Size and Description

The Gaboon Viper is a short and very heavy snake. They are very round in comparison to their body length. The average grown Gaboon will weigh about 18-20 pounds while it may be just four or six feet long.  The Gaboon Viper is very heavy bodied. It is excellently camouflaged with  a black or dark brown body and brown markings that run the length of its body. The head is triangular, said to be shaped like the leaves on a tree.

The Gaboon Viper has the longest fangs of any venomous snake and also makes the most venom of any other venomous snake. It is a good thing that the snake is known for being more placid since the venom is also particularly toxic. They can be very harmful if not fatal to adult humans, but they have often been said to be so placid that they can be handled by experts with nearly as much ease as handling a non toxic snake

What they Eat

The Gaboon viper is nocturnal, meaning that it hunts at night. It is not limited to the rainforests and are often seen on the roadways or logging paths. They will eat small mammals, as well as birds, frogs, and other amphibians. The Gaboon Viper is an ambush hunter, who will lie in wait on a well camouflaged area and wait for prey.

Habitat and Location
The Gaboon Viper is found in the rainforests and other moist lowlands of the  Africa. It is also found  living in or near the cacao plantations in West Africa and has been noted to be found near the  coffee plantations in East Africa. In addition they seem to be prolific in the evergreen forests that are part of Zambia.

Breeding

Gaboon Viper males engage in some very odd “wrestling” matches or combats to gain the attention of the female. The victor is the breeder.

Gaboon Vipers give birth to live babies rather than laying eggs. The term for this is that they are viviparous.  They will give birth to anywhere from 25 babies up to fifty or more per breeding, but the average is about twenty or twenty five.
The Gaboon Viper babies take nearly a year to be born. The breeding cycle for these big snakes is thought to be about every 2 or 3 years.

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Physical Characteristics

Musk Oxen are large and heavy, reaching 6 or 7 feet long in length and will have a height at the shoulder that may be as tall as 5 feet. They are very heavy bodied and full grown will weigh between 500 and 900 pounds.

They live in very cold areas and as compensation are covered in long wool that completely keeps them warm. The have an outer coat that is made of very long brown hairs, while the inner woolen coat, called qiviut was gathered by native peoples for use as spinning wool. The musk ox is well suited for life in the artic.

Males and females both have very large horns that meet in the center of their skull. The Males also grow an additoinal thing called a “boss” across their horns. The musk ox has a very strong and very musky scent that gives them their names.

Wikipedia CC Licensed Musk Ox Photo

Habitat and Location:

The Musk Ox is a tundra animal. It is found in more northern and cold locations. The Musk Ox can be found in Canada (The more northern parts) Greenland, Norway, Russian, Sweeden, Alaska. At one point the Musk Ox was extinct in Norway, Sweden and Russia, having been killed off completely but the Ox was successfullly introduced back into the wild there.

The Musk Ox is a herd animal that will roam the area in which it lives. The entire herd will range over a great area to gain access to food and water.

Diet: What They Eat:

The Musk Ox lives in a herd and will range with that herd well over the area in which they live. They will eat nearly any kind of vegetation that is available to them to eat. This includes the small shoots of trees, the lichens, tundra grasses, shrubs and any other vegetation that can be found. In winter they may paw their way through the snow to find grass.

Breeding Facts

Musk oxen undergo a male rutting season just as deer and elk do. They begin to rut in the late summer and early fall. The males will compete and do battle for possession of a harem. Only one male may mate with multiple females. The babies are born after about 8 months time. One female gives birth to just one baby every other year in the springtime.

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Physical Characteristics
The Gibbon is a smaller primate type animal who lives in the treetops.
They have strong arms and hands and aare thickly furred animals.
The color of the Gibbon can change dramatically from nearly blond to nearly black on color. They are thickly furred and very fluffy animals with thin bodies. They may weigh about 12-15 pounds when fully grown. Gibbons have no tail.

They are not good swimmers so they are sometimes isolated by the rivers of the area and are not able to get across them.

Habitat and Location

The Gibbon is found in the southeastern portions of Asia. They spend nearly all of their time in the trees of the rainforests. They have long fingers that permit them to very gracefully swing the treetops from one branch to another. Only rarely will they go to ground.

What they Eat

Gibbons will generally eat fruit and berries, but they will change up and eat leaves, bark of trees, as well as plant roots and leaves. In addition, the Gibbon will eat smaller birds, as well as tree frogs, bugs, and some small animals. This is known as being omniverous.

Breeding Facts

There are just a few primates that breed or mate for life with just one partner unless that partner is killed. One of those species is the Gibbon, who will also mourn the death of a partner.
The Gibbon gives birth to one youngster after being pregnant for about seven months. Once in a while twins do take place but that is rare. The young Gibbon will stay with both parents in a family type arrangement until they are old enough to start their own families. Gibbons usually live between 25 and 40 years. They will live much longer in captivity than they do in the wild due to predation by animals and man

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