Tuesday 31 October 2006 Mongoose Lemur - diurnal or nocturnal depending on the season

The Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) is a lemur living in Madagascar and on the islands of Comoros. It is best known for its strange seasonal behavior. Depending on the season, it is either diurnal or nocturnal. They live in trees in small groups and can become very aggressive when two groups meet. The reasons for the population of Mongoose Lemurs declining are the destruction of forests for logging and farms, the hunt for its meat and farmers setting traps to counter the raids of their crop. The forests in Madagascar are continuing to decline for the charcoal industry and the Mongoose Lemur is occasionaly trapped to be sold as a pet.

Image by Lea Maimone, licensed under Attribution ShareAlike 2.5

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Monday 30 October 2006 Pudu - smallest deer in the world

The pudu (Pudu puda) is the smallest deer in the world, ranging from 60 to 85 centimeters in length. They can be found in Chile and Argentina from sea level to 3200 meters high. They are very cautious animals, checking the wind every now and then by standing on their hind legs when feeding on twigs and bark, fruits, leaves and seeds. Its predators are eagle owls, the cougar, foxes and small cats. When the pudu feels threatened, it flees usually in a zig-zag pattern and have the unique ability, for deers, to be able to climb trees when threatened. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN and its main threats are habitat destruction, roe and fallow deer introduced from Europe, and domestic dogs.

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Friday 27 October 2006 Pacific Walrus - shore giant

The Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) divergens is slightly larger than the Atlantic Walrus, with the males weighing up to 1800 kilograms. Walruses live in the Northern Hemisphere in the Arctic seas. The name "Walrus" is derived from the dutch words for shore ("wal") and giant ("reus"). They feed (primarily mollusks and clams) and mate in the water and give birth on land. It is estimated that about 200,000 Pacific walruses exist. They only have three natural enemies: humans, polar bears, and orca's...

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Thursday 19 October 2006 Waterbuck - Water-loving antelope

Hearing the word "antelope" we are spontaneously thinking of fast and slender ungulates inhabiting the African arid regions. But there are several species, which differ from this image of an "antelope". The Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is one of them. Strictly speaking "antelope" isn't an exact zoological term for a certain group of animals anyway. It's more a collective name for all horned even-toed ungulates excluding bovines, sheep and goats, not taking into account the real relationships. Nevertheless it is useful to keep such an established term, and so the Waterbuck is also known as "Hirschantilope" in German, which can be translated as "Deer antelope". The Waterbuck's physique actually resembles the one of a deer and its size is similar to the size of a Red deer: Waterbucks reach lengths of more than 200 cm and weights of 250 kg - females are just a little smaller than males. But the horns, which are exclusively worn by the males, are not at all alike the antlers of deers; they are up to 100 cm long and are slightly curved to the front. The Waterbuck's hair is long and straggly and of different brownish shades, depending on the population's distribution. It is permanently greased with an oily, water-repellent secretion of the perspiratory glands. (more)

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Wednesday 18 October 2006 Northern ghost bat

The Northern Ghost Bat (Diclidurus albus) is also called Jumbie or Jumby bat or white bat and belongs to the Emballonuridae family of bats. Although relatively rare, it is widespread as it is found in eastern Brazil, North Peru, and Mexico and also in the Caribbean, especially in Trinidad. They roost at daytime in rock crevices, old mines and caves in colonies, and alone under leaves of palm trees from lowland regions up to the mountain areas of about 1500 meters high.

The length of the bat's head and body ranges from 86 to 103 millimeters, and its forearm is from 60 to 70 millimeters. It weighs about 17 to 24 grams. Obviously, the white bat's color is white and has short rounded yellowish ears and hair bases that may be visibly grayish. Its pelage is white, and its patagia is translucent and pinkish. It has a short tail, about 18 to 22 millimeters, which is perhaps one-third of the length of the bat's uropatagium. Its face is almost naked, and its eyes are big. The white bat does not have wing sacs unlike the other members of Emballonuridae family. Its uropatagium has a unique triangular gland instead with two valves. Its function is unknown, but the male has a larger gland that becomes bigger and more prominent when breeding season comes. The Northern Ghost Bat also has vestigial thumbs.

Northern ghost bats like to stay in humid habitats such as tropical and riparian rainforests. However they have wandered to human settlements, too. They roost underneath palm fronds, like coconut, coquito, and chocho palms. Some are seen in evergreen and deciduous forests. They migrate within the Neotropics.

These bats are insectivores feeding mainly on moths. They are attracted occasionally to insects near street lamps. They also produce echolocation sounds that vary from 22 to 25 kHz while hunting.

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Thursday 05 October 2006 Pronghorn antelopes - fastest land animal of North America

The pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) is the fastest land animal of North America and is capable of running approximately 54 mph (90 km/h)! They are not true antelopes, their horns are made of a hairy substance, only the very inner core is made of bone. They primarily feed on grasses and even eat cacti. Male pronghorns have horns that can grow 30 cm long. Females can also have horns but this happens only in 1 out of 8 times. The pronghorn finishes second, standing defeated by the cheetah which holds the world speed record of the fastest land mammal on earth.

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Tuesday 03 October 2006 Short-beaked Common Dolphin - still common

Travelling in groups of 5 - 10 dolphins, the Short-beaked Common Dolphins (Delphinus delphis) meet each other in schools of up to 200 individuals. They have been reported to mix within schools of other dolphins, tuna, and pilot whales. Common dolphins are threatened by humans in several way. They are used as shark bait and are caught accidently by the huge industrial trawler nets. Common Dolphins were abudant in the western Mediterranean Sea until the 1960s, and it remains a mystery why occurrences there have tailed off rapidly. Extensive human activity in the area might be the cause. In the U.S. they are a protected species, but trawler nets make no distinction in catching animals, yet they are still quite common throughout their range.

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Sunday 01 October 2006 Pyrenean desman

The Pyrenean Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) has a waterproof fur and a long flat tail which can act as a rudder or propeller in the water. Pyrenean desmans live in the Pyrenees Mountains of France, northern and Central Spain and northern Portugal. It lives along the fast-flowing mountain streams. The Pyrenean Desman forages mainly at night on crustaceans and insect larvae. It is threatened by construction of hydro-electric plants and water pollution. It is thought that Pyrenean desmans slap the surface of the water to produce noises helpful in echolocation, although this is mere speculation.

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