I will be talking about hedgehogs, and what they are, along with what they do. First, hedgehogs are mammals that are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. There are some fifteen species of hedgehogs in these listed countries, says National Geographic (N.D.). Hedgehogs have also been introduced into nontraditional ranges such as New Zealand.
The hedgehog was named because of its peculiar foraging methods. These animals root through hedges and other undergrowth in search of the small creatures that compose the bulk of their diet-insects, worms, centipedes, snails, mice, frogs, and snakes. As a hedgehog picks through the hedges, it emits pig-like grunts- thus, the hedgehog, National Geographic (N.D.). Some people consider hedgehogs useful pets because they prey on many common garden pests. While on the hunt, they rely upon their senses of hearing and smell because their eyesight is weak.
Hedgehogs have a coat of stiff, sharp spines. If, attacked, they will curl into a prickly and unappetizing ball that deters most predators. They usually sleep in this position during the day, and awaken to search for food at night, says National Geographic (N.D.). Hedgehogs hibernate in cold climates. In deserts, they sleep through heat and drought in a similar process called aestivation. They remain active all in more temperate locations.
These solitary animals typically couple only for mating. The young born each year, in litters ranging from one to eleven, remain with their mothers for only four to seven weeks before heading out on their own. Among the predators, females must guard against during this period against other male hedgehogs, which will sometimes prey upon the young. Hedgehog mothers have also been known to eat their young if the ...
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When hedgehogs are born their spines are just below the skin, so they don't cause their mother pain. They are blind at first, but after about 2 weeks their spines begin to show more, and their eyes open, remarkable information from Wildlife (2011). Hedgehogs also have baby teeth, just like humans. These fall out by about week 3.
Hedgehogs leave their nests when they are about 4 to 5 weeks old, and they then must learn to fend for themselves. 1 out of 5 hedgehogs die before they leave the nest, says Wildlife (2011).
Works Cited
www.animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/hedgehog
http://animal.discovery.petsource…
www.hedgehogcentral.com/slats.shtme
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog
http://www.lafebervet.com/small-mammal-medicine/hedgehog/hedgehog/
http://hedgehogcare.org/
http://www.wildlife-web.org.uk/hedgehog/facts/breeding.html
The Pygmy three-toed- sloths are described to have buff-colored faces with dark circles that surround the eye and go outwards to their temples. Like all sloths, they are always in doldrums which can be very unbeneficial to them. They have clay-orange fur that covers their face and their hair is long and bushy. “Long hair hangs forward to the forehead, giving the impression of a hood” (Grzimek 161). Their outer fur has coated an alga that is used as camouflage to avoid predators. If they were attacked, they have a high probability of surviving due to their ability to heal from grievous wounds. These sloths have a total of 18 teeth, 10 coming from their upper jaw. Similar to other sloths their body temperature regulation is imperfect (“Bradypus pygmaeus pygmy three-toed sloth” (a)).
On the second stage of development the minks are 10 weeks old they learn how to hunt. By fall, the minks leave their mother and start an independent life. They will mainly hunt snakes, rabbits, frogs, birds, mice and other small animals. Minks spend most of their time in the water. These creatures live on empty logs, or in a hole near the water.
A species in particular that I have researched is the red fox or Vulpes vulpes as it is known in the scientific community. The animal is native to North America, Asia and Europe where they thrive in habitats ranging from temperate deserts to boreal forests, but its range spans the entire globe (Tesky 1995). The red fox is omnivorous which means that it feeds on animals and plants equally, which, creates impacts on both types of populations within its habitat. What makes the red fox invasive is its introduction to Australia and Eastern parts of the United States, as a result of migration of Europeans t...
Annie Dillard said “I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure to grasp your one necessity and not let it go”(879) in her story “Living Like Weasels”. This quote is stating that everyone should set a goal and work to achieve it. You should find one thing you can’t live without and cherish it forever. A necessity that no one should ever let go is their goals. One necessity that I feel i’ve never given up was my goal to be successful with basketball.
The courting ritual begins with the males circling females in an offshore mating ground and then the males approach and bite a female’s neck and if she accepts, they mate; if she does not accept, she swims to the bottom of the mating grounds (Deurmit L 2007). Males have long claws to use during mating because other males try to remove the mating male in order to mate with the female (Deurmit L 2007). Caretta caretta are polygynandrous and breed seasonally in the early summer (Deurmit L 2007). With mating, the females have the ability to store sperm throughout the reproductive season (Sakaoka K et al.). This characteristic developed with “changes in the sperm storage tubules (SSTs) in the oviduct” and allows the females to reproduce more (Sakaoka K et al.). This storage helps to combat climate change because Caretta caretta, as a species, only breed during certain temperatures (Sakaoka K et al.). Female loggerhead turtles have developed sperm storage abilities within mating to combat climate
Habitat: Partially or completely open country, around mountains, hills, and cliffs. They use many different habitats ranging from arctic to desert, some include tundra, shrub lands, grasslands, coniferous forest, farmland and rivers or streams. They can be found in Mexico, North America, Alaska, and sometimes Asia, northern Africa, and Europe. They nest in high places such as cliffs, trees, or human structures. They build huge nests that they may return to for several breeding years.
The Brazilian Three Toed Sloth is the largest of the four species of sloths. They are called three toed because they have three digits on their arm. They are also known as the Maned Sloth. The Maned sloth has black fur that grows longer than the rest of the fur. Its mane starts from the nape of its neck and then runs down to its shoulders. This gives the sloth a mane like appearance. The Maned Sloth’s scientific name is Bradypus torquatus and they are in the Class Mammalia, Order Pilosa, and Family Bradypodidae. The sloth is only found in the coastal Brazilian Atlantic rain forest within the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro. The sloths spend almost their entire lives high up in the rain forests tree’s canopy where most of the sunlight is. They are the funniest, cutest, and scariest animals in the world (in my opinion of course)! Their body shape is weird yet fascinating. They have a short torso, pudgy tail, long lanky arms with super long nails, and an extremely roundish head with a flat face which make them, super funny! They also have long ruffled fur, which feels hard. The fur is somewhat a grayish-brownish color that is stained green from algae being grown on them.
Because raccoons are nocturnal animal, it creates difficulty to study, and get to know these ring-tailed creatures better. Farmers know first-hand what raccoons can do to their crops. As these creatures come crawling down the tree at dark, they start heading towards food sources. They will mow the edges of
grizzlies will hibernate when there is a seasonal shortage of food, low environmental temperatures, or when there’s snow arrival. Grizzly bears hibernate five to seven months each year. The grizzly will enter into hibernation in October or November. During this time the grizzly bear must prepare a den and consume as much food as possible to last their hibernation period. While searching for a den the grizzly may travel many miles until it finds a suitable area that it likes. The dens are usually at elevations above 1,800 m (5,900 ft) on north-facing slopes. The reason why bears have to eat as much food as possible is because they need the energy from the food to last through the entire winter. They may eat up to 90 lbs of food per day, while trying to put on as much weight as possible. When it’s time for grizzlies to hibernate; will enter their den, and fall into a “deep” sleep. During this time the grizzlies won’t eat or drink; but instead they digest their stored up fat; (the fat used to last them through their entire hibernation.) The bear also will not urinate or defecate, but will reabsorb their urine and feces into proteins. The bear can use 25-40% of their body weight during hibernation; the bear’s heart rate and body temperature may also drop. By March or April, male grizzly bears usually emerge from the den and the females emerge in late April or May. When bears emerge from hibernation they’re
When the Atlantic Puffin’s young becomes mature enough to leave the nest, it will wait until night to emerge. Often its first time out of the nest, the young puffin becomes acclimated to its surroundings and begins to descend the perilous cliff face. Once it reaches the bottom, it will quickly travel out to sea. It leaves the island alone and will not return to land for two to three years.
To begin, the grey squirrel’s existence began in North America, spread across three continents, and could still continue to spread even today. The grey squirrel first originated in two countries in North America. It was found on the west side of the Mississippi River; in the states of Washington, Oregon, California, and Montana. It reached as far north as Canada and claimed residence in the subdivisions of Manitoba, British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Sackatchewan, and Ontario (Fischer, Lawniczak, Pagad). In later years, humans caused this squirrel to be introduced to foreign countries. Between 1876 and 1929, it was unintentionally released to Europe by The London Zoo. People also traveled to northern Italy and brought it over as a pet, where it was then released into the wild (Fischer). As of now, this animal is located in four European countries. These countries are Ireland, Scotland, England, and Italy (Fischer, Lawniczak, Pagad). In the future, the grey squirrel could effortlessly continue to disperse across other countries in Europe. These countries include France and Germany. It is also a threat to Spain and a number of other countries (Fischer).
Turtles bodies are enclosed in a shell consisting of a dorsal carapace that is attached to there spine, and a ventral plastron. Turtles walking out of there shell is a bit of a misnomer since the spine is fused the shell. Both sea turtles and tortoises can be found almost everywhere in the world, but most live in warmer regions.
Once the juveniles have chosen their foraging area, they begin to mature. When they reach sexual maturity, loggerhead adult have a long migration towards a designated nesting beach (Abecassis et al. 2013). These migrations can take up to 2 to 3 years because they are long-distance travelers migrating across different climatic zones (Lamont & Fujisaki 2014). Their return to these areas depends on foraging success. The age of maturity of loggerheads can be different for every turtle especially since they are long lived, but estimates range between 10 and 45 years (Abecassis et al.
sea otters are from the kingdom animalia. Sea otters are stouter and have large rib cages, smaller tails and muzzle than other species of otters. Yet sea otters posses the fine, dense fur coats characteristic of the Mustelidae. Their forefeet are small and dexterous with retractile claws and the flipper like hind feet are broad and webbed. Sea otters once was abundant along most coastal North pacific ocean. That was before fur traders hunted them for their thick ice, luxurious pelts. By the year 1900, sea otters were nearly extinct . Protected since 1911, alaska sea otters have made a comeback. There lifespan is 10-15 years. Great white sharks are the primary predator of sea otters and occasionally eaten by coyote so the predators that the
When people walk along the beach, you may cross upon a bunch of creatures that is trying to crawl toward the vast ocean. These creatures are sea turtles. Sea turtles are large marine reptiles that are cold-blooded vertebrates and have leathery or bony flippers and shell (Lutz and Musick, 1996). They are aquatic reptilian creatures that has wide spectrum of coloration ranges between yellow, greenish, and black depending on the type of sea turtles. They are from the kingdom of Animalia, class of Reptilia (Matthews, 1990). The earliest known sea turtles appear in the fossil record in the Late Jurassic period, 208 to 144 million years ago. Scientists believe that modern sea turtles are derived from marsh-inhabiting ancestors that lived during the Late Triassic period (seaworld.org, 2001). Therefore, for millions of years, sea turtles were around since the dinosaur age, and that today they still exist and can be found in the world, which makes sea turtles one of the Earth’s ancient species. They can be found in all warm and temperate water throughout the world. Their habitats are located in the bay, shallow, coastal waters, lagoons, and open sea (Lutz and Musick, 1996). However most sea turtles undergo a long migration between their feeding grounds and the beach where they nest. Unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their head or legs back in the shells. Depending on the sea turtles, they can be carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous. Sea turtles feed on shrimps, jellyfish, sponges, and vegetation. There are total of seven species of sea turtles: leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill sea turtles (Ertmochelys imbricate), flatback sea turtles (Caretta caretta), Kemp’s...