Spectacled Flying Foxes

The Spectacled Flying Fox
Pteropus conspicillatus

To drink, these flying foxes skim over pools of water, but due to this they are sometimes snapped up by hungry crocodiles. 

Looks:

The spectacled flying fox is a large nocturnal bat, all black with golden fur around its eyes and a fluffy chestnut-coloured chest. It has great eyesight and no need for echolocation, as with all fruit bats.

Habitat:

These bats choose to make their homes mostly in australian rainforests, setting up camp in trees and other thick vegetation.

Feeding:

Spectacled flying foxes feed on fruit, seeds, pollen and nectar.

Breeding:

The mating season occurs between March and May. Babies bats are born to the females in October and early December—usually females give birth to one pup every year.

The spectacled flying fox’s predators include owls such as the rufus owl, and the paralysis tick, which may be picked up from the ground when the bat flies low.

Arabian Camels

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There are two types of camel, the dromedary (Arabian camel, such as the one in this post, with one hump) and the Bactrian (with two humps).

Interesting Facts:

Camels are able to go for many, many days with little — or no —food or water. They can even go thirsty for weeks!

Did you know camels, using their fat-storing humps, can travel up to 100 desert miles (that’s 161 kilometers) without water?

Camels can drink up to 135 litres of water in one sitting! (fourteen minutes)

Looks

Camels are large mammals with long, curving necks and long legs. Their most distinguishing feature is the lump on their backs, called a ‘hump,’ which is not used for storing water (as many people falsely believe) but instead, fat. Many people traveling through the desert choose camels for their preferred transport, because their long eyelashes, sealable nostrils and ability to store water for a long time in their three stomachs make them the perfect sand vehicle. Camels use their wide-spread, flat-toed feet to balance on top of the sand, and their thick coats protect them from driving sand.

Feeding

Camels’ parted lips make it easy to munch the small desert plants and cacti that make up their diets.  However, if they get hungry enough, they will eat many surprising things, such as leather, fish, bones, and even their owner’s tent!

Also, the lining of their mouth is so tough and thick that thorns cannot hurt them if they gobble up a thorny twig. 

Camels don’t sweat often, either, and the water that saves can be conserved for a long, long time. Their urine is as thick as syrup, too, because all the fluid in camel’s bodies are being used for its survival. All in all, camels are the ultimate desert contraption.

History

These camels have been used for transport for about 3,500 years. They can bear large loads on their back, for up to 25 miles (or 40 kilometers) a day! People’s wealth is sometimes judged on how many camels they own.

In the present day, most camels are domestic animals, trained for carrying loads across the desert, but there are still feral camels wandering the dunes in America, Queensland, and other places in Australia today.

Habitat

Arabian camels have been brought to Australia, but they are usually found in southwestern Asia and northern Africa.

Breeding

Female camels’ gestation period is about nine to eleven months, and usually have one baby (called a calf) at a time. A year after their birth, the baby camels are weaned.

Baird's Tapirs

Tapirus bairdii

Fossil remains show that today’s tapirs are very similar to the prehistoric versions that lived in the forests more than 25 million years ago!

Looks

Tapirs, closely related to rhinos, look like pigs, with a small tail, large head and a strong, sturdy body. They can weigh up to 250 kg. (That’s as heavy as four human adults!)

When the Baird's tapir is attacked by its species’ main rival, the jaguar, it does the heroic thing—biting and kicking, then dashing off fast into the undergrowth.

The Baird’s tapir has a short bristly mane down its neck, and lives from Mexico down to northern South America. Like hippos, it enjoys swimming, and usually sticks close to the water.

Habitat

Tapirs make their homes mostly in woods and forests, traveling through the thick undergrowth using the well-trampled and worn paths which have been used by many tapirs to move through the forest. They are mainly nocturnal, but can be found out in the forest at all times.

These tapirs are solitary animals—however, they can be found in feeding groups with other tapirs. Mother and young often stay together as well.

Breeding

The incubation, or gestation, period is up to 390-400 days. The young are patterned with white stripes and spots to blend in with the shade of the forest. Once born, they are weaned after one year.

Feeding

Baird’s tapirs’ diets consist of leaves and berries, which they snatch from trees and bushes with their long elephant-like nose. They are herbivores.

They are listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the endangered chart, and are in danger of becoming extinct. This is mostly due to human hunting and habitat loss.

Pandas

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Due to farming, pandas are very rare.


Feeding 
Pandas eat bamboo stalks, buds and leaves. They also like to eat grass, tubers, and yams. They will even eat rodents and birds! They eat by holding the bamboo with their ‘thumb’ while they munch on the hard stalks. 


Breeding 
When baby pandas are very young, they have not grown their black patches yet. They are small, pink, and helpless. Adult pandas have woolly fur that keeps them warm in cold weather. Female pandas breed once a year. They are ready to mate when they are around 4 to 6 years old. Panda cubs stay around their mums until they are about two years old. 


Looks 
Pandas are black and white, with wide paws and a round body. They have a short snout and short, thick legs. Their ears are small and rounded, and they have black patches of fur over their eyes. 


Habitat 
Pandas live in China, in the mountains where bamboo grows. But sadly, their habitat is being destroyed, so they are endangered. They live usually by themselves, wandering through the forest. Each panda has some marked territory. 


Lifespan 
Pandas live up to 20 years at most in the wild, but about 30 years in captivity.

Tigers

Tigers belong in the same family as your pussycat. 

Feeding

Tigers eat mostly wild boar and deer, though sometimes they hunt bigger animals, like elephant calves! Tigers stalk their prey by creeping quietly forward so the animal doesn’t hear them, then pouncing.

Breeding

Female tigers have cubs when they are about four or three. Their den is a cave or clump of bushes. Baby tigers follow their mothers for up to 3 years, then depart to look for their own place to live.  

Looks

Tigers are the biggest feline in the cat family. They are red-orange with black stripes and a white ruff around their face. There are also white tigers in the world; pure white with dark stripes. ‘Golden tabby tigers’ can be seen, but they are very rare. ‘Golden tabby tigers’ or ‘Strawberry tigers’ are golden with white underbelly and legs. Because of tiger hunters, tigers are extremely endangered.

Habitat

Bengal tigers are found in India. They like grasslands and swamps, as well as rainforest. Tigers’ stripes blend in with the grass. Strangely, Tigers love to swim. 

Lifespan

Tigers can live up to 26 years in captivity, though they don’t survive for very long in the wild. 

Arctic Foxes

Feeding

Arctic foxes eat small rodents. They also eat birds, and sometimes a few fish. When prey is hard to find in winter, they will eat the scraps that polar bears leave after they hunt.

Breeding

Arctic foxes have a litter of about 14 pups in spring. The father helps to raise them as well as the mother fox. The cubs are a brown-grey colour when they are first young, but when they age the brown fur drops away to be replaced with white.

Looks

Arctic foxes are usually white to blend in with their surroundings. They live in a snow-covered part of the world, so they need fur on their pads to grip the slippery ground. They can live in FREEZING temperatures! They nest in burrows that they dig in the ground. Their coats change to match the seasons: in winter their fur is snow-white, but in summer they are brownish-grey so they can hide among the rocks and grass.

Habitat

Arctic foxes live in the arctic, as their name suggests. The days are cold and snowy, so it is quite hard to find food. Luckily they have a thick coat and incredible hearing.

Nocturnalism

Arctic foxes are mostly up in the evening and early morning, but they are often seen out of their burrows in daytime.

Lifespan

These foxes can live up to 15 years, but sometimes they only live 3 years! :(

River Otters

Otters are mammals. They are mainly active at night, but they like to sun themselves in the daytime.

Feeding

River otters’ main food is fish, which they hunt using their underwater swimming skills. They eat by lying on their backs on top of the water and holding the food in place with their front paws. River otters eat crabs as well, plus other seafood.

Breeding

River otters have their babies in the springtime. Newborn otters are blind. They stay in their den until they are a month old. They learn to swim a bit earlier. Baby river otters are ready to live by themselves when they are about one year old.

Habitat

River otters live along rivers, streams, or lakes. They can swim very well, using their webbed feet to paddle and their tails to steer. This species of otter can stay under the water for about four minutes, but they breathe air. They spend most of their lives in water, but they also journey on land to find a mate.

Looks

Otters belong to a family that includes badgers and skunks. They have short, smooth fur which is almost always wet! Otters have large black noses, long whiskers and a thick, furry tail.

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Lifespan

Wild River otters live 10 years, but they may reach 16 years in captivity.

Cats

Cats are small, furry mammals and are very popular house pets.


Feeding

House cats now eat just cat food, but there are also wild cats. They eat small animals such as rabbits, squirrels, mice, and birds.

Habitat

Cats used to live in the wild in forests, alleys, woods, and sometimes were found sneaking around in parks after dark. Most cats live in houses, though some have escaped humans and still live freely. 

Breeding

Once the male and female have mated, the female finds a safe, dark, and quiet spot to have her kittens, so their ears and eyes won’t be hurt by bright light or loud noise. The mother usually takes care of her kittens alone, while the father brings her food. 

Looks

Cats have agile bodies and retractible claws. They have sharp teeth that they use to trap, kill and eat prey. They can see in the dark. This is because while they are in the light, cats store it in their irises so their eyes shine in the dark. 

They can have long or short fur, and there are millions of different breeds, such as the curly-coated Rex cat, the Tortoiseshell, the haughty-looking Persian, and so on. They have large, pointed ears for pin-pointing prey in the wild. Cats can even be thought to be sleeping, when they’re actually listening to everything you say!

Cats can smell extraordinarily well. They have long, silky tails, except for the stumpy-tailed Minx.

Lifespan

Cats can live about 12 or 15 years.


Here is a link to an awesome movie about wildcats! 

Squirrels

Feeding

Squirrels eat nuts and berries, though some species eat small birds, snakes, or mammals. In the early spring, squirrels are hungrier than usual, so they eat a lot of buds. Squirrels have four long teeth that never stop growing, to make sure they don’t wear down too much when they gnaw hard nuts. 

Tree-dwelling squirrels are more solitary than ground-dwelling squirrels.

Breeding

Squirrels breed normally once or twice a year after three or six weeks, differing between the species. Baby squirrels are born blind, toothless and helpless. Squirrels are mature at one year old.

Nocturnalism

Ground and tree squirrels are normally most active during the day. Flying squirrels are usually nocturnal. But sometimes flying squirrels go through a period of also being awake and about in daytime. 

Habitat

Squirrels live in deserts and rainforests, but they don’t much like really dry deserts or very cold areas. They do not like the high mountainous areas, but are happy with scampering about in the trees of a forest, park, or wilderness. Squirrels are very common. They have soft pads on their paws, and their front legs are smaller and shorter than their strong back legs, which are used to jump from branch to branch.

Looks

Squirrels are usually just bigger than mice or rats. Some are really small, and some are named after their gigantic size: giant squirrels!

Squirrels have short, soft fur and a long, bushy tail. They sometimes have stripes down their sides, and they can be lots of different colours, like gray or brown. 

Squirrels are closely related to marmots.