• Interesting Facts about Amphibians (3)
• Interesting Facts about Birds (22)
• Interesting Facts about Fishes (9)
• Interesting Facts about Mammals (48)
• Interesting Facts about Reptiles (16)

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Meerkats

Carnivores Civets(family-Viverridae) The 76species of civets including linsangs, genets and binturongs belong to theviverridae family, while mangoose, meerkats, suricats and fossas arecategorized under Herpestidae family. The viverrids are the species ofCarnivores, which resemble a combination of cat (felid) and stoat (mustelid).They are, however, more primitive and have a longer snout and extra teeth. Viverridsare found from Southern Europe, across Africa to southern Asia,in forest, desert and savanna. They are mainly terrestrial, but some are goodclimbers. The Binturong is almost wholly arboreal, while the otter and genetsare semiaquatic. Civets and genets tend to have spots in longitudinal rowsalong their bodies for camouflage, while the mongoose species are either plainor striped. Meerkats:     Meerkats, which belong to Herpestidaefamily are used to Standing Tall in face of danger. They watch their enemy verycarefully, and quietly while standing in a group formation, and on their toesto the tallest possible height their bodies can reach. Therefore, tunneled intothe strange social life you will often come across meerkats, often consideredthe beloved carnivores of African desert in this multimedia feature. Meerkatscan also take on a dangerous snake like ‘puff adder’ that encroaches on theirterritory. Thus the mob of meerkats rule and survive, even against the threatof an approaching ‘Puff Adder’.

Monk Seals

DESCRIPTION: Monk seals belong to the pinnipedfamily Phocidae (true seals). Seals differ from sea lions (eared seals) in anumber of ways, including having shorter, stouter flippers, and no visibleearflaps. Monk seals tend to be dark brown to grayish brown on the dorsal sideand lighter yellow to whitish ventrally. Pups of both species are blackish incolor. Monk seals, along with bearded seals, are the only phocids that have twopairs of abdominal mammae. SIZE: Mediterranean monk seals can measure up to 2.8 m, with no sizedifference between males and females. Hawaiian monk seal adult males areslightly smaller than females. Newborn Mediterranean pups average lengths of 85-110 cm (33-43 in.) while Hawaiian monkseal pups may be 1 mlong at birth. Mature male Hawaiian monk seals may reachmaximum lengths of 2.1 m.Hawaiian monk seal adult females maymeasure as much as 2.4 m. WEIGHT: Adult Mediterranean monk seals can weigh240-400 kgand pups of both species weigh as much as 16-18 kg.Adult Hawaiian monk seal males can weigh up to 230 kg.Hawaiian monk seal adult females mayweigh as much as 270 kg. FUN FACTS: There are two living species of monkseals: Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) and Mediterranean monk seal(Monachus monachus). A third species, the Caribbeanmonk seal (Monachus tropicalis) is believed to be extinct-no individuals havebeen observed since the early 1950s. Scientists believe Hawaiian monk sealsto be "living fossils". The anatomy, behavior and physiology of thisspecies of monk seal is only slightly different from monk seals that rangedalong the eastern coast of the UnitedStates 14-16 million years ago. Mediterranean monk seals are one of theleast social pinnipeds when they are on shore, but may be more social in thewater. These are considered one of the most critically endangered species ofmammal in the world.  Tigersharks often prey upon Hawaiian monk seals as evidenced by shark bite woundspresent on many monk seals. Other shark predators include gray reef andwhite-tipped reef sharks. Predation by sharks possibly helps explain why femaleHawaiian monk seals seem to prefer beach sites adjacent to shallow water onwhich to give birth and raise their pups.

Narwhal

DESCRIPTION:  Narwhals are perhaps best known fortheir tusks-they are the only whales that have them. The tusk is an extremelyelongated, hollow tooth, which always spirals counter-clockwise from the leftside of the skull. It can measure 2.5-2.7 m long. Most narwhals havejust one tusk, but narwhals with two tusks have been reported. Almostexclusively seen in males, there are only scattered reports of femalesdeveloping a tusk. Narwhals have no other visible teeth in their jaws. Like thebeluga whales, narwhals lack a dorsal fin and instead have a dorsal ridge.Mature narwhals tend to have a black and white spotted coloration the dorsalregion of their body, while older narwhals may be almost completely white.Narwhal calves typically are a blotchy gray.Males tend to grow larger than females. SIZE:   Newborn calves average 1.6 m in length.Male -  Minus the tusk, adult male narwhals measure upto 5 m long,Females are smaller, with a size up to 4 m in length. WEIGHT: At birth, calves can weigh as much as 80 kg. Mature males weigh up to 1,600 kg,Adult females can reach a weight of upto 900 kg FUN FACTS: Narwhals are toothed whales in thefamily Monodontidae, which they share with just one other species - the belugawhale. Some theorize that males"joust" with their tusks or use them to poke their way through icefloes or even to skewer prey. These theories are unlikely. If the tusk weredamaged, it could lead to severe infections and death for the narwhal. The tuskprobably serves as a secondary sexual characteristic for males, indicatingwhich males are older and more mature. Contrary to common belief, narwhals donot spear fish with their tusks, but instead suck prey into their mouth andthen swallow it whole.  Narwhalstravel farther north than perhaps any other whale species. They are welladapted for life in frigid water, with blubber accounting for up to 35% oftheir body weight for insulation.

Panda Bears

InterestingFacts about Panda Bears: Pandas arealmost becoming extinct. They are endangered because people are cutting downthe bamboo that pandas eat to make farms. Pandas caneat more than 10,000kilograms of bamboo a day. The motherpanda can only take care of the baby panda for half a year (6 months). Peoplecan’t tell if a baby panda is a girl or a boy for four years. The motherpanda only has one baby every two years. Pandas haveblack on their eyes. Pandas livein Chinaon the mountainsides. If all thebamboo is covered in snow the pandas will eat little mice or uncovered leaves. Pandas arepink when they are born. Pandamothers nurse their babies. Pandas are mammals. Pandas areblack and white. The GiantPanda is found exclusively in Chinawhere it inhabits mountain forests that are dense with bamboo and conifers.They thrive in altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet in cold,damp forest. Which makes them accustomed to torrential rains and dense mistthroughout the year. Their habitat exists in only 6 small areas of inland China. There arethought to be less than 1,000 individuals in the wild. There areabout 110 pandas in captivity, mainly  inChina.There are seven in the United States- Zoo Atlanta, and The National Zoo eachhave a pair. The pair in San Diegoalso have a small cub. There are three females at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. There arealso pandas in Japan, Spain, Germany,France and South Korea. Theirnumbers are deceasing due to dwindling habitat and their poor reproductivecapabilities, both in the wild and in captivity. The averageGiant Panda consumes between 20 and 40 lbs of food per day. They can spend up to 16hours eating. These black-and-whitebears eat primarily bamboo although they also have been known to eat otherplants, fish, pika and other small rodents.

Panther

FUN FACTS: Very agile and muscular. Has been knownto jump 5.5 metersfrom the ground into trees. A capable but somewhat reluctantswimmer. Most acute sense is sight. Hearing alsovery good. Sense of smell not considered to be very well developed. Hunts by stalking. Frequently leaps onthe back of prey sometimes after a brief chase. Kill frequency averages onedeer every 3 days for females with large cubs, as compared to one deer every 16days for a single adult. Vocalize by making growls, hisses andbirdlike whistles, and infrequently loud screams. The function of the scream isnot known. Youngare born with spotted coats that fade by about 6 months. At that time they areable to make their own kills, but remain with their mothers for several moremonths up to a year. Litter mates may stay together for 2-3 months after that.

Peccaries

DESCRIPTION: Coat is coarse and bristled, with apronounced mane of longer hairs running along the middorsal region from crownto hindquarters. Body form is quite pig-like with longer, slimmer legs. Additionally,the snout is more elongate than that of a domestic pig. SIZE: Head and body length = 750-1,112 mm Tail length= 15-102 mm Shoulderheight = 440-690 mm WEIGHT: 14-50 kg; depending on species FUN FACTS: Peccaries are highly social animals -often scent-marking one another as well as physical territory. When feeling threatened, Pecari willclash its canine teeth together as a warning. Pecari has been recorded sprinting up to35 km/hr. Pecari's sense of smell is so good thatit is capable of detecting bulbs 5-8cm below the soil's surface. Pecari, if wounded or threatened, mayattack as entire herd. The herd can consist of up to 50 members. Tayassumay form herds of several hundred individuals.

Polar Bears

Polar Bearshave hair (fur) on the bottom pads of their feet to keep them warm and to helpthem grip icy surfaces. The hollow, thick hairs of the polar bear's waterprooffur coat hold in the body heat and are buoyant, which helps the animal floateasier in water.   Mostmammals have a fur coat with two distinct layers; an undercoat of shorter densehair and an outer coat of longer stiffer hairs

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Raccoon

Interesting FactsAbout Raccoons: The recordlife span for a captive raccoon is 21 years Raccoonswill over-eat when nursing. Babyraccoons are called kits Accordingto the sioux, february has a “raccoon moon” Raccoonscan easily unlock doors Theheaviest raccoon recorded was 62pounds. Thescientific name for raccoon is procyon lotor The raccoonis one of the primary rabies carriers. There is afish called “raccoon butterfly fish” The sonyplaystation game Resident Evil 2 takes place in Raccoon City,but it has nothing to do with raccoons at all. Beavis andButthead once caught a raccoon when they went couch fishing. Raccoonshave a keen sense of touch. There maybe as many as 8,000 raccoons living in large cities. Raccoonsnever den more than 1,200feet from a permanent water The nameraccoon is derived from the indian name Aroughcun. The ShirtTails raccoon is named Rick Raccoonrhymes with baboon. If you givea raccoon a sugar cube, it will first try to clean it (as raccoons clean alltheir food before eating it). It will wash it and wash it until the sugar cubefinally dissolves to nothing

Rhino

Rhino dooccur in Botswana, howeverup until October 2001 only in the Khama Rhino Sanctuary in south-eastern Botswana. Recordsindicate that white rhino became extinct in what is now the Chobe Nationalbetween 1880 and 1890. After numerous restocking exercises in 1988 the WhiteRhino population in the ChobeNational Park wasestimated at 100. Up until 1985 white rhino were still being seen at Savute.After a spate of severepoaching in the late 80's and early 90's all remaining rhino were moved to thesanctuary where the Botswana Defence Force was able to protect them. In orderstop poaching within the country, any poacher was sentenced to death. In October2001 four white rhino were re-released into the Moremi Game Reserve on Chiefs Island.Should this release prove to be successful the government will considerreleasing more rhino next year.

Sea Otters

DESCRIPTION: In appearance, sea otters are stouterand have larger ribcages, smaller tails and blunter muzzles than other speciesof otters. Yet, sea otters do possess the fine, dense fur coats characteristicof the Mustelidae. Their forefeet are small and dexterous with retractile clawsand the flipper-like hind feet are broad and webbed. Juvenile sea otters tendto be a uniform dark-cinnamon brown while adults develop lighter gray or buffcoloration on their heads.In general, mature male sea otters tend to beslightly larger than females of their respective subspecies. SIZE: Alaskan sea otters are slightly larger than California sea otters. Male Alaskan sea otters reach lengths up to 148 cm and male California sea ottersaverage 122 cm. Female Alaskan sea otters measure up to 140 cm in length FUN FACTS: The sea otter's dark brown fur is thefinest and densest of any animal fur. On an adult animal, there are anestimated 650,000 hairs per square inch. A sea otter relies on its fur to keepwarm-it doesn't have an insulating layer of blubber as other marine mammals do.Natural oils in a sea otter's fur repel water and trap tiny air bubbles,providing a layer of warm air between the otter's skin and the harsh elementsof its environment. Sea otters may spend as much as 48% of the daylight hoursgrooming their fur. Sea otters sleep, rest, and usuallyswim by paddling with their hindflippers on their backs. Californiasea otters spend almost all of their time in the water, while Alaska sea otters often sleep, groom, andnurse their young on land. Tooluse is an unusual behavioral trait seen only in sea otters and a few othertypes of animals. An otter may remove an abalone by repeatedly hitting it witha rock. It also may use a flat rock to break open the shells of crustaceans andmollusks. While holding the rock on its chest, the otter pounds the animal onthe rock until it breaks or opens.

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