Common Octopus (7/8/2011)

     Today's species changes color depending on it's mood and situation. It's the Common Octopus. Common octopi have eight legs, are very intelligent, and is unique for just its appearance alone.


     The common octopus has a massive bulbous head, large eyes, and eight distinctive arms. On each leg, there is a row of suction cups. It has the ability to match the color, pattern and texture of its surroundings so it can hide in plain sight. It also changes colors to represent its mood. Common octopi have eyes on the top of their head and a beak in the center of their cluster of arms.

     Common octopi have various ways to escape predators. First, they will blend in with there surroundings and hide in plain sight. If still discovered, an octopus will release a cloud of black ink to obscure its attacker's view, giving it time to swim away. The ink even contains a substance that dulls a predator's sense of smell, making the fleeing octopus harder to track. Fast swimmers, they can jet forward and propel themselves away. And their soft bodies can squeeze into impossibly small cracks and crevices where predators can't follow. If all else fails, an octopus can lose an arm to escape a predator's grasp and regrow it later with no permanent damage. They have also been known to deliver a nasty bite, which releases venomous saliva, used mainly for subduing prey.

    
     These octopi are the most studied of all octopus species. Training experiments have shown that the common octopus can distinguish the brightness, size, shape, and horizontal or vertical orientation of objects. They are intelligent enough to learn how to unscrew a jar and are known to raid lobster traps. That's one smart animal!

      They make their home in holes or crevices in the rocky terrain of the tropical and temperate waters of the world’s oceans. Its natural range extends from the Mediterranean Sea and the southern coast of England to at least Senegal in Africa. It also can be found off the Azores, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde Islands. The common octopus will walk on the bottom or swim head first (with tentacles trailing behind). 

     This intelligent and colorful species is threatened by toxins, pollution, and over fishing. If you would like to donate and save a common octopus, you can visit: http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_SKU.cfm?gid=23.

Common Octopus Fun Facts:

• Scientific Name: Octopus vulgaris
• Threat Level: Least Concern
• Length: 1-3 ft.
• Weight: 6.6-22 lbs.
• Lifespan: 1-2 years in wild
• Typical Diet: crabs, crayfish and mollusks are preferred, although the octopus will eat almost anything it can catch
• Common octopi will collect crustacean shells and other objects to construct fortresses, or "gardens," around their lairs
• They hunt at dusk
• Each arm can grow to be 1 meter long

Polar Bear (7/7/2011)

     Today's species is a well-loved animal that survives in the Arctic. It's the Polar Bear. Polar bears have a beautiful white coat, they hybernate, and polar bear mothers would go to the ends of the Earth for their cubs.

     Polar bears are the largest terrestrial carnivore. Their fur is perfectly adapted to their Arctic enviornment. Along with a thick layer of body fat, the water-repellent coat insulates the bear from cold air and water. It also serves as camouflage. They have stocky legs, short ears, and a short tail. A polar bear's claws are short and stocky to grip heavy prey and ice. The claws are deeply scooped on the underside to assist in digging in the ice. The polar bear has an extremely well developed sense of smell, being able to detect seals nearly 1 mile away and buried under 3 ft of snow. Its hearing is about as acute as that of a human, and its vision is also good at long distances. Polar bears are also strong swimmers and have been seen swimming in open Arctic waters as far as 200 miles from land.

 

     Polar bears can be found in the Arctic northern Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia. They are at home when surrounded by sea ice. The ice plays a vital role in the polar bear's life. They live on the annual arctic sea ice that provides a platform from which they can hunt, live, breed, and in some cases create maternal dens. During summer, when the ice melts, polar bears are forced to follow their migrating prey or go farther on land and wait until the ice comes back.


     Pregnant female polar bears dig maternity dens in the fall. After about 5 months, she arises from the den with her cub(s). The most common litter size is twins. Followed by singles. Litters of three are less common and litters of four are rare. In many cases, polar bear families will adopt an lost or orphaned cub. Polar bear mothers milk their cubs for their first 2 1/2 years. Then, they are weaned, or start to eat meat. Polar bear mothers are known to be extremely protective of their young.


     These beautiful creatures are threatened by the melting of sea ice, over-hunting, poaching, and pollution. If you want to donate and save a polar bear or polar bear family, you can visit: http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_SKU.cfm?cqs=CTPB.


Polar Bear Fun Facts

• Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
• Threat Level: Vulnerable
• Height to Shoulder: 4.25-5.25 ft.
• Length: 7.9–9.8 ft. (males); 5.9–7.9 ft. (females)
• Weight: 770–1500 lbs (males); 330–550 lbs (females)
• Lifespan: 25 years in the wild; up to 42 years in captivity
• Typical Diet: ringed and bearded seals, vegetation during summer months
• When hunting, a polar bear will break a hole in the sea ice and fish out the seals that come up for air
• The largest recorded polar bear weighed 2,210 lbs.
•  The oldest wild polar bear on record died at the age of 32 and the oldest captive was a female who died in 1991 at the age of 43.

Monarch Butterfly (7/6/2011)

     Today's delicate species is the state insect of Alabama,  Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, and the state butterfly of Vermont and West Virginia. It's the Monarch Butterfly. The monarch is a type of milkweed butterfly. The queen and soldier butterflies are also in this group.

                                                                                                                                                    Female

     The wingspan of the monarch ranges from 3½–4 inches. The upper side of the monarch butterfly's wings is tawny-orange, the veins and margins are black, and in the margins are two series of small white spots. The fore wings also have a few orange spots near the tip. The underside is similar but the tip of the fore wing and hind wing are yellow-brown instead of tawny-orange and the white spots are larger. Viceroy butterflies have evolved to look like a monarch (because monarch's are poisonous) so predators will stay away. Males are slightly larger and not as bright as the females.

                                                                                                                                                      Male
     Monarch butterflies can be found anywhere in North America between southern Canada and South America. They can also be found  Bermuda, Hawaii, the Solomons, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Ceylon, India, the Azores, and the Canary Islands. A monarch can be found in a wide range of habitats such as fields, meadows, prairie remnants, urban and suburban parks, gardens, and roadsides. It overwinters in conifer groves.


     This well-favored butterfly is threatened by loss of habitat. If you would like to donate and save a monarch butterfly, you can visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_SKU.cfm?gid=22.


Monarch Butterfly Fun Facts

• Scientific Name: Danaus plexippus
• Threat Level: Near Threatened
• Length: 5 cm. (caterpiller); 3½–4 in. (monarch butterfly wingspan)
• Lifespan: 7-8 months
• Typical Diet: nectar
• Monarch caterpillars are in a chrysalis for 9 to 15 days
• After emerging from the chrysalis, a monarch butterfly must stretch it's wings many times before it can fly
• If any animal eats a monarch butterfly, they will become sick enough to never eat one ever again

Hellbender Salamander (7/5/2011)

     This intriguing species is the third largest salamander in the world. It's the Hellbender Salamander. The Hellbender has only two subspecies; the Eastern Hellbender and the Ozark Hellbender. Hellbenders are only found in the United States.

     Hellbender salamanders vary in color from grayish to olive brown and the occasional black. Several loose flaps of thick, wrinkled skin run along each side of it. Hellbenders are well adapted to their swift flowing stream habitats with their flattened head and body, short legs, long rudder-like tail, and very small beady eyes. They blend in well to their habitat. Only juveniles have predators such as water snakes, snapping turtles and large predatory fish.

    
     A hellbender is perfectly at home in clear, fast moving streams with rocky bottoms and debris for cover. They are very territorial and, once they have found a home, never stray too far from it. Hellbenders will also protect it from other hellbenders. They never come out of the water, being strictly aquatic. They live individually and only come together for the fall mating season.

     These large salamanders are threatened due to water pollution, agricultural runoff, and damming of rivers and streams for recreation and power plants. Also, cannibalism (the male eats many of the eggs before they hatch) has played a role in their decline. If you would like to donate and help save the hellbender salamander, you can visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_SKU.cfm?gid=48.

Hellbender Salamander Fun Facts:

• Scientific Name: Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis (Eastern Hellbender); Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis Bishopi (Ozark Hellbender)
• Threat Level:
• Eastern Hellbender: Near Threatened
• Ozard Hellbender: Endangered
• Length: 1-2.5 ft. (Eastern); 2 ft. (Ozark)
• Lifespan: 30 years in wild; over 50 years in captivity
• Typical Diet: Primarily crayfish; will eat small fish and/or will sometimes be cannibalistic
• Hellbenders have lungs but breath through their skin
• A home for them means and clear, fast flowing stream with many large rocks, logs, and debris such as leaves
• Unlike other animals with skin folds, the hellbender salamanders skin is slimy

Zebra (7/4/2011)

     With unique stripes and high pitched whinnies, today's species is non other than the zebra. Not many people known that there is more than one type of zebra; the plains zebra, the mountain zebra, and the Grevy's zebra are main types. They each have subspecies. The Burchell’s zebras are the most abundant of the three zebra species and live in the savannahs of Eastern Africa. They usually travel in herds, but disperse during the day to graze alone on coarse grasses, gathering later to find water.

     No two zebras look exactly alike, as stripes vary between individuals. They live in permanent small groups. These two factors help against predator attacks because, a lion (for example) will stalk and look for the easiest prey. After picking one individual out of the group, the lion charges. Fortunate for the zebra, when a herd runs, all the stripes confuse the predator, ending (usually) in the predator giving up the hunt. Burchell’s zebras commonly mix herds with antelope, adding extra protection against predators.

     These spirited creatures are mainly threatened by habitat loss. Another threat is hunting and poaching. If you would like to donate and save a zebra, you can visit http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_SKU.cfm?gid=39.

Zebra Fun Facts:

• Scientific Name: Equus quagga (plains zebra); Equus zebra (mountain zebra); Equus grevyi (Grevy's zebra)
• Threat Level:
• plains zebra: Least Concern
• mountain zebra: Vulnerable
• Grevy's zebra: Endangered
• Height to Shoulder: 3.7-4.5 ft. (plains); 4.1-5 ft. (Grevy's)
• Length: 6.5-8 ft.
• Weight: 485-550 pounds (plains); 770-990 pounds (Grevy's)
• Lifespan: 15-30 years in the wild; up to 40 years in captivity
• Typical Diet: mostly grasses; will eat twigs and leaves
• Can reach speeds above 40 mph and can often out run predators
• The leader of the herd is known as a "stallion"
• Mostly live in east Africa's grass plains, wooded grasslands, and savannas