Survivor Africa: Wild living

EVER wondered why the African Lion (Panthera leo) has heavily muscled forelimbs and long retractable claws?
Different animals and plant species have developed different special features to allow them to live comfortably and free in their ecosystems or habitats. These have been developed through evolution, which saw different species emerge to occupy different habitats and niches.

A habitat provides food, water and shelter which animals and plants need to survive. But there is more to survival than just habitat. They also depend on their physical features to help them obtain food, keep safe, build homes or face extreme weather. The answer: the lion’s long retractable claws help it grab and hold prey, while its loose belly skin allows less chance of an injury if the animal is kicked by prey.The camel’s hump serves as reservoir for energy-rich fat, which the camel can metabolise for energy when food is scarce. The African Darter (Anhinga rufa), found mainly in the Okavango River, said avid birder Mark Paxton (of Shamvura Camp in Kavango region) – has feathers that are completely waterproof, allowing immediate flight once the bird has surfaced from a dive.’The beak has an extremely sharp tip and is armed with backward-facing barbs on the inner surface of the pallet so that wriggling fish, once grabbed, are unlikely to escape. Their wings are used under water in much the same way as flippers on a seal, to help propel and manoeuvre them under water in pursuit of prey,’ said Paxton.Vulture expert Liz Komen of the Namibia Animal Rehabilitation Research and Education Centre (Narrec) said vultures have very good eyesight, which helps the bird to spot prey from the air.She said the vulture’s long and wide wings, with tips that look almost like fingers, enable these birds to soar and therefore use less energy to fly. The migratory flamingos we find at the Walvis Bay Lagoon, Etosha Pan and sometimes at Lake Oponona, have long legs that help the bird to wade into much deeper water than other waders and their feet also support them on soft mud. When the water is beyond their wading depth, flamingos swim on the surface while feeding because their webbed feet allow them to swim quite readily. In the Namib Desert, the ubiquitous button beetles excavate tiny parallel furrows in the sand that are oriented at right angles to the direction of the wind.When the coastal fog rolls in, it condenses on the sand grains of the furrow’s ridges and the button beetles then suck them dry. These and others are survival strategies for living things, and allows them to thrive in habitats that would otherwise be extremely inhospitable to them.absalom@namibian.com.na