How Cute Am I

It’s that special day when Wednesday’s become Wild! #WildWednesday y’all! What animal do you think this is? Whoever can guess the exact animal will get a gift

 

Wild Wednesday’s animal is........🥁🥁🥁🥁



A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K🎵 The Aardvark!

Here are a few interesting facts about the animal.

Aardvarks are powerful diggers that use their thick nails to break into termite and ant mounds in search of food.

"Aardvark" translates to "earth pig" in South Africa's Afrikaans language.

Their tongue can measure up to 11 inches long.
Aardvarks have large fleshy ears, a long tail, a prominent snout, and a long sticky tongue that can slip inside termite mounds to capture prey. These distinctive mammals have a gray body that is lightly covered in hair. They can reach up to four feet in length and weigh 120 pounds. Nocturnal, they forage for food at night and rest during the day. Solitary and territorial animals, they only come together to breed. Females give birth in their burrow and newborns remain underground for several weeks until they mature.

 

Reindeer Fact: EYES
Living in an arctic habitat that is dark 3-4 months out of the year allows Reindeer to have some truly remarkable eyes. In the sunny summer months, their eyes are a brown hue, but in the dark winter months, their eyes turn a deep blue color. This is due to their tapetum lucidum AKA: the lens in their eye that allows night vision. Reindeer’s blue eyes reflects 50% less light than their summery brown eyes, but scientists think that the compression that comes from near constant dilation actually scatters light to photoreceptors at the side, which is an adaptation to recycle light in an otherwise dark territory. Humans see in 700-400 nanometers, whereas Reindeer can see down to 350-320 nanometers. What does this mean? It means Reindeer can see in ultraviolet light. In fact, they are the only mammal besides some rodents that can see in this special ultraviolet light! This is crucial for arctic reindeer. Seeing in ultraviolet light allows them to see three very important things: urine markings in the snow, lichens to eat (more on that later), and fur. Urine is seen as a black color on snow, where fur of other animals such as predators (ie. Wolves) glows. This allows the reindeer to see each other, markings of any animal that comes by, and most importantly: an otherwise camouflaged and potentially dangerous predator long before any other creature can. UV reflects 90% out of snow, which tends to damage human eyes causing snow blindness...but its no big deal for Reindeer! They hardly ever succumb to retina damage. Being able to see UV has its perks in urbanized areas as well- Reindeer avoid power lines, as they surge plumes of UV often, which again, humans and most other wildlife cannot see.

 

Reindeer Fact: HOOVES
Reindeer feet are very unique. As even toed ungulates, their hooves are comprised of two enlarged cloven toes made up of bone and keratin. Two long dew claws are found back side of the foot. Reindeer hooves are almost completely circular in shape, and the long dew claws act like extra toes during winter months. Not only do healthy hooves allow Reindeer to stand, walk, run, and jump, they also help the Reindeer travel long distances in the wild. Caribou (north american reindeer) have been known to migrate up to 3,500 miles! In the summer time, when the weather is warm, the hoof pad swells and softens, which acts like tennis shoes, gripping rocks and hills. In the winter, however, the hoof pad shrinks, exposing more of the solid hoof structure, allowing reindeer to walk in snow and grip onto ice better than most man-made snow boots. The bottom of reindeer hooves are also covered in hair. Ever heard the Christmas song that goes, “Up on the rooftop, click click click!”? Well, it is TRUE, reindeer hooves do click! A tendon rubs over a bone in their hoof bed with each step, and the sound helps each herd member hear each other during an otherwise blinding blizzard. The sound is similar to when humans crack their knuckles. Reindeer use their hooves not only to get around, but to dig in dirt, snow, and ice for food. They also can pack a solid kick or stomp if needed!
Hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about a very important part of a Reindeer.

 

Gemini ♡
In this photo you can see that black leopards have rosette markings just like a regular coloured leopard! Their markings can be more difficult to see depending on how the light hits them!

 

Sitka came from a midwest fur farm and had some understandable fears that I worked hard to overcome. When he arrived at the zoo I work at, it was soon revealed that Sitka also had a compound fracture in his front right leg which required orthopedic surgery. If that weren’t enough for this little beauty, Sitka also developed an ear hematoma which had to be surgically removed.
Through all of that, this amazing little fellow had maintained a very playful nature and developed a close bond with me that I worked hard to get him ready to join his zoo friends as an animal-ambassador reaching out to schools and children of all ages.
RIP LIL GUY

 

A sloth a day keeps the sadness away