Ever wondered what the biggest bird in the world is? You're looking at it! Ostriches can be up to 2.7m tall, and weigh as much as 160kgs!

They are exceptionally fast too. Ostriches are found throughout Africa, but they prefer to live on the open plains.

There are two species of ostrich today (the common and Somali ostriches), but there used to be nine. Seven have sadly become extinct. Here's more about this amazing African creature.

Ostriches are sometimes called "camel birds" because they are so well adapted to hot, dry conditions.

Male ostriches are black and white, like the one in the picture, but females are a greyish brown and white. This is common among birds, where males tend to have much more striking coloration.

Ostrich feathers were once very in demand for clothing and fashion. There are still some commercial "ostrich farms" that harvest feathers for sale!

Ostrich knees bend the opposite way to human ones, but that seems to work for them, because these birds can reach speeds up to 70kms per hour, and their kick is powerful enough to kill an adult human! They are definitely one formiddable bird!

Ostriches live in groups of ten to fifteen individuals, but unliike most birds, which we would call a "flock" a group of ostriches is called a "herd."

Ostrich eggs are the larges bird eggs in the world, at about 15cm long by 13cm wide, and weighing 1.4kgs each. That's about 20 times the weight of the average chicken egg.

Ostriches don't actually bury their heads in the sand. It's thought that this myth started because female ostriches have to lean down to turn their eggs, because their nests are built in the dirt.

Ostriches have THREE stomachs, and they swallow pebbles to help grind up the food they eat. They also pee and poop separately, which is unique among birds.

Ostriches are flightless, but they still have a wing span of up to 2 meters! They use their wings in mating displays, to provide shade for their own legs and their chicks, and to help them steer when running - just like the flaps on aircraft wings!

Ostrich racing is a sport in some parts of Africa, and you can watch ostrich races at places like Oudtshoorn in South Africa!

The Okapi is not an animal you usually see when you read about African safaris, and that's part of what makes it so cool.

Okapis look like some sort of weird mixture of zebra, donkey, giraffe and a few other creatures, but their closest relations are giraffes.

They're certainly one of the most unique animals in Africa, but here are some more things that make Okapis so cool.

They're known as "forest giraffes" or "giraffe zebras" but they're really the only other memeber of the Giraffidae family of animals.

They are one of the most endangered animals in Africa, due to habitat loss and hunting.

Even though they have MUCH shorter necks than their cousins, the giraffe, they still have seven vertebrae (neckbones) in their necks. Amazingly, so do humans!

They have very long tongues that they use as an appendage to grab and pull the leaves and branches they eat. Their tongues are SO long that they also use them to clean and groom their own EARS!

Okapi have scent glands in their feet, that they use to mark their territory and leave scent "messages" for other Okapi while they wander.

Okapi have a large number of special cells in their eyes called "rod cells" which give them great night vision - a lot better than yours or mine! This is especially important for prey animals in Africa!

Okapi will often travel up to 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers a day while grazing.

Unlike it's cousin, the giraffe, Okapi live in forests, mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding areas. It's the only mammal in these forests that has adapted to feed solely on understory vegetation.

Okapi are very shy. In fact, their existence was only verified by scientists in the early 20th century.

The Okapi's strange coloring and weird markings may look like someone cut and pasted a variety of animals together, but it's actually an evolutionary advantage that helps them to stay camoflaged in their forest homes.

If you ever wanted to see a dinosaur, the crocodile is the closest you can get. This massive African reptile is very closely related to dinosaurs, and shares many traits with those prehistoric reptiles.

They might look similar, but crocodiles and alligators actually come from different familites. They have different shaped snouts, are better adapted to handle salt water, and are considerably more aggressive than their cousins!

Here are some more cool facts about crocodiles.

There are thirteen kinds of crocodile, ranging from the dwarf, which is about 1.7 meters long and weighs about 7 kilograms, to the saltwater crocodile, which can reach over 6 meters long and weigh over 900 kilograms!

Crocodiles are carnivores, and have massively powerful jaws built for crushing their prey. But they can't chew, so after they've crushed their meals, they swallow them whole!

A crocodile's metabolism is so slow, they can live for months without any food!

Like ostriches, crocodiles also swallow small stones to help grind up their food.

Crocodiles are cold blooded, and they tend to hibernate when it's very cold or when there is a drought.

Some crocodiles can live up to 75 years!

Crocodiles don't ONLY live in Africa. There are species of crocodile in Asia, Australia and the Americas too. But not in Canada, because it's WAY too cold for them here!

Crocodiles don't have limited teeth like humans do. In fact, they keep replacing them throughout their lives, and can go through up to 8,000 teeth during their lifetime!

Crocodiles can't sweat, which is why, when it's hot, they lie with their mouths open, in a practice called "gaping". This literally helps them to cool their insides down!

Even though crocodile jaws can exert up to 5,000 lbs of pressure (enough to bite through your arm or leg with ease!), they have very weak muscles to OPEN their mouths. A crocodile's mouth can be held closed with a rubber band.

Baboons are the largest type of monkey (depending on the species!) Most of the species live in Africa though, except for the hamadryas baboon, which also lives in parts of Arabia.

The smallest type of baboon is the Kinda baboon, which only grows up to about 50 centimeters, but the largest, the Chacma baboon, can grow up to 120 centimeters, and weigh up to 40 kilograms!

Here's more about this amazing type of monkey.

Baboons are known as "old world monkeys" and one of the biggest differences between them and other monkeys is that they don't have a prehensile tail that they can use as a hand.

Another very recognizable trait of baboons is that they really do have hairless butts, and they really do turn red sometimes.

While baboons can climb, they choose to spend most of their time on the ground.

Like humans, baboons are very social primates, and they usually live in large groups called troops, which can include up to 300 individuals!

Baboons are also omnivores, like us. This means that they eat fruits and vegetables, but will also eat insects and small animals. They've even been known to eat smaller monkeys!

Baboons live up to 30 years in the wild.

Baboons have their own "language" of about 10 vocalizations, but they also use yawns to communicate, and scientists have identifed at least three different types of yawn that are actually communication.

Humans and baboons arevery closely related, and our genetic code is about 94% similar.

Baboons have been around for a LONG time. The earliest baboon fossil dates back to about 2 million years ago!

Baboons often live near to human villages and towns, and have been known to raid garbage cans or even break into homes looking for food.

Cheetahs are not only one of the coolest animals in Africa, they are the fastest land animal. They're not as big as lions or as aggressive as leopards, but their speed makes them one of the best hunters in Africa.

Cheetahs are much less wide spread than some of of the other big African cats, but they are found in parts of southern, central and northern Africa.

Here are some more awesome things you should know about Africa's fastest cats.

Cheetahs can run up to 113km per hour. that's faster than the speed limit on Canadian highways! They can't keep that speed up for too long though, so they combine it with some great hunting tactics.

It's not only their speed that makes them so good at catching prey. They can also accelerate from standing to over 110 kms per hour in a few seconds. So any unwary prey has no time to react!

Cheetahs are built for spped - not power. They're sleeker and lighter than other big cats, weighing in at only 40 to 60 kilograms.

Cheetahs are the only big cat that don't roar. Instead, they purr - just like your house cat, only a LOT louder!

Lions and leopards often hunt at night, but cheetahs do their hunting in broad daylight - after all, they have speed on their side!

Cheetahs have AMAZING eyesight, and can spot prey from up to 5kms away.

Cheetahs can't climb trees. So if you see a spotted cat up a tree in Africa, it's a leopard!

Cheetahs only need to drink water every 3 to 4 days.

Cheetahs aren't built to fight, so whent they're approached by a larger and more dangerous animal, they won't stay around to prove a point.

At various times during history, humans tamed and trained cheetahs to hunt for them. Which is why they are sometimes called "hunting leopards."

They may be vegetarians, but they're one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Hippos look cute and cuddly, but they are formiddable on land and in the water. They're fast, and they have tusks that can wreak havoc on everything from stray lions to boats and people.

They may look a lot like pigs, but these large semi aquatic mammals are actually most closely related to cetaceans - which are water mammals like dolphins, porpoises and whales! Their family lines split millions of years ago.

Let's learn more about Africa's famous "water horse".

The name "hippopotamus" comes from the ancient Greek for river horse.

There have been stories over the years that hippos sweat blood, but the truth is that they secrete a red substance from their skin that acts as a sunscreen and protective layer.

Hippos only need to surface every 3 to 5 minutes to breathe. But they do this whether they are awake or asleep. (Because hippos sometimes snooze in water too!)

Hippos may look big, fat and slow, but they can run at speeds up to 30kms per hour - much faster than humans!

Hippos also don't spend all their time in water. They will walk up to 10kms to feed.

Hippos are VERY large animals. Adult males can weigh up to 1500 kgs, or one and a half metric tons! That's more than some small cars! Some very large males have even been measured at close to 4,000 kgs, or four tons!

Unfortunately, hippos are listed as a threatened species, and one of the reasons is that they are poached for the ivory in their tusks.

There are five species of hippopotamus, and they are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Hippos have webbed feet.

Hippos have very little hair, although they are mammals, but their skin is 6cm thick!

They might have been the bad guys in The Lion King, but Hyenas are actually one of the most interesting and unique animals in Africa.

They're scavengers, which means they "clean up" after other predators, but some, like Spotted Hyenas are also great hunters. There are four species of Hyena in Africa - Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena, Aardwolf (which translates as "earth wolf") and Striped Hyena.

Lets learn more about Africa's laughing predators.

Hyenas look like dogs, but they'are actually not related to dogs at all. In fact, Hyenas are more closely related to the meerkat and mongoose! But they're so unique they have their own classification: Hyaenidae.

They're not too picky about where they live. They're found in grasslands, forests, deserts, marshlands and mountains, and while they're mainly an African animal, they are sometimes found in Asia too.

They're noctural, which means they are mostly active at night.

Unlike most pack animals, in the Hyena world, it's the females that are in charge.

They're really smart! In fact, studies have shown that their large frontal cortex makes them better problem solvers than chimpanzees!

Hyenas aren't very big, but they are very fierce. So fierce, in fact, that they are one of the few animals in Africa that will regularly take on lions for food and territory.

They've got a very sophisticated "language" of yelps, howls, wails and growls that they use to communicate - even over long distances! In fact, hyenas can communicate with each other even if they are up to 5km apart!

Hyenas don't waste food. In fact, a pack of hyenas will eat a whole zebra, bones and all, in about half an hour!

Hyenas are social animals, and live in large clans of up to 80 members, but they are very competitive, and will fight their own family for food. Males are banished when they reach sexual maturity and have to fight to join another clan, and they aren't very maternal. In fact, as many as 60% of baby hyenas don't survive to adulthood.

The hyena's only known predator is the human. But they have been known to return the favour, and some species of hyena have been known to become maneaters.

Giraffes are amazing animals. They're the tallest living mammals on earth, and while we might think of them as just one animal, there are actually believed to be eight species of giraffe.

Giraffes are found throughout the African continent, and whatever species they are, the are easily identifiable by their long necks, spotted coat and "horns" known as "ossicones."

Here are some more cool facts about giraffes.

A giraffe's legs are about 6' long - which is taller than most people!

Even though their necks are extraordinarily long, they're too short to reach the ground, which is why they have to spread their feet apart awkwardly when they drink water.

They're very fast. In fact, they can reach maximum speeds of nearly 60 kilometers per hour when sprinting, or lope along at around 16 kilometers per hour without "breaking a sweat."

Giraffes spend most of their lives standing up, including when they sleep and have babies. A baby giraffe has about a six foot drop to the ground when they are born!

Giraffes get most of the water they need from the food they eat, so they only need to drink water every few days.

Baby giraffes can walk within about an hour, nad will start eating vegetation within a week.

iGiraffe spots are like human fingerprints. There are no two patterns that are exactly the same.

Giraffes don't sleep much. In fact, they only sleep between five and 30 minutes per day!

Adult giraffes can reach up to 18.7' or about 5.7 meters tall. That's like standing three tall men on top of each other!

There's a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, which is called "Giraffe Manor" where guests are surprised by giraffes sticking their heads through windows to say hello!

The African elephant is the largest living land mammal. It's massive, intelligent, and without a doubt, one of the coolest animals in Africa!

Elephants are members of a group of animals called "pachyderms" which refers to their wrinkly skin. Rhinocerous are also members of this group of animals.

Let's learn more about these amazing, majestic and enormous African animals!

If you're wondering just how big an African elephant is, they can weigh up to 7500 kilograms, or 7.5 metric tons, and they can be up to 3.3 meters or 10' at the shoulder - that's the same height as the wall of a double story house!

Elephant trunks are a combination of their upper lip and nose, and are very useful! They're used for smelling, communication, for grabbing leaves off trees, and for sucking up water to spray over their backs. It's like a much more useful arm! In fact, the end of their trunk has two muscular "fingers" they can use for delicate tasks.

There are actually two different kinds of African elephant - savannah elephants, which live on grassland, and forest elephants, which live in wooded areas.

Elephant tusks NEVER stop growing, so the longer the tusks, the older the elephant!

African elephant ears are shaped like the continent of Africa.

 These are some sleepy cats! Lions can sleep for between 16 and 20 hours EVERY DAY!

Elephants eat a lot. In fact, to get enough food to keep them going, they spend between 12 and 18 hours every day eating!

An adult elephant will produce about one ton of poop every week. It's a great fertiliser though, and it helps to spread sees around the savannah!

Elephants cover themselves with mud when they're in rivers or pools to protect their sensitive skin. It's like home made subscreen!

African elephants are considered a vulnerable species, due to poachers who hunt them for their tusks, which are made of ivory.