Category Archives: Animals

Sun Bear

By | |
Leave a comment
Sun Bear

Sun bears are not bright and happy when threatened.

  • Sun bears are mammals native to Southeast Asian tropical forests that typically live by themselves in trees, where they make themselves nests that they rest in.
  • Sun bears have the scientific name Helarctos malayanus and are from the family Ursidae, the family of bears, and there are two subspecies – Herlarctos malayanus malayanus (Malayan) and Herlarctos malayanus euryspilus (Bornean).
  • ‘Sun bears’ are also known as ‘dog bears’, due to their facial features resembling those of a dog, ‘honey bears’ and ‘Malay bears’.
  • A sun bear’s fur is typically coloured black, and it can also have grey, brown, red, orange or yellow markings, especially on the upper body under the neck, where there is crescent which is interpreted as a sunrise.
  • Sun bears are the smallest species of bear, and they range from 120 to 150 centimetres (4 to 5 feet) in height and grow to be 27 to 70 kilograms (60 to 150 pounds) in weight.
Sun Bear, Foraging, Moving, Black, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Mammal, Fours,
Sun Bear
Image courtesy of Ryan Poplin/Flickr
  • The diet of sun bears mainly consists of insects including ants and termites, as well as fruit, but they also consume birds, eggs, larvae, rodents, nuts, reptiles and honey, while smaller foods are reached via a 20 to 25 centimetre (7.9 to 9.8 inch) long tongue.
  • Sun bears have litters of one or two cubs that are born blind and without hair, and they have a lifespan that ranges from 15 to 30 years.
  • Sun bears are classified as vulnerable due to logging illegally in forest habitats and poaching.
  • Sun bears are preyed on by snakes, some large mammals from the cat family and birds of prey.
  • Sun bears can move at speeds of 48 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour) and are very fast climbers.
Bibliography:
Sun Bear, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/sun-bear/
Sun Bear, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/sun-bear/
Sun Bear, 2014, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/sun-bear
Sun Bear, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_bear

Amazon:      

Beaver

By | |
Leave a comment
Beaver

Do you beaver around a lot?

  • Beavers are rodents that are generally active at night, and their habitat is primarily water bodies in forest areas of North America, Europe and Asia.
  • Beavers spend significant quantities of time constructing and maintaining dams and other aquatic structures like lodges, that provide protection and housing, as well as water movement that allows resources to float, and they use trees that they cut down with their sharp teeth, as well as rocks, other vegetation and mud as their building materials.
  • Beavers have the scientific name Castor, while they are the only living members of the family Castoridae, and there are two extant species of beaver – Castor fiber which is known as the Eurasian species, and Castor canadensis, the North American species.
  • Beavers are able to move easily in water, and their diet consists of vegetation, particularly material from a variety of trees, including bark, leaves and twigs, as well as aquatic plants and sedges.
  • Beavers grow to lengths of 60 to 120 centimetres (23 to 47 inches), making them the second largest rodent on earth, and weigh 16 to 27 kilograms (35 to 60 pounds).
 Beaver, Brown, Two, Dam, Construction, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Animals,
Beavers
Image courtesy of flinchlake2000/Flickr
  • Beavers have beige, red-brown, brown, almost black, or grey fur; the back feet are webbed; they have see-through eyelids; and a flat tail that acts like a rudder and provides a loud warning when slapped against water.
  • Beavers live in families in their lodges that consist of as many as ten rodents, and they are preyed on by wolves, bears and lynxes, and the animal has a lifespan of 15 to 20 years, although they can live up to 24 years.
  • Beavers body parts have been used in traditional medicine; the secretions from their castor sacs or scent glands are used in the perfume industry and as a flavouring for food; and the fur coat is a commonly poached item.
  • It is illegal to hunt or kill beavers in some countries and areas, while in other places, including parts of the United States, it is legal to trap or shoot the animal.
  • When introduced without sufficient predators, beavers can overrun habitats, causing extensive forest removal, landscape change and water flow changes, as well as other problems, and they can be a pest on farms and properties.
Bibliography:
Beaver, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/beaver/
Beaver, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/beaver/
Beaver, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver

Amazon:     

Black Widow Spider

By | |
Leave a comment
Black Widow Spider

Black widow spiders are fascinating but highly dangerous creatures.

  • Black widow spiders are highly dangerous, poisonous spiders, native to urban and forest North American habitats.
  • Black widow spiders range 1.3 to 3.8 centimetres (0.5 to 1.5 inches) in length, and males are typically a quarter or half the female’s size.
  • Black widow spiders are notable for the red hourglass marking on the brown to black abdomen in females, while males are coloured brown-yellow and often have light coloured stripes.
  • ‘Black widow spiders’ are also known as ‘black widows’, with three species using the same name, and these species have the scientific names Latrodectus variolus, L. mactans, and L. hesperus, and are found in northern, southern, and western North America respectively.
  • Black widow spiders are closely related to the Australian redback spiders, and they are from the family Theridiidae, the family of tangle-web or cobweb spiders.
Black Widow Spider, Female, Wed, Web, Urban, Inside, Epic, Scary, Ten Random Facts, Arachnid, Spider, Flickr
Black Widow Spider
Image courtesy of Steve Jurvetson/Flickr
  • The venom glands of black widow spiders are large, and the venom is said to be more toxic than fifteen doses of rattlesnake venom.
  • While black widow spiders are placed in the list of the ten most dangerous spiders in the world, their bites do not often cause human fatalities, and symptoms include muscle pain, breathing difficulties and nausea.
  • After mating, the female black widow spider may eat the male, hence the spider’s name; and females produce a cocoon like sac of 100 to 400 eggs, four to nine times a year.
  • Black widow spiders have a life span ranging one to three years, and they are preyed on by birds and wasps.
  • Black widow spiders eat insects including flies, beetles, caterpillars, mosquitoes and grasshoppers, that they catch in their random shaped webs, and once their prey is killed, the spiders inject an enzyme that breaks down and liquefies the insects.
Bibliography:
Black Widow Spider, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/black-widow-spider/
Black Widow Spider, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/bugs/black-widow-spider/
Latrodectus, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectus

Amazon:     

Western Gorilla

By | |
Leave a comment
Western Gorilla

Western gorillas are endangered giants.

  • Western gorillas consist of two primate subspecies and are found in the tropical woodlands of western to central parts of Africa.
  • Western gorillas have the scientific name Gorilla gorilla and are from the family Hominidae, the family of great apes.
  • Western gorillas typically have black or grey coloured hair, and the upper head is generally brown.
  • Western gorillas can grow to be 1.4 to 1.7 metres (4.7 to 5.5 feet) in length and generally weigh between 80 to 200 kilograms (220 to 440 pounds).
  • Western gorillas move at speeds of 40 kilometres per hour (25 miles per hour) and they show capabilities of tool using.
Western Gorilla, Black, Seated, Male, Zoo, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Primate, Ape, Critically Endangered
Western Gorilla
Image courtesy of LaggedOnUser/Flickr
  • Western gorillas have a slow rate of reproduction, usually only having a single offspring per birth; the mother cares for the young for three to four years; and fatalities are common in the early years.
  • The diet of western gorillas primarily consists of vegetation including leaves, bark, fruit and nuts, as sometimes insects, rodents and lizards are consumed, and they are sometimes preyed on by leopards and crocodiles.
  • Western gorillas usually reside in troops of two to twenty gorillas, and have a lifespan of approximately 35 to 40 years in the wild, and up to 54 years in captivity.
  • Western gorillas are critically endangered due to poaching, habitat removal and viruses, and the population of the western lowland gorilla subspecies is said to be less than 200,000 and the Cross River gorilla subspecies is believed to have 300 or less.
  • Western gorillas use vegetation to make nests on the ground or in trees, that they sleep in, and they usually build a new nest each day.
Bibliography:
Csomos R, Gorilla gorilla, 2008, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Gorilla_gorilla/
Western Gorilla, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/western-gorilla/
Western Gorilla, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_gorilla

Amazon:        

Chinchilla

By | |
Leave a comment
Chinchilla

Chinchillas are cute and soft but endangered.

  • Chinchillas are a genus of two extant species of medium sized rodent mammals that move around mostly during twilight hours, and the animal lives in herds of 14 to 100.
  • Chinchillas live at elevations of up to 4,270 metres (14,000 feet) in South America’s Andes Mountains, and they belong to the family Chinchillidae, a family of squirrel-like rodents.
  • The term ‘chinchilla’ is said to have derived from ‘Chincha’, the name of the Andes Mountains indigenous people who wore garments made from their fur, however, it is also believed the term means ‘little bug’.
  • Chinchillas have become critically endangered, and one species is extinct, due to human hunting for its very soft fur.
  • Chinchillas grow to be 25 to 35 centimetres (10 to 14 inches) in length; weigh 400 to 500 grams (14 to 18 ounces); and can jump lengths of 1.8 metres (6 feet) in a single bound.
Chinchilla, Animals, pets, rodents, black, grey, white, Captive, Ten Random Facts
Chinchillas
Image courtesy of Ph!L!s/Flickr
  • Female chinchillas have litters averaging two or three, giving birth to young that have a body full of fur and open eyes, and they live on average 10 to 12 years, although they can live to age 20.
  • A chinchilla’s diet mainly consists of seeds, fruit, leaves and nuts, and they are preyed upon by birds like owls and hawks, snakes, foxes and other animals.
  • Chinchillas can be kept as pets, although the animal requires a specific diet and habitat, including a relatively cool environment.
  • The fur of chinchillas has been sold since the 1500s, while today the animal is bred commercially for their fur.
  • The fur colour of chinchillas is typically grey, although humans have bred them so that they produce different colours, including white, black, blue or beige.
Bibliography:
Chinchilla, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/chinchilla/
Chinchilla, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla
The Chinchilla, 2014, Chinchilla Chronicles, http://www.chinchillachronicles.com/the_chinchilla.html

Amazon:      

Spider Monkey

By | |
Leave a comment
Spider Monkey

Eeek! Oh, it is just a spider monkey.

  • Spider monkeys are a group of monkeys, scientifically known as ‘Ateles’, that are native to Central and South America’s rainforests.
  • Spider monkeys have abnormally long arms, legs and tail, that somewhat resembles a spider, and they do not possess thumbs.
  • Spider monkeys’ diet mainly consists of fruit, as well as nuts, flowers, leaves, and insects.
  • Spider monkeys live high up in the tall trees, in troops of 10 to 40 monkeys, that generally split into smaller groups during daytime, and they vocalise by barking, screaming and whinnying.
  • Six of the seven species of spider monkey are endangered, some species critically, and the seventh is vulnerable, due to rainforest removal as well as hunting.
Spider Monkey, Brown, Crouch, Tree, Branches, Animal, Primate, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Endangered, Long limbs,Spider Monkey
Image courtesy of Russel Street/Flickr
  • Spider monkeys are from the Atelidae family, the family of large New World Monkeys, and they have a life span, on average, of 22 years, and can live up to 27.
  • The fur of spider monkeys is typically coloured gold, brown, black, white or grey and the extremities are also black coloured, while the colour varies depending on the species.
  • When threatened, either by humans or other animals like eagles and jaguars, spider monkeys may bark, shake trees to provoke fear, drop branches or, rarely, attack.
  • Female spider monkeys typically have a single baby at a time, with a gap of 3 or 4 years before they reproduce again, and the young monkey travels with and relies on the mother for approximately six to ten months.
  • Spider monkeys grow to be around 35 to 66 centimetres (14 to 26 inches) in height, with a tail length that can be as long as 89 centimetres (35 inches), and they weigh approximately 6 to 11 kilograms (13.25 to 24 pounds).
Bibliography:
Spider Monkey, 2014, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/spider-monkey/
Spider Monkey, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/spider-monkey/
Spider Monkey, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_monkey

Amazon:      

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...