Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Common Eland
Can go for long periods without drinking, getting sufficient moisture from food. Gestation period is 250-270 days; one calf is usual. Calves form nursery groups; often have closer bonds with other calves than with their mothers. Males decide ranking by their sparring within the nursery group. Females will cooperatively fight predators. Life span is 15-20 years.
Elands have been tamed, but not domesticated as yet. Eland can gain 1 1/2 pounds a day on grazing land compared to about 2/3 of a pound in cattle. Adult males produce a clicking noise when walking, possibly originating in the tendons of the front legs. The click is much louder than the clacking of the hooves and can be heard over a mile away in still conditions. The sound may serve to warn younger males there is a large dominant male around.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
MacDonald, David. 1984. The Encyclopedia of Mammals
Elands have been tamed, but not domesticated as yet. Eland can gain 1 1/2 pounds a day on grazing land compared to about 2/3 of a pound in cattle. Adult males produce a clicking noise when walking, possibly originating in the tendons of the front legs. The click is much louder than the clacking of the hooves and can be heard over a mile away in still conditions. The sound may serve to warn younger males there is a large dominant male around.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
MacDonald, David. 1984. The Encyclopedia of Mammals
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Common Eland
Young leaves of trees and shrubs; also, succulent fruits. Males and female favor different foods: females are selective feeders of flowers and herbs in open grassland, while male browse bushes near cover.
Browse in morning and evening. Lie in shelter during heat of day. Very shy and difficult to approach. Gregarious, occurring in groups up to 100. Bulls often solitary, but not territorial. Travel long distances during migration. Impregnate forehead tuft with moist or urine-soaked soil and brush this paste on tree trunks, bushes, or walls as a marking. Use horns for fighting and to break branches off trees. Display broadside, keeping head up and away and presenting shoulder region. Males are sexually mature at 4 years of age, females at 3 years.
Browse in morning and evening. Lie in shelter during heat of day. Very shy and difficult to approach. Gregarious, occurring in groups up to 100. Bulls often solitary, but not territorial. Travel long distances during migration. Impregnate forehead tuft with moist or urine-soaked soil and brush this paste on tree trunks, bushes, or walls as a marking. Use horns for fighting and to break branches off trees. Display broadside, keeping head up and away and presenting shoulder region. Males are sexually mature at 4 years of age, females at 3 years.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Common Eland
DESCRIPTION:
Largest and most heavily built of the antelopes. Shoulder height: 6 feet. Weight: up to 2000 pounds. Both sexes have horns about 2 feet long and slightly spiralled. They have a hump on the shoulders and a prominent dewlap. Color is tawny; dorsal line, tail tuft and tip of dewlap are all black. They have a few thin, vertical white stripes on the body and a tuft of dark hair on the forehead. Their hooves are rounded.
GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE AND HABITAT:
Found in eastern, central and southern Africa. Prefer plains or moderately rolling country with brush and scattered trees.
Largest and most heavily built of the antelopes. Shoulder height: 6 feet. Weight: up to 2000 pounds. Both sexes have horns about 2 feet long and slightly spiralled. They have a hump on the shoulders and a prominent dewlap. Color is tawny; dorsal line, tail tuft and tip of dewlap are all black. They have a few thin, vertical white stripes on the body and a tuft of dark hair on the forehead. Their hooves are rounded.
GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE AND HABITAT:
Found in eastern, central and southern Africa. Prefer plains or moderately rolling country with brush and scattered trees.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Hamadryas Baboon
LIFE CYCLE/SOCIAL STRUCTURE:
Hamadryas baboons are socially and structurally distinct from other species of baboon. Males are related to each other and females move between groups. They sleep on rocky cliffs in aggregations that may number as many as 750. They travel and forage in bands of 50 to 100 individuals. In turn these bands are composed of the basic group of a single adult male with one to four females together with their offspring. The adult male keeps his harem together by strong disciplinary measures which include biting his females on the nape of the neck. Males kidnap young females who then bond to them. A female threatened by her male will run towards not away from him. When a pair forms, rival males respect a possessor's right to his female. This species breeds throughout the year, but the peak seasons are May-June and November-December. The gestation period is 170-173 days; one young is usual, rarely two. Females reach sexual maturity in five years, males in seven. Hamadryas baboons are preyed upon by leopards, jackals, hyenas, cheetahs and lions, and infants are sometimes taken by eagles. Life span 30 to 40 years.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Kummer, Hans. 1968. Social Organization of Hamadryas Baboons. Chicago University Press.
Hamadryas baboons are socially and structurally distinct from other species of baboon. Males are related to each other and females move between groups. They sleep on rocky cliffs in aggregations that may number as many as 750. They travel and forage in bands of 50 to 100 individuals. In turn these bands are composed of the basic group of a single adult male with one to four females together with their offspring. The adult male keeps his harem together by strong disciplinary measures which include biting his females on the nape of the neck. Males kidnap young females who then bond to them. A female threatened by her male will run towards not away from him. When a pair forms, rival males respect a possessor's right to his female. This species breeds throughout the year, but the peak seasons are May-June and November-December. The gestation period is 170-173 days; one young is usual, rarely two. Females reach sexual maturity in five years, males in seven. Hamadryas baboons are preyed upon by leopards, jackals, hyenas, cheetahs and lions, and infants are sometimes taken by eagles. Life span 30 to 40 years.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Kummer, Hans. 1968. Social Organization of Hamadryas Baboons. Chicago University Press.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Hamadryas Baboon
GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE AND HABITAT:
Inhabits semi-arid plains and rocky hill country in Ethiopia and Somalia in Africa, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. They are found from sea level to 2600 meters. They spend the night on rocky cliffs, sometimes foraging miles during the day but returning to the cliffs to sleep.
DIET:
Food consists of practically anything edible, but is chiefly vegetarian supplemented with protein-rich insects, hares and other small animals. In their dry, sandy environment they learn where to find small pools and where to dig for water. In parts of Arabia, they are becoming increasingly dependent on raiding crops and garbage dumps.
Inhabits semi-arid plains and rocky hill country in Ethiopia and Somalia in Africa, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. They are found from sea level to 2600 meters. They spend the night on rocky cliffs, sometimes foraging miles during the day but returning to the cliffs to sleep.
DIET:
Food consists of practically anything edible, but is chiefly vegetarian supplemented with protein-rich insects, hares and other small animals. In their dry, sandy environment they learn where to find small pools and where to dig for water. In parts of Arabia, they are becoming increasingly dependent on raiding crops and garbage dumps.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Hamadryas Baboon
DESCRIPTION:
Length (without tail) 24 to 30 inches. Males weigh up to 40 lbs and are twice the weight of females. Males have massive features and a well-developed silver shaggy cape or mane. They have enormous canines, usually used in threat displays. Females and young are brown without mane. Infants are black. Tail arched gently backwards. Face is reddish-pink with a very long muzzle in the same line as the brain case. Ischial callosities are highly developed and bright red. Females exhibit pronounced monthly genital swelling.
Length (without tail) 24 to 30 inches. Males weigh up to 40 lbs and are twice the weight of females. Males have massive features and a well-developed silver shaggy cape or mane. They have enormous canines, usually used in threat displays. Females and young are brown without mane. Infants are black. Tail arched gently backwards. Face is reddish-pink with a very long muzzle in the same line as the brain case. Ischial callosities are highly developed and bright red. Females exhibit pronounced monthly genital swelling.
