Africa is the second largest continent, it occupies about 22% of the total land area on the planet. An interesting place where the wild world of nature has remained in its original form. It is not surprising that many facts about her are told exclusively using the epithet “the most”.
A few words about nature
- In Africa, the largest desert in the world, the Sahara, is spread, its area is approximately 8.6 million square kilometers and covers more than 10 states. About 40% of the animal species that live in it are endemic.
- The second longest river after the Amazon (6852 km) is located in Africa - this is the Nile. Its area covers the territory of eight countries: Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda.
- The second largest freshwater lake is also located on the hot continent. Victoria affects three states, with a total surface area of 68,000 square kilometers. This wild world of nature has become a habitat for more than two hundred species of fish, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet, includingincluding a unique protopter that breathes not only with gills, but also with lungs.
- The ancestors of people appeared precisely in East Africa (central part), Charles Darwin was the first to say this. And in 1974, near Hadar (Ethiopia), they found the skeleton of a humanoid creature that lived about 3.2 million years ago, he was even given the name "Lucy".
Amazing Plants
The African wild world of nature is like a huge outlandish botanical garden, everything in it is unique, wonderful and interesting. Surely many have heard of the baobab (alley in the first photo). The tree is quite low (12-15 meters), its thickness, which reaches 10 m, is surprising. The oldest specimen grows in Zimbabwe, using carbon analysis, scientists determined that it is about one thousand years old. And although the tree is very thick, its wood is porous and soft. Ropes and threads are woven from it, light boats are made.
Another plant - velvichia (pictured), it is called so - amazing. The relic species grows only in Angola and Namibia. It is very difficult to describe her appearance. This is a rosette two-leaved plant with a thick stem resembling a trunk, however, it rises only 15-50 cm from the ground. The leaves grow quickly and reach up to 8 m in length and about 1 m in width, gradually forming a rolled pile of greenery, although there are only two of them.. The lifespan of the Welwitschia is high, over several centuries.
Interesting animal facts
The territory of the continent is a home for almost the mostunusual animals in the world. The wild nature of the mainland is diverse and unique. We will only mention her most outstanding facts.
- The largest land mammal is the African elephant. Its weight reaches 7 tons, it has no natural enemies, except for man.
- Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon are home to the largest frogs on the planet - Goliaths. Their weight is very significant - up to 3.5 kg, and the body length is on average about 30 cm.
- The largest primate of our time - the gorilla - is found only in the equatorial forests of central and western Africa, as well as the giant reptile - the Nile crocodile.
- Four of the fastest animals in the mainland's savannas are Thompson's gazelle and wildebeest, cheetah and lion.
- One of the unusual endemic species is the giraffe. Having 7 cervical vertebrae, like other mammals, it nevertheless has the longest neck among animals.
- Madagascar, which is also referred to as Africa, is an accumulation of endemic species, which has attracted the interest of scientists for more than a century.
African wildlife: lions and other cats
A lot of documentaries have been shot about them, and scientists and zoologists continue their observations of the amazing life of the most graceful creatures on the planet. Did you know that:
- lions are the second largest predator on the planet after spotted hyenas;
- big cats sleep over 20 hours a day;
- besides the well-knownlions, cheetahs and jaguars Africa's wild natural world includes the little-known jungle and Nubian cat, caracal (pictured), serval, golden cat, etc.;
- cheetah is the fastest land animal, it reaches speeds of up to 120 km per hour in three seconds, and it is also one of the few cat species whose claws are not removed;
- a dune cat (in the third photo), living in the Sahara desert, can do without water for a long time, getting the necessary liquid in the form of the blood of its victims.
This is only a small part of the information about the inhabitants of the mainland. Of course, the African wildlife world is harsh, it is dominated by harsh conditions for survival. It is there that the largest and most dangerous creatures live, which you will not find anywhere else. But at the same time, the African savannah is beautiful and interesting, like any other corner of unexplored nature on Earth.
