Think skunk in armor

The pangolin, or scaly anteater, got its name from a Malay word that means “something that rolls up.” In fact, pangolins do roll up into a scaly ball when scared. They also can emit a noxious smelling acid. I’d love to see one roll up, but only if it was just a little bit scared so it was odorfree!

Pangolins are native to Africa and Asia.

It's a fox...no, a jackal...no, a wolf!

The Ethiopian Wolf is one of the rarest of the dog family. It is sometimes called the Red or Simian Jackal, the Abyssinian Wolf, or the Red Fox. It is more closely related to wolves than jackals or foxes. As its name implies it is an African animal. Unfortunately, it is also endangered. More info can be found on our wolf animal facts page.

A runner

Jackals are not just scavengers, but are also predators of small to medium-sized animals, plus they are omnivorous.

Jackals are native to Africa, Asia, and Southeastern Europe. They are nocturnal and can maintain a speed of 10 miles per hour for expended periods of time. They serve a similar purpose as our coyotes.

Doesn't this one have interesting markings? To see what kind he is read our animal fact page on jackals.

Jungle Jane


Photo by Clara Natoli

A dog? Not so much.

Photo by Jo Phillips

Hyenas are native to Africa, Arabia, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Though doglike in appearance, they are more closely related to meerkats and mongooses. Hyenas have longer front legs than back legs. Some are striped, while others are spotted. Hyenas are carnivores. For more info check out our animal facts.

Who is that masked pig?

Not a warthog, though there is some resemblance. It’s a Red River Hog—a type of wild pig from Africa. These omnivorous hogs are mostly nocturnal. Red river hogs are good swimmers and fast runners. They will eat almost anything and using their snout as a plow can cause considerable damage to agricultural crops.

This picture is courtesy of Matthew Hull.

African Lens-Pig

It’s their tusks that makes warthogs, also known as African Lens-Pigs, so recognizable. They use their tusks for digging, defense against predators and when males fight each other.

Warthogs are fast runners. And they’re bigger than they look, ranging in size from 110 to 330 pounds.

Derek Nutley took this picture. I'm hoping he used a telephoto lens!



Jungle Jane

Rhinocerceros: Not Just African Animals

When I think of rhinos I remember the old John Wayne movie Hitari that I saw as a kid. I can still see those images of the rhinos. Maybe that’s why I often think of rhinos only as African animals, but in reality there are two species are from Africa and also three species in Asia.

The African rhinoceros are the Black Rhinoceros and the White Rhinoceros (this name has nothing to do with color – see the animal facts page for an explanation). African rhinos don’t have teeth at the front of their mouths.

The Asian rhinoceros are the Javan, Sumatran and Indian. Only the white rhino is not endangered

And you thought you eat a lot?

Photo by Ray Forester.

Adult male gorillas can eat about 45 pounds of food a day. They spend most of the day eating. (I can see why! That's a lot of food to shovel in...) Gorillas mainly eat fruit, leaves, and shoots, though they do eat a small amount of insects, too.
Both species of gorilla are endangered. For more info on gorillas check out our animal facts page. Or watch videos at this site. I watched the “Plight of Baby Gorillas.” Poor babies!

Jungle Jane

Jumping Gazelles

This picture of Thomson's Gazelles (East Africa) was taken by Matthew Hull. Tommies exhibit a distinctive behavior of running slowly and jumping high before fleeing when threatened by predators. This is called stotting.

There are 14 types of gazelles. Most are found in Africa, but some are native to Southeast Asia (Goitered Gazelle or Persian Gazelle, Chinkara or Indian Gazelle, Mongolian Gazelle, Tibetan Gazelle, Przewalski’s Gazelle).

Left - a Mhorr Gazelle (Morocco and North Africa) – a desert gazelle now extinct in the wild.

Gazelles are a type of antelope and are known for being speedy animals. They can run up to 50 miles per hour for a long time.

Cuvier's Gazelle above is an endangered gazelle in Tunisia.

Water or mud creatures by day

Picture by Bert Glibbery.

A group of hippos, usually up to 40, is called a pod, herd, dale, or bloat. The word hippopotamus originated from the Greek and could be translated “river horse.” A hippo can run faster than a human and they have been clocked at 30 miles per hour for short distances. Hippos average 11 feet long!

Some pluralize hippopotamus as "hippopotamuses" and others as "hippopotami." No wonder many of us just use "hippos."

Jungle Jane