Friday, December 3, 2010

mouse

Mice are a staple in the diet of many small carnivores. Humans have eaten mice since prehistoric times and still eat them as a delicacy throughout eastern Zambia and northern Malawi,[6] although they are no longer routinely consumed by humans elsewhere. They are an excellent seasonal source ofprotein.
In various countries mice are used as food[7] for pets such as snakeslizardsfrogstarantulas and birds of prey, and many pet stores carry mice for this purpose. Some countries, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, have banned the practice of feeding live mice, citing ethical concerns regarding both predator and prey.[8]
Common terms used to refer to different ages/sizes of mice when sold for pet food are "pinkies", "fuzzies", "crawlers", "hoppers", and "adults".[9] Pinkies are newborn mice that have not yet grown fur; fuzzies have some fur but are not very mobile; hoppers have a full coat of hair and are fully mobile but are smaller than adult mice. Mice without fur are easier for the animal to consume, however mice with fur may be more convincing as animal feed. These terms are also used to refer to the various growth stages of rats (see Fancy rat)
File:TheCheethcat.jpgThe cheetah's chest is deep and its waist is narrow. The coarse, short fur of the cheetah is tan with round black spots measuring from 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.2 in) across, affording it some camouflage while hunting. There are no spots on its white underside, but the tail has spots, which merge to form four to six dark rings at the end. The tail usually ends in a bushy white tuft. The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes. Black "tear marks" running from the corner of its eyes down the sides of the nose to its mouth keep sunlight out of its eyes and aid in hunting and seeing long distances. Although it can reach high speeds, its body cannot stand long distance running. It is a sprinter.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Mountain Bluebird This Section of FREE PICTURES contains a large number of photographs of Birds of different species.  These pictures are of very good quality and FREE to download. The photos have been selected for your enjoyment and use, after going through thousands of free pictures made available by various sources.
       These pictures are of very good quality and in a reasonably high resolution.  Most of them are in the size of 800X600 pixels or above.  
            On this page, you will see pictures of Mountain Bluebird.  More pics will be added in due course of time.  Please visit again.      
(Click on a thumbnail to see a LARGER picture)

picture of Male Mountain Bluebird at nest                  picture of Male Mountain Bluebird

bats


Bats are mammals. Sometimes they are mistakenly called "flying rodents" or "flying rats", and they can also be mistaken for insects and birds. There are two traditionally recognized suborders of bats:
Not all megabats are larger than microbats. The major distinctions between the two suborders are:
  • Microbats use echolocation: megabats do not with the exception of Rousettus and relatives.
  • Microbats lack the claw at the second toe of the forelimb.
  • The ears of microbats do not close to form a ring: the edges are separated from each other at the base of the ear.
  • Microbats lack underfur: they are either naked or have guard hairs.
Megabats eat fruit, nectar or pollen while most microbats eat insects; others may feed on the blood of animals, small mammals, fish, frogs, fruit, pollen or nectar. Megabats have a well-developed visual cortex and show good visual acuity, while microbats rely on echolocation for navigation and finding prey.
The phylogenetic relationships of the different groups of bats have been the subject of much debate. The traditional subdivision between Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera reflects the view that these groups of bats have evolved independently of each other for a long time, from a common ancestor that was already capable of flight. This hypothesis recognized differences between microbats and megabats and acknowledged that flight has only evolved once in mammals. Most molecular biological evidence supports the view that bats form a single or monophyletic group.[5]
Researchers have proposed alternate views of chiropteran phylogeny and classification, but more research is needed.
Genetic evidence indicates that megabats originated during the early Eocene and should be placed within the four major lines of microbats.
Consequently, two new suborders based on molecular data have been proposed. The new suborder Yinpterochiroptera includes the Pteropodidae or megabat family as well as the Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Craseonycteridae, Megadermatidae, and Rhinopomatidae families. The new suborder Yangochiroptera includes all the remaining families of bats (all of which use laryngeal echolocation). These two new suborders are strongly supported by statistical tests. Teeling (2005) found 100% bootstrap support in all maximum likelihood analyses for the division of Chiroptera into these two modified suborders. This conclusion is further supported by a fifteen-base pair deletion in BRCA1 and a seven-base pair deletion in PLCB4 present in all Yangochiroptera and absent in all Yinpterochiroptera.[6] The Chiropteran phylogeny based on molecular evidence is controversial because microbat paraphyly implies that one of two seemingly unlikely hypotheses occurred. The first suggests that laryngeal echolocation evolved twice in Chiroptera, once in Yangochiroptera and once in the rhinolophoids.[7][8] The second proposes that laryngeal echolocation had a single origin in Chiroptera, was subsequently lost in the family Pteropodidae (all megabats), and later evolved as a system of tongue-clicking in the genus Rousettus.[9]
Common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus.
Analyses of the sequence of the "vocalization" gene, FoxP2 was inconclusive of whether laryngeal echolocation was secondarily lost in the pteropodids or independently gained in the echolocating lineages[10]. However, analyses of the "hearing" gene, Prestin seemed to favor the independent gain in echolocating species rather than a secondary loss in the pteropodids.[11]
In addition to Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera, the names Pteropodiformes and Vespertilioniformes have also been proposed for these suborders.[12][13] Under this new proposed nomenclature, the suborder Pteropodiformes includes all extant bat families more closely related to the genus Pteropus than the genus Vespertilio, while the suborder Vespertilioniformes includes all extant bat families more closely related to the genus Vespertilio than to the genus Pteropus.
In the 1980s, a hypothesis based on morphological evidence was offered that stated that the Megachiroptera evolved flight separately from the Microchiroptera. The so-called flying primates theory proposed that when adaptations to flight are removed, the Megachiroptera are allied to primates by anatomical features that are not shared with Microchiroptera. One example is that the brains of megabats show a number of advanced characteristics that link them to primates. Although recent genetic studies support the monophyly of bats,[14] debate continues as to the meaning of available genetic and morphological evidence.[15]
Little fossil evidence is available to help map the evolution of bats, since their small, delicate skeletons do not fossilize very well. However a Late Cretaceous tooth from South America resembles that of an early Microchiropteran bat. The oldest known definitely identified bat fossils, such as Icaronycteris, Archaeonycteris, Palaeochiropteryx and Hassianycteris, are from the early Eocene period, 52.5 million years ago[5]. These fossil bats were already very similar to modern microbats. Archaeopteropus, formerly classified as the earliest known megachiropteran, is now classified as a microchiropteran.
Bats were formerly grouped in the superorder Archonta along with the treeshrews (Scandentia), colugos (Dermoptera), and the primates, because of the apparent similarities between Megachiroptera and such mammals. Genetic studies have now placed bats in the superorder Laurasiatheria along with carnivorans, pangolins, odd-toed ungulates, even-toed ungulates, and cetaceans.[1]
"Chiroptera" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904
Bats are mammals. Sometimes they are mistakenly called "flying rodents" or "flying rats", and they can also be mistaken for insects and birds. There are two traditionally recognized suborders of bats:
Not all megabats are larger than microbats. The major distinctions between the two suborders are:
  • Microbats use echolocation: megabats do not with the exception of Rousettus and relatives.
  • Microbats lack the claw at the second toe of the forelimb.
  • The ears of microbats do not close to form a ring: the edges are separated from each other at the base of the ear.
  • Microbats lack underfur: they are either naked or have guard hairs.
Megabats eat fruit, nectar or pollen while most microbats eat insects; others may feed on the blood of animals, small mammals, fish, frogs, fruit, pollen or nectar. Megabats have a well-developed visual cortex and show good visual acuity, while microbats rely on echolocation for navigation and finding prey.
The phylogenetic relationships of the different groups of bats have been the subject of much debate. The traditional subdivision between Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera reflects the view that these groups of bats have evolved independently of each other for a long time, from a common ancestor that was already capable of flight. This hypothesis recognized differences between microbats and megabats and acknowledged that flight has only evolved once in mammals. Most molecular biological evidence supports the view that bats form a single or monophyletic group.[5]
Researchers have proposed alternate views of chiropteran phylogeny and classification, but more research is needed.
Genetic evidence indicates that megabats originated during the early Eocene and should be placed within the four major lines of microbats.
Consequently, two new suborders based on molecular data have been proposed. The new suborder Yinpterochiroptera includes the Pteropodidae or megabat family as well as the Rhinolophidae, Hipposideridae, Craseonycteridae, Megadermatidae, and Rhinopomatidae families. The new suborder Yangochiroptera includes all the remaining families of bats (all of which use laryngeal echolocation). These two new suborders are strongly supported by statistical tests. Teeling (2005) found 100% bootstrap support in all maximum likelihood analyses for the division of Chiroptera into these two modified suborders. This conclusion is further supported by a fifteen-base pair deletion in BRCA1 and a seven-base pair deletion in PLCB4 present in all Yangochiroptera and absent in all Yinpterochiroptera.[6] The Chiropteran phylogeny based on molecular evidence is controversial because microbat paraphyly implies that one of two seemingly unlikely hypotheses occurred. The first suggests that laryngeal echolocation evolved twice in Chiroptera, once in Yangochiroptera and once in the rhinolophoids.[7][8] The second proposes that laryngeal echolocation had a single origin in Chiroptera, was subsequently lost in the family Pteropodidae (all megabats), and later evolved as a system of tongue-clicking in the genus Rousettus.[9]
Common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus.
Analyses of the sequence of the "vocalization" gene, FoxP2 was inconclusive of whether laryngeal echolocation was secondarily lost in the pteropodids or independently gained in the echolocating lineages[10]. However, analyses of the "hearing" gene, Prestin seemed to favor the independent gain in echolocating species rather than a secondary loss in the pteropodids.[11]
In addition to Yinpterochiroptera and Yangochiroptera, the names Pteropodiformes and Vespertilioniformes have also been proposed for these suborders.[12][13] Under this new proposed nomenclature, the suborder Pteropodiformes includes all extant bat families more closely related to the genus Pteropus than the genus Vespertilio, while the suborder Vespertilioniformes includes all extant bat families more closely related to the genus Vespertilio than to the genus Pteropus.
In the 1980s, a hypothesis based on morphological evidence was offered that stated that the Megachiroptera evolved flight separately from the Microchiroptera. The so-called flying primates theory proposed that when adaptations to flight are removed, the Megachiroptera are allied to primates by anatomical features that are not shared with Microchiroptera. One example is that the brains of megabats show a number of advanced characteristics that link them to primates. Although recent genetic studies support the monophyly of bats,[14] debate continues as to the meaning of available genetic and morphological evidence.[15]
Little fossil evidence is available to help map the evolution of bats, since their small, delicate skeletons do not fossilize very well. However a Late Cretaceous tooth from South America resembles that of an early Microchiropteran bat. The oldest known definitely identified bat fossils, such as Icaronycteris, Archaeonycteris, Palaeochiropteryx and Hassianycteris, are from the early Eocene period, 52.5 million years ago[5]. These fossil bats were already very similar to modern microbats. Archaeopteropus, formerly classified as the earliest known megachiropteran, is now classified as a microchiropteran.
Bats were formerly grouped in the superorder Archonta along with the treeshrews (Scandentia), colugos (Dermoptera), and the primates, because of the apparent similarities between Megachiroptera and such mammals. Genetic studies have now placed bats in the superorder Laurasiatheria along with carnivorans, pangolins, odd-toed ungulates, even-toed ungulates, and cetaceans.[1]
"Chiroptera" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904
The traditional classification of bats is:
  • Order Chiroptera
The traditional classification of bats is:
  • Order Chiroptera

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

tigers

The tigersTigers are solitary and territorial animals; territories are between 7 to 65 square miles (20 to 180 km2) in size. Within this area, a tiger may have a number of dens in caves, hollow trees, and dense vegetation. Tigers hunt primarily at night, feeding mainly on large mammals, such as wild cattle, antelope, and deer. A tiger stalks its prey, crawling silently until within striking distance; then it leaps at the victim and kills it by strangulation or by biting its neck. Some tigers have been known to regularly hunt and eat humans, but most will attack only if threatened or wounded.
Mating occurs most frequently from November to April. Usually two or three cubs are born after a gestation period of about 100 days. The newborn cubs weigh two to three pounds (0.9 to 1.4 kg). The tigress cares for the young until they are able to fend for themselves—after about 12 to 18 months.
Tigers can interbreed with lions. A tigon is a hybrid between a male tiger and a female lion; a liger, between a male lion and a female tiger.
Tigers are highly endangered. There are probably fewer than 8,000 in the wild. Although tigers are now protected by law, they are often hunted for their pelts. Many are also killed illegally for their bones and other body parts, which are used to make folk medicines. Habitat destruction is another threat to tigers. Several nature reserves for tigers have been established.
How Big Is a Tiger?
An average adult male tiger weighs about 420 pounds (190 kilograms) and is 9 feet (2.7 meters) long, including its tail. That means that an adult male tiger can be bigger than an adult male lion. But a tiger can grow even bigger than that. The Siberian tiger is the largest wild cat of all. It can weigh nearly 800 pounds (360 kilograms) and measure up to 13 feet (4 meters) long, including its tail.
Siberian tigers are not only bigger than their relatives that live to the south, but their coats are different, too. Siberian tigers grow thick, shaggy coats that help keep them warm during the long, cold winters of the far north. And just like other tigers, Siberian tigers have coats with stripes.
Appearance
The lion, tawny to sandy brown in colour, is the largest of the African carnivores. Cubs are faintly spotted on the lower parts; some adults retain traces of the spots. Adult males have manes that vary in colour from tawny to black. This, together with their larger size, distinguishes them from females.
Behaviour
Lions live a lazy lifestyle, typically active for only two to four hours in every 24. They are most active at night and rest during the day. A lion pride consists of a group of two to 12 closely related adult females with their young, attended by one to six adult males. If there is more than one male they are often, but not always, close relatives, often brothers.
Only pride males have access to the pride females. Males take over prides by driving out the current males in savage and sometimes fatal fights, and are in turn displaced by new challengers after one to 10 years. The new males expel any young males from the pride and try to kill all the cubs to bring the females quickly back into breeding condition and so ensure offspring will have their genes.
After a take-over females come into heat and mate but, amazingly, do not bear cubs until the new males have established their status against possible challengers.
Reproduction
Females give birth to litters of up to six cubs (usually one to four). Weaning starts at 10 weeks, and is completed by six months. Lions mate about four times an hour over two to three days! Pride males do not compete for available females as these females will mate with all of a pride's males in turn as each loses interest in her. Pride females suckle one another's cubs, with no bias towards their own.
Hunting
Lions differ from other cats by regularly hunting in groups. When hunting small prey, each lion pursues its own animal; with larger and more dangerous prey co-operation is needed to split a herd or pull down and kill one animal.
Most of the hunting is done by the females. When in a pride, the males take what food they want from the females. Cubs get what the adults leave, and in times of food shortage, starvation is their major cause of death.


Read more:http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/lion-information.html#ixzz166b2EHQZ


Diet
Medium and large prey, including impala, wildebeest, zebra and gemsbok. Will also take larger species such as buffalo, giraffe, hippo and young elephants. Lions will also eats birds, reptiles, fish, and even insects, also smaller mammals down to the size of mice.
Sounds
To hear the roar of lions at night is an experience to be savoured - provided you're safely in your tent or bungalow. Typically a lion's roar will start with a series of low grunts, building to a reverberating crescendo before trailing off again. Lions also grunt, cough and snarl.
For additional information about lions, seeLion Facts,Lions Mating, or try the search box further below.
Lion information fromThe Ultimate Field Guideand other African mammal field guides.
BBC Nature Site
An excellent source of wildlife information is the BBC's Nature site. Go toWildfactsand choose an animal by entering relevant keywords in the search box


Read more:http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/lion-information.html#ixzz166b5m9cA