Tanzania / Kenya Wildlife Photos

Male Lion (View Larger Photo)

In a pride, lions hunt prey, raise cubs, and defend their territory together. The females do most of the hunting and cub rearing. Usually all the lionesses in the pride are related—mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and sisters. Each pride generally will have no more than two adult males.

The main job of males in the pride is defending the pride’s territory. A male’s loud roar, usually heard after sunset, can carry for as far as five miles (eight kilometers). The roar warns off intruders and helps round up stray members of the pride. Hunting generally is done in the dark by the lionesses. They often hunt in groups of two or three, using teamwork to stalk, surround, and kill their prey. After the kill the males usually eat first, lionesses next—and the cubs get what’s left.

The giraffe is Africa's tallest mammal, reaching full heights of more than 5m. An adult males weighs about 1200kg and Females about 800kg. The life expectancy is about 20-30 yrs. The attractive marking is made up of irregular patches, in varying shades of brown, on a cream or buff background. Males are larger and darker than females, have thicker horns and have a lump on the forehead.

The giraffe is the only ruminant with gestation longer than a year and a single calf weighing 100kg is born after a gestation of 457days. Giraffe reach sexual maturity in four to six years. Social bonds between mother and calf persist beyond weaning, until the birth of her next offspring. Calves suffer heavy predation; first year mortality can be over 40%.

Females, calves and juveniles occur in herds of about 10 with only very loose social ties, and a flexible membership. Young males may form small bachelor groups. Mature bulls are nearly always alone, except when they join a female herd for mating. Young males spar by neck wrestling, twisting their necks together and trying to push the opponent off balance.

Brown hyaenas are smaller than spotted hyaenas at around 40kg when adult. There is little difference in size between the male and female. The average shoulder height is 75cm. Brown hyaenas are distinct with strong and long front legs and the back slopping down to fairly weak hind legs. They have long, shaggy coats, which are brown or black apart from around the neck and shoulders which is white. They have an excellent sense of smell which assists them in finding carrion. They have very powerful jaws and large, strong teeth for crunching through bone.

Brown Hyaena have very keen senses, they are able to detect a carcass from considerable distances, and are able to run at high speeds for long distances to get to the carcass before other scavengers. As well as scavenging off carcasses, they will also eat fruit, insects, eggs (e.g. ostrich eggs), and will prey on small animals such as rodents, lizards and poultry. Brown Hyaena have a gestation period of approximately 97 days. They give birth to between 1 and 4 young and although it is normally the dominant female that breeds, other females (usually her daughters) can give birth and use the same den.

There are five species of rhinoceros: black, white, Javan, great Indian, and Sumatran. Black rhinoceroses have a sort of “attack-first-and-ask-questions-later” attitude. When a rhino catches the scent of a human or anything else unfamiliar, it is likely to charge. Rhinos can’t see well, so they sometimes charge objects like trees and rocks, mistaking them as threats. Males often battle over territory and females. Even courting males and females sometimes fight one another. Black rhinos use the bigger of the two horns on their noses as weapons in a fight. Their horns, made of a substance similar to that of human fingernails, sometimes break off, but they regenerate, or grow back.

Female rhinos also use their horns to protect their babies from predators such as lions, crocodiles, and hyenas. In spite of their fierce reputation, black rhinos do have a “softer” side. The females are very attentive mothers. They look after their young for years, protecting them from enemies and teaching them how to survive independently. Humans are the only real threat to adult black rhinos. No other animal is a match for a full-grown rhino and its heavily armored body of very thick skin and lethal horns. But human poachers threaten the species’ survival.

The cheetah is the fastest land mammal on earth, over short distances it can reach a speed of over 60 mph. It can accelerate to top speed in three seconds. The fast running cheetah is the most specialized hunter of all the big cats. Even so, life is a constant struggle against rival predators and an ever-shrinking habitat. The cheetah's superb eyesight enables it to spot distant prey and follow it with pinpoint precision before racing in to kill. The cheetah's claws are unique among cats they never retract fully, they step partially extended for extra grip.

Male and female cheetahs have very different lifestyles. The male lives and hunts in all male groups. He is fiercely territorial, each male group marks its territorial boundaries with urine. The female cheetah leads a more solitary life, except for the 20 months she spends looking after each litter of cubs. The female is not aggressive to others of her kind, preferring retreat to attack. When she scent marks rocks and trees, it's only to alert males that she's ready to mate.

Leopard (View Larger Photo)

The leopard belongs to the roaring cat family which also includes lion, tigers, jaguars, clouded leopards, snow leopards and marbled cats. They are successful hunters and easily adapt to new environments and circumstances which is why they have managed their survival across several continents very well. The habitat of the leopard varies with their location.

The strength of the jaws and teeth, enable the leopard to kill and carry a prey twice their weight for miles and up a tree where the meal is devoured without any threat from other predators on the ground, which is why they are so successful in their fight for survival. Males and females only come together to mate and try to avoid each other as much as possible outside of mating season.

Their diet exists mostly of small to medium-sized animals like antelopes, gazelles, wild goats, sheep, deer, pigs and domestic livestock. In addition, they are able to adjust their prey preference depending on availability and manage well on a diet of birds, reptiles, hyraxes, baboons, monkeys and domestic dogs. As you can tell, some of those preferences include prey that are found in human-populated areas which means danger for the leopard.

Baboons (View Larger Photo)

Baboons are most easily recognized by their large heads and cheek pouches. The elongated jaw of the baboon allows for this animal to store and carry food in its cheeks in much the same manner as the chipmunk. The eyes of the baboon are dark and close together, set back high on the upper portion of the baboon's head. The muzzle is hairless and bears nostrils at its tip. The muzzle of the baboon is commonly referred to in appearance to that of a dog.

Male baboons are generally twice the size of their female counterparts, weighing between 70-90 pounds, and measuring some 20-50 inchers in length, excluding their 15-35 inch tail. Baboons are social animals, traveling in large groups known as troops. Troops are comprised of 20-100 individuals who eat, sleep and move in the same unit. Each troop is led and protected by one or more dominant male, who scouts the path and fights fiercly to ensure the safety of his followers.

Nile Crocodile (View Larger Photo)

This is a large, lizard-shaped reptile with four short legs and a long muscular tail weighing close to 225 kg (500 lb.). The hide is rough and scaled. Juvenile Nile crocodiles are dark olive to brown with darker crossbands on tail and body. Adults are uniformly dark with darker crossbands on tail. Life span is about 45 years in the wild, may live up to 80 years in captivity. Males are mature at about 3 m (10 ft., approximately 10 years of age), females at about 2 m (6.5 ft., approximately 10 years of age).

Primary diet consists of up to 70% of the adult diet is fish. Other prey items may include zebras, hippos, porcupines, pangolins, and migrating widebeest. A large crocodile, which may weigh more than 900 kg (2000 lb.), can survive for long periods of time between meals! If baby crocodiles are in danger, the adult female may pick them up and flip them into her mouth or gular (throat) pouch for protection. When young crocodiles are hatching, either parent may help them out of the egg by rolling it between their tongue and palate. This cracks the shell allowing for an easier escape.

Bufalloes In Defensive Formation (View Larger Photo)

The main herd consists of all sexes and ages. Bachelor groups are also found in the said group. The females have their own dominant cow while the males will bow down in hierarchy only to males. Young males normally leave the main herd at about three to four years old. Upon returning to their herd they may or may not remain permanently.

There will probably be numerous dominant bulls who mate with large herds. Young males establish themselves into hierarchies by sparring with each other. It is unlikely that a male will mate before 7 or 8 years of age.Males are recognizable by the thickness of their horns (this area is called the boss). Buffalo have a gestation period of approximately 11 months and will normally give birth to one youngster

Impalas (View Larger Photo)

Impala are one of the most numerous antelope in Africa. They are medium sized and perhaps the most elegant of all African antelope. The majority of African antelope belong to groups of related species, but the Impala is one of a kind. Females are similar to males, but smaller and lack horns. The short glossy coat of the Impala is chestnut brown and distinctly two-toned, being darker on the back and upper flanks and paler on the lower flanks and legs. Only males have horns. These horns are basically shaped like an S, inclining inwards and upwards at the tips. Impala are both grazers and browsers, feeding on grasses and the leaves, flowers and seed pods of shrubs, which enables them to survive in many habitats.

When grasses are growing, Impalas will graze only on grass. Impala are extremely agile and are capable of spectacular leaps. It leaps seeming without effort and sometimes for no apparent reason. When alarmed suddenly the whole herd scatters explosively in all directions with graceful leaps up to 10 feet high and 36 feet long. They jump through narrow gaps in fences and undergrowth.