Southern Cassowary

Wildlife Creatures | Southern Cassowary | The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is a ratite and therefore related to the Emu, Ostrich, and the genus Rhea.It has hard and stiff plumage, a brown casque, blue face and neck, red nape and two red wattles hanging down its throat. The three-toed feet are thick and powerful, equipped with a lethal dagger-like claw up to 12 cm (4.7 in) on the inner toe.

 The plumage is sexually monomorphic, but the female is dominant and larger with a longer casque and brighter-colored bare parts. The juveniles have brown longitudinal striped plumage. It is the largest member of the cassowary family and is the second heaviest bird on earth, at a maximum size estimated at 85 kg (190 lb) and 190 cm (75 in) tall. Normally this species ranges from 127-170 cm (50-67 in) in length. The height is 1.5-1.8 m (4.9-5.9 ft) and females average 58 kg (130 lb) and males averaging 29-34 kg (64-75 lb). Most adult birds will weigh between 17 and 70 kg (37 and 150 lb).

Read more

Malayan Tapir

Wildlife Creatures | Malayan Tapir | The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), also called the Asian tapir, is the largest of the four species of tapir and the only one native to Asia. The scientific name refers to the East Indies, the species' natural habitat. In the Malay language, the tapir is commonly referred to as "cipan", "tenuk" or "badak tampong".The animal is easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-colored “patch” which extends from its shoulders to its rear.

Malayan tapirs grow to between 1.8 to 2.4 m (5 ft 10 in to 7 ft 10 in) in length. They typically weigh between 250 and 320 kg (550 and 710 lb), although some adults can weigh up to 540 kg (1,200 lb). The females are usually larger than the males. Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot. The Malayan tapir has rather poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell.

Read more

Goliath Frog

Wildlife Creatures | Goliath Frog | The goliath frog (Conraua goliath) is the largest extant anuran on Earth. The largest known specimens can grow up to 33 cm (13 in) in length from snout to vent, and weighs up to 3 kg (7 lb). This animal has a relatively small habitat range, mainly in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Its numbers are dwindling due to habitat destruction and its collection for consumption and the pet trade.

In a sample of 15 individuals, weights ranged between 600 and 3,250 g (1.3 and 7.2 lb), and snout-vent lengths were between 17 and 32 cm (6.7 and 13 in). Their eyes can be nearly 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in diameter. The conspicuous tympanum has a diameter of about 0.5 cm (0.20 in) and is separated from the eye by about 5 cm (2.0 in) in adults.

Read more

Ishikawa's Frog

Wildlife Creatures | Ishikawa's Frog | Ishikawa's Frog, Odorrana ishikawae, is a species of frog in the Ranidae family. It is endemic to Japan. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, and intermittent rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss. I've uploaded pictures of Ishikawa's Frog. You can see all of these pictures below. ive in rivers that run through forests, but Ishikawa's Frog only lives on Okinawa's main island, and is a very special frog. Some people believe they are Japan's most beautiful frog. Ishikawa's Frog needs small mountain streams in forests to live.

However, forests are disappearing and rivers are becoming dirty. Ishikawa's Frog cannot live safely. Their numbers are becoming smaller, and we worry about their disappearance in the future. To stop the disappearance of Ishikawa's Frog, severe rules about catching and caring for them were made. But, that's not enough to save Ishikawa's Frog. Frogs are amphibians, and are very sensitive to changes in environment. We must give back the rivers, forests, and the surrounding nature to Ishikawa's Frog. Source link

Read more

Iberian Lynx

Wildlife Creatures | Iberian Lynx | The Iberian lynx, (Lynx pardinus), is a critically endangered species of felid native to the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. A rabbit specialist, the Iberian lynx is unable to significantly alter its diet and, as a result, its population declined sharply when its main prey was decimated by two diseases in the 20th century. It was also affected by the loss of scrubland, its main habitat, to human development. It is now one of the most endangered cat species in the world.

According to the conservation group SOS Lynx, if the Iberian lynx died out, it would be the first feline species to become extinct since prehistoric times.[5] Captive breeding and reintroduction programs have boosted their numbers. As of 2013, Andalusia has a population of 309 living in the wild. Formerly considered a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the Iberian lynx is now classified as a separate species. Both species occurred together in central Europe in the Pleistocene epoch, being separated by habitat choice.

Read more

Snow Leopard

Wildlife Creatures | Snow Leopard | The snow leopard (Panthera uncia or Uncia uncia) is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia. The classification of this species has been subject to change, and as of 2000, it is still classified as Uncia uncia by MSW3. and CITES Appendix I. However, with more recent genetic studies, the snow leopard is now generally considered as Panthera uncia and classified as such by IUCN. Classically, two subspecies have been attributed, but genetic differences between the two have not been settled.

The snow leopard is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as globally Endangered (EN). Snow leopards occupy alpine and subalpine areas generally 3,350 to 6,700 metres (10,990 to 22,000 ft) above sea level in Central Asia. McCarthy and Chapron (2003) compiled national snow leopard population estimates, updating the work of Fox (1994). Many of the estimates are acknowledged to be rough and out of date, but the total estimated population is 4,150-7,350.

Read more

Royal Penguin

Wildlife Creatures | Royal Penguin | The Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) is a penguin-type, which can be found on the sub-Antarctic islands in the Australian region (Macquarie Island and adjacent islands). It is one of the species of crested penguins. There is no distinction among the subspecies on the Penguin canopy, but they should not be confused with the similarly named King Penguin or Emperor Penguin. The IUCN classifies the Royal penguin as vunerable. The scientific name commemorates the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel. There is some controversy over whether Royal Penguins are a sub-species of Macaroni Penguins. 

Individuals of the two groups have been known to interbreed, though this is a relatively rare occurrence. Indeed, other penguins have been known to form mixed-species pairs in the wild. They inhabit the waters surrounding Antarctica. Royals look very much like Macaroni Penguins, but have a white face and chin instead of the Macaronis' black visage. They are 65-76 cm (26-30 in) long and weigh 3-8 kg (6.6-18 lb). Males are larger than females. Royal Penguins breed only on Macquarie Island and, like other penguins, spend much of their time at sea, where they are assumed to be pelagic.

Read more

Swan

Wildlife Creatures | Swan | Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six or seven species of swan in the genus Cygnus; in addition there is another species known as the Coscoroba Swan, although this species is no longer considered one of the true swans. Swans usually mate for life, though 'divorce' does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure.

The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight. The word swan is derived from Old English swan, akin to the German Schwan and Dutch zwaan and Swedish svan, in turn derived from Indo-European root *swen (to sound, to sing). Young swans are known as swanlings or as cygnets, from Greek κύκνος, kýknos and from the Latin word cygnus ("swan") and the Old French suffix -et ("little"). An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen. The swans are the largest members of the waterfowl family Anatidae, and are among the largest flying birds.

Read more

Turkey

Wildlife Creatures | Turkey | A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species. The other living species is Meleagris ocellata or the Ocellated Turkey, native to the forests of the Yucatán Peninsula. Turkeys are classed in the taxonomic order of Galliformes. Within this order they are relatives of the grouse family or subfamily. Males of both species have a distinctive fleshy wattle or protuberance that hangs from the top of the beak called a snood in the Wild Turkey and its domestic descendants. 

They are among the largest birds in their ranges. As in many galliform species, the male (tom or gobbler) is larger and much more colorful than the female (hen). When Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas, they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guineafowl (Numididae). Guineafowl were also known as turkey fowl (or turkey hen and turkey cock) because they were imported to Central Europe through Turkey. The name turkey fowl, shortened to just the name of the country, stuck as the name of the North American bird.

Read more

Vampire Bat

Wildlife Creatures | Vampire Bat | Vampire bats are bats whose food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three bat species feed solely on blood: the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi). All three species are native to America, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. Due to differences among the three species, each has been placed within a different genus, each consisting of one species. In the older literature, these three genera were placed within a family of their own, Desmodontidae.

Because the three known species of vampire bats all seem more similar to one another than to any other species suggests that sanguivorous habits (feeding on blood) evolved only once, and the three species may share a common ancestor.Unlike fruit-eating bats, the vampire bat has a short, conical muzzle. It also lacks a nose leaf, instead having naked pads with U-shaped grooves at the tip. The common vampire bat also has specialized thermoreceptors on its nose, which aid the animal in locating areas where the blood flows close to the skin of its prey.

Read more

Woolly Mammoth

Wildlife Creatures | Woolly Mammoth | The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), also called the tundra mammoth, was a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia. They are perhaps the most well known species of mammoth. This mammoth species was first recorded in (possibly 150,000 years old) deposits of the second last glaciation in Eurasia. It was derived from the steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogonotherii).

It disappeared from most of its range at the end of the Pleistocene (10,000 years ago), with an isolated population still living on Wrangel Island until roughly 1700 BC. Woolly mammoths are common in the fossil record. Unlike most other prehistoric animals, their remains are often not literally fossilised - that is, turned into stone - but rather are preserved in their organic state. This is due in part to the frozen climate of their habitats, and to their massive size. Woolly mammoths are therefore among the best-understood prehistoric vertebrates known to science in terms of anatomy.

Read more