• Interesting Facts about Amphibians (3)
• Interesting Facts about Birds (22)
• Interesting Facts about Fishes (9)
• Interesting Facts about Mammals (48)
• Interesting Facts about Reptiles (16)

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Colobus

DESCRIPTION: A small monkey with a U-shaped mantleof long white fur that descends from its shoulders and around its back. Whitefur surrounds their black face FUN FACTS: Baby colobus' are born completely white. Ruminant-like digestive system hasenabled leaf-eaters, such as colobus', to occupy niches that are inaccessibleto other primates. They live in territorial groups ofapproximately nine individuals, based upon a single male with a number offemale and their offspring. The Old Worldmonkeys of the subfamily Colobinae have a specially adapted stomach that issacculated and supports bacterial colonies. These bacteria make it possible fordigestion of cellulose in their diet of leaves, unripe fruit, and seeds. There are documented cases of"allo" mothering, which means members of the troop other than theinfant's biological mother care for it. The differences between monkeys andapes are easy to see once you know what to look for. Apes do not have a tailand are generally larger than most other primates. They have a more uprightbody posture as well. Apes rely more on vision than on smell and have a shortbroad nose rather than a snout, as Old Worldmonkeys do. OldWorld monkeys are generally from Africa and Asia while New World monkeys arefrom the Americas.In Old World monkeys, the nostrils facedownward and are narrow. New World monkeyshave round nostrils facing to the side. Old World primates are usually largerthan New World's. Many of the Old World monkeys are partly terrestrial.

Dogs

Why do dogs Bark at Strangers?Long agodogs lived in packs. If a stranger came around, one dog would bark and warn theothers, and they would attack the stranger. Your dog thinks of you as one ofits pack. If astranger comes near you or your home your dog will bark to keep him away. A dog thatis chained up has a very small home ground and will guard it even morefiercely. That is why it barks so loudly at strangers.

Dolphins

Scientistsbelieve that large marine mammals like whales and dolphins have brains muchlike those of humans. They are able to communicate, follow instructions, andfigure things out. Mammalshave larger, more well-developed brains than other animals. Most mammals havegood memories and are able to learn new things. This means that mammals canlearn to survive in new situations and in new places if they need to. This iscalled adapting.

Eastern White-Bearded Wildebeest

DESCRIPTION: This subspecies of wildebeest has awhite beard, unlike most other subspecies which have black beards; both sexeshave smooth, cowlike horns. SIZE: Male - 1.25-1.45 m at the shoulder.Female - 1.15-1.42 m at the shoulder WEIGHT:  Male - 165-274 kg. Female - 140-230 kg FUN FACTS:      Each yearan ancient spectacle, the single largest movement of wildlife, begins.White-bearded wildebeest migrate in search of fresh pastures and water. Suchmigrations may contain as many as one million individuals. Up to halfa million plains zebra and Thomson's gazelles often travel with the gnus. InNovember, the rains have resumed in the south and the green grasses of theNorth are depleted, the masses surge back to the fresh pastures. Thismigration takes the form of long columns, stretching thousands of miles.Visitors and natives say the ground trembles under their stampeding hooves. Predatorssuch as lions and hyenas follow the herd while crocodiles wait hungrily in therivers. They wait for a lone unhealthy gnu or youngster to break away from theothers; wading into a herd of over one million hoofed animals for a meal is toodangerous. Wildebeests live in more densely packedherds than any other large mammal, except for humans. Eighty percent of calves (sometimes upto half a million) are born within a 2-3 week period at the start of the rainyseason. Since predators can only take a limited number of prey at any giventime, there is a higher chance of survival for each individual calf. Calves can stand and run within 3-7minutes after birth. They follow their mothers as they move with the herd. At nightwhite-bearded wildebeest sleep on the ground in rows; this provides them withthe security of being in a group while allowing them space to run in case of anemergency

Fruit Bat

The verylarge fruit trees that are common to the Okavango Delta are also home to thePeter's Epauletted Fruit Bat. These bats favour the fruit off the Sycamore figand feeding by night they add to the night sounds, their squeaks & whistlesechoing through the dense canopy. During the day the fruit bats hang upsidedown from the canopy. Here they remain silent, waiting in anticipation for thenights feeding. The bats are often forced to fly as they are very oftendisturbed by both baboon & vervet monkey who like to eat them. Gordo, amale ocelot, is believed to be one of only about 100 left in the U.S. DallasZoo researchers are working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department tosave the endangered ocelot cat from extinction.

Giraffe

The Giraffe(Thutlwa) is the tallest of the African mammals standing at around 5 meters. Giraffe use thisheight to great advantage, as there is no other real competition for their foodsource - leaves - apart from perhaps the elephant. Even thoughthe giraffe is the tallest of the African mammals it still only has seven neckvertebrae, the same as mankind. DESCRIPTION: Giraffes are the tallest of the landanimals. It is a hooved mammal with short, wiry hair that varies in colorsamong the various races. The background coloring is cream with borders of goldto orange and the splotches are brown to black. FUN FACTS: Giraffesstrip leaves from thorny acacia trees, sometimes colonized by ants, with their 45 cm (18 in.) long, prehensiletongues.     Bull giraffes forage higher in treesthan cow giraffes which reduces food competition between the sexes. Long-legged giraffes walk with thelimbs on one side of the body lifted at the same time. This gait is called apace and allows a longer stride which saves steps and energy. A mother giraffe often gives birthwhile standing so that the newborn's first experience outside the womb is a 1.8 m (6 ft.) drop! For the first four to five months,calves congregate in nursery groups called creches to rest and socialize whilemothers forage in the distance. Giraffes have seven elongated vertebraein their neck unlike most mammals, an adaptation for feeding high in the trees. Giraffes are the tallest mammal. Theyare often called the watchtowers of the Serengeti, keeping track of predators.Their extreme long-range vision enables visual communication with othergiraffes over several miles. Because their necks are shorter thantheir legs, they must spread their front legs wide in order to reach the waterto drink. Their neck veins contain valves and a network of tiny veins toconstrict blood flow to their brain when they lower their head to drink inorder to prevent blackouts. Each has unique markings, whichdistinguish it from others, much like a human fingerprint. Giraffe markings allow them to hide amongtrees. A giraffe's tongue is purplish-black andcan extend almost twenty inches! This adaptation is thought to keep the tonguefrom sunburn during their all-day feed. Giraffes are one of the few species ofmammal to perceive color, and their visual field approaches 360 from theirtremendous height. Theyare quite agile and can run up to 35 mph, and have been known to jump 1.8 m (6 ft).

Gray Whale

DESCRIPTION: This species of whale has short baleen,a proportionally small head when compared to other baleen whales, and no dorsalfin. Instead of a dorsal fin, they have 9-13 bumps or "knuckles" fromthe midpoint of the back to the tail flukes. They are, of course, grayish incolor. Their throat grooves number from 2-4.As with other baleen whales, adultfemales tend to be slightly larger than the adult males. SIZE: Newborn calves average 4.9 m. Male gray whales average 13 m, Female gray whales average 14.1 m. A maximum length forthem is about 15 m WEIGHT: At birth, a gray whale is about 500 kg. The maximumweight for a gray whale is believed to be around 35,300 kg.Females may weigh almost 32,000 kg DIET: A gray whale's diet consists largely of sandcrab-like crustaceans called amphipods. FUN FACTS: The gray whale is the only livingmember of the baleen whale family Eschrichtiidae. The gray whale differs fromthe other two baleen whale families primarily in its feeding behavior - it is abottom feeder. Gray whales are predominantly bottomfeeders and forage along the ocean floor. Turning on its side, a gray whalegulps great mouthfuls of silt, strains out water and mud through its baleen,and swallows bottom-dwelling invertebrates. This whale species has the leastamount of baleen-approximately 130 baleen strips on each side of jaw. Thereduced number of baleen reflects the fact that they are bottom feeders. Females give birth to 4.9 m calves in the warm,shallow lagoons of Baja. While in the lagoons, some gray whales are unusuallyreceptive to the attentions of human who travel to the lagoons to see them.  They are believed to be able to dive upto 120 m and swim up to 15 kph.  Graywhales are known to migrate more than 10,000 km eachway-that's the longest known migration route of any mammal

Hedgehog

DESCRIPTION: A small mammal with white hair on itsstomach and hair modified into spines on its back FUN FACTS There are 11 species of hedgehog nativeto Africa, Asia, and Europe, and they have been introduced to New Zealand. Hedgehog quills are not barbed orpoisonous. However, hedgehogs will apply a foamy saliva to their quills. Thismay serve many purposes: an irritant to predators, a natural insect repellentsince they are unable to clean their skin well, or an attractant to potentialmates. A hedgehog has a large muscle runningalong its stomach which pulls its body into a tight, spiky little ball fordefense. Large owls and raptors with well-protectedfeet and sharp claws are some of the only natural enemies of hedgehogs. Hedgehogsgive birth to one to seven babies which are born with the spines just below theskin. Spines start to appear within 24 hours.

Hippo

Hippos(Kubu) are very common to the Khwai River (unlike hippos at Eagle Island)and are more often than not seen out of the water, which is considered unusualas hippos have very sensitive skins. Hippos arevery territorial and are treated with enormous respect. Although very heavy(Average 2500kg) they can attain speeds of up to 45 kilometres perhour both in and out of the water.

Hyena

DESCRIPTION:   Coatis rough and short, color is reddish brown to tan, becoming lighter and lessspotted with age, tail pompom and nose are black SIZE: Male 79-86 cm,Female 84-89 cm. WEIGHT:Male 56-63 kg,Female 67-75 kg FUN FACTS: Hyenas live in territorial socialgroups called clans. Clans are dominated by females and can reach up to 70members. The spotted hyena is the largestspecies of hyena. The other species are the brown hyena and the striped hyena. Female hyenas possess similar lookingreproductive organs to males therefore accurate sexing can be difficult. The hyena is more closely related tothe mongoose and cat than the dog. The hyena is primarily a hunter, not ascavenger. They usually hunt alone however clans will hunt together in order tocatch larger prey. They are also good opportunistic hunters.

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List of Animals English Globe