African animals

Antelope is a word used for any one of a large group of animals that are related to goats, sheep and cows. Many antelopes look like deer but are actually not closely related - antelopes keep their horns through their lifetime and deer shed their horns every year. The antelope in the picture is an eland.

There are lots of different kinds of baboon. They are a kind of monkey. They live in Africa, on the ground, not in trees. Baboons have long muzzles like dogs, tails, and male baboons often have a mane. Baboons eat mostly plants, fruit and insects, but will also eat fish and small animals.

Elephants are the largest land animals on earth (whales are the largest animal, but they live in the sea). They can live for 70 years. There are two different kinds of elephant, African and Asian (or Indian) elephants. African elephants are larger and have bigger ears. The elephant in the picture is an African elephant.

A gazelle is a type of antelope that lives in the grasslands of Africa. They live in large herds and can run very fast to get away from predators like cheetahs.

A hare, or Jackrabbit, is a small animal that is related to the rabbit. Hares are different from rabbits in several ways. Rabbits live in burrows underground, and hares do not. Rabbits live in groups, and hares do not. Hares are generally larger than rabbits.