Wednesday 21 December 2011 Reindeer - Santa's reindeer all female

The caribou (rangifer tarandus) is the name of the species when found in the wild, 'reindeer' when domesticated. They can be found in North America, Norway, Iceland and Greenland (caribou, green in the range map below) and in Scandinavia and Russia (reindeer, red in the range map below.

The different species of caribou display a wide range of size. Sexual dimorphism exists, in some subspecies the male is twice as large as the female. The female can become as old as 15 years of age, while the male's average lifespan is up to 10 years in the wild. The caribou in North America can run at speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph) and may travel as much as 5,000 km (3,000 miles) in a year. Both sexes grow antlers and these grow again each year (see picture, the velvet is shedding, and you can see the new antler). Their diet consists of leaves of birches and willows, cotton grass, sedges, lichens, but also mushrooms and various other vegetation found on the ground. They use their keen sense of smell to find food covered underneath the snow.



The reindeer has a long history of being hunted/herded, dating back to the Middle Stone Age and have played a very important role in Siberian, Scandinavian, and American native cultures. The caribou young are very vulnerable to attacks by bears, wolves, and other predators during their first week of life.

Interesting fact: The caribou (rangifer tarandus) is the only species of deer in which both sexes have antlers. It is argued that Santa's reindeer must be female, because male reindeer will lose their antlers during winter.

Picture of the caribou loosing velvet on one of its antlers by Chris73, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Monday 19 December 2011 Red Goral - Red Furred Bovidae Verging On Extinction

The red goral (Naemorhedus baileyi) is a species of mountain goat most known for its bright red fur. This is unusual for the goral because all other members of the Naemorhedus family have grey or brown fur, making the red goral stands out significantly due to its oddly bright fur. While the coloring is unusual, this animal has many of the same traits as its distantly related family, including long shaggy hair and a long black tuff of fur that makes up the tail. The red goral also has a single black stripe that runs from its skull down to its tail.

The red goral itself is the smallest member of the bovidae family, weighing only 20 to 30 kg (44 to 66 lbs) and with a length of 100 cm (39 in). About 16 cm (6 in) of this is made up of the horns that both male and female have. These horns are used for fighting when necessarily, though it is in the red goral typical nature to flee rather than fight. When predators, most commonly including leopards and jackals, challenge them, the goral can use its quick speed and strong climbing and jumping skills to bolt up ledges where they are unreachable to other animals. They use this technique to their advantage, feeding on grass, stems, and leaves during the day, then retreating to inaccessible cliff ledges at night to avoid the threat of predators.

The red goral is most commonly found in grasslands and forests in China, though there have been reports of the species living in India and Myanmar as well. The species is currently on the endangered list, rating "Vulnerable" on the conservation scale. This means the animal is likely to become endangered unless drastic measures are taken to improve environmental conditions. The red goral is currently falling victim to habitat loss as well as hunting, and as little as 810 are feared to be alive today. The hunting, while illegal, is partly due to the bright red fur that the goral's have in comparison to their relative, which are a much duller shade. This also prevents the goral's from blending into their surroundings, which can make avoiding predators more difficult.

Despite the low number of red goral's alive today, those who are surviving tend to roam alone, or in a small pack of three. This is most commonly with a male, female, and young. If a male goral isn't present, the female will often travel with two of her young instead of just one.

Due to its "Vulnerable" status on the conservation scale, thign="middle">