Category Archives: Animals

Moose

By | |
1 Comment
Moose

The big, big moose.

  • ‘Moose’ are also known as ‘Eurasian elks’, or ‘elks’, although they are different to the American elk, and their scientific name is ‘Alces alces’ which includes 6 to 7 subspecies.
  • Moose belong to the deer family, Cervidae, and the sub family Capreolinae, and can grow to be 1.4 to 2.1 metres (4.6 to 6.9 feet) in height, and weigh between 200 to 700 kilograms (440 to 1500 pounds),
  • Moose are native to the forests of the Northern Hemisphere, mainly abundant in Canada, Alaska and Russia, although they are found in parts of Europe, Asia and the United States, and are one of the largest land animals in Europe and North America.
  • Adult male moose are named ‘bulls’, adult females are called ‘cows’ and the young are named ‘calves’, and they do not live in herds, but are instead solitary for most of their lives.
  • The diet of moose consists of large quantities of vegetation, including aquatic plants, as they require significant amounts of sodium in their diet.

Bull Moose, Antlers, Full, Male, Wyoming, Meadow, Single, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic

Moose
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Moose are classified by the shape of the antler that the males grow and lose at the end of autumn, regrowing in spring, and while the antlers grow at a rapid rate, ‘velvet’ protects them.
  • Moose can run at speeds of 56 km/h (35 mph) and they can also swim well, reaching speeds of 9.6 km/h (6 mph).
  • Moose live for 15 to 25 years, and usually give birth to one or two young, who are chased away when they are around one year old.
  • Moose are preyed on by wolves and bears, although these predators are both wary of the adult deer, and the moose are often hunted by humans who consume them as food.
  • Automobile accidents can occur with moose, which are generally fatal for both parties due to the size of the animal.
Bibliography: Katherine Gammon, Fun Facts about Moose, 2013, Live Science, http://www.livescience.com/27408-moose.html
Moose, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose

Amazon:      

Housefly

By | |
Leave a comment
Housefly

“Shoo fly, don’t bother me!”

  • ‘Houseflies’ are also known as ‘house flies’, ‘house-flies’, ‘common houseflies’ and ‘common flies’ and are often referred to by their generic name ‘fly’.
  • The scientific name of houseflies is Musca domestica, and they are from the family Muscidae, which is a family of flies.
  • Houseflies are the most common type of domestic fly, making up 91% of all domestic flies.
  • Houseflies grow to be 5 to 8 millimetres (0.2 to 0.3 inches) in length and have one pair of wings, that have a few major veins in them.
  • Houseflies generally have a grey or black thorax with a brown to yellow coloured abdomen and are somewhat hairy.

Housefly, Small, Insect, Fly, Sitting, Jeans, Pants, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Housefly maggots can become pupa after a half to one and a half days, and live two to four weeks as an adult.
  • Female adult houseflies usually lay eggs in waste products, 75 to 150 eggs at a time, and can lay up to 9000 eggs in its life.
  • A housefly egg takes on average a day to hatch, and grow quickest in warm to hot weather.
  • Houseflies can be carriers of over 100 diseases of parasites, bacteria and viruses.
  • Houseflies can convert solid food to liquid, and they have tubular shaped tongues, like straws, with which they suck up their food.
Bibliography:
Flies, n.d, Pestworld for Kids, http://www.pestworldforkids.org/flies.html
Housefly, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_fly

Amazon:    

Alligator Snapping Turtle

By | |
Leave a comment
Alligator Snapping Turtle

Do not get caught by the alligator snapping turtle!

  • Alligator snapping turtles are the heaviest freshwater turtles, weighing on average 68 to 80 kilograms (150 to 180 pounds).
  • ‘Alligator snapping turtles’ are also known as ‘alligator snappers’ and are from the family Chelydridae, a family of turtles.
  • The scientific name of alligator snapping turtles is Macrochelys temminckii, named after the zoologist Coenraad Temminck.
  • Alligator snapping turtles are native to the United States in the south-eastern areas, and they live in lakes, rivers and other aquatic habitats.
  • Alligator snapping turtles have heads that are large and heavy, and a ridged-scaled shell that grows to between 40 to 80 centimetres (16 to 32 inches).

Alligator Snapping Turtle, Bench, Alive, Wet, Mouth open, Ten Random Facts, United States, Reptile, Flickr

Alligator Snapper
Image courtesy of Gary J. Wood/ Flickr
  • When ‘hunting’ for food, an alligator snapping turtle lies still and camouflages itself with its mouth open, and the worm shaped part on its tongue attracts its prey.
  • Alligator snapping turtles eat fish and other aquatic animals or shore mammals, and they have strong jaws, and can bite a human finger off.
  • Alligator snapping turtles can live from 20 to 70 years while in captive, and some believe that the turtles can live over 100 years in the wild.
  • Alligator snapping turtles are sometimes kept as pets, but must be kept cautiously as well as being fed and held correctly.
  • Alligator snapping turtles are commonly poached for its exotic meat and shell.
Bibliography:
Alligator Snapping Turtle, 2013, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/reptiles/alligator-snapping-turtle/
Alligator Snapping Turtle, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_snapping_turtle

Amazon:   

Hippopotamus

By | |
Leave a comment
Hippopotamus

Yawn like a hippopotamus.

  • A hippopotamus is also known as a ‘hippo’, and is from the family Hippopotamidae, the family of hippotamuses.
  • The term ‘hippopotamus’ comes from the words for ‘river horse’ in Ancient Greek, and its scientific name is Hippopotamus amphibius.
  • Hippopotamuses are large cylindrical-shaped mammals, with a big round body, large teeth and short legs.
  • Hippopotamuses are native to the rivers and other aquatic areas of Africa, and live for 40 to 50 years in the wild, on average.
  • In the water hippopotamuses are territorial, and are said to be the most dangerous large animal in Africa, where hundreds of people are killed by them annually.
Nile Hippopotamus, wallows, mud, many, multiple, water, Mara River, Africa, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic
Hippos
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Hippopotamuses are generally found in groups of 10-30, mainly consisting of females and children with one dominant male, but they can live in herds of up to a hundred.
  • Hippopotamuses can grow to 3.3 to 5.5 metres (11 to 17 feet) in length and weigh, on average, 1,300 to 1,800 kilograms (2,900 to 4,000 pounds), although one was recorded weighing 4,500 kilograms (9,900 pounds).
  • Hippopotamuses can run at speeds of 30 km per hour (19 mph) on land, and swim at speeds of 8 km per hour (5 mph).
  • Hippopotamuses can stretch their mouth up to 180° and they sharpen their teeth by grinding them together.
  • Hippopotamuses are generally a mix of purple, brown and black in colour, and they excrete a thick, red-pink coloured liquid through their skin to protect them from the sun.
Bibliography:
Hippo, 2013, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/hippo
Hippopotamus, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus

Amazon:     

Yellow Chat

By | |
Leave a comment
Yellow Chat

Do not chat all day long with yellow chats.

  • Yellow chats are birds from the family Meliphagidae, which is the family of honeyeaters.
  • Yellow chats have yellow coloured coats and the males have a black crescent on their chest.
  • The scientific name of yellow chats is Epthianura crocea and there are three subspecies.
  • Yellow chats are native to the Australian tropics and different subspecies are exclusive to specific areas.
  • Some subspecies of yellow chats are ranked from endangered, to least concerned, and they are threatened mainly by the destruction of their habitat by various invasive plant species, wild pigs and other feral animals, and salinisation issues.

Yellow Chat Capricornia, Rare, reeds, grass, stand, alert, birds, Australia, Ten Random Facts

Photo courtesy of Val Laird
  • Yellow chats grow to be 10-12 cm (4 to 4.7 inches) long, and on average 9.3 grams (0.3 ounce) in weight.
  • Some subspecies of yellow chats have a population of approximately 50 to 500, while others are more numerous.
  • Yellow chats generally live among long grass, particularly in the wetlands or grasslands.
  • Yellow chats build cup shaped nests from grass, feathers and other vegetation, and lay 2-3 eggs that are coloured white with black/red speckles.
  • Yellow chats have a diet mainly consisting of various insects that they find in a range of habitats.
Bibliography:
Yellow Chat (Epthianura crocea), 2013, Birdlife International, http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=5391
Yellow Chat (Epthianura crocea), n.d, The Internet Bird Collection,  http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=539

Amazon:  

Gray Wolf

By | |
Leave a comment
Gray Wolf

The boy that called ‘gray wolf’.

  • The scientific name of the gray wolf is canis lupus, and they are largest in the family Canidae, which is the family of dogs, wolves, foxes and other similar animals, and they can have the spelling ‘grey wolves’, while the females are known as ‘she-wolves’.
  • Gray wolves have a lifespan, in the wild, for about seven to eight years and are native to North America, North Africa and Eurasia, but are now mainly found in Alaska, Canada, North America, Russia, Eurasia.
  • Gray wolves have a diet that consists of mainly of medium to large hoofed animals but sometimes they consume other small animals, fruit, vegetation and other food they can find.
  • As the name suggests, the furry coat of gray wolves is generally grey, but they can be brown, black, white or red in colour.

 

Gray Wolf, White, Grey, Alaska National Park, Adult, Glow, Grass, Rock, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic Stock

 

Gray Wolf
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Gray wolves range from 36 to 45 kilograms (79 to 99 pounds) in weight, and can reach speeds up to 60 kilometres per hour.
  • Gray wolves have large, sharp teeth that, with enough pressure, can crush bones, and in a single meal, they can consume and digest food equal to 15 to 19% of their own weight.
  • Gray wolves can control their body-heat by quickening or slowing their flow of blood and while their sense of smell is not as advanced as some others in the canine family, they make it up with good tracking skills and nocturnal eyesight.
  • Gray wolves usually live in packs of 5-11 wolves and generally pair for life, usually having a litter of 5 to 6 pups each year.
  • Gray wolves can make a very loud howl to communicate with each other, to signal a gathering, to locate or to warn, that can be heard 130 kilometres (50 mile) away, and they can also make whimpers, growls, barks, snarls, yelps and whines.
  • Gray wolves do not often attack humans, particularly since they have a fear of humans embedded by hunters who killed one third of the original population.
Bibliography:
Gray Wolf, 2013, Defenders of Wildlife, http://www.defenders.org/gray-wolf/basic-facts
Gray Wolf, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf

Amazon:     

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...