Fauna of Africa Reference Libraries
The African Wild Dog, Lycaon pictus, also known as the African Hunting Dog Cape Hunting Dog, or Painted Hunting Dog, is a mammal of the Canidae family. It is related to the domestic dog. It is the only species in the canid family to lack dewclaws on the forelimbs. They are, as their name indicates, found only in Africa. They are found especially in scrub savanna and other lightly wooded...
Appearance The black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) is an African canine with a fox-like appearance. It has tan fur, and a thick stripe of black and silver running down its back. They weigh anywhere from 15 to 30 pounds and are 5.91 to 11.81 in (15 to 30 cm) at the shoulder. Males are usually larger than females. Behavior Black-backed Jackals usually live together in pairs that last...
The side-striped jackal (Canis adustus) is a member of the family Canidae, native to central and Southern Africa. Description Side-striped jackal is a grayish brown to tan with a white stripe from the front legs to the hips. It has a dark tail that has a white tip. Side-striped jackal can weigh from 14 to 30 lb. Males tend to be larger than the females. Habitat and diet...
Golden jackals (Canis aureus), also called Asiatic or common jackals are small jackals native to northern and central Africa and southern Asia. Golden jackals live 7 to 9 years in the wild, but have been known to live up 16 years in captivity. Appearance Golden jackals have golden reddish-yellow fur with a white mark on the throat. The color can vary with age, region, season, such as in...
The Ethiopian Wolf is also known as the "Abyssinian Wolf", "Red Jackal" or "Fox", "Simen/Simenian/Simian/Simien Fox or Jackal" and "Horse's Jackal" in English. The Ethiopian wolf is one of the most rare and most endangered of all canids. The numerous names reflect previous uncertainty about their taxonomic position, but they are thought to the wolves of the genus Canis rather than the foxes...
The large spotted genet (Genetta tigrina), also known as the blotched genet, is a carnivore mammal, related to linsangs and civets. It can be found in Africa from Senegal to Somalia, and south to Namibia and South Africa. It is absent from the continent's southwestern arid zones. Like other genets, it is nocturnal and arboreal. Similar in appearance to the common genet, the large spotted...
The common genet (Genetta genetta), also known as the small-spotted genet or European Genet, is a carnivore mammal. It is related to civets and linsangs. The most far ranging of all the eleven species of genet, it can be found throughout Africa. It is found in parts of the Middle East, and in Europe in Spain, Portugal, the Balearic Islands, and parts of France. There are also small...
The African Palm Civet (Nandinia binotata), also known as the Two-spotted Palm Civet, is a small mammal. It has short legs, small ears, a body resembling a cat, and a long tail as long as its body. Adults usually weigh 3.75 to 4.63 lb (1.70 to 2.10 kg). They are native to the forests of eastern Africa, where they usually inhabit trees. Their diet is omnivorous. Their diet includes rodents,...
The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is closely related to the brown hyena. It lives in northern Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and western India. It is extinct in Europe, but can occasionally be spotted in Anatolia, Turkey. Striped hyenas are largely scavengers, but will also eat small animals, fruit and insects. They are nomadic, moving from water hole to water hole, but never straying more...
The brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea, formerly Hyaena brunnea) lives mainly in the Kalahari and Namib deserts of southern Africa. It is smaller than the spotted hyena, and unlike its spotted cousin, is largely a scavenger. It is the largest land animal to derive most of its diet from scavenging. Because of the scarcity of food in the desert, the brown hyena supplements its diet with fruit and...
