more on the puff adder and other animal facts

Did you know that puff adders can have about 12 babies? I found that out at dinner just after seeing one near my room. Most snakes will move away when they sense movement or sound but the puff adder is a lazy snake and people often get bitten on the ankle because they have stepped on one. The pathway back to the rooms isn't lit so I'm in a bit of a panic and very cautious on the walk back to my room that night. Damm, I left my flashlight in my room.

Did you know that a lion has a small claw on the end of it's tail? News, to me and I guess there isn't any use for it that any biologist has discovered. I guess you would pull back the long hairs at the end of the tail and see it. I'm not planning on getting that close to a lion to investigate it. Also their power is in their paws and not their jaws. They can easily break the back of an antelope with one swipe of their paw. If they hunt alone their sucess rate is only about 14% but if they hunt in groups like most female lions do the sucess rate at least triples. The head male of the pride eats first even though he doesn't usually do the hunting, then his offspring eat next before the others. Lions use to roam most of Namibia but are now only found in Etosha Nat'l Park or along the Skeleton Coast.

Did you know that a cheetah really isn't a cat? It shares more DNA with the dog family. There claws don't retract. On a lion or leopard footprint it looks like a shape of a fist, no claw marks, but on cheetah and dog prints it's more pointed and you see the claw prints. They have very small teeth. The fastest land animal and since they need lots of air intake to reach their speed, they have big nostrils. After they catch their kill, they are very winded so many times they loose their prey to other predators like hyenas or lions. There stride is about 8 metres in 1 second and with a flexible spine their back legs will go ahead of their front legs when running. They like only fresh meat so many times they will eat just the choice bits like the hamstring muscle then leave the rest so they kill more often. That's why farmers in Namibia will shoot them because they kill livestock more often than a leopard who will store his food and eat for days.

When a leopard is not hunting he can hold his tail up high and this prey species like antelope, zebra, etc know not to fear him and he can walk right through a herd of these animal. Someone asked if this is true, why doesn't he use this as a trick to get easy pickings. Answer - Because he is not human. Boy, does that ever make sense. If animals can live together, why can't people. Leopards are solitary animals and have brute strength, especially in their jaws. They can carry 3X their body weight 6 metres up a tree.