The animal world of Africa - antiquity, uniqueness, beauty

Africa - an extraordinary continent, which contains a large number of mysteries and mysteries of nature. The peculiarity of customs and customs, a bright exotica, primitive, untouched by nature's hand - that's what makes travelers from all over the world visit this many-sided continent. His culture - one of the oldest on the planet, and the indescribable wealth of fauna and flora of the savanna and desert areas will not leave anyone indifferent.

What is he, the animal kingdom of Africa? Do not doubt, it is diverse and full of wonders, like the continent itself. Much of the territory of Africa is covered with steppes and savannahs, the herbaceous vegetation of which serves as feed for numerous herds of various hoofed fauna. Among them you will not find the usual sheep, goats or deer. Of the bulls there is only an African buffalo. But here you can see a lot of different kinds of antelope. Dwarf representatives reach only 25 cm and weigh no more than 5 kg, and large wildebeest antelopes can be the size of a horse.

Most of the antelopes dwell in savannas and steppes, some in the tropical thickets and desert expanses of the Sahara. In the savannah of Africa, you can see zebras and wild donkeys. Often zebras are domesticated, and they replace horses, as they are not susceptible to poisonous tsetse fly bites.

Africa is the birthplace of a giraffe, the tallest animal on the planet. His long legs and neck allow him to extract food from the highest trees, the tops of which are inaccessible to other African inhabitants. Now giraffes are preserved only in the territory of national parks.

Also, the animal world of Africa is represented by two species of rhinos: white and black, bush pig and warthog.

African animals are unique. Nowhere else will you see the hippos, who are some of the most ancient inhabitants of the continent. Two kinds of hippos are known. In the Nile River there is a large hippopotamus or hippopotamus weighing three tons, and in the tropical forests - its miniature counterpart, pygmy hippopotamus. He weighs no more than five hundred kilograms.

The animal world in Africa is not only a huge variety of ungulates, but also large carnivores. First of all, it is worth paying attention to the majestic king of all animals - the lion. They live in prides, which number a couple of males and several females with cubs. The lionesses are engaged in hunting, but on lions lies the honorable mission of procreation, the protection of offspring from numerous predators, and the maintenance of order in the pride.

The second-largest representative of the cat family is the leopard. Its habitat is not only savannahs, but also in dense tropical forests.

Another African predator is a cheetah, a speed record among all mammals on the planet. It can reach speeds of up to 100 km / h.

Dogs also enter the animal kingdom of Africa. These are several species of foxes, hyenas and jackals. Desert fox fen deserves special attention.

In Africa, a lot of different rodents - mice, rats, gerbils, African dormancy. The larger rodent is the porcupine. On the continent you can also find hedgehogs, shrews, a cow hare, reminiscent of European hare, jumper and shrews.

The animal world of Africa includes a kind of group of animals, which by their appearance are similar to rodents, but in close evolutionary relationship they are with elephants, sea cows and ungulates. These are the so-called damans.

On the mainland, African elephants live - the largest of all terrestrial mammals on the planet. They live, as a rule, in the steppes and forests. Unlike their relatives - Indian elephants, they practically do not give in to training, so they can rarely be seen in a circus or a zoo. Since ancient times, they have been exterminated because of tusks, so they simply disappeared from many areas.

All sorts of primates are widespread throughout Africa: monkeys, monkeys, loris and anthropoid apes: gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees. According to scientists, the latter are in the closest relationship to man.

Off the coast of Africa, manatees live, which along the mouths of rivers go deep into the mainland, sea cows and dugongs from a detachment of sirens. In the river thickets there are turtles and crocodiles.

No matter how desolate and lifeless it may seem to Africa, it is obvious how amazing and diverse its inhabitants are. If you look more attentively to this amazing continent, you will understand that this is a unique corner of untouched and unique wildlife.