Africa hosts some of the world's most endangered animals. Endangered species are population of certain species facing serious threat of extinction as a result of their small size of population, loss of habitat or poaching. Some of the most endangered animals are the african elephant, white rhino , black rhino, Cuvier’s gazelle and the cheetah. Yet most of these animals are the main
African safari attractions for thousands of visitors every year.
The African Elephant 
The African Elephant, one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, is being pushed into extinction. According to recent findings by researchers at the University of Washington, the African elephant's death rate from poaching is currently 8 per cent a year, higher than the 7.4 per cent rate which led to the international ivory trade ban in 1989.
The researchers warn that if no effort is made to stop poaching the elephant could be extinct by 2020. Elephant are so vulnerable to the human hunters wishing to shoot them for meat and tusks, which are used to make piano keys and billiard balls. The calves also have high chances of falling prey to lions and crocodiles as well as succumbing to drought. The African elephant population in the early 1980s was estimated at 1 million, with over 65,00 elephants being killed a year. The total population is now less than 480,000.
Known as the largest terrestrial mammal in the world, the African elephant can eat up to 200 kilos of foliage in a day and is divided in two: The African Bush (Savanna) Elephant (Loxodonta africana), and the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). Unlike it's Asian counterpart, the African elephant tends have rounder ears (that look somewhat resemble the map of Africa) and is bigger. The ears radiate to keep the elephants cool as the heat in Africa can sometimes rise too high.
The body length of male African elephants ranges from 6-7.5m, with shoulder height reaching 3.3m, while females are smaller at 5.4 - 6.9m, with a shoulder height of 2.7m. Adult males weigh about 6 tonnes on average, twice the weight of the female. The animals live in family groups headed by a cow (female elephant) and males (referred to as bulls) occasionally join the group.
African elephants are excellent swimmers and they have few natural enemies except human hunters seeking to kill them for tusks. They can live up to 60 years when their last (sixth) set of teeth wares away. The elephant is said to the most popular attraction among people on Africa wildlife safaris.
Male and female elephants use tusks to strip bark from trees and to dig for food. The males also use the tusks for fighting each other during the mating season and for defending themselves against predators. The tusks weigh from 20-40 kilograms and can be up to 2.4m long.
Elephants are known for their trunk – a long nose used for breathing, trumpeting, drinking and grabbing items. It is believed that a trunk contains over 100,000 different muscles.
Elephants play an crucial role in the ecosystems in which they live. Numerous plant species rely on passing through an elephant's digestive tract before they can germinate. It is said that over a third of tree species in west African forests depend on elephants for growth.
Elephants also create gaps through rainforests; a move that enables the sunlight to penetrate through thick canopies, thus allowing growth of various plant species. This is vital to the long-term survival of the ecosystem.
The White RhinocerosThe white rhinoceros are divided into two distinct species; the northern white rhinoceros and the southern white rhinoceros. The southern white rhinoceros is the least endangered of the 5 species of rhino. The northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), the world's most threatened sub-species of rhinoceros, is hunted mainly for it's horn used for necklaces as well as for traditional medicine.
Unlike what the name suggests, white rhino is not white but slate or brownish-gray. The term "white" is said to have resulted from a mistranslation of the Afrikaner word for "wide" (referring to the rhino's wide mouth). The white rhino has a very good sense of smell as well as sharp listening skills on which it depends, but the beast has poor vision.
The white rhinoceros is found in the grass savannas and woodlands of southern and central Africa. The white rhino was once widespread, with an estimated 2,250 individuals across five African states in 1960.
However, their greatest survival challenges began in the 1970s when poaching accelerated in response to demand for their horns from Arab countries (where the horns are fashioned into expensive dagger handles) and Asia (where the horns are thought to be an aphrodisiac). The horns are made of keratin, the same material as hooves, and are not attached to the skull but rather grow out of the thick skin.
In the 1970s the population dropped from about 500 to 15. This number rose slightly in 2003 when 30 white rhinos were counted. Unfortunately this number dwindled again and by 2006 only four individuals were left – all of which were recorded in the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is feared that these four have been killed for their horns by poachers and are now believed to be extinct.
The southern white rhino was also considered extinct until late 1890s when about 100 individuals were discovered in Kwazulu-Natal, South African. Efforts by conservationists and concerned individuals have seen the population of the southern white rhino rising to just over 14,000.
The white rhino can run 30 mph for short distances and an adult weighs 1800-2700 kilograms and stands about 5 feet at the shoulder. The creatures eat and drink both during the day and night, although they are more active in early mornings and evenings. They spend the hotter part of the day resting under trees. White rhinos have two horns, the front one averaging 0.6m long, but occasionally reaching 1.5m. They can live up to 50 years.
Black Rhinoceros Black rhino, found in the central areas of Africa namely, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe, is also an endangered animal. Like other rhino species, the mammal's population is reducing as a result of poaching. Black rhino's have two valuable horns and hence many of these mammals are being killed for economic gains. An adult rhino is 55- 63 inches tall, 10-12 feet long and weighs 770-1360 kilograms.
Black rhino, which was found in abundance in early 20th century, was the most numerous of all rhino species – numbering several thousand individuals. The beasts have been battling for its survival, with just over 3,600 black rhinos living today. The population of rhino greatly reduced in the 1970s and 1980s, when huge quantities were shipped to the lucrative markets of the Middle East and Asia.
The worst affected of the black rhino sub-species is the west African black rhino with just a few animals remaining in the world. According to a July 2006 World Conservation Union's survey of the West Africa Black Rhino, the number of the animals had dwindled to ten.
The CheetahThe Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) despite being the fasted animal on land has major setbacks facing its survival – the biggest challenge being habitat loss due to human encroachment. The big cat is also threatened by high cub mortality due to predation by other carnivores that compete for food with the cheetah. Other threats are inbreeding and reproduction performed by close relatives as well as poaching.
The cheetah's body is built for speed and agility giving the big cat the ability to start from 0 to 110 kilometers per hour in three seconds. Cheetahs are tan in colour with black spots all over their bodies. They are smaller in size compared to the other big cats and have spotted coats, small heads and ears. They also have distinctive “tear stripes” that stretch from the corner of the eye to the side of the nose.
Cheetahs are found in eastern and southern Africa with Namibia having the largest population of about 2,500. An adult cheetah weighs about 39-65 kilograms. Its head and body together measure about 130 cm while the tail is between 65-85 cm. The males, as is the case in most mammals, are bigger than females.
Antelopes are cheetah's favourite food. The predator knocks down their prey and kill it with a suffocating bite to the neck. They must eat in haste before they lose their meal to larger or more aggressive carnivores such as lions.
The Cuvier’s GazelleNamed for the French naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier, the Cuvier's gazelle features prominently on the list of endangered animals in Africa. Known for the black spot above it's nose, the gazelle is the only species of its kind that is native to the northern Africa above the Sahara desert.
Standing around 61cm tall and boasting an average weight of 35 kilograms, the gazelle is facing stiff competition with other herbivorous for choice grazing spots, limiting their options in finding areas to flourish. Both males and female possess curved ridged horns. Their young ones usually hide under vegetation for the first several weeks of life, emerging only periodically to nurse.
The main threat to Cuvier's gazelle's existence is human hunting the beast for its meat and skin. Although strict law has been passed to protect the animals, poaching is still a major threat to the the Cuvier gazelle and their population is currently thought to be less than 500.
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