Wombats are really cool little marsupials which are only found in Australia. These guys live in burrows and have strong claws for digging. Their pouch faces backwards so that soil doesn’t collect and cover the young wombats as they are burrowing around.
Wilbert the Wacky Wombat
In this edition of our regular photo facts we take a look at the lovely Leopard Seal. As it’s the festive period and there is heaps of snow and ice and cold weather around it seems appropriate to head down to Antarctica and meet our nimble friends.
These majestic wizards of the open ocean glide effortlessly through the water looking for jellyfish, algae and seaweed. These chaps have a disproportionately large head, which is what has given them the name Loggerhead. These guys can hibernate of sorts, remaining under water for up to seven hours before surfacing to breathe.
Our latest photo fact animal is the Southern White Rhinoceros, more accurately known as the Square-lipped Rhinoceros. These guys are larger than their Black counterpart but far less skittish! Dominant males will mark their territory, for example using dung middens, to which they will return repeatedly to top up! There are 5 species of rhinoceros, White, Black, Sumatran, Indian and Javan. Strangely enough as you can see from the picture these guys aren’t actually white but grey!
This crazy bird is not one you will find on any Pirate’s shoulder. First off he’s a bit too big, almost half a meter tall, secondly he’s a landlubber and only hangs around the mountains of New Zealand, so you’re more likely this guy when you are skiing. The Kea is one of the few Alpine parrots, they are intelligent and curious. They love to check out new things, and will often pick at passing tourists and cars.
Today’s photo fact is about the Savanna Elephant, also known as the African Bush Elephant, which is one of three species of Elephant, the others being the Asian and African Forest Elephants. The Savanna Elephant is the largest Elephant and therefore the largest land animal on earth.
The elephant is the only mammal to have helical bands of muscle. These are all in their trunk, which enables them to move it strongly in pretty much any way imaginable. Elephants have a long gestation period of 22 months before the calf is born. Despite this they are still pretty incompetent on arrival and also blind. They will learn all their survival skills from the elder elephants in the herd. A number of females from the herd without a calf will help out looking after the calf, acting as babysitters.
For more ungulates and facts, visit our Ungulates gallery on Flickr.
Today’s photo fact is about the Cassowary, the Australasian member of the Ratite group, which include other notable flightless fowls such as the Ostrich, Emu and the Kiwi.
With a distinct blue head and a bizarre cask on their head, they are usually shy and rarely spotted in the wild. This young one obviously hadn’t yet realised it was supposed to be shy and was found ambling across the road!
They are quite aggressive, and have been known to attack people with their powerful legs and sharp claws, so best stay out of their way and take pictures from a distance…
For more birds and facts, visit our Birds gallery on Flickr.
