2015 Mother's Day Special

Since today is Mother's Day, I will go ahead and tell you some interesting facts about different species and how they raise their young.


The first species today will be the Emu, a large flightless bird from Australia.

As you can see in the image, Emu eggs are fairly large and a dark green color. But did you know that they start out light in coloration? They actually get darker as they incubate. Another interesting fact is that the females don't have anything to do with the young. They lay the eggs in a nest built by the male, then leave to do their own thing. It is actually the males who incubate and raise the young!

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/emu

The next animal is a chicken! Yes, you read that right. 

Chickens are very dedicated mothers. And as is known to even take on another species' young entirely!

Have you ever heard that eggshells are pure calcium? You would be correct! The hen needs to eat a lot of calcium-rich food to keep it up. Did you know that if she doesn't eat enough, her body will actually dissolve her own bones to produce the shells? Talk about dedication!

The next animal is fairly well known. The cuckoo!

These birds usually don't even take care of their young at all! The female will go about, laying her eggs in other birds' nests. This leaves her with time to feed herself and not worry about young.

There are some pretty unique moms out there!

This Week's Featured Animal! 5/10 - 5/16

This week's featured animal was a little hard to choose. But I finally settled for one. The cheetah. After all, Wildlife Safari is getting a lot of publicity and excitement after their newest addition, Pancake, was born about 8 weeks ago.

An image of Pancake

Photo ©2015 Peggy A. Rowe-Snyder

Cheetahs are carnivores, and are healthiest in captivity when fed a diet of raw carcasses. They aren't very big compared to some of the better known large cats. They are smaller than cougars! They can purr, chirp, and meow. But they are incapable of roaring, due to a difference in their throats from a lion or tiger. Unlike the lion or tiger, they are capable of purring while breathing in and out, like a domestic housecat.

These guys can live 10-12 years in the wild, and are about 77 - 143 pounds. They are considered Vulnerable on the ICUN Red List. These guys, at top speed, can go about 60 mph. They can go from 0 to that speed in less than three seconds, but they can't keep that speed for very long. Otherwise, they get overheated.

Cheetahs are most active during the day, and have excellent eyesight for daytime hunting. HOwever, their vision is not the best at night. They are also at risk of being killed by larger predators such as lions or hyenas if they are active at night. They also usually eat their kills very fast, so that there isn't as much for other predators to steal. Their kills are stolen very often by scavengers or even other predators. Only about half of their hunts are successful, and last 20-60 seconds.

Cheetahs only really need to drink once every 3-4 days, compared to the many times we humans have to drink. Litters consist generally of 2-3 cubs, and will stay with their mother for up to 2 and 1/2 years! Almost all of that time is spent learning, with the 1st year also having lots of playtime. After leaving their mother, male cheetahs will often live in groups with their littermates until they are older and more confident. Pregnancy will generally last about 3 months.

In 1900, there were over 100000 cheetahs living in the range that they used to live. Now, there are about 9000-12000 cheetahs in the wild. There is a small population of 200 cheetahs, in small groups, scattered throughout Iran.  

Sources:

• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/cheetah/
• http://www.defenders.org/cheetah/basic-facts

This Week's Featured Animal! 5/3 - 5/9

I thought that this time I would feature an animal that is a little closer to home. This week's featured animal is the cockatiel!

These tiny birds are about twice the size of the budgie, or the parakeet that you buy from stores. These guys come from Australia, by the way. 

They are the smallest in the cockatoo family too. One of the biggest bits of proof of that are their mobile crests. They generally live 12-20 years, and are considered to be fairly good pets overall for adults. 

They aren't really considered to be very noisy, only really making noise when excited. The males have bright orange spots on their cheeks, while females and juveniles will have duller orange spots. Females and juveniles also have barring on their tail feathers.

Males are generally better at imitation than females, and also tend to be louder. Females tend to be a bit more aggressive than males, and lose interest in mirrors faster. If you have only one cockatiel, it will bond better with you. But if you are often away from home, it is better to have a pair. Whether or not it is one of each gender or same sex pair is up to you, both versions will get along just fine.

They are considered to be of least concern on the ICUN red list.

Sources:

• http://www.cockatiel.com/
• http://beautyofbirds.com/cockatielinfo.htm
  

This Week's Featured Animal! 4/26 - 5/2

So I have noticed a lot of news articles about animals of this species making an escape from their pastures. So I decided that this week's featured animal will be: The American Bison

We do have some bison at Wildlife Safari. 

Anyways. Bison bison, or the American Bison, is native to North America. They can live 12-20 years on average. You don't even want to know how heavy they get, other than really, really heavy. These guys have fur coats so thick, that snow doesn't even melt when it lands on them. Talk about good insulation! Now I know why the natives used these guys for bedding.

They are considered Near Threatened by the ICUN Red List, as opposed to how it used to be (Critically Endangered). For the most part, these guys stay in fairly small family groups. But they congregate into the huge herds that they are famous for during the summer, which is mating season. 

Males will fight each other for mating rights. Females are only fertile during a 2-3 day period, which is only the one time for the entire mating season. So if a male doesn't find her, she doesn't get pregnant. If a male does find her, then a calf will be born about 9 months later. 

They used to  be far more numerous, before white settlers came. Afterwards, they were slowly killed off until there were only a few hundred in the world, most of which were in captivity. But thanks to conservation programs, they are back to a healthy population and staying that way. While they likely won't be at the same numbers as they used to be, they are doing a lot better now. 

sources:

• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/american-bison/
• http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/classify/2815/0

2015 Earth Day Special

So everyone is probably celebrating Earth Day. So I might as well post a special post on Earth Day. On an Endangered Amphibian.

Axolotl

Ambystoma mexicanum

So these guys live in Central Mexico. But, unfortunately, there aren't very many of them. They capture less than 100 individuals from the wild population when trying to get an idea of how many there are, and the population numbers are decreasing each year. 

They need deep water to live in, with lots of plants to lay eggs on. They never leave the water, nor do they go through a complete metamorphosis. They can live 10-15 years in the wild, and can get up to a foot long. They are often studied by scientists, because they have the ability to regenerate lost limbs. 

• Sources: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/classify/1095/0
• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/axolotl/

Boas VS. Pythons

Do you know what a boa is, or a python? If not, you are about to find out. Boas, and pythons, are snakes. They are not venomous. Instead, they are constrictors. That is, they squeeze their prey to kill them. Every time the prey takes a breath, they squeeze harder. The animal can't breath, blood pressure is getting ridiculously high, and eventually their hearts practically explode from the blood pressure. Not a very pleasant way to die.

First up, we have boas. These guys are generally New World snakes. They also tend to get a bit longer, though they aren't the longest snakes in the world. They are found more in Central America and South America than North America. We have some examples of these guys, in the form of Red Tailed Boas, at Wildlife Safari. We also have an Amazon Tree Boa as well. Off display, Village has a Rainbow Boa as well, and she is gorgeous.

Next up are pythons. These guys are Old World, more seen in Africa than anywhere else. Weight wise, they tend to be bigger. We don't have many examples of this side as I personally would like, but whatever. One of the examples that we have is a Royal, or Ball Python. J.R. would be that example. 

Turtles VS. Tortoises

Do you have any idea how often people get turtles, tortoises, and terrapins confused? Pretty often, actually. It drives zookeepers crazy with frustration, so I am going to go ahead and explain some of these differences to you.

So first a definition. What is exactly a turtle, tortoise, and terrapin? Well, a turtle is technically what you find in the oceans. Like this leatherback sea turtle! Leatherbacks are considered an endangered species. Turtles are generally omnivores, eating seaweed and jellies for the most part. They can get fairly large, and their shells are usually more flat. They live in either salt or fresh water.

Then we have tortoises. These guys are utterly adorable, in my opinion. While turtles get fairly big, tortoises really vary in size. You have the smallest, at the Speckled Tortoise, which aren't even 1/2 of a pound heavy when adults! They are teeny tiny!

But then you have the biggest tortoise, which is the Galapagos Giant Tortoise. Unfortunately, those guys are on the verge of extinction. But there still might be some salvation: about 100 hatchlings had recently been discovered. They can get to be 4 feet across their shell, and over 450 lbs! That is a big tortoise. All tortoises have more of a domed shell, and are strictly herbivores. They can't swim, either. If you put them in water, they will sink like a rock. 

Finally, we have terrapins. These guys tend to stay fairly small, but you have the occasional exception. Terrapins prefer to live in brackish water. That is, the water has too much salt to be fresh water, but not enough salt to be ocean. They vary in diet, like turtles. Many of the turtles that you can buy as pets are actually terrapins. 

Sources: Click on links, mainly. I also used National Geographic as a source. The ICUN Red List is also a great source, if you know how to read their fancy stuff.