Africa is a wild world of nature. Interesting Facts

Africa is the second continent in size, itoccupies about 22% of the total land area on the planet. An interesting place where the wild world of nature remained in its original form. It is not surprising that many facts are told about it exclusively with the use of the epithet "most".

A few words about nature

Africa is the largest desert in the world- Sahara, its area is about 8.6 million square kilometers and covers more than 10 states. About 40% of the species of animals that live in it are endemics.
The second after the Amazon along the length of the river (6852km) is located in Africa - this is the Nile. Its area covers the territory of eight countries: Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda.
The second largest freshwater lake is alsois located on the territory of a hot continent. Victoria affects three states, the total surface area is 68,000 square kilometers. This wild world of nature has become a habitat for more than two hundred species of fish, many of which are nowhere else found on the planet, including a unique protopter breathing not only gills but also lungs.
The ancestors of people appeared in Eastern Africa(the central part), the first was announced by Charles Darwin. And in 1974, near the Hadar (Ethiopia) found the skeleton of an anthropomorphic creature that lived about 3.2 million years ago, he was even given the name "Lucy".

Amazing plants

African wild world of nature - like a hugeoutlandish botanical garden, everything in it is unique, wonderful and interesting. Surely many heard about the baobab (alley on the first photo). The tree is rather low (12-15 meters), surprising its thickness, which reaches 10 m. In Zimbabwe, the oldest specimen grows, with the help of carbon analysis, scientists have determined that it is about one thousand years old. And although the tree is very thick, its wood is porous and soft. From it weave ropes and threads, make light boats.

Another plant - velvichia (pictured), its andcall - amazing. Relict species grows only in Angola and Namibia. Describe its external appearance is very difficult. This rosette double-leafed plant with a thick stem resembling a trunk, however, it rises only 15-50 cm from the ground. The leaves grow rapidly and reach up to 8 m in length and width of about 1 m, gradually form a coiled pile of greenery, although there are only two . The lifespan of the Velvich is high, more than several centuries.

Interesting facts about animals

The territory of the continent is a house almost for the most unusual animals in the world. The wild nature of the continent is diverse and unique. We mention only its most outstanding facts.

The largest land mammal is the African elephant. His weight reaches 7 tons, he has no natural enemies, except for a man.
Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon are home to the largest frogs on the planet - the Goliaths. Their weight is very significant - up to 3.5 kg, and the body length is about 30 cm on average.
The largest primate of our time - the gorilla - is found only in the equatorial forests of central and western Africa, as, indeed, the giant reptile - the Nile crocodile.
Four of the fastest animals live in the savannah of the continent - a Thompson gazelle and wildebeest, a cheetah and a lion.
One of the unusual endemic species is the giraffe. Having 7 cervical vertebrae, like in other mammals, it nevertheless has the longest neck among animals.
Madagascar, which is also referred to Africa, is a conglomeration of endemic species, which has been of interest to scientists for more than a century.

African world of wildlife: lions and other cats

About them a lot of documentaries have been shot, and scientists and zoologists continue their observations of the amazing life of the most graceful creatures on the planet. Do you know that:

lions occupy the second place in the number of predators on the planet after spotted hyenas;
large cats spend more than 20 hours a day in sleep;
In addition to the known lions, cheetahs and jaguars, the wild world of African nature includes a little-known reed and Nubian cat, caracal (pictured), servala, golden cat, etc.;
cheetah - the fastest land animal, it for three seconds develops speeds up to 120 km per hour, and yet this is one of the few species of felines, from whom claws are not removed;
A barchan cat (in the third photo), living in the Sahara Desert, can live without water for a long time, receiving the necessary liquid in the form of the blood of its victims.

This is only a small part of the information about the inhabitantsthe mainland. Undoubtedly, the wildlife world of Africa is severe, it is dominated by harsh conditions for survival. It is there that the largest and most dangerous creatures dwell, which you can not find anywhere else. But at the same time, the African savannah is beautiful and interesting, like any other corner of the unknown nature on Earth.