Wild Souls

What you are witnessing is not just biology... But a biography.

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Mink

Minks are semi-aquatic and tend to hang out in parts of North America and Europe in places with water nearby in. 

Don’t be fooled by this little critter’s cuteness. They love nothing more than to devour into rabbits, chipmunks, mice, and fish. Weirdly, they also kill snakes, but don’t eat them.

Mink’s usually like to spend their time alone unless they are mating. If you thought they looked cute, get this. They purr like a cat when they are happy.

Although they are listed as least concerned toward extinction, they are bred for their fur for coats and event fake eyelashes, which is super unethical. When you are buying anything fur, make sure it is faux!

photo by:  Matt MacGillivray via Flickr

Also, quick note! I made a youtube channel, so if you could support it, I would be SO grateful! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzLKL7px8CJIuITfZGLuNSQ

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Wallaby

The wallaby is in the same family as the kangaroo, but it is much smaller. They inhabit parts of Australia in rocky terrain and share the a lot of the same characteristics and behaviors as kangaroos.

Wallabies use their strong hind legs to kick off predators. Not only are their legs strong, but their tails are also powerful helping them with their balance.

Wallabies are herbivores and eat grasses, leaves, and foliage. They tend to live near water holes, especially during dry seasons. Female wallabies, or better known as doe, flyer or jill, are able to produce two different types of milk at once. One type for her baby and another type for her older offspring.

Photo by:  D Coetzee via Flickr

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The Majestic Jaguar

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Wildlife Photo of the Day

Sea lion pup

Photo by:  Dag Peak via Flickr

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What the “Googly-eyed Squid” REALLY is

This photo of the newly discovered “googly-eyed squid” went viral for obvious reasons. It’s adorable... and so interesting. What is it, though?

It’s name is actually called the stubby squid (Rossia pacifica). It is actually most closely related to the cuttlefish and roams the seafloor of the Northern Pacific ocean. 

It’s cartoon features, however, are not a joke. These creatures can be seen 1000m. in depth and spend their time burrowing into the sediment of the ocean and capturing their prey. Their prey include shrimp and small fish as they are only about 2 in. in size.

The stubby squid will live its two years, mate, lay eggs, and then die.

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Indri

The Indri is one of the largest living lemurs. Like all lemurs, the indri is native to Madagascar. These primates live in small groups of mated pairs. The groups are very vocal and often communicate with other groups by singing and roaring.

The indri has a mating partner for life unless one of the partners dies. If one partner dies, the other will go off to find a new mate. Although they live in groups, they sleep alone or with their pair in trees.

Indris are herbivorous and primarily folivorous, meaning they eat only leaves. Female indris prefer premature leaves, and have seniority over their food source. Because of this, they feed higher up in the trees. 

This species is critically endangered. They only inhabit Madagascar, and their primary threat is deforestation. They are also hunted as their meat is a delicacy in some regions. Conservation efforts to hold them in zoos has, unfortunately, failed. Only one indri has lived over a year in a zoo, and reproduction efforts have never been a success. 

Photo by:  Frank Vassen via Flickr

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Rest in peace, Harambe.

Photo by:  Robert Streithorst via flickr

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Malayan Tapir

The Malayan tapir is the only tapir to inhabit Asia out of the five other tapir species. It is also the biggest out of the five, with and average weight between  250 and 320 kg (550 and 710 lb). The female tapir is usually larger than the male.

Malayan Tapirs rely on their excellent hearing ability due to their poor eye sight. This makes it extremely difficult for them to search for food and avoid predators. However, despite its bulky body, they can run very fast.

These animals are very independent and dominant large areas of lands for themselves by urinating on surrounding plants. They choose their habitats near water where they bathe. Malayan tapirs are herbivorous and eats exclusively shoots and leaves.

The Malayan tapir used to inhabit areas all around Asian rein forests, however, they are now endangered toward extinction. This is due to mostly deforestation, but they are also being used for illegal trade and are hunted for sport.

Image by:  Andy Hay via Flickr

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10 Reasons Why Orca Whales Should NOT be at Seaworld (Or Any Marine Park)

In the wild, orcas swim up to 100 miles a day. They are confined into a small tank in captivity. 

Their collapsed dorsal fins (pictured above) are a sign of an unhealthy whale. All male orcas in captivity have a collapsed dorsal fin. Less than 1% of orcas have this condition in the wild.

Orcas do not live up to their nickname “killer whale”. There has not been one incident of an orca killing a human in the wild. However, in captivity, orcas have killed 3 humans and injured 151 reported injury incidences.

On average, orcas live up to 50 years old in the wild. Some females have been reported to live 80-100 years old. Seaworld’s average orca life span is 13 years old.

Family is important to orcas. In the wild, their pods include generations upon generations of their family. Marine parks do not keep their families together. In fact, babies are taken from their mothers. This is psychologically traumatizing to the whales. 

Whale fights are common in the tanks because they are not in their pods and they are, literally, mentally ill. In a tank, whales can’t flee from fights like they can in the wild. These whales get brutally injured and sometimes killed by other whales in the tank.

Pods have their own languages. In a tank with other whales who have different languages. Imagine living with somebody who speaks a different language with you and you cannot use hand motions. Frustrating right?

Not only are the tanks in marine parks WAY too small for this wild animal, in the wild, marine mammals live in a habitat full of MANY other marine plants and animals. In captivity, they live in a cement, chlorinated tank.

Since 1961, 141 whales have been captured. 125 of these whales have died.

The brain of an orca is 4 times larger than the human brain. It has been confirmed their intelligence matches to ours, if not more.

Just imagine living in cement room with a few other people who don’t speak your language. Imagine not knowing if you will ever see your family again. Imagine being forced to do performances for others and being fed one thing for the rest of your life. Imagine being confined in a cement room when there is a whole world out there to explore.

So, how can you help? It’s easy! boycott sea world. Without the revenue, they are forced to shut down their business. Also, education is important. Remind the public of what is going on. 

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Quoll Returns to the Australian Mainland After 50 Years

On March 1st, Fourteen eastern quolls were released into Australia’s mainland to rebuild their population because of a team’s effort from Australian National University. Since the 1770′s, quoll numbers have been declining due to many dangers such as habitat loss and predators that include foxes, wild dogs, and cats.

The quoll is carnivorous and feeds on smaller mammals, small birds, lizards, and insects. Until now, it has inhabited inland parts of Australia. There are six current species(pictured is the tiger quoll). The larger of which live longer than the smaller, with an average life span of two to five years.

So, whats the point of this translocation? Well, quolls are important to the functioning of the mainland ecosystem where they regulate the prey species. The released quolls will have radio tracking collars to be monitored.

Fact about the quoll: Male and female quolls only meet for mating, and male den territories often overlap female territories. However, they have communal toilets where they may have up to 100 droppings in them.

Photo by:  joshua cunningham via Flickr

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We need to spread awareness on animal rights.

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Happy Groundhog Day!

Some facts about the groundhog:

The groundhog is said to be a herbivore. However, they do eat some insects.

Some of their favorite snacks are apples, flowers, and the vegetables fresh out of your garden

Groundhogs are also known as whistle-pigs.

Groundhogs have a curved spine.

They can move over 700 pounds of dirt digging one burrow or den.

They sometimes climb trees to get fruit.

Groundhogs are born in a den and don’t come out until their 6-7 weeks old. 

Happy almost Spring!

Photo by: Dawn Scranton via Flickr

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Clouded Leopard

Despite the clouded leopard’s name, it is not closely related to the leopard and is the smallest of the big cats. The clouded leopard inhabits the Himalayan mountains and various parts of Asia.

Spending their lives in solitude, the clouded leopard spends most of it’s days in trees and hunts at night. Monitoring the cat is difficult because of their habitat being within densely populated trees. Because of this, not much is known about their behavior in the wild.

Mating habits are very interesting as males are very aggressive during their encounters. So much so, that they bite the neck of the female severing her vertebrae. When given birth, the male is not included in raising the kittens.

The clouded leopard is threatened do to habitat deforestation, commercial poaching, and being used in traditional Asian medicines(There is no scientific proof that these medicines are beneficial.)

Photo by: jnort002 via Flickr

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The Quagga is Back After 100 Years Of Extinction

What is a quagga?

The quagga is an African subspecies of the zebra that went extinct over 100 years ago due to settlers killing them off in the 1880′s. They share the striped characteristic with their cousin that fades off toward the middle of their body. There is not very much validation on the behavior of the quagga.

Is the quagga really back?

Well, yes and no. The Quagga Project was started in 1987 by Reinhold Rau in a town outside of Cape Town, South Africa to bring back the quagga through genetic engineering and selective breeding. Because the quagga is a subspecies of the zebra, they can use zebra DNA toward the selective breeding process. There has been a success in the process, however, the original quagga and what they are calling the “Rau quagga” are not genetically the same. Though they may have the same genetic characteristics, it is not the same animal. 

Whether or not the animal is really back, there is a new species on our planet, and that is pretty cool.

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Arctic Fox

The arctic fox inhabits the northern hemisphere within northern Europe, northern Asia, and North America. They can survives in arctic conditions with temperatures as low as –58°F (-50°C). There are four subspecies of the arctic fox. (Picture above is the Greenland arctic fox).

The arctic fox lives a short life between 3-6 years. In this short life, they feed on any small animal they can find. They also eat plants that include, berries and seaweed.

Arctic foxes have one mate throughout their lives, and both the mother and father help raise their kits in their den. Litters usually contain 5-9 kits, but more than the average is not uncommon. Because of this, the arctic fox is far from endangered. That, however, does not make hunting this beautiful creature okay.

Photo by: Eric Kilby via Flickr

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Only Three Northern White Rhinos left

The northern white rhinoceros is one of the two sub-species of the white rhinoceros. They are extinct in the wild, but live in zoos.

Nola, a 41 year-old rhino who lived in the San Diego zoo, had to be euthanized yesterday, because of a severe bacterial infection. The other three rhinos live in a zoo in Kenya where they are constantly watched due to poaching concerns. The other three are two males and one female who are too old to reproduce naturally, however, sex-cells have been harvested in attempt to save the sub-species.

The northern white rhino population used to thrive, however, due to habitat loss and poaching, this is the tragic end result. Rhinos are poached for their horns that are used in “traditional Asian medicines” that have been proven not to work. Within years, this will be the result of many species on our earth. It is truly heart breaking. 

Too see what you can do to save the rhinos visit: here and here

Photo by:  Heather Paul via Flickr

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Mountain Goat

The mountain goat, also known as, the Rocky Mountain goat, inhabits the rocky mountains in North America through British Columbia, and into southern Alaska. Mountain Goats are related to captive goats, however, are more closely related to the antelope.

Both male and female mountain goats have black horns and a beard, however, male mountain goats, called billies, have longer beards and horns than female mountain goats, called nannies. During mating season, between October and December, billies will stare at the nannies for long periods of time and fight for them. Females will mate with more than one male, and once breeding season is over, males and females separate.

Mountain Goats grow a long second layer of wool during the winter and during spring it sheds.  Mountain goats usually live between 12-15 years. However, when captive in zoos, they can 16-20 years. 

The mountain goats are rated least concerned in conservation. Their biggest predators are cougars. However, other predators include, wolves, wolverines, lynxes, and bears. The attack of a mountain goat is known as a “frolick” and they use this attack toward big-horn sheep who they share territory with to show dominance.

Photo by: Yellowstone National Park via Flickr