Spotted Cougar Kittens

A baby cougar's spots fade over time.

 Picture from KVAL

Cougar kittens are born with black rings on their tails and spotted coats. These spots fade to dapples around nine months of age. By the time the kittens are twenty-four to thirty months old all signs of these dapples will disappear, which is roughly around the time the cubs reach sexual maturity.

Color Changing Cicadas

 Albino cicadas do not exist.

Picture from The Atlantic

Sometimes when cicadas first emerge they are white in color.  Over a period of time, their bodies gradually become darker.  Some take longer than others, and some die before the change can occur leaving them as a white corpse.  If they don't die before their color changes, they will eventually turn black and orange.

Keeping Caribou Warm

Caribou have unique hairs that provide them with excellent insulation due to their ability to trap air.

 Picture from Minnesota Zoo

Keeping them warm in cold climates, these unique hairs also help keep them afloat in water.  Caribou tend to be very strong swimmers and are able to move across rushing rivers and even frozen ice with ease.

Butterfly Bathroom Usage

 Adult butterflies never excrete waste, they use up all they ingest for energy.

 Picture from Texas Butterfly Ranch

As adults, butterflies consume only liquids.  They sip water from damp patches for hydration and then feed on nectar from flowers, which is where they obtain sugars for energy as well as sodium and other minerals necessary for reproduction.

Many adult butterflies never excrete waste—they use up all they eat for energy - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/butterfly#sthash.MYcOKS6Y.dpuf

Loudest Animal On Earth

Blue Whales are not only the largest animal on Earth, they are also the loudest.

Picture from Bay Schools

The call of the blue whale reaches levels up to 188 decibels.  A jet reaches up to 140 decibels, while a shouting human can reach up to 70 decibels.  Sounds over 120 decibels are extremely painful to the human ears.  A blue whale's amazingly loud whistle can be heard for hundreds of miles underwater.

Reestablishing The Bibly

Due to habitat changes and loss, as well as competition with other animals, bilbies are slowly becoming endangered.

Picture from ABC

A national recovery plan is in place to help save bilbies, including breeding them in captivity, monitoring the current population, and reestablishing bilbies to where they once lived. Some have even gone as far as to start handing out bibly chocolates, as a substitute for the Easter Bunny.

Orioles Are Drawn To Dark Fruit

 Baltimore Orioles are fans of dark colored fruits.

 Picture from Carolina Bird Club

Most fruit eating birds, like robins, tend to graze on any fruit they can find.  The Baltimore Orioles however, prefers only ripe, dark-colored fruit like mulberries, red cherries and purple grapes.  They'll ignore the lighter colored fruits like green grapes and yellow cherries, even if they are ripe.

The Rarest Snake In The World

The Antiguan Racer is the world's rarest snake.

Picture from Fauna & Flora

In 1995 there were no more than 50 Antiguan Racer's left in the world, but over the years they have started to make a come back.  In 2010 it was estimated that the snake's population had grown to over 500.  These snakes can only be found on tiny Great Bird Island, a small island off the coast of Antigua.

Crows Who Keep Put

Crows are usually permanent residents as they do not migrate.

 Picture from Planet of Birds

As long as there are a few trees to perch in American crows can live just about anywhere, with parks and lawns in suburban areas being a popular choice.  The largest species of American crow tend to reside in the northeast part of the continent, steadily declining to the smallest species that live nearly as far southwest as western Mexico.

Antisocial Aardvarks

Aardvarks are not social and only get together during the breeding season. 

Picture from Wikipedia

Due to their solitary, nocturnal lifestyle, not much is known about their mating or about the rearing of their offspring. After a 7 month gestation, one young is born, usually in October or November. The young is about 6 pounds at the time of birth. By 6 months of age, the young aardvark is capable of finding its own food and will leave its mother to dig its own burrow.