Friday 25 May 2012
The Weeping capuchin- a Social Learner
Weeping capuchins (
Cebus olivaceus) are also called wedge-capped monkeys because of the dark hair on the top of their head resembling a monk’s cap. They are native to the semi-deciduous, tropical forest of South America in
Venezuela,
Guyana, and the Amazon Basin. Coloration is tan or cream, with a white face and chest and a wedge of dark hair on the top of the head. Weeping capuchins weigh an average of 2.5 to 3 kg (5.5-6.6 lbs.), with the male weighing up to 800g (1.7 lbs.) more than the female. Average length is 500 mm (19.6 in) and tails are as long as the body making the over-all length 840 mm (33 in). Their tail is prehensile, which means it can support their entire hanging weight. This skill is handy as they can use both hands to pick and eat food. Fruit, nuts, flowers, buds, bark, bird eggs, small vertebrates, insects, spiders, and crabs make up their diet. Weeping capuchin monkeys live in bands or troops, consisting of 10 to 30 members. Most of the members are females with their young, a few males, and a dominant male. The dominant male is the only one that mates with the females. Mating season is from October to February, but may be year-round, and females have one offspring every 18-24 months. Gestation is 145-170 days. The infants are able to grasp onto their mother’s chest within minutes of birth and spend the first few months clinging to her. Females mature in four years, males in 7. Weeping capuchins may live 45 to 55 years in captivity, while life expectancy in the wild is 34-36 years.
These mischievous little monkeys are very intelligent and often used in laboratories, research, shows at zoos, and in the motion picture industry. One
famous little capuchin is Marcel, who played the pet monkey in the American television series “Friends.” Capuchin monkeys are often sold as pets, but they can be very destructive. Many, like Marcel in the series, are eventually donated to a zoo.
The main predators of the weeping capuchin monkey in the wild are humans. Some native populations hunt them for food and others are captured for labs and pets. Natural predators are large snakes, falcons, cats, and rodents. They are currently listed as “Least concern” on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.
Weeping capuchins are very social and groom each other. They make vocalizations that sound like someone weeping, which led to their common name. These monkeys are so smart that they have learned to crush a centipede and smear it on their bodies to repel mosquitoes.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
Guadeloupe raccoon Raccoon - Newly Discovered Subspecies of Raccoon
The Guadeloupe raccoon (
Procyon minor) or (
Procyon lotor minor) was only recognized by biologists as its own subspecies in 1999. At first, it was thought to be the
common raccoon (
Procyon lotor) of North and Central America. It also closely resembled the Bahaman raccoon (Procyon lotor mayardi.) The Guadeloupe raccoon is smaller than the common raccoon and has a thinner skull. It lives only on Basse-Terre Island and Grande Terre Islands in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.
Now that we have just discovered the Guadeloupe raccoon, it may go extinct because of hunting by people and from destruction of its mangrove forest homelands. Many are killed from vehicles. It also cannot compete with the larger invasive species of the
crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus) which was somehow released on the islands. The Guadeloupe raccoon is an endangered species, with an estimated population of 2500 left in the world.
Physical Description
This raccoon is much smaller than the common raccoon and has longer, thicker fur. Like the common raccoon, it has a black mask across the eyes with white “eyebrows” highlighting the dark mask. The chin, inner ears, feet and belly are a pale grey, while the rest of the fur is dark gray, sometimes with blue or tan tints. The solid-colored tail is long, curves slightly like a fish hook and is heavily furred.
Adults vary in weight from 6.6 to 8.8 pounds (3 to 4 kilograms) and a total body length, including tail, of 36 inches (91.44 centimeters.) Males are usually larger than females, but some females grow as large as males. Both males and females have sharp teeth and claws for digging, holding onto food and climbing trees. Although the paws look like human hands, they lack a thumb. Babies or kits look like miniature versions of their parents.
Life Cycle and Behavior
Unfortunately, there is not much known about the behavior of Guadeloupe raccoons, since they are so rare and are mostly active at night. They eat a wide variety of foods, including shellfish, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, eggs, bird hatchlings, spiders, frogs and insects. Despite their dense fur, they are excellent swimmers. Females are thought to live alone with their kits, but males will sometimes band together for protection and to protect a food-rich territory.
Raccoons in general have poor vision but excellent hearing and smell. They are thought to be able to hear worms crawling through soil. They mark their territories with urine, feces and the oil from glands near their tails. It is unknown how long Guadeloupe raccoons live.
Picture of the Guadeloupe raccoon by Liné1 at Parc des Mamelles in Guadeloupe, Basse-Terre, licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license and GFDL.
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Monday 21 May 2012
Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby -- Hops in 20-Foot Bounds
The yellow-footed rock wallaby (
Petrogale xanthopus) does have dark yellow feet and prefers to live in rocky habitats in Southern
Australia. It is a magnificent natural athlete. From a standstill, it can leap more than twice its full height. It can push off vertical rocks with their hind feet to make spectacular 20-foot (6.09 meters) bounds – about as long as a horse’s stride.
Once an abundant species, the yellow-footed wallaby is now found in tiny areas in Queensland and New South Wales. There are less than 10,000 left in the world. Despite their athleticism, they could not compete with European colonists and the animals they brought with them. Humans destroyed an estimated 90% of the yellow-footed rock wallaby’s original habitat. The babies or joeys were easy prey for domestic dogs, feral cats and
European foxes. Goats and sheep managed to eat all of the available vegetation, leaving none for the wallabies. Humans used to hunt the wallabies for their luxurious pelts, but hunting stopped by 1930.
Physical Description
Yellow-footed rock wallabies look like small, differently colored kangaroos. The large ears are shaped like a rabbit’s ears. They have very long hind legs and tails. Their eyes are dark and their noses are black. The tails are used for balance when making tight turns at full speed. Their bodies are light grey with a pale underside. Separating these two colors is a white stripe. The legs, some of the head and most of the tail are shades of dark yellow bordering on orange. This coloration helps the wallabies blend in with their rocky surroundings. It is very difficult to spot one when it stands still.
Adults grow to a mere 2 feet (0.6 meters) tall and weigh from 15.4 to 27.8 pounds (7 to 13 kilograms.) Since there is safety in numbers, adults and joeys live in groups called mobs. If one member of the mob spots danger, it stamps its long, thickly-padded hind food to warn the others.
Life Cycle and Behavior
Mothers give birth to tiny 30 day old embryos which have to wriggle through the mother’s fur, crawl inside of her pouch and find a teat to suckle from. The joey stays in this pouch for 6 to 7 months and then is turned out by the mother. During this time, the mother often comes into season and mates. Instead of going through the strain of caring for two joeys, she can delay the development of the new embryo until the first joey leaves the pouch. Even with this strategy, joeys often die before they are a year old.
Yellow-footed rock wallabies prefer to sleep during the day and hide at night. They are most active at dawn and dusk, when visibility for their native predators is poor. They eat a wide variety of plants.
Picture of the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby by
Peripitus at Monarto Zoo, South Australia, licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license and GFDL.
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