Water Makes A Moose Happy

A Moose is more comfortable in the water than on land.

Picture from Britannica

A Moose is an efficient swimmer that can paddle more than ten miles at a time and will even submerge themselves completely for up to thirty seconds. By hiding in the water, they also can protect themselves from mosquitoes or other biting insects.

Loads of Lemurs in Madagascar

Biologists believe Madagascar is home to more than 50 different kinds of lemurs.

 Picture from PBS

Madagascar’s lemurs range from the itty bitty pygmy mouse lemur, which weighs less than an ounce, to the cat-sized Sifaka, which can weigh up to15 pounds. Smaller species are mostly active at night, while bigger species feed and romp during the day.

One Kangaroo Baby After Another

Female kangaroos can get pregnant immediately after giving birth.

Picture from Live Science

The female kangaroo will give birth to a new offspring right about the time she ejects the older joey from her pouch. During this time of transition, she will simultaneously produce two different types of milk for the different needs of her young. Each joey knows which teat is theirs and will only nurse from the appropriate one.

Hummingbirds (AKA Hungry Birds)

If humans had the metabolism of a hummingbird, they would have to eat about 155,000 calories a day.

Picture from Hummingbirds.net

 They may be the tiniest birds on the planet, but hummingbirds are the biggest eaters. In fact, no animal has a faster metabolism—roughly 100 times that of an elephant. Hummingbirds burn food so fast they often eat 1-1/2 to 3 times their weight in nectar and insects per day.

No Rest For Momma Seals

Female harbor seals are busy mommas, so busy that they give birth to one pup every year.

 Picture from World Wildlife

The pups are fully developed and able to swim within a few hours of birth, but will depend on their mother’s milk for the first three to four weeks of life. After weaning, the female seal will mate again almost immediately to continue the annual birth cycle.

A Ferret Has A Tooth For Everything

A ferret has four different types of teeth, all used for different things.

 Picture from Wikipedia

Twelve small teeth known as the incisors and are used for grooming.  Four canine teeth are used for killing prey.  Twelve premolar teeth are used by the ferret to tear and chew food.  And finally, six molars are used to crush food.

Counting Gray Whale Blowholes

A gray whale has two blowholes on top of their head.

Picture from Monterey Bay Aquarium

 The two blowholes allows the gray whale to create a distinctive V-shaped blow at the surface in calm wind conditions.  A gray whale spout or blow can reach up to 15 feet in the air and can sometimes resemble a heart shape from the front or behind.

Donkey, The Defender

Donkeys are wonderful protectors to flocks of sheep and goats as well as herds of cattle. 

Picture from Fox News

They have a natural and aggressive dislike of coyotes, wolves and other canines and will defend themselves and their companions vigorously.  As a herd animal themselves, they remain an integral, grazing part of the flock and so are always on hand to run down and trample a predator, or discourage it with a strong and well-aimed kick.

How About Some Milk?

It takes about 350 squirts for each gallon of milk from a cow.

 Picture From News Wise

 A cow produces around 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime, but is unable to produce milk until after it gives birth for the first time.  Today, farmers use machines to milk more than 100 cows per hour. Before milking machines were invented in 1894, farmers could only milk about six cows per hour.

Cockatoos: Louder Than All The Rest

The cockatoo is the loudest of all the parrots. 

Picture From Oakland Zoo

Their loudness comes from a history of having to communicate long distances with one another in dark, thick forests. Their vocalizations serve a number of functions, including allowing individuals to recognize one another, alerting others of predators, indicating individual moods, maintaining the cohesion of a flock and as warnings when defending nests

Caution: Caterpillar Crossing

Caterpillar hair can be a cause of human health problems.

Picture from Jig Zone

Caterpillar hairs sometimes have venoms in them and can inflict serious human injuries ranging from urticarial dermatitis and atopic asthma to osteochondritis, renal failure, and intracerebral hemorrhage. Skin rashes are the most common, but there have been fatalities. Caterpillar hairs have also been known to cause kerato-conjunctivitis. The sharp barbs on the end of caterpillar hairs can get lodged in soft tissues and mucus membranes such as the eyes. Once they enter such tissues, they can be difficult to extract, often exacerbating the problem as they migrate across the membrane.

Canada Geese...Not Just In Canada Anymore

 Canada Geese can only be found in a few areas outside of the United States and Canada.

Picture From All About Birds

Canada Geese have reached northern Europe, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Scandinavia. Canada Geese were also introduced as a game bird into New Zealand and have become a problem in some areas by fouling pastures and damaging crops.

Bobcat Babies On Thier Own

Bobcat babies are evicted from their mother's territory between eight and eleven months old and expected to fend for themselves.

 Picture from Defenders

After beginning to eat solid food around two months old, bobcats are taught to hunt around five months of age.  Afterwards, they are turned out from their mother's care and expected to survive on their own, while finding their own territory to occupy.

Apes vs. Monkeys

Have a hard time telling a monkey and an ape apart?  You're not alone!  Here's  the most simple way to tell the two apart. 

Picture from Live Animals List

Most monkeys have tails and most apes do not.  Also, monkeys are more likely to be in trees, using their tails for balance.  Also, apes are generally a lot larger than monkeys.

How 'Bout That Howl

Howling is a wolves' form of communication, and they howl for many different reasons.

Picture from National Geographic

Wolves howl to assemble the pack, usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm, to locate each other during a storm or unfamiliar territory and to communicate across great distances. Wolf howls can under certain conditions be heard over areas of up to 50 miles.  When howling together, wolves harmonize rather than chorus on the same note, thus creating the illusion of there being more wolves than there actually are.

Sea Turtles Leaving The Shore

After taking to the water for the first time, male sea turtles will not return to shore again. 

 Picture from Gulf Mex

Females however, will come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during the nesting season.  During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most time floating in seaweed beds. Once the sea turtle has reached adulthood it moves closer to the shore.

The Red Panda's Picky Diet

 This rare animals is a picky eater due to it's inability to digest cellulose.

 Picture from One Big Photo

The red panda mainly eats bamboo and will spend up to 13 hours a day searching for and eating bamboo. The red panda only eats the young, tender shoots and leaves. They will also eat fruit, berries, blossoms, insects, and bird eggs.

Multiple Mole Thumbs

Moles have polydactyl forepaws, meaning they have an extra thumb next to the regular thumb.

Picture from Wikipedia

 While the mole's other digits have multiple joints, the extra thumb has a single, sickle-shaped bone which develops later and differently from the other fingers.  This supernumerary digit is species-specific, as it is not present in shrews, the mole's closest relatives.