Tag Archives: Mammal

Dolphins

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Dolphins

Splash, Jump, Splash, Jump, Splash!

  • Dolphins are water mammals that are related to whales and porpoises and they are from the family Delphinidae, oceanic dolphins, which is a family of about 40 species which includes some large oceanic dolphins, that are called ‘whales’, like the orca (killer whale), which is the largest dolphin in the family.
  • Dolphins, are typically grey in colour with a dark grey back, although this varies depending on the species, which also determines their average length and weight, which can be between 1.2 to 9.5 meters (4 to 30 feet) in length and 40 kg to 10 tonnes (90 pounds to 11 tons) in weight.
  • Dolphins can be found in oceans around the world, usually in open shallow waters along continental shelves, however there are dolphins that can be found in some river systems, although these do not belong to the family Delphinidae.
  • Dolphins are mainly carnivorous eaters with a diet consisting mainly of squid, fish and crustaceans, and are the prey of mainly sharks.
  • A male dolphin is called a ‘bull’, a female dolphin is called a ‘cow’, and a young dolphin is called a ‘calf’, and they travel and live in a ‘pod’ or ‘school’ consisting of five to hundreds of dolphins, depending on the species.

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Dolphin
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Dolphins have between 100 and 250 teeth, which are not all used for eating; a  blowhole on the top of their head that they use to breathe through; a tail, which is also known as a fluke, used as a propeller; pectoral fins on the sides that are used with the fluke to change direction; and a dorsal fin (the one on its back), which some dolphin species don’t have, used for stability.
  • Dolphins can leap up to 9 meters (30 ft) high out of the water and can move at speeds up to 48 km/hour (30 mph) in the water, however they don’t usually travel that fast.
  • Dolphins normally heal easily from large injuries, such as predator bites, with a full recovery and without infection, and they have good eyesight, sensitivity and taste, as well as great hearing, which can cause them stress if the noises are too loud, but they don’t have the ability to smell.
  • A dolphin’s form of communication consists mainly of clicks and whistles, and it uses echolocation to find its way around in the water.
  • Dolphins only sleep with one half of its brain while the other half is alert to make sure the dolphin doesn’t drown or be threatened by predators.
Bibliography:
Basic Facts about Dolphins, 2012, Defenders of Wildlife, <http://www.defenders.org/dolphin/basic-facts>
Dolphins, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin>
Information and Facts about Dolphins, 2012, Bioexpedition, <http://www.dolphins-world.com/>

Polar Bear

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Polar Bear

Unique white bears.

  • Polar bears are found in one of the coldest parts of the Earth – the Arctic region.
  • The scientific name for a polar bear is Ursus maritimus, meaning sea or marine bear, and they are the worlds biggest bear along with the Kodiak bear, and they have no predators.
  • Polar bears have camouflaging, white, warm fur and a thick layer of blubber that helps to protect the animal from the cold and also gives buoyancy in the water, and underneath the fur they have black skin that absorbs heat from the sun.
  • Polar bears can grow up to, from head to body, 2.2 to 2.5 meters (7.25 to 8 feet) in length and weigh up to 250 to 720 kg (550 to 1600 pounds).
  • Seals are the main food in the polar bear’s carnivorous diet but they also eat already dead animals such as whales.

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Polar Bear
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Female polar bears have their babies in winter (November to January) in an ice den in which they build and stay in from autumn, and usually give birth to two cubs.
  • Baby polar bears leave their mother at approximately 2 ½ years old, when they are weaned and have learnt all survival skills.
  • Polar bears tend to stalk and prey on seals, and have an excellent sense of smell and can detect a seal that is over 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away.
  • Polar bears have rough paw surfaces to easily grip on the ice and they are strong, long distance swimmers.
  • It is estimated that there are 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears left in the world, and it has become illegal to hunt polar bears in most countries, although indigenous people that rely on polar bears for food or income are still allowed to hunt them.
Bibliography:
Polar Bear, 2013, National Geographic, <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/polar-bear/>

Giant Panda

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Giant Panda

Munch, Munch, Munch… Munch, Munch, Munch…

  • Giant pandas are also known as ‘pandas’, or ‘panda bears’ and their scientific name is Ailuropoda melanoleuca meaning ‘black and white cat-foot’.
  • Giant pandas are native to China, northern Vietnam and Myanmar (also known as Burma), however they are now only found in a small area in central China.
  • Giant pandas are an endangered species, however there are many reports of growth in the panda’s numbers in the wild, partly due to the conservation and expansion of their forest habitat.
  • The giant panda’s diet consists mainly of bamboo, which makes up 99% of its diet, but sometimes they eat meat and grass.
  • Adult giant pandas grow from 1.2 to 1.8 metres (4 to 6 feet) in length, and generally weigh between 100 and 115 kg (220 to 250 lb), while females are normally 10% to 20% smaller than the males.

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Giant Panda
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Giant pandas have one thumb and five fingers, on their front paws, and they have a tail that is 10 – 15 cm (4 – 6 in) long.
  • In their natural habitat, giant pandas live up to 20 years, although in captivity, they can live for another ten years, with the oldest panda in captivity reaching 34 years in age.
  • Giant pandas live by themselves most of the time, and they don’t hibernate like other bears that live in similar climate zones.
  • Giant pandas eat 9 to 18 kg (20 to 40 lbs) of bamboo every day, as their carnivorous style of digestive system does not convert the bamboo into significant amounts of usable energy and protein.
  • There are currently only two giant pandas that live in the Southern Hemisphere, both found at Adelaide Zoo, Australia, and both of them came from the 2008 earthquake devastated Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in China which housed 280 giant pandas.
Bibliography:
Giant panda, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda>

Zebra

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Zebra

Black and white stripes.

  • Zebras are from the family Equidae, which is the family of horses, although they are generally slower than their cousins, and they run in a zig zag line when chased.
  • Zebras are known for their black and white stripey patterns that cover their body, head and legs, with no two zebras having the exact same pattern.
  • Zebras are found in African grasslands, scrublands, woodlands, mountainous areas, savannas, and coastal areas.
  • There are three different species of zebras, plains zebras; mountain zebras; and Grévy’s zebras, with the plains zebras being the most common, and the other two species are endangered.
  • One sub species of plains zebra is extinct due to hunting – the quagga, which did not have a full body of stripes.
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 Zebras
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Tests have shown that the stripes on zebras help reduce the attractiveness of flies.
  • Zebras grow up to 350 kg (770 pounds) in weight and between 1 and 1.6 metres (3 ft 2 and 5 ft 3) to their shoulder in height.
  • Zebras are herbivores, and mainly eat grass, and can exist on low quality feed.
  • Zebras always sleep standing up, but they only do it when there are fellow zebras on watch for predators like lions and hyenas.
  • Zebras have not been domesticated due to their panicky and unpredictable nature, although there have been single cases of zebras trained for human use.
Bibliography:
Zebra, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra>

Milk

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Milk

Drink that lovely, creamy milk.

  • Milk is a white coloured liquid that is produced by mammals that have mammary glands.
  • Milk is the main nutritional source for baby mammals.
  • Mammals initially produce colostrum, a form of milk that contains some of the mother’s antibodies to help prevent illness and gives newborns an important boost of nutrients.
  • In  2011, the world wide production of milk from dairy farms was approximately 730 million tonnes (850 million tons).
  • India is the largest producer and consumer of milk, but the country doesn’t export or import it, while Australia and the United States are some of the biggest exporters of milk, and China and Russia are the biggest importers.

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  • More than 6 billion people in the world consume milk or dairy products.
  • Humans often drink cattle, goat or sheep milk, and sometimes buffalo, camel, donkey, horse, reindeer, yak, moose and dolphin milk.
  • Milk can be made into cream, butter, yoghurt, kefir, ice-cream and cheese.
  • Cow’s milk is very high in calcium and a 250ml cup of full fat milk contains approximately 36% of an adult’s recommended daily dose of calcium.
  • Proteins in cow’s milk can cause allergic reactions in some humans, and a significant portion of the population have difficulty digesting lactose  (a type of sugar), which is called lactose intolerance.
Bibliography:
Milk 24 March 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk>

Snow Leopard

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Snow Leopard

Snow leopard sneaks among the white snow…

  • Snow leopards are medium large cats and the scientific name is panthera uncia or uncia uncia.
  • Snow leopards are native to the mountainous regions of Central Asia and they live in snowy, rocky or forest terrain usually by themselves.
  • Snow leopards typically weigh 27-55 kg (60-120 pounds), and have a short body but a long tail, 80-100 cm (31 to 39 in) long.
  • Snow leopards can’t roar but instead hiss, chuff, mew, growl and wail.
  • Snow leopards have litters of, on average, one to five cubs.

 

Snow Leopard, Melbourne Zoo, Victoria, Australia, predator stare, portrait, Ten Radnom Facts, National Geographic, Jason Edwards

Snow Leopard
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • When travelling, snow leopards generally don’t like to make there own tracks so travel along another animal’s tracks instead.
  • Snow leopards live at altitudes of 2,700-6,000 meters (8,900-20,000 feet) in summer and in winter live at altitudes of 1,200-2,000 meters (3,900-6,600 feet)
  • Snow leopards dig up snow and then spray urine in the hole to mark its territory.
  • The snow leopard’s white coat helps it to be camaflouged in the snow.
  • Snow leopard’s diet consists of meat of various animals, depending on the season, and sometimes grass.
Bibliography:
Snow leopards 23 February 2013 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_leopard>
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