by: Rick Johnson 
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
RikJohnson@juno.com
Return to the Home Page.
Return to the Amtor Page.
Return to the Barsoom Page.
Return to the Caspak Page.
Return to the Pal-ul-Don Page.
Return to the Pellucidar Page.
Return to the Va-Nah Page.
Return to the Lost Cities Page.
Return to the To Be Announced Page.
The Africa of ERB is similar to the Africa of our Earth but not identical and it is these similarities and differences that make ERB’s Africa a unique and fascinating place.
Our Africa is less than 20% jungle which exists in a loose band along the equator but excludes the Eastern areas of Kenya and that region. In fact, Zaire (Congo) receives less rain than Brazil. Most of Africa, thus, is Veldt, dry grassland with scattered trees. In this environment, animals tend to herd and pack together, danger comes from below, attacks by predators tend to be ambush strikes and brush fires are a common danger.
It was also this environment that caused humans to evolve from a tree-dwelling primate to a ground-dwelling hominid.
Once a forest primate whose main enemy came from above, we moved to the veldt where our enemies attacked from the grass, thus forcing our ancestors to stand erect to see above the grass-line thus freeing our fore-limbs to develop into hands for grasping. So well did we adapt to this area that even today, when in danger a modern human will hide low under a bush and a predatory human will look under brush and cars seeking his prey. In fact, if chased by another person, ignoring instinct and hiding above eye-level will almost always guarantee safety as humans rarely look up.
This is presented to give you an idea of how environment changes not only biology but psychology as well.
However, the Africa of ERB was in excess of 50% jungle covering almost the entire continent below the Sahara Desert and ending (probably) just above South Africa. Fires in this wet region are rare, sunlight is dim, food for herbivores is plentiful and cover for predators is everywhere.
This mega-jungle would create a different environment for the local fauna which would cause different behaviour and biology. Without the almost treeless veldt of eastern Africa, animals would tend to live in smaller bands due to the trees that block visibility and a smaller physical size would aid movement and survival in the jungle.
Here I will attempt to describe both the Terrestrial animals with which we are familiar and compare them to their companions on the ERB-Africa.
Terran Veldt Lion- A large carnivore that lives in prides consisting on one adult male, a harem of adult females, their daughters and young sons. Males are driven away as they reach adulthood. Lions hunt by tactical ambush where the females move upwind and lay in wait for the male or another female to approach a herd from downwind. The male will then make a false attack to panic the prey which will rush into the waiting females who choose then kill their prey via choking. Fights between lions and other predators are usually bluff or by mild attacks until one breaks and runs away and so are rarely fatal.
Lions are frequently driven from their kill by hyenas but despite this manage to be so successful that they can sleep 20 hours a day and are often seen asleep in a tree which requires them to be adequate tree climbers.
note: Choking is compressing or crushing the windpipe to cause death by lack of air to the lungs.
Strangulation is compressing or crushing the carotid or jugular in the neck to cause death by lack of oxygen to the brain.
Bleeding is severing the jugular or another major artery in the neck, arm or leg to cause death by blood loss.
Crushing is a blunt blow to the head that fractures the skull and causes death by brain trauma.
Suffocation is covering the mouth and nose or compressing the chest to prevent air from entering the lungs to cause death by lack of air.
Drowning is immersing the head into a liquid which is drawn into the lungs, causing death to displacement of oxygen. Note that drowning rarely results in fluid entry into the lungs. This because the throat tightens as soon as the first water enters the lungs so drowning is really death by suffocation or choking.
ERB Forest Lion (numa)- An equally large but much more dangerous carnivore. Numas are generally solitary hunters, occasionally found accompanied by a single female and their cubs but often separate when the cubs mature. Numas hunt by direct attack killing their prey, by crushing the skull with a single blow of their forelimb or by severing the throat with claws or teeth. When Numas fight among themselves or with other predators, they often grasp their opponents with teeth and disembowel them with a raking movement of their hind limbs.
Terran Veldt Zebra- A large equine that travels in large herds. Often these herds are composed of different species of herbivore, each with different defense and detection abilities to enhance survival.
ERB Forest Zebra (Pacca)- Smaller than their veldt cousin, the pacca is a solitary animals of the forest.
note: The grouping of social animals is a science in itself. Although some animals are solitary on both Earths, those that group together do so under different names.
Most herbivores herd.
Most predators pack but Lions pride.,
Most fish school but Sharks pack.
Most birds flock but Geese gaggle.
Most people crowd but primates band.
Most reptiles and insects swarm but dragons fair.
Terran Python- A large snake that kills by constricting and suffocating their prey. Most pythons attack from the ground or water but are too small to harm an adult human.
ERB Forest Python (Hista)- The hista is a large tree-dwelling snake that is capable of killing and eating even a human or gorilla. Although the main difference is size and habitat, it is unknown if the Hista’s great size is due to a natural species gigantism or if the known Hista's are simply extremely old individuals who have continued to grow their entire life.
Terran Mountain Gorilla- A large ground-dwelling herbivores primate that lives in groups consisting of an extended family ruled by one large male. Gorillas are generally peaceful and display aggression only when necessary. Even then the gorilla will often back down even though it is capable of twisting a truck tire into a figure-8.
Gorillas, as shown by Koko, are capable of both language and humor but appear to use neither in the wild.
ERB Forest Gorilla (Bolgani)- A large omnivorous primate that is aggressive and solitary. Bolgani's attack and kill other large primates, Mangani or humans with little cause. They have also been known to kidnap human females though for eating or breeding purposes is unknown. Bolgani prefer to live on the ground but are capable of rapid travel through the trees.
Bolgani have a verbal language though they appear to be less intelligent than their Earth relatives and appear to have no concept of humor.
ERB Mangani-- A large primate that may be unknown on our Earth. The Mangani is smaller than a Gorilla or Bolgani and not as violent though they are prone to an occasional irrational and aggressive attacks. They gather in large groups of unrelated nuclear families. Although primarily vegetarians, Mangani are known to be opportunist carnivores. Mangani are equally adept on ground or in the trees.
ERB “Bolgani”- A large intelligent primate that lives in the Valley of the Palace of Diamonds. Although ERB describes this primate as a Bolgani, it is apparent that the “Bolgani” of the Valley of the Palace of Diamonds is much more intelligent, walks erect, makes and uses tools and is less prone to violence than the true Bolgani. I, personally believe that this is not a gorilloid but probably Australopithecus Robustus (Bigfoot).
note: All known Primates on ERB’s Earth possess a common spoken language regardless of their habitat on the planet.
Chimps and Gorillas on our Earth are capable of sign-language if taught early enough. Otherwise their communication abilities are extremely limited.
ERB “Oparian”- Originally humans from an unknown origin (Egypt? Sub-Saharan Africa? Sudan?). Local legends believe that they interbred with local mangani(?) to produce a mixed race. The men are short and ape-like whereas the women are tall and beautiful with Caucasian features. This is an example of sexual di-morphism which is also shown in the lion and some other species.
ERB “D’Don”- A form of tailed human restricted to Pal-Ul-Don. They have a prehensile tail, an extra joint to their thumb and their feet have an ape-like ‘thumb’ instead of a big toe. Although ERB describes then as Pithecanthropus, it is generally agreed that the D’don are an offshoot of modern man. They are divided into three races, Ho-Don, Waz-Don and Tor-o-Don. Although obviously adapted to an arboreal life, few do.
Ho-Don are white and hairless (or as hairy as a normal human) and live in cities that are carved from mountains and built from the debris.
Waz-Don are black and covered with straight hair and live in cliff-side caves that are carved by the inhabitants.
Tor-o-Don are similar to A. Robustus or Bigfoot in that they are larger than humans but hairy and of limited intelligence. Although beast-like (hence their name) in appearance and nature, Tor-o-dons do use tools tame the local Gryf and probably possess language.
Terran forest Chimpanzee- A medium sized primate that is primarily vegetarian but also an opportunistic hunter. They may be unknown on ERB’s earth.
Terran Forest Monkey- A very small tree-dwelling primate with a tail. New world monkeys have prehensile tails, Old world monkeys do not. Monkeys have no known language.
ERB Forest Monkey (Manu)- A small primate, often with a prehensile tail though it is unknown if all manu are prehensile or if this is a trait specific to one or two species or if the known manu with a prehensile tail are New World monkeys that escaped captivity. They possess a spoken language and are prone to thievery.
Terran Veldt Baboon- A mid-range primate that lives in groups. Although primarily a ground dweller, they retreat to trees in times of danger.
ERB Forest Baboon (Tongani)- A mid-range solitary primate that is prone to violence. Tongani possess a language and are tree-dwelling.
Terran Elephant- A very large herbivore that gathers in herds and destroys trees for food. Elephants are the primary reason why African Forests are so small.
ERB Forest Elephant (Tantor)- Although as large as their Earth relatives and with the same herd mentality, the Tantor does not possess the deforesting habit of the Earth Elephant.
Terran Antelope- A large herbivore that may herd in groups or alone. Their defense ranges from running to jumping.
ERB Forest Antelope (Wappi)- A smaller version of the Antelope. Always solitary in nature.
Terran Leopard- A mid-size feline carnivore that is primarily an ambush hunter. It prefers to attack from the brush but can attack by jumping down from a tree branch onto a ground-dwelling prey. The only difference between the leopard and panther is fur coloring. The leopard had dark spots on light fur and the panther has dark spots on dark fur.
ERB forest Leopard (sheeta)- An extremely dangerous feline that prefers to live in the trees. It can attack by ambush from the bush but can also stalk prey into the trees and attack from one ranch to the other. Sheetas have been known to follow prey high into the upper branches where it can stalk, kill and eat it’s prey.
Terran Vulture- A scavenging bird that soars high in the sky seeking dead animals in open areas.
ERB forest Vulture (ska)- Unlike the Vulture, the Ska is smaller and flies between trees in search of dead animals.
There are many more animals in common: crocodile, tortoise, etc, but they all seem to be exactly the same in biology and habits regardless of their Veldt or Forest habitat.
Humans abound in the jungle in small villages and possess a society, technology and religion similar to their Terran counterparts. The exception here is that individual migrations of groups or armies tend to wander around the planet, settle in some remote location and strive to retain their original culture thus becoming extremely conservative. These “lost” cities can be found in Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands and possibly in Europe and America as well. Historians, linguists and sociologists would be well advised to contact Lord Greystoke at his English or Kenyan home and request escort into these areas for scientific study.
To contact me or to request topics to be covered, send to RikJohnson@juno.com
by: Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
Return to the Home Page.
Return to the Amtor Page.
Return to the Barsoom Page.
Return to the Caspak Page.
Return to the Pal-ul-Don Page.
Return to the Pellucidar Page.
Return to the Va-Nah Page.
Return to the Lost Cities Page.
Return to the To Be Announced Page.
