COYOTE

 Coyote             

        The coyote appears often in the tales and traditions of Native Americans—usually as a very savvy and clever beast. Modern coyotes have displayed their cleverness by adapting to the changing American landscape. These members of the dog family once lived primarily in open prairies and deserts, but now roam the continent's forests and mountains. They have even colonized cities like Los Angeles, and are now found over most of North America. Coyote populations are likely at an all-time high.

           These adaptable animals will eat almost anything. They hunt rabbits, rodents, fish, frogs, and even deer. They also happily dine on insects, snakes, fruit, grass, and carrion. Because they sometimes kill lambs, calves, or other livestock, as well as pets, many ranchers and farmers regard them as destructive pests.

                 

            Coyotes are formidable in the field where they enjoy keen vision and a strong sense of smell. They can run up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) an hour. In the fall and winter, they form packs for more effective hunting.Coyotes form strong family groups. In spring, females den and give birth to litters of three to twelve pups. Both parents feed and protect their young and their territory. The pups are able to hunt on their own by the following fall.
                 

           Coyotes are smaller than wolves and are sometimes called prairie wolves or brush wolves. They communicate with a distinctive call, which at night often develops into a raucous canine chorus.

Fast Facts

Type:Mammal

Diet:Omnivore

Average life span in the wild:Up to 14 years

Size:Head and body, 32 to 37 in (81 to 94 cm); Tail, 16 in (41 cm)

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man

Weight:20 to 50 lbs (9 to 23 kg)

Group name:Pack

Did you know?

Coyotes are very good swimmers. In areas of the northeast United States, where coyotes have migrated since the 20th century, the animals have colonized the Elizabeth Islands of Massachusetts.

Brazilian Tapir

Brazilian Tapir

A relative of the rhinoceros, the Brazilian tapir, or lowland tapir, is one of four species of tapir.

Inhabiting the rain forests of South America, Brazilian tapirs live near water and are capable swimmers and divers. In fact, they sometimes run to the water to escape predators.

Splayed toes, four on each front foot and three on each hind foot, help the tapir successfully navigate through soggy ground.
Weighing between 150-250 kg (330-550 lb.), Brazilian tapirs measure around 2 m (6 ft.) in length. Adult Brazilian tapirs have brown coats that vary in shade, with darker hair on their sturdy legs and short, stiff manes. They also have short tails.
A long, flexible proboscis, or snout, helps tapirs grasp leaves, shoots, buds, fruit, and small branches to eat. They generally feed only at night, hiding in the cool forest during the day.
For 2 days every 2-3 months, the female Brazilian tapir is able to conceive. Once pregnant, she will carry the baby for over a year before giving birth!
Baby tapirs have brown fur with white stripes to help them blend into the rain forest floor. The white stripes fade as the calves mature.

The baby will suckle for several months until the mother stops producing milk. At 18 months, the calf is fully grown but may stay with its mother for a little longer.
While healthy adult tapirs are fairly successful at avoiding predators, such as jaguars, pumas, and anacondas, young tapirs are more susceptible to attacks.

Polar Bear

Polar Bear

Polar bears, or "sea bears," are the world's largest land predators, weighing up to 600 kg (1300 lb.) and measuring up to 3 m (10 ft.) tall. On average they live to be about 25 years old, reaching sexual maturity at around 4 years.

Although they appear white or yellow in color, their fur is actually clear and hollow, and their skin is black. Their visibly pale coloring is caused by the reflection and scattering of light.

Inhabiting the ice and sea of the Arctic, polar bears are well-equipped for survival in a harsh environment. Two coats of fur and a thick layer of blubber help insulate the polar bear's body from the cold, keeping its temperature at an even 37° C (98.6° F). In addition, polar bears' paws are especially adapted for walking on the ice and swimming in the sea. Hairs and bumps on the soles of their feet provide traction, while webbing between their toes allows for effective swimming strokes.

Polar bears are also equipped with strong noses. They use their powerful sense of smell when hunting for seals, their main source of food. They can smell a seal's breathing hole, or aglu, up to one mile away. Once located, a polar bear will wait patiently by the hole and attack the seal's head when it comes up for air. In ideal hunting conditions, the bear will just eat the seal fat, leaving the carcass for other animals. However, when food is scarce, polar bears will eat just about anything. Supplemental foods include walruses, short-legged reindeer, birds, bird eggs, kelp, and beached whales. When in proximity to human settlements, they have even been known to eat garbage such as Styrofoam.

Polar bears do not hibernate like other bears, but females do enter into a dormant state while pregnant. After mating in the spring, a female polar bear spends the summer ingesting large amounts of food and building a maternity den in a snow drift to prepare for the arrival of her cubs.
In the fall, she enters into a dormant state, remaining this way even as she gives birth. The litter, usually two cubs, will spend two years with their mother learning essential hunting and survival skills.

Global warming greatly impacts the fate of the polar bear. After conducting a series of nine studies in 2007, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has predicted a loss of two-thirds of the world's polar bears by 2050 due to declines in ice habitats. Specifically, a reduction of large masses of ice results in limited access to seals. Not only does this adversely affect the health of adult polar bears, it also hinders the successful reproduction and nourishment of new bear cubs. Rising temperatures also result in unstable maternity dens, as snowdrifts melt and collapse.

Extinct Animal

           While there are over a million animal-species in existence today, the fact is that hundreds have gone into extinction. We will only know them through creative creations, but would never be able to see them. In spite of their extinction one is always interested in learning about them. No wonder books and movies are made on dinosaurs, or then some extinct species become characters of comic books.

Here are some extinct animal facts, followed by an exhaustive list of animals that have gone into extinction over the eras of earth’s evolution…




The Tyrannosaurus Rex went extinct 65 million years ago. It was one of the largest animals. It measured up to 43.3 feet in length and 16.6 feet in height. It weighed approximately 7 tons.


 The Quagga
 

The Quagga, which was half-zebra-half-horse animal species went into extinction in the year 1883. This is was one of the most famous animals of Africa. This animal had the zebra stripes only on the front part of the body, which would fade and become wider in the middle of the body, and the hindquarter was brown (no stripes). It was the cruel animal activities that led this animal to extinction. It was on 12th August 12, 1883, that the last of the Quaggas died at the Artis Magistra Zoo (Amsterdam).




The Tasmanian Tiger


The Tasmanian Tiger went into extinct in the year 1936. This animal is regarded to be the largest carnivorous marsupial in modern day and age. It was a native wildlife animal of Australia and New Guinea. Man and his evil ways led this animal to extinction.



Steller's Sea Cow


Steller's Sea Cow was also known as the defenseless beast. It went into extinction in 1768. This creature’s natural habitat was on the Asiatic coast of the Bering Sea. It got its name because it was discovered by a naturalist, Georg Stellar, in 1741. He was traveling with Vitus Bering, a renowned explorer. The animal was large weighing up to three tons. Though it looked almost like a seal, it had two forelimbs that were stout, as well as tail that was whale-like.
 
Irish Deer


Irish Deer is the largest deer to have ever existed. It went into extinction approximately 7,700 years ago. It was a native animal of Eurasia, grazing the land stretching from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal. It was large sized, with extra large antlers measuring up to 3.65 meters (12 feet from tip-to-tip). The antlers weighed about 90 pounds.




The Caspian Tiger


The Caspian Tiger was the third largest tiger species. The last of this tiger was seen in 1970, after which it has been declared amongst the extinct animal species. This tiger was found on the lands of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.



Aurochs


Aurochs was a large-sized cattle-species. It is recorded to have gone into extinction in 1627. It is said that this cattle evolved from India, migrating to the Middle-East, reaching Europe.