RACCOONS
The Raccoons are found in the forests of Tropical Central and South America. The Raccoons family is divided into two subfamilies:
i. Raccoons, Coatis and Kinkajou
ii. Red Panda

RACCOONS
There are 7 species of Raccoon. The most familiar one is the Common Raccoon with black mask and ringed tail. Its food includes Fish, Frogs, Insects, small mammals and fruits. It hunts for food under water with its sensitive paws.

KINKAJOU
The Kinkajous Uses its prehensile tail to cling to branches while it feeds. It mainly feeds on Fruit and Nectar. Though it is a Carnivore, its back teeth are blunt and can only be used for crushing fruit.

COATIS
The Coatis lives both on the ground and in the trees. Female and the young Coatis form groups and hunt for food such as Insects, Lizards and Tubers. They use their forepaws and long snout to hunt in the narrow gaps on the ground and on the forest floor.

Penguin

Eudyptula minor is a social bird, and is the most nocturnal of all penguin species. During the day it is either hunting at sea or in its nest sleeping. Little penguins live in loose colonies, composed of birds of all ages. They form small, very vocal groups when coming ashore at night, but then disperse to respective territories. The little penguin has a surprisingly diverse array of visual displays for many social situations. For example, fighting stances, warding off unfamiliar birds, and mating displays.
The little penguin has large range of calls, in addition to its visual displays. Sounds range from soft mewing notes, to loud screams, to growling, and even trumpeting calls.
Individuals undergo a complete body molt sometime from December to March, after the breeding season. This usually takes place at the breeding site and lasts from 10-18 days.
Eudyptula minor has a distinct sexual behavior. The male stands in a distinctive stance with flippers up, bill also pointed upward, accompanied by a braying call to attract a female. He will often build a nest to court her. Once male and female are mated they form a long-term monogamous pair, usually for life. Although they do not hunt for food together during the day they both come back to their shared nest at night.
Once a pair has bred and laid eggs both raise young together. Although eggs may sometimes be deserted there is no record of deserted young. Food is transferred directly from parent to young through regurgitation. Aggression between parents and children is rare, and only occurs when fully fledged young are driven from the nest. Adults are, however, aggressive toward young other than their own if approached for food. Fledglings usually migrate to different areas after becoming independent of their parents (Marchant & Higgins 1990; Heather & Robertson 1997).

Genetic Erosion

Genetic erosion is a process whereby an already limited gene pool of an endangered species of plant or animal diminishes even more when individuals from the surviving population die off without getting a chance to meet and breed with others in their endangered low population.
Genetic erosion occurs because each individual organism has many unique genes which get lost when it dies without getting a chance to breed. Low genetic diversity in a population of wild animals and plants leads to a further diminishing gene pool, inbreeding and a weakening immune system and fast tracks that species towards eventual extinction.
All the world’s endangered species are plagued by varying degrees of Genetic Erosion and most need a human assisted breeding program to keep their population viable and to keep them from going extinct in the long run. The more critically endangered the species is (the smaller the population is), the more magnified the effect of genetic erosion gets when each surviving individual of the species is lost without getting a chance to breed.
Genetic erosion gets compounded and accelerated by habitat fragmentation, today most endangered species live in smaller and smaller chunks of fragmented habitat interspersed with human settlements and farmland making it impossible for them to naturally meet and breed with others of their kind, many die off without getting a chance to breed and pass on their genes in the living population.
The gene pool of a species or a population is the complete set of unique alleles that would be found by inspecting the genetic material of every living member of that species or population. A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survive bouts of intense selection. Meanwhile, low genetic diversity (see inbreeding and population bottlenecks) can cause reduced biological fitness and an increased chance of extinction.

hippopotamus

The hippopotamus is recognizable for its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is similar in size to the White Rhinoceros; only elephants are consistently heavier. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 30 mph (48 km/h) while running short distances, faster than an Olympic sprinter. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive animals in the world, and is often regarded as the most dangerous animal in Africa. There are an estimated 125,000 to 150,000 hippos remaining throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, of which Zambia (40,000) and Tanzania (20,000-30,000) have the largest populations. They are still threatened by poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth, and by habitat loss.

Cheetah

The most well known savannas are found in Africa. Lions, zebras, elephants, and tommys live in grasslands. Grasslands are not just in Africa, but in many other parts of the world including North America and South America. Savannas are a kind of grassland. The weather changes more dramatically, and it is generally much hotter in the savanna then, for example, the grasslands in the USA. Grass covers the grasslands (hmm…) and large grazing animals feed on it. Larger preditors feed on these animals.

Savannas arose as rainfall progressively lessened in the peripheral regions of the tropics during the Cenozoic Era (66.4 million years ago to the present)—in particular, during the past 25 million years. Grasses, the dominant plants of savannas, appeared only about 50 million years ago, although it is possible that some savanna-like vegetation lacking grasses occurred earlier. The South American fossil record provides evidence of a well-developed vegetation, rich in grass and thought to be equivalent to modern savanna, being established by the Early Miocene Epoch, about 20 million years ago.

Black Kite

The Black Kite (Milvus migrans) is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers.
This kite is a widespread species throughout the temperate and tropical parts of Eurasia and parts of Australasia. Curiously, it is not found in the Indonesian archipelago between the South East Asian mainland and the Wallace Line. Vagrants, most likely of the Black-eared Kite, on occasion range far into the Pacific, out to the Hawaiian islands (AOU 2000).
European and central Asian birds (subspecies M. m. milvus and M. m. lineatus respectively) are migratory, moving to the tropics in winter, but races in warmer regions such as the Indian M. m. govinda (Pariah Kite) or the Australasian M. m. affinis (Fork-tailed Kite), are resident.
In the northern winter, it is therefore common to have a resident race and a distinguishable migrant form present together in these hotter areas.
In the United Kingdom, the Black Kite occurs only as a wanderer on migration. These birds are usually of the nominate race, but in November 2006 a juvenile of the eastern lineatus, not previously recorded in western Europe, was found in Lincolnshire.
Black Kites will take small live prey as well as fish, household refuse and carrion. They are attracted to fires and smoke where they seek escaping insect prey. They are well adapted to living in cities and are found even in densely populated areas. Large numbers may be seen soaring in thermals over cities. In some places they will readily swoop to take to food offered by humans, their habit of swooping to pick up dead rodents from roads often leads to them being hit by vehicles. They are also a major nuisance at some airports where they are considered important birdstrike hazards.
The Black Kite can be distinguished from the Red Kite by its slightly smaller size, less forked tail and generally dark plumage without any rufous.
The Black Kite nests in forest trees, often close to other kites. In winter, many kites will roost together.

Puma

The cougar (Puma concolor), also puma, mountain lion, or panther, depending on region, is a mammal of the Felidae family, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere,[3] extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in every major American habitat type. It is the second heaviest cat in the American continents after the jaguar, and the fourth heaviest in the world, along with the leopard, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar, although it is most closely related to smaller felines.
A capable stalk-and-ambush predator, the cougar pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources include ungulates such as deer, elk, and bighorn sheep, as well as domestic cattle, horses, and sheep, particularly in the northern part of its range, but it also hunts species as small as insects and rodents. Moreover, it prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but it can live in open areas. The cougar is territorial and persists at low population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, and abundance of prey. While it is a large predator, it is not always the dominant species in its range, as when it competes for prey with other predators such as the jaguar, gray wolf, black bear, and the grizzly bear. It is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people. Attacks on humans remain rare, despite a recent increase in frequency.
Due to persecution following the European colonization of the Americas, and continuing human development of cougar habitat, populations have dropped in many parts of its historical range. In particular, the cougar was extirpated in eastern North America, except an isolated sub-population in Florida; the animal may be recolonizing parts of its former eastern territory. With its vast range, the cougar has dozens of names and various references in the mythology of the indigenous Americans and in contemporary culture.

PolarBear

The polar bear is a bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas. The world’s largest predator found on land, an adult male weighs around 400–680 kg, while an adult female is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrow ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. As it can hunt consistently only from sea ice, the polar bear spends much of the year on the frozen sea, although most polar bears are born on land.
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with 5 of the 19 polar bear subpopulations in decline. For decades, unrestricted hunting raised international concern for the future of the species; populations have rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect. For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and the hunting of polar bears remains important in their cultures.
The polar bear is found throughout the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. Due to the absence of human development in its remote habitat, it retains more of its original range than any other extant large carnivore. While they are rare north of 88°, there is evidence that they range all the way across the Arctic, and as far south as James Bay in Canada. They can occasionally drift widely with the sea ice, and there have been anecdotal sightings as far south as Berlevåg on the Norwegian mainland and the Kuril Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. It is difficult to estimate a global population of polar bears as much of the range has been poorly studied, however biologists use a working estimate of about 20,000-25,000 polar bears worldwide.

Woverine

The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the largest land-dwelling species of the Mustelidae or weasel family (the Giant Otter is largest overall) in the genus Gulo (meaning “glutton”). It is also called the Glutton or Carcajou. Some authors recognize two subspecies: the Old World form Gulo gulo gulo and the New World form G. g. luscus. A third subspecies limited to Vancouver Island (G. g. vancouverensis) is also occasionally described; however, craniomorphic evidence suggests that the Vancouver Island wolverines are properly included within G. g. luscus.

Anatomically, the wolverine is a stocky and muscular animal. It has brown hair with stripes of dull yellow along the sides. Its fur is long and dense and does not retain much water, making it very resistant to frost, which is common in the wolverine’s cold habitat. (For these reasons, the fur has been traditionally popular among hunters and trappers as a lining in jackets and parkas, especially for wear in Arctic conditions). The adult wolverine is about the size of a medium dog, with a length usually ranging from 65-87 cm (25-34 inches), a tail of 17-26 cm (7-10 inches), and weight of 9-17 kg (22-36 lb). The males are as much as 30 percent larger than the females. In appearance, the wolverine resembles a small bear with a long tail. It has been known to give off a very strong, extremely unpleasant odor, giving rise to the nicknames “skunk bear” and “nasty cat.” Wolverines, as other mustelids, possess a special upper molar in the back of the mouth that is rotated 90 degrees, or sideways, towards the inside of the mouth. This special characteristic allows wolverines to tear off meat from prey or carrion that has been frozen solid and also to crush bones, which enables the wolverine to extract marrow.

Bear Hybernating

Winter season introduces many changes in the way animals live and survive, such as the activity of migration by whales, seals, turtles, eels, crabs, fish, butterflies, etc. Hibernation is a popular term, when referring to animals during winters. Basically, animals resort to hibernation in order to escape from the chillness of the weather. They use it as a medium for preserving the energy and heat in their body, which is assisted by their own body system.

True hibernation is an inactive sleep-like state, which some animals enter during the winter season. The body of the animal also goes through a number of changes, such as the body temperature becomes lower than normal and the heart beat and breathing slows down tremendously. Talking about bears, they do not experience true hibernation. Rather, they go through a state of ‘winter lethargy’, which in general terms is called Hibernation.

Example :-

Bears enter the winter lethargy state gradually and do not awaken until disturbed. However, if the bear is dormant, it is quite easy to awaken him. This is yet another contrast as true hibernators are hard to wake-up and enter dormancy quickly. Before entering their dens for winter lethargy, bears gain considerable amount of weight. The accumulated fat is the only source of energy that fuels their metabolic activity, providing its fluid needs. The basic purpose of hibernation is to bypass the winter season, during which the food supplies get restricted. Thus, in order to conserve energy, bears do not eat, defecate or urinate during winter lethargy. However, when the bears come out of their winter lethargy, they are much thinner than when they entered. Bears lose about 22 percent of their muscle strength during their food-less, three to four month hibernation.