The African continent is one of the less explored continents in the world. The continent supports the rich life of Flora and Fauna. The continent has vast deserts, valleys, and forests. We have a few Australian animals found only on that continent. The African Elephant which is the largest land mammal lives in the forest of Africa. There are many animals which you will only find on the Africa continent. So here we are listing 10 strange African animals,
Strange African Animals
1. Lemur
There are 30 different species of Lemur and they are mostly found on the East coast of South Africa. They are known as the arboreal hibernating animal which means they will spend most of the time on the trees and hibernate for an extended period of time of seven months. The unique feature is that their tail is longer than the body. Lemur is mostly found in groups. They are also one of the most intelligent animals in the world with the ability to learn patterns and using different forests tools efficiently. They like eating fruits, nuts, leaves, and flowers. Lemur means “spirits of the nights” and native mammal of Madagascar.
The smallest species of lemur known as Dwarf mouse lemur and weighs approximately 30 grams. They have flat fingers similar to human beings and loves to eat fruit and leaves and preferably fruits from Tamarind tree makes their favourite diet. The tail of other lemurs and scents has been used as more of communication and when threatened they attack with the help of short nails. The lifespan of the species is 18 years in the wild. They are mostly seen in Madagascar which is the fourth largest island in the world.
Also Read: Top 10 Endangered Animals In The World
2. Mandrill
Mandrills are known because they are the largest species of monkey. Mandrill is mostly found in rainforest and subtropical forest of Western Central Africa. They are also one of the most colourful and strange African animals in the world. They have unique blue coloured rumps. They are most active during the daytime and have pouches to store the food they collect during the daytime. They are mostly found in large groups. The largest monkeys in the world have a lifespan of 20 years and the longest recorded lifespan of in captivity has been 46 years.
Both males a female differ in body and tail length. Males have a body length between 75 and 95 centimetres and a tail length of another 5 to 10 centimetres, however, females have a body length of 55 and 67 centimetres. Males species weighs approximately 8 and 33 kilograms, however, females grow upto 11 and 13 kilograms. It is found in southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo. They are extremely colourful species and can be easily identified by the blue and red skin on their faces and their brightly hued rumps. The colours seem darker when the species is exited.
Related: 10 Types Of Monkeys
3. Wildebeest
Wildebeest looks very similar to bulls and belong to the antelopes family. There are two different species of Wildebeest namely black wildebeest and blue wildebeest and both these species found only in Africa. They have unique horns on their head. They love eating short grass, Lions, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs. One of the strongest animals on Earth. Both males and females have similarly curved horns and love to eat short grasses.
Due to harsh African climate, they need to migrate toward the west when sources of food and water become scarce. The species travel approximately 500 and 1000 miles during migration and the timing depends on the weather conditions, however, its mostly occur during May or June. MIgration is one of the most incredible things to watch where 1.5 millions of wildebeest and thousands of other animals such as zebras and Thompson’s gazelles move towards one direction. The species have a lifespan of 20 years in the wild.
Also Read: 12 Deadliest Insects In The World
4. Grey Crowned Crane
They are large birds with a height of 1 meter that found in rivers and marshes of Eastern and Southern Africa. A unique feature is the golden feathers. The attractive bright red pouch is very beautiful. They usually dance and jump in order to attract the mate. One of the most strange African animals in the world found only in Africa.
It has little shades of Golden Eagle which is one of the apex predators in the world. Just like other cranes they roost in trees and flock in large numbers between 30 and 150. The national bird of Uganda have chicks known as ‘precocial’ means they will run as soon as they hatch. The cranes are omnivores and love to eat both plants and animals that includes plants, grain, insects, snakes and small fish.
5. Mantled Guereza
They are one of the most attractive African monkeys. They have a unique black and white fur that looks beautiful. They are also called guereza or black and white colobus. They usually found in evergreen forests of West-central and East Africa. They are mostly found in small groups. Mantled Guereza spends most of the time on trees and is most active during the daytime. They have a multi-chambered stomach which helps them to digest a lot of foods. They love to eat leaves, seeds, fruits, and arthropods.
The monkey’s abdomen is adapted in shape and size that can digest toxic mature leaves by the process known as bacterial fermentation. The unique feature of the monkey is that it does not have thumbs as other monkeys do. They can also leap from the one tree to tree by more than 19.7 feet and even a mother by hanging her child on the back can leap from tree to tree. They are mostly seen in the group of 3 to 15 monkeys and are very protective of their young. Now, the biggest threat to the monkeys is a habitat loss.
You can also read: Beautiful Fishes in the World
6. Shoebill
They are mostly found in marshes of Eastern Africa and are one of the most strange looking birds in the world as you see in the picture. They are also one of the endangered species which is likely to disappear in the near future. The main reason for the decline in population is hunting and habitat loss. They like eating lizards, turtles, water-snakes, and rats. They have a flap speed of 150 flaps per minute which is one of the slowest in bird species. It is also listed under strange looking birds in the world.
Talking about the appearance, body of the large bird covered with bluish-grey plumage and have a strong neck with long legs and broad wings. The most unique feature is the beak which is large and shaped like a shoe and hence the name. The beak is approximately 9 inches long and 4 inches wide and at the end, it has a nail like a hook that helps them to kill its prey. The species love to eat fish, amphibians, lizards, snakes, rats and even baby crocodiles. The bird uses its accuracy and speed to kill its prey and usually cut the prey in half before swallowing. The lifespan of the bird is approximately 35 years in the wild.
7. Galago
Galago is also called bush babies and usually found in bushlands and woodlands of East Africa. They have a unique fur which is brown or grey in colour. They spend most of their time on trees. They have also elastic joints on the legs which help them a lot in moving between the branches of the trees. One of the smallest primates can grow upto 10 to 16 inches in length and weighs approximately 2 to 4.5 pounds.
Talking about the appearance, the body is covered with thick, wool-like fur and colour of the fur depends on the habitat, however, usually it is grey or brown in colour. It has amazing large eyes with four ridges. It can fold or unfold its ears depending on the need and requirement. Another unique feature is the presence of double tongue. One is a regular tongue and underneath it has an additional tongue made of cartilage. They are omnivorous in nature and love to eat insects but usually seen eating from the tree and seeds. The species can live 18 years in the captivity, however, much shorter in the wild.
8. Okapi
They are mostly found in rainforests of the Republic of Congo. Okapi is also one of the most endangered and strange African animals. The hunting of the Okapi and also the habitat loss is one of the main reasons for the declining population. They have a unique long toque that can reach up to a length of 18 inches and also helps them to strip the leaves from the plants. Talking about the appearance, it has a dark purple or reddish brown velvety fur with horizontal stripes on the hind and front legs.
The species have a little resemblance with the zebra because of these strips, however, much more similarities can be seen with a giraffe. It has a long skull with large black eyes and a long purplish tongue. The tongue is 18 inches long and can reach both eyes and ears of the species. Also, it will help in stripping the leaves and buds from the stems of various plants. They have an excellent sense of hearing that can even detect some potential danger. Leopard is the only natural enemy of the okapi in the wild.
9. Ostrich
Ostriches are the heaviest and largest living birds among all the bird species in the world. They are mostly found in desert lands of Central and Southern Africa. They are also known as camel birds because they can accommodate high temperature and also without water for a long period of time. They also come in the omnivorous family and like to eat leaves, roots, seeds, lizards, insects, and snakes. It is also one of the fastest land animals in the world. The lifespan of the bird is 30 to 40 years in the wild.
It is popular as a farm animal because people used to eat their meat or eggs and also like to wear fashion products made of their skin. The large and flightless bird has long legs and neck attached to a round body. The bird can grow upto 2.8 meters tall and weighs approximately 145 kilograms. They have the largest eyes among all vertebrate with 5 centimetres in diameter and its bigger than the brain. The adult male ostriches have black-and-white plumage, however, adult females have greyish brown feathers.
Related: Adaptive Sahara Desert Animals
10. Greater Kudu
They are mostly found in Eastern and Southern Africa. They have unique horns which can grow up to a length of 1 meter. They also use these horns for the defensive purpose against the predators. The female kudos is usually smaller than the male. The female kudos usually found in the groups and male kudos only appear in groups at the time the mating season. It is one of the most strange African animals found only in Africa. The species have uniquely long and spiral horns that can reach upto 72 inches in length. Talking about the appearance, both the species have lateral stripes and spots on their body. The body is bluish-grey or greyish brown in colour. The distinct colouration of the body provides them protection from the predators.
As soon as Kundu find himself in danger, it becomes motionless and body colour so matched with the environment cannot recognize it easily. The species is usually hunted by lions, leopards and wild dogs. The other species like Cheetah, pythons, eagles and smaller wild cats usually attack young kudus. The herbivorous animals love to eat only plants that include grass, roots, leaves, fruits and tubers. The lifespan of kudu is 7 to 8 years in the wild and up to 23 years in the captivity. The species have a fast growth rate and they can able to take of themselves as soon as they turn six months. One of the strange African animals and loudest antelopes produces a barking sound that is mostly used for communication. Apart from humans and predators, Kudus has also been susceptible to the rinderpest virus that has eliminated the huge population in the past.
These are the strange African animals in the world. Do post your comments.
