The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the Pygmy hippopotamus. Its name comes from the ancient Greek...
The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. Unlike most other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the...
The serval (Leptailurus serval ) is a wild cat native to Africa. It is rare in North Africa and the Sahel, but widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either...
African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) are large, heavy cow-like animals native to Africa. They are widely regarded as among the most dangerous animals on the African continent, and according to some estimates they gore, trample, and kill over 200 people...
The African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) is one of two living African elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal and is distributed across 37 African countries. Since 2021, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red...
Common swifts (Apus apus) are medium-sized aerial birds known for their superb flying ability. These birds never settle voluntarily on the ground, where they would be vulnerable to accidents and predation, and non-breeding individuals may spend up...
The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat...
Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii ) is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include the bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra (Gray,...
The southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri ; formerly known as Bucorvus cafer ), is one of two species of ground hornbill, which are both found solely within Africa, and is the largest species of hornbill worldwide. It can be found in the...
The European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus ), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwestern...
The tawny eagle (Aquila rapax ) is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its heavily feathered legs illustrate it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as "booted eagles". Tawny eagles have an...
The Egyptian fruit bat or Egyptian rousette (Rousettus aegyptiacus ) is a species of megabat that is found in Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and the Indian subcontinent. It is one of three Rousettus species with an African-Malagasy...
The African clawless otter (Aonyx capensis ), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater otter species. It inhabits permanent water bodies in savannah and lowland forest areas through most of sub-Saharan...
The blue monkey or diademed monkey (Cercopithecus mitis ) is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It...
Verreaux's eagle-owl (Bubo lacteus ), also commonly known as the milky eagle owl or giant eagle owl, is a member of the family Strigidae. This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. A member of the genus Bubo, it is the largest African owl,...
The African harrier-hawk, harrier hawk or gymnogene (Polyboroides typus ) is a bird of prey. It is about 60–66 centimetres (24–26 in) in length. It breeds in most of Africa south of the Sahara. The only other member of the genus is the allopatric...
The rock monitor (Varanus albigularis ) is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Central, East, and southern Africa. It is the second-longest lizard found on the continent, and the heaviest-bodied; locally,...
The common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia ), also known as the grey or bush duiker, is a small antelope found everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the Horn of Africa and the rainforests of the central and western parts of the continent....
The giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima ) is the largest kingfisher in Africa, where it is a resident breeding bird over most of the continent south of the Sahara Desert, other than the arid southwest.
The marsh mongoose (Atilax paludinosus ), also known as the water mongoose or the vansire, is a medium-sized mongoose native to sub-Saharan Africa that inhabits foremost freshwater wetlands. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List...
The zitting cisticola or streaked fantail warbler (Cisticola juncidis ) is a widely distributed Old World warbler whose breeding range includes southern Europe, Africa (outside the deserts and rainforest), and southern Asia down to northern...
The straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum ) is a large fruit bat that is the most widely distributed of all the African megabats. It is quite common throughout its area ranging from the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, across forest and savanna...
The bat hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus ) is a raptor found in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to New Guinea. It is named for its diet, which consists mainly of bats. It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense...
The blue duiker (Philantomba monticola ) is a small antelope found in central, southern and eastern Africa. It is the smallest duiker. The species was first described by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg in 1789. 12 subspecies are identified....
The tropical house gecko, Afro-American house gecko or cosmopolitan house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia ) is a species of house gecko native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is also currently found in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, where...
The speckled mousebird (Colius striatus ) is the largest species of mousebird, as well as one of the most common. It is found throughout most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.
The brown greater galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus ), also known as the large-eared greater galago or thick-tailed galago, is a nocturnal primate, the largest in the family of galagos. As opposed to smaller galago species it would climb, walk or run...
The southern tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus ), also known as the southern tree dassie, is a species of mammal in the family Procaviidae. The southern tree hyrax is mainly found in the south central eastern side of Africa.
The African crake (Crecopsis egregia ) is a small- to medium-size ground-living bird in the rail family, found in most of central to southern Africa. It is seasonally common in most of its range other than the rainforests and areas that have low...
The Mauritian tomb bat (Taphozous mauritianus ) is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae that is found in central and southern Africa and Madagascar. It was discovered in 1818 by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and is...
Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi ) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is commonly found across southern Africa.
The bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus ) is the nominate taxon of the bushbuck. It is a small to medium-sized antelope widespread in Africa. The Cape bushbuck is a southern and eastern subspecies which is recognised by some authors, which found evidence...
The dark chanting goshawk (Melierax metabates ) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which is found across much of sub-Saharan Africa and southern Arabia, with an isolated and declining population in southern Morocco.
The pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) is a small (2 mm) yellow or light brown, almost transparent ant notorious for being a major indoor nuisance pest, especially in hospitals. A cryptogenic species, it has now been introduced to virtually every...
The African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus ), also known as the Senegal wattled plover or simply wattled lapwing, is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa...
The emerald-spotted wood dove (Turtur chalcospilos ) is a bird of the family Columbidae, resident across eastern and southern Africa. It is a species of open drier deciduous woodland and second growth. It is absent from evergreen rainforests and...
The red-breasted swallow (Cecropis semirufa ), also known as the rufous-chested swallow, is a member of the family Hirundinidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is confined to the tropical rainforest during the wet season.
The yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), also known as the long-legged ant or Maldive ant, is a species of ant, thought to be native to West Africa or Asia. They have been accidentally introduced to numerous places in the world's tropics.The...
The little free-tailed bat (Chaerephon pumilus ) is a species of the genus Chaerephon in the family Molossidae. It is widely distributed across Africa and islands around the continent.
The spectacled weaver (Ploceus ocularis ) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found widely in woodland, forest edge and gardens of central, eastern and south-eastern Africa, but is absent from the most arid regions (such as the...
The variegated butterfly bat (Glauconycteris variegata ) is a species of vesper bat. It is sometimes also called the leaf-winged bat, or simply the butterfly bat. It is not currently endangered, but may be threatened by habitat loss in some parts of...
The Egyptian slit-faced bat (Nycteris thebaica ) is a species of slit-faced bat broadly distributed throughout Africa and the Middle East. It is a species of microbat in the family Nycteridae. Six subspecies are known.
