Proboscis Monkey

Nasalis larvatus is also known as Long-nosed Monkey is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey.

The distinctive feature of this monkey is their protruding nose. It’s not defined about the purpose of the large nose, but it has been determined as the result of sexual selection. The female Proboscis Monkey prefers big-nosed male, thus propagating the trait.

This monkey is named after its large, fleshy nose. Both male as well as the females have large noses sometimes they have to push it out of the way before putting something in their mouth. Their nose puff up and turns red when they are excited. They also make noisy honking sounds as a warning when they sense danger.

They have reddish-brown fur on their back and shoulders, which ends at midsection.. Their arms and legs have long, gray gloves and stockings. Their shoulders are covered with Orange fur and head is covered with a cap of darker red fur. Their face is flesh colored with tiny brown eyes. Ears are small and flat which is near their heads.

Males Proboscis is much larger, reaching 72 cm in length, with their tails up to 75 cm, and weight is up to 24 kg.Females are up to 60 cm long, with the weight of up to 12 kg.

This has a large belly, as a result of its diet. Digestive system of this monkey is divided into several parts, this digestive process releases a lot of gas, resulting in the monkey's "bloated" bellies. These monkeys belong to the Asian langurs and they are the only member of the Nasalis genus.

They mainly eat leaves which gives them a place where they are the only medium sized mammal living in the canopy of the forest.

They give birth to one baby at a time. Their gestation period is of 166 days. They will give birth at night times. Females will look after each other infants. They use to stay close to their mother for nearly one year. Male will reach their sexual maturity within 4-5 years and females in 4 years. Their life span is about 20 years.

Mandarin Duck

It’s impossible to see a beautiful creature than this!!

The normal length for the Mandarin Duck is between 43-51cm, wings are folded 22.1-22.6cm. Their tail length is of 10.2-10.4cm and an average bill length is of 27.9mm.

The males have an iridescent crown extending to a long crest and chestnut cheeks. The females, however, are less colorful. Their color varies from gray and white, to brown and greenish brown. The female bears a strong resemblance to the female Wood Duck but can be distinguished by the narrow eye stripe; the Wood Ducks is shorter and blunter. Differences between the sexes are obvious, the males have a crested head and chestnut/orange wing and sail feathers that are raised vertically above their back. The females are duller in color and lack the crested head.

The calls of the of them are similar to ge,ge, wooing and bifu. The Mandarin Duck hunts by head-dipping in shallow waters. Feeding occurs during both day and night, but during the morning they spend much of their time in shady areas.

Diet consists of seeds, acorns, aquatic plants, insects, snails and fish. The diet is seasonal, in the fall acorns and grains are favored while in the spring insects, snails, fish and vegetation are preferred. During the summer months dew worms, grasshoppers, small fish, frogs, mollusks and small snakes are preferred.

SLOTH

Sloths are medium-sized mammals which live in Central and South America belonging to the families Megalonychidae and Bradypodidae. They are omnivores. They have extraordinary adaptations to an arboreal browsing lifestyle. Sloths mainly live in Cecropia trees.

Diet:
Their diet consists of insects, small lizards and carrion, but they also include buds, tender shoots, and leaves. At night they eat leaves, shoots, and fruit and get almost all of their water from juicy plants.

Digestive Process:
Sloths are having very large, specialized, slow-acting stomachs with many segments in which the bacteria’s inside break down the tough leaves and the digestive process of it can take as long as a month or more to complete.

Body temperature:
Sloths normally maintain low body temperatures when they are active (30 to 34 degrees Celsius or 86 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit), and when resting even lower temperatures.

Identification

Claws:
They are identified by the number of long, prominent claws, which is appeared on each front foot. We can find two-toed and three-toed sloths also.

Strong Grip:
They almost spend their time aloft, hanging in branches with a powerful grip with their long claws. (Dead sloths have been known to retain their grip and remain suspended from a branch.)

Sleeping Habit:
Most of the time they sleep in trees for about 15 to 20 hours every day. Even when they are awake they normally remain static.

Swimmers:
They couldn't be clumsier on land and they are surprisingly good swimmers. They fall directly from trees into rivers and stroke efficiently with their long arms.

Three-toed Sloth:
Three-toed sloths also have an advantage that few other mammals possess: They have extra neck vertebrae that allows them to turn their heads some 270 degrees.

Vancouver marmot

This house-cat sized marmot was first described in 1910. It is one of the rarest mammals of North America with fewer than 100 individuals remaining now. It has quite chunky, blunt, plump face with small ears. The gleaming fur is usually a rich chestnut-brown color with a creamy white patch around the nose and mouth that extends to the neck. The tail is bushy and there is often a dappled streak of creamy-white fur along the chest and belly. Pups can be identified by their small size and very dark brown to black fur. The Vancouver Island marmot is a distinct species of marmot found only in the mountains of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Special feature:
Marmots are also known as "whistle pigs" because they whistle when they think they're in danger.
· Marmots collect dry moss and grasses to pile up inside their burrows and use as bedding.
· Rocks are important to Vancouver Island marmots - they lie on them to cool down (if the rocks are cold) or warm up (if the rocks have been baking in the sun). Rocks also provide an elevated spot from which to watch for predators.

Habitat:
Vancouver Island marmots live at an altitude of between 900 and 1400 meters. Many have established their colonies (social groups of one or a few families) in areas which are steep and relatively inaccessible to humans. The colonies are so remote from human habitation that most people who live on Vancouver Island have never seen a marmot. The marmots dig their homes (underground burrows) in the deep soil, perch on the surrounding rocks to watch out for predators, and eat the grasses, herbs and flowering plants growing there.

Biology:
The Vancouver Island marmot lives in one or more families. Families typically contain one adult male, up to two adult females, sub-adults, juveniles and the offspring produced that year. The colony lives in a complex series of underground burrows, and communicates by direct contact and whistling vocalizations including a high-pitched alarm whistle to warn others of impending danger.
Predators:
The main predators of the Vancouver Island marmot are wolves, cougars, and golden eagles.
Diet
The diet consists of over 50 species of grass and flowering plants. Marmots eat grasses, herbs, and flowering plants - they're vegans!

Breeding:
Adult Vancouver Island marmots mate and produce litters of 3 or 4 pups. And some “teenage” marmots (aged 2 or 3) leave their colony to find a mate. They travel down their home mountains and cross over to a neighboring peak. If they can’t find a potential mate on one mountaintop, they’ll explore other mountains until they find one. Many Vancouver Island marmots have covered scores of kilometers conducting these searches. During hibernation, the marmot's heart beats 3 or 4 times per minute. During the active season heart rates range from 110 to over 200 beats per minute..
Details At:http://www.animalinfo.org/species/rodent/marmvanc.htm

Dwarf Blue Sheep

Dwarf Blue Sheep - Pseudois schaeferi - China

The Dwarf Blue Sheep or Dwarf Bharal Pseudois schaeferi is an endangered species of caprid found in China Proper and Tibet.

Physical Characteristics
Head and body length: 109-160 cm
Shoulder height: 50-80 cm
Tail length: 7-17 cm
Adult weight: 17-40 kg (females); 28-39 , up to 65 kg (males)

Less sexual dimorphism occurs in this species. Its coat is a steely grey with a silvery sheen, with darker general colorizations, and the horns of the male are smaller, thinner and more upright, with no inward curl. The horns may grow to 41 cm in length in males.

Behavior and Habitat
Family group: Small herds of 2 to 15 (usually between 4 and 6) of varying sexes and ages.
Diet: Mostly grasses, sometimes leaves and mosses.
Main Predators: Wolf, dhole, leopard, large raptors.

It lives mostly on rocky slopes generally at very high altitudes, such as between 8500 and 9500 feet above sea level. The dwarf blue lives in dry areas, valleys in the mountains

The dwarf blue lives mostly on grasses but also other plants such as club moss.
It performs alternative activities through the day, going from sleep to graze and back to sleep over the course of the day.
Usually very steep grassy slopes, and dwells in groups of sheep. Usually they live in groups of about six, however in the past when they were more plentiful they lived in family groups of 10-30 individuals.

Technically the dwarf blue sheep is equidistant between a sheep and a goat.

The population in the wild is estimated to be between 200 and 300 animals, although they are making progress.

Reproduction and Development
Gestation period: 160 days.
Weaning: At 6 months.
Sexual maturity: At 1.5 years.

The breeding season occurs between mid-November and mid-December. After a pregnancy that lasts almost six months, babies are usually born between late May and late June.
The Dwarf blue sheep reaches maturity about 1-2 years old, although the males don’t normally mate until they reach peak size, about 7 years old.
They give birth to one, or very rarely two infants. The young nurse for about six months, but after three months grazing as well. They are weaned fully about 6 months old.

For More reference:http://www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/pseuscha.htm

Canis rufus (C. niger) RED WOLF

The coat of the red wolf is tawny-cinnamon mixed with gray and black, and is darkest on the back. Red wolves have a head and body length of 1 - 1.2 m (3.25 - 4') and a weight of 18 - 41 kg (40 - 90 lb). Given their wide historical distribution, red wolves probably utilized a large suite of habitat types at one time.
• Head and body length: 1 - 1.2 m (3.25 - 4'); weight: 18 - 41 kg (40 - 90 lb)

• The last naturally occurring population utilized coastal prairie marshes.
However, this environment probably does not typify preferred red wolf habitat.

• Maturity of age 22 - 46 months, occasionally 10 months.

• Gestation Period is from 61 - 63 days.

• Adults mate between February and March of every year. Two to three pups are born during April or May. Both males and females help raise their young. When the young are about 6 months old they are mature enough to leave home.

• Birth Rate is 1 - 11 cubs per litter; the average is 6. There is one litter per year.

• Mostly seen in Temperate deciduous forest.

• Early Development that is Weaning occurs at 8 - 10 weeks.

• Life span is Up to 13 years in the wild, 16 years in captivity.

• The red wolf prefer to eat white-tailed deer and raccoon and also including pigs; muskrats, nutria, and other rodents; and rabbits.

• Behavior: cubs are born in dens, which can be located in the trunks of hollow trees, stream banks or sand knolls. The dens are either excavated by the wolves or taken over from another animal. The red wolf is primarily nocturnal, but it may increase its daytime activity during the winter.

• It hunts over a relatively small part of its home range for about 7 - 10 days and then shifts to another area.

• It is normally pack-living animal with a complex social organization.

• Problems for threaten the future of red wolves - the loss of habitat, the hunting of wolves, and red wolves mating with coyotes.

More details:http://www.animalinfo.org/species/carnivor/canirufu.htm