mammal, which is believed to be the largest animal ever to have existed. Blue whales are found up to a size of 3.9 meters (108 feet) in length and a weight of 172 metric tonnes. Blue whale is not only the largest mammal but also the largest whale and largest living animal. Blue whales were abundantly found in almost all oceans until the beginning of twentieth century. Until protected by the laws and international communities in 1966, the population of blue whale became almost extinction due to largescale hunting. As per 2002 reports and estimates, there are around 10,000 blue whales worldwide.

Body of blue whale is long and slender and comes in bluish-gray dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. Head is flat and U-shaped. Lung capacity of blue whale is about 5,000 liters. While breathing, blue whale emits a spectacular vertical column blow typically about 9 meter (30 feet), which can be up to 12 meter (40 feet) and could be seen from a great distance on a calm day. They can reach speeds up to 30 mph or 50 kmph over short bursts. Blue whales are difficult to measure due to their extra-ordinary sizes. Blue whales feed on crustaceans, small fish and squid.

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

Pictures of African Animals Blue Whale and Blue Whale Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Bat and Bat Informations

Pictures of African Animals Bat and Bat Informations

Bats are mammals that are often called ‘flying rodents’ and ‘flying rats’ and often mistaken for insects and birds. Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flights. Other mammals such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos can only glide for limited distances. Forelimbs of Bats are developed as wings, making it possible for them to fly. There are over 1100 species of bats worldwide, which accounts for about 20% of all mammal species. Bats can be found throughout most of the world. Bats perform a vital ecological role by pollinating flowers and in seed dispersals, many tropical plants being entirely dependent on bats.

Bats range in size from 29 to 33 mm in length and about 1.2 kg in weight. Bats have a wingspan of 1.5 meters. Bats are terrestrial and light-bones creatures and therefore there are very few fossilized remains. Bats can locate prey by emitting high-pitched sounds and listening to the echoes (sonar) of the nearby objects. The process is known as echolocation, an ability that they share with dolphins and whales. Most of bats are active at nights or twilights. They can rarely fly in rain, as rain interferes with their echolocation abilities. Owing to the high mobility, broad distribution and social behaviors, bats are favorable hosts and vectors of diseases. Bats are natural reservoirs for large numbers of pathogens including rabies, Ebola virus and SARS – Severe Acute respiratory Syndrome.

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Pictures of African Animals Bat and Bat Informations

Pictures of African Animals Bat and Bat Informations

Pictures of African Animals Bat and Bat Informations

Pictures of African Animals Bat and Bat Informations

Pictures of African Animals Bat and Bat Informations

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Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

Aardvark is an amazing and medium sized, burrowing and nocturnal African mammal. Sometimes, aardvark is also called as ‘anteater’, ‘earth hog’, ‘earth pig’ or ‘Cape anteater’. The name aardvark comes from Afrikaans or Dutch term for earth pig. Early settlers from Europe thought it to be a domesticated pig though it is not related to pig. Moreover, despite sharing some of the characteristics and superficial resemblance, it is not related to South American Anteater. Closest living animals to aardvark are elephant shrews, hyraxes and elephants.

Aardvarks can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa in savannas, grasslands, woodlands and bushland where there is suitable habitat and available food (ants, termites etc) for them. Aardvark is vaguely pig-like in appearance with a stout body and an arched back. Limbs are moderate in length. Ears are disproportionately long. Tail is thick at the base and tapers gradually. Head of Aardvarks is greatly elongated. It rests on a short and thick neck. Mouth is small and tubular. They have a long, thin, snake-like protruding tongue and elaborate structures supporting a keen sense of smell. Aardvarks weigh around 40 to 65 kg with length between 1 to 1.3 meters. They are pale yellowish in color.

Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

Pictures of African Animals Aardvark and Aardvark Informations

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