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Drill

28 May
Description
The adult male drill is one of the more colorful monkeys in the world. A mature male has a red chin on a black face with raised grooves on the nose. The rump is colored pink, mauve and blue. These bright colors help his family follow him through the forest. Female drills are less colorful.
[edit]Habitat
The drill is mainly found in the African Rain Forests.
[edit]Behavior
A single male leads a group of around 20 females and is father to all the young. This group of 20 may join others forming super groups of over 200 individuals. They will often rub their chests onto trees to mark their territory.
A drill can live for about 28 years.
[edit]Diet
The drill is omnivorous, with a diet ranging from fruit, herbs, roots to small animals.
[edit]

DRILL MONKEY

543Description

The adult male drill is one of the more colorful monkeys in the world. A mature male has a red chin on a black face with raised grooves on the nose. The rump is colored pink, mauve and blue. These bright colors help his family follow him through the forest. Female drills are less colorful.

Habitat

The drill is mainly found in the African Rain Forests.

Behavior

A single male leads a group of around 20 females and is father to all the young. This group of 20 may join others forming super groups of over 200 individuals. They will often rub their chests onto trees to mark their territory.

A drill can live for about 28 years.

Diet

The drill is omnivorous, with a diet ranging from fruit, herbs, roots to small animals.

Lifestyle

Drills live in large social groups (as many as 20 individuals) with many dominant adult males (but only one leader).  These groups can merge with other groups, creating large groups of over 200 individuals. Besides facial expressions, drills also utilize a wide range of vocal, olfactory, visual and tactile forms of communication to keep their group together, as well as to keep other groups away. They mark their territory by rubbing their chests on trees. Drills are diurnal, so they are most active during the day.

images (1)Food

Drills are mainly frugivores (eating primarily fruit), but will also eat insects and edible plants. In addition to those items, the Zoo’s drills also eat vegetables, lettuce and a dry food containing vital nutrients.

Life Cycle

Females reach sexual maturity at about 3 years old, while males are sexually mature at about 6 years old. Gestation is 179-182 days, and a drill female usually gives birth to asingle offspring (there has been one documented case of twins). The offspring stays with its mother for 15-16 months until it is fully weaned. Males will usually disperse from their natal group to form new groups. The average life span is 28-30 years.

Some of My Neighbors (IN THE WILD)

Chimpanzees, olive pigeons, Rumpi mouse shrews, Preuss’s monkeys and African pygmy squirrels

Population Status & Threats

Drills are among Africa’s most endangered primates because their numbers have been declining in all known habitat areas for decades. The decline is due to illegal commercial hunting, habitat destruction and fragmentation, and human development. Unfortunately, fewer than 10,000 drills remain in the wild, and numbers may be as low as 4,000.  Drills are fully protected by law in Nigeria and Cameroon, and portions of their habitat are technically safeguarded as national parks.  However, little real protection from hunting exists for drills, even in so-called protected areas.

 
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Posted in Drill, Monkey

 

Chimpanzee

28 May

Chimpanzee-skeleton1Noisy and curious, intelligent and social, the chimpanzee is the mammal most like a human. Chimpanzees fascinate humans and are favorites both in zoos and the wild.

Three subspecies of common chimpanzees are distributed across the forest zone of Africa from Guinea to western Tanzania and Uganda. Another species of chimpanzees, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), is found exclusively in central Democratic Republic of Congo. In East Africa the chimpanzee is found in the wild in Tanzania and Uganda, but only in captivity in Kenya. Gombe National Park in Tanzania is the first park in Africa specifically created for chimpanzees.

Physical Characteristics
The chimpanzee has a thickset body with long arms, short legs and no tail. Much of the body is covered with long black hair, but the face, ears, fingers and toes are bare. They have hands that can grip firmly, allowing them to pick up objects. The discovery that they used “tools” for certain purposes surprised the world.

Likewise a chimp cannot swim in water because of the fat in their body.

chimpanzeeHabitat
Chimps are mainly found in rain forests and wet savannas. While they spend equal time on land and in trees, they do most of their feeding and sleeping in trees.

Behavior
Chimps live in groups called troops, of some 30 to 80 individuals. These large groups are made up of smaller, very flexible groups of just a few animals, perhaps all females, all males or a mixed group.Chimps sometimes chew leaves to make them absorbent and then use them as a sponge, dipping them in water and sucking out the moisture. They also use grass stems or twigs as tools, poking them into termite or ant nests and eating the insects that cling onto them.

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chimpanzee_tiger_09They are able to wedge nuts between the roots of a tree and break the shells open with a stone.Chimps are both arboreal and terrestrial, spending much of their daytime hours on the ground. They are quadrupedal, walking quickly on all fours with the fingers half-flexed to support the weight of the forequarters on the knuckles. They occasionally walk erect for short distances.

Chimps are agile climbers, building nests high up in trees to rest in during midday and sleep in at night. They construct new nests in minutes by bending branches, intertwining them to form a platform and lining the edges with twigs. In some areas chimps make nests on the ground.

Diet

Chimps are diurnal (but often active on moonlit nights) and begin their activities at dawn. After descending from their night nests they hungrily feed on fruits, their principal diet, and on leaves, buds and blossoms. After a while their feeding becomes more selective, and they will choose only the ripest fruit. They usually pick fruit with their hands, but they eat berries and seeds directly off the stem with their lips. Their diet consists of up to 80 different plant foods.

Caring for the Young
The female chimp has an estrus cycle of about 34 to 35 days. While in heat, the bare skin on her bottom becomes pink and swollen, and she may mate with several males. She normally gives birth to just one baby, which clings tightly to her breast and, like a human baby, develops rather slowly. An infant can sit up at 5 months and stand with support at 6 months. It is still suckled and sleeps with its mother until about 3 years of age, finally becoming independent and separating from her at about 4 years. Sexual maturity is reached between 8 and 10 years.

Chimps are among the noisiest of all wild animals and use a complicated system of sounds to communicate with each other. A loud “wraaa” call, which can be heard more than a mile away, warns of something unusual or disturbing. They hoot “hoo-hoo-hoo,” scream, grunt and drum on hollow trees with the flat of their hands, sometimes for hours.

Chimps touch each other a great deal and may kiss when they meet. They also hold hands and groom each other. An adult chimp often has a special “friend” or companion with which it spends a lot of time. Female chimps give their young a great deal of attention and help each other with babysitting chores. Older chimps in the group are usually quite patient with energetic youngsters.

chimpPredators
The number of chimps in the wild is steadily decreasing. The wilderness areas necessary to their survival are disappearing at an alarming rate as more forests are cut down for farming and other activities. As the human’s closest relative the chimp is vulnerable to many of the same diseases, and their capture for medical research contributes to their decline, especially in West Africa. as more forests are cut down for farm activities. In addition, recent outbreaks of the incurable disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever, threaten to decimate important chimpanzee populations in the Republic of Congo and Gabon.

 
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Posted in Chimpanzee, Monkey

 

Orangutans

28 May
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. Their hair is typically reddish-brown, instead of the brown or black hair typical of other great apes.
Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Vietnam and Mainland China. There are only two surviving species, both of which are endangered: the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii). The subfamily Ponginae also includes the extinct genera Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus. The word “orangutan” comes from the Malay words “orang” (man) and “(h)utan” (forest); hence, “man of the forest”.

Orangutan

chubby-orangutan-baby Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living  arboreal animals, they have longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes.  They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools,  also making sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. Their hair is typically  reddish-brown, instead of the brown or black hair typical of other great apes.Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans are currently found only in rainforests  on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, the Thai-  Malay Peninsula, Vietnam and Mainland China. There are only two surviving species,  both of which are endangered: the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the  critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii). The subfamily Ponginae also  includes the extinct genera Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus. The word “orangutan”  comes from the Malay words “orang” (man) and “(h)utan” (forest); hence, “man of the forest”.

220px-Orangutan-human_comparison.svgOrangutans live a more solitary lifestyle than the other great apes. Most social bonds occur between adult females and their dependent and weaned offspring. Adult males and independent adolescents of both sexes tend to live alone. The society of the orangutan is made up of resident and transient individuals of both sexes. Resident females live with their offspring in defined home ranges that overlap with those of other adult females, who may be their relatives like mothers and sisters. One to several resident female home ranges are encompassed within the home range of a resident male, who is their primary breeder.  Transient males and females range broadly.  They usually travel alone, but as sub-adults they may travel in small groups. However this behavior does not extend to adulthood. The social structure of the orangutan can be best described as solitary but social. As the ranges of males and females overlap, they commonly encounter each other while traveling and feeding and may have brief social interactions.Interactions between adult females range from friendly, to avoidance to antagonistic. Resident males may have overlapping ranges and interactions between them tend to be hostile.

imagesDuring dispersal, females tend to settle in home ranges that overlap with their mothers. However, they do not interact when them any more than the other females and they do not seem to form bonds though affiliation, grooming, or agonistic support. Males disperse much farther from their mothers and enter into a transient phase. This phase lasts until a male can challenge and displace a dominant, resident male from his home range.There are dominance hierarchies between adult males that regularly encounter each other with the most dominant males being the largest and having the best body conditions. Adult males dominate sub-adult males. Both resident and transient orangutans aggregate on large fruiting trees to feed. The fruits tend to be abundant, so competition is low and individuals may benefit from social contacts. Orangutans will also form travelling groups in which members coordinate travel between food sources for a few days at a time. These groups tend to be made of only a few individuals. They also tend to be mating consortships, each made of an adult male and female traveling and mating.

 
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Posted in Monkey, Orangutans

 

Frogs

28 May

red-eyeThere are nearly 4,000 types of frogs, including toads, which are in the frog family, in almost every part of the world. The only place that there are no frogs and have never been any types of frogs is Antarctica because it is too cold all year long. There are about 80 types of frogs in the United States. Most of the different types of frogs can be found in the tropics because it is a warm and wet environment.There are nearly 4,000 types of frogs, including toads, which are in the frog family, in almost every part of the world.

Bright colored frog are poisonous

blue-darthere different types of frogs can be told apart in many different ways. The biggest difference is between frogs and toads in North America. Frogs are skinnier than toads and their skin is smooth and looks slimy. Toads have wider bodies and their skin is drier and rough and warty. In some tropical places the toads look very much like frogs, though, so you can’t always tell them apart this way.

Frogs aren’t all green. Some types of frogs are yellow, brown, orange, red, black, or a combination of these colors. Some frogs even change colors. The patterns on each type of frog are different, too. Some frogs have no patterns at all and are just a solid color and otthers have very cool markings on them.

The different frog types can sometimes be told apart by the calls that they make. No, they won’t call you on the phone if you give them your number, but they do call out for different reasons, and each type of frog has a different type of call. Only male frogs make calls, females do not. Some frogs have a croak that you are used to hearing about, but some types of frogs bark like a dog and some chirp like a bird. Some types of frogs whistle and some groan. There are lots of different sounds that frogs make when they call, but only a few reasons that they will call out.

yellow-bandedMale frogs will call out to the female frogs to let them know that they are ready to mate and so the female frogs can find them. Frogs will call out to other frogs to let them know that the area they are sitting in belongs to them and to keep other frogs away. Frogs will also call out to warn away other animals, especially the ones that will eat them.

Different types of frogs will have different skeletons and different teeth formations. These things help to give the frogs their different shapes and looks. Some frogs have different skeletons and teeth but look very similar on the outside so they are hard to tell apart, and unless you are a frogologist (which is actually called a herpetologist) you probably won’t get close enough to study the teeth or bones of a frog.

 
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Posted in Amphibians, Frog

 

Mouse

27 May
A mouse (plural: mice) is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles. They are known to invade homes for food and occasionally shelter.
The American White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), as well as other common species of mouse-like rodents around the world, also sometimes live in houses. These, however, are in other genera.
Cats, wild dogs, foxes, birds of prey, snakes and even certain kinds of arthropods have been known to prey heavily upon mice. Nevertheless, because of its remarkable adaptability to almost any environment, the mouse is one of the most successful mammalian genera living on Earth today.
Mice can at times be harmful rodents, damaging and eating crops,[1] causing structural damages and spreading diseases through their parasites and feces.[2] In North America, breathing dust that has come in contact with mouse excrements has been linked to hantavirus, which may lead to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS).
Primarily nocturnal animals, mice compensate for their poor eyesight with a keen sense of hearing, and rely especially on their sense of smell to locate food and avoid predators.[3]

Mouse

A mouse (plural: mice) is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles. They are known to invade homes for food and occasionally shelter.

House Mouse

The American White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), as well as other common species of mouse-like rodents around the world, also sometimes live in houses. These, however, are in other genera.

Cats, wild dogs, foxes, birds of prey, snakes and even certain kinds of arthropods have been known to prey heavily upon mice. Nevertheless, because of its remarkable adaptability to almost any environment, the mouse is one of the most successful mammalian genera living on Earth today.

Mice can at times be harmful rodents, damaging and eating crops, causing structural damages and spreading diseases through their parasites and feces. In North America, breathing dust that has come in contact with mouse excrements has been linked to hantavirus, which may lead to Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS).

Primarily nocturnal animals, mice compensate for their poor eyesight with a keen sense of hearing, and rely especially on their sense of smell to locate food and avoid predators.

Reproduction

Breeding onset is at about 50 days of age in both females and males, although females may have their first estrus at 25–40 days. Mice are polyestrous and breed year round; ovulation is spontaneous. The duration of the estrous cycle is 4–5 days and estrus itself lasts about 12 hours, occurring in the evening. Vaginal smears are useful in timed matings to determine the stage of the estrous cycle. Mating is usually nocturnal and may be confirmed by the presence of a copulatory plug in the vagina up to 24 hours post-copulation. The presence of sperm on a vaginal smear is also a reliable indicator of mating.

220px-Day-old_mice

Female mice housed together tend to go into anestrus and do not cycle. If exposed to a male mouse or the pheromones of a male mouse, most of the females will go into estrus in about 72 hours. This synchronization of the estrous cycle is known as the Whitten effect. The exposure of a recently bred mouse to the pheromones of a strange male mouse may prevent implantation (or pseudopregnancy), a phenomenon known as the Bruce effect.

The average gestation period is 20 days. A fertile postpartum estrus occurs 14–24 hours following parturition, and simultaneous lactation and gestation prolongs gestation 3–10 days owing to delayed implantation. The average litter size is 10–12 during optimum production, but is highly strain-dependent. As a general rule, inbred mice tend to have longer gestation periods and smaller litters than outbred and hybrid mice. The young are called pups and weigh 0.5–1.5 g (0.018–0.053 oz) at birth, are hairless, and have closed eyelids and ears. Cannibalism is uncommon, but females should not be disturbed during parturition and for at least 2 days postpartum. Pups are weaned at 3 weeks of age; weaning weight is 10–12 g (0.35–0.42 oz). If the postpartum estrus is not utilized, the female resumes cycling 2–5 days post-weaning.

mouse

Newborn male mice are distinguished from newborn females by noting the greater anogenital distance and larger genital papilla in the male. This is best accomplished by lifting the tails of littermates and comparing perineums.

 
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Posted in Mouse, Rodents

 

Rabbits

27 May

Rabbits

Rabbits (or colloquially bunnies) are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are eight different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cottontail rabbits (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, an endangered species on Amami Ōshima, Japan). There are many other species of rabbit, and these, along with pikas and hares, make up the order Lagomorpha. The male is called a buck and the female is a doe; a young rabbit is a kitten or kit.

250px-Rabbit_in_montana

Rabbit habitats include meadows, woods, forests, grasslands, deserts and wetlands.[1] Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit, lives in underground burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren.[1]
More than half the world’s rabbit population resides in North America.[1] They are also native to southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and in parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present. Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange. Much of the continent has just one species of rabbit, the tapeti, while most of South America’s southern cone is without rabbits.
The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world.[2

Rabbit habitats includemeadows, woods, forests, grasslands, deserts and wetlands. Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit, lives in underground burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren.

More than half the world’s rabbit population resides in North America. They are also native to southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and in parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present. Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange. Much of the continent has just one species of rabbit, the tapeti, while most of South America’s southern cone is without rabbits.

The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world.

The rabbit’s long ears, which can be more than 10 cm (4 in) long, are probably an adaptation for detecting predators. They have large, powerful hind legs. The two front paws have 5 toes, the extra called the dewclaw. The hind feet have 4 toes. They are plantigrade animals while at rest; however, they move around on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade form. Wild rabbits do not differ much in their body proportions or stance, with full, egg-shaped bodies. Their size can range anywhere from 20 cm (8 in) in length and 0.4 kg in weight to 50 cm (20 in) and more than 2 kg. The fur is most commonly long and soft, with colors such as shades of brown, gray, and buff. The tail is a little plume of brownish fur (white on top for cottontails).

Because the rabbit’s epiglottis is engaged over the soft palate except when swallowing, the rabbit is an obligate nasal breather. Rabbits have two sets of incisor teeth, one behind the other. This way they can be distinguished from rodents, with which they are often confused. Carl Linnaeus originally grouped rabbits and rodents under the class Glires; later, they were separated as the predominant opinion was that many of their similarities were a result of convergent evolution. However, recent DNA analysis and the discovery of a common ancestor has supported the view that they share a common lineage, and thus rabbits and rodents are now often referred to together as members of the superclass Glires.

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Rabbits are hindgut digesters. This means that most of their digestion takes place in their large intestine and cecum. In rabbits the cecum is about 10 times bigger than the stomach and it along with the large intestine makes up roughly 40% of the rabbit’s digestive tract. The unique musculature of the cecum allows the intestinal tract of the rabbit to separate fibrous material from more digestible material; the fibrous material is passed as feces, while the more nutritious material is encased in a mucous lining as a cecotrope. Cecotropes, sometimes called “night feces”, are high in minerals, vitamins and proteins that are necessary to the rabbit’s health. Rabbits eat these to meet their nutritional requirements; the mucous coating allows the nutrients to pass through the acidic stomach for digestion in the intestines. This process allows rabbits to extract the necessary nutrients from their food.

Rabbits are prey animals and are therefore constantly aware of their surroundings. For instances, in Mediterranean Europe, rabbits are the main prey of red foxes, badgers, and Iberian lynxes. If confronted by a potential threat, a rabbit may freeze and observe then warn others in the warren with powerful thumps on the ground. Rabbits have a remarkably wide field of vision, and a good deal of it is devoted to overhead scanning. They survive predation by burrowing, hopping away in a zig- zag motion, and, if captured, delivering powerful kicks with their hind legs. Their strong teeth allow them to eat and to bite in order to escape a struggle.

 
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Hyena

27 May

AardWolf Hyena

The aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is a small, insectivorous hyena, native to Eastern and Southern Africa. The name means “earth wolf” in Afrikaans/Dutch. It is also called “maanhaar jackal”. Unlike other hyenas, the diet of the aardwolf almost completely consists of termites, other insect larvae and carrion.

AardWolf Hyena

The aardwolf is the only surviving species of the subfamily Protelinae. Two subspecies are recognized: Proteles cristatus cristatus of Southern Africa, and Proteles cristatus septentrionalis of eastern and northeastern Africa. It is usually placed in the Hyaenidae, though formerly separated into the family Protelidae. The aardwolf lives in the scrublands of eastern and southern Africa. These are the areas of land covered with stunted trees or shrubs. The aardwolf hides in a burrow during the day and comes out at night to search for food. It is related to hyenas, but unlike its relatives, it does not hunt large prey. This unusual animal is a mass killer of insects. It feeds mainly on termites and can eat more than 200,000 in a single night, using its long, sticky tongue to collect them.

Brown Hyena

Brown Hyena

The brown hyena (Hyaenaa brunnea, formerly Parahyaena brunnea) is a species of hyena which occurs in Namibia, Botswana, western and southernZimbabwe, southern Mozambique and South Africa.It is currently the rarest hyena.

Brown hyenas measure 70.6-86.8 cm (27.8-34.1 in) in shoulder height, and weigh 35-50 kg (77.1-110.23 lbs). Unlike the larger spotted hyena, there are no sizable differences between the sexes, though males may be slightly larger than the females. The coat is long and shaggy, particularly on the tail and back. The general fur color is dark brown, while the head is gray, the upper body tawny and the legs grey with dark horizontal stripes. Erectile hairs 305 mm (12 in) in length cover the neck and back. Brown hyenas have powerful jaws: young specimens can crack the leg bones of springboks in five minutes, though this ability deteriorates with age as their teeth gradually wear. The skulls of brown hyenas are larger than those of the more northern striped hyenas, and their dentition is more robust, indicating less generalised dietary adaptations. Brown hyenas possess an anal pouch below the base of the tail, which produces a black and white paste. The pouch has a groove, coated with a white secretion, which divides a pair of lobes which produce a black secretion. These secretions are deposited on grass stalks roughly every quarter mile of their feeding grounds, particularly around territorial borders.

Striped Hyena


Striped Hyena

A pose of the Striped Hyena

The Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is a species of true hyena native to North and East Africa, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Middle, Central and Southern Asia. It is listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened, as the global population is estimated to be under 10,000 mature individuals which continues to experience deliberate and incidental persecution along with a decrease in its prey base such that it may come close to meeting a continuing decline of 10% over the next three generations.[1]
It is the smallest of the true hyenas and retains many primitive viverrid characters lost in larger species,[3] having a smaller and less specialised skull.[4][5] Though primarily a scavenger, large specimens have been known to kill their own prey,[6] and attacks on humans have occurred on rare instances.[7] The striped hyena is a monogamous animal, with both males and females assisting one another in raising their cubs.[8] A nocturnal animal, the striped hyena typically only makes itself visible in complete darkness, and is quick to return to its lair before sunrise.[9] Although it is often considered a cowardly animal (due to its habit of feigning death when attacked), it has been known to stand its ground against larger predators such as leopards in disputes over food.[10]
The striped hyena features prominently in Middle Eastern and Asian folklore. In some areas, its body parts are considered magical, and are used as charms or talismans.[11] It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where it is referred to as tzebua or zevoa, though the species is absent in some English translations.[12]

The Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is a species of true hyena native to North and East Africa, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Middle, Central and Southern Asia. It is listed by the IUCN as Near Threatened, as the global population is estimated to be under 10,000 mature individuals which continues to experience deliberate and incidental persecution along with a decrease in its prey base such that it may come close to meeting a continuing decline of 10% over the next three generations.

It is the smallest of the true hyenas and retains many primitive viverrid characters lost in larger species, having a smaller and less specialised skull. Though primarily a scavenger, large specimens have been known to kill their own prey, and attacks on humans have occurred on rare instances. The striped hyena is a monogamous animal, with both males and females assisting one another in raising their cubs. A nocturnal animal, the striped hyena typically only makes itself visible in complete darkness, and is quick to return to its lair before sunrise. Although it is often considered a cowardly animal (due to its habit of feigning death when attacked), it has been known to stand its ground against larger predators such as leopards in disputes over food.

The striped hyena features prominently in Middle Eastern and Asian folklore. In some areas, its body parts are considered magical, and are used as charms or talismans. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where it is referred to as tzebua or zevoa, though the species is absent in some English translations.

Spotted Hyena

Spotted Hyena(s)

The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) also known as laughing hyena, is a carnivorous mammal of the family Hyaenidae, of which it is the largest extant member. Though the species’ prehistoric range included Eurasia extending from Atlantic Europe to China, it now only occurs in all of Africa south of the Sahara save for the Congo Basin. Spotted hyenas live in large matriarchal communities called clans, which can consist of up to 80 individuals.

Though often mislabeled as cowardly scavengers, spotted hyenas derive the majority of their nourishment by hunting medium sized ungulates, and frequently clash with lions over food and territory. They are highly intelligent among the carnivora, with studies indicating that their social intelligence is on par with some primate species.

The spotted hyena features prominently in African mythology and folklore, where its portrayal varies from being a bringer of light, to a symbol of immorality and depravity.

 
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Posted in Big Cats, Hyena

 

Grenadiers

03 Jan

Grenadier/Rat-tail fishFamily Macrouridae Scavengers of the deep, these long-tailed fish use their acute sense of smell to sniff out food in the darkness of the deep ocean.

Life span :They live typically for around 20-30 years.

Statistics :They are about 30-60cm (1-2ft)

Physical :DescriptionRat-tails have large heads and long, tapering tails which makes them look like large tadpoles. They have a blunt snout and chin barbels that help them to feel around on the sea bed for food. The mouth is on the underside of the head.

Distribution :They are found in deep waters, from the Arctic to Antarctic.

Habitat : They are benthic or bottom-dwelling fish found to depths of over 3,000m.

DietRat-tails : Has a varied diet, which includes fish, crustaceans and cephalopods.Some feed on animals swimming above the seabed, others pick their food off the sea floor. Some have hard, pointed snouts which allow them to plough through the sediment in search of worms and other small invertebrates.

 


 
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Posted in Deep Sea Creatures, Grenadiers

 

Viper Fish

26 Dec

myths-and-legends-viper-fishA viperfish is a deepwater fish in the genus Chauliodus, with long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws. They grow to lengths of 30 to 60 cm (12 – 24 inches). Viperfish stay near lower depths (250–5,000 feet) in the daytime and shallow at night. Viperfish mainly stay in tropical and temperate waters. It is one of the fiercest predators in the very deep part of the sea and is believed to attack its prey by luring the victim close to itself with a light producing organ. This organ is called a photophore and is located on the end of its dorsal spine. It flashes this natural light on and off while at the same time moving the dorsal spine around like a fishing rod and hanging completely still in the water, and also uses the voluntary natural light producing organ to communicate to its potential mates and rivals. Viperfish vary in color between green, silver and black. It uses its fang-like teeth to immobilize its prey, and would not be able to close its mouth because of their length if it were not able to curve them behind its head. The first vertebra behind the head of the viperfish is known to absorb the shock of its attacks, which are mainly targeted against dragonfish and other small creatures. They are able to undergo long periods with scarce or no food. Viperfish are believed to live up to 30 years to 40 years but in captivity rarely live more than a few hours. Some species of dolphins and sharks are known to prey upon viperfish. Scientists believe that a viperfish can swim at a speed of two body lengths per second but that is not yet the official speed.

 
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Posted in Deep Sea Creatures, Viper Fish

 

Blue Ringed Octopus

24 Dec

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About Them

The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc in the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms. Octopuses have no internal or external skeleton (although some species have a vestigal remnant of a shell inside their mantle,) allowing them to squeeze through tight places. Octopuses are among the most intelligent and behaviorally flexible of all invertebrates.

The octopus inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, including coral reefs, pelagic waters, and the ocean floor. They have numerous strategies for defending themselves against predators, including the expulsion of ink, the use of camoflauge and deimatic displays, their ability to jet quickly through the water, and their ability to hide. An octopus trails its eight arms behind it as it swims. All octopuses are venomous, but only one species, the blue-ringed octopuses are known to be deadly to humans.

In the larger sense, there are around 300 recognized octopus species, which is over one-third of the total number of known cephalopod species. The term octopus may also be used to refer only to those creatures in the genus Octopus.

Blur Ringed Octopus

Physical Characteristics: The Blue-Ringed Octopus (BRO) is a very small organism, belonging to the family of Octopodidae. Like all octopi, they are soft-bodied organisms with eight arms or tentacles. It grows to a maximum length of 200mm when totally spread, and most are shorter than this. The octopus has a mass of 10-100g and is about the size of a golf ball. The BRO is normally dark brown to dark yellow in color but changes to a vivid yellow with bright blue rings when agitated (Blue Zoo, 200.

Habitat and Distribution: The BRO can be found in shallow reefs and tide pools from Japan to Australia, and can be found at depths ranging from 0 to 20 m (Caldwell, 2000).

Food and Feeding: The octopus has two poison glands that secrete tow types of poison into the saliva. One type of poison secreted is primarily effective against crabs, its primary food source, and the other is very toxic and is used against predators for defensive purposes. It is not yet known whether the octopus simply secretes saliva near prey, and waits for it to become incapacitated, or if it actually bites its prey. Once the prey is dead, the octopus begins consuming it with its powerful beak-like mouth (McConnell, 2000).

Development and Lifespan: The BRO hatches from eggs and is about the size of a pea at the start of its life. The octopus will quickly grow and mature until it reaches the average adult size, about equivalent to the size of a golf ball. The life expectancy of a Blue-ringed octopus is about 2 years (Caldwell, 2000; McConnell, 2000).

Behavior: according to a University of Michigan website , the blue-ringed octopus exhibits the typical octopus behavior in that is tends to live in crevices or holes, burrows as a way of gaining protection, and advertises its toxicity by changing to iridescent colors when aggravated. The octopus can commonly be found in shallow tide pools after storm, searching for crabs and bivalves.

Mating Habits

Mating begins when an interested male approaches and starts caressing the female with his modified arm, the hectocotylus. He then inserts the hectocotylus under the mantle of the female and the spermatophores are then released into the female’s oviduct. The female then lays ~100 eggs and guards them until they hatch ~50 days later. The mother dies soon after the eggs hatch because during the guarding of the eggs she is unable to eat.

 
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Posted in Blue Ringed Octopus, Deep Sea Creatures

 
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