Creature Feature #105: Civet

The African Civet is a member of the Viverridae Family and the largest of the Civet species. He spends most of his days sleeping in dense vegetation, coming out at night to forage for invertebrates and small vertebrates, as well as carrion and vegetable matter. He has even been known to eat poisonous snakes and millipedes, creatures normally avoided by predators. His territory is marked by a scent exuded from his perineal glands. This scent has been bottled, and widely used, within the perfume industry with traces found in chanel no 5. They are even kept in captivity and "milked" for it* - thankfully the creation of synthetic musk means this practice is no longer prevalent.

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* If you think this is gross, wait until I get to the Asian Palm Civet, or Toddycat, and speak of Kopi Luwak.

Creature Feature #104: Cicada

There are numerous species of Cicada, spread throughout the world and present on every continent except Antarctica. They are characterized by their relatively large size, general shape and noisy nature. It is only the male that sings, and he does this to attract a mate. The sound is produced from part of his exoskeleton: known as a "tymbal". This is modified, forming a complex membrane with thinner portions that vibrate rapidly, resonating down his, mostly hollow, body. He can reach a volume of over 100 db. Both males and females have hearing organs, called tympana, but the male is able to disable his while singing. After mating, the female lays her eggs inside the bark of a tree. When they hatch, the nymphs tumble to the ground and burrow beneath. Here they spend the majority of their life, before taking on their final nymphal instar, crawling out and shedding their skin before calling, mating and dying.

ALSO: I am hosting a competition on Twitter and Tumblr! for further details: follow this link: goo.gl/Gsrf2y

Creature Feature #103: Chital

The Chital, or Axis Deer, is found in India and surrounding countries, where he is common in wooded regions. He has also been introduced to other countries, including Australia and Hawaii. He prefers his shade, and avoids direct sunlight. Herds number from ten to fifty individuals with a mix of both male and female. The males whose antlers are without velvet (hard)  are dominant over the others and when the hinds come into oestrus, the stag will follow her constantly, not even eating. Whilst mostly silent when grazing, Chital will "chuckle" to one another as they travel through their dense woodland home. If danger threatens, an alarm call is barked and the herd will run in a group for a quick burst, before diving into the shelter of thick bush. They also frequently forage near langur monkey troops, with both taking advantage of the other species' senses to alert them to danger.

Creature Feature #102: Chiru

The Chiru is an antelope found in the Tibet plateau, when he occupies the high alpine regions. He is a social beast, gathering in herds of around twenty. The females migrate to the calving grounds in the summer months, leaving the males behind, and return to them in autumn. Only the males have horns and the black stripes on the legs. His horns are mainly for show, and he does not spar with them, but the longer the horns, the more dominant the male. The pelt is distinctive, and well designed for cold climes - the guard hairs are thick and long, with slender cellular walls and they cover a silky, shorter undercoat. This wool is fine and silky, and can be woven into a highly desirable form known as shahtoosh. Chiru are not domesticated and poachers find it easier to kill the entire beast to collect the wool. This puts the entire species at risk.

Creature Feature #101: Chipmunk

This diminutive rodent makes her home in North America, with one species found in Asia. She follows an omnivorous diet, favouring seeds, nuts, roots and buds but also consuming insects, arthropods, small frogs and birds' eggs. In autumn she begins to collect non-perishable foods in preparation for winter. These are carried in cheek pouches and deposited into her burrow. The burrows are complex affairs, with several well-concealed entrances and a separate larder.  Here she remains for the long, cold months. Some species, like the eastern, hibernate for this period. Although extremely quick and alert while awake, chipmunks spend up to fifteen hours a day sleeping.

Creature Feature #100: Chinchilla

The Chinchilla may have found international popularity as a pet, but in her native home, the Andes, she perches on the edge of extinction. This charming rodent lives in a social group, known as a herd, and can breed at any time of the year. The gestation period is 111 days, longer than most rodents, and the babies are born fully furred. She is most active at dawn and dusk, coming out of her daytime burrow to dine on plants, roots, seeds and insects. Here she is under threat from snakes, owls, foxes and other carnivores, but the biggest threat has been human kind. Chinchilla have a plush pelt - ideal for their alpine habitat - that has proved popular in the fur industry. It takes 150 chinchilla to make one fur coat. They are still farmed, and illegally hunted, for this purpose today.

Creature Feature #99: Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees are intelligent, social primates that live in large multi-male and female social groups known as "communities". They have a strong social hierarchy with the alpha male not necessarily being the strongest, but possibly the most intelligent, manipulative or cunning (sound familiar?). It is his duty to control the group and maintain discipline during the frequent disputes. Chimpanzees are very intelligent and engage in both tool use and puzzle solving. They communicate with each other in both verbal and non-verbal manners, using an array of facial expressions, hand gestures and vocalizations. Whilst the Chimpanzee does enjoy a diet of fruit and vegetation, he is also an organised predator, with hunting parties targeting colobus monkeys and bushbabies. He has even been known to sharpen sticks and use them as rudimentary spears to harass sleeping bushbabies.