Wednesday 28 June 2006 Fennec

The Fennec (Vulpes zerda) is the smallest of the family Canidae, (the canines). It has, however, the largest ears of the canids. With its oversized ears, they can hear their predators from far away, while blending in with the desert with their sandy colored fur. They have different features to cope with the burning sand in the desert. They have thick fur on their paws to protect them. Furthermore, they are nocturnal and lose heat through their large ears. Fennecs are hunted by humans, even though it is not a threat to any human interests. Some people keep Fennecs as pets.

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Monday 26 June 2006 American Bison - almost extinct due to railroad companies

Also called the American Buffalo, the American Bison (Bison bison) comes in two flavors: the plains bison and the woods bison. The bison inhabited the Great Plains of the United States and Canada in massive herds, going as far north as the Great Slave lake in Canada to Mexico. Bisons have a harem system where a bull has to defend its harem against rival males. The bison almost became extinct in the 1880's due to overhunting. Railroad companies would pay hunters to eradicate whole herds because the native Americans would leave, because the native Americans depended on the bison. The native Americans were the first to name the bison and named it Tatanka in the Lakota language, the largest of the three languages of the Sioux.

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Sunday 18 June 2006 Bobcat (Lynx rufus, or Felis rufus)

Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are small wild cats living in North America with reddish-brown or yellowish-brown coats, streaked with black or dark brown. They have prominent, pointed ears with a tuft of black hair at the tip. Females average 20 pounds and males weigh from 16 to 30 pounds. They breed in late winter or early spring and have a gestation period of about two months. A female may have one to six kittens each year. Although adapted to a variety of habitats across the country, they do not tolerate the deep snows found in much of Yellowstone, and thus they are usually reported in the northern portion of the park. Bobcats move about their home ranges most actively in the hours near dawn and dusk, hunting small mammals such as mice, rabbits, hares, and deer. They seek cover in conifer stands and on rocky ledges. Unlike lynx, which they resemble, bobcats elsewhere have been highly adaptable to human-caused changes in environmental conditions; some biologists believe that there are more bobcats in the United States today than in colonial times. Yellowstone has many rock outcrops, canyons bordered by rock ledges, conifer forests, and semi-open areas that seem to offer conditions favorable for bobcats—adequate shelter, a variety of rodents, rabbits, hares, birds, and other small animals as well as seasonal carrion, for food. Carrion is seldom used if live prey is available. Studies elsewhere have shown that bobcats also may kill both young and adult antelope and deer; they stalk bedded adults and may be carried long distances while biting their prey in the neck.

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Friday 16 June 2006 Jaguar - Most powerful feline of the america's

What's the difference between a jaguar (panthera onca) and a leopard? The easiest way to distinguish them would be to look at their rosettes. The jaguar has larger and less rosettes than the leopard. It is also larger and has a square face in comparison with the leopard...

Besides the tiger, it is one of the few cats that enjoy swimming. From wikipedia: They are considered an umbrella species and apex predator. An umbrella species is defined as: species that generally cover large areas in their daily or seasonal movements. They serve as "mobile links" at the landscape scale, through predation, seed dispersal or pollination. Protecting enough habitat and connectivity to assure viable population of these organisms benefits many other species more restricted in their range (source).

Their range is from Mexico to South America and are even spotted in Arizona and New Mexico (see image).

Range map: Original range of panthera onca. Made starting with Brion VIBBER's maps based on [1], licensed under Attribution ShareAlike license versions 2.5

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Tuesday 13 June 2006 Wolverine - Strong enough to kill a moose

"Picture a weasel -- and most of us can do that, for we have met that little demon of destruction, that small atom of insensate courage, that symbol of slaughter, sleeplessness, and tireless, incredible activity -- picture that scrap of demoniac fury, multiply that mite some fifty times, and you have the likeness of a Wolverine." - Ernest Thompson Seton, 1953

The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the largest member of the weasel family. It is large and ferocious and can weigh up to 30 kg. Some call it a 'skunk bear' because of the smell it gives off and its resemblance with a bear. They have been known to capture prey of other predators, such as polar bears or wolves. It is currently found primarily in arctic regions such as Scandinavia, Alaska, northern Canada or Siberia. The wolverine is still trapped for its fur in some parts of its range. The state of Michigan in the USA is known as the Wolverine State, although a wolverine sighting there is an extreme rarity.

Resources:
The wolverine foundation
Wikipedia

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Thursday 08 June 2006 Red Wolf - rarest of all wolves

Larger that a coyote, and smaller than a Grey wolf (Canis rufus), the Red wolf thanks its name for its reddish coat in Texan populations of the species. In the last century, persecution, habitat destruction, and hybridization with Coyotes has brought the Red Wolf to the brink of extinction. Only about 270 wolves remain (source). They are shy creatures, often hunting alone or in smaller packs than the Grey wolf. A typical diet consists of rabbits, raccoons and rodents, varied with insects and berries. They are reported to bring down deer with a small pack. By some, the Red wolf is not considered a separate species, but merely a hybrid between a Grey wolf and a coyote. By 1980, the Red Wolf had been completely eliminated from its natural range. Because of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service trapping a number of Red Wolves from the wild in the 1970's they could initiate a breeding program on small islands, preventing it’s extinction. Now, it is listed on the U.S. Endangered Species List and classified as endangered in North Carolina and Tennessee.

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Tuesday 06 June 2006 Giant golden crowned fruit bat - Largest bat in the world (in weight)

The giant golden crowned fruit bat (Acerodon jubatus) is endangered by overactive hunting and habitat destruction. They can be found on the Philippines, in the province Sarangani. It is believed to be the largest bat in the world according to Wikipedia and several other sites. However, this site, on the vanishing treasures of the earth by the Field museum in Chicago, suggests otherwise. It says the giant golden crowned fruit bat is indeed the largest in weight, but the Pteropus Vampyrus is the largest in size (wingspan), which is the criterium in my book. Bats are usually called by how they look... You have the dog-faced bat, spear-faced bat, hammer-head bat, bull dog bat, and little brown bat. The giant golden crowned fruit bat follow this line (see image). Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the image of the golden crowned fruit bat under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. Subject to disclaimers. Released as GFDL by LDC, Inc. Foundation.

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Friday 02 June 2006 Eurasian Red Squirrel - opening nuts in just a few seconds !

Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus-vulgaris) love conifer forests. On the European mainland and in the UK and Ireland, populations decline through the competition with the Gray Squirrels which were introduced from North America. Hunting for the fur of the red squirrel is a problem in Russia. Hunting, the loss of habitat and the strong competition with the Gray Squirrels will ultimately lead to the extinction in most parts of Europe of the Eurasian red squirrel. When food is plentifull, these cute scatter-hoarders will bury their nuts and seeds. With the power of their lower incisors they use a specialized technique for opening nuts. With practice they are able to open a nut in just a few seconds!

"A male is a buck. A female is a doe. Babies are kits (male) or kittens (female), and collectively pups. Squirrels also nest; these nests are called dreys, which may also refer to a group of squirrels." (source)

Links

Animal diversity web on the Eurasian red squirrel

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