The Animal Kingdom.

• A lion’s roar can be heard up to 8 km away.
• They rest up to 20 hours a day.
• Cubs are born with faint spots that fade as they grow.

Males grow a mane — the darker it is, the older and stronger the lion — and are ~50% heavier. Females are the pride’s hunters, working in teams.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Masai Mara, Tarangire.

• They talk in infrasound — rumbles too low for humans to hear.
• A trunk has around 40,000 muscles.
• They can smell water from kilometres away.

Bulls are far larger with thicker tusks and roam alone or in bachelor groups. Herds are led by the oldest, wisest female — the matriarch.

Tarangire, Amboseli, Serengeti, Nyerere.

• The tongue is ~50 cm long, prehensile and dark blue-black for UV protection.
• The “horns” (ossicones) are ossified cartilage — old males can grow up to five.
• The recurrent laryngeal nerve travels ~5 m to make a 2 cm connection — a quirk inherited from fish ancestors.
• Giraffes sleep only ~30 minutes a day, in 4–5 minute bursts.

Bulls are taller and darker with thicker ossicones, and “neck” — swinging their heads like clubs in dominance fights. Sexual selection may drive their necks as much as feeding does.

Serengeti, Tarangire, Masai Mara, Nairobi NP.

• Top speed ~110 km/h, but only for about 30 seconds.
• Semi-retractable claws grip the ground like running spikes.
• Black “tear marks” cut sun glare, like an athlete’s eye-black.

Males are slightly larger and often form small “coalitions” of brothers; females are solitary and raise cubs entirely alone.

Serengeti, Masai Mara — open, short-grass plains.

• Strong enough to haul prey heavier than itself up a tree.
• Every rosette pattern is unique, like a fingerprint.
• Largely nocturnal and solitary.

Males are up to 50% heavier with broader heads; both sexes are solitary except when mating.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Nyerere, Masai Mara.

• The horn is keratin — the same material as your fingernails.
• Very near-sighted, but with superb smell and hearing.
• Can charge at around 55 km/h.

Bulls are territorial and mostly solitary; cows are usually seen with a single calf.

Ngorongoro Crater; rarely, the Serengeti.

• Herds can number well over a thousand.
• Fused horn bases form a “boss” like a helmet.
• They remember threats and defend the herd together.

Bulls are larger and darker with a heavy horn boss; old solitary bulls are known as “dagga boys”.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Nyerere, Masai Mara.

• Stripes may dazzle predators and deter biting flies.
• Foals can stand and run within an hour of birth.
• They migrate alongside wildebeest for safety in numbers.

Stallions are slightly larger and defend a harem of mares; family groups stay together for years.

Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Masai Mara.

• They can’t really swim — they walk and bounce along riverbeds.
• They secrete a red “blood sweat” that works as sunscreen.
• They spend up to 16 hours a day in water.

Bulls are larger and fiercely territorial over stretches of water; cows gather in “pods” with their calves.

Serengeti (Retina pool), Rufiji/Nyerere, Lake Manyara.

• Up to 8,000 calves can be born on a single day in the calving season.
• A calf can run within minutes of being born.
• They follow the rains across more than 1,000 km each year.

Bulls turn territorial during the rut and are slightly larger; both sexes carry curved horns.

Serengeti–Masai Mara ecosystem, Ngorongoro.

• Only around 1,000 remain, in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo.
• Each gorilla’s nose print is unique, like a fingerprint.
• Groups are led by a dominant “silverback”.

Mature males grow a silver “saddle” of back hair (silverbacks) and are nearly twice the size of females.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest & Mgahinga (Uganda).