Haussa Genet - Mali

The Bandiagara Escarpment runs across central Mali for 193 kilometers and has been the home to various African tribes since 300 BC. The Dogon people now inhabit this area in relative seclusion. There are several and wide ranging Dogon dialects; some cannot be understood by another Dogon in a nearby village.

- - - - -

Genetta thierryi - The Haussa genet is native to the sub-Saharan areas of Northern Africa, stretching across a narrow band from Senegal to Chad. It can be found in a wide variety of habitats ranging from dry savannahs to moist forest settings. They have adapted themselves equally as arboreal and terrestrial animals, sustaining themselves with a varied diet of eggs, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fruit. The species is not under threat, but the Haussa genet is becoming a common item in the bushmeat trade.

Ostrich - Mali

Struthio camelus - The ostrich is the tallest living bird. A mature male averages 2.1 to 2.8 meters in height; mature females range between 1.7 to 2.0 meters. Their sense of smell and eyesight is exceptional. An ostrich has the largest eyes of any land vertebrate. These features provide the ostrich with an early warning system to escape potential predators. They can also achieve and maintain speeds of 50 km/h, giving the ostrich the distinction of being the fastest two-legged animal on earth.

- - - - -

Mali was once part of three different kingdoms; the Ghana Empire, the Songhai Empire, and the Mali Empire. The Mali Empire was a Mandinka state reigning from 1230 to 1600. Reaching its peak in 1350, the kingdom controlled vast territories of Western Africa. Trade connections became the source of the empire’s prosperity; gold, salt, copper, and slaves were the four leading trade commodities. Internal strife set the empire into a spiral of military defeat, economic decline, and a final collapse in 1600.