Acacias

Acacias - Thorn trees

There are few more striking symbols of Africa than a thorn tree - its gnarled branches, graceful form, jagged thorns and abundant blooms, in many ways reflecting the paradoxes of the continent.Acacias are the dominant woody plants over much of sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of forests, grassland and mountain heathland. There are about 700 species in Africa, South America, India and Australia. All belong to the Family Mimosaceae (part of the legume group) and some were previously known as mimosa trees. Although just about all acacias have abundant yellow or white flowers, they are not widely cultivated due to their thorny branches. Several Australian species have, however, become invasive weeds in parts of Africa, where their seeds have no parasites or predators, and can lay dormant for up to 50 years.

Adapted for the Hot and Dry:

African savannahs experience hot and often dry conditions, so plants must find ways of retaining moisture. The way in which acacias have evolved to do this, is to have their leaves divided into dozens of tiny leaflets (pinnae) which can be held horizontally to capture sunlight or vertically to reduce transpiration. Leaves with a large surface area are prone to dry out in the absence of shade or moisture, so are not suitable for savannah trees. Acacia foliage is sought after by many browsing animals - from giraffe to beetles - and here too it helps for them to be divided, as the tiny leaflets left behind by the browsers can continue to perform their vital photosynthesis function.Many acacias have exaggerated umbrella-shaped crowns which enable the tree to capture the maximum amount of sunlight, with the smallest possible leaves. Some species have deep tap root systems, allowing them to survive in semi-arid terrain along dry watercourses (they tap into the water table) while others have shallow but extensive splayed root systems to capture limited rainfall in dryer areas. The well-known Fever Tree which grows along lake fringes and on poorly-drained clay soils also has a shallow root system, in order to avoid waterlogging.

Improving the Soil:

Acacias belong to the group of pod-bearing plants known as legumes and have the remarkable ability to enhance soil fertility. The activity of microbes associated with roots of acacias (and other legumes such as Lucerne) fixes nitrogen to soil particles and so improves fertility. Experiments have also shown that soil fertility is higher below the canopies of acacia trees, due to leaf-fall and decomposition, and the accumulation of droppings from roosting birds and from herbivores seeking shade.

Food for the Masses, but Varied Defences:

Just about all parts of an acacia tree are edible to one kind of animal or another, and in many parts of Africa their small leaves provide the only greenery in the dry season, so are bound to be eaten. The roots may be sought after by porcupines, the tiny leaflets by macro- and micro-herbivores, the sticky sap by galagos, the flower nectar by bees and butterflies, the seeds by bruchid beetles, and the stringy bark by elephant. Along with grasses, acacias are the "building blocks" of African savannahs - propping up a colossal food pyramid with super predators at the apex.With so many creatures making a living from their growth efforts, it is no wonder that acacias have evolved some of the most effective and cunning defences in the plant kingdom. Acacia thorns may be straight or hooked depending upon the species (only the Umbrella Thorn has both) and these are capable of keeping all but the largest browsers at bay. Interestingly, straight thorns have been shown to pose little deterrent to impala, while the much smaller hooked thorns succeed in keeping them at bay. Giraffe, however, have leathery tongues which feel no apparent pain against either hooked or straight thorns, and millions of browsing insects and their larvae can simply crawl around the thorns to feed on the leaves. To combat large mammalian browsers some acacia trees - such as the Knob Thorn - release chemicals in the form of toxic tannins which render the leaflets unpalatable and cause giraffe or kudu to move on to another tree. To reduce the impact of browsing insects, some acacia species have developed an association with biting ants - ant-plant mutualism - which is one of the most intriguing relationships in the natural world.

Ants and Acacias:

Among the most important insect browsers of acacia trees are beetles, grasshoppers and the larvae (caterpillars) of butterflies and moths. In a masterful strategy to ward off these micro-herbivores, some acacias provide food and shelter, in return for defence, to cocktail ants. The ants live inside the swollen bases of thorns (Whistling Thorn is perhaps the best-known example) and feed on sweet sap exuded from pores at the tips of the acacia leaves. In order to maintain such ideal living and foraging quarters, the ants patrol the branches and will gang up and physically bite any herbivore that threatens the plant. Insects quickly retreat, and even giraffe and rhino have been seen to become irritated and move off with the unwanted attentions of aggressive ants. Amazingly, the ants also nip off the growth tips and tendrils of strangling vines which threaten to suffocate the tree - and thus their home. Acacias still rely on insects for cross-pollination, however, so it remarkable to note that the patrolling cocktail ants are least active at the hottest time of day - when browsers are seeking shade but bees are out looking for nectar; in this way, they do not disturb the pollen-gathering bees from their important task!

Valuable Fuel:

The wood of many acacia trees is renowned for its excellent fuel properties and can also produce good charcoal. Since many African people still rely on wood as fuel for cooking and heating it is essential that acacia woodlands are managed effectively in order that the trees do not disappear altogether. In areas that have been overgrazed, bush-encroachment by acacia and the related Dichrostachys (as well as other species) is commonplace and restorative land management can harvest this resource as attempts are made to restore savannah conditions (i.e. trees and grass). Acacia sap or gum is another important product and the Sweet Thorn and Scented Thorn produce copious amounts which can be used as a glue. "Gum Arabic" was originally derived from the Three-hook Thorn and synthetic alternatives are now used as a binding compound in cosmetics, medicines, fast foods and paints.

Hippopotamus

Hippos - River Horse of Africa

Known as "river horses" to the ancient Greeks and "sea cows" (seekoi) to the Dutch settlers, the hippo is not related to either. It is, in fact, a distant relative of the pigs, although its ancestry is not well understood. Weighing up to 3 200kg, the hippo is the third heaviest African land mammal, after the elephant and white rhinoceros. With tiny eyes, ears and nostrils all placed on the very top of the head, they are superbly adapted for an amphibious lifestyle.The hippo once occupied almost every river system in Africa, from the southern Cape wetlands to the Nile Delta in Egypt, but due to hunting pressure, it is now largely restricted to protected or inaccessible areas south of the Sahara. Hippos require deep water in which to submerge their bulky bodies and a supply of short grass on which to feed. Their skin lacks sweat glands, so hippos are prone to dehydration and it is critical that they avoid direct sunshine by spending most of the day in water or mud, although they will sometimes bask in the sun for short periods.

Nocturnal Feeders:

At sunset, hippos typically leave their aquatic refuge and wander down well-trod pathways to favoured feeding grounds. Flat areas colonised by creeping grasses such as Cynodon are favoured, and a resident population soon creates a lawn-like landscape. Individuals consume up to 60kg of grass per night. Their broad leathery lips are ideal for cropping the grass short but do not damage the roots, and other grazing herbivores such as zebra and warthog benefit from the constant regrowth of fresh grass shoots. An overpopulation of hippo can, however, lead to the encroachment of woody vegetation as a lack of grass eliminates the chance of restorative grass fires.In recent years, there have been a number of eye-witness accounts of hippos tearing up the flesh of drowned animals or the remains of predator kills, and this has led to the belief that they occasionally stray from their vegetarian diet. Documentation of the actual swallowing of flesh is still lacking, however, and it is possible that the observed hippos were trying to feed on the rumen content of the dead herbivores rather than on their flesh. In the dry season when available grass is in short supply, it is not uncommon to see them feeding on the coarse droppings of elephants.

Social Habits:

Hippos have a hierarchical society in which individuals constantly display their status to one another. Adult females with their successive offspring form the foundation of social units which occupy a home range, while the largest adult male holds dominance in a restricted range in which he defends exclusive mating rights. Fierce and bloody clashes between rival males are commonplace, but subordinate (non-challenging) males are tolerated by dominant bulls.Groups tend to be sedentary during the dry season but move far and wide during the wet season when smaller pools become available. Hippos are extremely vocal when in water (but silent on land), as individuals wheeze, honk and blow air from their nostrils. Calling of any kind seems to be contagious, and noisy bouts of honking and wheezing are made in response to disturbances, or when returning to the water after a night of feeding.

Suckling Underwater:

A single youngster - very rarely twins - is born after an eight month gestation, with the mother moving away from the social group with her new offspring for about two weeks after birth. The baby is born in shallow water or on dry land, but is adapted to swim immediately and suckles while completely submerged. The youngsters are quite playful for the first year of life and are usually weaned at about eight months. Births are usually spaced at two year intervals, and up to four successive calves may accompany their mother before the eldest becomes independent. Females become sexually mature at between seven and fifteen years, and probably live to about 35 under normal circumstances (captive hippo have lived for up to 50 years).

Small Cousin of the Rainforest:

The pygmy hippo is critically endangered in its limited range, with probably less than 1000 surviving in isolated patches of rainforest in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Liberia. Just about one tenth of the weight of an adult common hippo, the pygmy hippo has declined due to extensive deforestation of its habitat, as well as rampant hunting. An intensive captive breeding program would be required in any conservation plan.

CCAfrica Lodges with Excellent Hippo Sightings:

Superb hippo viewing exists at Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp in the Western Corridor of the Serengeti in Tanzania. There is also good viewing in the Mara River close to Kichwa Tembo in Kenya, where the vociferous animals greatly add to the wild atmosphere. The Zambezi River and Okavango Delta provide ideal hippo habitat, providing guests at Matetsi Game Lodges in Zimbabwe and Botswana's Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp and Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge with excellent sightings.Hippo are also present on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania and in Lake Manyara. In South Africa, small numbers of hippo can be seen at Tau Game Lodge, Londolozi Private Game Reserve, Ngala Game Lodge and Phinda Private Game Reserve where they occupy dams.

Sabel Antilope

Sable Antelope - jewel of its tribe

"Clad in their black attire like the chief mourner at a funeral . . . with all the pomposity and self-importance of village billy goats . . . so brilliant an addition to the catalogue of game quadrupeds - so bright a jewel amid the riches of zoology". So enthused Sir William Cornwallis Harris, explorer and trophy hunter, who first described the species in 1838.

Most Magnificent:

The Sable Antelope is regarded by many as the most magnificent antelope in Africa. The males have the glossy, jet-black coat set off by striking white facial markings and underbelly. The females are rusty red and handsome creatures in their own right. In common with other members of the Hippotragini antelope tribe, both sexes have horns, and what horns they are! Few antelope have anything to compare with the massive swept back spikes which commonly exceed one metre in length in the males, and are somewhat shorter in females. Like its close relative, the Roan, the Sable has a conspicuous mane and this, combined with its horse-like build, have earned them the family name of Hippotragini, which means ‘horse-goat'.

The Harem :

Sable live in small herds consisting of numerous adult females, which have a strict hierarchy according to seniority, and their offspring. Each herd is accompanied by a dominant bull which - although it may often feed away from the harem - will never be far away and will always accompany them to water, where attack from a predator is most likely. Even Lions show a great deal of respect for these antelope, however, and there have been numerous instances of the big cats having been gored to death by Sable bulls. Females and calves are at risk to Spotted Hyena, Leopard, Cheetah and Wild Dog. Non-breeding bulls occur singly or in small bachelor herds. After a gestation period of eight to nine months, expectant females leave the herd to give birth to a single youngster. The sandy-coloured calf is then concealed in long grass for the first three weeks of its life, before its mother leads it into the herd.

Seasonal Movements:

Sable are primarily grazers of dominant grass species, either of medium height or in new growth. During the dry season they are typically found in valley bottoms and along drainage lines, where they are able to find drinking water on a daily basis. In the wet season they leave the heavy spoils of the lowlands to move into broad-leaved woodlands.

Endangered Giant:

Sable are thinly distributed in the woodland-savanna of south-central Africa, with two isolated populations commonly regarded as subspecies. The so-called Giant Sable of north-western Angola is endangered, and was actually feared extinct until a population was discovered a few years ago in this war-ravaged country. The Giant Sable is a particularly impressive animal, with males having horns up to 1.6 metres in length! Fears for its ongoing survival in the remoteness of Angola are high as it is extremely difficult to monitor or police its remaining habitat. The Kenyan coastal population (sometimes referred to as ‘Shimba Sable') has shorter horns than the typical Sable but is regarded as threatened as its Angolan relative.

And BEYOND's Sable Hotspots:

Sable are regularly encountered in the open woodlands of Matesti which is situated on the Zambezi River in north-western Zimbabwe. Reasonable numbers occur in Botswana's Okavango Delta, where visitors to Nxabega and Sandibe have a chance of encountering them. Stragglers may wander into Ngala on the western extremity of the Kruger National Park, but there have been just a handful of sightings in recent years.

Hyrax

Hyrax - Rabbit-sized ungulates

When you first see a hyrax (‘dassie' in South Africa) you might take it for a rodent or a rabbit. Indeed they bear a superficial resemblance to European marmots and for many years were commonly known as ‘rock rabbits'. In fact, the hyraxes - of which there are eleven species in three distinct groups - are unique and fascinating creatures. And despite their small size, they play an important role in the ecology of African kopjes and mountains.

Akin to Elephants:

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect surrounding hyraxes is their ancestry. Fossil evidence shows that they were among Africa's dominant medium-sized herbivores about 40 million years ago. Some ancient species were as large as the modern-day Wild Boar. At some point prior to this, is it thought that elephants and hyraxes may have evolved from a common ancestor. Today, the species share some interesting but obscure traits, most notably the arrangement of their toes - four front and three rear, which are equipped with rounded hoof-like nails. Like elephants, hyrax have internal testicles and they have an extraordinarily long gestation period (seven months) for an animal that weighs only between one and four kilogrammes.

Life Among Rocks:

With their rubbery-soled feet and dense coat of hair, hyrax are adapted for life among rocks. They are adept at bounding among boulders and able to withstand extremes of heat and cold. Families can typically be seen sunning themselves in the early morning, and then retreating into shady crevices in the heat of the day. Their dental structure allows them to eat virtually any type of vegetation, although certain plants are generally favoured. Hyrax obtain all of their moisture requirements from their food and hardly, if ever, drink. One species of Rock Hyrax lives on rocky massifs in the Sahara desert.

Named for Habitats:

The three genera of hyrax - rock, bush and tree - are named after their preferred habitats. The diurnal Rock Hyraxes (five geographically separated species) live among boulder outcrops (kopjes), rocky cliffs and boulder screes, often in the company of Bush Hyraxes (three geographically separated species). According to mammalogist Richard Estes, the two species frequently "share the same rocks and associate more closely than any two known mammals, except for monkeys that live in multi-species troops". In fact, it takes a good observer to tell the two species apart. The Bush Hyrax (also known as the Yellow-spotted) has a bold white eyebrow (and very indistinct buffy-yellow dorsal spot), whereas the Rock Hyrax is more uniformly coloured. Rather different in appearance is the largely nocturnal Tree Hyrax which is typically much darker (almost black in central African rainforest) with distinct facial markings, has denser fur, and a pale dorsal crest which is raised in alarm.

Tormented Souls?:

All hyrax are noisy, but the Tree Hyrax is one of the most vociferous of all mammals. The following description by Richard Estes will be agreed upon by anyone who has ever been in earshot of these creatures: "the call starts with a series of spaced cracking sounds, likened to the rusted hinge of a huge gate slowly opening, followed by a series of expiring screams suggesting a soul in torment". Dramatic indeed, but singularly appropriate! Males have favoured calling perches and may call for up to an hour, before suddenly falling silent.

Hyrax Beware!:

Hyrax have many predators, including man who relishes their meat and uses their fur for garments. By far their biggest enemy, however, is the rapacious Verreaux's (Black) eagle which shares the hyrax's rocky home. Studies in Zimbabwe and the Karoo have demonstrated that hyrax may form over 90% of the eagle's diet! These dashing birds of prey frequently hunt in pairs, one bird panicking a family of hyrax, the other snatching up a confused straggler. Leopard, Caracal, Martial Eagle, Giant Eagle-Owl, Black Mamba and Rock Python are among other predators. Interestingly, when the hyrax's natural enemies are eradicated - as has happened in parts of South Africa where eagles have been destroyed by sheep farmers - the small mammals proliferate to such an extent that they soon encroach upon the grazing lands of sheep, and ultimately leave the farmer in a far worse position than if he'd allowed an eagle or two to capture an occasional lamb.

And BEYOND's Hyrax:

HotspotsRock Hyrax and Bush Hyrax are resident on kopjes in the Serengeti-Mara and are thus frequently seen at Klein's Camp, Grumeti and Kichwa Tembo. Large numbers of both species also occur at Lake Manyara at the foot of the Rift Valley wall. Isolated kopjes at Londolozi are home to family groups of Rock Hyrax, which are also fairly common at Kwandwe and Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge. The Tree Hyrax can be seen in riverine forest along the Grumeti River which flows past Klein's Camp and also in forest patches in and near to Kichwa Tembo and Ngorongoro Crater.

White Rhinoceros

White Rhinoceros

White Rhinoceros - Great Grazer

Perhaps the first thing people wonder about the white rhinoceros is why it has its name. It is certainly not white in colour and actually has the same skin tone as its cousin, the black rhino. In fact, the name is thought to have been derived from the Dutch word "weid" meaning "wide" in reference to the animal's broad, wide mouth.

Grazer of grass:

It is in the shape of the mouth that the black and white rhino species differ so markedly, and this determines their diet. The white rhino is a grazer of grass, whereas the black rhino uses its pointed prehensile upper lip to browse on leaves .

Second largest land mammal:

The white rhinoceros is the second largest land mammal in Africa in terms of its dimensions, although the hippo may often be heavier. Male white rhinos average over 2 000kg, while females are smaller at around 1 600kg. (Hippos can weigh up to 3 200kg, while the white rhino rarely exceeds 2 200kg.)

Home range and territory:

Adult females live in overlapping home ranges and are rarely solitary. Mature females are usually accompanied by their most recent offspring, and frequently associate with other females from the area. Aggregations of a dozen or more may gather, particularly in the heat of the day when shade or a cooling breeze is sought out.Males are much less sociable and occupy well-patrolled territories with numerous conspicuous dung middens (females and immatures may add their own dung to a male's midden, but do not engage in the male's characteristic kicking and urine spraying)Females give birth to their first young at an age of about seven years, after a 16-month gestation period. Weaning occurs at about one year, but the calf remains with its mother for two to three years, when the female is again ready to bear a new baby. Interestingly, (and in contrast to the black rhino) the juvenile white rhino always runs ahead of its mother when fleeing from danger. Other than man, the rhino has no natural enemies, although lion and spotted hyena are a potential threat to youngsters.

Back from the brink:

Hundreds of years ago, thousands upon thousands of white rhino would have occurred in the grasslands and savannahs of Southern Africa. Wherever there was grass to eat and water to drink, there would have been rhinos. The area of present day Johannesburg in South Africa would have provided ideal habitat for hundreds of these great pachyderms, with its sweet grasses, wooded kloofs (valleys) and perennial water.One can only imagine the wildlife spectacle that endured before humans developed the ability to hunt and then plunder. Quite how many rhinos were left when the first white settlers arrived on the scene around 200 years ago is uncertain, but wildlife had little aesthetic value in those days, and almost anything was considered fair game to be shot on sight.Just eighty years after having been "discovered" (near present-day Kuruman) and named by William Burchell in 1817, the white rhino had been hunted so excessively in South Africa and beyond, that just 30 individuals remained in a small corner of Zululand. After the establishment of the Umfolozi Game Reserve in 1897, however, its numbers slowly increased so that by the 1960s, surplus animals were translocated to other reserves so as to ensure the conservation of the species. The Natal Parks Board can rightly claim to have saved this great creature from extinction. Since 1960, over 3 000 white rhino have been released from Umfolozi-Hluhluwe into reserves such as Mkuze, Kruger, Pilanesberg, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Waterberg and Madikwe Safari Lodge. Many of these have subsequently sold rhino offspring to smaller sanctuaries.Outside of South Africa, small numbers occur in the Matopos near Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and the Khama Rhino sanctuary near Gaborone, Botswana, but attempts to reintroduce the species to Chobe in Botswana failed due to uncontrolled poaching.Sadly, the so-called Northern white rhino (a sub-species of the southern white rhino) is all but extinct and the status of the remaining handful of individuals is uncertain (it formerly occurred in Uganda-Zaire-Sudan, and possibly in Tanzania and Kenya). The current status of the southern white rhinoceros seems to be secure, with over 5 000 living individuals. However, the security of the white rhino is dependent on continued and rigorous protection, as well as the maintenance of its CITES Appendix 1 status, which prohibits trade in its horn.

Which is larger, more fearsome and most endangered?:

Comparisons are often drawn between Africa's two rhino species. Which is the larger, which is the most fearsome, and which is the most endangered? The lumbering white rhino can easily lay claim to being the larger - males may weigh up to 2 300kg, as opposed to 1 100kg of the black. However, there is no doubt that the black rhino has the more uncertain temperament. The population of white rhino is considered to be more secure than that of the black, although it is more or less confined to South Africa.

Where to see white rhino at CCAfrica properties:

Superb white rhino viewing is possible at several CCAfrica lodges in South Africa, with Phinda Mountain Lodge, Phinda Forest Lodge and Londolozi Private Game Reserve providing excellent opportunities to view and photograph these giant animals. Less-predictable viewing is also had at Bongani and Ngala, but the rhinos here are shyer and more wary of game-viewing vehicles.

Black Rhinoceros

Black Rhinoceros
BLACK BEAUTY?

"He is a swinish, cross-grained, ill-favoured, wallowing brute, with a hide like a rasp, an impudent cock of the chin, a roguish leer from out the corner of his eye, a mud begrimmed exterior and a necklace of ticks and horse-flies!"A none-too-complimentary profile by trophy hunter Captain W. Cornwallis Harris, 1840.The Black Rhinoceros has a hooked, prehensile nose, carrying its head high on its shoulders, as opposed to the low-hanging head and hump-shoulders of its relative, the grazing White Rhino. Predominantly a browser of short woody trees and shrubs, the Black Rhinoceros uses its pointed upper lip to grasp leaves and twigs, employing its double horns to dig roots or break branches too far out of reach. Its grey, wrinkled skin varies in colour due to the mud and dust in which it frequently wallows to cool down and protect against flies and sun. The two species of African rhino are similar in height, averaging about 1.6m at the shoulder, but the Black Rhinoceros has roughly half the mass of a White Rhinoceros, weighing in at a demure 1000 kg.

Territory and Communication:

Rhinoceros live in established territories but are tolerant of neighbours and share overlapping ranges and watering holes with few confrontations. Their preferred habitat is found along the edges of thickets and areas of low woody growth. Since Black Rhinoceros sweat to reduce their body temperature, their ranges do not tend to extend beyond 25 km from a daily supply of water. Home ranges are criss-crossed by frequently used trails, marked by both sexes with dung middens. Dunging is a social behaviour, and serves as a form of communication as well as means of personal declaration. The animals will defecate, frequently spreading the deposits or wiping their hind legs through the accumulated dung pile as a means of spreading their scent. Males also tend to mark their territory with urine, using their recurved penis to spray grass, stumps and rocks. Several males may peaceably share territory, although there is usually a dominance hierarchy. Confrontation between Black Rhinos generally occurs between males competing over cows in oestrus, or when a nomadic animal enters an already populated area.

Courtship and Maternal Bonds:

Black Rhinoceros males tend to be solitary while females typically are found with their current offspring. Or, if there are no young, cows may develop attachments with other sub-adult rhinos. The maternal bond is only broken when the cow is ready to give birth to a new calf, and the young adult is driven off to make its own way in the world. Births are about two to four years apart and occur at all times of the year with gestation lasting anywhere from 446-478 days (15 months). Lion and Spotted Hyena are known to prey on the calves, and individuals with deformed tails or ears bear evidence of close encounters in the past.Males only associate closely with females while they are in oestrus. Courtship is very businesslike, with the bull making pseudo-aggressive postures towards the female, with typical foot scraping and urine spraying. The male circles the female, curling his upper lip, and nudging her flanks with this horns. He then mounts the female from behind. Copulation may last up to half an hour, and is repeated at intervals over several days.

Endangered:

Poaching and loss of habitat have decimated the Black Rhinoceros population, leaving only small populations in protected areas of Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and South Africa. The existence of these endangered pachyderms in Mozambique, Angola and parts of West Africa is unconfirmed. Use of the horns, which consist of keratin (the same substance in human fingernails), in traditional Eastern rituals and ceremonies has led to massive demand for an ever increasing commodity. From an estimated population of 60,000 in 1970, their numbers crashed to less than 2,000 in 1997. Careful management and protection provide the best chances for the species' survival.

And BEYOND's Black Rhino Hot Spotsl:

A dozen or so Black Rhino inhabit the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater where they are readily viewed and photographed against one of Africa's most breathtaking backdrops. At Kichwa Tembo on the northern border of Kenya's Masai Mara, a lone female has been in residence west of the Mara River for the past few years and frequently provides guests with close encounters; this remarkable individual has on many occasions shown deep aggression towards a variety of other animals, even killing lions and wildebeest. [See our Regular Sightings Report and the Ecological Journal for more details.] At Kwandwe in the Eastern Cape, five Black Rhinos now roam the Euphorbia-clad hills where they are constantly monitored by the reserve's management. On the western border of the Kruger National Park, Ngala is occasionally visited by solitary nomads.

Monitors

Monitors:

Monitors - Giants among Lizards

About forty species of monitor lizards are found from Africa, through India and south-east Asia to Australia. The genus to which monitors all belong - Varanus - contains the world's largest lizard, the much-feared Komodo Dragon from Indonesia which may reach three metres in length and has been known to prey on humans. All monitors are similar in appearance, with strong limbs, powerful claws, flexible neck and extended, whip-like tail. None are poisonous, although the Gila Monster of Mexico (the world's only poisonous lizard) is distantly related. Monitors are unique among lizards in having a forked tongue, similar to that of snakes. Just two species occur in Southern and East Africa, but both are impressive reptiles and are frequently seen.

Nile Monitor:

The Nile Monitor (also known simply as the Water Monitor) occurs in temperate and warm areas with permanent water and is seldom found far from rivers, lakes or dams. It is an outstanding swimmer and quickly takes refuge to water - usually with a loud splash - when threatened. It is most often seen basking on a rock or overhanging tree branch, and sometimes allows humans to approach quite closely.The Nile Monitor is a rapacious predator with a varied diet. It is particularly fond of crabs and eggs, and readily plunders the nests of ducks, coots and jacanas, and expends much energy in unearthing the buried eggs of terrapins and crocodiles (when the "nest" is unattended!). Juveniles feed mostly on insects and frogs. Adults are preyed upon by crocodiles and pythons, less often by leopards and eagles. Youngsters have a high mortality rate, with predatory fish, herons, snakes and even adults of their own species taking a heavy toll. The maximum length on record is 2.4 metres, but well over half of this length was tail!

Termites incubate the young:

In a unique example of insect-aided reproduction, the female Nile Monitor lays her clutch of eggs in the active mound of termites. After the first spring rains, she digs a deep hole in a suitable mound, deposits her eggs - up to 60 - and then scraps some of the soil back to cover them. This rude intervention is quickly attended to by the termites which go about the mound restoration process with vigour. Within a few days the cavity is completely sealed and the eggs then develop - free from any risk of predation - in a living incubator which maintains a constant temperature and humidity. Depending upon environmental conditions, it may take up to a year for the young to emerge - timing their hatching and "escape" with the following season's rains which sufficiently soften the baked exterior of the termite mound.

Tree, rock or savannah?:

The "other" monitor lizard in East and Southern Africa is known variously as the Tree Monitor, Rock Monitor, Savanna Monitor or White-throated Monitor. Any of these names is appropriate (except "White-throated", since not all individuals show this feature), but its propensity for climbing trees - even in rocky areas - makes the first name the most sound.This is a slightly smaller animal than the Nile Monitor, but still an impressive creature well able to look after itself. It has a stockier appearance and proportionately shorter tail than the Nile Monitor, and also differs in having "swollen" slit-shaped nostrils set close to its eyes. Beetles, grasshoppers and land snails are common prey but it will eat anything that it can overpower and readily scavenges from carrion. The Martial Eagle and honey badger are its two most feared predators.Unlike the Nile Monitor, which always lays its eggs in an active termite mound, the Tree Monitor does so only occasionally, preferring more often to just dig a hole into moist soil.

Fashion victims, chicken-like flesh:

The fine skin of monitor lizards have been valued for centuries, being used in the manufacture of shoes, belts and garments. Countless thousands have been slaughtered for this purpose - and the carnage probably continues with those species occurring in south-east Asia. Legislation protects all Varanus species in Africa, but the "tasty, chicken-like" flesh is much sought after by rural folk who must account for large numbers.

What's in a name?:

In South Africa, monitors are often referred to as "leguaans" which is probably a corruption of the word "Iguana" - a family of spine-crested, vegetarian lizards to which they are not closely related. Similarly, the Australians sometimes refer to monitors as "goannas". Interestingly, the name "monitor" may also be a case of mistaken identity: common in Egypt, they became known by the general Arabic term for lizards, ouaran. Pronounced waran, this was apparently confused by German naturalists for warnen, which was interpreted as "warning lizards". This was then Latinized to monitor and has given rise to some authors attempting to explain the name by the lizard's alleged habit of keeping a look out, or giving warning of the presence of crocodiles!

Where to see monitors at CCAfrica properties:

Both Nile Monitor and Tree Monitor can be seen at just about all of the CCAfrica properties, as they are common and widespread throughout the eastern side of Africa. Some of the largest Nile Monitors are to be found in the Grumeti River of the western Serengeti and a stay at Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp in Tanzania is likely to provide great sightings. A boat cruise on the Zambezi at Matetsi Water Lodges in Zimbabwe or the Mzinene River at Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa will also provide good views of both adult and young Nile Monitors.The Tree Monitor is frequently encountered at the South African lowveld lodges of Londolozi Private Game Reserve, Bongani Mountain Lodge and Ngala Game lodge.

Owl

Owls:

With their haunting calls and silent flight, owls are among the most elusive and misunderstood of all birds. Legends and fables from across the world describe the owl as a supernatural being, often associated with death, while in other cultures, the owl is revered as being "wise". Perhaps their forward-facing eyes - just like those of a human - are partly responsible for the attention they have received from people through the ages.Africa supports a large number of owl species - between 30 and 40, with new species of forest-dwelling Scops Owls still being described - and some of them are among the most interesting birds on the continent. All serious bird-watchers yearn to catch a glimpse of a Pel's Fishing Owl, while the Congo Bay Owl, may be one of the world's rarest species. The evocative frog-like call of the common Scops Owl is as characteristic of the savannah night as the whoop of a hyena.

Adapted for the Night:

Owls differ from other birds in having soft, frayed edges to their flight feathers which allows them to fly in silence and capture prey undetected. All have acute hearing and enormous eyes, which provide excellent vision in low light. Most owls are also extremely well-camouflaged so that they can remain undetected when roosting quietly during the day. All owls lay their eggs in cavities, on the ground or in a nest built by another bird, as it is obviously impossible for a nocturnal bird to gather nesting material of any kind. All owls lay pure white eggs and these are seldom left unattended - the incubating adult always sits tight, sometimes even to the point of allowing itself to be picked up by a human researcher. Some owls can be very aggressive, however, and a European Tawny Owl was responsible for the removal of renowned bird photographer Eric Hosking's eye several years ago! Spotted Eagle Owls can likewise be very defensive over their young and will not hesitate to dive-bomb and strike an unwary bird-watcher.In this short feature, we take a look at just four of the species that make the African night so wondrous . . .


The Cosmopolitan Barn Owl:

The Barn Owl is one of the most widespread birds in the world, with populations on all continents and on many remote oceanic islands. It is able to breed prolificly in years when its rodent prey is abundant (often following above average rainfall) with a record clutch of 19 eggs having been recorded; these owls frequently occupy the nest of the Hamerkop, much to the annoyance and agitation of the hard-working builders! (two such nests are under observation by CCAfrica guides at Ngala Game Lodge in South Africa and Matetsi Water Lodge in Zimbabwe). The eerie screech of this ghostly-white owl is certainly a sound to send a shiver down the spine of the uninitiated, but it is a harmless - and in fact very useful - bird, as far as people are concerned, for it helps to control the numbers of rats and mice.


Something of a Cannibal:

The largest African Owl is the aptly-named Giant Eagle Owl, or Verreaux's Eagle Owl, as it is known in East Africa. Even more remarkably - on a pair of adult Wahlberg's Eagle in Londolozi Private Game Reserve (South Africa) near the Kruger National Park. In addition to such large prey items, Giant Eagle Owl are also on record as having killed and fed upon Spotted Eagle Owl, Barn Owl and White-faced Owl, so other nocturnal hunters need to be on their toes at all times! Interestingly, the spiny hedgehog is one of the more frequent prey items of the Giant Eagle Owl, with Guineafowl and hares also being high on the list.


Tiny Ventriloquist:

The minute African Scops Owl (17cm) is a common, sometimes abundant, resident of savannah woodland where its repetitive but charming "prrrup" call punctuates the night. The call seems to be projected away from the bird, which makes it hard to locate, even with a torch or spotlamp. These little owls feed mostly on insects and spiders and breed in a tree cavity, with the highest densities being found in mopane and knobthorn savanna. At CCAfrica lodges, it is most common at Londolozi Private Game Reserve and Ngala Game Lodge in South Africa (a pair is known to roost in the camp itself) and Siana Springs in Kenya, where there is always a chance of seeing one on a night drive.


Ginger Phantom of the Waterways:

Perhaps the most spectacular of African Owls is the Pel's Fishing Owl which is found only in secluded areas where tall evergreen trees fringe permanent water. With bare, scaly legs and toes for grasping slippery prey, this owl hunts by perching close to the water and waiting for a fish to come within striking distance; once it senses prey, it swoops into the water - sometimes submerging itself - and clasps the fish with its long talons. The Okavango Delta in Botswana provides ideal habitat for this magnificent bird and it is regularly (though not invariably, due to changing flood regimes) seen in the vicinity of Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge and Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp, where it has been known to convert the most ardent lion fans into enthusiastic birders! Individuals are also seen from time to time at Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa, and a pair frequents the Zambezi River fronting the Matesti Water Lodges in Zimbabwe.

Vultures

Vultures - Supreme Scavengers:


Along with snakes, spiders, hyenas and sharks, vultures are regarded as the "bad guys" of the animal kingdom. All creatures do, of course, have a role to play in nature and it is only though the subjective and emotive thinking of humans that labels such as "evil", "horrid", "cruel" and "merciless" arise. No animals possess such traits - they are all engaged in a struggle for survival which sees them trying to optimise on feeding and reproductive opportunities within the ecosystems in which they have evolved, and the particular niches that they occupy.


Benign But Persecuted:

Even the most cursory examination of the lifestyle of a vulture, reveals it to be a benign and useful creature, but countless individuals have been shot, trapped or poisoned by people over the last hundred years or so. The not infrequent sight of a group of griffons feeding on the carcass of a sheep or a calf, has repeatedly led to the conclusion that these birds are predators, when in fact they are dedicated scavengers performing the vital function of removing (recycling) rotting carcasses. Unlike eagles and hawks - which have sharp talons - vultures are not adapted to kill for themselves although there are rare instances of desperate or hungry birds taking small or weak animals.It is western man who is to blame for the "bad press" and demise of vulture populations, for these useful birds are revered in many other religions and cultures. The Hindu regard vultures as carriers of the human spirit, while the ancient Egyptians depicted them in their hieroglyphics and totems. The introduction of livestock and "ownership" of wild animals (which then became "game") thrust vultures into conflict with farmers and settlers in Europe, North America and Africa, where several species have become endangered.


Icons of Africa:


Vultures are as much a part of the African wilderness as giraffe or zebra, and it is always a thrill to see them soaring in the sky above, or jostling with one another at a carcass. Although their somewhat reptilian facial features (not to mention their mostly "messy" feeding habits) eliminates them from any "beautiful bird" line-up, they are majestic on the wing when their power and grace is evident.Contrary to popular opinion, vultures are not reliant on the left-overs of predator kills, although they will frequently visit the site of a kill and will certainly take food if it is available. Lion and spotted hyena usually hunt and feed after dark and if they do make a kill by day, they are invariably too imposing for the vultures. In reality, the bulk of vulture food comes from mortalites such as old age, diseased or broken limbed-animals and still-born young. When one realises that up to 100 000 wildebeest must die each year in the Serengeti-Mara (for a population of one million to be maintained among an animal that lives for a maximum of ten years) it is plain to see that vultures would survive well enough without lions. In Southern Africa - with its denser woodlands and lower biomass - it may be that vultures gain a greater proportion of their meals from predator leftovers although this has yet to be studied in any detail.Interestingly, the eight species of vulture in African savannahs are not only able to co-exist, but may actually benefit one another through their different foraging techniques and feeding habits. When vultures are feeding together at a carcass, co-operation is perhaps the last word that might come to mind, as they hiss and stomp on each other to try a get a mouthful of flesh, but closer examination raises this interesting prospect.


First Come, First Served:

The White-headed Vulture is the most-lightweight (in relation to its wingspan) of the African vultures and is therefore the most mobile and agile species. Because it is up and about early in the day, it is frequently the first to locate a carcass and often enjoys the first choice soft parts but it seemingly prefers sinew and hide, and cannot reach this until a large flock of griffon vultures have dismembered the body. Interestingly, the White-headed Vulture has striking black and white plumage and its decent to a carcass will be easily noticed by a griffon soaring at a higher altitude (ravens and crows - with their white collars - do likewise in mountainous landscapes).


Guzzling Griffons:

Three species conform to the typical image of a vulture - sinuous neck and bald head - and are collectively known as "griffons". Most common is the White-backed Vulture, a tree-nesting species which lives in loose colonies in tall trees along drainage lines or rivers. Several hundred White-backed Vultures may gather at the carcass of an elephant or giraffe, and they usually outnumber all other species by at least three to one.In East Africa, the impressive Rüppell's Griffon occupies the open savannahs, with the largest population in the Serengeti-Mara. Here, the natural die-off from the enormous migratory wildebeest population provides them with ready sustenance. These heavy birds breed on rock faces in the Gol Mountains and may traverse 200km and back when the wildebeest herds have moved to Kenya's Masai Mara. It has been suggested that the colonial lifestyle of the griffons is similar to that of gannets and other cliff-nesting seabirds, in that it serves as a communication network: birds arriving back at their nests with a full crop let others know that their foraging has been a success and the direction from which they came will be noted. In this way, foraging time for the others is reduced and the chances of finding a meal increased (in Southern Africa the Cape Griffon occupies an equivalent niche to the Rüppell's but is now endangered as it is now largely restricted to agricultural landscapes.)


Many Eyes, Many Mouths:

In order to locate carrion, scavenging vultures must employ various tactics. First, they need to be able to soar at heights which afford them great visibility. Second, they need to either fly at an altitude which allows them to detect a stationery object (the carcass) or activity on the ground (other scavengers), or at a higher altitude which allows them to monitor the movements of other vultures and scavengers, and then follow them down to the food. This latter approach widens the net, so to speak, and is used by the griffons which are so heavy that they must anyway make use of the rising thermal currents to stay aloft (they cannot maintain flapping flight). Being gregarious, there is invariably more than one set of griffon eyes scanning the sky below and once one bird drops to investigate, it will be rapidly followed by others.This is where the trade-off takes place, for once on the ground the griffons challenge and jostle with each other as they compete vigorously for food. The griffons are red meat feeders, thrusting deep inside the carcass with the long featherless necks to feed on soft flesh, in preference to hide, sinew and bone. Depending upon the size of the carcass, most will usually get something to eat (the most aggressive vultures get slower as they fill up!) and it is presumably worth the fight to forage in a group with many eyes.


The King:

The Lappet-faced Vulture is the largest of the African vultures with a wingspan of over three metres. It typically arrives at a carcass once the griffons have begun feeding, but is able to dominate the proceeding by lunging out with its enormous bill and outstretched wings - even forcing a couple of dozen griffons to retreat. Interestingly, this is the only vulture with a bill strong enough to open the tough hide of a buffalo or giraffe and proper access for the griffons can only be gained once the Lappet-faced Vulture has dined.


On the Fringe:

The Hooded Vulture and Egyptian Vulture are very similar anatomically, with feathered heads and long thin bills. They are too small to compete with the larger vultures, but do well for themselves by keeping to the fringes, snapping up morsels and retrieving marrow from shattered bones. The Hooded Vulture is typical of wetter climates - even occurring in the edge of tropical rainforest - while the Egyptian Vulture prefers arid scrublands.


Winged Specialists:

The magnificent Bearded Vulture (Lammergeyer to some) and fish-eagle-like Palmnut Vulture are oddities in terms of habitat and feeding requirements, and only rarely interact with other vulture species. The Bearded Vulture lives in the high mountains where it feeds mostly on marrow and bones, while the Palmnut Vulture is primarily vegetarian and seldom strays far from the Oil Palms from which it gets its favoured diet of palm nuts.


Till Death Do Us Part:

Vultures - like many other large, long-lived birds - pair up for life, which, in the case of a Rüppell's Griffon, may be forty or fifty years. Just a single egg is laid each year and the youngster is only just gaining independence when the next breeding cycle begins. In Southern Africa, vultures time their breeding such that their developing young are being raised at the end of the dry season when visibility is greatest due to low vegetation cover, and natural herbivore mortality is highest. The East African vultures may be more flexible in their timing, as the two rainy seasons (the so-called "long rains" and "short rains") in this region have an effect on herbivore breeding and movements.


Where to See Vultures at CCAfrica Properties:

Vultures occur in all sizeable protected areas and very often in surrounding areas occupied by pastoralists and subsistence farmers. Five species may be reliably encountered in the wilderness areas of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem (Tanzania/Kenya), Okavango Delta (Botswana), Zambezi woodlands (Zimbabwe) and Southern Lowveld (South Africa). The dramatically-positioned Ruppell's Griffon breeding colonies in the Gol Mountains may be visited while based at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania, although this is a full day's excursion on rutted tracks and only for the determined or adventurous; the rare Egyptian Vulture is sometimes encountered on the short grass plains at the base of the Gol Mountains.Great numbers of vultures are present in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya between July and November, and a stay at Kichwa Tembo Masai Mara Tented Camp will provide superb viewing and photographic opportunities. It is on the Mara River that many wildebeest drown in their attempt to cross, that vultures often gather in great numbers, and a similar scenario can be viewed earlier in the year from the Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp in Tanzania on the fringe of the Grumeti River in the Serengeti.

Elephants

African elephants:

The African Elephant is the largest land mammal and perhaps the continent's most charismatic creature. Few animals are as closely linked to the welfare of mankind - for elephants have the potential to greatly modify the vegetation of landscapes, destroy the crops of subsistence farmers as well as create wealth through their valuable ivory tusks. There is little doubt that elephants have played a vital role in the economic history of the continent. Today, visitors to Africa's wildlife reserves and wilderness areas are captivated by the power and grace of these magnificent animals and by their apparent sensitivity and compassion.

Vital Statistics:

There are two sub-species of African elephant - the (or bush) form, and the forest (or dwarf) form. Male elephants (bulls) are far larger than females (cows) and weigh up to 6300kg. Mature females range between 2000 and 3500kg. There is much less sexual dimorphism among forest elephants (restricted to the Congo Basin and Guinea forests)which range between 900 and 3500kg in weight. The longest tusks on record for a elephant are 3.5 metres, at a weight of 130kg! Forest elephants are often tuskless. The two forms interbreed where forest and ecosystems meet. Elephants have four toes on their front feet,and three on their hind feet. Their thick hide sports sparse bristles and sensory hairs. The male's penis is invisible when retracted but extends for up to a metre when erect; his testicles are internal. The two teats are situated high on the underside, between the forelegs.

Born to Eat:

Elephants feed for up to 16 hours each day and consume a huge amount of plant material. Individuals eat up to 300 kilograms of leaves, grass, bark, pods and roots per day. Over half of the food consumed is not properly digested and is deposited as fibrous dung within 24 hours. In this way, elephants break down and consume plant material, but also promote regeneration through seed dispersal, soil fertilisation and the "opening-up" of previously shaded areas to the light. Along with the minuscule but equally crucial termites, elephants are the "landscape gardeners of Africa". Although elephants may appear to be indiscriminate feeders, they are, in fact, very selective and favour particular plants at certain times of the year.In general, elephants eat a higher percentage of grass during the wet season, with foliage, roots and bark predominating in the dry months. The tusks and trunk are used to good effect when feeding, the former as stripping and excavating tools, and the latter as a prehensile grasper.


Elephant Society:

It is most unusual to see an elephant alone. Mature females and their offspring (up to 14 years in the case of males) live in so-called breeding herds which have intimate knowledge of a home range in which they may move randomly, or in synch with the seasons. Adult males - and "teenagers" of 12 and older - typically range in pairs, threesomes or groups of a dozen or more. The main purpose of living in groups for these long-lived pachyderms may be to pass on individual experience and knowledge (where the best feeding areas are at certain times of the year, for example), as well as to defend the newborn young. A single mother elephant is quite capable of defending her young 120kg calf from a lone lion or hyena, but these super-predators hunt in groups and would have little difficulty in seizing newborns which were not protected within a herd. Elephants can live up to 60 years, with females surviving long past their reproductive age. The old matriarchs make decisions on a daily basis as to where the herd will forage or move. Adult cows give birth to a single youngster (twins are a rare phenomenon) after a gestation period of 650-660 days, once every four or five years. She comes on heat again soon after weaning her calf at four years (although young can eat "solids" after two years), and is sexually receptive for only about a week. Male suitors are typically in a state of musth - a condition of high testosterone levels characterised by leaking temporal glands and dribbling urine - and often intimidate other bulls with their head held high and swaggering gait. Only if two musth bulls come together will a physical fight ensue. Mating - when it eventually happens - is extremely brief. Contrary to popular thought, copulation takes place on dry land, not in deep water.


Communication:

Elephants "talk" to one another through various growls, snorts, squeals, trumpets and rumbles which convey a host of emotions and signals. Sub-sonic infrasound - inaudible to the human ear - was discovered only in 1987 and may be the most important means of communication.


Conservation:

Elephant populations have undergone major fluctuations in recorded history, and have no doubt been subjected to highs and lows due to climatic cycles over the millennia. They were exterminated from North Africa by about the 4th century AD (due to hunting for ivory and climate change) and in Southern Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. They are now absent north of the Sahel, but again flourish in South Africa thanks to natural recolonisation from the north and man's reintroduction programmes. Large numbers of elephants were killed for their ivory when trade of gold, slaves and spices flourished on Africa's east coast. Numbers throughout much of the continent then grew steadily between 1920 and 1970 (the era of colonialism and the formation of many protected areas) to an estimated high of some ten million, but crashed in the 1980s when the demand for ivory from the Far East was met by corrupt politicians, soldiers and traders, at a time when global policing was hard if not impossible. Factions in the Angolan civil war were known to be partly funded by ivory exports, and the same is probably true for countries such as Uganda, Sudan, Somalia and Mozambique. In south-eastern Zimbabwe and elsewhere, elephants were the innocent victims of callous land mine warfare. Although the current continental population is estimated at less than one million (calculated at 582 000 in 1992), there are some protected areas in which elephants are considered to be too numerous.In fenced reserves elephants can quickly outstrip their resources and then have a major impact on other wildlife. In such cases, they have traditionally been "managed" (i.e. culled, with tusks, hide and meat being sold) but with the current global ban on ivory exports, the emphasis is nowadays on relocation and expansion of reserve frontiers.



Where to see Elephant at and BEYOND properties:


Elephant viewing is good and predictable throughout most wildlife areas dominated by or forest. Virtually all andBEYOND lodges fall within such areas. Perhaps the best viewing is at Matetsi, between the months of June and October when the rains have stopped and the surrounding woodlands are dry. The mighty Zambezi River however still provides plenty of liquid refreshment and herds of up to 300 elephants may be seen quenching their thirst and bathing at this time. The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is home to numerous old bulls, some of which have spectacular tusks - to see these great and ancient animals against the forested backdrop of this wondrous Crater is an unforgettable sight. At Phinda elephants have been reintroduced from other parts of southern Africa, and their populations are growing on an annual basis.

Tigers

Tigers:

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family and the largest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore. Reaching up to 3.3 metres (11 ft) in total length, weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds), and having canines up to 4 inches long, the larger tiger subspecies are comparable in size to the biggest extinct felids. Aside from their great bulk and power, their most recognisable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes that overlays near-white to reddish-orange fur, with lighter underparts. The most numerous tiger subspecies is the Bengal tiger while the largest subspecies is the Siberian tiger.
Tigers have a lifespan of 10–15 years in the wild, but can live longer than 20 years in captivity.[8] They are highly adaptable and range from the Siberian taiga, to open grasslands, to tropical mangrove swamps. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. This, coupled with the fact that they are indigenous to some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes are habitat destruction and fragmentation, and hunting. Their historical range once stretched from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus through most of South and East Asia. Today it has been radically reduced. While all surviving species are under formal protection, poaching, habitat destruction and inbreeding depression continue to threaten the species.
Tigers are among the most recognisable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. Tigers appear on many flags and coats of arms, as mascots for sporting teams, and as the national animal of several Asian nations, including India.

Naming and etymology

The word "tiger" is taken from the Greek word "tigris", which is possibly derived from a Persian source meaning "arrow", a reference to the animal's speed and also the origin for the name of the Tigris river. In American English, "Tigress" was first recorded in 1611. It was one of the many species originally described, as Felis tigris, by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae. The generic component of its scientific designation, Panthera tigris, is often presumed to derive from Greek pan- ("all") and theron ("beast"), but this may be a folk etymology. Although it came into English through the classical languages, panthera is probably of East Asian origin, meaning "the yellowish animal", or "whitish-yellow".
A group of tigers is rare (see below), but when seen together is termed a "streak" or an "ambush".

Physical characteristics:

Tigers are among the most recognisable of all the cats. They typically have rusty-reddish to brown-rusty coats, a whitish medial and ventral area, a white "fringe" that surrounds the face, and stripes that vary from brown or gray to pure black. The form and density of stripes differs between subspecies (as well as the ground coloration of the fur; for instance, Siberian tigers are usually paler than other tiger subspecies), but most tigers have over 100 stripes. The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, and thus could potentially be used to identify individuals, much in the same way that fingerprints are used to identify people. This is not, however, a preferred method of identification, due to the difficulty of recording the stripe pattern of a wild tiger. It seems likely that the function of stripes is camouflage, serving to help tigers conceal themselves amongst the dappled shadows and long grass of their environment as they stalk their prey. The stripe pattern is found on a tiger's skin and if shaved, its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.
Like other big cats, tigers have a white spot on the backs of their ears. These spots, called ocelli, serve a social function, by communicating the animal's mental state to conspecifics in the gloom of dense forest or in tall grass.

Tigers have the additional distinction of being the heaviest cats found in the wild. They also have powerfully built legs and shoulders, with the result that they, like lions, have the ability to pull down prey substantially heavier than themselves. However, the subspecies differ markedly in size, tending to increase proportionally with latitude, as predicted by Bergmann's Rule. Thus, large male Siberian Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) can reach a total length of 3.5 m "over curves" (3.3 m. "between pegs") and a weight of 306 kilograms, which is considerably larger than the sizes reached by island-dwelling tigers such as the Sumatran, the smallest living subspecies with a body weight of only 75–140 kg. Tigresses are smaller than the males in each subspecies, although the size difference between male and female tigers tends to be more pronounced in the larger subspecies of tiger, with males weighing up to 1.7 times as much as the females. In addition, male tigers have wider forepaw pads than females. This difference is often used by biologists in determining the gender of tigers when observing their tracks. The skull of the tiger is very similar to that of the lion, though the frontal region is usually not as depressed or flattened, with a slightly longer postorbital region. The lion's skull has broader nasal openings. However, due to the amount of skull variation in the two species, usually, only the structure of the lower jaw can be used as a reliable indicator of species. Tigers have round pupils and yellow irises (except for the blue eyes of white tigers). Due to a retinal adaptation that reflects light back to the retina, the night vision of tigers is six times better than that of humans.

Subspecies:

There are nine recent subspecies of tiger, three of which are extinct. Their historical range (severely diminished today) ran through Bangladesh, Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China, and southeast Asia, including some Indonesian islands. The surviving subspecies, in descending order of wild population, are:

* The Bengal tiger or the Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is the most common subspecies of tiger and is found primarily in India and Bangladesh. It lives in varied habitats: grasslands, subtropical and tropical rainforests, scrub forests, wet and dry deciduous forests, and mangroves. Males in the wild usually weigh 205 to 227 kg (450 to 500 lb), while the average female will weigh about 141 kg. However, the northern Indian and the Nepalese Bengal tigers are somewhat bulkier than those found in the south of the Indian Subcontinent, with males averaging around 235 kilograms (520 lb). While conservationists already believed the population to be below 2,000, the most recent audit by the Indian Government's National Tiger Conservation Authority has estimated the number at just 1,411 wild tigers (1165–1657 allowing for statistical error), a drop of 60% in the past decade. Since 1972, there has been a massive wildlife conservation project, known as Project Tiger, to protect the Bengal tiger. Despite increased efforts by Indian officials, poaching remains rampant and at least one Tiger Reserve (Sariska Tiger Reserve) has lost its entire tiger population to poaching.

* The Indochinese Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), also called Corbett's tiger, is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam. These tigers are smaller and darker than Bengal tigers: Males weigh from 150–190 kg (330–420 lb) while females are smaller at 110–140 kg (240–310 lb). Their preferred habitat is forests in mountainous or hilly regions. Estimates of the Indochinese tiger population vary between 1,200 to 1,800, with only several hundred left in the wild. All existing populations are at extreme risk from poaching, prey depletion as a result of poaching of primary prey species such as deer and wild pigs, habitat fragmentation and inbreeding. In Vietnam, almost three-quarters of the tigers killed provide stock for Chinese pharmacies.

* The Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), exclusively found in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, was not considered a subspecies in its own right until 2004. The new classification came about after a study by Luo et al. from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity Study, part of the National Cancer Institute of the United States. Recent counts showed there are 600–800 tigers in the wild, making it the third largest tiger population, behind the Bengal tiger and the Indochinese tiger. The Malayan tiger is the smallest of the mainland tiger subspecies, and the second smallest living subspecies, with males averaging about 120 kg and females about 100 kg in weight. The Malayan tiger is a national icon in Malaysia, appearing on its coat of arms and in logos of Malaysian institutions, such as Maybank.

* The Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and is critically endangered. It is the smallest of all living tiger subspecies, with adult males weighing between 100–140 kg (220–310 lb) and females 75–110 kg (170–240 lb Their small size is an adaptation to the thick, dense forests of the island of Sumatra where they reside, as well as the smaller-sized prey. The wild population is estimated at between 400 and 500, seen chiefly in the island's national parks. Recent genetic testing has revealed the presence of unique genetic markers, indicating that it may develop into a separate species,[specify] if it does not go extinct. This has led to suggestions that Sumatran tigers should have greater priority for conservation than any other subspecies. While habitat destruction is the main threat to existing tiger population (logging continues even in the supposedly protected national parks), 66 tigers were recorded as being shot and killed between 1998 and 2000, or nearly 20% of the total population.

* The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Amur, Manchurian, Altaic, Korean or North China tiger, which is the most northernmost subspecies, is confined to the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in far eastern Siberia, where it is now protected. The largest subspecies of tiger, it has a head and body length of 160–180 cm for females and 190–230+ cm for males, plus a tail of about 60–110 cm long (about 270–330 cm in total length) and an average weight of around 227 kilograms (500 lb) for males, the Amur tiger is also noted for its thick coat, distinguished by a paler golden hue and fewer stripes. The heaviest wild Siberian tiger on record weighed in at 384 kg, but according to Mazak these giants are not confirmed via reliable references. Even so, a six-month old Siberian tiger can be as big as a fully grown leopard. The last two censuses (1996 and 2005) found 450–500 Amur tigers within their single, and more or less continuous, range making it one of the largest undivided tiger populations in the world. Genetic research in 2009 demonstrated that the Siberian tiger, and the western "Caspian tiger" (once thought to have been a separate subspecies that became extinct in the wild in the late 1950s)are actually the same subspecies, since the separation of the two populations may have occurred as recently as the past century due to human intervention.

*
The South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis), also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is the most critically endangered subspecies of tiger and is listed as one of the 10 most endangered animals in the world.[clarification needed] One of the smaller tiger subspecies, the length of the South China tiger ranges from 2.2–2.6 m (87–100 in) for both males and females. Males weigh between 127 and 177 kg (280 and 390 lb) while females weigh between 100 and 118 kg (220 and 260 lb). From 1983 to 2007, no South China tigers were sighted. In 2007 a farmer spotted a tiger and handed in photographs to the authorities as proof. The photographs in question, however, were later exposed as fake, copied from a Chinese calendar and digitally altered, and the “sighting” turned into a massive scandal.
In 1977, the Chinese government passed a law banning the killing of wild tigers, but this may have been too late to save the subspecies, since it is possibly already extinct in the wild. There are currently 59 known captive South China tigers, all within China, but these are known to be descended from only six animals. Thus, the genetic diversity required to maintain the subspecies may no longer exist. Currently, there are breeding efforts to reintroduce these tigers to the wild.

Extinct subspecies:

* The Bali Tiger (Panthera tigris balica) was limited to the island of Bali. They were the smallest of all tiger subspecies, with a weight of 90–100 kg in males and 65–80 kg in females. These tigers were hunted to extinction—the last Balinese tiger is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali on 27 September 1937; this was an adult female. No Balinese tiger was ever held in captivity. The tiger still plays an important role in Balinese Hinduism.

* The Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was limited to the Indonesian island of Java. It now seems likely that this subspecies became extinct in the 1980s, as a result of hunting and habitat destruction, but the extinction of this subspecies was extremely probable from the 1950s onwards (when it is thought that fewer than 25 tigers remained in the wild). The last confirmed specimen was sighted in 1979, but there were a few reported sightings during the 1990s. With a weight of 100–141 kg for males and 75–115 kg for females, the Javan tiger was one of the smaller subspecies, approximately the same size as the Sumatran tiger.

* Caspian Tiger (formerly Panthera tigris virgata), also known as the Persian tiger or Turanian tiger was the westernmost population of Siberian tiger, found in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, the Caucasus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan until it apparently became extinct in the late 1950s, though there have been several alleged more recent sightings of the tiger. Though originally thought to have been a distinct subspecies, genetic research in 2009 suggest that the animal was largely identical to the Siberian tiger.

White tigers:

There is a well-known mutation that produces the white tiger, technically known as chinchilla albinistic, an animal which is rare in the wild, but widely bred in zoos due to its popularity. Breeding of white tigers will often lead to inbreeding (as the trait is recessive). Many initiatives have taken place in white and orange tiger mating in an attempt to remedy the issue, often mixing subspecies in the process. Such inbreeding has led to white tigers having a greater likelihood of being born with physical defects, such as cleft palates and scoliosis (curvature of the spine. Furthermore, white tigers are prone to having crossed eyes (a condition known as strabismus). Even apparently healthy white tigers generally do not live as long as their orange counterparts. Recordings of white tigers were first made in the early 19th century. They can only occur when both parents carry the rare gene found in white tigers; this gene has been calculated to occur in only one in every 10,000 births. The white tiger is not a separate sub-species, but only a colour variation; since the only white tigers that have been observed in the wild have been Bengal tiger (and all white tigers in captivity are at least part Bengal), it is commonly thought that the recessive gene that causes the white colouring is probably carried only by Bengal tigers, although the reasons for this are not known. Nor are they in any way more endangered than tigers are generally, this being a common misconception. Another misconception is that white tigers are albinos, despite the fact that pigment is evident in the white tiger's stripes. They are distinct not only because of their white hue; they also have blue eyes and pink noses.

Hunting and Diet:

In the wild, tigers mostly feed on larger and medium sized animals. Sambar, gaur, chital, barasingha, wild boar, nilgai and both water buffalo and domestic buffalo are the tiger's favoured prey in India. Sometimes, they also prey on leopards, pythons, sloth bears and crocodiles. In Siberia the main prey species are manchurian wapiti, wild boar, sika deer, moose, roe deer, and musk deer. In Sumatra Sambar, muntjac, wild boar, and malayan tapir are preyed on. In the former Caspian tiger's range, prey included saiga antelope, camels, caucasian wisent, yak, and wild horses. Like many predators, they are opportunistic and will eat much smaller prey, such as monkeys, peafowls, hares, and fish.
Adult elephants are too large to serve as common prey, but conflicts between tigers and elephants do sometimes take place. A case where a tiger killed an adult Indian Rhinoceros has been observed. Young elephant and rhino calves are occasionally taken. Tigers also sometimes prey on domestic animals such as dogs, cows, horses, and donkeys. These individuals are termed cattle-lifters or cattle-killers in contrast to typical game-killers.
Old tigers, or those wounded and rendered incapable of catching their natural prey, have turned into man-eaters; this pattern has recurred frequently across India. An exceptional case is that of the Sundarbans, where healthy tigers prey upon fishermen and villagers in search of forest produce, humans thereby forming a minor part of the tiger's diet. Tigers will occasionally eat vegetation for dietary fiber, the fruit of the Slow Match Tree being favoured. Tigers are thought to be nocturnal predators, hunting at night. However, in areas where humans are absent, they have been observed via remote controlled, hidden cameras hunting during the daylight hours. They generally hunt alone and ambush their prey as most other cats do, overpowering them from any angle, using their body size and strength to knock large prey off balance. Even with their great masses, tigers can reach speeds of about 49-65 kilometres per hour (35-40 miles per hour), although they can only do so in short bursts, since they have relatively little stamina; consequently, tigers must be relatively close to their prey before they break their cover. Tigers have great leaping ability; horizontal leaps of up to 10 metres have been reported, although leaps of around half this amount are more typical. However, only one in twenty hunts ends in a successful kill.
When hunting large prey, tigers prefer to bite the throat and use their forelimbs to hold onto the prey, bringing it to the ground. The tiger remains latched onto the neck until its prey dies of strangulation. By this method, gaurs and water buffalos weighing over a ton have been killed by tigers weighing about a sixth as much. With small prey, the tiger bites the nape, often breaking the spinal cord, piercing the windpipe, or severing the jugular vein or common carotid artery. Though rarely observed, some tigers have been recorded to kill prey by swiping with their paws, which are powerful enough to smash the skulls of domestic cattle, and break the backs of sloth bears.
During the 1980s, a tiger named "Genghis" in Ranthambhore National Park was observed frequently hunting prey through deep lake water, a pattern of behaviour that had not been previously witnessed in over 200 years of observations. Moreover, he appeared to be extraordinarily successful for a tiger, with as many as 20% of hunts ending in a kill.

Reproduction:

Mating can occur all year round, but is generally more common between November and April. A female is only receptive for a few days and mating is frequent during that time period. A pair will copulate frequently and noisily, like other cats. The gestation period is 16 weeks. The litter size usually consists of around 3–4 cubs of about 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) each, which are born blind and helpless. The females rear them alone, sheltering them in dens such as thickets and rocky crevices. The father of the cubs generally takes no part in rearing them. Unrelated wandering male tigers may even kill cubs to make the female receptive, since the tigress may give birth to another litter within 5 months if the cubs of the previous litter are lost. The mortality rate of tiger cubs is fairly high - approximately half do not survive to be more than two years old.
There is generally a dominant cub in each litter, which tends to be male but may be of either sex. This cub generally dominates its siblings during play and tends to be more active, leaving its mother earlier than usual. At 8 weeks, the cubs are ready to follow their mother out of the den, although they don't travel with her as she roams her territory until they are older. The cubs become independent around 18 months of age, but it is not until they are around 2–2½ years old that they leave their mother. Females reach sexual maturity at 3–4 years, whereas males reach sexual maturity at 4–5 years.

Over the course of her life, a female tiger will give birth to an approximately equal number of male and female cubs. Tigers breed well in captivity, and the captive population in the United States may rival the wild population of the world.

Brown bears

Brown bears:

Brown bears are large mammals that live in cool mountain forests, meadows, and river valleys. These solitary bears can run up to 35 mph (56 kph) for short bursts. Widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, brown bears are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. Grizzly bears are a type of large brown bear found in the interior of North America.
Although they sleep in dens (caves, hollow logs, or holes they dig) during the winter, they are not true hibernators and can be easily awakened. Brown bears have a life span of about 25 years in the wild.

Anatomy:

Brown bears are up to 7 feet (2.1 m) long and weigh up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg). Females are about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of males. Their thick fur ranges in color from black to brown to reddish brown to blond. They have dense fur close to the skin and long, coarse guard hairs. They have a big head, a long muzzle, and a large hump on their shoulder ( the hump is a mass of muscles that give the front legs extra strength). Like all bears, they are plantigrade (flat-footed). The front claws are up to 4.75 inches (12 cm), almost twice as long as the rear claws. Newborns weigh only about 1 pound (0.45 kg), the size of a rat.

Diet:

Brown bears are omnivores who eat plants, roots, berries, fungi, fish, small mammals, and large insects.
Classification: Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Ursidae (bears), Genus Ursus, species arctos (grizzly bear and brown bear).

Turkeys

Turkeys:

Turkeys are domestic (farm) birds that were originally bred from wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopo). The adult female turkey is called a hen, the adult male is called a tom, and the young are called poults. A group of turkeys is called a rafter. Over 300,000,000 turkeys are raised in the USA each year.

Anatomy:

The tom turkey is larger and more brightly colored than the hen. Toms grow to be up to about 30 pounds (13.5 kg). Turkey eggs are tan with brown spots; they are a little bigger than chicken eggs. Poults are brown.

Diet:

Turkeys have a varied diet. They eat insects, worms, fruit, seeds, acorns, grains, slugs, snails, and many other foods. They have a well-developed gizzard (a part of the stomach that contains tiny stones) that grinds up their food.
Predators: Many animals prey upon turkeys, including skunks, owls, raccoons, hawks, bobcats, and snakes.

Scorpions

Scorpions are arachnids (and not insects); they are related to spiders and ticks. These ancient animals have been on Earth for over 400 million years (long before the time of the dinosaurs). There are over 1,500 species of scorpions worldwide (they live on every continent except Antarctica). Classification: Order Scorpiones.
These venomous invertebrates live in almost every type of habitat, including deserts, rain forests, prairies, grasslands, forests, mountains, caves, ponds, and seashores. Most scorpions are nocturnal (most active at night), resting under rocks, in crevices, or in burrows during the day. Scorpions give birth to large litters of live young, who quickly climb onto the mother's back after birth; the mother cares for the young until they are able to hunt. Some scorpions live as long as 25 years.

Diet:

Scorpions are carnivores (meat-eaters) that paralyze their prey with a stinger located at the tip of the tail. They eat insects and small rodents. The sting of most scorpions is only irritating to people, but about 25 species of scorpions are capable of killing people (including Arizona's bark scorpion, Centruroides sculpturatus). Some scorpions can go for a year without food.

Enemies:

Shrews and other scorpions prey upon scorpions.

Anatomy:

All scorpions have eight legs; each leg has tiny claws. Scorpions have a hard exoskeleton and not an internal skeleton. The stinger at the end of the tail injects a paralyzing poison into the prey. Unlike other arachnids, scorpions have large, pincer-like pedipalps, appendages used to used to grab and subdue prey. Most scorpions are from 0.5 to 8.5 inches (1-21 cm) long. They range in color from black to brown to tan to red. Tiny sensory hairs protrude from the exoskelton; they detect touch, temperature changes, and other information. Comb-like sensors on the bottom of the body also give the scorpion information about the environment.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Red-Tailed Hawk:

The Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a the most common and widespread hawk in North America. This raptor, a bird of prey, is a powerful flier that lives in swamps, taigas, deserts, and a variety of biomes.

Anatomy:

The Red-Tailed Hawk is about 19-23 inches (48-58 cm) long. It weighs about 2.5 pounds (1 kg), with wingspan of 4 to 4.5 feet (1.2-1.4 m). The plumage (feathers) varies a bit, but is generally brown to gray brown with paler markings, and with a white chest. The tail feathers are red-brown (rufous) and square-cut.

Diet:

The Red-Tailed Hawk is a carnivore (a meat-eater) who often catches its prey while flying, killing it with sharp talons. It eats rodents (like mice, muskrats, and squirrels), opossums, moles, weasels, reptiles (like snakes), amphibians, and other birds (like pigeons, quail, crows, ducks, and woodpeckers). The hawk eats the entire prey, regurgitating inedible parts, like fur, feathers, teeth, and bone. Nest and Eggs: The Red-Tailed Hawk's large nest is built out of sticks, bark and leaves, and is located high in a tree. The female lays 1-5 white eggs speckled with brown in each clutch (a set of eggs laid at one time). Both parents incubate the eggs.

Porcupine

Porcupine

The North American Porcupine is a well-protected, plant-eating rodent that spends much of its time in trees, looking for food. These slow-moving animals have sharp, needle-like quills protecting their body. Porcupines live up to 20 years in captivity. They live in forests, deserts, and grasslands in much of North America. Their predators include the fisher (black marten), cougar, coyote, and bobcat.

Quills:

Sharp, barbed quills protect the back, sides, and tail; long, stiff guard hairs cover the front upper part of the body. The quills are usually held flat against the porcupine's body. When the porcupine is in danger, it raises the quills upright, so they can easily lodge in an enemy when it brushes up against the porcupine. The barbs in the quills make them difficult to remove, since they point backwards.

Anatomy:

The North American Porcupine is about 29 inches (75 cm) long plus a short tail that is 8 inches (20 cm) long. They have a blunt snout, short legs, and long, curved claws on the feet. Like all rodents, the porcupine's front top teeth continue to grow throughout its life. It must gnaw on hard things to keep wearing the teeth down. The North American porcupine's front teeth are orange.

Diet:

North American Porcupines are herbivores (plant-eaters) who eat leaves, bark, evergreen needles, buds, twigs, fruit, and salt.

Raccoons

Raccoons:

Raccoons are small, very adaptable mammals from North and South America and a few tropical islands. They live in a variety of habitats, including marshes, forests, prairies, cities, and suburbs. These nocturnal (most active at night) animals have a life span of about 6 years in the wild.

Anatomy:

Raccoons have distinctive black patches around their eyes that look like a mask. They have a bushy, black-ringed tail, clawed feet, and a pointed snout. They have long fingers and toes and an acute sense of touch. Newborn raccoons do not have black eye patches or a ringed tail; these develop after a few days. Raccoons grow to be about 18 to 26 inches (46-66 cm) long plus a striped, furry tail 9 to 12 inches (23-30 cm) long.

Diet:

Raccoons are omnivores; they will eat almost anything, including frogs, crayfish, birds, mice (and other small mammals), fruit, nuts, plants, crops, and garbage. Raccoons find much of their food in water. Adult raccoons have few natural enemies; young raccoons can be eaten by wolves and bobcats.

FOX

The fox is a clever mammal that has large ears and a long, bushy tail. It lives in many different habitats, including forests, deserts, scrub, plains, grasslands, and Arctic snow. Many live in the area where forests meet farms. Foxes are found in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South America. A fox can live up to 13 years in captivity. Predators of the fox include the wolf and man. Foxes will double back on their own tracks in order to confuse their enemies.
A male fox is called a reynard, the female is called a vixen, and the baby is called a kit. A group of foxes is called a skulk or a leash.

Anatomy:

Foxes range from 14 to 39 inches (36 to 99 cm) long with a tail 7 to 20 inches (18 to 51 cm) long. The long, bushy tail, sometimes called a sweep, helps the fox change direction quickly and keeps the fox's feet and nose warm when it curls up to sleep. Foxes have sharp, curved claws, sharp teeth, and thick, insulating fur.

Diet:

Foxes are mostly carnivores (meat-eaters). Most foxes hunt alone. They are nocturnal; they hunt mostly at night. Foxes eat small mammals (like mice), eggs, birds, insects, amphibians (like frogs), reptiles (like lizards), fish, grass, berries, nuts, and carrion (carcasses of animals that they find).