Red Fox

The red fox is a very agile animal, able to jump over 7 feet high! They only weigh about 30 lbs on average, and are actually the biggest of the family "Vulpe". While they have binocular vision, which is good for hunting, they often react to movement. As for their hearing? It is very acute- they can hear a mouse squeak from over 300 feet away. Their sense of smell is about equal with that of a dog.


Red foxes are territorial creatures, but are also pack animals and stick together. The whole pack joins in the upbringing of the young kits, and will not typically fight. Once the kit is grown, it has the option to leave the group. If the chances of finding it's own territory are low, it will often stay with its parents (much like humans...).

The reproduction season is only once, in the spring. Gestation period is often 58 days, and then 4-6 kits are born. The kits are born blind, deaf, and toothless- a better word for this is HELPLESS. They are also born with not red fur, but brownish-grey fur. After about 1 month of nursing, the kits can leave the den and hunt with their parents, and also begin to turn red. They can usually survive to be 5 years old in the wild, but in captivity have survived to be older than 14.

Sparrow

Female

Male

Aren't birds interesting? They can fly, they can build nests, they can even balance on narrow wires and trees- yet there is one unfair part about birds. The female bird is almost always deprived of color! In this instance, the male sparrow has brighter blacks and browns than the female, who has tan feathers. Now, I have nothing against the colors brown and tan, but I just don't find it fair.

Sparrows, as you probably know, can be found all over the world. However, they originally came from areas near Russia! That's right, someone had the nerve to take these pesty birds from Russia and bring them into our country! Sparrows are chunky little birds, with small heads and fat bodies. However, they are also very social all year round.

In winter, sparrows will join in with flocks of other birds to scout for food, and it's nests are usually grouped together in clumps. This bird easily survives the winter as it eats whatever is available, though prefers grains, grasses, and weeds.

Gemsbok

The gemsbok is a large antelope and is often found living in deserts and other dry, extremely warm places. The gemsbok has adapted over time and can live in very hot places that most mammals cannot survive in, some living in temperatures of over 113 degrees Fahrenheit. These animals keep cool by staying in the shade most of the day and drawing water out of fruits and other foods. They are herbivores and often eat fruits, seedpods, and grasses.

The gemsbok have very long horns on their head, and they actually are used as a defense mechanism. The horns are 30 inches of pain, and have been known to impale attacking animals- most often lions. Gemsbok typically live 20-30 years. They have no set mating season, but young in a herd are often close to the same age indicating that females are synchronized in that area of life. The gestation period is 8.5 months, and gemsbok reproduce every 9 months. The young are never seen with their mother, but are always safely hidden nearby.

Filefish

The file fish is a very strange fish- it has 2 spines that it can move up and down its body at will! Once it is raised, it gets locked into place by a smaller spine. To lower its spine again, the fish has to move the lower spine first.


These fish are flattened, and can barely be seen from the front or back. However, they grow up to 20 inches long and look huge when seen from the side. Their eyes are set high up and far back on their head. It lives in tropical reefs, and is often brightly colored.

The filefish also has very strong teeth, and eats its food by cracking its shells and carrion. Its diet is mainly mollusks and things like that. Filefish ARE territorial, and will occupy a small piece of each reef. It will alert other fish of their territory by making noises with their teeth and spine, which echo through the water. They also use their bright colors to warn other fish about their territory.

Pleurodele

There are two known species of pleurodeles- the pleurodele of Poiret, and the pleurodele of Watl. The watl is bigger and has spots on it's back legs and flank, while the poiret is smaller and plain.

 The poiret is found in Algeria and Tunisia, while the watl is found in Morocco. Both live in fresh stagnant water, but are equipped with two lungs and can survive on land for long periods of time in case of drought.

Pleurodeles have quite strange mating rituals that is actually very important to the development of the legs and the growth of the horn on their forelegs. Eggs are laid in large clusters and are hatched over a period of 2-3 days. After this time period, 150 lizards (mainly female) hatch. They grow to be about a foot long if they are watls, and half that size if they are poirets. Adults will feed on worms, mollusks, and other such grubs and bugs.

Beluga Whale

Dubbed the "canary of the sea" by fishermen, belugas are known for their beautiful songs. Belugas usually live in the Arctic seas, migrating south for the winter. There have been migrating whales found as far from the Arctic as Japan. Sometimes, ice will become so thick that a beluga cannot break it with it's forehead. If the whale cannot get air, it will die from suffocation. The beluga is 16 feet long and weighs about 1000 pounds if not more, and has a protruding, padded forehead with a short snout.

Belugas often live in schools with only about a dozen whales in them. On rare occasions, large schools of thousands have been found. Belugas feed on fish, and will typically hunt in shallow water- making them easy targets for their predators. A beluga has two primary enemies: the killer whale, which is almost ANYTHING'S enemy, and man. Fishermen will hunt the beluga for their fat and skin, which is tough and makes good leather.

A female beluga gets pregnant once a year, for a year. The baby what develops inside her for a year, and then is born tailfirst. As soon as the baby is born, the female gets pregnant again. She does this for five years, and then gives herself a year's rest before birthing again.

Agouti

The agouti is often described as a large, long-legged guinea pig. Found in central and south America, this creature is nocturnal, spending the day burrowed with its family and its nights scrounging for food.

The agouti's diet is vegetarian, and it will eat mainly fruit and leaves, often burying some for later. But however cute this creature may look, don't upset it- it is very jumpy and will attack if startled or threatened.

The agouti is so jumpy that if it is scared enough, it will do anything to get away- including leading its fellow agoutis off of a cliff to their death. The agouti's mating season is in May and October. After a three month gestation period, a female will give birth to 2-3 babies. There are usually two litters per year. After the babies are born, the father is not permitted to come near the nest. Agoutis use their speed to escape the enemy, not their stealth. They can make a fast getaway, and without barely any effort can jump 20 feet away.

Agoutis are not very big- the biggest is only around 9 inches tall, and weighs only 30 pounds.