Amazing Creatures

Re: Amazing Creatures

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:07:15 GMT

ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I wasn't expecting that. I'm scared now. Have a massive fear of fish and innocently scrolled down and there it was - eeeeeeeeeeeek. Don't like it. Run away , run away

Re: Amazing Creatures

Christine Chapman — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:14:13 GMT

I must add here that there is NO way I would personally keep a wild animal in captivity

Re: Amazing Creatures

Fleabee99 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:08:14 GMT

[quote user="Caro Laithwaite"]

I am sorry but any wild animal should never be kept as a pet. And when you start keeping meerkats as pets and some of the other animals that are kept, sugar gliders, marmosets etc etc etc l have no time for people that keep them.

Rats are a borderline. they tend to be a pest species that is considered a nuscence in their host countrys and a food animal.

i have to say i was abit suprised when i saw meerkats for sale and was abit sceptical about people who may be buying them, but as for the rats i totally disagree as firstly i feel it is unfair to call them pests as dogs are a common house pet in our society but are eaten in china and considered a pest there so i think its very unfair to tar pet fancy rats and the giant ones as pests also, speshly when some people do enjoy their company as pets and are on the whole better behaved than some other pets (eg i dont see rats having obedience classes)

also as for the wild animal problem yes some animals are ment to be wild such as larger cats, wolves etc because no amount of attention with some wild animals even from birth (and i know there are some exceptions i.e. people who have raised lions etc) can protect you from their instincts but on the other hand such as the pouched rat, am i right in thinking that all domestic animals that our society now welcomes into our homes were at sometime in the past "wild" animals but have been domesticated over thousands of years, with that you could argue that the gambian pouched rat could become another domestic bred species in 50 or so years and that now is just initial stages of that, i know people and have read of people who have been very successful raising this animal as a pet so i obviously feel very strong about this and feel it is alittle harsh when people write some animals off as "pests" when in other countries our domestic creatures are considered pests to them

sorry for the rant but it comes with being a rat lover

[/quote]

Re: Amazing Creatures

Nick Shackleton — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:55:39 GMT

I would have to agree with Caro about keeping those sort of animals as 'pets'

Ferrets have been domesticated so think they are ok.

Re: Amazing Creatures

Christine Chapman — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:37:19 GMT

If you get a meekat as a youngster they can be trained to live in the house with you and be taken for walks on a harness! They must be youngsters though. A lot of people here in NZ keep ferrets as pets very successfully. We also have a pet magpie at our clinic which has the run of the place and is a real character!!

Rats are no problem either if looked after properly. They make very intelligent clean pets and don't smell!!

Rabbits are considered pests yet we keep them as pets!!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:58:33 GMT

Rats are a borderline. they tend to be a pest species that is considered a nuscence in their host countrys and a food animal.

Re: Amazing Creatures

Fleabee99 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:25:20 GMT

theres also a pet shop in ossett (wakefield for those down or up yonder) which have meerkats for sale as pets if anyone feels they are up for a challenge lol!!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Fleabee99 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:22:41 GMT

lol they live for 5-8 years and they can get up to 28inchs long from nose to tail, and can weight 4kg, so a big cat lol! i cant wait for her to arrive, my little bundle of babyness, the breeder has offered me an enclosure for her its a converted avairy, and its 169cm long x 100cm wide and 54 cm depth, so pretty big but i camt wait to fill it with ladders and tubes and just watch her play and grow like a proud mummy, she will be considered a wild captive animal tho so even tho im very lucky as her mummy is hand reared by the breeder so she lets the breeder play with the babys from 2days old , i will still need to give her A LOT of daily attention so obviously will need to take her to the practice i eventually end up working at so that will be someting for the work exp students wont it lol my oh is terrible tho hes more excited about getting her than i am!! lol bless him, he wants her the get all massive so we can take her outdoors for walks lol and my mum has really come round after seeing the vids on youtube and she wants to see it running around the kitchen!! lol

cant wait!! will post piks as soon as i get my hands on her!!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Christine Chapman — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:20:25 GMT

love the star-nosed mole!!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Claire Cameron — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:43:31 GMT

[quote user="sarah parrott"]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvrIrEnRKlI

can be seen here instead!!

[/quote]

Aww thats so cute!! how big will it be when you get yours? you will have to upload some pix!! how long do they live? aww i want one now hehe xxx

can you imagine if you didnt know anything about rats and someone brought one in lol i'd be a bit suprised!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Nick Shackleton — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:41:22 GMT

how about the Star-nose Mole??

The star-nosed mole lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and mollusks. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. Like other moles, this animal digs shallow surface tunnels for foraging; often, these tunnels exit underwater. It is active day and night and remains active in winter, when it has been observed tunnelling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered streams. Little is known about the social behavior of the species, but it is suspected that it is colonial.

The star-nosed mole is covered in thick blackish brown water-repellent fur and has large scaled feet and a long thick tail, which appears to function as a fat storage reserve for the spring breeding season. Adults are 15 to 20 cm in length, weigh about 55 g, and have 44 teeth. The mole's most distinctive feature is a circle of 22 mobile, pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout, from which they derive their name. These are used to identify food by touch, such as worms, insects and crustaceans.

Re: Amazing Creatures

Vicky RVN — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:21:50 GMT

That is cute! The size of a cat....what sort of enclosure will you need for that?! Pretty big i can imagine! I have images of a room being transformed into a ratty heaven, with climbing things and tubes lol! Make sure you put pics on here when you get her/him!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Fleabee99 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:49:02 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvrIrEnRKlI

can be seen here instead!!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Fleabee99 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:47:39 GMT

the gambian pouched rat is one for all you rat lovers out there, as some of you may know ive had many fancy rats as pets and decided after my last baby girl passed i just couldnt bare to get another so im getting one of these, its basically a rat with a wild brown coat which can get to the size of a cat cant wait!!

if this video works you can see one squeaking away =D

Re: Amazing Creatures

Christine Chapman — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:19:27 GMT

To look at them you wouldn't think so, they kind of look cute in an odd sort of way

Re: Amazing Creatures

Vicky RVN — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:29:26 GMT

Wow i didn't know the duck billed platypus was poisonous

Re: Amazing Creatures

Christine Chapman — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:14:07 GMT

http://www.google.com/search?q=duck%20billed%20platypus

yes you're right Johanna, the spurs of the male become venomous during the breeding seasion!!

Re: Amazing Creatures

johannapage — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:59:28 GMT

just to add the duck billed platypus is the only poisonos land mammal!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Claire Cameron — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:44:08 GMT

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/05/22/science/22deep_slide01.jpg

dumbo octopus ^^

Re: Amazing Creatures

Claire Cameron — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:37:03 GMT

The aye-aye is the largest nocturnal primate in the world,

The aye-aye has evolved a large and bony middle finger that it uses to tap on wood, listening for the hollow spaces that indicate the presence of wood-boring larvae. The claw at the end of this skeletal appendage then scoops out any tasty morsels it finds

http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/aye_aye_2sfw.jpg

Re: Amazing Creatures

Christine Chapman — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:12:43 GMT

I reckon the duckbill platypus from Australia is the most unusual creature ever. The female lays eggs but suckles her young!! It also looks so very weird!!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Kerry Spain — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:08:10 GMT

HAHAHA the Haggis made me laugh...

Keep em comin'!

Re: Amazing Creatures

Louise B — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:31:52 GMT

The Buffalo Weaver is one of my amazing faves

http://www.behav.org/00news/behav_ecol/ns-behavecol-01-08-phony_phallus.htm

Science News
Behaviour Ecology
.	.	,

Birds feel the rub

Phony phallus puts sperm ahead in bird orgasm first. 16 July 2001

HELEN PEARSON

"These birds would be at it for 10-20 minutes," says ecologist Tim Birkhead
of the red-billed buffalo weaver and its remarkable false phallus. A male
uses his organ to rub females up the right way and improve his sperm's
chance of success1. By massaging his member the male also reaches what
looks like an orgasm - a first in the bird world.

Few birds are blessed with a phallus; most couples achieve fertilization by
pushing together their rear ends for a functional exchange of fluids. So
19th-century reports of a mock member in the buffalo weaver sent Birkhead
and his team from the University of Sheffield, UK on a field trip to
drought-struck Namibia.

Catching the birds in the act was a tough job, recounts Birkhead: "In three
years we saw eight matings." Living communally in a large stick nest, a
frisky pair would occasionally emerge and fly to a nearby tree. "I'd run
after them, sweating profusely with my binoculars steaming up," he says.
The amorous pair would start bouncing up and down - over numerous
consecutive bouts.

Compared to the 1-2-second tryst most birds manage, their staying power is
unique. Yet, being caught up in the action, entry of the elusive organ was
hard to make out. Even in captivity "they performed beautifully," but the
view was blocked, says Birkhead.

So his team glued a piece of cardboard to an unlucky bird's member. The
crude contraception did not prevent mating, suggesting that the buffalo
weaver organ is actually a weapon in sperm wars. By choosing a male who
rubs longest or best, females may be selecting top-quality sperm. "He
persuades her of his suitability," thinks Birkhead.

Sperm competition - in which males' sperm vie to fertilize female eggs - is
rife amongst animal groups, explains Geoff Parker, a behavioural ecologist
at the University of Liverpool.

Testes size is one sure sign that competition is intense. Cod, for example,
whose eggs and sperm are released in a fertilization free-for-all, have
huge ones. In contrast, seahorses have testes "so small you can hardly find
them," says Parker - because the male exclusively carries and fertilizes
the eggs.

Whereas males strive to outdo each other in volume, females may also have a
say - by storing or selecting sperm from favoured partners. "It's difficult
to measure," admits Parker, because the numbers of offspring fathered have
to be separated from sperm dose.

Paternity testing revealed that female buffalo weavers sire birds from
multiple males, suggesting that sperm competition is hot. Time spent
courting must be shown to predict sperm transfer or success to really back
up the idea, says Parker.

The buffalo-weaver's 'false penis' first appeared in 1831 reports from a
German anatomist. The 1.5-cm appendage lacks blood vessels and has a
twisted furrow down its length. Males in communal nests have longer ones
than those that live alone, showing that size is a factor in social success.

But for males at least, the phallus is for more than foreplay. At the
critical moment, the males enter an orgasmic state: "It shuddered and it's
eyes glazed over," reports Birkhead. To confirm their observation, the team
went to the lengths of manually stimulating the organ. "It's a mystery,"
Birkhead says - but a unique and stimulating first for birds.

References

1.Winterbotton, M., Burke, T. & Birkhead, T.R.The phalloid organ, orgasm
and sperm competition in a polygandrous bird: the red-billed buffalo
weaver. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, pre-published online, (2001).

Ĺ Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001

Re: Amazing Creatures

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:20:48 GMT

[quote user="Bouncyfi"]

I think STRV, your picture of the haggis is wrong. Everyone knows that the wild haggis's left legs are of different length than its right legs, allowing it to run quickly around the steep mountains and hillsides which make up its natural habitat, but only in one direction.It is further claimed that there are two varieties of haggis, one with longer left legs and the other with longer right legs. The former variety can run clockwise around a mountain while the latter can run anticlockwise. The two varieties coexist peacefully but are unable to interbreed in the wild because in order for the male of one variety to mate with a female of the other, he must turn to face in the same direction as his intended mate, causing him to lose his balance before he can mount her. As a result of this difficulty, differences in leg length among the Haggis population are accentuated. They are also hairy because it is so bloody cold in the Highlands of Scotland - Just ask Heather Mac!!

[/quote]

Aye but that pic was taken after the shearing and the leg size was "airbrushed " so as not to upset the natives

Re: Amazing Creatures

Helen Freer — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:09:55 GMT

I totally agree Bouncyfi. Somewhere I have a postcard of the two different types. I thought their coats also change colour summer and winter.