Octopuses
13 May, 2025
The octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus. In the larger sense, there are 289 different octopus species, which is over one-third the total number of cephalopod species.
Octopuses are characterized by their eight arms (not tentacles), usually bearing suction cups. Unlike most other cephalopods, the majority of octopuses have almost entirely soft bodies with no internal skeleton. They have neither a protective outer shell, nor an internal shell or bones, like cuttlefish or squids. A beak, similar in shape to a parrot's beak, is their only hard part. This enables them to squeeze through very narrow slits between underwater rocks, which is very helpful when they are fleeing from morays or other predatory fish. The octopuses in the less familiar Cirrata suborder, however, have two fins and an internal shell...generally lessening their ability to squeeze into small spaces.
Octopuses have a relatively short life span, and some species live for as little as six months. Larger species, such as the North Pacific giant octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances. However, reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch, for they neglect to eat during the (roughly) one month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs.
Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen. Less efficient than the iron-rich hemoglobin of vertebrates, the hemocyanin is dissolved in the plasma instead of being bound in red blood cells and gives the blood a blue color. Octopuses draw water into their mantle cavity where it passes through its gills.
Three defensive mechanisms are typical of octopuses: ink sacs, camouflage and autotomising limbs. Most octopuses can eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. They also have specialized skin cells, called chromatophores, for both color changing and light reflection and refraction. They use this ability to blend into the environment to hide, communicate with or warn other octopuses. The very poisonous Blue-ringed octopus becomes bright yellow with blue rings when it is provoked. When under attack, some octopuses can autotomise their limbs, in a similar manner to skinks and other lizards. The crawling arm serves as a distraction to would-be predators; this ability is also used in mating. A few species, such as the Mimic octopus, have a fourth defense mechanism. They can combine their highly flexible bodies with their color changing ability to accurately mimic other, more dangerous animals such as lionfish and eels.
When octopuses reproduce, males use a specialized arm called a hectocotylus to insert spermatophores (packets of sperm) into the female's mantle cavity. The hectocotylus is usually the third right arm. In some species, the female octopus can keep the sperm alive inside her for weeks until her eggs are mature. After they have been fertilized, the female lays roughly 200,000 eggs (this figure dramatically varies between families, genera, species and also individuals). The female hangs these eggs in strings from the ceiling of her lair, or individually attached to the substratum depending on the species. After the eggs hatch, the young larval octopuses must spend a period of time drifting in clouds of plankton, where they feed on copepods, larval crabs and larval seastars until they are ready to sink down to the bottom of the ocean, where the cycle repeats itself. In some deeper dwelling species, the young do not go through this period. This is a dangerous time for the octopuses; as they become part of the plankton cloud they are vulnerable to many plankton eaters.
Octopuses are highly intelligent. Maze and problem-solving experiments show that they have both short and long term memory. An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are found in the nerve cords of its arms, which have a remarkable amount of autonomy. Octopus arms show a wide variety of complex reflex actions arising on at least three different levels of the nervous system. Some octopuses, such as the mimic octopus, will move their arms in ways that emulate the movements of other sea creatures. Octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They are able to open jars after learning from observation. Octopuses have also been observed in what may be described as play; repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them. Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing ships and opened holds to eat crabs.
Octopuses have keen eyesight. Although their slit-shaped pupils might be expected to afflict them with astigmatism, it appears that this is not a problem in the light levels in which an octopus typically hunts. Surprisingly, they do not appear to have color vision, although they can distinguish the polarization of light. Attached to the brain are two special organs, called statocysts, that allow the octopus to sense the orientation of its body relative to horizontal. An autonomic response keeps the octopus's eyes oriented so that the pupil slit is always horizontal. Octopuses also have an excellent sense of touch. The octopus's suckers are equipped with chemoreceptors so that the octopus can taste what it is touching. The arms contain tension sensors so that the octopus knows whether its arms are stretched out.
Octopuses move about by crawling or swimming. Their main means of slow travel is crawling, with some swimming. Their only means of fast travel is swimming. Their fastest movements only occur when provoked by hunger or if in danger. They crawl by walking on their arms, usually on many at once, on solid surfaces, while supported in water. They swim by expelling a jet of water from a contractile mantle, and aiming it via a muscular siphon.
THREATS TO OCTOPUSES
The octopus faces such threats as polluted water, as well as diminishing resources due to environmental exploitation.
Octopuses are threatened by the exotic pet trade. They are difficult to keep in captivity. They often escape even from supposedly secure tanks, due to their problem-solving skills, mobility and lack of rigid structure. Every year, a variety of sources provides millions of animals to the exotic pet trade. Animals are captured from their native habitat and transported to various countries to be sold as “pets”. Others are surplus animals from zoos or their offspring. Backyard breeders also supply exotic animals. The sellers of these animals often disregard state or local laws regulating private possession of exotics, and the dangers, difficulties, physical and physiological needs of the animals they peddle. The suffering of the animals in the hands of unqualified and hapless buyers appears to be of no concern in the lucrative exotic pet trade.
Octopuses are also victims of the animal entertainment industry. The use of these wild animals as entertainment in aquariums removes them from their natural habitat; depriving them of the ability to freely engage in instinctual behaviors. Both children and adults are desensitized to animal mistreatment by the animal entertainment industry. Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for wild animals. Confined to tiny enclosures and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors. While zoos and aquariums may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals.
Vultures
13 May, 2025
Vultures are large, carnivorous birds well known for their scavenging nature. These incredibly intelligent birds help to keep the environment clean and prevent the spread of disease. They are found on every continent except the Antarctic, Australia and the surrounding islands. Vultures are classified into two groups, old world vultures and new world vultures. There are over two dozen species within these two groups.
Old world vultures inhabit Asia, Africa and Europe and are closely related to hawks and eagles. They are not closely related to the new world vultures. Old world vultures use sight alone to find food.
New world vultures inhabit the Americas. They are connected to old world vultures through evolutionary status rather than DNA. New world vultures are usually smaller than old world vultures. New world vultures find food sources with both sight and smell.
Vultures have wide wingspans that enable them to soar for extended periods without flapping their wings while looking for carrion. The Andean condor of South America is the largest vulture in the world. The crow-sized hooded vulture of Africa is the smallest vulture. The Rueppell’s griffon vulture is the highest flying bird in the world.
Most vultures have a large pouch in their throats called a crop. They have strong, curved beaks designed for ripping apart meat. Vultures have bare heads, and sometimes bare necks, to prevent bacteria and other parasites from burrowing into their feathers and to aid in thermoregulation. Germs on vultures heads are baked off by the sun.
All vultures prefer to scavenge for their food rather than hunt. Vultures feed on the remains of dead animals. They will attack wounded and dying animals when carcasses are not available. Vultures eat all parts of animal carcasses with the exception of bones. Vultures can go for long periods without food.
Vultures are able to consume carcasses that have rotted to the extent of being toxic to other animals, making vultures very important ecologically. Vulture stomach acids are able to kill harmful bacteria and viruses, and halt the potential spread of disease from rotting carcasses.
Vultures often feed with other animal species. Old world vultures have strong feet, but new world Vultures have weak, flat feet poorly adapted for grasping. If they are not able to rip open a carcass themselves, they will wait for another predator to open it.
Vultures engage in urohydrosis, urinating on their legs and feet to stay cool. Vulture urine also kills bacteria or parasites picked up from carcasses.
Old world vultures are very vocal, making grunts, chatter, screeches and croaks. New world vultures can only make hissing and grunting sounds.
Vultures can be solitary birds or social birds. Groups of vultures often circle together looking for food sources from the sky above. Vultures have exceptional eyesight, able to spot a three-foot carcass from four miles away. When one vulture spots a carcass it begins to circle above, drawing the attention of other vultures. A group of vultures is called a committee, volt or venue. In flight, a flock of vultures is called a kettle. When feeding together, a group of vultures is called a wake.
Most vulture species mate for life. Vultures attract mates by soaring around each other. A male vulture will show off his flying skills by almost touching the female's wing tips. Old world vultures construct large stick platform nests on cliffs or in trees. New world vultures lay their eggs in bare scrapes in cavities in trees or cliffs. Female vultures lay 1 to 3 eggs, depending on the species. Vulture parents take turns incubating eggs and feeding baby vultures when they hatch. Chicks leave the nest or scrape in 2 to 3 months. They depend on their parents until they learn how to find food themselves.
Vultures vomit when threatened to deter predators and to make their bodies lighter to escape more easily. If the food is mostly undigested, the predator receives a free meal. If the food is mostly digested, the smelly substance deters predators and stings their eyes. Old world vultures also play dead when threatened.
Vultures can live up to 50 years in the wild.
THREATS TO VULTURES
Globally vultures are the most endangered type of birds. Some vultures are almost extinct and have declined by 99%. Nine species of vulture are critically endangered, three are endangered, and four are near threatened.
Poisoning from drugs, toxins and lead in carcasses is the largest threat to vultures. Vultures are also threatened by habitat loss, car collisions, wind turbines, electrical pylons, food loss and poaching. Vultures are often persecuted by farmers and ranchers who mistakenly believe vultures are a threat to livestock.
Bobcats
12 May, 2025
Elusive-seeming felines that often appear as characters in various American indigenous legends, bobcats are nevertheless well known members of the Felidae family, found exclusively in North America. The bobcat’s thirteen member subspecies have a wide range over the continent, found from the southern parts of Canada to Central Mexico. These smaller wild cats can adapt to life in many different types of habitats, from forested areas to wet swampland, and from arid semi-desert to the more populated edges of urban centers. Despite their wild nature, these are some pretty adaptable felines.
While many people confuse bobcats with their close Lynx cousins, there are some fairly obvious differences that separate the two. Bobcats are generally smaller than lynx, ranging anywhere from 47.5 to 125 cm (18.7 to 49.2 in) long and about 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) at the shoulders, but they can range in size depending on where they live. Eastern Canadian bobcats are generally the largest bobcat subspecies. Bobcats have a smaller neck ruff than the larger Canadian lynx as well as a smaller paw circumference and less thickly furred feet, which makes it more difficult for them to thrive in areas that receive a large amount of snowfall.
Male bobcats also tend to outweigh females, with an average weight of around 21lb compared to 15 lb. A bobcat’s soft, dense coat is also ideal for stealthy camouflage and insulation from colder weather. Typically a tan to grey-brown in color, they also have darker spots over their body and black or brown bars on their front legs, with white markings on their chin and underbelly. Their distinctive, stubby tail is characteristic to these cats, and is what actually gives the bobcat its name. On average, bobcats tend to live up to age seven in the wild, although the oldest captive on record lived an astounding thirty two years.
These sleek and muscular predators have a physiology that’s perfect for stalking and hunting, with longer, more powerful hind legs that allow the bobcat to bound efficiently after their prey and eyes with large round pupils that can expand to let in the maximum amount of light possible. Besides having excellent senses of smell and hearing, they also have sharp vision that can easily track the rapid movements made by other animals. They’re excellent climbers and surprisingly talented swimmers, though like many cats they prefer to avoid the water if at all possible. Their diet preferences tend to swing towards rabbits or hares, but they’re not tremendously picky either, eating anything that’s available – from insects to geese, swans and cranes, to smaller rodents, dogs, cats, foxes, young deer and even small sharks. They can also survive for long periods of time without food, gorging when they do hunt successfully, and burying larger kills so that they can return and feed on them again and again.
Like many other cat species, bobcats are crepuscular, meaning that they’re most active in the early evening and early morning. They tend to remain in well-defined home territories, travelling anywhere from 2 to 7 miles along their regular routes each night to find prey and mark their territory anew with feces, urine and claw marks. Bobcats are also masters of the contingency plan as well; although they tend to have a main den, they’ll also have several other shelters on the outer limits of their range, usually in logs, brush piles, or under rock ledges. The bobcat’s range can also vary depending on season, age, sex and species. Many males have significantly larger territories, while some female bobcats expand their home ranges in colder weather to find mates. Bobcats typically tend to prefer solitary living, but their ranges will often overlap, with two or more female territories often found within one male’s domain.
Breeding season for bobcats generally happens in the early spring, with females entering sexual maturity by their second year. A male will usually travel with a female and mate with her several times over a period of weeks or months, but bobcats are not truly monogamous. Both males and females often go on to mate with other partners, even within the same season. Kittens, helpless and blind at birth, are mostly born in late spring after a gestation of around 60 to 70 days, with litter sizes that range from two to four in size. The mother raises her kittens alone in a den (often a small cave or hollow log), weaning them around two months of age and keeping them with her for the first four to six months, though some species of bobcat kittens will stay with the female up to one year later.
In spite of their place near the top of the food chain, bobcats can still be at risk from other, larger predators. Cougars, wolves and coyotes will kill bobcats of any age, while owls, eagles and foxes find bobcat kittens to be easier prey. Young bobcats have a higher rate of injury or death in the period just after they leave their mother, since many of them succumb to disease, accidents, and even starvation as they’re still perfecting their own hunting skills.
THREATS TO BOBCATS
Threats to bobcats include hunting, trapping and being kept in captivity for human entertainment. In Mexico, bobcats are persecuted as a sheep predator and are frequently killed by farmers. Bobcats are hunted and inhumanely trapped for their fur throughout much of their range.
Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for bobcats. Confined to tiny cages and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors.
While zoos and aquariums may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos and aquariums exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social structures. When the facility breeds too many animals they become "surplus" and often are sold to laboratories, traveling shows, shooting ranches, or to private individuals who may be unqualified to care for them.
Elk
12 May, 2025
The elk, or wapiti, is one of the largest species of deer in the world and one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. In the deer family, only the larger moose, which is called an "elk" in Europe, and the sambar rival the elk in size. Elk are similar to the red deer found in Europe. Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves and bark. Although native to North America and Eastern Asia, they have adapted well to countries where they have been introduced, including Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Males also engage in ritualized mating behaviors, including posturing, antler wrestling (sparring), and bugling - a loud series of vocalizations which establishes dominance over other males and attracts females.
Elk are susceptible to a number of infectious diseases, some of which can be transmitted to livestock. Efforts to eliminate infectious diseases from elk populations, largely through vaccination, have had mixed success.
Adult elk usually stay in single-sex groups for most of the year. During the mating period, known as the rut, mature bulls compete for the attentions of the cows and will try to defend females in their harem. Rival bulls challenge opponents by bellowing and by paralleling each other, walking back and forth. This allows potential combatants to assess the other's antlers, body size and fighting prowess. If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling, and bulls sometimes sustain serious injuries. Bulls also dig holes in the ground, in which they urinate and roll their body. The urine soaks into their hair and gives them a distinct smell which attracts cows. Dominant bulls follow groups of cows during the rut, from August into early winter. A bull will defend his harem of 20 cows or more from competing bulls and predators. Only mature bulls have large harems and breeding success peaks at about eight years of age. Bulls between two to four years and over 11 years of age rarely have harems, and spend most of the rut on the periphery of larger harems. A bull with a harem rarely feeds and he may lose up to 20 percent of his body weight. Bulls that enter the rut in poor condition are less likely to make it through to the peak conception period or have the strength to survive the rigors of the oncoming winter.
Bulls have a loud vocalization consisting of screams known as bugling, which can be heard for miles. Bugling is often associated with an adaptation to open environments such as parklands, meadows, and savannas, where sound can travel great distances. Females are attracted to the males that bugle more often and have the loudest call. Bugling is most common early and late in the day, and is one of the most distinctive sounds in nature, akin to the howl of the gray wolf.
Female elk have a short estrus cycle of only a day or two, and matings usually involve a dozen or more attempts. By the autumn of their second year, females can produce one and, very rarely, two offspring. Gestation period is 240 to 262 days and the offspring weigh between 33 and 35 lb. When the females are near to giving birth, they tend to isolate themselves from the main herd, and will remain isolated until the calf is large enough to escape predators. Calves are born spotted, as is common with many deer species, and they lose their spots by the end of summer. Manchurian wapiti may retain a few orange spots on the back of their summer coats until they are older. After two weeks, calves are able to join the herd, and are fully weaned at two months of age. Elk calves are as large as an adult white-tailed deer by the time they are six months old. The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost a year, leaving about the time that the next season's offspring are produced. The gestation period is the same for all subspecies. Elk live 10 to 20 years.
Wolf and coyote packs and the solitary cougar are the most common elk predators, although brown and black bears also prey on elk. Coyote packs mostly prey on elk calves, though they can sometimes take a winter-weakened adult. Major predators in Asia include the wolf, dhole, brown bear, Siberian tiger, Amur leopard, and snow leopard. Eurasian lynx and wild boar sometimes prey on Asian elk calves. Historically, tigers in the Lake Baikal region fed on Manchurian wapiti, and continue to do so in the Amur region.
Male elk retain their antlers for more than half the year and are less likely to group with other males when they have antlers. Antlers provide a means of defense, as does a strong front-leg kick, which is performed by either sex if provoked. Once the antlers have been shed, bulls tend to form bachelor groups which allow them to work cooperatively at fending off predators. Herds tend to employ one or more scouts while the remaining members eat and rest. After the rut, females form large herds of up to 50 individuals. Newborn calves are kept close by a series of vocalizations; larger nurseries have an ongoing and constant chatter during the daytime hours. When approached by predators, the largest and most robust females may make a stand, using their front legs to kick at their attackers. Guttural grunts and posturing effectively deter all but the most determined predators.
As is true for many species of deer, especially those in mountainous regions, elk migrate into areas of higher altitude in the spring, following the retreating snows, and the opposite direction in the fall. During the winter, they favor wooded areas and sheltered valleys for protection from the wind and availability of tree bark to eat. Roosevelt elk are generally non-migratory due to less seasonal variability of food sources.
Elk are ruminants and therefore have four-chambered stomachs. Unlike white-tailed deer and moose which are primarily browsers, elk have a similarity to cattle as they are primarily grazers, but like other deer, they also browse. Elk have a tendency to do most of their feeding in the mornings and evenings, seeking sheltered areas in between feedings to digest. Their diets vary somewhat depending on the season with native grasses being a year round supplement, tree bark being consumed in winter and forbs and tree sprouts during the summer. Elk consume an average of 20 lb of various foodstuffs daily.
THREATS TO ELK
Elk once lived throughout most of the United States and Canada, but the species range has dwindled drastically due to hunting and land development. Human development and encroachment, as well as habitat degradation and invasive noxious weeds, continue to threaten elk.
In the 19th century, ranchers frequently shot elk to reduce competition with livestock, wiping out elk populations in many areas. Elk have been re-introduced in many states, but mismanagement efforts intensity damage to agriculture leading to conflicts. Elk reintroduction programs are often more about reestablishing hunt-able populations, than preservation. Elk are an increasingly popular "game animal".
Elk are held in captivity for inhumane canned hunts, private trophy hunting facilities that offer their customers the opportunity to kill exotic and native animals trapped within enclosures. Some facilities have even allowed their clients to kill animals remotely via the Internet. These animals are frequently hand-raised and bottle-fed, so they have lost their natural fear of people. In many facilities, the animals expect to be fed at regular times by familiar people - a setup that guarantees a kill for trophy hunters. Inhumane captive hunting is reviled by both non-hunters and hunters.
Tasmanian Devils
11 May, 2025
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, they became the largest carnivorous marsupials in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. They are characterized by their stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odor, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding.
The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate one of the strongest bites of any land mammal predator, and it hunts prey and scavenges carrion as well as eating household products if humans are living nearby. Although they usually are solitary, they sometimes eat with other devils and defecates in a communal location. Unlike most other dasyurids, the devil thermoregulates effectively and is active during the middle of the day without overheating. Despite its rotund appearance, the devil is capable of surprising speed and endurance, and can climb trees and swim across rivers.
Devils are not monogamous, and their reproductive process is very robust and competitive. Males fight one another for the females, and then guard their partners to prevent female infidelity. Females can ovulate three times in as many weeks during the mating season, and 80% of two-year-old females are seen to be pregnant during the annual mating season. Females average four breeding seasons in their life and give birth to 20 to 30 live young after a three week gestation. The newborn are pink, lack fur, have indistinct facial features and weigh around 0.0071 oz at birth. As there are only four nipples in the pouch, competition is fierce and few newborns survive. The young grow rapidly and are ejected from the pouch after around 100 days, weighing roughly 7.1 oz.
After being ejected, the devils stay outside the pouch, but they remain in the den for around another three months, first venturing outside the den between October and December before becoming independent in January. During this transitional phase out of the pouch, the young devils are relatively safe from predation as they are generally accompanied. When the mother is hunting they can stay inside a shelter or come along, often riding on their mother's back. During this time they continue to drink their mother's milk.
The young become independent after around nine months, so the female spends most of her year in activities related to childbirth and rearing. Devils are fully grown at two years of age, and few devils live longer than five years in the wild.
The devil stores body fat in its tail, and healthy devils have fat tails. The tail is important to its physiology, social behavior and locomotion. It acts as a counterbalance to aid stability when the devil is moving quickly. A scent gland at the base of its tail is used to mark the ground behind the animal with its strong, pungent scent. The devil has long claws that allow it to dig burrows, seek subterranean food easily and grip prey or mates strongly.
Devils have long whiskers on their face and in clumps on the top of the head. These help the devil locate prey when foraging in the dark, and aid in detecting when other devils are close during feeding. The whiskers can extend from the tip of the chin to the rear of the jaw and can cover the span of its shoulder. Hearing is their dominant sense, and they also have an excellent sense of smell.
Devils prefer open forest to tall forest, and dry rather than wet forests. Young devils can climb trees, but this becomes more difficult as they grow larger. Tasmanian devils do not form packs, but rather spend most of their time alone once weaned. They are considered to be non-territorial in general, but females are territorial around their dens. Tasmanian devils occupy a home range.
Devils use three or four dens regularly. Dens formerly owned by wombats are especially prized as maternity dens because of their security. Dense vegetation near creeks, thick grass tussocks and caves are also used as dens. Adult devils use the same dens for life. It is believed that, as a secure den is highly prized, some may have been used for several centuries by generations of animals.
On average, devils eat about 15% of their body weight each day, although they can eat up to 40% of their body weight in 30 minutes if the opportunity arises. Eating is a social event for the Tasmanian devil. This combination of a solitary animal that eats communally makes the devil unique among carnivores. Much of the noise attributed to the animal is a result of raucous communal eating, at which up to 12 individuals can gather, although groups of two to five are common. This has been interpreted as notifications to colleagues to share in the meal, so that food is not wasted by rot and energy is saved. The amount of noise is correlated to the size of the carcass.
Devils eat in accordance with a system. Juveniles are active at dusk, so they tend to reach the source before the adults. Typically, the dominant animal eats until it is satiated and leaves, fighting off any challengers in the meantime. Defeated animals run into the bush with their hair and tail erect, their conqueror in pursuit and biting their victim's rear where possible. Disputes are less common as the food source increases as the motive appears to be getting sufficient food rather than oppressing other devils.
Feeding devils exhibit twenty known physical postures, including their characteristic vicious yawn, and eleven different vocal sounds. They usually establish dominance by sound and physical posturing. The white patches on the devil are visible to the night-vision of its colleagues. Chemical gestures are also used. They can also stand on their hind legs and push each others shoulders with their front legs and heads, similar to sumo wrestling.
THREATS TO TASMANIAN DEVILS
Since the late 1990s, devil facial tumor disease has drastically reduced the devil population and now threatens the survival of the species, which in 2008 was declared to be endangered. Programs are currently being undertaken by the Government of Tasmania to reduce the impact of the disease, including an initiative to build up a group of healthy devils in captivity, isolated from the disease. While the thylacine was extant it preyed on the devil, which targeted young and unattended thylacine cubs in their dens.
Localized populations of devils have also been severely reduced by collisions with motor vehicles, particularly when they are eating roadkill.
Due to export restrictions and the failure of overseas devils to breed, there are almost no devils outside Australia except for any that have been illegally smuggled.
Orangutans
10 May, 2025
Orangutans have thin, shaggy, reddish-brown hair. They have long, powerful arms and strong hands that they can use to manipulate tools. Orangutans have the ability to make 13 to 15 different types of vocalizations.
Most orangutans are four to five feet long, some can reach a length of six feet. Adult males weigh between 100 and 260 pounds and adult females weigh between 65 and 100 pounds. Orangutans have an arm spread of about five feet.
Orangutans are only found on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Southeast Asia. An estimated 19,000 to 25,000 orangutans live in the wild. Another 900 live in captivity. In the wild, orangutans live for about 35 to 40 years.
Orangutans are arboreal creatures, which means they spend most of their lives slowly walking, swinging and climbing through dense rain forests. Orangutans feed mainly on fruits, especially wild figs. They also eat other kinds of vegetation, insects, small vertebrates and birds eggs.
Orangutans are solitary creatures. Adult males live primarily alone and only come together with females to mate. Adult females live with their young. Occasionally, adults will live with other adults for short periods in small temporary groups.
Orangutans spend most of their lives in a "home range" of 0.4 to 3.7 square miles. Females have a smaller home range than males. Sometimes the home ranges of individual orangutans overlap.
Females are able to give birth after age seven, but in the wild they generally do not mate until age 12. They give birth to one young at a time, which clings to its mother’s stomach until it is about a year old. When an orangutan reaches adolescence at about four or five years, it becomes more independent but may seek protection from its mother until it reaches seven to eight years.
THREATS TO ORANGUTANS
The orangutan’s most serious threat is the destruction of forest habitat from excessive logging. Orangutans are highly endangered in the wild. Orangutan habitat destruction due to logging, mining and forest fires has been increasing rapidly in the last decade. Much of this activity is illegal, occurring in national parks that are officially off limits to loggers, miners and plantation development. There is also a major problem with the illegal trapping of baby orangutans for sale into the pet trade; the trappers usually kill the mother to steal the baby.
Female orangutans are also killed and their young are taken and illegally placed in circuses and zoos. Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for orangutans. Confined to tiny cages and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors.
Animals used in film, television, advertising or as sports mascots are ripped away from their mothers as infants. They are forced to spend most of their lives in small cages. They often live alone, resulting in severe psychological anxiety. “Performing” is stressful, confusing and often torturous. Training methods may involve beating the animals, causing them to be constantly anxious and fearful. When the animals become too large to handle, they are often dumped at shoddy roadside zoos and other substandard facilities, where they spend the rest of their lives in small, barren cages—many in solitary confinement. “Retirement” from entertainment is a long life of misery for these highly intelligent and sensitive animals. The American Humane Association’s (AHA) “No Animals Were Harmed” seal of approval is extremely misleading. AHA does not monitor living conditions of animals off set, during pre-production training, or during the premature separation of infants from their mothers.
While zoos and aquariums may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos and aquariums exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social structures. When the facility breeds too many animals they become "surplus" and often are sold to laboratories, traveling shows, shooting ranches, or to private individuals who may be unqualified to care for them.
Wolves
9 May, 2025
The wolf is the largest wild member of the canine family. On average, wolves stand 26 to 32 inches at the shoulder and weigh 55 to 115 pounds. Females are usually slightly smaller than males. They range in color from grizzled gray or black to all white.
Wolves are built for stamina, possessing features tailored for long distance travel. Narrow chests and powerful backs and legs contribute to the wolf's proficiency for efficient locomotion. They are capable of covering several miles trotting at about a 6 mph pace, though they have been known to reach speeds approaching 40 mph during a chase.
Gray wolves are listed as endangered in the Southwest under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and threatened throughout the lower 48 states. Wolves in Alaska are not listed under the ESA. Endangered means a species is considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, and threatened means a species may become endangered in the foreseeable future. Regions of Yellowstone, central Idaho and the Southwest are designated as non-essential experimental populations, which isolate geographically-described groups from other existing populations and offer special regulations.
Wolves live up to 12 years. They can be found in forests, and on tundra, deserts, plains and mountains. They normally prey on large hoofed mammals such as deer and elk, but occasionally prey on smaller animals such as beavers or rabbits.
Wolves live in packs, which are complex social structures that include the breeding adult pair (the alpha male and female) and their offspring. A hierarchy of dominant and subordinate animals within the pack help it to function as a unit. The pack is led by the two individuals that sit atop the social hierarchy — the alpha male and the alpha female. The alpha pair (of whom only one may be the "top" alpha) has the greatest amount of social freedom compared to the rest of the pack, but they are not "leaders" in the human sense of the term. The alphas do not give the other wolves orders; rather, they simply have the most freedom in choosing where to go, what to do, and when to do it. Possessing strong instincts for fellowship, the rest of the pack usually follows.
Wolves communicate by scent-marking, vocalizing (including howling), facial expressions and body postures. They can visually communicate an impressive variety of expressions and moods that range from subtler signals – such as a slight shift in weight – to the more obvious ones – like rolling on the back as a sign of complete submission.
Wolves howl for several reasons. Howling helps pack members keep in touch, allowing them to effectively communicate in thickly forested areas or over great distances. Furthermore, howling helps to summon pack members to a specific location. Howling can also serve as a declaration of territory, as portrayed by a dominant wolf's tendency to respond to a human imitation of a "rival" individual in an area that the wolf considers its own. This behavior is also stimulated when a pack has something to protect, such as a fresh kill. Wolves will also howl for communal reasons—similar to community singing among humans.
Usually, only the alpha pair is able to successfully rear a litter of pups (other wolves in a pack may breed, but will usually lack the resources required to raise the pups to maturity). They mate in January or February. Females give birth two months later to a litter of pups. An average litter is four to seven pups. All the wolves in the pack assist in raising wolf pups. Some mature individuals, usually females, may choose to stay in the original pack so as to reinforce it and help rear more pups. Most, males particularly, will disperse however.
The size of the pack may change over time and is controlled by several factors, including habitat, personalities of individual wolves within a pack, and food supply. Packs can contain between two and twenty wolves, though an average pack consists of six or seven. New packs are formed when a wolf leaves its birth pack and claims a territory. Lone wolves searching for other individuals can travel very long distances seeking out suitable territories.
Wolves, like other canines, use scent marking to lay claim to anything from territory to fresh kills.
THREATS TO WOLVES
The illegal killing of wolves has become a leading threat to their survival. Another serious problem is human encroachment into wolf territory, which leads to habitat loss for wolves. As long as there is enough prey, wolves seem to avoid taking livestock, often ignoring them entirely. However, some wolves or packs can specialize in hunting livestock once the behavior is learned. In some areas across the world, hunters or state officials will hunt wolves from helicopters or light planes to "control" populations (or, in some instances, for sport), claiming it is the most effective way to control wolf numbers. Wolves are frequently trapped, in the areas where it is legal, using inhumane snares or leg hold traps. The economic value of wolf pelts is limited, so it is mainly a recreation activity. Wolf trapping has come under heavy fire from animal rights groups. Wolves are also inhumanely bred for their fur in some locations.
Walruses
9 May, 2025
Walrus, a marine mammal, Odobenus rosmarus, is found in Arctic seas. It is the largest of the fin-footed mammals, or pinnipeds. The walrus is also distinguished by its long tusks and by cheek pads bearing quill-like bristles. Adult males are 10 feet long or more, and weigh up to 3,000 lb; females weigh about two thirds as much as males. The tusks, which are elongated upper canine teeth, may reach a length of 3 feet in large males and weigh over 10 lb. The hide is very thick and wrinkled, and is light brown and nearly hairless. Beneath the hide is a layer of fat several inches thick.
Like sea lions, walruses can turn their hind flippers forward for walking on land; their foreflippers are weaker than those of sea lions and they are not as strong swimmers. They live in shallow water and spend much of the time on ice floes and beaches, where they congregate in herds of about 100 animals of both sexes. They can dive to a depth of 240 feet to find food, relying primarily on touch; their diet consists chiefly of shellfish, especially mollusks.
The cheek teeth of walruses are rounded and are used for crushing shells. Walruses use their tusks for prying shellfish from the ocean floor, as well as for pulling themselves up onto ice floes. The herds tend to follow the ice line, moving south in winter and north in summer.
Walruses mate in the water and give birth on land or ice floes. Male walruses compete for territory, often fighting each other; the winners in these fights breed with large numbers of females. Older male walruses frequently bear large scars from these bloody but rarely fatal battles. Walruses have been known to kill polar bears.
Pacific walruses spend the summer north of the Bering Strait in the Chukchi Sea along the north shore of eastern Siberia, around Wrangel Island, in the Beaufort Sea along the north shore of Alaska, and in the waters between those locations. Smaller numbers of males summer in the Gulf of Anadyr on the south shore of the Chukchi Peninsula of Siberia and in Bristol Bay off the south shore of southern Alaska west of the Alaska Peninsula. In the spring and fall they congregate in the Bering Strait, adjacent to the west shores of Alaska, and in the Gulf of Anadyr. They winter to the south in the Bering Sea along the eastern shore of Siberia south to the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and along the southern shore of Alaska.
Walruses have a breeding season in mid winter, a time spent in the southern Bering sea. The males show off in the water for the females who view them from pack ice. Males compete with each other aggressively for this display space. Mating usually takes place in the water. After fertilization the fertilized egg remains dormant for several months, and then a gestation period of 11 months follows. When a calf is born it is over 3 feet long and able to swim. Birth takes place on the pack ice; the calf nurses for about 2 years, spending 3 to 5 years with its mother. Females mature at about 6 years, males at 9 or 10. A walrus lives about 50 years.
Walruses spend about half their time in the water and half their time on beaches or ice floes where they gather in large herds. They may spend several days at a stretch either on land or in the sea. In the sea they sometimes catch fish but generally graze along the sea bottom for clams which they suck from their shells. Abrasion patterns of the tusks show that they are dragged through the sediment, but are not used to dig up prey. They can also spit jets of water to look for clams. Walruses have been observed to attack narwhal and seals if they cannot find any other food source. This has mainly been observed in large males and the ingestion of seal flesh causes their blubber to appear "greasy".
There are two walrus races, the Atlantic and the Pacific. The Atlantic race, formerly found as far South as Nova Scotia and occasionally Massachusetts, is now considered endangered. The walrus's nearest living relatives are the fur seals, with which it evolved from bearlike ancestors, the Enaliarctidae, in the North Pacific Ocean about 20 million years ago. Walruses are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, suborder Pinnipedia, family Odobenidae.
THREATS TO WALRUSES
The Eskimo hunt walruses for food and clothing; the introduction of firearms greatly increased the size of the kill. Commercial hunting of walruses for blubber, hides, and ivory has been extensive since the 16th century and has greatly reduced the walrus population. Several nations now have protective laws; Canada and Russia prohibit walrus hunting except by peoples for whom it is a traditional part of the economy.
Walruses are common victims of the animal entertainment industry. Aquariums and marine mammal theme parks are part of a billion-dollar industry built on the suffering of intelligent, social beings who are denied everything that is natural and important to them. Animals are taken from the wild; their families torn apart.
Marine parks have shown no more interest in conserving marine mammals' natural habitats than they have in educating audiences. Cetaceans do not belong in captivity where they are forced to perform meaningless tricks. They are often separated from family members when they’re shuffled between parks. Most die far short of their natural life spans.
The living conditions at these attractions are often dismal, with animals confined to tiny, filthy, barren enclosures, but even the best artificial environments can’t come close to matching the space, diversity, and freedom that cetaceans have in their natural habitats.
Stingrays
8 May, 2025
Dasyatidae is a family of rays, cartilaginous marine fishes. Dasyatids are common in tropical coastal waters throughout the world, and there are fresh water species in Asia (Himantura sp.), Africa, and Florida (Dasyatis sabina).
Dasyatids swim with a "flying" motion, propelled by motion of their large pectoral fins (commonly referred to as "wings"). Their stinger is a razor-sharp, barbed or serrated cartilaginous spine which grows from the ray's whip-like tail (like a fingernail). It is coated with a toxic venom. This gives them their common name of stingrays.
Dasyatids do not attack aggressively, or even actively defend themselves. When threatened, their primary reaction is to swim away. However, when they are attacked by predators or stepped on, the barbed stinger in their tail is mechanically whipped up, usually into the offending foot; it is also possible, although less likely, to be stung "accidentally" by brushing against the stinger.
Contact with the stinger causes local trauma (from the cut itself), pain and swelling from the venom, and possible infection from parts of the stinger left in the wound, as well as from seawater entering the wound. It is possible for ray stings to be fatal if they sever major arteries, are in the chest or pelvic region, or are improperly treated. Their stingers are normally ineffective against their main predator, sharks.
Treatment for stings includes hot water (as hot as the victim can stand), which helps ease pain and break down the venom, and antibiotics. Pain normally lasts up to 48 hours but is most severe in the first 30-60 minutes and may be accompanied by nausea, fatigue, headaches, fever, and chills.
Like other rays, dasyatids are viviparous (bearing live young in litters of 5–13). When a male is courting a female, he will follow her closely, biting at her pectoral disc. He then places one of his two claspers into her valve. The female holds the embryos in the womb without a placenta. Instead, the embryos absorb nutrients from a yolk sac, and after the sac is depleted, the mother provides uterine "milk".
Since their eyes are on top of their head, and their mouths on the bottom, they cannot see their prey, and instead use their sense of smell and electro-receptors similar to those of the shark. They feed primarily on mollusks and crustaceans, as their mouths contain powerful, shell-crushing teeth, or occasionally on smaller fish. Rays settle on the bottom while feeding, sometimes leaving only the eyes and tail visible.
Dasyatids are not normally visible to swimmers, but divers and snorkelers may find them in shallow sandy waters; more so when the water is unseasonably warm.
THREATS TO DASYATIDS
Most dasyatids are neither threatened nor endangered. For several species (for example Taeniura meyeni, D. colarensis, D. garouaensis, and D. laosensis), conservation status is more problematic, leading to their being listed as vulnerable or endangered by IUCN. The status of several other species are poorly known, leading to their being listed as Data Deficient.
Boobies
7 May, 2025
ADOPT A BOOBYA booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. The bird family Sulidae also includes gannets. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. Sulids are distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical waters. Gannets are also found in temperate regions. They usually stay close to the coasts.
Sulids measure about 24 to 33 inches in length and have a wingspan of about 4.59 to 5.74 feet. They have long, narrow and pointed wings, and a quite long, graduated, lozenge-shaped tail with outer feathers shorter than the central ones. Their flight muscles are small to allow for the small cross section required for plunge-diving, and thus their wing loading is high. Consequently, they are very streamlined, reducing drag. Their bodies are "torpedo-shaped" as well as somewhat flat.
Boobies have stout legs and webbed feet, with the web connecting all four toes. In some species the webs are brightly colored and used in courtship displays. Booby bills are usually conspicuously colored, long, deep at the base, and pointed with saw-like edges. The upper mandible curves down slightly at the tip and can be moved upward to accept large prey. To keep water out during plunges, their nostrils enter into the bill rather than opening to the outside directly. Boobies eyes are angled forward, and provide a wider field of binocular vision than in most other birds.
The plumage of boobies is either all-white (or light brownish or greyish) with dark wingtips and tail, or at least some dark brown or black above with white underparts. Gannets have a yellowish hue to the head.
Booby faces usually have some sort of black markings. They have a well-developed preen gland whose waxy secretions they spread on their feathers for waterproofing and pest control. They moult their tail feathers irregularly, and molt their flight feathers in stages, so they always have some old feathers, some new feathers, and some partly grown feathers.
Different species of booby have their own uniquely distinguishable features. The different species of booby are the blue-footed booby, the red-footed booby, the Peruvian booby, the masked booby, the brown booby and the Nazca booby.
The blue-footed booby is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet, which can range in color from a pale turquoise to a deep aquamarine. Males and younger birds have lighter feet while females have darker feet. Their blue feet play a key role in courtship rituals and breeding, with the male visually displaying his feet to attract mates during the breeding season by stamping them on the ground in a dance-like fashion. The brightness of their feet decreases with age, so females tend to mate with younger males with brighter feet who have higher fertility and increased ability to provide paternal care than do older males.
The red-footed booby has bright, red feet that are a pinkish color when the booby is young. The Peruvian booby is not as elaborate in appearance as other booby species. The masked booby has a distinguishable black color around it's eyes and is the largest species of booby. The brown booby is a smaller booby and with a black head and back, a white belly, short wings and a long tail. The Nazca booby has a more rounded head than the other species of booby, with a white body and a beak that is yellow or orange.
Boobies hunt fish by diving from a height into the sea and pursuing their prey underwater. Facial air sacs under their skin cushion the impact with the water. All species feed entirely at sea, mostly on mid-sized fish and similarly-sized marine invertebrates. Many species feed communally, and some species follow fishing boats to scavenge discarded bycatch and chum. The typical hunting behavior is a dive from mid-air, taking the bird under water. If prey manages to escape the diving birds, they may give chase using their legs and wings for underwater swimming.
Before taking off, sulids will point their bills upwards (gannets) or forward (boobies). After landing again, they point downwards with the bill. In response to a threat they will not attack but shake their heads and point the bill towards the intruder.
Boobies are colonial breeders on islands and coasts. They normally lay one or more chalky-blue eggs on the ground or sometimes in a tree nest. Males examine the colony area in flight and then pick a nest site, which they defend by fighting and by territorial displays. Males then advertise to females by a special display and call. The display behavior typically includes the male shaking his head. Females search the colony in flight and on foot for a mate. Once they select males, pairs maintain their bonds by preening each other and by frequent copulation.
The clutch is typically two eggs. The eggs are unmarked (but may become stained by debris in the nest), whitish, pale blue, green or pink, and have a coating that resembles lime. Incubation lasts 42 to 55 days, depending on the species. Both sexes incubate; their feet become vascularized and hot, and the birds place the eggs under the webs. Eggs lost during the first half of incubation are replaced.
At hatching, parents move the eggs and then the hatchlings to the tops of their webs. The young hatch naked, but soon develop white down. They beg by touching the parent's bill and take regurgitated food straight from their gapes. At first at least one parent is always in attendance of the young; after two weeks, both parents leave the nest unguarded at times while they go fishing. The amount of time for the chicks to fledge and become independent of their parents depends greatly on the food supply.
Boobies communicate with grunts or shouts and whistling noises. The males of the species have been known to throw up their head and whistle at a passing, flying female. Mates can recognize each other by their calls.
THREATS TO BOOBIES
Boobies are threatened by habitat loss and egg collecting. Booby food sources are also over-fished by the commercial fishing industry.
Dugongs
7 May, 2025
Dugongs are large marine mammals inhabiting warm ocean waters surrounding Australia and Indonesia. Most dugongs are concentrated around northern Australia, while they are also found throughout the Indo-Pacific tropics.
The legends of mermaids are believed to have originated when sailors viewed dugongs and manatees from a distance and mistakenly thought they were half-fish, half-human.
The dugong looks very similar to a manatee, and is very closely related, but the two are different species. Dugongs are smaller than manatees, about the size of a large cow. Tails of dugongs are usually forked like that of a shark, while the tails of manatees are broad and flat and look more flipper-like than fin-like. Dugongs are also closely related to elephants. Dugongs evolved millions of years ago when an elephant-like animal entered the water.
Male dugongs develop tusks between the ages of 12 and 15 years old. Females do not usually grow visible tusks.
Dugongs are strictly herbivorous animals, often called “cows of the sea”. Dugongs graze on aquatic plants and sea grasses growing in warm, shallow waters. Dugongs shake their heads to remove sand from their food. Since dugongs consume large amounts of sea plants, they frequently leave trails of bare sand and uprooted sea grass behind them.
Being mammals, dugongs needs to surface every six minutes to breathe atmospheric oxygen. They can also breathe by standing on their tails with their heads above the water.
Dugongs live on their own, in pairs or in communities. Dugongs use a variety of sounds to communicate with each other, including barks, chirp-squeaks and trills.
Female dugongs give birth to one baby approximately every five years. Baby dugongs are born underwater in the tropical shallows. Baby dugongs can swim immediately and surface the water to take their first breath. Mother and baby dugongs have a strong bond. Baby dugongs sometimes ride on their mother's back. Baby dugongs stay near their mothers until they are about 2 years old. Dugong calves reach full size at about 15 years old.
Dugongs live to be about 70 years old.
The main predators of dugongs are sharks, killer whales and crocodiles.
THREATS TO DUGONGS
Dugong populations have decreased dramatically due to chemical pollution, hunting, the commercial fishing industry and coastal development. While the dugong is now protected by law, their populations remain low due to slow reproduction. Dugongs are considered vulnerable to extinction due to hunting, pollution, boat collisions and getting caught in fishing nets.
Capuchins
6 May, 2025
The capuchins are the group of New World monkeys classified as genus Cebus. Their name comes from their coloration, which resembles the cowls worn by the Capuchin order of Roman Catholic friars. Cebus is the only genus in subfamily Cebinae. The range of the capuchin monkeys includes Central America (Honduras) and middle South America (middle Brazil, eastern Peru, Paraguay).
Capuchins generally resemble the friars of their namesake. Their body, arms, legs and tail are all darkly (black or brown) colored, while the face, throat and chest are white colored, and their head has a black cap. This general pattern varies from species to species, as well as among individuals within a species. They reach a length of 12 - 22 inches, with tails that are just as long as the body. They weigh up to 2 lb, 13 oz.
Like most New World monkeys, capuchins are diurnal (active during the day) and arboreal (living in trees). With the exception of a midday nap, they spend their entire day searching for food. At night they sleep in the trees, wedged between branches. They are undemanding regarding their habitat and can thus be found in many differing areas. Among the natural enemies of the capuchins are large falcons, cats and snakes.
The diet of the capuchins is more varied than other monkeys in the family Cebidae. They are omnivores, eating not only fruits, nuts, seeds and buds, but also insects, spiders, bird eggs and small vertebrate. Capuchins living near water will also eat crabs and shells by cracking their shells with stones.
Capuchins live together in groups of six to 40 members. These groups consist of related females and their offspring, as well as several males. Usually groups are dominated by a single male, who has primary rights to mate with the females of the group. Mutual grooming, as well as vocalization, serves as communication and stabilization of the group dynamics. These primates are territorial animals, distinctly marking a central area of their territory with urine and defending it against intruders, though outer zones of these areas may overlap.
Females bear young every two years following a 160 to 180 day gestation. The young cling to their mother's chest until they are larger, when they move to her back. Adult male capuchins rarely take part in caring for the young. Within four years for females and eight years for males, juveniles become fully mature. In captivity, individuals have reached an age of 45 years, although life expectancy in nature is only 15 to 25 years.
Capuchins are considered extremely intelligent. The Tufted Capuchin is especially noted for its long-term tool usage. When it sees macaws eating palm nuts, cracking them open with their beaks, these capuchins will select a few of the ripest fruits, nip off the tip of the fruit and drink down the juice, then seemingly discard the rest of the fruit with the nut inside. When these discarded fruits have hardened and become slightly brittle, the capuchins will gather them up again and take them to a large flat boulder where they have previously gathered a few river stones from up to a mile away. They will then use these stones, some of them weighing as much as the monkeys, to crack open the fruit to get to the nut inside. Young capuchins will watch this process to learn from the older, more experienced adults. During the mosquito season, they crush up millipedes and rub the remains on their backs. This acts as a natural bug repellant. When presented with a reflection, capuchin monkeys react in a way that indicates an intermediate state between seeing the mirror as another individual and recognizing the image as self.
THREATS TO CAPUCHINS
The main threats to capuchins are hunting and the pet trade.
PET CAPUCHINS
Thousands of primates are peddled as "pets" each year, including monkeys, apes and lemurs. Highly intelligent and social animals, they suffer terribly in the inhumane pet trade.
These wild animals are bred in captivity and taken from their mothers within hours or days of birth, or stolen from their mother in the wild who is often killed in the process. Sold like toys by unethical businesses and backyard breeders, profit is put above the welfare of the animals.
Unprepared guardians purchase the animals, often with little knowledge on primate care. Adorable baby monkeys quickly grow into aggressive and territorial adults. Guardians often resort to drastic measures to control the animals, such as inhumane tooth removal. Eventually they are abandoned, given to roadside zoos or sold to another unprepared family where the cycle begins again. They end up living their lives in tiny cages, isolated, lonely, deprived of their wild nature and social interaction with their own kind.
The complex physical, psychological and social needs of primates can never be met when they are kept as pets. Living in constant frustration, these wild animals can inflict serious and catastrophic injuries. They can also spread diseases that are deadly to humans, including viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. It is common for monkeys to carry tuberculosis, hepatitis and simian herpes B.
Even the smallest of monkeys are incredibly strong and become unpredictable when they reach sexual maturity. Hundreds of people have been injured by attacks from primates, sometimes causing permanent disability and disfigurement.
CAPUCHINS USED IN RESEARCH
Every year thousands of monkeys are imprisoned in laboratories, where they are abused, neglected and killed in invasive and painful experiments. They are either bred in government or commercial facilities or laboratories, or captured from the wild. Those born in laboratories are torn from their mothers usually within three days of birth. Those from the wild are often taken from their mothers, who are sometimes killed. They are crammed into tiny crates with little to no food or water and taken to filthy holding centers, followed by long and terrifying trips in the cargo holds of passenger airlines. Following the traumatic separation from their families and/or homes, monkeys in laboratories are usually confined to small, barren cages. They barely have enough room to sit, stand, lie down or turn around.
90 percent of primates in laboratories exhibit abnormal behaviors caused by the physical abuse, psychological stress, social isolation and barren confinement that they are forced to endure. Many go insane, rocking back and forth, pacing endlessly in the cages, and engaging in repetitive motions and acts of self-mutilation.
Their fundamental needs and desires are disregarded and they are subjected to painful and traumatic procedures. Most animal experiments are not relevant to human health and do not contribute meaningfully to medical advances. Human clinical and epidemiological studies, human tissue and cell-based research methods, cadavers, sophisticated high-fidelity human patient simulators and computational models are more reliable, more precise, less expensive and more humane than animal experiments.
CAPUCHINS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
The use of monkeys as “entertainers” removes animals from their natural habitat; depriving them of the ability to freely engage in instinctual behaviors. Both children and adults are desensitized to animal mistreatment by the animal entertainment industry. Whether they're at a zoo, on a film set, or under a circus tent, monkeys used as entertainment are forced to perform unnatural and painful tasks through abusive training methods.
Animals used in film, television, advertising or as sports mascots are ripped away from their mothers as infants. They are forced to spend most of their lives in small cages. They often live alone, resulting in severe psychological anxiety. “Performing” is stressful, confusing and often torturous. Training methods may involve beating the animals, causing them to be constantly anxious and fearful. When the animals become too large to handle, they are often dumped at shoddy roadside zoos and other substandard facilities, where they spend the rest of their lives in small, barren cages—many in solitary confinement. “Retirement” from entertainment is a long life of misery for these highly intelligent and sensitive animals. The American Humane Association’s (AHA) “No Animals Were Harmed” seal of approval is extremely misleading. AHA does not monitor living conditions of animals off set, during pre-production training, or during the premature separation of infants from their mothers.
Circus animals are forced to travel in box cars or trucks for months at a time with no regard for temperature, exercise or normal interaction with their own kind. These animals do not willingly stand on their heads, jump through rings of fire, or ride bicycles. They don’t perform these tricks because they want to and they don’t do any of these meaningless acts in their natural habitat. They do not perform because they are positively reinforced. Instead, they are trained with varying levels of punishment, neglect and deprivation.
Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for wild animals. Confined to tiny areas and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors.
While zoos may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social structures. When the facility breeds too many animals they become "surplus" and often are sold to laboratories, traveling shows, shooting ranches, or to private individuals who may be unqualified to care for them.
Seals
6 May, 2025
ADOPT A SEALSeals are carnivorous aquatic mammals with front and hind feet modified as flippers, or fin-feet. The name seal is sometimes applied broadly to any of the fin-footed mammals, or pinnipeds, including the walrus, the eared seals (sea lion and fur seal), and the true seals, also called earless seals, hair seals, or phocid seals. More narrowly the term is applied only to true seals.
Pinnipeds have streamlined bodies, rounded in the middle and tapered at the ends, with a thick layer of fat beneath the skin. Their limbs are short and their feet are long and webbed, forming flippers. Sea lions, fur seals and the walrus are able to turn their hind flippers forward for walking on land; they swim chiefly by a rowing action of the long front flippers. True seals are unable to rotate the hind flippers. They progress on land by wriggling on their bellies, pulling themselves with the short front flippers. In the water they are propelled by a side-to-side sweeping action of the hind flippers.
True seals are called earless seals because they lack external ears, though they have functional inner ears. They have short, coarse hair, usually with a close, dense undercoat. Their color and pattern vary with the species. Many are spotted. The pups of most species have fluffy coats of a light color. True seals are generally polygamous and gregarious, but most do not form harems at breeding time, as do the eared seals. Some species have definite migrations, but in most the seals spread out after breeding, singly or in groups, over a wide area of ocean. Some polar species migrate in winter to avoid the advancing ice; members of other species winter under the ice, surfacing through holes to breathe. Most true seal species fall into one of three geographical groups: northern, antarctic and warm-water species.
Nearly all pinnipeds are marine, and most inhabit cold or temperate regions. They have an amphibious lifestyle, spending most of their lives in the water but hauling out to mate, raise young, molt, rest, thermoregulate or escape from aquatic predators. Some spend most of the year in the open ocean, while others inhabit coastal waters and spend varying amounts of time on shores, islands or ice floes. Occasionally they ascend rivers.
All pinnipeds leave the water at least once a year, at breeding time. In nearly all species the females give birth a year after mating, so that the births take place on land, just before breeding begins. The pups are nursed on land.
Some species spend most of the year far from their breeding grounds. Several species are known to migrate vast distances. The northern fur seals make particularly lengthy migrations each year. Traveling seals may use various features of their environment to reach their destination including geomagnetic fields, water and wind currents, the position of the sun and moon and the taste and temperature of the water.
Pinnipeds have lifespans averaging 25–30 years. Females usually live longer, as males tend to fight and often die before reaching maturity. The longest recorded lifespans include 43 years for a wild female ringed seal and 46 years for a wild female grey seal. The age at which a pinniped sexually matures can vary from 2–12 years depending on the species. Females typically mature earlier than males.
All pinnipeds are carnivorous and predatory. Most have diets of fish and shellfish; many are bottom feeders, with physiological adaptations for deep diving. They have acute hearing and some, if not all, make use of echolocation (sonar) for underwater navigation. Pinnipeds may hunt solitarily or cooperatively. Though they can drink seawater, they get most of their fluid intake from the food they eat.
Pinnipeds themselves are subject to predation. Most species are preyed on by orcas. They are also targeted by terrestrial predators, including polar bears, bears, cougars, hyenas and various species of canids. Pinnipeds lessen the chance of predation by gathering in groups.
The mating system of pinnipeds varies from extreme polygyny to serial monogamy. Of the 33 species, 20 breed on land, and the remaining 13 breed on ice. Species that breed on land are usually polygynous, as females gather in large aggregations and males are able to mate with them as well as defend them from rivals. Land-breeding pinnipeds tend to mate on islands where there are fewer terrestrial predators. Few islands are favorable for breeding, and those that are tend to be crowded. Since the land they breed on is fixed, females return to the same sites for many years. The males arrive earlier in the season and wait for them. The males stay on land and try to mate with as many females as they can; some of them will even fast. If a male leaves the beach to feed, he will likely lose mating opportunities and his dominance. Since ice is less stable then solid land, pinnipeds that breed on ice change location each year.
All species go through delayed implantation, where the embryo remains in suspended development for weeks or months before it is implanted in the uterus. Delayed implantation postpones the birth of young until the female hauls-out on land or until conditions for birthing are favorable. Gestation in seals (including delayed implantation) typically lasts a year. For most species, birthing takes place in the spring and summer months. Typically, single pups are born; twins are uncommon and have high mortality rates.
Mother pinnipeds have different strategies for maternal care and lactation. Some seals remain on land or ice and fast during their relatively short lactation period–four days for the hooded seal and five weeks for elephant seals. The milk of these species consist of up to 60% fat, allowing the young to grow fairly quickly. Some, like the harbor seal, fast and nurse their pups for a few days at a time. In between nursing bouts, the females leave their young onshore to forage at sea. These foraging trips may last anywhere from a day to two weeks, depending on the abundance of food and the distance of foraging sites. While their mothers are away, the pups will fast.
Pinnipeds communicate with a number of vocalizations such as barks, grunts, rasps, rattles, growls, creaks, warbles, trills, chirps, chugs, clicks and whistles. Vocals are produced both in air and underwater. Vocalizations are particularly important during the breeding seasons. Dominant male elephant seals advertise their status and threaten rivals with "clap-threats" and loud drum-like calls. In some pinniped species, there appear to be geographic differences in vocalizations, known as dialects.
Seals are able to demonstrate an understanding of symmetry, transitivity and equivalence. They demonstrate the ability to understand syntax and musical rhythms. Some have been trained to imitate human words, phrases and laughter.
THREATS TO SEALS
Each year thousands of seals are killed in Canada. Seal-clubbing is justified by the Canadian government because its victims are adversely affecting the profits of the Newfoundland fishing industry.
A harp seal can be legally killed as soon as it has begun to moult its white hair, around 2 weeks after birth. Adult seals are also killed. The seal hunt is one of the very few hunts that occurs in the spring when young are being born. As a result, roughly 80% of the seals killed in the commercial hunt are 'young of the year' - between approximately 12 days and 1 year old.
Six species of seals - including the harp, hooded, grey, ringed, bearded and harbour - are found off the Atlantic coast of Canada. Harp and hooded seals are the two most common species hunted commercially. In recent years small numbers of grey seals have been hunted for commercial use. The majority of seal pelts are still exported to Norway for processing. The seal pelts are either used for furs or leather.
Seal hunting is inhumane. Groups have campaigned on the issue for years and their evidence shows all the horror of the hunt. Many people remember the worldwide protest that arose in the 1970s over Canada’s killing of whitecoat seal pups (under two weeks old). The massive protest, with international campaigning against the Canadian seal hunt during the 70s & 80s, led to the European Union ban on the importation of whitecoat pelts in 1983, and eventually to the Canadian government banning large-vessel commercial whitecoat hunting in 1987.
Canada's cod fishery collapsed in the early 90s, and some in Canada blamed the seals, despite the fact that the greatest cause was clearly decades of over-fishing by humans. The collapse of fisheries around Newfoundland, due to mismanagement, is a major driver in the expansion of the seal hunt.
Although the Canadian seal hunt is the largest in the world and has the highest profile internationally, sealing is also carried out in a number of other countries across the world including Greenland, Namibia, Russia, Norway and Sweden.
Seals are also common victims of the animal entertainment industry. Aquariums and marine mammal theme parks are part of a billion-dollar industry built on the suffering of intelligent, social beings who are denied everything that is natural and important to them. Animals are taken from the wild; their families torn apart.
Marine parks have shown no more interest in conserving marine mammals' natural habitats than they have in educating audiences. Cetaceans do not belong in captivity where they are forced to perform meaningless tricks. They are often separated from family members when they’re shuffled between parks. Most die far short of their natural life spans.
The living conditions at these attractions are often dismal, with animals confined to tiny, filthy, barren enclosures, but even the best artificial environments can’t come close to matching the space, diversity, and freedom that cetaceans have in their natural habitats.
Water Dragons
5 May, 2025
ADOPT A WATER DRAGONWater dragons are large lizards native to forests and jungles of Australia and Asia. There are two different species of water dragon: the Asian water dragon and the Australian water dragon.
The Asian water dragon is the larger of the two species. They are also more colorful than Australian water dragons. Asian water dragons inhabit forests and jungles in China, India, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Thailand. Asian water dragons have a third eye, the pineal gland, which is able to detect differences in light.
The Australian water dragon inhabits the east coast of Australia. Australian water dragons have powerful legs and sharp claws that aid them in climbing trees.
Water dragons vary in color from light to dark green. When water dragons are cool, their markings are darker. When they are warm, their markings are lighter. Markings on water dragons help to camouflage them in their habitats. Their tails are long and thin, alternating in green and brown stripes. Water dragon tongues are long and sticky.
Water dragons are arboreal. They spend most of their time in the trees. They also prefer to be near a large body of water. Strong and capable swimmers, water dragons leap into water from branches high above to escape from predators. Their tails are designed to help them swim, shaped with flattened sides to act like oars. Side-to-side movement of their tails propels them through the water, while they tuck their legs in to create a streamlined form.
Water dragons can remain underwater for 90 minutes and sometimes eat underwater. They can sleep in water with only their nostrils protruding. During cold weather, sleeping in water overnight helps to keep them warm. The heart of a water dragon beats very slowly when under water, requiring less oxygen so the animal can stay under water longer.
Water dragons are omnivores, feeding on a variety of plants and animals. They prefer to eat small rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. Water dragons catch prey with their long tongues. While most other lizards lose and replace their teeth throughout their lives, the teeth of water dragons are permanently fused to their jaws giving them a precise bite more like that of mammals.
Water dragons usually run on four legs. When they need to run faster, they run on their back legs.
Water dragons communicate by bobbing their heads, waving their arms, inflating their throat pouches and doing push-ups. Males exhibit territorial behavior during the breeding season.
Water dragon mating season takes place in the spring, following winter hibernation. Male water dragons bite the female's crest at the back of her neck to hold her in place when mating. Female water dragons dig burrows in the ground. They lay up to 18 eggs and bury them. Water dragon babies hatch after a few months. They remain close to the nest until they mature.
Due to their relatively large size, water dragons usually have few natural predators. Snakes, carnivorous mammals and large birds prey on water dragons. In addition to diving into water to escape danger, their strong tails can be used as a whip to defend themselves against predators.
Water dragons live up to 20 years in the wild.
THREATS TO WATER DRAGONS
Water dragons are threatened by habit loss, pollution, litter, changes in climate and the illicit pet trade.
Water dragons are poached at an alarming rate to be sold as pets on the black market. Captive water dragons often suffer from stress, metabolic bone disease, abrasions of the nose and face from their enclosures, obesity, abscesses from injuries, overcrowding, and poor hygiene. Exotic animals are wild and belong in their natural habitat. They do not adjust well to a captive environment.
Sea Turtles
5 May, 2025
ADOPT A SEA TURTLEAll sea turtles are protected by the Endangered Species Act, which lists all species as endangered except the loggerhead, which is listed as threatened. Marine turtles are one of the earth's most ancient creatures, with a fossil record going back 150 million years. Some estimates suggest they first appeared on earth as much as 230 million years ago, making them 224 million years older than humans.
Sea turtles are generally found in the waters over continental shelves. After taking to the water for the first time, males will not return to shore again. During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most time in the pelagic zone floating in seaweed beds. Green sea turtles in particular are often found in Sargassum beds, a brown seaweed in which they find shelter and food. Once the sea turtle has reached adulthood it moves closer to the shore. Females will come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during the nesting season.
The habitat of a sea turtle has a significant influence on its morphology. Sea turtles are able to grow so large because of the immense size of their habitat: the ocean. The reason that sea turtles are much bigger than land tortoises and freshwater turtles is directly correlated with the vastness of the ocean, and the fact that they travel such far distances. Having more room to live enables more room for growth.
There are seven species of sea turtles:
Green (Chelonia mydas): Medium to large sized, brownish turtle with mottled patterns of markings on its shell. The green sea turtle usually lives among sea grass. The green turtle measures 36 to 43 inches and weighs 200 to 300 pounds.
Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata): Small-to medium-sized turtle with shield-like plates on its shell. The hawksbill turtle is the source of the term "tortoise shell" because of the pattern of markings on its shell. Their beautiful shells were once prized until the hunting of sea turtles became illegal. The hawksbill gets its name from its beak which is shaped like a hawk’s. They measure 30 to 36 inches and weighs 100 to 200 pounds.
Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii): The smallest and the most endangered of all the sea turtles, the Kemp’s Ridley has an oval-shaped shell that is olive-gray in color. On average, it reaches up to 30 inches long and weighs 80 to 100 pounds.
Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea): This turtle is named for its olive-colored shell. The Olive Ridley has a wide, heart-shaped shell and a greenish-white underside. It is 24 to 30 inches long and weighs 90 to 100 pounds.
Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea): This species is the largest living sea turtle. They average six feet long and can weigh 1,400 pounds. The leatherback has large limbs and no claws. It does not have a shell but instead has a leathery back with raised gray stripes.
Loggerhead (Caretta caretta): The loggerhead has reddish-brown markings, it can reach 33 to 40 inches in length and weigh 150 to 400 pounds. One of the two main loggerhead nesting areas is located along the Atlantic coast of Florida.
Australian Flatback (Natator depressus): This turtle is named for its flat back and because it is found only in the waters of Australia. The Australian flatback can weigh up to 200 pounds and reach 40 inches in length.
The worldwide population for each species is unknown.
Most sea turtles live approximately 15 to 20 years and may live to be 80 years old. They are found in warm and temperate waters throughout the world and migrate hundreds of miles between nesting and feeding grounds. Sea turtles eat jellyfish, seaweed, crabs, shrimp, snails, algae and mollusks.
Sea turtles spend most of their time in the water. When they do come to the shore, to lay eggs for example, traveling on land is awkward. Pregnant females pull themselves ashore, dig a pit into the sandy beach, and lay 70-170 eggs. Female turtles typically return to the same beach where they were hatched to lay eggs. Six to ten weeks later, baby turtles break out of this nest and scuttle down the beach into the sea. Young sea turtles swim towards kelp beds several miles offshore, where they shelter, feed and grow. During their early life stages, baby sea turtles are highly vulnerable and most do not reach adulthood.
Sea turtles play key roles in two ecosystem types that are critical to them as well as to humans - oceans and beaches/dunes. In the oceans, sea turtles, especially green sea turtles, are one of very few creatures (manatees are another) that eat the sea grass that grows on the sea floor. Sea grass needs to be constantly cut short to help it grow across the sea floor. Sea turtles act as grazing animals that cut the grass short and help maintain the health of the sea grass beds. Sea grass beds provide breeding and developmental grounds for numerous species of fish, shellfish and crustaceans. Without sea grass beds, many marine species would be lost, as would the lower levels of the food chain. The reactions could result in many more marine species eventually becoming endangered or extinct.
Beaches and dunes form a fragile ecosystem that depends on vegetation to protect against erosion. Eggs, hatched or unhatched, and hatchlings that fail to make it into the ocean are nutrient sources for dune vegetation. Dune vegetation is able to grow and become stronger with the presence of nutrients from sea turtle eggs, unhatched nests, eggs and trapped hatchlings. As the dune vegetation grows stronger and healthier, the health of the entire beach/dune ecosystem becomes better. Stronger vegetation and root systems help to hold the sand in the dunes and help protect the beach from erosion.
THREATS TO SEA TURTLES
Sea turtles are threatened with capture, harvesting of eggs, destruction of nesting beaches, ocean pollution, oil spills and entanglement in fishing and shrimp nets. Major threats to sea turtles in the U.S. include, but are not limited to: destruction and alteration of nesting and foraging habitats; incidental capture in commercial and recreational fisheries; entanglement in marine debris; and vessel strikes. To reduce the incidental capture of sea turtles in commercial fisheries, NOAA Fisheries has enacted regulations to restrict certain U.S. commercial fishing gears (gillnets, longlines, pound nets, and trawls) that have known, significant bycatch of sea turtles. To effectively address all threats to marine turtles, NOAA Fisheries and the USFWS have developed recovery plans to direct research and management efforts for each sea turtle species.
The tourist trade is the main reason why turtle numbers are in decline. Tourism poses the greatest threat to turtles for a number of reasons. Turtles migrate huge distances but during certain times of the year they congregate in shallow waters to breed. Females go ashore to lay clutches of up to 150 eggs. Two months later, tiny hatchlings emerge from the sand and make their way to the sea. But many of the tropical and sub-tropical beaches that turtles have used for millions of years are now inhabited by tourists. Many females will not lay their eggs if there is too much noise or lighting from local resorts. Also, nests can be damaged by sunbathers and newly hatched turtles can become disoriented by beachfront developments and may never reach the sea. In the Mediterranean, the nesting period of the loggerhead and green turtle coincide almost exactly with the peak tourist season (May to August).
Speedboats can be deadly, especially during the mating season when turtles spend long periods of time close to the surface. Turtles are also still killed for their shells, which are made into souvenirs such as combs and ashtrays.
The conservation and recovery of sea turtles requires multi-lateral cooperation and agreements to ensure the survival of these highly migratory animals. NOAA Fisheries has a broad national and international program for the conservation and recovery of marine turtles. The Office of Protected Resources works closely with 2 international environmental agreements that deal exclusively with sea turtle conservation.
Kiwis
4 May, 2025
Kiwis are brown, fuzzy, flightless birds inhabiting the jungles and forests of New Zealand. There are five different species of kiwi, all found in New Zealand: the Brown kiwi, the Great spotted kiwi/roroa, the Little spotted kiwi, the Rowi kiwi and the Tokoeka kiwi.
Kiwis inhabit scrublands, farmland, swamps, pine forests and vegetated gullies.
The kiwi is the national bird and icon of New Zealand. Kiwis appear on many flags and symbols across the islands, and the native people of New Zealand are often also called Kiwis.
Kiwi are related to ostriches and emus. They are the smallest member of this bird family, about the size of a chicken. Like its cousins, the kiwi cannot fly due to small wings and large body weight. Kiwis act more like mammals than birds, often being referred to as “honorary mammals”.
Kiwis have unique, brown-grayish feathers that look like hair. They have cat-like claws. Kiwis also have long whiskers around their beaks. The kiwi's beak is one third the size of the kiwi's body and has external nostrils on the end.
The kiwi has poor eyesight but an excellent sense of smell. Kiwis are nocturnal birds, active at night.
Kiwis use their long beaks to forage on the forest floor. They are omnivorous birds, feeding on a variety of plants and animals. Kiwis eat worms, spiders, insects and fruit that has fallen to the forest floor. Kiwis make loud snuffling noises when they remove dirt from their nostrils.
Kiwis are often solitary animals, but some live in pairs. Female kiwis are larger than male kiwis and are usually the dominant bird.
Kiwis are nomadic birds, moving around often. They live in underground burrows dug out with their strong legs. They construct a new burrow each day to sleep in at night. Kiwis are territorial, known for their tempers when an intruder invades their area.
Kiwis mate from June through March when food is plentiful. Most mate for life. Female kiwis usually lay about 5 huge eggs per clutch. Eggs take about 3 months to hatch. Male kiwis incubate the eggs most of the time. Baby kiwis hatch fully feathered. They are ready to feed at about five days old, but are never fed by their parents. Juveniles grow slowly, and don't become adult sized until they are 3 to 5 years old.
Kiwi live up to 50 years in the wild.
THREATS TO KIWIS
The kiwi is endangered due to introduced predators – including cats, dogs, stoats, ferrets, rats and weasels – who hunt the kiwi and kiwi eggs. The biggest threat to kiwi chicks is stoats. The biggest threat to adult kiwis is dogs. Prior to the introduction of these predators, kiwis roamed New Zealand in great numbers with no natural predators.
Kiwis are also threatened by habitat loss and motor vehicle strikes, as well as small population size and distribution of some kiwi species. New bird diseases and parasites reaching New Zealand present further threats to kiwis.
Lions
3 May, 2025
Renowned for their majesty and nicknamed the King of the Jungle, lions possess both beauty and strength. Males are distinguishable by their manes which protect them while fighting.
Lions vary in color but are typically a light, yellowish-brown. Males stand at a shoulder height of about 4 feet and reach about 5 ½ to 8 feet in length. Their tails average a length of 3 to 3 ½ feet, and they can weigh as much as 330 to 550 pounds. Females are smaller than males.
Lions are the only members of the cat family to display obvious sexual dimorphism – that is, males and females look distinctly different.
The lion is found throughout the south Sahara desert and in parts of southern and eastern Africa. Since the early 1950s, the lion population in Africa has been reduced by half. Today fewer than 21,000 remain in all of Africa. Lions live an average of 15 years in the wild, 24 years in captivity.
The African lion inhabits grassy plains, savannahs, open woodlands and scrub country. Lions feed upon a wide array of animals, including wildebeest, impala, zebra, giraffe, buffalo and wild hogs. They will also feed on smaller animals such as hares, birds and reptiles.
The only social member of the cat (Felidae) family, lions live in large groups called "prides," consisting of about 15 lions. Related females and their young make up the majority of the pride. A single male, or sometimes a small group of two to three males, will join a pride for an indefinite period, usually about three years or until another group of males takes over. Females do almost all of the hunting. They are mainly nocturnal and work in teams to stalk and ambush prey.
Lions communicate with an array of facial expressions, body postures and vocalizations. Variations in intensity and pitch, rather than discrete signals, appear central to communication. Lion vocalizations include snarling, hissing, coughing, meowing, woofing and roaring. Lions most often roar at night to advertise the animal's presence. They have the loudest roar of any big cat.
A lion can run for short distances at 50 miles per hour and leap as far as 36 feet. They are also territorial. Males roar and use scent markings to establish their domain.
A female gives birth to litters averaging three to four cubs. If the entire litter dies, she will mate again within a few days. They begin hunting at 11 months and remain with their mother for at least two years.
THREATS TO LIONS
Lion populations are rapidly decreasing, with an estimated 30–50% decline per 20 years in the late half of the 20th century. Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are considered the most significant threats to the species. The remaining populations are often geographically isolated from one another, which can lead to inbreeding, and consequently, reduced genetic diversity.
Lions are often victims of captivity for human entertainment. Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for lions. Confined to tiny cages and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors.
Forced to perform in circus acts, lions used in the circus spend the majority of the year imprisoned in small cages or on chains, traveling from show to show. The training endured by circus animals is almost always based on intimidation; trainers must break the spirit of the animals in order to control them. Zoos are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social structures. Most animals in zoos were either captured from the wild or bred in captivity for the purpose of public display, not species protection.
Monkeys
3 May, 2025
ADOPT A MONKEYMonkeys are a large and varied group of mammals of the primate order. They live in trees, grasslands, forests, mountains and plains. They are seriously threatened by habitat loss.
The term monkey includes all primates that do not belong to the categories human, ape, or prosimian; however, monkeys do have certain common features. All are excellent climbers, and most are primarily arboreal. Nearly all live in tropical or sub-tropical climates. Unlike most of the prosimians, or lower primates, they are almost all day-active animals. Their faces are usually flat and rather human in appearance, their eyes point forward, and they have stereoscopic color vision. Their hands and feet are highly developed for grasping; the big toes and, where present, the thumbs are opposable. Nearly all have flat nails. Monkeys habitually sit in an erect posture.
Monkeys are most easily distinguished from apes by their tails. Apes have no tails. Apes swing arm-to-arm in trees, but most monkeys don’t. Instead, they run across branches. Their skeletal structure is similar to that of other four-footed animals.
Monkeys live in troops of up to several hundred individuals and travel about in search of food, having no permanent shelter. As in apes and humans, the female has a monthly reproductive cycle, and mating may occur at any time, but in some species mating is seasonal. Usually only one infant is born at a time; it is cared for by the mother for a long period.
Monkeys have their own complex language, using different sounds to identify different types of predators. They have been witnessed banging stones together to warn each other of nearby predators. They also use facial expressions and body movements to communicate with each other. Grinning, yawning, head bobbing, jerking the head and shoulders forward or pulling the lip is usually a sign of aggression. Affection is expressed by grooming.
Some monkeys are monogamous, mating for life. They become distressed when separated. They express affection by holding hands, nuzzling, cuddling, grooming each other, intertwining their tails and lip smacking.
The pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world measuring less than six inches and weighing only three to five ounces. The male mandrill is the world's largest monkey at just over 3 feet long and weighing over 70 pounds.
Most monkeys eat both plants and animals. Some also eat dirt. Monkeys peel their bananas like humans and do not eat the skins.
Monkeys can grasp with both their fingers and toes. Many monkeys are skilled tool users. They use branches to capture food, use leaves as gloves, smash nuts with rocks, remove spines and hairs from caterpillars by rubbing them against branches and use large branches to club snakes.
There are two large groups, or superfamilies, of monkeys: Old World monkeys (Cercopithecoidea) and New World monkeys (Ceboidea).
OLD WORLD MONKEYS
The Old World monkeys are found in South Asia, with a few species as far North as Japan and North China, and in all of Africa except the deserts. Most are arboreal, but a few, such as baboons and some macaque species, are ground dwellers. Some Old World monkeys lack tails; when a tail is present it may be long or short but is never prehensile (grasping). The nostrils are close together and tend to point downward. Many species have cheek pouches for holding food, and many have thick pads (called ischial callosities), on the buttocks. Their gestation period is five to nine months. Adult Old World monkeys have 32 teeth. The Old World monkeys, sometimes called true monkeys, are more closely related to the apes and humans than they are to the New World monkeys; the two monkey groups probably evolved separately from ancestral primates.
The Old World monkeys include the many species of macaque, widely distributed throughout Africa and Asia. The rhesus monkey is an Asian macaque. Related to the macaques are the baboons of Africa and South West Asia, as well as the mandrill and mangabey of Africa. The guerezas, or colobus monkeys (genus Colobus), are very large, long-tailed, leaf-eating African monkeys. Their Asian relatives, the langurs and leaf monkeys, include the sacred monkeys of India. The snub-nosed monkey of China and the proboscis monkey of Borneo are langurlike monkeys with peculiar snouts. The guenons (Cercopithecus) are a large group of long-legged, long-tailed, omnivorous monkeys found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. One very widespread guenon species is the green monkey, or vervet, with olive-brown fur.
NEW WORLD MONKEYS
The New World monkeys are found from South Mexico to central South America, except in the high mountains, and are classified into two families (Callatrichids and Cebids). The Callatrichids are very small, while the Cebids are similar in size to the Old World monkeys. They are all thoroughly arboreal and most have long, prehensile tails with which they can manipulate objects and hang from branches. In most the thumb is lacking. They have widely separated nostrils that tend to point outward; they lack cheek pouches and ischial callosities (a thickened piece of skin found on the buttocks). Their gestation period is four to five months. Adults of most New World species have 36 teeth. The New World monkeys include the marmosets and tamarins, small monkeys with claws that are classified in a family of their own, the Callithricidae. The rest of the New World monkeys are classified in the family Cebidae. They include the capuchin (genus Cebus), commonly seen in captivity, which has a partially prehensile tail. Prehensile tails are found in the spider monkey and woolly monkey as well as in the howler monkey, the largest member of the family, which has a voice that carries several miles. Smaller forms with nonprehensile tails are the squirrel monkey and titi, the nocturnal douroucouli, or owl monkey, the saki, and the ouakari.
PET MONKEYS
Thousands of primates are peddled as "pets" each year, including monkeys, apes and lemurs. Highly intelligent and social animals, they suffer terribly in the inhumane pet trade.
These wild animals are bred in captivity and taken from their mothers within hours or days of birth, or stolen from their mother in the wild who is often killed in the process. Sold like toys by unethical businesses and backyard breeders, profit is put above the welfare of the animals. Unprepared guardians purchase the animals, often with little knowledge on primate care. Adorable baby monkeys quickly grow into aggressive and territorial adults. Guardians often resort to drastic measures to control the animals, such as inhumane tooth removal. Eventually they are abandoned, given to roadside zoos or sold to another unprepared family where the cycle begins again. They end up living their lives in tiny cages, isolated, lonely, deprived of their wild nature and social interaction with their own kind.
The complex physical, psychological and social needs of primates can never be met when they are kept as pets. Living in constant frustration, these wild animals can inflict serious and catastrophic injuries. They can also spread diseases that are deadly to humans, including viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. It is common for monkeys to carry tuberculosis, hepatitis and simian herpes B.
Even the smallest of monkeys are incredibly strong and become unpredictable when they reach sexual maturity. Hundreds of people have been injured by attacks from primates, sometimes causing permanent disability and disfigurement.
MONKEYS USED IN RESEARCH
Every year thousands of monkeys are imprisoned in laboratories, where they are abused, neglected and killed in invasive and painful experiments. They are either bred in government or commercial facilities or laboratories, or captured from the wild. Those born in laboratories are torn from their mothers usually within three days of birth. Those from the wild are often taken from their mothers, who are sometimes killed. They are crammed into tiny crates with little to no food or water and taken to filthy holding centers, followed by long and terrifying trips in the cargo holds of passenger airlines. Following the traumatic separation from their families and/or homes, monkeys in laboratories are usually confined to small, barren cages. They barely have enough room to sit, stand, lie down or turn around.
90 percent of primates in laboratories exhibit abnormal behaviors caused by the physical abuse, psychological stress, social isolation and barren confinement that they are forced to endure. Many go insane, rocking back and forth, pacing endlessly in the cages, and engaging in repetitive motions and acts of self-mutilation.
Their fundamental needs and desires are disregarded and they are subjected to painful and traumatic procedures. Most animal experiments are not relevant to human health and do not contribute meaningfully to medical advances. Human clinical and epidemiological studies, human tissue and cell-based research methods, cadavers, sophisticated high-fidelity human patient simulators and computational models are more reliable, more precise, less expensive and more humane than animal experiments.
MONKEYS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
The use of monkeys as “entertainers” removes animals from their natural habitat; depriving them of the ability to freely engage in instinctual behaviors. Both children and adults are desensitized to animal mistreatment by the animal entertainment industry. Whether they're at a zoo, on a film set, or under a circus tent, monkeys used as entertainment are forced to perform unnatural and painful tasks through abusive training methods.
Animals used in film, television, advertising or as sports mascots are ripped away from their mothers as infants. They are forced to spend most of their lives in small cages. They often live alone, resulting in severe psychological anxiety. “Performing” is stressful, confusing and often torturous. Training methods may involve beating the animals, causing them to be constantly anxious and fearful. When the animals become too large to handle, they are often dumped at shoddy roadside zoos and other substandard facilities, where they spend the rest of their lives in small, barren cages—many in solitary confinement. “Retirement” from entertainment is a long life of misery for these highly intelligent and sensitive animals. The American Humane Association’s (AHA) “No Animals Were Harmed” seal of approval is extremely misleading. AHA does not monitor living conditions of animals off set, during pre-production training, or during the premature separation of infants from their mothers.
Circus animals are forced to travel in box cars or trucks for months at a time with no regard for temperature, exercise or normal interaction with their own kind. These animals do not willingly stand on their heads, jump through rings of fire, or ride bicycles. They don’t perform these tricks because they want to and they don’t do any of these meaningless acts in their natural habitat. They do not perform because they are positively reinforced. Instead, they are trained with varying levels of punishment, neglect and deprivation.
Even under the best of circumstances, captivity is cruel for wild animals. Confined to tiny areas and gawked at by crowds, animals in exhibits and acts endure constant stress. They may suffer from temperature extremes and irregular feeding and watering. Without exercise, they become listless, their immune systems are weakened, and they become prone to sickness; many resort to self-mutilation in reaction to stress or boredom. Mental illness is rampant among confined animals. Torn from their families and deprived of all dignity, every part of their lives is controlled by their captors.
While zoos may appear to be educational and conservation-oriented, most are designed with the needs and desires of the visitors in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many animals in zoos exhibit abnormal behavior as a result of being deprived of their natural environments and social structures. When the facility breeds too many animals they become "surplus" and often are sold to laboratories, traveling shows, shooting ranches, or to private individuals who may be unqualified to care for them.
Seahorses
2 May, 2025
Seahorses are marine fish belonging to the genus Hippocampus of the family Syngnathidae. They are found in temperate and tropical waters all over the world.
Seahorses range in size from 16 mm to 35 cm. They are notable for being the only species where the males get pregnant.
The seahorse is a true fish, with a dorsal fin located on the lower body and pectoral fins located on the head near their gills. Some species of seahorse are partly transparent.
Sea dragons are close relatives of seahorses but have bigger bodies and leaf-like appendages which enable them to hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds. Sea dragons feed on larval fishes and amphipods, such as small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids (sea lice), sucking up their prey with their small mouths. Many of these amphipods feed on red algae that thrives in the shade of the kelp forests where the sea dragons live.
Seahorses reproduce in an unusual way: the male becomes pregnant. Most seahorse species pregnancies last approximately two to three weeks.
The male seahorse has a brood pouch where he carries eggs deposited by the female. The mating pair entwines their tails and the female aligns a long tube, called ovipositor, with the male's pouch. The eggs move through the tube into the male's pouch where he then fertilizes them. The embryos will develop between ten days and six weeks, depending on species and water conditions. When the male gives birth, he pumps his tail until the baby seahorses emerge.
The males pouch regulates salinity for the eggs, slowly increasing in the pouch to match the water outside as the eggs mature. Once the offspring hatch, the male releases them and is done caring for them.
Once released, the offspring are independent of their parents. Some spend time among the ocean plankton developing before settling down and hitching as their parents do. Other species (H. zosterae) hitch immediately and begin life in the benthos.
Seahorses are frequently monogamous, though several species (H. zosterae and H. abdominalis) are highly gregarious. In monogamous pairs, the male and female will greet one another with courtship displays in the morning, and in the evening to reinforce their pair bond. They spend the rest of the day separate from each other hunting for food.
THREATS TO SEAHORSES
Seahorse populations have been endangered in recent years by overfishing. The seahorse is used in traditional Chinese herbology, and as many as 20 million seahorses may be caught each year and sold for this purpose.
Import and export of seahorses is controlled under CITES since May 15, 2004.
Coatis
1 May, 2025
ADOPT A COATICoati are medium-sized mammals found only on the American continent. The coati is widely distributed in a variety of different habitats across North, Central and South America.
Coati primarily live in dense forests and wet jungles. Most coati spend the majority of their time in the safety of the trees. Some coati populations do inhabit mountains, grasslands and even deserts.
There are four different species of coati. Two species of coati, the Mountain coati and the Ring-tailed coati, live in South America. The Cozumel Island coati lives in Mexico. The White-nosed coati lives in Central America and North America.
The Mountain coati inhabits areas of South America in the Andes Mountain range. The Mountain coati is sometimes called the Dwarf Coati as it is the smallest species of coati.
The Ring-tailed coati lives in tress and on the ground in jungles and rainforests of South America. The Ring-tailed coati has thick, tan colored fur with black bands running along the tail.
The Cozumel Island coati inhabits only the Mexican island of Cozumel. It is believed they were taken there by the Mayans. The Cozumel Island coati and the White-nosed coati are very similar but are considered separate species.
The White-nosed coati inhabits parts of Central America, including Mexico, and North America. The White-nosed coati is the largest species of coati.
Male coati are solitary animals and only come together with other coati during mating. Female coatis live in tribes, called bands, of 10 to 30 animals.
Coati are nocturnal animals, active during the night. They are omnivorous, feeding on both plants and animals. The coati eats a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, insects, birds eggs, reptiles and rodents.
Coati breeds at the beginning of rainy seasons occurring at different times throughout the year depending on the region. This time of year provides an abundance of food. Female coati leave their band and construct nests in trees or on rocky ledges. Mother coatis give birth to 2 to 7 coati babies following a 3 month gestation period. Baby coatis join their mother's band when they are about 6 weeks old.
Coatis are small and therefor easy prey for a variety of predators including pumas, jaguars, wildcats, snakes, crocodiles and birds of prey.
THREATS TO COATIS
Coati are threatened by habitat loss and hunting. Coati are hunted throughout their range for skin and food. In the United States coati are often caught in traps set for other species, killed by hunters ostensibly looking for other species, or fall victim to 'predator' control campaigns. They disappeared from the Burro Mountains in New Mexico following a Coyote Canis latrans poisoning campaign.
In addition, the coati population in the United States is suspected to be losing genetic contact with populations further south, potentially leading to coati extirpation in the United States.