Tag Archives: Mammal

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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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.

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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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Gerbil

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Gerbil

Gerbil… not just a pet.

  • Gerbils are a subfamily of approximately 110 species of mammals, or small rodents, native to Asian, Indian and African deserts and hot areas.
  • A gerbil was historically called a ‘desert rat’, while its scientific name is Gerbillinae, and it belongs to the family Muridae, a family of rodents.
  • Gerbils generally range from 7 to 20 centimetres (2.7 to 7.9 inches) in length, plus the tail that can be just as long, depending on the species, and weigh from 57 to 114 grams (2-4 ounces).
  • Mongolia gerbils were first made available as pets in the mid 1900s, and are now quite popular, although the pet can be illegal in some areas due to threats to agriculture and ecosystems.
  • Some species of gerbil live alone, while others reside in groups, and they use their sense of smell to determine whether fellow rodents belong to their family group or not.
Gerbil, Pet, Animal, Dirt, Brown, Animal, Rodent, Mammal, Ten Random Facts, FlickrA Gerbil
Image courtesy of Shankar S./Flickr
  • Gerbils generally live for three to five years and females have litters of approximately eight, that are born with no fur or sight.
  • The diet of gerbils generally consists of seeds, nuts and fruit, although insects, small birds and eggs, and other plant material are sometimes consumed, depending on the species.
  • Gerbils live in burrows and are prominent diggers, digging underground networks and tunnels with strong claws.
  • Gerbils have fur typically coloured brown, grey, black, white or tan, and those in the pet industry most commonly differ in colour due to select breeding.
  • A gerbil has the ability to shed their tail if it is trapped, and they are preyed on by snakes, birds, feral cats and other small mammals.
Bibliography:
Gerbil, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/gerbil/
Gerbil, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerbil

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Quoll

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Quoll

Can you spot the cute and spotty quoll?

  • Quolls are six living species of a genus of marsupials, and four are native to Australia, while the remaining two are native to New Guinea, in the Pacific Ocean.
  • Quolls have the scientific name Dasyurus and are from the family Dasyuridae, the family of New Guinean and Australian marsupials.
  • Quolls typically grow to be 25 to 75 centimetres (10 to 29.5 inches) in length and grow to be 0.3 to 7 kilograms (0.7 to 15 pounds) in weight.
  • ‘Quolls’ were named by Australia’s notable European discoverer, Captain James Cook, derived from the native Aboriginal name, but the term only became popular in the 1960s, and were previously known as ‘native cats’ and ‘tiger cats’.
  • The diet of quolls typically consists of birds, insects, reptiles, and small mammals, as well as nuts, fruit and other vegetation, and the larger species also eat larger mammals including echidnas and possums.
Quoll, Tiger, Ten Random Facts, Animal, Mammal, Marsupial, Australia, Habitat, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
Quoll
Image courtesy of Joshua Cunningham/Flickr
  • Up to thirty quolls can be born to a single mother at one time, although the very young ‘pups’ will die until only six remain, due to the number of teats available.
  • Five species of quoll are near threatened, while the sixth is endangered, and numbers are diminishing due to habitat loss; consumption of poisonous bait for pests; and the existence of introduced species of animals in there native habitat, including poisonous cane toads that are eaten, and foxes and feral cats that either hunt or compete against the marsupial.
  • Quolls are most active at night time; typically have a life span ranging three to six years; and are preyed on by crocodiles and snakes.
  • Quolls have a fur coat coloured black, brown, grey or tan, which is patterned with lightly coloured spots, and they have a long tail and a pointy snout.
  • Although they typically live on their own, quolls in a single area usually toilet in the same spot as their fellow species.
Bibliography:
Quoll, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/quoll/
Quoll, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoll
Department of the Environment and Heritage, Quolls of Australia, n.d, Australian Government, http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/8ad3915e-57ee-4eb8-afd0-4f6bed036896/files/quolls.pdf

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