Hedgehog

The hedgehog is thought to be one of the oldest mammals on earth, with estimates dating the hedgehog to around 15 million years ago. It is believed that the hedgehog has changed very little over that period of time.

The hedgehog is a small mammal that is predominantly found in Europe, Asia and Africa and the hedgehog has also been artificially introduced to New Zealand.

The hedgehog is commonly around 25 cm long, with the hedgehogs back being covered in spikes. The hedgehog can also protect itself by curling its body into a ball so only the hedgehog spikes are exposed. This method of only exposing the spikes of the hedgehog, keeps the hedgehog safe from predators.

The hedgehog is a nocturnal mammal that naturally feasts on bugs and insects. It has been known for humans to domesticate hedgehogs in their gardens, by feeding the hedgehog year round until the hedgehog goes into hibernation in the winter.

There are thought to be 16 different species of hedgehog found around the world although, oddly enough, there are no species of hedgehog that are native to Australia and no living species of hedgehog that are native to North America.

The spikes of the hedgehog are hollow hairs that are made from the protein keratin (the same stuff that human hair and fingernails are made from), and unlike the spikes of the porcupine, the spikes of the hedgehog cannot be removed easily. The spikes of the hedgehog also differ from the spikes of the porcupine as the hedgehog spikes are not poisonous or barbed.

When baby hedgehogs get to a certain age, the young hedgehog will shed the softer baby spikes that are then replaced with the stronger and darker spikes of the adult hedgehog. Hedgehogs have also been known to shed a number of spikes when the hedgehog is under extreme stress or if the hedgehog is poorly.

All species of hedgehog have evolved to react to their natural surroundings slightly differently. Despite the fact that hedgehog species all commonly roll themselves into a tight ball to expose only their outward pointing spikes, some hedgehog species, such as those hedgehogs inhabiting the desert regions, will often try to run away from predators first leaving their spiky ball defense as a later option. This has led to hedgehogs in different environments to have different predators. For example, the larger forest hedgehogs are more commonly preyed upon by owls, birds and ferrets, where the smaller hedgehogs that exist in more open areas are hunted by foxes, wolves and weasels.

Hedgehogs are well known for their need to hibernate during the colder winter months although this is not true for every hedgehog species around the world. Whether or not a hedgehog will hibernate, depends on the hedgehog species, the climate in which they live and how much food is available.

Most hedgehog species are loudly vocal animals and use grunts and snuffles in order to communicate between one another. Some species of hedgehog will also communicate between each other using louder squealing noises.

The larger species of hedgehog give birth to around 3 or 4 baby hedgehogs, but the smaller hedgehog species tend to have slightly larger litters and therefore give birth to 5 to 7 babies. When the hedgehog babies are first born, they are born blind and without their spikes. Although the spikes of the hedgehog babies can been vaguely seen under the skin, the spikes of the baby hedgehog will grow through the skin in a matter of days after the baby hedgehog has been given a thorough clean by the mother hedgehog.

The larger species of hedgehog tend to live longer in the wild than the smaller species of hedgehog as the larger hedgehog species have fewer predators. The average age of a large hedgehog is around 8 years but the average age of a small hedgehog is about 5 years. Both species have known to live longer in captivity as the risk of predators has been removed.

Antelope

The antelope is a deer-like mammal found in Africa, Asia and parts of the Americas. There are many different species of antelope including the tiny Royal antelope that stands at the height of a rabbit!

Unlike deer that renew their horns annually, the antelope has strong permanent horns, that antelope mainly use to defend their herd or to fight other antelopes.

An antelope tends to get to between 8 and 10 years old in the wild although they have been known to live for longer when kept in captivity. Many antelope individuals however, wouldn\'t last into old age in the wild as antelope are a key target for many large carnivorous mammals. If the antelope was old then the antelope would naturally be slower at running from danger.

The antelope is one of the many medium-sized mammals holding the African food chain together. The antelope may only graze on grasses but it is a stable food source for many of Africa\'s large carnivorous predators, such as lions, hyenas and crocodiles.

Antelope display different defensive behaviours based on their size, habitat, number and species. The smaller solitary antelope tend to live in dense forested areas and these species of antelope defend themselves by hiding. The duiker antelopes get their name from this specie\'s ability to dive into the vegetation. Gazelle-sized antelope run and leap, and some species of antelope exhibit their unique behaviour of pronking or stotting. Large antelope congregate in larger herds and can depend on running as group defence.

The antelope is found in a wide range of habitats, typically woodland, forest, savannah, grassland plains, and marshes. Several species of antelope have adapted to living in the mountains and rocky outcrops, a few species of antelope have adapted to deserts (both hot and cold), and a couple of species of antelope are even semi-aquatic and these antelope live in swamps.

After mating, female antelopes give birth to a single calf or, more rarely, twins, after a gestation period that can last up to eight months. A mother and her newborn calf are vulnerable to predators, and antelopes have had to evolve different strategies for surviving this period. For most antelope species, the female gives birth in dense cover and leaves the calf while she feeds. The calf comes to its mother when she calls it, and once fed, the calf will hide away again. Once in its hiding place, the calf remains completely still and will run away only if it is on the verge of being discovered.

Dugong

The dugong is a large marine mammal found in the warm waters surrounding Indonesia and Australia. Although the dugong can be found widely throughout the Indo-Pacific tropics, the highest population of the dugong is concentrated around northern Australia.

Although the dugong looks extremely similar to a manatee, the two are different species. The dugong and the manatee are very closely related and can look almost identical until you look at their tail. The tail of the dugong is typically forked like the tail of a shark, where the tail of the manatee is broad and flat, and slightly more flipper looking than fin looking.

Dugongs are smaller than manatees with the average adult dugong reaching lengths of around 3 meters and weigh nearly 400 kg, which is about the same as a large cow. The front flippers of the dugong can be as much as half a meter in length.

It is thought the legends of mermaids may have originated when sailors from a distance glimpsed dugongs swimming in the water, and mistook them for half-human half-fish creatures. These mermaid legends are also said to be true of the dugongs larger cousin, the manatee.

Dugongs inhabit the warm shallow waters, and despite their large size, dugongs are strictly herbivorous animals and have been referred to as the cows of the sea. Dugongs graze on sea grasses and aquatic plants that grow in abundance in the tropical shallows. Dugongs eat large amounts of sea plants and often leave feeding trails behind of bare sand and uprooted sea grass.

Female dugongs give birth to just one calf about once every five years. The baby dugong is born underwater in the warm shallows, where the baby dugong is immediately able to swim to the surface in order to take its first breath. When the baby dugong is born, the dugong calf is about a meter in length and weighs about 20 kg. The dugong calf will stay close to its mother until the baby dugong is about 2 years old.

Dugong populations are constantly decreasing, with many dugongs being accidental victims in large commercial fishing. Dugongs are now considered to be vulnerable animals but the dugong will commonly get older than 70 years of age. Dugong calves will not reach their full size until they are about 15 years old.

Otter

The otter is a small mammal that lives both in water and on land. There are 13 known species of otter that inhabit areas all around the world.

The otter mainly eats aquatic animals such as plankton and fish, but the otter also hunts small amphibians, birds and occasionally small mammals.

The sea otter from North America have been tracked journeying as far as southern Japan. The sea otter has also been known to grow to more than 1 meter long.

Otters have a thick coat of fur which enables the otter to be warm in near freezing waters. There is also a series of thin hairs under the otters fur that help to trap air and keep the otter warm.

The female otter tends to give birth to a few cubs in early spring in burrows in the river bank, where the baby otters are looked after until they are between 4 and 10 months old and ready to fend for themselves.

Otter Foot Facts

    * The otter has four strong feet that are webbed to allow the otter to swim through the water with ease.
    * The otter has five toes on each of their four feet that give the otter the strength to swim in the water on the stability when climbing up muddy river banks.
    * On each of the toes of the otter, there are sharp strong claws which add to the strength and performance of their feet both in water and on land.
    * The back feet of the otter are generally slightly bigger and more flipper-like than the front feet of the otter which helps to propel the otter along in the water.
    * The otter makes the most of its front and back feet by moving its front feet together and its back feet together which enables the otter to swim smoothly and quickly through the water.

Otter Teeth Facts

    * The otter is a fantastic fisher and is able to catch nearly all of its food in its sharp teeth at the front of the mouth of the otter.
    * An adult otter has 32 teeth including four sharp canine teeth that are found at the front of the mouth of an otter and are used for holding onto and biting their prey.
    * The molar teeth in the mouth of the otter are flat on top and slightly rounded as they are designed to crush the food of the otter rather than to chew it.
    * The teeth of the otter are built to eat animals with shells such as crabs and snails so the teeth of the otter are wide and flat.
    * Some species of otter such as the otter, do in fact have purple teeth rather than white teeth which is caused by these otters eating purple coloured sea urchins.

Crested Penguin

The crested penguin (also known as the Fiordland crested penguin) is a medium-sized species of penguin natively found along the New Zealand coast. Crested penguins are named after the prominent yellow feathers that are arranged over the eyes and run along on top of these penguin's heads.

The crested penguin is found inhabiting dense tropical rainforest along the Fiordland coast, which is a region of New Zealand's South Island, found at the south-west tip. The crested penguin is also found on a number of the surrounding islands in Stewart Island where it shares it's habitat with other penguin species such as the yellow-eyed penguin and the little penguin.

The crested penguin has a blue/black coloured back and flippers, with a black head and red beak. The underside of the crested penguin is completely white as are the patches that are found either side of the crested penguin's beak. The bright yellow eyebrows of the crested penguin (from where it gets its name), run from behind it's eyes along each side of it's head.

The crested penguin is a medium sized penguin that inhabits it's native range in a colony with other crested penguin individuals. Although they spend the majority of their time together on land, crested penguins usually go out to sea with the rest of the colony but tend to hunt on their own, returning when they are full.

The crested penguin is a carnivorous animal, that like all other penguin species, survives on a diet that is only comprised of marine animals. Squid and small crustaceans make up the bulk of the crested penguin's diet along with smaller organisms including krill and various species of fish.

The crested penguin is usually found nesting in the forests and scrub that line the New Zealand coast and although historically undisturbed, the crested penguin now has a number of land-dwelling predators including cats, dogs and foxes along with rats and weasels that hunt their eggs. Large seals including fur seals and leopard seals hunt the crested penguin in the water along with large sharks and killer whales.

On average, the crested penguin breeds once a year, forming pairs that usually remain faithful to one another. The female crested penguin lays two eggs in her nest in the forest which are incubated by both parents for up to a couple of months, when only one of the eggs will usually hatch. The crested penguin chicks are fed and kept warm by their parents and remain with them until the chicks are more than a few months old and are able to hunt for themselves.

Today, the crested penguin is listed as an endangered animal with an estimated wild population of less than 3,000 breeding pairs. The crested penguin populations have declined rapidly in their native habitats due to deforestation and the introduction of mammalian predators.

Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals found naturally in Europe, South Africa, Sumatra and Japan. Rabbits are also often found in the desert regions of the Middle East where the rabbits inhabit the greener parts of the deserts where there is enough food and water for the rabbits to survive.

Rabbits are herbivores that feed on mainly on grass, but rabbits also eat nuts and berries and often fruit and vegetables. Rabbits dig burrows into the ground where the rabbit hides and stores food, and also gives birth to and raises the baby rabbits.

Today, the rabbit is a popular pet particularly with young children due to the rabbits calm and quiet nature. Rabbits are natures lawnmowers and can eat grass all day long. It is vital that pet rabbits eat enough grass as the grass is not only good for them, but also helps to keep the teeth of the rabbit healthy. Rabbit teeth grow constantly and if the rabbit is not able to gnaw on things to keep them down, then their teeth can grow extremely long which causes pain and often death to the rabbit.

The average rabbit lives to about 8 years old when kept as a pet, but many wild rabbits do not live as long due to the fact that the rabbit is prey to many predators including cats, dogs and humans. Rabbits are also prone to myxomatosis, a disease that causes the rabbit to rapidly develop tumors which quickly results in death. Pet rabbits should be vaccinated against the disease every 6 months to a year which prevents the disease from becoming fatal should the rabbit catch it.

Rabbits are seen as pests by farmers and gardeners alike due to their destructive nature when they are around lush vegetation. In Australia, the myxomatosis virus was deliberately introduced as a form of pest control for the numerous rabbits that were inhabiting and eating their way through the plant life.

Today their are more than 50 different species of rabbit and the number continues to increase as the selective breeding of pet rabbits becomes more popular. The smallest species of domestic rabbit is the mini lop which weighs around 5 lbs, and the largest species of domestic rabbits is the flemish giant rabbit which weighs between 5 kg and 9kg and is the largest species of rabbit in the world.

Rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility or rebirth, and have long been associated with spring and Easter as the Easter Bunny. Rabbits are well known for their quick and successful breeding with the average gestation period of the rabbit being just over a month, with the female rabbit then giving birth to an average of 6 babies.

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. However, when the summer is approaching and temperatures at the South Pole increase, the macaroni penguin makes it way to land in order to breed.

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.

Longerhead turtles

Appearance:

Loggerheads are ocean-dwelling turtles that average about 36 inches in shell length and weigh between 150 and 400 pounds. Their carapace is reddish-brown and heart-shaped; the underside, or plastron, is creamy yellow.

Habitat:

Loggerheads in the United States nest from North Carolina to Texas; Florida hosts the largest nesting population. These sea turtles are federally listed as threatened. Threats include loss of wild beaches for nesting, nest predation by raccoons and feral hogs, accidental drowning in shrimp and fishing nets and ingestion or entanglement in marine debris.

As adults, loggerheads eat jellyfish, crabs, mollusks, sponges and marine plants. Their life span may exceed that of humans.

Behavior:

Every two to three years loggerheads mate in shallow water off nesting beaches. The female goes ashore two or more times a season to lay 100 -150 white, leathery, golfball-sized eggs in a deep cavity she digs in the sand with her hind feet. After filling the nest she crawls back to the sea. The eggs incubate for about eight weeks, when the hatchlings emerge and scamper toward the ocean, facing a horde of predators. Few survive their first year.this turtle is can go under his shall and very smart

"California sea lion"

Scientific ClassificationKingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Carnivora
Family:Otariidae
Genus:

Wild Hog

Appearance: Wild pigs can reach weights of more than 150 pounds and be 5-6 feet long.'

Habitat:

The wild pig (Sus scrofa), also called the wild hog, wild boar or feral pig, is not a Florida native and may have been introduced by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto as early as 1539.
They occur in all of Florida's 67 counties within a wide variety of habitats, but prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes and sloughs and pine flatwoods.

 

Dolphin

Appearance:

Several dolphin species occur in Florida costal waters. The most common of these is the bottle-nosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), mistakenly called porpoises. Bottlenose dolphins have robust, powerful bodies that are blue-gray on top with lighter sides and bellies. As adults they are typically 6 to 12 feet long and can eat more than 20 pounds of mullet, sheepshead, pinfish, flounder and marine invertebrates each day. Bottlenose dolphins show a high degree of intelligence, have a wide range of vocalizations, and may cooperate in fishing or taking care of injured conspecifics.

Bats

Appearance: Bats belong to the mammal order Chiroptera, which means "hand-wing." They are the only mammals that can truly fly. Florida has 13 resident bat species . Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind, and many species see quite well. Because they are active at night, bats are adapted for seeing in dim light. Even in complete darkness, bats are agile, highly maneuverable fliers because they use echolocation to guide themselves. Echolocation is the use of sound waves to detect objects. Bats emit high-pitched sounds and listen for them to echo back. The length of time it takes the echo to return tells a bat how far away it is from an object. This helps bats to be very skillful flyers in the dark and to hunt successfully for food. Bats are more comfortable in darkness and often are reluctant to fly in the daytime, even when disturbed.

House Mouse

Appearance:The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a brownish mouse with a long scaly tail and large, naked leaf-like ears

Florida Panther

Appearance:Cougar adults are a uniform tan color with lighter fur on their lower chests, belly, and inner legs. Shades of individual animals may vary considerably from grayish to reddish to yellowish.  This uniform color conceals them effectively in a variety of settings including the open range.

Black Bear

Appearance:

The Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus), is a subspecies of the American black bear. The Florida Black Bear is 1 of 3 subspecies of bears recognized in the southeastern United States

The Florida black bear can be distinguished from other subspecies by genetic and skeletal differences.

Black bears originated in North America, and have been here at least 1.5 million years.

The taxonomic tree of Florida black bears.

Scientists assign all living organisms a Latin name, also called the binomial name.  Using Latin avoids confusion caused when people from different places, speaking different languages, use different names to talk about the same animal or the same name to talk about different animals.  The process of organizing organisms into groups (taxons) by shared characteristics is called "taxonomy".  These taxonomic groups work from the most general characteristics to specific traits, and reflect how creatures are related through evolution.