Archive for the ‘Endangered’ Category

Polar Bears – Arctic Circle

Polar bears are related to brown bears, but are specialized to live in the freezing cold waters and lands of the Arctic. It is an endangered species.

Physical Characteristics

The polar bear is the world’s biggest meat eater on land and is the world’s biggest bear, although it may share that honor with the Kodiak Bear, which is about the same size. Adult polar bears weight up to about 1,500 pounds and the females are half as big as the males. Its body has been adapted to living in frigid areas and its paws are made to walk on ice and snow, as well as survive in open, freezing waters and with sharp claws to hunt with.

It has 42 teeth, and its paw pads have dermal bumps to give them traction when they walk over the ice. Their claws are shorter and stockier than other bears since they must handle heavy prey on the ice, plus they work well to dig in the ice. Its fur has both an under layer and an outer layer and they molt May through August.  An interesting fact is that the fur may turn green in captivity due to algae growing in the fur.

Polar bears can smell prey a mile away and can swim very fast.

Habitat and Location

The polar bear lives mainly in the Arctic Circle region around the Arctic Ocean. It stays mostly in the water and the land masses in and around it. The polar bear is many times called a marine mammal due to the fact it stays at sea for several months without going on permanent land masses. It prefers to live on the sea ice that covers the Arctic waters over the continental shelf areas.

Diet

Polar bears eat seals and live off their own fat reserves when hunting is lean. Grown polar bears normally only eat the seal’s skin and blubber, but younger bears eat the meat as well.

Breeding Facts

Polar bears have their mating and courtship rituals in April and May while on the sea ice. Males follow the females sometimes for more than 60 miles and may fight other males for the right to breed. The male and female remain together for about a week.  After mating, the egg is fertilized, but doesn’t start developing until August or September. The female tries to eat as much as possible until then and may double her weight.

The baby cubs are born sometime in-between November and February and are blind and their weight is less than two pounds. There are usually two of them.

The cubs and mother stay den bound until around Feb to April and the cubs nurse during that time. Cubs stay with the mother for about two years.

 

Polar Bear – The World’s Biggest Bear – Kodiak Bear

Red Pandas are considered a species that is vulnerable to extinction. Their average lifespan is about eight to 10 years, with some captive ones living up to 15 years. They are about the size of a house cat and have a waddling sort of gait due to having shorter front legs.

Physical Characteristics

The Red Panda is nocturnal and solitary except during breeding season. It gets about 22 to 25 inches long and weighs between eight and 14 lbs. They have long reddish colored fur with a white colored face that resembles a raccoon. They have a round head, black nose and black eyes with a bushy tail. Their fur insulates them in the winter as well as concealing their scent glands. Read the rest of this entry »

The okapi is related to the giraffe and became important in Europe in 1887 when it was discovered by discover Henry Morton Stanley. Later, in 1901 body parts were sent to England for study by the colonial administrator Harry Johnson.  It’s expected that this beast is endangered because there are less than 20,000 of them in the world as of 2011. Okapi are considered to be solitary animals that only come together at breeding times. It is sometimes called a living fossil. Read the rest of this entry »