If you click on the picture, you will see our favorite fact about each animal!
A zebra’s stomach is often full of gas which leads to a protruding belly and a very “musical” gallop. 🙂
Every three years (on average), after an 18-month pregnancy, the female white rhinoceros gives birth to one young.
Last night’s dinner: to ensure larger animals and hyenas do not steal its prey, a leopard will carry more than twice its weight up a tree. Pound for pound, it is the by far the strongest climber amongst the cats.
The lilac-breasted roller gets its name from their impressive courtship flight, a fast, shallow dive from a considerable elevation with a rolling motion.
One of our favorite safari moments was watching this giraffe drinking water – an incredibly vulnerable (and awkward) position.
The black crake’s legs will become bright red when it is breeding season… 😉
A baby elephant does not learn how to use its trunk until it is about 8 months old. Before then, the baby will swing it around and suck on it, just as a baby would suck its thumb.
Though not particularly graceful or beautiful, the warthog might be our favorite animal.
Rhinos lay down “middens” or piles of dung to mark their territory. Other animals add their deposits in these middens basically creating toilets around the savannah.
The leopard tortoise is a solitary animal except during mating season where the male will pursue the female by butting her in the back of her shell with his head until she “gives in”.
Female lions do 85-90% of the pride’s hunting while the males patrol the territory and protect the pride.
Grey heron standing on hippos
We saw these guys out in the wild, but by far our favorite experience was learning about them on the farm. 1 ostrich egg = 24 chicken eggs!
Honey badgers really don’t give a s***.
This little genet came to dinner with us. Not only are they nocturnal and extremely cat-like; they also apparently enjoy a nice pasta dinner. 🙂
The Cape Buffalo is one of the “African Big 5” most dangerous animals to hunt. If shot at, they will circle back to attack the hunter…
The African Fish Eagle is the largest bird of prey in Africa.
African wild dogs have a playful ceremony to “pump up” prior to a hunt. They start circulating among each other, vocalizing, and touching until they are excited and ready to start the hunt.
The name giraffe means “a camel marked like a leopard”.
The woodland kingfisher, contrary to its name, is rarely found fishing. It prefers munching on bugs and seeds instead.
Perfectly camouflaged
How the wildebeest came to be: After the creator had made the animals, he did not want to waste spare parts. So he decided he would use some left over stripes from the zebra, a warthog shaped head, a neck shaped like a buffalo, and some left over lions mane to create one last animal – the wildebeest.
The saddle-billed stork will swallow that fish whole and chase it with a swig of water.
The warthog has to kneel to drink because their neck is too short to reach the ground. They also run (or prance) with their tails high in the air – look up a video of one running if you are having a bad day!
These southern ground hornbills are impossible to photograph but are over four feet tall and weigh over 13 pounds! They scared the **** out of us when they ran in front of our car!
The African Darteris commonly known as the snakebird as it often swims with only the neck above the water.
It takes a cape water buffalo bull at least eight years to fight his way high enough up the dominance hierarchy to secure opportunities to mate.
The dassie is, amazingly, the closest related animal to the elephant!
Hippos eat nearly 90 pounds of grass each night and are most dangerous when they are crossing from water to land and back again. They also kill the most people in Africa. Gulp!
Baby rhinos are adorable. Fact.
Most dung beetles create “brooding balls” by gathering animal dung (the fresher, the better) and rolling it into balls. The goal is to attract a female by rolling the prettiest and sturdiest ball for her to lay her eggs in. To orient themselves as they roll their ball home, the dung beetle will climb on top of their ball and look to the sky to use the sun and stars for guidance. When researchers placed little hats on the beetles, preventing them from seeing the sky, they were lost and wandered about
This young male bushbuck will most often be found around water and is an excellent swimmer.
The Giant African Millipede… ewwww
The majestic kudu has incredible spiral horns and though standing perfectly still for this picture, they can jump over 9 feet high!
The leopard is the most elusive and secretive of the large cats. They are incredibly difficult to track and locate in the wild.
Impala are jokingly referred to as the “fast food of the savannah” as they are nearly everywhere making popular dinner choices for the big cats.
This crocodile, with a kill, has the strongest bite of all the animals in the world, however, one their mouth is shut, a human adult can easily hold it closed.
Baboons are fighters. If a preditor comes along, unlike monkeys who will run up the trees for safety, baboons will come down from trees to scream and fight. They also create a bit on an uneasy feeling when you are walking down the road next to them…
This is a female waterbuck – identified by the ring around her booty.
The African Elephant is either right or left”tusked” with the dominant tusk becoming shorter due to frequent use.
These guys, appropriately named the African Penguin, are the only penguins found on the entire continent of Africa.
The African Common Toad… I just feel like he probably never makes it into photo books so I am giving him his time in the spotlight.
Eastbound and Down 
One of my favorite posts! Loved all the pictures with explanations! Love you!
LikeLike
Thanks Ashley!!! It was so much fun to write!! Miss and love you guys!!
LikeLike
Wow, that’s a lot of animals! I’ll forward your favorite facts to my grandkids, who particularly love to learn about animals. Thanks for posting!
I also read your essay, “A Difficult Post,” which was thoughtfully written and graciously shared. It’s still a tough world, with so many ways for us to get involved and open our hearts. What you are experiencing is a beautiful gift to the rest of us. Writing about your travels, and caring enough to deeply explore your feelings, illuminates the choices we each face every day. The best to you both as you continue this journey!
LikeLike
Thanks so much Pam! What you said really means a lot to me. Hope the kiddos like the animals!! Missing you guys!!
LikeLike
Very fun facts! Thanks! Happy Easter, Eggs!
LikeLike
Thanks Aunt Jill!! Hope you had a wonderful Easter!!
LikeLike
“Female lions do 85-90% of the pride’s hunting while the males patrol the territory and protect the pride.” As the saying goes, “It’s good to be king!” Don J.
LikeLike
These are amazing pictures! I don’t know how you got the bird pictures. Did you also know that the lioness does all the hunting and the male lion sleeps up to 20 hrs a day. When a lioness gets a meal she will drag it to the lion. What a life.
LikeLike
What a life indeed! I’m trying to make sure Jon doesn’t get any ideas 🙂
LikeLike