08/12/2020
Beautiful in their own way.
One of the fascinating aspects of the wildlife of Africa is the distinctive colours and patterns on show, and behaviour associated with each animals that sometimes compliments the colouring.
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All individuals within a mammal species have distinctive characteristics, making them distinguishable from each other (just like fingerprints in humans). In many species these individual characteristics are not immediately obvious. In lions for example, where the colour is uniform, researches identify individuals by the whisker spots.
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The differences in individual leopard and cheetah may not be immediately obvious due to the plethora of spots. However, upon closer inspection of the skin patterning, unique individual markings may be identified. Unique individual patterns on the skin are more obvious in species such as zebra, wild dog and giraffe where the patterning is more pronounced.
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Text by Leigh Kemp
Photo credit: Various photographers
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