Animals of Africa facts

Hunting. Hyenas have long been regarded as being cowardly scavengers. Today they are known for killing as many as 95% of the animals they eat, and for driving off leopards or lionesses from their kills.

Hippos. Hippopotamuses are by nature very aggressive and tend to be very territorial. They commonly attack humans (as well as other animals) whether in boats or on land with no apparent provocation. Zulu warriors preferred to be as brave as a hippopotamus, since even lions were not considered as brave and deadly.

Hippopotamus. The skull on the photo seems to belong to a predator, because it is easy to misjudge the location of orbits (which are not well visible, being placed on both sides near the top of the skull). A hippo has large teeth used for fighting. Male hippos use their incisors to block each other's attacks, and their canines to inflict damage.

African wild dog. The African wild dog is not a dog, it does not even belong to Canis genus (where dogs, wolves and foxes belong), having fewer toes and different dentition. It was once widespread across Africa, but today the species is endangered. The name "painted dog" is being promoted by some conservationists as a way of "re-branding" the species, to avoid negative connotations of "wild dog".

Sleeping sickness. There are 23 species of tsetse flies, that inhabit much of mid-continental Africa between the Sahara and the Kalahari deserts. The tsetse fly serves as both a host and vector for the trypanosome parasites

Lion. The footprint was left by a big cat. Of these, only lions are native to Africa.

Hyenas are behaviourally and morphologically similar to canines, but genetically are non related. In fact, phylogenetically they are closer to felines and viverrids, than to canines.