Questions from Nkorho !

Firstly thank you Gerda for creating this topic.

Questions will be asked on a weekly basis and answers will be given at the end of the week.

Question for the week: Why does zebra have black spots on the inside of their front legs?

Padding.

Edit to add:  It worked . You made me go look. I had read "somewhere" they were pads for their hooves when they lie down, or something to that effect.  Can't wait for your answer.

That "spot" is a rough, horny growth called a chestnut. All members of the horse family have one on the inside of each front leg, right above the "knee" (which is really a wrist). Most horses--but not zebras--also have chestnuts on their hind legs.

P.S. WE HAD HORSES FOR 30 YEARS

BUT I USED GOOGLE FOR CORRECT WORDING

I figured they were scent glands.

I am going to say scent glands too.

I'll go with "horse chestnuts" too.  The chestnuts can actually be smoothed down on a horse by peeling outer layers off or using a nips to trim it.  Many show horses have their chestnuts trimmed and smoothed.  You just have to be careful not to take the chestnut down past the hairline.  Sometimes a little oil applied to the chestnut will soften it enough just to pop off the extra layers.  As my horse aged her chestnuts went to growing larger and if I didn't keep them trimmed back she would sometimes catch them on something and tear them off, usually in summer when there were a gazillion flies to fight off.

I don't know if zebras have them but horses also have a bony type growth on their back feet that you usually don't see unless you are up close and personal with said hoof.  As I remember the theory about this growth and the chestnuts is that they are a legacy of when equines were three-toed, dog sized prehistoric critters. 

Thank you Nkorho Rangers for coming up with this idea. I think this is going to be really fun.

Zoomie found it for us

As a previous owner of a horse I have to go with Barry and JeanneL answer of Horse chestnuts.

I think this will be a lot of fun.  Lets see how much we all know or can learn!!!

I like to "guess" before I google, so I am going to guess that they are a combination of the "Chestnuts" and "padding" from others answers. I can imagine that with those sharp hooves that over time they would build up callus like growths from the contact. But then again ..how much time does a zebra spend lying down ??   LOL

Good one ..but I bet we will all be surprised when the answers come in

Chestnuts, was a horse freak as a young girl!

Most of your answers were right. It is a padded piece were the hoofs of the back legs presses against when the zebra is resting. Due to the rough terrain zebra find themselfs,  wear and tear accore that makes the hoofs sharp. So the padding prevents injuries on the front legs aswell.

Question for this week: What is allo- suckling and witch animal species does it occur mostly?

Hi,

Sounds like a warthog

Assuming that we are speaking mostly of the animal in and around Nkorho, I would have to say African Wild Dogs.  Where at one time, this would have been of a great benefit to the clans, today it is unfortunately one of the reasons for their decline.

Edit to add disclaimer :  Almost all mammals will suckle anothers young, sometimes even of another speices ...but not to the extent a AWD will ..their females will begin to lactate when the Alpha Female has pups for the sole purpose of helping to rear the young. Lions will do it for close kin ,,but more likely than not the cub will recieve a sharp swat to the nose rather than a teat. Thats my opinion anyway. Altho I am srprised that it is not practiced more by the Big Cats. If my pet cats have been any indication, they will suckle or try to suckle anything that remotely resembles a baby, including stray socks LOL.

This is such an interesting thread! Thank you!

My guess is Lions. Lactating lionesses allow any cubs within the pride to suckle.

Hyena

 BOY OH BOY  THAT IS A TOUGH ONE

MY ANSWER IS BASED ON GROWING UP ON A RANCH

 PIGLETS WILL SUCKLE OFF DIFFERENT MOTHERS

SO WILL CALVES -   AND PUPS 

SO PERTAINING TO ANIMAL WE   SEE AT NKORHO AND

ELEPHANT PLAIN -      WORTHOGS  

AND SINCE  HYENA  SHARE MOM DUTIES   THE  HYENA

                           AFTER MUCH  THINKING

                                    ( WORTHOG   - )  we refer a baby pig a suckling

Allo suckling is when the piglets (warthogs) suckle from the mom and another female.

Allo suckling :  the animal is the  hyena I thougt  ,  She let   one of here young die, by not feeding it.

While other animals will allow allo suckling, I'm going to guess the lion is the answer they are looking for.

mrbuck

Allo suckling is when one female will allow another's young to nurse from it.
I have learned that this practice is done more in most "social" types of animals mainly like Lions. Warthogs, Spotted Hyaenas and Meerkats have been said to do it too.

I agree with karen. I did have a link for it but it was too long to post but |I googled allo suckling and there were quite a few results.

Allo- suckling: Is the habit of females nursing each others's youngsters. Allo- suckling occurs in sociable- species such as lions, all depending on conditions. 

Question for this week: Why do warthogs go down on to their knees to feed?

Oh is it because it's neck is too short for it to lean down and eat so it kneels down to enable it to get at whatever food it's after.

I also think it is because their neck is too short or their legs are too long.

 after watching  the  WARTHOGS  two nights in 

a row-they use thier  -   TUSKS -  for  rooting up the  grass - flower bulbs-  etc  -  and the only way they can do  this is to get down  on thier knee,s    -( they also root with thier  nose   if you watch them  grazing they dont go down on knees - on high grass

so - they go down on knees to root the ground

that was what i thought to, ku bab, but yoy can writ it better down, then I in englisch:p