Animal Of The Day!

Call me Cy! (21). I am a big supporter of animals and conservation efforts so enjoy my little blog! Feel free to send me asks! Animal requests are open.

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Animal of the Day!

Pineapple Sea Cucumber (Thelenota ananas)

(Photo from Florent’s Guide to the Tropic Reefs)

Conservation Status- Endangered

Habitat- Indo-West Pacific Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 6 kg; 70 cm

Diet- Algae

Cool Facts- Pineapple sea cucumbers are the kings of the sandy bottom. Active mostly during the day, these sea cucumbers wiggle their way across the ocean floor using numerous tube-like feet. They sift through sand with their large mouth for algae, helping to recycle nutrients like a true bottom feeder. The pineapple sea star plays host to hundreds of parasites, up to 800 unique species at one time, some never known to science until the discovery of this cucumber. Despite their numerous parasites, the pineapple sea cucumber is a delicacy in China and has resulted in their sharp population decline.

Rating- 11/10 (Has ananas in its scientific name, I applaud scientists.)

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Animal of the Day!

Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer)

(Photo from Louisville Zoo)

Conservation Status- Critically Endangered

Habitat- Western Cuba

Size (Weight/Length)- 75 kg; 2.2 m

Diet- Small mammals; Fish; Turtles

Cool Facts- Do yourself a favor and watch a video of a Cuban crocodile galloping. These highly territorial reptiles have small dog energy and are willing to chase off the much larger American alligator that they share their home with. Cuban crocodiles may be the only crocodile to hunt in coordinated packs to take down much larger prey, showing off extraordinary levels of intelligence. Sadly, Cuban crocodiles are almost extinct in the wild due to mass hunting for their skin and meat, along with general fear for territorial predators. Luckily, zoos across the world are captive breeding Cuban crocodiles with hope for reintroduction to the wild.

Rating- 13/10 (Can run 35 kilometers per hour.)

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Animal of the Day!

Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine (Atherurus macrourus)

(Photo in public domain)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Southern Asia

Size (Weight/Length)- 80 cm

Diet- Leaves; Bark; Fruits; Flowers; Roots; Nuts; Seeds

Cool Facts- The Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine loves the tropics, sticking to bamboo and palm forests. They find themselves at home in thick underbrush where burrows keep them safe. Multiple Asiatic brush-tailed porcupines can end up living in the same burrow system, working together to defend their home from predators. They are generally nocturnal and spend only a few hours each night outside of their burrow. When encountering a predator, these porcupines can run as fast backwards as they can forwards. This results in a leopard or human being embedded with hundreds of quills.

Rating- 12/10 (The rarest porcupines of South Asia.)

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Animal of the Day!

Three-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum)

(Photo from the Missouri Department of Conservation)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Gulf Coast Plain

Size (Weight/Length)- 70 cm

Diet- Fish; Worms; Insects; Mollusks; Snakes; Amphibians

Cool Facts- Upon first glance, you might think a three-toed amphiuma is a very large worm or small eel rather than a nearly legless salamander. The salamanders are expert hunters and eat anything that swims. After eating a crayfish, the three-toed amphiuma will take over its burrow to call a home. Their vestigial legs are practically useless as they wiggle through water and mud like an eel rather than attempting to crawl across the bottom of a river. Three-toed amphiuma have recently found their way into the pet trade, resulting in wild individuals being captured and sold. Luckily, their population is relatively stable as long as their rivers remain clean.

Rating- 13/10 (Has the largest red blood cells of any animal.)

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Animal of the Day!

Kaempfer’s Woodpecker (Celeus obrieni)

Photo by Alex Mesquita)

Conservation Status- Vulnerable

Habitat- Brazil

Size (Weight/Length)- 24 cm

Diet- Insects

Cool Facts- Discovered in 1926, the Kaempfer’s woodpecker was thought to have gone extinct only months after the fact as no more were spotted. Amazingly enough, these large woodpeckers were rediscovered in 2006 with many sightings afterwards. It goes to show how easily animals can remain hidden in thousands of miles of rainforest. They eat ants almost exclusively, drilling into bamboo to find ant nests. The conservation status of the Kaempfer’s woodpecker has been argued over for years. Jumping from critically endangered to endangered to vulnerable in only a few years despite their population being in decline. Only 3% of their original habitat remains, the rest being transformed into plantations and livestock pastures.

Rating- 11/10 (Rocking a mohawk.)

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Animal of the Day!

Greenland Shark (Somniosus microcephalus)

(Photo from Britannica)

Conservation Status- Vulnerable

Habitat- Northern Atlantic; Arctic Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 4 m

Diet- Fish; Seals; Small whales

Cool Facts- The world’s oldest Greenland shark may have witnessed the first European boats making their way across the Atlantic to reach the Americas. It is estimated that Greenland sharks can live anywhere from 250 years old all the way to 500. They are extremely slow growing, most likely due to the freezing waters they live in. These sharks are not sexually mature until they turn 150 and a pregnancy can last up to 18 years. They are slow moving, apex predators, targeting sick or sleeping animals which can include moose or caribou swimming between islands. Unfortunately, Greenland sharks are killed for their flesh that is considered a delicacy in Iceland. Overhunting, bycatch, and an extremely slow generation time are the leading reasons for the decline of Greenland shark populations.

Rating- 12/10 (Most of what we know about them is conjecture.)

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Animal of the Day!

Seneca White Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

(Photo from ABC News)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Seneca County in New York

Size (Weight/Length)- 65 kg; 2 m

Diet- Leaves; Grasses; Fruits; Nuts; Lichens

Cool Facts- The Seneca white deer are almost identical to normal white-tailed deer except the majority of the population is leucistic. In 1941, the Seneca Army Depot was constructed to contain 43 square kilometers of fenced-in, New York wilderness. A small population of deer were isolated within the fencing, a few sporting white fur. As the deer bred throughout the decades, more and more became leucistic. While the army originally hunted the deer for food, it was banned in the 1950’s to shoot a white deer. Of the 700 deer contained in the area, over 300 of them are pure white. As the property was bought for farming and businesses, business owners worked to open the Deer Haven Park as a sanctuary for these very special animals.

Rating- 13/10 (One of the few cases of natural selective breeding.)

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Chickens vs lettuce, a never ending battle.

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Animal of the Day!

Alpine Chipmunk (Tamias alpinus)

(Photo from Animal Spot)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Sierra Nevada Mountains

Size (Weight/Length)- 10 cm

Diet- Seeds; Berries; Fungi

Cool Facts- Bears and chipmunks have more in common than you might think. They both experience torpor rather than hibernation, meaning that they can wake up during winter if they really wanted to. The alpine chipmunk’s heart beats an average of 350 times a minute during summer as they feast on alpine seeds. They never drink water, instead getting all the liquid they need from the plants they eat. Once temperatures fall below 4 degrees Celsius, their heart rate falls to only 4 beats a minute. However, when an alpine chipmunk grows hungry, they can increase their heart rate enough to wake up and stumble to their food store before sinking back into sleep.

Rating- 12/10 (The true kings of Yosemite National Park.)

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Animal of the Day!

Brant (Branta bernicla)

(Photo by Beko Binder)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Canada; Alaska; Eastern Siberia

Size (Weight/Length)- 2 kg; 65 cm; 120 cm wingspan

Diet- Eel-grass; Seaweed; Sea lettuce

Cool Facts- While lesser known than the Canada goose, the brant deserves just as much love. These geese never leave their coastal home, sticking to the saltwater. Brant feast on aquatic plants, using salt glands in their nares to excrete excess salt through their boogers. Brant used to exclusively feast on eel-grass, until 1931 when eel-grass almost went extinct due to a slime mold infesting the waters. The brant population dropped massively, at least until they learned that sea lettuce and seaweed made a great diet substitute. Today, they number half a million individuals.

Rating- 13/10 (Was once classified as a fish rather than a bird, I’m not joking.)

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Animal of the Day!

Red Flat Bark Beetle (Cucujus clavipes)

(Photo by Tom Murray)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Northern North America

Size (Weight/Length)- 10 mm

Diet- Insects; Larvae

Cool Facts- People generally have a stigma against bark beetles because they’re known to kill trees through blue stain fungus. May I introduce the red flat bark beetle, a beetle that eats the larvae of other bark beetles and protects their home tree. They make a small initial hole to crawl underneath the tree’s bark where they then hunt anything that fits in their mouth. Due to living in polar areas, red flat bark beetles have learned how to survive freezing temperatures to the extreme. They lose up to 40% of the water in their cells to prevent themselves from freezing solid. Instead, they are able to continue eating the other hibernating insects in their tree as snow continues to fall. 

Rating- 12/10 (Flat as a pancake.)

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Animal of the Day!

Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)

(Photo by Cameron Eckert)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Greenland; Iceland; Northern North North America; Northern Asia

Size (Weight/Length)- 600 g; 35 cm; 60 cm wingspan

Diet- Leaves; Flowers; Berries; Seeds; Plant buds

Cool Facts- The rock ptarmigan is one of the only birds to have the ability to change color. These grouse are brown in summer and slowly switch to white over a period of several weeks once snow begins to fall. Instead of migrating south when temperatures drop, rock ptarmigan shelter down and brave the storm. Unable to store large amounts of fat like other overwintering birds, rock ptarmigan are forced to constantly eat to stay warm. Males sport bright red eye combs that are used to gain mates. The brighter the color, the healthier the rock ptarmigan, and the more likely he is to pass on his genes.

Rating- 11/10 (I still have no idea how to pronounce their name.)

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Animal of the Day!

Arctic Woolly Bear (Gynaephora groenlandica)

(Photo by Vasika Undurawane)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Northern Canada; Greenland; Wrangel Island

Size (Weight/Length)- 70 mm

Diet- Leaves

Cool Facts- You might be surprised to hear that insects are able to thrive in environments that dip below -70 Celsius. The arctic woolly bear is a tiny moth that has mastered the freezing cold. These caterpillars live their life in constant motion as the growing season, when food is available, is only a maximum of 70 days. The caterpillars switch between feasting on leaves and basking in the sun, doing their best to grow in a race against the clock. When leaves start to shrivel and the snow returns, the arctic woolly bear weaves itself a silken blanket and shelters under the snow, essentially freezing itself solid. After a total of seven years, amounting to only 490 days outside of diapause, the arctic woolly bear cocoons and bursts out as a moth. For a period of 3-4 weeks, the moth flutters around to breed and lay eggs before passing away and the cycle continues through their offspring.

Rating- 12/10 (Spends only 6% of its life as an adult.)

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Animal of the Day!

Boreal Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

(Photo in Public Domain)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Northern North America

Size (Weight/Length)- 180 kg; 1.2 m tall

Diet- Lichens; Grasses

Cool Facts- Boreal woodland caribou are one of the larger caribou subspecies, native to only small areas in northern Canada. They are relatively sedentary compared to other caribou, rarely performing a full migration. True to their name, these reindeer live in boreal forests and marshes with plentiful water sources. Boreal woodland caribou rarely form large herds and are relatively solitary, occasionally gathering in small herds of less than twenty individuals when males go into rut. At one time, these caribou lived throughout the majority of Canada and into the United States. Sadly due to overhunting, they were considered threatened in 2002, with their extinction from the U.S.A. and their last herds pushed to the furthest reaches of Newfoundland and Labrador. Through protection from hunting and protection for habitat, boreal woodland caribou have rebound to over 35,000 individuals.

Rating- 13/10 (Merriest of Christmases!)

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Animal of the Day!

Barred Owl (Strix varia)

(Photo from Moose Print Gallery)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Eastern United States

Size (Weight/Length)- 800 g; 50 cm tall; 1 m wingspan

Diet- Small mammals; Reptiles; Birds; Crustaceans; Fish

Cool Facts- Barred owls are masters of the night. During the day, they find a tree to shelter in as they sleep but once the sun sets, they set out on the wing. A special layer of their eyes acts like a mirror to take in more light, resulting in the barred owl appearing to have bright red eyeshine. The owl flies from perch to perch until they spot a snack. They launch from their branch and silently divebomb their prey, even plunging into several feet of snow to catch a burrowing vole. Barred owls can catch much larger prey compared to other daytime raptors due to the ratcheting system in their talons that constricts prey. Barred owls live in monogamous pairs and protect their territory from other owls. The couple will perform a duet of hooting to ward possible aggressors off.

Rating- 11/10 (Possibly Mothman.)

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Animal of the Day!

Ribbon Seal (Histriophoca fasciata)

(Photo by Josh London)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- North Pacific Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 1.8 m; 130 kg

Diet- Crustaceans; Fish; Cephalopods

Cool Facts- Ribbon seals have a massive amount of dependence on arctic sea ice. They almost never set flipper on the mainland, instead using sea ice to sleep, socialize, and give birth. Ribbon seals have a unique form of movement on the ice, slithering across like a snake and using their clawed flippers to drag themselves along in a graceful freestyle stroke. Males have a massive air sac that helps their calls to travel in the water while searching for a mate. When the environment is less than suited for a pup to be born, a mother ribbon seal can delay her pregnancy for up to four months. Pups are born completely white and are often left alone on an ice flow while their mother hunts. Predators are rare but the pup will play dead and wait for mom to return when faced by an orca circling their icy home.

Rating- 12/10 (The only species in their genus.)

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Animal of the Day!

Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)

(Photo by Noah Strycker)

Conservation Status- Near Threatened

Habitat- Antarctica

Size (Weight/Length)- 40 kg; 120 cm tall

Diet- Fish; Krill; Squid

Cool Facts- The award for the best parents in the animal kingdom goes to the emperor penguin. During the dead of winter, emperor penguins waddle up to 120 kilometers away from the ocean to lay their singular egg. Thousands of penguins make up these mass breeding colonies, far from predators but also far from food. Temperatures fall to -40 Celsius and winds reach up to 144 kilometers per hour. Three centimeters of fat help to protect the penguins from the brutal weather and the combined body heat of penguin huddles can reach 37 Celsius in the center. Parents have to balance their egg on their feet, hidden from the chill by a flap of fat, due to the ground being lethal on contact for the unhatched baby. The other parent is forced to waddle back to the sea and swim up to 500 kilometers in search of enough food to feed themselves, their mate, and their chick upon hatching.

Rating- 13/10 (I’ve never wanted to hug an animal more.)