Turf War Lions And Hippos Analysis

With only two hundred and fifty to three hundred left, the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla roams the African forests while on the brink of extinction (Save Our Species). Africa has many populations of primates that are at the least endangered, and the Cross River Gorilla is the closest to extinction and the least studied due to the rarity of observing them. (Save Our Species). These gorillas are confined to small, mountainous areas that have been separated over and over again by fragmentation, furthermore ruining the needed social aspect of the groups and need for vast land (Imong, I., & Robbins, M.), (Save Our Species) The increased hunting and fragmentation of these Gorilla’s habitats has caused a large problem with how the

African lions as suggested by the name are found in the African Savannah. There is a very thin layer of humus soil which allows the growth of vegetation such as grasses and trees. The savannah is very hot with temperatures never normally dropping below 18 degrees Celsius. As well as being very hot due to the soil it is also very dry. The soil in the savannah is very porous with rapid water drainage. There will normally only be one short season of rain with only 20 – 50 inches of rainfall before a very dry year, meaning that water is very scarce in the savannah, causing competition between the animals. In the environment a large variety of animals are found ranging from the largest elephants to the smallest meerkats. In between these animals at the top of the food chain is the famous African Lion.

In an enclosure, Lion’s have about 18,000 times less space than when they are in the wild. This can make the animal feel stressed and lonely. Usually the enclosure provides 450 square feet (0.137 kilometres) for 2 animals and an additional 150 square feet for each additional animal. (Standards of Care | Lions, Tigers and Bears, 2016) The size of enclosures limit the amount of lions grouped together, so they are either completely alone or have 2 or 3 other lions. In the wild, one lion pride, which can consist of up to 40 lions, usually commands about 259 square kilometres. (Photograph Joel Sartore,

From the furore over trophy hunting, the public could be forgiven for thinking that it was the major threat facing lions. But in reality, the key issues are loss of habitat, prey loss from bushmeat poaching and

Genetic diversity is essential for a healthy population, and conservationists believe that the introduction of eight bulls to Addo from the Kruger National Park, will not only increase the diversity of the gene pool but reintroduce a dominant tusk gene (SANParks Media Release, 1). The bulls selected were also not known to be aggressive towards other elephants and humans as park officials did not want to introduce behavior inconsistent with those of the Addo elephants. To ensure that these 8 bulls have a greater chance of becoming dominant and adding their genes into the Addo herds, officials relocated a number of dominant Addo males into other parks.

Egoism is not a uniquely human characteristic. However, it is something humanity takes to the next level. Primates and other hierarchal animals express the innate nature that is self-interest. For male lions, this self-interest is the only thing that keeps them alive. Contrary to popular belief, it is the female lion-the lioness-that forms the foundation of the pride. The lioness does the hunting, the nurturing, and the defending of the pride. Male lions have slim chances of survival on their own, and unlike the lioness, genetic (or familial) ties do not keep it in the pride. When ousted, they must fight for, scavenge or even steal food. The final goal of the male lion is to become part of a pride, as their escort, performing duties but also securing food for itself. A male lion will fight males in the pride for their positions of security. Its individual

They are found by moist tropical forests. That’s where they can find there food. Lions eat primarily large animals, such as zebra and wildebeest, weighing from 100 to 1,000 pounds. In times of shortage, they also catch and eat a variety of smaller animals from rodents to reptiles. Lions steal food from hyenas, leopards, and other predators, but may also lose their food to hyenas.

The African Bush elephants are found in eastern and southern Africa. Some of the areas with the highest densities of the Bush elephant is: Tanzania, South African, Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The African Bush elephant is terrestrial. The Bush elephant usually live in the grasslands, semi-deserts and the bush lands. They also clear out forest and turn them into more of grassland, by knocking down the trees. The climate that the Bush elephant normally lives in is dry and hot. Their thin hairs and ears help them stay cool. Another way that they stay cool is that their hides become more permeable in the heat. Scientists has performed research on 13 elephants (African and Asian), they measure the release of heat and moisture. What they have found was that their skin opens up at air temperatures as low at 10°C to 12°C, this is what allows them to perspire. Elephants are different than most mammals, that sweats through glands connected to pores, elephants only have pores between their toes. Elephants do not sweat (Phillips, 1992). By all of the skin being permeable they lose more

Lions eat whenever they want to. A lion's diet consists of small and large mammals, small birds, and reptiles.They are carnivores, meaning they only eat meat. African Lions are pretty high on the food chain, they are predators. Believe it or not, the female lion does most of the hunting. The males travel alongside their pack while hunting. The lionesses charge in and close shut the jaws of their prey, suffocating them. The group then shares the food. Females need 10 lbs of meat a day, while males need a whopping 15 lbs! During the day, the pack stays hidden in shrubbery, while at night, they don’t need to be as cautious. While lions seem to be the top with no worries, there are many other things out to get

Hippos live in Sub-Saharan, Africa. They can only survive if they are in the water, they can survive when they are out of the water, but most of the time for them to survive they need to be in the water. According to National Geographic, hippos spend up to 16 hours in the water. Hippos are what they call “ecosystem engineers” they change and create in different

Hippos weigh up to 1,600 pounds, making the semi-aquatic animals the third largest land mammals behind elephants and rhinos. Their diet consists of mainly fruits and vegetables depending on their environment whether they are in the wild or kept in a zoo. Hippos don't move a lot during the day, so they consume just around 88 pounds of food per night. This may sound like a lot, but when you compare it to their size, it comes out to just 1% of the hippo's body weight. Compared to other animals that eat only grasses and are larger framed they consume around 3% of their body with per day. Although Hippos are herbivores they occasionally will eat meat and insects whenever fruits

Majestic, noble, and brave, this famous iconic wild animal on the planet has captivated the people since the beginning of time. They are most feared by other animals thus, known as the king of the jungle – no other than the lions. Member of the genus Panthera, the lion is one of the big cats in the Felidae family. A lion’s head and body size average about 4.5 to 6.5 feet and tail of about 26 to 40 inches in length. A lion also weighs about 265 up to 420 pounds and a size relative to a 6-foot human. These mammals are also carnivores. Lions have always seen hunting in groups called pride. While lions generally avoid a full-grown elephant, lions still prefer their preys large like the zebras, buffaloes, and giraffes. Poised as the top animal in the ecological pyramid, lions have strong physical qualities, fascinating reputation, and an unfortunate decreasing number of population.

Kenya is a country east of Africa with a population with about 45 million people living in it today. The capital of the city is Nairobi it is a popular city known for its national wildlife park. In an article called, “A Kenyan Teen’s Discovery: Let There Be Lights to Save the Lions” written by Nina Gregory, the author states, “Through many efforts have been made to protect the Lions in the area, when the lions kill the local livestock some residents respond by killing the big cats.” At night Lions would come poke

Cheetahs often have territories that overlap with territories of lions in Africa. Cheetahs have adapted their hunting patterns so that they do not interfere with lion hunting habits. When a hunting cheetah hears a lion call, they will often flee to avoid meeting the lion, (Bissett et al., 2015). Lions hunt more often during the day in Botswana, Africa. Because of this, male cheetahs tend to be more active in the late evening and early morning, while female cheetahs are more active in the late afternoon. This is also the case vice versa, if cheetahs and lions coexist in a place where lions hunt during the evening, cheetahs will hunt during the day. This allows them to avoid hunting at a similar time as their prospective mates, maximize hunting success, cut down on the risk from stronger predators, and retain behavioral

The powerful predators now number 7,100 today and their numbers continue to decrease. More than 100,000 cheetahs prowled Africa’s grasslands a little more than a century ago. There is a healthy group of about 4,000 living across six countries in Southern Africa. Then there are