Sand Cat (Felis margarita)

Blurb from the Author: Look at that fluffy little face! Don’t let it fool you these guys are known as expert venomous snake killers. These guys are tough, with standing temperatures up to 126 degrees F! I think they deserved the spot as my last species of the week. I hope you all were able to learn about a really cool new species! 🙂

Lifespan: ~13 years

Population Size: ~27,264 individuals

Geographical Location: They reside in the aird, dry desert climates of North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia.

Diet: They are carnivores and eat prey like hares, birds, rodents, reptiles, insects, and snakes.

Size: 3-7.5lbs, 18-22.5 inches long

Conservation Status: least concern

Predators: Their predators include humans, snakes, jackals, owls, and dogs.

Reproduction: Interestingly, their mating season depends on the area in which they reside. (January-April (Sahara), April (Turkmenistan) & September- October (Pakistan)) Their gestation period lasts 59-63 days and they produce 2-8 kittens.

Communication: They communicate vocally through typical cats sounds (meowing, hissing and growling) as well as high pitched barking when looking for a mate. They also scent mark and claw/scratch different woody matter.

• Fun Facts:
• The dense fur on the bottom of their feet help to prevent burns from the sand
• They also do not leave footprints in the sand due to the dense fur on their paws
• They hide any leftover food that they have in the sand
• They can survive without water for a couple of months (they get water from the food they consume)
• They are very good at digging
• They are solitary (besides during the breeding season)
• They can run up to 25 mph
• They have excellent hearing and detect their prey by listening for the vibrations that they create
• They sometimes close their eyes at night to avoid being spotted by predators.
• Female cat name: Queen
• Male cat name: Tomcat
• They are nocturnal

VIDEO: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/video-captures-african-sand-cat-kittens-first-time-180965236/

Websites Used for Research: http://animalia.bio/sand-cat https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Felis_margarita/#lifespan_longevity https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8541/50651884 https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/sand-cat

References: Wheeler, S. 2004. “Felis margarita” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 08, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Felis_margarita/

Giant Golden-Crowned Flying Fox (Acerodon jubatus)

Blurb from the Author: I love bats! I think they are super interesting creatures, especially the giant fruit/ flying fox bats. I wanted to personally know more about these giant creatures so I decided to make them my species of the week. 🙂

Lifespan: ~12-23 years

Population Size: 10,000 individuals (decreasing 🙁 )

Geographical Location: They are endemic to the Philippines where they can be found in deep caves and or tropical rainforests.

Diet: They are frugivores! They especially favor figs, as they make up most of their diet along with some leaves here and there.

Size: ~2.5 lbs, wingspan of 1.5-1.7 meters, 7-11 inches long

Conservation Status: endangered 🙁

Predators: There are only a few known predators such as raptors, pythons, and humans.

Reproduction: Little is known about their reproduction system. What is known is that they have two reproduction periods throughout the year, but only produce one young in total from both of these periods combined and give birth in April-June.

Communication: They communicate both with their distinct individual smells and also vocally with squabbles, cackles, and screeches.

• Fun Facts:
• They actually have great eyesight unlike other bats that rely on echolocation for sight
• They are nocturnal
• They are genetically related to foxes
• In South America they are known as the cryptic creature “Chupacabra”
• They are very into personal grooming and use the water from local water sources to pour on themselves (with their wings) and clean themselves
• They mate upside down
• They are vital pollinators
• They cool themselves by fanning themselves with their wings and licking their bodies
• The ‘golden-crowned’ part of their name refers to the golden tuft of fur on the top of their head

Websites Used for Research: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/139/21988328 http://animalia.bio/giant-golden-crowned-flying-fox https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Acerodon_jubatus/

References: Heinen, V. 2009. “Acerodon jubatus” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 08, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Acerodon_jubatus/

Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii)

Blurb from the Author: I am a big fan of ferrets so I went to the next best thing, martens! This picture was absolutely striking and I couldn’t ignore it, nor did I know that this species of marten existed. As I continued my research about the nilgiri marten I found out that there was little known about this species so I did my best to provide what is known!

Lifespan: 10-14 years (in captivity) unknown (wild)

Population Size: 1,000 individuals 🙁

Geographical Location: They are endemic to southern India. They can more specifically be found in the western Ghats mountain range where there are tropical forests and growing plantations.

Diet: They are omnivorous (partial insectivores and frugivores) and eat foods such as birds, small mammals, insects, fruits, and seeds.

Size: ~5 lbs, ~2 ft long

Conservation Status: vulnerable 🙁

Predators: There are no specified predators, but it is assumed that natural carnivores within the nilgiri marten’s habitat will prey on them along with human who kill them for their pelts.

Reproduction: The information that is used to explain their reproduction methods is compiled from the mustelids family and the yellow-throated martens. It is assumed that they breed seasonally between February and March or June and August. The length of the females gestation period is either 30-65 days or 220-290 and they have 2-6 kits per litter.

Communication: Little is know about their communication, but again it is assumed that they are social creatures (based off of their other close marten cousins) and use scent marking and some vocalizations.

• Fun Facts:
• They are diurnal
• There is not many other known facts about them unfortunately

Websites Used for Research: http://animalia.bio/nilgiri-marten https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Martes_gwatkinsii/ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12847/86161239

References: Webb, A. 2013. “Martes gwatkinsii” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 07, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Martes_gwatkinsii/

Sunda Flying Lemur (Galeopterus variegatus)

Blurb from the Author: You know the saying “the eyes are the window to the soul”? Well, this saying couldn’t be more true for this little guy. He stares right into your soul haha! His eyes captivated me and I couldn’t ignore him and not write about him. Besides his eyes, his fur color really caught my eye and how it helped him to blend into the trees. He also doesn’t look like your typical lemur, more of a flying squirrel or sugar glider deal. It perplexed me so I had to find out more! Surprisingly, I found out there is not much known about these guys.

Lifespan: ~7.5 years old

Population Size: unknown (but decreasing 🙁 )

Geographical Location: They can be found in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia.

Diet: They are herbivores (more specifically folivores and frugivores). They eat things such as the soft plant parts (fruits, flowers, and buds) nectar, sap and young leaves.

Size: 2-5 lbs, 50-69 cm long (including tail), wingspan of ~70 cm

Conservation Status: least concern

Predators: There are no specified predators to this species, but humans are known to be their top predator (habitat loss).

Reproduction: Not much is known about their reproduction systems, but unlike many species, the sunda flying lemur mates throughout the year. They have a gestation period of about 60 days and produce 1-2 offspring. These offspring cling onto their mothers while she makes a makeshift pouch out of her skin flaps to hold them close to her.

Communication: They are solitary creatures and not much is known about their communication. There is speculation that they possibly communicate with “ultrasound” calls that are difficult to hear with the human ear.

• Fun Facts:
• They don’t fly they glide!
• They glide with the extra folds of skin between their limbs and tail
• It is not a lemur (the name is very misleading in many ways haha)
• They are nocturnal
• They are great climbers
• They are also referred to as colugos
• Their closest living relatives are primates and bats
• They sleep in holes in trees or suspended from branches
• They are helpless on the ground (this is why they are never found on the ground and remain in trees)

Websites Used for Research: http://animalia.bio/sunda-flying-lemur https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Galeopterus_variegates/ https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/first-record-of-ultrasound-communication-in-the-mysterious-sunda-colugo/

References:  Beatson, K. 2011. “Galeopterus variegates” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 07, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Galeopterus_variegates/

Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides)

Blurb from the Author: I briefly glimpsed at this species while reading through some articles and I had to go back and look at it because I thought it looked like my boyfriend’s mom’s dog Cheyenne! (shes is a pug pomeranian mix) It confused me because I didn’t understand how some random person writing the article I was reading had a picture of their dog. (haha) I researched more into it because I wanted to know if they had an actual dog or a racoon dog (and it was extremely cute). Sadly, Cheyenne is definitely a dog, but that’s ok because she is just as cute! 🙂

Lifespan:  6-11 years

Population Size: unknown

Geographical Location: They can be found in Europe and Asia in countries such as China, Japan, South and North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, France, Finland, Serbia, etc. They live in temperate habitats including deciduous and coniferous forests, grasslands, shrublands, and urban areas.

Diet: They are omnivores and eat foods like insects, nuts, rodents, amphibians, berries, birds, nuts, fish, reptiles, eggs, mollusks, carrion, grains, etc.

Size: 9-22 lbs, 18-28 inches long

Conservation Status: least concern

Predators: The main predator that this species faces (like most species, unfortunately) are humans (road ways, poaching, nuscience killing) They can also be killed by feral dogs, wolves, foxes, wild cats, and birds of prey.

Reproduction: Their mating season ranges from January to April. They are, for the most part, monogamous and remain with one partner throughout their lifespan, but there have been cases of polygamy. The gestation period lasts from 60-70 days and they can produce a litter of pups ranging from 6-8 individuals. Both males and females help in raising the pups.

Communication: Surprisingly they do not bark! They vocalize to each other with growls, whines, yelps and mews. They will also scent mark and tail posture to communicate.

• Fun Facts:
• They are the only canid (dog family) that hibernates
• Known as the “tanuki” in Japanese folklore
• Their scientific name translates to “the night wanderer”
• They are not closely related to racoons
• They can be seen living in urban areas (they should NOT be kept as pets)
• They sometimes wash their food (yes wash!)
• They are nocturnal
• They are killed for their fur pelts (which is extremely messed up and I am 100% faux fur clothing)

Websites Used for Research: http://animalia.bio/raccoon-dog https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Nyctereutes_procyonoides/ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/14925/85658776 https://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/raccoon_dog_facts/1044/

References: Carr, K. 2004. “Nyctereutes procyonoides” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 05, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Nyctereutes_procyonoides/

Aardwolf (Proteles cristata)

Blurb from the Author:  I was running out of “weird”/”different” species to write about for my blog so I just simply searched “weird species that many people don’t know”. haha I stumbled across this guy! I have never heard of them before and the name interested me because I connected it to an aardvark. It is far from an aardvark and far from wolf believe it or not! They do enjoy eating termites like an aardvark though which is strange because I thought that these guys would be strictly carnivores due to their name and body shape.

Lifespan:  ~8-10 years (wild) ~15-20 years (captivity)

Population Size: The population size remains unknown due to their shy nature, but it is estimated to be a very stable population size!

Geographical Location:  They are found in Eastern and Southern Africa. The habitat of where these animals live include grasslands, shrublands, and savanna.

Diet:  Aardwolves are known as “incomplete carnivores”. They known as incomplete carnivores because a large chunk of their diet consists of insects! (which is I think is super interesting because I have never heard a species referred to as an incomplete carnivore) Their diet mainly consists of insect larvae, insects (especially termites), and bird eggs.

Size:  ~17-30 pounds, ~2.3 ft long, ~16-20 inches tall

Conservation Status: Least Concern (Which is awesome :)! )

Predators: The major predators of the aardwolf are humans and domectic dogs. Other species that may hunt them include jackals, hyenas, lions, leopards, and some snakes.

Reproduction: Although usually solitary and shy animals, aardwolfs are polygynous. They mate from June to July with a gestation period of ~90 days. They produce 2-5 offspring a breeding season.

Communication:  They primarily communicate through anal scent gland marking. They rarely communicate vocally and are only vocal when fighting, stressed, or scared (clucking and roaring). They also put up their mane if scared to seem bigger.

• Fun Facts:
• Nocturnal
• Live solitary lifestyles or in pairs
• Aardwolf means “earth wolf”
• They are also known as the “maanhaar jackal”
• Closest relative is the hyena
• They puff up their manes to appear larger
• They have special areas designated for going to the bathroom called “middens”
• They live in underground burrows during the day (abandoned burrows of aardvarks and porcupines)
• They can eat up to 300,000 termites a night

Websites Used For Research: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18372/45195681#population https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Proteles_cristata/ https://www.animalspot.net/aardwolf.html https://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/aardwolf.php

References: Stump, M. 2011. “Proteles cristata” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 20, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Proteles_cristata/

Lowland Streaked Tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus)

Blurb from the Author:  How could I not chose this cool little dude!? He looks like he could be a pokemon haha! He was just too cool not to research and blog about. Like the video I embedded at the end of my post, he looks like a mix between a bumble bee (color wise), a shrew, and a hedgehog, what a combo! They really are as cool as they look. 🙂

Lifespan:  ~2.6 years (wild and captivity)

Population Size: unknown

Geographical Location: They are endemic to Madagascar, specifically the east side of the island. (like a previous species I have talked about) They are found in the tropical rainforests on the island.

Diet:  They are vermivores! Meaning that they specifically eat earthworms and if the are not available they may eat various insects.

Size: 4-10 oz, 5 1/2 inches long

Conservation Status: least concern (which is great! 🙂 )

Predators: Because they are small they have a few predators such as Dumeril’s boas, Malagasy ring-tailed mongooses, Malagasy fossas (one of my past species of the week), Malagasy civets, and humans. Many of there predators are unsuccessful because of the tenrec’s pretty painful defense mechanism (quills!).

Reproduction: They mate between November and May with a 55-58 day gestation period. They produce 1-11 offspring. Babies are born without the magnificent quills of mature tenrecs. Like many species, males fight each other for the females. If the females decide they don’t want to copulate with the male they will prick them in the genitals with their spines (yikes haha).

Communication: Lowland streaked tenrecs communicate in many ways. They can erect their spines (quills), stomp their feet, bob their heads, head butt, grapple, touch noses, scent mark with excrements, click their tongues, chatter, squeak, (and the coolest way) rub their quills together to make a high pitched noise.

• Fun Facts:
• They are able to communicate with their quills!
• Babies develop spines the first day after birth
• They have soft underbellies (much like a hedgehog)
• They are closely related to the highland streaked tenrec
• They have yellow quills (quite the hair do!)
• Their quills are barbed and detachable
• They drop their body temperature to the air temperature come winter to conserve energy (they also hibernate if it gets too cold)

Websites Used for Research: http://animalia.bio/lowland-streaked-tenrec https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hemicentetes_semispinosus/ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/40593/97189434

References: Kokx, K. 2009. “Hemicentetes semispinosus” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 24, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hemicentetes_semispinosus/ Stephenson, P.J., Soarimalala, V. & Goodman, S. 2016. Hemicentetes semispinosus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T40593A97189434. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T40593A97189434.en. Downloaded on 24 March 2020.

Tufted Deer (Elaphodus cephalophus)

Blurb from the Author:  For this weeks species I picked it totally out of curiosity! I have seen this species briefly on animal planet and still didn’t learn much about it and I wanted to know more. Why the little fangs? Do they help with defense, or possibly sexual selection? Why does it not have flashy antlers like moose or deer? With research, I was able to answer these questions and more about this really cool deer species! 🙂

Lifespan:  ~15 years (captivity) 7-12 years (in the wild)

Population Size: In 1998: ~300,000-500,000 individuals estimated (continual decline since then)

Geographical Location:  They can be found in Southern and Central China, Eastern Tibet, and Northern Myanmar. The habitat type in which they live in consists of high altitude forests or rainforests in an area close to a water source.

Diet:  They are herbivorous eating foods such as grasses, leaves, bark, wood, fruit, etc.

Size: ~51 lbs, 3.6- 5.3 ft long, 1.6-2.3 ft tall

Conservation Status:  Near threatened

Predators: Their main predators are leopards, dholes, and humans (there seems to be a trend with humans always being a predator to all of these species :/ ).

Reproduction: Tufted deer are polygynous (1 male mates with multiple females) and mate during late fall and early winter. The males bark to attract the females. The females have a 180 day gestation period and produce 1-2 fawn.

Communication: There is not much documented about the communication behaviors of the tufted deer, but it is widely known that the deer bark when mating or alerting to others that there is a predator. They may also use chemical or tactile methods of communication.

• Fun Facts:
• They bark when they are alarmed
• Their “fangs” can grow up to 2.6 cm long (only males have these “fangs”)
• They are crepuscular (more active during the night and dusk)
• A group of tufted deer is called a herd, mob, or gang
• The purpose of their long canines are to fight other males who impede on their territory
• They get their name from the dark brown tuft of fur on their forehead
• When being chased by a predator they raise their tails straight in the air and run in a “S” pattern

Websites Used for Research: https://wp.bridgewater.edu/kweeks/2016/12/10/tufted-deer/ http://animalia.bio/tufted-deer https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Elaphodus_cephalophus/

References: Lundrigan, B. and R. Oas 2003. “Elaphodus cephalophus” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 26, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Elaphodus_cephalophus/

Dhole (Cuon alpinus)

Blurb from the Author:  I had seen the dhole when I was first researching animals to do at the beginning of my blog, but never got around to writing about it. Last week I came across it again because the dhole was one of the major predators from my previous species! I found the name to be very odd, but the “h” turned out to be silent haha! I video I chose for this week was unable to copy over correctly to my post but if you follow the link the video is 100% worth watching! (warning: graphic content) Their pack mentality and reliance on eachother amazed me and, to me, I think th dole is a very cool species of dog!

Lifespan:  10 years in wild 16 years in captivity

Population Size:  4,500- 10,500 (but decreasing)

Geographical Location:  The dhole is found in South, South East, and East Asia. The varying climates of this Asian region allow for the dhole to be a generalist and live in different types of forest, grassland, and shrubland habitat.

Diet:  Surprisingly, this species are omnivores! They have a huge variety to their diet including hoofed mammals, berries, rodents, lizards, insects, rabbits, etc.

Size: 3 feet long, 20 inches tall, 22-44 lbs

Conservation Status:  endangered

Predators: When dhole’s are seen as vulnerable they may be hunted by large cats (leopards and tigers). However, like most of the species and probably all the future species I mention, all share a common predator that threatens their existence, humans. 🙁

Reproduction:  They mate in monogamous pairs (meaning they mate for life with one other single individual!) during the months from September-February. The female’s gestation period is about 60-63 days. They produce 3-4 pups per liter. Like many other pack species, other members of the pack help care for each others young in the early months.

Communication: They primarily communicate through vocalizations. Some of the vocalizations that they use include whistles, clucks, and high-pitched whistles.

• Fun Facts:
• They reside in groups ranging from 12-40 individuals
• Can jump over 7 ft straight up into the air
• Can catch prey over 10 times their own body weight when hunting as a pack
• ” In 2016, the Korean company Sooam Biotech was reported to be attempting to clone the dhole using dogs as surrogate mothers to help conserve the species. ” (Just Fun Facts, 2019)
• They have 40 teeth compared to other canids who have 42 teeth
• They are excellent swimmers!
• Also known as the “red dog” ,”whistling dog”, “Indian wild dog”, and “Asiatic dog”
• There are 10 subspecies of the dhole
• The “h” is silent in dhole

VIDEO: https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/videos/deadly-instincts/the-life-of-a-dhole-3808.aspx

Websites Used for Research: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/dhole http://animalia.bio/dhole https://a-z-animals.com/animals/dhole/

References: Chacon, R. 2000. “Cuon alpinus” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 05, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cuon_alpinus/

Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis patagonum)

Blurb from the Author:  When I first saw this species I immediately thought of the outdoor clothing brand Patagonia! After doing some further research of the clothing brand I found it was named after the Patagonia mountain range shared by Argentina and Chile. Since this species is decreasing and further research is needed to determine conservation methods and population numbers I think that it would be helpful to have the brand make patagonian mara themed clothing and donate some of the profits made to these conservation efforts.

Life Span:  ~14 years in captivity (unknown in the wild, possibly 7-10 yrs)

Population Size: Unknown (but decreasing)

Geographical Location: They are endemic to Patagonia, Argentina in South America (hence the name). The habitat types they thrive in include grasslands, shrublands, forests, and savanas.

Diet: They are strictly herbaceous eating foods such as herbaceous matter including grasses (specifically Pappophorum grass), cacti, fruits, flowers, and seeds.

Size: 17-35 lbs, 29-75 cm long, 45 cm tall

Conservation Status: Near threatened

Predators:  The patagonian mara have many predators including birds, canids, felids, and humans (due to poaching and habitat alteration).

Reproduction: The mara remain in a monogamous pair over their entire lifetime. The mating season for the mara is from August through September. The typical gestation period for the mara ranges between 91-111 days and they usually produce 2 pups per liter.

Communication: There has not been much research done about the communication behaviors of the mara but it is known they mainly communicate through scent marking (anal glands) and vocalizations that include grunts and screams.

• Fun Facts:
• They can reach up to 45 km/hr
• World’s third largest rodent
• They act as seed dispersers
• Are able to jump 6 ft in the air
• They are docile animals and can be kept as pets!
• Because their front legs are shorter than their back legs they make a movement known as “stotting”
• Also known as the patagonian cavy or “” hare

Websites Used for Research: http://animalia.bio/patagonian-mara https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/patagonian-mara https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dolichotis_patagonum/

References: Mascow, M. 2011. “Dolichotis patagonum” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 22, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dolichotis_patagonum/