1. LION (YORUBA- KINNIUN) (HAUSA- ZAKI)
Lion hunts at night and the favourite prey is water buck, hartebeest and buffaloes. An average of 30 animals per lion is lost in a year. Only a very proportion of their time is spent hunting and eating. The females do most of the hunting. It was studied in East Africa that they spend an average of 21 hours sleeping and resting every day. They are not so dangerous to man as it’s often contemplated. It is estimated in the whole of Africa, lions kill only about 210 people per year while crocodiles are thought to kill about 2,000 people per year.
Lions can reproduce rapidly, the gestation period is about 105 days and 2 – 4 cubs are born in each litter. Lion is very useful. Its fat for charm, forehead-skin for charm, skin for decoration and flesh is edible.
During courtship, a lion test the air for a female’s scent. It grimaces with a tooth – baring gape known as flehem behaviour to detect the breeding readiness of a female. Lioness and their cubs form the permanent nucleus of the pride. Lion may take rhino or elephant calves if they can, but they rarely do the mother elephant. Buffalo and rhinoceros can attack and kill lions in defence of their young.
2. ELEPHANT (YORUBA: ERIN, AJANAKU) (HAUSA: GIWA)
It is a herbivorous animal and very big in size. The skin is thick with scattered hair, a very big ears, long tusks and they usually move in groups. It feeds on palm produce e.g kernels and other crops. It is very useful because it’s droppings is used for stomach ache medicine, the hair at the tail is used for ear pain, tusks for jewelries and drugs, eye for charm and flesh is eaten.
Elephants greet themselves through the twining of trunks Elephants will always to go their own regardless of what humans do. They move with seasons for water and food, there are places elephants may go every year or once a decade or even once in their lives for reasons known to them. Elephants fight other animals at water holes, sparing to get the best position at the outlets and may break their tusks in the course of wrangling.
A domesticated elephant recognises its mahout or driver's voice and when called for feeding. Elephants are to put to work when they reach the age of 25 years and are retired at age 65.Elephants understand most commands within three or four years and never forget them.Elephants have a small brain disproportionate to their body but they are very intelligent.
Elephants spend most of their time eating and they have preference for thick paste of wheat, millet, bamboo, palm leaves, yam tubers, palm kernels and grass.They need about 140 kilograms of food and some 150 litres of water everyday.Elephants are very aggressive during musth- an annual physiological phenomenon connected with mating season, during which the testosterone level of healthy adult male elephants rises.The result is aggressive and erratic behaviour toward other bull elephants and humans.Musth can last between 15days and three months.
Elephants pay last respect to their dead ones by a ritual procession where the tusk of the dead elephants is passed from one elephant to the other.The rationale behind this remains unknown to science.They are protective of their calves.In the herds of elephants, a terribly weak or old elephant may be killed by others by piercing their tusk into the body of the weak elephant and the weak dies of loss of blood.This is seldom done to avert unnecessary stoppage of their journey.
Elephants mourn when calamity befalls a family member.A female elephant may stand guard over her stillborn baby for three days expressing her grief stricken facial expression with her head and ears hung down, the corners of her mouth turned down.
3. LYNX CARACAL (HAUSA: GADA)
Feeds on young antelopes, rodents and birds, the bulk of diet consist of guinea fowls. Mainly active in the night, the young are hidden in crevices or hollow trees and the litter numbers 2 – 4. It is rated as the most endangered cat species in the world. It is noted for its clear eyesight and shrewdness.Its suitable prey is rabbit.
4. AFRICAN CIVET CAT (YORUBA ETA, OLOGEDE)
It is solitary and nocturnal. It secretes nauseating oily substance which is used for territorial marking. It has dog like features and give birth to 2 – 4 offspring in a litter.
5. WESTERN HARTEBEEST (HAUSA : KANKI) (YORUBA: AGONRIN)
Both sexes have 11 shaped horns. The males are territorial during breeding season. Hartebeest are very shy and will, more often than not, run away quickly from observers. The gestation period is 8 months while life Spain is 19 years. It is used for many things; flesh is eaten, bone for drugs, skin for decoration.
6. HIPPOPOTAMUS (YORUBA ERINMINLOKUN) (HAUSA: DORINA)
The name is derived from two words, that is, river and horse, hippo means horse and potamus means river, Hippopotamus means river horse.They are amphibious and sociable animals living in group of 10-15 led by a dominant bull.They neigh like horses and below or roar when fighting.On land the hippo can run faster than man.In water, it can outdo a small man-powered boat.A lone hippo is vulnerable to attack by lions.It secretes a mucus through it glands situated under its skin.The mucus produces a reddish-brown colour and a high salt content appearing to be blood.The slime protects the skin both in water and on dry land.
They spend daylight in the river and leave at night to feed on grasses often in groups of 2 – 5. They are territorial and males inflict serious wounds on one another with their huge teeth. Gestation period is about 230 days and there is one young.Pygmy hippopotamus is a miniature version of the common hippopotamus.It is about the size of a large pig.The pygmy hippopotamus spend less time in the water than its larger cousin and never travels in herd.Pygmy hippopotamus is endemic to West Africa.
7. BUSH BUCK (HAUSA: MAZO)
They are smaller than water bucks and the body is brown with vertical and horizontal white stripes. They are solitary or in pairs. The gestation period is about 220 days (7 months) and the life span is about 12 years. One young is born.
8. ROAN ANTELOPES (HAUSA: GWANKI) (YORUBA- ESURO, ETU, OLUBE)
These horses – like antelopes are one of the most beautiful animals in the West African savannah. An adult weigh about 227 – 272 kg (500 – 600lb). They tend to stay close to the water.
They are mainly grazers but do a lot of browsing during the dry season. Lions are their major natural enemy. The gestation period is 10 months. They are very useful. Brain is for charm, skin for decoration, flesh is eaten.
9. DEFASSA WATERBUCK (HAUSA GWAMBAZA)
The weight of a matured adult ranges between 131 – 204 kg (400 – 500lbs). The males have long slight curved horns, they feed on wetland vegetation. Adult males have territorial behaviour during the breeding season and gather as many as 15 females. An oily secretion which exudes from the skin gives the animal a characteristic musky smell. It is also very useful, the placenta for charm, flesh is eaten and horns for decoration.
10. WARTHOG (YORUBA: TURUKU, ELEDE EGAN) (HAUSA: MAJUNDAWA)
It is a pig- like animal. Not very vocal. It snorts and woofles in alarm and unease. It prefers light savannah and avoids dense cover. It has three skin warts. The gestation period is 170 days with 18 years life span in the wild. Its foods are short grass, fallen, green bark.
11. AFRICAN BUFFALO (YORUBA EFON) (HAUSA: BAUNA)
This animal is small, reddish and has horns which do not meet in the middle. It is different from Cape buffalo which is large, blackish and has horns which meet in the middle.
They are often seen in group of about 10 individuals. Old bulls sometimes live alone. Their sight and hearing are poor but sense of smell is good. Gestation period is 330 – 345 days and one young is born.
12. TANTALUS MONKEY (YORUBA: OBO) (HAUSA: KIRKA)
They live in social groups of 3 and above. They feed mainly on vegetables but animal’s remains is also eaten. They can be distinguished from Patas Monkeys by their grayish colour and generally smaller in size like vervet monkeys.
13. PATAS MONKEY (HAUSA: JAN BIRI)
It is the same as Tantalus. The only difference his in their colour and size, Patas monkey is bigger in size.
14. PORCUPINE (YORUBA: OORE) (HAUSA: KAYAN BEGUWA)
It is a rodent- like animal with quills all over its body. These quills serve as protective instrument against enemy animals. The Gestation period is 2 months while young ones are born without quills.
15. PANGOLIN(YORUBA-AKIKA)
It is a scaly creature with a long tail.It feeds on ants and termites.Male and female dig themselves a large hole in the forest floor with two chambers of up to 40 metres long and 5 metres deep as their abode.The pangolin feeds at night, roaming many kilometres and returning home just before dawn.It rips open termite nests with its rake like claws and uses its sticky tongue to extract the insects.
15. PUFF ADDER (YORUBA: OKA) (HAUSA KASA)
It is one of the largest vipers and is found all over Africa in open forests and grasslands. The colour pattern varies depending on where they live but they normally have a mixture of buffs and brown and the head is triangular in shape it can reach a maximum length of about 1.95m (5ft) and weighs 10 – 15kg when fully grown.
The diet consists mainly of mammals which it kills by striking and injecting its cytotoxic venom. The venom works by De-activating and digesting the blood and tissues causing diffuse bleeding into organs and body cavity and results in the death of the victim.If the bite is not properly treated, it can lead to gangrene and other infections.The bite is extremely painful with pronounced swelling and marked symptoms. It is viviparous; that is; it produces its young by laying eggs which are hatched inside the body.It is arguably the sweetest of vermin.
16. AFRICAN OR ROCK PYTHON (YORUBA: ERE, OJOLA) (HAUSA: MESA)
It is the West Africa’s largest snake. It inhabits both in woodlands and Savannah but will generally be found near water where it spends some of its time.
The length may reach up to 20 feet. Forty to Hundred eggs are laid and incubated by females. Hatches from these eggs may reach 6 feet in one year if food is abundant. Python can go without food for a very long time and the young measure up to one feet.
GABOON VIPER
It has the longest fangs and the highest venom yield of any venomous snakes in the world but not as venomous as others. It has cardio toxic venom capable of shutting down human heart within 30 minutes. It is found in forested areas. A single bite can kill. The snake is made up of combination of nice black, brown and pink markings. They are quite passive and rarely bite unless provoked or stepped on.
BLACK MAMBA.
It is a venomous snake. It can strike its victims up to 12 times. It has both neuro and cardio toxic venom which can kill victim within 1 hour. Without anti-venom, mortality rate is 100%.
BOOMSLANG (Tree Snake)
A tree dwelling, timid but spectacular. Its venom is haemotoxic. The venom when bitten affects the body’s natural blood clotting mechanism and results in the bleeding of internal organs. Symptoms may take 24 hours before felt. Males are light green with black highlights and females are brown.
SAW SCALED VIPER OR CARPET VIPER(YORUBA-MONAMONA).
It is small, bad tempered and highly venomous. Venom is haemotoxic and virulent. Active after dark and bite its victims in the dark. The venom causes spontaneous internal bleeding.
EGYPTIAN COBRA.
It is aggressive, deadly and mostly found in Egypt, Savannah and deserts. Its venom is neurotoxic released through its large fangs. The glands located behind its eyes produced the venom and released through the fangs. The venom can kill a full grown elephant in 3 hours. The venom causes paralysis and death arising from respiratory failure. The colour ranges from yellow to dark brown.
CAPE COBRA(YORUBA-SEBE).
It has a beautiful look and considered as one of deadliest snakes. They are venomous and aggressive. Its bite without treatment has mortality rate of 60% in human. Bites result to death between 2 and 5 hours due to respiratory failure. It can come in yellow, mahogany/copper colour or purple with black.
GREEN MAMBA.
A relation of Black Mamba, highly dangerous but with considerably less toxic venom. They are highly arboreal and seldom touch the ground. It is born yellow but changes to lovely green grass colour as it grows.
N.B Snakes may have Neurotoxic, Haematoxic, Cytotoxic, Myotoxic and Cardiotoxic venoms. Nuerotoxic venom attacks the victim’s central nervous system, movement, breathing, swallowing, speech and sight. Haematoxic affects the victim’s blood and cause extensive blood loss into the tissues. Cytotoxic attacks victim’s body cells and tissues. Myotoxic attacks the victim’s muscles and can lead to death from kidney and heart failure. Cardiotoxic attacks the victim’s heart by shutting it down. Most venomous snakes have triangular head but it is advisable you back away when you see one.
17. DEER (CARIBOU) (YORUBA – EGBIN, IGALA, AGBONRIN)These are woodland and barren-ground caribou. The former are larger and less migratory than the latter. This animal with sweeping antlers, loves grazing on low-growing alpine tundra vegetation. It has a short tail with its head resembling that of a donkey. The male members of the deer family shed their antlers every autumn and grow new ones the following spring and summer.
Caribou calves can stand an hour after birth, run and swim three days later. Double their weight in 2 weeks and gain a hundred pounds in their first five months with pelage and velvet cloaked antlers. It rakes antlers along its trunk and branches.
Their enemies are grizzlies (bear), wolves, golden eagles and wolverines preyed on their calves though not in large numbers.
18. WOLF (YORUBA – KORIKO)
It is intelligent and it’s superior intelligence and acute senses of smell, sight and hearing makes wolves the consummate hunters able to bring down moose and caribou.
19. GRIZZLY (BEAR)
This is the most formidable of North American Mammals, the grizzly grazes widely over the open tundra with its powerful dewed, fore paws. It digs turf to scoop out ground squirrels.
Despite their slow, almost chimsy gait, grizzlies can lope through dense underbrush at 30 miles an hour. They are omnivorous; they feed on roots, berries, sprouts, insects, fish, and mammals of all sizes even caribou.
Adult male brown bears avoid presence of people but the females and cubs are not bothered. Rather, the females use noise of people’s presence as a cue that dangerous males had left the stream. Mother bears evidently take advantage of the opportunity to eat at prime feeding zones without the threat of males attacking their cubs.
20. COLLARED PIKA
It is a tiny member of rabbit family. At the first sign of danger, it gives a shrill warning bark; then dashes for cover.
21. ERMINE
It is very agile and quick; Ermines are relentless hunters often preying on mice in grassy or boggy areas.
22. RED SQUIRREL (YORUBA: ASE)
It is solitary and highly territorial. The squirrel scolds animals both large and small that dare to venture into its private domain.Red squirrel survives by storing food – principally seeds from space during hostile winter season.
23. DALL SHEEP/RAMS
The rams square off in an annual autumn rite Dall rams repeatedly rear up, race toward each other, and butt heads to gain dominance. There is annual growth rings in the ram’s horns. Male sheep grow a single set of horns and retain them for life unlike the male deer. Each year other ring is added, count the rings, like those of a tree and you have the age of the ram. The horns are sweeping curves.
Dall sheep is the world’s only species of wild white sheep albeit, there are other species of Dall sheep. For male (Dall Rams) after, perhaps more than an hour of charging and butting, the loser walked away head down, leaving the victor battered but unbowed and ready to mate with ewes to sire another generations during November- December rut.
24. MOUNTAIN GOAT
They walk and occasionally stop to graze. It hooves enable it to scale huge height of a mountain. Each hoof is split into two toes. Rough pads grip the ground and the toes can spread wide for even firmer balance. They are not particular eaters. They prefer grasses but can also feed on subalpine shrubs and low- growing conifers.
They are preyed on by wolf, bear, or wolverine. Golden eagles too, pose a threat preying on new born kids. Mountain goats contend with human intrusions. The male always playfully butt each other and the lambs remain with adult ewes for at least two years, then separate into male and female bands.
25. SPIDER MONKEYS
They are acrobats; they swing through the treetops commonly found on rain forests. They favour juice of balsa flower and its prehensile tail could be anchored on the tree while engaging in other activities.
26. EYELASH VIPER
It is a venomous snake and takes its name from an enlarged scale above each eye. The “lashes” may protect the eyes of the viper as it slithers along vines and branches. Heat- sensing pits on both sides of its head enable it locate prey in the dark.
27. CAT – EYED SNAKE
It emerges at night to feed on frog eggs.
28. CROCODILES (YORUBA: ONI)
They lurk beneath the tangled vegetation at the river’s edge. Their knobbed eyes and broad snouts visible at the water surface, their bull necks layered with dark scales that have been described as being as thick and tough as the heel of a boot.
Swift and silent hunters, adult black caimans think big when hungry. Besides fish, they prey on young cattle, wadding birds, capybaras, small deer, pigs, and other caimans. Black caimans may also attack humans though such caimans are no match for human with guns. The caimans are prime targets because of their large, relatively smooth belly. Skins are prized, though, illegal, commodity in the leather business in some countries.
Fishermen also kill caiman because they think the carnivorous reptiles interfere with their catch. Evidence suggests that when the caiman population drops, fish stocks, may decline as well. Nutrients from the caiman’s excreta are thought to form the base of some aquatic food chains. Its behaviour of mouth gapping helps regulate body temperature. Its enemy is jaguar.
Crocodiles are of different species, there are saltwater Crocodile, the mugger or marsh crocodile and the long-nose gavial saltwater or estuarine crocodiles are the biggest reptile on earth. It can grow to a length of 7 metres or more and weigh up to 1,000 kilogram.
It Lives exclusively in salt water. They are found in river estuaries, seas and mangrove swamps. They eat rats, frogs, fish, snakes, crabs turtles and deer. Salties swim by moving their tail from side to side, with their body submerged except for nostrils and eyes and they walk on their short legs. They can leap up to catch food and are known to gallop after prey. Their senses of smell, sight and hearing are good. The male salty is fiercely territorial during the mating season and the female is equally fierce when guarding her eggs.
The female crocodile builds a nest near the water usually a mound of decaying vegetation and mud.
It lays up to 100 oval, hard shelled eggs, covers them and guards them from predators. It splashes water onto the nest to promote the decay of the covering vegetation, thus generating heat to incubate the eggs.
Reportedly, the temperature at which each egg is incubated determines the gender of the hatchling when temperature ranges between 28 and 31 degrees Celsius, females are produced in about 100 days, when the temperature is 32.5 degree Celsius, males hatch within 64 days. Eggs incubated between 32.5 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius can produce either gender.
A nest built with one side at the water’s edge and the other side facing the hot sun could produce males from the warm side and females from the cooler side when the mother hears chirping sounds, it removes the nest covering, sometimes breaking the eggs if the hatchlings have not done so with their specially provided shell breaking tooth.
It lifts them very gently in her great jaws and carries them in a pouch under her tongue to the water’s edge. Hatchlings are independent at birth and immediately forage for insects, frogs, and small fish. Some protective mothers stay close for several months creating nursery areas in the swamps, where father can share in baby-sitting and protecting the young.
Mugger and long-nose Gavial is smaller than the salt water Crocodile. It catches small animal in its powerful jaws, drowns them and swings them around to break off eatable chunks of flesh. When searching for a mate, the male slaps its jaw on the water and growls. It shares nest guarding duties with the female, help the hatchlings out of their eggs and stay with them for sometimes.
The male gavial grows a bulbous knob at the tip of its muzzle during the reproductive period. This amplifies its normal hissing sound to a loud buzz to attract females. Crocodiles shed tears to rid their body of excess salt Reptile meat is tasty and low in cholesterol.
29. TURTLE (YORUBA – IRERE)
Turtles are beautiful swimmers, their long foot flippers propelling them with rapid grace. On land they look tortured, they wheeze and syrupy tears drop down their scaly primordial faces as salt is purged from their systems. Its shell is a marvelous protective architecture that has enabled the turtle almost unchanged for donkey years. Often show evidence of shark attacks or collisions with boats.
Olive ridley is the smallest of the turtles. The entire nesting process requires about 45 minutes. The eggs, soft and ping- pong bulls size are laid into the hole, the female further shuts her eyes and seems to fall into a trance and the nest is refilled.
Birds like snow buntings, rosy finches, water pipits use their culls for business but songs are for love or at least for reproduction. Songs establish territories, attracts members of the opposite sex, synchronized sexual behaviour, strengthen the bond between mates.
30 GANNET
It’s wing spans six feet, butter colour, Gannet airlifts seaweed for nest building. The birds are prominent at the rocky cliffs of Bonaventure Island off Canada’s Gaspe and they nest in thousands.Gannets may live for 30 years and usually mate for life. Their nests are made of seaweed and grass. Mating pair’s fence with their beaks and the female submits when her mate highly bites her neck. Gannets breed one chick a year and either parent will incubate the egg by placing a webbed foot on it to keep it warm.
The adult gannet is white with distinctive black tips on its wings which can span 2 metres. The young is called “guga” is black, flecked with small white spots. Within 12 weeks of hatching, the guga is heavier than its parents. It is equipped with extra layers of fat to fuel its eventual migration.
They dive on mackerel, sprats, herring and eels. They may fish for 30 hours or snore at a time when gannets are under water, they use their wings and feet to weave about in catching their prey.
When gannets dive into the sea to fish, they can reach speeds of 100 kilometres an hour. Before plunging into the water their wings are drawn back to form an arrow-head and their nostrils are sealed.
A protective membrane covers their eyes, the air sacs beneath the skin cushion the body from the shock of impact.
Their fat is used for medicinal purposes and their feathers valued for bedding- stuffing for mattresses.
31. WINGED ANGLER.
A big and bald eagle with black colour wings, the yellow coloured leg bird has salmon as it’s favorite food and thrives chiefly in remote wilderness areas.
32. DAZZLING LESSER
It is known as bird of paradise performing nuptial display. Europeans believed such birds are celestial, soaring in perpetual flight, feeding on dew. A bird with iridescent breast shield, golden whiskers and six wires like crown phones. A bird of paradise is rarely seen.
The tribesmen use the exotic feather to invoke aid from ancestral ghosts. They are avian prey, noisy and belligerent. There are lapwings, with large yellow facial watlers.
33. JACAUNA
It’s a long – legged wader with a bright red comb, walking on floating vegetation. It has the longest toes of any bird’s size and always walks and never hops.
34. SEA EAGLE
A white- bellied bird whose call is a metallic clank drifted overhead.
35. CASSOWAY
It may measure five feet in height. The flightless bird uses it’s bony crest to push its way through under growth. Normally timid, it will kick savagely with its clawed feet when threatened.
36. CAMEL (YORUBA – RAKUNMI)
This desert animal is usually associated with Africa or Asia. The species of Camels found in Africa or Asia are distinguished by the humps at their back. There is single humped camel and double humped camel. The single humped is common among the Arabs and constitute 9 of 10 percent of the camels in the world. This single humped camel, referred to as dromedary, is known as Arabian camel. The double humped camel is peculiar to Asia, particularly China and they are referred to as Bactrian camel. The distant relatives of these two species of camels are the South American lamoids. Lamoids are of four types, namely alpacas, guanacos, llamas and vicunas and they do not have hump and not as tall as either dromedary or a Bactrian. They are only as tall as an average human.
Camels have elegant gait and the speed is particularly fascinating. Each step of camel is cushioned by special pads. Camels do not have hoofs yet can run faster than horses in a long distance race. The special pad makes it convenient for camels to walk in the desert without pain or injury.
Camel is a unique animal. Its airy ears, three layered airy eyes, and thick and airy tail are protective of desert wind, dirt, and contact with foreign objects. It is a good carrier ably assisted by its long legs.
Camel stores water in its hump like back for a very long time without contamination. Camel can, in 30 minutes, drink volume of water that can last it for 3 months. Camel is equipped with acute sense of identification of a given environment; it neither goes astray nor misses its way. It is capable of hearing and responding to different kind of languages hence communication is easy between it and the owner. The long neck makes it easy to eat leaves of tall trees. Additionally, the teeth and palate of these animals allow them to graze without damaging the roots of the grass.
Mating is done by a female kneeling down and the male mounts for sexual intercourse. A second attempt at mating is done after 10 days of the first mating but will not take place if the first mating was successful. The success of the first mating is confirmed by the female’s raising and wagging of its tail whilst the male watches otherwise, second mating takes place. The gestation period is one year and gives birth to one offspring with or without help of its owner at birth and the offspring gains strength and stand to walk after 2 hours of its birth.
Camel is a good foster mother for orphaned camel. It breast feeds the young for maximum of 2 years. Camel is a good listener and obedient to its owner. However, it gives in easily for anger when necessary but patient at vengeance. It can bite or march its offender with its powerful legs to death in vengeance of the wickedness done to it.
It discovers easily the location of water and easily discovers its place of birth. Amazingly, camel does not hide its desire to go back to the place of its birth.
Camel’s urine and milk have been proved to be effective remedies or medicines for the cure of the following diseases- stomachache, small pox, cancer, sore throat and other kinds of common disease. Camel itself has two main diseases, namely; mouth plaque and mange but its urine provides effective remedies for these two diseases. The best of camel’s milk is the white milk produced after 40 days of giving birth.
The life span of camel is 50 years and the flesh edible. Camel is killed by knifing or stabbing to death at the joint between the origin of its neck and the hollow formed by the meeting of the shoulders.
37. CHEETAH (YORUBA- IDAGIRI)
Cheetah is a carnivorous and fastest animal in the world. It belongs to the cat family. Cheetahs are single-parent families and it is the mother who cares for the cubs. It finds prey nearly every day in order to nourish herself sufficiently when suckling her young-usually 3-5 cubs.
Every few days, female cheetah moves its family to another den because lions are always on the look out for strayed or vulnerable cubs. Once the cubs reach the age of 7 months, it starts to train them to hunt for themselves, a time-consuming process that takes anther year or so. The cubs usually stay with their mother for 1 or 1½ years.
38. GIRAFFE (YORUBA-AGUNFON)
Giraffe, a herbivorous animal with a remarkably long neck, longer than that of a camel. Its long neck makes it easier for it to feed on fruits of tall trees. It also grazes.
Giraffes rarely have more than are offspring at a time. A newly born giraffe may weigh up to 60 kilograms and stand 2 meters tall. An hour after birth the young giraffe is on its feet and ready to suckle its mother’s milk. Giraffe will nurse for 9 months although it starts to graze not long after birth. On sensing danger, it positions itself between its mother’s legs since her powerful kicks provide excellent protection from most predators.
39. GRIZZLIES (BEAR)
The grizzlies are known as bears. They stand on their hind feet; they even snore when they sleep. They are intelligent and curious, they learn fast and adapt well. There are white, black, polar and Kermodes bears. Bears may appear to be friendly and playful but they are unpredictable and can become over aggressive and dangerous. It is reported that they have poor vision but their small tapered nose and long nostrils are designed to maximize their sense of smell.
They appear awkward but are very fast, some have been clocked at speeds of over 50 kilometers an hour for short distance. Female can grow from 130-190 centimeters in length and weigh between 50 and 180 kilograms. Males are larger and seldom exceed 200 kilograms. They are good swimmers.
40. HUMMINGBIRD
The bird has outstanding capability to remain airborne through wind gusts, rain and snow. The wings flap and constantly change shape to adapt to the environment. This enables it to hover and to perform sharp maneuvers. An American researcher- Christopher Clark said a diving hummingbird flies faster than a fighter jet when pulling up at the end of its drive; the bird is subject to a force 10 times the pull of gravity- more than fighter pilots can stand without losing consciousness.
41. KINGFISHER (YORUBA – “AKO”)
The bird is unique and migratory. They move in pairs of male and female. The couple eats average of five fish daily. In pursuit of a tasty meal, the kingfisher can dive into water with very little splash. Kingfisher adapts so quickly from low-resistance air to high- resistance water. Kingfishers have to be both efficient and selective when catching fish for their young chicks. Both parents feed the newly hatched chicks with small fish that measure between one and two centimeters in length.
The parent carefully carries the fish in its bill with the head facing out making it easier for the hungry chicks as they find it convenient to swallow their food head first. As the chicks grow, the parents bring in slightly larger fish. The parents also gradually increase the feeding rate. At first, each chick is fed about 45 minutes. But when the chicks are about 18 days old, they have quite an appetite for a fish meal every 15 minutes. Kingfishers are prolific and return to brooding soon after their chicks leave the nest and fish for themselves.
42. PEACOCK
The peacocks resplendent feathers 5 times the length of his body rise from its back and shimmers in the sunlight.The peacock’s long tail coverts, dotted with sparkling eyespots are of different lengths and form a perfectly shaped fan. Peacocks start about showing off its feathers to peahen preparatory to mating.
In its native India, villagers value it as an effective predator of young cobras and other poisonous snakes. Its apparent insensitivity to the cobra’s venom has made the peacock a symbol of divinity and immortality.
It lays eggs, broods and hatch eggs. A peacock may accumulate a harem of up to five hens and father as many as 25 chicks in one year.
Peacocks are omnivorous; they eat anything including insects, lizards, seeds, grains lentils, guinea corn, millet and tender roots of crops. Quick to detect danger.
Peahens make good mother. They refuse to abandon their chicks even in the face of grave danger. At 8 months old, chicks leave their in others. Peacocks reach maturity at 4 years after attaining full plumage.
43. WILDEBEEST (YORUBA – IRA, KUNNUGBA)
This is an odd-looking creature with a long head and glossy eyes which are located far apart and high up on the skill. Its cow like horns curve slightly downward and outward and then hook upward. Its back slope is disproportionate to its strong shoulders and neck. There is a long whitish beard under the chin, a dark mane on the neck and a horse like tail.
When gathered in large herds, they make a noisy bellowing sound that resembles a chorus of thousands of frogs. It tosses its head, bucks and bounces on stiff legs, kicking up dust in a comical manner to impress females.
Wildebeests have unique ability to synchronize the birth of their young dropping 80% to 90% of their calves within a three-week period. During this time the herd swells with thousands of bleating baby wildebeests.
Each mother bonds her calf for if the herd stampedes, the mother and her calf could easily be separated and the calf would have little chance of survival on its own. Females wait until there are no signs of danger before giving birth.Female can interrupt birth when sensing danger and complete it at a safer time and place.
The calf gets on its feet within a few minutes of birth. After a week, the young will be able to gallop across the plains at 50 kilometers per hour.
Wildebeests’ migration is determined by the presence of rainfall as they need water daily and constant supply of grass to feed on. They do not wait for the rain to come to them; they must follow the rain wherever the rain falls. These creatures have the ability to detect rain, even at great distances.
They are gregarious, when one starts to walk in a direction, others around it stop to graze and follow and the whole herd surge forward in a dramatic exodus. Wildebeests undertake a perilous journey yearly and when completed, it may cover a distance of some 3,000 kilometers.
44. LAUGHING DOVE (YORUBA – ODEREKOKO)
This beautiful bird makes good parent. Both male and female co-operate in the building of the nest. The male brings twigs and the female sets them properly in place so that no bad weather will be able to dislodge the nest.After nesting, the female lays two eggs which are incubated by female at night and the male during the day for 2 weeks.
In 2 weeks the nestlings will be big and strong enough to fly. Both male and female laughing doves feed their chicks. After the chicks have left the nest, both parents will continue feeding them until they can fend for themselves.
These birds show amazing co-operation and tender care and, their instincts, unfailingly passed on from one generation to the next.
45. LYNX (WILD CAT) (YORUBA- OLOGBO- IGBO)
Lynx a precise, secretive and solitary hunter lives comfortably in the dense patches of gnarly, tangled matured forest for shelter and birth-dens as well as lush, juicy meadows and young woods where they can hunt for hares.
A mature lynx is about 6 times the size of a large house cat and stand about thigh-high to an adult human. Male lynx can weight between 10 and 15 kilograms and female between 5 and 10 kilograms.It can grow to 100 centimeters in length. The face is broader and shorter than those of most cats.
Lynx can come in dark-gray, light and dark brown with a stumpy tail of about 10 centimeter long. It has large triangular-shaped ears that are tipped with tufts of black hair helped in localizing the sounds made by small prey. It’s extremely long, powerful hind legs allow instant acceleration into 2-3metres in single leap and can twist acrobatically in the air to change direction during a pursuit.
It has a powerful short jaw equipped with 28 teeth, 4 of which are fangs that act like daggers to stab the neck of its prey. Hunting is done just before dawn and just after the dusk. Lynx can see in the dim light. It needs 1/6 as much light as humans do. They eyes have a special membrane behind each retina which acts like a mirror, bouncing light back through the retina for maximum stimulation. It causes the eyes to appear to glow like glass marbles in the dark when they look at one’s direction.
Lynx relies on this vision to spot prey from great distances. They can see a mouse from 250 feet (75metres) away and a hare at 1,000 feet (300metres)- farther than the length of three football fields.
It has preference for hare as food but also eats mice, voles, grouse, ducks, beavers, and squirrel. Lynx is ready for mating by signaling its scent markings and caterwauling. After mating, it produces a litter of between 4 – 7kittens depending on the supply of food.
46. COELACANTH
It is pronounced “see -la- kanth”. The full grown coelacanth measures about 1.7metres long and weight 77 kilogram. It is identified by its three-lobbed tail and blue colour with white dots. This fish which had long been thought to have gone into extinction have been sighted in Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoro Islands.
Female coelacanths lay tennis-ball size eggs but are not are hatched in the water. Rather, they are ovoviviparous- producing eggs that develop and hatch within the female’s body or immediately after extrusion.
AUSTRALIAN EMU
It comes from Australia. It is the second largest of all birds next to the ostrich. Some emus reach a height of 1.8 metres and weight 59 kilograms. Interests feature of the emu is that the unhitched baby birds react when they hear the sound of the male emu. It is claimed that when a recording of the male emu’s call is played shortly before the eggs hatch, the movement of the chicks inside cause the eggs to sway back and forth yet, the chicks inside their shell do not react to the call of the female.
The female lays eggs, the male emu broods them. He cares for them for about 50 days until they hatch and then cares for the chicks afterwards. The eggs are dark green, huge-weighing about 700 grams each.
ELAND
Eland is milked just like the ordinary dairy cattle. Their milk is nourishing with high fat content, used for medicinal purposes such as treating stomach ulcers.
AMERICAN BISON
About 150 years ago, millions of these giants named the North American prairies, but they were hunted to near extinction.
RHEA OR NANDU
It is a big, flightless bird similar to emu reaching a height of 1.5 meters and weigh 50 kilogram. Like emu the male rhea incubates the eggs. Emu is monogamous whilst rhea is polygamous. Thus, three to five female rheas may lay their eggs in one nest.
SHARK (YORUBA; EKURA, AKURAKUDA)
There are over 300 shark species.The largest species of shark is whale shark
It reaches 60 feet in length and weighs several tons. Whale shark is harmless , it feeds on plankton and small fish.
Birth takes place after as much as 22 months of gestation. The shark gives birth to two to ten pups per litter on the average. Most species are born alive.
Most sharks take between 12 and 15 years to reach sexual maturity. It is difficult to determine the life span of most shark species but the aggressive great white shark is estimated to live to the age of 60 years.
Shark’s fins are used for medicine and aphrodisiac properties. Shark fins soup is an expensive delicacy.
PELICAN (YORUBA; OFU)
Pelican is a big bird live mostly in water. Pelicans build their nests and lay their eggs on remote floating Island. They feed mainly in fish.
CATTLE EGRETS (YORUBA; LEKELEKE)
Its all-white plumage, gregarious habits, and fondness for the company of cattle make these egrets easy to observe. They are pest controllers.
Each bird can consume more than 600 grasshoppers and crickets a day. They eat flies and other insects that constantly annoy cattle.
Cattle egrets like to have company, whether they are breeding, roosting or feeding. When breeding, they readily share a tree with other species of herons or with storks. The collective nesting serves to deter predators and all species benefit form having such a communal home.
The breeding colonies are always busy and noisy. Their striking courting display includes stretching, bill clapping and an elaborate exhibition of the yellow plumage that the male flaunt during the breeding season.
When one of the parent birds arrives at the nest its mate receives it with a greeting cannery of a proud display of its back plumes.
SEAL
Seal is a timid creature. A fur bearing sea mammal seal is of different kinds, there are monk seals, habour seal. Thousands are hunted for fur, oil and meat. It lives in the hard to reach cliffs and sea caves. It reaches up to 3 metres in length and weighing close to 275 kilogram. It has a bulb-shaped eyes, a snout with large nostrils . It has low reproductive rate. Female gives birth to no more than one pup a year and not all mature females produce offspring every year. Seals carry dolphin’s morbillivirous, a virus similar to the one that causes distemper in dogs.
RHINOCEROUS (YORUBA- AGBANRERE)
Rhino, an aggressive Juggernaut is the third largest land animal after elephant and hippopotamus. Rhino have weak eyesight but they possess a keen and acute sense of smell and equipped with a phenomenal memory. Rhino first come to know each other by scent. They mark their territory by leaving dung piles (middens) and by spraying their urine on bushes. They feed on shrubs and bushes.
Rhino gives birth to one calf which is only about
OSTRICH (YORUBA; OGONGO)
It is the world’s largest living bird, reaching a height of more than two metres high.The bird has been domesticated and used as guard animal as dogs. The fleet footed, flightless, and fascinating mother ostrich lays its ivory-coloured eggs, each weighing up to 1.45 kilogrammes in a rudimentary nest in the sand.The ostrich regularly turn the eggs in their sandy nursery in the veid.The hatchlings are catered for for 3 months.Ostrich chicks grow incredibly fast at an astonishing 30 centimetres a month.They keep up with far bigger adults within one month. At 6 months, they are fully brown and stand nearly 2.5 metres tall.
VULTURE (YORUBA; IGUN)
This seemingly ungainly bird is a scavenger. It is a boon to the natural environment as it disposes of any carrion that might otherwise breed bacteria harmful to other animal.
SECRETARY BIRD
It has crest feathers that resemble the quills once used by secretaries bird for writing in haste, seemingly rushing from one appointment to another.
GEESE
It is water bird closely related to the duck and the swan. There are about 40 species of geese worldwide.
The biggest of the species can weigh up to 8 kilograms and have a wing span of 2 metres. The geese divide up into pairs, and each pair then establishes its own breeding ground.
Geese often use the same nest site year after year. The nest is usually made of simple materials such as sticks, grass and moss. Geese are monogamous- they have one mate for life. If one of the pair dies, the surviving goose might accept another mate. Usually it remains alone.
The female lays between 4 to 8 eggs which she incubates for about 28 days. The parents are formidable protectors. When they or their young are threatened, the pair becomes quite aggressive. With their wings they can deliver powerful blows against predators.
Goslings begin communicating while still in the eggs. Their calls range from high-pitched trills (signally contentment) to distress call. As soon as they are hatched, goslings leave the nest for good with their parents. Families usually remain together young and adult Geese use a variety of calls.
MEERKATS
This South African in mammal is carnivore. It’s comfortable standing on its hind legs. It measures about 40 centimetres from its nose to the tip of its tail. It is a sociable animals and live in close-knit teams of between 10 and 30.
Meerkats groom one another tenderly. They feed on insects and small reptile. They co-operate with one another in looking at their kittens. After birth, the new comers are the centre of attention. The rest of the clan constantly visit the mother and offspring.
For a few weeks, the whole team will help to care for the little ones. Most will eagerly take turn baby-sitting while the rest go hunting some females who have no kittens of their own will spontaneously produce milk in order to share the nursing duties- thus reducing the stress on the mother. All this diligence leaves little or no time for the baby-sitter to forage. Some lose weight in the process of care for a litter.
When the kittens are old enough to leave the burrow and join in the daily hunt, willing adults take turn patiently teaching each youngster the art of hunting. Often, the choice catch is surrendered to youngsters, even if it means that the adults go a little hungry that day.
WREN
A tiny, red-brown plumage bird with powerful song. It constructs a skillfully camouflaged dome-shaped nest with woven moss. It measures just 10 centimetres from the tip of its beak to its tail and is commonly viewed as one of the Britain’s smallest birds after the golden crested kinglet and the winter visiting fire crest which are about half a centimetre shorter. 1937, its likeness was first embossed on the farthing, which was Britain’s smallest coin at that time.
In Britain, it is the most widely distributed and most numerous of all breeding birds. It’s beautiful, trilling song has been likened to that of the nightingale and is so powerful that it can be heard almost a kilometre away! During winter, wrens often choose to roost together to keep warm. Brooding normally starts in April with female laying 5 or 6 white eggs with red-brown spots. The female incubates the eggs on her own for 14 days, and the fledglings will leave the nest after at least 2 weeks.
Two broods are normal during the summer and while the female incubates her second clutch of eggs, the male will take care of the youngsters from the first hatching, sometimes taking the young birds to one of his other nests. If the summer is a good one with abundance of insects as food, the male will take a second mate and set her up in yet another of his homes.
WHALE (YORUBA- ABUNBUTAN)
Whale is the biggest animal in the world so mush so that no photograph can adequately record an animal of such immense size as the whale on an 8 x 10 rectangular photo frame. Whales are of different kinds, there are gray whale, Blue whale e.t.c. during migration, whales lose weight as they live on their fat reserves. Pregnant females give birth in calm water. The calves are born tail first and must be brought to the surface as quickly as possible in order for them to breathe.
The birth is assisted by two other females called aunties who act as midwives. The gestation period is 12 to 13 months and a single calf is born every two or three years. The baby may weigh 680 kilogrammes and measure about five meters in length. A baby blue whale gains a ton of weight under 30 days. The heart of an adult blue whale would weigh 1,000 pounds on, scale. The average weight of a gray whale is 16 tons, but some have reached weights of 30 to 40 tons.The calves nurse for about 8 months on milk that is 53% fat – ten times richer than cow’s milk.
DOLPHIN (YORUBA)
Dolphin is ranked among the most intelligent animals, along with chimpanzees and dogs. Dolphin feed mainly on squid, fish, and crustaceans Dolphins are not fish but mammals. A baby dolphin feeds on milk that is produced in its mother’s body. The mother nurses it for over three years. During nursing, Dolphins will teach the baby what it needs to know to survive. The baby will be taught how to use its echolocation or sonar system, how to fish, how to mate and how to interact with other dolphins.
A dolphin calf is born tail first, having been in half inside its mother. Vertical lines are visible on newborn calves, which show where they were folded in the womb. A baby will suckle on the run, all the while remaining close to its mother by taking advantage of the hydrodynamic effects of her swimming.
Seaweed is a favourite toy of dolphin. Dolphins communicate with one another using high-pitched whistles- transmitted at frequencies ten times higher and four and a half times faster than human speech.
There are about 32 species of marine dolphins, the common dolphin, the bottle-nosed dolphin, the dusky dolphin and the world’s smallest the Hector’s dolphin.
ZEBRA (YORUBA- KETEKETE ABILA)
Zebra is Africa’s wild horse of the grassland. Their constant search for food and water keeps them on the move. Silhouetted against the red glow of the sun set and framed by the beating of the African veld they are magnificent zebras look clean and fat, their striped skin stretched tight over their muscular bodies.
The zebras stripes are unique and no two patterns are exactly alike.
Zebras are extremely social in nature. Individual animals form strong bonds that can last a lifetime. A large is divided into many smaller family units consisting of a stallion and his mares. The dominant female determines the family’s movement although the stallion is in charge. If the stallion wants his family to change course, it approaches the lead mare and nudges her in the new direction.
Zebras lone grooming by rubbing and nibbling on another’s flanks, shoulders, and backs. This mutual grooming strengthens the bond between individual animals and starts when babies are only a few days old. In absence of other member, the itchy zebras find succour by rolling in the dust or rubbing their bodies against a tree, termite mound or other stationary object.
Zebras predators are lions, wild dogs, hyenas, leopards, and crocodiles. Lions wait in ambush, crocodiles lurk beneath muddy waters and leopards lie in wait under the over of darkness. When most zebras sleep at night, some are awake, listening and keeping watch. Sensing danger it sounds an alarm snort. When danger threatens the stallion fearlessly positions itself between the predator and the mares, biting and kicking at the enemy to allow time to the herd to escape.
The female zebra is protective of its newborn foal and initially, keeps it from other members of the herd. During this intimate period of isolation, the foal is able to bond with its mother. The young foal memories the white and black stripped pattern that is unique to its mother. Thereafter, it recognises mother’s call, scent, and stripped pattern and will not accept any other female.
Newborn foals are not with distinctive white and black stripes of their parents. Theirs are reddish- brown and turn black with age. Zebra is a majestic and wonderful creature and a delight to watch.
TIGER (YORUBA – EKUN; OGIDAN)
Tiger is a huge cat that can leap up a tree. Tigers get to know each other well by their scent and this allows male tigers to seek out females when it is time to mate. Tiger cubs are born two or three at a time, blind and squirming. Unlike kittens, tigers never learn to purr. The cubs suck their mother’s milk for five to six months and then begin to eat meal.
The cubs go on hunting trips with their mother but not ready for business until 18 months of age. Young tigers may stay with their mother for up to two years. Thereafter they leave to establish their own territory.
In the wild, some of these tigers grow to be very large. Males may weight about 270 kilogrammes and reach a length of more than three metres including the trial. Tiger with their thick fur covering their body and the huge feet padded with for well equipped them for cold.
Tigers have a pattern of dark stripes on orange for that are unique to each tiger. The stripes make it possible to distinguish one tiger from anther just as finger prints distinguish people. In the forest the tiger makings and colours often make a stationary tiger unnoticeable.
Tiger must bring down large animals, including deer, elk and boars to survive. Tigers need sufficient territory in the forest. A forest area of 1,000 square kilometers will be enough for only 4 or 5 tigers. Man remains its only serious threat.
In the category is the largest cat - Liger which exceeds the Siberian tiger in size. A product of offspring of a lion and a tigress and can weigh over 500 kilogrammes. The liger is bred in zoo and cannot be found in the wild.
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