Albatross,Profile,Latest News,Photos

Albatross

Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids,

storm petrels and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there too and occasional vagrants are found. Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses (genus Diomedea) have the largest wingspans of any extant birds, reaching up to 12 feet (3.7 m). The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but there is disagreement over the number of species.

The albatrosses comprise between 13 and 24 species (the number of species is still a matter of some debate, 21 being the most commonly accepted number) in four genera. These genera are the great albatrosses (Diomedea), the mollymawks (Thalassarche), the North Pacific albatrosses (Phoebastria), and the sooty albatrosses or sooties (Phoebetria). The North Pacific albatrosses are considered to be a sister taxon to the great albatrosses, while the sooty albatrosses are considered closer to the mollymawks.

Most albatrosses range in the southern hemisphere from Antarctica to Australia, South Africa and South America. The exceptions to this are the four North Pacific albatrosses, of which three occur exclusively in the North Pacific, from Hawaii to Japan, California and Alaska; and one, the Waved Albatross, breeds in the Galapagos Islands and feeds off the coast of South America.

The need for wind to enable gliding is the reason albatrosses are for the most part confined to higher latitudes; being unsuited to sustained flapping flight makes crossing the doldrums extremely difficult. The exception, the Waved Albatross, is able to live in the equatorial waters around the Galapagos Islands because of the cool waters of the Humboldt Current and the resulting winds.

Albatross

 Albatross

 Albatross

 Albatross

Agouti,Profile,Latest News,Photos

Agouti

Agouti refers to a number of species of Central and South American rodents, whose fur contains a pattern of pigmentation in which individual hairs have several bands of light and dark pigment with black tips.It can also
be used to describe a similar multi-coloured coat in animals such as cats and goats.

Agoutis are generally wary, and most species are difficult to see or approach in their native habitats. They walk, trot, or gallop on their digits, traveling swiftly when pursued or threatened, and are capable of leaping vertically to 2 metres (6.5 feet) from a standing position. Agoutis are terrestrial, denning at night in burrows among boulders, tree roots, hollow logs, or brushy tangles on the forest floor.

Although litters of up to four young have been recorded, two is usual. The agouti’s diet consists primarily of fruit, nuts, and seeds, but some species also eat fungi, flowers, leaves, and insects. They bury nuts in the ground for times when food becomes scarce, and, as a result, agoutis are one of the most important mammalian seed dispersers for many species of tropical trees (see Sidebar: No Rainforest, No Brazil Nuts).

All agouti species are intensively hunted because their flesh is prized as food by indigenous peoples. Agoutis are found from southern Mexico southward to Ecuador and east of the Andes throughout the Amazon River basin. Although most agouti species live in lowland and montane tropical rainforests, Azara’s agouti (Dasyprocta azarae) also inhabits the drier cerrado (savanna and scrub) and chaco environments south of the Amazon basin into Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. Three different agoutis have been introduced into the West Indies, presumably by native Caribbean tribes: D. mexicana in Cuba, D. punctata in Cuba and the Cayman Islands, and D. leporina, the Brazilian agouti, in the Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles.

 Agouti

Agouti

 Agouti

 Agouti

Agile Wallabay,Profile,Latest News,Photos

Agile Wallabay

The Agile wallaby (Macropus agilis) also known as the sandy wallaby, is a species of wallaby found in northern Australia and New Guinea. It is the most common wallaby in Australia's north.The agile wallaby, as
its alternative name implies, is a sandy colour becoming paler below. It is a sociable animal and grazes on grasses and other plants.

The agile wallaby's range includes the coastal and tropical areas of Australia (Environment Australia, 2001), including northeast Western Australia, the northern portion of the Northern Territory, and the north and east areas of Queensland (Nowak, 1991). Also, there are limited populations in southern New Guinea (Columbus Zoo web site, 2001).

Directly after birth, the young wallaby travels to the mother's pouch. The "joey" stays within the pouch for an average of seven to eight months (Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, 2001). The joey does not usually emerge permanently and reach total independance for several more weeks. Weaning occurs until the young wallaby is one year old. (Nowak, 1991)

Births may occur at any time of the year, but usually peak between May and August. A single young is born per breeding season. (ThinkQuest Library, 2001) The adult sex ratio of populations is often female biased, due to higher male youth mortality rates (Stirrat, 2000).

Agile wallablies occur in a wide variety of habitats often depending on local environmental conditions. These habitats include open forests and their adjacent grasslands, regions near rivers and streams, and also floodplains (Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, 2001).

Agile Wallabay

Agile Wallabay

Agile Wallabay

 Agile Wallabay

Agile Wallabay

Agama Lizard,Profile,Latest News,Photos

Agama Lizard

Agama lizards are sometimes called rainbow lizards because of the colorful displays put on by the dominant males. While most agamas are green and brown, dominant males show off by rapidly turning their bodies blue and their heads bright red or yellow. Most agamas live in small groups with the dominant male ruling over several females and sub-males. While sunning themselves each morning, the dominant male will claim the most elevated spot, with subordinates in lower areas. Agamas hunt by vision and prefer to wait for an insect to come by. Their sticky tongues help them hold onto prey.

Females reach sexual maturity at age fourteen to eighteen months, males at two years. A. agama reproduces during the wet season although they are capable of reproducing nearly year round in areas of consistant rainfall(Porter et al. 1983). The male will approach the female from behind and head bob to her. If she accepts then she will arch her back with her tail and head raised. The male walks to her side and grasps her neck and puts his leg on the female's back, the pair swivel 90 degrees in order to bring their cloacas together and thrusts his tail onto her cloaca inserting his right or left hemipenes (depending on side location). This mating ritual usually lasts one to two minutes when the female will scurry away and the male also after several minutes (Harris 1964).

The female lays her eggs in a hole she digs with her snout and claws. The hole is five centimeters deep and is found in sandy, wet, damp soil that is exposed to sunlight nearly all day and covered by herbage or grasses. The eggs are usually laid in clutches ranging from five to seven ellipsoidal eggs. A. agama is a thermoregulated embryo species resulting in all males at twenty-nine degrees Celsius and all females at twenty-six to twenty-seven degrees Celsius (Crews et al. 1983).

Agama Lizard

Agama Lizard

 

African Wild Dog,Profile,Latest News,Photos

African wild dog

The African wild dog, also called Cape hunting dog or painted dog, typically roams the open plains and sparse woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa.These long-legged canines have only four toes per foot, unlike
other dogs, which have five toes on their forefeet. The dog's Latin name means "painted wolf," referring to the animal's irregular, mottled coat, which features patches of red, black, brown, white, and yellow fur. Each animal has its own unique coat pattern, and all have big, rounded ears.

African wild dogs live and hunt in groups called packs. Packs typically include an alpha (dominant) male and female, their offspring and other related members. Historically, more than 100 dogs gathered in packs during spring migrations, but today the average pack of African wild dogs contains approximately 10 members. Unlike other canine species, packs of wild dogs frequently contain more male members than female members.

The home range of packs varies depending on the size of the pack and the nature of the terrain. In the Serengeti, the average dog density (prior to the local extinction of the species) was one dog per 208 km2 (80 sq mi), whereas in the Selous Game Reserve, the average density was one dog every 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi). [18] However, the population density in the Serengeti as late as 1970 was as high as one dog per 35 km2 (14 sq mi) before falling to one in 200 km2 (77 sq mi) in 1977.

Packs are separated into male and female hierarchies. If one of the alphas were to die, the pack was previously thought to split up, but this was disproven (although on a small scale) by Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, in which six dogs which had previously been held in captivity (only five made it to the island, one died of anesthesia) lost their two alphas, to what was presumed to be crocodiles, but the pack of three stuck together and a new alpha male and female were made.[citation needed] In the female group, the oldest will have alpha status over the others, so a mother will retain her alpha status over her daughters and sisters. Among males, the father and most dominant brother of the others will be dominant.

 African wild dog

 African wild dog

African wild dog

African Wildcat,Profile,Latest News,Photos

African Wildcat

The African Wildcat is a subspecies of the Wildcat (Felis silvestris) and is similar in size to domestic cats. In fact the African Wildcat is the ancestor of domestic cats.  The African Wildcat is also known as the Desert Cat, African Desert Cat or simply Wildcat. In Afrikaans (South Africa) vaalboskat means grey bush cat.
 The African Wild Cat is similar in appearance to a domestic cat; however, it is proportionally larger and has longer hind legs. Cats in the drier western portion of the subregion are a light sandy ground colour with brown or rufous markings. In the eastern potion, they are light grey with charcoal or black markings; there is a wide area with intermediate colouring. A dark stripe runs along the midline of the back and neck, 2 distinct stripes circle the neck and there are 6-7 vertical stripes on the flanks.

The African Wildcat looks similar to a short-haired domestic tabby cat, but has reddish colouring on the back of the ears, over its abdomen and on the back of its hind legs. More.Although African Wildcats are listed as common and widespread in Africa, their genetic integrity is threatened by interbreeding with domestic (feral) cats.  It is becoming quite rare to come across a pure bred African Wildcat.  Watch a video...

 African Wildcats diverged from the other Wildcat subspecies about 131,000 years ago. Some individuals were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, which are the ancestors of the domestic cat. Remains of domesticated wildcats have been included in human burials as far back as 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.

 African Wildcat

 African Wildcat

 African Wildcat

African Skink,Profile,Latest News,Photos

African Skink

African Skink also called Striped Skink.

This medium-sized skink has a window in each of the lower eyelids. The ear

openings are lobed. Colouration differs between the subspecies. In northern

populations the head of breeding males are orange-brown, with a yellow-orange

throat.

All 4 occur on the subcontinent. M.s. striata, M.s. sparsa, M.s. punctatissima and M.s. wahlbergii.

Eastern Africa, south to former Transkei and North Eastern Cape, extending along the Orange River to the Richtersveld, and west through Zambia to Angola and Southern Namibia.

Southern populations give birth to a single litter of 3 - 9 babies in summer. Reproduction may occur throughout the year in northern populations. Growth is relatively fast, sexual maturity is reached in 15 - 18 months.Anh his diet Feeds on small insects (beetles, moths, etc.) and other small invertebrates.

African Skink

 African Skink

 African Skink