Safari Animal Fun Facts

·         You can tell the difference between the sexes of giraffes based on their horns. Male horns are longer and straighter, and used for necking. Female horns are shorter, and they face inward. They serve no purpose.

·         Rhino dung can be used as a source of water. It also has no smell.

·         Elephant babies eat their mother’s poop. They cannot survive without their mother because they have a terrible immune system, so they have to eat her dung and be fed milk in order to build their immune systems off hers.

·         The elephant gestation period is 22 months.

·         Elephants never stop growing. They reach about their maximum size around the age of 30-40. They weigh around 6 tons when at their largest.

·         Zebras have black skin. You can tell in three regions: genitals, mouth and nose, and the patch inside their front legs (around their elbows).

·         Ostriches digest everything except diamonds.

·         Cheetahs bite the esophagus to kill their prey.

·         Giraffes are born feet first. They drop about two meters in order to kick start their heart beat. They have the highest blood pressure of any living thing.

·         All elephants die of starvation, unless hunted, because their teeth fall out. They have six sets for their lifespan, and the last set comes in around the age of 45-50, which means they die between 60-70. They only have four teeth. The front molars fall out first, and the new set of teeth grow in the back.

·         African elephants have bigger ears, more pointed teeth, and their trunks have different ends (based on reaching high). Asian elephants have the part of the trunk that allows them to eat low. All African elephants have tusks. Most Asian male elephants have tusks, but no females do.

·         The buffalo is the most dangerous of the big five because it is responsible for the most human deaths.

·         Male lions will kill other male cubs.

·         Africa’s Big Five are the leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and lion. They are named the Big Five because they are the five most dangerous animals in Africa.

·         Male lions can kill for themselves; the females are not the only hunters.

·         When prey is killed, male lions eat first, then females, and then cubs. The lionesses will go get the cubs and bring them to the carcass. Hyenas will rip part of the carcass off and drag it to their young. Jackals will eat some of the carcass and regurgitate it for their young.

·         A lion’s average meal weighs 35 kilograms.

·         Lions spend 20 hours of the day sleeping.

·         Elephants spend 20 hours of the day eating.

·         Giraffes sleep three hours a day for twenty minutes each interval.

·         Once elephants reach the age of 30-35, they can no longer lay down because they would not be able to get back up. They sleep by leaning against trees and other objects, or by crossing their front legs and laying their trunk on the ground.

·         An elephant’s trunk can break a lion’s spine.

·         When male cubs reach a certain age, the alpha male will kick out them out of the pride.

·         The rhino’s gestation period is 19 months.

·         Elephants flap their ears to cool themselves down. They also put mud on themselves to cool off, and to keep their warmth in when it is cold.

·         A zebra’s stripes have three functions: camouflage, thermoregulation, and identification. Baby zebras memorize their mother’s stripes.

·         Baby elephants do not know how to use their trunk until they are two.

·         Male ostriches are black, while females are grey.