African elephants, also known as the savanna elephants, are the largest land mammal in the world. They weigh up to 10,000 pounds and grow to 12 feet tall. They have a long trunk that is very flexible and has nostrils on the end. It is used to pick up food and water and carry it to it's mouth. On the sides of its mouth there are two long teeth that extend out from inside its mouth. These are called tusks, and are made of ivory. They have thick, gray skin on their bodies that protects them from deadly predator bites.

African elephants live for about seventy years, and die when their molars wear down; they can't eat so they starve. There are usually 10-15 related elephants in a group. Related family members stay in close range of each other. The leader is always a female. They communicate with sounds lower than human hearing.

An elephant's gestation period is 20 to 22 months. When born, a calf weighs around 200 pounds, and is about three feet tall. A mother is usually helped by another cow during birthing. The calves nurse until they are in their third year and are very dependent on their mothers for 8 to 10 years. When they are mature, male elephants leave the herd to join bachelor herds. Females stay with the herd they were born into.

Elephants are very social animals, and learn about what to eat, where to find water and how to behave from their mothers and older bulls. Recently some orphaned bull elephants were killing rare rhinos in South Africa's Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve. In a conservation effort several decades ago, orphaned elephants were moved from Kruger National Park to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve where there were no elephants. They grew up without the influence of their mothers or older bulls. It is thought that without role models they didn't know how to behave and were taking out their aggressions inappropriately on the rhinos. Older bulls were brought in to teach them how to behave themselves.

The African elephant's size makes them hard for predators to eat, such as leopards, lions, or jaguars. At night, the adults form a circle around the calves to protect them from danger. But in the day, an unlucky calf might wander away from the herd and be some predator's lunch. But adults have thick skin, making it hard to bite.

These animals have a special job in savannas. They keep the savannas clear by eating shrubs and trees which helps the grass grow. This allows the many grazers on the savanna to survive.

Today there are about 150,000 elephants in the world. They are endangered because poachers and hunters kill them for their ivory tusks to sell. In October 1989, the African elephant was moved from Appendix II, which requires permits to hunt or trade, to Appendix I, which is the highest level of protection and doesn't allow international trade.

   African elephants, also known as the savanna elephants, are the largest land mammal in

The African wild dog lives in grasslands, savannas, and open woodlands of eastern and southern Africa. They are mostly found in the African plains; they do not live in jungle areas. They also live in parts of Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Swaziland, and in the Transvaal of South Africa. The savanna is an open grassland dotted with trees. The grass can grow to be 3 to 6 feet tall. The average temperatures is 64°F.

In the savanna there are two seasons; in the winter it is very dry and in the summer there are heavy monsoon rains. Many animals the African wild dog hunts migrate during the dry season. The African wild dogs don't follow them. During migrations the dogs survive on bugs and rodents.

The African wild dog's scientific name literally means painted wolf. Their fur is colored with red, brown, black, yellow, and white areas. Each animal has a different pattern of colors. The African wild dog has short fur. The fur on their muzzle is black and the end of their bushy tails are white. Their ears are very large and rounded. Their muzzle is short and they have powerful jaws.

They have a thin, long body, and muscular legs with only four toes on each foot, because their dew-claw is missing. The African wild dog's over all body length is between 75 and 100 cm (29 and 39 in), and they stand between 61 and 78 cm. (23 and 30 in.) at the shoulders. Their tail is between 30 and 90 cm. (12 and 15 in.). They weigh 18 to 36 kg (37 to 79 pounds). The males and females are about the same size. The African wild dog is the largest dog in Africa, and the only member of the Lycaon genus.

The African wild dog is perfectly built for the chase. Like greyhounds, they have a light body and long legs. The bones of its lower front legs are fused together to keep them from twisting when it runs. It has large ears which help radiate heat away from its body. Its short and broad muzzle has powerful muscles that allow it to grab and hang on to its prey. Its multicolored coat helps it blend in with the surroundings.

This fuzzy marsupial is very muscular, quite lean, and is about 33 inches long. It has a fuzzy coat of fur, big floppy ears, and almost no tail! It's got a stubby little nose, small yellow, beady eyes, and strong bones to support its heavy body while climbing trees. Now you may wonder; how much do those strong bones have to support? Well, the females weigh between 13.2 and 24.2 lbs., while the male weigh between 17.6 and 30.8 lbs. The koala has rough paws that act as traction so they don't slip and fall off the trees while hurrying away from predators that lurk beneath the trees. Each paw has 5 digits. The back paw consists of two "fingers" that are joined together to form a "grooming paw". These

help it get rid of off twigs or tics that may have gotten tangled in its thick fur. There are 3 other "fingers". Two of them are very sharp and those are used for climbing. The last "finger" which takes the place of a human thumb is stubbed; there are no claw on it. Meanwhile, the front paw has 2 tiny "fingers" that are substituted for 1 large thumb. It also has 3 normal "fingers" that are very sharp. Just like their back paws, these are used for climbing.

The koala has thick fur that is used to help keep it cool and at the same time warm. Their fur also acts like a rain slicker, repelling moisture. The color of their fur changes from gray to brown depending on the season. They have patches of white on their neck, chest, and inside the ears, legs, and arms.

The koala usually mates during September-March. The female koalas start to mate with the male koalas when they're around 3 or 4 years old! They sometimes only produce one offspring per year. It takes about 35 days after the female koala conceives to birth a Joey (a baby koala bear). When the Joey's born, it looks like a pink, hairless, jellybean, with beady little eyes just like its parents. Get this; Joey's can't see or hear when they're born. That's probably because they don't even have ears when they're born! The babies are usually only 2 centimeters long and weigh only 1 gram. During the first few months, the Joey stays in its mother's pouch and sucks on something in its mother's nipple called "pap". "Pap" is very mushy, just like baby food. The Joey eats "pap" until it's 1 years old. Then the mother starts to feed it eucalyptus leaves.

Using its brown and gray fur, the koala can camouflage itself so they can hide from predators. Don't you think that the koalas might get hurt sitting on the sharp twigs, well they don't! Their bottoms are padded with so much fur, that they can sit on pointy branches and not get hurt! The koalas thick, fuzzy fur keeps them warm, but not too warm. Their sharp claws dig into the trees so that they don't fall off.

Even with their tiny noses, koalas have an excellent sense of smell. They can detect the poisonous leaves, just by sniffing them!

Felis caracal can be found in the Veld Grassland in South Africa, and in central Africa and India from 30° North to 35° South latitude and from 20° East to 25° West longitude. This environment is generally dry and hot. The cat's habitat can also be savannah, scrub and acacia woodlands, or mountains and hilly areas. Its head/body is 24-36 inches long, and its tail is 9-12 inches long. Its shoulder height is 15-20 inches. Its weight is 28-42 lbs. It has a shape like a cat but it's bigger and has bigger ears. The cat

has a short coat whose color varies from tawny-brown to reddish-grey, sometimes even getting as dark as wine-red. Its head is shaped like an upside-down triangle. The ears are black on the outside and pale on the inside, with two-inch tufts of black hair coming out of them. The fur around the eyes is paler than the rest of the coat. The caracal has powerful jaws on a short muzzle. Its claws can retract into its large paws. It is faster than any other cat its size.

The caracal male is sexually mature at 12-15 months of age, and the female at 14-16 months. They mate year-round. Their gestation period is 69-78 days, and they usually have 1 to 6 young. The kittens weigh about 10.5 oz. As soon as they are born, the kittens have bold facial markings. At first, they only eat, sleep and make some noise. Their mother carries the kittens in her mouth by the back of the neck. They play with each other, and they learn to hunt that way. They are independent after about a year, when their mother will have another litter. The male does not help to raise the children; caracals live alone, not in pairs or groups, except when the mother raises the cubs.

The caracal is solitary, and can live as long as 17 years in captivity. They are active at night, mostly hunting smaller mammals, such as rabbits and porcupines, or even larger mammals like sheep, young antelope or deer. They have a special skill at catching birds. Their strong legs enable them to jump high enough to actually bat birds out of the air with their large paws.

The caracal's only predator is man.