You read the information on the fascinating and unique
animals that make up Africa’s Little 5. Now read the bizarre, the interesting, and
the unbelievable about these little animals…
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| Elephant shrew yawning. |
Elephant Shrew
All of the 18 species are found exclusively in the hot and
wild continent of Africa. They are related to sea cows, aardvarks, hyraxes and
even elephants!
The species known as the Checkered Elephant shrew can leap
up to 3 feet in the air and is a speedy runner. The Golden-Rumped Elephant
shrew has skin 3 times thicker on its bum than anywhere else on its body. This
is because it acts as shield against the bites of butt-flies.
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| White headed buffalo weaver. |
Buffalo Weaver
These birds unlike most animals have benefited from the disturbance
of human settlements in the savannah. If the people leave the area, the colony
of the birds will often leave too.
When building their nests in South Africa they often face in the direction of North or North East.
They are also one of the very few birds to have an ummm…phalliod
organ. Both of the sexes have them but the males are much longer. A successful
mating session takes 10 – 20 minutes long.
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| Leopard Tortoise swimming. |
Leopard Tortoise
These tortoises live up to 100 years and are the largest
species of tortoises found in South Africa.
They are the only tortoise without a protective scute above
the neck, which allows them to raise their neck and to be able to swim in
water.
The sex of the baby tortoise is determined due the
temperature the egg is kept at when being incubated. Eggs are incubated between
26 and 34 degrees.
- 26 to 31 degrees will be male
- 31 to 34 degrees will turn out to be female
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| An adult Ant lion. |
Ant Lion
The ant lion larvae prefer to face their pits in the
southerly direction.
They will fake death when held in your hand.
The larvae won’t poop and keep their waste in their body which gets turned into silk when they are in their cocoon, the rest is pooped out
when they become adults.
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| 2 male rhino beetles in battle. |
Rhino Beetle
They are famously known for their largeness in size and for being
super strong with the ability to pick up something 850 times
their own weight, that would be like you carrying over 50 mini vans on your back!
The female beetle lays hundreds of little oval shaped eggs
usually on a leaf or rotten word. When the eggs hatch they go into the larvae
stage. During the larvae stage they will eat an enormous amount of food and
grow. These beetle will pass through 3 – 5 different stages during the larval
period. It enters into the pupal stage which can take up to 9 months and it
commonly occurs during the winter months. The adult will then emerge from the
cocoon.
The males are the only ones to have horns and the size of
their horn is related to the nutrition they gained while growing up. The males will use their horns to fight each other.
These little animals are Epic!
-Keira
-Keira
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