Friday 23 February 2007 Order monotremata

The order of monotremes (Monotremata) consists of all mammals (5 species in total) that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Unlike the difference in their reproductive system, they share some similarities with other mammals: they are warm-blooded, have a relatively high metabolism, produce milk for their young, have a single bone in their lower jaw and have 3 middle ear bones (source). Monotremes have a lower body temperature than other mammals, the short-beaked echidna can 'turn off' its body regulating mechanism to keep its energy during colder weather. Today, all living members of Monotremata live in Australia and New Guinea.

Interesting fact: The name 'Monotreme' means 'single opening', because members of the order of Monotremata all just have one opening when other female mammals have three (vagina, the urethra, and the anus).

Picture of the platypus by Stefan Kraft, licensed under GFDL

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Wednesday 21 February 2007 Binturong

The Binturong (Arctictis binturong) lives in South-east Asia. Despite all its other names like 'Asian Bearcat', 'Malay Civet Cat', 'Palawan Bearcat' or 'Bearcat', it is actually a species of civet. Due to habitat destruction and poaching for its fur or for medicine, the Binturong is endangered. They are nocturnal and sleep on branches. They are slow moving arboreal animals feeding mainly on fruit.

Interesting fact: The scent of Binturong musk smells like warm popcorn and cornbread.
Another interesting fact: Female Binturongs are believed to be capable of timing the birth of their young, called 'Embryonic diapause'.

photo taken by: Tassilo Rau, licensed under GFDL

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Monday 19 February 2007 Order Tubulidentata

The order Tubulidentata only contains one animal, the Aardvark, is a medium-sized nocturnal, solitary animal, native to Africa. Adults have only molars at the back of the jaw as teeth, the other teeth fall out. Its diet consists almost only on ants and termites and the only fruit it eats: cucumber. With its front legs, the Aardvark digs out termites and ants and it uses them to create burrows. It lives in the sub-Saharan desert and is not threatened. 'Aardvark' is the first word in most English dictionary.

Picture of the Aardvark licensed under GFDL

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Sunday 18 February 2007 Pygmy hippopotamus

The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) lives in the swamps of western Africa, hence the scientific name, liberiensis meaning 'from liberia'. It weighs about 180 kilograms and are less aquatic than the giant hippopotamus and is half as tall. The Pygmy Hippopotamus lives a solitary, secretive life, hiding in swamps, and is primarily nocturnal, feeding from 3 pm to midnight on aquatic plants, fallen fruits, grasses, and leaves. They move along tunnels, cleared paths, and canals, which are also used by other Pygmy Hippos. Because of their secretive lifestyle at night, little is known about their social structure. They can become 30 to 50 years of age. The Pygmy Hippopotamus is listed as 'vulnerable'.

Picture the pygmy hippopotamus licensed under GFDL

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Friday 16 February 2007 Yellow mongoose - sharing their home with squirrels

Keeping away from forests, desert, and montane habitats, the Yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata) can primarily be found in semi-arid, open habitats including grasslands and scrub. It can be found in Africa in Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. "Living in colonies of up to 20 individuals in a permanent underground burrow complex, the yellow mongoose will often co-exist with ground squirrels or suricates and share maintenance of the warren, adding new tunnels and burrows as necessary. The tunnel system has many entrances, nearby which the yellow mongoose makes its latrines." (source) They hunt for insects and birds or eggs in the daytime and sometimes at night.

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Tuesday 13 February 2007 Leopard cat

The Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) lives in South-east Asia. Its size and fur color differs largely depending on the region. In Indonesia, the leopard cat is as large as a domestic cat, while in the eastern part of China and Russia, it can grow as large as 60 - 90 centimeters long with a 30 - 40 centimeter long tail. It lives in forests near the water.

The leopard cat is a solitary animal and sleeps in caves or hollow trees and is an excellent climber. It hunts at night on birds, rodents, bats, hares or domestic poultry. In the wild, they can become 10 - 15 years of age.

Picture of the leopard cat by F. Spangenberg - Der Irbis, licensed under GFDL

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Monday 12 February 2007 Domestic sheep

The domestic sheep (Ovis aries) descends from the Mouflon, and in 2003 evidence is proposed that Ovis aries first got domesticated about 9000 BC in Iraq and has been a source of meat, milk, wool and hides since then. There still exist two populations of wild Mouflons: the Asiatic Mouflon and the European Mouflon, although the last may be feral as some sources suggest. The domestic sheep has a highly developed herding or flocking instinct, there is no leader among the sheep. This is quite an advantage, as a shepherd is able to control a large group of sheep. Ovis Aries has a complex stomach system which allows it to digest highly fibrous food that many other mammals cannot. Estimates are there are over 1 billion sheep in the world. The Oklahoma State University has an excellent page with all different breeds of sheep (282).

Links

Breeds of livestock - Oklahoma State University

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Wednesday 07 February 2007 Caracal - adept bird catcher

The caracal (Caracal caracal) is most famous for his skill in the catching of birds, sometimes more than one in one jump! They resemble lynxes, but are more related to servals. They are named after the Turkish "karakulak", which means "black ear". Their range is from Africa to Asia. "Caracals are almost impossible to see in the wild, not because there are very few of them, but because they hide extremely well. Game drives in countries such as Kenya and Botswana widely encounter other animals, but a sighting of a caracal is extremely rare. ( source ) "

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Friday 02 February 2007 Parti-coloured Bat

The Parti-coloured Bat (Vespertilio murinus) lives in parts of Western and Central Europe and parts of Asia and is Vesper bat. They can grow up to 6.4 centimeters and their wing span can range up to 33 centimeters. Parti-coloured bats can become twelve years of age. Their diet includes mosquitos, flies and moths. After twilight these bats use their ultrasonic sounds to catch their prey 10 to 20 meters above the ground.

Picture of the parti-coloured bat by Mnolf, licensed under GFDL

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