Animal of the day – 9/30/2010 – The Vampire Bat

The Vampire Bat

The animal of the day is the Vampire Bat. (Did you know: For today’s post, we’ll be studying altruism! This is where an animal sacrifices it’s own well being to help another animal.

Vampire bats may seem like the least likely to show up as an example of altruism, but in fact, vampire bats are known to regurgitate blood back at the roost to unlucky or sick roost mates that have been unable to find a meal. Indeed, they even form a buddy system!

Also, my soon-to-be wife is taking her social work certification test later today, so send her good vibes! She’s one of the most altruistic animals I know!)

Animal of the day – 9/29/2010 – The Aardvark

The animal of the day is the Aardvark. (Did you know: In African folklore the aardvark is much admired because of its diligent quest for food and its fearless response to soldier ants.

Hausa  magicians make a charm from the heart, skin, forehead, and nails of the aardvark, which they then proceed to pound together with the root of a certain tree. Wrapped in a piece of skin and worn on the chest the charm is said to give the owner the ability to pass through walls or roofs at night. The charm is used by burglars and those seeking to visit young girls without their parents’ permission.

Yes, Arthur is an aardvark, and apparently grounding up certain parts of his body will allow you to sneak in a hang out with underage girls! Awesome!

Also, baby aarvarks are NOT cute! Thanks to Shannon K for finding this out.

Animal of the day – 9/28/2010 – The Dumbo Octopus

The Dumbo Octopus

The animal of the day is the Dumbo Octopus. (Did you know: This picture in this post is decieving! The octopuses can reach up to 6 feet in length and weigh 13 pounds! They are named after the Dumbo disney character because of their fins that look like ears!

The Dumbo octopus is strange in the way that it consumes food in that it swallows it prey whole, which differs from any other kind of octopus.

Animal of the day – 9/24/2010 – The Surinam Toad

Surinam Toad - I had to search pretty hard to find a picture that didn't make me want to throw up...Wait till you see the next picture.

The animal of the day is the Surinam Toad. (Did you know: These toads are known for their unique reproductive habits. When they mate, the female a bunch of eggs which by the action of the male, get embedded into her skin. The young stay in her skin through the tadpole stage, and emerge through her skin as small toads. GROSS.

I warned you it was gross...

And…for the not squemish, here’s a video!

Animal of the day – 9/23/2010 – The Pygmy Three-toed Sloth

Pygmy Sloth! Please ignore that persons fingernail. gross. This one is just a baby!

The animal of the day is the Pygmy Sloth. (Did you know: This is a species of sloth that was marooned on one island off the coast of Panama in the Caribbean. There are only like 300 of these guys left on the planet! It’s tiny size is the result of insular dwarfism.

And this is a grown-up!

Animal of the day – 9/22/2010 – The Tarsier

Tarsier

The animal of the day is the Tarsier. (Did you know: This dude looks like Gollum from Lord of the Rings had a baby. It is known locally as the Maumag it’s native home in the Philippines.

Unlike most primates, it’s eyes are fixed in it’s skull! This means it can’t roll it’s eyes [or give you any back chat]! However, it’s head can swivel around 180 degrees to make up for it! It has the largest eye to body ratio of any mammal!

Do not feed this thing after midnight, or get it wet. I'm pretty sure it'll make gremlins if you do...

Animal of the day – 9/21/2010 – The Giraffe

Sup yo? Young Gee-zy (Giraffe)

The animal of the day is the Giraffe. (Did you know: Their tongues are a foot and half long, and their hearts weigh 25 pounds! Their heart has to be very powerful to send blood up that long neck to their brain!

I had to put a shot up with a baby...

Their horns are called ossicones, and both the males and females have them. You can use the horns t0 tell the gender since males will typically be bald on top of the horns [due to 'necking' when they battle], while the females will have tufts of hair on the top of their ossicones.

Giraffes will drink huge quantities of water when they can, and this allows them to survive in dry, arid areas.

Plus, they look hilarious when they drink!

One last thing! The giraffe has one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal, which is between ten minutes and two hours in a 24-hour period, averaging 1.9 hours per day!

Animal of the day – 9/20/2010 – The Jungle Fowl

The animal of the day is the Jungle Fowl. (Did you know: This bird is awesome-beans. It is the ancestor of ALL domestic chicken! It’s brilliant plumage might look extravagant, but it’s actually pretty hard to see them in the light of the jungle!

The jungle fowl originates from Asia, but is now known to live worldwide! OH! And the males have spurs, that are used in cock fights!)

Go Blue!!

Knock knock
Who’s there?
[silence]
anyone there? We were waiting for the defense to show up…
[silence]
splendid.

Animal of the day – 9/17/2010 – The Flamingo

Pink Flamingo

The animal of the day is the Flamingo. (Did you know: Ancient Egyptians considered flamingos to be the embodiment of the Sun God Ra!

Flamingos often stand on one leg, the other tucked beneath the body. The reason for this behavior is not fully understood. Some suggest that the flamingo, like some other animals, has the ability to have half of its body go into a state of sleep, and when one side is rested, the flamingo will swap legs and then let the other half sleep, but this has not been proven.

BUT, one of my favorite things about flamingos is that when two of them put their heads together, it looks like a heart! Kinda like the damselfly!

Flamingo Heart