by Dominic Chadbon, 9 June 2009

Africa may have its share of problems but boy do we go big on wildlife. Home not only to some of the planet's most familiar animals, Africa also boasts the world's heaviest, tallest and most dangerous land mammals, not to mention both huge animal migrations and vanishingly rare species.

Trouble is, it's all a bit confusing. When does the amusing-looking tsessebe become a topi? (answer: when you go from southern to East Africa apparently) and why do Namibians talk about 'desert elephants' when the things look the same as they do in swamps and woodlands? (Marketing if you ask me but it's got to do with behavioural differences.)

So we've identified the most commonly asked "what's the difference between" questions - see how much you knew already.

Colour coded: Black Rhino vs White Rhino

When you're running for your life with a ton of enraged pachyderm galloping after you, you may feel it's not quite the time to check out the shape of the pursuing rhino's mouth but that's the give-away. Forget the colour reference - both are grey - but 'White' is derived from the Dutch word for wide and the White Rhino's broad snout betrays its bovine-like grass-grazing habits.

The Black Rhino on the other hand is a browser and its triangular-shaped mouth and mobile lips are designed to prune trees and shrubs. The White Rhino is also larger and more placid than its infamously irritable Black cousin, and a White Rhino calf will walk in front of its mother, the Black Rhino calf behind.

Spots the difference: Cheetah vs Leopard

Yeah, yeah, I know you know but you'd be surprised how many people ask this one. It's got to do with the spots on the coat, right?

Right. The cheetah, built like a greyhound but with the ferocity of a rabbit, has solid spots whereas the burly nightclub bouncer look of the leopard is softened by its exquisite rosette markings.

Cheetahs are the ones you see in small groups on open savannahs gazing wistfully at equally athletic antelope; the leopard is the one snoring alone in a tree. Oh, and uniquely among cats, a cheetah can't retract its claws.

Aard Question: Aardvark vs Aardwolf

Besides being the first entries of a dictionary and a boon for scrabble players, the odd spelling of these shy and rarely seen creatures reveals a little about them. 'Aarde' is 'earth' in Dutch and the solidly built Aardvark, or 'earth pig' is a pinkish-grey, long-nosed, ant-eater whereas the slim and stripy Aardwolf is a member of the Hyena family.

Both animals live in open woodland and savannah habitats and spend the day in underground burrows (hence 'earth'). They emerge cautiously at dusk and spend most of the night digging up ant hills, slurping up tens of thousands of ants or termites and avoiding cameras.

Tall story: Giraffes

Thought they were all the same? Unfortunately not: scientists argue whether to grant official species status to the 9 sub-species but let's keep it simple.

If you are in Africa south of the Zambezi and you see an immensely long-legged and necked spotty thing it'll be a South African Giraffe. Simple. It's in East Africa that it gets a bit confusing.

The striking Reticulated Giraffe (whatever you do don't call it an Articulated Giraffe: it's the sort of thing that game rangers dine out on for years) is found in northern Kenya (and beyond) and has regular, well-defined reddish/liver-coloured spots on a clean white background.

North-west Kenya and Uganda is home to the vague brown blotches and creamy background of the Rothschild Giraffe whereas southern Kenya and Tanzania is the place to spot the Maasai Giraffe with its jagged, oak-leaved-shaped blotches on a yellow background.

I told you it wasn't easy; just say it's a giraffe.

Earn Your Stripes: Plains, Grevy's and Mountain Zebras

It's not like you'll mistake a zebra for anything else but did you know that there are 3 separate species each with a number of sub-species?

The standard stripy one you see on the grasslands of southern and East Africa is the Plains or Burchell's Zebra, distinguished by its broad black stripes (or are they white stripes?) that extend onto the belly. The Plains Zebras of southern Africa also sport a brown 'shadow' stripe between the bold main markings. No-one knows why.

The increasingly rare and larger-eared Grevy's Zebra of northern Kenya has far thinner stripes (amusingly forming a bulls-eye over its rump) and a plain white belly whereas you'll have to be in the semi-deserts of Namibia or South Africa to spot the chunky form of the Mountain Zebra, similarly patterned to Grevy's but with an odd dewlap (floppy bit of skin running down the throat).

How Now Big Cow: Cape Buffalo vs Blue Wildebeest

Okay this one's not so hard but you know, dusty day, poor light, one too many sundowners...it happens.

The barrel-chested Cape Buffalo is a cow on steroids. Big, glossy black with enormous down-sweeping horns that meet in a massive central 'boss', the notoriously short-tempered and big-eared buffalo is found bellowing all over southern and East African woodlands and savannahs. If you're lucky you'll see herds forming defensive phalanxes to take on lions.

The somewhat horsey, goat-like Blue Wildebeest has a similar distribution and habitat but its spindly legs, slim build and modest horns point towards something far less intimidating. Bluish-black in colour with characteristic dark stripes on its neck and shoulders and a weird beard, the Blue Wildebeest has an entertaining range of snorting, bleating and buzzing calls and often run around in pointless circles; they aren't noted for their cunning.

Readers' Comments:

Did Dominic leave out any other confusing creatures? We'd love to hear from you, especially if you have any good stories about them! Let us know.

Article © Copyright 2009 Go2Africa.

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