THE STRIPES

 Few animals are as strongly matched with the African continent as zebras is the  only wild member of the horse family in south Sahara.

INTRODUCTION

There are three type of zebra's species.The well-known and common Burchell's Zebra, the Mountain Zebra, and the Gravy's Zebra of East Africa.All three species are further divided into region wise  sub-species.The extinct Quagga is considered to have been a sub-species of the Burchell's Zebra.
The Burchell's and Mountain Zebras caught in major decreases in their region  in southern Africa recently.Both were killed in large numbers the white colonists. Indeed, this massacre led to the complete extinction of the Quagga.

HABITAT

Today, the two sub-species of Mountain Zebra - Cape and Hartmann's  surviving  in isolated populations in the Western Cape and Namibia respectively. Populations of both appear to be almost protected within national parks and on private land.

In southern Africa, Burchell's Zebra still existing  in large numbers in reserves such as Kruger, Sabi-Sand, Umfolozi. Really large herds are, however, only to be found in northern Namibia(Etosha) and northern Botswana (Savuti). Spectacular congregations may still be seen in these areas of wide open plains. Burchell's Zebra is also abundant in East Africa, where up to 500 000 exists in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.There are smaller populations in most other protected areas. The East African zebras lack the pale brown 'shadow' stripes and appear to be more boldly patterned.


DIET

Zebras are almost grazers. They likes short grasses. They are particularly fond of freshly sprouted grass and will move large distances in search of this nutritious grass. They also feed on slightly longer grass than the wildebeest. Zebra are dependent upon water and this limits their region  and their movements.

HAREM FAMILY

Burchell's Zebra live in small family groups, usually consisting of between four and eight individuals led by a single dominant stallion - the true (harem family). The adult mares in a group are usually related, being sisters, or 'aunts, nieces and daughters'.Male offspring are chosen from the herd by the dominant stallion.
When the young mares first come into oestrus, they adopt an inviting stance to attract nearby members of bachelor groups. Fights often ensue between the stallions, but the 'father' cannot attend to the many advances, and loses each of his 'daughters' to her suitor.
The catch however, is that the young mares will not permit crossing  during their first oestrus and will wait until they are settled into a family before beginning to breed.

REPRODUCTION

The Burchell's Zebra has a pregnancy period of 12 months, with a single foal being born at any time of the year.
They have a great social interaction when they are on the move the stallion at the rear, the dominant mare leading the group and the lower-ranking members following in sequence. So, it means the dominant mare leads the family. Large herd of zebra consist of hundreds of  harem families which retain their identity within the big herd.


SOCIAL LIFE

Zebras associate with antelopes,giraffe, and even ostrich. They do this  to create a anti-predator device. Nevertheless, zebras stands top of the list of lion and Hyena prey. Youngsters are particularly suitable to these predators which, hunting in groups.These predators  easily separate the young from the adults. Stallions will defend their harem vigorously, sometimes they defend so hard to even kill the attacker.

FASTEST CAT

INTRODUCTION AND PHYSIC

Cheetah is close relative of lions,jaguars and leopard.They have slim body,sharp teeth,strong and muscular claws which helps them to run fast and getting their prey.Their tail is long and strong it provides balance to them while running fast on the speed of 75 mile per hour(mph).

CHEETAH the fastest of the world's animals, is the least imposing of Africa's large predators and sits at the bottom of the predator list. Though displaying great speed and fitness in making killsOften lions or hyenas steal their prey from them. Even a large mob of hungry vultures can drive a cheetah from its meal.

Specialist Sprinter

Cheetah can run at 105 kilometers per hour,about 75 mph the cheetah is the fastest land mammal. With its narrow waist it is often said to be built more like a dog than a cat.Their claws are strong and supportive in land grip so they can avoid to slip away from their prey.

WAY OF HUNTING

Whereas all other cats - large and small - rely on a "stalk and pounce" approach to capturing prey, the cheetah relies on speed.Their claws act like runner's spiked soles when on the move, but are not as adept at pinning down prey. Of course, it is not possible to sprint at high speed in the dark, so the cheetah hunts by day and this is convenient in the sense that most other predators are prefer to prey at night when it is dark.

HABITAT

Cheetah lives where the habitat is open and suitable for prey whether it is small or medium in size. They do excellent hunt when lion and  hyena are not present.This explains why they prefer to live over much of Namibia (farmers have eliminated the more powerful predators) and soon expand in number when reintroduced to small reserves lacking larger predators.

LARGEST LIVING MAMMAL

INTRODUCTION AND PHYSIC

African elephants  are the largest living land mammal. African elephants have a large head, large ears, and a long muscular trunk.

The two front incisors of African elephants grow into large tusks that curve forward.The African elephant's trunk has two fingerlike outgrowths, one at the top edge of the tip and another on the bottom edge. this enable the elephant it to pick up small objects and strip leaves from trees.

ENEMIES OF ELEPHANTS

The African elephant's predators include lions, hyenas, and humans.The basic social unit in African elephants is the maternal family unit. The main threats facing African elephants are hunting and habitat destruction. The species is targeted by poachers who hunt the elephants for their valuable ivory tusks.

DIET

African elephants, like most elephants can eat up to 350 pounds of food each day .African elephants are herbivores. They feed on plant material such as grasses, buds, fruits, leaves, roots and bark.

WEIGHT AND SIZE

About 13 to 16 feet long and 4 - 7 tons approximately.

HABITAT

African elephants once inhabited a range that stretched from the southern Sahara Desert to the southern tip of Africa and reached from the west coast of Africa to the Indian Ocean.

REPRODUCTION

African elephants reproduce sexually. Females become sexually mature between the ages of 12 and 14 years. Pregnancy is 22 months long and is timed so that calves are born during the rainy season when food is plentiful.Only one calf is born at a time and females only give birth about once every five years.

KINDS OF ELEPHANTS

African elephants are traditionally considered to be one of two species of elephants, the other being the Asian elephant. The African savanna elephant and the African forest elephant.

CLOSE RELATIVES

Elephants closest living relative are manatees. Other close relative to elephants include rhinoceroses. Although today there are only two living species in the elephant family, there used to be some 150 species.

LIFE IN A GROUP

INTRODUCTION

As we all know lion is the KING OF JUNGLE.Lion is the only animal that can beat any other animal by its sharp senses,strategies and smartness.Their living style is very good to live in an area full of enemies and dangers.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Lions have a strong,muscular and big body.They have big claw with sharp edged nails to dig in their prey.Their canines can be long as 2.5 inches.

PRIDE

Lions lives in group.Their group consists of 5 to 7 lionesses,two to three youngsters and one or two dominant male. Lion always secure a perimeter around their territory they secure their territory by creating a boundary line leaving their scent of pee.

HUNTING

Male always stay with the group and protect its members. The females hunt for their group.They hunt in a group of 3 to 4 lionesses.They surrounds their prey and keep going to do narrow the circle.They choose a healthy and slower prey because it is easy to kill a slower one instead of someone fast and stronger than the lions.

DIET

Their young ones first feed on mother milk afterwards they learn all the skill and technic of hunting. Often some newly adult lions wondered around group and tries to kill the young ones.By this they can start their own family with the females.

RESPONSIBILITY OF MALE LION

If the male of the group is stronger he will defend his cubs from these wondering lost rascals and defeat them.

BATTLE OF TERRITORY

It is the rule of jungle that always claim your area and secure it from other animals and harms.Most of the animals lives in groups and some lives individuals.Lion,Hyena,Zebras,Elephants majority lives in groups.They feed  together,live together,defend their group and little members of the group.

Lions lives in group.Their group called as CUB.There lionesses hunt for the cub and feed their young ones.Mostly there are five to seven lionesses in a cub more or less.The lion is the protector of the CUB and secure a perimeter around the territory.

Hyena lives in group they are less in power but they can beat lion if they are in group.hyena always prey in groups.They surrounds their prey and then attach in one go.They build mines underground to live.

Cheetah lives in individual pair and lives their live silently but if anyone tries to hold their area they defend their territory.

Zebras graze together,They walks thousands of miles together in search of grass and water.Group of zebras consist of almost 400 to 800 zebras.

Elephant have their own unique style to live.They lives separately from other animals.There group is mostly consist of 12 to 15 elephants including young ones.

All these animals can die for saving their territories.These animals looks silent but for their surrounding all of them have their own rules and laws.

BUILT TO KILL

INTRODUCTION

The African fields are famous for their fierce beasts like lion,cheetah,hyena,leopards.All of these animals are great  predators.Their special features are:

SPECIFICATIONS

They have big and sharp claws,Torrens teeth,sharp senses  and speed of light.They prey like a silent killer.They hide themselves in bushes,long grass,behind the stones.

They attacks their prey and vanish them in just a few hours.They torn their prey in pieces with sharp teeth.It is impossible for their prey to run from them.They have amazing biting force.They are the emperor of jungle.

Life of African animals

life in african habitat is not easier as it looks like.animals play the game of survival.all animals try to save their lives at any cost.animals lives in African habitat are lion,elephant,cheetah,zebra,hyena,and some other animals.elephant is herbivorous,most of the African jungles are filled with predators,strong,fierce animals.

The king of the jungle lion is the most dominant animals in the African zone elephant is the strongest animals in Africa.cheetah,zebra,giraffe are the recessive animals.they only protect their short area and never tries to interacts with other animals.

These animals fights only for their territory.Their quest here is to stay alive for their hood and family.The biggest fights among them is on water in the summer season while in winters they fights on food and shelter.

They faces the extreme conditions of weather,their Eco system,and the battle of survival.