Category: Animals
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Tortoise of the forest, the Home’s hinge-back tortoise, Kinixys homeana, has considerable range over the continuous Guinea-Congo rainforest region. Its long agile legs, large eyes and secretive habits are adaptations to a forest habitat. The pronounced vertical drop at the end distinguishes the carapace of the Home’s hinge-back tortoise. The shape of the carapace also…
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Honey badger, or ratel, Mellivora capensis is a relatively large mustelid (6–14 kg). Unlike most mustelidae family species, however, it does not show the typical mustelid pattern of intrasexual territoriality, instead males have large home-ranges that overlap extensively with other males and encompass the smaller home-ranges of up to 13 females with a promiscuous mating…
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Atlantic Humpback Dolphin, Sousa teuszii, has been suggested to have most likely inhabited the Niger Delta before the large scale oil exploration and has been said by one D.W. Rice to have originated from Nigeria’s 853 km coastline bordering the northern Gulf of Guinea. Generally, the species is endemic to the eastern tropical Atlantic, where…
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Spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta, also known as the “laughing” hyena is the largest of three hyena species collectively called Kòriko or ìkokò in Yoruba. They have a broad head with dark eyes, a thick black muzzle, and large, pointed equally black ears. Their golden yellow, brown, or gray coat has black stripes on the body…
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Jackal belongs to the Genus Canis, within which dogs and wolfs are classified. Called Akátá or Ajako in Yoruba language, but more correctly, Ofafa. it is a medium-sized carnivore with doglike features and a bushy tail, known for its cleverness, nocturnal habits, eerie howling and scavenging. The Golden Jackal Canis aureus, are the largest species…
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Jameson’s Mamba, Dendroaspis jamesoni, is one of the four species of Mamba, a venomous African snake. It is swift, arboreal, and has a very slender scaled body that is about 1.5 to 2.2 m long. Each scale is a shade of blue-green or yellow with a black outline. It has the duller green and is…
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Jentink’s Dormouse, Graphiurus crassicaudatus, is a small-sized species of the dormouse, a family of rodent known for their long periods of hibernation and their hairy instead of scaly tails. Pelage is generally soft and short. This rarely collected species is found in primary and secondary rainforests of Nigeria as well as Ivory Coast, Liberia and…
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Klipspringer, Oreotragus oreotragus is a small stocky African antelope reputed for its rock-jumping attribute. The Western Klipspringer, O. o. porteousi, of Nigeria, known for walking on the tips of their hoofs in rocky outcroppings, occurs around the Jos Plateau and also in the east in the Gashaka-Gumpti National Park. The short yellowish hollow coat appears…
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Kob, the graceful orange-brown antelope, Kobus kob, of the West/Central African savannah and floodplains is known for the spectacular sight afforded by the herds during annual migration. Kobs are ecologically restricted, preferring low-lying flats or gently rolling country, free of seasonal extremes and close to permanent water. These antelopes prefer perennial grasses in their early…
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Bate’s Dwarf Antelopes, Neotragus batesi, are very small antelopes, only some 5.5 cm long, and weighing from 2-3 kg. Males are a lot bigger than the female and it is only they that posses horns. This species considered shy and secretive because of its inconspicuous coat, coupled with the way it moves about its dense…
