Africa’s greatest survivors | Tunde Folawiyo

February 10, 2014 Editor Africa’s Endangered Primates, Tunde Folawiyo, tunde folawiyo africa, tunde folawiyo executive, tunde folawiyo film festival, tunde folawiyo oil

Two African species often admired by wildlife experts are the golden jackal and the spotted hyena. Whilst not quite as majestic or graceful as other animals on the continent, their ability to survive in what is some of the world’s harshest environments is nevertheless remarkable.

Native to northern Africa, the former is said to bear a striking resemblance to the grey wolf, although it is in fact considerably light and smaller. Golden jackals typically live in open spaces, such as arid grasslands, deserts and savannahs. Humans have begun to encroach on their habitat, through the expansion of settlements and roads; this loss of living space is expected to lead to a drop in this species numbers, something which has increasingly become a great concern to many, as Tunde Folawiyo understands. However, no significant decline has been noted as of yet, due to the golden jackal’s skill in seeking out new territory.

Golden jackals prefer to live in pairs, rather than packs; they are one of the few mammalians to mate for life. Once mated, male and female jackals become highly territorial; fiercely defending the boundaries of the space in which they live. Whilst they generally prefer to consume meat, they are technically omnivores, as they will eat grass, berries and fruit when other food sources become scarce. They are opportunistic hunters, pouncing on sheep or young antelope as and when they come across them.

The spotted hyena can be found in many of Africa’s sub-Saharan countries, including Sudan, Togo, Ghana and the native country of Tunde Folawiyo, Nigeria. This animal is not unlike the golden jackal in appearance, with a wide neck and a small torso. Its coat colour varies, depending on its age, with younger hyenas having gray or sandy fur with black spots.

These spots fade away as they grow older, often disappearing completely after a few years. One of the most interesting things about the spotted hyena is its social behaviours, which are some of the most complex in the animal kingdom. It is its intelligent teamwork which enables this creature to survive when predators approach their habitat, or when food becomes limited. Its social organisation is similar in many ways to that of macaques and baboons, particularly in regards to hierarchal structure and group size.

They are excellent hunters, as in addition to having sharp eyesight and hearing, they can run at high speed for prolonged periods of time, meaning that they find it easy to spot and chase their prey. However, spotted hyenas are somewhat lazy in this respect, often preferring to dine on the remains of a meal left by another predator, such as a leopard or lion. But when they need to hunt for their own food, they usually target snakes, lizards and wildebeest.

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