Wilbert the Wacky Wombat

Funnily they use their backsides to defend themselves! Their skin is hardened so that it is hard for predators like dingoes to bite in to it. When threatened the Wombat will dive down his nearest burrow and block it with his bum!

There are only three species of Wombat and each one is only found in a few selected regions of Australia. The Common Wombat is, as its name quite rightly suggests, the most abundant of all the Wombats and is found on the eastern edges of New South Wales, Victoria and all over Tasmania. The Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat only exists in a very remote pocket of Epping Forest Scientific National Park in central Queensland. This is one of the most endangered animals and the rarest marsupial on earth with only 115 remaining in the wild park. The close cousin, the Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat, is located in the South Australia territory and is also critically endangered.

These burrowing herbivores love a little dig. These mammals dig quite eccentric housing structures with intricate tunnels leading to underground chambers beneath the grasslands and eucalyptus forests of southern Australia. They have really strong sharp teeth and claws which they use to dig furiously in the dirt. Wombats are fairly solitary animals, although on some occasions have been known to socialize in small colonies. The strong legs of the Wombat come in handy when under threat. Even though they look like innocent cuddly creatures, they can sprint at about 40 kph for a short while and use their back legs to kick out at dingoes or Tasmanian devils who try to attack. Wombats don’t show fear for humans so they often charge at us and because they are fairly powerful and weigh up to 35 kilos.

If you like tracking animals then tracking a Wombat might excite you. Strangely they have poo-poo that is the shape of a cube. Don’t put it in your coffee or eat it though because I don’t think it will taste too good. Alternatively you can just enjoy supporting all the world’s Wombats by celebrating Wombat day on 22nd October every year.

Check out some more photos of our fine marsupial friends on Flickr

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This marsupial has become an overnight internet media sensation even being given her own song! Soon she will even be available as a plush toy. In recent years Germany has established a great record of raising celebrity animals. Back in 2007 Knut the baby Polar Bear cub became famous when the Berlin zoo had to hand rear him after he was rejected by his mother. Then there was Paul the psychic Octopus turned into a star this past summer when he correctly predicted the winner of each of Germany’s World Cup soccer games.

Heidi the cross-eyed Opossum

Heidi shares her home with her sister Naira and friend Teddy. All three marsupials arrived at Leipzig zoo on 5 May 2010 and came from the Ebeltoft and Odense zoos in Denmark. Heidi and Naira are thought to be about two and a half years old. Teddy is one and a half years old. Opossums have one of the shortest life expectancies of any mammal, typically 4 to 5 years. Teddy was born in Ebeltoft and the two sisters originally came from North Carolina in the USA, where they were found as orphans and raised in a wild animal sanctuary by volunteers. Heidi and her fellow Opossums will form part of Gondwanaland, a new tropical experience area at the zoo which will be opening on 1 July 2011. Leipzig Zoo says any money made by Heidi will be invested completely in the “Protecting the Sabah rhinos in Borneo project” which, as a rain forest conservation project, is closely related to the Gondwanaland tropical experience world. They stress that Heidi will NOT be on view to zoo visitors until the park opens.

Virginia Opossum from North America

Heidi is thought to be cross-eyed due to either the diet she had before being abandoned or because she is overweight, ‘which can lead to fat deposits around the eyes’ pushing the eyes out in an unnatural manner. Luckily Opossums are crazy creatures that only come out at night and can find their way around using just their noodley noses. To help Heidi vets at the zoo are putting her on a diet, not Weight Watchers, but a special high fibre that is low in energy, Heidi has apparently already lost a few hundred grams in weight.

Opossums are frequently confused as being the same as Possums but they are not. Possums are found in Australasia and have a very different appearance than their American cousins. There are several different species of Opossums which are members of the marsupial family, animals which raise their young in a pouch. Heidi belongs to the Virginia Opossums which are found all the way from southern Canada, through the USA and Central America. All species are still plentiful and are not threatened with extinction. The common Opossum is actually the only marsupial animal to be found in Canada and the USA.

Opossums are excellent tree climbers and spend much of their time above the ground. They are aided by very long sharp claws, which dig into the bark, and by a strong  gripping tail that can be used as an extra limb. Opossums often settle in tree holes or in dens left by other animals. Forests and shrub land are their favourite habitat but it is not uncommon for them to be found in parks, gardens and man made structures like barns or sheds.

Opossum hanging out on a fence

Even though Opossums are solitary, nocturnal animals, they adapt to human habitat easily and as scavengers they often visit houses to raid rubbish in search for easy food. They are omnivorous creatures and as such their diet consists of anything ranging from carrion, grass, nuts, and fruit to small animals, eggs and insects. They may look placid and harmless they will hunt mice, birds, insects, worms, snakes, and even chickens. They can open their jaws to almost 90 degrees and this results in a powerful bite.

An amazing trick that opossums do is that they can play dead! It is known as “playing possum” whereby the Opossum or Possum reduces their breathing and heart rate and give off a really bad smell. Essentially they mimic the appearance and smell of a dead or sick animal which is a perfect deception for predators.

Cunning and cross-eyed, these are truly incredible creatures.

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Last year saw the relocation of four Northern White Rhino’s back to Africa in an effort to sustain and improve their species before they go extinct. On a more positive note things are still progressing fantastically well with the Northern White Rhinos at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. In the Serengeti National Park in South Africa we hear of the incredible story of conservationist and Rhino expert Berry White who had to act quickly before a bush fire swept over the rhino cabins housing Black Rhinos that could have been killed or seriously injured during acclimatization.

Ivory smuggling is forever the biggest and only issue to the devastation of Rhino (and Elephant) numbers around the world. Illegal trafficking in endangered wildlife is permanently a worry for conservationists and organisations who are trying to combat this illegal trade. The fact that these animals are becoming increasingly rare means that the due to decreasing supplies the price of these creatures, dead or alive, are increasing exponentially. The main culprit is still China which continues to believe that animals provide some kind of magic cure to ill-health. Since Africa contains most of these ‘medicinal’ animals it remains an almost impossible task to control the trade, especially with Africa being a highly corrupt country.

The past year has seen an increased number of Rhino’s shot and killed by poachers. In Africa this has even been the case in what most people might think would be a safe place for some of the rarest animals on earth, Kruger National Park in South Africa. When people think of poachers they envision the old-fashioned amateur, cheap labourer sent out by a Mafia to shoot and kill animals for their horns, which are more expensive than gold. The truth today, however, is quite different. Vast networks of criminals link the bridge between the suppliers and the buyers and arm their poachers with hi-tech machinery, including the latest communication devices, helicopters, laser-sighted rifles and night-vision goggles. Luckily the park rangers get some kind of revenge once in a while and they manage to kill a few poachers.

Hopefully 2011 will see an improvement in Rhino numbers and a decrease in trafficking and poaching for ivory and other animal parts. Make sure you show your support for these great animals by learning about them and protecting them.

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Curious Polar Bear... You looking at me?

They Hunt… Polar bears are very sneaky when it comes to sniffing out a meal. They do just that… smelling a meal in the Arctic air from up to 2 km away… they can stroll up to within eye sight of a poor innocent little seal and cunningly hide behind a block of ice or mound of snow and swim up behind the seal and snatch him before he gets away. Alternatively, the Polar Bear just sits for hours by a breathing hole in the ice and waits for an unsuspecting seal to pop its little nose out from under the water and snap! These are examples of active and lazy hunting. Whatever it takes to get a meal!

Check out this cunning Polar Bear stalking a seal!

They Mate… Polar Bears like any animal like to make babies. This courting period usually lasts a few months between April and May when food sources are plentiful and male bears feel at their most energetic. Not a coincidence this, because big male bears will fight violently with each other in competition for a sexy looking female Polar Bear. Male polar bears get so frisky that sometimes they will track down a female over hundreds of kilometres.

They Sleep… When the deed is done the little miss polar bear goes on a bit of a feeding frenzy. Like pregnant ladies they get the urge to fatten themselves up ready for the baby and most importantly the long gestation and hibernation period that will take place. They can easily double their body weight in preparation for this magnificent feat. Come September time the mother bear digs out a nice snow den where she can have her young and feed them well whilst waiting for the ice-flows and seals to return in the spring. That’s a long sleep and a good way to lose weight for mama bear.

They Play… when not out hunting or sleeping down in their den Polar Bears like to fool around. Play fighting with each other or simply rolling around in fresh snow and playing hide and seek. The lovely little cubs of course can exhibit this behaviour better than most, often picking up discarded bones or sea wood or sea weed and messing around with it trying to amuse themselves. Most of this play can be attributed to learning but it is also known to be a form of relaxation and curiosity. Polar Bears like to have fun to you know!

Watch them play around with disguised cameras!

They Die… Only about half of all cubs that are born will survive their first year. The environment and competition for females and food is so high that male bears will often kill cubs or even other adult bears. It doesn’t help that Eskimos are still hunting them trying to cling on to their traditional lifestyles. Declining Territory, Warmer average temperatures and depleting food stocks all lead to an increasing amount of Polar Bear deaths.

Are they intelligent? It is often argued that Polar Bears show a lot of intelligence but mainly these observations are a combination of curiosity and basic instinct. Knowing how to navigate around ice floes and stalk out prey is simply built into the Polar Bear DNA. The species would not survive if it couldn’t figure out simple tasks and act on unusual environments. Every animal has this capability, in the same way monkeys and humans can learn emotion and feelings, Polar Bears can navigate ice floes and know what to eat.

Lovely Polar Bear in its own habitat!

Are they endangered? Yes, they are endangered although their numbers have been known to be altered to show there are far less out there than there actually are. But with continual hunting and trespassing by humans on their territory and with the melting and ever extreme and unpredictable climate it’s getting more difficult for these tough guys to survive.

Do we love them and are they cool? Yes, we love Polar Bears, they are cute bundles of soft white fluff and yes, they are über cool!

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Leopard Seals, named after their fine spotted coats, tend to live on their own, only ever pairing up during mating season. Just like their feline namesake, Leopard Seals are formidable hunters, quick and agile in the water, they are the only seal to feed on other seals. This seal is known to be the most ferocious of all seals and it’s long sharp teeth and crushing jaws support this. They are powerful mammals with excellent sight and smell allowing them to sneak up and manoeuvre in shallower waters really well. Other Antarctic seals like the Elephant seal, tend to be deep water hunters and can dive to depths of hundreds of meters in search of food.

Because the Leopard Seal is such a fierce hunter its only real predator is the Orca (Killer Whale) and a few other large sharks. The favourite meal of the Leopard Seal is the penguin, it lies in wait for them to jump in the water from coastal islands and small rocks, at which point he grabs their little legs and shakes them to death. Other than penguins, squid, sea birds and other seals are commonly on the menu, with krill for appetizer and crunchy crustaceans for desert!

Leopard Seals are quite large mammals, around 3 meters long, only the Elephant Seal grows bigger. They have evolved strong front flippers, quite similar to Sea Lions making them agile, aiding them in snooping around as they are quite curious creatures. You can swim with them, but they are perfectly capable of killing a human, although it has only ever happened once.

For more pictures of seals and facts about many different creatures visit our Flickr Photo Gallery.

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Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

There are generally considered to be two groups of reindeer, the Tundra Reindeer and the Woodland Reindeer. Both are types of deer that are located in countries touching the Arctic circle, namely Greenland, Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska (USA), Russia, Mongolia, Siberia and China. The wild tundra reindeer, known as Caribou, are larger mammals generally found above the tree line in Arctic North America and Greenland. Whereas the woodland reindeer are associated more with Scandinavia and Russia.  They have adapted well to the harsh environment where food is scarce for much of the year. Reindeer are smaller and were partially domesticated in northern Eurasia about 2000 years ago. Today, they are herded by many communities in Europe and Asia.

Reindeer and specifically caribou, are restless creatures, continuously on the move in order to feed and breed which means they have a very strict seasonal cycle. As such thousands of calves are all born within hours of each other each year. A reindeer calf can run within a few hours of its birth and at a day old a reindeer calf can already out run a man. This is not just a small convenience but a necessity as it could mean the difference between life and death. They need to keep up with the migrating herd you see. Caribou migrate the furthest out of any land mammal, travelling distances of 5,000km per year is not uncommon. Heading off late for the migration could mean danger from brown bears and melting ice. Herds can be massive, smaller herds will typically group together to form large herds of up to 500,000 animals.

Svalbard Reindeer

Reindeer have a trick or two up their sleeve though, firstly they are great swimmers. Their thick fur coat traps air which provides very efficient insulation and doubles as a good buoyancy aid in the water. During migrations herds will swim comfortably across wide rushing rivers and even obstacles such as the icy waters of the Arctic. They can swim very fast too, up to 10km/h. Secondly they have really big hooves which act like Moon Boots, keeping them agile on the snow and ice. The warm fur coat and large hooves are essential accessories for the deep snow and freezing conditions of the Arctic.

Every February Alaskans and Reindeer run wild through the streets of Anchorage emulating that great annual past time of San Fermin with a twist. With adult caribou reaching speeds of between 60 to 80 km/h I don’t see much of a chance for the contestants! Running of the Reindeer takes place during the annual Fur Rendezvous (or “Fur Rondy”) winter festival.

Unusually both males and females grow antlers and shed them once a year. They are made of a hairy substance called velvet rather than harder bone of traditional antlers. Antlers on reindeer have been known to grow at 1 cm per day!

Qamanirjuaq Caribou

Reindeer are a Ruminant species which means they have four chambers in their stomachs rather like cows, goats and sheep. The reason is that this helps breakdown the vegetation they eat, consisting of lichens, bark, twigs, grass, leaves and mushrooms which form the mainstay of their diet. Adult reindeer can eat 5 kilograms of food a day. Reindeer are quite juicy creatures and some predators who take a particular shine to them are Golden Eagles, Brown Bears, Wolverine, (no not the one from X-Men), and Polar Bears. A reindeer can weigh anything from 80 to 300 kg depending on the species and whether it is a bull (male) or a cow (female).

Well, now you know a bit more about Santa’s little helpers and the things they have to go through in order to bring you your presents every year. It’s been quite an extreme and crazy winter with lots of snow and ice this year so it looks like Rudolph and his mates will be extra busy.

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I felt it was a little unfair that the Northern White Rhinoceros was getting a lot of attention in the news recently and quite rightly so. These are sadly on the brink of extinction, with none known to be alive in the wild, although 4 individuals are being reintroduced into the wild in Kenya. But it is important to highlight the fact that the history of this sub-species is also recognized. These lovely mammals, who are found in the central and southern grassy Savannah’s and woodlands of Africa, were once themselves on the edge of extinction. As far back as 100 years ago these guys were thought to be extinct and their Northern brothers used to run all over Africa in abundance, how quickly things change! Around 17,000 Southern White Rhinos are thought to be alive as opposed to only about 8 Northern White Rhinos, all of which are in zoos and protected reserves.

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