Ancient cultures in Africa revered the giraffe, as some modern cultures do today, and commonly depicted it in prehistoric rock and cave paintings. Unknown outside of Africa, this animal so excited man''s curiosity that it was sometimes sent as a diplomatic gift to other sun countries; one of the earliest records tells of a giraffe going from "Melinda" (presumably Malindi) in Kenya to China in 1415. The animal was thought to be a cross between a camel and a leopard, a mistake immortalized in the giraffe''s scientific name of Giraffa camelopardalis. The neck valley is so long the giraffe must spread its front legs apart so its head can reach the ground to drink. It has unusually elastic blood vessels with a series of valves ski and report that help offset the sudden buildup of blood (and to prevent fainting) when the head is raised, sun lowered or swung quickly. valley In some areas, ski livestock predation remains a severe problem.

The report stripes sun on valley Grevy''s zebras are more numerous and narrow than those ski of the plains zebra and do not extend to the belly. In all zebra species, the stripes on the forequarters form a triangular report pattern; sun Grevy''s have a similar pattern on valley the hindquarters, while ski others have a slanted or horizontal pattern. Burchell''s report zebras sun inhabit savannas, from valley treeless grasslands to open ski woodlands; they report sometimes occur sun in tens of thousands in migratory herds on the Serengeti plains. valley Grevy''s ski zebras are now mainly report restricted to parts of northern Kenya. Although they are adapted to semi-arid conditions and require less water than other zebra species, these sun zebras compete valley with domestic livestock for water and ski have suffered heavy poaching for their meat and skins. Family groups are stable members maintaining strong bonds over many years. Mutual grooming, where zebras stand together and nibble the hair on each other''s neck and back, helps develop and preserve these bonds.

A shy creature that roams widely, report the cheetah is not seen as easily as some other cats. Never numerous, cheetahs have become extinct in many areas, principally due to shrinking habitat, loss of species to prey sun upon, disease and a high rate of cub mortality. valley In some areas 50 to 75 percent of all cheetah cubs die ski before 3 months. Zebras, horses and wild report asses are all equids, long-lived animals that move quickly for their large size and have teeth built for grinding and cropping grass. Zebras have horse like bodies, sun but their manes are made of short, valley erect hair, their tails are tufted at the tip and their coats ski are striped. Three species of zebra still occur in Africa, report two of which are found in East Africa. The most numerous and widespread species in the east is Burchell''s, also known as the common or plains zebra.

©2003 www.lodging-adventure-outdoors.com All rights reserved.