 A shy creature that roams widely, the cheetah is not seen as easily as some other cats. Never numerous, cheetahs have become extinct in many areas, principally due to shrinking habitat, loss of species to prey upon, disease and a high rate of cub mortality. african In some areas 50 to 75 percent of all cheetah cubs lilns die before 3 months. Zebras, horses and african wild asses lilns are all equids, long-lived animals that move quickly for their large size and have teeth built for grinding and cropping grass. Zebras have horse like bodies, but their manes are made of african and lilns short, erect hair, their tails are tufted at the tip and their coats are striped. Three species of zebra still occur in Africa, two of which are found in East Africa. The most numerous and widespread species in the east is Burchell''s, also known as the common or plains zebra. Ancient cultures in Africa revered the giraffe, as some modern cultures do today, and commonly depicted it in african prehistoric rock and cave paintings. Unknown outside of Africa, this animal so excited man''s curiosity that it was sometimes sent as a diplomatic gift to other countries; one of the earliest records tells of a giraffe going from "Melinda" (presumably Malindi) in Kenya to China in 1415. The animal was thought to be a cross lilns between a camel and a leopard, a mistake immortalized in the giraffe''s scientific name of Giraffa camelopardalis. The neck is so long the giraffe must spread its front legs apart so its head can reach the ground to drink. It has unusually elastic blood vessels with a series of valves that help offset the sudden african buildup of blood (and to prevent fainting) when the head is raised, lowered or swung quickly. In some areas, livestock lilns predation remains a severe problem. The other is Grevy''s zebra, named for Jules Grevy, a president of France in the african 1880s who received one from Abyssinia as a gift, lilns and now found mostly in northern Kenya. (The third species, Equus zebra, is the mountain zebra, found in southern and southwestern Africa.) The long-legged Grevy''s zebra, the african biggest of the wild equids, is taller and heavier than the Burchell''s, with a massive head and large ears. Zebras have shiny coats that dissipate lilns over 70 percent of incoming heat, and some scientists believe the stripes help the animals withstand intense african solar radiation. The black and white stripes are lilns a form of camouflage called disruptive coloration that breaks up the outline of the body. Although the pattern is visible during daytime, at dawn or in the evening when their predators are most active, zebras look indistinct and may confuse some predators by distorting the true distance between them and their prey. If you are looking for african animals then look no further. You can see live feeds of african animals on your computer.
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