Elephants use their feet to detect and interpret vibrations in the ground.
The feet stomping display of aggression can be detected some distance away as warning vibrations traveling through the ground, causing the elephants to gather in defensive formations .
It has also been noted that if unknowns vibrations are detected, the animals vacate the area.
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Parrots, just like humans display handedness (a dominant left of right hand). In contrast to humans; parrots are predominantly left handed (footed).
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During the latter part of the second Anglo-Boer war (Boer war / South African war) 1889-1902, the British constructed almost 8,000 blockhouse type fortifications to restrict Boer movements.
The Boers at that time engaged in very effective guerrilla tactics.
Several blockhouse structures (some in various stages of disrepair) are still scattered across the landscape.
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The harvestman (Opiliones) is an small arachnid (eight, joint legged invertebrate) like spiders and scorpions. Their bodies are typically no longer than 7mm in length and some species are as small as 1mm.
There are over 6,500 identified species.
Harvestman and scorpions differ from spiders in, amongst other things, the fact that they can eat solid food.
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Unlike most cat’s the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is primarily diurnal (active during the day).
The “tear marks” (malar stripes) on the face of the cheetah reduces glare from the sun, which increases contrast and as a result improves vision.
The use of glare reducing products (creams and strips) is now a feature in certain sports including American football, baseball and lacrosse.
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Did you know, the teddy bear is named after former American President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt.
The President was out on a hunting trip as the guest of the governor of Mississippi in 1902. After three unsuccessful days, guides tracked down an old black bear, tied it to a tree, directed the president to the spot and offered him the opportunity to shoot the bear. The president refused on strength that it would be unsportsmanlike to shoot an injured tied up bear.
When word of this reached the newspapers a cartoonist drew a cartoon of the event.
Drawing inspiration from the cartoon a New York sweet shop owner asked permission from Roosevelt to call some soft toy bears his wife made (on display in his shop) Teddy’s bears. The rest, as they say, is history.
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The English language has some very specific collective nouns (versamelname in Afrikaans).
Well known of course are:
And even though a group of birds is a flock, a group of owls is a parliament.
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The Addo fligtless dung beetle (Circellium bacchus) show clear preferences when it comes to dung. It prefers the dung of two members of the big five and specifically Buffalo for breeding and Elephant for eating.
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The Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) is the largest eagle in Africa and one of the largest in the world. It can have a wingspan exceeding 2.5 meters.
The largest eagle (at least by weight) is Steller’s sea eagle that tip the scales at just shy of 10kg and they can be found in Russia, Korea and Japan.
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Autotomy (from the Greek auto- “self-” and tome “severing”) or self amputation is the observed behaviour where an animal discards one or more of its own appendages.
This is usually done as a self-defense mechanism. The lost body part may be regenerated later. The best known example is most probably the gecko’s tail.
Under natural conditions, orb-weaving spiders undergo autotomy if they are stung in a leg by wasps or bees.
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