Category Archives: Animals

Children’s Stick Insect

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Children’s Stick Insect

Children’s Stick Insects are masters of camouflage.

  • A Children’s Stick Insect is a winged insect native to eastern parts of Australia, that are medium in size, compared to other stick insects.
  • Children’s Stick Insects have the scientific name Tropidoderus childrenii and are from the family Phasmatidae, a family of stick insects that can regrow their own limbs.
  • ‘Children’s Stick Insects’ are also known as ‘yellow-winged spectres’ and they have the ability to fly, although females are less likely to do so.
  • Children’s Stick Insects range from 11 to 14 centimetres (4.3 to 5.5 inches) in length, and they have long legs.
  • The diet of a Children’s Stick Insect consists solely of Australian native eucalyptus leaves, and they spend most of their time in trees.

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  • A Children’s Stick Insect has the ability to release its limbs, allowing it to escape from predators when caught.
  • Children’s Stick Insects range from green, red, brown, cream, pink and purple in colour, depending on the gender and the age of the insect, and wings are typically a faint yellow to green.
  • Camouflage is one of the primary protection techniques used by Children’s Stick Insects, as they often have the appearance of leaves.
  • Children’s Stick Insects lay small ovoid eggs in the trees, that drop down to the ground and are typically grey in colour, and they take approximately four months to hatch.
  • Fellow stick insects occasionally mistake Children’s Stick Insects’ wings for leaves, and as a result eat them, but they are generally not bothered by it, as the wings are insensitive.

 

Bibliography:
Chapman A, Children’s Stick Insect (Tropidoderus childrenii), n.d, OzAnimals.com, http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Children’s-Stick-Insect/Tropidoderus/childrenii.html
Children’s Stick Insect – Tropidoderus childrenii, n.d, Bugs Ed, http://www.bugsed.com/fact_sheets/childrens_stick_insect.html
Tropidoderus childrenii, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropidoderus_childrenii

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Honey Badger

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Honey Badger

Are you as crazy for honey as a honey badger?

  • Honey badgers are mammals that are native to parts of Asia and Africa, and they do not have the appearance of a typical badger.
  • ‘Honey badgers’ are also known as ‘ratels’, and they have the scientific name Mellivora capensis, and are from the family Mustelidae, the family of weasels and other mammals.
  • Most honey badgers have fur typically coloured black with an upper white stripe, and they have baggy skin that allows freedom of movement, that is particularly advantageous when being attacked.
  • Honey badgers range from 55 to 77 centimetres (22 to 30 inches) in length, excluding the tail, and weigh 5 to 16 kilograms (11 to 35 pounds).
  • A honey badger typically lives by itself, however, others may be found nearby when looking for food, especially in breeding periods.
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A Honey Badger
Image courtesy of Steve Slater/Flickr
  • Honey badgers live in 1 to 3 metres (3.3 to 9.8 feet) long burrows underground, that can be dug in as little as ten minutes, and they can also climb and swim.
  • Honey badgers have robust skin that can deflect bites, stings and punctures, making it a hard animal to kill, and they will also attack aggressively and release a smelly odour, and are therefore unpopular prey.
  • The diet of honey badgers includes honey, bee larvae, insects, eggs, rodents, birds, amphibious animals, vegetation, and reptiles, including venomous snakes and turtles, and they consume all components of their prey including shell, bones, fur, and feathers.
  • Honey badgers that live near livestock owned by humans can be a significant nuisance, as it is difficult to kill the badger and prevent it from capturing and eating the animals.
  • Female honey badgers typically give birth to one or two cubs at a time, and can live up to 24 to 26 years in captivity.
Bibliography:
Honey Badger, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_badger
Honey Badger (Ratel), 2014, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/honey-badger-ratel

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Green Lacewing

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Green Lacewing

Have you seen the lacy wings of green lacewings?

  • Green lacewings are a family of insects, that contains approximately 85 genera and up to 2,000 species, and are most common in North America and Europe, although they are also found on other continents.
  • ‘Green lacewings’ are also known as ‘lacewings’ and ‘common lacewings’, and are known as such due to their delicate wings.
  • Green lacewings have the scientific family name of Chrysopidae, and the family is broken down into three subfamilies.
  • Green lacewing bodies and their veined wings are typically luminous green to brown in colour, and they often have copper or gold coloured eyes.
  • Green lacewings have a wingspan that spreads 0.6 to 6.5 centimetres (0.2 to 2.6 inches) and have a body that is generally between 1 to 2 centimetres (0.4 to 0.8 inches) in length.

Green Lacewing, Insect, Animal, Common, Bright, Ten Random Facts, Animal

  • Green lacewings are typically active from dusk to dawn, and their diet mainly consists of small insects such as aphids, and depending on the species they also consume nectar, pollen and honeydew.
  • Green lacewings have larvae that are often a brown colour, with sometimes a humpy or sticklike appearance, and they primarily eat aphids and are therefore often known as ‘aphid lions’.
  • Green lacewings lay eggs, numbering between 100 to 200 at a time, that are held onto leaves by short, centimetre long threads.
  • Green lacewings have been used to control aphid and other insect pest populations, and are often dispersed as eggs for this purpose.
  • Green lacewings communicate using vibrations that they make with their body, and they can release an unpleasant odour when threatened.

 

Bibliography:
Chrysopidae, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopidae
Green Lacewing, 2014, BioKids, http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Chrysopidae/

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Walrus

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Walrus

Walruses are gentle giants with super strength.

  • Walruses are large mammals that live in the Arctic areas of the Northern Hemisphere, including the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
  • Walruses have the scientific name Odobenus rosmarus, of which there are up to three subspecies, and they are the only extant member of the family Odobenidae, a family of pinnipeds or seals.
  • Walruses can weigh 400 to 2,000 kilograms (880 to 4,400 pounds) in weight and grow up to 2.2 to 3.5 metres (7.2 to 11.5 feet) in length.
  • Walruses have two long tusks that can be 1 metre (3.3 feet) in length, that are used for latching onto and digging holes in ice, and in males they are used for fighting.
  • A female walrus usually gives birth to one pup during spring, not more than once every two years, around the time they migrate north, and the animal’s life span is generally between 20 to 50 years.
Walrus, herd, Blue, Animals, Marine, Ten Random Facts, Brown, Marine, Large, TuskA Herd of Walruses
Image courtesy of Claumoho/Flickr
  • Walruses generally hunt for food in the water in small groups, and typically eat shrimp, coral, worms, molluscs, sea cucumbers and other small aquatic animals.
  • Data relating to walrus populations has been difficult to obtain, making it difficult to determine whether they are endangered or not, however, they were heavily hunted in the 1700 and 1800s, causing a significant population decrease, and in some areas, extinction.
  • Legislation in some areas has protected the walrus for almost a century, however they have been illegally poached for their tusks, blubber, hide, meat and flippers, and now it is only legal for them to be hunted by local natives to the area, although permission has been granted to allow natives to include other hunters to participate in the hunt under special conditions.
  • A walrus has skin typically coloured brown to grey, that is scattered with hairs, and the animal also has whiskers above its mouth that are used as sensors.
  • Walruses live on ice in herds that can number in the thousands, with adult males usually living in a separate group to the females and their pups, and they are sometimes preyed on by orcas and polar bears.
Bibliography:
Walrus, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/walrus/
Walrus, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/walrus/
Walrus, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walrus

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Serval

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Serval

Servals, worshipped by Ancient Egyptians.

  • Servals are 19 subspecies of cat-like mammals native to Africa’s savannah habitats, south of the Sahara desert.
  • A ‘serval’ is also known as a ‘bush cat’, a ‘tiger bush cat’ and a ‘giraffe cat’.
  • Servals have the scientific name Leptailurus serval, although they are the only species in the Leptailurus genus, and they are from the family Felidae, the family of felids or cats.
  • Servals are most active during the night, when they hunt mostly for rodents, although they also consume birds, reptiles, frogs, insects, fish, hares and hyraxes, and they eat the meat and bones.
  • Servals have the longest legs of any cat in proportion to the animal’s body size, and the legs are used for jumping a height of 2 to 3 metres (7 to 10 feet) and they can run at top speeds of at least 64 kilometres/hour (40 miles/hour).
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A Serval
Image courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr
  • Vocalisation among servals includes purrs, hisses, chirps, growls and meows, although meeting with others of the same species often results in fights as they are generally solitary animals.
  • Female servals have litters of one to four blind cubs, most often two, and they can have more than one litter in the year.
  • Servals, although they are classified as ‘least concerned’, have declined in numbers due to poaching and habitat loss.
  • Servals are typically coloured a yellow-orange to brown colour, with dark spots that pattern their coat, and they have very large ears compared with their head, that have distinct markings on the back.
  • Servals are occasionally preyed on by leopards and hyenas, while their lifespan is 10 to 20 years, and they can even reach up to age 23.
Bibliography:
Serval, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/serval/
Serval, 2014, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/serval
Serval, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serval

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Fossa

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Fossa

Fossas are Madagascar movie stars.

  • Fossas are mammals that have an appearance similar to cats, although they are more closely related to the mongoose, and they are found only in the forests of Madagascar, an African island.
  • Fossas have the scientific name Cryptoprocta ferox and are from the family Eupleridae, the family of carnivoran Malagasy animals.
  • Fossas grow to be around 61 to 80 centimetres (24 to 31 inches) in length and between 5.5 to 12 kilograms (12 to 29 pounds) in weight.
  • The word ‘fossa’ is also spelt ‘fosa’, which is the Malagasy word for the animal, and the pronunciation also varies, with an ‘o’ sound as in the word ‘clock’ or an ‘oo’ sound as in the word ‘food’.
  • Fossas generally live alone, although they may kill and share prey together, and they communicate with yelps, calls, purrs and mews, as well as other body movements.

Fossa, Animal, Zoo, Rock, Stand, Ten Random Facts, Madagascar,

A Fossa
Image courtesy of Keith Williams/Flickr
  • Fossas are carnivorous, preying primarily on Malagasy lemurs, as well as other animals including birds, rodents, lizards and tenrecs.
  • Fossas have litters of one to six mixed gender cubs, born with closed eyes in isolated locations such as dens, and they live for 15 to 20 years and do not have any natural predators.
  • Fossas are vulnerably endangered due to habitat destruction, which has caused a 30% decrease in populations from 1987.
  • Fossas have short fur, typically light brown to black in colour, a long tail, marginally webbed toes and retractable claws.
  • Fossas spend much of their time in trees, and they mark their territory, as well as communicate, with their scent glands.
Bibliography:
Fossa (Animal), 2014 Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossa_(animal)
Fossa, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/fossa/
Fossa, 2014, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/fossa

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