Aye Aye

Considered by locals as a harbinger of misfortune, the Aye-aye is one of the world’s most rare and bizarre looking primates. To the Malagasy people, the aye-aye is magical, and believed to bring death to the village it appears in; therefore they’re often killed on sight. The aye-aye is the world’s largest nocturnal primate with an average head and body length of 16 inches (40 centimeters), a long bushy tail of 2 feet (61 centimeters) long, and weighs about 4 pounds (2 kilos). The Aye-aye has large beady eyes, black hair, and large spoon-shaped ears. It has 5-fingered hands with flat nails, with a middle finger up to 3 times the length of the others.

The Frilled Lizard

The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingi) is a yellowish-brown australian lizard has got a large frill of skin to the sides of the neck and throat. It is about 90 cm/35 in long, and when is angry or alarmed, it erects its frill, which may be as much as 25cm/10 in in diameter, thus giving itself the appearance of being larger than it really is. Frilled lizards are generally tree-living but may spend some time on the ground, where they run with their forelimbs in the air.

Leaf-Tailed Gecko

The Giant leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus) is endemic to Madagascar and the islands Nosy Bohara and Nosy Mangabe. These geckos live in tropical rain forests and reach a total length of 330 mm. A large nocturnal gecko, by day it plasters it self to a small tree trunk and rests head down. If disturbed it will raise it tail and head, open its mouth and scream… and call his mom.

The Naked Mole Rat

The Naked Mole Rat has little hair (hence the common name) and wrinkled pink or yellowish skin. The naked mole rat is also of interest because it is extraordinarily long-lived for a rodent of its size (up to 28 years). The secret of their longevity is debated, but is thought to be related to the fact that they can shut down their metabolism during hard times, and so prevent oxidative damage.

Striking Bright Green Snake

Commonly known as Gumprecht’s green pit viper, is found in the Southeast Asian region of Greater Mekong.

Star-Nosed Mole

One of the most intriguing stars in the universe is right here on Earth: the eleven pairs of pink fleshy appendages ringing the snout of the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata). His star is an extraordinary touch organ with more than 25,000 minute sensory receptors, called Eimer’s organs, with which this hamster-sized mole feels its way around.

Puss Caterpillar

The inch-long Puss Caterpillar is generously coated in long, luxuriant hair-like setae, making it resemble a tiny Persian cat. The ‘fur’ of the larva contains venomous spines that cause extremely painful reactions in human skin upon contact. The reactions are sometimes localized to the affected area but are often very severe, radiating up a limb and causing burning, swelling, nausea, headache, abdominal distress, rashes, blisters, and sometimes chest pain, numbness, or difficulty breathing (Eagleman 2008). Additionally, it is not unusual to find sweating from the welts or hives at the site of the sting. M. opercularis can be found on oaks, elms, citrus and other trees, and many garden plants such as roses and ivy. It is distributed throughout the southern United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America. The larva does not spin a real cocoon, rather, it separates from its furry skin and uses it as a protective covering while it pupates.

Snakefish

Snakefish can be up to over a metre in length and over 6 kilograms in weight. Most snakefish are 2-3 feet long. Some describe snakefish as having a voracious appetite, often consuming all other fish in a lake or pond and even eating its young. It can slither across land, staying out of water for up to three days, to find new sources of food. Norton also warns that once on land snakeheads can eat almost any small animal in its path. They have even attacked people in China who got too close to snakehead egg nesting areas.

Giant Isopod

This Terminator look-alike is a Giant Isopod (Bathynomus giganteus), a carnivorous crustacean that spends its time scavenging the deep ocean floor, up to 6,000ft down on the seabed where there is no light. In the pitch black and cold, they survive by feasting on dead and decaying fish and other marine animals.

Kerivoula Kachinensis

Another of the species found in one of the world’s last scientifically unexplored regions, Asia’s Greater Mekong, the Kerivoula Kachinensis is one of the most disturbing bats ever found.

This is Robo-Croc.

He’s built with a pair of metal rods that run down his face, and over forty screws are bolted to his head holding his jaw and skull together.

Surgeons were forced to construct the biotechnological terror now known as Robo-Croc after a car crushed his formerly ordinary-but-endangered crocodile head last year. He hasn’t eaten in three months. They’re hoping that by reinforcing his snout and reconstructing his head and face with a similar texture, they can get him to eat again.

After I installed a new HDD and upgraded my RAM …

I checked the computer to see if it crashes while playing solitaire for 10 minutes … I don’t want the computer to crash right before I publish my new post … and yeah ….

Muwhahahahahaahahaha … it’s working

I can finally post about my cat nap and have breakfast

History of Distribution:

The Ethiopian wolf is endemic to Ethiopia. It was reported from most Ethiopian provinces in the 19th century. It has been rare since it was first recorded by science. By the late 1970′s it was thought to survive in only four populations – in the Simien Mountains and northeastern Shoa in the north, and in the Bale Mountains and the Arussi Mountains in the south. In the early 1990′s it was still reported from those areas plus Mt. Guna in the Gondar region of the north of Ethiopia and the Somkaro mountains in the south. The Ethiopian wolf currently is confined to seven isolated subpopulations in different mountain ranges of the Ethiopian highlands, at altitudes of 3,000 – 4,500 m (10,000 – 15,000′). In the northern highlands wolves are restricted to land above 3,500 – 3,800 m (11,000 – 12,000′) by increasing agricultural pressure. Wolf populations occur north of the Rift Valley in the Simien Mountains, Mount Guna, North Wollo and South Wollo highlands, and Menz. Southeast of the Rift Valley there are populations in the Arsi (formerly “Arussi”) Mountains and in the Bale Mountains. More than half of the species’ population lives in the Bale Mountains.

Each of the Ethiopian wolf’s habitat “islands” is surrounded by agricultural land occupied by farmers and their livestock. Associated domestic dogs either live in wolf habitat or make incursions into it and are the most likely reservoir of diseases that Ethiopian wolves could contract.

IUCN Status:

• 1970′s – 1994: Endangered
• 1996 – 2003: Critically Endangered
• 2004: Endangered

Population Estimates:

[Note: Figures given are for wild populations only.]

WORLD (Ethiopia)

• 1978: 500 in four populations
• 1983: 390 – 515 “plus a few”
• 1990: Under 1000
• 1992: 340 – 520 adults
• 1994: 500 adults
• 1997: 400 adults
• 2000: Fewer than 500 adults
• 2004: At least 442

Bale Mountains (Ethiopia)

• 1976: 350 – 475
• 1986: 700
• 1988: 450 – 600
• 1990: 440 – 470
• 1992: 205 – 270
• 1994-5: 100 – 150
• 2000: 200 – 250
• 2004: 250

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

Continuous loss of habitat due to high-altitude subsistence agriculture represents the major current threat to the Ethiopian wolf. Sixty percent of all land above 3,200 m (10,000′) has been converted into farmland, and all Ethiopian wolf populations below 3,700 m (12,000′) are particularly vulnerable to further habitat loss. Habitat loss is exacerbated by overgrazing of highland pastures by domestic livestock, and in some areas habitat is threatened by proposed development of commercial sheep farms and roads. Hybridization of the Ethiopian wolf with domestic dogs could threaten the genetic integrity of the Ethiopian wolf population, but hybridization is currently confined to one valley in western Bale.

In the late 1980′s, domestic dogs were recognized as a threat because they compete with the Ethiopian wolf for food; transmit diseases (such as rabies and canine distemper) and mate with the Ethiopian wolf, thereby hybridizing the species. The dogs are used by local pastoralists to protect their herds from hyenas. The dogs are irregularly fed and roam the highlands freely. They may be the most immediate threat faced by the Ethiopian wolf in Bale Mountains National Park, home of its largest remaining population.

Size and Weight:

The head and body length of an Ethiopian wolf is about 1 m (3.3′). Female Ethiopian wolves average 12.8 kg (11.2 – 14.2 kg) (average 28.2 lb (24.6 – 31.2 lb)); males average 16.2 kg (14.0 – 19.3 kg) (average 35.6 lb (30.8 – 42.5 lb)).

Habitat:

The Ethiopian wolf is confined to isolated pockets of alpine grasslands and heathlands above 3,000 m (10,000′) in Ethiopia, where they prey on rodents, such the giant mole rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus). Rodent biomass varies several-fold between different habitats, and the abundance of these prey is closely correlated with that of the wolves. Suitable habitats extend from above the tree-line at about 3,200 m (10,500′) up to 4,500 m (14,000′), with some wolves present in montane grasslands at 3,000 m (10,000′). However, subsistence agriculture extends up to 3,500 – 3,800 m (11,500′ – 12,500′) in many areas, restricting wolves to higher ranges. Wolves appear to utilize all available habitats, but they prefer open areas with short (less than 24 cm (10″) high) herbaceous and grassland communities where rodents are most abundant, along flat or gently sloping areas with deep soils and poor drainage in parts. Rainfall at high altitude varies between 1 – 2 m/year (3.3 – 6.6′/year), with one pronounced dry period from December to February/March.

The Ethiopian wolf lives in both the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot as well as in the Ethiopian Highlands Global 200 Ecoregion.

Age to Maturity:

Both sexes mature during their second year.

Gestation Period:

Approximately 60 days.

Birth Season:

In the Bale Mountains, mating generally occurs between August and November, with pups born 2 months later.

Birth Rate:

2 – 6 pups per litter.
Females breed no more than once a year. Only about 60% of dominant females breed successfully each year.
Generation time: mean: 4.5 years, range: 3 – 8 years

Early Development:

Development of the young is divisible into three stages: 1) early nesting (week 1 to week 4), when the young are entirely dependent on milk; 2) mixed nutritional dependency (week 5 to week 10), when milk is supplemented by solid foods regurgitated by all pack members until pups are completely weaned; and 3) post-weaning dependency (week 10 to 6 months), when the pups subsist almost entirely on solid foods supplied by helpers.

Dispersal:

Dispersal movements are tightly constrained by the scarcity of suitable unoccupied habitat. Males do not disperse; two-thirds of the females disperse at two years of age and become “floaters”, occupying narrow ranges between pack territories until a breeding vacancy becomes available. Breeding females typically are replaced after death by a resident daughter. This results in a high potential for inbreeding which may be circumvented via inter-pack mating.

Diet:

Analysis of fecal samples in one study revealed that rodents account for 96% of all prey (Sillero-Zubiri & Macdonald 1997). The endemic giant mole rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus) is the main food item. Other prey includes grass rats and hares. In the alpine meadows of Bale Mountain National Park, rodent biomass was estimated at 3 – 4000 kg/sq km (27 – 36 lb/acre)

Behavior:

Ethiopian wolves are diurnal; peaks of foraging activity suggest that they synchronize their activity with that of rodents above the ground. Digging prey out is common. Kills are often cached and later retrieved. Although the Ethiopian wolf is a pre-eminent rodent hunter on its own, it can also be a cooperative hunter. Occasionally, small packs have been seen chasing and killing young antelopes, lambs, and hares. Wolves congregate for social greetings and border patrols at dawn, noon and evenings, and rest together at night, in the open. They break up to forage individually in the morning and early afternoon. In Bale, there is little nocturnal activity, with wolves seldom moving far from their evening resting site. They may become more crepuscular and nocturnal where human interference is severe.

Pups are born in a den dug by the female in open ground, under a boulder or inside a rocky crevice. Pups are regularly shifted between dens, up to 1300 m (4300′) apart. Dens usually consist of a much-used system of burrows beneath a rock overhang or cliffs; other burrows located in a flat, grassy area have several entrances, possibly interconnected.

Social Organization:

Although Ethiopian wolves live in packs that share and defend an exclusive territory, for the most part they forage and feed alone on small rodent prey. This is in contrast to the general tendency in larger carnivores for species that live in groups to hunt cooperatively. In optimal habitat, packs include 3 – 13 adults and, on average, are comprised of 6 adults, 1 – 6 yearlings, and 1 – 7 pups. A typical pack is an extended family group formed by all males born into the pack during consecutive years and 1 – 2 females.

During the breeding season, social gatherings among different packs are more common and take place next to the den. The interactions are highly vocal and always end with the smaller group fleeing from the larger. Home range overlap and aggressive encounters between neighboring packs are highest during the mating season. Courtship may take place between adult members of a pack or with members of neighboring packs. Mate preference within a pack is shown, with the female discouraging attempts from all but the pack’s dominant male. In contrast, she is receptive to any visiting male from a neighboring pack. Up to 70% of matings involve males from outside the pack. All pack members guard the den, chase potential predators, and regurgitate or carry rodent prey to feed the pups. Subordinate females may assist the dominant female in suckling the pups

Age and Gender Distribution:

In optimal habitat, pack adult sex ratio was biased toward males by a ratio of 2.6:1. In an area of lower prey productivity, the adult sex ratio was 1:1.
Of all adult males in a population, 31% are alpha males and thus reproductive individuals. Some adult males who are subordinate at a particular time may be able to reproduce subsequently, either by replacing the alpha male or by mating outside of the pack. Of all adult females in a population, 57% are alpha females and thus reproduce. Of the subordinate adult females, some may be able to reproduce in their lifetime.

Density and Range:

The highest population density was perhaps 2 individuals/sq km (5.2 individuals/sq mi).

In the Bale Mountains, wolf density is high for a social carnivore of its size and is positively correlated with density of rodent prey and negatively with vegetation height. Highest wolf densities are found in short alpine herbaceous communities (1.0 – 1.2 adults/sq km (2.6 – 3.1 adults/sq mi)). Lower densities are found in dwarf scrub (0.2 adults/sq km (0.5 adults/sq mi)), and in heathlands and barren peaks (0.1 adults/sq km (0.3 adults/sq mi)). Wolves are also present at low density (0.1 –0.2/sq km (0.3 – 0.6 /sq mi)) in montane grasslands at lower altitudes. Elsewhere, overall wolf density is relatively lower. In Menz, wolf density was estimated at 0.2/sq km (0.6/sq mi).

Annual home ranges of eight packs in optimal habitat monitored for four years averaged 6.4 sq km (2.5 sq mi), and home ranges in an area of lower prey biomass averaged 13.4 sq km (5.2 sq mi), with some overlap between home ranges. An additional 4 – 7% of the population was composed of non-resident females, inhabiting larger ranges (average 11.1 sq km (4.3 sq mi)). Home ranges of neighboring packs were largely discrete, forming a mosaic of packs occupying all available habitat. Pack home ranges were stable in time, shifting only during major pack readjustment after the disappearance of a pack or significant demographic changes.

The Ethiopian wolf has a bright chestnut-colored coat, bushy tail, pointed ears, slender snout, and long legs. It weighs 11 – 19 kg (24 – 42 lb). It is a localized endemic species and is confined to isolated pockets of grasslands and heathlands. The Ethiopian wolf is found above 3000 m (10,000′). It prefers areas with short vegetation less than 0.24 m (10″) high. Rodents account for more than 90% of its prey. The giant mole rat is the main food item; other prey includes grass rats and hares. The Ethiopian wolf is mostly diurnal, but it can be nocturnal in areas where it is persecuted. Dens usually consist of a system of burrows beneath a rock overhang or cliffs. Caching prey and scavenged material in shallow holes is common.

Although Ethiopian wolves live in packs that share and defend an exclusive territory, for the most part they forage and feed alone on small rodent prey. This is in contrast to the general tendency in larger carnivores for species that live in groups to hunt cooperatively. In optimal habitat, packs include 3 – 13 adults and, on average, are comprised of 6 adults, 1 – 6 yearlings, and 1 – 7 pups. A typical pack is an extended family group formed by all males born into the pack during consecutive years and 1 – 2 females. All pack members participate in the defense and marking of the territory, and parents and sub-adult helpers contribute to the rearing of pups.

The Ethiopian wolf is endemic to Ethiopia. It was reported from most provinces in Ethiopia in the 19th century. By the 1970′s it had declined considerably. The Ethiopian wolf currently is confined to seven isolated subpopulations in different mountain ranges of the Ethiopian highlands. Wolf populations occur north of the Rift Valley in the Simien Mountains, Mount Guna, North Wollo and South Wollo highlands, and Menz. Southeast of the Rift Valley there are populations in the Arsi (formerly “Arussi”) Mountains and in the Bale Mountains. More than half of the species’ population lives in the Bale Mountains.

Continuous loss of habitat due to high-altitude subsistence agriculture represents the major current threat to the Ethiopian wolf. Sixty percent of all land above 3,200 m (10,000′) has been converted into farmland, and all Ethiopian wolf populations below 3,700 m (12,000′) are particularly vulnerable to further habitat loss. Habitat loss is exacerbated by overgrazing of highland pastures by domestic livestock, and in some areas habitat is threatened by proposed development of commercial sheep farms and roads. Hybridization of the Ethiopian wolf with domestic dogs could threaten the genetic integrity of the Ethiopian wolf population, but hybridization is currently confined to one valley in western Bale.

The red wolf was formerly abundant over the southeastern USA as far west as east-central Texas. By the 1930′s it had been extirpated east of the Mississippi River. By the 1960′s only small populations remained in the coastal areas of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. In the middle 1970′s, all remaining wild animals were captured and a captive breeding program was initiated to help preserve the species. The species was extinct in the wild by 1980. Red wolves raised in the captive breeding program, starting with 17 red wolves captured in Texas and Louisiana, were re-introduced into eastern North Carolina in 1987. The current re-introduced population of red wolves occupies an area of roughly 6000 sq km (2300 sq mi) on the peninsula in eastern North Carolina between Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. This area is comprised of 60% private land and 40% public land and contains three national wildlife refuges.

From 1991 – 1998 a second re-introduction project was conducted at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. However, the project was terminated, mainly due to a high pup mortality, which was suspected to be caused by disease, predation, malnutrition, and parasites.

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

Reasons for its decline included hunting, poisoning and trapping (because it was perceived as a threat to livestock, and possibly to people), habitat disruption, and competition and hybridization with the coyote.

Hybridization with coyotes, which became well established in northeastern North Carolina during the 1990s, is the primary threat to the current wild species’ existence.

IUCN Status:

• 1960′s – 1994: Endangered
• 1996 – 2003: Critically Endangered (Criteria: D) (IUCN 2003a)
• 2004: Critically Endangered (Criteria: D) (Population Trend: Increasing) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the Red Wolf Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in re-introduced populations in the USA. May occur in Canada. (IUCN 2004)

Population Estimates:

[Note: Figures given are for wild populations only. After 1990, all populations are re-introduced.]

WORLD (USA)

• First half of the 1900′s: Perhaps numbering in the hundreds of thousands
• 1973: 100
• 1980 – 1987: 0
• 1990: 8
• 1993: 46 – 60
• 2002: At least 100
• 2004: Less than 150

Size and Weight:

Head and body length: 1 – 1.2 m (3.25 – 4′); weight: 18 – 41 kg (40 – 90 lb)

Habitat:

Given their wide historical distribution, red wolves probably utilized a large suite of habitat types at one time. The last naturally occurring population utilized coastal prairie marshes. However, this environment probably does not typify preferred red wolf habitat. There is evidence that the species was found in highest numbers in the once extensive bottomland river forests and swamps of the southeastern USA. Red wolves re-introduced into northeastern North Carolina have utilized habitat types ranging from agricultural lands to forest/wetland mosaics characterized by an overstory of pine and an understory of evergreen shrubs. This suggests that red wolves are habitat generalists and can thrive in most settings where prey populations are adequate and persecution by humans is slight.

Age to Maturity:

22 – 46 months, occasionally 10 months.

Gestation Period:

61 – 63 days.

Birth Season:

Mating occurs from January – April; young are born in the spring.

Birth Rate:

1 – 11 cubs per litter; the average is 6. There is one litter per year.

Early Development:

Weaning occurs at 8 – 10 weeks.

Maximum Age:

Up to 13 years in the wild, 16 years in captivity.

Diet:

In the past, the red wolf had been reported to eat animals up to the size of small deer, including pigs; raccoons; muskrats, nutria, and other rodents; and rabbits. It will also eat carrion.

Analysis of scat of the current, re-introduced wild population of red wolves indicates that white-tailed deer, raccoon and marsh rabbits are primary year-round food items and account for approximately 90% of the weight of food consumed by these wolves. Although some of the deer were probably eaten as carrion, wolf predation of apparently healthy deer has been documented.

Behavior:

Red wolf cubs are born in dens, which can be located in the trunks of hollow trees, stream banks or sand knolls. The dens are either excavated by the wolves or taken over from another animal. The red wolf is primarily nocturnal, but it may increase its daytime activity during the winter. It hunts over a relatively small part of its home range for about 7 – 10 days and then shifts to another area.

Social Organization:

The red wolf is a pack-living animal with a complex social organization, similar to that of the gray wolf. Packs are primarily family groups led by a mated, territorial pair.

Mortality and Survival:

Few individuals survive more than 4 years in the wild. Survival of re-introduced adults through 1993 was about 50% after 3 years

Density and Range:

Home range in southeast Texas was variously reported: 1) to average 44 sq km (17 sq mi) for 7 individuals; 2) to cover 65 – 130 sq km (25 – 50 sq mi) over 1 – 2 years; and 3) to average 78 sq km (30 sq mi) for females and 116.5 sq km (53 sq mi) for males.

The size of home ranges of red wolves in the re-introduced population varied according to habitat. In forested areas consisting of pine/hardwood swamps in various stages of succession, the home range of one pack that included 11 different wolves was about 100 sq km (40 sq mi). In agricultural areas consisting of planted fields interspersed among early to mid-successional fallow fields and pine/hardwood stands, the home ranges of eight lone wolves and four packs involving 30 different wolves measured about 50 sq km (20 sq mi).

In the past, the red wolf had been reported to eat animals up to the size of small deer, including pigs; raccoons; muskrats, nutria, and other rodents; and rabbits. It will also eat carrion. Analysis of scat of the current, re-introduced wild population of red wolves indicates that white-tailed deer, raccoon and marsh rabbits are primary year-round food items. Red wolf cubs are born in dens, which can be located in the trunks of hollow trees, stream banks or sand knolls. The dens are either excavated by the wolves or taken over from another animal. The red wolf is primarily nocturnal, but it may increase its daytime activity during the winter. The red wolf is a pack-living animal with a complex social organization, similar to that of the gray wolf. Packs are primarily family groups led by a mated, territorial pair.
The red wolf’s historic range is now thought not only to have included the southeastern USA but also to have extended further north into the northeastern USA and extreme eastern Canada. The red wolf was formerly abundant over the southeastern USA as far west as east-central Texas. By the 1930′s it had been extirpated east of the Mississippi. By the 1960′s only small populations remained in the coastal areas of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. In the middle 1970′s, all remaining wild animals were captured and a captive breeding program was initiated. The species was extinct in the wild by 1980. Red wolves raised in the captive breeding program were re-introduced into eastern North Carolina in 1987. Presently, red wolves exist only in a re-introduced population in an area of roughly 6000 sq km (2300 sq mi) on the peninsula in eastern North Carolina between Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.

Reasons for the red wolf’s decline included hunting, poisoning and trapping (because it was perceived as a threat to livestock, and possibly to people), habitat disruption, and competition and hybridization with the coyote. Hybridization with coyotes, which became well established in northeastern North Carolina during the 1990s, is the primary threat to the current wild species’ existence.