I'm the Cape buffalo. We aren’t just angry bulls that charge at everything. From animals depending on us to survive, to us supporting the environment. If I didn't do what I do, almost every animal in Africa could be gone, and their ecosystem would collapse. 

We eat the really tall grass, making pathways for smaller animals to get the shorter, and more practical grass. The smaller animals can’t digest the very long bunches of grasses like we can. Without us, they’d be gone. If we didn’t eat tall coarse grass, the grass in the savanna would start looking like Albert Einstein's crazy hair.

“What about lions?”, you may ask. We play a major role in the lion’s diet. If they didn't eat us, they would starve, so they eat our young. Without us they’d be gone. This is the same for hyenas, crocodiles, wild dogs, and every other predator that eats us to survive.

We, Cape buffalo, help with biodiversity. We help plants stay well maintained, and keep the soil rich. Our poop gives the soil nutrients, which helps plants grow. Without us, plants could be gone.

We are very important to African wildlife, and its ecosystem. We are the reason it thrives, and survives. We came back into March Animal Madness, and we are ready to conquer. It’s time that an underdog takes this trophy home! We are the most important animal in our ecosystem! VOTE FOR THE CAPE BUFFALO!

Gentle giants are backbones

Gentle giants are backbones, not only for each other, but for their habitat, their home. As tall as they surge, so does their importance. Without Masai Giraffes, the savanna would become non-existent. 

They eat and they eat, and they eat acacia. I mean, they eat for 20 hours a day. One would say that’s all they do. And that’s because it is! But it certainly isn’t a bad thing. As they swallow their acacia for the first time, it stays in their throat. It stays as they browse further and then they bring it back up! They’re simple creatures, you see, they love their food! And when you love food as much as they do, you must go through rumination! Once a giraffe is satisfied with browsing and foraging for the day, they digest. They digest with their four-chambered stomach as we stomach just how much the world has changed. And as most digestion processes go, they poop it out! 

Gentle giants are backbones, for they contribute. They contribute as such that they have an entire species of trees dependent on them. Because they browse all the time, they often let out their feces in places they weren’t close to before.They’re like a car on a road trip! Except the fuel they burn is energy and the distance they travel is necessary. They act like carriers and carry acacia seeds in their system. This process acts like a method for seed dispersion. They pollinate as they go!

Gentle giants are backbones, and not only their own. With a stature like theirs, they have no problem clearing trees for those who can’t ingest more. The trees clear out, and as they do, they leave behind the promise of forage growth. 

Gentle giants leave room, and you wouldn’t think they do! Gentle giants leave room, yes, they do. They open up space for browsers who don’t quite match their stature and leave smaller plants for them to use!

Gentle giants are backbones, and sometimes laser-sharp eyes too. Eyes that stay awake at all times and are the first to alert like a wake-up early-warning call, just before predators can strike.

Gentle giants are backbones, and the ecosystem would crumble without strong bones. They’re keystones. The savanna needs them to survive.

Sea Otters - A Hero for Kelp Forests

Sea otters are one of the MOST important animals in their niche because they keep sea urchins levels at bay and eat them in large amounts. Just by eating these urchins, living, controlling and managing the rate, they are a hero and ultimate benefit to not only kelp forests, buy ALL nearshore ecosystems. Sea urchins are small spiky balls that eat kelp which means they diminish and destroy kelp forests. This is an extremely big problem due to the fact kelp forests are a home and source of nutrition for many animals outside Sea otters. Sea otters eat sea urchins in very large quantities meaning they keep the overpopulation from happening. Essentially Sea otters are a hero to kelp forests just by living and eating, controlling those Sea urchin levels and maintaining the health of their habitat. 

If sea otters were to be removed from the kelp forest environment, sea urchins would take over, making it extremely hard for kelp forests to grow and survive. This then causes other animals along with sea otters to suffer and need to find new sources of food. 

Did you know that there's many animals that depend on Sea otters for protection and survival? Sea slugs for one, deeply depend on Sea otters to keep eelgrass healthy! If Sea otters aren’t able to find sea urchins, the next best thing to reach for are crabs. Sea otters love eating crabs, almost as much as they love eating sea urchins. Crabs aren’t friends to sea slugs. Not only because they’re sworn enemies, but because crabs destroy and uproot eelgrass, which is a source of food, protection and shelter for sea slugs. The symbiotic relationship between sea slugs and eelgrass is very important to them, so Sea otters are doing a serious favor to sea slugs.

This March animal madness we are showing you how sea otters can help preserve the kelp forests! We are showing you how important sea otters are to their environment and especially to us! We are showing you that without sea otters the kelp forests would crumble! We are showing you all that there is to learn about our incredible sea otters! 

Sea otters are eating up all these sea urchins and all the other animals that tear away at the kelp forest  24/7 all year round which proves how much of an impact that they have on the environment. Sea otters are saving our oceans day by day, which is exactly why they are important to their specific niche and also why you should vote for the Sea otters for this year's March Animal Madness!