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Africa - Animals

Africa - Animals When you think about Africa, one of the first things that comes to most peoples' minds is the amazing abundance of wildlife. Many animals in Africa are found no where else in the world. Unfortunately, many of these animals are in danger. Their numbers have decreased dramatically over the past century for a variety of reasons. The countries in Africa have passed laws protecting their animals and their animals' natural environments. Game preserves and national parks have been created to provide safe refuges for many species, but wildlife conservation can be difficult in a continent as vast as Africa.

6th graders, come visit these African animal sites and discover fascinating facts about some of Africa's most interesting animals.

Naked Mole-Rat

Naked mole-rats have very little hair on their bodies. Except for their whiskers and some hair on their feet, they really are naked.

  1. These animals which look like 'a hot dog with teeth' have a very unusual social structure for a mammal. Describe it.
  2. Where in Africa do they live and what is their habitat?
  3. What are the main predators of naked mole-rats?

 

Gorilla - Conservation Issues

Western lowland gorillas...eastern lowland gorillas...mountain gorillas...they're all endangered. Mountain gorillas' numbers have declined the most drastically.

  1. List 4 reasons that gorillas are endangered.
  2. What is gorilla meat called?
  3. What is the greatest threat to all gorillas?
  4. What ecological benefits do gorillas provide for their habitats?

 

Gorilla Behavior

Are gorillas more like King Kong or Benji?

  1. A group of whales is called a pod. What is a group of gorillas called?
  2. We often think that gorillas are fierce, aggressive animals. Describe what their behavior is really like.
  3. Are gorillas nocturnal (active at night) or diurnal (active during the day)?
  4. What percentage of the day do gorillas spend feeding? Resting? Traveling?
  5. Describe their sleeping habits.

 

Lemurs

These AREN'T the ones that jump off the edges of cliffs.

  1. Lemurs belong to the same order of mammals as monkeys. What is that order?
  2. Lemurs live almost exclusively on one island off the east coast of Africa. What is that island?
  3. What is their habitat? Desert? Rainforest? Ocean?
  4. Check out the photograph of these unusual animals. What do you think is the most prominent physical feature of lemurs?
  5. What do they eat?
  6. What role do lemurs play in the ecology of their island?
  7. Why have lemurs become endangered?

 

Nile Crocodiles

Don't you like the way their eyes just barely peer above the water?

  1. Wow! How long do Nile crocodiles live?
  2. What is their habitat?
  3. 70% of the diet of these crocodiles in Africa consists of fish. List 3 other large animals that they eat.
  4. How does a mother crocodile protect her young?
  5. The Nile crocodile has become endangered. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and find out why.

 

Ball Pythons

Do they make good pets?

  1. How long are ball phythons?
  2. List 5 African countries where ball pythons live.

 

Reptile Roundup - Rock Pythons

Monty?

  1. List 5 African countries where rock pythons live.
  2. How long do African rock pythons grow and how much do they weigh?

 

Warthogs

Such a charming face.

  1. Where in Africa do warthogs live and what is their habitat?
  2. What do they eat?
  3. A group of cattle is a herd. A groups of fish is a school. What is a group of warthogs called?
  4. What is the purpose of the warts on a warthog?
  5. Where do warthogs make their homes? When warthogs wake up in the morning, they exhibit a proactive behavior. A proactive behavior is one that people or animals exhibit in order to prevent problems. What do warthogs do when they first wake up?
  6. Describe the symbiotic relationship between warthogs and some birds.
  7. What beneficial role do warthogs play in their ecosystem?
  8. Trivia question: What is the name of the warthog in Disney's The Lion King?

 

Leopard

Do they purr?

  1. The leopard lives all across the African continent with the exception of what region?
  2. Did you know that a panther is really a leopard with a dark coat? Click on the "black panther" from this leopard page to see a picture of a black panther. Look at it carefully. Is its coat completely black? What else can you see?
  3. Leopards catch and feed on everything from insects and rodents to giraffes and buffalo calves, and they have a highly developed climbing ability. What advantage does this give them over other large cats such as cheetahs and lions?
  4. How many cubs are in the average leopard litter? When a mother leopard is teaching her offspring to hunt, why does she walk with her tail upright?

 

Giant Pangolins

Pango-what?

  1. What do giant pangolins eat?
  2. Are they diurnal or nocturnal?
  3. Pangolins have long, powerful claws. What do they use them for?
  4. If approached by a predator, how does a pangolin protect itself?

 

Wildebeests

Are a wildebeest and a gnu the same animal?

  1. In what two countries in Africa would you find large numbers of wildebeests?
  2. Wildebeests participate in a yearly migration to find grazing pastures. These migrations may contain up to one million wildebeests at a time. What are some of the ecological benefits of large numbers of animals moving across the grasslands?
  3. When the wildebeests migrate, what other animals may travel with them?
  4. Wildebeest calves can stand and run within 3 to 7 minutes after birth. Why would this be important?

 

Elephant

In elephant society, the women are in charge. Elephant herds are a matriarchy.

  1. Elephant tusks are really elongated incisor teeth. Other than tusks, how many other teeth do elephants have?
  2. List at least 3 things that an elephant uses its trunk for.
  3. Elephants' large ears have a purpose. What is it?
  4. Why do elephants take mud baths?
  5. List at least 3 things that elephants eat.
  6. Describe the social structure of elephant herds.
  7. How long do elephants live?
  8. For how many months is an elephant pregnant? (Length of gestation) About how much do newborn elephants weigh?
  9. Relating to the extinction of animals, what is the difference between the terms "endangered" and "threatened"? Is the Asian elephant threatened or endangered? Is the African elephant threatened or endangered?

 

Tigers

Tiger demographics.

  1. How many tigers are there today in Africa? (This is a trick question!).
  2. According to this source, in 1920 there were about 100,000 tigers in the world. What was the number of tigers in 1993?

 

Grevy's Zebras

Are they white with black stripes or black with white stripes?

  1. In what two African countries are Grevy's zebras most commonly found?
  2. Grevy's zebras have a threatened status. Why?
  3. How can a zebra's stripes protect it?

 

Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus means "river horse".

  1. What do the facial features of a hippopotamus resemble?
  2. Write a paragraph explaining the role of the hippopotomus in the Africna ecosystem.
  3. Why is it important for baby hippos to swim at a very young age?

 

Giraffes

A male giraffe is called a bull, a female is called a cow, and a baby giraffe is called a calf. Really.

  1. How tall is a newborn giraffe?
  2. How long is a giraffe's tongue?
  3. Mother giraffes usually give birth standing up. About how far does a newborn giraffe fall to the ground when it is born?
  4. Giraffes are not yet listed as threatened or endangered. However, what may be a potential threat to giraffes?

 

Bush Baby

(Scroll to bottom of page.) Their eyes are really big.

  1. To what order of mammals do bush babies belong? (Hint: It is the same one that humans and gorillas belong to).
  2. What do bush babies eat?
  3. What are two prominent physical features that bush babies have that help them function well at night?
  4. Bush babies live in trees and eat some of the same foods that monkeys eat. Why don't bush babies and monkeys compete ecologically?

 

African Lions

Did you see the movie Born Free?

  1. List some of the animals that lions prey upon and eat.
  2. Socially, how are lions different than other large cats?
  3. From how far away can you hear an adult male lion roar? What is the purpose of the roar?
  4. During what part of the day or night does most hunting for food take place?
  5. When a large animal has been killed, within the lion pride, who eats first, second, and third?
  6. What role do lions play in the African ecosystem?

 

Chimpanzee

Technically, are chimpanzees monkeys?

  1. What is the habitat of chimpanzees?
  2. What do chimpanzees eat?
  3. What is the status of chimpanzees? Are there still large numbers of them or are they listed as threatened or endangered?
  4. Chimpanzees actually make and use tools. What do they use them for?
  5. Describe an amazing things that chimpanzees do with some kinds of plants.
  6. What role do chimpanzees play in their ecosystems?

 

Dromedary Camels

Do they really spit?

  1. How many humps do dromedary camels have?
  2. How do male camels attract female camels?
  3. What do dromedary camels eat?
  4. How fast can these camels drink water?
  5. What do camels really store in their humps? Why don't baby camels have humps?
  6. Unlike reptiles, mammals keep a constant body temperature. What is unusual about a camel's body temperature and what purpose does it serve?
  7. How do the feeding habits of dromedary camels make them well adapted to living in the desert?
  8. Dromedary camels are also known as Arabian camels. They have one hump. What are two-humped camels called?

 

Spotted Hyenas

The hyena is often portrayed in movies and books as a villainous creature. Have you seen the Lion King? How were the hyenas portrayed in that movie?

  1. Hyenas are carnivores. What are some of the animals that hyenas eat?
  2. What are groups of hyenas called? Which hyenas dominate these groups? Males or females?
  3. What are the 3 species of hyenas? Which species is the largest?
  4. Hyenas may look like dogs, but they are more closely related to what 2 animals than to dogs?
  5. What important function do hyenas serve for the hoofed animal populations of Africa?
  6. What unusual body parts can hyenas digest?

 

Black Rhinoceros

They have poor eyesite.

  1. What is the habitat of black rhinos?
  2. What do they eat?
  3. Describe the composition of a rhino's horn.
  4. How do rhino eating habits benefit the African ecosystem?
  5. What is the primary reason for the poaching (illegal hunting) of rhinos?

 

Mandrill Baboons

These animals can live for a long time!

  1. In what part of Africa do these baboons live? What is their habitat?
  2. Why have mandrill baboons become endangered?

 

Image is copyrighted by ArtToday. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us