Wildville Archives - Page 3 of 5

European Adder

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Viperidae Subfamily: Viperinae Genus: Vipera Species: V. berus The European adder is the only venomous snake in Britain. Even though its bite is very dangerous, adders are one of the most non-aggressive snakes in the world. It takes a long time to generate venom, so the snake only uses it as a last defense when it feels extremely threatened. While the adder is a venomous snake, modern medicine has made it possible to treat the bite. No one has died from a bite in Britain in 20 years. With proper treatment, bites from this venomous snake only result in swelling and a bruise. • Adders live on the edges of forests, meadows, moors and coastal dunes. • They emerge from hibernation dens in the early spring. • They hibernate for 5-7 months. • Adders primarily eat small rodents, lizards, frogs, newts and young birds. • Their jaws are made from four separate bones, so they can stretch and swallow prey much larger than their heads. • The females are larger than the males. • The average size of an adder is small for a snake. • The males are usually 50 cm long. • The average female is around 55 cm. • They also differ in color; females are brownish and males are grayish. • Adders are threatened by the loss of habitat. • They have a very distinct zigzag pattern on their backs. A large threat to adders is fear. Often, people see adders as a danger, but showing fear is not the best way to react to them. These animals serve an important role in the community and pose very little danger to humans. Adders control the rodent population. Not only are rodents a nuisance, they also bring diseases and dangerous germs into homes. In many ways, they can be more dangerous to humans than the snakes that eat them. Adders are extremely shy, and it is very rare for them to bite humans unless directly threatened. It is important to be cautious of snakes, but understand that they are also very important to the environment.

Wildville

Beluga Sturgeons

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order Acipenseriformes Family: Acipenseridae Genus: Huso Species: H. huso Sturgeon is a name for a type of fish that is part of the Acipenseridae family. There are 27 species that fit into this category and sturgeons can be found all over the world. Though each species is unique, they all share some similar characteristics. They look different from the average fish that you might catch in any river or lake. Scientists believe, based on fossils from the Triassic Period (2455 to 208 million years ago), that the sturgeons haven’t changed at all since dinosaurs walked the earth. Most other animals have changed and adapted over millions of years to adjust to their different environments. The sturgeons however did not, because of this they are called “primitive fish.” Some of the characteristics that are different from more modern fish are the lines of bony plates along their sides that act as armor. They have these bony plates called scutes instead of scales. The rest of their skin is smooth. • Sturgeons are very large. Most grow between 7 and 12 feet long, but some species can reach even 18 feet long. • They are bottom feeders. • Different species live all over the world, but they generally like river deltas and estuaries. • The largest recorded sturgeon caught was a female that weighed 3,463 pounds and was 24 feet long. • The Beluga is the largest species, they live in the Caspian and Black Seas. • They are considered freshwater fish, but can also survive in salt water. Unfortunately, many sturgeon species are endangered from over-fishing. Their eggs, called caviar, are considered a delicacy all over the world. The Beluga caviar is the most expensive, but the eggs from the Ossetra and Sevruga sturgeon are also popular. The most expensive caviar is $1,000 an ounce. Unfortunately, the popularity of the Beluga caviar has made the giant, ancient fish an endangered species. To maintain the species, the United Statesmade caviar from this specific species illegal in 2005. Not all caviar is harmful to the sturgeon populations, however. There are fishermen who are working hard to still provide the delicious salty eggs while still making sure that the sturgeon population lasts for years to come, this is called sustainable fishing.

Wildville

Beavers

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Castoridae Genus: Castor Species: Canadensis Beavers are incredible creatures. Unlike most animals, they have the ability to shape their environment to ensure their comfort. Using their strong teeth and powerful jaws, beavers cut down nearby trees. They take these new logs and branches and bind them together with mud to create dams and lodges. Dams are piles of logs and sticks that change the flow of water in rivers and streams. This change can turn entire forests and meadows into ponds. In the middle of these ponds, beavers build their homes, called lodges. Made of sticks, logs and mud, these dome-shaped lodges have underwater entrances to keep the small beaver families safe. • Beavers are rodents. • They are clumsy on land but very fast and graceful in the water. • They have webbed rear feet. • They can stay under water for 15 minutes. • They have a set of clear eyelids that act like goggles while they swim underwater. • Beavers eat wood and plants that grow in ponds. • Adult beavers are around 3 feet long. • On average they live 24 years in the wild. • Beavers are the national animal of Canada. • They have poor eyesight, but their other senses are very sensitive. Another feature of the beaver is its fur. It is naturally water resistant, soft, tough and very warm. For early American settlers it was incredibly valuable, and in Europe the fur was popular to use as clothing. A common use for beaver pelts was to have it made into hats. Selling the valuable and plentiful beaver pelts became an important part of the early colonies’ economy. The North American beavers were caught in the colonies and then sold overseas. They often ended up in France and Europe.

Wildville

Czech Horse Breeds

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Family: Equidae Genus: Equus Species: E. ferus Subspecies: Caballus The relationship between horses and humans is a long one. It started around 30,000 years ago when humans most likely hunted horses for food. The relationship grew and changed into a partnership around 6,000 years ago. Scientists think that the first people to domesticate horses were the Botai who lived in the Eurasian Steppes. These tamed horses helped to shape human society. Domesticating horses spread across the world and they became a priceless part of human development. They were used for farm work, transportation, warfare and more. As the relationship grew over thousands of years, humans also started to influence the way horses developed. The animals were bred for specific uses. Larger and stronger horses could pull plows easier and smaller quicker horses were great for messengers. These distinctly different kinds of horses are called breeds. One of the oldest breeds in human history is the Kladruber. • It originated in what is now the Czech Republic. • It is almost 400 years old, bred in 1579 by Rudolf II. • The breed takes its name from the region in the Czech Republic that they come from, Kladbury nad Labem. • This breed was originally used by the rulers of the Hapsburg Empire to pull their royal carriages, but are also well built for riding. • It is a rare breed with less than 500 known mares in 2011. • They are either gray or black. • Average horses are measured as around 15 hands high (5ft). • Modern Kladrubers measure between 15 and 17 hands high, which is smaller than their original size. • The breed was almost destroyed by the Seven Years War and the other conflicts that affected the Czech Republic — like the World Wars. • They are known for being powerful and calm and for having great endurance. • In the Hapsburg Empire, black Kladrubers were used specifically for funerals or the clergy. • They were poplar among many royal families in Europe. • The United Nations recognizes the breed as a “World Cultural Monument.”

Kids

Brown Throated three-toed sloth

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Pilosa Family: Bradypodidae Genus: Bradypus Species: Varigatus There are four species of three-toed sloths, one of which is the Brown Throated three-toed sloth that is native to Central and South America. All sloths spend the majority of their lives high in the treetops of rainforests. Their long claws are curved making them perfectly shaped to hang from tree branches. Sloths sleep, eat and even give birth in trees high above the forest floor. They very rarely descend from the treetops as this is when they are most vulnerable to attacks from predators because they are unable to effectively walk. Brown Throated three-toed sloth The algae that grows in the fur of sloths is a very specific kind of algae, and the two living organisms have a symbiotic relationship. It can’t be found in any other environment. The sloth provides the algae a place to live and a good supply of water. The algae help hide the sloth from predators. The sloths gain their algae colonies from their mothers at just a few weeks old. Some scientists also think that the algae help feed the sloth by providing nutrients through the sloth’s skin. No one totally understands the relationship, but it is unique in the animal kingdom. • They are some of the slowest-moving animals in the world. • They are herbivores; their favorite foods include leaves, twigs and fruit. • Their plant diet also provides the water that they need. • It can take a month for a sloth to digest a meal. • They are about the size of a cat and weigh 8 or 9 pounds. • They sleep 15 to 20 hours a day. • They are good swimmers, but on land they just drag themselves along the ground with their front arms. • They are called three-toed sloths because they have three long claws on each hand. • They have long greyish-brown fur. • The fur usually has a greenish tinge from the algae that live in its hair. • The algae add some camouflage for the sloth and help them blend into the green leaves around them.

Wildville

Darwin’s Moth

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Sphingidae SubFamily: Sphinginae Genus: Xanthopan Species: Morganii Plants and insects have special relationships. Insects drink the nectar from plants and while they are feeding, they collect pollen from the flowers. They then carry this pollen on to the next flower. By transferring pollen, the insects help the plants reproduce, and in return they get a delicious nectar meal. Some insects, like bees, feed on many different types of flowers. Others like Morgan’s Sphinx moth, or Darwin’s moth, rely on a single type of flower. This flower, Darwin’s orchid, is a white orchid that grows in Madagascar. It has an extremely long neck (35 centimeters long) that hides its nectar. For many years it was a mystery how anything could pollinate the flower. In 1862, Charles Darwin predicted that there must be a moth with a giant nose. He was right, but the moth wasn’t found until 1903, after his death. • The flower and moth are found on the east side of Madagascar. • Another name for the moth is the hummingbird moth. • They have a wingspan of 2 to 8 inches. • They only feed off of Darwin’s orchid. • It is a large type of hawk moth. • The moth uses scent to find its special orchids. • Darwin was not the only scientist to predict the moth’s existence. • It has a speckled brown pattern. • The proboscis (an elongated sucking mouthpart that is typically tubular and flexible) rolls up to be stored when the moth is not feeding. • Even after the moth was discovered in 1903, it was years before it was seen actually pollinating the orchid. • They are active at night and are very rare. • The moth’s proboscis is longer than its body. Moths are common all over the world, but it is when they are isolated on islands that they are truly amazing. Darwin’s hawk moth is just one example. Instead of feeding on many different plants like many insects, it has a special partnership with Darwin’s orchid. They work together to survive.

Wildville

Muntjac (Oldest Deer)

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Suborder: Ruminantia Family: Cervidae Subfamily: Cervinae Genus: Muntiacus Species: Reevesi The Chinese Muntjac or Reeve’s Muntjac is a small deer that is native to China and Taiwan. They can also now be found in parts of Europe because a large number of them escaped from the Whipsnade Zoo and from Woburn Abbey in 1925. After they escaped, they began to live and grow in the forests of England, Belgium, Scotland and Ireland. They get their name from John Reeves, a British man who lived in China in the 19th century. He was a naturalist, which is a person who studies natural history and science. He collected the little deer and brought both information and living specimen back to England. The Muntjac are native to China, Taiwan and parts of India but in recent years they have been spreading all over Europe. They were brought to Europe as pets and to live in zoos, but when they escaped, they adapted to the wooded environments. This is not unusual. Humans often introduce new species to areas. This can be dangerous because these new animals may change the environment and hurt other native animals. • There are 11 species of Muntjacs. • They are also called barking deer because of the loud barking sound that they make when they are scared. • They are the oldest known species of deer. • Their fossils date back 15 to 35 million years ago. • They live in woodlands. • They are herbivores and eat leaves, fruit, bark, fungi and herbs. • They have a large strong tongue to strip leaves off plants. • They usually live around 10 years. • They are crepuscular. That means they are most active at dawn and dusk. • They are solitary creatures. • The male deer have long upper canines (2 inches long) that act like tusks and small antlers (4 inches long) that can be used defensively. • The female deer are usually smaller than the male. • They are a small species of deer only 16 inches tall at the shoulders. • They weigh around 30 pounds. • They have dark brown fur coats and dark stripes on their faces. • Some describe their faces as looking very dog-like.

Wildville

Polar Bear

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Ursidae Genus: Ursus Species: Maritimus Closely related to the brown bear, a polar bear has thick fur and lives in the Arctic. The fur looks white, but is actually yellow. Their unique fur allows the polar bears to blend into the snowy environment and trap heat while they hunt for their favorite prey — seals. Their fur coat is made of two layers, which helps to keep them warm in temperatures as low as -50 Farenheit. The oils that coat the fur also help keep them warm and dry by repelling water when they swim in the cold ocean. They swim so often that the United States, Norway, Greenland and Russia classify them as marine mammals Polar bears are beautiful animals that are incredibly well adapted for their harsh environment. Unfortunately, human activity is putting them in danger. They are classified as a vulnerable species. Pollution and loss of habitat are the main threats to the species. However, in 2000, both the United States and Russia agreed to work together to help protect the polar bears. • Polar bears live in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway. • Adult male polar bears can weigh between 775 and 1,300 pounds and reach more than 10 feet tall when standing upright. • Only pregnant female polar bears hibernate, during this time they give birth, usually to three cubs. • They are carnivores. Their favorite meal is ringed seal, but they are known to eat other land and water animals. • They hunt on the edge of pack ice. • They are solitary. • They can swim up to 200 miles into the ocean. • Their wide paws are partly webbed making excellent paddles. • Underneath their white fur is black skin that works to soak up the warmth of the sun. • 4 inches of fat underneath the skin also keep the bears toasty in the Arctic weather. • Newborn cubs are hairless and blind, but can weigh around 20 pounds when hibernation is over. • Polar bears live around 25 years in the wild.

Wildville

Mountain Lion

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Puma Species: Concolor Mountain lions are big cats native to the Americas. They are extremely adaptable and they live in a wide variety of habitats like forests, mountains and even swamps. They used to roam all over the continent, but now they are mostly found on the eastern coast of North America and most of South America. They are not known for being the strongest or the fastest; they hunt by ambush. They hide in trees or bushes near places that they know their prey often visits. Then they wait until the perfect moment and leap onto their prey. Because they thrive in diverse habitats, their preferred catch depends on where they live. For more information visit the following sites: http://mountainlion.org/FAQfrequentlyaskedquestions.asp, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/mountain-lion/ & http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Puma_concolor/ • They are also known as pumas, cougars, catamounts and panthers. • Mountain lions grow between 6 to 9 feet long, weighing around 136 pounds. • Mountain Lions are solitary and known for being shy; they don’t often approach humans. • Common prey are deer, raccoons, rabbits, coyotes and porcupines. • They do not hibernate. • Cubs are born blind and are dependent on their mothers. • They have yellowish brown to greyish hair, which helps them blend into many landscapes. • The throat and chest of the cats are often whitish and they have black stripes along their nose, mouth and ears. • Their long tails are 1/3 of their body. • Because they are so solitary, they require a lot of land to survive. This makes it difficult to survive with human development encroaching on their habitat. • They usually live between 8 and 13 years in the wild. • They use their great eyesight to spot prey. • If they have a large kill, they will save some for later by burying it in the dirt or snow.

Kids

Amur Leopard

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Panthera Species: Pardus Subspecies: Orientalis The Amur leopard is a species of leopard native to Russia and a small part of China. Unlike their cousins that relax in the open Savannahs of Africa, the Amur leopard has adapted to live in the temperate forests. They are the rarest big cat in the world. There are now conservation efforts trying to save the leopard from extinction like providing protected areas of forest for them to live in. So far these efforts seem to be successful. At one point there were only 35 Amur leopards left in the wild. Recently the population has risen to 57, but that is still a very small number. One of the biggest threats that they face is the loss of their habitat from logging and poaching for their beautiful fur coat. They are also known as the Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard and the Korean leopard. 1. They usually live between 10-15 years in the wild. 2. They can carry three times their weigh up a tree. 3. They carry their prey up the tree so that other animals won’t try to steal their meal. 4. They hunt silka deer, hares, wild boar and badgers. 5. They can run up to 35 mph for sort distances. 6. Males weigh between 80 and 198 pounds. 7. Females weigh between 60 and 130 pounds. 8. Because they live in a colder climate the leopards grow long thick fur in the winter. 9. Their winter coats are very pale. 10. They hunt at night. 11. They can survive 12 to 25 days between catching prey. 12. Their habitat is near the intersection of Russia, China and Korea.

Category - Wildville

European Adder

Beluga Sturgeons

Beavers

Czech Horse Breeds

Brown Throated three-toed sloth

Darwin’s Moth

Muntjac (Oldest Deer)

Polar Bear

Mountain Lion

Amur Leopard

Categories