Lion

The lion is the powerhouse of the savanna, weighing in at 265-420 pounds and up to 10 feet long. The lion is a powerful predator. Imagine a powerful looking beast that looks like your average house cat. But its bigger, faster, and stronger. Lions have dirty beige colored fur and rounded heads. Males have something females don't... manes. Manes are a ruff of long hair around the neck which is brown in the front and black in the back.

Lions live in the savanna of Africa south of the Sahara and a small area in Asia. Savannas are open spaces with tall beige, or green colored grass, where water is scarce in the summer season. Lions eat gazelles, buffalo, zebras and many other small to medium sized mammals.

Lions are the only cats that live in groups called prides. Each pride is like a community of 4 to 40 individuals. They all help hunt in order to keep every member healthy, and every cub fed. The pride is made up of one dominant male and maybe a few other males, and related females and their cubs. The males protect the pride and the females hunt and take care of the cubs. When the dominant male is killed or driven off by a new male, the previous male's cubs are killed. This makes sure that there is room for the new male's cubs in the pride. Cubs are born a little over a month after mating. They depend on their mother's milk for 3 or 4 months. They nurse not only from their own mother, but any other nursing female. They are off on their own in 2 years.

Lion's coats are perfect camouflage for sneaking up on their prey. They will sneak up to their prey as close as they can as a group. Some in the group will charge at their victim, while the others cut off their escape. But often they don't not get close enough so they have to run them down. Lions can run up to forty miles per hour for short distances. They have sharp hooked claws which they can retract or extend at will. The pads on their feet protect their paws from the rough terrain that they might walk over. They have sharp teeth that are perfect for chomping, and biting and chewing up meat.

The lion can be crucial to other animal's survival. When a lion makes a kill and is done eating, there are usually leftovers, or scraps, which scavengers like vultures and the occasional hyena, come and eat, and thus are helped to survive too.

Koala

This fuzzy marsupial is very muscular, quite lean, and is about 33 inches long. It has a fuzzy coat of fur, big floppy ears, and almost no tail! It's got a stubby little nose, small yellow, beady eyes, and strong bones to support its heavy body while climbing trees. Now you may wonder; how much do those strong bones have to support? Well, the females weigh between 13.2 and 24.2 lbs., while the male weigh between 17.6 and 30.8 lbs.

The koala has rough paws that act as traction so they don't slip and fall off the trees while hurrying away from predators that lurk beneath the trees. Each paw has 5 digits. The back paw consists of two "fingers" that are joined together to form a "grooming paw". These

help it get rid of off twigs or tics that may have gotten tangled in its thick fur. There are 3 other "fingers". Two of them are very sharp and those are used for climbing. The last "finger" which takes the place of a human thumb is stubbed; there are no claw on it. Meanwhile, the front paw has 2 tiny "fingers" that are substituted for 1 large thumb. It also has 3 normal "fingers" that are very sharp. Just like their back paws, these are used for climbing.

The koala has thick fur that is used to help keep it cool and at the same time warm. Their fur also acts like a rain slicker, repelling moisture. The color of their fur changes from gray to brown depending on the season. They have patches of white on their neck, chest, and inside the ears, legs, and arms.

The koala usually mates during September-March. The female koalas start to mate with the male koalas when they're around 3 or 4 years old! They sometimes only produce one offspring per year. It takes about 35 days after the female koala conceives to birth a Joey (a baby koala). When the Joey's born, it looks like a pink, hairless, jellybean, with beady little eyes just like its parents. Get this; Joey's can't see or hear when they're born. That's probably because they don't even have ears when they're born! The babies are usually only 2 centimeters long and weigh only 1 gram. During the first few months, the Joey stays in its mother's pouch and sucks on something in its mother's nipple called "pap". "Pap" is very mushy, just like baby food. The Joey eats "pap" until it's 1 years old. Then the mother starts to feed it eucalyptus leaves.

Grant's Zebra

The zebra is the horse of the savanna. Grant's zebra is the most abundant of the 3 species of zebra. The zebra looks like a horse, only smaller. It doesn't sound like a horse, and "barks" instead of neighs. Its height is about 50 in. from shoulder to hoof, and weighs in at 500 to 600 pounds. It has rather short legs and a large head. The zebra has black and white stripes, a black nose, and black hooves. It also has a short, erect mane. The stripes on its side are vertical but bend to become horizontalon its rump. Every zebra's stripe pattern is different.

The zebra lives in close-knit groups called families or harems, led by a single male. There can be up to 17 members in each family. Everybody in the family relies on each other to look out for danger and help those who are in trouble. They stay close to each other even when they migrate in herds of 10,000 or more. They slow their pace for weak or young members and never leave them. They can live to be 28 years old.

When the zebra is attacked by a predator, it has several ways to defend itself. If they see a predator, the herd will bunch together and all the predator will see is a maze of stripes and it won't be able to tell one zebra from another and will not be able to tell it's front from it's rear end. Or a herd may run away. The zebra can reach speeds of up to 40 m.p.h. The male guards the rear. If all else fails, it will use it's strong hooves and sharp teeth against a predator. The zebra's main predators are hyenas and lions.

Emu

The largest bird that inhabits the lush, grassy fields of Australia is the emu. Adults are about 5.7 ft. tall and weigh about 110-120 lbs. It has medium size wings, but it can't fly! The base feathers are white, while the feathers on the top are blackish brown. The feathers act as a "feathery-quilt" because they're so loosely connected. From a distance they look very course.

The weight of the female emu is 90 lbs., while the male weighs 80 lbs. They only have 3 toes, and they are very sharp, making it easy for them to run really fast. Emu's have long, strong necks, very sharp beaks, and bald, bluish heads.


Emu's usually mates during May-August, beginning when they're almost 18 months old! The female lays around 5-20 eggs in a shallow nest made out of mud, leaves, grass, bark, and twigs. The color of the eggs are greenish-black. When the babies are born, they're beige with dark stripes and little dots on their tiny heads. It takes 2 months for the babies to hatch. During those 2 months, the father sits on the nest, drinking little water and usually losing a total of 10 to 20 lbs. When the chicks hatch, the father emu takes care of them for several months.

The emu used to fly at one time, but lost the ability because they had no predators and didn't need to fly anymore. When the Europeans came, they started to hunt them, but by then the emu couldn't fly.

Egyptian Mongoose

The Egyptian mongoose is the largest of all mongooses in Africa. The Egyptian mongoose lives in Africa on the savanna. The savanna is a massive grassland with scattered trees such as thorn trees, and shrubs. The savanna has two seasons, winter, which is very dry, and the summer is wet and warm. They have also been seen in southern Spain.

Egyptian mongooses live in shrub thickets, rocky areas, and small woodlands and forested areas within the savanna. These mammals prefer to live in forested areas near water. All mongooses are known for being talented snake killers. The famous novel written by Rudyard Kipling called Rikki Tikki Tavi made more people aware of the mongoose' s snake killing talents.

The Egyptian mongoose ranges anywhere from 19 to 23 inches in height. Adults weigh 4 to 7 lbs. Its tail is 13 to 21 inches long and is very bushy with a black ring at the very end. Egyptian mongooses have long hair. Their coat is usually gray with brown dots. Their coat is sometimes a reddish brown with yellow dots but this is unusual. Egyptian mongooses have a slender, low-slung body. Their heads appear to be pointed due to the shape of their snout. The animal's ears are rounded and don't project over the head due to their small size. The eyes are surrounded by a naked strip of skin. Egyptian mongooses have five finger-like claws on each short limb. The animal' s hind feet are furless. Their front claws are curved and sharp for digging in the earth. They have 35 to 40 teeth that have evolved for tearing flesh apart.

Male and female Egyptian mongooses become sexually mature at the age of two years. Their mating season is in July and August. Actual mating lasts approximately five minutes. Their gestation period lasts approximately eleven weeks and the mothers usually have 2 to 4 young. When the babies are first born they are helpless but after 6 to 8 days they can follow their mother. At birth the babies are blind and furless. The youngsters first open their eyes at 6 to 8 days old. Both of the parents raise the young, but the mother does more so than the father. The juveniles are nursed for six months and remain with their mother for the remainder of the year. When in a pack, the females/mothers take turns babysitting the young. The males/fathers baby-sit the young ones but rarely interact with them. The juveniles are dependent on the parents for approximately one year. The male youngsters usually disperse from the pack or leave their mother before the females. The females may never leave their mother or the pack. Egyptian mongooses produce a litter a year but if the first litter is killed or lost they are able to produce another. The Egyptian mongoose has been seen alone, it has been seen in pairs and it has been seen in packs. The females lead the packs and there are usually six mongooses per pack. The animal generally lives for 7 to12 years. The Egyptian mongoose is diurnal and is active all day.

Chacma Baboon

Baboons live mostly in the African woodland savanna, and highland grasslands. They never wander far from trees, or a source of water. The chacma baboon is found in the countries of Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Baboons are the savanna's version of the monkey, and are the largest member of the monkey family. The males can weigh from 59 to 97 pounds (30-40 kg) and are about 20 to 30 in. long (50-70 cm). Females can weigh from 31 to 37 pounds (15- 20 kg) and are 16 to 24 in. long

(40-60 cm). It has beady, close-set eyes under a heavy brow, and a dog-like muzzle with sharp tusk-like upper canine teeth. Its muzzle is bare, as is its rump under the tail. They are very hairy animals with olive-gray fur. Its fur sticks up all over its body. They walk on all four feet with their tails held in a crooked arch over their back. Their tails are around 2 feet long.

Unlike what you would expect, baboons do not live in trees. They spend most of their time on the ground. The only time they go into trees is to escape predators, get food, or spend the night. They might also spend the night on tall rocky outcroppings. Baboon babies go up in trees to horse around and play with each other. Baboons mostly eat fruit from trees, roots, an assortment of plants, and of course, bugs.

Caracal

Felis caracal can be found in the Veld Grassland in South Africa, and in central Africa and India from 30° North to 35° South latitude and from 20° East to 25° West longitude. This environment is generally dry and hot. The cat's habitat can also be savannah, scrub and acacia woodlands, or mountains and hilly areas.

Its head/body is 24-36 inches long, and its tail is 9-12 inches long. Its shoulder height is 15-20 inches. Its weight is 28-42 lbs. It has a shape like a cat but it's bigger and has bigger ears. The cat

has a short coat whose color varies from tawny-brown to reddish-grey, sometimes even getting as dark as wine-red. Its head is shaped like an upside-down triangle. The ears are black on the outside and pale on the inside, with two-inch tufts of black hair coming out of them. The fur around the eyes is paler than the rest of the coat. The caracal has powerful jaws on a short muzzle. Its claws can retract into its large paws. It is faster than any other cat its size.

The caracal male is sexually mature at 12-15 months of age, and the female at 14-16 months. They mate year-round. Their gestation period is 69-78 days, and they usually have 1 to 6 young. The kittens weigh about 10.5 oz. As soon as they are born, the kittens have bold facial markings. At first, they only eat, sleep and make some noise. Their mother carries the kittens in her mouth by the back of the neck. They play with each other, and they learn to hunt that way. They are independent after about a year, when their mother will have another litter. The male does not help to raise the children; caracals live alone, not in pairs or groups, except when the mother raises the cubs.