Special Sub-Topic: African Safari Authored by: jubjub Sub-topic of: Regional Animal Trivia

This animal spends most of its day up in a comfortable tree. It will even carry its prey up there so other contenders will have a difficult time stealing it.

Leopard. The name 'leopard' came from the mistaken belief that they were a hybrid between a lion and a panther. A recessive gene causes melanism in some leopards, which people call panthers, but they are really just black leopards.

This animal must splay its legs very wide in order to drink from a water source. This animal also has beautiful eyes!

Giraffe. Giraffes are the tallest living mammal. They are able to go for over a month without drinking water if necessary, as an adaptation to the drought-prone areas where they live.

Tarzan had one - saved his life a few times!

Chimpanzee. Tarzan's chimp was named 'Cheetah'! There are more than 200 living species of primates. Chimpanzees weigh about 5 pounds at birth and can live to around 40 years of age.

This animal can live as long or longer than a human, is genuinely affectionate and curious and if you own one as a pet you know it can be very boisterous and make quite a mess.

African Grey Parrots. African Grey Parrots are highly intelligent and as a domestic pet are the most prolific 'talkers'. All of the other birds mentioned are not African.

This animal will compete with lions for live kills and is not the scavenger that history has made it out to be.

Hyena. Hyenas will drive lions away from their kills, and if hyenas steal food from lions they will take only what they need.

The females of this animal do the hunting and killing of prey in a cooperative fashion. They are wonderful mothers and providers. The male, however, is always first in line to eat!

Lion. Adult male lions will kill any male young that they did not father, and occasionally they will kill the female young as well.

This animal will 'spronk' when frightened and is the favourite food of cheetahs.

Thompson's Gazelle. These gazelles are not always caught because they can make sharper turns than the cheetah and often get away.

This animal has notoriously bad eyesight, but will charge when it feels threatened and at close range can do a great deal of damage.

Rhinoceros. Today, there are fewer than 2,600 black rhinos left in Africa. There are now fewer than 85 Javan rhinos left is Southeast Asia.

This is a herd animal. Every year there is a great migration of these animals to feeding and birthing grounds. They will overcome great obstacles such as rain-swollen rivers and crocodile attacks to reach their destination. Many who are not strong enough to make the journey die along the way.

Wildebeest. Wildebeest are actually a large, bearded antelope. Their head and mouth are shaped so that they can harvest the shortest grass that other grazing animals have difficulty feeding on.

There are many different species of this bird, which is nature's 'cleaning crew'. They are very good at what they do!

Vulture. Egyptian vultures are also known as 'Pharoah's Chicken'. They use 'tools', i.e. a stone, to break open ostrich eggs, dropping the stone on the same spot over and over until the egg is broken.