Mongoose

  

The Life of Animals | Mongoose | Mongooses live in southern Asia, Africa, and southern Europe, as well as some Caribbean and Hawaiian islands, where They are an introduced species.Mongoose range in weight from the squirrel-sized Common Dwarf Mongoose, at 10 oz (280 g), to the cat-sized White-tailed Mongoose, at 9 lb (4.1 kg). Some species lead predominantly solitary lives, seeking out food only for themselves, while others travel in groups, sharing food Among the group members. The Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) Sometimes is held as an example of a solitary Mongoose, though it has been observed to work in groups. The Meerkat is a small, diurnal mammal That forages for invertebrates in open country. However the, it eats small, migrating birds. If from the ground, the troop flees, but They are more Able to evade terrestrial predators than the Raptors. Mongooses are a common spectacle at roadside shows in Pakistan. Snake charmers keep mongooses for mock fights with snakes. In Okinawa, mongooses fight Habu, or vipers (a local, member of the General Venomous Trimeresurus species), in a closed perimeter while spectators watch. According to Greek Historian Diodorus Siculus (1.35 & 1.87), Egyptians venerated native mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon) for Their ability to handle Venomous snakes and for Their occasional diet of crocodile eggs. Rudyard Kipling's story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" features a pet Mongoose That saves its human family from two deadly Cobras. A Mongoose also features in Bram Stoker's novel, The Lair of the White Worm. Mongooses were the resource persons used in research into creating artificial skin.

Lemming

 

  

The Life of Animals | Lemming | Lemmings weigh from 30 to 112 g (1.1 to 4.0 oz) and are about 7 to 15 cm (2.8 to 5.9 in) long. Lemmings do not hibernate through the harsh northern winter. The Norway lemming lemmings and Brown are two of the Few vertebrates reproduce WHO so Quickly That Their population fluctuations are chaotic rather than following linear growth to a carrying capacity or regular oscillations. Lemming behavior and appearance is markedly different from many other rodents, WHO are inconspicuously colored and try to conceal themselves from predators Their.

Lemmings, on the contrary, are conspicuously colored, and behave aggressively Towards Observers predators and human events. It has been suggested That lemming defense system is based on aposematism (warning display) While for many years it was believed That the population of lemming predators changed with the population cycle, there is now some evidence to suggest That the predator's population may be more closely INVOLVED in changing the lemming population Misconceptions about lemmings go back many Centuries.

Lemmings Became the subject of a popular misconception That They commit mass suicide Pls They migrate. Driven by strong biological urges, some species of lemmings may migrate in large groups Becomes Pls population density too great. Lemmings can swim and may choose to cross a body of water in search of a new habitat. This fact combined with the Unexplained fluctuations in the  population of Norwegian lemmings gave rise to the misconception.In 1955, the Disney Studio illustrator Carl Barks drew an Uncle Scrooge adventure comic with the title "The Lemming with the Locket". This comic, the which was inspired by a 1954 American Mercury article, showed massive numbers of lemmings jumping over Norwegian Cliffs. Even more Influential was the 1958 Disney film White Wilderness, the which won an Academy Award for Documentary Feature, in the which staged footage was shown with lemmings jumping into Certain Death after faked scenes of mass migration.

This same act was also used in the Apple Computer's 1985 Super Bowl commercial "Lemmings" and the popular 1991 video game Lemmings, in the which the player must stop the lemmings from marching mindlessly over the Cliffs or into traps. In a 2010 board game by GMT Games, "leaping Lemmings," players must maneuver a lemmings across the board while avoiding hazards and successfully launch them off a cliff. Because of Their association with this odd behavior, lemming suicide is a frequently used metaphor in reference to People who go along unquestioningly with popular opinion, with Potentially dangerous or fatal Consequences.  The Blink 182 song "Lemmings" also uses this metaphor as does the 1973 stage show National Lampoon's Lemmings starring John Belushi and mocking post-Woodstock groupthink

Gopher

 

  

The Life of Animals | Gopher | The term gopher as it is commonly used does not relate to any one species, but is a generic term used to describe any of Several Small Burrowing rodents endemic to North America, including the pocket gopher (family Geomyidae), also Called Gophers true, and the ground squirrel (family Sciuridae), including Richardson's ground squirrel and species of prairie dogs.

Gophers weigh around 0.5 pounds (230 g), and are about 15 inches (38 centimeters) long in body length, with a tail 7 inches (18 cm) long.  Gophers dig tunnels and subterranean chambers, and are associated with the rodent order, Rodentia. There are over 100 Kinds of Gophers in America.

Gophers create a large community of tunnels with large mounds of dirt and rocks at Their entrances, frequently Referred to as gopher towns.  Gophers eat shrubs and other vegetation.

Gerbils

  

The Life of Animals | Gerbils | Gerbils were the resource persons first introduced to the pet industry in 1964. These were the resource persons the Mongolian gerbils.  A common misunderstanding purchasing a home for pet gerbils Is that They can live in housing designed for hamsters and mice. Plastic can cause serious health issues for the animal if ingested, many owners therefore refrain from having any plastic in the tank and RELY entirely on wooden toys There is conflicting information from gerbil societies from throughout the globe with regards to tank sizing.

A female may attack a male, but usually he is more than a match for her There are many color varieties of gerbil available in pet shops today, Generally the result of years of selective breeding. There are over 20 different coat colors in the Mongolian gerbil, the which has been Captive-Bred The Longest. Another species of gerbil has also been recently introduced to the pet industry: the Fat-tailed gerbils, or duprasi. They're Smaller than the common Mongolian gerbils and have long soft coats and a short, fat tail, Appearing more like a hamster.

White spotting has been reported in not only the Mongolian gerbils, but also the Pallid Gerbil and possibly Sundervall's Jird. A long-haired mutation, a gray agouti or chinchilla mutation, white spotting, and possibly a dilute mutation have also Appeared in Shaw's Jirds, and white spotting and a dilute mutation have shown up in Bushy-tailed Jirds

Dormouse

  

The Life of Animals | Dormouse | Dormice are small for rodents, with a body length of the between 6 and 19 cm (2.4 and 7.5 in), and Weighing the between 15 and 200 g (7.1 oz and 0:53). Most species are nocturnal. Dormice are omnivorous, typically feeding on fruits, berries, flowers, nuts and Insects. Dormice are unique Among rodents in That They lack a cecum, a part of the gut used in other species to ferment vegetable matter.

Dormice live in small family groups, with home ranges widely That Vary the between species, and Depending on the availability of food One of the most notable characteristics of Those That dormice live in temperate zones is hibernation. Dormice can hibernate six months out of the year, or even longer if the weather Remains sufficiently cool, Sometimes waking for brief periods to eat food They Had Previously stored nearby. The sleepy behavior of the Dormouse character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland also attests to this trait. The Romans had a special kind of enclosure known as glirarium used to rear dormice for the table Dormice to this day are Eaten in Slovenia. Dormouse fat was used by the Elizabethans to induce sleep. Gliridae are one of the oldest extant rodent families with a fossil record dating back to the early Eocene.  Many types of Dormouse Extinct species have been Identified. During the Pleistocene, giant dormice the size of large rats, Such as Leithia melitensis, lived on the islands of Malta and Sicily

Chinchilla

 

  

The Life of Animals | Chinchilla | There are two living species of chinchilla, Chinchilla chinchilla (formerly known as Chinchilla brevicaudata) and Chinchilla lanigera. There is little noticeable difference the between the species except the Chinchilla chinchilla That has a shorter tail, a Thicker neck and shoulders, and shorter ears. The Chinchilla lanigera species, though rare, can be found in the wild. Domestic chinchillas are thought to come from the lanigera species. The international trade in chinchilla fur goes back to the 16th century. A single, full-length coat made from chinchilla fur may require as many as 150 pelts, as chinchillas are Relatively small.

Domestic chinchillas are still Bred for this use. Chinchillas require extensive exercise. Chinchilla teeth need to be worn down as Their teeth grow continuously and can Prevent the chinchilla from eating if They Become overgrown. Birch, willow, apple tree, manzanita or kiln-dried pine are all safe woods for chinchillas to chew. Chinchillas dissipate heat by routing blood to Their large ears, so red ears signal overheating. Chinchillas can be found in a variety of colors.

The animals instinctively clean Their fur by taking dust baths, in the which They roll around in special chinchilla dust made of fine pumice. The dust gets into Their fur and absorbs oil and dirt. Chinchillas do not bathe in water Because the dense fur prevents air-drying, retaining moisture close to the skin, the which can cause fungus growth or fur rot. A wet chinchilla must be dried with towels IMMEDIATELY and a no-heat hair dryer. The fur also reduces loose dander, making chinchillas hypo-allergenic.

Chinchillas eat and digest desert grasses and can not efficiently process fatty foods, high protein foods, or too many green plants. Avoid chinchilla feed That includes a mixture; chinchillas may avoid the healthy high-fiber pellets in favor of items like Raisins and seeds. Chinchillas also eat and drink in very small amounts. Nuts Should Be Their avoided due to high fat content. High protein foods and alfalfa hay can cause liver problems and Should Be Limited.

Capybara

 

  

The Life of Animals | Capybara | Capybaras have heavy, barrel-shaped bodies and short heads with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of Their body That turns Yellowish-brown underneath. The top recorded weight are 91 kg (200 lb) for a wild female from Brazil and 73.5 kg (162 lb) for a wild male from Uruguay. Capybaras have slightly webbed feet and a vestigial tail. Females are slightly heavier than males. Capybaras are herbivores, grazing on grasses and aquatic Mainly plants, as well as fruit and tree bark. Capybara are very selective feeders with four to six plant species making 75% of its diet. They Will select the leaves of one species and other species Surrounding disregard it. Capybaras Greater eat a variety of plants During the dry season as there are Fewer plants available.

That capybaras eat Plants During the summer lose Their nutritional value in the winter and are thus not consumed at That time The capybara's jaw hinge is non-perpendicular and They thus chew food by grinding back and forth rather than side-to-side. Capybaras are coprophagous, meaning They eat Their own feces as a source of bacterial gut flora and to help digest the cellulose in the grass That Their forms a normal diet and extract the maximum from Their food proteins.  When in estrus, the female's scent changes subtly and nearby males begin pursuit. Capybaras mate only in the water and if a female does not want to mate with a male Certain She Will either submerge or leave the water.

The larger the group, the harder it is for the male to watch all the females. Dominant males secure significantly more matings than each subordinate, but subordinate males, as a class, are Responsible for more than each dominant male matings. The lifespan of the capybara's sperm is longer than That of other rodents. Capybara gestation is 130-150 days and usually produces a litter of four capybara babies, but may Produce the between one and eight in a single litter Birth is on land and the female Will rejoin the group within a Few hours delivering aspects of the newborn capybaras, WHO Will join the group as soon as They are mobile. Like other rodents, the front teeth of capybaras grow continually to compensate for the constant wearing-down from eating grasses Their cheek teeth also grow continuously.

Capybaras can be found in many areas in zoos and parks and may live for 12 years in captivity Capybaras are gentle and Will usually allow Humans to pet and hand-feed Them. Capybara are farmed for meat and skins in South America.  During Lent, capybara meat is ESPECIALLY popular in parts of South America, ESPECIALLY in Venezuela, as it is claimed That the Catholic Church, in a special dispensation, allowed meat eating capybara meat consumptionOtherwise was not allowed.