Tour to Neocene
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In the world richly populated by the diverse lifeforms, the
main importance for alive creatures is got with the most different forms of
cooperation: from frank parasitism to mutually advantageous symbiosis. And all
of them are directed on one purpose: to help to survive in the complex and changeable
world. Not only animals, but also plants develop such connections. And for one
Neocaenic tree species of the African savanna this cooperation appeared very
favourable one.
The sugar tree grows in small groups or alone on plains of Africa in very mild
climate conditions. The dry season lasts not for long and the tree experiences
it easily due to the big stocks of water in a thick trunk and the long roots
penetrating into deep water-bearing horizons. But not only because of it its
crone is much to a thicket, than crones of other trees.
Many Neocaenic savanna trees have an enemy: a huge bird, the giraffe
ostrich. Family groups of these giants wander on a savanna, browsing even
the most prickly branches by means of strong beak tolerant to thorn pricks.
Birds search on the ground and swallow cobble-stones in weight up to 500 grammes:
it allows them to fray rigid and fibrous leaves of some savanna palms. And the
sugar tree favourably differs from other vegetation that its large leaves have
pleasant sweetish taste.
One of feathered giants approaches to a thick crone of a tree hoping to be sated
with juicy sweet leaves. The huge bird tears off large leaves and swallows it
entirely. Its activity forces even large branches to be shaken. The giant ostrich
pulls leaves making efforts, not guessing, that it submits a signal to protection
of a tree.
Among branches of a tree red and black-and-white lumps of fur flash, shrill
chirring is heard. And soon on a branch eaten by an ostrich an avant guarde
of defenders of a tree appears: there are two red squirrels with striped tails.
They are garden squirrels - inhabitants and security guards of a sugar tree.
All new and new small mammals gradually arrive, and soon the branches nearest
to an ostrich's head appear entirely covered with loudly chirring small mammals.
The skilled ostrich for a long time would depart aside, but unfortunately the
disturber of the squirrel calmness is inexperienced one and it still never faced
with these small mammals. The bird continues the meal, having torn off large
leaves. And hereby it becomes casus beli.
One of garden squirrels jumps on a head of a gigantic bird, after it the following
pair jumps. Squirrels start to bite almost featherless skin of an ostrich head.
The huge bird, able to desert adult deadlynetta
to the tree by strong kick, appears defenceless before such small opponents.
The feathered giant shakes a head, is stirred up by all body, but it is vain:
almost ten squirrels run on its head and a back, ruthlessly biting under accompaniment
of loud chirring of the squirrel colony. The scared giraffe ostrich runs off
aside a tree, and attack instantly stops. Having noticed, that the bird departs
from a native tree, squirrels jump off from a giant on bushes and on the ground,
hastening in the house. The giraffe ostrich has received a good lesson: its
neck and a head are doted with bruises. Not soon it will forget taste of leaves
of a sugar tree, but it will remember even longer, that such tasty thing is
never giving for free.
Garden squirrels hasten on the tree. There, at top, in the big forked crown
of branches there is the large collective dray containing of some tens of individual
"apartments", occupied with a pair of squirrels, and some barchelor
"rooms" on edges of a colony. The dray is constructed from rods and
stalks of grasses. On a roof of a dray there are planted real "gardens"
of epiphytic plants. It also has determined the name of small mammals.
Epiphytes are rarity in a dry savanna. Therefore garden squirrels are started
up on searches of new plants enough frequently. «Hunters for plants» are very
cautious: they are hidden in a grass and try as it is possible to be shown on
eyes less often. Far from a colony their boldness at times passing ton impudence,
is lost immediately The “hunter for plants” promptly climbs up a tree in which
branches the desired plant is noticed. Having run up to the necessary plant,
the squirrel tries to tear off from it a part suitable on the size: a piece
of a thricket or a part of a stalk. When it works well, the small mammal accurately
goes down and quickly runs to a native tree, holding a desired burden in a teeth.
In a crone of a house tree the squirrel with a plant quickly rises in a dray
and attaches on an empty place a new ornament of a roof. Other squirrels browse
perishing parts of plants, move off dry leaves and support in cleanliness a
garden on a house roof. It gives the big advantages to garden squirrels. Plants
perfectly mask the dray from air predators, cover friable drays from a rain,
and after the rain roots soak up from walls of dray water together with dung
of small mammals, helping thus to support cleanliness in dwelling.
Also the sugar tree is subject of squirrel care. For the sake of moving convenience
squirrels bite off a part of branches which make a crone very thick. The retained
branches grow much better because of it. Squirrels struggle with vermin insects.
To tell the truth, it not end in itself, and probably it is a by-effect of squirrel
life: they satisfy so needs for protein food. Especially squirrels like large
capricorn beetles and their fat larvae. As well they eat mushrooms plentifully
growing in trunk hollows of a sugar tree. The basic food of squirrels leaves
and fruits of a sugar tree serve for: it’s a real «sweet life»!
But insects can be a source of sweet food too. Colonies of plant lice settle
on soft young sprouts of a sugar tree. These delicate insects breed fast, but
they have many enemies, including garden squirrels. Surveying branches of a
tree, the squirrel will come across a colony of plant lice. Having seized back
paws in a branch, it drags a tip of the branch which have been stuck round by
plant lice to herself by forward paws, and licks off these insects with pleasure.
Due to cares of a colony of squirrels the sugar tree will flower plentifully
and expands magnificently. Its crone is both a table, and the house for little
sociable rodents.
But not only squirrels live by groups. The survival in group is favourable,
though thus somehow it is necessary to divide interests on both group. And some
other animals have survived during mass extinction of a Holocene due to complex
and variable group behaviour.
High grasses and bush thickets of a savanna give a shelter to one of the most
dangerous animal of a savanna. Even saber-toothed deadlynetta not always ventures
to rise for a way of these animals. Loud shouts, squeal and a hoot warn animals
of savanna of approach of pack of furiobaboons - carnivorous primates. These
wiry strong creatures have uncommon courage and an ingenuity. They are omnivorous,
but like to food meat and are able to get it by different ways. In a drought
they visit little ponds and catch fishes and frogs in a dirty water, break tortoise
shells by stones. And furiobaboons get such fast prey as little birds and lizards,
throwing handfuls of small stones in it. One stone necessarily finds the victim.
These predatory monkeys tear apart a carcass of a dead herbivore or prey won
over at a predator by long canines.
The hierarchy in group of baboons is very rigid, the weakened animal easily
can slide downwards on a ladder of a domination. But the adult tyrant male keeps
up that the share was received even with the lowest members of clan – by this
way he tries to get support of all members of group. The cubs are especially
loved by the tyrant. At a sharing of carcass of dead harelope
or young flathorn he keeps
up, that kids received the share. At times he can take away meat from especially
greedy neighbour and to give it immediately to hungry kid. To tell the truth,
becoming the youngster, the young baboon starts to receive hits and kicks from
the leader instead of meal: the childhood was ended, it is time to live adult
life. And at the leader there are new favourites whom he teaches and preserves.
Furiobaboons are inventive and they skilfully use objects in their everyday
life. The monkey, learned to use a new object, or discovered a new way of food
getting, highly rises in hierarchy. Different clans own different "know-how",
transferring it from generation to generation. And one of clans has in a collective
collection of experience way to prey tasty delicate meat of the garden squirrel,
and it is rather easy.
The male «nr. 2» in hierarchy of a clan tries the taste of tree leaves and examines
the ground in searches of traces of stay of squirrels. At last he finds that
searched - sweetish leaves and little pieces of dung in big heaps. A silent
hoot he informs group about a find. Baboons, trying to not rustle, look for
a dray of squirrels on one of tree tops. It is easy for noticing from the ground
if to know, where to search. Having remembered a place, baboons leave it to
return later.
On the far river shallow they search for small-sized stones. Having collected
on a cupped hand of stones, they come clumsy gait on hinder legs nearer to the
bushes growing near to a noticed tree. There they dump stones in a little heap.
And the male «nr. 2» finds a long branch and peels from it almost all leaves,
having left a bunch on a top. He knows how to entice squirrels from the dray.
There evening comes, the sun is setting. Hunting baboons take a position behind
bushes. The male «nr. 2» silently comes nearer to a tree; then he is hidden
under a thick branch, hooks it by prepared rod and starts to pull foliage. The
result does not keep itself waiting - about twenty of small tree defenders jump
on a branch with furious chirring. However they do not see the enemy... And
before they have time to think something, the hail of stones and sticks flies
to them. Some squirrels the same moment fall in a dead faint, and to ones trying
to escape, the new portion of stones flies. The baboon male under a tree continues
to pull a branch, causing new groups of defenders. One of saved squirrels utters
sharp whistle - an alarm signal, but here it is forced down with neatly thrown
stone. Result of an attack is one and a half tens of killed squirrels. Baboons
gather dead squirrels but when one of young males tries to have eaten one squirrel
body, the dominating male gives him a strong punch, accompanying it with indignant
hoot.
Night in a colony of squirrels passes very restlessly. Small mammals sniff at
air and listen, expecting the disappeared neighbours, but some of their neighbours
already never will return to drays.
In the morning baboons undertake attack on the squirrel colony again. Stones
still remained in bushes, and since morning it would be desirable to eat very
much: not all baboons managed the squirrel bodies. And whether can tiny small
mammal sate the large voracious monkey? Attack on squirrels is undertaken by
teenagers who managed all pair squirrels for all. They silently creep to a tree
of squirrels. Some of them have armed with sticks though to use them plainly
are not able yet. One of the elder youngsters pokes a branch of a tree by long
stick, hoping to entice squirrels. But in branches only one sentry squirrel
flashes. It perfectly sees attacking baboon youngsters, utters loud whistling,
evades from ineptly thrown stick and disappears in foliage. Skilled baboons
would return only some days later when squirrels will forget about them. But
young ones still to study a long time.
Young baboons do not know, that there are somebody who can attack them. Grew
in herd, they have got used to be cautious only then when grown-ups warn. And
one young baboon is threatened with danger. In searches of a good stone he has
departed far companions, and it did not remain unnoticed. The barbed herzogcat,
the magnificent long-maned male, watches the young monkey from a high grass.
He perfectly sees the careless cub, and when the teenager bends down to pick
a stone off the ground, the cat makes silent and exact throw. No sound was uttered
by the young baboon when sharp canines have bitten through his nape and neck.
Similar, other young baboons are very much occupied with hunting for squirrels
and they were not disturbed with disappearance of one of them. However the wind
wafts to them an unfamiliar smell. The cry of surprise of one youngster compels
others to end useless occupation and to be straightened. The big group of huge
gorillada monkeys comes nearer to sugar trees. The large long-maned male goes
ahead, at some distance from him there are going teenagers and females with
cubs. Young baboons had never seen gorilladas: these monkeys live in foothills
and go down on plains only during fruit ripening, including fruits of a sugar
tree. One of the most courageous teenagers tries to make that successfully was
possible to his daddy, the leader of herd. He loudly squeals and throws a stone
in the teenager of the gorillada. The stone has hit the mark, and the young
gorillada female has plaintively moaned, having seized by an injuried shoulder.
The male, leader of family of gorilladas rises on hinder legs, rolls up an upper
lip on a flat nose, exposing shining pink gums with a large white teeth, and
roars by full voice. Young baboons quickly understand, who is mainer, and hastily
leave a battlefield.
Gorilladas, despite of distant relationship with furiobaboons are herbivorous
monkeys. Usually they eat foliage of mountain trees, bushes and grasses, but
they willingly regale themselves with fruits and they perfectly know terms of
their ripening.
The group of gorilladas will spend some days in a grove of sugar trees. They
enjoy abundance of fruits, but in this season the crop is so great, that it
is a lot of fruits still not to have eaten. And then one of savanna holidays
begins.
The sugar tree involves monkeys with one feature which has ruined thousands
of other primates, people, for 25 million years up to this time. Fruits of a
sugar tree are so rich by sugars, that at times they start to ferment right
on a tree. And fruits plop down already "ripened", rich by alcohol.
Having to have eaten a lot of them, the herbivore can get drunk strongly. And
this condition is pleasant to gorilladas not less, than in the past to people.
They find fermented fruits and devour it in plenty. Stomaches of these monkeys
turn to fermenting tubs, poor primates are tormented with an eructation. But
that you will not endure for the sake of pleasure, let so doubtful!
Having to had eaten fair quantity of fruits, gorilladas have a rest, having
rested to a tree trunk. Youngsters clumsily frisk and somersault in a grass,
and the large dominant snores under beams of the sun in a grass. Not far huge
deadlynetta plaits unsteady gait. But now it does not justify the famous name:
the holiday of a Neocaenic Bacchus has not bypassed also it. Lacklustre eyes
and shaky gait show a huge predator as the big sugar tree fruit eater. From
under legs of the genette the bird flies up, and disappears in a grass by intricate
zigzags. The holiday has touched all savanna inhabitants. It is good, that such
crops happen not each year, and “drunk fruits” quickly decay, saving savanna
animals from deep drunkenness.
Presence of gorilladas does not disturb garden squirrels. Their colony heals
the wounds put by collision with furiobaboons. While gorilladas have a rest
in a grove of sugar trees, baboons will not appear in their presence. For some
days pair of young squirrels has stuck to a colony from another grove. Teenagers
of these species, males and females, leave a colony where their parents live.
They can found a new colony or join to already existing one. Newcomers are accepted,
as they show to natives of a colony gestures of submission: draw in bright striped
tails. Squirrels from a colony sniff at newcomers; thus their tails are pulled
upwards and kept in compliance with a rank - the mainer squirrel has above lifted
tail.
It is allowed to newcomers to live in a colony as from a meeting with baboons
some adult and young animals were lost. In other time they would been expelled
away.
Gorilladas are a guaranty of that nobody will attack a colony of squirrels from
the ground. But there is also other danger: predatory birds which come from
above. At top of the dray in thickets of plants some sentries, strong old squirrels,
constantly are on duty. They are insufficiently quick and strong to protect
a tree from land herbivores, but their sight allows distinguishing feathered
predators. They inform about danger by the same shrill whistling.
It is the midday; the sun ruthlessly shines from African heavens. Squirrels
are hidden from heat in the dray or under big leaves of a sugar tree. And sentries
are languid with the heat on the full blaze of the sun. One by one they are
sleepy. And last sentry falls asleep in a shadow of leaves of orchids. But vainly
they were fallen to rest: feathered predators are near. And they are not eagles
or hawks hunting alone. They are parrots - clever collective predators.
The African griffarrot has mastered an injurious kind of life rather recently.
Schools of these fast green birds with naked grey faces earn their living by
carrion, gnawing the rests of large predator’s prey. A mighty parrot’s beak
crushes even thick bones, reaching up to a marrow. And still such beaks approach
for ruin of the garden squirrel’s dray. Flying above the savanna, the flock
of birds utters the loud unpleasant shouts similar to a crow croak. And this
shout wakes fallen into a light sleep the sentry squirrel. Shrill whistling
was late: birds have seen motley small mammals as soon as they were moved. And
the flock of large green parrots starts to hover above the dray of squirrels.
Many squirrels are hidden in foliage, hoping, that birds will not notice them.
But griffarrots are interested with contents of the dray - squirrel cubs.
As if on command the flock of birds falls on a dray and starts to crush it with
beaks. Birds tear off plants, break and gnaw branches from which the dray is
plaited. And predators have reached dray chambers. The peep of cubs, pulling
out by birds, stimulates several squirrels to rush to attack on feathered robbers:
the parent instinct overcomes an instinct of self-preservation. Seizing in a
feathering of winged pillagers, squirrels tear feathers and try to bite parrots.
But parrots have advantage over squirrels: they can attack from air. Flying
up, birds beat squirrels a beak on a head. One of parrots hunts on a pair with
the female: while the male attacks the squirrel from air, the female rushes
on a rodent sideways and has a bite a backbone of the squirrel. Pair of parrots
departs, the male holds in a beak a body of the squirrel – it is enough for
them. Gradually one by one birds depart: squirrels resist strongly, and with
each departed parrot the boldness of squirrels increases. And already last parrot
tries to get away, but it has turned to a victim from a predator: squirrels
have seized it and have bitten to death.
Under a sugar tree the gorillada male sleeps. The green fluffy feather falls
from above on his nose, forcing the mighty monkey to sneeze loudly.
On a tree half kilometer far from squirrel colony griffarrots are arranged on
rest. Family pairs clean a feathering each other, and one of pairs eats a body
of the killed squirrel. The female presses the body by paw against the branch,
and they pinch off slices of meat together. During the meal other bird, raising
crest, snarls at neighbours, trying to snatch the share of meat.
As against garden squirrels, griffarrots have wish to living place changing
out of nesting season. Flocks of these birds migrate on a savanna in searches
of prey. Occasionally they visit the wide river flowing on a savanna where there
was the Sahara desert in historical time. This river is the Nile of human epoque
which have come back to the old channel. And around of this river there is a
unique world of live beings.
Bestiary |
Garden squirrel (Sciurus decorator)
Order: Rodents (Rodentia)
Family: Sciuridae
Picture by Lambert
Initial version of the image - picture by Arseny Zolotnikov |
The squirrel can be named hereby to “living fossils”: genus
Sciurus exists from Oligocene in practically modern station. The unique circumstance
prevents to make it: a wide living area and the big variety of modern squirrel
species. It is possible, that any representatives of family Sciuridae could
survive during mass extinction and evolve to new species of Neocene epoch.
The garden squirrel does not exceed the common red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
in size. It is coloured brightly: an orange head and a body, black ears and
a longitudinal strip on a back, a white belly, a long black-and-white striped
tail (it is similar to a tail of lemur (Lemur catta)). With the help of tail
position the squirrel communicates and submits each other signals. A voice is
chirring, at danger - sharp whistling (as at gophers).
The garden squirrel is one of numerous species of the African Neocaenic squirrels.
It lives by big colonies on trees with edible foliage and fruits, obviously
preferring a sugar tree because of sweetish taste of its foliage and plentiful,
though also seasonal fruiting. Squirrels live in colonies at top of a rendered
habitable by them tree where they build a huge collective dray. The top part
of such dray is masked by plenty of epiphytic plants, which squirrels drag from
the near trees and stick in a roof of a dray. Plants quickly get accustomed,
as their roots will penetrate into drays of squirrels and receive secretions
of these rodents as a source of additional mineral feed. The colony consists
of main pair, set of the subordinated pairs (without rigid hierarchy between
them) and the numerous young bachelors who have arrived from other colonies.
Own cubs (3 packs for one year, 7 - 9 cubs in a pack) grow quickly and shortly
young males are expelled from a colony and lead lonely life some time. At this
time the significant part of them perishes. Becoming enough adult, young animals
join already existing colonies and form pairs inside them.
Squirrels look after a rendered habitable tree: they gather vermin insects (which
simultaneously are used as "meat" part of feeding) and settling epiphytic
plants from branches, gnaw out dry branches and too long sprouts. The young
tree at first time is only visited by animals from the near large colony, and
when the tree grows up, the own constant colony of squirrels is formed on its
top.
Active squirrel protection of a tree from large herbivores is original: as soon
as animals will feel presence of herbivores (usually on a smell and a stir of
branches), the part of a colony runs to protection of a tree. Squirrels run
on the branches nearest to "calm ruffler" and start to shout loudly.
If it does not help, some of squirrels bite a herbivore in a muzzle and lips,
and the most courageous ones jump on a head of an animal and bite its skin.
When the stranger departs from a tree, squirrels quickly jump on a branch and
come back in a colony.
Furiobaboon (Feropapio furiosus)
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopithecidae
Picture by Eugeny Hontor
Initial version of the image - picture by Pavel Volkov |
In case of mass extinction of species the majority of primates
is doomed for disappearance: places of their inhabiting - tropical woods - are
one of the most vulnerable biotopes on land. But primates live not only in woods.
The small amount of species of primates has develop new places of an inhabiting
– savannas and mountains. Some macaques, guenons, baboons and geladas are those
species. In case of global ecological accident they have chance of a survival:
the probability of expansion of open inhabiting places is great due to disappearance
of woods at a climat drying.
The furiobaboon is one of few primates of a Neocene, the descendant of the modern
baboon (Papio cynocephalus). Adapted to life on open places, these species successfully
exist in savanna. The animal mounts to weight of 40 kg (males) or 30 kg (females),
lives by family groups on 10 - 20 animals. Externally the furiobaboon is similar
to baboons known presently, but it differs from them by the short tail and bright
sciatic callice - dark blue color with a white border. The animal quickly runs
on four paws on short distances and reluctantly swarms up trees. The general
colour of a body is sandy - yellow, at males the big grey mane is present. Than
jaws of the furiobaboon are shorter, than at modern baboons, but they are much
stronger, teeth are more similar to teeth of a predator, rather than the primate,
canines are long, at males canines of the top jaw jut out from the closed mouth.
Its diet has undergone significant changes: the furiobaboon is omnivorous with
a strongly pronounced bias to predating. Small and medium-sized animals contain
the most part of its diet. Monkey can eat a carrion, going at a large carcass
with tens of ones. Frequently group of furiobaboons is organized hunts on large
prey. Thus sticks and stones can be applied by them. By sticks and stones monkeys
are beaten off from predators, frequently hammering in them to death. The young
growth studies a long time in receptions of hunting. Different flights use the
different methods of hunting transmitted by training from grown-ups to younger.
This animal species is aggressive, inside family groups there is a tough hierarchy.
There is bearing only one cub, it depends on mother long time. Youngsters study
to get food, imitating adults. As a rule, all cubs of a clan are children of
the dominant male.
Gorillada (Neotheropithecus giganteus)
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopithecidae
One more species of monkeys, whose ancestors have survived at the time of mass
extinction. It is the descendant of the modern monkey gelada (Theropithecus
gelada), the inhabitant of mountain meadows of Africa. Strongly having increased
in size (the adult male weighs up to 250 kg, the female - up to 150 kg, growth
of the male on hinder legs is up to 2 meters), this primate is the strictly
vegetarian. A constitution is reminding the gorilla’s one: hands are long, a
back is inclined. A tail is very short, only magnificent hairy brush of hair
is appreciable outside. On a breast there is a bright red spot around of which
the strip of white wool is appreciable. The face is hairless, rose-red color.
Jaws are short and wide, teeth are powerful, canines are only a little longer
than incisors. Color of wool is pitch-black, males have the ash-grey mane similar
on lion's, cubs are grey, later they become darken. Gorilladas lives in warm
light forests and on well warmed up slopes of mountains, keeps by herds on 30
- 40 individuals, consisting of several family groups under the leading the
male. Eats tubers and bulbs, leaves and seeds of graminoids. Occasionally, some
herds pass in a savanna to the moment of plentiful fruiting of trees, but after
the ending of tree fruiting they come back to mountains.
Griffarrot (Carnopsittacus ferox)
Order: Parrots (Psittaciformes)
Family: True parrots (Psittacidae)
Picture by Pavel Volkov, colorization by Alexey Tatarinov
Initial version of the image - picture by Pavel Volkov |
Prrots are mostly forest-dwelling birds and vegetarians, but
not all ones fit this rule. Among modern parrots there are both plain species
and carnivorous ones. So, in captivity many species of parrots willingly eat
food of animal origin - meat and bacon, larvae of insects. The data approving
that scare the nestor, or the kea (Nestor meridionalis) kills sheeps are inconsistent,
however these parrots willingly ate corpses of dead sheeps.
Parrots mostly nest in tree-trunk hollows, but there are the species nesting
on the ground, in holes, either biulding collective covered nests of branches
and brushwood.
These circumstances allow to purpose the griffarrot one of probable inhabitants
of Neocene savanna. To tell the truth, for this purpose it should be exception
of too big number of "rules" of order Psittaciformes, but at change
of an environment and extinction of "rules" (i. e. the majority of
wood parrots) it is quite probable. In Neocene New-Zealandian
descendant of kea parrot had became true bird of prey in ecosystem of these
islands.
The griffarrot is large (weight up to 1,5 kg, wingspan up to 1,7 m, length of
a body including tail up to 60 cm) a schooling bird. It lives in savannas and
light forests by flocks up to 100 birds and more. The feathering of the male
and the female does not differ with color, birds of both sexes are coloured
in green with white feathers under wings (these spots are visible in flight),
a tail is red. On sides of a head (from a beak up to an ear aperture), a throat
and the top part of a breast there are no feathers, a skin is grey, around of
eyes there is a dark blue ring. On a crown and a nape feathers are longer, than
on a neck, forming the special kind of "crest" expressing an emotional
condition of a bird. A beak is black with a narrow vertical white strip. The
voice reminds a gnash and a scratch.
Parrots eat almost strictly food of an animal origin: dig insect larvae out
of the ground, prey small vertebrates? attack little animals and birds, ravage
bird nests. The powerful beak allows birds to crack even shells of little tortoises.
Frequently they look for a carrion or prey of large savanna predators. Willingly
eat semi-decomposed meat, gnaw cartilages and crush bones searching marrow.
This species nests by groups in river precipices, dig out long holes (up to
2 meters of length, width up to 30 cm) by a beak and paws. It clutch there are
2 or 3 large eggs. At an attack of predator theses birds defend themselves by
the whole flock, striking powerful impacts by wings and beaks.
Herbary |
Sugar tree (Adansonia saccarisissima)
Order: Malvales
Family: Bombacaceae
Large tree of a savanna (grows up to height of 20 and more meters) with a thick
trunk, the relative of a baobab. A crone is sprawling, umbrella-like, width
up to 25 - 30 m., top is truncated (sometimes it is gnawed by garden squirrels
for construction of the dray). A bark at the basis of a trunk is wrinkled, on
branches smooth, yellowish - grey color. Leaves are simple, palmately-parted,
leafstalk is up to 30 cm long, leaf is up to 40 cm in diameter. Roots are well
developed, they reach water-bearing layers of ground that allows a tree to keep
foliage even in a dry season.
The plant is very rich in sugars, they are synthesized in such amount, what
even the foliage of a tree has obvious sweetish taste. This adaptation was developed
as a result of long symbiosis of sugar tree ancestors and the tree rodents were
carrying their fruits and dwelt on their crones. Flowers are large, single,
they flower in a dry season. Every flower opens only to some hours at night.
Flowers are pollinated by mothes, but squirrels like to regale itself with a
nectar and also take part in pollination. Fruits of a sugar tree also are rich
in sugars. They are large (up to 2 kg) with juicy friable pulp. Seeds are carrying
by birds and herbivores. At a plentiful crop the part of fruits starts to ferment
on a tree and accumulates fair amount of alcohol. Animals, having to had eaten
some such fruits of a sugar tree, get drunk.
The tree fruits seasonally, it is usual shortly before a season of rains. It
allows to involve with juicy fruits of possible seed carriers (birds and animals),
and also it is dated with germination of seeds in the beginning of a rain season.
The young tree has no sweet taste of leaves and dumps them on a dry season.
Only to 10 - 15 years, having got stronger, the tree starts to produce sugar.
For the first time tree begins to blossom at the age of 20 years, lives up to
400 - 500 years.