The Black-footed Ferret Facts

The Black-footed Ferret also known as the American polecat or Prairie Dog Hunter. The black footed ferret is probably the rarest wild animal in North America. In 1982 the last surviving group of wild black-footed ferrets consisted of only 60 animals. They were immediately put under protection and by 1984 the number increased to 129. 

Sadly, a year later, they were wiped out by disease.The last 31 were captured and placed in wildlife reserves. When the numbers increased to over 300, some were released back into the forest. 

One of the reasons why the black-footed ferret is struggling to survive is because the prairie dog i.e. the main sources of their food and has been nearly wiped out by ranchers 'who consider the dog a pest and a threat to their livestocks'.

Solenodon Facts - Amazing Facts

The solenodon is a rat like creature about 20 inches in length. It feeds on insects, small mammals and lizards. Only two species of solenodon remain i.e. Cuban solenodon and Haitian solenodon. Both are in danger of extinction.

Dimetrodon Facts

Dimetrodon was a solar-powered lizard. It had a large fin on its back thought to be used for taking heat from the sun, in much the same way as a solar panel does today. As its body was warmer than that of other lizards, the dimetrodon was far more active than some oter species. It measured about 3 metres long and had large front teeth for attacking and killing its prey.

Red Fox Facts

The Red Fox  is the largest of the true foxes. Red foxes have elongated bodies and relatively short limbs. The tail, which is longer than half the body length . The red fox is of the most adaptable animals. It can live  anywhere in the northern hemisphere and can eat  anything. It is the UK's most common predator and the most common dog in the world. The fox loves living in towns and cities. It is thought that half of an urban fox's diet is made up of our leftovers. Because it is so successful in actual life, in tales the fox is often sly and crafty.

In the event you need to see, the best time is at dusk or in the night.

Foxes signal each other by making scent posts urinating on trees or rocks to announce their presence.

Red foxes appear to hate the taste of moles, but will nevertheless catch them alive and present them to their kits as playthings. The red fox sneaks up to its prey before pouncing on it. Then it will drag it away to eat in a safe place. The fox cub is born with chocolate-coloured fur. It is also blind and deaf and unable to walk. So, like human children, its muma needs to pay it lots of attention. When it is about weeks elderly its blues eyes turn to amber and its coat starts to redden.

Spectacled Bear or Andean Bears Facts

The bear with the goggles/spectacled . The spectacled bear is the only bear species in South America. It has black fur with a beige-coloured marking across its face and upper chest, though not all Andean bears have 'spectacle' markings. They look just like glasses. Each bear's spectacle pattern is different. It is the only remaining short-faced bear. Others species died out thousands of years ago. The spectacled bear is an excellent climber, often makes the platforms in trees to rest and eat.  It has been known to raise thorny cactus-eating fruit on top.

Most of the bear have 14 pairs of ribs. The spectacled bear has 13 ribs. Its long, curved claws are great for digging or breaking into insect mounds for food. Longer front than back legs help them to climb. The spectacled bear population is under threat for a number of reasons like , the gall bladders of spectacled bears are also valued in traditional Chinese medicine 

Tarsiers Facts - Amazing Facts

The tarsier lives in the trees of South-East Asia and is similar to lemurs, monkeys and apes.The tarsier primarily feeds on insects but tarsiers will also eat small animals such as rodents, reptiles and birds. It has the largest eyes in the mammal world. Tarsiers have even been known to catch birds that are in motion

The eyes of the western tarsier are so big they weigh more than its brain. The tarsier elongated fingers are dark brown and almost twig like in appearance.

Fennec Fox Facts -Amazing Facts

The Fennec Fox 'Vulpes zerda'  is the smallest of all the world's foxes. Its nocturnal fox found in the Sahara of North Africa, weighing only 2.2 pounds . But it sure has HUGE ears, measuring 6 inches ,its hearing is sensitive enough to hear prey moving underground.  The name 'Fennec' comes from the Arabic word for fox.  Fennec Foxes are commonly trapped for sale to the pet trade and for fur. The Fennec Fox is the national animal of Algeria.  It also serves as the nickname for the Algeria national football team:- 'Les Fennecs'.

Hummingbird Facts-Amazing Facts

They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm, and the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. The smallest hummingbird is the Bee Hummingbird. The largest hummingbird is the Giant Hummingbird. A hummingbird's wings will rotate in a full circle.

Bee Hummingbirds beat their wings 200 times a second. If we used up the same amount of energy we would need to eat three times our own weight in potatoes each day!!!

Hummingbirds drink nectar, a sweet liquid inside certain flowers. they reject flower types that produce nectar that is less sugar content and prefer those whose sugar content is stronger. A hummingbird eats spiders and gnats to meet their needs for protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc.

To maintain their energy levels, hummingbirds eat every 15 to 20 minutes and may visit around 1,000 flowers per day. When they are unable to feed due to the weather, they go into a condition in which their metabolic rate comes down to only one-fifteenth of normal sleep.

As wings slice through the air they make the humming noise that gives the birds their name.

Many of the Hummingbird species have bright plumage with exotic colouration is not because of pigmentation , but instead from prism-like cells within the top layers of the feathers. When light hits these cells, it is split into wavelengths that reflect to the observer in varying degrees of intensity. The Hummingbird wing structure acts as a diffraction grating. As a result merely by shifting position, a muted-looking bird will suddenly become fiery red or vivid green.

Hummingbird flight has been studied intensively from an aerodynamic perspective using wind tunnels and high-speed video cameras.

Woodpeckers Facts - Amazing Facts

 Woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks all possess zygodactyl feet (a bird's foot having the first and fourth toes of each foot directed backward and the second and third forward). This foot arrangement is good for grasping the limbs and trunks of trees. The tails of all woodpeckers except piculets and wrynecks are stiffened as the bird perches on vertical surfaces, tail and feet work together to support.

Woodpeckers play important role in keeping trees healthy as their diet consists mainly of insects and their grubs taken from living and dead trees, and other arthropods, along with fruit from live trees, nuts and sap both from live trees. All this drilling and tapping adds up to about 12,000 pecks a day.

but 

Why do they peck ??????

Woodpeckers peck at trees to disturb the little insects that live in the bark. They then gobble them up. These birds can also use their strong, pointed beaks to hammer at the tree until they have made a hole big enough for a nest. 

Musk Deer Facts - Amazing Facts

Musk deer resemble small deer with a stocky build, and hind legs longer than their front legs. Musk Deer is small deer that is a solitary , shy animal that lives in the mountainous regions from Siberia to the Himalayas. The male has long upper canine teeth that project downward from the mouth as tusks, and has a musk producing organ, the musk pod , on its tummy. The musk from this organ is valued for use in perfumes and soaps. So Musk deers have been hunted for their scent glands.

Grasshoppers Facts -Amazing Facts

Grasshoppers are herbivores , delicacies of these insects include cotton, clover, wheat, alfalfa, barley, corn, rye, oats and many other agricultural crops.A grasshopper has an open circulatory system which means the blood flows into open spaces or sinuses. An open circulatory system is one where blood bathes the internal organs directly. Most of the body fluid (haemolymph) fills body cavities and appendages.This haemolymph circulates nutrients through the body and carries metabolic wastes to the malphighian tubes to be excreted. Because it does not carry oxygen, grasshopper “blood” is green. 

The digestive system of insects includes a foregut ,a midgut and a hindgut. In some countries, grasshoppers are eaten as a good source of protein.

In Mexico, for example, grasshoppers are considered by their high content of protein, minerals and vitamins. They are abundant in Mexican food and street markets, especially in the central regions.

Do you know what are the greediest insects ?

Locusts are a type of grasshopper. They live in dry, warm places. if locusts find a field of crops, they swoop down in large swarms and begin to feast. The whole field can be gone in less than an hour.

Amazing - Chuckwalla Lizards Facts

The chuckwalla is a stocky wide-bodied lizard with a flattened midsection and belly prominent. Their tails are thick, tapering to a blunt tip. The chuckwalla lizard gets itself into tight corners. It can jam itself into a crack in a rock, then puff its body up so that ememies can not pull it out. Harmless to humans, these lizards are known to run from potential threats

Potto Facts

Potto and the Bush baby are close relatives of the lemur. The potto is also known as 'softly -softly' for the way it moves without making a sound. Its is a relatively small animal weighing about 1.5 kgs. 

It has some unique features. Three of the vertebrae in its neck have sharp points and are used to defence. If confronted , the potto will turn and hide its face and neck-butt the enemy. Its saliva has inflammatory properties, causing swelling at the site of a bite. Pottos live in the rainforest in tropical parts of Africa, very high up in the trees. They alomst never come down from the trees, and no predators that can get as high as the treetops. So Pottos have very few enemies .

Bush Baby Facts - Amazing Facts

Bush baby and the potto are close relatives of the lemur. With its large round eyes and big ears, the bush baby is one of the cutest animals of the African bush.

Its very large eyes are adapted for night vision, and during the day, its pupils contract so as to be almost invisible. When the bush baby goes hunting at night, the pupils expand until they are completely round. Bush babies feed on gums, insects, fruit and vegetables.

Amazing Earwigs Facts

Earwigs are nocturnal, they often hide in small, moist crevices during the day, and are active at night, feeding on a wide variety of insects and plants. Earwigs are mostly scavengers, but some are omnivorous or predatory.

Earwigs are generally nocturnal, and typically hide in small, dark, and often moist areas in the daytime.Earwigs are fairly abundant and found in many areas of the world. earwigs don't really crawl into ears or hide in wigs. But they do like dark and damp corners. At night they come out to feed on flower petals, one of their favourite foods.The earwigs attacked mature plants and made cup-shaped bite marks

Penguin Facts

Penguins are birds but they can not fly. All Penguins are fast swimmers. The fastest swimmer is the gentoo penguin. It can reach speeds of 27 kilometres an hour underwater.

The smallest penguin is the fairy penguin at just 40 centimetres tall. The biggest is the empror penguine at 1.3 metres in height as tall as a seven years old child!!

Do You know Penguin dad likes to babysit?

Emperor penguin dads look after the baby chicks. The female lays an egg and leaves her mate to keep it off the freezing ice. he goes without food until the chick hatches. When it does the mother returns and both parents look after it.

Pronghorn - Amazing Facts

The pronghorn is a deer-like animal with long thin legs and dark horns. The name ' pronghorn' comes from the unusal shape of the horns, which have forward pointing prongs! The coat is mostly tan or light brown. There are patches of white hairs. When the pronghorn is alarmed, the white hairs stand up. These are the fastest runners among animals in north America. They can run at more than 86 kilometres per hour. Pronghorns are also great distance runners. Pronghorns live on the grasslands of S W Saskatchewan and S E alberta in Canada. Pronghorns were brought to scientific notice by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which found them in what is now South Dakota, USA. The pronghorn has been observed to have at least 13 distinct gaits, including one reaching nearly eight yards per stride. Pronghorns have game-animal status in all of the western states of the United States, and permits are required to trap or shoot pronghorns.

Skunk - Amazing Facts

The skunk has two glands under its tail that produce a truly foul smelling liquid. Before spraying an enemy with first stamp its paws on the ground as a warning. If the warning goes unheeded, it will lift its tail to signify that it is going to spray. The next step is a spray of foul liquid which can travel up to four and a half metres. This spray chokes and blinds the enemy, and leaves a horrible lingering odour that takes a long time to disappear, giving the skunk plenty of time to escape.

Peccary Facts

The peccary looks like a hairy pig on a diet! It is related to domestic pigs and is a distant cousin of the hippo too. Like the hippo, it is even toed ungulate, and like the pig, it has a snout. The peccary weigh from 18 to 27 kgs and stand about 50 cms tall at the shoulder. They have poor eyesight and keen sense of smell and hearing to find food and avoid predators. Peccaries are found in tropical America, and being adaptable . The peccary is not a fussy eater. These mammals are omnivorous ( eating plants , fruits, bulbs, beans, tubers and seeds as well as insects and grubs). They are hunted for meat and sports.

Aardvark - Amazing Facts

The Aardvark is a mammal found in Africa. The name means 'earth pig' in Afrikaans and refers to its resemblance to a pig and to its habit of digging. It is very strange looking animals indeed, for though it has the body of a pig, it has ears like a rabbit's and a tail like a kangaroo!! The Aardvark hunts at night for termites and ants. It uses its long, sticky tongue to gather insects from their nests, like anteaters do. So, it is really like a jigsaw of different animals put together!

Musk Ox Facts

The musk ox is a huge hoofed mammal with a heavy bony plate across its forehead. The musk ox, along  with the yak of central Asia, has the longest fur. During winter , it grows a thick undercoat of soft brown fleece and its thick overcoat of shaggy , long straight hair hangs down to the ground. In May, it sheds large amounts of fur. Eskimos use its soft under wool for weaving, shawls, sweaters, gloves, hats, scarves and other items.

Although musk oxen are related to sheep and goat, they are unique because of their characteristics. They are one of the few animals in the world that can survive in the frozen Tundra. Human hunters, who killed a large number of musk oxen for their skins and meat. So, legislation protects herds in Alaska, Norway, and Siberia, where the animals live on preserves.

Weasels Facts

Weasels are part of a family which also includes ferrets, otters, mink and badgers. Weasels vary in colour and size but they have slender bodies , rounded ears and short legs. They are found in most places around the world, except in Australia and Antartica. Weasels are considered to be ferocious hunters, and are often not afraid to even confront animals bigger in size.

Weasels prey on small rodents such as mice and rats. They also attack birds, bird's eggs, frogs, bats, insects, earthworms and even domestic chickens. Weasels are curious, alert and bold. they are persistent hunters who seldom remain long in their dens and may go out hunting at any hour, but they prefer to hunt at night.

The weasel hunts by tirelessly investigating every small hole, crevice, bush or rock pile it encounters. It tracks prey by follwoing trails and it generally attack its prey by following trails, and generally attack its prey by following trails, and it generally attack its prey by ambushing and puncing on it. Weasels are very quick, and kill by piercing the base of the victim's skull with their teeth. They frequently kill more than they can eat. and often hide the leftover food. Did you know that the weasel can consume up to 1/3rdof its own weight in twenty four hours!!