Wednesday 27 September 2006
Markhor - official animal of pakistan
The
Markhor (Capra falconeri) is a goat-antilope from the himalayas where they graze at altitudes of 500 to 3500 meters high. Males are usually solitary and females gather in herds of about 9 individuals. Males can weigh from 80 to 110 kilograms, while the females only weigh around 32 to 50. Predators of the Markhor are wolves, the Himalayan lynx, snow leopards, panthers and golden eagles prey upon young markhors. They are prized among trophy hunters and used for the Asian medicine market. Markhors are declared an endangered species and the survival of the species is dependent upon conservation programs. The Markhor is the official animal of pakistan and means 'snake eater', although it is a strict herbivore.
Picture by F. Spangenberg, licensed under GFDL.
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Monday 25 September 2006
Order Diprotodontia
Diprodontia is a very diverse order of marsupials including the koala, kangaroos, possum, wallaby, and their relatives, about 130 species in total. They all live in Australasia and they are recognized by their second and third digits of the hind feet fully fused except for the claws. They have soft fur and a single pair of developed incisor teeth in the lower jaw (hence the name:di is two; proto is front; odontia is teeth), and sometimes an additional pair. When around 50,000 years ago the first humans arrived in Australia, some members of this order became extinct, with human activities such as hunting and setting fire to forests. In the order of Diprodontia several new mammal species have been discovered in the last 25 years, a rare occasion.
Some characteristic species in the order Diprodontia
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Sunday 24 September 2006
Greater Bilby
The
Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a marsupial, wearing its pouch backward to prevent any dirt coming in while digging. The other species in the genus Macrotis, the Lesser Bilby is extinct since the 1950s, because of fur trapping and the introduction of foxes and competition with introduced rabbits. The Greater Bilby is a nocturnal animal which live under the ground in burrows. Its diet consists of insects and their larvae which they search by digging small holes about 10 centimeters deep. They do not need to drink water as they get that from their food. Their numbers greatly declined because of the same reasons as the extinction of the Lesser Bilby. Bilbies have a long muzzle, characteristic to bandicoots and very long ears. There have been succesful
reintroduction programs of the Bilby in Western and Southern Australia once rabbits, cats, and foxes are removed.
Links
Queensland government Environmental Protection Agency - Bilby
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Thursday 21 September 2006
Ring-tailed mongoose
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