#883: Zosterops

The Zosterops are tiny passerines, with species spread throughout Africa, Southeast Asia and Australasia. Many are characterised by the white rings around their eyes. He follows an insectivorous diet, favouring fruit and nectar during the warmer months, and consuming more insect prey in the colder months. This fellow is the critically endangered Mauritius olive white-eye. He feeds on nectar and insects, with a special preference for rare endemic flowers, which have been largely overtaken by introduced plants. His nests are also destroyed by introduced pests like rats and macaques.

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And thus concludes the last in my animal alphabet, but not truly the end, for I have a few animals to fill in the gaps from previous and will be taking requests, preferably around 17 to bring me up to the #900. If you wish to request an animal that has not already been included, comment here or email me: lemurkat@gmail.com, subject: ZooTrophy.

And I will, at some point in the not TOO distant future, be undertaking a similar, but smaller, project on prehistoric animals.

#881: Zorilla

The Zorilla, a striped polecat, bears both a physical and behavioural resemblance to the skunk. If threatened, he arches his back, raises his tail, and sprays the predator with a foul musk from his anal glands. This both burns the predator's skin and can temporarily blind them. He leads a solitary existence, foraging at night for insects, invertebrates and small vertebrates, which he digs up with his clawed paws.

#873: Zebra Duiker

The Zebra Duiker is a small antelope. His natural habitat are the closed-canopy rainforests of West Africa, centered around Liberia. He is shy and reclusive, rarely seen except on camera traps. He is greatly affected by logging, and is Vulnerable to extinction. Although his diet consists predominantly of fruits, seeds and sometimes leaves, he has been observed eating rodents and frogs.

#871: Zebra

There are several species of Zebra, striped equines found in Africa. Like other equines, Zebra are social creatures and live in herds, mostly consisting of females and their foals and lead by a single stallion. Male Zebras live in small bachelor groups, or alone, until they are strong enough to challenge the breeding stallions.Although Zebra have been long considered to be white with black stripes, evidence indicates that they are, in fact, black with white stripes. These stripes break up their outline, making it hard for predators to single one Zebra from another in a herd and helping to confuse predators.

#862: Yellow Bishop

The Yellow Bishop is a small, stocky weaverbird. He occupies vegetated areas, ranging across many of the African countries. His food consists mainly of seed, grain and the occasional insect. During the breeding season, the male's plumage grows in glossy black, with the yellow rump and shoulders. Outside of that time, he dons more dowdy browns and greys, not dissimilar to the female.

#850: Xavier's Greenbul

The greenbuls belong to the same Family as the bulbul. Xavier's Greenbul is widespread across central Africa, including the Congo and Cameroon. Here he occupies tropical and sub-tropical forests. His diet consists mostly of insects and other invertebrates, although he also dines upon fruit.

#837: Wolf

The Wolf is a large canine, historically spread across the Northern Hemisphere, although now some subspecies are Extinct or Critically Endangered. She is a pack animal, living in family groups led by a male and a female, and consisting of her growing offspring.  Pups remain with their parent pack for up to 4 years, before dispersing to form their own. Wolves hunt cooperatively, and share their kills, with the adult pair dining first. The Wolf has been shown to morphologically share a common ancestor with the domestic dog, and the two readily interbreed.

#835: Wildebeest

The Wildebeest are a Genus of large antelopes, sometimes known as gnu. They live in large herds, sometimes combining with zebra and other hoofed megafauna. The blue wildebeest undertakes a vast annual migration, migrating with the rains. Animals gather into large herds, moving together with the younger animals towards the centre. protecting them somewhat from the multitude of predators. Wildebeest are affected by agriculture, with fences disrupting their migration routes and competition with cattle proving detrimental to the non-migratory herds.

#825: Weaver

The Weavers are a Family of passerines related to finches.  Most of the species are found in Africa, although a few inhabit Asia. These seed-eating birds are renowned for their nesting behaviour, which varies between species. Some create small, neat and beautifully woven conical nests, others create great sprawling apartment-style complexs. Males are generally more colourful than females.

Other species of Weaver I have illustrated:
Quelea
Red Fody 
Yellow Bishop

#819: Warthog

Happy Valentine's Day!
And what could be more romantic than a warthog?
Well, many things, I guess...

Anyhow, Warthogs are a Genus of wild pigs, comprised of two species: the Common Warthog and the Desert Warthog. They are named for the fleshy protrusions about the pig's face; this is more pronounced in males. He is the only pig adapted to a savannah lifestyle, and he follows an omnivorous diet consisting of whatever he can find and eat.

#809: Vleihaas

The Vleihaas, or Riverine Rabbit, is one of the rarest mammals in the world - with less than 250 adults remaining. She is found only in isolated areas of the Karoo Desert, in river basins. She browses on foliage and flowers during the night, retiring to shallow scrapes during the day. She is slow-breeding, for a rabbit, with does birthing only one or two kits a year. Her habitat is under threat from farmland conversion, and much of it lies on privately owned land.

#798: Vervet Monkey

The Vervet Monkey occurs naturally along the eastern coast of Africa. Here he inhabits savannah, riverine woodland, coastal forest and  up into the mountains. He has also been introduced to parts of America, including Florida.His diet includes a lot of fruit, but he also enjoys flowers, leaves, seeds, insects and bird's eggs. In some areas, where his range encompasses that of people, he is considered a pest. Troops range in size from ten to 70 individuals with males leaving to join other troops when they reach sexual maturity,

#760: Timneh Parrot

The Timneh Parrot is closely related to the African Gray Parrot and until 2012 was regarded as a subspecies. He is slightly smaller, and has more of a maroon tinge to his feathers. Like the African Gray he is intelligent and vocal, and a superb mimic. This has earned him favour in the pet trade, and with the African Gray on the decline (entire populations have been extirpated due to poaching), it is likely he will be the next target. His natural habitat is dense forest.

I know I've said this before, but parrots do not make good pets. Unlike cats and dogs, parrots have not been domesticated; many are either wild-caught or have recent ancestors that are wild-caught. They are social and demanding and need a lot of care and attention. In some cases, demand exceeds the captive-born supply, and poaching is rampant. African Grays are disappearing fast, the Timneh is likely to be next. Being long-lived and intelligent, if you own a parrot, you will need to think of what will happen if you outlive it. They get jealous easily and tend to fixate on one person. Captive born birds that are bonded or imprinted to humans are unlikely to breed. Rescue facilities in the US are full-to-bursting with parrots that have been surrendered because they're too noisy, too needy, too emotionally screwed up, to remain with their human "mate". It's heart-breaking. If you do want a parrot - consider adopting one of those.

#718: Springbok

The South African Springbok is a medium-sized antelope, able to reach speeds of up to 88 km/hr. He is named for his ability to "stot" or "pronk": leaping vertically in the air, all four feet off the ground. This is a strategy to demonstrate to predators that he is fine, fit and not worth pursuing, and to show female Springbok that he is definitely worth pursuing. Springbok form herds. Their diet is mixed, with grazing common during the wet season but browsing on trees and shrubs in drier times.

#697: Shoebill

The Shoebill is a large and distinctive bird, characterised by his massive, shoe-shaped bill. Omce considered to be a Stork, he is now thought to be related to Pelicans and his closest relative is the Hammerkop. He stands motionless for lengthy periods of time, scanning the water for fish. Patient and generally slow-moving, he strikes quickly when prey is sighted. Given his large bill and wide gape, he is capable of taking quite considerably sized prey - including small mammals, lizards and waterbirds. He is found in parts of eastern, inland Africa, favouring water with low-oxygenated waters, in which the fish must surface to breathe.

#693: Serval

The Serval is a medium-sized feline, found in the savannahs of Africa. She is characterised by her long legs. These are ideal for helping her find prey in the long grasses. Her elongated foot bones  allow her to attain speeds of up to 80 km/hr and assist her in jumping. She is capable of leaping 3 m vertically, allowing her to snatch birds in flight. Serval are capable predators - about 50% of their hunts result in kills.

They are sometimes kept as exotic pets in America, and have been hybridised with domestic cats to produce the Savannah Cat. Being intelligent and large, Serval and Savannah Cats do not make the most easily handled of pets and are banned in some countries.

#691: Secretarybird

The Secretarybird is a long legged bird of prey,  rather resembling an eagle on stilts. He can measure up to 1.3 m tall.  Predominantly terrestrial, he makes his home in the savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa. During the night he roosts in acacia trees. His diet is carnivorous and he will eat everything from insects up to small mammals. Whilst noted for killing snakes, these are not a major component of his diet. Prey is pursued on foot, and often kicking into incapacitation. The Secretarybird's claws are sharp, his kick powerful; he can shatter a human's hand with one kick.

#653: Rhinoceros

The Rhinoceros are five species of odd-toed ungulate, of which three species are found in Asia and two - including this white rhinoceros - inhabit Africa. All are characterised by the horns, which are formed of keratin and grow constantly throughout the Rhinoceros's life. These horns are prized on the black market, where they are crushed into a powder and used in traditional medicine. Poaching has eliminated two of the Asian species from much of their range, and reduced populations to critically low levels. The African species suffer a similar plight with only the southern white rhinoceros surviving in sufficient numbers.

It is unknown how the white rhino got its name, for she certainly is not white - although her colouration is slighter lighter than that of the black rhino. It has been considered a variation of wijd, a Dutch word meaning "wide" and referring to her lips, which are wide and allow her to efficiently graze, but this has not been linguistically proven. The black rhino as narrower, prehensile lips, which he uses to browse leaves and twig from trees. 

#626: Quelea

There are three species of Quelea, a Genus of weaver bird found in Africa. The most well known is the Red-billed Quelea, which is currently the most abundant wild bird in the world. Perhaps as many as 10 billion individuals inhabit the sub-Saharan regions of Africa. Flocks can take 5 hours to fly past. These birds breed during the rains, gathering in vast numbers. The males weave the nest and within twelve days of laying, up to four chicks hatch. These chicks grow fast, fledging at only two weeks old. It is this swift breeding system which leads to the population explosion. his diet consists of seeds and grains, and flocks can decimate crops, making them a serious agricultural pest. To counteract this, millions of birds are shot every year, and roosting sites are targeted at night, obliterating the birds in their sleep. Non-target species may, unfotunately, get caught in the crossfire, leading to their decline - while the Quelea still swarms on and on.

#624: Queen Malachite

The Queen Malachite is a species of damselfly. He makes his home near fern-lined streams, in the forests of South Africa. His range is limited, and deforestation has caused numbers to decline and earning him the classification of Near Threatened. Small and relatively inconspicious, males hover closest to the waters edge. Like all damselfly, he is a predator, hunting smaller insects.