Serengeti Sunset

Catch a sunset on one of the live sunset cams tonight.

Did You Know? 

African wildlife are most active in the hours just after sunrise and right before sunset. 

Are you seeing spots? How about stripes? 

According the San Diego Zoo:

• White with black stripes or black with white stripes?

• Zebras are generally thought to have white coats with black (sometimes brown) stripes. That’s because if you look at most zebras, the stripes end on their bellies and toward the insides of the legs, and the rest is all white. However (there had to be a catch, right?), some zebras are born with genetic variations that make them all black with white stripes, or mostly dark with the striped pattern only on part of their coats. 

• And as it turns out, zebras have black skin underneath their hair. So it kind of depends on how you look at it!

Explore more Zebras! 

Pumbaa!

The Disney character’s name means “silly or careless” in Swahili. Pumbaa may have been, but Warthogs are pretty serious fellows. “The warthog is a tough, sturdy animal. Males weigh 20 to 50 pounds more than females, but both are distinguished by disproportionately large heads and “warts”—thick protective pads that appear on both sides of the head… The warthog characteristically carries its tail upright when it runs, the tuft waving like a tiny flag.”

“The warthog is mainly a grazer and has adapted an interesting practice of kneeling on its calloused, hairy, padded knees to eat short grass. Using its snout and tusks, it also digs for bulbs, tubers and roots during the dry season. They may eat earthworms and other small invertebrates during the wet season.”

Read more here at African Wildlife Foundation, and check out more Serengeti photos at Explore.org. 

The Family that Drinks Together, Stays Together

“An elephant calf is usually born into an extended family, headed by an older female elephant who serves as matriarch. Families are cohesive groups of females and their young. Adult males leave the herd at 14 years of age, and either range alone or join other bull elephants in ‘bachelor herds,’ rejoining females only at breeding times. The mother is responsible for providing the 250-pound newborn with milk. But when it comes to caretaking and protecting babies from predators, the whole herd pitches in.” Read more about Elephant life at PBS.

See more Elephant photos at Explore.org.

Cat Fact Wednesday

Despite what you see here, Cheetahs are not good climbers. They rely on their speed for hunting as well as safety. Being the fastest land animal on Earth, they’re pretty set with what they got. 

Did You Know? Cheetahs get their name from the Hindi word meaning “the spotted one.” 

See more Cheetah photos at Explore.org.