Travel Tips

Send Photo to a Friend

LOOK, HOW CUTE!

Kirk's Dik-Dik

"Madoqua kirkii"

East Africa; Angola.

Only males bear the corrugated horns, which may grow up to 11.4 cm / 4.5 inches long.

Kirk's dik-dik is primarily active in the morning and late afternoon, although some activity may continue throughout the night. Mated pairs defend a territory 12.5-75 acres in size, and if no unexpected unfavourable conditions arise, this pair may occupy the same territory for life. Definite trails run through the thick cover, which are used with some regularity. When startled dik-diks make quick zigzag leaps, dashing for cover while making a call that resembles "zik-zik" or "dik-dik".

Send Photo to a Friend

THE WORLD'S TALLEST LAND ANIMAL

• Ancient Romans called giraffes "camelopards," describing them as hybrid animals with camel bodies and leopard spots. The giraffe's species name, camelopardalis, includes this name.

• Baby giraffes are born six feet tall, taller than the average person. They can grow an inch a day and just about double their height in one year.

• Thanks in part to moisture-rich foods such as acacia leaves, giraffes can go weeks without drinking. They usually seek water every few days, lowering themselves in a splay-legged drinking stance that leaves them vulnerable to predators.

Send Photo to a Friend

INDIAN MUNTJAC (With Friend)

The muntjac is also known as a "barking deer" because of the sounds it makes.
The Indian species of muntjac is native to India and Southeast Asia.
This fellow was quite tame and even seemed to enjoy being petted.
Do they make good pets, I wonder.

Send Photo to a Friend

PYGMY HIPPO

"Hexaprotodon liberiensis"

This rare form of hippopotamus is now endangered. It has a restrictive distribution - found only in favorable parts of West Africa (Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, and perhaps Sierra Leone).

They are rarely seen in the wild and live among dense vegetation along streams and in wet forests and swamps. They are much smaller than the African river hippo, with proportionally longer legs, a smaller head, less prominent eyes and ears more towards the side of the head. Each sex has its own territory and is solitary. Most of the day is spent resting and they feed mainly at night. Hippos need to spend plenty of time soaking in water in order to keep their skin healthy and supple. They have no sweat glands but secrete a pink fluid which dries to form a protective layer against the sun and parasites. The pygmy hippo's nose and ears can be closed under water ­ an adaptation to aquatic life.
The baby hippo is unable to walk very far at first, and its mother conceals it in thick cover, visiting it to feed it. It is not known how long the baby stays with the mother in the wild. Pygmy hippos are sexually mature at 4 to 5 years of age. The breeding season in the wild is not known, but in captivity young have been born throughout the year.

The pygmy hippo is very threatened in the wild by hunting and habitat destruction :(