Thursday, September 26, 2024: Cheetahs, Hippos, and Baboons

Cheetah

Cheetahs hunt during the day while lions and leopards sleep. Sometimes they are confused with leopards. However, they are taller have tear marks in their face, and a black tip on the tail.

The cheetah will start to hunt after three days of the last meal.

Female cheetahs stay by themselves and prefer open spaces. Lions will not kill a cheetah to eat it but will to eliminate competition. 

A cheetah never puts its head on the ground. A cheetah hunts with its baby nearby at about 100 yards.

Cheetahs will go into the open space after the meal. They will eat to their fill and leave before the lions arrive and will leave the rest for the hyenas.

Hippo

They eat in the cool of the night. Hippos are exclusively vegetarians.  They sleep close together to provide heat. Hippos don’t have hair on their bodies.

A group of hippos is called a crash of hippos. Maybe it is because if they charge you, especially from the side, even in a car, you are dead!! The tusk of a hippo is a modified canine.

Birds eat ticks off the hippos which prevents tick-born diseases.

Stand back. A hippo marks his territory with poop.

Baboons

Babies ride on their mother’s back and use her tail of as a backrest. If a baby baboon is less than 2 months, he rides on the belly. Over 2 months, he rides on the back.

Baboons poop on termite mounds. The termites incorporate it into the mound. Seeds might be present that will allow fruit trees to grow.

Sometimes a baboon will pee on a lion who is sitting under the tree that they are in. That is akin to poking the bear.

During the rainy season, they eat the young impala, etc. A baboon will eat anything it can overpower. During the dry season they eat more nuts and flowers.

Impala and baboons travel together. The impala smells and hears danger. Baboons can climb trees and vocalize danger.

A troop has a chief. Males have family groups and support the big chief. Baboons are smart at 94% genetic similarity to humans.

Baboon hierarchy of males is noted by how high they can hold their tails. Big daddy or chief leads with other big males on the side to protect and reinforce his leadership.

Baboons and leopards don’t like each other. Baboons will shake the tree that a leopard is sleeping to intimidate and expose the predator.