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Most people don't like to be whistled at on the street, but for male kob antelope it's an essential part of attracting a mate! Males in their prime gather at a designated breeding ground, called a lek, and whistle to gather the attention of nearby females, who then chose a partner based on his fitness and ability to fight off rivals.
(Image: A male kob (Kobus kob) by Charles Sharp)
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Blowing bubbles is a great summer pastime, especially for echidnas! Too keep themselves cool, short-beaked echidnas blow snot bubbles, and the mucus wets their snouts. When it the mucus evaporates the moisture draws out heat-- an efficient cooling method known as evaporative cooling.
(Image: A short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) by Jamie Lamb)
Also known as the South African galago or the mohol bushbaby, the southern lesser galago (Galago moholi) is a small primate from the Galagidae, or bushbaby family. As the name implies, they are located only in southern Africa, from northern South Africa up to Rwanda. Their preferred habitats are savannahs and semi-arid woodlands, where they can often be found high in the canopy, and they are particularly associated with Acacia trees.
The mohol bushbaby is one of the smaller members of its group; at full height they stand no taller than 15 cm (6 in) and weigh only 225 g (7.9 oz). In fact, their tail is longer than their body, easily reaching 23 cm (9 in) in length. While it isn't prehensile, the tail is still an important tool for climbing as it gives G. moholi an excellent sense of balance. Along with their incredible tails, the South African galago also has one of the largest sets of ears of any primate, proportional to its size; these ears can move independently to help the southen lesser bushbaby avoid predators. G. moholi's final distinguishing feature are their eyes, which are incredibly large and a distinctive orange color. Individuals themselves tend to be gray or light brown, which helps them blend in with their surroundings.
South African galagos are almost strictly nocturnal. At night, they forage through the canopy for moths and beetles. These bits of protein, however, are supplemental; the mohol bushbaby's primary source of food is gum, or hardened sap from the Acacia plant. G. moholi has several adaptations allowing it to specialize in gum extraction, including scraping teeth on the lower mandible; long, rough tongues; and digestive systems that have evolved to break down and ferment the tough substance. Because they have very few defense mechanisms, southern lesser galagos are a common prey for many nocturnal species like eagles, owls, snakes, mongooses, civets, and gennets.
One of the few ways the South African bushbaby avoids predation is through its social units. Groups of 2-7-- typically composed of a female, her young, and a few non-reproductive relatives-- forage together. In these groups, their collective night vision and highly-developed hearing allow them to detect and alert each other to predators long before the threat is immanent. While individuals forage seperately, they keep in contact via loud, high pitched calls that can serve as a warning for predators, a point of contact between mother and offspring, or a territorial warning between males.
Male G. moholi live seperately from social groups, and are highly aggressive against other males invading their territory. This area often overlaps that of several female-led groups, but they only come in contact with each other during the mating season. Unusually, the species has two mating seasons through the year; from January to Februrary (late summer) and from October to November (early spring). Following a gestation period of 120 days, females produce a single set of twins each mating season. Each set is weaned after approximately 3 months, and young become fully mature at 300 days. Female offspring may join the mother's group, while males leave to establish their own territory. In the wild, an individual may live up to 16 years.
Conservation status: The IUCN has classified the South African bushbaby as Least Concern. Studies have indicated that the population is stable and, in some areas, increasing. However, in other areas the species is threatened by habitat loss and possibly capture for the pet and bushmeat trade.
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Banded mongoose females love drama. More specifically, they love to cause it; when mating season rolls around, females from one gang will start a fight with another gang. Then, when most of the males are thoroughly engaged, the females will sneak off to mate with any available rival males. Afterwards, they return to their original group, where the unsuspecting males help raise the pups as their own.
(Image: A banded mongoose mum and her pups (Mungos mungo) by Alan Horstmann via iNaturalist)
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🦇 Any guesses about how the big-eared woolly bat (Chrotopterus auritus) got its name? With a wingspan of over 1.5 feet (0.5 m), this critter is one of the largest bats in the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Argentina. Scientists think it uses its oversized ears for echolocation, emitting high-frequency squeaks and listening to the resulting echoes to find prey. The big-eared woolly bat is an omnivore with a taste for meat: Birds, mice, opossums, and other bats are on the menu. It typically consumes large prey from the head down, and can take up to 20 hours to finish a single meal!
Photo: edward137, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist #animals #nature #wildlife #amazinganimals #amazingnature https://www.instagram.com/p/CqI1JLtroQy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Rufous Hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus)
(Photo from Australian Wildlife Conservancy)
Conservation Status- Vulnerable
Habitat- Northwestern Australia
Size (Weight/Length)- 2 kg; 30 cm
Diet- Seeds; Fruits; Leaves
Cool Facts- The rufous hare-wallaby, also known as the mala, are ancestral beings for the Aboriginal people of Australia and are tied tightly to their culture. These adorable macropods live in thick grasslands where they make shallow burrows with grass roofs to sleep the day away. During the summer, these burrows are dug deeper to escape the heat. Due to invasive species like foxes and feral cats along with multiple wildfires, the Rufous Hare-wallaby went extinct on mainland Australia. The mainland subspecies survived in captivity along with the Bernier and Dorre Island subspecies. In 2019, 30 individuals were reintroduced to mainland Australia in a gated and predator-free sanctuary. The predator-free island of Dirk Hartog Island has also become a sanctuary for the Rufous Hare-wallaby, allowing for their continued existence in the wild.
Rating- 12/10 (A teddy bear kangaroo.)
Dromedary camels have many adaptations that allow them to thrive in the hot, arid deserts of northern Africa and the Middle East. One of those adaptations is sweating (or lack thereof). Like people, camels do sweat when they get too hot and need to cool down. However, because they live in area that generally lack water, they only sweat when temperatures climb over 50°C (120°F).
(Image: A mother dromedary camel () and her calf by David Steele)
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Pangolins are very aptly named! Their common name comes from a Malay word, pengguling, meaning “one who rolls into a ball”, though today they are known as tenggiling in Standard Malay.
(Image: A Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) by Roger Dolorosa)
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