ears Archives - Page 27 of 59

Swish

An elephant’s tail can be as long as 1.3 m and is tipped by a series of very coarse, wire-like hairs. They have an extraordinary degree of control over tail movement and use them like a fly swat against insects. Just like a dog, when an elephant’s tail is swishing from side to side swatting away flies, it is happy. As soon as the tail goes stiff, normally held out to one side, it means that the elephant is anxious. At this point, it may even start to run from you, normally swivelling over its shoulder to keep an eye on you as it tries to get away.

5 November 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Camouflage

Giraffes are fairly social animals and get together in herds from time to time. However, there is no group bonding. Because of their very long necks, Giraffes are able to feed on the foliage of trees that is not accessible to other herbivores. The long prehensile tongue is used to pull pods and leaves into the mouth which are then stripped from the stems with the spatulate incisor teeth. Their skin colour is tan with light brown patches on females and dark brown patches on males. Both males and females have short horns covered in skin.

31 October 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Dishevelled

One of the characteristic predators of the African savanna the Spotted Hyena was long thought to be solely a scavenger, but it is now known that it is one of the most successful hunters. Its sloping features and ungainly walk, together with its eerie call have earned the Spotted Hyena a bad reputation. Long thought to be of the dog family the Hyena is now thought to have more cat-like features. The Spotted Hyena is well known for its macabre chuckle or “laugh”, which is an indispensable sound of the African bush at night. The large head, sloping back and a keen sense of smell is unique to this species. Females dominate the social hierarchy and are larger than males. Females are 850 mm high at the shoulders and weigh 70 kg, whereas males weigh in at 60 kg. The spotted hyena is yellow with dark spots and round ears. Externally female genitalia superficially mimic the male reproductive organs, thus making gender identification difficult.

25 October 201825 October 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife