Red Panda

Let’s start off by saying that they are adorable!!

Although they are called Ped pandas, they are not a bear at all. So they are not related to the actual Giant Pandas. In fact, the giant pandas were named so after the red panda because of their slight similarities. They are neither related to Fox because of the red color look nor are they related to Weasels. The scientists used to think she is related to Raccoons. But the truth is that they are in a family called Ailuridae. This family consists of only one species-the Red Panda. They are unique and are one of a kind.

Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and Northern Myanmar (Burma), as well as in central China.

They are good climbers and they also climb down the trees headfirst.

The red panda is a vegetarian carnivore. This may sound confusing but here, ‘carnivore’ is a biological order that includes bears, dogs, and cats. Many of these species are carnivorous but some are omnivorous or herbivorous like the red panda. They mostly eat bamboo leaves and sometimes insects.

Did you know that once, a Red panda named rusty escaped from Smithsonian National Zoo? A tree branch was pushed down over the fence due to some heavy rains he then made a break for it  😂🤣.

The company Mozilla named its browser ‘firefox’ after the Red Panda. Firefox is another name for the red panda. In 2010, Mozilla adopted 2 baby red pandas that had been born at Tennessee's Knoxville Zoo.

Can you guess which animal master Shifu from the “Kung Fu Panda”? That’s right, he is a Red Panda!!

These animals can easily blend in with their surroundings, they hide by disappearing into the branches of fir trees which are usually covered with reddish-brown moss.

They have 5 fingers, but apart from that, they have a special wrist bone that acts as a thumb which allows it to hold bamboo stalks.

These adorable creatures are endangered with less than 10,000 of them left.

They tweet! Want to listen. Click here (👇)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Red_panda_twittering.ogg

Koala

Koalas are indigenous to Australia and are considered a totemic species. The word ‘koala’, in the Aboriginal language, is thought to mean ‘no drink’ or ‘no water’.

Eucalyptus trees play a very important role in koala’s lives. as they only feed on eucalyptus leaves. These leaves are actually poisonous, but Koalas have special digestive systems that take out the poison and flush it down their liver. A lot of energy is needed to digest eucalyptus leaves. Koalas actually sleep around 18 to 22 hrs a day and they need this time to digest the food.

They have pouches in their mouth to store food, so when they do not have access to eucalyptus leaves, they just eat the food they store in their pouches. They also get water from the eucalyptus leaves as the leaves have water in them.

They have 5 fingers on each paw. Two of the fingers move like thumbs. That is how they can hold on to branches which make them amazing climbers. They are mostly nocturnal as they sleep during the day and stay up at night.

You might be thinking that koalas are related to bears. But they are actually related to wombats.

Did you know, koalas fur differ depending on where they live. Urbanization, skyrocketing deforestation, and bushfires are endangering these vulnerable marsupials. though they are not considered endangered, their population is reducing.

A koala hospital and new wildlife reserves are the focus of one of Australia's boldest plans to protect these animals. Special measures have also been put in place to help drivers avoid koalas that stray onto highways, including better signs. Tunnels and specially-made bridges have also allowed wildlife to traverse roads while avoiding cars and trucks.

Saharan Silver Ant

This is the fastest Ant in the world. It lives in the Sahara desert (obviously). It runs 855 millimeters in one second. It covers the 108 times the distance on its own length in one second. If it was the size of an average human, it would have covered about 180 meters per second. When this fascinating ant runs, it keeps its front two feet above the ground so that it does not touch the sand. 

This is the fastest Ant in the world. It lives in the Sahara desert (obviously). It runs 2.8 Ft in one second and this is probably because of the desert environment where the temperatures reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It covers 108 times the distance on its own length in one second. If it was the size of an average human, it would have covered about 180 meters per second. When this fascinating ant runs, it keeps its front two feet above the ground so that it does not touch the sand. 

These ants get prey who have suffered from the heat of the Sahara. But to get their prey, they must face the scorching sand and sun but that actually is no problem for them.  These ants have adapted in such a way that they have hair that glints silver in the sunlight. This hair helps the ant to face the heat. This hair can cause a 5-degree drop in their body temperature if needed. The hair on the ant’s body is actually 3 sided and not round. This special hair helps reflects more than 50% of the light that falls on it. 

But what about the hot sand. The hair is not the only thing that keeps this ant cool, one more characteristic of the ant to keep the ant cool is its legs. Its legs are long compared to the ant’s body. When they scurry, they generate wind which cools their body through convection. The hot layer of air surrounding the insect rises because it’s less dense than cooler air.

Seahorse

Most seahorse species are poorly evaluated (lacking enough study),  their population trends and status are unknown. They have heads like a horse and tail like a monkey but they are a type of fish. Seahorses weigh 7 ounces to 1 pound (about 2 to 4 lemons). 

They swim short distances with the help of their dorsal fin, using the gas in their body to move up and down in the water. Seahorses prefer to swim in pairs with their tails linked together. It moves each of its eyes independently, so it can follow the activity of passing sea life without giving its presence away. 

They can consume 3,000 or more brine shrimp per day. They use their long tail to catch on to things like coral.

They can camouflage to protect themselves from predators. It is interesting that a male seahorse gives birth, they can give birth to as many as about 1,500 seahorse babies.

There are about 40 different species of seahorses. About 8 species are classified as threatened (vulnerable or endangered).

Stingray

Stingrays can be found in oceans in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. They like warm and shallow water.

These are cartilaginous fish. This means that they are a type of fish as their skeleton is made of cartilage which is a substance that is strong but is more bendable than bones. They move with pectoral fins which imitates the motions of bird wings.

The stingray settles on the ground and moves its fins up and down covering itself with sand so that it is not visible to prey and predators. They have a defense against predators. This is the barb located on the tail. If the barb hits the predator, the predator will get infected with venom. They have powerful jaws that can crush through the shell of the prey.

An interesting fact about the Stingrays is that they are ancient species that existed at the time of the Jurassic period. Stingrays are ovoviviparous, which means that their young ones hatch from eggs that are held within the body.

The eyes of a stingray do not play an important role in hunting prey and depend on other senses for hunting.  Special gel-filled pits across the front of their face called Ampullae of Lorenzini,  allow them to pick up electrical signals from other animals when they move.The biggest stingray weighs about 800 pounds or about 363 kg which is about the weight of 10 baby rhinos.

Sadly the number of stingrays is declining. Overfishing, habitat loss and climate change are the major threats to rays.