Tuesday 29 November 2011 Black Muntjac - A Redheaded Deer

The Black muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons) is a relatively rare, small member of the deer family that lives in eastern China. It is known by a variety of other names, including the hairy-fronted muntjac, the red-headed blue muntjac, the black aurum muntjac, as well as the head-hooded muntjac. Its body is a dark brown to black and it has light orange markings on the top of its head, on its ears, and on the sides of its nose. The black muntjac's tail is long and is white on its underside. This animal's most distinctive feature, however, is a tuft of long reddish-brown hair that grows between its ears. In the winter, the black muntjac’s coat is darker and thicker that it is in the summer.

On average, the black muntjac has a body length of 100 to 110 centimeters, or approximately 3 and half feet, and stands approximately 60 centimeters, or about 2 feet, at its shoulder. It weighs on average between 21 to 26 kilograms or approximately 24 pounds. Male black muntjacs are typically smaller than the females.

Male black muntjacs have front canine teeth that grow out from their mouth in a tusk-like fashion. During territorial disputes, the male black muntjac will often fight an opponent with these tusks. Males also have small antlers, but it is believed that they do not fight with these. The black muntjac can be found in several eastern provinces of China, including western parts of Zhejiang, the northern regions of Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, and in southeastern Anhui. Some people have reported seeing the black muntjac in China’s Yunnan province and the country of Myanmar, but these sightings may have actually been of a similar animal called the Gongshan muntjac.

Black muntjacs live in hilly, mountainous forests, shrubby areas and jungles with dense undergrowth that occur between 800 to 1000 meters -- about 2624 to 3280 feet -- above sea level. It is a shy animal, always on alert for danger. When frightened, it will seek the shelter of the thick undergrowth.

The black muntjac is a solitary animal. The female can breed at any time of the year and then will give birth to one baby at a time. When born, the fawns have spotted coats that help them blend in with their surroundings. The male black muntjac is very territorial and will fight other males and possibly even other species of deer that have invaded their territory.

Black muntjacs feed on the branches, leaves, fruits and flowers of plants and trees. It is preyed upon mainly by the dhole, a member of the canine family, and possibly the leopard. Humans also hunt and trap the black muntjac for its skin and meat.

Picture of the black muntjac by Shizhao, licensed under GFDL. You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Monday 28 November 2011 Bolivian Squirrel Monkey - The Masked Monkey

The Bolivian squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis), which is also known as a black-capped squirrel monkey or black-headed squirrel monkey, is an energetic, social monkey that lives in South America. Bolivian squirrel monkeys can live in a variety of habitats, but prefer tropical rainforests that occur between sea level to 1500 meters, or 4920 feet, above sea level. These monkeys can be found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Bolivian squirrel monkeys spend most of their time up in the tree canopy, but do occasionally make their way down to the forest floor in search of food.

These primates have an average body length of 27 to 32 centimeters, about 10.5 to 12.5 inches. It weighs on average 950 grams or about 2 pounds. The Bolivian squirrel monkey’s coat is a mixture of gold and tan hues and is tipped in black. The coloring around its mouth and nose is black or dark brown, while the fur surrounding its eyes is white.

One of the main ways to distinguish the Saimiri boliviensis group from other squirrel monkeys is by this white mask around its eyes. The mask of a Saimiri sciureus monkey has a dramatic V shape between its eyes, while a Bolivian squirrel monkey’s white mask has a more rounded shape. The fur above the Bolivian squirrel monkey’s mask is gray on the females and black on the males. Bolivian squirrel monkeys have very long tails tipped in black. Their tails are noticeably thinner than those of the squirrel monkeys of the Saimiri sciureus group.

These little monkeys feed on a variety of things, including seeds, insects, berries and fruits. Bolivian squirrel monkeys have also been known to dine on small animals, such as birds or bats, and also on eggs. The Bolivian squirrel monkey is a gregarious, social animal that likes to live in large groups of typically 40 to 50 animals, although larger groups of 200 or more do occur. Unlike some animals, more than one male is allowed to live with the group, with young male monkeys often remaining with their family group until they reach the age of four or five. After that, young males usually leave the family group to live with other bachelors. Females usually remain with their family groups.

Bolivian squirrel monkeys typically have one baby, and the females will babysit each other’s infants. These monkeys can live to be 30 years old. Bolivian squirrel monkey predators include harpy eagles and snakes, as well as humans, who not only hunt the monkeys for meat, but also capture them to sell as illegal pets and for use as laboratory research subjects. The Bolivian squirrel monkey’s current status is of least concern on the IUCN’s Redlist, as it is still quite common in the wild. Currently, the main threat to the Bolivian squirrel monkey’s population is habitat destruction from logging and clearing for agricultural use.

Picture of the Bolivian Squirrel Monkey by Ryan Hyde, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Friday 25 November 2011 Siberian Flying Squirrel - Another Reason to Save Old World Forests

The Russian or Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans) only glides rather than flies in the way birds fly. Natural predators such as owls, hawks, domestic cats and weasel-like martens patrol tree trunks in search of a tasty squirrel. The Siberian flying squirrel can quickly escape by leaping from one tree trunk, spreading out its thin flap of skin by stretching out all of its limbs, and gently gliding to another tree trunk well out of the predator’s reach.

But they cannot glide away from humans. Siberian flying squirrels need to live in tree trunks, preferably of pine, cedar or spruce. They need to live in tall, older trees that are large enough to support their diet and nesting sites. They need to live with woodpeckers because Siberian flying squirrels prefer to use an abandoned woodpecker nest hole rather than try to make one themselves. Humans have been cutting down trees at an alarming rate and reducing the food and living space of the little rodent.

Physical Description

Siberian flying squirrels strongly resemble the more familiar North American grey squirrel. It has far larger eyes and has white patagiums or gliding membranes from its forelegs to the end of its hind legs. When the squirrel is not gliding, the membrane becomes bunched up and gives the squirrel its common name of “flying mitten.” Its head, back and side fur changes color according to the season. In the winter, it is a pale silver-grey while in the summer it is a yellowish grey. Their flat tails are covered in pale fur.

This is a small rodent only weighing an average of 4.58 ounces (130 grams.) Its body length, including the tail, ranges from 4.72 inches (120mm) to almost 9 inches (228 mm.) They produce very distinctive droppings found ringing tree trunks. The droppings appear like golden-brown grains of rice. Looking for the droppings helps clue scientists, conservationists and forestry managers as to which trees the flying squirrels inhabit.

Life Cycle and Behavior

There still is a lot unknown about the Siberian forest squirrel, primarily since it’s shy and nocturnal. It lives it’s four or five year life span entirely in the tree tops and can theoretically never need to come down to the ground. Siberian flying squirrel females can produce one or two litters per year. The average litter size is three, but litters of six have been reported. After one month, the mother weans the babies.

Siberian tree squirrels are omnivorous, but are primarily vegetarians. Everything they eat is provided by the trees they live in – nuts, seeds, bark, buds, twigs, pinecones, berries, sprouts, bird eggs and hatchlings. Siberian tree squirrels take over abandoned red squirrel nests (dreys) as well as woodpecker holes. They live in mated pairs and any nursing babies. Some will also nest in attics or commercially made bird houses. Siberian flying squirrels used to be found in upper Europe, Asia and down to Japan. They are now found in countries committed to preserving forests, such as Finland and Estonia.

Picture of the Siberian flying squirrel by Marko Schrader, licensed under GFDL. You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Thursday 24 November 2011 Zebra Duiker - Fruit-cracking Specialist

The zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra) is a small, strikingly marked antelope with a coat striped like a zebra. Unlike the white background of a zebra’s coat, however, the base color of this duiker’s coat is more tiger-like, ranging from a pale cream or gold to dark reddish hues. The dramatic dark stripes on the zebra duiker begin just behind its shoulders and continue to the end of its rump. The approximately 12 to 15 stripes run over the top of the zebra duiker’s back and down each side. No two zebra duikers will have the same markings. In addition to the stripes, the zebra duiker has dark markings on the top of its legs and on its muzzle.

For the first two months of its life, the coat of a baby zebra duiker has a bluish hue to it. As the animal ages, the coat gradually changes to the lighter coloration of the adult zebra duiker. The zebra duiker is a compact, stocky animal, with a rounded back and short limbs. It stands approximately 40 to 50 centimeters or about 1.3 to 1.6 feet at its shoulder. The adults weigh an average of 17.5 kilograms or 38.5 pounds. In general, the females are larger than the males. Both the male and the female zebra duikers have short horns. Unlike other duikers, the zebra duiker does not have a tuft of hair on its forehead.

This small, striped antelope's range is from eastern Sierra Leone to southwestern Cote d'Ivoire, and includes much of the country of Liberia, as well. Zebra duiker sightings have also been reported in the Ziama and Diecke Forest Reserves in the country of Guinea. Zebra duikers prefer to live in primary lowland forests, but can also be found in some montane and upland forest areas. They are very sensitive to habitat destruction and prefer to live in areas that have not been disturbed by deforestation. The zebra duiker feeds on fruit, as well as leaves and grass. Because the zebra duiker is so small, it depends a lot on other animals accidentally dropping fruits and other edible treats from trees. The skull of the zebra duiker has a hard frontal bone, which it uses to crack apart hard-to-open fruits.

Because the zebra duiker is so small, it has many predators, including Africa's many species of big cats and even its birds of prey. The zebra duiker is also poached by humans for its meat. Currently, the zebra duiker is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN's Red list. The IUCN site states that over the last 15 years, the little antelope's population has fallen as much as 30 percent. The main culprits behind the zebra duiker's decline are deforestation, which has led to increased loss of habitat, and hunting. Although, Liberia still has a swath of suitable habitat for zebra duikers, it is believed that in other areas, the little antelope's population will continue to fall and that its status will eventually decline to Endangered or Critically Endangered.

Picture of the zebra duiker by Kispál Attila, licensed under GFDL You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Wednesday 23 November 2011 Dusky Titi - South American Romantic Monkeys

There is a lot biologists still need to learn about the red-bellied or dusky titi (Callicebus moloch) except for one thing – they mate for life. Dusky titis in captivity become frantic if they are ever separated from their mates. These small, South American monkeys mate for life. If lucky, that monogamous life can last 25 years.

Dusky titis are dependent on forests in order to survive. They are under threat because of deforestation in their native countries of Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Columbia, Brazil and Venezuela. They are hunted by humans for their meat and skins. Their natural predators are large birds of prey, including the Guianan crested eagle and the ornate hawk-eagle. Dusky titis spend the majority of their lives in trees, which removes them from ground-dwelling predators.

Physical Description

The dusky titi is a small monkey with a tail often as long as or even longer than the body length. Males tend to grow larger and heavier than females, although females sometimes grow longer tails than males do. Males grow a body length from 11.8 to 17.7 inches (30 to 45 cm) while their tails reach lengths of 15.35 inches to 19.68 inches (39 to 50cm). In contrast, females only grow to 11.4 to 16.5 inches (29 to 42 cm) with a tail length of 14 to 25.1 inches (36 to 64 cm). Males weigh up to 2.65 pounds (1200 grams) while females only weigh 2.25 pounds (1020 grams).

Dusky titis have black skin, which shows in their ears, faces, genitals and hands. Their thick, bushy fur color varies from individual to individual. Monkeys can be a rusty red, orange red, squirrel grey or a combination of red and grey. Sometimes their belly, sideburns and inner limb fur is a brighter color than their backs or tails. Some other individuals sport only one color fur. Their eyes are usually brown.

Life Cycle and Behavior

Dusky titis primarily eat fruit, young leaves and buds, but will also eat spiders, insects and insect cocoons. Because of the low nutritional content of their diet, dusky titi monkeys need to spend 2 to 3 hours per day eating in order to survive. Monkeys sleep in nests made from vines wrapped up in tree branches. They wake at dawn and spend the next 12 hours in activity until finding another site for sleeping. Throughout the day, both males and females constantly call to each other.

Females give birth to a single baby after 128 to 133 days gestation. Females will eat more insects in this stage than they will at any other point in their lives. Both males and females help carry and protect the babies. Sometimes dusky titi families are attacked by other monkeys, such as the tufted capuchins, which rarely kill dusky titi monkeys but have been observed doing so. Usually, other monkey species chase smaller ones away from any food source they have discovered. Males and females spend a large part of the day grooming each other, which helps strengthen their bond.

Picture of the dusky titi by Ana Cotta, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. You can help spreading the word about this animal by liking it on facebook

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Tuesday 22 November 2011 Splendid Fairywren - Nature's Romeo

The splendid fairywren (Malurus splendens) is a small breed of bird in the passerine family. Orginally the bird game from Western Australia, though they now live around the country, as far west as New South Wales and as far south as Queensland. Unlike other birds however, the splendid fairywren is not found of humans and are often only found in areas where there are lots of vegetation to protect them.

When many people think of this breed of bird, they automatically think of a small bright d width="70" align="center" valign="middle">