Mammals
11 Nov, 2024
Mammals are animals that have warm-blood, fur or hair and usually have live babies. A few mammals lay eggs rather than giving birth to live babies, including the platypus and the spiny anteater. All mammals have some type of body hair or fur, though marine mammals, like dolphins and whales, are almost hairless. Over 5,500 species of mammals have been recorded to date, compared to more than 28,000 species of fish and over 1,000,000 species of insects.
Many mammal babies are helpless when first born, but a few species, including zebras and moose, can walk from the day they are born. Marsupial babies, like kangaroos and opossum, are born as small as a pinkie nail and move to their mother's pouch to mature. All mammal babies drink milk from their mothers.
Mammals maintain their body temperatures to just about the same temperature all the time, despite the temperature outside their bodies. Warm blood allows mammals to be very active and live in a wide variety of environments. Fur and fat help protect mammals in the cold, while sweating or panting releases extra heat for mammals in hot conditions.
Mammal Extinction Crisis
Probably the most characteristic element of the current extinction crisis is that most of our primate relatives are in serious danger. Almost 90% of the primate population lives in the tropical forest, which are disappearing fast due to animal agriculture, deforestation and development. About half of all the primate species on Earth are at the brink of extinction. 50 percent of all known mammals see rapidly decreasing populations, and almost 20 percent are close to extinction. Marine mammals – including dolphins, whales, and porpoises – are particularly close to becoming extinct.
FASCINATING MAMMAL FACTS
THE BIGGEST
The blue whale, measuring up to 110 feet long and weighing up to 419,000 pounds, is the largest mammal living today. It is also the largest mammal to have ever lived....larger than even the biggest dinosaur. The largest land animal today is the African elephant, standing up to 13 feet tall and weighing over 15,000 pounds. The extinct Paraceratherium, a hornless rhinoceros which stood around 17 feet at the shoulder and weighed about 33,000 pounds, is thought to have been the largest land mammal to have ever roamed the earth. The tallest mammals are giraffes, towering up to 20 feet tall.
THE SMALLEST
The smallest mammals are tinier than many insects. The bumblebee bat is only about 1.14 inches long and weighs a mere 0.07oz or less, while the white-toothed pygmy shrew, the smallest land mammal, is only .09oz or less.
THE FASTEST
The fastest land animal is the cheetah, reaching speeds of 70 mph. The fasted flying mammal is the big brown bat, flying at speeds of 15.5 mph. The fastest mammal in water is the orca, swimming up to 34 mph.
THE LONGEST LIVED
Human beings can live longer than any other mammal, while whales can live up to 100 years.
CREATIVE MINDS
Desert rats do not sweat or pant. They bury seeds until they’ve dried, then use them as sponges to gather humidity from the air.
TOOLS & WEAPONS
Bears use tools, play with objects and have been known to use weapons against other animals. Bears enjoy staring at scenic vistas such as sunsets, lakes and mountains. They grieve when a family member dies, moaning and crying for weeks.
RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY
Like computers, rats have short-term, random-access memories that store information used in ongoing processes. They are empathetic to each other, help other rats in distress and share food. They respond with their whiskers to vibrations. Rats take care of injured and sick rats and without companionship they become lonely and depressed. Rats laugh when they play and chatter or grind their teeth when happy. They groom themselves and their friends and family members for several hour each day. Rats can go longer than a camel without water. Their tails help them to balance, communicate and regulate their body temperature.
AMAZINGLY SMART
Squirrels have been observed hiding their odors from snakes by chewing on the outer layer of snakeskin and smearing it all over their fur. They also pretend to bury food in one spot, then store the food elsewhere, to fake out potential thieves. Mother squirrels are so protective of their babies that they kick the fathers out of the nests for the spring and summer, but may allow them back to bunk with the family during winter.
THEIR OWN LANGUAGE
Prairie dogs speak to one another in a language which includes nouns and verbs and has different dialects depending on where they’re from. Wolves cry out from distress when they miss an absent member of their pack. They communicate not only by sound, but also by body language. They use social cooperation and generalized rules to conduct and plan coordinated attacks.
ELEPHANTS SPEAK
Much of elephants’ complex language is based on infrasound – below the level of human hearing – and enables separated family members to communicate with each other over vast distances. They can also imitate human speech, despite having a trunk instead of lips. When an elephant is stressed, other elephants offer physical and vocal comfort, including hugs, kisses and soothing sounds. They mourn the deaths of their loved ones and perform rituals, holding vigils over the body for days and covering the deceased with leaves and branches. They react the same way when mourning humans. Elephants have been known to die of broken hearts after the death of a family member, friend or mate. They have the ability to use different objects in creative ways without being taught. They have been known to clean their food and use tools in various ways in the wild. Elephants self-medicate, play with a sense of humor, perform artistic activities, use tools and display compassion and self-awareness.
AMAZING APES
Apes and other primates use a special sign language to communicate with each other, and are also able to use standard sign language to communicate with humans. They have been taught to be fluent in English, some understanding over 2,000 words and able to sign over 1,000 words. They understand the meaning of the signs and use them in creative ways. They can comment on abstract ideas, express self-awareness, intelligence and emotions. Apes remember people, names, places, tasks and puzzles. They make and use tools, including spears for hunting, and have impressive problem-solving skills. They cooperate on projects like seeking food and making shelter, live in highly organized societies, can appreciate a beautiful sunset and mourn the death of loved ones. They have even been known to keep "pets".
Orangutans recognize themselves in mirrors. They make and use a variety of tools for foraging, honey collection and protection against insects. They drape large leaves over themselves like a poncho and use sticks to “fish” for branches or fruit that are out of reach and to extract seeds from fruit. They use leaves as napkins and gloves and fashion seat cushions from natural materials. Males plan their travel route in advance and communicate it to other orangutans. Cultural traditions are learned and passed down. They are capable of whistling music, opening locks, communicating with humans through sign language, using fork and spoons, blowing out candles, washing clothes, rowing boats, cooking and using Ipads.
Chimps have traditions that are often specific to only one group. They communicate with body language, exhibit self-awareness and express emotions, including laughing when they play and crying when they grieve. They outperform humans on numerous short-term memory tests. Orphans are adopted by their aunts, older siblings, or other members of their tribe who teach them how to find natural antibiotics, avoid poisonous plants and build tree nests.
MARINE MAMMALS
Marine mammals include cetaceans and pinnipeds. Dolphins, whales and porpoises are "cetaceans." Walruses, sea lions and seals are "pinnipeds". While they must breathe air like all mammals, marine mammals can stay underwater for up to two hours before surfacing for air. Dolphins and whales breath air through blowholes, while walruses, seals and sea lions breath through their nose and mouth.
Seals have scored better than adult humans at logical reasoning tests. Ringed seals build snow caves above their breathing holes in the ice to protect their young from predators.
Orcas brains are more emotionally developed than those of humans. The limbic system — the layers of interconnecting tissue that processes emotions — have grown elaborately compared to those in the human brain. They have a level of social culture that rivals humans.
Dolphin brains are larger and, in some ways, more complex than human brains. Dolphins have been taught to speak human words. Their own language allows them to trace other dolphins up to six miles away. They even have names for one another. They have such significant brain power it stops them from sleeping. They use tools and pass their knowledge through a family line. They reason, problem-solve and comprehend ideas. They use nonlinear math formulas when catching prey. They blow bubbles that vary in exact amplitudes to detect fish, then subtract values found with their echolocation to confirm the target. They follow ships to collect fish churned up their wake, and ride bow-waves like human surfers. They play catch, tag and other games with each other, and also enjoy playing with other animals. Dolphins swim onto the nose of humpback whales, who then raise themselves out of the water so the dolphins slide down their heads - both animals enjoy the game. Dolphins form complex social groups. They plan ahead. They crave physical attention and stroke each other with their flippers.
Dolphins and whales communicate with a variety of low sounds that humans cannot hear. They also use echolocation – sending sounds through water to bounce off objects to determine their shape, size and distance.
Gophers
10 Nov, 2024
Gopher are small, squirrel-like rodents that live in burrows underground. There are dozens of species of gophers inhabiting the western hemisphere. Gophers live in prairies, woodlands, coastal areas and mountains – anywhere with soft, moist soil.
Gophers dig giant networks of subterranean chambers called gopher towns. Gopher towns comprise extensive systems of tunnels. A gopher town can stretch for enormous distances and can house thousands of resident gophers. Gophers use their front legs and long teeth to push dirt out of their tunnels. Adult gophers usually live near the front of the gopher town and whistle to alert the town members of predators. Like mole mounds, gopher tunneling creates mounds on the surface.
Gophers have long, hard front teeth, tiny ears and small eyes. They have short grey, yellowish-brown or dark brown fur. Gophers have flattened heads, broad forepaws with big claws and short, hairy tails to aid in navigation when moving backwards.
Gophers are omnivorous, eating a variety of seeds, nuts, berries, roots, tubers, grains, grass and insects. Gophers are hoarding animals and store their food in their cheek pouches before taking it back to the gopher burrow, earning them the name “pocket gophers”. Gophers collect an astonishing amount of food for storage.
Gophers are active during the day. They are fossorial, spending most of their time underground. Gophers are usually not social with other gophers, but will amazingly share their burrows with other species including weasels, snakes, squirrels, armadillos, kangaroo rats, woodchucks, lizards and prairie dogs.
Some gophers hibernate during the cold northern winter months. Baby gophers typically hibernate at the start of Autumn during their first year of life. Adult gophers usually start their hibernation at the middle of the summer. Gophers that hibernate will hibernate until spring. Male gophers emerge from hibernation first to establish territories.
Gopher mating season takes place in the spring. Mother gophers are pregnant for 18 to 19 days and give birth to 3 to 4 babies. Female gophers have one or two litters each year. Baby gophers are blind and helpless at birth. They quickly grow and are independent by the age of 5 weeks. Gophers reach sexual maturity at 6 to 12 months old. Gophers live up to 5 years in the wild.
Gophers have a number of predators due to their small size and large populations. Larger mammals, large birds and snakes hunt gophers.
While gophers are often considered pests in rural and urban areas due to the damage they cause to gardens, fields, dams and banks, gophers are actually an important part of the ecosystem. Gophers increase soil fertility by mixing plant and fecal material into soil. Gopher burrowing aerates and tills soil. Gophers speed up the formation of new soil by bringing minerals to the surface.
THREATS TO GOPHERS
Gophers are threatened by loss of habitat and fragmented habitats. The Michoacan pocket gopher is endangered. The big pocket gopher and the tropical pocket gopher are critically endangered. The desert pocket gopher is listed as near threatened. The Mazama subspecies is the most endangered gopher, due to loss of natural habitat from urbanization. Gophers are also frequently harassed by humans that consider gophers pests.
Newts
9 Nov, 2024
Water-dwelling members of the family Salamandridae, newts are some of the most fascinating types of amphibians. Their name is derived from variations of the Old English word efte, evolving to newt (to refer to the adult animal) during the time of Shakespeare. These unique salamanders can be found in water-rich regions throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, and both east and west of the Rocky Mountain range in North America. Some species live out their entire life cycle in the water, while others dwell on land as adults, returning to water in order to breed. Depending on the species of newt, they can have a lifespan that ranges from 2 to 15 years of age, and may range from 5-10 cm in length, and 10-50g in weight.
Much like other kinds of salamanders, newts have a lizard-like appearance, with four limbs, a distinct tail and skin that tends to be more pebble-textured in appearance in comparison to the smooth, wet skin of other salamanders. Their sensitive skin is semi-permeable, which allows them to absorb oxygen and other necessary substances, but this also means that that they’re extremely sensitive to water pollutants and changes in the water pH where they dwell. (Newt populations may be assessed as part of natural water quality assessments - serving as biological indicators of environmental health.)
Newt larvae possess gills, as well as teeth on both their upper and lower jaws. The most amazing characteristic of these small amphibians is that they have phenomenal regenerative abilities – cells at the location of an injury can transform into non-distinct cells, multiply rapidly, and then differentiate themselves again in order to regenerate a new organ or limb. Newts can actually regenerate their eyes, limbs, spinal cords, hearts, intestines, and jaws multiple times!
Many newt species are also able to produce toxic skin secretions as a method of defense against predators that see them as an easy meal. The rough-skinned newt, Taricha granulosa, lives in the Pacific Northwest and is capable of producing a secretion that's toxic enough to kill an adult human. Newt toxins are only dangerous if they’re ingested, however, and species of newts that produce dangerous secretions tend to be more brightly colored, serving as a warning system of their poisonous nature to hungry predators.
They can be fierce hunters themselves. Omnivorous by nature, adult newts will travel up to one kilometer in order to find worms, beetles and snails. In the case of larger newts, sometimes other smaller amphibians serve as a meal. Newt larvae survive on algae, small insects or other tadpoles. Natural predators to newts and newt larvae include fish, snakes, foxes and herons.
June and July tend to be the most common breeding months for newts in the Northern Hemisphere, with some species performing complex courtship displays. A male Great Crested Newt will actually develop a wavy crest down his back during the mating season, and will stand on his front legs and wave his tail around to attract the attention of a female. The male then mates with an accepting female by transferring a capsule of sperm, fertilizing the eggs. The eggs are laid by the female newt one by one, usually on the leaves of aquatic plants, which she then folds over to hide and protect them until hatching. The newly hatched young appear in around three weeks, and slowly change over the next few months, growing legs and developing air-breathing lungs. Once their metamorphosis is complete, the young newts, called efts at this stage in their development, leave the water and live on land. Only when they’ve grown into fully mature adults do newts return to the water to live and breed.
Interestingly, North American species typically tend to spend their adult lives almost exclusively in the water, rarely venturing out of it after they reach maturity, while European species remain on land as adults, only returning to water during the mating season. In colder weather, newts generally tend to hibernate, finding hidden spots under logs, rocks, or at the bottom of ponds like other amphibians.
THREATS TO NEWTS
Many populations of newt species have been threatened by human activity. The draining of wetlands, waterfront development, and deforestation in particular are all dangerous for newt populations. For instance, exposing more ground area to direct sunlight can dry up small ponds and pools of water that are vital sites for newt breeding and spawning. Fragmentation of their habitat because of human development is also an issue for many species; if newts can’t safely travel to mate, the gene pool in a specific region can become more narrow, making the newts there more vulnerable to the side effects of inbreeding. Newts that make the attempt to move across fragmented territories may also fall victim to collisions with moving vehicles.
Water contamination is another enormous problem for newt populations. Since newts are highly sensitive to pollutants in water, temperature changes, and increased sediment in the water from runoff, species in areas where water degradation happens are at serious risk.
Finally, the capture of newts for the pet trade poses a third hazard for newts, as millions of these little amphibians are taken from the wild for commercial sale, even being sold as part of cruel living ‘keychain’ ornaments.
Sponges
8 Nov, 2024
While sponges may look plant-like, they are multi-cellular animals that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them. Sponges are bottom-dwelling sea creatures. They do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, they obtain nourishment and oxygen from water constantly flowing through them. The flowing water also carries out waste products.
There are many different types of sponges in the world's oceans. Sponges come in two basic types: encrusting or free-standing. Encrusting sponges typically cover the surface of a rock in the same manner that moss covers a rock on land. Free-standing sponges have more inner volume compared with their outside surface area and sometimes grow into strange shapes, often reaching gigantic proportions.
All sponges are sessile (they are not able to move about) and aquatic animals. Although there are freshwater species, the great majority are marine (salt water) species, ranging from tidal zones to depths exceeding 5.5 miles. Most sponges live their lives attached to a reef.
Sponges are similar to other animals in some ways, but unlike most animals they lack true tissues and organs and have no body symmetry. The scientific term for sponges is Porifera which literally means "pore-bearing." They are covered with tiny pores which lead to a system of canals and out to one or more larger holes. Within the canals of the sponge, chambers are lined with specialized cells that have a sticky, funnel shaped collar and a hairlike whip. The collar cells force water through the sponge. The water brings in nutrients and oxygen, while it carries out waste and carbon dioxide. The sticky collars of the collar cells also pick up tiny bits of food brought in with the water. Another type of cell takes the food to other cells within the sponge.
Sponges are very effective filter feeders, since they are able to capture and eat particles as small as bacteria as well as much larger particles. The "skeleton" of the sponge is composed of tiny needle-like splinters called spicules, a mesh of protein called spongin, or a combination of both.
Most sponges are hermaphroditic (both male and female), but play either the male or female role during reproduction. Sperm is released into the water by "male" sponges and travels to "female" sponges, where fertilization occurs internally. Baby sponges are released from the female sponge and float around in the water column as plankton for a few days. They then settle down and start growing. The next time the sponges reproduce, they may change sexual roles.
Sponges are also known for regenerating from fragments that are broken off, although this only works if the fragments include the right types of cells. A few species reproduce by budding. Budding is a form of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth, or bud, due to cell division at one particular site. Since the reproduction is asexual, the newly created organism is a clone and is genetically identical to the parent organism. Some species of sponge produce "survival pods" that remain dormant until conditions are right, and then either form completely new sponges or recolonize the skeletons of their parents.
While most of the approximately 5,000–10,000 known species feed on bacteria and other food particles in the water, some host micro-organisms as endosymbionts (organisms that live within the body or cells of another organism). These alliances often produce more food and oxygen than they consume. A few species of sponge that live in food-poor environments have become carnivores that prey mainly on small crustaceans.
THREATS TO SPONGES
Sponges are susceptible to damage by fishing, especially bottom trawling and dredging. In typical trawling, a large net is dragged across the ocean floor, its mouth held open by two 2-ton doors called otterboards. The siliceous skeleton of the sponges is fragile, and these organisms are easily broken by physical impact. Sponges in the vicinity of trawl tracks are shattered or completely removed.
While less harmful, hook and line fishing, as well as crustacean trapping, may also damage sponges. When the fishing gear is hauled to the surface, the lines and traps drag along the ocean floor and have the potential to break corals and sponges. Breakage of reef sponges may have dire consequences for the recruitment of new sponges, as sponge larvae require the siliceous skeletons of past generations as a substrate. Without a hard substrate, new sponges cannot settle and regrow broken parts of the reef. It has been estimated that broken sponge reefs may take up to 200 years to recover.
In addition, offshore oil and gas exploration threatens sponge reefs. Even if exploratory drilling is not done on or immediately adjacent to the reefs, it may still have a negative impact by increasing the amount of sediment in the seawater, or through hydrocarbon pollution.
Toucans
7 Nov, 2024
The iconic toucan is known the world over for its large, colorful bill. Found only in the tropical forests of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, there are more than 40 species of toucans alive today. The most common and recognizable species of toucan bears the scientific name, Ramphastos toco. All species of toucans are of the Order Piciformes, to which woodpeckers also belong.
Toucans acquired their name from the sound that they make. Their song often resembles frogs croaking. Other species of toucan have a variety of chirps, barks, growls, croaks, and even donkey-like braying as part of their songs. Toucans combine their vocal range with different taps and clicks from their bills. The females of the species tend to have higher vocal ranges than males.
In comparison to North American birds, toucans grow to be quite large. They average just over two feet in height and 20 ounces in weight. The smallest toucan species, the tawny-tufted toucanet, is only about 12.5 inches in height at maturity. Toucans are most recognized for their oversized bill. A full grown toucan, male or female, has a colorful bill seven and a half inches in length, nearly half the size of the bird.
The toucan’s bill serves many functions. Because of its colorful appearance, it was first believed that male toucans used their bills during breeding competition. However, since females possess the same dramatic trait, it is not likely that males are chosen for mating based on their bills. Toucans do use their bills in a particularly fascinating mating ritual in which they toss fruit back and forth to one another.
Although the large, colorful bill may be daunting in size and appearance to rivals, it does not provide much in the way of weaponry. The structure of the bill actually resembles a honeycomb of bone-like material called Keratin. Keratin is what makes up the hair and nails of humans. Much of the structure is made up of air, making it a useless defense mechanism against potential prey. The inside edges of the bill are serrated to aid in catching, grasping and tearing food.
The bill of the toucan may be an ineffectual weapon, but it certainly serves many other important functions. They use it for picking fruit from branches too small to support their considerable weight, and as a tool for stripping away the outer rind of their findings.
Toucans are omnivorous and eat a combination of fruit, vegetation, nuts, seeds and insects. They may even eat small lizards, frogs, birds or the eggs of other birds from time to time if available. Toucans have a long, narrow, feather-like tongue with bristles along the sides. This helps them catch and taste their food before moving it down their throats.
The brightly colored aspect of the birds may be seen as a potential weakness for defense against predators, but because toucans reside in the colorful tropical forests of South America, their coloring actually affords them adequate camouflage. Toucans are mainly black and white, but have variations of yellow, orange and green depending on the species. Toucans are known as particularly vocal birds suggesting that they are not too concerned about predators finding them.
Toucans have a relatively small wingspan, about the length of their own bodies. They are capable of flight, but only for small distances. This is not an obstacle or a risk to the toucan’s safety, as they spend nearly all their lives high in the forest canopy. They seldom make trips to the forest floor.
Toucans navigate the canopy by hopping from branch to branch, gripping with their long, curved toes and sharp claws. Toucans are actually Zygodactyls, meaning they have two toes pointing forwards, and two toes pointing backwards. This foot design aids the toucan in maneuvering up and down tree trunks and in and out of tree cavities.
Toucans reside in flocks of about six birds, although they often forage for food alone. They nest in hollowed out tree cavities, which may seem like a strange choice for birds with such large bills. However, the toucan has an interesting method of getting comfortable in its narrow, enclosed nest. Toucans sleep with their heads against their backs, tucked under one wing. The bird then flips its tail up over its head and settles in for the night.
The toucan is known as a social, playful bird. They travel in search of food in loose groups of up to 22 birds. Preferring fruit over all other food sources, toucans usually begin their day by visiting the fruit trees in their home territory. From there, they may make longer treks in search of new fruit trees. As toucans are digesting they enjoy playful sparring with one another before returning home to roost for the night.
Toucans have approximately two to four eggs each year that both parents care for. Eggs are incubated for about 15 – 18 days before hatching. Young toucans are not born with the signature large bill. It develops as they grow, reaching full size after several months. The birds are considered mature at three to four years of age. The lifespan of the toucan is not known in the wild, but birds in captivity can live to be up to 18 years old.
THREATS TO TOUCANS
Large birds of prey and wildcats native to the tropical forests of the toucan’s habitat also prey upon them. Smaller mammals are likely deterred by the deceptively menacing appearance of the toucan’s bill. Snakes, rats and weasels seek out toucan eggs, but are not known as predatory threats to the birds.
The major threat to the toucan is humans. Aside from hunting the birds, humans also capture the toucan and sell them as pets. Captivity is cruel for wild animals. Animals are captured from their native habitat and transported to various countries to be sold as “pets”. Backyard breeders also supply exotic animals. The sellers of these animals often disregard the dangers, difficulties, physical and physiological needs of the animals they peddle. The suffering of the animals in the hands of unqualified and hapless buyers appears to be of no concern in the lucrative exotic pet trade.
Toucans acquired their name from the sound that they make. Their song often resembles frogs croaking. Other species of toucan have a variety of chirps, barks, growls, croaks, and even donkey-like braying as part of their songs. Toucans combine their vocal range with different taps and clicks from their bills. The females of the species tend to have higher vocal ranges than males.
In comparison to North American birds, toucans grow to be quite large. They average just over two feet in height and 20 ounces in weight. The smallest toucan species, the tawny-tufted toucanet, is only about 12.5 inches in height at maturity. Toucans are most recognized for their oversized bill. A full grown toucan, male or female, has a colorful bill seven and a half inches in length, nearly half the size of the bird.
The toucan’s bill serves many functions. Because of its colorful appearance, it was first believed that male toucans used their bills during breeding competition. However, since females possess the same dramatic trait, it is not likely that males are chosen for mating based on their bills. Toucans do use their bills in a particularly fascinating mating ritual in which they toss fruit back and forth to one another.
Although the large, colorful bill may be daunting in size and appearance to rivals, it does not provide much in the way of weaponry. The structure of the bill actually resembles a honeycomb of bone-like material called Keratin. Keratin is what makes up the hair and nails of humans. Much of the structure is made up of air, making it a useless defense mechanism against potential prey. The inside edges of the bill are serrated to aid in catching, grasping and tearing food.
The bill of the toucan may be an ineffectual weapon, but it certainly serves many other important functions. They use it for picking fruit from branches too small to support their considerable weight, and as a tool for stripping away the outer rind of their findings.
Toucans are omnivorous and eat a combination of fruit, vegetation, nuts, seeds and insects. They may even eat small lizards, frogs, birds or the eggs of other birds from time to time if available. Toucans have a long, narrow, feather-like tongue with bristles along the sides. This helps them catch and taste their food before moving it down their throats.
The brightly colored aspect of the birds may be seen as a potential weakness for defense against predators, but because toucans reside in the colorful tropical forests of South America, their coloring actually affords them adequate camouflage. Toucans are mainly black and white, but have variations of yellow, orange and green depending on the species. Toucans are known as particularly vocal birds suggesting that they are not too concerned about predators finding them.
Toucans have a relatively small wingspan, about the length of their own bodies. They are capable of flight, but only for small distances. This is not an obstacle or a risk to the toucan’s safety, as they spend nearly all their lives high in the forest canopy. They seldom make trips to the forest floor.
Toucans navigate the canopy by hopping from branch to branch, gripping with their long, curved toes and sharp claws. Toucans are actually Zygodactyls, meaning they have two toes pointing forwards, and two toes pointing backwards. This foot design aids the toucan in maneuvering up and down tree trunks and in and out of tree cavities.
Toucans reside in flocks of about six birds, although they often forage for food alone. They nest in hollowed out tree cavities, which may seem like a strange choice for birds with such large bills. However, the toucan has an interesting method of getting comfortable in its narrow, enclosed nest. Toucans sleep with their heads against their backs, tucked under one wing. The bird then flips its tail up over its head and settles in for the night.
The toucan is known as a social, playful bird. They travel in search of food in loose groups of up to 22 birds. Preferring fruit over all other food sources, toucans usually begin their day by visiting the fruit trees in their home territory. From there, they may make longer treks in search of new fruit trees. As toucans are digesting they enjoy playful sparring with one another before returning home to roost for the night.
Toucans have approximately two to four eggs each year that both parents care for. Eggs are incubated for about 15 – 18 days before hatching. Young toucans are not born with the signature large bill. It develops as they grow, reaching full size after several months. The birds are considered mature at three to four years of age. The lifespan of the toucan is not known in the wild, but birds in captivity can live to be up to 18 years old.
THREATS TO TOUCANS
Large birds of prey and wildcats native to the tropical forests of the toucan’s habitat also prey upon them. Smaller mammals are likely deterred by the deceptively menacing appearance of the toucan’s bill. Snakes, rats and weasels seek out toucan eggs, but are not known as predatory threats to the birds.
The major threat to the toucan is humans. Aside from hunting the birds, humans also capture the toucan and sell them as pets. Captivity is cruel for wild animals. Animals are captured from their native habitat and transported to various countries to be sold as “pets”. Backyard breeders also supply exotic animals. The sellers of these animals often disregard the dangers, difficulties, physical and physiological needs of the animals they peddle. The suffering of the animals in the hands of unqualified and hapless buyers appears to be of no concern in the lucrative exotic pet trade.
Swans
6 Nov, 2024
ADOPT A SWANMajestic, beautiful and graceful, swans are large aquatic birds closely related to geese and ducks. Swans inhabit both sides of the Equator across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. There are several species of swan, differing in size, color and behavior: the Black swan, Mute swan, Black-necked swan, Trumpeter swan, Tundra swan (which includes the Bewick’s swan and Whistling swan), and the Whooper swan.
Northern swans are white with orange beaks. Southern swans are white and black with orange, red or black beaks. The legs of swans are usually a dark blackish gray color, except for two South American species that have pink legs. Black swans are known for swimming with one leg – tucking the other above their tails to change direction more smoothly and quickly when they spot predators or prey.
Swans have streamlined bodies, long necks and webbed feet. Their wings are very strong, making them able to fly short distances despite being such heavy birds. Their incredibly strong wings can cause fatal injuries to other animals.
A male swan is called a cob, a female swan is a pen, and a baby swan is a cygnet.
Swans are omnivores, but eat a mostly vegetarian diet. Swans eat aquatic plants, seeds, insects and sometimes small fish. Swans do not have teeth, but their beaks have serrated edges that look like teeth and aid in catching and eating food. When threatened, swans engage in busking - rearing up with flared wings and hissing, snorting, grunting and flapping.
Some species of swan are migratory, either wholly or partly.
Swan couples establish strong bonds. Some mate for life. Swans often touch beaks to kiss. When they kiss, their necks form a heart.
Swans can sleep on land or in the water. When sleeping on land they stand on one leg.
Swans molt each summer. When molting they are unable to fly for about 6 weeks. Breeding couples do not molt at the same time as they, and their babies, would be too vulnerable to predators.
During mating season, courtship dances are accompanied by a variety of hissing and grunting sounds. Some swans sing and honk during mating, and engage in synchronized swimming and head bobbing.
Swan couples build their nests on land with twigs and leaves. Unlike most ducks and geese, male swans help with nest construction and egg incubation. Female swans lay 3 to 9 eggs. Baby swans hatch following an incubation period of a little over a month. Baby swans are usually swimming in the water with their mother in a couple of days. They stay close to their mother for warmth and protection. Swans are known to aggressively protect their nests and babies.
Due to their large size, swans have few natural predators. Natural predators include wolves, foxes and raccoons that prey on swans and their eggs.
Swans can live 30 years in the wild.
THREATS TO SWANS
Swans are a threatened species due to hunting, habitat loss and pollution. Some species are endangered. Swan populations are declining.
Swans are also victims of the animal entertainment and pet industries – used as decorations in ponds and lakes.
Whales
5 Nov, 2024
Whales range in size from the blue whale, the largest animal known to have ever existed, to pygmy species such as the pygmy sperm whale. Whales inhabit all the world's oceans and number in the millions. They are long-lived; humpback whales living for up to 95 years, while bowhead whales may live for more than a century. Human hunting of whales from the seventeenth century until 1986 radically reduced the populations of some whale species.
BLUE WHALE
Blue whales are found throughout the world's oceans. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to inhabit the earth. This gentle giant has grayish-blue skin with light spots. It has about 300 to 400 baleen plates instead of teeth which it uses to strain food from the ocean water. Measuring 70 to 80 feet in length (the longest recorded length was 106 feet), blue whales can weigh as much as 90 to 150 tons. The female is larger than the male. The population of blue whales is dangerously low. They are endangered.
The lifespan of a blue whale is estimated to be 80 years. A blue whale can eat up to 7,715 pounds of krill (small shrimp-like organisms) per day. They swim 14 miles per hour (with bursts as fast as 30 mph) and feed at depths of less than 330 feet (but can dive as deep as 1,640 feet). Dives last from 10 to 20 minutes. Usually they travel alone or in small groups of two to four, although off the coast of California some groups as large as 60 have been seen.
Sexual maturity is reached between 5 to 10 years. Females give birth every two to three years to one calf. Gestation is 10 to 12 months; average calf is 23 feet long and weighs 4,440 pounds. A calf is fed by its mother for seven to eight months.
Blue whales once were considered too difficult to hunt because of their speed and size. With the introduction of factory ships and the harpoon gun in the 1920s, blue whales were hunted intensively. By the 1960s they were nearly extinct. Blue whales face threats from entanglement in fishing nets, pollution, and illegal whaling.
GRAY WHALE
The gray whale ranges from slate gray to black with many white spots (usually patches of barnacles) and skin blotches (usually "whale lice" which are yellowish-white crustaceans). A baleen (toothless) whale, it has a long rigid snout and a double blow-hole. The gray whale does not have a dorsal fin but does have a low hump on its back and a series of small knobs or "knuckles" running down to the flukes. A female gray whale may reach a length of 40 to 50 feet and weigh up to 16 tons. Males are slightly smaller.
After years of intensive whaling, the gray whale population numbered only a few hundred, but today their population has bounced back. The western Pacific population of gray whales, however, is listed as threatened.
Gray whales migrate along the coast of North America from California to the Arctic or from coastal Korea to Siberia to spend the summer in arctic regions. For the winter, they return to warmer waters. This 4,000 mile annual migration is the longest made by any mammal. Gray whales prefer shallow waters and are often within a mile and a half of shore in coastal waters and breeding lagoons.
Gray whales feed on bottom-dwelling organisms such as amphipods (small crustaceans), mollusks and worms. They dive to the bottom, turn on their sides, and swim along the ocean floor scooping up sand and food, then strain the sand and water (through baleen filters), leaving the food inside.
Gray whales often play in the surf and shallow waters and surf the waves occasionally. They also sometimes leap completely out of the water, or spyhop, lifting their heads vertically out of the water to observe their surroundings.
Females bear one calf every two years after a gestation period of 13 months. Calves nurse for seven months.
Pollution and the disturbance of calving lagoons by humans are the main threats to the gray whale.
HUMPBACK WHALE
The humpback whale is black or gray with a white, grooved underbelly. Megaptera means 'giant wings' and refers to the their large front flippers, which are up to 15 feet. Humpback whales measure 35 to 48 feet long and weigh up to 65 tons. The female is larger than the male. In the 1870s humpback whales numbered around 125,000, but early in the 20th century whaling drastically reduced the population. Humpbacks now number around 5,000 to 7,500.
The humpback whale is capable of living up to 95 years. They are found in all the world's oceans. Humpback whales migrate annually from the tropics to polar regions.
Humpbacks sometimes engage in social hunting in which several whales encircle a school (group) of fish and blow bubbles that form a 'net' around the fish, then move in with their mouths open to devour their prey. Their favorite foods include krill and small schooling fish such as herring and mackerel, consuming between 2,000 and 9,000 pounds a day.
The 'songs' of humpback whales are complex vocalizations made only by the males. Humpbacks are well known for hurling their massive bodies out of the water in magnificent displays called breaching. Scientists are unsure why humpbacks breach, but believe it may be related to courtship or play activity.
Humpback whales mate during winter migration to warmer waters. Eleven to 12 months later the female gives birth to a single calf, weighing about two tons and measuring up to 13 feet long.
Whales suffer from illegal whaling, entanglement in fishing nets and death from pollution.
SPERM WHALE
Endangered sperm whales ae the largest toothed mammal in the world. Males are significantly larger. They are dark blue-gray to black in color. Males pale as they age. Sperm whales have a gigantic, square-shaped head with a slender lower jaw. Their head makes up one-third of their length. They do not have a dorsal fin. The head houses a large spermaceti organ filled with spermaceti oil that turns from liquid to solid as the water turns colder. Because a solid is generally heavier than a liquid, this "weight" in the whale's head allows it to dive deep to find food, up to 4,000 feet.
Males can reach 66 feet in length, though most are about 50 feet in length. Females are rarely longer than 40 feet in length. Male sperm whales weigh between 77,000 and 110,000 pounds; females weigh only one-third as much as males. Sperm whales can live up to 77 years.
They are found in all the oceans of the world, but concentrated in areas of plentiful food such as the coast of South America, the coast of Africa, the north Atlantic sea, the Arabian sea, the western north Pacific and near the equator. They feed on giant squid, schooling fish, seals and sharks. Sperm whales consume approximately one ton of food each day.
Sperm whales are found in mixed groups of 20 to 40 individuals including adult females, calves and juveniles. After weaned from their mother, juveniles leave their group to form juvenile schools. Females will return to a mixed group before reaching maturity while males form bachelor groups or become solitary. Sperm whales do not migrate over large distances as some other whale species do.
Sperm whales mate in the spring and have calves in the fall. A single calf is born after a 14 to 19 month gestation. Newborn calves weigh about 2,000 pounds and are about 13 feet in length.
In the past, sperm whales were hunted for their ambergris, a waxy oil substance. This oil was used for lighting fuel. Spermaceti oil was also used to make candles and lubricant.
THREATS TO WHALES
Due to the danger of extinction facing many whale species, the IWC voted to suspend all commercial whale hunting beginning in 1986. Despite this international agreement to stop killing whales for their parts, several countries continued to kill whales and sell their meat and parts, including Norway, Iceland and Japan.
A loophole in the ban on commercial whaling allowed for the killing of large and medium whales for "scientific purposes." The ban also doesn't cover smaller whales like pilot whales, dolphins and porpoises. Iceland and Norway take whales within their own waters, otherwise known as exclusive economic zones. Japan conducts whaling in international waters, including in a whale sanctuary in the ocean off the Antarctic coast, despite the ban.
Whales are most often killed using a primitive weapon called a harpoon. The harpoon has a grenade attached that explodes when the harpoon enters the body of the whale. It can take a very long time for some whales to die which causes additional suffering and fear in these gentle animals. There is no humane way to kill a whale.
Despite international pressure and the best efforts of grassroots movements to ‘save the whales’ around the world, whaling continues to be a danger facing whales and their future here on earth.
Wolverines
4 Nov, 2024
The wolverine, also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae (weasels). It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. The wolverine, a solitary animal, has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the ability to kill prey many times larger than itself.
The wolverine can be found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest numbers in northern Canada, the U.S. state of Alaska, the Nordic countries of Europe, and throughout western Russia and Siberia. Their populations have experienced a steady decline since the 19th century in the face of trapping, range reduction and habitat fragmentation, such that they are essentially absent in the southern end of their European range.
The wolverine is a stocky and muscular animal with short legs, broad and rounded head, small eyes and short rounded ears. The adult wolverine is about the size of a medium dog. The males are as much as 30% larger than the females and can be twice the females' weight. Wolverines have thick, dark, oily fur, making them resistant to frost. A light-silvery facial mask is distinct in some individuals, and a pale buff stripe runs laterally from the shoulders along the side and crossing the rump just above a bushy tail. Some individuals display prominent white hair patches on their throats or chests.
Like many other mustelids, it has potent anal scent glands used for marking territory and sexual signaling. The pungent odor has given rise to the nicknames "skunk bear" and "nasty cat." Wolverines, like other mustelids, possess a special upper molar in the back of the mouth that is rotated 90 degrees, towards the inside of the mouth. This special characteristic allows wolverines to tear off meat from prey or carrion that has been frozen solid.
The wolverine is a powerful and versatile predator and scavenger. Prey mainly consists of small to medium-sized mammals, but the wolverine has been recorded killing prey such as adult deer that are many times larger than itself. Prey species include porcupines, squirrels, beavers, marmots, rabbits, voles, mice, shrews, lemmings, caribou, roe deer, white-tailed deer, mule deer, sheep, moose, and elk. Smaller predators are occasionally preyed on, including martens, mink, foxes, Eurasian lynx, weasels, and coyote and wolf pups. Wolverines often pursue live prey that are relatively easy to obtain, including animals caught in traps, newborn mammals, and deer (including adult moose and elk) when they are weakened by winter or immobilized by heavy snow. Their diets are sometimes supplemented by birds' eggs, birds (especially geese), roots, seeds, insect larvae, and berries. A majority of the wolverine's sustenance is derived from carrion, on which they depend almost exclusively in winter and early spring. Wolverines may find carrion themselves, feed on it after the predator is done feeding (especially wolf packs) or simply take it from another predator. Whether eating live prey or carrion, the wolverine's feeding style appears voracious, leading to the nickname of "glutton". However, this feeding style is believed to be an adaptation to food scarcity, especially in winter.
Armed with powerful jaws, sharp claws, and a thick hide, wolverines, like most mustelids, are remarkably strong for their size. They may defend kills against larger or more numerous predators such as wolves or bears. Wolverines are known to follow wolf and lynx trails with the intent of scavenging the remains of their kills. Wolves are thought to be their most important natural predator, with the arrival of wolves to a wolverine's territory leading them to abandon the area.
Wolverines inhabiting the Old World hunt more actively than their North American relatives. This may be because competing predator populations in Eurasia are not as dense, making it more practical for the wolverine to hunt for itself than to wait for another animal to make a kill and then try to snatch it.
Successful males form lifetime relationships with two or three females, which they will visit occasionally, while other males are left without a mate. Mating season is in the summer, but the actual implantation of the embryo in the uterus is stayed until early winter, delaying the development of the fetus. Females will often not produce young if food is scarce. The gestation period is 30–50 days, and litters of typically two or three young ("kits") are born in the spring. Kits develop rapidly, reaching adult size within the first year of a lifespan that may reach anywhere from five to 13 years. Fathers make visits to their offspring until they are weaned at 10 weeks of age; also, once the young are about six months old, some reconnect with their fathers and travel together for a time.
The world's total wolverine population is not known. The animal exhibits a low population density and requires a very large home range. The range of a male wolverine can be more than 240 square miles, encompassing the ranges of several females which have smaller home ranges of roughly 50 to 100 square miles. Adult wolverines try for the most part to keep non-overlapping ranges with adults of the same sex.
THREATS TO WOLVERINES
Female wolverines burrow into snow in February to create a den, which is used until weaning in mid-May. Areas inhabited non-seasonally by wolverines are thus restricted to zones with late-spring snowmelts. This fact has led to concern that changes in climate will shrink the ranges of wolverine populations.
Their requirement for large territories brings wolverines into conflict with human development, and hunting and trapping further reduce their numbers, causing them to disappear from large parts of their former range. Attempts to have them declared an endangered species have met with little success.
Ants
3 Nov, 2024
Ants are insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. There is an estimated 22,000 species of ants.
Ants have colonized almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organization and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves.
Ants occupy a wide range of ecological niches, and are able to exploit a wide range of food resources either as direct or indirect herbivores, predators, and scavengers. Most species are omnivorous generalists, but a few are specialist feeders.
The animal with the largest brain in proportion to its size is the ant. Ants farm, gather, hunt, raise animals and engage in rituals. Ants are social insects and live in colonies of as many as 500,000 individuals. They divide jobs among each other. Queens lay eggs while all other females are workers who feed the babies, take out the trash, forage for food and supplies and defend the nest. Males only have to mate with the queen.
Some ants keep other ants, or other insects, as slaves forcing them to do chores. Ants have been farming for 70 million years, using sophisticated horticultural techniques to grow crops. They even keep "cattle", aphids which they milk by tickling them with their antennae. They clip the wings of aphids that have them or produce chemicals from glands in their jaws to stop the development of their wings. They can also use chemicals to tranquilize aphids.
Ants have two stomachs, one to hold food for themselves, and one for others. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground with special sensors on their feet and knees. Their antennae and body hairs feel around while foraging for food. They communicate with a sophisticated language using chemicals known as “pheromones.”
One species, M. smithii, reproduces asexually, with all babies clones of the queen. There are no males. Army ants do not build permanent nests. They travel around attacking other colonies and other insects and build temporary campsites at night. The largest ant colony discovered to date was over 3,750 miles wide. Ants engage in war, including psychological warfare.
Most ant species have a system in which only the queen and breeding females have the ability to mate. Contrary to popular belief, some ant nests have multiple queens, while others may exist without queens. The winged male ants, called drones, emerge from pupae along with the breeding females (although some species, such as army ants, have wingless queens), and do nothing in life except eat and mate.
Most ants are univoltine, producing a new generation each year. During the breeding period, females and winged males leave the colony in what is called a nuptial flight. Typically, the males take flight before the females. Males then use visual cues to find a common mating ground, for example, a landmark such as a pine tree to which other males in the area converge. Males secrete a mating pheromone that females follow.
Females of some species mate with just one male, but in others they may mate with as many as ten or more different males. Mated females then seek a suitable place to begin a colony. There, they break off their wings and begin to lay and care for eggs. The females store the sperm they obtain during their nuptial flight to selectively fertilize future eggs. The first workers to hatch are weak and smaller than later workers, but they begin to serve the colony immediately. They enlarge the nest, forage for food, and care for the other eggs. Species that have multiple queens may have a queen leaving the nest along with some workers to found a colony at a new site, a process akin to swarming in honeybees.
If the egg is fertilized, the baby will be female; if not, it will be male. Ants develop by complete metamorphosis, including a larva stage and pupal stage before emerging as an adult. The larva is largely immobile and is fed and cared for by workers.
The larvae grow through a series of four or five moults and enter the pupal stage. The pupa has the appendages free and not fused to the body as in a butterfly pupa. Larvae and pupae need to be kept at fairly constant temperatures to ensure proper development, and are often moved around among the various brood chambers within the colony.
A new worker spends the first few days of its adult life caring for the queen and young. She then graduates to digging and other nest work, and later to defending the nest and foraging.
Ant colonies can be long-lived. The queens can live for up to 30 years, and workers live from 1 to 3 years. Males, however, are short-lived and survive for only a few weeks.
Ants are active all year long in the tropics, but, in cooler regions, they survive the winter in a state of dormancy or inactivity. The forms of inactivity are varied and some temperate species have larvae going into the inactive state, (diapause), while in others, the adults alone pass the winter in a state of reduced activity.
Ants communicate with each other using pheromones, sounds, and touch. Like other insects, ants perceive smells with their long, thin, and mobile antennae. The paired antennae provide information about the direction and intensity of scents. Since most ants live on the ground, they use the soil surface to leave pheromone trails that may be followed by other ants. In species that forage in groups, a forager that finds food marks a trail on the way back to the colony. This trail is followed by other ants, and these ants then reinforce the trail when they head back with food to the colony. When the food source is exhausted, no new trails are marked by returning ants and the scent slowly dissipates.
Ants use pheromones for more than just making trails. A crushed ant emits an alarm pheromone that sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts more ants from farther away. Several ant species even use "propaganda pheromones" to confuse enemy ants and make them fight among themselves. Pheromones also are exchanged, mixed with food, and passed on to transfer information within the colony. This allows other ants to detect what task group (e.g., foraging or nest maintenance) other colony members belong to. In ant species with queen castes, when the dominant queen stops producing a specific pheromone, workers begin to raise new queens in the colony. Some ants produce sounds by stridulation. Sounds may be used to communicate with colony members or with other species.
THREATS TO ANTS
Like most animals, the primary threat to ants is the destruction of their habitat. Human development has taken an alarming toll on the environment. Impact from land use practices such as agricultural conversion, deforestation, and urban sprawl continue to degrade and fragment remaining pockets of habitat and accelerate biodiversity loss. Pesticides and other forms of pollution are also of serious concern, as well as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Ants are also victims the pet trade, sold for a short life in captivity in “ant farms” for human amusement. Research has proven that insects are complex, emotional and intelligent beings. Captivity is cruel for wild animals. The physical and physiological needs of animals can never be met in captivity.
Quails
30 Oct, 2024
Quails are small birds inhabiting woodlands and forests around the globe. There are many species of quail, varying slightly in appearance and size. They are closely related to the larger pheasants. Quails inhabit Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas. There are three subfamilies in the quail family: Old World quails and partridges; New World quails; and true pheasants and seafowls.
Quails can be covered in brown, black, gray, white and blue feathers with a scale-like pattern on some parts of their bodies. Some species of quail have plumes, or topknots, shaped like a teardrop on top of their heads that bob when the quail is walking.
Quails can fly short distances, but spend the majority of their time on ground level. Most quails do not migrate, living their lives in one area. They usually settle to the ground by gliding. They can be diurnal, active during the day, or nocturnal, active at night, depending on the species of quail.
Some quails are solitary birds or live in pairs. Other quail species are very social. Some live in small flocks known as coveys.
Quails are omnivores, but prefer a mostly vegetarian diet. They feed on seeds, flowers, barley, wheat and fruits. They occasionally eat insects.
Quails communicate with high pitched sounds, grunts and cackles. They bath in dust to eliminate pests and to clean their plumage.
Quails will run when they are in danger. Some species are able to fly away quickly. Other quail species become motionless when threatened. Some quails have heeled spurs, bony structures used to fight off predators.
During the mating season large flocks of quails gather together. Quails are ready to mate at 2 months old. They usually breed in open areas such as farmland. Males will compete for females. Female quail lay one to 20 eggs in nests, depending on the species of quail. Nests are typically constructed on the ground below a shrub or other covering plant. Baby quails hatch in less than a month. They are ready to leave the nest and follow their parents shortly after birth. Both the mother and the father quail usually care for the chicks.
Being small birds, quails have many natural predators. Raccoons, foxes, snakes, coyotes, squirrels, bobcats, dogs, skunks, cats, owls, hawks, rats and weasels hunt quails and their eggs.
Quails live up to 5 years in the wild.
THREATS TO QUAILS
Quails are victims of hunting for meat, feathers and sport on game farms or in the wild. Habitat destruction and hunting have negatively affected quail populations around the world. Some species of quails are endangered. Quail are also used in inhumane animal research experiments.
Species of quail have declined by over 90 percent due to hunting. In some countries, baby quails are fired from a cannon and then shot down.
Quail are farmed for their eggs and meat. Factory farmed quails suffer from intense confinement, overcrowding, stress, de-beaking, diseases, ammonia fumes and rough handling.
One of the main threats to quails is the reduction of food and cover from overgrazing by the animal agriculture industry. Pesticides from animal agriculture also threatens quails.
Quails are also victims of the pet trade. Quails are timid and easily startled by sudden noises in captivity. In cages they are easily injured, or even killed, when they attempt to fly.
Black-Footed Ferrets
29 Oct, 2024
ADOPT A BLACK-FOOTED FERRETThe black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is a small carnivorous North American mammal closely related to the steppe polecat of Russia, and a member of the diverse family Mustelidae which also includes weasels, mink, polecats, martens, otters, and badgers. It should not be confused with the domesticated ferret.
The black-footed ferret is the most endangered mammal in North America. They became extinct in the wild in Canada in 1937, and were classified as endangered in the U.S. in 1967. The last known wild population was taken into captivity in the mid-1980s, a few years after its accidental discovery in Wyoming.
Black-footed ferrets are about 18 inches long, with a furry 6 inch tail, and they weigh roughly 2 pounds. Like most members of the family, they are very low to the ground with an elongated body and very short legs. Their fur is white at the base but darkens at the tips, making them appear yellowish-brown overall, with black feet and tail-tip, and a distinctive black face mask. These blend in well with the prairie ecosystem in which they live. They do not change their habitat over the seasons.
Even before their numbers declined, black-footed ferrets were rarely seen: they weren't officially recognized as a species by scientists until 1851, following publication of a book by naturalist John James Audubon and Rev. John Bachman. Even then, their existence was questioned since no other black-footed ferrets were reported for over twenty years.
They are nocturnal hunters that are almost entirely dependent on a plentiful supply of prairie dogs to prey on, and shelter in a prairie dog burrow during the day. A single family of four black-footed ferrets eats about 250 prairie dogs each year and cannot survive without access to large colonies of them.
Historical habitats of the black-footed ferret included shortgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, desert grassland, shrub steppe, sagebrush steppe, mountain grassland and semi-arid grassland. Black-footed ferrets use prairie dog burrows for raising young, avoiding predators and thermal cover. High densities of prairie dog burrows provide the greatest amount of cover for black-footed ferrets.
Black-footed ferrets are believed to be polygynous. Mating occurs in February and March. When a male and female in estrus encounter each other, the male sniffs the genital region of the female, but does not mount her until after a few hours have elapsed. During copulation, the male grasps the female by the nape of the neck, with the copulatory tie lasting from 1 1/2 to 3 hours. Unlike other mustelids, the black-footed ferret has low reproductive rates. Gestation of black-footed ferrets lasts 42–45 days. Litter size ranges from 1–5 kits. Kits are born in May and June in prairie dog burrows. Kits are raised by their mother for several months after birth. They first emerge above ground in July, at 6 weeks old. They are then separated into individual prairie dog burrows around their mother's burrow. Kits reach adult weight and become independent several months following birth, from late August to October. Sexual maturity occurs at one year of age.
The black-footed ferret is solitary, except when breeding or raising litters. They primarily hunt for sleeping prairie dogs in their burrows. They are most active above ground from dusk to midnight and 4 am to mid-morning. Above ground activity is greatest during late summer and early autumn when juveniles become independent. They are inactive inside burrows for up to 6 days at a time during winter.
Female black-footed ferrets have smaller home ranges than males. Home ranges of males may sometimes include the home ranges of several females. Adult females usually occupy the same territory every year. Black-footed ferrets may travel up to 11 miles to seek prey.
The loss of their prairie grassland habitat, hunting, the drastic reduction of prairie dog numbers through both habitat loss and poisoning, canine distemper and sylvatic plague all contributed to the near-extinction of the species during the 19th and 20th centuries.
For a time, the black-footed ferret was harvested for the fur trade. The large drop in black-footed ferret numbers began during the 1800s, lasting through the 1900s, as prairie dog numbers declined because of "control programs" and the conversion of prairies to croplands. Sylvatic plague, a disease introduced into North America, also contributed to the prairie dog die-off. Inbreeding may have also contributed, as studies on black-footed ferrets revealed low levels of genetic variation. Canine distemper devastated the Meeteetse ferret population in 1985. A live virus vaccine originally made for domestic ferrets killed large numbers of black-footed ferrets, thus indicating that the species is especially susceptible to distemper.
In 1981, a very small population of about 130 animals was discovered near Meeteetse, Wyoming. Soon after discovery, the population began a rapid decline due to disease. By 1986, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department led a cooperative program to capture the 18 remaining animals and begin an intensive captive breeding program. At that time, the entire world population amounted to about 50 individuals in captivity.
U.S. federal and state agencies, in cooperation with private landowners, conservation groups, Native Americans, and North American zoos, have been actively reintroducing ferrets back into the wild since 1991. Beginning in Wyoming, reintroduction efforts have since expanded to sites in Montana, South Dakota, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Chihuahua, Mexico. Proposed reintroduction sites have been identified in Canada.
Currently, about 1,200 ferrets are thought to live in the wild.
Conservation efforts have been opposed by stock growers and ranchers, who have traditionally fought prairie dogs. In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service began poisoning prairie dogs in private land buffer zones of the Conata Basin of Buffalo Gap National Grassland, South Dakota. When a few ranchers complained the measure was inadequate, the forest service expanded its "prairie-dog management" in September 2006 to all of South Dakota's Buffalo Gap and the Fort Pierre National Grassland, and also to the Oglala National Grassland in Nebraska, against opinions of biologists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Following exposure by conservation groups and national media, public outcry and a lawsuit mobilized federal officials and the poisoning plan was revoked.
THREATS TO BLACK-FOOTED FERRETS
Despite significant recovery successes, the black-footed ferret remains one of the most endangered animals in the world. The primary reasons the species remains at risk are the same that nearly caused the animal’s extinction. Conversion of native grasslands to agricultural land, widespread prairie dog eradication programs, and fatal, non-native diseases have reduced ferret habitat to less than two percent of its original range. The remaining habitat is now fragmented, with prairie dog towns separated by expanses of agricultural land and other human developments.
Poisoning and shooting of prairie dogs continues, threatening both prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets. There are no known black-footed ferret populations that were not reintroduced. All those populations remain small and fragmented. They have lost about 90 percent of their genetic diversity, which can lead to inbreeding, health issues and reduced reproduction. Without the protection of prairie dogs, black-footed population could dwindle again and be lost forever.
Crocodiles
28 Oct, 2024
Crocodiles are large, carnivorous reptiles of the order Crocodilia, found in tropical and subtropical regions. Crocodiles live in swamps or on river banks and catch their prey in the water. They have flattened bodies and tails, short legs, and powerful jaws. The eyes, ears, and nostrils are located near the top of the head and are exposed when the crocodile floats on the surface of the water. The ears and nostrils have valves that close when the animal is submerged.
Most crocodiles are more aggressive than the related alligators. The two forms are distinguished by the long lower fourth tooth: in crocodiles, but not in alligators, this tooth protrudes on the side of the head when the mouth is closed. Also, the snouts of most crocodiles are narrower than those of alligators.
The larger species of crocodiles can be very dangerous to humans. The saltwater and Nile crocodiles are the most dangerous, killing hundreds of people each year in parts of South East Asia and Africa. American alligators, and possibly the endangered black caiman, can also be dangerous to humans.
Crocodiles tend to congregate in slow moving rivers and lakes, and feed on a wide variety of living and dead mammals and fish. Some species, notably the saltwater crocodile of Australia and the Pacific islands, have been known to venture far out to sea. They are an ancient lineage, and are believed to have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs.
Small crocodiles feed on fish and small aquatic animals; larger crocodiles also catch land mammals and birds that approach the water. Members of some large species sometimes attack and eat humans.
Crocodiles are very fast over short distances, even out of water. They have extremely powerful jaws and sharp teeth for tearing flesh. All large crocodiles also have sharp welters and powerful claws. They have limited lateral movement in their neck, so on land one can find protection by getting even a small tree between the crocodile's jaws and oneself.
Crocodiles are ambush hunters, waiting for fish or land animals to come close, then rushing out to attack. As cold blooded predators, they can survive long periods without food, and rarely need to actively go hunting.
The crocodile's bite strength is up to 3000 pounds per square inch, comparing to just 100 psi for a large dog. Despite their slow appearance, crocodiles are the top predators in their environment, and various species have been observed attacking and killing lions, large ungulates and even sharks. A famous exception is the Egyptian plover which is said to enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the crocodile. The plover feeds on parasites that infest the crocodile's mouth and the reptile will open its jaws and allow the bird to enter to clean out the mouth.
Crocodiles are more closely related to birds and dinosaurs than to most animals classified as reptiles (though all of these are thought to probably be more closely related to each other than to Testudines - turtles and tortoises - and have correspondingly unusual features for reptiles, such as a four chambered heart).
The female crocodile deposits her eggs, usually about 20 in number, in a nest of rotting vegetation or in a shallow pit on the river bank, and digs them up when she hears them hatching.
In most species the average adult length is between 6 and 10 feet. The largest crocodile (the saltwater crocodile) is often 14 feet long and may exceed 20 feet in length. The Nile, American, and Orinoco crocodiles are commonly 12 feet long, and specimens up to 23 feet long have been reported for the last two species. The extinct Sarcosuchus imperator, which lived during the Cretaceous period, may have approached 40 feet in length. The smallest crocodile (the Congo dwarf crocodile) averages 31/2 feet long.
With the exception of the two African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus) and the so-called false gavial (Tomistoma) of Asia, crocodiles are classified in the genus Crocodylus, with about a dozen species. The Nile crocodile (C. niloticus) is found in fresh and saltwater throughout South and Central Africa. In early historic times it ranged north to the Nile delta and the Mediterranean coast. It sometimes attacks humans, as does the saltwater crocodile (C. porosus), found on islands and in straits from South East Asia to Australia and Melanesia.
The marsh crocodile, or mugger (C. palustris), is a freshwater species of India and Sir Lanka, regarded as sacred in some regions. The American crocodile (C. acutus) is found in fresh and saltwater in South Florida, the West Indies, Central America, and North West South America. It does not attack humans without provocation.
The Orinoco crocodile (C. intermedius) is a freshwater species of the Orinoco basin of Colombia and Venezuela. Two smaller species are found in limited areas of Central America and Cuba.
THREATS TO CROCODILES
Many species of crocodiles are at the risk of extinction, some being classified as critically endangered. The most critical threat facing crocodiles is the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats. Humans have exploited crocodiles to the point of population crashes. Hunting remains a serious threat to crocodiles, as well as pollution.
Collection for the exotic pet trade has also reduced population densities of crocodiles. Every year, a variety of sources provides millions of animals to the exotic pet trade. Animals are captured from their native habitat and transported to various countries to be sold as “pets”. Others are surplus animals from zoos or their offspring. Backyard breeders also supply exotic animals. The sellers of these animals often disregard state or local laws regulating private possession of exotics, and the dangers, difficulties, physical and physiological needs of the animals they peddle. The suffering of the animals in the hands of unqualified and hapless buyers appears to be of no concern in the lucrative exotic pet trade. Reptiles pose safety risks to humans. Many incidents have been reported of escapes, strangulations, and bites from pet reptiles across the country.
Crocodiles are also victims of the animal entertainment industry. The use of wild animals as “entertainers” removes animals from their natural habitat; depriving them of the ability to freely engage in instinctual behaviors. Both children and adults are desensitized to animal mistreatment by the animal entertainment industry. Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for wild animals. Confined to tiny areas and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors. While zoos may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals.
Wild crocodiles are protected in many parts of the world, but they also are inhumanely farmed commercially. Their hide is tanned and used to make leather goods such as shoes and handbags, while crocodile meat is also considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. The most commonly farmed species are the saltwater and Nile crocodiles, while a hybrid of the saltwater and the rare Siamese crocodile is also bred in Asian farms.
Fennec Foxes
27 Oct, 2024
ADOPT A FENNEC FOXThe fennec fox is a small fox found in the Sahara Desert of North Africa (excluding the coast) which has distinctive oversized ears. The fennec is the smallest canid. The animals are often a sandy color and blend in with their desert surroundings. Their ears, which are the largest in the canid family, serve to help dissipate heat. Their coat can repel sunlight during the day and conserve heat at night. The soles of of a fennec's feet are protected from the hot sand by thick fur.
The fennec fox is nocturnal. During the night, they will hunt for rodents, insects (such as locusts), lizards, birds and eggs. Fennec foxes gets most of their water from food, but will sometimes eat berries and leaves as an additional source of water.
Fennecs live in large dens, often with several foxes. The basic social unit is thought to be a mated pair and their offspring, and the young of the previous year are believed to remain in the family even after a new litter is born. Playing behavior is common, including among adults of the species.
Fennecs engage in highly social behavior, typically resting while in contact with each other. They mate for life, with each pair or family controlling their own territory. Sexual maturity is reached at around nine months old. The species usually breeds only once each year. The copulation tie has been recorded as lasting up to two hours and 45 minutes. Following mating, the male becomes very aggressive and protective of the female, providing her with food during her pregnancy and lactation periods. Gestation is usually between 50 to 52 days. The typical litter is between one and four kits, with weaning taking place at around 61 to 70 days. When born, the kit's ears are folded over and their eyes are closed, with the eyes opening at around ten days and the ears lifting soon afterwards. The life span of a fennec fox has been recorded as up to 12 years in captivity, and up to 10 years in the wild.
THREATS TO FENNECS
The fennec is rare and is not often seen. They are often hunted by humans, even though the fox does not cause any harm to human interests.
Fennecs are common victims of the animal entertainment industry. They are often found on display at zoos, roadside zoos and "wildlife safaris". Like all captive wildlife, they face constant stress and are denied their wild nature, strong family bonds and natural social interactions. The needs and desires of humans comes before the needs of the animals in the animal entertainment industry.
Highly intelligent and social animals, they also suffer terribly in the inhumane pet trade. Sold like toys by unethical businesses and backyard breeders, profit is put above the welfare of the animals. Unprepared guardians purchase the animals, often with little knowledge on their care. Their complex physical, psychological and social needs can never be met when they are kept as pets.
Deer
26 Oct, 2024
Deer, ruminant mammal of the family Cervidae, are found in most parts of the world except Australia. Antlers, solid bony outgrowths of the skull, develop in the males of most species and are shed and renewed annually. They are at first covered by "velvet," a soft, hairy skin permeated by blood vessels. The stem of the antler is called the beam, and the branches are the tines. Antlers are used as weapons during breeding season combats between bucks. In deer that lack antlers (the musk deer and Chinese river deer), long upper canines serve as weapons.
Deer are polygamous. They eat a variety of herbaceous plants, lichens, mosses, and tree leaves and bark.
Many species of deer are threatened with extinction. The white-tailed deer that live in woodlands throughout the United States and in Central America and South America was a source of food, buckskin, and other necessities for Native Americans and white settlers. Slaughter through the years nearly exterminated the whitetail, but it is now restored in large numbers in the Eastern United States, and to a lesser extent in the West. In summer its upper parts are reddish brown; in winter grayish. The mule deer exists in reduced numbers from the Plains region westward, and the closely related black-tailed deer is a Pacific coast form.
Old World deer include the red deer, closely related to the North American wapiti, the fallow deer, and the axis deer. The only deer in Africa are small numbers of red deer found in the north in a forested area. The barking deer, or muntjac, is a small deer of South Asia. A muntjac discovered in North Myanmar (formerly Burma) in 1997 is believed to be the smallest deer in the world. Called the leaf deer, Muntiacus putaoensis, it stands about 20 inches at the shoulder. The misleadingly named mouse deer, or chevrotain, is not a deer, but belongs to a related family (Tragulidae).
Deer are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae.
Deer live in a variety of biomes ranging from tundra to the tropical rainforest. While often associated with forests, many deer are ecotone species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets (for cover) and prairie and savanna (open space). The majority of large deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest, and savanna habitats around the world. Clearing open areas within forests to some extent may actually benefit deer populations by exposing the understory and allowing the types of grasses, weeds, and herbs to grow that deer like to eat. Additionally, access to adjacent croplands may also benefit deer. However, adequate forest or brush cover must still be provided for populations to grow and thrive.
Nearly all cervids are so-called uniparental species: the fawns are cared for by the mother only. A doe generally has one or two fawns at a time (triplets, while not unknown, are uncommon). The gestation period is anywhere up to ten months for the European Roe Deer. Most fawns are born with their fur covered with white spots, though in many species they lose these spots by the end of their first winter. In the first twenty minutes of a fawn's life, the fawn begins to take its first steps. Its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent, so predators will not find it. Its mother leaves often, and the fawn does not like to be left behind. Sometimes its mother must gently push it down with her foot. The fawn stays hidden in the grass for one week until it is strong enough to walk with its mother. The fawn and its mother stay together for about one year. A male usually never sees his mother again, but females sometimes come back with their own fawns and form small herds.
Deer are selective feeders. They are usually browsers, and primarily feed on leaves. They have small, unspecialized stomachs by ruminant standards, and high nutrition requirements. Rather than attempt to digest vast quantities of low-grade, fibrous food as, for example, sheep and cattle do, deer select easily digestible shoots, young leaves, fresh grasses, soft twigs, fruit, fungi, and lichens.
With the exception of the musk deer and Chinese river deer, which have tusks, all male deer have antlers. Sometimes a female will have a small stub. The only female deer with antlers are Reindeer (Caribou). Antlers grow as highly vascular spongy tissue covered in a skin called velvet. Before the beginning of a species' mating season, the antlers calcify under the velvet and become hard bone. The velvet is then rubbed off leaving dead bone which forms the hard antlers. After the mating season, the pedicle and the antler base are separated by a layer of softer tissue, and the antler falls off.
During the mating season, bucks use their antlers to fight one another for the opportunity to attract mates in a given herd. The two bucks circle each other, bend back their legs, lower their heads, and charge.
Each species has its own characteristic antler structure - for example white-tailed deer antlers include a series of tines sprouting upward from a forward-curving main beam, while Fallow Deer and Moose antlers are palmate, with a broad central portion. Mule deer (and Black-tailed Deer), species within the same genus as the white-tailed deer, instead have bifurcated (or branched) antlers - that is, the main beam splits into two, each of which may split into two more. Young males of many deer, and the adults of some species, such as brocket deer and pudus, have antlers which are single spikes.
A rub is used to deposit scent from glands near the eye and forehead and physically mark territory.
THREATS TO DEER
Deer are threatened with habit loss from urban sprawl and commercial construction, trophy hunting and poaching, disease and government mismanagement. Wildlife management agencies, rather than working to preserve ecosystems, often manage wildlife purely for human recreation. Deer are viewed as a "resource" to be conserved simply for recreational purposes. As a result, "deer management" usually keeps deer populations high, resulting in many human-deer conflicts. Exterminators are hired by neighborhood associations and municipalities to slaughter "nuisance deer". Left unaltered, the delicate balance of ecosystems is maintained by nature with predators reducing the sickest and weakest individuals.
Lemurs
24 Oct, 2024
There are nearly 100 species of lemurs. All are endangered. Hunting and habitat destruction threaten their future.
Lemurs share many common primate traits, such as divergent digits on their hands and feet, and nails instead of claws (in most species). Their brain-to-body size ratio is smaller than that of anthropoid primates, and they have a "wet nose". They range in size from 1.1 oz to 20 lb and can reach 30 years old or more.
Lemurs are found naturally only on the island of Madagascar and some smaller surrounding islands, including the Comoros (where it is likely they were introduced by humans). Fossil evidence indicates that they made their way across the ocean after Madagascar broke away from the continent of Africa. While their ancestors were displaced in the rest of the world by monkeys, apes, and other primates, the lemurs were safe from competition on Madagascar and differentiated into a number of species. The larger species have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs as large as a male gorilla. Typically, the smaller lemurs are active at night (nocturnal), while the larger ones are active during the day (diurnal).
The small cheirogaleoids are generally omnivores, eating a variety of fruits, flowers and leaves (and sometimes nectar) as well as insects, spiders and small vertebrates. The remainder of the lemurs, the lemuroids, are primarily herbivores, although some species supplement their diet with insects. They inhabit highland country and thinly wooded forests.
Lemurs are social and live in groups that usually include less than 15 individuals. Nocturnal lemurs are mostly solitary but social, foraging alone at night but often nesting in groups during the day. In many nocturnal species, the females, along with their young, will share nests with other females and possibly one male, whose larger home range happens to overlap one or more female nesting groups. In sportive lemurs and fork-marked lemurs, one or two females may share a home range, possibly with a male. In addition to sharing nests, they will also interact vocally or physically with their range and mate. Diurnal lemurs live in relatively permanent and cohesive social groups. Multi-male groups are the most common. True lemurs utilize this social system, often living in groups of ten or less. Dwarf lemurs are solitary but social, foraging alone but often sleeping in groups. Some lemurs exhibit female philopatry, where females stay within their natal range and the males migrate upon reaching maturity, and in other species both sexes will migrate. The presence of female social dominance sets lemurs apart from most other primates and mammals; in most primate societies, males are dominant unless females band together to form coalitions that displace them.
Lemur communication can be transmitted through sound, sight and smell (olfaction), using complex behaviors such as scent-marking and vocalizations. Lemurs have demonstrated distinct facial expressions including a threat stare, pulled back lips for submission, and pulled back ears along with flared nostrils during scent-marking. They have also been observed using yawns as threats. Their tails communicate distance, warn off neighboring troops and help locate troop members. Olfaction can communicate information about age, sex, reproductive status, as well as demarcate the boundaries of a territory. Small, nocturnal lemurs mark their territories with urine, while the larger, diurnal species use scent glands located on various parts of their anatomy. The ring-tailed lemur engages in "stink fights" by rubbing its tail across scent glands on its wrists, and then flicking its tail at other male opponents. Some lemurs defecate in specific areas, otherwise known as latrine behavior. Although many animals exhibit this behavior, it is a rare trait among primates. Latrine behavior can represent territorial marking and aid in interspecies signaling. Some of the most common calls among lemurs are predator alarm calls.
Lemurs not only respond to alarm calls of their own species, but also alarm calls of other species and those of non-predatory birds. The ring-tailed lemur and a few other species have different calls and reactions to specific types of predators. Lemur calls can also be very loud and carry long distances. Both ruffed lemurs and the indri exhibit contagious calling, where one individual or group starts a loud call and others within the area join in. The song of the indri can last 45 seconds to more than 3 minutes and tends to coordinate to form a stable duet. Tactile communication (touch) is mostly used by lemurs in the form of grooming, although the ring-tailed lemur also clumps together to sleep (in an order determined by rank), reaches out and touches adjacent members, and cuffs other members. Reaching out and touching another individual in this species has been shown to be a submissive behavior, done by younger or submissive animals towards older and more dominant members of the troop. Unlike anthropoid primates, lemur grooming seems to be more intimate and mutual, often directly reciprocated.
THREATS TO LEMURS
The habitat of lemurs is disappearing because of fires, overgrazing of domestic livestock and logging. Lemurs are also threatened by hunting. All lemurs are endangered species, due mainly to habitat destruction (deforestation) and hunting. Although conservation efforts are under way, options are limited because of the lemurs' limited range and because Madagascar is desperately poor. In some remote areas of Madagascar, the cultural motivation behind posting lemur hunting traps is that of indigenous superstition that lemurs are omens and harbingers of bad fortune.
The lemur pet trade is threatening the survival of many lemur species. Despite being illegal, thousands of lemurs are stolen from the wild in Madagascar. Lemur breeders peddle the animals through the internet to unqualified individuals who fail to realize that baby lemurs grow into sexually mature and aggressive adults. These animals are denied their wild nature, strong family bonds and social interaction with their own kind. They are destined to live a sad and lonely life in a cage.
Lemurs are also put on display by many zoos. Like "pet" lemurs, they are confined to tiny spaces and denied a natural life for the sake of human entertainment. Captive lemurs often become obese resulting in coronary heart disease and diabetes. They become inactive and lethargic, further threatening their health. Like all zoo animals, they face constant stress and boredom, often resulting in mental illness.
Barnacles
23 Oct, 2024
Barnacles are one of the oldest surviving creatures in the world, dating back millions of years. They have changed very little over that time. Barnacles are marine animals that live in or close to sea water. Over 1,000 species of barnacles inhabit shallow and tidal waters around the planet. Barnacles are crustaceans, closely related to lobsters and crabs.
Barnacles cannot move on their own. They are permanently attached to what they live on. As babies, barnacles are free-floating, floating around with plankton. They attach themselves to shells, rocks, animals or other objects when they are in their larvae stage. Once attached, baby barnacles develop a thin layer of flesh and an outer shell, protecting them from the elements and predators.
Barnacles often live on whales, crabs, rocks, boats and sea turtles. While a few species of barnacle are parasitic, most barnacle species are harmless to other animals. They filter feed food particles out of the water and do not harm the animal they live on.
Barnacle shells are composed of calcite. A number of plates with feathery leg-like appendages draw water into the shell to feed.
Many species of barnacle are small, but some can grow quite large.
Most barnacles are hermaphroditic, having both male and female reproductive organs. They are capable of self-fertilizing their eggs, but usually the eggs are produced by one barnacle and fertilized by another barnacle. Barnacle babies, or larvae, develop into adult barnacles in about 6 months.
Barnacles live about 5 to 10 years. Larger species may live much longer.
THREATS TO BARNACLES
Some barnacle species are threatened or endangered, or "nationally endangered".
All ocean animals are threatened by pollution, the fishing industry and changes in climate. Global fish populations are collapsing, affecting all marine life. Plastics and toxic waste are destroying aquatic ecosystems. Almost half of all ocean pollution is from irresponsible human activities that take place on land, including animal agriculture, sewage, chemical spills, industrial runoff and garbage dumping.
Marine habitats are being destroyed by coastal pollution. The clearing of mangrove forests and scraping of underwater mountain ranges through deep-sea trawling are also having detrimental affects on marine ecosystems.
Butterflies
11 Oct, 2024
Butterflies are part of the class of insects in the order Lepidoptera. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly colored wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). Butterflies are the second largest group of pollinators, following bees. There are about 17,500 species of butterflies spread throughout the world.
These beautiful animals undergo a fascinating metamorphosis which takes place in four stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult.
Mother butterflies attach their eggs with a special glue to caterpillar food, or “host” plant. As the glue hardens it contracts, deforming the shape of the egg. Each species of butterfly has its own host plant range, and while some species of butterfly are restricted to just one species of plant, others use a range of plant species.
Butterfly eggs are protected by a hard shell lined with a thin coating of wax which prevents the egg from drying out. Each egg contains a number of tiny funnel-shaped openings at one end that allow sperm to enter and fertilize the egg. Butterfly and moth eggs vary greatly in size between species.
The egg stage lasts a few weeks in most butterflies. Eggs laid close to winter, especially in temperate regions, go through a resting stage and the hatching may take place only in spring. Other butterflies may lay their eggs in the spring and have them hatch in the summer. These butterflies are usually northern species.
When the caterpillar is born, it eats its egg, then begins eating the host plant. Host plants often have toxic substances in them and caterpillars are able to retain them. This makes them unpalatable to birds, insects and other predators. Such unpalatibility is advertised using bright red, orange, black or white warning colors.
Caterpillars spend practically all of their time in search of food. Some caterpillars form mutual associations with ants. They communicate with the ants using vibrations and chemical signals. The ants provide some degree of protection to these caterpillars, and they in turn gather honeydew secretions. Others caterpillars communicate with ants to form a parasitic relationship.
Some caterpillars have the ability to inflate parts of their head to appear snake-like. Many have false eye-spots to enhance this effect. Some caterpillars produce foul-smelling chemicals used in defense.
When the caterpillar's insides grow too big for its outside, its covering splits and is shed. A new exoskeleton lies underneath. The caterpillar continues to shed numerous times, then becomes a pupa. It then seeks a sheltered spot, suspends itself by silken threads and sheds one more time forming a hard casing around its body. Inside this chrysalis, the pupa is growing six legs, a proboscis, antennae and wings. Within days, months or years, depending on the species, the chrysalis breaks open and a butterfly emerges.
Butterflies can live in the adult stage from a week to a year, depending on the species. They have four wings, usually brightly colored with unique patterns made up of tiny scales. They remember things they learned as caterpillars. They can fly up to 30 mph and up to 50 miles in a day. They learn home ranges and memorize locations of nectar and pollen sources, host plants and communal roosting sites. They are able to plan the most efficient routes by using calculations that mathematicians call the "traveling salesman algorithm".
Butterflies feed primarily on nectar from flowers. They are important as pollinators for some species of plants and are capable of moving pollen over greater distances than bees. Adult butterflies consume only liquids, ingested through the proboscis. They sip water from damp patches for hydration. They feed on nectar to obtain sugars for energy, and sodium and other minerals vital for reproduction. Several species of butterflies need more sodium than that provided by nectar and are attracted by sodium in salt; they sometimes land on people, attracted by the salt in human sweat. Some butterflies also visit dung, rotting fruit or carcasses to obtain minerals and nutrients. In many species, this mud-puddling behavior is restricted to the males, and the nutrients collected may be provided as a gift during mating.
Butterflies use their antennae to sense the air for wind and scents. The antennae are richly covered with sensory organs. Butterflies "taste" with their feet through tiny receptors. Their sense of taste is 200 times stronger than humans.
Butterflies have excellent vision and most species are sensitive to the ultraviolet spectrum. Some butterflies have organs of hearing and some species are also known to make stridulatory and clicking sounds.
Many butterflies are migratory and capable of long distance flights, using the sun to orient themselves. They migrate during the day and use the sun to orient themselves. They also perceive polarized light and use it for orientation when the sun is hidden.
Many species of butterfly maintain territories and actively chase other species or individuals that may stray into them. Some species will bask or perch on chosen perches. Basking is an activity which is more common in the cooler hours of the morning. Many species will orient themselves to gather heat from the sun. Some species have evolved dark wing-bases to help in gathering more heat. The flight styles of butterflies are often characteristic and some species have courtship flight displays.
THREATS TO BUTTERFLIES
The greatest threats to butterflies are habitat change and loss due to residential, commercial and agricultural development. Many butterfly species are either under the threat of extinction, or have died out completely due to the rise of intensive farming and the loss of habitats.
Butterflies have suffered from the loss of grasslands rich in wild flowers and the decline of woodlands.
Pesticides also threaten butterflies.
Flamingos
10 Oct, 2024
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 3–5 feet in height living in large flocks around aquatic areas. The bird is found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres and is more numerous in the latter. There are four species in the Americas, while two exist in the Old World.
Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly-shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume, and are uniquely used upside-down. The filtering of food items is assisted by hairy structures called lamellae which line the mandibles, and the large rough-surfaced tongue. Flamingos are also noted for balancing themselves on one leg while standing and feeding. Flamingos also stand on one leg when sleeping.
The young hatch with white plumage, but the feathers of a flamingo in adulthood range from light pink to bright red, due to carotenoids obtained from their food supply. A flamingo that is well fed and healthy is vibrantly colored. The pinker a flamingo is, the more desirable it is as a mate. A white or pale flamingo, however, is usually unhealthy or suffering from a lack of food. All flamingos have 12 black flight feathers in each wing.
Flamingos produce a “milk” like pigeon milk due to the action of a hormone called prolactin. It contains more fat and less protein than the latter does, and it is produced in glands lining the whole of the upper digestive tract, not just the crop. Both parents nurse their chick, and young flamingos feed on this milk, which also contains red and white blood cells, for about two months until their bills are developed enough to filter feed.
Flamingos are known to stand on one leg while sleeping. This is done in order to minimize body heat escaping into the water in which their feet are submerged.
Flamingos were native to Australia 20 million years ago.
CHILEAN FLAMINGO
The Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) is a large species closely related to Caribbean flamingo and greater flamingo. It occurs in temperate South America. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky white egg on a mud mound. The plumage is pinker than the slightly larger greater flamingo, but less so than Caribbean flamingo. It can be differentiated from these species by its grayish legs with pink "knees", and also by the larger amount of black on the bill (more than half).
LESSER FLAMINGO
The lesser flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor) is a species in the flamingo family of birds which occurs in Africa (principally in the Great Rift Valley), across to northwest India. It is the smallest and most numerous flamingo, probably numbering up to a million individual birds. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky white egg on a mud mound. Most of the plumage is pinkish white. Its clearest difference from greater flamingo, the only other Old World species, is the much more extensive black on the bill. Size is less helpful unless the species are together, since the sexes of each species are also different in height. This species feeds exclusively on the alga spirulina plantensis, which occurs only in very alkaline lakes. Their deep bill is specialized for tiny food items. The population in the two key east African lakes, Nakuru and Bogoria, have been adversely affected in recent years by suspected heavy metal poisoning.
JAME'S FLAMINGO
The James's flamingo (Phoenicopterus jamesi), also known as the Puna flamingo, is a South American flamingo. It breeds on the high Andean plateaus of Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. It is related to the Chilean flamingo and the Andean flamingo. It is a small and delicate flamingo, approximately 3 feet in height. Its plumage is pale pink, with bright carmine streaks around the neck and on the back. When perched, a small amount of black can be seen in the wings. There is bright red skin around the eye. The legs are brick-red and the bill is bright yellow with a black tip. Immature birds are grayish. James's flamingo is similar to other South American flamingoes, but the Chilean flamingo is pinker, with a paler and longer bill, and the Andean flamingo is larger with more black in the wings and bill, and yellow legs.
ANDEAN FLAMINGO
The Andean flamingo (Phoenicopterus andinus) is a bird species in the Flamingo family restricted to the Chilean Andes. It is closely related to James's flamingo. Like all flamingos it lays a single chalky white egg on a mud mound. Its population in Northern Chile was badly hit by drought, which cause the breeding lagoon areas to dry up, either preventing nest building, or allowing predation especially from the Culpeo Fox. Andean flamingos, like all the group, feed by filtering small items from water with their specialized bills. They have a deep, narrow lower mandible, which allows them to eat small foods such as diatoms, in contrast to the wider bill of larger species, which take bigger prey items. Most of the plumage is pinkish white. The Andean flamingo is the only species that has yellow legs and feet.
GREATER FLAMINGO
The Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread species of the Flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southwest Asia (including Turkey), southern Asia (coastal regions of India) and southern Europe (including Spain, Portugal, and the Camargue region of France). Some populations are short distance migrants. This is a large species and is closely related to the Caribbean flamingo and Chilean flamingo. Like all flamingos, this species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound. Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking.
CARIBBEAN FLAMINGO
The Caribbean flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo. It breeds in the Galapagos Islands, coastal Colombia and Venezuela and nearby islands, the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, and in the northern Caribbean in the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba and Turks and Caicos. Most sightings in southern Florida are usually considered to be escapees, although at least one bird banded as a chick in the Yucatán Peninsula has been sighted in Everglades National Park, and others may be genuine wanderers from Cuba. The habitat is similar to that of its relatives, including saline lagoons, mudflats and shallow brackish coastal or inland lakes. Like all flamingos, it lays a single chalky white egg on a mud mound. Most of the plumage is pink, giving rise to its earlier name of rosy flamingo and differentiating adults from the much paler European species. The wing coverts are red, and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. It is the only flamingo which naturally occurs in North America. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking.
THREATS TO FLAMINGOS
The primary threats to flamingos are habitat loss, bacterias, toxins and pollution from manufacturing companies. Spread of diseases is a major threat due to flamingos living in such large colonies. Changes in climate can affect the natural habitats of flamingos, as droughts dry up their habitats. Their desire to mate is lessened by temperature extremes. Poaching is also a threat to flamingos, as the birds are killed for their decorative feathers and eggs. Their tongues are harvested for meat.
Flamingos are also common victims of the animal entertainment industry. Removed from their natural habitat, denied the ability to engage in their instinctual behaviors, flamingos are placed on display at zoos, hotels and other businesses for the amusement of humans. Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for wild animals. Confined to tiny areas and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors.
Wombats
9 Oct, 2024
Wombats are medium sized marsupials that look like a cross between a pig, a bear and a gopher. Wombats inhabit only Australia and the surrounding islands. Wombats are burrowing mammals who prefer to live in mountains, forests and grasslands.
There are three species of wombat. The common wombat is the most widespread and has a bare nose. The northern hairy-nosed wombats and southern hairy-nosed wombats have hairy noses, larger ears and softer fur.
Wombats have tough barrel-like bodies, short legs, compact heads and short broad feet. Wombats are about the size of a medium-size dog. They range in colors from sandy hues to darker browns and blacks. While wombats typically walk with an awkward waddle, they can run at high speeds when threatened.
Wombats have long claws used to dig burrows. Wombat burrows are often extensive networks of underground tunnels and small chambers. A wombat can have up to twelve burrows. Many wombats live solitary lives, but some wombats form underground colonies with other wombats.
Wombats mark their territories by defecating poop that doesn't roll away because it is square shaped. Special backside bones allow wombats to squeeze their feces into cubes. They put their poop cubes in mushrooms, on fallen trees and on rocks to announce their territories. Their feces helps them to navigate their areas at night. Wombats also mark their home range by rubbing their scent on trees and grunting at intruders.
Wombats are herbivores, feeding on grasses, bark and shoots. Wombats have rodent like incisors that never stop growing and must be gnawed down by chewing on vegetation. They receive the majority of their water from vegetation and can go years without drinking water. Special enzymes in their stomachs allow wombats to digest tough roughage. It takes about 14 days for wombats to digest their food.
Wombats are nocturnal. They spend most of the day under ground, coming out at night to eat. Although their closest relatives are koalas, wombats do not climb trees – but they are good swimmers.
Wombat mating usually takes place when food is abundant. Male wombats will fight over female wombats. Some wombats will chase a female in circles until she gives into mating. Female wombats make coughing noises when being chased.
Being marsupials, female wombats have a pouch on their bellies where wombat babies are nurtured. But unlike other marsupials, wombat pouches are backwards, opening toward the rear rather than the head to allow mothers to dig without getting dirt in the pouch.
Newborn wombats are very small and undeveloped, about the size of a jellybean. They crawl into their mother's pouch and stay there until they are about 5 months old. After leaving the pouch, baby wombats will often crawl back into the pouch to nurse or escape danger. They are able to care for themselves when they are around 7 months old.
Wombats are preyed upon by foxes, dingos and Tasmanian devils. Large birds hunt wombat babies. Wombats are well protected in their underground burrows as most predators cannot fit into the narrow tunnels. They also have toughened backsides, made mostly of cartilage. Threatened wombats dive into their tunnels headfirst, blocking the entrance with their sturdy rumps.
Wombats can live up to 29 years in the wild.
THREATS TO WOMBATS
Some wombats are endangered species. Their populations have been decreasing rapidly as a result of habitat loss, invasive species, animal agriculture and hunting. Urban sprawl, forestry practices and road accidents are also taking their tole on wombats.
Camels
8 Oct, 2024
A camel is either of the two species of large even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus. The Dromedary is a single hump camel, and the Bactrian Camel is a double hump camel. Both are native to the dry and desert areas of Asia and northern Africa. The average life expectancy of a camel is 30 to 50 years. Humans first domesticated camels approximately 5,000 years ago.
Although there are almost 13 million Dromedaries alive today, the species is extinct in the wild. There is, however, a substantial feral population in central parts of Australia, descended from individuals that escaped from captivity in the late 19th century. The Australian government has culled more than 100,000 of the animals, claiming the camels use too much of the limited resources needed by sheep farmers.
The Bactrian Camel once had an enormous range, but is now reduced to an estimated 1.4 million animals, mostly domesticated. It is thought that there are about 1,000 wild Bactrian Camels in the Gobi Desert, and small numbers in Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Russia.
A small population of introduced camels, Dromedaries and Bactrians, survived in the Southwest United States until the 1900s. These animals, imported from Turkey, were part of the US Camel Corps experiment, used as draft animals in mines, and escaped or were released after the project fell through.
Bactrian camel have two humps and are rugged cold-climate camels, while Dromedaries have one hump and are desert dwellers. Dromedary hybrids are called Bukhts. The females can be mated back to a Bactrian to produce ¾-bred "riding camels". These hybrids are found in Kazakhstan. The Cama is a camel/llama hybrid bred by scientists with short ears and the long tail of a camel, no hump and Llama-like cloven hooves rather than the Dromedary-like pads.
Camels are well known for their humps. They do not, however, literally store water in them as is commonly believed; though they do serve this purpose through roundabout means. Their humps are a reservoir of fatty tissue, while water is stored in their blood. However, when this tissue is metabolized, it is not only a source of energy, but yields water through reaction with oxygen from the air. This allows them to survive without water for about two weeks, and without food for up to a month.
A camel's red blood cells have an oval shape, unlike those of other mammals, which are circular. This is to facilitate their flow in a dehydrated state. These cells are also more stable so they do not rupture when drinking large amounts of water.
Camels are able to withstand changes in body temperature and water content that would kill most other animals. Their temperature ranges from 93 degrees F at night, up to 106 degrees F at day; only above this threshold they start to sweat. This allows them to preserve about five liters of water a day. However, they can withstand at least 25% weight loss due to sweating.
The camel's thick coat reflects sunlight. A shaved camel has to sweat 50% more to avoid overheating. Their coat also insulates them from the intense heat that radiates from hot desert sand. Their long legs also help by keeping them further away from the sand.
The camel's mouth is very sturdy, able to eat thorny desert plants. Long eyelashes and ear hairs, together with sealable nostrils, prevent sand from entering. Their pace (always moving both legs of one side at the same time), and their widened feet, help them move without sinking in.
THREATS TO CAMELS
Many desert based countries have a tourist industry offering camel back rides and treks. Hotels and travel agents also offer these unethical excursions. They force camels to carry tourists in extreme conditions all in the name of profit. The camels are often poorly treated and housed in unacceptable conditions. Sick, old, injured and physically exhausted camels are forced to work. Humans are often far too heavy for the camels, but income is valued over the welfare of the animal.
Camels are also sold for slaughter, inhumanely fattened before sale. They are beaten with wooden sticks, ill-cared for and their skin is scarred from repeated beating. One of their legs is kept tied up to prevent them from escaping.
Camel wrestling is a cruel "sport" where two male camels are forced to wrestle, typically in response to a female in heat being led before them. Most common in the Aegean region of Turkey, camel wrestling also takes place in other parts of the Middle East and South Asia. The government of Turkey began discouraging the practice in the 1920s, but began promoting the inhumane practice again in the 1980s as part of Turkey's "historic culture."
Circus camels are doomed to a life of misery, spending most of their lives in tiny enclosures. Their natural needs are never met and they live in constant stress. Camels are also forced to provide rides at fairs and festivals, tethered tightly to turnstiles and made to plod in endless circles. They suffer from numerous ailments and emotional issues.
Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for camels. Confined to tiny areas and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors.
While zoos may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social structures. When the facility breeds too many animals they become "surplus" and often are sold to laboratories, traveling shows, shooting ranches, or to private individuals who may be unqualified to care for them.
Displays featuring camels also put people at risk. Humans can contract brucellosis, ringworm, and tuberculosis from close interaction with camels.