Some of the animals we photographed in East Africa
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Baboons
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Quickfacts
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— grooming important - helps them bond
— forage in groups some 6 miles - return in evening
— predators are humans, leopards, cheetahs
— fierce fighters - males form line and scream
— over 30 vocalizations - grunts - barks - screams
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Black-backed Jackal
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Quickfacts
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— has long been the subject of superstition about death and evil spirits.
— ancient Egyptians believed a jackal-headed god, Anubis, guided the dead to those who judged their souls.
— beliefs result of jackal's cleverness, nocturnal habits, eerie howling and scavenging.
— one of few mammalian species in which the male and female mate for life
— both the male & female mark and defend the boundaries of their territory.
— leopards, hyenas and eagles are jackals' most feared predators.
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Bushbuck
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Quickfacts
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— males display arching back, high stepping circling one another
— solitary - when surprised often freeze & slowly walk away
— newborn hidden - mother visits and eats calves dung so no scent
— female & calf play - running in circle chasing each other.
— predators are leopards and many others
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Cape Buffalo
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Quickfacts
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— placid but dangerous if cornered or wounded
— males use horns to fight for dominance
— calves have long dependence
— predators are humans, lions
— under attack form circle & face outward around young & infirm
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Cheetah
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Quickfacts
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— speed of 70 miles per hour but only for about 100 yards as overheat
— "tear stripes" maybe an antiglare device for daytime hunting.
— small antelopes brought home alive so young can practice hunting
— knocks prey to ground with paw & suffocates it with a bite to the neck
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