The Gang's All Here

     Ever wondered what a pack of wombats or gang of crocodiles are called? Well, I got your A-to-Z animal groupings right here.

A

Aurora of Polar bears
Array of Hedgehogs

Ambush of Tigers

B

Bale of Turtles

Barrel of Monkeys

Band of Gorillas

Business of Ferrets
Brood of Hens
Bed of Snakes

C

Circus of Puffins

Colony of Ants

Clew of Worms

Clutch of Chicks

Cyclone of Scorpions

Congress of Baboons
Crash of Rhinos
Charm of Hummingbirds
Cackle of Hyenas

D

Dongle of Hoatzin
Down of Hare
Drove of Sheep

E

Embarrassment of Pandas

F
Flamboyance of Flamingos
Fall of Lambs
Flotilla of Swordfish
Flutter of Jellyfish
Flock of Camels

G
Galaxy of Starfish
Gaze of Raccoons
Gleam of Herrings
Gaggle of Geese
Gang of Bison

H
Hum of Bees
Herd of Dinosaurs

To be continued...

Unbelievable!

     Some creatures have the most peculiar abilities or appearances.
     You've heard of superheroes right? Well I present you with... (drumroll happening in background) The Incredible League of Animals!
     All super teams have a fast member, a strong member, a fiery member, a flying member, and so forth. Meet nature's paw-some super team or The Incredible League of Animals.

    Speed'a Cheetah (cheetah) - the fastest land mammal
    The Octopus (octopus) - takes form of other creatures
    Gecko Guy (gecko) - clings to unclingable surfaces
    The Incredible Bulk (elephant) - can lift trees (or tear them down)
    The Sting (jellyfish) - paralyzing their enemies with deadly "fire-like pain" tendrils
    Siren's Cry (barn owl) - produce a horrific screaming
   
   There is a lot more interesting wildlife in this world, some of it is still undiscovered (Did you know? We know more about space than we do the ocean!). I'm sure I could add a thousand more animals to this list but until my next post I'll leave you with this question(s): What animal is your favorite? Is it on my blog or something else? Why do you like it? Until next time...

The Clever Crowd

These creatures I'll be speaking on today may be smarter at times than humans (or those of you reading this if not human!).

     Dolphins are incredibly clever. In certain areas, they will take a sponge and shuffle around in the sea bed so as not to damage their nose. Some Dolphins will even eavesdrop! And can deceive one another, by looking in a different direction than intended. They grow up learning to follow another animal's gaze and as they get older develop this skill to see what each other is looking at (a sign of immense intelligence) but then they will use it to give each other an illusion.

     Orca whales will spyhop out of the water to hunt seals. By spyhoping, they can navigate the type of icefloe and the type of wave required to knock the animal off.

     Wolves are masters of strategy, they act as one in order to carry out their performance of strength and agility. They will stalk their prey until on the terrain plays to their advantage, snowy ground is ideal. No problem for the thick paws of a wolf but for a lumbering moose, this may cause as a dilemma. Agile female wolves will dart out to confuse the target, while the more powerful males will close in for the kill.

     Dholes (a species of wild dog) have learned to avoid humans at all costs and, when hunting, if they get to close to a human place, they will abandon their hunt. Knowing the risk of interacting with humans is too dangerous.

     As you can see these are only a few of the amazingly intelligent animals of this world. I when with the more "least known" of animal intellect, instead of chimps and gorillas (one of which in fact was so smart it requested a "bag of scary snakes and spiders" for it's birthday using sign language!). 

    Until next time... More natural wonders await...

You're Kidding!

     As my title says, some of these creatures are really strange. Good thing I'm here to help! Now, you have probably heard of platypuses or leaf bugs, but a tenrec, blue dragon, or axolotol? Now those are weird.
     Tenrecs (a mammal) communicate by making clicking sounds with their tongue or by rubbing their spines together, like crickets do. Blue dragons (AKA Blue sea slugs, my personal favorite!) are very poisonous but are gorgeous! And Axolotol (salamander) can regrow limbs and parts of their brains!
      Not only are these animals incredible, but look at the Basilisk lizard, it can run on water! Margays mimic baby monkeys to fool the adults, a froghopper grasshopper can jump 140 times it's own height, and scorpions glow under UV light!

     I hope you have enjoyed reading. Until next time...

Unicorns, Mermaids, and... Terrifying screams?

     These animals I am discussing today were once thought to be fantasys. But really, they're not. During Columbus's era, he claimed to see large creatures with horns atop their heads, but he was probably seeing a Rhino. Unicorns are just a fantasy but rhinos are not and, unfortunately, seriously endangered. One species, the black rhinoceros, is only surviving in captivity, only around 5 are left in the world! :(
     Mermaids, half human, half fish. Weird huh? Not really... Long ago, sailors would be up for hours and would start to see things, but what they thought were these luring damsels where actually... Manatees! Honestly very peaceful. In fact, most get wounded because of humans. In Florida at certain times of the year, hundreds will gather in the warm waters to forge.
     Now for the terrifying screams. Don't be alarmed, trust me, I've heard them in my own backyard. These petrifying cries often sound like a woman dying. But they are actually made by... Barn owls? Yep, you heard me. Barn owls. Tasmanian Devils will also give a piercing scream when scavenging, and will attack one another for the food (they even had a very strong bite and will eat the bones of their prey!)
     These animals may be given a bad call, but they all have a God-given purpose. Thanks for reading. Til' next time...

(Next time: "the clever crowd" the smartest animals...)

"Terrible Lizards"

I have decided to speak on dinosaurs today! ;D
     But did you know not all dinos are reptiles?! And some even had feathers!
These ancient monsters are incredible! Here let me tell you...

     The Spinosaurus (spine-oh-sore-us), name meaning: "spine lizard" was the largest carnivore ever, up to 40-60 feet long and 11,000-20,000 pounds! It was a fish eater and lived by rivers, using it's deadly hooked claws to scoop fish up from the water. They share many similarities with crocodiles, the edge of it's mouth and the shape of it's teeth. They are also believed to have a large sail on their back, measuring up to 5.5 feet. Some studies show that this sail was used to store fat, originally thought to control body temperatures.

     Another powerful dino was the Mosasaurus (mose-ah-saw-rus). It was around 50-56 feet long, weighed up to 20 tons and preyed on fish, squid, and tooth marks have also been found on ammonites (nautilus-like invertebrates). This HUGE sea beast looked like a crocodile with flippers and was the T-Rex of the seas. They are suggested to be relatives to snakes, scale impressions show they had scaly skin, similar to that of snakes.

     One of the most famous dinos is... the Velociraptor (vel-oss-ee-rap-tor) name meaning: "swift plunderer". Instead of being all scaly and large, as portrayed in movies, they are actually only 6 feet long, believed to have feathers, and hunt solo or scavenge when they got the chance. The have a large, sickle-like claw that could hook onto it's prey.

     Now for the final (not at all carnivorous) Argentinosaurus (are-jen-teen-oh-sore-us)! The largest land animal ever! It weighted 161,000 pounds! And was 98-100 feet long! How huge is that!? Although they had small brains, meaning they weren't very bright. Even though only a few bones have been found scientists estimate that this Titanosaur was longer than a tennis court and nearly 20 times heavier than an elephant! It's eggs were the size of footballs and most likely took around 40 years to reach full adult size!

     I really hope you enjoyed reading this! Until next time...

Snow Leopards

Elusive, beautiful, and impressive jumpers, Snow leopards are a rare, roarless species of big cat. They live in the mountains, and can leap up to 50 feet through the air!
     They use their long tails for balance and blankets to keep warm in the frigid mountain air.
     Their wide, furry paws act as natural snowshoes, preventing them from wading through the frosty ground. Snow leopards mainly diet on blue sheep or Bharl and ibexes.
     Their numbers are dwindling, not many more than 4,080-6,590 are left in the wild.
     Snow leopards are actually more related to tigers than leopards! Their gorgeous gray spotted fur is helps them hide in the rocky clefts and snow piles of the Asian mountains.

Pangolins

Today I will be speaking on Pangolins.
They are very unusual creatures, whose name means: "something that rolls up". They are covered in plates instead of fur (much like an armordillo). Pangolins are nocturnal and mainly feed on insects using their long tongue. They have prehensile tails and keratin scales, making them the only known mammals with this adaptation.
     There are eight species of Pangolin. Let's see if I can list them all: the Chinese pangolin, the Sunda pangolin, the Black-bellied pangolin, the White-bellied pangolin, Temmenik's ground pangolin, the Giant pangolin, and the Indian pangolin, and Philippine pangolin. Phew! That's a lot!
     Here are some more interesting facts:
     Four of the eight species live in Africa while the other four survive in Southern Asia.
     They can eat up to 70 million ants per year!
     Are often hunted for their scales and meat.
     Their tongue is longer than their body!
     20% of their body weight is made up of scales.
     Baby pangolins are carried on their mother's tails.
I hope you enjoyed learning about these beautiful and unique creatures!
     Until next time...