Sunday 28 August 2005 Domesticated rabbits

Domesticated rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are one of the most popular pets, apart from dogs and cats. They look attractive, lovely, gentle, friendly and cute. They are easy to take care and undemanding in terms of care and housing. They will settle well either indoor or outdoor, at home. There are 40 species of rabbits and hares worldwide. All domesticated rabbits are originated from European rabbits. The scientific name for domestic rabbit is Oryctolagus cuniculus. (more)

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Friday 19 August 2005 Shoebill - Swamp resident having a big mouth

"Abu Markub - father of the shoe" the Shoebill was called by arab explorers several centuries ago. No surprise looking at its bill, which doesn't only look like a shoe but has got its dimensions too. It is up to 20 cm long and almost of the same width. Therefore the Shoebill has got the largest bill among all bird species. Although it is known to science since a long time and surely is among the most impressing and curious birds, there is not much knowledge about the Shoebill. It is still disputed how it should be classified. Probably the "grey giant", which reaches a height of 1,5 metres, is related to storks, but this theory hasn't been confirmed finally yet. (more)

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Monday 08 August 2005 Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) - Careful croc

What's the difference between an Alligator and a Crocodile? Well, one has to keep in mind, that Alligators are Crocodiles too. But they form a separate group within the order Crocodylia, which differs from the rest of the Crocodiles. Nowadays about 30 Crocodile species are known, just two of them are "real" Alligators - the members of the genus Alligator: the Mississippi alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). The Caymans are seen as Alligators in the broader sense too. Together with the two "real" Alligators the Caymans form the family Alligatoridae. Alligators are an ancient group of Crocodiles. In the course of millions of years they changed less in many markings than the other Crocodiles. Their metabolism and their whole life is slower than in "modern" Crocodiles. They grow less rapidly and need less food. Alligators reach a maximum age of 75 years, which means that they can get about twice as old as "modern" Crocodiles. It is assumed that Alligators have been distributed worldwide in former times, but then have been replaced by "modern" Crocodiles. (more)

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Friday 05 August 2005 Sirenians (dugongs, manatees, and sea cows)

The order of sirenians contains five species in two families (Dugongidae and Trichechidae). The four living species of the Sirenia are the dugong, Amazonian manatee, West Indian manatee and African manatee. One species (Steller's sea cow) is extinct. The members of the order Sirenia are believed to be relatives of the elephants. Members of this order live their lives in the water and feed primarily on vegetation. They are seal-like animals with big streamlined bodies. To avoid danger a manatee or dugong can swim up to 16 miles per hour, but usually they swim much, much slower. The three species of manatees, and the closely related dugong, are unique in that they are the only plant-eating marine mammals in modern times. The most dangerous threat to them is hunting, fishing nets and boat accidents. (more)

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Thursday 04 August 2005 Zebras - Africa's striped wild horses

Zebras, Africa's striped wild horses, inhabit grasslands in the eastern and southern parts of the continent. Besides the Plains zebras (Equus quagga) there are two other species: The Mountain zebras (Equus zebra) and the Grevy's zebras (Equus grevyi). Although the species look very similar, they are not more closely related to each other than to the other horse species like Wild ass and Przewalski's horse. If one thinks of Zebras the first thing coming to mind is their stripy patterns. Their has been a lot of dispute about the reasons for the stripes. Probably there are several of them: Since there are individual differences in the patterns, it has been argued that they play a role in individual recognition. Moreover it is an efficient camouflage on the wide plains; predators have difficulties in seeing Zebras from a distance because of their patterns. But the stripes are not just useful against predators; also the disease-causing Tsetse flies can't make them out as easily as animals without patterns. (more)

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Tuesday 02 August 2005 Wolf - The unrecognized companion

For millennia no other animal challenged man's fantasy as much as the Wolf. The Wolf (Canis lupus) served as the perfect example for evil in fairytales and fables. Nowadays Wolves are often transfigured as noble animals. What is the origin of this special attitude of man to Wolves? Since Wolves are at the top of the food chain, the paths of humans and Wolves crossed again and again. At times when humans were still leading their lives as hunters and collectors, Wolves were among their major competitors for food. When they settled down and started raising cattle, it was again the Wolf which threatened their herds; the cattle was easy to hunt since it lost its natural escape behaviour. From the Wolves' point of view it made sense to search for nearness to the herds and thus to humans. But Wolves have never been a direct danger to humans. There are hardly any serious reports of free living Wolves attacking humans. (more)

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