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    Big Five

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    oupamoela2506120
    This document provides information about the "Big Five" wildlife animals of Africa: elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhinoceros. It describes their habitats, behaviors, diets, and breeding patterns. Key details include elephants living in herds and communicating at water holes, leopards hunting alone at night and dragging their kills up trees, lions living in prides and females doing the majority of hunting, and rhinos being solitary except for mating and black rhinos being more aggressive than white rhinos.

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    Big Five

    Uploaded by

    oupamoela2506120
    51 views7 pages
    This document provides information about the "Big Five" wildlife animals of Africa: elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhinoceros. It describes their habitats, behaviors, diets, and breeding patterns. Key details include elephants living in herds and communicating at water holes, leopards hunting alone at night and dragging their kills up trees, lions living in prides and females doing the majority of hunting, and rhinos being solitary except for mating and black rhinos being more aggressive than white rhinos.

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    200832740 Big Five

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    This document provides information about the "Big Five" wildlife animals of Africa: elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhinoceros. It describes their habitats, behaviors, diets, and breeding patterns. Key details include elephants living in herds and communicating at water holes, leopards hunting alone at night and dragging their kills up trees, lions living in prides and females doing the majority of hunting, and rhinos being solitary except for mating and black rhinos being more aggressive than white rhinos.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    51 views7 pages

    Big Five

    Uploaded by

    oupamoela2506120
    This document provides information about the "Big Five" wildlife animals of Africa: elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhinoceros. It describes their habitats, behaviors, diets, and breeding patterns. Key details include elephants living in herds and communicating at water holes, leopards hunting alone at night and dragging their kills up trees, lions living in prides and females doing the majority of hunting, and rhinos being solitary except for mating and black rhinos being more aggressive than white rhinos.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 7

    int fillArray(int w, int h, int** arr) int fillArray(int w, int h, int**

    arr)Wildlife animals, “The "Big Five": Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Buffalo


    and Rhinoceros

    [5]

    http://www.places.co.za/html/famousbig5.html
    [email protected]

    Originally used only by hunters, the term 'Big Five' refers to five of Africa's
    greatest wild animals - lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. As during
    the bygone hunting era the term "Big Five" still conjure up the romance and
    excitement of Africa's exotic destinations and experiences. Imagine
    watching the sun set over the horizon whilst you capture the moment of a
    tribe of lions stalking their prey. Watching a buffalo stolling to a water hole
    with strength and size that makes it more likely to kill a human than any
    other mammal. The rhino, which is almost extinct, with its extraordinary
    horns and bad temper. And the leopard with its beauty and remarkable
    speed and skill to hunt.

    Many travellers regard a visit to South Africa as incomplete without having


    spotted, and perhaps photographed, the Big Five. The Big Five - legends of
    the wilderness which have become synonymous with Africa.
    The elephant

    Habitat: Elephants are always associated


    with permanent water and abundant
    vegetation (an exception to this is the unique
    desert elephant from Namibia, who adapted to
    survive in the harsh conditions of the area).
    Because elephants do not have sweat glands,
    water plays an important roll in helping them
    cool down.

    Habits: Elephants are very intelligent and


    highly social animals. They live in herds, made up of the matriarch (the
    oldest animal in the group), her female calves and the youngsters. The herd
    can comprise between 6 and 30 animals, after what they split to form new
    herds, always maintaining contact with each other at water holes and feeding
    spots. At 14 years of age, males leave the heard and associate with other
    bulls of the same age or older. Within the "bull area" hierarchy is well
    observed and understood by all bulls; if a group of bulls come across a cow
    in oestrus, the animal occupying the highest rank is the one to mate. Males
    are much larger than females and their tusks are much longer and heavier.
    Elephants have 6 sets of molar teeth; when the last set is lost, the animal is
    unable to feed and eventually dies. Their life span is about 50 to 60 years.

    Diet: Elephant eat practically any vegetable matter. Leaves, grass, reeds,
    roots, flowers, fruits, bark and even soil if the mineral content is high. They
    eat about 250 kg of food and drink about 150 to 200 liters of water a day.

    Breeding: Females are sexually mature at 12 years of age and are mated
    by visiting bulls. After a gestation period of 22 months, the cow gives birth to
    a single calf that weighs up to 130 kg. The calf suckles for about 3 years.
    The leopard

    Habitat: Leopards are more commonly found


    along riverine forests and bushes. Although
    less common, they also can be found along
    open plains and savanna, mainly in hills and
    rocky outcrops.

    Habits: Leopards normally hunt at night and dusk, staying in secluded spots
    during the day or lying in high branches of trees. They are solitary animals
    by nature, only associating with a female for mating and staying with her
    only for a couple of days. Leopards are masters of camouflage and they
    move silently through the vegetation to attack their prey at very close
    quarters. The victim is normally killed with a bite on the back of the neck,
    and then taken up a tree, where the leopard will feed at leisure, away from
    scavengers. Leopards are extremely territorial animals. Their life span is
    about 15 years, and they can attain a mass of about 70-kg.

    Diet: Leopards are the most successful hunters of the cat family. Their prey
    includes Impala, Bushbuck, Warthog and also the young of Wildebeest, Kudu
    and Waterbuck. Rodents, ground birds, monkeys, baboons, frogs and fish,
    also make part of its diet.

    Breeding: The female gives birth to one to three cubs after a gestation
    period of about 105 days. The cubs are kept in secluded spots, like thickets
    and rocky crevices. They are much darker than adults. Female Leopards are
    very dedicated mothers leaving their cubs only when hunting.
    The lion

    Habitat: Lions are more abundant in open


    plains where there is permanent water and
    plenty of grazing, and consequently, plenty
    of game. Lions are also found in semi
    desert conditions like the Kalahari Desert.
    They are the most powerful of the African
    predators. With a swipe of one of his paws,
    Lion can break a Wildebeest's neck, and he
    can carry twice his weight in his powerful
    jaws. Lions, like any other Cat, can see at
    night like humans see during daytime. This
    is due to the fact that their retina is lined by
    a tissue called "tapetum lucidum", that
    reflects back the light passing the rods of
    the retina.

    Habits: Lions are the most social of the cat family. They live in prides
    consisting of one or two males, up to seven females and 14 or 15 cubs of
    different ages. Prides occupy territories that they defend against nomadic
    lions and other prides; this is done by the dominant male or males, by
    means of patrolling and scent marking. At about 3 years of age, young lions
    are evicted from their pride; they normally stay together, always on the
    move, becoming nomads, until they take over some other pride, whose male
    has become too weak or old, sometimes killing all the existing cubs. The
    female normally does all the hunting, usually at night, late afternoon or early
    morning. At a kill, the adults will eat first, with the male sometimes claiming
    it for himself, and, if anything left, the cubs will then take their turn. In times
    of scarcity this means very little food available for the cubs, and death by
    starvation. Scavengers, like vultures, hyenas and jackals, are attracted to
    lion kills in great numbers, and in some occasions a big group of hyenas will
    appropriate the kill of a small group of lions. The contrary also happens,
    with lions very often steeling from hyenas and jackals, and even climbing up
    a tree to appropriate a leopard's kill. Adult males can weight up to 250 kg
    and females about 150 kg. Their life span is about 15 years.

    Diet: Lion's prey includes mostly wildebeest, zebra, waterbuck, kudu, giraffe
    and buffalo. They also tend to attack young elephant calves. In difficult
    times they will even go for small prey, like porcupine, with disastrous
    consequences for both.

    Breeding: Breeding occurs all year round, with 2 to 6 cubs being born after
    a gestation period of about 110 days. The lioness normally leaves the pride
    to give birth to her litter, in a sheltered spot where she leaves them, while
    hunting. At this stage the cubs are very vulnerable, sometimes being taken
    away by scavengers, like hyenas, while their mother is away. If, at any
    stage doubtful about her cubs safety, the lioness will find another hide, and
    will transport them, in her mouth, one by one, to the new location. Once the
    cubs are big enough to follow their mother, she will take them to the pride
    and introduce them to their father. This is another crucial time in the cubs'
    life, as nobody can predict the reaction of the male.
    The rhino

    Species: Two types are found,


    namely Black and White Rhinos.
    The Black Rhino's head is much
    smaller, it is a solitary animal,
    more aggressive and the calf
    usually follows the mother.

    Habitat: Black Rhinos prefer


    densely wooded areas, with a lot of shrubs and plenty of water whilst the
    White Rhino prefers more grassland.

    Habits: Black Rhinos are very solitary animals, with bulls associating with
    females only for mating. Sub adults and youngsters stay with their mother
    only until the next calf is born, when they are driven off to find their own
    territories. The Rhino bulls mark their territory by dragging their feet trough
    their dung, scattering it all over the place and by urinating on to bushes.
    They are extremely aggressive animals. A charge by a Rhino, with is loud
    snorts, it's a terrifying affair. They readily attack predators including
    humans. They are also short sighted, but their sense of smell and hearing is
    very acute. Adult males can weight up to 1200 kg, females being slightly
    smaller. Their life span is about 40 years.

    Diet: Rhinos are browsers, eating leaves, fruit, flowers, but also herbs.
    Breeding: Mating is always preceded by courtship behaviour that includes
    snorting and sparring with the horns. Mating is repeated several times
    during a period of 2 to 3 days, and may last about 30 minutes at a time. A
    single calf, weighing about 35 kg is born after a gestation period of about 15
    months.
    The buffalo
    Habitat: Buffalo are extremely
    adaptable animals, being able to
    occupy open grasslands, wooded
    savanna and thickets.

    Habits: Highly gregarious animals,


    buffalo associate in herds of up to
    1000 or more individuals.

    Despite being very aggressive and extremely dangerous animals (more


    hunters are killed by buffaloes than any other animal), buffaloes are very
    peaceful amongst themselves. The dominant bull normally is the oldest bull
    in the herd. Both sexes have horns, but those of males are more robust and
    heavier. Males can attain a mass of about 800 kg and they have a life span
    of approximately 20 years.

    Diet: Buffalo are exclusively grazers.


    Breeding: Female buffalo become sexually matured at the age of 5 years.
    The gestation period is 11 months and one single calf is born.

    http://www.places.co.za/html/famousbig5.html

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