www.interiorsafarisea.com Did you know that Between 2014 and 2020, trophies of 5,409 animals of internationally protected species were imported into Germany, including 194 leopards, 208 brown bears, 166 hippos 229 elephants, 138 lions, nine polar bears and two black rhinos. Many of these animals were killed because of the hunts sold at hunting fairs.
As from 24th-29 January,2023 Europe’s largest hunting fair has been taking place in Dortmund, Germany. Over 80 national and international exhibitors from Canada, Argentina, Namibia, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Poland and others, are in attendance, offering trophy hunting trips, that cost between a few hundred and tens of thousands of euros, around the world to kill elephants, big cats, rhinos, polar bears and numerous other iconic species.
Trophy hunting is a form of entertainment rooted in wealth and pageantry that results in both severe cases of animal harm and far reaching damaging biological and ecological impacts. Yet, more than 120,000 animals are killed in Africa each year by big game hunters. The European Union is the second largest importer of hunting trophies from internationally protected species, behind the United States. Germany is by far the greatest importer within the European Union.
CALVING SEASON
Unlike their close antelopes, topis usually calve at the end of the dry season and have a good success rate.
FEEDING TIME
These animals have two feeding peaks, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon, but they can be found feeding at any time.
MATING PROCESS
Every year, males go to traditional breeding areas, and the females arrive shortly afterwards in small groups or singly. Males approach a female in either a rocking canter or in a low stretch posture, searching for a female in heat. The female shows that she is ready by raising her head and standing tall.
TOMORROW I WILL SHARE BEHAVIORS OF TOPI
Sexual maturity of the female is at 48-60 months, the male is at 42 months. The giraffe mate at any time of the year with the gestation period being between 453 - 464 days. There is usually only one calf, very rarely twins. A giraffe cow in season attracts males from all around, but is soon won by a dominant bull. The male signals his readiness to mate by tapping on the female's hind leg with his foreleg or resting his chin on her back. He usually follows her, sometimes for hours, until she allows him to mount her
Giraffes don't have a set mating season. Instead they have an estrous cycle, which is a lot like the human menstrual cycle (but with less blood and slightly different hormones). The male giraffes don't just mate with the ladies all the time, so they generally try to find a way to determine is the lady is fertile.www.interiorsafarisea.com
In this 3rd episode which is the last of my intended sharing is that I have total confidence and belief that we the young generation have the best chance as we have to change the way our people and the rest of the continent talks about and perceives conservation. We the now generation, are the best chance we have to ensure Africa and all its inhabitants animals,human or otherwise have a future. Can you imagine, the impact Kwame Nkuruma, Patrice Lumumba , Nelson Mandela and other renowned young Pan African leaders would have generated, if they had WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? They were also young when they started their struggle for independence . Today’s young people is perhaps facing an even bigger challenge than the past generation were but we also have more power.
If there is one thing that I hope that the COVID-19 pandemic can teach us all, it is that the health of humans is one and the same as the health of nature and wildlife. When this pandemic is finally over, we cannot surely afford to return to “normal” and continue ignoring the destruction we have been causing in the name of development. And this is entirely up to the African youth, mojo live-streaming and the rest of the world to keep us all on the right path.
