Monday, October 8, 2012

Pink Dolphin



The Pink Dolphin- It probably looks like the wimpiest animal you've ever seen. Yet this creature can pack quite a punch. It eats PIRANHAS! Now, we all know piranhas are the kings of eating. They can demolish COWS in seconds. The dolphins' secret weapon is a super-long snout and a very flexible body that helps it get the piranha as it attacks. 

Other foods that pink dolphins indulge in is catfish, crabs, and even small turtles. While there is no proof of why these dolphins are pink, it is thought to be some kind of adaption to river water. They are known to become pinker when they are excited or surprised, which resembles blushing for humans.

Sadly, these beautiful creatures are endangered. The basins at the ends of the Amazon are becoming more populated, and this causes more pollution entering the river, which finally results in the accidental killing of the dolphins. Also, damming has limited habitat and mating territory. 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Blobfish


When you look at the picture above, you probably think that the "creature" is from a horror movie or something. But the fish is real. It can only survive in the deepest depths of the sea, and is very rarely seen by humans. It is just lighter than water, which allows it to float above the sea floor without using any of it's energy.

Blobfish live 4000 feet deep in the ocean, which is dozens of times deeper than a human can survive. It is VERY rare that they swim at higher levels. Blobfish are facing extinction because of deepwater fishing. They survive off of crustaceans and small fish that live down at their level.

Blobfish are very lazy creatures. They are basically made of jelly, so they do not need to come equipped with muscles. They are known to just float around and wait for something edible to come by for their meals.


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Black Rat

Beware- this cute face can fool you! This nasty little speck of dirt is the creature that was most likely the carrier of the black death, a plague that killed over 1/3 of the European country in the Middle Ages. It carried the plague through it's fleas, and spread off of ships to Europe. They originated in Asia, and once they landed in Europe, they spread to the whole world via cargo ships.


These rats now live all over the world, scavenging for whatever they can get at. They are omnivores, so it doesn't really matter to them what they eat. They mostly live off of fruits and nuts, like common tree squirrels. (If the whole world was available for eating and it was the trash can or berries and acorns, I think I'd choose the fruits and nuts too!)


Black rats are nocturnal. They are considered very poor swimmers compared to their cousin the brown rat, but are far better climbers than the brown rat. They have been known, when in danger, to flee upwards. Due to this ability, many rat nests are found in trees. The rat will hunt and nest in 2 different places, so that food never runs scarce.

Cats, owls, coyotes, weasels, and foxes all prey on the black rat.


Koala Bear

Full grown Koala- AWWWW!
Please welcome our next foreign guest, coming from the world down under.... THE KOALA BEAR!  Koala bears are native to Australia, where they live a somewhat happy life stuffing down as many eucalyptus leaves as they can bare and lounging in eucalyptus trees. However, life is not all fun and games for this cheerful bear...

Many koala bears are getting killed and are becoming endangered due to trees getting chopped down for housing developments. With no trees, there is no place for the bears to sleep in and no leaves to eat. To add insult to injury, the bears that DO survive are attacked by the dogs that come with the people that move into the housing districts.

Koalas become fertile at 2-3 years old. A healthy female can produce about 1 young a year, for about 12 years. Twins are very rare. The first set of twin koalas were Euca and Lyptus, who were born at the University of Queensland in April of 1999. Mating season is from December to March, and gestation period is generally 35 days.
Baby Koala- EEEWWWW!

Baby koalas, or "joeys", are born bald, blind, and earless. They usually will stay in a small stomach pouch of it's mother's until it can survive a little on it's own. More developed koalas will catch rides on their mom's back.