Some times wildlife and humans are closer in natural behavior than we think. When a male giraffe determines that a female giraffe is ready to mate, he follows the female around until she decides to mate with him. Occasionally the male will try to mount the female in an attempt to mate. If the female has not decided to mate with the male yet, she will casually walk away so that the male cannot mate with her. The male may follow the female and repeatedly try to mount her for hours or days. The female ignores the male until she decides to mate with him. Sometimes the female never mates with the male and instead chooses a different male to mate with. If a female giraffe sees a male giraffe that she wishes to mate with, she often goes up to the male and rubs her neck on his. Female giraffes generally choose to mate with the most dominant giraffe available. The most likely reason for this is to establish a strong gene pool in her young. Unfortunately the mating process is very quick and is rarely observed by humans. We got a little glimpse, but suspecting it was only a tease….;-)
This fella was photographed on the banks of the Chobe River, Chobe National Park in Boswana. These crocodiles, known as the Nile crocodiles, can grow over 4 meters long. They have been known to snap whole canoes in half, and are one of the leading killers in Africa. Crocodiles have no molars, so they cannot chew food, only swallowing. For this reason, they prefer to eat meat after it has rotted a little bit. Often crocodiles will store their kills in underwater obstructions to let them “soften” before they try to eat them, yum! The Nile crocodile is the top predator in its environment, and is responsible for checking the population of species like the barbel catfish, a predator that can overeat fish populations that other species, like birds, depend on. The Nile crocodile also consumes dead animals that would otherwise pollute the waters. The primary threat to Nile crocodiles, in turn, are humans. While illegal poaching is no longer a problem, they are threatened by pollution, hunting, and accidental entanglement in fishing nets!
