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Snapping Turtle This blog post is about the snapping turtle. Snapping turtles have a dark brown to black shell that can grow up to 18 inches long. As the turtle grows, the shell often becomes covered with mud and algae. Their tails have sharp ridges that run the course of it’s length, and it can be nearly as long as it’s shell. Their mouths are a strong, bony beak with no teeth, and their feet are webbed with strong claws. Snapping turtles also have a hard plate that covers their stomachs called a plastron. This plate is small, so most of their body can still be exposed to predators, which makes them unable to hide in their shell for protection.

Snapping turtles are native to the Nearctic region, and their range stretches from southern Alberta to central Texas. They only live in fresh or brackish water, and they prefer water in their habitats with muddy bottoms and a lot of vegetation so that they can hide more easily. While snapping turtles spend almost all of their time in water, they will go on land to lay their eggs in sandy soil. They like to feed on dead animals, insects, fish, birds and small mammals and amphibians. They are also known to kill other turtles by biting off their heads.

Snapping turtles are estimated to live up to 30 years, but can reach 47 in captivity. They are solitary, meaning they live alone. As a result, their social interactive are limited to aggression between individuals. The number of turtles in the same area depends on the availability of food. Snapping turtles like to surprise prey by burying themselves in the mud with only their nostrils and eyes exposed. They also have a special growth on the end of their tongues that resembles a worm. This is used to lure fish for them to capture with their strong jaws. (Bosch, n.d.)

Bosch, A. (n.d.). Critter Catalog. Retrieved from http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Chelydra_serpentina/

Photo: http://mentalfloss.com/article/68505/10-biting-facts-about-snapping-turtles

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Cardinal This blog post is about the cardinal. Cardinals are medium-sized songbirds. Males are bright red with a black mask on their face, while females are light brown with red highlights and no mask. Both males and females have thick, orange-red, cone-shaped bills, a long tail, and a distinctive crest of feathers on the top of their heads. Males are slightly larger than females in size, and all cardinals have an average wingspan of 30.5 cm.

Cardinals are found throughout eastern and central North America, as well as southern Canada, and parts of Mexico & Central America. Their habitat preferences are the edges of woods, hedgerows, and vegetation around houses. Cardinals benefit from the large number of humans who feed them and other seed-eating birds. They prefer to build their nests in dense thickets.

Cardinals are not migratory, as they are year-round residents throughout their range. They are active during the day, and at peaks in the morning and evening hours. In the winter, cardinals usually flock and roost together. Their diets consist of seeds, grains, insects and fruits. Due to the spreading of seeds, cardinals often leave food for their predators, and most of their predators consist of other birds. The cardinal can live up to 15 years in the wild.

Cardinals are serially monogamous, however they frequently engage in extra-pair copulations. The formation of pairs begin in the early spring, and is initiated with a variety of physical displays. These pairs remain together year-round, and may breed together for several seasons. Cardinals typically breed between March and September. Females can lay 1-5 eggs that hatch 11-13 days after incubation. The chicks begin to leave the nest 7-13 days after hatching, and will usually permanently leave the next 25-56 days after hatching. (Dewey, Kirschbaum & Crane, n.d.)

Dewey, T., Kirschbaum, K., & Crane, J. (n.d.). Cardinalis cardinalis (northern cardinal). Retrieved from https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cardinalis_cardinalis/

Photo: https://www.spirit-animals.com/cardinal/

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Gray Wolf This blog post is about the gray wolf, who are also known as timber wolves or common wolves. The wolf is known for it’s appearance, quality hunting ability, and interesting behavior. They have a distinctive howl that can travel great distances through the wilderness. This howl is used for communication to other packs, gathering a pack for a hunt, and to warn off intruders. The average wolf is around 4-5 feet long, and can weigh around 80 pounds. Despite the name gray wolf, their fur can range in many colors. While wolves can be pure white and pure black, the most common shade is tawny brown.

Wolves are very social animals, as they travel in packs of up to 12 members. Packs contain an Alpha male and female, their offspring, as well as other wolves not related to the dominant pair. All of the wolves have a rank that determines their roles and hierarchy in the pack. Gray wolves have had one of the largest ranges of any species, as there were at least 400,000 in the U.S. at one point. However, there are currently only around 9,000 in the country.

The mating season is from January to February and is usually limited to the alpha pair. The alpha female will have litters of up to 6 pups each year. During their first months, pups are completely dependent on their mother’s milk. Once they are seven months old, they are ready to start hunting with the adults. Raising the pups is a responsibility taken by all members of the pack, and wolves typically stay in the pack they are born into for two to three years. Eventually, they will leave to join other packs, or find a mate and form their own packs. A wolf’s life span is 6-8 years, although the record is 20 years. (Gray Wolf, n.d.)

Gray Wolf Facts & Information. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://americanexpedition.us/learn-about-wildlife/gray-wolf-facts-information/

Photo: https://defenders.org/gray-wolf/basic-facts

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Peacock Flounder This blog post is about the peacock flounder. The most notable features of the flounder are the eyes on each side of it’s head, and as a result, swimming in a sideways fashion. Flounders are experts at camouflage and can quickly change colors to match their surroundings. If a flounder’s eyesight is impaired, it is difficult for them to camouflage.

The peacock flounder is found in the western Atlantic ocean. Specifically, they can be found anywhere from Florida to the Bermuda, as well as from the Bahamas to Brazil. Their habitat is associated with coral reefs, as well as clear sandy areas near mangroves, within seagrass beds, and rubble fields to depths of 328 feet. The flounder is often partially buried in sandy bottoms while they wait for prey items to approach close enough for ambush attack.

The peacock flounder mainly feeds on small fishes and is also known to prey on crustaceans and octopi. Their jaws have an irregular double row of small teeth. The eyes of a flounder are located on each side of their disk-shaped body. The lower eye is located farther forward than the upper eye, and they are relatively large. Males have a strong spine and snout, and both genders have large mouths that extend just beyond a vertical line through the margin of the lower eye.

The coloration of the peacock flounder can be gray to brown with numerous circles, spots and dots located on the flounders body. Their fins have small light blue spots and there are two to three large diffuse dark spots on the lateral line. The ability to camouflage occurs very rapidly. Flounders are preyed upon by large fish and jellyfish, and their eggs are preyed on by worms and shrimp. Birds such as herons and gulls will also prey on the flounder. (Bester, n.d.)

Bester, C. (n.d.). Bothus lunatus. Retrieved from https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/bothus-lunatus/ Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacock_flounder

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Lion This blog post is about the king of the jungle, the lion. Lions are large cats with long tails and a black tuft at the end. Lions grow manes that three years old that can vary in color from black to blond. Before then, cubs have brown sports on a grayish coat and some spots may remain on their stomach. Adults typically can weigh 189 kg, as well as 3.3 m in length.

Lions live in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in desert and tropical rainforest habitats. They also ranged throughout southwest Asia and north Africa at one point in time. Their habitats are usually in the plains or any other savanna habitat with a large prey base as well as sufficient cover available. Lions can also live in forested, shrubby, mountainous and semi-desert habitats.

Lions breed all year and are usually polygynous. Fighting between males over female lions does not usually occur. In a group of lions, which is called a pride, males are conspicuously large and showy as they have the opportunity to control the reproduction of many females when they rule over a pride. Once a lion rules a pride, it will take about two years before another younger, stronger lion replaces them. Pride takeover battles are often violent and lead to severe injury or death for the losing lion. 1-6 cubs are typically born in one litter.

Female lions usually live longer than males. Males reach their prime between 5 and 9 years. However, males typically do not live past 10 years of age. Adult lions have no predators, but are vulnerable to humans, starvation, and attacks from other lions. Lions have a common ritual of rubbing their heads together and their tails looped in the air while making a moaning-like sound to greet each other.

Harrington, E. (n.d.). Panthera leo (lion). Retrieved from https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Panthera_leo/

Photo: http://www.ompe.org/en/theme/save-the-lion/

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Red Fox

This blog post is about the red fox. Red foxes are found throughout the northern hemisphere. They range from the arctic circle to central America, the steppes of central Asia and northern Africa. They have also been introduced to Australia and the Falkland Islands. They can utilize a wide range of habitats including forest, tundra, prairie, desert, mountains, farmlands and urban areas. They tend to prefer communities with mixed vegetation, such as edge habitats and woodlands. Red foxes are found from sea level to 4,500 meters elevation.

Don’t be fooled by the red fox’s name, their colors can range anywhere from a pale yellowish red to a deep reddish brown. To identify them as a red fox, the lower part of their legs are usually black and their tails usually have a white or black tip. Red foxes are the largest of all Vulpes species. Their head and body length ranges from 455 to 900 mm, tail length from 300 to 555 mm, and their weight can be up to 14 kg. Males are slightly larger than females.

The mating behavior of the red fox can vary. Males and females are monogamous, and mating partners sometimes can sometimes live in the same den. The estrous period of red foxes can last from one to six days. Ovulation is spontaneous, and the exact time of breeding can be from December-February in the south, and February-April in the north. Just before and immediately after birth, the female remains inside of the den. The male partner will provision his mate with food, but does not go directly into the maternity den. Gestation typically lasts sometime between 51 and 53 days. Litters can include up to 13 pups, but the average number is 5. Pups typically leave the den 4-5 weeks after birth. The mother and pups remain together until the autumn after they are born. (Fox n.d.)

Fox, D. L. (n.d.). Vulpes vulpes (red fox). Retrieved from https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Vulpes_vulpes/

Photo: https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Red-Fox

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Rhinoceros

This blog post is about the rhinoceros. After the elephant, rhinos are the largest mammals on Earth. They can grow up to twelve feet long and six feet tall. Rhinos can weigh anywhere from 1,300-7,000 pounds. There are five known species of rhino, two being African and three being Asian. The African species can be white or black and have two horns. Asian rhinos include the Indian and the Javan, which each have one horn, and the Sumartan which has two. They are herbivores and prefer to graze on grass or eat the foliage of trees or bushes.

A rhino’s habitat can vary anywhere from dense forests to savannas. The reproduction process consists of the males and females frequently fighting during courtship. This can sometimes lead to serious wounds inflicted by their horns. After the mating process, the pair goes their separate ways, leaving all young (known as calves) fatherless. Fourteen to eighteen months after the mating occurs, a calf is born. They nurse for up to a year, however, they begin eating vegetation one week after birth. Their lifespans in the wild are typically up to thirty-five years.

Rhinos currently rank among the most endangered species on Earth. As they are valued for their horns, they face a dire threat from poaching, which is also pushing them towards extinction at a rapid rate. Their horns are used for jewelry, dagger handles, as well as traditional Chinese medicine. These horns have become so valuable on the black market that criminals have been stealing them from museums. Hunting has also broken some species down into disconnected groups, making the rhinos unable to breed and continue adding genetic diversity to the species.

One specific species that has been greatly effected by these threats is the Northern White Rhino. This subspecies of the rhino has been completely wiped out, and none of them remain in the wild. However, five are currently left in captivity. As a result, this species faces certain extinction. The United States is currently the second largest consumer of illegal wildlife products in the world, so decreasing the demand at home can have a great impact on wildlife, even halfway across the globe. Currently, the Defenders of Wildlife is working on Capitol Hill to fight legislative efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act and the protections for the rhinos that come with it. They are also fighting for more law enforcement to keep poached rhino horns from being smuggled into the United States. (Facts about Rhino 2017)

Basic Facts About Rhinoceroses. (2017, September 28). Retrieved from https://defenders.org/rhinoceros/basic-facts

Photo: http://www.facts-about.info/northern-white-rhinoceros/

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Raccoon

This blog post is about raccoons. Raccoons are mammals that can grow between 16 to 28 inches long (not including the tail) and can weigh between eight and twenty pounds. They have gray or brown fur, as well as a black “mask” around their eyes. Their tails are bushy and contain a ringed pattern that is colored black. The tail itself can grow up to 16 inches, and they also have paws with five tows on each that are very flexible and help the raccoon climb easily. Raccoons can run at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour, but they only reach this speed if they are being chased or become scared. They are also great swimmers and often look for food in the water. They are mainly nocturnal, and their main predators are bobcats, coyotes, and great horned owls.

Raccoons typically mate between January and March, typically when there is a lot of daylight. After about a 65 day gestation period, raccoons will give birth to two-to-five babies that are known as kits. Kits are usually weaned by the age of 16 weeks, and in the fall the group of kits will leave their mother. Their lifespans are one-to-three years.

Raccoons can be found throughout the U.S. and Mexico, as well as parts of Canada. They are present in almost all environmental settings, and can be found in both the city and the country. They are extremely adaptable and have been seen in settings such as near streams, forests, cities and grasslands. Due to this they are one of the most recognizable species in the wild. Raccoons prefer to live in tree hollows, but they will also live in recycled burrows made by other mammals. If these options are not available, the raccoon will make it’s own home in rock or tree crevices.

Raccoons will typically eat anything that becomes available, and will also douse their food in water before they eat it. They often invade dumpsters and trash cans to find leftover food. As they typically are a nuisance to some people and places, most states have a specific hunting season for the raccoon. They may seem very cute, but during mating season, or when they have food, raccoons can become very mean. Most of the time, a raccoon will become spooked very easily by the sound of a human’s voice. (Raccoon Information n.d.)

Raccoon Information, Facts, and Photos. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://americanexpedition.us/learn-about-wildlife/raccoon-information-facts-and-photos/

Photo: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/index.php/animals/raccoon

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Lemur

This blog post is about Lemurs. Lemurs are known as prosimians, meaning they are primates that evolved before monkeys and apes. They are only found in the wild in two places on Earth- Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Lemurs are generally small in size, and their faces can resemble a mouse or fox. They have a wet, hairless nose with curved nostrils, which is unique among primates and makes them superior sniffers. Their limbs contain five limbs, and their legs and tail can vary in length. Lemurs can come in many colors, examples being white, gray, black, brown and red-brown.

The habitat of lemurs can vary greatly. Madagascar has a high mountain range running down its center, which has created several different climate areas. As a result, certain lemur species have evolved to get used to a certain climate. However, mostly all Lemurs spend their time in the trees resting, sleeping, feeding and even giving birth. The pads on their hands and feet are tailor-made for life in trees, as they help lemurs stick when they jump onto something. Depending on their size, a lemurs home could be a tree hole or a leaf nest. Their diet can also vary, but it primarily consists of fruit and insects, and larger species are known to be mostly herbivorous.

In social groups, their behavior is dictated by the dominant female in the group. The female decides where and when the group will move. When they are not eating or resting, Lemurs spend their time sunbathing or grooming each other. To do so, they use an elongated nail on the second toe which is called a toilet claw. They also have finely spaced teeth for feeding which is known as a tooth-comb.

Lemurs have a strict breeding season, which can last from a few days to a few months. The number of young produced varies among species and can range from one to six offspring. Infants typically cling to the mother’s belly for the first three to four weeks of life and start to gradually spend more time riding the mother’s back. At three to four months of age, the mother encourages her babies to find alternative methods of transportation. To do so, lemurs communicate primarily through scent and vocalizations. These sounds can include grunts, loud alarm calls, chirps, and even wailing calls that are reminiscent of whale songs. They also leave scent marks to communicate with each other, so they rely heavily on their sense of smell. (Lemur n.d.)

Lemur. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2018, from http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/lemur

Photo: https://www.britannica.com/animal/lemur-primate-suborder

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Harambe

This blog post is about one of the most popular zoo scandals in American history. On May 28, 2016, a three year old boy visiting the Cincinnati Zoo snuck into a gorilla enclosure. Witnesses at the scene said the child asked his mother if he could go into the habitat, but his mother ignored him. The boy was able to climb a three foot tall fence, crawled through four feet of bushes, and then fell 15 feet into shallow water in the enclosure. After the child made his way near the gorillas, zoo officials attempted to call the three gorillas inside. Two of the gorillas followed through with the orders given, however, the male silverback Harambe instead went towards the child in the water. This led to many people going to the enclosure to see what was going on, as many people were screaming or recording what was happening. This caused Harambe to become increasingly agitated and disoriented. Harambe was constantly dragging the child through the water, and walked in a “strutting” motion to appear larger in attempt to protect the child. Although, Harambe was being moderately aggressive towards the child, most likely treating him like another gorilla, so this put the child’s life at risk. Harambe then proceeded to carry the boy up a ladder and onto dry land. Quickly, zoo officials made the decision to kill Harambe. Cincinnati firefighters say the boy was between Harambe’s legs when a single rifle shot was fired that put down the gorilla.

This scandal received mixed reactions from the public. Mainly, people sought out for either the parents or the zoo officials to be held accountable with Harambe’s death, as there could have been other actions to take in the situation, as well as the beliefs from zoo keepers that Harambe was a “gentle giant”. In response, police decided to investigate the boy’s mother Michelle Gregg, who when asked about the situation said “accidents happen”. Many thought this was a terrible way to respond to a child’s near-death experience, and thought the mom should have simply been a better parent and kept an eye on her child. If I were the zoo, I would have dismissed the onlookers that were frightening Harambe and attempted to save the child without harming the gorilla. (Reuters 2016)

In October of 2016, five months after the killing of Harambe, I decided to visit the Cincinnati Zoo myself and see the gorilla enclosure that the child snuck into. I noticed that there is new fencing around the enclosure to prevent something like this from happening again, as well as a memorial in the back to honor Harambe. This memorial consisted of drawings created by local Cincinnati elementary students expressing their sadness for Harambe’s tragic death. Pictures I took on this visit will be attached to this blog post.

Reuters. (2016, May 30). Mum of boy who fell into gorilla enclosure hits out at critics. Retrieved April 18, 2018, from https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/mum-boy-who-fell-gorilla-8080846

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Bull Shark

This blog post is about the bull shark. Whenever anyone thinks of ferocious sharks the great white shark is the number one to pop up into their minds; however, the bull shark is the most ferocious shark in the ocean. What makes this beast into a monster killer is that it can survive in both fresh water and in salt water. This lets the bull shark swim up rivers and causes them to be found in the most surprising places. They have been found as far up the amazon river as 3,700 kilometers up the river and even in many rivers in Florida. This shark has even been featured on an episode of river monsters and bull sharks have been caught by the show’s host in the waters of Florida.

They swim very slowly near the bottom of whatever body of water they are in, giving them the illusion of being slow, but, they are fast and agile. The bull sharks diet is very broad and varied, it can go after large prey which makes it a threat to humans, and it is believed to be the number one shark on the list of suspects for most of the shark attacks on humans. Their diet also consists of bony fishes, larger prey, and even other bull sharks. The habitat is usually the coastal areas and the coastal areas are usually hot spots for human activity. This is another reason why it is believed the bull shark is the biggest shark threat to humans. This shark does not have very big eyes and that lets scientists know that its eyesight is not the number one way they search for prey. The sharks use their nose to sense their prey, then lunch themselves from the bottom to attack. They are also a muddy brown color that allows them to blend into the muddy river bottoms and hide from their prey.

No one has been able to observe a bull shark birth as of yet, but it is known that each female can give birth to one to thirteen young pups. The females’ gestation periods last ten to eleven months, and late spring to early summer is when the sharks give birth, in both hemispheres. Mating rituals between males and females also have not been observed, but it happens around the same time of the year as the birthing season. The female bull sharks will always give birth in estuaries and river mouths, then the young pups will swim out to sea when they become old enough. (Bull shark, n.d.)

Colla, Philip. (Photographer). (2017). Bull shark [digital image]. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://www.oceanlight.com/log/tag/bull-shark

Bull shark videos, photos and facts. (February). Retrieved from https://www.arkive.org/bull-shark/carcharhinus-leucas/

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Diamondback

This blog post is about the western diamondback. The western diamondback snake is one of the deadliest snakes on the planet. It belongs to the crotalus atrox family. The range that the western diamond back varies all over the southern united states, and can go from New Mexico all the way through southern California. The snakes love this region because their habitat consists of very dry and rocky plains. Diamondback snakes like to hide deep in the crevices of the rocks and dirt beds. The snakes are also known to hunt the mice that make these plains home and use the mice holes as hiding places for themselves after they have had their meal. Small mammals and birds are the western diamondbacks foods of choice. There have even been cases of other reptiles and fish being victims of the western diamondback. With the small animals, it only takes seconds for the poisonous bite of the diamondback to kill the prey.  Often, the teeth of the western diamondback break off and are left in the carcass of the victim. The diamondback does not have to eat very often, every two to three weeks on average. When they do not eat very often their water intake has to come close to equal about their body weight. When the snake is eating the small rodents, it is actually really helping the human population by keeping the rodent population to a minimum, but this does not overturn their negative bite. Most of the time, the diamondback will only bite out of defense as they are really aggressive, but they will not go out of their way to bite humans. The rattle on the tail of the diamondback is used to make anyone or anything passing by aware of its existence. This rattle has made anybody who hears it scared of it and makes them stay away from the sound, and this helps humans not get bit by their fatal bite. Scientists have also observed fighting between diamondback snakes, the snakes will lunge and sway back and forth at each other and wrap around each other until one of the snakes will back off and give up the fight. The fear of this snake has made humans fear it and because of this, humans have come up with many ways to deter the snakes with traps, poisons, and destroying their habitats. The snakes have taken barely any impact from this and continue to thrive out in the wilderness and are currently not threatened. (Ingmarsson 2002) Ingmarsson, L. (2002). Crotalus atrox (Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake). Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Crotalus_atrox/

Wasmer, Fred. (Photographer). (2011, August 14). Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake - Everglades National Park, Florida [digital image]. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://fredwasmer.com/w6495-41ee-de4ad.htm

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Polar Bear

This blog post is about polar bears. Polar bears are the largest land carnivores in the world, as they sit at the top of the food chain in the Arctic they can weigh up to around 1,500 pounds. These bears feed primarily on the fat of ice-dependent seals. The remains of the seals they have preyed on provides food for many other Arctic wildlife species, giving polar bears a vital role in their ecosystem. Polar bears spend most of their time on the Arctic ice, and there are many adaptations that make them uniquely suited for life in these icy habitats. Besides having a thick layer of fur, they also have a thick layer of blubber under their fur to provide even more insulation. Polar bears have a narrow skull and long neck to aid in streamlining in the water and to warm the air that they breathe. Their front feet are very large, making them excellent swimmers.

It is estimated that there are around 20,000 polar bears in the world currently, and they are currently threatened on the status of conservation, mainly due to climate change. While polar bears are known for only eating seals, they are also known to eat other animals such as walrus and beluga whale. Polar bears will travel in large distances to find prey. Some travel thousands of miles each year alone just for finding food. They are also highly dependent on older, stable ice in the Arctic region. Here they spend their time hunting, mating and denning. In adulthood, they are fairly solitary. Polar bears are very strong swimmers, some being seen as far as 200 miles from land. However, this is not preferred as it requires a lot of energy for adults, and it can be fatal for younger bears to swim in long distances.

Contrary to brown bears, male and non-breeding females do not hibernate in the winter. Pregnant polar bears must eat a lot in the summer and fall to build up enough fat reserves to survive the denning period. Mating season is usually sometime around November, and most maternity dens are located on land where snow accumulates. Polar bears give birth to one or two cubs a year, and nurse them until they are 20-30 pounds. Once they reach this benchmark, they will emerge from the den, this usually occurs around March or April. These cubs will remain with their mothers for over two years, and female polar bears can produce five litters in their lifetime; the lowest reproductive rate of any mammal. (Basic Facts 2016)

Basic Facts About Polar Bears. (2016, May 10). Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://defenders.org/polar-bear/basic-facts

Grossman, Marni. (Photographer).  Polar Bear Face [digital image]. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://marnigrossman.com/fine-art-shop/categories/winter-2/polar-bear-face/

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Whale Shark

This blog post is about whale sharks, the gentle giants of the deep sea. They are classified as the biggest fish and the biggest shark of the sea. The length of a whale shark can reach past 40 feet, and being that big they weigh more than twenty tons. They reside in all the oceans of the globe and usually are found where plankton are forming in large quantities. Many people see the size of these beasts and immediately think the shark will gulp them down in heartbeat, but that is not the case. Whale sharks are filter feeders and pose no threat to human kind. For being one of the biggest animals on the planet, they feed off of something very small, the smallest species of ocean organisms, plankton. Using their mouth, the sharks filter these plankton from the water and live off of them. The mouth of a whale shark can reach the width of over three feet long, and can have over 300 rows of teeth! There are only three sharks in the animal kingdom that filter feed this way, the whale shark being one of them. The other two species are the basking shark and the mega mouth shark. Chrondrichthyes is the name of the group in the animal kingdom that these majestic creatures belong to, the class being the superclass of fish. This means that they do not have the normal bones in their bodies, and that their skeletal system is made up of cartilage. Other sharks and rays are also a part of this group. The Whale shark can live up to 100 years of age, and not a lot is known about their breeding habits or mating habit; however, it is known that even though they can live up to 100 years of age, they are not sexually mature until they are in their early 30’s! When the female whale sharks give birth, they can have an amazing number of pups born at one time. The largest known number of pups has been well over 300 pups from one mother in a single litter. Identifying different whale sharks has become very easy for scientists. The spots on the shark are as unique to the shark as finger prints are to humans. Each shark has its own pattern and scientists have found the same shark in different areas by analyzing these unique spots, as well as their migration patterns. (Whale shark facts 2017)

Discover whale shark facts & their conservation efforts | SEEtheWILD. (2017, November 17). Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://seethewild.org/whale-shark-facts/

Verhoog, Peter. (Photographer). (2016). Whale Shark research [digital image]. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://www.peterverhoog.com/wp/ningaloo_whale_sharks/whale-shark-research-6/

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Sea Otter

This blog post is about Sea Otters. Members of the weasel family, they weigh in as the heaviest of their kind. On the other hand, they are second to the smallest marine animals. They have no layer of blubber as other sea mammals do, this fact causes the sea otters to have very dense fur, and they have the densest fur out of the animal kingdom. This hair insulates their skin so they can stay warm in the cold of the ocean. Sea otters are so important to their own ecosystems, that they are labeled as a keystone species. This means that they impact the environment more than the other species that live in the same environment. Sea otters are predators that prey on undersea animals and helps keep their populations in check. If they did not keep the population of undersea animals in regulation, the undersea animals would eat the kelp forests that provide food and shelter to many marine animals. These kelp forests also produce massive amounts of oxygen for the planet, and the oxygen not being produced would be a devastating blow for the planet.

One fun fact about sea otters is that they hold hands while they sleep. This is so they do not float away from their partners or clans. Their diet consists of many marine species including mussels, clams, crabs, and many more. Sea otters have a fairly high metabolism, they must eat around 20 to 25 percent of their body weight to support their high metabolism. They are some of the smartest mammals in the animal kingdom, and have been known to use tools to help open clam and crab shells. Some sea otters have even been given different memory tests and have passed the same tests as human toddlers! This proving they are smarter than their environment and can survive using tools instead of just their bodies. They have a decent lifespan, the males live shorter lives than the females by an average of five years. The males live anywhere from ten to fifteen years, while the females can live anywhere from fifteen to twenty years of age. When they mate, there is no specified mating season, sea otters mate throughout the year. Their gestation period is anywhere from six to eight months. They only give birth to one single pup at a time, but they have been known to have twins in rare cases. (Facts about Sea Otters 2016)

Basic Facts about Sea Otters. (2016, September 19). Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://defenders.org/sea-otter/basic-facts

Quinton, Michael. (Photographer). (2015, April 28). Sea Otters [digital image]. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://michaelquinton.com/blog/sea-otters/

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Snowy Owl

This blog post is about snowy owls. Snowy owls are known as the masters of the skies, and are native to the Alaskan and Arctic regions. To identify a snowy owl, one just needs to look for the signature white color of their feathers, or look for their rounded heads with no ear tufts.  Most of the time, their legs have very dense feathers to where they look very wide at the base of their body. They are known for their coloration, and have become more popular ever since the Harry Potter series came out.   Snowy owls are America’s heaviest owls, they can weigh around four pounds, and the females can be twenty percent larger than the males.  They make their habitat on the shorelines of lakes and oceans. Their migration patterns usually include southern Canada and the northern United States. However, there have even been sightings as far south as Georgia, Florida, and even Texas.  Snowy owls are mainly carnivores, they eat small mammals and even some species of birds. An example of a mammal they prey on include lemmings, and the snowy owl population can eat around 1,600 lemmings per year. The number of lemmings comes out to be around three to five a day! The birds they prey on range from songbirds to medium sized geese.   My favorite fact about snowy owls is that they hunt mainly during the day. While they do hunt some at night, they are not nocturnal, they are active during both day and night. They can be very aggressive while they are nesting and trying to protect their territories. They will attack anything that they see as a threat to their eggs and/or live offspring. Their mating season is usually around May, and the size of their nest depends on the availability of food. When the food in the area is limited, their nest size might be as little as three to five eggs. Since they can only feed their offspring sparingly, they do not have too many. On the other hand, when their food supply is plentiful they can have as many as seven to eleven eggs. They have plenty of food on hand to feed themselves and feed their newborns. The snowy owls follow a traditional plan where only the females incubate the eggs, and the male is out hunting and gathering food for the nest. When the young are around the age of fifty days old they can begin to fly. Contact with humans are the snowy owls biggest threat, and we need to keep an eye on their population to protect them. (Facts about Snowy Owls 2014) Basic Facts About Snowy Owls. (2014, December 19). Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://defenders.org/snowy-owl/basic-facts

Latremouille, Marc. (Photographer). (2018). 2019 Snowy Owl Photography Workshops and More [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.wingstretch.com/2019-snowy-owl-workshops-and-more

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Plains Bison

This blog post is about the plains bison. The bison are a species that survived the Ice Age, and can grow up to 12 feet in length, and can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Despite their massive size, they can run at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. They mainly reside in grasslands, but are able to be in snowy weather. As there were around 30-60 million of them in North America at some point, only around 20,000 remain. This is due to the bison being forced to move west, and no other species on earth has declined this quickly. As they are only near-threatened on the status of conservation, it is potentially only a matter of time before they become endangered. Many Native American tribes are working with the World Wildlife Foundation to help the number of bison grow.

An interesting threat to the bison is the process of traveling in small herds. This makes long-term conservation a little more difficult as they are more spread out across North America. Currently, bison have been interbreeding with cattle with the goal in mind to produce healthier livestock, however this has had an impact on population viability. In present day, there are only believed to be two public bison herds that have not shown evidence of interbreeding with cattle. These herds are in Yellowstone National Park, and Elk Island National Park in Canada. Conservation groups are currently working on additional herds to provide a safeguard for the bison’s valuable genetics.

Habitat loss is a second threat for the bison. In North America, bison traditionally roamed across millions of acres, which kept grasslands and herds diverse and healthy. However, early settlement and current land uses by present day communities have refined where the bison are able to roam. The World Wildlife Foundation is currently working with national parks, as well as Native American tribes, to find common ground regarding returning the bison to sustainable prairie landscapes.

In conclusion, I personally hope efforts to save the plains bison continue as their populations have been rapidly declining for decades. It is not healthy for a species to potentially die off this quickly. Hopefully efforts in national parks to grow the population are successful, and that they are able to have the bison travel in larger herds so that it is easier for them to be protected. Hopefully this species never becomes endangered, but that potentially could happen soon. (Plains Bison n.d.)

Losin, Neil. (Photographer). Northern Great Plains. Amur Leopard [digital image]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.neillosin.com/northern-great-plains/

Plains Bison. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/plains-bison