Category Archives: Animals

African Buffalo

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African Buffalo

African buffalo are too unpredictable, so they have never been tamed.

  • African buffalo are stocky mammals, that look similar to cattle, and are native to areas south of Africa’s Sahara Desert.
  • ‘African buffalo’ are also known as ‘Cape buffalo’, ‘Congo buffalo’, ‘savanna buffalo’, ‘widowmakers’ and ‘black deaths’, and are included in Africa’s ‘big five’ game animals that are the most dangerous and difficult animals to hunt, and are considered more dangerous than African lions, leopards and elephants, and black rhinoceros that make up the other ‘big five’.
  • African buffalo have the scientific name of Syncerus caffer, being the only species in the genus, and are from the family Bovidae, the family of cloven hoofed (split into two toes) ruminants with non branching horns.
  • African buffalo can grow up to 1.7 metres (5.6 feet) in height, up to 3.4 metres (11.2 feet) in length, and depending on habitat, have a weight of 250 to 900 kilograms (600 to 2000 pounds).
  • There are four or five subspecies of African buffalo, and they typically have brown, black, brown-red or, if juveniles, red fur colour.

African Buffalo, Herd, Bull, Calf, Brown, Ten Random Facts, Grassland, Africa, Cape Buffalo

African Buffalo
Image courtesy of Harvey Barrison/Flickr
  • The inward curving horns of African buffalo can grow up to 150 centimetres (5 feet) long, although forest buffalo, the smallest of the buffalo subspecies, have horns half that length, and on the male buffalo, the base of the horns extend across the head to form a shield, called a ‘boss’.
  • The African buffalo diet consists mainly of grass, and they live in marshlands, savannahs, mountains, plains, grasslands and forests, in herds of 50 to 500 animals in savannah areas, and under 20 in forests.
  • African buffalo are preyed on by lions, cheetahs, crocodiles, leopards hyenas, and humans, although they are only hunted by the experienced, as they are highly dangerous when threatened or attacked, and many people are killed each year by the buffalo.
  • African buffalo make sounds of grunts, growls and other deep cow sounds.
  • African buffalo typically have litters of one calf, and have a life span in the wild of around 20 years, although they can live up to 29 years.
Bibliography:
African buffalo, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_buffalo
Quick Facts, 2013, Ultimate Ungulate, http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Syncerus_caffer.html

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Alpaca

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Alpaca

Not quite a llama…

  • Alpacas are grazing mammals native to South America, especially the Andes mountain regions, that have been domesticated and are not known of or found in the wild.
  • Alpacas have the scientific name of Vicugna pacos and come from the family Camelidae, the family of camels, and are related to llamas.
  • Alpacas are commonly kept in agricultural herds, particularly in South America, up to altitudes of 5000 metres (16000 feet), for fibre and meat.
  • Adult alpacas grow on average to be 81 to 100 centimetres (2.7 to 3.3 feet) from the shoulder in height and in total grow to be 1.2 to 2.2 metres (3.9 to 7.2 feet) and weigh 48 to 84 kilograms (106 to 185 pounds).
  • Alpacas spit the contents of their stomach and use their hooves to protect themselves against predators like coyotes, lions and bears, and they also spit at displeasing peers, as well as vocalise with hums, clicks, whines and clucks, and others.

Alpaca, Brown, Black, White, Three, Graze, Shade, Grass, Green, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Domestic, Australia

  • Alpacas live in small herds and can live to be 20 to 25 years old.
  • Alpacas have a diet that mainly consists of grass, hay and some other foliage.
  • The fibre of alpacas is soft, warm, strong and silky, as well as hypoallergenic, and it is considered a high quality fibre that is typically used in textiles, for projects such as clothing or blankets.
  • Alpacas only require an acre (0.4 hectare) of land to support between six to ten of the animals, and they generally toilet in the one area, known as a communal dung pile.
  • Alpacas have around 22 official natural fibre colours, ranging from blacks, browns, whites and greys.

 

Bibliography:
Alpaca, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca
Alpaca Facts, n.d, Aragon Alpacas, http://www.aragonalpacas.com/alpaca_info.html

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Cheetah

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Cheetah

These cheetah facts do not cheat like a cheater.

  • Cheetahs are a large feline, or ‘big cat’ found in Africa and the Middle East, and were once found in India.
  • A cheetah is from the family Felidae, the family of cats, and its scientific name is Acinonyx jubatus, a group that can be divided into six accepted subspecies.
  • Cheetahs, being the fastest land animals, can run at speeds up to 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour), and can accelerate to a top speed in three seconds.
  • ‘Cheetah’ comes from the Hindi word for leopard, ‘cītā‘, that has its origins in the Sanskrit word ‘citrakāyah’, that literally means ‘variegated body’.
  • Cheetahs grow to be 1.1 to 1.5 metres (3.6 to 4.9 feet) in length and 21 to 72 kilograms (46 to 159 pounds) in weight, have light tan coloured fur decorated with black 2 to 3 centimetre (0.8 to 1.2 inch) diameter spots, black rings on the end section of their tail, and keen eyesight.
A Cheetah on patrol in the vast grassland plains hunts for Gazelles.
Cheetah
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Cheetahs have a typical lifespan in the wild of up to 12 years, although as many as nine out of ten cheetah cubs become food for hyenas, lions, and other animals.
  • Male cheetahs generally live in groups of 2 or 3, although they often live alone, while females are solitary, and give birth to 4 cubs on average, and up to 9 is possible.
  • A cheetah’s diet consists of mammals like gazelles and other antelopes, as well as smaller animals, and they hunt by stalking and chasing their prey which they usually do during early morning and early evening.
  • Cheetahs were historically tamed for hunting purposes in Ancient Egypt, Persia and India, and are currently illegally hunted for their fur, as well as being a vulnerable species, endangered with habitat loss.
  • Cheetahs can go without water for three or four days, as their prey supplies some of the moisture they require, and they communicate through various noises including chirps, purring, growling, hissing and yowling, among others.
Bibliography: Cheetah, 2014, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/cheetah
Cheetah, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah

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Australian Brush Turkey

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Australian Brush Turkey

Can you hear the quiet grunt of an Australian brush turkey?

  • Australian brush turkeys are common ground dwelling birds, native to the eastern areas of Australia’s Queensland and New South Wales.
  • ‘Australian brush turkeys’ are also known as ‘Australian brush-turkeys’, ‘scrub turkeys’, ‘bush turkeys’ and ‘brush turkeys’.
  • An Australian brush turkey has the scientific name of Alectura lathami, and comes from the family Megapodiidae, the family of mound building birds.
  • Australian brush turkeys have mostly black feathers, yellow wattles and red necks and heads.
  • Male Australian brush turkeys use leaf matter and other organic litter to create mounds, up to 1.5 metres (5 feet) in height and 4 metres (13.1 feet) in diameter, that covers the 16 to 24 eggs that a female lays.

Australian Brush Turkey, animal, Mound, Tall, Male, Yellow, Maintaining, Ten Random Facts, Australia

Photo courtesy of Val Laird
  • Australian brush turkeys grow to be 60 to 75 centimetres (23 to 30 inches) in length, weigh 2.27 kilograms (5 pounds) on average, and have an 85 centimetre (33 inches) wingspan, although they only fly very short distances.
  • Australian brush turkeys are found mostly in rainforests, urban areas, and scrublands.
  • Male Australian brush turkeys use their mound as an incubator, often for more than one female’s eggs, and keep the mound at a constant temperature in the mid thirties °C (nineties °F), using their beak to test the temperature, and changing the temperature by adding or removing leaf matter.
  • Australian brush turkeys have a diet that mainly consists of seeds, insects and fruit.
  • Australian brush turkey chicks are not cared for by their parents and are capable of looking after themselves, although they are often preyed upon by animals and birds, and are said to have a 1 in 200 chance of survival to adulthood.
Bibliography:
Australian Brush Turkey, 2013, Wildlife, http://www.wildlife.org.au/wildlife/speciesprofile/birds/brushturkey.html
Australian Brushturkey, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Brushturkey
Brush-turkey: The Rainforest Rake, 2007, Skyrail, http://www.skyrail.com.au/news/skyrail-nature-diary/1040-brush-turkey-the-rainforest-rake

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Brown Bear

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Brown Bear

Be wary around those brown bears!

  • Brown bears are large mammals native to northern Europe, Asia and North America, and along with polar bears, are the largest bears and land predators.
  • Brown bears have the scientific name Ursus arctos, meaning ‘bear’ in Latin and Greek respectively, and they are from the family Ursidae, the family of bears.
  • Brown bears have a formal subspecies count of 16, although there is debate about this number and others suggest between 5 and 90 exist.
  • Brown bears typically have a fur colour of a variety of brown shades, depending on the subspecies, with the fur in winter growing up to 11 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 inches) long.
  • Brown bears are generally 1.5 to 2.5 metres (5 to 8 feet) in height and can weigh 55 to 680 kilograms (121 to 1500 pounds) depending on the subspecies and the environment in which they live, and they can weigh twice as much as they would normally before winter when they store fat on their bodies, so that they can semi-hibernate in dens during the cold season.

Brown Bear, Fur, Water, Stalking, Grass, Mammal, Alaska, Ten Random Facts, America, National Geographic

Brown Bear
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Some subspecies of brown bears are extinct or endangered, but the species is classified as a ‘least concern’, and they have a population of approximately 200,000 bears in the wild.
  • Brown bears are mostly nocturnal, and are typically found in forests with open land areas, as well as mountainous environments.
  • Brown bears do not often attack humans, but leading causes include surprise or curiosity, and they can run at speeds of 48 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour).
  • Female brown bears give birth in their den in winter, and litters range from one to four cubs.
  • Brown bears can live up to 37 years in the wild, although longer in captivity, and their diet mainly consists of vegetation such as berries, roots and grass, small mammals and salmon, but sometimes larger animals are preyed upon.
Bibliography:
Brown Bear, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/brown-bear/
Brown Bear, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bear

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Rainbow Trout

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Rainbow Trout

No, rainbow trout do not cause rainbows.

  • Rainbow trout are fish native to North American and north east Asian areas of the Pacific Ocean, and are also native to cold, North American lakes and rivers.
  • ‘ Rainbow trout’ are also known as ‘steelheads’, ‘steelhead trout’, ‘redband trout’ and ‘ocean trout’.
  • Rainbow trout adults have a typical length between 51 to 76 cm (20 to 30 inches) and depending on their habitat, they can weigh between 0.5 to 9.1 kilograms (1 to 20 pounds).
  • Rainbow trout have a red stripe from the tail to the head, and have a silvery, grey or brown skin colour and have numerous small dark coloured spots.
  • Rainbow trout have been introduced into every continent except Antarctica, and as a result, have decreased native fish population in many countries.

Rainbow Trout, Hold, Fish, Fisherman, Silver, Caught, Ten Random Facts, Alaska, United States, National Geographic

Rainbow Trout
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Rainbow trout, or steelhead trout as they are called in the United State’s Washington, became an official symbol of the state of Washington in 1969.
  • Rainbow trout has the scientific name Oncorhynchus mykiss and is from the family Salmonidae, the family of ray-finned fish, that migrate to fresh water to spawn, and either return to the ocean or further down stream after reproducing.
  • Rainbow trout can live to be 11 years, but their typical lifespan ranges from 4 to 6 years in the wild, and they always breed at the same place they were born.
  • Rainbow trout has a diet of crustaceans, small fish, water insects and fish eggs is popularly hunted for sport, food and bait.
  • Rainbow trout can be cooked and are easily eaten, while having a nut-like taste, and are commonly farmed commercially, with 604, 695 tonnes (666,562 tons) produced in 2007, with Chile being the largest producer.
Bibliography:
Rainbow trout, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/fish/rainbow-trout/
Rainbow trout, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_trout

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