Creature Feature #565: Panda

The Giant Panda is a member of the Bear Family and instantly recognisable to most of us. She is a sluggish animal, her diet consisting almost exclusively of bamboo - which is low energy and difficult to digest. Therefore, Panda are not noted for being particularly active and they will even avoid venturing up slopes in an effort to conserve energy. They are likewise fairly lacklustre with their breeding, showing little inclination to mate in captivity and artificial insemination was widely used. Cubs are born very small and defenceless. If twins are born in the wild, the mother selects the strongest to raise, allowing the weaker one to die. She does not store enough body fat and nutrients to successfully raise both offspring.

The Panda is classified as Endangered and has become the "poster boy" for the World Wildlife Fund and is treasured in China, her homeland. Unfortunately, despite expensive conservation programs, which have ensured that many captive Panda survive into adulthood, there is not a lot of remaining habitat for them.

Creature Feature #564: Palm Cockatoo

The Palm Cockatoo is a very large member of the Cockatoo Family. He uses his extremely long and powerful bill to crack open nuts and seeds. His red cheek patch changes colour when he becomes excited or alarmed. One particularly unusual trait is the tendency for the male bird to break off a sturdy branch, which he then drums against the trunks of trees, creating a sound that can be heard up to 100m away. The purpose of this is unknown but is considered to be either a territorial display or a manner of accessing the durability of nesting hollows.

Creature Feature #563: Painted Wolf

The Painted Wolf, or African Wild Dog, is technically neither wolf, nor dog - although she is a member of the Canine Family. She is a social creature, living in packs with a strict hierarchy. Only the dominant female breeds, and she birthes an average of 10 pups a year. The rest of the pack help her to raise them and if any lower ranked females dare to breed, she will kill or steal their pups. Hunting is a co-operative affair, with several adults pursuing the prey, which they run into exhaustion. Once the prey - typically a medium-sized antelope - can no longer run, the pack move in for the kill. Due to their small size and relatively slender build, they are unable to kill the animal outright, and must instead latch onto any part they can reach, in an attempt to drag the animal down.

Painted Wolves are endangered, due to hunting (they are often blamed for killing livestock), loss of habitat, and diseases contracted from domestic dogs.

Creature Feature #562: Padloper

The Padlopers are a Genus of tiny tortoises, found only in Southern Africa. The tiny Speckled Padloper measures between 6-10 cms (with the females being the longest). The largest, the Greater Padloper averages just over 10cm in length. All species are vegetarian and have a specialist diet, restricted to plants found in their natural region. This unfortunately, does not deter people poaching them and introducing them into the pet trade. Only the Speckled and the Parrot-billed have been shown to adapt to captivity.

Creature Feature #561: Pademelon

The Pademelon is a charming little macropod, found in the thickly scrubbed undergrowth of eastern Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. She dines on leaves, fruits and berries. Like all marsupials, the joey is born after a short gestation, before moving into its mother's pouch to develop. The mother may mate again whilst carrying a joey, and the new embryo becomes fixed in a state of suspended animation. Once her joey begins independent enough to leave the pouch, the embryo begins developing and she can soon have another infant.

Creature Feature #560: Paca

 

The Paca are three species of terrestrial, herbivorous rodents of South America. They are fairly large for a rodent, measuring between 50-77 cm in length. Habitat is rainforest and cloud forest, and Paca are generally found near water. She is a skilled swimmer, and can remain submerged for up to 15 minutes. During the daytime she mostly rests, foraging in the morning and evening, or sometimes during the night. The three species are fairly similar in appearance, and they also resemble the not-closely related Pacarana, which is sometimes known as the "false paca".

Pacarana can be distinguished by their slightly furrier face and their tail, which is thick and furry. The Paca's tail is almost non-existant.

Creature Feature #559: Oystercatcher

Just as Oxpeckers do not only peck oxen (given oxen is a term given to a neutered bull cattle), Oystercatchers do not feed exclusively on oysters.

The Oystercatchers are a Family of very similar wading birds with a cosmopolitan distribution. This fellow is a European Oystercatcher, characterised by the white chin-stripe. All species are either piebald or pure black (in various shades). With their stocky body and long bill, the Oystercatcher stalks the coastal regions, and open pastures, foraging predominantly on invertebrates such as crabs, annelids and insect larvae. They are also one of the few animals capable of opening oysters - hence the name. The bill shape varies between (and within) species, with some having finer tipped bills for digging up worms, and broader tipped bills for cracking open shellfish. 

And that, my friends, is the final O animal. Tomorrow we begin the Ps.