Pictures of African animals

Pictures of African Animals Spectacled Dormouse and Spectacled Dormouse Informations

Spectacled Dormouse is a species of rodents endemic to South Africa. They have their natural habitats in tropical or subtropical dry shrub lands. Dormice are well known for their long periods of hibernation.

Dormice are generally small rodents with a size of 2.5-7.5 inches in length and 15-200 grams in weight, size varying with the particular species. Overall appearance of spectacled dormice is mouse-like except that they are furred animals and they have scaly tails. They tend to spend their larger time in trees or bushes. However, they are also very agile and well-adapted to climbing. Dormice are nocturnal and omnivorous mammals and they have excellent sense of hearing. They are very vocal, often signaling others with a wide range of vocalizations. They primarily feed  fruits, nut, seeds, berries, flowers and insects. Dormice live in temperate zones in hibernation for large amounts of time, often up to six months in a year or even longer depending upon weather. During cool weather, they may occasionally come out from hibernation for very short periods to eat food. In summer, they accumulate fats in their bodies to keep them nourished during their hibernation periods.

Pictures of African Animals Spectacled Dormouse and Spectacled Dormouse Informations

Pictures of African Animals Spectacled Dormouse and Spectacled Dormouse Informations

Pictures of African Animals Spectacled Dormouse and Spectacled Dormouse Informations

Pictures of African Animals Red Bush Squirrel and Red Bush Squirrel Informations

Red Bush Squirrel is a species of rodents in squirrel family, which are found abundantly in Mozambique, Malawi, Somalia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Their natural habitats are in tropical or subtropical dry forests, tropical or subtropical moist lowland forests and tropical or subtropical dry shrub lands.

Red bush squirrels have a beautiful red bushy appendage. Squirrels are generally very small animals ranging in size from African Pygmy Squirrels, which are  7-10 cm in length and just 10 gram weight to Alpine Marmot, which are 53-73 cm in length and 5-8 Kg weight.  They have slender bodies with tail and large eyes. Their fur is soft and silky and varies in sizes depending upon the species. Their hind limbs are longer than fore limbs. They have a soft pad on the undersides of their feet. Red Bush Squirrels are generally herbivorous and mainly feed on seeds, plants, fruits and nuts and occasionally on insects and small vertebrates. They have an excellent sense of vision and a good sense of touch.

Pictures of African Animals Red Bush Squirrel and Red Bush Squirrel Informations

Pictures of African Animals Red Bush Squirrel and Red Bush Squirrel Informations

Pictures of African Animals Red Bush Squirrel and Red Bush Squirrel Informations

Pictures of African Animals Red Bush Squirrel and Red Bush Squirrel Informations

Pictures of African Animals Red Bush Squirrel and Red Bush Squirrel Informations

Pictures of African Animals Springhare and Springhare Informations

Springhare is endemic to South Africa and currently it is listed as critically endangered species. Springhare is actually not a hare, rather it is a member of the rodents family. Snakes, men, jackals and weasels are the main predators of Springhare.  It resemble a small kangaroo due to its highly developed hind legs. They are found only in southeastern Africa.

Average weight of Springhare is about 3 kg and length is 35-45 cm, excluding tail, which further measures about 35-45 cm. Color of Springhare varies from reddish-brown to pale grey. Tail is black at its tip. With highly developed hind legs, Springhare possess extraordinary capabilities of jumping. They can often leap more than meters in a single jump. They generally feed on plants and vegetations and sometimes on insects. Although Springhare is a nocturnal animal but sometimes they be found to be active even during the day time. They make their habitats by digging tunnels, which they generally make in rainy season when the soil is wet.

Pictures of African Animals Springhare and Springhare Informations

Pictures of African Animals Springhare and Springhare Informations

Pictures of African Animals Springhare and Springhare Informations

Pictures of African Animals Springhare and Springhare Informations

Pictures of African Animals Springhare and Springhare Informations

Pictures of African Animals Vervet Monkey and Vervet Monkey Informations

Vervet monkey or simply Vervet is a small to large monkey that are found throughout most of the East and Southern Africa from Ethiopia and Somalia south to the South Africa. They are also found inhabiting Savanna lands and mountains even at height of up to 4000 meters from sea level.

Adult male Vervet Monkey ranges in size from 45-85 cm and weighs 3.5-7.5 kg. Females range from 40-60 cm in length and weigh 2.5-5.5 kg. Length of the tail of both males and females can range from 50-115 cm. Vervet Monkeys are mainly herbivorous and feed on variety of fruits, plants, leaves and seeds, sometimes on insects and small rodents. In Kenya and South Africa, they are classified as vermin, as they often destroy large amounts of crops. They live in a group of 15-20 animals. Vervet monkeys are grey or slightly greenish-grey in color with face, hands, feet and tip of the tail being black.  A white band on their forehead make it easy to distinguish them from other monkeys.

Pictures of African Animals Vervet Monkey and Vervet Monkey Informations

Pictures of African Animals Vervet Monkey and Vervet Monkey Informations

Pictures of African Animals Vervet Monkey and Vervet Monkey Informations

Pictures of African Animals Vervet Monkey and Vervet Monkey Informations

Pictures of African Animals Vervet Monkey and Vervet Monkey 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

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