More Lessons from the Wild

1. Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania was formed when a volcano collapsed on itself. It is 2,000 feet deep and covers 100 square miles.

2. Horns grow directly from the skull. Not sure what we thought they did (maybe a joint?), but there ya have it.

3. During the great migration, 1.7 million wildebeests migrate from Tanzania to Kenya. In our inexpert opinion, wildebeest are possibly the ugliest creatures on the planet and our guide told us they’re also fairly dumb. But they certainly reproduce in large quantities!

4. Giraffes have their babies standing up. Ouch.

5. Hyenas have the strongest teeth and jaws of the African predators.

6. When Lions mate, they do so up to 100 times per day for up to 7 days around the clock. They usually don’t even stop to eat. We learned about this process first hand. Email us for a pic—we felt weird posting it!

7. The Maasai are the best know tribe in East Africa (thanks, in part, to the book Out of Africa). The Maasai Mara Game Reserve is even named after them! Today, their indigenous lifestyle remains fairly consistent with their ancestors and they act as guides to kooks like us.

8. The Massai are generally Christians as well as polygamists.

9. Out of Africa explains the Massai’s obsession with cattle and this is still true today. In fact, a girl is considered a blessing because a male must pay in many cattle to marry her. In their dowry system, the male pays to marry a female instead of her father paying for the husband to take her.

10. Elephants mourn. For years after they lose a loved one, they’ll often return to the place of the death on the exact day of the loss. Other scientists record them crying and showing signs of depression over loss.