Billion Facts, Mysteries & Curiosities

Four of the five fastest land animals live in Africa – the cheetah (70 mph), wildebeest, lion, and Thomson’s gazelle (all about 50 mph).

Penguins
South Africa has a penguin colony, which thrives thanks to the cold Antarctic currents on the west coast near the Cape.

Chameleons
Madagascar is the home of the worlds largest as well as the smallest chameleons! Almost half of the world’s chameleon species live on the island of Madagascar.

Seals
The largest seal colony in the southern hemisphere is a Cape Cross in Namibia.

Frogs
The world’s biggest frog is found in Cameroon. Named the goliath frog, their body can be one-foot long.

Nile Crocodiles
The Nile crocodile is Africa’s largest living reptile – growing to an average length of 5 m.

African Elephants
The African elephant is the largest living land mammal. An elephant can weigh up to 6-7 tons and has no natural enemies for he is not a predator and there is none large enough to challenge him.

Did you know elephants drink up to 160 liters of water per day and a mature elephant can carry up to 6.8 liters of water in its trunk

An African elephant possesses such “manual” dexterity in his/her trunk tip that he/she can actually turn the pages of a book with it.

Giraffes
Did you know that the tongue of a giraffe can be as long as 45 cm? Giraffes are 6 ft tall when they are born. Even though their necks can be 6-7 feet in length, Giraffe have the same number of vertabrae in their necks as humans (7). The tallest animal on earth is the giraffe – its horn tops being up to 6 metres above ground level.

Gorillas
The Gorilla is the largest of the living primates, male gorillas weight up to 200kg, yet are shy and retiring.

Cheetahs
The cheetah is the fastest land animal at 95 km/h (60mph).

Beetles
The world’s largest and heaviest beetle, the Goliath Beetle is found in tropical Africa. It can reach a length of 5 inches and weigh up to ¼ lb

Butterfly
Having a wingspan of only ½”, the smallest butterfly is in the world is found in South Africa. It is know as the Dwarf Blue Butterfly

Fish
The only place where shools of fresh water sardines are found is in Lake Tanganyika.

African Population: 700 million  (Population Statistics for Sub Saharan Africa)
Birthrate Per 1000: 41
Percentage of people under 15 years old: 45
Countries with lowest life expectancy: Malawi & Zambia, 37 years old

Considered by most scientists to be the origin of mankind, Africa is a continent of 53 independent countries and a rich mix of native peoples, cultures, economies and history. Almost completely encircled by water, its home to vast deserts, tropical rain forests, rugged mountains and fertile grasslands. Its National Parks, wildlife preserves, and incredible natural beauty attract an ever-increasing number of tourists from around the globe. Yet despite its natural wealth and beauty, Africa includes the fifteen least developed nations in the world, 70% of its population survives on less than $2 a day, disease and famine continue to kill millions of its people each year, and even the most basic education is denied to a large percentage of its children. It is the Second Largest Continent, Almost an Island, Shortest Coastline, Three fourths in Tropics, Fifty-four Countries, 748 Million People, 1,000 Languages.