Creature Feature #391: Kodkod

The Kodkod is the smallest feline of South America, with the smallest distribution. She is only found in central and southern Chile, occasionally crossing the border into Argentina. She favours evergreen temperate forest but will venture close to settled and cultivated land. During the day, she remains under the cover of the trees hunting for birds and rodents. Whilst an excellent climber, she tends to hunt on the ground. At night she may venture out into more open areas and has been known to raid chicken coops.

Creature Feature #390: Koala

The Koala is a arboreal maruspial. His diet consists predominantly of eucalyptus leaves. These leaves have a high water content, meaning he does not have to drink often. They are not, however, provide much energy and the Koala spends up to 20 hours of his day asleep with short periods of active feeding spread throughout. He does not travel far, and will often stay in the same tree for an entire day. Asocial in nature, he does not willingly interract with others outside of the mating season. Mating is noisy and often brutal, with the female fighting off her potential suitors and the males fighting amongst themselves. She will eventually sucuumb to the most dominant.

So that's it folks, this cute and cuddly animal is in fact lethargic, viciously antisocial and prone to forcing copulation - sometimes with females who aren't even in oestrus. 

Creature Feature #389: Knocking Sand Frog

I was going to draw a Koi, then realised I had more-or-less covered them with "Carp". So here, instead, is my amphibian for K.

The Knocking Sand Frog of Africa, was first discovered in 1973. Following a period of heavy rainfall, large numbers appear in the Kruger National Park. He is named for his distinctive call, which one must conclude from his name, sounds rather like someone knocking. He favours sandy soils, and inhabits disturbed areas. He breeds in temporary waterbodies, presumerably after the floods. Information seems to be pretty skint, mostly the same wikipedia article (which doesn't indicate if his discovery is linked to the heavy rainfall mentioned above), but I shall delve further into detail tomorrow, if possible.

I have started designing trading cards with these creatures, and have the vaguest idea for a game, but no real concept of the game plan as of yet. It is tremendously fun to create them though!

Here's my favourite so far, the kingfisher:

The yellow logos indicate his diet - fish and insects, with the green one indicating his "type" (small bird).
I suppose I should add amphibians to that diet chart, and reptiles... Hrm, some of the omnivores will likely fit anywhere! For simplicities sake, we'll stick with fish and insects for now. Of course, this means that the frogs might end up not being eaten by _anything_.

Perhaps there should be bonus points for players that create the longest food chain!

Creature Feature #388: Klipspringer

The Klipspringer is a diminutive antelope from South Africa. He makes his home in the rocky koppies of the woodland and savannah, where he leaps agily from rock to rock. He balances on the very tips of his hooves and can fit all four on a piece of rock the size of a coin. He forms a lifetime partnership with his mate, and the two of them forage together, sometimes with their young offspring. When one is grazing, the other will keep watch, whistling to alert the others of danger. His main diet is vegetation and he gets all the moisture he requires from consuming succulents  - he never needs to drink water.

Creature Feature #387: Kiwi

The Kiwi is a rather unusual bird, found only in New Zealand. As this isolated island had no land-dwelling mammals, the kiwi evolved to fill a similar niche to that of the badger. Her body temperature is lower than most birds, closer to that of a mammal. She is flightless, her wings little more than a hook of bone. To compensate, she has sturdy legs. During the day she sleeps in hollows or burrows, venturing out at night to forage. Her long bill probes in the leaf litter and she is the only bird in the world to have nostrils at the tip. These help her sniff out tasty invertebrates.

Creature Feature #386: Kit Fox

The Kit Fox is a small fox living in North America. Here he occupies the arid areas in the south-west: from central Oregon down to southeastern California and across as far as southwest Colorado. Distinctive subspecies occur in San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert. He leads a nocturnal lifestyle, coming out at night to hunt for kangaroo rats and other small prey. When prey is scarce, he has been known to eat tomatoes and cactus fruits. Towards the end of the year he forms a monogamous partnership.  Cubs are born around March and grow fast, within 5-6 months they are independent, and at 10 months they are ready to breed.

Creature Feature #385: Kite

The name "Kite" refers to a number of predatory birds, belonging to the Family Accipitridae, the same Family as hawks and buzzards. There are numerous species, spread across thirteen Genera and split into two Subfamilies, colloquially referred to as "large Kites" and "small Kites". This Brahminy Kite is one from the "large" grouping. Typically, Kites are characterised by their light build, small head, long, narrow wings and along tail. In some species it is forked. Her flight is characterised by the angled wings, with which she can hover for lengthy periods of time. Her diet typically consists of insects, small vertebrate prey and carrion. She has been knowing to engage in mobbing attacks on her larger relatives, sometimes with fatal results.