On my personal animal sighings bucket list is the primarily nocturnal galagos, with its giant eyes and long tail, famous for crying like a scared child when signaling danger. This bushbaby is found in eastern and western parts of Africa where there is woodland. Galagos live in trees. They use their urine to grease their hands and feet to mark their territories and aid in movement.
Gerenuks are beyond cool because they remind me of my bulldogs when they stand on their hind legs. Gerenuks grab the best nibbles from the highest branches on acacia trees — their food source. Found in Eastern Africa’s dry thorn-brush scrub and desert lands, they are long-necked antelopes. Their name means “giraffe-necked” in Somali.
Oh how I love the lemur. Found only in Madagascar, these fellows come in a number of varieties. They were once thought to be ancestral ghosts because they usually come out at night and have very bright eyes set against dark fur that blends into the night sky. Lemurs use their strong scent markers to communicate with other lemurs – both in the realm of flirting and for establishing territory.
Another only-in-Madagascar critter, the aye aye has giant eyes and ears and looks like a cross between a bat, bear and small dog. Similar to the galagos, aye ayes live in the woods and bushlands and also leave scent markers in their urine. The aye aye has long claws that it uses to grab insect larvae, similar to the way a woodpecker uses its beak.
Dugongs live in the warm tropical waters along the East African coastline. The dugong has a whale-like tail, paddling forelimbs rather than fins and is more closely related to an elephant than a fish. It feeds on undersea grasses and can live up to 73 years if not captured. Dugongs are nearing extinction due to humans hunting them for their skin, meat and even oil. They are also killed by natural predators like sharks and crocodiles.
Another friend from Madagascar, this fellow is the only mammal known to speak like a snake or an insect — it uses something called stridulation to generate sound, which is a dialect that other mammals do not use (but reptiles do). It is also pretty cute looking — like a cross between a porcupine and a hamster. I love the colors in this one.
Oh if only we could all be like naked mole rats. Possibly the coolest animal on the planet, the naked mole rate lives in East Africa and is not only resistant to cancer but also lives to an unheard-of age for mammals its size — 28 years. It doesn’t appear to age much along the way. In fact, a mole rate in its late 20s would have the human age of someone in his 80s, but would genetically resemble a person in his 50s.
Nearly extinct, this strange, scaly, nocturnal creature lives on insects in tropical parts of Africa. It uses its sticky tongue to snap up their prey. Pangolins are relatively small, brown animals that, despite their reptilian appearance are actually mammals. They fold up into balls when scared. Their scales are made from keratin, like the kind found in human hair and fingernails.
This cat-like carnivore is found only in Madagascar and is the island’s largest mammalian carnivore. I’ve been lucky enough to see one in the wild and could say they look like a mini cougar. Fossas have semi-retractable claws and flexible ankles that let them climb down trees head first and jump from branch to branch.
These fellows have long noses with trunks, just like the elephant from whom they gain their moniker. Their legs and tails are also super long compared to their bodies, giving them the appearance of a rabbit crossed with a rat crossed with an elephant nose. Easily adaptable, they are found in most parts of Africa and use burrows for homes.
