Tuesday 30 November 2010 Barbary Ground Squirrel - Rodent with Refined Tastes

Barbary Ground Squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus) has a head and body length measures 160 - 220 mm (6.3 - 8.7 in) and their tails are proportionately larger measuring 180 -230 mm (7.1 - 9.1 in). They are recognized by their white stripes down both sides or their body and sometimes one stripe that runs straight down the back. Their fur is much like other squirrel species being short and stiff. They are precocious mammals who do not let their miniature stature, weighing a mere 300 -350 g (10.6 -12.3 oz), keep them from making their presence known in their habitats. They are easily seen and forage for food in the daytime hours.

These squirrels are unique in that they have refined food preferences. They are omnivores, but their favorite snack is the rich olive-like fruit off the Argan tree which is native to Morocco. They have also been reported to eat the fruit of this tree and even apples out of the hands of tourists to the region. Barbary Ground Squirrels are photographed often when they seem to pose for their guests seemingly unafraid of people. These squirrels have become an invasive species in some places due to the lack of predators.

The species is plentiful in Morocco, Algeria, the Western Sahara, and other countries off the north-western coast of Africa. They can be found in subtropical climates including tropical dry shrub land and rocky areas of temperate grassland. Burrowing is the favored way to build nests, but they also seem quite comfortable making dens in large groups of rocks. Their families become large when they are established in an area as they breed twice a year and have around 4 pups per litter. This breed of squirrel’s young grow up rather quickly and start families of their own. They have been introduced to other places throughout the world like the Canary Islands where it was introduced in 1965 as a pet to Fuerteventura Island (For an interesting, yet scientific read, go to this paper on the matter). The squirrels are surprisingly intelligent and outwit would-be predators a lot of the time.

Picture of the Barbary ground squirrel by GanMed64, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Monday 29 November 2010 Western Barbastelle Bat - Killing Moths Softly with its Song

The Western barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) is a unique European bat, notable not only for its wide, forward-facing ears which are connected across its forehead - the "unibrow" of the bat world, so to speak - but also for its singular way of sneaking up on the moths that make up the majority of its diet. Like all bats, barbastelles use echolocation to navigate in flight, emitting high-frequency sounds that bounce off objects and echo back to them, indicating relative position. Unlike other bats, however, the barbastelle’s call is so soft that their prey, which are primarily moths, don’t hear them coming until they’re just about 10 feet away. By comparison, eared moths can hear the echolocation calls of most other bats when they’re about 100 feet away.

Barbastelles are of medium size, typically between 40 to 55 mm long, or 1-1/2 to 2-1/3 inches, not counting its large tail, which, at between 36 to 52 mm (about 1-1/2 to 2 inches) is nearly the length of its body. Their average weight varies between 6 to 13 grams, or about 1/5 oz. to just under 1/2 oz., and the females are larger than the males. Typical wingspans run about 245 mm to 300 mm, or 9-1/2 to nearly 12 inches. Their colors are dark brown to black, and as they mature their fur becomes lighter at the outer tips. This "frosting" of the hairs tends to appear in clusters on their throat and upper chest; in fact, their name originated from the Latin words meaning "star beard."

Though the barbastelle has developed a remarkable evolutionary trait in its ability to quietly hunt prey, it’s a relatively rare species, its population having dwindled due to causes thought to be related both to deforestation and the widespread use of insecticides. In 2008, the most recent assessment, this species was classified as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

These bats can be found in southern England and areas in Italy, Germany, Norway, Switzerland andgetkey.php">