Wild Facts

Photo by verdammelt (Wikimedia)

Today is a great day for the people looking forward to the weekend. Yes, you have made it over the hump and it is all smooth sailing from here on out. To make the trip to the weekend even better, I figured we would take our own trip. You have a few places to choose from including India, Nepal, Myanmar, Taiwan and southern China. All of these places will provide you with the opportunity to witness the intriguing but endangered Chinese Pangolin. Personally, I think I am going to take a trip to Nepal, which place did you choose for you mid-week getaway?

The Shy Type

We may have a difficult time spotting a Chinese Pangolin, not only because their population is rapidly decreasing but because they tend to be nocturnal, solitary creatures that are rarely seen. Nonetheless, we should probably go over what they look like just in case we get lucky. The Chinese Pangolin specializes in feasting on ants and termites and as such, dictates their appearance. They have strong, powerful claws capable of digging through a termite mound as well as long, sticky tongues which are perfect for licking up all of those tasty insects. Their body is composed of large scales, which act as an amazing self-defence mechanism. Anytime the Chinese Pangolin is threatened, they will simply roll up in a ball leaving nothing exposed.

Distribution Map - Photo by Chermundy (Wikimedia)

Nocturnal Hunters

As mentioned, the Chinese Pangolin is a solitary animal that spends the majority of their day sleeping in a burrow. As night falls, they leave the comfort of their underground home to look for those tasty ants and termites. Hunting at night doesn’t really bother the Chinese Pangolin since their eyesight is not very good to begin with. Nope, this intriguing animal relies heavily on their sense of smell, which is typically impacted by the dark! Surprisingly, these armoured animals are capable of climbing trees and are actually good swimmers.

Poached Pangolin

As mentioned, the population of the Chinese Pangolin is decreasing as a result of human hunting. Apparently the meat of the Chinese Pangolin is a delicacy while their skin, scales and blood is often used in Chinese medicine. Fortunately, this particular animal is getting some protection through CITES which is attempting to stop the export of any wild Chinese Pangolins. Unfortunately, this International legislation does not seem to be enough to stop human poaching so their population is still at risk.

That does it for Wednesday’s Wild Fact. I hope you enjoyed learning about the Chinese Pangolin. See you tomorrow for another interesting animal species.

Photograph by Merlin D. Tuttle/Bat Conservation-International Inc.

There was such a positive response to the Tube Nosed Fruit Bat that I thought we should examine another adorable bat. Today’s featured animal is the Ozark Big-Eared Bat. Okay, so maybe our little Yoda Bat was cuter but this one is just as interesting. I am not sure if this bat likes being referred to as the “Big-Eared Bat” so perhaps we should call them by one of their other names. They are also known as the Western Big-Eared Bat, the Long-Eared Bat and finally the Lump-Nosed Bat. Hmmm… none of these names are very flattering, are they? Poor little bat must have a tough life. Let’s find out by heading to the caves of southern, central United States to observe this endangered bat in their natural habitat.

Elves of the Bat World?

After looking at the names of this unique bat, it is obvious that the Ozark Big-Eared Bat is defined by their incredibly large ears and lumpy nose. Interestingly enough, the body length of this bat is only about 10 cm (4″) long, however, their ears typically extend to a length of 2.5 cm (1′). That may not seem that large but proportionally, it would be equivalent to a 6′ tall human having ears that extend more than a foot and a half. The ears of the Big-Eared Bat are usually held straight up, however, during hibernation some bats will coil their ears similar to a ram’s horn. I have absolutely no idea why they do this!

Photo from Wikimedia

Follow Your Nose

Besides the ears, the Lump-Nosed Bat also has….well…. a lumpy nose. Technically, the lumps are facial glands that oddly enough, resemble a pair of mittens. I guess the Ozark Big-Eared Bat is prepared for a cold winter. Another large feature of the Big-Eared Bat that seems to be forgotten is their wingspan. This particular bat species has a wingspan that measures between 30 and 34 cm (12 to 13 inches), which is quite impressive for such a small animal.

Population Dwindling

Unfortunately, human activity has caused the population numbers of the Ozark Big-Eared Bat to reduce dramatically. It is believed that there are only 1800 of these bats remaining in the wild. Luckily, conservationist are working diligently to reduce human disturbance, which may help the population rebound. Bats play a huge role in any ecosystem, so preserving them should be of utmost importance.

Thanks for checking out today’s Wild Fact. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you tomorrow for another fun and exciting animal.

Photo by Scott Meyer (Wikimedia)

Yesterday we had the opportunity to head back in time to learn about the extinct Elephant Bird. Today, we are going to learn about a bird heading towards extinction, the Kagu. This almost flightless bird can be found scurrying through the dense mountain forests of New Caledonia. It would be unfortunate if the Kagu becomes extinct for many reasons but the fact that they are so unique would make the loss even more heartbreaking. The Kagu is the sole representative of its family, which means their family reunions would be very quiet. I know we are getting ready for Christmas but let’s take a quick trip to New Caledonia to see what else we can learn about this bird. I promise we will be back in time for Christmas.

Kagu Teamwork

As mentioned, the Kagu is pretty much flightless and as such spends the majority of their time on the ground. This would be why they build stick nests on the ground, which provides a home for a mated pair of birds along with a single egg. Both parents share the responsibility of incubating and raising the young Kagu. Isn’t it nice when a family works together to properly raise their children?

Photo by Frank Wouters (Wikimedia)

A Nosey Bird

I mentioned that the Kagu is an unique species of bird and I meant it. For instance, no other birds species have nasal corns like the Kagu does. So what is the purpose of these “nasal corns”. Well, the accepted theory is they cover the nostrils of the bird to prevent soil and debris from entering the nose while they are rooting through the soil looking for tasty worms and insects to eat. I guess it is similar to constantly wearing nose-plugs!

Importance of the Kagu Wings

Unlike other flightless birds, the Kagu actually has full-sized wings which still server a purpose. They use their patterned flight feathers for displays, which I am sure drives the ladies wild (and makes them look bigger when predators come looking for a snack). If the display doesn’t do the trick, the Kagu can use their wings to glide away from the dangerous situation. Finally these full-sized wings help our ground-dwelling bird move quickly through the forest. I guess their wings are more similar to arms then anything else.

That does it for this week of Wild Facts. Enjoy your weekend with family and friends. I will see you on Monday with a brand new Wild Fact.

Photo by B_cool from SIN, Singapore

Well, I hope all of the people that enjoyed a long weekend are easing there way back into the work week with coffee and animal facts. To help this process along, I figured we could take a nice trip to Malaysia to learn about the amazing Malayan Tiger. Sure, it is just a sub-species of the regular Tiger but it is still a big, ferocious cat so it has to be cool, right? If I had been writing this blog prior to 2004, we probably wouldn’t be learning about the Malayan Tiger. Before this time, it wasn’t considered to be a sub-species in the scientific community but that has all changed with some additional research. So let’s go and learn a little more about this new Tiger sub-species!

The Malayan Tiger is one of the smallest sub-species of Tiger as they only weigh a mediocre 120 kg (260 lbs). Granted, that is 260 lbs of pure muscle and probably not something I would want running after me. This really just shows you how big Tigers are if this is considered to be small. Even more disturbing is the fact that the Malayan Tiger is one of the most common sub-species, other than the Bengal Tiger. Why is this disturbing? Well, there are only about 600-800 Malayan Tigers left in the wild and it is just sad that this makes them one of the most common tiger species on earth. Oh, and they are also on the Endangered Species list!

Photo from Wikimedia

Like other Tigers, this particular sub-species, likes to stalk their prey such as deer, goats and wild boar. When the time is right, this “small” tiger will pounce and enjoy a nice meal. Again, due to the “small” size of this cat, they don’t have to worry about predators since most animals are smart enough not to mess with a 260 lb carnivore. I say most, since humans don’t seem to fall into this category and as a result are the only threat that this Tiger needs to worry about. As usual, we are destroying their habitat and poaching these beautiful animals, which is obviously impacting their population. If this keeps up, they may lose the honour of being one of the most common Tiger species in the world.

Thanks for reading today’s Wild Fact! Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you tomorrow.

Photo by Tomaszw28 (Wikimedia)

Welcome back to another great week of animal facts. Before we get into today’s Wild Fact, I wanted to bring your attention to two new things on the site. The first is the great book review that can be found directly below this post (or by clicking the link in the sidebar). The book is called Unlikely Friendships and is an interesting book highlighting the friendships between different animal species, find out more by clicking here. The second change to the Wild Facts site is a new tab on the top menu called “Wild Videos”, which will be continuously updated with new animal videos. I have uploaded a few already so when you finish today’s fact, I recommend checking out a few of the cute videos.

Now that the announcements are out of the way, let’s move onto today’s animal, which is the Rothschild Giraffe. Now I know you may be thinking that we have already looked at the Giraffe, but the Rothschild Giraffe is actually a sub-species of the regular Giraffe so they are technically different animals. In fact, some recent genetic studies suggest that this particular Giraffe is an entirely different species, since their genetic code is quite different compared to our standard Giraffe. I am sure more research needs to be conducted before confirming that there is actually more than one species of Giraffe but nonetheless, the Rothschild is special.

Why is the Rothschild Giraffe so special? Well, there are only a few hundred left in the wild. Why is it that all the cool animals are going extinct these days? I think it might be a conspiracy! I am not going to lie, I will be a little disheartened if we finally prove that this is an entirely new species and then the next day they go extinct. Okay, so I would be upset if they go extinct no matter what.

Photo from Wikimedia

So how can we tell these Giraffe’s apart from other “sub-species”? Believe it or not, it is actually quite easy. You see they tend to be lighter in colour than most other sub-species. As well, their pattern isn’t quite as jagged as some of the other Giraffes out there. Finally, the most obvious trait is the fact that it looks like they are wearing cream-coloured, knee-high socks. That’s right, they have no spots beneath their knees, which is an obvious indicator that you are observing a very rare animal “sub” species.

Rothschild Giraffe Fast Fact – With only about 650 individuals left in the wild, the Rothschild Giraffe is quickly becoming extinct, with some populations already disappearing forever. There is no question that these majestic animals will cease to exist if we don’t find a way to preserve them and their habitat. Luckily there is currently a program called the Rothschild’s Giraffe Project which is studying the animals to find a way to keep them hanging around earth a little while longer.

Well, that does it for the first fact of the week on a potentially new species that is about to go extinct. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will see you tomorrow.

Programa de Conservación Ex-situ del Lince Ibérico www.lynxexsitu.es

Yesterday we talked about a cute, fluffy cat and I plan on keeping that trend going today; however, I promised that we would get back to wild animals for today’s fact. Don’t worry though, there is a way we can talk about cute, fluffy cats and wild animals by learning about the ever impressive Iberian Lynx. In order for us to catch a glimpse of this critically endangered cat, we will need to fuel up the plane and take a short trip to the Iberian Peninsula (in Southern Europe). So who is up for checking out a new place and a new animal today? Perfect, let’s go then!

As mentioned, the Iberian Lynx is critically endangered with only about 225 individuals expected to be living in the wild. Believe it or not, they are on the verge of being one of the few cats to vanish in about 10 000 years. I have said it before and I will say it again, these are not the type of records, I would want to be known for. Luckily there is a group called SOS Lynx  which is doing all they can to prevent this from happening. I recommend you check out their site and see if there is a way to get involved and help preserve this amazing feline.

Programa de Conservación Ex-situ del Lince Ibérico www.lynxexsitu.es

So what is an Iberian Lynx? Well, they look like other lynx species with the ear tufts, short tail and furry chin, however, they tend to have markings resembling leopard spots. As well, they tend to have much shorter fur, which makes sense since they live in much warmer climates compared to other lynx species. They are also smaller than their northern relatives, the Eurasian Lynx, and has such won’t feed on animals bigger than a hare, unless they have no choice. Another interesting difference between the Iberian Lynx and other lynx species is their habitat preference. While their cousins like to hang out in forests, the Iberian Lynx prefers the nice open scrub land. I guess they just like chasing down their favourite prey, the European Rabbit, on open ground where they can’t hide behind trees.

Speaking of the European Rabbit, they are part of the reason that the Iberian Lynx is on the brink of extinction. You see, the rabbit population has been on a decline and is forcing the Lynx to go after larger game that they are not specialized to catch such as small deer, ducks and other larger animals. As a result, their hunting success rate is reduced. And the last time I checked, it is pretty tough to live if you don’t eat, right? With any luck and some human intervention, maybe the Iberian Lynx will rebound and flourish.

Thanks for reading today’s post and don’t forget to check out SOS Lynx for more information about the Iberian Lynx. See you tomorrow for the last fact of the week.

Photo by Tim Ross (Wikimedia)

I hope your week is moving along very well as we approach the long weekend (well, in Canada it is a long weekend).  So I guess for Canadians this is actually Friday’s Wild Fact.  Don’t worry, I will make sure to post another one so my non-Canadian readers can have something to do on the real Friday.  Today though, we are going to be talking about another animal that was thought to be extinct in the wild, however, due to re-introduction programs there are about 100 Red Wolves running around in the Southern USA. That’s right, there is something called the Red Wolf and we are going to take a few minutes to learn all about them.

The Red Wolf is smaller than the more common Gray Wolf but larger than the pesky Coyote, so I guess that makes them the middle brother.  At one time, the Red Wolf roamed throughout the United States all the way from Texas to New York, however, during the 1970s we realized that they had pretty much disappeared from the wild.  In an effort to bring these beautiful creatures back to the wild, a re-introduction program was started and as I mentioned, there are about 100 individuals living in North Carolina.

Photo by Curtis Carley (Wikimedia)

As you can imagine, the Red Wolf was named after the reddish-brown colour of their fur coat.  You think they would have named it the Reddish-Brown Wolf.  As with other wolves, the Red Wolf is also a very sociable animal and will live in packs usually containing anywhere from 2 to 10 members. Although, this particular wolf species will hunt in packs to take down larger prey, such as deer, they tend  to spend most of their time hunting alone for smaller animals such as rodents, rabbits and birds. I guess when they get tired of eating rodents, they round up the posse for a real dinner.  I know I would prefer deer to mice any day of the week.

Red Wolf Fast Fact – The decline of the Red Wolf population was mostly due to overhunting by humans, however, the loss of habitat was the human activity that put this wolf on the brink of extinction.  Today, the Red Wolf is considered to be the 10th most endangered animal in the world.  I am not sure if we should be congratulating them for this honour or not.

That does it for today’s Wild Fact.  I will see you on Canada’s Day for the last fact of the week.

I had some great news when I woke up this morning, the snow had pretty much vanished due to the overnight rain.  I am not going to lie, I was quite happy to have winter postponed for a little bit.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature is cruel and decided only to postpone winter for a few hours.  The snow was back by lunch and it has been snowing since.  This is my way of saying that we are heading to Australia today to learn about the Bandicoot.  It is unfortunate that Wild Facts is my only reprieve from the nasty winter weather. I am going to go and pack up my shorts and then we are headed to the sunny south.

The Bandicoot is a small marsupial found throughout Australia.  I am starting to think that every animal in Australia is a marsupial.  For the new readers, a marsupial, is an animal that puts their young into a pouch with the most famous example being the kangaroo.  Anyway, back to this tiny critter of the south.  Some of you may not find the Bandicoot that cute (or should I say “Coot”) since it has a sort-of rat-like appearance.   Don’t let this rodent appearance fool you though since this little marsupial is more closely related to rabbits than rats.

Bandicoot

Pregnant women everywhere are going to be envious of this next little fact.  The Bandicoot has one of the shortest gestation periods of all mammals, giving birth only 12 days after conception.  Just imagine only being pregnant for two weeks.  Heck, that isn’t even long enough to finish your Lamaze Classes.  Once the babies are born though the Bandicoot will keep them in her pouch until they are strong enough to survive the harsh world on their own.

Unfortunately, 7 of the 11 Bandicoot species are facing some tough times right now and are classed as either critically endangered or extinct.  Not exactly the lists I would want to be on.  The usual culprits are causing this rapid decline in Bandicoot populations including habitat destruction and introduction of exotic animals.  Originally these little critters only had to be on the look out for owls, quolls and dingos.  Since the European settlers arrived they also have to worry about foxes, dogs and house cats.

Well that is the “Crash” course on Bandicoots so I hope you enjoyed our little trip to the beautiful island of Australia.  I assume not everyone will understand the “Crash” pun but if you have kids than you most likely know who Crash Bandicoot is.  Have a great day!!

Photograph by OSF/D. Fleetham/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes

Today we are going to head to the farm to learn about cows.  Okay, maybe that isn’t exactly correct.  We are actually going to head to the sea to learn about Sea Cows.  No, I am not being funny!  The Dugong is often referred to as the sea cow.  I don’t believe there are any farmers out there that have a herd of sea cows and use them to produce milk but I could be wrong.

The dugong is called a sea cow because it basically feeds the same way as a regular cow.  The dugong will graze on underwater grasses by digging them up with their snout. The sea cow can grow to about 3 meters (6′) long and weigh up to 300 kg (600 lbs).  In the wild they are able to live up to 70 years.  Unfortunately, the dugong is the only remaining member of its once diverse family.  Hunting has brought the dugong population into jeopardy, however, they have finally been protected throughout their range.

So do these “cows” have any special adaptations to allow them to graze along the ocean floor? Of course they do, I wouldn’t have asked the question if they didn’t.  The first adaptation has to do with their snout which is turned downwards to allow the sea cow the ability to uproot their yummy grass salad.  The liver of the dugong has also evolved which actually removes all of the salt from the plants that it consumes. Another unique adaptation is the weight of their bones.  Unlike humans the dugong has little to no marrow in their bones.  These solid bones actually acts as a ballast which allows them to stay suspended just below the water surface.  Just so you know the bones of the dugong are among the densest in the world. I wonder if they use the excuse “I’m just big boned” after they put on a few pounds from eating too many Christmas goodies!

Dugong Fast Fact: It is believed that the dugong may be responsible for starting the myth about mermaids. I wonder why Disney didn’t go with The Little Dugong instead of the The Little Mermaid.

When I say WWF, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Was it Hulk Hogan? Well, I was going for a panda bear which we all know is the symbol of the World Wildlife Federation.  Don’t get me wrong I liked wrestling back when I was a kid but we can’t keep thinking about it and besides their acronymn is now WWE!

So now that I managed to find some obscure way of letting you know that today’s fact has to do with the giant panda bear, let’s get on with the fun stuff.  Of course, giant panda bears are a large black and white bear with a round face that can be found in the mountains of central China or in zoos around the world.  Did you know that two of the characteristics I mentioned above has to do with the diet of the giant panda bear? First what is the diet of the panda bear? Well, the giant panda loves to eat bamboo.  That’s right about 99% of this bears diet are bamboo plants.  Does anyone know anything about the nutritional value of bamboo?  Really?  Why would you know anything about bamboo’s nutrional information.  I will tell you that there is not a whole lot of goodness coming from eating bamboo.  Due to the lack of nutrients in bamboo the giant panda has to eat a lot more of it.  Are you ready for this? The giant panda bear will consume about 28 pounds of bamboo per day!  This is why the panda will feed for about 12 hours out of every day.  So how does this food dictate some of the unique characteristics of the giant panda bear.  Well, they have a slower metabolism and lead a fairly sedentary lifestyle which makes them large. This lifestyle allows the panda bears to be able to survive on a poor diet.  Similarly, the panda has a round face due to the large, strong jaw muscles that attach the skull to the mouth.  As well, they have large molars capable of grinding their food.  Of course these eating traits are a result of feeding on a tough bamboo plant.

Another interesting feature of the giant panda is their thumb.  Well, technically, it is just an extension of their wrist bone but it acts like a thumb.  This comes in handy when they are busy plucking off 28 pounds of bamboo every day.  As well, this wrist extension helps the bear hitchike back up the moutain during the summer months.

These sure seem like fascinating bears don’t they?  It is unfortunate that there are roughly only 1000 giant panda bears remaining in the wild.  They are an endangered species as a result of habitat loss and a low reproductive rate. Some scientists believe that giant panda bears are unsavable due to the fact they live in a extremely populated country and feed on such a specific food.  If you don’t care about these scientists and would still like to try to and help the panda population then keep reading. The World Wildlife Federation has set up something called “Gifts for a Living Planet”.  You can make a donation to help preserve habitat for the giant panda here.  Just so you know, I am not encouraging my readers to donate to WWF and I am simply letting you know some of your options.

Well that was today’s fact!  I hope you have a good one!