Africa is the second-largest continent in the world, and it's diverse in civilization and natural beauty, but information technology's also home to many unique species. In fact, among the top reasons to visit some of the countries here would be to marvel at the wildlife, and there is no denying that Africa is home to some of the most purple animals in the world.

Among the nigh well-known species are the lion and the rhinoceros, just here you can also see the largest land mammal in the world, equally well as the fastest. As for why information technology's worth seeing these remarkable animals in their natural habitat, well, that's because it would exist an unforgettable chance, merely likewise an educational one. And the opportunity to see these animals roaming effectually in the wild may not exist there in the future because there are several which are listed as vulnerable and endangered.

Tourists have chosen African countries as their go-to destinations for safaris, co-ordinate to The Conversation, and this allows them a one time-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run across animals that they have probably just seen in zoos or on television. Tourism is besides of import for the countries that are visited and ofttimes helps with conservation efforts.

Below are twenty animals (out of the many, many more) that you can find in Africa.

20 The African Elephant Is The Largest Land Mammal In The Earth

Via Earth Wild fauna

The African elephant is the globe's largest land fauna, weighing 6 tons and ranging from 19 to 24 feet, World Wild fauna Fund reports. They are listed as vulnerable, and co-ordinate to African Wild animals Foundation, each year 8 pct of the population is poached for their ivory tusks, and now only approximately 415,000 elephants remain.

There are two subspecies of the African elephant, the savanna (or bush-league) elephant, and the forest elephant, and according to African Wild animals Foundation, the savanna elephants are larger with tusks that bend out, whereas the forest elephant'south tusks are more straight.

19 Cheetahs Can Reach Impressive Speeds In Merely Three Seconds

Via National Geographic

The chetah is a remarkable fauna. This true cat is the earth's fastest land animal, reaching speeds of 70 mph, and co-ordinate to Cheetah organization, information technology tin can achieve its top speed in just 3 seconds. The publication also reports that the tail of the animal helps to balance the cheetah when it's running and controls the direction.

Like many of the other animals on this list, cheetahs are likewise listed every bit vulnerable, with African Wildlife Foundation reporting that approximately 6,674 adults remain in the wild and only v per centum of cubs making it to machismo.

eighteen The Male And Female Greater Kudu Don't Live Together

Via Wikipedia

The greater kudu is a about threatened species of antelopes that is tall, with very long horns, and stripes and spots on its trunk. These animals feed on vegetation in a number of areas including woodlands, mountains, hills and bushlands, Nature reports. Although they are reportedly not often seen in open lands as they utilise dense bushes and copse for protection from predators, African Wild fauna Foundation.

Adult females usually form pocket-sized groups and live together with their calves, while the males are solitary animals only joining with the females when information technology is mating flavour.

17 Rhinoceros Are Endangered And Poached For Their Unique Horns

Via afrique.lalibre.be

There are five species of Rhinoceros, two of which, the white and blackness Rhino, are found in Africa. However, these animals are hunted for their nose horns and have become endangered, resulting in very few existing outsides of reserves and national parks, Globe Wildlife Fund reports.

Almost rhinos are solitary, although white rhinos can alive in minor groups. Equally for their interaction with humans, they prefer to avoid us, however, if the females have a dogie and feel threatened they could be more aggressive and accuse, Britannica reports.

16 The Panthera leo Is A Majestic Big Cat With A Family Hierarchy

Via African Wild animals Foundation

I of the most imperial animals in the big cat family is the lion. But according to Earth Wild animals Fund, these large cats are vulnerable with only twenty,000 of them remaining. The reason for the decrease in numbers is due to the effects of illegal wildlife trade, conflicts with humans, and habitat loss, among other things.

Lions are social animals and can exist establish in prides of upward to 15 lions, and much like domestic cats, they sleep a lot. Up to twenty hours a day, according to WWF. They also take a hierarchy and male lions defend the territory while the female hunts, although, interestingly, the females await for the male to eat first.

15 The Common Ostrich Is A Flightless Bird, But It Has Other Ways To Protect Itself

Via Wikipedia

The mutual ostrich is the globe's largest bird, although it's incapable of flight. You tin can tell the males and females apart past their coloring, with the males being a more than distinct blackness and white combination, while the females are a tiresome, brown-grey colour.

According to the African Wildlife Clan, considering the bird is flightless it uses its stiff legs and unique two-toed, almost hoof-like foot, to defend itself by running or delivering powerful kicks. Some other interesting thing about these birds is that their eggs are big, actually large, and can weigh up to 3 pounds, Britannica reports.

14 African Civet Is Not A Fussy Eater

Via Animate being Spot

The common ostrich'due south egg tin can weigh three pounds, near the same size as some African civets because according to Brute Spot, they weigh betwixt iii to 10 pounds, with the females being a bit larger than the males. According to the publication, in the wild these creatures can live for 12 years, but have a much longer lifespan in captivity and can live almost double that length of fourth dimension.

They are omnivores, and definitely not fussy eaters because according to Kruger Park, their diet includes reptiles, insects, fruit, and birds.

thirteen The African Wild Domestic dog Is Non Like Your Pet Canis familiaris, And They're Endangered

Via worldwildlife

The African Wild Dog is not like the dog and the thing that sets them apart from other canines is their unique paws, with only four toes per foot, National Geographic reports. The dogs hunt in a pack, which is commonly dominated past a monogamous breeding pair, and they are are very social animals. The publication reports that when a female gives birth, the pack help to take care of the litter, and they have been known to also care for the weak and sick members of the pack.

Unfortunately, the African Wild Dog is endangered, and Earth Wildlife Fund claims they are one of the most endangered mammals.

12 The Hippopotamus Is Not An Creature You lot Want To Mess With

Via Sciencing

The give-and-take hippopotamus is reportedly the Greek word for "river horse," Fact Zoo reports. Although, this animal looks nothing similar a horse and they are certainly much larger than one as they can weigh up to iii.5 tons.

The is hippopotamus is native to 29 African countries, African Wildlife Foundation reports, and spend their time (which is an boilerplate lifespan of fifty years) in rivers and swamps. Although these herbivores graze on land at dark for around four to five hours and eat around 80 pounds of food during this time.

11 Zebra Are Alert Animals That Sometimes Tin can Be Plant In Mixed Herds

Via MNN

The zebra is a member of the horse family and is recognized by their distinctive striped markings. There are three subspecies, all three of which are found in various parts of Africa, and the way to tell them apart is by their stripe; and just how widely they are spread out, Britannica reports.

Some other interesting affair to know about zebras is that they occasionally course mixed herds with animals like wildebeest and giraffe, who do good from beingness around the zebras.

ten The Giraffe Uses Its Superlative And Its Tongue To Swallow Nutrient Other Herbivores Can't Access

Via Animal Corner

The giraffe is the world's tallest creature with the animals long neck making up virtually of the height. According to Kruger Park, an adult male is unremarkably around 5 meters (and weighs around 1, 200 kilograms), while an developed female is slightly smaller at 4.5 meters (and she'due south lighter, besides, weighing around 800 to 900 kilograms).

Something else that's long most the animal is its prehensile tongue, which it uses to feed on leaves and other greenery from the tops of copse. The giraffe's tiptop is beneficial in this sense because much of their nutrient sources are out of reach of other herbivores.

ix The Dik-Dik Is Maybe The Cutest Buck Yous'll Ever See

Via Wikipedia

The dik-dik is a small species of antelope, and also a pretty adorable 1 at that. According to Britannica, these animals are tiny and the males weigh between 3.8 kg to seven.ii kg (which is smaller than almost dogs), while females often weighing up to one kg more than.

The dik-dik prefers to live in areas that offer good coverage because this helps to protect them from predators, and according to African Wildlife Foundation, their coloring varies depending on the natural terrain in which they live. Speaking of their habitat, the dik-dik is besides interesting in that it marks its territory with a mucilaginous substance which is secreted from the glands located in the corner of their eyes.

eight A Large Per centum Of Wildebeest Give Birth Effectually The Same Fourth dimension

Via Safari Bookings

If you have ever watched a documentary about migration on the African plains and then y'all would take seen herds and herds of wildebeest (a type of antelope), and these animals are e'er migrating in search of food and h2o supplies.

They are considered of to the lowest degree business organisation on the conservation status, National Geographic reports. An interesting matter well-nigh wildebeests is that around lxxx percent of the females reportedly give birth around the same fourth dimension, a smart survival tactic as this increases the take a chance of calves making it to adulthood and avoiding attacks from predators.

7 The Grey Crowned Crane Is Celebrated As Uganda's National Bird

Via Top Birding Tours

The gray-crowned crane is a striking bird with unique colors, most noticeably the yellow "crown" of feathers on their caput, and co-ordinate to Animal Facts, it is the national bird of Uganda.

Pairs mate for life, and despite laying two to 3 eggs at a time, which Earth Rangers claims is the highest average amount of any crane, these birds are endangered. They can plant in the wetland and grassland areas like marshes and rivers, and they omnivores, and then they eat pretty much annihilation, including insects, lizards, and seeds.

vi You Don't Go Monkeys More Cute Than The Mantled Guereza

Via Elelur

The mantled guereza is a beautiful species of monkeys that live in the African forests of Westward-central and East Africa. They have striking shaggy blackness and white pelts, and, surprisingly, no thumbs, which co-ordinate to Earth Rangersouthward is why they are named "Colobus," the Greek give-and-take for "mutilated."

According to African Exponent, they rarely come downwardly from the treetops where they feast upon leaves and even toxic leafage. Yeah, toxic, considering unlike many other primates, these monkeys have a highly developed digestive system that allows them to interruption down toxic nutrient.

five The Hartebeest Is An Excellent Runner

Via Standard Media

If you lot ever needed the motivation to go to Africa, information technology would be considering then many of the species accept a vulnerable conservation status, but according to African Wildlife Foundation, the hartebeest is not one of them. Even so, they do take challenges because of human hunting, likewise as expanding cattle grazing which has caused competition for nutrient.

The hartebeest is a large, fawn-colored antelope, that few people would say is as beautiful as some of the other antelope species like the greater kudu. Simply what the hartebeest lacks in beauty, it makes up for in speed and is reportedly an excellent runner.

iv 'The Lion King' Gave United states A Reason To Love The Warthog

Via National Geographic

If you watched The Panthera leo King, and then you will call up Pumba, who was a warthog. Like the hartebeest, the warthog also has a conservation condition of least threatened and that's corking because these sturdy animals are incredibly interesting. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, they can sew to 34 miles per hr and they have an interesting approach to their offspring (although information technology likewise seems quite harsh).

Evidently, when the female warthog is getting ready to accept another litter, she distances herself from the juveniles she had been raising.

3 The Spotted Hyena Is A Scavenger, Simply Also A Capable Hunter

Via Wikipedia

Hyena are strange looking animals known for scavenging nutrient, but according to National Geographic, the spotted hyena is as well an achieved hunter and is perfectly capable of communicable its own prey. As for its preference, well, it doesn't seem to have one because the hyena'due south diet ranges of big animals like wildebeest, to lizards, snakes, and even bugs.

Hyenas can be plant in many habitats and they are widespread. Of the three subspecies of the hyena, the spotted hyena is really the biggest and strangely, the publication claims that they are closer in relation to cats than dogs.

ii The African Buffalo Is Non Like Your Regular, Domesticated Kind

Via mpalalive.or

The African buffalo makes up ane-5th of the Big Five. Yous tin spot them in large herds of both male and females, but information technology is only the females that typically stay with the herd they were born into, while the males leave when they are around iv years, African Wildlife Foundation reports.

The species may look like the h2o buffalo, but they are not domesticated and in fact quite aggressive, and according to Africa Wildlife Detective, they have been known to hunt hunters. The African buffalo likewise has horns that protrude outwards from the sides of their heads, and these serve them well when they are defending against their natural predators.

ane It's Rare To See An Okapi And Their Unusual Markings Provide Great Cover-up

Via Medium

It's rare to see an okapi, simply these animals, which look to be a combination of a horse and a zebra, are very interesting indeed. According to Britannica, they are actually related to the giraffe, nonetheless, they are much shorter, with average male okapi around two.v meters in length, and the females are slightly taller.

The okapi's unusual markings allow for it to easily blend in with its natural surroundings, and according to Earth Wild animals Fund, those surroundings are restricted to one identify; the forests of the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The okapi is a lone animal but in that location are times when they can be seen inside shut proximity of each other because their territories overlap.

References: The Conversation, African Wildlife Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, Nature, Kruger Park, Britannica