This Week's Featured Animal! 6/21 - 6/27

This week's featured animal is a little smaller than the ones that I had been doing before. They are itty bitty, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. They are often kept as pets, and a little on the pokey side. They also tend to look very grumpy half of the time. What are they? African Pygmy Hedgehogs!

As their name suggests, these small mammals are native to Africa. But thanks to the pet trade, they are now found worldwide. They usually weigh between 1 and 1.5 pounds, so they are extremely light. The spines on their back don't have barbs, which is very lucky. Another cool fact about those spines is that they are actually the hedgehog's hair! 

This species is unique in that it has four toes on its hind legs, and five on the front. While these guys do have a decent ability to see things, they tend to rely more on smell and sound to get around. They live around 2-3 years in the wild, but can live up to 10 years in captivity. Needless to say, their lifespan doubles or more in captivity. 

These hedgehogs can begin breeding at about 2 months of age, and gestation will last about 35 days. Around 6-8 young are born with each pregnancy. They are nocturnal creatures, and actually pretty solitary normally. Much like other hedgehogs, these guys can roll up into a ball if they feel threatened. 

These guys are insectivores, which means that they like to eat bugs. They have even been known to eat poisonous spiders and scorpions with no ill effects! Now if only humans had that ability... While they are fairly quiet for the most part, they can make a wide variety of sounds. Hisses, chirps, growl, and even scream! 

Hardly anyone has an allergic reaction to hedgehogs, and they are virtually odorless. They are fairly clean animals, and can be trained to use a litter box. 

Sources:

• http://www.factzoo.com/mammals/african-pygmy-hedgehog.html
• http://animal-world.com/encyclo/critters/hedgehog/hedgehog.php

This Week's Featured Animal! 6/14 - 6/20

This week's animal isn't endangered, nor is it exotic to those that live in the Pacific Northwest. If anything, it is a fairly common animal, often found in rural areas munching on people's gardens and otherwise being a pest. Hunted for sport, the head and ornaments that are attached becoming trophies to hang on the wall. What is it? The black tailed deer!

As their name suggests, these deer have black tails... Or at least, mostly black tails. They are actually one of 9 species of mule deer, in all truth though. They were first found and recorded as a species when Lewis and Clark went on their famous expedition into the Northwest.

Unlike most mule deer species, these guys don't really migrate. They usually just stay in one general area. The only thing that can displace them is usually a forest fire or the like. Does of this species usually weigh about 130 lbs, while as bucks can weigh up to 200 lbs. I guess that there are some humans can outweigh them. But do not underestimate their strength.

Only the males have antlers, and will begin growing them for the first time around 6-8 months old. After that, the antlers will get bigger year after year. In 4-5 years, they will be at full size. That means that they won't really get any bigger in terms of how wide the antlers are, but will continue to add branches and forks as they get older.

This species prefers to live in wooded areas, and as previously stated will more or less stay in the same place. They like to eat acorns, berries, fungi, grasses, lichen, nuts, shrubs and woody growth. Being ungulates, they have about 4 stomachs. That means that like cows, they can regurgitate cud and chew their food all over again. Personally, I find it gross. But it works for them.

The mating season usually lasts through November and some of December. Does prefer males with large antlers, and the males will fight to establish dominance and mating rights. Fawns will arrive in late May or early June, weighing in at about 6-8 pounds. Twins are pretty common, but young females will usually only have one. The males take no part in child-rearing, leaving the moms up to it. 

There is one huge problem with fawns though. Usually a mom seeks seclusion before giving birth, to help avoid predators for her newborns. For the first few weeks of life, the fawn is mostly left all alone except for feeding time. People come across these fawns and think that they are abandoned, and need help. MORE LIKELY THAN NOT, YOU ARE WRONG. DO NOT TAKE YOUNG FAWNS THAT YOU FIND. LEAVE THEM ALONE. There are rare cases where you need to take it in, but do not keep it as a pet. If you find a fawn that is cold, weak, thin, or injured, keep an eye on it. If mom does not return to it within eight hours, it might be orphaned and need your help. If this is the case, call a rehabilitation center that is in your area. DO NOT TRY TO RAISE IT YOURSELF. DO NOT KEEP IT AS A PET. Little known, but it is actually illegal unless you have a permit.Wildlife Safari actually has the result of one of those illegal pet deer. 

Meet Snowball. Yes, she is indeed a black tailed deer. A genetic mutation caused her unique coloration, along with short legs and severe arthritis. But she is on pain meds. Someone, while walking, had found her as a fawn. Assuming that she was abandoned or orphaned, they took her home.

They raised Snowball as a pet, collar and everything. But one day, a neighbor complained about Snowball for one reason or another. The moment the police/animal control found out, she was taken away. She couldn't be released into the wild, she was too tame for that by this point, and would not survive.

The owners fought in court to get her back. But they did not have the permit, and they couldn't get one. So they lost the case, and Snowball had to find a new home.

Wildlife Safari offered to take her in, and we now have her in the Petting Zoo area of Village. Snowball loves attention, especially chin scratches. But even so, she is just one of hundreds, if not thousands of fawns taken from the wild because of confused or ignorant humans. Think about how their mothers must feel! For those who are moms, how would you like it if your perfectly healthy baby was taken away? Especially if you later found out that it was because of ignorance, and someone thought that they were abandoned or orphaned?

So remember, leave fawns alone unless they show obvious signs of distress (See above, before Snowball's Story).

Sources:

• http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/health/rehabilitation/deer_fawns.html
• http://animals.mom.me/blacktailed-deer-6477.html
• http://www.nhm.org/site/explore-exhibits/permanent-exhibits/north-american-mammals/black-tailed-deer

This Week's Featured Animal! 6/7 - 613

This week's featured animal is a bird. A bird of prey. This week's tiny animal is the flammulated owl!

These guys are the only owl in the Scops owl family that can be found in North America. They are called the flammulated owl because they have a flame colored and shaped marking on their wings. They are even smaller than Kotori (see Meet the Animals), at 5.9 - 6.7 inches tall!

These guys generally prefer insects for food, simply because they aren't big enough to eat much else. Very rarely do they eat shrews or other small rodents. When they call, they sound like a much larger owl that is calling in the distance.

These guys prefer to nest in tree cavities, but will also use a nesting box on occasion. Individuals will often use the same nesting site year after year, laying between 2-4 creamy white eggs. These eggs are incubated for 21-24 days before hatching into tiny fuzzballs.

They are considered to be of Least Concern to the ICUN Red List, which is very nice. They used to be considered rare, but a recent census showed that they are actually one of the most common owls in forests. These guys can be hard to locate from their calling, though. The way that they hoot makes it difficult to figure out where it is coming from, and they hoot even softer when they see a human. That makes them sound even farther away!

Sources: 

• http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Flammulated_Owl/sounds
• http://www.owlinstitute.org/flammulated-owl.html

Animal of the Week 5/31-6/6

I'm sorry that this is a little late guys. But here is the next animal of the week!

The Red Lored Amazon

To start things off, let's take a look at where these guys come from. Red lored amazons are native to Central and South America. They are actually one of the most common pet parrots in the US, but are considered endangered in some of their range. The biggest threat to them is being captured for the pet trade.

These guys like to nest in tree cavities, and lay 3-4 eggs in a clutch. These eggs are white, and are incubated for about 26 days. When hatchlings are taken from the nest for the pet trade, they are usually between a few hours to a few days old. If they are left in the nest, then they leave the nest to live on their own about 60 days after hatching.

They eat a variety of fruits and nuts, with seeds thrown in as well. In captivity, they also get fresh veggies and sometimes cooked beans as well.

These parrots can be quite noisy, and live for up to 75 years. Like most other parrots, they chew a lot as well. That means that if you get one of these birds as a pet, do not expect to have pristine wood furniture anymore. Or any pristine furniture, for that matter. You can also expect your clothing to get more holes, and some remodeling of your house via beak to be done as well.

They are also known as Yellow-Cheek amazons, but are only one among about 50 species of amazons. Christopher Columbus was the first one to call these guys amazons, which was the name of the bird he brought back from the New World.

Sources

• http://rosamondgiffordzoo.org/assets/uploads/animals/pdf/Red-loredAmazonParrot.pdf
• http://www.beautyofbirds.com/redloredamazon.html
• http://www.parrots.org/index.php/encyclopedia/wildstatus/red_lored_amazon/