top of page
AFRICAN SAVANNA HARE
In African mythology, the hare is a clever creature that gifted humanity with the village, the drum, and music. It’s very difficult to count savanna hares in the wild, mostly because it’s difficult to distinguish from the Cape hare. However, scientists are confident that savanna hares are abundant. In some areas of their range
MAMMALS
MAMMALS
MARTIAL EAGLE
Prey list:
1 resort: Helmeted guineafowl, Egyptian goose, Savanna hare, African wild cat, Steenbok, Banded mongoose, Cape turtle dove, Black Mamba, African grass rat, Juvenile Rock python and Bat-eared fox.
2 resort: Vervet monkey, Great white pelican, and Nile monitor lizard, Impala fawns, Ostrich chick, Juvenile Saddle-billed stork, Juvenile Olive baboon, Juvenile Honey badger, Gerenuk fawns, Kori Bustard, Bushbuck fawns and Painted wolf pup.
3 resort: Black-backed jackal, juvenile Caracal, juvenile Serval, Juvenile Ostrich, Juvenile Warthog, Grant's and Thomson's fawns, Waterbuck fawn, Hartebeest calf, Topi calf African leopard cub, African lion cub, and the African cheetah cub
Basic behavior:
- Martial eagles spend a very long time soaring through the air very high in the sky, once they had enough the Eagles will generally retreat to a tree and rest until they are able to fly again. They are solitary birds outside of their breeding season with their mate and will not tolerate any other eagle in their hunting area.
- Martial eagles are the diurnal apex predator of the avian food chain in this environment, therefore they hunt a lot of different animals. They will generally land on a tree and be as still as possible and will swoop down to their prey and will pin them down to the ground where they will start feeding on the prey. Martial eagles will attack large adult ungulates in order to separate and distract them from their calf or fawn. Though however if the Martial eagle has been spotted far before it even prepares to swoop down at it, it will abandon the hunt.
- After a hunt, if the prey cannot be taken to a tree because of it being too heavy the Martial eagle will leave it where it is and will come back over the next several days to feed on it. Breeding pairs can share the kill between each other if necessary.
- The breeding season takes place during any month of the year. They build their nests in large trees like acacias and will reuse it as time goes by. This species of eagles do pair for life, but the pair only reunite when the female is ready to breed with an interval of 2 years per chick.
- The territorial display of Martial eagles is generally the adult male or breeding pair circling near their nests or the whole area to warn off other eagles.
- Martial eagles are bold but they generally will avoid conflict with animals larger than themselves if there is no reason to fight, however, when it comes to defending their kill against animals around the same size they will fight viciously their aggressor. Though they will rarely defend their chick or their mate against large predators such as leopards or crocodile.
Physical characteristics:
The adult's plumage consists of dark brown coloration on the upperparts, head and upper chest, with an occasional slightly lighter edging to these feathers. The dark feathers can appear grayish, blackish or even plum-colored depending on lighting conditions. The body underparts are feathered white with sparse but conspicuous blackish-brown spotting. The underwing coverts are dark brown, with the remiges being pale streaked with black, overall imparting the wings of adults a dark look. The underside of the tail has similar barring as the remiges while the upper side is the same uniform brown as the back and upper wing coverts. The eyes of mature martial eagles are rich yellow, while the cere and large feet pale greenish and the talons black.
Scientific name: Polemaetus bellicosus
Weight: 8.7 lb to 9.3 lb
Size: 31 to 38 in
Life span: 34 years in the wild
Habitat: Open plains and woodlands.
Diet: Carnivorous
Aggression level: High
Egg Incubation: 45 to 53 days
Predators: Nile crocodile and African leopard
Predators of the young: African rock python and Nile-monitor lizard
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Female Roles/Reactions:
- Females will help the male construct the nest and will feed the chicks. Females also do most of the incubation of the eggs.
- Females will help defend the female defend the territory from intruders.
Male Roles/Reactions:
- Males will help the female construct the nest and will feed the chicks and the nesting mothers.
- Males will help defend the female defend the territory from intruders.
Interspecific competition: None
Call meaning:
1. Call used to locate mates or used by a female resting on its eggs or by a chick receiving food.
2. Territorial call used when displaying to rivals or when perched to advertise their presence in the area.
Juvenile Roles/Reactions:
- If a parent returns to the nest, the chick will beg it for food
- Even after being able to fly properly while still being an immature eagle, the chick will still be able to beg for its parents for food. However, at a certain point, it will either stop begging or the parents will not give it food anymore.
WROTE BY ENDERSHADOW
bottom of page