Skunk

 Skunk: Mammals in the family Mephitidae.

Kingdom: | Animalia

Phylum: | Chordata

Class: | Mammalia

Order: | Carnivora

Family: | Mephitidae

There are 10 living species of skunks. They may be found in the following three genera: Conepatus, Mephitis, and Spilogale.

Size and Weight:

The size of a skunk varies depending on the species. They can range in length from 15.6 to 37 inches, and in weight from about 1.1 to 13 pounds. Spotted skunks are the smallest species. The largest are the hog-nosed skunks.

Appearance:

Skunks have moderately elongated bodies with relatively short, well-muscled legs. They have five toes on each foot, and long front claws for digging. Most skunks have black and white fur, but some may be brown or grey. All skunks are striped. Depending on the species, a skunk may have a single wide stripe along the back and tail, or two thinner stripes, or a series of white spots and broken stripes.

Diet:

Skunks are omnivores. They eat both plant and animal material. Their diet may include insects, rodents, lizards, birds, snakes, eggs, berries, roots, fungi and leaves. When living near human populations, skunks are known to scavenge garbage left by humans. They also may scavenge bird and rodent carcasses left by other animals.

Habitat:

Skunks live in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts, forests and mountains.

Geography:

Skunks inhabit North America and South America.

Breeding:

Early spring is skunk mating season. Skunks are polygynous, meaning successful males may mate with additional females. The female gives birth in a den after a gestation period of about two months. She will give birth to a litter of four to seven kits, which are born blind, deaf and vulnerable. After about three weeks, the kits open their eyes. They are weaned at about two months but will stay with their mother until they are ready to mate at about one year old. Mother skunks are protective of their young and are known to spray at any sign of danger. Males are not involved in raising the young.

Social Structure:

Skunks are crepuscular and solitary animals when not breeding. However, in the colder parts of their range, they may gather in communal dens for warmth. Skunks dig burrows to use for shelter during the day. For most of the year, a skunk’s normal range measures 0.5 to 2 miles. During breeding season males travel an expanded range, 4-5 miles per night.

Although skunks may shelter in their dens for extended time periods in the winter, they are not true hibernators. They go into a dormant stage when they are typically inactive and feed rarely. During the winter months, males often den alone but multiple females may huddle together, returning to the same den year after year.

Lifespan:

In the wild, skunks live two to four years. In captivity, they may live for up to ten years.

Threats:

Skunks are threatened by a long list of predators including humans, coyotes, domestic dogs, red foxes, lynx, bobcats, badgers, mountain lions, and fishers. They also can be prey for aerial predators like eagles, great horned owls and crows. Skunks are highly susceptible to diseases like canine distemper and West Nile Virus, among many others. While skunks have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, they have poor vision and are unable to see objects clearly at a distance of 10 feet or more. This leaves them vulnerable to road traffic.

To protect themselves from predators, skunks have a well-known stink strategy. In response to a threat, a skunk will first try to escape. If escape is impossible, it will hiss and stamp its feet. If the threat persists, a skunk can position itself in a U-shape so that its front and back ends are facing the threat, ensuring that its spray will hit the mark without getting a drop on itself. The skunk then emits a well-aimed cloud of stench.

Most predators are deterred by this tactic, which is one of nature’s most effective defense mechanisms. The skunk spews an oily, yellowish liquid produced by anal glands under its fluffy tail. While the liquid does no permanent damage, its stench may linger for days. And, since one of the spray’s noxious ingredients is water resistant, bathing has little effect on relieving the stench.

Conservation Status:

Eight of the ten skunk species are listed as “Least Concern” by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The pygmy spotted skunk (Spilogale pygmaea) and the eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) are listed as “Vulnerable.”

Adélie Penguin

Adélie penguins got their name when they were discovered by French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville, who named “Adélie Land” (the Antarctic territory from the Southern Ocean coastline of Antarctica to the South Pole) in Southern Antarctica after his wife, Adéle d’Urville.

Adélie penguins were discovered in 1840 and they are closely related to the gentoo penguin and the chinstrap penguin.

Regional Habitat: Adélie penguins are one of the five species of penguin that live in the Antarctic (other penguins that live in the Antarctic continent include emperor penguins, gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins and macaroni penguins.

Name: Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)

Length/Height: 27 inches (70cm)

Weight: 6-13 pounds (3-6kg)

Conservation status: Least concern

Diet: Fish, squid, krill and other small crustaceans

Appearance: Adélie penguins are medium-sized penguins, and are distinguishable from other penguin species by the white ring around their eyes. They have pink feet with black nails, and females and males are similar in size and appearance and difficult to tell apart.

Where to see Adélie penguins: Join an expedition to Antarctica for your best chance to see the amazing Adélie penguin. Expeditions to the Antarctic include the Antarctic Express: Crossing the Circle, Antarctic Explorer: Discovering the 7th Continent, and Epic Antarctica: Crossing the Circle via Falklands and South Georgia and are great opportunities to see this incredible animal and so much more.

Or explore the Antarctic peninsula for your chance to see Adélie penguins on the Crossing the Circle: Southern Expedition.

What does an Adélie penguin look like?

When Adélie penguins are born they are typically silvery grey in appearance, but within 10 days days they molt and develop dark smoky grey down feathers. Young Adélie penguins, unlike adults, don’t typically get the white ring around their eyes until they are at least one year old.

As the immature birds grow up, they lose their down feathers and become black on their heads, faces, and chins, with snowy white underparts on their bellies and legs. Their beaks are mostly feathered, leaving only the tip exposed and while the beak is usually black, it can have indistinct reddish brown markings.

Adélie penguins have a distinct white outline around their eyes that helps distinguish them from other penguin species. While the tops of their wings are black, there is a white trailing edge around the black wing. The underpart of their wings are white, with a narrow black leading edge and black tip.

While Adélie penguins are mid-sized, they are the smallest penguin breed found in the Antarctic region.

Where does the Adélie penguin live?

Like all other penguin species, the Adélie penguin lives in the southern hemisphere. Adélie penguins breed and live along the entire coast of the Antarctic, including the Antarctic peninsula, on or near sea-ice and on small islands marked by ice-free land and exposed rock.

One of the largest Adélie penguin colonies is located on Ross Island where more than 500,000 Adélie penguins live.

While many may know the impressive migration of the emperor penguin, Adélie penguins also walk vast distances throughout the year. Annually, Adélie penguins follow the sun as they migrate from their breeding colony to their feeding grounds for the winter months and on average these treks mean adult Adélie penguins migrate 8,100 miles to 10,9000 miles each year.

What do Adélie penguins eat?

Depending on where Adélie penguins live and how much food is available, their diets can be different. Like most other penguin species, Adélie penguins are skilled swimmers and all of their meals come from the sea. While they do not have teeth, Adélie penguins have tooth-like barbs on their tongues and the roof of their mouth that help them eat.

Meals they hunt in the sea close to their colonies typically include fish, krill (including crystal krill, ice krill and sea krill) and amphipods (small crustaceans), whereas meals farther from home and hunted more offshore consist mostly of Antarctic krill. Adélie penguins also eat jellyfish.

One of the most fascinating Adélie penguin facts is their ability to monitor how much salt they eat and feed their young. With little access to fresh water, Adélie penguins have learned to eat krill that contains low salt and they can adjust the amount of salt they feed their young by removing potassium and sodium ions from food in their stomachs before they regurgitate food to their chicks.

They also eat snow for fresh water, and a specialized gland in their nose that removes salt from the seawater they ingest when swallowing fish.

Breeding adult Adélie penguins swim an average of 3-74 miles (5 to 120km) while foraging for food that they will regurgitate for their chicks. These hunting trips can last between 5-72 hours.

One of the deepest dives recorded by the Adélie penguin species was 574ft (175m) but, while foraging, most stay in the top 229ft (70m) of water during their feeding trips.

By using satellites to monitor specific Adélie penguins, scientists can track the birds habits while at sea to map sea routes and understand dive depths.

Are Adélie penguins endangered?

Adélie penguins are the most widespread penguin species and their conservation status is currently listed as of least concern.

Scientists estimate they are 2.5 million breeding pairs of Adélie penguins throughout the Antarctic region and the Antarctic peninsula, totaling 10 million individual penguins.

Can Adélie penguins fly?

Adélie penguins, like most other species of penguins, are flightless birds.

While they can’t fly, Adélie penguins are excellent swimmers, as well as successful and dedicated long-distance walkers on sea ice. These walks occur during migration and when Adélie penguins walk from feeding trips back to their colonies and/or breeding colony.

The average Adélie penguin walks 1.5mph (2.5km/h) and they can swim 2-4mph (4-8km/h), but to speed up their travels the Adélie penguin, much like other penguin species, are known to toboggan (lay down on their bellies and glide through snow drifts on the ice).

Adélie penguin lifespan

Adélie penguins live an average of 10 to 20 years in their natural habitat.

Predators of the adult Adélie penguins include leopard seals and whales, whereas seabirds and other birds such as giant petrels and skuas are known to take eggs and leave young Adélie penguins vulnerable. Once the penguins mature to adult penguins, they no longer have to fear land predators.

Adélie penguins are bold and fierce, and they are willing to fight animals much larger than themselves by making themselves look bigger and slapping their flippers.

Adelie penguin mating

During breeding season, male Adélie penguins build their nests on sloping breeding grounds so that when the snow melts, the water flows away from their nests. They build their nests out of pebbles they search for and find on dry land and which they roll to their nesting site or carry in their mouths.

Some males are even known to steal rocks from other nests. When the pack ice around their nests hasn’t melted, Adélie penguins might have to walk up to 31 miles (50km) to feed where the waters are ice free.

Breeding pairs tend to return to the same mate and the same nest each year when they can.

Once the nests are ready, female Adélie penguins typically lay two eggs in the nest, and each parent alternates with their mate between incubating the eggs and searching for food. At the beginning of the incubation process, each shift can last from 11 to 14 days and as time goes on the shifts become shorter.

Once the chicks hatch, parents continue taking turns feeding and guarding the Adélie penguin chicks, swapping their role every few days.

When the chicks are 3 weeks old, they can be left alone and the adult Adélie penguins can both leave to collect food. While the parents are gone, the young penguins of the colony huddle closely together for warmth and protection, similar to other species of penguin.

Eventually, the chicks replace their down feathers with adult black feathers and tail feathers and when they reach the age of 7 to 9 weeks, they venture to sea on their own. Most chicks will not return to their breeding colonies until they are capable of breeding, between the ages of 3 to 5.

Meerkat

 Meerkats are catlike carnivores that are part of the civets and mongoose family. They are identified by their long bodies; short, flat ears; and their ability to stand on their back feet. Meerkat coats can be gold, silver, orange or brown with dark patches of fur around the eyes.

Meerkats are small animals, measuring 9.75 to 11.75 inches (25 to 30 centimeters) from head to rump. Their tails add another 7.5 to 9.5 inches (19 to 24 cm) to their length. At less than 2.2 lbs. (1 kilogram), a meerkat weighs about the same as a squirrel. 

Where do meerkats live?

These animals are found in the deserts and grasslands of Africa, including southwestern Botswana, western and southern Namibia, and north and west South Africa. They can also be found in the extreme southwestern areas of Angola and in the lowlands of Lesotho. 

Meerkats live together in big groups. Several meerkat families may live together to form a community called a mob, gang or clan. Such a group can include three to 50 meerkats, according to the Natural History Museum, and the mob’s dominant female leads the group.

Living in intricate tunnel systems underground called burrows, meerkats can stay safe from predators and cool during hot days. One burrow can have as many as 15 entrance and exit holes and can reach up to 6.5 feet (2 meters) deep, according to the San Diego Zoo. Unlike other burrowing creatures, meerkats live in more than one burrow; they keep several in rotation. 

Every morning, meerkats start their day with grooming or lying in the sun. During the rest of the day, they forage for food. One meerkat will watch the group of foragers and alert them if a predator approaches. This sentry is relieved and replaced each hour so that everyone can forage. 

What do meerkats eat?

Though they are considered carnivores, meerkats eat more than just meat. Their diet includes lizards, birds, bugs and fruit, according to the National Geographic. They also like to treat themselves to scorpions. Adult meerkats have some immunity to the venom, so scorpion stingers are no problem. However, instead of allowing pups to learn by trial and error and risk receiving a potentially life-threatening sting, mothers will cut the tail off of a scorpion before feeding the arachnid to her young, according to a 2006 study published in the journal Science.

Baby meerkats

Females give birth to one to eight babies at a time, but it is more common for meerkat mothers to have three to four offspring at a time. The babies, called pups, are born underground, where they are safe from predators. At birth, pups weigh 25 to 36 grams (0.9 to 1.3 ounces), according to the San Diego Zoo. In addition to being small, pups are also blind, deaf and almost hairless.

The whole family, including the father and siblings, pitches in to help raise the new additions. By nine weeks, the pups are weaned, and by one and a half years, the meerkats will be mature enough to have their own offspring. Meerkats live up to eight years in the wild and up to 13 years in zoos.

Classification/taxonomy 

The taxonomy of meerkats, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), is:

Kingdom: Animalia

Subkingdom: Bilateria  

Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia  

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Infraphylum: Gnathostomata  

Superclass: Tetrapoda  

Class: Mammalia 

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Eutheria

Order: Carnivora

Suborder: Feliformia

Family: Herpestidae

Genus & species: Suricata suricatta

Subspecies: Suricata suricatta iona, Suricata suricatta marjoriae, Suricata suricatta suricatta

Conservation status

Meerkats are listed as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species. There are currently no major threats to the animals, and their populations are doing well.

Other facts

Meerkat mothers can nurse their young while standing on their back legs. A dominant meerkat mom will force subordinates to nurse her young for her, according to a 2013 study published in the journal Animal Behavior.

When the pups are old enough, their mother will bring them live bugs and teach them how to kill the prey, according to the journal Science.

Young meerkats are so leery of birds that even airplanes will scare the animals into their burrows.

If the mob decides to move to another burrow, family members and other caretakers will carry pups by the scruff of the neck. 

A membrane covers and protects meerkats’ eyes while they dig.

When two groups of meerkats go to war over territory, they will line up and charge each other, much like human warriors did before modern technology. Meerkat wars can result in many deaths, so the animals try to avoid such conflicts by employing intimidation tactics, according to the San Diego Zoo.

Sloth Bear

The sloth bear is not a sloth at all. It is possible that the bear’s arboreal habits and their long claws led to their original misclassification as sloths in the 1700s. Its body is 5 to 6 feet long, and it has a thick, shaggy coat of fur, which varies in color from auburn to black. Its chest is marked with a distinctive white V, and it has light-colored snout. Males, weighing 175 to 310 pounds, are larger than females, which weigh only 120 to 210 pounds. Its tail is 6 to 7 inches long, the longest in the bear family, and its footprint is very similar to that of a human. Due to the warm climate in which the sloth bear resides, it does not hibernate during the winter, as many northern bear species do.

Habitat

The sloth bear inhabits the tropical lowland forests of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and is sometimes found in tall grasslands that provide dense cover.

Feeding Habits

While sloth bears are true bears, they have a number of unique adaptations to support their primarily insectivorous lifestyle. They have no upper incisors, which allow their long tongue to slip through and suck up insects. This adaptation also allows them to use their lower incisors to scrape away bark from trees to get at the insects below. Their 4-inch-long curved claws are also designed for digging for grubs and tearing apart termite mounds. To prevent termites and ants from crawling into their noses to defend their nests, the sloth bear’s nostrils can close tightly as a barrier. During the dry season, nearly 95 percent of a sloth bear’s diet is insects. However, during the wet season, they will climb high into the branches of trees to gather fruits, flowers and honeycombs.

Reproduction

The gestation of a female sloth bear typically lasts seven months, after which two cubs are born, although the mother will sometimes give birth to one or three young. The newborns stay in their den until they are about 2 or 3 months old and will remain by their mother’s side until at least 2 years of age. Sloth bears will fiercely defend their territories and their young, and despite having “sloth” in their name, the speed at which they can attack is far quicker than the speed at which a human can run away.

Conservation

Many human activities threaten the sloth bears’ survival. Poaching for the bears’ gallbladder, which is used in traditional medicine, is a rampant problem. Habitat loss and fragmentation in the Indian subcontinent are also severe threats, as bears become displaced from their forest homes. Cubs may face risks from predators such as tigers, leopards and wolves, but mothers will viciously defend their young with the aid of their long, sharp claws. The sloth bear’s conservation status is currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Dolphin

Known for their playfulness and intelligence, dolphins live a very interesting life. But how long do dolphins live on average, and what types of dolphins live the longest? Their lifespan varies depending on age and species, but they enjoy life to the fullest. 

In this article, we will discuss some of the longest living dolphins and what their lifespan looks like. We will also talk about the average dolphin life cycle, from birth to old age. Finally, we will discuss some of the oldest living dolphins known to us today. Let’s get started! 

How Long Do Dolphins Live?

Dolphins live an average of 10-20 years in the wild, though they are thought to live much longer in captivity. The average lifespan of a dolphin also depends greatly on the species. For example, bottlenose dolphins live closer to 15 years in the wild on average, while orcas live closer to ten. 

Wild dolphins have very complex lives. They travel nearly 100 miles per day in their pod, and these pods are made up of dozens of dolphins. They travel in larger groups to protect themselves from predators and other enemies, such as sharks. 

For the most part however, dolphins are at the top of their food chain in the ocean. They consume fish daily, and communicate with one another using a variety of clicks and whistles, along with echolocation. Dolphins are known for being extremely intelligent, especially in regards to their social communication and understanding. 

The Average Dolphin Life Cycle

You may be surprised to learn about what life is like for a dolphin as a young calf, and even how things progress for them as they age. Whether they are in the wild or born in captivity, dolphins have a very similar life cycle. Let’s dive in.

Newborn, or Calf 

It takes a mother dolphin 12 months before her calf will be born. Dolphins know how to swim immediately after being born, as they are born in the water and live in the water full time. A baby dolphin or calf will need to feed extensively during its first week of life, often needing its mother’s milk two to four times an hour. 

Young dolphins are taught to swim behind their mother so that they can take advantage of slipstreams in the water. This helps them learn how to become strong swimmers without slowing the rest of the pod down. They will need nutrition from their mother for the first full year of their life, if not longer. 

Adolescent Dolphin

Despite still needing nutrition from their mother’s milk, most dolphins begin to eat crustaceans and other fish starting around the age of 6 months. However, once they approach a year of age, they are playful, strong swimmers, and proper members of their pod.

Dolphins take significantly longer to reach sexual maturity than many other species. It can take the average dolphin 5 to 10 years to reach sexual maturity, with female dolphins maturing faster than male dolphins. 

Adolescent dolphins will continue to grow until they reach sexual maturity, and by that point they will be their full size. The average dolphin in the wild grows to be anywhere between 7 to 8 feet in length and over 300 pounds!

Adult Dolphin

Adult dolphins are polyamorous, meaning they don’t mate for life. They are also one of the few animals that mate for fun, not just for species reproduction. Adult bottlenose dolphins swim an average of 2 miles per hour, unless they are hunting or otherwise swimming quickly. Then, they are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour. 

Many adult dolphins live to see the age of 7 to 10 years old. However, fishing is a huge threat to wild dolphins, and there is much debate as to whether or not captivity is good for dolphins. They are extremely social, and denying them their natural pod or family situation can potentially be harmful for their health. 

Koala

Koala: the koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia.

Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Chordata
Class: | Mammalia
Order: | Diprotodontia
Family: | Phascolarctidae
Genus: | Phascolarctos
Species: | cinereus

There are two subspecies of koalas: adustus, the northern or Queensland koala, and victor, the southern koala.

Size and Weight:

On average, koalas are 2 to 3 feet in height. Southern koalas are typically larger than northern koalas. Northern koalas weigh 9 to 19 pounds and southern koalas weigh 15 to 29 pounds. Males weigh about 50 percent more than females.

Appearance:

Koalas are known for their teddy bear-like appearance. They are often referred to as “koala bears,” but koalas are actually marsupials, not bears. Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals most commonly known for their pouches, which includes wombats and kangaroos.

Koalas are arboreal, or tree-dwelling, marsupials and have a number of adaptations for tree living. Their bodies are lean with long, muscular front and hind limbs and large, sharp claws to help with gripping tree trunks, and rough skin on the bottom of their feet to provide friction good for climbing. The koala has five digits on their front paws, two of which are opposable, which would be like a human having two thumbs. This allows the koala to grip branches as it moves from tree to tree. The koala has thicker fur on its rump, which provides a cushion when sitting on branches.

Diet:

Koalas are folivores or leaf eaters. They primarily eat eucalyptus leaves, but will occasionally branch out to non-eucalypt plant species. They eat approximately a pound of leaves daily and rarely drink water, as they obtain water from their leafy diet.

Eucalyptus leaves are highly toxic to most mammals, but koalas’ digestive systems are specially adapted to detoxify the poisonous chemicals in the leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are high in fiber and low in nutrition, so they take a while to digest. To conserve energy, koalas spend anywhere from 18 to 20 hours of their day sleeping. Koalas are nocturnal and do the vast majority of their eating at night.

Habitat:

The species lives in tall eucalypt forests and low eucalypt woodlands. They also live in coastal and island woodlands.

Geography:

Koalas are native to Australia and are found in the eastern and southern regions of the country. The majority can be found in the four Australian states: South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales.

Breeding:

The koala gestation period is only 34 to 36 days. The joey is born blind, furless, earless and only about an inch long. Immediately after being born, it crawls up from the birth canal into the mother’s pouch. There, the joey attaches to one of two teats. It will not emerge from the pouch for approximately six months. After six to seven months of solely feeding on milk, the joey starts consuming its mother’s protein-rich pap, which inoculates the baby’s gut with the necessary microbes for eucalypt digestion.

At about a year old, the young koala no longer drinks milk or fits in its mother’s pouch. Female koalas do not always reproduce annually, in which case, the yearling joey may stay with its mother longer. Once independent, the joey remains near its mother’s territory before claiming its own. Koalas become sexually mature at around two or three years, but non-alpha males are far less likely to breed successfully.

Social Structure:

Koalas are generally solitary animals and live in well-defined home ranges. Each home range is often controlled by a single alpha male, with a number of females also living inside that area, These females will mate almost exclusively with the dominant male, who will defend his territory against outside males that may move into the area. Females generally want to reproduce with the largest male and rely on male vocalizations to assess the potential mate’s size.

Although home ranges may overlap, koalas are mostly solitary animals that avoid confrontations and interactions whenever possible. When males aren’t bellowing to attract mates, communication through sounds and scents is often meant to alert wandering koalas of their presence and prevent encounters. Males are generally more vocal than females, but females will communicate vocally with their young, and both sexes make a variety of noises when in distress.

Lifespan:

Koalas generally live an average of 13 to 17 years. Females often live longer than males, whose life expectancy is often less than 10 years due to injuries during fights, attacks by dogs and being hit by cars.

Threats:

Habitat loss and climate change are among the largest threats to koalas. Human activity, such as agricultural and urban development, have led to the destruction and fragmentation of koala habitat. They are spending more time on the ground moving from tree to tree. While on the ground, koalas are much more vulnerable to being hit by cars and attacked by predators like dogs. They also have elevated levels of stress, which makes them more prone to diseases like chlamydia.

Increasing evidence links the changing climate to lower to significant koala range contractions in western Queensland and New South Wales. Climate change is linked to reduced nutrient levels in Eucalyptus leaves, rendering them of lower quality. Droughts and extremely high temperatures will likely increase in incidence and severity, which will likely have an impact on koala populations.

From late 2019 to early 2020, deadly wildfires raged throughout parts of Australia, largely as a result of high temperatures and severe drought. Billions of animals are estimated to have died in the fires, including other unique Australian species like wombats and kangaroos. These massive bushfires burned more than 26.4 million acres, including koala habitat. Thousands of koalas as officials estimate up to 30% of their habitat was destroyed by the fires.

Porcupine

 Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) are the third largest members of the rodent family that are covered with spines or quills.

The name ‘porcupine’ comes from Middle French ‘porc d’épine’ meaning ‘thorny pig’. There are, in total, 27 species of porcupine belonging to the families, Erethizontidae or Hystricidae.

Porcupines (like monkeys) are divided into New World (Erethizontidae) and Old World (Hystricidae) porcupines and are quite different from each other and are not closely related.

Porcupine Description

Porcupines vary in size considerably depending on species, however, they generally measure 60 – 90 centimetres (25 – 36 inches) in length (excluding tail which measures 20 – 25 centimetres (8 – 10 inches)) and weigh between 5 – 16 kilograms (12 – 35 pounds). The smallest porcupine is the Rothschilds Porcupine from South America which weighs only 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). The largest porcupine is the African Porcupine which can weigh over 20 kilograms (44 pounds).

Porcupines have rounded bodies covered with many spines or quills and can be grey, brown or white in color. Their spines are modified hairs coated with thick plates of keratin that are used to defend them from predators. The spines usually lie flattened, however, when threats are posed, the spines spring up as a deterrent to predators. Porcupines have blunt muzzles and small eyes and ears. Their legs are short and sturdy and there are 5 toes on each foot with powerful claws at the ends.

Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) are larger and their spines are grouped in clusters whereas New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) are smaller and have their spines attached singly. Spines or quills are about 75 millimetres (3.0 inches) long and 2 millimetres (0.079 inches) wide.

The spines of the New World porcupines have backward facing barbs on the ends that are painful and difficult to remove from skin when embedded. The spines are extremely sharp and will easily detach from the porcupine if touched. Predators have been know to die from being penetrated with a porcupine spine as the barbs are designed to penetrate further into the skin with normal muscle movements.

The porcupines stomach is filled with symbiotic microorganisms (bacteria, fungi (yeasts) and protozoans) which help break down the plants eaten into a usable form. The porcupines stomach is the only area not protected by quills.

Porcupine Habitat

Porcupine habitats range from deserts, forests and grasslands. Some species of New World porcupines live in trees, however, Old World porcupines are exclusively terrestrial (ground dwellers). Some inhabit rocky regions up to 3,500 metres (11,000 feet) high. They can also be found living in rock crevices, hollow logs and small caves.

Porcupine Diet

Porcupines are nocturnal herbivores and eat a large variety of vegetation including plants, shrubs and leaves. They will also gnaw on animal bones which provide them with a natural source of salt.

Porcupine Behaviour

Porcupines have poor vision but have an acute sense of smell. They are very vocal animals and make shrill screeches, whines and low grunts. Porcupines are not territorial animals, however, their home range can be as large as 200 acres. They are very fond of salt licks and sometimes wander into human settlements to find salt sources. They will also gnaw at salt placed down to thaw ice on roads which can lead to death or injury through being knocked by motor vehicles.

Porcupines generally live in family groups of 5 – 6 individuals in complex burrow systems. Some, such as the African Porcupines live in monogamous pairs and form family groups who share the burrows. During the winter, porcupines huddle together for warmth.

Despite their protective exterior, there are some animals that prey upon porcupines. The Fisher (a North American marten) is the most feared predator, however, they are also preyed upon by great horned owls, coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions and wolves. The porcupine will attempt to warn off potential predators by giving out a growl or hiss, stamping its feet, clicking its teeth and vibrating its spines or quills. If this fails, the porcupine will run backwards and ram the attacker which is very affective as the spines face backwards and are more numerous on its rear.

Porcupine Reproduction

Porcupines have no specific breeding season, however, they have only one litter per year. The female initiates courtship by presenting herself to the male and flattening her spines to enable mating to take place. After a gestation period of 112 days (around 3 months), 1 or 4 young are born, depending on species. Before giving birth, the female will line the maternal chamber of the burrow system with grass and leaves to make the nest comfortable.

Young porcupines are called ‘porcupettes’. Porcupettes have no spines or quills at birth but are covered with sensitive, soft bristles. Their eyes open shortly after birth and they are able to leave the nest after one week. Their spines then develop and harden and they are able to consume solid food at 2 – 3 weeks old. Males help with the parental care of the young. Most young porcupines are ready to live on their own at about 2 months of age. They reach maturity when they are 1 – 2 years old. The average life span of a porcupine is 5 to 7 years in the wild and up to 21 years in captivity.

Wombats

 Wombats are marsupials with brown, tan or grey fur and from their stubby tails to their large skulls they can measure 1.3m long and weigh 36kg.

Often described as ‘stout’, ‘sturdy’ or ‘powerful’, they’re expert diggers with short, muscular legs and sharp claws.

They normally waddle but can run at an impressive 40kph. Weirdest wombat fact? They have cube-shaped poo!

Why cubes? Wombats have a very long digestive process that normally takes 14 to 18 days. They have very long digestive tracts, to absorb the most nutrients and water possible, creating scats that are very dry and compacted.

There are three subspecies of the Common or Bare-nosed Wombat (Vombatus Ursinus) – mainland, Tasmanian and Flinders Island.

There are two species of hairy-nosed wombats – the Northern Hairy-nosed (Lasiorhinus krefftii) and Southern Hairy-nosed (Lasiorhinus latifrons). Neither of them have hair on their noses, although there’s short hair in their nostrils.

Where do wombats live?

The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat once had a broad range across the three eastern mainland Australian states. It’s now critically endangered, restricted to only two sites in Queensland (including a recent re-introduction) and is considered one of the rarest mammals in the world.

The Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat is considered Near Threatened and its population is highly fragmented and declining across semi-arid parts of South Australia, with just a few records in Western Australia and NSW.

The Bare-nosed or Common Wombat, once widespread throughout southern Australia, is now found in parts of eastern NSW, Victoria, south-eastern South Australia and Tasmania. The name implies there are a lot around but in truth they’re in decline, although they’re listed by the IUCN as a species of Least Concern.

Wombats live in a variety of habitats – forests, alpine mountains, heathlands and coastal shrublands. The Bare-nosed Wombat prefers wetter forested areas, whereas the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat lives in more arid regions.

Wombat behaviour

All wombat species live in burrows, often creating complex networks with tunnels and chambers that can extend up to 150m in radius.

Wombats excavate these burrows in well-drained soils, often near creeks and gullies. They dig soil with the long claws on their forelegs and push it out with their back legs. They then roll on their sides to dig the walls.

During the breeding season chambers become nests, softened with grass and leaf-litter. Most wombats are solitary but some burrows can house a .en individuals.

Like their relatives, Koalas, they sleep a lot – around 16 hours a day. They’re happy to share burrows, but they’re territorial about feeding grounds. They mark the boundary with scent trails and scats.

Wombats are nocturnal herbivores with fairly poor eyesight – they rely on smell to navigate and find food. Marking their territory with scats is important to avoid conflict. When faced with an intruder, they grunt at the wombat, chase and bite at the ears and rump.

They can travel 3km a night to eat grass, shoots, roots and shrubs (watch some eating take place below). Like beavers, their incisors are continuously growing, so they need to gnaw on hardy material like bark to wear down their teeth.

Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats are particularly well-suited to hot weather: they have a very low metabolic rate (it can take two weeks to digest a meal) and one of the lowest water requirements of any mammal.

As marsupials, female wombats care for their young in pouches on their underside. Like Bandicoots, the pouches open backwards so they don’t fill with soil while digging!

When first born, wombats weigh only one gram. The baby wombat leaves the pouch at about five months old, and can care for itself at seven months. Wombats can live up to 26 years in the wild.

Threats to wombats

In the past, countless wombats were killed for food, and by pastoralists who considered them vermin. All species are now protected across Australia, except in Victoria, where Bare-nosed Wombats are still regarded as an agricultural pest. Permits are required to control their numbers.

Habitat loss and competition for food with introduced herbivores – rabbits, cattle, sheep and goats – are now the biggest threats for wombats. Sarcoptic mange, sometimes spread by foxes and dogs, can also kill entire colonies.

While wombats don’t have many natural predators, they’re eaten by foxes, dingoes, wild-dogs, eagles, and Tasmanian Devils.

Wombats use their tough, thick-skinned rumps as protection: if threatened, they escape to their burrow and can crush a predator’s skull between their rump and the burrow’s roof.

If startled, they can bowl over and deliver a nasty bite to humans. Best to admire these waddling wonders from afar!

Pufferfish

 Pufferfish Creates Beautiful Underwater Designs On Sand To Attract Female Partners During Mating Period

Nature is the first creator while the man copies it. An amazing little pufferfish’s abilities are going to surprise you. The little one carves ornate symmetrical patterns into the sandy floor to attract female partners. Who need to have pick up lines when bae is such an artist! When the phenomena were discovered in 1995, no one could explain it. A team of researchers has been behind this artistic carving only to know it was puffer fish’s mating rituals. It was divers who first noticed the 2-meter-wide circular structures near Japan’s Amami-Oshima Island. Researchers first thought it was a bigger fish which was doing it, they could not believe that a small fish was doing this.

These are aggressive fish that are willing to attack anyone they perceive as a threat. Puffers usually live alone and do not usually share their territory with other fish.

Fighting instincts: These are aggressive fish that are willing to attack anyone they perceive as a threat. Puffers usually live alone and do not usually share their territory with other fish.

Poison spikes: One of the adaptations that helps the pufferfish survive is the ability to produce a poison known as tetrodotoxin. This toxin is secreted across their body, making puffers dangerous to touch and even more dangerous to consume.

Intimidating posture: These fish might look adorable when they’re puffed up, but the truth is that this trait is an intimidating survival mechanism. Few predators will stick around to eat a fish that has suddenly doubled in visual size.

Romantic disposition: Despite their violent attitude towards humans and other predators, pufferfish are actually quite attached to their mates. The male usually helps the female lay her eggs by guiding her through the water and rubbing her side as she gives birth.

Evolution and Origins

The evolution and origins of pufferfish are not well understood. Pufferfish, also known as blowfish, is a group of fish that are known for their unique ability to inflate their bodies into a sphere-like shape as a defense mechanism. This group of fish is found in various regions around the world, including the coasts of Japan, Africa, and the Americas.

The earliest known pufferfish fossils date back to the Eocene epoch, approximately 56 to 33 million years ago. These ancient fossils suggest that pufferfish have existed in their current form for a long time, and have likely undergone little evolution over this time.

Pufferfish belong to the family Tetraodontidae, which is part of the order Tetraodontiformes. This order of fish is characterized by having four large, fused teeth that form a beak-like structure, and is thought to have evolved from ancient, bony fish that lived in the oceans millions of years ago.

Despite the lack of a clear evolutionary history, it is widely believed that the ability of pufferfish to inflate their bodies evolved as a defense mechanism against predators. By inflating their bodies, pufferfish can make themselves too large to be easily swallowed by predators, and can also produce a noxious substance that can deter predators from attacking.

Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of the pufferfish family is Tetraodontidae. This name translates to “four-toothed,” representing the four teeth that typically jut out from the fish’s mouth. These teeth are actually fused with the fish’s jaw, creating the resilience needed to break through hard shells.

Species

There are at least 200 species of pufferfish in existence, which have been classified into 29 genera. Because these are such hardy and resilient fish, it’s easy for them to adapt freely to any environment.

Types of Pufferfish

Some of the most notable types of pufferfish include:

Dwarf puffers

Dwarf puffers: Dwarf puffers, or Carinotetraodon travancoricus, are tiny freshwater pufferfish that are native to the rivers of Southwest India. These fish are popular in aquariums, resulting in severe overfishing that threatens them in particular. Dwarf pufferfish may also be known as peak puffers or pygmy puffers.

Nile puffers: Nile puffers or Tetraodon lineatus are one of the most popular kinds of freshwater pufferfish to keep as a pet. As the name implies, the gorgeous yellow-striped fish are found in the Nile river and throughout Africa.

Takifugu: The genus of pufferfish native to the northwest Pacific Ocean is collectively known as Takifugu; these are the fish that were originally eaten as “fugu.” There are 25 different types of Takifugu, but they are all toxic.

Additional pufferfish include:

Fahaka pufferfish

Dichotomyctere nigroviridis

Blackspotted puffer

Colomesus asellus

Black saddled toby

Tetraodon

White-spotted puffer

Arothron

Torquigener albomaculosus

Sharpnose puffer

Northern puffer

Lagocephalus sceleratus

Longnose puffer

Canthigaster

Lagocephalus

Contusus

Southern puffer

Sphoeroides

Blunthead puffer

Pao

Carinotetraodon irrubesco

Torquigener

Checkered puffer

Bandtail puffer

Guinean puffer

Marilyna

Eotetraodon

Amblyrhynchotes

Appearance

These fish come in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and adaptations. Some puffers are tiny, and others weigh up to 30 pounds. Some of these fish have delicate spines, while others are covered in harsh spikes. However, they all share the same core feature: an air sack that can inflate when the fish feels threatened.

Another feature that almost all of these fish share is the presence of either a sharp beak, a set of teeth, or both. Pufferfish use their beaks and teeth to break apart shellfish; they also use them to aggress against other fish and various types of predators. Even babies are capable of seriously injuring anything that drifts by.

Aside from these features, they actually have rather distinct forms and faces. Takifugu looks completely different from Nile puffers, and pygmy puffers are far smaller than any of the other members of their species.

Distribution, Population, and Habitat

These fish can be found in all of the warm regions of the world. Whether they prefer saltwater or freshwater, most types like to live in secluded areas with plenty of covers. This typically means coral reefs, reed-covered marshes, and anywhere else where water and vegetation coincide.

Because they are not fished as a source of food, there have been no official counts of the population. Although the majority of pufferfish are labeled as least concern, nearly all types of Takifugu are considered to be near threatened. The most vulnerable types are those that are used as either exotic food or exotic pets.

Predators and Prey

These fish are predators and are known for being rather aggressive in fighting other fish off their territories. Pufferfish attack with their sharp hooked beaks, which are normally used for shelling mussels, crabs, and other shellfish.

Because they are covered in poisonous spikes, they have no real natural predators except sharks, which typically do not mind the presence of the poison.

Reproduction and Lifespan

The mating cycle is well-suited to this fish’s name. After two pufferfish have courted each other, the male pushed the female to a safe place along the shore. There, she lays her clutch of eggs, which are light enough to float on the surface of the water. The couple will likely remain in the area until the eggs are hatched.

Pufferfish eggs hatch within a week after they are laid. The baby pufferfish are usually too small to see, but they will grow quickly over the following months. A fully grown pufferfish can weigh as much as 30 pounds.

Hippopotamus

The hippopotamus is one of the most powerful animals on the planet. Hippos are the third-largest land animals and are native to Africa. When many of us think of hippos, we imagine a big gray blob hanging out in the water and relaxing in the sun. However, you might be surprised to find out that hippos are actually far more interesting than we may have initially assumed. 

The hippopotamus is a semi-aquatic mammal native to Africa. It is one of only two species in the Hippopotamidae family, the other being the common or river hippo and the pygmy hippo. The river hippo is the larger of the two, with the majority of its population situated in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The common hippo, along with the elephant and rhinoceros, is one of the largest creatures on the globe. A full-grown male can weigh up to 7,000 pounds. A female hippo will typically weigh around 3,000 pounds.

Hippos live in rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps, where territorial males rule over stretches of water and herds of five to thirty cows and calves. While you will almost always encounter hippos in the water, they actually cannot swim or float. However, hippos can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes. That’s ample time to wander along the lake and riverbed bottoms. Often, only their eyes will be visible, but they will always stay in shallow water during their time in rivers and lakes.

How Long Do Hippos Live?

The average hippo’s lifespan is 40-50 years. Donna the hippo was once one of the oldest captive hippos. She died in 2012, at the age of 61, at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana, in the United States. Bertha, the oldest known hippo, has lived at the Manila Zoo in the Philippines since it opened in 1959. Her age was reported to be 65 when she died in 2017.

As we can see, the lifespan of hippos greatly increases when they are living in captivity in comparison to life in the wild. This is because, in captivity, they don’t have to deal with as many external threats or forage for their food. With all of this knowledge on the hippo lifespan, let’s jump into their amazing life cycle. 

The Average Hippo Life Cycle 

Birth

The hippo’s gestation period is around eight months. Baby hippos weigh between 25 and 50 kg  (55 and 110 lbs) when they are born in the water. To take their first breath, they must swim to the surface. The mother usually only gives birth to one calf. However, they can give birth to twins sometimes. At about three weeks, hippos will finally stop nursing and begin to eat grass. Soon after giving birth, the mother and child join hippo schools that offer some protection from crocodiles, lions, and hyenas.

Calves

Hippo calves will never stray far from their mothers. They may feed and even play all on their own. However, they will still always come back to their mother. In fact, hippos do not leave their mothers until they are completely mature, which is around the age of 7-8 years. When the baby hippos are old enough, their mother will teach them to swim. Baby hippos can only stay underwater for a half minute. Mother hippos must safeguard their offspring from male hippos as well. Grown males do not attack the babies on land, but they will attack and frequently kill newborn hippos in the water.

Adulthood 

As the babies grow into adults, the females are ready to mate as young as three or four years old, but usually not until they are five or six years old. Males develop more slowly and are ready to breed at around 7.5 years old. This is the age when they will finally leave their mother. Boy hippos frequently find a flock of hippos that has just lost its leader and take over as the group’s leader. The girls, on the other hand, will join their mate pack. 

Factors That Impact The Hippo Lifespan 

The Hippopotamus population has been falling over the previous ten years for a number of causes. Though the IUCN Red Categorize does not list these animals as endangered, pygmy hippos are considered endangered, while common hippos are classed as vulnerable. According to the IUCN, between 115,000 and 130,000 common hippos are left in the wild.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest factors that impact the hippo’s lifespan:

Hunting: Hippo poaching for their ivory canine teeth and flesh is one of the most serious threats to their existence. Both species have large lower canine incisors, which attract illicit hunting and trapping in addition to their meat. Humans eat both the common and pygmy hippos and use their skins to make jewelry and other goods.

Habitat loss: Large-scale construction near wetland regions, as well as water diversion for agricultural uses, have resulted in severe habitat loss for hippos. In order to keep its hide moist, the amphibious common hippo needs access to a permanent body of water. When droughts and development obliterate rivers and lakes, it faces additional obstacles.

Human conflicts: Every year, hundreds of hippos are killed to reduce human-wildlife conflict. The destruction of wetlands and woods to make way for farming and houses often forces both species to graze on human-occupied lands. To protect their land, farmers have been known to kill hippos.