Critter Science
The Science of Animals
The ringnecked dove (aka, ring-necked dove, barbary dove, laughing dove, white dove, collared dove, and Eurasian collared dove) is a widespread bird which can be found throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. These birds are considered a mildly invasive species in America. They have been known
Cunning, clever, and fast to boot, it’s the red fox. The red fox makes its home in grasslands, mountains, deserts, forests, farms, and even suburban areas. They have been hunted, trapped, and killed for their fur, for sport, and for being considered a nuisance
The tailless whip scorpion, aka the whip spider, looks a little like a cornucopia of different types of arachnids. With long, skinny legs they look like a spider, but nope. It’s not a spider. Its first pair of legs end in antennae that are used to help it see and locate prey, as they can’t
The greater bamboo lemur is the largest of the 3 bamboo lemur species and one of only a few mammals, having a predominantly bamboo-based diet. This sedentary creature spends a majority of the day eating mostly bamboo. It has to eat a lot of it in order to survive, as bamboo is not a very
The hairy frog, aka the Wolverine frog, or horror frog, hails from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Gabon, and potentially in Angola. It’s preferred habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, plantations,
There are 23 known species of tsetse flies that can be found in the mid-continental Africa. The tsetse fly can be found in open woodlands. They have been around, unchanged, for about 34 million years. Tsetse flies transmit parasites that induce a fatal disease in humans and
Second in size only to the tiger, the lion is the largest cat in Africa! They can be found in savannas, deserts, plains, grasslands, dense bush, and woodlands. They have been abundantly featured in books, movies, and
Belonging to the bovid family, the gerenuk can be found in the Eastern parts of Africa in semi-arid areas, deserts, and dry bushy savannas. Their populations are dropping due to unregulated hunting and habitat loss, due to agriculture and competing
The impala is one of the most graceful and abundant of all antelopes. They can run fast, leap high and far, and are the topic of today’s Critter Science article. They are native to more than 10 African countries. They’re also the favored prey of
The wattled crane is Africa’s most endangered bird! Once ranging from the coastal west of Africa to the African horn down to the southern tip of Africa, the wattled crane is now only found in the Okavango Delta. It is estimated