Friday, March 25, 2011

Raccoon Dog!

You voted on the poll and the Raccoon Dog won! I first heard about this super cute animal from the television show Life of Mammals, hosted by David Attenborough. Raccoon Dogs are not actually related to Raccoons, they just look alike. Raccoon Dogs are found throughout Asia and Eastern Europe.







Raccoon Dog mommies can have a lot of babies at one time, about a dozen and sometimes more! The babies have short fur when they are born and cannot open their eyes for about a week or so. They usually stay at home with their dad, while the mom looks for food.









Raccoon Dogs like to hibernate in the winter. Before it becomes too snowy the Raccoon Dogs eat a lot of food to become chubby. During hibernation they live from their stored fat. They sleep and cuddle in burrows all winter long to stay warm. The babies, who are not as fluffy as the parents, sleep in the middle of the cuddle pile.






So fluffy!





These fluffy animals like eating a variety of food, such as insects, rodents, birds, fish, eggs, frogs, berries, nuts, fruit, and plants. It all depends on what is available around them. Raccoon Dogs are not picky eaters!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Adorable Sea Otter!

Fuzzy!

Sea Otters live mainly in water, as their name indicates, but they can walk on land too.

Sea otters do not have a thick layer of fat to keep them warm, like most marine mammals. Instead, they have a lot of really fuzzy fur! They spend a lot of time grooming their fur to make sure that cold water doesn't seep into between the hair and make them chilly!

Sea Otters even blow air in between their fur to dry it!




So much cuteness in one place!



While Sea Otters are not super sociable, they do like sleeping near each other. Sometimes they even hold paws to keep from drifting away!









This is a super cute video of a Sea Otter eating. They like to crunch into sea urchin, clams, mussels, and snails. Otters put a rock on their belly and smash their food against the rock to break open the shell!







Sleepy Sea Otter




Sea Otters take a lot of naps throughout the day. Sometimes they wrap a piece of kelp around their body to stay in one place while they sleep.






Baby Sea Otters!





Mommy Sea Otters groom their babies so much that their fur is super douper fluffy. They are so fluffy that the babies float on the water!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Hedgehogs!





Baby Hedgehog!



Hedgehogs are really popular as pets, cause their so adorable! They are also popular because they are fairly easy to take care of and can be very playful.












Hedgehogs have stiff spines, which are actually hollow hairs. These little spines are not poisonous. The hedgehog can lose spines though, through "quilling", when they shed their baby spines for adult ones.








Hedgehogs are good runners, swimmers, and even good climbers. 


They also make really cute noises, such as snuffles or squeals.




Hedgehog in a cute ball.


To defend themselves, hedgehogs roll into a tiny little ball so that all their spines are sticking out. 


These cute spiky balls like eating insects, frogs, snakes, bird eggs, berries, mushrooms, and melons.











In places where hedgehogs are found naturally, many people like to encourage hedgehogs in their garden. People will often leave snacks for these cute animals and even make holes in their fences as doorways. 

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Baby Pygmy Animals!

Since I've become unemployed, I have so much more time to update my blog! 

Today's post is about pygmy animals, which are tiny versions of big animals, making them extra cute!

Maybe one day I'll pet a baby pygmy hippo!


A baby pygmy hippo! 

These hippos live in Africa in forests and swamps. They mostly keep to themselves and are more active in the night (nocturnal). Like bigger hippos, they like living in the water, and will sometimes give birth there. 


These adorable little hippos love munching on grass and fruit. They sneak out of their river hiding spot around dusk to eat. Sometimes pygmy hippos sleep in dens or burrows in the river bank. Although, no one knows if the hippos actually make these homes themselves.






So tiny!
A baby pygmy tarsier!

Pygmy tarsiers were thought to be extinct since the 1920's until recently in 2008 when these cute little animals were rediscovered. 

They are nocturnal primates who live in Indonesia and are only about 9 to 10 cm long!

They have long tails and nails on their teensy hands for gripping onto trees. Tarsiers nibble on insects and sleep vertically in trees during the day.





Pygmy Marmosets are the smallest monkeys in the world (although pygmy tarsiers are tinier, but are not monkeys, just primates). They are abut 14 to 16 cm in length! These tiny monkeys makes their homes in the rainforests of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.


Pygmy marmosets use different whistles and calls to talk to family members. Sometimes these calls give warnings of approaching danger.


These super adorable monkeys eat insects, fruit, tree sap, and leaves.








Pygmy goats are originally from West Africa and have since been domesticated. 


These mini goats like chewing on grains and grasses. 


They live for about 10-15 years and are very popular as household pets or in petting zoos. 

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Wombats are Weird and Cute!

If you don't know what a wombat is, then get ready for cute!


Wombats have short legs, ears, and tails, similar to pikas (which I talked about in my very first post). They are marsupials, like koalas and kangaroos. Wombats live in foresty and mountainy areas of Australia and Tasmania. They also live in areas called a "heath", which is covered in dwarf, or really tiny, shrubs.







Wombats move pretty slowly and have slow metabolism. It can take about two weeks for a wombat to digest its food!






Two cute and cuddly wombats! Wombats are so cute that I even have a stuffed toy wombat :)












Wombats like nibbling on herbs, shrubs, bark, roots and grasses. They have the perfect teeth for chewing through tough vegetation.







Wombats dig their own burrows to live in, which sounds pretty cozy and cuddly to me. They have big front teeth and claws so they can make these homes.

When a predator tries to catch a wombat, the fuzzy little animal will run into a tunnel and block the entrance with its bum! Their bum area is made of cartilage, so it's hard and cannot be bitten through!





A mommy and baby wombat, staying close for company.

Wombats are so cool that they even have their own holiday, October 22nd!

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