Life of the Unknown

African penguin The  African penguin  ( Spheniscus demersus ), also known as the  black-footed penguin  is a species , confined to southern African waters. It is also widely known as the "jackass" penguin for its donkey -like bray,  although several related species of South American penguins produce the same sound. Like all extant penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat t has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask; the body upperparts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band. The pink gland above their eyes helps them to cope with changing temperatures. When the temperature gets hotter, the body of the African penguin sends more blood to theseglands to be cooled by the air surrounding it. This then causes the gland to turn a darker shade of pink.[

Masked Palm Civet   The masked palm civet is a smallerspeciesof civet found throughout the jungles of south-eastAsiaand across the Indian sub-continent. The masked palm civet is also known as theHimalayanPalm Civet and is most well known to the general public as it is thought to have introduced SARS disease tohumaninhabitants of the native habitats.The masked palm civet is solitaryanimalthat only comes out under the cover of night to hunt and catch food. Interesting Masked Palm Civet facts : M asked  palm civet can reach 16 to 28 inches in length (not including the tail of 15 to 22 inches) and 3 to 10 pounds of weight. Masked palm civet has short orange-brown or grey-colored fur on the body and black mask on the face with white markings above and under eyes. Masked palm civet has elongated snout, small round ears, black feet with retractable claws and elongated body with slender tail. Masked palm civet spends part of its life on the solid ground ...

The mighty beast -  Bison The bison, shaggy behemoth of the Great Plains, despite weighing as much as a ton, can race up to 40 mph, jump up to 6 feet vertically and can quickly pivot to combat predators. Unfortunately this mighty beast is not faster than a speeding bullet. 6 Facts about Bison: 1)Bison are North America’s largest land animals. Mature bulls weigh up to2,000 poundsand mature cows as much as1,000 pounds. 2)A bison stands6 – 6.5 feet tall and 10 – 12.5 feet long. 3)A bison’s hump is composed of muscle, supported by long vertebrae. It allows the animal touse its head to plow through snow. 4)Most of the 500,000 or so bison nationwide are raised as livestock on ranches. About 30,000 are managed for conservation in private and public herds. 5)Fossils and accounts from early travelers show thatYellowstone National Park is the only place in the U.S. where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. 6)The Yellowstone herd is one of ...

Indian Wild Ass Indian wild ass, scientifically known as Equus hemionus khur, is a subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass. Quite similar in looks to the mule, it grows to a height of around 120 cm and length of about 260 cm. Indian wild ass is believed to be one of the fastest animals on earth, which attains the maximum speed of 50 km/h. It is usually found inhabiting saline desert, grassland in arid zone and shrub land. Wild ass of India is basically herbivorous and is seen grazing between the period of dawn and dusk. In the following lines, we have provided interesting facts about the Asiatic wild ass of India Asiatic wild ass biology The Asiatic wild ass eats grasses when available, but will browse on shrubs and trees at other times or in drier habitats  (7) . It has also been seen feeding on seed pods and breaking up woody vegetation with its hooves to get at more succulent herbs growing at the base of woody plants  (6) . During spring and summer in Mongolia, t...

  Pangolin A shy little stooped creature with beady eyes and a hide tough enough to withstand an axe blow, the Pangolin is the most poached animal in the world. Critically endangered and still largely ignored, the Pangolin is the world’s only scaly burrowing mammal. Pangolin's Facts 1.  The pangolin’s closest relatives are carnivores, but they are the only mammals that are covered in scales. 2.  Pangolin scales are made of keratin, just like our finger nails, and make up 20 per cent of their body weight. 3.  The word ‘pangolin’ comes from the Malay word ‘penggulung’, which means ‘one that rolls up’. When it is threatened a pangolin will curl itself into a tight ball, which is impenetrable to predators.  4.  The mammal can consume up to 20,000 ants a day. That’s about 73 million ants a year! 5.  Pangolins can close their ears and nostrils using strong muscles. This helps protect them from ant attacks.  6....

 W ild Bactrian camel Have you ever come across a camel with two humps? Yes, they do exist we have always seen camel with single hump but there do exist a species of"Wild Bactrian Camels" with two humps. Lets read some interesting facts about them.: These huge animals grow up to 230 cm at the shoulder and can weigh up to 1,000 kg Males are often much larger than females. They are very tough animals and can live in very harsh conditions, from very hot to freezing cold weather.  Their thick fur protects them from the cold and this fur drops off when it gets hotter.  They have thick eyelashes to protect their eyes from sandstorms and their wide toes help them to walk on sand. The humps of Bactrian camels store fat, not water.  Even so, they can go for months without drinking and can drink up to 57 litres of water at once.  They eat snow to get their water needs when they are high up in mountains and can drink very salty water as well. ...

The Elegant Grey Wolves      Now as we talk about wolves let me tell you guys wolves are actually an intaeresting species to know about, they are highly elegant in the appearance.Gray wolves are considered to be elegant predators and highly social animals that form tight, nuclear packs. A symbol of the wilderness and the predecessors to our domesticated dogs, these majestic creatures are still plentiful in rural areas all over the world. 10 Interesting facts about Gray Wolf: Once the world’s most widely distributed mammal, the gray wolf’s range has been reduced by one-third. Wolves are commonly killed in revenge after they kill livestock, or in fear of attacks on humans. Gray wolves are carnivores that usually prey on ungulates much larger than themselves, such as elk, deer or moose, but will also eat smaller mammals such as beaver, rabbit or livestock. On average, gray wolves will eat 20 to 30 pounds of meat in one meal, but have also been k...