Marabou stork is a large, unusual-looking bird. In addition to hollow leg bones, marabou storks have hollow toe bones. In such a large bird, this is an important adaptation for flight. The African Marabou storks reach a wingspan of 2,6 m and a height of 1,5 m.
Marabou storks are bald-headed. Males can be identified by their large air sacs. In addition, males are generally slightly larger and taller than females. Sexes are alike in coloration. A juvenile has similar coloration but is duller. Immature birds have a woolly covering on their heads and do not gain the black in their plumage until about three-years-old.
Its soft, white tail feathers are known as marabou. Its neck and head contain no feathers. The Marabou stork has a long, reddish pouch hanging from its neck. This pouch is used in courtship rituals. The naked 18-inch inflatable pink sac is particularly conspicuous during the breeding season. It connects directly to the left nostril and acts as a resonator allowing the bird to produce a guttural croaking. While usually silent, the Marabou Stork will also emit a sound caused by beak clacking if it feels threatened.
They mainly feed on carrion and scraps. Although it doesn't seem to be very sympathetic in human eyes, this behavior is of great importance to the ecosystem they inhabit; by removing carcasses and rotting material, Marabous help to avoid the spreading of pathogens. They are scavengers, they eat anything from termites, flamingoes and small birds and mammals to human refuse and dead elephants. They also feed on carcasses with vultures and hyenas.
Marabou storks are attracted to grass fires. They march in front of the advancing fire grabbing animals that are fleeing.
Marabous breed on the treetops, where they build large nests. It reaches sexual maturity when it is approximately four years old and usually mates for life. They are colonial breeders, their nests are a large, flat platform made of sticks with a shallow central cup lined with smaller sticks and green leaves. Usually, 2-3 eggs are laid during the dry season. Both sexes incubate; eggs hatch in 30 days. Their young are helpless at birth. Both sexes tend and feed the young. The fledging period is 3-4 months.
Marabou Stork defecates upon its legs and feet. It helps in regulating body temperature, and also gives the false appearance that the birds have lovely white legs. Like many birds, the Marabou Stork also pants when it becomes hot, again to lower its body temperature.
These are particularly lazy birds and spend much of their time standing motionless, though once they take flight they are very elegant, using thermal up-draughts to provide the needed lift. Like other storks, they fly with their especially long legs trailing behind, but unlike their cousins they keep their neck tucked well in and bent into a flattened S; this allows the weight of the heavy beak to be taken on the shoulders. #birdsofeastafrica.
In this two-part series, read on to learn some interesting facts about the 10 most endangered animals in the world and how we, as a race, should be more cognizant of the plight of these beautiful creatures.
10. Gorillas
Gorillas share close to 97% of their DNA with humans! They are capable of feeling emotions and even behave like us sometimes – did you know they can laugh? There are two species, the Eastern Gorilla and the Western Gorilla, and they both have two subspecies. Three out of four are Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The only one that isn’t is the Mountain Gorilla, a subspecies of the Eastern Gorilla.
9. Rhinos
Rhinoceros comes from two Greek words Rhino and Ceros, which when translated into English mean nose horn. Human beings are almost entirely responsible for this beautiful creature nearing extinction. Poaching for their distinctive horns is their biggest threat. Three of the five species of rhinoceros are among the most endangered species in the world: the black rhino, Javan rhino and the Sumatran rhino. The Javan rhino is the closest to extinction with only about 50 left, of which most are in the Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia.
8. Sea Turtles
Hawksbill Turtles and Kemps Ridley Turtles are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Hunting is one of the biggest threats to sea turtles, with poachers targeting their eggs, shells, meat and skin. They are also at risk from habitat loss and pollution as well as climate change. Sand temperature determines the sex of hatchlings with eggs developing as females in warmer temperatures. That means even small temperature changes could skew the sex ratio of populations.
7. Saola
The Saola is one of the rarest large mammals on Earth. It was first discovered in 1992 in the Annamite Range in Vietnam. The Saola is elusive and so rarely seen it’s known as the Asian unicorn.
6. North Atlantic Right Whale
They are gentle giants that stay close to coasts and spend a lot of time at the surface skim feeding on zooplankton, all of which makes them an easy target for hunting. They were almost wiped out by hunters for their blubber and are now one of the most endangered large whales. They are now protected, and hunting is illegal, but population recovery is slow. They are only about 400 left, out of which, only 100 are breeding females. Females don’t breed for the first ten years of their life and then will give birth to a single calf every six to ten years. Vessel traffic also creates noise that interferes with their ability to communicate. Whales use sound to find mates, locate food and avoid predators, as well as to navigate and talk to each other.
Stay tuned for the Top 5 World’s Most Endangered Animal Species in the second part of the blog series. Can you guess which animals will feature on the IUCN Critically Endangered List?
*All Images for this blog sourced from Google and WWF
IMPORTANT RULES WERE UPDATED AT 11:36 AM EST ON AUGUST 15, 2022
MOJOSTREAMING WILDLIFE VIDEO CONTEST (THE “CONTEST”) Mojo Streaming, the world’s premier Wildlife Streaming and Advocacy channel, is having a contest for our viewers globally to upload their most epic wildlife videos onto our site for a chance to win an Apple iPad and a fully paid lifetime subscription to MojoStreaming! Official Rules & Regulations (the “Rules”) By entering this Contest, you agree to abide by these Rules and the decisions of Mojo Streaming (“Mojo”), which are final and binding. 1. Who Can Enter This Contest is open to all animal lovers and wildlife enthusiasts. It’s open to anyone with exciting video footage about the wildlife they might have captured during their previous travels, safaris, or even from their backyard, which they would like to share with other wildlife enthusiasts to enjoy! Don’t be shy about your submissions-sometimes even the seemingly most straightforward videos can capture the hearts and minds of many. Similar to abstract art! The video must feature wildlife. It can be “cute”- such as baby animals or animals cuddling, “wild”- such as predators catching prey in the wild, “powerful”-such as animal migrations in dangerous terrain, “magnificent” or “beautiful”- there is so much incredible beauty and magnificence portrayed by animals living their lives in their natural state! 2. Contest Period the Contest runs from September 01, 2022, at 12:00:01 am (EST) to October 31, 2022, at 11:59:59 pm (EST) (the “Contest Period”).
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Follow these simple rules:
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1. Sign up: https://www.mojostreaming.com/signup 2. Complete profile 3. Upload video during September 2022 4. Complete questions: title, description, tags, choose channel September Video Contest. Your video will be found under this channel beginning October 1, 2022, once MojoStreaming approves it. You will then promote your video URL link or through the share button during October 2022. Your goal is to receive the most likes during October. 4. Prizes An iPad pro prize is available to be won through this contest for the best video and a lifetime subscription to MojoStreaming.com chosen by a panel of judges. Prizes are non-transferable and must be accepted as awarded. Mojo reserves the right to substitute the Prize in whole or in part if all or any of the components are unavailable with another prize of equal or greater approximate value. If the winner cannot redeem their Prize due to reasons beyond the control of Mojo, its employees, representatives, agents, and all parties associated with this Contest, no compensation or substitution prize will be provided. Any costs or expenses incurred by winners in claiming or using their Prizes will be the responsibility of the winners.
5. Selection of Winners The first round of the top 12 videos with the most likes from the public: (People can mark a video like or dislike during October) and be updated on the MojoStreaming.com site on November 1, 2022 (in case of a tie with the same number of likes will be included therefore there could be more than 12 videos in the top picks. A panel of Mojo judges will judge these winning entries with the most likes, and the winner will be announced on November 14, 2022, at or about 12. pm (ET) at a live event to be broadcast on MojoStreaming.
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The white ring around the waterbuck’s hindquarters has led to many tales. A favorite is that they were the first animals to use the toilet on Noah’s Ark. The newly-installed toilet seats on the ark were still wet with paint and left a distinctive white ring on their rumps. Despite these bucks being a part of the ‘butt joke’, there are valid reasons for the white markings on their hindquarters. Flashes of color often scare off predators and act as a ‘follow me’ sign, helping other waterbucks flee when in danger.
Waterbuck are sexually dimorphic, meaning males and females have external differences apart from their reproductive organs.
Males can be up to 25% larger than their female counterparts and they carry the defining feature of beautiful, long, ringed horns.
These horns curve backward and then forward and vary in length from 55 cm to 99 cm. The age of the bull determines the length of the horns.
Waterbuck horns will begin to develop at around 8 to 9 months and mark the young buck’s time to separate from the herd. Young males form bachelor groups remain together until they mature and move on to make their own herd. Waterbucks’ diets are rich in protein and other nutrients. This includes coarse grasses that are seldom eaten by other plain animals and long sweet grasses like buffalo grass.
During the dry season, they supplement their diet by browsing on leaves from shrubs and certain trees, such as the Sweet thorn (Vachellia karroo). At times, you will find them shoulder-deep in water, eating roots and other aquatic plants.
They also enjoy browsing on certain fruits, especially the marula fruit during the ripe season. These antelope typically eat in the mornings and late afternoons and chew cud for the remainder of the day.
These herbivorous animals have remarkably high water requirements. They need to drink often, which is one reason why they remain close to permanent water points at all times. You’ll often find them nestled in reed beds near rivers and dams, or on floodplains.
Common waterbuck are social animals. They live in herds or groups of up to 12. Male antelopes are dominant over a certain territory, and their herd consists of females, young bachelors, and calves.
The herds are constantly changing, as individuals can join or leave at any time, provided there aren’t other males looking to dominate the territory.
When a bachelor threatens the territory of a herd leader, the dominant male will posture aggressively and even start a fight if necessary. These fights can be fatal, as the waterbuck uses its long, strong horns in combat.
Typically, a waterbuck will live up to 18 years in the wild. In general, 12-15 years is a good life for a wild waterbuck. @GodfreytheGuide #Antelope #https://www.instagram.com/p/CQo-ZP4gIwZ/?utm_medium=copy_link
Tourism is a recreational travel that people do, Uganda has
been one of the African countries that has attracted prominent number of
tourists from different parts of the world. Uganda the pearl of Africa is one
of the fastest growing economies in Africa, there are so many building blocks
of this economy but one of the vital one that she is proud of is her tourist
attraction that she exhibits to tourists, with a lot of nature, culture and
amusement to offer. A tree did not start as a tree it started as a seedling
sown in the soil and because of the rich nutrient of the soil and care given to
it, it turned it into a tree, there are companies that have thrived and are
still pushing hard to strengthen the tourism industry in Uganda. One of them is
Interior safaris East Africa, one of the veins of the heart of Uganda tourism.
Uganda
has one of the best climates in Africa and in the whole world, this has maintained her tourist
attractions which has made it possible for tourism to occur. One of Uganda’s
tourist attractions are national parks, Uganda has numerous national parks like
Murchison Falls National Park often known as Kabalega mostly visited by
tourists because of its natural beauty, it’s located in the northern region of
Uganda it is 1,344 square miles large this makes it the largest wildlife
reserve. Queen Elizabeth National
Park which is 1,978 square kilometers in size and Lake Mburo National Park etc.
Uganda also has unique eye-catching features in the national parks like trees,
different species of birds and mountain gorillas. Interesting and enjoyable
activities at your view from different parts of the parks which includes
birding, chimpanzee tracking, cultural visits like meeting pygmies from Batwa
who were the first inhabitant of montane rainforest, hot air balloon safaris
and boat cruise. Due to the magnificent hospitality that Ugandans give tourists,
has increased their interest in touring the country because they make them feel
at home. All national parks in Uganda have lodges and hotels at different
points of the national parks which provide the tourists with good care, great
meals and fancy accommodation. When it comes to the longest river in the world
don’t look farther because it’s here in Uganda as well as mount Elgon, these
are places tourists won’t stop talking about because they are enticing and rich
in nature.
Life
has been made easy in case you would love to tour Uganda; with the help of
Interior Safaris East Africa you can be anywhere you want to be. Interior
safaris East Africa has been in the center of the tourism industry in Uganda,
it was founded by Elasmus Godfrey Tumwesigye in 2013. It has its head office in
Uganda. Interior safaris East Africa cares so much about their customers to the
extent that we have Agents in Europe for tourists interested in bare a peek of
the pear of Africa and the great lakes at large. Interior Safaris East Africa is surely the
right package deal to take you around Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania because it
comes With lots of surprises from their services, Interior Safaris East Africa
gives the best to its customers, and that’s why before tourists decide on the
place they would love to visit they first speak to a tour consultant from Interior
Safaris East Africa who will later give them advice about the package that will
fit in their budget that they will be comfortable with.
Connect now to be in a
place enriched with nature.
