The Animal Kingdom

I just spent a very long time doing four posts, trying to get caught up on posting pictures.  This post is about the amazing animals that live here.

I know that our Heavenly Father loves animals.  That's why he created so many unique and interesting ones.  I did a previous post about "The Big Five" here in Africa.  Now I would like to post pictures of others that I find just fascinating.  It will be fun someday to talk to Heavenly Father and to our brother and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to ask them how everything was done.  And to Adam and Eve who were the first people on earth.  That must have been an adventure!

So here are some pictures, not in any particular order.  But I still say penguins are my favorite!  (Next to zebras and giraffes, etc. etc. etc.)

Hippos are so ugly, they're endearing.  Not cute.  Just endearing.

Ostriches are funny creatures.  Big birds that can't fly.  The Layton family who lived near us in Grassy Lake, Alberta, raised ostriches one year.  I remember that an ostrich pecked Virginia Layton on the chin and she still has a scar from it.

Giraffes are regal and graceful.  Craig has a cool picture of one spreading its legs and bending somewhat for a drink.

A dik-dik is like a very big jack rabbit.  So interesting to know that it is a type of antelope.

We have so many deer and antelope at home that at first I didn't think antelope were very interesting.  But they have lovely horns.  The impala (above) has curved horns and black stripes on its rear end.

Grant's Gazelle has long, fairly straight horns.

Thomson's Gazelle has straight, long horns and a black stripe on its sides.

Ah . . . my lovely zebras.  This shows the brownish hue that is on many zebras.

The Hartebeest has interesting horns that grow kind of  u-shaped and its back slopes downward.

The Wildebeest is not a lovely creature!

The male Eland often has a droopy neck.

The Waterbuck has coarse shaggy fur.

Craig and I had a hard time identifying this antelope.  It is a Bushback.  Furry tail.