AnimalsPix : Daily animals pictures ! - social

Beluga whale

elo — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 07:27:00 +0200

Belugas or white whales usually live in the Arctic Ocean but one can find few of them in the Saint Lawrence River and Saguenay River in Québec. It lives in big communities up to thousands animals. As an adult, its body is entirely white (when youngers’ is grey) and cylindrical when well-fed. It can be as long as 5 to 6 metres and can weigh one to two tons. Its flexible forehead is composed by a membrane in the shape of a bulb the beluga can inflate whenever it wants, giving so the impression that it can have several facial expressions (which is always a success in European aquariums). Beluga’s natural predators are bears and killer whale. When belugas are stuck in ice, bears knock them out and kill them on shore. Unfortunately, man stays the most dangerous predator of belugas. Hunting and pollution threatens the specie.

source : flickr (ash matadeen) and wikipedia

Dolphin

elo — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 07:13:00 +0200

The dolphin (here Bottlenose dolphin) is a marine-mammal well-known for its cleverness, cheerfulness and compassion for human beings (There are lots of stories about sinking people saved by dolphins) as much as for its complex language based on ultrasound. Studies about dolphins proved that they could recognise themselves in a mirror (Self-conscience) and are able to use tools (and learn how to). It’s interesting to know that dolphins belong to those rare animals pairing for other reasons than reproduction. Dolphins seem to be more or less the highest part of animals’ evolution. High Five

source : flickr (orcaartist) and wikipedia

Ring-tailed lemur

elo — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 11:00:00 +0200

One of the lemurs, this primate has a tail longer that its body. It lives in families up to 18 members. Herbivore and insectivore, ring-tailed lemurs can eat little mammals from time to time. It lives in South of Madagascar and even though its living areas are endangered, and even though the animal is listed vulnerable by IUCN, ring-tailed lemurs has a pretty good reproduction in zoos.

source : flickr (danielguip) and wikipedia

Prairie Dog

elo — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 22:58:00 +0200

Big american rodent. It's a very social animal with a complex language, they live in groups like families. The babies born need lots of care because when born, they are blind and don't have fur. It's a key animal af plains ecosystem. The are the prey of predator such as ferrets, foxes, eagles or badgers. They are currently exterminated by north american farmers. Today some species are threatened with extinction.

source : flickr (The Cats Jungle) and wikipedia