The Moose Animal Biography

Biography of the Moose

The Moose also known as elk. These are found in the cold plains of North America and Europe where they were named by locals as twig-eaters. The male have enormous antlers that the moose actually renews once a year. After the warmer mating season the male will shed its antlers to conserve energy for the winter. In the springtime this animal begins to develop its new antlers which take from 3 to 5 months to fully grow.

The moose have been hunted by humans for both trophies but also for meat. They are also prey to a number of large carnivorous mammals which they encounter such as bears, cougars and arctic wolves. There are thought to be six different subspecies of animal found in the sub-arctic forests today. These are the European moose (found in Finland, Sweden and Norway), the Eastern moose (found in the east of Canada and northeast of the United States), the Western moose (found in the west of Canada), the Siberian moose (found in the east of Siberia and Mongolia), the Alaska moose (found in Alaska and Yukon) and the Shiras moose (found in Wyoming and Utah).

Life Cycle of Moose

Female moose do not have antlers and tend to give birth to the baby after an 8 month gestation period. The female tends to have a single calf but twins and triplets have been known. The fur of the baby is a reddish colour that turns to brown as these get older. The young calves tend to stay with the mother until just before the next young are born.

Although moose are not usually aggressive animals, particularly towards humans, when provoked, They have been known to attack humans. Although the consequences of their attack are generally minor, Animal have been known to attack more humans than bears and wolves put together. They live in herds and live until they are about 16 years old. Moose are herbivorous animals and spend their time foraging for vegetation and branches to munch on.

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Monitor Lizard Biography and Facts

Biography of Monitor Lizard

Monitor Lizards are large reptiles found in Africa and all across Asia, including the surrounding seas. This lizard is mainly found in jungle areas although some species of monitor lizard are water-bound. Some species are thought to carry a fairly weak venom, for example, the komodo dragon which is the largest of the species. The komodo dragon is native to the small Indonesian island that it is named after and is the largest species of lizard in the world.

According to legend, monitor lizards were a sign that there were crocodiles close by, possibly due to their standing on their hind legs to monitor their surroundings. Monitor lizards do this so that they are aware of any approaching predators. Although many species are quite big, some species are smaller than 20 cm in length. Monitor lizards are extremely versatile animals and monitor lizards adapt well into different environments.

Facts about Monitor Lizards

Most species of monitor lizard have a predominantly carnivorous diet, eating eggs, smaller reptiles, fish, birds and small mammals. Some species of monitor lizard also eat fruit and vegetation depending on where they live. Female monitor lizards bury their eggs in holes or hollow tree stumps that the female monitor lizard then covers with dirt in order to protect her eggs. These lizards can lay up to 30 eggs at a time, although many lizards lay less, and only a lucky few of the monitor lizard babies tend to survive.

Monitor lizards are thought to be fairly intelligent animals, with some people claiming that are able to recognise numbers up to six, therefore meaning that lizards are able to count! Monitor lizards mainly use their intelligence in the wild by surveying areas for oncoming danger and for hunting their prey.

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Mole (Animal)

Life of Moles

Moles are a small mammals that are most well known for living in tunnels underground. Moles are commonly found in Europe, Asia, South Africa and North America although there are oddly no moles inhabiting Ireland. These have long, curved claws which the moles use to burrow underground. They can quickly create long tunnels under the surface of the earth and the tunnel entrances can easily be identified by the mounds of earth that appear (normally all over your garden lawn)! These mounds of soil are commonly known as mole hills.

Different Species of Mole

There are around 20 different species of mole found in their natural, earthy environments. Some species of these animals are also aquatic or at least semi-aquatic which means that these mole species spend at least some of their time in the water. Many of the different species of mole are very similar in appearance and range in size from just 2 cm to 2 cm. The oddest exception to this is the star-nosed mole that inhabits parts of Canada and the northeast of the USA. The star-nosed mole can be easily identified by the distinctive star shaped ending to the star-nosed moles snout.

Moles are omnivores that primarily feed and hunt earthworms. The saliva in the mouth of the mole contains a toxin that can paralyze small animals such as earthworms meaning that the mole is able to eat its catch successfully but the mole is also able to store food to eat later. Moles are known to construct special underground larders in which the mole can store its food. Some of the larger species of mole have also been known to eat small mice. The mole does this by catching the mouse at the entrance to its burrow. The eyes and ears of the mole are very small and usually covered in fur.

Mole Photo Credit www.naturfoto.cz

Moles breed in early spring with the female moles gestation period lasting about a month. The female then gives birth to between 2 and 6 mole babies. The baby are usually completely independent within a month after birth. The average lifespan of a mole is about 4 years but some species have been known to live until they are 6 or 7 years old. Due to their small size, moles are preyed about by mammals, birds and reptiles when the moles are above ground.

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Mandrill

Biography of Mandrill

The mandrill is a medium to large sized primate, natively found in a small pocket of tropical jungle in western-central Africa. The mandrill is most commonly known for it's red and blue coloured nose and it's multicoloured rear end. The mandrill is not related to the great apes but is thought to be closely related to the baboon, another medium-sized African primate that is found in eastern and southern Africa. The mandrill was even once thought to be a sub-species of baboon but this is now not believed to be the case.

Mandrill Habitat

The Mandrill is found in the tropical rainforests and occasionally grasslands of southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo in western-central Africa. The mandrill's habitat is bordered by the Sanaga River to the north and the Ogooué and Ivindo rivers to the east. Recent research suggests that mandrill populations north and south of the Ogooué river are so genetically different that they are in fact separate subspecies. Mandrills have distinctively coloured noses and rumps which make them stand out in the forest.

Troops of Mandrill

Mandrills are sociable animals and inhabit areas of forest in large groups known as a troop. The mandrill troop primarily includes female mandrills and their young who are led by a single dominant male mandrill. The alpha male mandrill both mates with his females and protects them. Most adult male mandrills that are not leading a troop tend to be solitary animals. Mandrills are omnivorous animals and therefore eat almost anything. The mandrill primarily feeds on fruits, berries, seeds, nuts, roots, leaves, insects and even small mammals and reptiles. Most of the mandrills diet is found at ground level or just above.

Due to their large size, mandrills have few predators in their natural environment. The leopard is the main predator of the mandrill, along with large snakes and birds of prey, who prey more upon the mandrill young. The human is also one of the mandrill's main predators as they have hunted the mandrill over the years for meat. Today the mandrill is considered to be an animal species that is vulnerable to extinction, as mandrill population numbers have been declining due to over-hunting an habitat loss.

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Manatee

The manatee is a large marine mammal and it is also commonly known as the sea cow. It is found in warmer waters only in the eastern hemisphere around subtropical regions such as Florida and the Caribbean. The average species can often weight more than 500kg and can grow to lengths of over 4.5 meters. Despite their large size it is not uncommon for the it to reach more than 70 years old.

The manatee spends most of its time grazing on plants in warm, shallow waters that are seldom deeper than a couple of meters. It is a herbivore and therefore only really feeds on aquatic plants like sea grass and algae but it has been thought that certain species of it may eat smaller fish but not necessarily on purpose . The female generally grows to larger sizes than the male meaning that the female is also heavier than the male. The large size of the manatee makes the it one of the biggest mammals in the world, but the this animal obviously has a long way to go before it will be the size of a blue whale!

Manatees inhabit warm, shallow marshlands under water, where the these spends a great deal of its time sleeping. As the manatee is indeed a mammal, do not have gills and therefore cannot breathe underwater so it has to resurface regularly in order to take in air. These are usually breed only once every couple of years, with the manatee gestation period lasting about a year. These only give birth to one manatee calf at a time. Mother then spend 12 to 18 months to weaning the manatee calf.

Manatees can often be seen in large herds, often of more than 20 individuals. This however, is quite rare as it is generally a solitary animal and with the exception of the mother nursing her calf, it tend to spend most of their time alone. The manatee has been linked to mermaids in ancient folklore and the people of West Africa, believed this animal to be sacred so anyone that killed a manatee was a sinner. The people of South America, would hunt this animal for their meat and then use the bones of this animal to treat basic ailments.

Despite popular belief, the dugong is not another name for the manatee, or even a type of this animal. The dugong inhabits waters close to Australia and although closely related to this animal, the two have one obvious difference. The tail of the manatee is broad and flat, but the tail of the dugong is forked and therefore more fish-like in appearance. Source

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Magellanic Penguin

Magellanic penguin is a small to medium sized species of penguin found inhabiting the rocky islands off the coast of parts of South America. The Magellanic is most closely related to the African penguin, the Galapagos penguin and the Humboldt penguin which it is similar in appearance to. Despite being classed as a threatened species, the Magellanic is one of the most numerous of all of these types of penguin. The penguin is found breed off the coast of Argentina and southern Chile and on the Falkland islands further south.

The Magellanic penguin is a medium sized penguin that can grow up to 76cm in height. Like other penguin species, the flippers of the this penguin are not that long but act as the perfect tools for propelling the this penguin through the water when it is in search of food. Like the other penguins in their group, Magellanic penguins have white and brownish black markings, with a broad dark band running across the top of their white chest. Like other penguin species, this is a highly sociable bird, living in flocks with numerous other Magellanic penguin individuals.

The Magellanic penguin primarily hunts cuttlefish and squid in the surrounding waters along with numerous species of fish (including sardines), and krill. Like other penguin species, the Magellanic penguin can dive quite deep for a few minutes at time in order to catch their prey. The relatively small size of the Magellanic penguin means that it is preyed upon by a number of hungry marine carnivores. Leopard seals and large fur seals are the primary predators of the Magellanic pen along with sharks and killer whales. Due to the fact that they nest on quite inhospitable land though, the Magellanic penguin has no natural predators on their breeding beaches.

The female Magellanic penguin lays two eggs in a nest on the beach which are incubated by both parents for up to 40 days. Once hatched, the chicks are cared for by their parents until they are about a month old and are able to fend for themselves. Today, although quite numerous in some parts, the Magellanic penguin in considered to be a threatened species primarily due to changes in their natural habitats. Oil spills are thought to be the biggest threat to the Magellanic penguin and their native breeding sites across south-east Pacific. Source

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Macaw

Scarlet Macaw Credit

The macaw is a colourful tropical parrot native to Central and Southern America. There are 17 different species of macaw found in the rainforests of South America. Many of the different macaw species are today considered to be endangered animals. The macaw is an omnivorous animal and feeds on nuts and fruit in the trees along with insects, eggs and small mammals and reptiles. The macaw is known to sleep during the night meaning that the macaw is a diurnal animal, and in the morning the macaw will often fly long distances in order to find food.

Blue Macaw Credit

The macaw is one of the largest species of parrot in the world, with the average adult macaw growing to more than a meter in height. The macaw is well known for it's array of brightly coloured feathers which are often many different colours including blue, red, yellow and green. Macaws have recently become very popular as pets, and there is a flourishing black market for some of the rarer breeds of macaw. This only contributes to their endangered status. Please, do not buy imported macaws.

The macaw has a large and powerful beak which means that the macaw can break the shells of nuts and seeds more easily. Like other species of parrot, macaws have four toes on each foot, with two toes facing forward and two toes facing backward. This foot adaptation helps the macaw to grip onto prey and tree branches more easily and allows the macaw to perch in the trees without slipping off. Macaws are known to be intelligent and very sociable birds and macaws can often be seen together in large flocks of up to 30 macaw individuals.

The macaw is one of the world's animals that is known to have the same breeding partner for their whole lives. Macaw couples do not only breed together but they also share their food and help to groom one another. When the female macaw has laid her eggs (typically 2 but more are common), the female macaw sits on her eggs to incubate them while the male macaw hunts and collects food for them both. The macaw chicks hatch after about a month. Source

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Malayan Tiger

The Malayan tiger is a smaller-sized subspecies of tiger, found throughout Malaysia and parts of Thailand. The Malayan tiger is today an endangered species but one of the more numerous wild tiger species. The Malayan tiger is found throughout the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula with its range also extending into parts of southern Thailand. The Malayan tiger is found inhabiting the less-dense forests and jungles where there is a higher supply of food.

The Malayan tiger is the smallest species of tiger along with the Sumatran tiger, with average female Malayan tigers growing to around 2 meters in length. The smaller size of the Malayan tiger helps it to remain unseen in the clearer parts of the Malaysian jungle. The Malayan tiger was once thought to be the same as the Indochinese tiger, a larger tiger species found in the more northern parts of south-east Asia, and it was only recently that the two were classified as separate subspecies.

The Malayan tiger is a dominant and carnivorous predator, hunting it's prey by stalking it until the Malayan tiger has the opportunity to catch it off guard. Malayan tigers primarily hunt larger mammals including deer, wild boar, cattle and goats. Due to the size and power of the Malayan tiger, it has no natural predators in its native environment. Humans that hunt the Malayan tiger and habitat loss are the only threats to the Malayan tiger.

After a gestation period of 3 to 4 months, the female Malayan tiger gives birth to up to 5 cubs. Newborn Malayan tiger cubs weigh about 1 kg (2 lb) and are blind and helpless. The mother feeds them milk for about 2 months and then the Malayan tiger cubs are introduced to meat. Malayan tiger cubs depend on their mother for the first 18 months and then they start hunting on their own. Today, due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, and hunting by human poachers, the Malayan tiger is considered to be an endangered species. Source

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Macaroni Penguin

The macaroni penguin is a large-sized species of penguin found in the Sub-Antarctic regions. the macaroni penguin is one of six species of crested penguins is so closely related to the royal penguin, that some people class the two as the same species. The macaroni penguin spends most of its time during the colder winter months fishing in the cold oceans where the macaroni penguin is more protected from the bitter conditions of the Antarctic winter on the land.

The macaroni penguin is the most numerous species of penguin on the planet as there approximately 18 million macaroni penguin individuals. The macaroni penguin population numbers are declined severely over the past few decades meaning that the macaroni penguin is today considered to be a vulnerable species. Macaroni penguins are one the biggest and heaviest species of penguin as adult macaroni penguins generally average about 70cm in height. The macaroni penguin also has a couple of very distinctive features including a long red-coloured beak and a crest of thin bright-yellow feathers on its head.

Like other penguin species, the macaroni penguin is a carnivorous animal as the only source of food is in the surrounding water. The macaroni penguin spends six months during the cold winter months hunting fish, squid, krill and crustaceans which the macaroni penguin catches in its long beak. The macaroni penguin only has a couple of natural predators in the freezing Antarctic Ocean as there are only a number of animal species that can survive there. Leopard seals, killer whales and the occasional passing shark are the only real predators of the macaroni penguin.

The macaroni penguin returns to the land during the warmer summer months in order to breed. Macaroni penguins gather in large colonies which can contain up to 100,000 individuals in order to lay their eggs. Female macaroni penguins generally lay two eggs a couple of days apart that hatch after about six weeks. Both the male and female macaroni penguin parents help to incubate the eggs and raise the chicks. Source

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Leopard Tortoise

The leopard tortoise is a large species of tortoise found throughout the African savannas. The leopard tortoise is the forth largest species of tortoise in the world, and is also the most widely distributed tortoise species in Southern Africa. The leopard tortoise has a wide distribution in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan to the Cape. As a grazing species of tortoise, the leopard tortoise is most commonly found in semi-arid areas including shrubland and grasslands.

The leopard tortoise is one of the world's largest tortoise species as they can grow to 70 cm in length and weigh about as much as a small person. As with other tortoise species, the leopard tortoise has a large shell which protects it's softer body. The limbs of the leopard tortoise are able to retract back into the leopard tortoise's shell so that no body part is left vulnerable. The leopard tortoise is a generally solitary animal that spends the majority of it's time grazing on plants, which it can do effectively using it's sharp beak-like mouth. As with other tortoise species, the leopard tortoise is a long-lived animal species, often reaching 100 years old or even more.

Leopard tortoise Credit

The leopard tortoise is a herbivorous animal meaning that it only eats plants and plant material in order to sustain itself. The leopard tortoise primarily grazes on grasses, leaves, berries and flowers along with fruits such as the prickly pear. Due to it's fairly large size, the leopard tortoise has few natural predators within it's African habitats as many simply cannot penetrate the leopard tortoise's high-domed shell. Humans are the primary predators of the leopard tortoise along with the occasional wild cats and dogs.

Leopard tortoise Credit

Leopard tortoises are not able to reproduce until they are at least 10 years old (known as reaching sexual maturity). As with other tortoise and even reptile species, the female leopard tortoise lays her clutch of up to 18 eggs into a burrow in the ground, which is quickly covered to protect her young from hungry passers-by. Although there are thriving populations of leopard tortoises in more remote areas, when they are close to humans, the leopard tortoise populations are generally suffering, something which is primarily due to over-hunting by humans. Source

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Kudu

The kudu is a sub-species of antelope that is found inhabiting mixed shrub woodland, and savanna plains in eastern and southern Africa. The kudu relies heavily on close, dense thickets in which the kudu can escape to and hide when it feels threatened. There are two species of kudu in Africa which are the Lesser kudu and the Greater kudu. Both kudu species are closely related and look very similar in appearance but there are a few distinctive ways that the lesser kudu and the greater kudu can be distinguished from one another.

Kudus are herbivorous animals and therefore have a completely vegetarian diet. Kudus forage in woodland and around thickets of shrubs nibbling on leaves from the trees and bushes. Kudus also eat other varieties of plant life such as herbs, flowers, berries and fallen fruits. Kudus are prey to a number of predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and the occasional large python that will hunt the smaller and more vulnerable kudu young. Kudu are able to run very fast but often have a hard time outrunning predators so the kudu rely on their agile ability to leap into forest and woodland where large carnivorous predators find it harder to chase them. The kudu will then often hide in woodland until the predator have eventually given up and left.

Kudus live in small herds of up to 24 kudu individuals. The kudu herds mainly consist of female kudus and their calves as male kudus tend to solitary and only come together with other kudus when it is time to mate. It has been known that groups of up to 8 male kudus will form a herd but this is very rare. The kudu mating season occurs at the end of the rainy season. The kudu gestation period is around 8 months after which time the female kudu will normally give birth to just one baby kudu. The baby kudus tend to be born around February and March when the grass is at it's highest and there is plenty of food to help the baby kudu calves to grow.

Kudus have both benefited and suffered from contact with humans. Humans find the kudu and easy target for hunting due to the fact that kudus tend to stop and look around after they have run away. Some local tribes people believe the kudu to be a sacred animal and therefore protect the kudu rather than killing it. Human settlements have also meant that the kudu habitat as changed and the kudu have had to move to other areas. This has actually done the kudu population the world of good as the kudu have been pushed into areas where there is a better source of water and therefore food. Source

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Komodo Dragon

The komodo dragon also known as the giant monitor lizard, is the largest species of lizard in the world.The komodo dragon inhabits the rainforests of Southeast Asia, and the komodo dragon is native to just a few islands in Indonesia that are part of the Komodo Island National Park. Fossil evidence however, suggests that the komodo dragon once had a much larger habitat but this has been severely decreased due to deforestation. Komodo dragons are completely dominant predators in their environment, and are named by the locals as the land crocodile due to their large size and habit of eating seemingly anything that the komodo dragons can find.

The komodo dragon has an exceptional sense of smell meaning that the komodo dragon is able to hunt out its prey up to 8 km away, when aided by the wind blowing in the right direction. Recent discoveries have revealed that the komodo dragon is indeed venomous, and does not kill its prey through lethal bacteria, as previously thought. However, once the damage the komodo dragon can do coupled with the fact that the saliva of the komodo dragon is known to carry more than 50 different strains of bacteria, means that any animal that manages to survive the attack of a komodo dragon, is extremely likely to die of infection.

The komodo dragon hunts anything that comes into contact with the komodo dragon, including its own eggs! Generally komodo dragons are not known to actively hunt humans, but the komodo dragon is known to be one of the man-eating animals in the world, as it is not uncommon for the komodo dragon to attack and eat humans that get in its way. To hunt their prey, komodo dragons rely heavily on their camouflage in the long grass and great patience as the komodo dragons sit and wait for prospective prey to pass.

Due to the fact that the komodo dragon is an apex predator in its limited environment, the komodo dragon will often live to more than 30 years of age. The main exception to this is the side effects that occur due to deforestation and areas where there is a lack of food for the komodo dragon to hunt. Today there are thought to be around 3,000 komodo dragon individuals left in the wild with less than a third of them being female komodo dragons that are of the age to breed. Source

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Kiwi

The kiwi is a brown, fuzzy, flightless bird native to the forests and jungles of New Zealand. In recent years the kiwi has become endangered, mainly due to introduced predators like dogs, cats, rats, ferrets and weasels which hunt the kiwi and eat it's eggs. The kiwi is almost helpless against these exotic threats and there are many support organizations for kiwis which run conservation projects to try and protect the remaining kiwi population. The largest of these kiwi conservation projects is run by the Bank of New Zealand.

There are many different species of kiwi, but all of them can only be found inhabiting the forests of New Zealand. It is believed that the incredible diversity of this island nation is due to its early separation from Australia and the rest of the continents, millions of years ago, by way of tectonic plate shifting. The kiwi is the national bird and icon of New Zealand. In fact, the native people of New Zealand are often also called Kiwis. The kiwi also appears on many flags and symbols across the islands.

The eggs of the kiwi weigh about one pound which is 450g. The beak of the kiwi is about the size of one third of the kiwi's body. The kiwi uses it's long beak to rummage through the foliage on the ground in search of food. Kiwis are omnivorous animals and eat a variety of both plants and animals. The kiwi mainly hunts out worms, insects and spiders but also eats fruits and berries, generally those that have fallen to the forest floor.

The kiwi is thought to be related to the ostrich and the emu, making the kiwi the smallest member of this family of birds. Like it's larger cousins, the kiwi is unable to fly due to it's small wing span and large weight. The kiwi therefore spends it's life foraging on the forest floor. Although kiwis are generally solitary animals, kiwis are known to live in pairs for parts of their lives. These kiwi couples mate only with each other and the female kiwi is known to be larger than the male kiwi, meaning the female kiwi is generally the dominant bird. Source

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