Sandstone Art - Algeria

When South Sudan gained its independence from the Sudan in 2011, Algeria became the largest territorial country in Africa and 10th largest in the world. With four-fifths of Algeria consisting of arid deserts, it is easy to understand why over 90% of the country’s population lives in the cities fronting the cool Mediterranean coast.

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Sandstone Art - A rock painting of a cattle herding scene found in the Tassili n’Ajjer area of southeastern Algeria provides ample evidence of the northern area of the Sahara Desert once having sufficient rainfall to support a wide variety of wild animals: hippopotamus, giraffe, and buffalo. This environment also allowed the establishment of thriving communities able to raise domesticated animals and crops. The desertification of Africa is a continuing process stemming from mismanagement of land and global climate change.

Flesh Flies - Algeria

There are 108 genera within the family Sarcophagidae, containing about 2,500 species of flesh flies. Distributed throughout the world, flesh flies differ from most other flies such as house flies; they are ovoviviparous. Instead of depositing eggs, flesh flies deposit hatched or hatching maggots directly onto carrion, dung, open animal wounds or decaying material. Flesh flies are known to carry the leprosy bacilli, but cannot pass it onto humans directly; as adults, flesh flies do not bite.

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The Phoenicians and Carthaginians were the first to leave their mark on Algeria. With the defeat of Carthage, Numidia sprang forth. The Romans had a strong alliance with Numidia and converted it into a province remaining under Rome’s control for several centuries. The eventual decline of the Roman Empire opened Northern Africa to the Ottoman Turks, who retained the area from 1517 until losing Algeria to the French in 1830. The French stayed until independence was achieved in 1962.

Hedgehogs of Africa

The family Erinaceindae contains hedgehogs and is divided into two sub-families: Erinaceinae, the spiny hedgehogs and Galericinae, the hairy hedgehogs. There are 16 known species of the spiny variety and 8 of the hairy type. Aside from the absence of spines, hairy hedgehogs have longer muzzles and slightly longer legs. The hairy hedgehogs are primarily found in the high wooded areas of Southeast Asia; an area void of the spiny variety. There are no species of hedgehogs native to Australia or the Americas.

Despite their awkward appearance, hedgehogs are versatile. They are able to climb fences and walls with relative ease and speed. With five clawed toes, they are efficient diggers; several species dig nest burrows. Hedgehogs are also competent swimmers; African species found in arid regions without rivers have shown remarkable abilities when crossing water.

As insectivores, hedgehogs feed on beetles, caterpillars, earthworms, and earwigs, but they are not picky in their foraging habits. 

The hedgehogs depicted are the Algerian hedgehog, Atelerix algirus, the Southern African hedgehog, Atelerix frontalis and the Ethiopian hedgehog also known as the desert hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus.

Cities in Africa

Kinshasa was founded as Léopoldville in 1881, by Henry Stanley, a Welsh journalist and explorer. It was named in honor of King Leopold II of Belgian. In 1923, Léopoldville, replaced Boma as the colony’s capital. When the Congo declared its independence in 1960, Léopoldville became the capital. The city was renamed as Kinshasa in 1966, as a means of replacing colonial names with original or African titles.

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Founded in 1899, the city of Nairobi began as a rail junction for the Uganda Railway as a means of connecting the interior of Uganda and Kenya with the port city of Mombasa. In 1905, Nairobi replaced Mombasa as the capital of the British colony. The town became an important agricultural site for growing coffee, tea, and sisal, spurring further development in making Nairobi a financial and industrial center for Africa.

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Algiers began as Ikosim, a small seaport serving Phoenician commerce. After the Punic Wars, the town fell under Roman control and flourished as Icosium, a thriving commercial city in Mauretania Caesariensis, the Roman province covering the Northern Algerian coast.  The modern city of Algiers began to take shape in 944 through the efforts of Bologhine ibn Ziri, the founder of the Berber Zirid–Sanhaja dynasty.