#876: Zebra Loach

The Zebra Loach is endangered in the wild, but readily available in the pet trade. He is a freshwater loach, native to the Western Ghats of India. A bottom-feeder, he hunts for invertebrates in the substrate, and has a particular fondness of snails, which make him popular with aquarists. If kept singly or in pairs, he can become reclusive and stressed; it is recommended to keep at least five. As with many popular pet species, poaching is a problem and Zebra Loach do not readily breed in the captivity. Commercial aquarists breed them with the use of hormones.

#652: Rhesus Monkey

The Rhesus Monkey is amongst the best known of the macaque species. She is common throughout India, Pakistan and neighbouring countries, including urban areas. Troops can number from 20 to 200 individuals, both male and female. Diet is mostly herbivorous, consisting of fruits, seeds, roots, bark and buds, with the occasional insect eaten. Intelligent and social, Rhesus have been heavily studied and display complex cognitive abilities - including self awareness, making judgements and even self agency.

Documented footage in a train station shows one Rhesus Monkey alledgedly reviving another that had been stunned by electicity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYZnrgDrgOQ

Creature Feature #575: Peafowl

No tarantula, sorry. You'll have to wait until "T".

The Peafowl are three species of gamefowl, characterised by the eye-catching colouration and elaborate plumes of the male. The most commonly known species, the Indian Peafowl, has been domesticated and can be found in wildlife parks across the world. Peafowl practise a polygamous mating system, and during breeding season the male raises his plumes, spreading them in a fan-like shape. This cannot fail to capture the female's eye. Outside of the breeding season, he sheds these feathers. Despite their ungainly appearance, Peafowl are skilled fliers, and frequently roost in the trees to escape predation.

Creature Feature #489: Mynah

And at last - the end of the Ms! Oh, what a journey that has been... now to decide which of the 40-odd critters I drew should go in the book, as it will only take up to 37...

Mynah is a general term given to Indian and Asian members of the Starling Family. They follow an omnivorous diet, foraging on the ground for fruit, invertebrates and the occasional small vertebrate, egg or nestling. Some species are renowned for their ability to mimic sounds, including human speech, and the Hill Mynah is one of the best mimics in the bird kingdom - on par with the African Grey Parrot.  Mynahs nest in tree cavities, aggressively defending - and even stealing - them from other species. Partnerships are monogamous, and some species are believed to pair for life.

The illustrated species is one of the few birds that I dislike. He is an Indian Mynah, an omnivorous, aggressive bird of the tropics. Native to India, he has been introduced to eastern Australia (where he competes with the native honeyeater, the Noisy Miner, an unrelated bird with a somewhat similar personality and appearance), Florida, Hawaii, South Africa, Madagascar, parts of Eurasia and many of the Islands (Indian, Pacific and Atlantic). Populations also exist in northern New Zealand, where they destroy the eggs and chicks of the native birds. He is considered one of the #100 invasive pests, along with the red-vented bulbul and the starling.

Sadly, when one of my co-workers went to Fiji, I asked her to let me know what birds she saw and the only two species she identified were the Indian Mynah and the Red-vented Bulbul. Both co-exist well with humans.

I will be doing a seperate entry for my favourite mynah - the Rothschild (Bali) Mynah - at a later date.