Wildlife Fact File - Mammals - Pgs. 91-100

KEY FACTS

BELUGA WHALE

"""------. . ORDER "'1IIIIIIII Cetacea

FAMILY Monodontidae

GENUS &: SPECIES Oelphinapterus leucas

SIZES Length: 1 0-1 6 ft. Male slightly larger than female . Weight: 1,000-3,000 lb . BREEDING Sexual Maturity: Male, 8 years. Female, 5 years. Mating season: April to June. Gestation: 14-15 months. No. of young: 1 calf.

LIFESTYLE Habit: Sociable, living in groups . Call: Varies from delicate 'cheep' sound to a roar. Diet: Bottom-dwelling fish and crustaceans, and shoal-forming fish . Lifespan: 30-40 years. RELATED SPECIES There are only two species in the Monodontidae family: the beluga and the narwhal, Monodon monoceros.

Range of the beluga whale.

DISTRIBUTION Coastal waters of Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of North America, Greenland, Europe, and Asia. CONSERVATION Present population is unknown but thought to be recovering from heavy casualties as a result of eighteenth and nineteenth century whaling. Modern threats include pollution and disturbance of breeding grounds.

IDENTIFYING THE BELUGA WHALE Body: Plump, white , narrower at neck.

Length: The beluga is a medium-sized whale.

Tail flukes: For forward motion. Notched; adults may retain streaks of dark pigment.

Calf: Grayish brown at birth. Slate blue in second year, then gradually turns white.

The beluga is one of two species of white whale. It is known by some as the singing whale" because the wide range of noises it makes underwater can often be heard above the surface.

Flippers: Smooth; tips curl up.

Teeth: Peg-shaped to grip prey; usually 32 teeth total.

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The beluga whale lives in the icy waters of the Arctic where its white skin camouflages it throughout most of the year. The whale uses its head and back to smash through the ice so that it can come to the surface to breathe.

~ BEHAVIOR The beluga is a vocal whale; it makes a variety of sounds from birdlike chirps to roars . Like all whales, the beluga uses these sounds to communicate. It also has a large range of facial expressions; these, too, may be a form of communication. The beluga once roamed the seas in herds of tens of thousands. Over-hunting has

reduced its numbers . Now large herds gather only when returning to their shallow breeding grounds. Each herd is divided into smaller groups, or pods, of breeding or bachelor males and females with young . Pods spread out in the feeding grounds but join up again for the annual migration to the breeding grounds.

~ BREED ING

~ FOOD &: HUNTING The beluga hunts in small packs, eating worms, crustaceans, and fish that live in schools or on the seabed . Working in groups of five or six, the whales herd their prey into shallow waters, or toward the shore. The beluga vocalizes, or "talks," to other whales in the hunting group. The beluga's teeth, which appear when the mammal is about two or three years old, are not used for feeding, since it swallows its prey whole. Nevertheless, they wear down, probably because the beluga rubs them together to

produce sounds-another way to communicate. Unlike other wha les, the beluga has a flex ible neck and is able to move its head from side to side. This flexibility allows the whale a wide sweep of the ocean floor when hunting. Its flippers are flexible, too; they enable it to move easily in tight situations, even backwards if necessary.

Mating occurs from April to june. The dominant male mates with more than one female. After the mating season, the beluga migrates south to Warmer coastal waters and arrives in june or july. A female, pregnant from last year's mating, will split off into a small nursing pod. She gives birth to a single calf, which arrives underwater, tail

first, and then makes its way to the surface to breathe. The newborn calf is grayish brown and turns lighter gray after a couple of years. It does not turn white until adulthood . After about a month, when the calf is strong enough, all the belugas migrate back to the colder Arctic waters. The young beluga suckles from its mother for about two yea rs. Below: The beluga is known to make a wide variety of facial expressions.

Below: The beluga 's pale adult coloration accounts for its other name, "white whale. "

~ BELUGA WHALE &: MAN The beluga whale was easy prey for whalers of the nineteenth century. Whalers forced the belugas onto beaches, stranding them. Thousands of whales died this way. The beluga is no longer killed for its meat in Western waters, since it contains toxic levels of poisonous marine pollution.

DID YOU KNOW?

Above: Belugas hunt in small packs, working together to isolate and gulp down large schools of fish.

Now, the main threats to its survival are pollution of shallow coastal waters, the building of hydroelectric dams that alter its habitat, and the widespread disturbance of its breeding grounds. Left: This beluga whale performs for man, as do other whales.

. ·The beluga's breeding cycle takes three years: 14 to 15 months to carry the calf, and about two years to suckle it. • The beluga does not have a dorsal fin . • The beluga was called "sea canary" by nineteenth century whalers because of its high-pitched sounds. • Most whales have th in skins. Because the beluga's sk'in is thicker, it was once used to make bootlaces. . The beluga shares its habitat with the narwhal.

"'" CARD 92

EUROPEAN WATER SHREW ~~----------------------~~~~~~

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ORDER Insectivora

FAMILY Soricidae

GENUS & SPECIES Neomys fodiens

KEY FACTS SIZES Length: 5 in., including tail. Weight: Up to 3/ 4 oz. BREEDING Sexual maturity: 2 years. Some females breed in first year. Mating: April to September. Gestation : 24 days. Litter size: 3-8 young. LIFESTYLE Habit: Short, alternate periods of activity and sleep at regular intervals, day and night. Lives alone or in family groups. Diet: Snails, insects, crustaceans, earthworms, frogs, small fish . Lifespan: 14-19 months . RELATED SPECIES There is only one other species in this genus, Neomys anomalus. There are 246 different species in the family' Soricidae.

Range of the European water shrew. DISTRIBUTION Throughout most of Eu rope and Asia . Found at all altitudes . CONSERVATION The shrew is sometimes considered a pest because it eats the spawn of valuable fish stocks. Pollution and draining of waterways and w etlands threaten its habitat in some areas .

HOW THE WATER SHREW SWIMS &; DIVES As the water shrew swims underwater, the air trapped in its fur gives it a silvery appearance. Once underwater, it moves along the river bottom , searching for food . A fringe of hair on the tail acts as a rudder to control its direction .

As the water shrew dives below the surface, air bubbles _ _ _ _ _ are trapped in its fu r.

I The European water shrew is a semiaquatic animal and is one of the largest of all shrews. It spends its time swimming and hunting for food in streams and rivers. ©MCM XC I IMP BV/IMP INC WILDLIFE FACT FILETt"

The shrew must paddle continuously while foraging to avoid rising to the sl:lfface,

Left: Although shrews have poor eyesight, they have excellent senses of smell and hearing. They communicate with one another by scent and also with high-pitched squeaks and twitters. They are aggressive when protecting their territories from other shrews.

The water shrew lives near slow-flowing, clear rivers and streams. It swims and dives well but seldom ventures

far from the bank. The shrew is a solitary and territorial animal, but occasionally it lives in family groups.

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pointed teeth, which allow it to overpower prey that is considerably larger than itself. A water shrew eats more then its own weight in food every day and hoards food when it is plentiful.

BREEDING

Although it sometimes lives in family groups, the water shrew is mainly solitary and occupies its own territory. It builds a nest in an existing hole in a riverbank or it digs a tunnel. The shrew lines the nest with grass, roots, and moss.

Right: A shrew

dives toward the bottom of a river. Below: A

shrew eats a bullhead fish.

Left: The

young are naked and blind at birth, and they weigh only a fraction of an ounce. They grow quickly and are weaned after four weeks, when they are ready to ·Ieave the nest.

The shrew's mating season is from April to September. If the male approaches a female that is not ready to mate, they often fight instead. During mat ing, the male behaves aggressively, which might trigger the female to ovulate (produce eggs). The female often mates again soon after giving birth. Three to eight young are born in the nesting chamber. The female may bear two or three litters a year.

DID YOU KNOW?

HABITS

FOOD &: FEEDING

The water shrew regularly leaves its nest for short periods throughout the day to forage. It mainly eats crustaceans and other aquatic animals such as whirligig beetles and water gnats. It also catches larger prey like frogs and small fish. On land the water shrew uses its good sense of smell to hunt for earthworms and insects. In water it searches along the bottoms of streams and rivers. It looks for prey under stones and among weeds in much the same way it does on land . Once the shrew has caught its prey, it rises quickly to the surface. The water shrew has sharp,

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The shrew alternates between activity and rest both day and night. It comes ashore at frequent intervals to dry off by squeezing through the narrow passageways of its tunnel to rid its fur of moisture. It then grooms itself.

• Because the water shrew completely digests its food in three hours, it must feed frequently throughout both day and night. • Water shrews occasionally migrate in groups of several hundred .

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• The water shrew's saliva contains venom that it uses to stun larger prey, such as fish and frogs, to prevent the prey from struggling . The salivary glands of one shrew contain enough poison to kill 200 mice .

NATUREWATCH

Despite their wide range and constant activity, shrews are very difficult to spot. The best places to keep watch are near the banks of slow-moving and clear, shallow streams

and rivers . Shrill squeaks coming from the grass near the water's edge indicate that the water shrews are fighting among themselves to defend thei r territories .

~CARD93 ]

GRAY FOX ~_________________________________ G_R_O_U_P_l _: M __ A_M_M _A _l_S . . . ORDER

~ Carnivora

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FAMILY

~ Canidae

. . . GENUS & SPECIES

~ Vu/pes cinereoargenteus

KEY FACTS

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SIZES Length: 2-21/2 ft. Tail length: 4-12 in . Weight: 5-15 lb. BREEDING Sexual maturity: About 1 year. Mating season: January to February. Gestation: 60-63 days. No. of young: 2-7 cubs, average litter 3-4. LIFESTYLE Habit: Mostly solitary. Call: Barks, yaps, and screeches similar to coyote. Diet: Mostly fruit and vegetation. Also mice, birds, and eggs. Lifespan: About 6 years, 12 in captivity. RELATED SPECIES The island gray fox, Vu/pes /ittora/is, is smaller and lives on islands off the California coast.

Range of the gray fox.

DISTRIBUTION Central United States extending north to Ontario, Canada and south to northern Venezuela . CONSERVATION Nearly 270,000 gray foxes were killed for their fur in the 1977-78 season, but the animal remains widespread. Farmers trap and shoot them when they become pests.

legs: Short, poweriullegs provide it balance and agility. Poweriu l back claws help push it up the tree, while the front legs grip the sides of the trunk.

Coat: Distinguished by grayish, peppered coat with a band of rusty red underiur that runs over the side of the neck, back of the ears , legs, and feet.

Tail: Long bushy tail with a black-andauburn stripe running down its length. The tail balances the fOx as it

A shy creature, the gray fox spends the day resting in its hideaways. It is often called the tree fox because of its habit of climbing trees to rest, feed, or hide from predators.

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The gray fox spends its day hiding in tree hollows, among rocks, or in dense undergrowth, emerging only at night to feed.

It lives throughout the United States

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SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS

The same size as the red fox, t he gray fox has shorter legs t hat help it to cl imb . The g ray fox's ability to

but can also be found in southern Canada and northern South America.

DID YOU KNOW? The shy gray fox hides at the slightest disturbance. Its calls are often confused with those of its neighbor the coyote. It generally lives alone, but some males and females pair for life. In some areas groups of one dog (male) and three or four vixens (females) form. The gray fox marks its welldefined territory with urine or with feces that are coated with scent expelled from the a nal gland. This scent marking serves as a warning to other foxes to stay out of the territory. The gray fox also uses its call to communicate with other gray foxes.

• A gray fox needs to eat less than four percent of its body weight in food every day to stay healthy. • The 21 species of fox range from the small fennec, with a head and body length of 7 to 12 inches, to the large South American colpeo, measuring from two to four feet. • The desert-living fennec fox has the longest ears of any fox. It can hear another animal a mile away. • Wary of humans, gray foxes living in and around cities are seldom sighted.

Below: The gray fox often rests in the trees during the day.

grip round branches with its forelegs like a cat also helps it climb trees. It pushes up with the back legs, using its long

back claws like mount ain cl imbing iro ns. In t he t rees, the gray fox leaps from branch to branch

w ith great agility. It has good nig ht vision and hearing . O n the ground it is slower than the red fox .

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BREEDING The gray fox mates noisily early in the year; its cubs are born in a well -hidden den 60 to 63 days later. Covered w ith black fur and weighing three ounces, the blind and helpless cubs rely on their parents the first few days . Just before giving birth, the vixen keeps the dog fox out of the den, but she lets him bring food when the cubs are born. The mother weans the cubs at six weeks and the male brings back food for the entire family . The family remains together for five months, during which time the cubs are taught to

hunt by their mother. Then they leave the den to find their own territories.

~ FOOD & HUNTIN G

The gray fox's auburn-tinged coat, with its black band down its back and tai l, camouflages it in its woody home. The slow gray fox uses this camouflage to surprise prey rather than chase it. Compared to many other foxes, the gray fox has a more varied diet and eats more vegetation . It eats wild cherries and grapes, which it reaches by jumping from branch to branch to find ripe bunches

Left: A slow runner, the gray fox uses its camouflage, agility, and acute sense of hearing to catch prey.

Above: Four-week-old pups venture out of a den in a fallen tree.

(see Special Adaptations box, above). The gray fox is a'iso a predator and hunts alone at night for mice, small ro-\ dents, eggs, birds, and s;quirrels. When food is abundant, it stores extra food in different spots throughout its range, remembering the locations so that it can return to eat from its stash at some later time . Where their ranges overlap with that of the gray fox, wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and lynx prey on the gray fox. Still, many more die in traps set around farmland.

"" CARD 94

TWO-TOED SLOTH

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ORDER Edentata

FAMILY Megalonychidae

GENUS & SPECIES Choloepus didactylus

KEY FACTS

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SIZES Length: Up to 2 ft. Weight: 8-25 lb. BREEDING Sexual maturity: Male, 4-5 years. Female, 3 years. Mating: Year-round . Gestation: 7-10 months. litter size: 1 . LIFESTYLE Call: Bleat or hiss. Habit: Solitary, slow moving. Diet: Leaves, shoots, and fruit. lifespan: 12 years. RElATED SPECIES Related to the three-toed sloth . This genus contains 3 species, all of which are slightly smaller and lighter in weight than the twotoed sloth .

Range of the two-toed sloth.

DISTRIBUTION Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Guiana, north-central Brazil, and northern Peru. CONSERVATION The two-toed sloth is in no immediate danger of extinction, but its habitat is continually being destroyed as a result of the deforestation of tropical rainforests.

FEATURES OF THE TWO-TOED SLOTH Coat: A short and fine underfur is covered by a longer coat of coarse hairs. Two different species of algae grow in grooves running the length of this longer hair and color the sloth's fur. In dry weather the algae growing in the grooves turns yellow, and in wet weather a bluegreen, camouflaging the sloth to match the foliage of the trees from season to season.

Claws: The forel imbs have two claws, bound together with skin, while the hind limbs have three. These feet provide a safe, powerful grip on the branches where the sloth hangs for much of its life.

The two-toed sloth is a leaf-eating animal that spends most of its solitary life hanging upside down from the forest canopy. It moves only in slow motion, one limb at a time.

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Unable to move quickly, a two-toed sloth relies on camouflage to outwit its predators. A blue-green algae grows in its fur, enabling it to blend in with the foliage as it hangs motionless

in the trees. It clasps a branch with two long, curved claws on each foreleg and tucks its head on its chest when it curls up to sleep.

~ SlOTH & MAN

~ FOOD & FEEDING

In many parts of South America the two-toed sloth is hunted by local people for its meat. Otherwise this animal has little commercial value and is left alone by man. The greatest risk to the twotoed sloth is deforestation. The maned sloth, a close relative, is now endangered.

Eating mainly leaves and shoots, plus some fruit, sloths have compartmented stomachs, similar to cattle. A meal may take more than a month to pass through the digestive tract. Feces and urine are passed about once a week. This is done from the upsidedown hanging position.

A young sloth inherits its mother's preference for foliage native to its range. Other sloths living. nearby may eat

other types of foliage . In this way several sloths can occupya range without competing for food.

Above: The sloth's main diet is leaves. It also eats fruit and berries when it finds them.

Below: The young sloth clings to its mother's fur for the first nine months of its life.

ing itself to her breast fur for a period of six to nine months. In the first month it is weaned. First, it eats leaves that the mother chews. After

a month or so it picks its own supply of leaves while still clinging to its mother. If separated from its mother a young sloth will cry out.

DID YOU KNOW?

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• Because the sloth hangs upside down most of the time, its hairs lie from belly to back so that rain will run off them. • Sloths are more adept at swimming than walking. They use their forelimbs to propel themselves in the water. • Although they do not look similar, the sloth, armadillo,

and anteater all belon~ to the same order, Edentata, I meaning "without teeth." left: The sloth swims as an adaptation to annual floods in the forest.

~ HABITS The two-toed sloth eats, sleeps, breeds, and nurses its young upside down . It usually avoids coming down to the ground because it is at such great risk from predators, such as jaguars and ocelots. The sloth can stand, but it has lost the use of the muscles that it needs to walk, and it can only move on the forest floor by pulling itself along with its claws. The two-toed sloth is

~ BREEDING nocturnal, sleeping during the day and eating at night. When sleeping, the sloth places its head on its chest and becomes a hanging ball of fur. Moving slowly and deliberately, it uses its acute sense of smell and touch when foraging for food. Its eyesight and hearing are comparatively poor. The two-toed sloth is so named because each forefoot has two clawed toes bound

together with skin. The hind feet have three toes . Two species of two-toed sloth exist. Their only differences are in markings and color. Adult sloths are solitary, except when mating. When two meet on a branch they will fight, using their teeth and powerful claws until one retreats. The sloth's body temperature is variable and low, around 85° F-90° F.

The male two-toed sloth attracts a female by scentmarking an area, using both an anal gland and his penis. Both sexes have a strong musky smell. A single young is born, above ground, after a seven to ten month gestation period. Implantation of the egg may be delayed so that young are born when food supplies are plentiful. The young sloth rides on its mother by hook-

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CARD 95

KEY FACTS

ARCTIC HARE "

SIZES Length: Body, 1-3 ft. Tail, 3-5 in. Weight: 5-10 lb.

GROUP 1: MAMMALS

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ORDER

Lagomorpha

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FAMILY

Leporidae

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GENUS fir SPECIES Lepus timidus

BREEDING Sexual maturity: 1 year. Mating season: Spring and summer. Gestation: 50 days. No. of young: 1-9, usually 5-6. LIFESTYLE Habit: Mostly solitary, but seen in large groups during breeding season and also in autumn and winter in northernmost regions. Diet: Grasses and arctic willow; grain in warmer climates. Lifespan: Average 2 years. RELATED SPECIES A subspecies Lepus timidus scoticus, is found in Scotland. Another, L. timidus hibernicus, occurs in Ireland but does not turn white.

Range of the Arctic hare.

DISTRIBUTION Arctic and northern temperate regions of the world, including Alaska, Greenland, Europe, and Asia. CONSERVATION The Arctic hare is currently in no danger of extinction . Still, as the human population expands into the Arctic region, and as pollution increases, the threat to its survival grows as well.

Winter coat: Turns white in ___ winter to reduce heat loss. Fur on the ears thickens.

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The Arctic hare lives farther north than any other hare. By conserving its body heat, it can survive in temperatures as low as -36 F.

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Summer coat: The ArctiC hare's summer coat is less thick and lighter in color.

Ears: The Arctic hare (left) has short ears that conserve heat. The jack rabbit of Arizona (above) has long ears that keep it cool in its desert habitat.

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Feet: The Arctic hare's feet are covered with fur to help it stay warm and give a firmer footing on the ice and snow.

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The Arctic hare inhabits some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. The barren landscape provides little cover, and the hare is exposed to stinging winds and freezing snow throughout the year.

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SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS

Like many grazing animals, the Arctic ha re is preyed upon by carnivorous (meateating) animals, such as the Arctic fox, the wolf, and the golden eagle. To protect itself from predators, the Arctic hare has several features that help it to escape detection and attack. During winter, the hare's coat turns completely white, which provides excellent camouflage in t he snow and ice. Depending on the temperature and location, the hare usually molts (sheds) its coat in spring, re-

left: The Arctic hare's winter fur camouflages it in snow and conserves body heat.

placing it with a darker one. The color change is triggered by the temperature and the sunlight, as well as by the hare's need to blend in with its seasonal surroundings. The most important adaptations of the Arctic ha re are its keen eyesight, acute hearing, and speed . Its eyes are set at the top of its head, giving the hare a wide field of vision . Once it has sighted a predator, it freezes . The hare bounds away only when it knows that it has been detected .

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FOOD &: FEEDING

A large part of the Arctic hare's diet consists of the small arctic willow shrub. The hare looks for food at night. In the northernmost part of its range, snow covers the ground for as many as 280 days a year. Most of the plants on the tundra grow close to the ground for protection against

freezing winds. When the plants become covered with snow and ice, hares have a difficult time digging out enough food for survival and may die of starvation. Below: The Arctic hare is a timid,

solitary animal, but it sometimes joins other hares for protection.

Below: The Arctic hare has very

keen eyesight and hearing to help it detect predators.

~ HABITS The timid Arctic hare, also known as the mountain hare, is solitary throughout most of the year. But, in winter it gathers in large groups with other hares to give it some protection from predators. When the group is attacked, the hares scatter in alf directions to confuse the predator. The hares living in the southern part of the Arctic

move into the forests that border the tundra (Arctic plain) at the onset of winter, which give them some protection from the cold winds. Those remaining on the tundra seek shelter behind scattered rocks. During the day, the Arctic hare rests in a shallow hole that it scrapes in the ground, called a form.

DID YOU KNOW? • The natural habitats of rabbits and hares are found throughout the world . One exception is Australia, where hares were absent until they were introduced by man . • The Alaskan hare has the fastest growth rate of any

hare in the world . • Hares appear often in the cave paintings of prehistoric civilizations. The ancient Romans raised them in walled enclosures for their meat, which was regarded as a delicacy.

~ BREEDING During the breeding season, the male hare, called a jack, fights with other males to attract a female, or doe. Mating takes place in spring throughout most of the range, except in the most northern parts, where breeding begins in May. One to nine young rabbits, called leverets, are born 50 days after mating. Although this is a longer gestation period than is usual for

hares, the extra time spent developing in the mother's womb means that the leverets are well developed at birth, which increases their chances of survival in the harsh environment. The leverets have complete coats of fur at birth and are able to see clearly. They feed on the doe's rich milk once a day. The leverets often scrape out their own forms (holes) several days after birth.

' " CARD 96

HARP SEAL

,,~------------------------------------------~ FAMILY ORDER GENUS &: SPECIES ~

Pinnipedia

Phocidae

Phoca groenlandica

KEY FACTS SIZES Length: 6-7 ft. Female slightly smaller. Weight: Up to 400 lb. BREEDING Sexual maturity: Male, 4 years. Female,S years. Breeding season: February-April, birth occurs February-March. Gestation: Delayed implantation. 12 months total. No. of young: 1 . LIFESTYLE Habit: Sociable and migratory. Diet: Young eats shrimp. Adult eats capelin, cod, and herring. Lifespan: Up to 30 years. RELATED SPECIES There are 19 species of true seal including the leopard, gray, and common seal.

Range of the harp seal.

Breeding range.

DISTRIBUTION The harp seal is found in northern Atlantic waters . CONSERVATION Culling is controlled by the governments of Canada (western herd), Denmark (Greenland herd), and Norway and USSR ' (eastern herd). Measures for controlling numbers include a ban on killing nursing mothers, quotas on killing pups, and time limits on culling molting juveniles.

IDENTIFYING THE HARP SEAL Adult: Male slightly larger than female. Silvery coat with black head and black harp shape around flanks and back. Harp shape develops fully when seal is . sexually matu

with irregular, dark patches of fur that eventually molt, forming the harp shape.

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The harp seal pup, with its white coat, is a striking contrast to other seals, but the irregular black patches on the adult's skin give the harp seal its name.

_Pup: Unable to swim at birth ; has a thick, pure white coat that is shed after four weeks. Ic1Mr.MXr.1 IMP RV /IMP INr. WII nl IFF FAr.T FII p M

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Harp seals propel themselves through the water by moving their hindquarters sideways, as opposed to eared seals or sea lions who use their foreflippers for propulsion. The harp seal is well adapted for living in the water but is clumsy and slow on land.

~ MIGRATION Three identical but separate harp seal populations live on the fringes of Arctic ice packs. These populations migrate south to their respective coastal breeding grounds in t he spring. The harp seal travels in groups of 10 or more, often packed into large herds, diving, leaping, and swimming in unison . Adult males also perform courtship dances. They roar and bob energetically up and down in an upright position in the water.

~ BREEDING The juveniles and pregnant cows (females) reach the breeding grounds in early February. The cow picks a sheltered site on the ice for birth and guards it against other females. Born at winter's end with a warm white coat, the harp seal pup feeds on its mother's milk for only two weeks. The mother quickly weans her pup because she cannot feed while suckling and because the icebound pup is in danger from bears. A newborn pup weighs 18 pounds, but will triple its weight during suckling. After weaning, the mother feeds in the sea and mates with a bull (male) . The abandoned pup stays on the ice for a few more weeks to molt its baby fur. It must now learn how to catch its own food. It eats mainly shrimp . After the adults mate, they and the juveniles haul out to molt. They migrate to northern feeding grounds in early May.

~ HARP SEAL &: MAN About 150 years ago, 9 to 10 million harp seals existed. Their numbers had decreased by more than two-thirds by the 1960s. Blamed for depleting fish stocks, harp seals were hunted by fishermen. Fur hunters clubbed and skinned pups to make fashion items . The pups usually died quickly, but public concern has led to protective measures. The hunting quota system allows only a certain number of seals to be killed, and the harp seal population is increasing by about five percent yearly. Right: The mother uses secret access holes in the ice to leave and rejoin her pup. Left: The harp seal lumbers

across land, but its streamlined body cuts through icy waters. Below and right: Weaned and then deserted after 15 days, the pup stays on the ice two more weeks to molt its white fur.

~ FOOD &: FEED ING The harp seal uses its keen vision and hearing in the dimly lit waters . Its sensitive whiskers can feel the slightest vibrations in the water. Eating mainly shoal fish such as capelin, herring, and Arctic cod, the harp seal empt ies its lungs to dive after its fast-moving prey.

DID YOU KNOW? • Because of its markings, the adult harp seal is also called a "saddleback." • Molting sites may hold up to 10,000 harp seals. • Because white pups blend into the ice, scientists take ultraviolet photographs to count the pups.

CARD 97:=\

KEY FACTS

RIGHT WHALE GROUP 1: MAMMAlS' ORDER

FAMILY

GENUS &: SPECIES

Cetacea

Ba/aenidae

Ba/aena g/acia/is

SIZES Length: Adults, 40-60 ft. Calves, 12-18 ft. at birth. Weight: Adults, about 60 tons. BREEDING Sexual maturity: 5-10 years. Mating: Early spring . Gestation: 9-10 months. No. of young: 1. LIFESTYLE Habit: Sociable; lives in small herds of 6 adults and young . Call: Loud bellows, soft moans and belches, series of pulsing sounds. Diet: Plankton, krill, and oceanbottom mollusks. lifespan: Not known, but thought to be about 30 years. RELATED SPECIES There are 3 very similar subspecies: Balaena glacialis glacialis, B. g . japonica, and B. g . australis.

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Range of the right whale.

DISTRIBUTION Now found only off the coasts of Newfoundland, Madeira, Patagonia, southwestern Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands. CONSERVATION Once the most hunted of all whales, the right whale is now protected by law. There are only about 2,000 left. Although its numbers are increasing, it is still endangered .

FEATURES OF THE RIGHT WHALE Bonnet: The right whale has lumps called cal/osites growing on its head. These horny outgrowths of skin may be 4 inches high. They are infesteD with parasitic worms, whale lice, and colonies of barnacles. The callosites are concentrated on the head, in front of the blowhole, and are known collectively as the bonnet.

Body: The general shape is stocky and fat. There is no dorsal fin, and the head is very large, usually up to 25 percent of the body length.

The right whale is a giant of the seas. Instead of teeth, it uses long plates called baleen or whalebone to strain its food while skimming the surface of the water.

Baleen: There are 225 to 250 plates at each side of the mouth. Each is up to 8 feet long and fringed with stiff bristles.

A cross section of the skull shows the whale's large mouth area.

Old-time whalers gave the right whale its unusual name because they thought it was the "right" whale to hunt-it swam very slowly, floated even when it was dead, and yielded large quantities of oil and whalebone.

~ BREEDING Mating occurs in early spring, after a playful courtship ritual in which the male pushes and nuzzles the female and then Below: With a powerful leap, a large male clears the water.

strokes her with his flippers and tail flukes. After a gestation period of nine to ten months, a single calf is born tail first in a shallow bay. Right away the newborn is pushed to the surface

~ The right whale lives in shallow coastal waters in herds of up to six family members. Individuals may swim off to join another group, but in a few days they return to the original herd. The right whale often leaps

up from the water's surface (called breaching) and blows its V-shaped spout up to a height of 16 feet. It cruises on the surface for 5 to 10 minutes, blowing about once a minute, and then dives below for 10 to 20 minutes.

When diving, the whale lifts its tail out of the water and brings it crashing down onto the surface. This action is called lob-tailing and is how a whale indicates its position when the sea is too rough to allow its voice to be heard.

DID YOU KNOW? • Right whales are rarely stranded because they are familiar with shallow water. • The right whale is also known as the Biscay whale, Biscayan right whale, and great right whale.

• The right whale's head is about one-fourth its length. It has an arched jaw to accommodate the eight-footlong baleen plates. • A recording picked up a regular clacking noise that

was thought to be the right whale's echolocation system, sounds that enable whales to navigate. The noise was discovered to be made by baleen plates banging into each other during feeding.

so it can take its first breath. The calf nurses for seven months and spends the next two or three years close to its mother. It begins to breed at five to ten years. It is thought that right whales breed earlier

and more frequently today than in the days before whaling to compensate for their lost numbers. Below: A calf spends its first three years close to its mother.

RIGHT WHALE & MAN

Because it moves slowly (its top speed is just over six miles per hour) and yields large quantities of oil and whalebone, the right whale has been hunted more than any other whale. It was finally protected by law in 1936.

Most hunting occurred in the Southern Hemisphere, with huge catches recorded off New Zealand. Once widespread, this whale is now found only in scattered herds. Below: Moving slowly, a whale feeds on krill and plankton.

The right whale feeds by slowly skimming the ocean surface with its mouth open. Every few minutes it closes its lips and presses its tongue against the roof of its mouth to strain the water out between long baleen plates. The baleen is actually made of fused hairs, not bone. Plankton and krill trapped by the bristles are collected by the whale's tongue and swallowed. Debris also gets caught on the plates, and the whale frequently stops to roll the debris into a ball with its tongue and then flick it out of its mouth.

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BLACK RHINOCEROS

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Perissodactyla

Rhinocerotidae

Diceros bicornis

KEY FACTS SIZES Length: 10-12 ft. Height: 4-6 ft. Weight: 1,000 -3,000 lb. BREEDING Sexual maturity: Female 4-5 years. Male about 7 years . Mating: Year-round. Gestation: About 15 months. No. of young: 1 calf. LIFESTYLE Call: Snort and puff. Calf bleats if it loses its mother. Habit: Solitary, nocturnal. Diet: Branches and leaves from shrubs and trees, some fruit, long grass, and herbs. Lifespan: 40 years in captivity.

RELATED SPECIES The white rhino, the large Indian rhino, the smaller Javan rhino, and the Sumatran rhino .

Range of the black rhino.

DISTRIBUTION The black rhino now exists only in small pockets in eastern and southern Africa . CONSERVATION In 1984 there were 8,800 black rhinos, but by the end of 1989 the number had fallen to 3,300. Plans are being made to protect and manage the black rhino in the southern part of its range before reintroducing it into the rest of its range.

FEATURES OF THE BLACK RH INO Coat: Thick, hairless, gray. The rhino wallows in order to keep cool and to coat its skin with mud for protection against biting insects.

Horns: Made of the same substance as the hoofs and fixed to a bump on the nasal bone. The longer horn may grow over four feet long.

THE HELPFUL OXPECKER Perches on the rhino to feed on flies and ticks. This beneficial partnership is called symbiosis.

THE YOUNG BLACK RHINO

The black rhinoceros is in fact gray and often assumes the color of the soil in which it wallows. It now is threatened with extinction since poachers continue to hunt it for its horns.

Senses: The rh ino has poor eyesight but good hearing. Its keen smell detects both predators and other rhinos. ,DMr.MXr.1 IMP RV/IMP INr. WII nl IFF F Ar.T FII p M

Upper Up: Pointed and prehensile (capable of grasping). The black rhino uses it to strip vegetation for eating, as an elephant would use its trunk. Pl'llhlTl=n 1"111 c:: A

Drinks its mother's milk for its first two years. Born without horns. ()1 R() ? ()()?? 1 PA r. I