Roborovski Hamster

Roborovski Hamsters

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Rodentia
Family : Cricetidae
Genus : Phodopus
Species : P. roborovskii

Length : up to 3in (7.5cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

You might recognize this tiny rodent from your local pet store, but Roborovski Hamsters are actually native to the desert and steppe regions of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. Their small size (they are the smallest Hamsters) and efficient use of water has allowed them to live in these harsh, dry environments. They are also sometimes appropriately referred to as the Desert Hamster.

Roborovski Hamsters were first described by a Lt. Roborovski during an 1894 expedition. They were not fully studied until 1903, and were not really imported anywhere until the 1970s. In fact, these Hamsters didn't even appear in America until 1998!

White Faced Roborovski

While most captive hamsters are fed a vegetarian diet, wild Robos are actually omnivores, and occasionally eat insects and other bits of meat that they can find. They are crepuscular animals, and spend a great deal of time in underground burrows that they dig as far as 6 feet down!

Roborovski Hamsters can live up to three years in captivity, and have been bred to come in three different color variations - Agout (or wild), White Faced, and Platinum. They are relatively easy to breed; they reach sexual maturity at 6-8 weeks and a female can produce a litter every 4 weeks! Males can actually be kept with females after they give birth, as they will help care for the young. However, the females can become pregnant again almost immediately, so unless you want a massive colony of Hamsters, it is probably best to keep them apart. Interestingly, it seems that the Hamsters will actually stop breeding altogether once their colony reaches a specific size.

Roborovski Hamster

Roborovski Hamsters

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Order : Rodentia

Family : Cricetidae

Genus : Phodopus

Species : P. roborovskii



Length : up to 3in (7.5cm)



IUCN Status : Least Concern



You might recognize this tiny rodent from your local pet store, but Roborovski Hamsters are actually native to the desert and steppe regions of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. Their small size (they are the smallest Hamsters) and efficient use of water has allowed them to live in these harsh, dry environments. They are also sometimes appropriately referred to as the Desert Hamster.



Roborovski Hamsters were first described by a Lt. Roborovski during an 1894 expedition. They were not fully studied until 1903, and were not really imported anywhere until the 1970s. In fact, these Hamsters didn't even appear in America until 1998!

White Faced Roborovski

While most captive hamsters are fed a vegetarian diet, wild Robos are actually omnivores, and occasionally eat insects and other bits of meat that they can find. They are crepuscular animals, and spend a great deal of time in underground burrows that they dig as far as 6 feet down!



Roborovski Hamsters can live up to three years in captivity, and have been bred to come in three different color variations - Agout (or wild), White Faced, and Platinum. They are relatively easy to breed; they reach sexual maturity at 6-8 weeks and a female can produce a litter every 4 weeks! Males can actually be kept with females after they give birth, as they will help care for the young. However, the females can become pregnant again almost immediately, so unless you want a massive colony of Hamsters, it is probably best to keep them apart. Interestingly, it seems that the Hamsters will actually stop breeding altogether once their colony reaches a specific size.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelle

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Nanger
Species : N. dama

Height : 40in (1m)
Weight : Up to 180lbs (81kg)

IUCN Status : Critically Endangered

The Dama Gazelle is both the world's largest, and the world's rarest gazelle. They once had a range that spread across all of northern Africa, but now they are restricted to only a few isolated pockets in Niger, Mali, and Chad.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelles live either solitary lifestyles, or in very small groups that number up to around 15 individuals. They feed off of scrubs and acacia trees, and are able to stand on their hind legs in order to feed off higher leaves. They are can get most of their water needs right from the food they eat.

A number of factors have contributed to the population decline of the Dama Gazelle. They are illegally hunted, they have lost their habitat, they have been horribly affected by drought, and they are forced to compete for food with grazing livestock. There are only a few hundred left in the wild, though recently some have also been released into enclosures and reserves in Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelle

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Order : Artiodactyla

Family : Bovidae

Genus : Nanger

Species : N. dama



Height : 40in (1m)

Weight : Up to 180lbs (81kg)



IUCN Status : Critically Endangered



The Dama Gazelle is both the world's largest, and the world's rarest gazelle. They once had a range that spread across all of northern Africa, but now they are restricted to only a few isolated pockets in Niger, Mali, and Chad.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelles live either solitary lifestyles, or in very small groups that number up to around 15 individuals. They feed off of scrubs and acacia trees, and are able to stand on their hind legs in order to feed off higher leaves. They are can get most of their water needs right from the food they eat.



A number of factors have contributed to the population decline of the Dama Gazelle. They are illegally hunted, they have lost their habitat, they have been horribly affected by drought, and they are forced to compete for food with grazing livestock. There are only a few hundred left in the wild, though recently some have also been released into enclosures and reserves in Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.

Matschie's Tree Kangaroo

Matschie's Tree Kangaroo

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Infraclass : Marsupialia
Order : Diprotodontia
Family : Macropodidae
Genus : Dendrolagus
Species : D. matschiei

Body Length : 30in (76cm)
Weight : 20lbs (9kg)

IUCN Status : Endangered

The Matschie's Tree Kangaroo (named after German zoologist Paul Matschie) is a herbivorous marsupial found only on New Guinea's Huon Penninsula. Not much is known about their behavior in the wild, but they are relatively common in captivity.

Mother and Joey

Matschie's Tree Kangaroos have a whole mess of adaptations that let them live the arboreal, rainforest lifestyle. They have large front limbs and padded feet that help them to climb. They also have enormously long tails that act as counter-balances. Furthermore, the Kangaroos have fur on their necks and backs that grows in an opposite direction from the rest of their body. They can then hunch over while it's raining and have all the water run right off, keeping them dry.

Like all marsupials, pouches play a major role in reproduction. The female Kangaroos has a gestation period of only 44 days, and she gives birth to a Joey that is only an inch long. The Joey climbs up and into the pouch where he will stay without leaving for about 8 months. He will return to the pouch off and on for a few more months after that, and will finally leave his mother a year and a half after being born.

Matschie's Tree Kangaroos are on a population decline due to habitat loss and hunting.

Matschie's Tree Kangaroo

Matschie's Tree Kangaroo

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Infraclass : Marsupialia

Order : Diprotodontia

Family : Macropodidae

Genus : Dendrolagus

Species : D. matschiei



Body Length : 30in (76cm)

Weight : 20lbs (9kg)



IUCN Status : Endangered



The Matschie's Tree Kangaroo (named after German zoologist Paul Matschie) is a herbivorous marsupial found only on New Guinea's Huon Penninsula. Not much is known about their behavior in the wild, but they are relatively common in captivity.

Mother and Joey

Matschie's Tree Kangaroos have a whole mess of adaptations that let them live the arboreal, rainforest lifestyle. They have large front limbs and padded feet that help them to climb. They also have enormously long tails that act as counter-balances. Furthermore, the Kangaroos have fur on their necks and backs that grows in an opposite direction from the rest of their body. They can then hunch over while it's raining and have all the water run right off, keeping them dry.



Like all marsupials, pouches play a major role in reproduction. The female Kangaroos has a gestation period of only 44 days, and she gives birth to a Joey that is only an inch long. The Joey climbs up and into the pouch where he will stay without leaving for about 8 months. He will return to the pouch off and on for a few more months after that, and will finally leave his mother a year and a half after being born.



Matschie's Tree Kangaroos are on a population decline due to habitat loss and hunting.

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Chiroptera
Family : Vespertilionidae
Genus : Corynorhinus
Species : C. townsendii 

Body Length : 4in (10cm)
Wingspand : 11in (28cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

The ears of a Townsend's Big-eared Bat can grow as long as 2.5cm, which is astounding considering that that is 25% of their body length! These flying mammals can be found throughout western North America, ranging from southern Canada down into Mexico.

Townsend's Big-eared bats are phenomenal fliers, and feed almost exclusively on moths that they pick off of trees. Echolocation and low frequency sounds play a major role in their hunting and bat-to-bat communication. They are able to receive sound thanks to their massive ears, that they can swivel about to focus in on moving targets. Young bats also make unique chirping calls that their mothers use to locate them.

Mating takes place in the fall, and fertilization is delayed until the following spring. Females group up into maternity colonies at that time, and these groups can number over 1,000 bats! They each give birth to only one pup at a time, and infants are quite large, up to 25% of the mothers size. The species is rather long lived if the pups can survive their first year. Adults as old as 30 have been identified.

During the winter Townsend's Big-eared Bats go into hibernation, and during warmer months they often go into torpor when the temperate cools.

The species overall is not threatened, though localized populations  have had their numbers reduced due to habitat loss, pesticides, and disturbance of hibernation sites. Some subspecies, including Ozark and Virginia Big-eared Bats, are federally endangered.

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Order : Chiroptera

Family : Vespertilionidae

Genus : Corynorhinus

Species : C. townsendii 



Body Length : 4in (10cm)

Wingspand : 11in (28cm)



IUCN Status : Least Concern



The ears of a Townsend's Big-eared Bat can grow as long as 2.5cm, which is astounding considering that that is 25% of their body length! These flying mammals can be found throughout western North America, ranging from southern Canada down into Mexico.



Townsend's Big-eared bats are phenomenal fliers, and feed almost exclusively on moths that they pick off of trees. Echolocation and low frequency sounds play a major role in their hunting and bat-to-bat communication. They are able to receive sound thanks to their massive ears, that they can swivel about to focus in on moving targets. Young bats also make unique chirping calls that their mothers use to locate them.



Mating takes place in the fall, and fertilization is delayed until the following spring. Females group up into maternity colonies at that time, and these groups can number over 1,000 bats! They each give birth to only one pup at a time, and infants are quite large, up to 25% of the mothers size. The species is rather long lived if the pups can survive their first year. Adults as old as 30 have been identified.



During the winter Townsend's Big-eared Bats go into hibernation, and during warmer months they often go into torpor when the temperate cools.



The species overall is not threatened, though localized populations  have had their numbers reduced due to habitat loss, pesticides, and disturbance of hibernation sites. Some subspecies, including Ozark and Virginia Big-eared Bats, are federally endangered.

Ermine

Winter Coat Ermine

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Carnivora
Family : Mustelidae
Genus : Mustela
Species : M. erminea

Length : 13in (33cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

Ermines (also known as Stoats) can be found natively throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They are one of those curious creatures that possesses the ability to change color with the season. In winter, they are brown with lighter undersides, but in the winter they are almost completely white! Ermines are skilled predators that consume mostly birds and small mammals.

Ermine's don't live particularly long, in fact, their average life expectancy in the wild is only a year or two! Because of this, females are sexually mature at the age of only two months, which is remarkable since young are born blind and helpless. Interestingly, males take a year or two to sexually mature, meaning they often only live through one mating season.

Summer Coat Ermine

The winter fur of an ermine has been highly sought after, and has been used as a symbol of royalty and nobility. Ermine fur is also mimicked in heraldry.

Ermines have unfortunately become quite problematic in several island areas. For example, in the 1880s they were brought to New Zealand to control of the rabbit populations. The Ermines bred and flourished, which proved disastrous to many of the country's flightless bird species. The New Zealand Department of Conservation is constantly working on ways to eliminate what they refer to as "public enemy number one for New Zealand birds."

Ermine

Winter Coat Ermine

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Order : Carnivora

Family : Mustelidae

Genus : Mustela

Species : M. erminea



Length : 13in (33cm)



IUCN Status : Least Concern



Ermines (also known as Stoats) can be found natively throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They are one of those curious creatures that possesses the ability to change color with the season. In winter, they are brown with lighter undersides, but in the winter they are almost completely white! Ermines are skilled predators that consume mostly birds and small mammals.



Ermine's don't live particularly long, in fact, their average life expectancy in the wild is only a year or two! Because of this, females are sexually mature at the age of only two months, which is remarkable since young are born blind and helpless. Interestingly, males take a year or two to sexually mature, meaning they often only live through one mating season.

Summer Coat Ermine

The winter fur of an ermine has been highly sought after, and has been used as a symbol of royalty and nobility. Ermine fur is also mimicked in heraldry.



Ermines have unfortunately become quite problematic in several island areas. For example, in the 1880s they were brought to New Zealand to control of the rabbit populations. The Ermines bred and flourished, which proved disastrous to many of the country's flightless bird species. The New Zealand Department of Conservation is constantly working on ways to eliminate what they refer to as "public enemy number one for New Zealand birds."