Black Rhinoceros

 Black Rhinoceros Credit

The black rhinoceros (also known as the hook-lipped rhinoceros) is a large species of rhinoceros native to Africa. Despite it's name, the black rhinoceros is actually fairly light in colour with most black rhinoceros individuals having either white or grey skin. Historically, the black rhinoceros had a vast range across central and eastern Africa in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Although the black rhinoceros is still found in these countries today, their numbers are very few and far between.
 

The black rhinoceros is one of the larger rhinoceros species with the horns of the black rhinoceros known to reach 1.5 meters in length. The black rhinoceros uses it's horns are used for defence, intimidation, digging up roots and breaking branches during feeding. The horns of the black rhinoceros are made from a substance called keratin and are therefore very strong. The horns of the black rhinoceros are used in ancient medicine and many black rhinos have been illegally poached for them.

The black rhinoceros is a herbivorous animal meaning that it sustains itself on a purely plant based diet. Black rhinos browse the densely vegetated savanna for leaves, flowers, buds, fruits, berries and roots which they dig up from the ground using their horns. Due to it's large size, the black rhino's only real predator in the wild are large wild cats such as lions that will prey on the black rhino calves and weak individuals. Humans are the biggest threat to the black rhinoceros as they have been hunted to the brink of extinction for their horns.

The black rhinoceros is solitary animal and only comes together with other black rhinos to mate. The female black rhinoceros gives birth to a single calf after a gestation period that is over a year long. The black rhinoceros calf remains with it's mother until it is at least 2 years old and big enough to become independent. Today, the black rhinoceros is a critically endangered animal said to be on the brink of extinction in the wild. There are only a handful of black rhinoceros individuals left in the wild, but reports suggest that black rhinoceros population numbers are now beginning to increase due to continued conservation efforts. Source

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Babirusa

Babirusa Credit

The Babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) is a very special member of the pig family. Up until now the relationship between the Babirusa and the other pig species hasn't been resolved completely. There are pieces of research, which suggest the conclusion, that it is closely related to Hippopotamuses, close relatives of pigs themselves. The babirusa is a very strange looking member of the pig family. They are only distantly related to other pigs, and have been given their own subfamily, the Babirousinae.

There are three subspecies of the Babirusa corresponding to the areas where they are found; the Sulawesi, Togian, and Moluccan babirusa. These subspecies have different hair covering, hair color, and tusk and body sizes. Fossil studies seem to show that the babirusa may be more closely related to hippopotamuses than pigs. The name babirusa in Malay means "pig-deer". It got this name from its bizarre tusks.

The babirusa is usually a solitary animal, although it will sometimes live in small groups. Its habits are duirnal, and it tends to feed in the morning. Like most other pigs it loves to wallow in mud baths to rid itself of parasites. In the past babirusa were kept by rulers in Sulawesi and given as gifts to visiting diplomats. Masks of Balinese demons often resemble the stangely tusked babirusa.

Unfortunately the future doesn't look good for this amazing creature. They have always been scarce, but are an endangered species today. Although the babirusa avoids farmlands, and isn't persucuted by farmers, it is a favorite target for poachers. Their limited and small pockets of rainforests are also being converted into agriculture. Their wild population is estimated at around 4,000 to 5,000 animals. The IUCN put them on their vulnerable list in 1996, and the U.S. ESA considers them endangered They are on CITES Appendix I. Source

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Baird’s Tapir

Baird’s Tapir is a species of tapir that is native to Central America and northern South America. Baird’s Tapir is named for the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird who traveled to Mexico in 1843 and observed the animals. However, the species was first documented by another American naturalist, W. T. White. Tapir is the largest land mammal in Central America.

The Baird's Tapir can be identified by the fact that this species of tapir has a cream coloured marking on it's face. The skin of the Baird's Tapir commands a very high price. Leather hunting and deforestation has caused their numbers to drop by less than half. Baird’s Tapir may be active at all hours, but is primarily nocturnal. It forages for leaves and fallen fruit, using well-worn tapir paths which zig-zag through the thick undergrowth of the forest.

It generally leads a solitary life, though feeding groups are not uncommon and individuals, especially those of different ages (young with their mothers, juveniles with adults) are often observed together. The animals communicate with one another through shrill whistles and squeaks. Baby Tapirs spend a long time in their mother's stomach, and are born only one offspring at a time. Their slow birth rate makes it difficult for their numbers to recover once it declines.

The Baird's Tapir is losing its home as people cut down the trees in the forests where it lives. Deforestation changes the shape of ponds and swamps, rendering water bodies that were once safe unsafe. On top of that, the increase in grasslands near their habitat has infected some Baird's Tapir with a contagious diseases carried by domesticated horses. The number of Baird's Tapir is said to have diminished to less than half over the last 30 years. Source

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Box Turtle

The box turtle or box tortoise is a genus of turtle native to North America. Box turtles are land dwelling creatures with high, domed shells, hence the "box" moniker.  Box turtles are found all over the world, and are generally found living in mossy areas of the forest, or other damp habitats.  They are very territorial, and sometimes spend their entire lives near their place of birth.

North American box turtles are omnivores with a very varied diet as box turtles "basically eat anything it can catch". Invertebrates (amongst others insects, earth worms, millipedes) form the principal component, but the diet also consists for a large part (reports range from 30-90%) of vegetation. The diet is amended with fruits (amongst others from cacti, apples and several species of berry), gastropods.

While reports exist that during their first five to six years, box turtles are primarily carnivorous, while adults are mostly herbivorous, there is no scientific basis for such a difference. They are strong, sturdy animals, and usually grow to be about 6 inches long.  Box turtles are usually dark in coloring with some yellowish markings, and the male of the species have bright red eyes, longer tails, and their plastrons are indented.

Box turtles are endemic to North America. The widest distributed species is the common box turtle which is found in the United States (subspecies carolina, major, bauri, triunguis; South-Central, Eastern and South Eastern parts) and Mexico (subspecies yukatana and mexicana; Yucatán peninsula and North Eastern parts). The Ornate box turtle is endemic to the south-central and South Western parts of the U.S.  while the spotted box turtle is endemic to North-Western Mexico only. Source

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Blue Whale

Blue Whales are the largest recorded mammal on earth some reaching nearly 120ft. The blue whale is found in pretty much all oceans but the whales tend to prefer the warmer waters. The blue whale has been nearly hunted to extinction by man when eastern Asian whaling came into fashion a few of hundred years ago. There are less than 12,000 blue whales left worldwide. Blue whales feed mainly on krill but also small fish and squid, that swim inside their enormous mouths. The blue whale has thousands of extremely fine teeth that allow water to filter out of the whales mouth, without the whales catch escaping.

Apparently just one breath from a fully grown adult blue whale, will produce enough air to fill nearly 2,000 balloons! The blue whales heart is so big that it is around the same size as a small car, with the blue whales main arteries being big enough for a human to swim through comfortably.

The blue whale is a very solitary animal and generally spends the majority of its life alone, roaming the vast ocean waters. It has been known for particular blue whales to travel in pairs although, it is not known whether or not these blue whales remain together for extended periods of time. When there are good feeding areas, more than 50 blue whales have been seen in the same area, although they do not appear to interact with one another and tend to leave the other blue whales to their feeding.

Very little is known about the breeding patterns or grounds of the blue whale, although scientists do know that female blue whales tend to give birth every 2 to 3 years and this usually takes place at the beginning of winter. The blue whale calf tends to stay with the mother blue whale for around 6 months before the blue whale calf is ready to venture out by itself. Source

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