#Fun Facts About Kangaroos Kangaroos are one of many marsupials native to Australia. They are expert jumpers
and even swimmers and they live in groups called mobs. Kangaroos like all marsupials a sub-type of mammalâ give birth to relatively undeveloped young that develop further in the mother's pouch.
A female kangaroo gives birth to a baby or joey once a year after about a month of gestation.
A newborn joey can be anywhere from 0. 2 to 0. 9 inches (5 to 25 millimeters) long the size of a grain of rice to the size of a honeybee.
The tiny hairless and blind newborn immediately crawls into its mom's pouch (all female marsupials have one) where it nurses
and continues to develop for 120 to 400 days. Joeys often peek their heads out of the pouch
and look around several weeks before they take off on their own. Kangaroos are herbivores and they eat a wide variety of plants including grasses shrubs tree leaves and shoots.
Ecologically kangaroos are Australia's equivalent of bison deer and cattle in North america. Kangaroos get much of the moisture they need from their diet
which means they can go for long periods of time without drinking water. Like cows kangaroos have chambered stomachs to help with digestion.
They regurgitate grass and shrubs and chew them again before swallowing. They also have specialized highly teeth.
Their molars fall out regularly from the wear and tear of their plant-based diet and are replaced with new ones.
A kangaroo can grow to between 3 and 8 feet (1 to 3 meters) tall
and they can weigh between 40 and 200 pounds (18 to 100 kilograms) depending on the species. The Eastern Gray Kangaroo is the heaviest marsupial in the world
and the Red Kangaroo is the largest. Their hind legs and feet are much stronger and larger than their arms (or forelimbs.
Kangaroos are the only large animals that hop as a primary means of locomotion. A male's jump can be 10 feet (3 m) high and 30 feet (9 m) long
and it can reach speeds of up to 40 mph (60 kph). Kangaroo tails are muscular long and thick at the base
which helps them balance and turn when they're hopping. Kangaroos are highly social. They often live in groups known as mobs troops or courts
which can range in size from 10 to more than 100 kangaroos. Males box with each other to establish dominance.
When a kangaroo senses danger it alerts others by loudly thumping its feet on the ground.
Kangaroos also make grunting coughing hissing and clicking noises. Kangaroos are native to Australia. They are good at adapting
so they can live in a variety of habitats in fact they're often found in public parks gardens and even golf courses.
The Red Kangaroo is found in arid and semiarid regions where they eat green plants.
Their populations shrink during droughts because their food supply literally dries up. The Western Grey Kangaroo lives in open woodlands shrublands grasslands and even pasturelands in Australia from the Indian ocean to western Victoria and New south wales.
The Eastern Grey Kangaroo lives in forests woodlands shrublands and grasslands in eastern Australia and Tasmania.
The Antilopine Kangaroo is found in monsoonal tropical woodlands in the northern part of the continent.
Least concern There are no major threats for these kangaroo species although they may be affected by land development loss of habitat wildfires and hunting.
Australian laws protect the Eastern Grey Kangaroo and the Western Grey Kangaroo. Red Eastern Grey and Western Grey kangaroos can be hunted with a permit for their hides meat
and to control their populations. The kangaroo's family name Macropodidae in Latin means big feet which they certainly have.
The word kangaroo comes from an aboriginal group s word for the Gray Kangaroo gangurru.
The word was recorded first as Kangooroo or Kanguru in 1770 by British explorer James Cook.
Male kangaroos are called bucks boomers or jacks and females are called does flyers or jills. Females can get pregnant immediately after giving birth.
A mom s pouch will then hold both joeys but she makes two types of milk one for the older joey and one for the younger.
Joeys do pee and poop in the pouch. When they're small they don't produce much
and when they're bigger the pouch's lining absorbs some of it. As you can imagine it gets kind of smelly in there so moms clean out their pouches every now and then.
Bucks (males) grow bigger and stronger throughout their lives. Kangaroos have great hearing and like a cat they can swivel their ears to catch tiny sounds.
Kangaroos can't walk backwards but they are good swimmers. Kangaroos burn less energy the faster they hop at least up to their cruising speed of 20 mph (32 kph.
The Western Gray Kangaroo has the nickname the stinker because it smells like curry. Other resources r
#Fun Facts About Koalas Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Diprotodonta Family: Phascolarctidae Genus:
Phascolarctos Species: Phascolarctos cinereus  Basic koala facts: The koala an iconic Australian symbol is called often the koala bear
but it is actually a marsupial not a bear. Marsupials are a sub-type of mammals
whose distinguishing characteristic is that females give birth to relatively undeveloped young that then live in pouches that contain mammary glands where their young live until they are old enough to emerge.
Koalas are largely nocturnal. Koalas are solitary animals that typically have a certain territory. Males mark this with a scent gland that they rub against trees A full-grown adult male weighs around 30 pounds (12.5 kilograms)
and about 2. 6 feet (81 centimeters) in length while a female weighs up to 22 pounds (10 kg)
and grows to 2. 4 feet (73 cm Koalas vary in size regionally though: Those from the northern parts of the animal's range are much smaller
and have gray fur while those from southern Australia have longer fur that is a browner color due to the colder climate in
which it dwells. Koalas live in trees and eat primarily eucalyptus leaves. These leaves are very fibrous low in nutrition
and contain a toxin that must be filtered out by the animal's digestive system. Their strong jaws also help koalas chew their tough food.
Koalas have an excellent sense of smell that can differentiate between different types of eucalyptus leaves and signal the amount of toxin in the leaves.
Koalas also have excellent hearing though poor eyesight so they have to recognize predators by sound according to the Australia Zoo.
Koalas have strong limbs and long sharp claws that help them climb tree trucks. Koalas'have five fingers one
of which is an opposable thumb which helps them grip tree branches. Their thickly padded tail helps them sit for hours in trees.
Though koalas generally don't make noise the male has a loud call during breeding season that can be heard about a kilometer away.
Koalas can make other sounds from snores to screams. Female koalas give birth after about 35 days of gestation.
Baby koalas are called joeys. They are only about 2 cm long when they are born and are blind and furless.
When born the joey climbs into its mother's pouch and remains there protected and nursing for about six months.
A sphincter muscle keeps the joey from falling out according to the Adelaide Zoo. When it emerges from the pouch the joey remains with its mother for six more months riding on her back feeding on both milk and eucalyptus leaves.
The koala is weaned usually by the time it is a year old. The average lifespan of a koala in the wild is between 10 to 14 years.
 Where koalas live: Koalas are found in the eastern half of Australia in the states of Queensland New south wales Victoria and South australia as well as several small islands.
The fragmentation of habitat and population numbers differ from state to state. Â Conservation status:
Least Concern There are far fewer koalas in Australia today than there were when European settlers first arrived.
In the early 20th century they were hunted to near extinction for their fur according to the Adelaide Zoo.
Though they are subject to threats particularly habitat encroachment and fragmentation as well as disease fire drought and road deaths the koala is considered a species of least concern by the IUCN because of its comparatively large population and wide distribution.
The rate of decline is different between different koala populations. Many koalas live on private property which makes establishing protection difficult.
In April 2012 the Australian government listed koalas as a threatened species facing threats from both urban expansion and climate change.
 Odd facts: The word koala derives from an ancient Aboriginal word meaning no drink since they rarely ever drink water
because they get 90 percent of their hydration from gum leaves. Because of their low metabolism and the effort it takes to digest their food koalas remain motionless 16 to 18 hours a day
and spend most of that time sleeping according to the Adelaide Zoo. Like humans koalas have fingerprints.
They are the only other mammals besides primates to have them. Koala fur is waterproof.
It also protects them from both high and low extreme temperatures. Though there are more than 700 species of eucalyptus in Australia koalas eat only 50 of them.
 Other koala resources: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Adelaide Zoo-Koalas Sea world-Koalas National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy Government of Australia IUCN-Koala Australia Zoo
-Koalas San diego Zoo-Koalas Edinburgh Zoo-Koala  Related: Kangaroo l
#Fun Facts About Leopards Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus:
Panthera Species: Panthera pardus Subspecies: P. pardus pardus (African leopard; P. pardus delacouri (Indo-Chinese leopard;
P. pardus fusca (Indian leopard; P. pardus japonensis (North China leopard; P. pardus kotiya (Sri lanka leopard;
P. pardus melas (Javan leopard; P. pardus nimr (Arabian leopard; P. pardus orientalis (Amur leopard;
P. pardussaxicolor (Persian leopard) Â Basic leopard facts: Leopards are the smallest of the big cats averaging 28 inches (71 centimeters) at shoulder height
but they're also the most successful. They're stealthy hunters and resourceful scavengers and they can adapt to almost any environment.
The color and length of a leopard's fur can vary depending on where it lives.
Leopards in the savanna for example will have yellow or orange fur while the fur of desert leopards is lighter.
Leopards from cold climates have longer grayer fur and rainforest leopards have golden coats. Leopards'spots called rosettes can be
either round or square to help them blend in even better with their surroundings. Leopards eat anything from carcasses fish and reptiles to mammals such as baboons antelopes warthogs hares and rodents.
Of all the big cat species leopards are the best climbers. They're also strong swimmers and they'll sometimes catch fish and crabs.
Leopards are solitary elusive and skillful predators. They hunt kill and feed quickly and stealthily usually during the night.
Retractable claws help them grab and swat prey which they kill with a bite to the throat.
When leopards do make a kill they'll drag the carcass up a tree to keep it away from scavenging lions and hyenas.
Each individual leopard has its own hunting range which it marks with urine and claw marks.
A male's range usually overlaps with several females'ranges which are much smaller. Leopards announce their presence to other leopards with a rasping cough Female leopards can give birth at any time of the year
and there are usually two or three cubs in a litter. The mom keeps her cubs hidden for about eight weeks until they're old enough to play
and learn to hunt. She gives them meat when they are six or seven weeks old and continues suckling them for at least three months.
Cubs live with their mothers for about two years the only time in a leopard's life that it doesn't live alone.
Male leopards generally weigh between 80-150 pounds (36-68 kilograms) while females weigh between 62 100 pounds (28-45 kg).
In the wild leopards live between 12 to 15 years; in zoos they can live up to 23 years.
 Where leopards live: Most leopards are found in the grasslands of Sub-saharan africa but they also cover other areas of Africa the Middle east and Asia.
Gallery: The Wild Cats of Kruger National park Dense brush in rocky areas and forests are their favorite hangouts
but they can adapt to almost any environment from tropical rainforests to deserts mountains and the outskirts of cities.
Leopards are the only big cats that can live in both deserts and rainforests. Â Conservation status:
Near Threatened As a species leopards aren't endangered but some subspecies are in trouble especially those that live outside of Africa.
For example only about 30 Amur leopards which are native to southwestern Russia remain in the wild.
Gallery: Rare and Beautiful Amur Leopards The more threatened subspecies of leopard include: P. pardus kotiya (Sri lanka leopard) Endangered P. pardus melas (Javan leopard) Critically Endangered P. pardus nimr (Arabian leopard) Critically Endangered P. pardus
orientalis (Amur leopard) Critically Endangered P. pardussaxicolor (Persian leopard) Endangered Experts think there are about half a million leopards living around the globe 10 times more than lions tigers and cheetahs combined.
They're declining in large parts of their range though due to habitat loss and poaching for their coats and whiskers. brightcove. createexperiences(;
 Odd leopard facts: Leopards can drag three times their own body weight up to tree branches over 20 feet (6 meters) high.
Male leopards have been known to kill small giraffes and drag the carcasses into trees. The leopard's name comes from the Greek word leopardus a combination of leon (lion) and pardus (panther.
Poachers often hunt leopards for their whiskers which are used in some potions. Snow leopards (Panthera uncial) are a different species than leopards
and are actually most closely related to tigers. Their morphology and behaviors are quite different from those of other leopards.
The clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) despite its name belongs to a different genus. Leopards roar but not as loud as lions.
They also purr and growl. They have amazing hearing. Leopards can pick up five times more sounds than humans can.
Leopards don't need to drink much water; they can live off the moisture in their prey. They're experts at climbing up and down trees often descending headfirst.
They're the largest cat species that regularly climbs trees; they even sleep sprawled out on tree branches.
 Other resources: IUCN Red List: Leopards Catalogue of Life: Leopard PBS Nature Leopard Facts San diego Zoo Animal Bytes:
Leopard National geographic Leopard Facts Animal Planet Leopard Facts African Wildlife Foundation Fact Sheet: Leopards BBC Big cat Leopard Facts  Related:
#Fun Facts About Moose Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Â Mammalia Order: Cetartiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus:
Alces Species: Alces americanus Alces alces Basic moose facts: Moose are the largest members of the deer family.
Males (called bulls) have huge antlers that they shed each winter which are different from deer antlers in their shape.
The antlers help channel sound to a moose's ears. Unlike their deer cousins moose are solitary
and don't form herds. Generally slow-moving and easy-going moose can become aggressive and move surprisingly fast if angered or startled.
The moose mating season is in the autumn and can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for the right to mate with a particular female.
Moose are large and heavy with massive heads and long noses. They have short tails a hump on the shoulders
and large ears they can rotate. Moose can move through deep snow with their long legs insulated from the cold by a thick coat of hollow hairs.
They have good senses of smell and hearing but are noted not for their eyesight. Males and females are about the same height (4 to 6 feet
or 1. 2 to 1. 8 meters at the shoulder) but males weigh more around 950 pounds (430 kilograms)
while females weigh 750 pounds (340 kg) on average. Moose eat up to 50 pounds (23 kg) of plants each day
and may migrate seasonally looking for freshly growing plants. Much of a moose's energy is maintained by eating flowering plants and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch.
These plants are rather low in sodium and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants to make up for it.
While much lower in energy these plants provide the moose with sodium and as much as half of their diet usually consists of marsh or river plants.
A moose stomach can hold up to 112 pounds (51 kg) of food at one time. Moose are generally solitary creatures
but they do form strong bonds between mother and calf. One or two calves are born in May or June per female.
Newborn moose have fur with a reddish hue and they stay with their moms for a year until the next babies are born.
 Calves grow rapidly and gain about 3 pounds (1. 4 kg). The lifespan of an average moose is about 15 5 years.
Moose habitat The moose lives in many places in forests around the Northern hemisphere. Some moose live in North america in places such as Alaska Canada the Rocky mountains Utah and Colorado.
They also appear in parts of Maine Michigan Minnesota New hampshire and North dakota. Moose also live in Siberia and Scandinavia.
In Europe and Russia moose are known as elk (which is particularly confusing because in North america elk is a different animal altogether).
Conservation Status: Least vulnerable The total North american population is about 800000-1. 2 million animals.
Hunters take about 90000 moose annually. Their only other predators are bears and wolves. Fortunately moose continue to be abundant despite fairly intense hunting pressures in parts of its range.
They are expanding their range in places and are tolerant of new habitats. Odd facts about moose:
The word moose comes from an Algonquin word that means twig eater. Moose can run up to 35 mph (56 kph.
Moose are very good swimmers and they can swim about 6 mph (9. 6 kph) not too shabby for a creature with four long skinny legs.
They can also submerge under the water for 30 seconds or more. The male will drop its antlers after the mating season to conserve energy for the winter.
A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. Antlers take three to five months to fully develop making them one of the fastest growing animal organs.
That flap of skin hanging from a moose's throat is called a bell. Scientists aren't completely sure
what it's purpose is but they think it helps males attract females. Moose noses are incredibly sensitive.
Occasionally a wolf may immobilize a moose by biting its nose the pain of which can paralyze the animal.
Moose have been hunted since the Stone age. Excavations in Sweden near to the Stora Alvaret archeological site have yielded elk antlers in wooden hut remains from 6000 B c. indicating some of the earliest elk hunting in Northern europe.
Moose can be domesticated. A farm in Russia set up a selective breeding program and has a small herd of docile moose that are used for pets and milk.
In Sweden there was a debate in the late 18th century about the national value of using the moose as a domestic animal.
Among other things proposals came up to use moose in postal distribution and there was a suggestion to develop a moose-mounted cavalry.
Such proposals remained unimplemented mainly because the extensive hunting for moose nearly drove it to extinction as well as moose aggressiveness during the mating period.
More moose info:
#Fun Facts About Tasmanian devils Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Â Mammalia Order: Dasyuromorphia Family: Dasyuridae Genus:
Sarcophilus Species: Sarcophilus harrisii Basic Tasmanian devil facts: Tasmanian devils are the largest carnivorous marsupials in the world.
The animals are sized dog with a stocky and muscular build. They can reach 30 inches (76 centimeters) in length
and weigh up to 26 pounds (12 kilograms). They have black fur with white patches at the throat and rump.
They are generally solitary creatures but sometimes come together to feed on a carcass. Tasmanian devil Pictures Unlike other members of their Australian marsupial family they are active during the day
though they are nocturnal hunters. The devils gained their name from European explorers who heard their loud screeching noise
and saw their ferocious behavior when eating or mating. According to researchers the Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate one of the strongest bites per unit body mass of any land predator 1200 pounds (540 kg) per square inch
and their jaws are strong enough to gnaw through metal traps. Despite its rotund appearance the devil is capable of surprising feats of strength climbing trees and swimming across rivers.
Devils can't run at high speeds to chase down prey but they are adept at distance sports:
They can run about 15 mph (24 kph) for an hour straight. Tasmanian devils eat meat from snakes birds fish and insects.
Their prey can reach up to the size of small kangaroos. Â Â They use their excellent sense of sight
and smell to hunt prey. They aren't picky eaters and will consume all parts of an animal from fur to bones
and sometimes they dig up dead animals to eat their rotting bodies. Like other marsupials their tails swell with stored fat.
Female devils give birth after about three weeks of pregnancy to 20 or 30 very tiny young called joeys.
These pea-sized pups crawl into their mom's pouch but only a handful of them survive
because she only has four nipples. After about four months in the pouch the feisty devils come out
and are on their own by the time they are eight months old. Devils live to about 7 to 8 years in the wild.
Tasmanian devil habitat: At one time devils were abundant across the continent of Australia but now they only live on the island of Tasmania.
Researchers think that their decline on Australia came at the same time that indigenous Australians and dingoes were spreading across the land starting around 3000 years ago.
Today devils live all across Tasmania though their numbers are the largest in coastal scrublands and forests.
In the 1800s farmers tried to eradicate the ferocious marsupials because they thought the animals were hunting livestock and valuable fur stocks.
They were trapped to the point of extinction but are faring a little better today. Conservation status: Endangered Tasmanian devils have been protected
since 1941 but their total population has decreased by more than 60 percent in the past decade. Researchers say that most of this decline is due to devil facial tumor disease an invariably fatal infectious cancer.
The cancer causes large lumps to form around the devil's face and mouth making it difficult for the animal to eat.
The Australian government has listed the species as vulnerable because of the disease. Road vehicles are also a threat as devils are difficult to see on roads.
Odd facts about Tasmanian devils: Devils are known to eat animal cadavers by first ripping out the digestive system
which is the softest part of the anatomy and they often reside in the resulting cavity
while they are eating. Devils can eat about 5 to 10 percent of their body weight in a day
and probably more at a feast if they are really hungry. If the opportunity arises they can eat up to 40 percent of their body weight in 30 minutes.
Tasmanian devils have few natural predators but smaller individuals may fall prey to eagles owls and spotted tail quolls.
The ornery critters release a nasty odor when they're stressed. The animal's mouth can open very wide to express fear and uncertainty.
To challenge other devils to a fight they use a sharp sneeze. Because they store extra fat in their tails unhealthy animals have limp skinny tails.
Their name means Harris's meat lover after the scientist who described them. Other resources:
Other marsupials: Koalas Kangaroo a
#Fun Facts About Zebras Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Family: Equidae Genus:
Equus Species: Equus quagga (Plains zebra) Equus zebra (Mountain zebra) Equus grevyi (Grevy's zebra) Subspecies: E. quagga burchellii (Burchell's zebra) E. quagga boehmi (Grant's Zebra) E. quagga borensis (Selous'Zebra) E. quagga chapmani (Chapman's Zebra) E
. quagga crawshayi (Crawshay's Zebra; E. zebra zebra (Cape Mountain zebra) E. zebra hartmannae (Hartmann's Mountain zebra) Â Basic zebra facts:
Zebras are one of a handful of single-toed hoofed animal species a category that also includes donkeys horses and asses.
The single hoof is probably an adaptation that helps them run fast on hard ground.
Zebras are the most striking-looking of the animals in this family. So why the stripes?
When zebras are grouped together their stripes make it hard for a predator to pick out one zebra to chase.
Different zebra species have different types of stripes from narrow to wide. In fact the further south on the African plains you travel the farther apart the stripes on the zebras get.
The stripes may also help deter bloodsucking insects research has suggested. The height of an adult plains zebra is 44-58 inches (112 to 147centimeters) at the shoulder.
Their weight varies greatly from 385-847 pounds (175 to 384 kilograms) depending on the species. Males are about 10 percent larger than females.
The Grevy's zebra is the largest wild member of the horse family. In the wild zebras live about 20-30 years;
in zoos they can live up to 40 years. Â Zebras graze primarily on tough grasses but they also browse on leaves
which may constitute up to 30 percent of their diet. Zebras are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds.
They are generally slower than horses with a top speed of around 35 mph (56 kph)
but their great stamina helps them outpace predators. When chased a zebra will zigzag from side to side making it more difficult for the predator to catch them.
When cornered a zebra will rear up and kick or bite its attacker. Where food is mostly plentiful year-round such as the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania they lead a sedentary life.
In seasonally dry areas like the Serengeti of Tanzania small families of plains zebra gather to form large herds that migrate in search of food.
Staying together as a family group within large herds they migrate up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) per year during their circular trek to and from the Serengeti.
Zebra are extremely dependent on water and never wander far from waterholes where they usually drink at least once a day.
It is the responsibility of an adult mare (often the oldest) to guide the family as they move from area to area
and ensure that they never wander too far from water. Â Where zebras live: Zebras are only found in the wild in one continent:
Africa. Plains zebras which live in grassland live all around Africa. Mountain zebras live (as the name suggests) in mountainous regions in dry southern African countries like Angola Namibia and South africa.
Grevy's zebras live in shrubland and grassland in Northern African countries like Kenya and Ethiopia. Zebras commonly mix herds with antelope adding extra protection against predators.
 Conservation status: Least Concern to Endangered Both the Grevy's zebra and the mountain zebra are listed as endangered.
While plains zebra populations remain plentiful and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN though their numbers diminished greatly in the last century.
This decline has happened for several reasons: Humans hunt zebras for sport and their skins and zebras have lost also much suitable and expansive enough habitat due to the rapid expansion of human populations.
As with so many large animals both prey and predator humans pose the greatest risk to zebra's continued existence in the wild.
Overgrazing by livestock is leading to significant environmental degradation as zebras compete with the ever-increasing livestock population and agricultural crops for water.
 Odd facts: While several attempts have been made over the last two centuries zebras have never been domesticated successfully.
In South africa there is a project to bring back the Quagga an extinct subspecies of the Plains Zebra (http://www. quaggaproject. org/.
/In ancient Rome Grevy's zebras were called hippotigris and trained to pull carts for the circus. Zebras in a herd might all look alike
but their stripe patterns are as distinctive as fingerprints are in humans. Scientists can identify individual zebras by comparing patterns stripe widths color and scars.
Zebras have black skin underneath their hair which makes some people say that they have white stripes
but it's an open question! Â Other resources: African Wildlife Foundation-Zebra San diego Zoo-Zebra Woodland Park Zoo-Zebra Smithsonian National Zoo Grevy's zebra IUCN Red List Mountain zebra IUCN
Red List Plains Zebra IUCN Red List-Grevy's Zebr L
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