Saturday 26 May 2007 Giant forest hog

The Giant forest hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) is the largest pig of the 16 pig species (family Suidae) in the world. The length of adults ranges from 130-210 cm, their height from 75-110 cm and they can weigh between 180-275 kg. They live in scattered populations in the rainforests of West and Central Africa. They are shy, nocturnal creatures, which feed on grass and do not dig with their snouts for food like other wild pigs. 'Wallowing', rolling through the mud, is a favourite activity of them. The male is responsible for defending the group and does so very aggressively. Giant forest hogs, like other pigs practice 'coprophagy', which means they consume feces of other animals, because they contain amounts of semi-digested food. Their main predators are the leopard and the hyena.

Interesting fact: In the Congo, eating a giant forest hog is believed to bring misfortune.

Picture of the Giant forest hog by S. Fimpel, licensed under GFDL

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Friday 25 May 2007 Desert rat kangaroo

It is unclear whether the Desert Rat Kangaroo (Caloprymnus campestris) is extinct or not. According to some (wikipedia), the Desert Rat Kangaroo, or Plains Rat Kangaroo, is now extinct. It lived in the hot and dry desert of Central Australia. According to others (Animal diversity web) there is reason to believe that Desert Rat Kangaroos may stil exist: "Although not spotted since 1935 (when it was seen in the Lake Eyre region of northern Southern Australia), apparently recent remains of C. campestris have been found in caves of southeastern Western Australia (Lavery, 1985)." According to the IUCN Red list "There have been no reliable records of this species since 1935." and under 'threats': "Hunting, direct habitat alteration by man, and introduced predators have all contributed to the extinction of this species. "

Whether they are extinct or not, they live (or lived) in nests in the ground, which is the only way to hide from the sun in the desert, since brush or foliage are scarce. Desert Rat Kangaroos are solitary, except for a mother and her young. They can travel at great speeds and feed in the night on foliage and stems of vegetation. Reasons for their decline and possible extinction are the introduction of invasive species like the rabbit, fox and cat in Australia.

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Thursday 17 May 2007 Grey Seal

The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) is a big "true" seal, the largest British Isles native mammal, that is the one and only classified species of the Halichoerus genus of the Phocidae family. It is found in subarctic and temperate shores on both sides of the North Atlantic ocean. There are three specified populations of this seal: the western Atlantic population found in Canadian maritime provinces from Cape Chidley on Labrador coast and extends to Nova Scotia; the population on eastern Atlantic on the British Isles and Faeroe Islands up to Iceland southwestern coasts; and the Baltic Sea population.

The grey seal's habitat varies among individual groups. Some are found along the coasts of rocky continental areas, while some are seen on solitary islands. There are populations on ice shelves and icebergs, too.

A grey seal bull can be 2.5 to 3.3 meters in length and almost 300 kilograms in weight. A cow is much smaller, about 1.6 to 2 meters in length and weighing around 100 to 150 kilograms. Pups already weigh about 16 kilograms when born. They become even fatter thanks to their mothers' milk, and they will gain mass four times more by the time they reach moulting period. Sex differentiation by color will manifest at this stage. The female has a grey-silver colour with dark spots scattered all over its body. The bull has a darker shade of grey with lighter spots of grey silver. Both have darker backs and lighter bellies. The nose also tells the sex of this seal: the bull has a nose with a long arch and a roman profile while the cow has a narrower and shorter straight nose.

Grey seals eat usually by groups. They devour a lot of fish like sand eels cod, herring, flatfish, and skates. They also eat lobsters and octopus and other sea creatures. It is said that they need to eat about 5 kilograms of food everyday although they do not eat daily, and they actually go into fasting when breeding.

Picture of the grey seal by Porkeri, licensed under GFDL

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Monday 14 May 2007 Striped skunk

The Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is a skunk of the family Mephitidae found only in the Neartic. It is a very popular animal in the US and also in Canada as it occurs from Northern Mexico to US mainland up to Central Canada. Its habitat is mostly open areas grasslands, woods, and even clearings and it prefers to be near water sources. This skunk can also be seen in suburban places because buildings can give shelter.

Striped skunks have black fur and a white-colored stripe that is basically a single line from the tail's base, which then divides into two lines at the back's sides, and then ends with a triangle at the head. There is also a white-colored stripe from the forehead and goes down between the skunk's eyes to its snout. The length and width of the stripe varies with each skunk. The length of this skunk is from 575 to 800 millimeters, and its tail is between 173 to 307 millimeters. Meanwhile, its head is small complimented by small ears. It has legs that are short and a black and white tail that is fluffy and long. Its plantigrade feet have five toes that are partially webbed. The longer front feet claws are for digging.

The striped skunk is a nocturnal mammal that sleeps at day in burrows that are either other animals' deserted den, or a hole under a building, tree, or boulder. It feeds at night and as an omnivorous animal, it eats mainly insects, mice, fish, eggs, crustaceans, carrion, grasses, fruits, berries, nuts, leaves, and grains.

Scent marking is the distinctive feature of a striped skunk. Its anal scent glands emit a very unpleasant offensive odor if the skunk wants to mark its presence, drive away threats, or mate. It arches its back and erects its tail and hair when threatened. Before releasing its signature scent, it first curls to the shape of a letter U with rump and head both fronting the enemy. It then shoots two streams of foul smelling fluid from its scent glands found in its anus that becomes a single stream after approximately 12 inches and a fine spray that can reach about 2 or 3 meters. The fluid can burn the eyes and also the nasal cavities and cause nausea.

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Thursday 10 May 2007 Hamadryas Baboon

The Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) is an old world monkey, living in Africa in Eritrea, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Yemen). Like all other baboons, there is a big difference in size between male and females. Males tend to be twice as big as females. They live in 'harems' of which one male, the Alpha-male, is the leader and up to 15 females can follow him. Such a harem is called an 'OMU', or 'One Male Unit', and is a highly complex social structure. Its main threat is habitat loss, because of transformation into fields and pasture land. It faces almost no threat from leopards and lions because of the low numbers of these animals in the range of the Hamadryas Baboon.

Interesting fact: In old Egypt, the Hamadryas Baboon was a sacred animal, since it was the attendant to the deity Toth, hence it is also called the 'Sacred Baboon'.

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Tuesday 08 May 2007 Puku

The Puku (Kobus vardonii) is one of the smaller deerlike antelopes of the Bovidae family. Herds of these animals live in the drier areas of swampland and rivers or wet grasslands, and they are always near the water. They are scattered throughout eastern and central Africa, particularly in wet areas in Zambia and southern Democratic Repblic of Congo. These antelopes are also found in the area of Chobe River, near Kasane, in Botswana. However, 75% of the total population is assumed to be restricted now to the Kilombero Valley in Tanzania.

Puku are often mistaken for impala or lechwe because these three closely-related African antelopes often graze together. There is strength in numbers as they have common enemies. However, the puku's size is smaller although it is bulkier compared to the impala. They are around 80 centimeters tall on the shoulders, and their weights are between 70 and 80 kilos. These antelopes are brown like sand or nearly uniformly red in colour with the underbelly having a lighter shade while the impalas have ankles that are black and markings on their faces and the lechwe have black markings on the legs and high rear-quarters. The male puku has two horns that are shaped a little like a lyre and measure about 50 centimeters, smaller than the horns of the impala and lechwe.

Puku eat grass as they graze in water rich grassland. They live in herds that are segregated and a territorial male separates the female herd from the bachelors. This alpha male holds the female herds in its territory. A herd, meanwhile, can have about twenty females. Only submissive bachelors are allowed to mingle within the territory.

Puku are active during the earlier time of the morning and again in the late afternoon. When frightened or disturbed, they sound off a repeated whistle and they stot off with heads held up high compared to the lechwe that have their heads held down low. On rainy seasons, herds stay together to have added security and safety.

Picture of the Puku by Paul Maritz, licensed under GFDL

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Tuesday 08 May 2007 Large Indian civet

The Large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha), known in the shorter form of Indian civet, can be found in places of Indochina all the way to South China, but for the record, they are also in Vietnam, Hainan, Malay peninsula, and Nepal. These civets frequent scrub lands, grasslands and the thick forests. It is also a fact that they like staying near human establishments.

An ordinary individual's weight is from 5 to 11 kilograms. Large Indian civets have dark spots at the body, and black/white stripes at the sides of its neck, and the tail possesses black rings surrounding it.

The female Large Indian civet is polyestrous, that is, they could breed at anytime within the year, and a typical litter has 2 to 4. These newborns are born at a hole (ground) or in vegetated areas. The newborn Large Indian civet would be able to open the eyes in a period of 10 days. Weaning is at 1 month, and in case you are wondering about the parents' role in rearing, the male does not. Only the female parents attend to the young.

Basically, they are nocturnal and solitary beings. In essence, they are terrestrial, yet they could climb as well. One marks his own place via the gland secretions, and this is not just for "territorial purposes", but as a simple means of identification of the place.

Interesting fact: The Indian civet produces a substance called 'civet', which is used commercially in perfumes.

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Monday 07 May 2007 Hoary Fox

The Hoary Fox (Pseudalopex vetulus) lives in Brazil. Particularly, they have been recorded to exist in Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, and other places. Hoary Foxes desire the wooded, mountainous and savanna territories.

A Hoary Fox has a short muzzle, and its teeth are relatively small. Grey in appearance, the underbody is light, but its legs and ears are reddish. A dark mark traverses the top of its tail, and just in case you do not know..."hoary" means white. This refers to the coat's white marking. The Hoary Fox is for all intents and purposes insectivorous, and this is why nature gave them small teeth. They survive on grasshoppers and termites.

Basically, these foxes are diurnal, and breeding time is in early fall. Gestation would be for around 2 months, and the female Hoary Fox can produce two to four kits.

As far as a decisive count of population estimates is concerned, there does not exist any conclusive data. Speculations from experts say that their numbers could not go higher than that of the crab-eating foxes. Here is one piece of interesting datum, breeding members have been discovered in deforested places. It could be argued then that deforestation might not hold a negative bearing on this kind of fox.

The foxes have been listed by the Canid Conservation Assessment and Management Plan to be "vulnerable". In Brazil, the hunting for wildlife is outlawed, but it is a wonder that they have no concrete hunting laws to protect the Pseudalopex vetulus.

They remain to be among the less-understood animals, and there are areas where more studies are warranted. These are on: population status (as mentioned), ecology, matters pertaining to diseases, veterinary matters, etc.

Interesting fact: Every once in a while, one would kill poultry, and thus, it is one reason why they are targetted by hunters.

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Monday 07 May 2007 Crab-eating fox

Found in woodlands and savannas, the Crab-eating Fox (Cerdocyon thous) is inclined to use higher elevations during the rainy periods, but they could go down during the dry period. An individual would weigh 5-8 kg, on average.

Ordinarily, the Crab-eating Fox is akin to both the shape and the size of many kinds of fox. Its coat is a combination of brown and grey (dorsal) while its legs, ears and face have a red shade. Tips of the ears, legs and tail are dark, and their legs are short.

Their mating could occur at anytime during the year, but the peak period is at the end of the year, either November or December. Female Crab-eating Fox could give birth to 3 to 6 newborns (pups). One amusing (if mystifying) fact is that female Crab-eating Foxes that have been captured were observed to have given birth twice in a year. The pups upon birth have no teeth, with closed ears and eyes. The eyes would open after around 2 weeks, and they would be capable of taking in solid food in a month's time. The sexual maturity is attained by the 1st year (according to studies), and in urinating, the raised leg (for both genders) action suggests sexual maturity.

A Crab-eating Fox is basically nocturnal, they move about in pairs but when it comes to hunting, they do it by its lonesome. We go to their diet, of course they eat crab, but what else besides crabs? They are basically omnivorous, they could eat small rodents, reptiles, rabbits, marsupials, amphibians, fish, insects, and particular kinds of crustaceans...

Interesting fact: The name "thous" comes from Greek, and it means jackal. This obviously alludes to the fact that they resemble small jackals, and what about the genus label "Cerdocyon"? In Greek, it translates to crafty dog.

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Monday 07 May 2007 Short-eared Dog

The Short-eared Dog (Atelocynus microtis) is a rare animal. The very first biologists that studied them found that capturing them was easy, this was in 1969, but from that year, these dogs seemed to just vanish into thin air. Then, sightings resumed in the late 80s ('87 to be exact).

This last decade, it seems as if the Short-eared Dog's population is increasing, as manifested by sightings at Ecuador and Peru. Short-eared Dogs have been discovered in Colombia and Bolivia, and some experts said they were in Venezuela too, but that was just speculation.

In 2000, there was a study done at Cocha Cashu, experts/biologists monitored 5 members of these dogs, and they projected a density of 1 member per 2 square kilometer. Still, too little is known to conclusively peg down the rest of its kind's range, and as far as the carnivores are concerned, the Short-eared Dog remains very seldom-seen.

They are known to inhabit lowland areas, this includes terra firme forests, bamboo areas and if reports are accurate, they can swim. Fact is, so much crucial data on ecology, pathology and biology are missing as far as these animals are concerned.

Interesting factThe sighting documented at the highest elevation was at the Ecuadorean Andes and was at 1200 meters

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Monday 07 May 2007 Red Slender Loris

The Red Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus) lives in India and Sri Lanka, where it feed on bird eggs, insects, lizards, fruits and leaves. It has very long, slender limbs, which give it its name. With its four way grip on each foot, it can even sleep, while holding onto branches. A group contains some adults and young, and the adults hunt during the night, while sleeping during the day. The Red Slender Loris is an endangered animal. It is often killed for its use in eye medicine by quacks. Habitat destruction as well as capturing for animal testing are also major threats. As it is with many species, its future dependends on human intervention and the protection of forest habitats

Photo by Sandilya Theuerkauf, Wynaad, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5.

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Saturday 05 May 2007 Hooded seal

The Hooded Seal (Cystophora cristata) is an arctic seal also known as Crested Seal. Belonging to the family Phocidae, it can only be found within North Atlantic central and western regions from Svalbard to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, throughout the northern areas of Atlantic Ocean, in parts near Labrador, and in northeastern Newfoundland down to New England. It lives on ice packs and in the Atlantic Ocean's deep waters.

The Hooded seal is known for and named as such due to the 'hood' of the male, a unique and strange appendage that can be inflated to what resembles a red balloon. This appendage hangs from the forehead to the mouth's front and bulges out when the male is either threatened or excited. It is most distinctive, however, when it is mating. Its head is black, and its fur is silvery or grayish with a pattern of dark clouded spots. The front flippers have large claws and darker color than the body. The male is usually 2.6 meters in length and about 400 kilograms in weight while the female is smaller at 2.03 meters and about 300 kilograms on the average.

The hooded seal's most observable and most peculiar behavior still pertains to the male's 'bulge'. It balloons to about twice the size of a football when the male blows it up by closing one of its nostrils. The trunk becomes bigger especially when the male is mating. The hood forms initially in young males that are about 4 years. It becomes fully developed by the time he reaches 12 years. The bulge size varies according to individual body size although the average size is around 6.3 liters.

The hooded seal lives alone generally but converges in big groups during mating and reproductive season. This seal species has the shortest period for lactation among all mammals at four days only. Feeding mainly on deepwater fish like redfish, herring, Greenland turbot, cod, capelin, flounder, halibut, squid, octopus, shrimp, and mussels, a hooded seal can live as long as 30 to 35 years.

Image by Alessio Marrucci, licensed under GFDL

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Wednesday 02 May 2007 Giant pangolin

The Giant Pangolin (Manis gigantea) is the largest of the scaly anteaters or 'pangolins'. It lives in Africa along the equator from west to east and its diet consists almost entirely on ants and termites. Because it eats only ants and termites, the giant pangolin has no teeth and cannot chew. Its main threats are habitat destruction, the bushmeat market, and the illegal medicine market. The giant pangolin, like other pangolins, is nocturnal. It is a good climber and a good digger with its strong claws, which they curl in their paws when walking around.

Picture by mt.wiki, licensed under GFDL

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