Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo

 

True Wild Life | Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo | Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo also called the Ornate Tree Kangaroo, belongs to the family Macropodidae, which includes kangaroos, wallabies and their relatives. The species is native to the rainforests  of New Guinea, and the border of central Irian Jaya in Indonesia.  Under the IUCN classification, the species is listed as Endangered, which is a result of overhunting and human encroachment on their habitat.

Like other tree-kangaroos, Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo is quite different in appearance from terrestrial kangaroos. Unlike its land dwelling cousins, its legs are not disproportionately large compared to its forelimbs which are strong and end in hooked claws for grasping tree limbs, and it has a long tail for balance. All of these features help it with a predominantly arboreal existence. Goodfellow's Tree-kangaroo has short, woolly fur, usually chestnut to red-brown in color, a gray-brown face, yellow-colored cheeks and feet; a pale belly, a long, golden brown tail, and two golden stripes on its backside.  It weighs approximately 7 kg. 

Although it feeds mainly on the leaves of the Silkwood tree, other morsels are accepted when available, including various fruits, cereals, flowers and grasses.  It has a large stomach that functions as a fermentation vat, similar to the stomachs of cows and other ruminant  herbivores, where bacteria break down fibrous leaves and grasses.

Unlike other kangaroos, Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroos like to stay in the treetops rather than hopping around on the ground. They choose to live in the treetops to protect themselves from enemies on the ground. The New Guinea Island used to be rich in nature but as it became the major exporter of lumbers and minerals, the forests were destroyed by the human. The more and more safe places to live for Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroos are now disappearing.

To make the matters worse, roads have been extended to the middle of a forest. It has made Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroos an easy prey for hunters who go after their meat. They are usually active in the morning and evening but those who live in the area where there are many people have become nocturnal. Once they chose to live in the treetops to protect themselves from the enemies; maybe now they have changed their lifestyle for fear of human, their new enemies.

Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko

True Wild Life | Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko | Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko, or the Okinawan Ground Gecko, is a species of lizard in the Gekkonidae family. It is endemic  to Japan.  Kuroiwa's Ground Geckos only live on the Okinawa Islands and Tokunoshima of the Amami Islands.

The Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko has features similar to what a lizard has. The number of Kuroiwa Ground Gecko is becoming fewer because the outside animals that human have brought in often attack them, and size of forests is shrinking. Kuroiwa's Ground Geckos eat insects, spiders and worms. Kuroiwa's Ground Geckos can't climb up a tree because they have no specialized toe pads like other geckos do. They mainly roam around on the ground.

The Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko is a very unusual creature that only lives on the Okinawa Islands and Tokunoshima of the Amami Islands. Unlike other geckos, it can close its eyelids and has no specialized toe pads. The Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko has features similar to what a lizard has. Because the pattern of the skin varies depending on which island it lives, the Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko is further separated into four different species.

The number of the Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko has become fewer because of forest clearing. It also faces problems like other creatures living in Okinawa may have. For itself being so exotic, Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko is also popular to keep as a pet. Even it is forbidden to keep the Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko as a pet but the human still continue ignore the rule. There are still many trades of the Kuroiwa's Ground Gecko in the black market.

El Hierro Giant Lizard

 

True Wild Life | El Hierro Giant Lizard | The El Hierro Giant Lizard is a species that can be found on the island of El Hierro, one of the Canary  Islands (Spain). The species was once present throughout much of the island and on the small offshore Roque Chico de Salmor, but is now confined to a small areas of cliff with sparse vegetation. It is currently restricted to the southern end of the Risco de Tibataje, in la Fuga de Gorreta, located between Guinea and the so-called Paso del Pino. 

El Hierro giant lizard is a thickset reptile with a broad head. Adults are dark grey to brown in colour, with two rows of pale orange patches running along its sides. Its belly is mostly brown, but has an orange to red colouration towards the middle. Older El Hierro Giant Lizards are mainly black with some grey. Males are larger than females. El Hierro Giant Lizard is a very large lacertid that can grow beyond 20 cm in length, and lives only on the Hierro Island of Spain's Canary Islands. It used to exist in a broader area but now only exists in a certain part of Hierro Island. Their number is down to a mere 300 to 400, including those returned to wilderness by humans.

The El Hierro giant lizard is omnivorous. It eats plants and insects. Mating begins in May and the 5 to 13 eggs are laid from June until the end of August. Their eggs hatch after 61 days. Many reptiles become active after raising their body temperature by sunbathing. The body of the El Hierro Giant Lizard can be as hot as 40 degrees Celsius after sunbathing.

The number of El Hierro Giant Lizards has dropped because of a scarcity in food plants and an increase in attacks by seagulls and other animals. Although the extent of human-induced changes to the ecosystem is unknown, with so few El Hierro Giant Lizards in existence, any further human-induced changes to their environment could cause them to go extinct in a flash. To avoid this tragic scenario, Spain has enlisted the entire country to help protect the El Hierro Giant Lizard.

Anderson's Crocodile Newt

 

True Wild Life | Anderson's Crocodile Newt | The Anderson's Crocodile Newt  is a species of salamander in the Salamandridae family. It is found in Japan and Taiwan. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss. The Anderson's Crocodile Newt gets its name from its bumpy ribs.

The Anderson's Crocodile Newt looks the same today as long, long ago. Their nickname is "the living fossil". They've survived through time but the forests and woods are vanishing, and they're in trouble. They love munching on bugs and beetles, and worms for a snack.

It is an amazing creature because all through time, it hasn't changed a bit. Nicknamed "the living fossil", he's the link to all ancient animals. It received its name from his bumpy ribs. His ribs are his charm and his cool dinosaur look.

The Anderson's Crocodile Newt, a super survivor of time, is facing extinction. People are building roads and resorts on top of the Anderson's Crocodile Newt's home; the forest and woods, and now it is homeless. If the Anderson's Crocodile Newt falls into a roadside ditch, it won't be able get out and it will die! Anderson's Crocodile Newt hasn't changed through time because there was never a problem with the forest and woods. It can't survive with all of this sudden change.

Volcano Rabbit

True Wild Life | Volcano Rabbit | The Volcano Rabbit also known as teporingo or zacatuche (Romerolagus diazi) is a small rabbit that resides in the mountains of Mexico. Volcano Rabbits are the second smallest rabbit in the world, only the pygmy rabbit is smaller.

The Volcano Rabbit lives at a high altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level. Grasslands have expanded into the highlands, making it difficult for the rabbit to find food and make their nest holes. Although the Volcano rabbits are not found outside of Mexico there are a handful of isolated populations away from the slopes of the volcanoes but these are very few and far between. The four volcano slopes where these unique rabbits reside are the Tlaloc, El Pelado, Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl volcano slopes. 

Volcano Rabbits make their nests deep in the grass. Not only do they eat the grass, but they also use it to hide from their enemies. Volcano Rabbits feed on zacaton grasses, herbs and the bark of alder trees. During the rainy season they will also eat corn and oats.

Volcano Rabbits breed throughout the year with a peak during the warm summer. After a gestation period of 38 - 40 days, they will give birth to 1 - 3 young. At birth the youngsters are covered in fur but their eyes are closed. They are weaned after approximately 20 days and they reach sexual maturity at 4 months old.

Another problem is that the Volcano Rabbits live on an active volcano. If this volcano were to erupt, it would wipe out their small population. So, zoos and preservation centers are working quickly to breed more Volcano Rabbits.

Amami Rabbit

 

True Wild Life | Amami Rabbit | The Amami Rabbit  or Amamino kuro usagi, also known as the Ryukyu Rabbit, is a primitive dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Ōshima and Toku-no-Shima in Japan. The dark-furred Amami Rabbit is known as a living fossil. Its characteristics are identical to rabbits who lived five million years ago. With its small ears and dark eyes the Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) contrasts greatly with its more familiar fluffy, white relatives, and yet it's the Amami's distinctive features that make this rabbit so important to the study of the animal world. The Amami Rabbit has remained essentially unchanged since the Miocene Epoch of the Neogene Period, or approximately five million years. It is believed that its ancestors diverged from other leporids, or rabbits and hares, approximately 20 million years ago.

The Amami Rabbit has thick, wooly, dark brown fur that takes on a reddish shade on its underbelly as it ages. It has small ears and small eyes and short legs, but a large, stocky body. It also has a longer face, or snout, than most rabbits. Amami Rabbits do not have tails. They do, however, have long, curved, inch-long nails.

Baby Rabbits are called kits, kittens, or bunnies. Some sources say the Amami Rabbit only has one kit at a time, and other sources say they have two to three, but it is agreed that they generally have two litters each year. The mother builds a den lined with plant materials and tufts of fur then seals the top with the same material so it looks like the rest of the forest floor. Like other rabbits, the mother leaves her offspring to hunt and only returns every other night in an effort to keep predators from locating her den. She can even feed the kit without completely uncovering the den. She unseals the den when the kit is between four and seven weeks old and the baby rabbit joins its mother on the evening hunt for food.

The Amami Rabbit eats grass, fresh branches, and nuts. The Amami Rabbit raises its offspring in rabbit holes. Except at times when the mother feeds milk to her offspring, she will cover the rabbit hole with dirt to conceal it. Isn't that clever!

The reason why the Amami Rabbit retains its primitive form is because this form best suits them for life on the island. But as more people came to the island, the environment started to change. People continued to cut down trees, wiping out sources of food and refuge for the Amami Rabbit. Amami Rabbits are also frequently attacked by mongooses, which were originally brought to the island to exterminate the Habu, a venoemous snake. Today, the Amami Rabbit is on the brink of extinction.

Brazilian Tapir

True Wild Life | Brazilian Tapir | The South American Tapir (Tapirus terrestris), or Brazilian Tapir (from the Tupi tapi'ira) or Lowland Tapir or (in Portuguese) Anta, is one of four species in the tapir family, along with the Mountain Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, and Baird's Tapir. It is the second largest land mammal in South America, after Baird's Tapir. The Brazilian Tapir (also known as the South American Tapir) is known to be a fantastic swimmer and the Brazilian Tapir is generally found close to water in the Amazon Rainforest.

It is dark brown in color, paler in the face, and has a low, erect crest running from the crown down the back of the neck. The round, dark ears have distinctive white edges. The South American Tapir can be found near water in the Amazon Rainforest and River Basin in South America, east of the Andes. Its range stretches from Venezuela, Colombia, and Guianas in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, in the south, to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador in the West.

It is an herbivore. Using its mobile snout, this tapir feeds on leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches that it tears from trees, fruit, grasses, and aquatic plants.

The social life of the South American tapir is unknown. In the San Diego zoo, the captive group forms a structured herd, with dominant and subordinate animals of both sexes. The dominant male and female make what is called the 'sliding squeal', less than a second in duration. On hearing this sound the others make a 'fluctuating squeal', which is longer and quavers rather than merely decreasing in pitch. This is also uttered when a dominant individual approaches, apparently as an appeasement call and as a sign of pain or fear. Tapirs also utter a challenging snort, and a click made with the tongue and palate, perhaps as a species identification.