Some interesting facts about Rabbits

There are several different species of rabbits including European rabbit and cotton tail rabbits are included in the total rabbit family. They should not be confused with hares. Hares generally are larger and do not live inside a burrow. Here I will only discuss about The Rabbits.

The size of a rabbit can vary from 20cm to 50cm in length and 0.4 kg to 2 kg in weight.

Rabbit is a social animal. They lives in groups. All rabbits (except the cottontail rabbit) live underground in burrows.

Most of the rabbit population is in North America(more than 50% of total rabbit population). Apart from North America they are also found in southern Asia, Europe, Japan and some parts of Africa and South America.

Rabbits ear is very long can reach upto 10cm in length. The long ears help them to detect predators in the jungle.

Rabbits have a near 360-degree vision and can even see behind them. They have just one blind spot right in front of their nose.

Rabbits have 28 teeth. They have two sets of incisor teeth one behind another.

Male rabbits are called bucks whereas the females are called does. The young ones are called kits. 

Rabbits are herbivores i.e, they eat plants. They prefer green leafy vegetation.

Rabbits are coprophagous i.e, they eat their own feces. They pass two different types of feces viz. hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets. They eat those pellets(called caecotrophs) immediately after extracting. Unlike other herbivores(such as cow) they do not chew the cud, rather ingest own droppings to extract the required nutrients. Rabbits can not vomit.

The fur of rabbits can range from pure white to black or grey. Although they were born without fur.

They have large and very strong hind legs. This helps them to jump 3 ft or higher. The front two paws have 5 toes whereas hind feet have 4 toes. They can run very fast. They can reach a speed of 30 to 40km per hour.

Rabbits have average sleeping time of 8-9 hours. They can live up to 12 years.

In popular cultures rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility. It has also been related with characters such as Easter Bunny, Bugs Bunny etc. It is also relates to the perception of innocence.  

Hope you got some facts which was not known to you. If you have any experience of having a rabbit as a pet, please share it with us.

Giraffe: Standing Tall Above the Rest

Anybody who have studied biology in any phase in his life will definitely have a special feeling for “The Giraffes”. The theory of evolution was first made on trying to describe the uniqueness of the neck of giraffe. Though the long neck is the characteristic feature of giraffe, there are so many other unique features of this animal which are not well known. This blog will bring out some of them to you which will be fascinating to know.

 

Biological name of Giraffe is Giraffa camelopardalis.

It was initially believe to be a hybrid of a camel and a leopard and thus got the species name of cameleopardalis

Giraffe is the tallest living terrestrial(on the land) animal. It is 5-6 meter tall and an average weight of a male giraffe can reach up to  1600 kgs. They are native to savannas, woodlands and grasslands of Africa. They are herbivorous i.e, eat plants only.

Giraffe is a ruminant i.e, they first chew the food, then swallow it for bacterial processing and then back into mouth to chew it again. The can eat up to 34 kgs of foliage daily. They can drink up to 10 gallons of water per day.

They are known to be non vocal.

Giraffes can run pretty quickly. Though not any where near to the fastest animal, the Cheetah but they can reach a speed of 60 km/hr. But unlike cheetahs they can maintain 50km/hr for several kilometers. Giraffe spends only 2 hours in an average to sleep. This is the least sleep requirement for any animal in animal kingdom.

The fore legs are 10% more longer than hind legs. The tail of a giraffe is 8 feet long. It is the longest in any animal.

The neck of a giraffe is 2 meter in length and it is a form of disproportionate lengthening of the cervical vertebrae. Male giraffes use their neck in the combat.

The heart of a giraffe is about 2 feet long and weights almost 20 lbs. it maintains a blood pressure that is approximately double of the human blood pressure. The lever is small and compact and gallbladder is absent.

The tongue of an adult giraffe is black in color and almost 2 feet long. This is useful not only for grasping foliage but also in cleaning its nose.

The coat of a giraffe has color patches. It darkens as the giraffe ages. We can calculate the age of a giraffe by the color of the spots in its body. Like fingerprints in humans, the spots of every giraffe is unique. This pattern help them to camouflage in the woodland.

Male and female giraffe both have prominent horn like structures which is called ossicones. Though the female ossicones are thinner compared to the males.

Giraffe has a gestation period of 400-600 days after which gave birth to a 1.8 meter tall  newborn. A giraffe can leave up to 25 years.

Giraffes are common target for hunters Africa. Though Giraffes have been eradicated from many African countries, the giraffe species as a whole is not included in endangered category by IUCN.

Thanks for reading. A lot more to come so stay tuned.

Cheetah: The Speedstar

Cheetahs have been in interest for all the people who love associating themselves with speed. This article will put some lights on this exciting cat species. 

Cheetahs should not be mistaken with Leopards. They possess tear lines, which run from corner of its eye till their mouth are absent in Leopards. Also unlike Leopards they do not have rosette like spots. The body frame of cheetah is also thinner than a Leopard.

The word “Cheetah” is derived from Sanskrit word of chitrakayah meaning having variety of colors.

Scientific name of cheetah is Acinonyx jubatu. They are the sole member of their genus(Acinonyx). The rest of the species have become extinct.

The cheetah originated over 4 million years ago. That’s long before any of the other big cats of today.

An adult cheetah can weigh up to 20 to 70 kg while its length varies from 110 to 150cm. Though males tend to be little larger than the females and have slightly larger head, it is very difficult to distinguish between males and females just by appearance alone.

Like all other cats cheetahs are also carnivorous. They eat mostly mammals like gazelles. Sometimes they hunt wildebeest or zebras when hunting in groups. 

Males tend to live in small groups of 2-3 individuals, usually brothers. They are extremely territorial and mark their territory by urinating on objects like dogs.

Unlike other cats or their male counterpart, female Cheetahs are solitary and do not establish territories. They always hunt alone(though sometimes cubs join their mother to learn hunting). 

Cheetahs can live up to 12 years in wild and 20 years in captive condition. Males reach maturity at the age of 1 year where as for female it is 20 to 22 months.

Cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world, reaching speeds of up to 113km/h. They can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in just 3 seconds.

The paws of a cheetah have semi retractile claws. It helps in better grip in high speed chase. The dewclaw is much shorter and straighter than other members of their cat family. Cheetah uses its tail as a rudder during  sharp turn in its chase to catch a prey. They are the only big cat that can turn in mid-air while sprinting. They possess large nostrils to allow increased oxygen intake during running. Enlarged heart and lungs to circulate efficient oxygen supply.

Running on high speed puts much strain on their bodies. While sprinting the body temperature elevates very quickly. So if they fail to catch their prey quickly they have to gave up the chase.

Unlike other cats, Cheetahs are born with their characteristic spots. They are native to Africa and Asia.

Cheetah can not roar like other cats, however they do have a range of other meaningful vocalizations such as purring, growling and a variety of contact calls which resemble bird-like chirping sounds.

A cheetah has 50% chance of loosing its kill to other predators. That is why they eat immediately after killing its prey. They usually avoid fighting with other carnivores and surrender its kill even to a single hyena.

Cheetahs are caring, affectionate and dedicated mothers. They spend a long time caring for their cubs and teaching them essential survival skills like hunting. Cubs typically stay with their mothers for one and a half to two years.

In ancient time(3000 BC) cheetahs have been tamed by human. They have been used as pets and trained for hunting purposes. This trend initiated in ancient Egypt and then subsequently followed to Persia and India.

Cheetahs are included in the list of vulnerable species by IUCN. Cheetah cubs have high mortality rates(90% of their cubs died in the early weeks of their rearing). Low genetic diversity, predation by other carnivores, birth defects along with loss of habitat and poaching are the cause for their low counts.

Hope this reading has been enjoyable for you. A lot of animal still to come. So keep visiting.

The Apes: A General Idea

Apes generally refers as the human like creatures. They can keep their bodies in both semi-upright as well as upright position. The arms are generally longer than legs. This article put some light on the different apes in our animal Kingdom.

The word “Ape” has several meaning to several people. For most of the people ape is a synonym for monkeys. Some refers to any tail-less monkeys and non-human hominoids. But biologically speaking we humans are also part of apes along with Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Orangutans and Gibbons, where as Monkeys are not a part of it.

The apes can be divided in two parts:

1. Lesser apes: Which includes Gibbons.
2. Greater apes: includes of orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans

Gibbons:

They are the smallest(height 75-100cm weight 10-14kg) among the apes. Generally found in southeast rainforests. They are almost entirely arboreal. They are omnivorous i.e, they eat fruits as wells as meat. They can be very fast moving in the trees. Their speed can reach up to 55km/h. Gibbons are monogamous by nature.

Orangutans:

They are much larger when compared to Gibbons(height 4-5ft weight 35-60kgs). Only found in the forests of Asia. They are also omnivorous and can live up to 50 years. Orangutans are the largest arboreal animal living on the planet.

Gorillas:

Gorillas are the largest member of the Ape family. A male Gorilla can weight up to 275kg and standing height can reach up to 1.75 meters. Gorillas are herbivorous in nature. They eat fruits, herbs stems and roots. They can be found in central and western Africa.

Chimpanzees:

Chimps can weight up to 70kgs. They are very intelligent among the rest of their cousins are much more similar to humans then any other. They are omnivorous and can live upto 40 years. For more details and interesting facts about Chimpanzees check out my earlier blog.

Bonobos:

Earlier they were clubbed with the chimps(the pigmy chimpanzees) but now they have been recognized as separate animal. They are 2.5ft in height and can weight up to 40kgs. They are mostly frugivorous, means fruit eaters. They are found in Congo in central Africa.

Unlike monkeys Apes do not possess tail, and Apes are generally bigger than Monkeys(except for Gibbons they can be smaller than many species of Monkeys). They are considerably larger than monkeys(except Gibbons).

Apes have larger brains than any other group of animals(except the Dolphins). They are found to be extremely intelligent and can use tools.

Apes are generally agile climbers of trees(except Gorillas and Humans).

I have already discussed interesting facts about Chimpanzees in my earlier article. I will add articles on the rest of the apes too later.

Thanks for reading. Please share this article to create awareness among people.

Penguins: The Wonder Bird

Its time for finding some interesting facts in the world of birds. And what best to start than the most interesting bird of all time. The PENGUINS.

Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds living almost exclusively in southern hemisphere. There are 17 species of penguins among which most of them are becoming endangered very quickly. The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin (about 1.1 meter in height and weigh 35 kg or more)and the smallest penguin species is the Fairy Penguin(40 cm tall and weighs 1 kg).

In general Penguins are not dimorphic, i.e, male and female penguins are look like the same.

Penguins are carnivorous. They find all their food exclusively in the sea and mostly feed on fish and squids. 

Other than these two they sometimes takes crabs, shrimps also in their diet. Penguins do not have any teeth. They use their beak to catch prey. They have spines on the roof of their beak and tongue. Sometimes they swallow pebbles and stones along with their food. This has believed to help them in digestion and to dive deep in the water.

Unlike other birds Penguins molt their feathers once in a year. Molting may take a week or so, during this time they loose almost half of their body weight.They can not go into the water until they grow waterproof coat.

All the penguin species live in the southern hemisphere. No penguin can be found in north pole.

Penguins are highly social animal. They stay, hunt and swim in groups. Each individual have their distinct sound which allows individual penguins to find their mates and chicks among the groups. The colony size can reach up to 1 million penguins.

Though they generally live in coldest climate possible, they maintain their body temperature at around 100 deg F. This is due to the fact that they have a thick layer of insulating feathers that keeps them warm in water.

Penguins can not breathe under water. They have to come to surface after 10-15 minutes. . They can propel themselves over up to 2meters above water. This technique is similar like the Dolphins.

Though penguins spend most of their lives in the sea they come to land to lay eggs.

Penguin eggs are relatively smaller with proportion to their body weight when compared with other birds. A penguin egg shell is much more heavier(10-15% of the egg’s weight) than other bird’s egg shells. This helps them to minimize the risk of breakage in rough environment.

Penguin’s unique coloring helps them to hide themselves from predators. The black back helps them to blend into the dark water when they are looked from above by the predators and white belly helps them to blend with lighted sky and snow when looked from below by various predators in deep water. Some penguins are born with brown plumage rather than black one. Their life-cycle generally become shorter due to lack of camouflage.

Penguin’s eyes work best in water and they are extremely short sighted in land. Some species of penguins(very rare) have yellow cat like eyes.

Penguins can drink salt water and through a special gland (the supra-orbital gland) filter the salt from going into the bloodstream.

Penguins have the much more feathers(generally 70 feather/sq inch) than any other bird.

The bones in their wings have fused together and become flippers so they can not bend their wings. Penguins can not fly. But they are the fastest swimmers(up to 36km/hour for Gentoo penguins) and deepest divers among all the bird species.

Penguins rarely experience any land predators that is why they are not much with human interaction.

Penguins are very popular around the world, primarily for their unusually upright, and lack of fear of humans. More than 30 countries have featured penguins on their stamps.

Hope you have found some facts which are very interesting as well as new to you. If you have any suggestion please mention it in the comment box. Thanks for reading.