User:Lmckinley123

grey wolf (Canis lupus), or just wolf, is a mammal of the order Carnivora, and the ancestor of the domestic dog. It is sometimes called timber wolf.Appearance[change | change source]

Adult wolves are usually 1.4 to 1.8 metres (4.6 to 5.9 ft) in length from nose to tail depending on the subspecies.^[3] Wolves living in the far north tend to be larger than those living further south.^[4][5] As adults they may weigh typically between 23 to 50 kilograms (51 to 110 lb).^[3] The heaviest wolf recorded weighed 86 kilograms (190 lb).^[6]

Wolves usually measure 26–38 inches at the shoulder. Wolves have fur made up of two layers. The top layer is resistant to dirt, and the underlayer is water resistant. The color of their fur can be any combination of grey, white, red, brown, and black. Studies have shown that in 2007 they have found 23 red gray wolves.

Life[change | change source]

Wolves live in groups called "packs". They are pack hunters. The members of the pack are usually family members, often just the parents and offspring. Wolves that are not family may join if they do not have a pack of their own. Packs are usually up to 12 wolves, but they can be as small as two or as large as 25. The leaders are called the alpha male and the alpha female. Their territory is marked by scent and howling; they will fight any intruders. Young wolves are called 'pups' or 'whelps'. Adult females usually give birth to five or six pups in a litter.

Wolves make a noise called a howl. They howl to communicate with each other from long distances and to mark the edges of their territory. Wolves have a complicated body language.

Wolves can run very fast and far. A wolf can run 20-30 miles in 1 day.

Grey wolves can live six to eight years. They can live in captivity for up to 17 years.

Diet[change | change source]

Wolves are carnivores and eat mostly medium to large size hoofed animals (ungulates), but they will also eat rodents, insectivores and foxes. Some wolves have been seen eating salmon,seals, beached whales, lizards, snakes and birds. They also eat moose, bison, deer and other large animals. Wolves usually stalk old or sick animals, but they do not always catch what they stalk. They may go days without food. Sometimes only one out of twelve hunts are successful. But the way they eat stays the same. The alpha male and female feed first. Then the other members feed. Sometimes (especially if the prey they have killed is large) wolves may store food and come back that day to feed on it. Wolves have very sharp teeth which helps them tear large chunks of meat from a dead animal. They will eat up to 2/7 their body weight. Wolves will also swallow food and then bring it back up for pups to eat.

Habitat[change | change source]

Where grey wolves live: in past times (red+green) and today (green)

Wolves are found in Europe, Asia and North America. They can live in forests, deserts, mountains, tundra, grasslands and sometimes around towns and cities.

Arctic wolf[change | change source]

The Arctic wolf may be a subspecies of the grey wolf. They live in the Canadian part of the Arctic circle, as well as Greenland and Iceland.

The habitat of Arctic wolves is very hostile. Not much is known about their lifestyle. They are more friendly than other wolves, but they can still be very aggressive.

Arctic wolves are very fluffy. They are smaller than other wolves. Since about 1930, the skull of many Arctic wolves has become smaller. This might be because of hybridization between wolves and dogs.^[7] They are 3 feet (0.91 m) tall when they're adults. Adult arctic wolves weigh about 75 to 120 pounds (34 to 54 kg). Arctic wolves live in a group of 7-20 wolves. They live up to 5-10 years when they're in the wild. They can live for 14 years if they are well cared for in a zoo.

Wolves and humans[change | change source]

Where grey wolves live: in past times and today

Even though many people think that wolves are terrible, mean creatures, they are actually much gentler than many people imagine. The main reason wolves become violent is because they may be sick or to protect other wolves in the pack. Many people around the world, especially in Canada and Alaska, have huskies for pets: they are a close relative of the wolf.

A few years ago wolves were put back into Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to breed, because they were becoming endangered. The wolves have been very successful in the park. There had been no wolves there for a long time, because of hunting and poisoned water. Many people were not happy about this because they were afraid that the wolves would eat the sheep and cows near the park. However, wolves only eat livestock when they can not find wild prey.

Extinction in Britain[change | change source]

Wolves in Britain were all killed after centuries of hunting. The last wolves survived in the Scottish Highlands. There is a legend that the last one was killed there in 1743 by a character called MacQueen.

Within the past ten years, there have been studies that are in favour of allowing new wolves to come and live in the English countryside and Scottish Highlands again. One study was in 2007.Researchers from Norway, Britain, and Imperial College London decided that wolves would help add back plants and birds that now are eaten by deer. The wolves would keep the deer population lower. People were generally positive, but farmers living in rural areas wanted to be paid for livestock that were killed by the wolve

The grey wolf (Canis lupus), or just wolf, is a mammal of the order Carnivora, and the ancestor of the domestic dog. It is sometimes called timber wolf. A recent study found that the domestic dog is descended from wolves tamed less than 16,300 years ago south of the Yangtze River in China.^[2]

There are many different wolf subspecies, such as the Arctic Wolf. Some subspecies are listed on the endangered species list, but overall, Canis lupusis IUCN graded as 'least concern'.Animals around the world.

Killer whale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Orca
Orcas near Unimak Island, eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cetacea
Suborder:	Odontoceti
Family:	Delphinidae
Genus:	Orcinus
Species:	O. orca
Orca range (in blue)The grey wolf (Canis lupus), or just wolf, is a mammal of the order Carnivora, and the ancestor of the domestic dog. It is sometimes called timber wolf. A recent study found that the domestic dog is descended from wolves tamed less than 16,300 years ago south of the Yangtze River in China.[2] There are many different wolf subspecies, such as the Arctic Wolf. Some subspecies are listed on the endangered species list, but overall, Canis lupusis IUCN graded as 'least concern'.

Life[change | change source]

where gorillas live

Gorillas live in the rainforests in central Africa. They mostly live on the ground, but they can also climb. When on the ground, they walk on their feet and finger knuckles. Troops of gorillas wander slowly through the forests of Central Africa. For about half of their day they search for leaves, vines, and bamboo shoots to eat. For the rest of the day, they lay in the sun and play with their children. If another gorilla threatens them, the troop's leader, the silverback, protects them by rearing up and beating his chest. Few animals can survive the attack of an angry gorilla.

Gorillas sleep in nests that they build on the ground. At the end of each day, each adult gorilla will spend a few minutes putting together a soft, flat bed made of leaves, branches, and moss. The young gorillas sleep with their mothers.

The gestation period (when a baby grows inside the mother) of a gorilla lasts between eight and ten months. Gorillas almost always produce one offspring - twins are rare. Gorilla babies begin to hang onto their mothers when they are only a few hours old and will continue to do so for the next three years. Gorillas live up to 50 years in the wild and up to 54 years in captivity.Killer whales, or Orcas (Orcinus orca) are cetaceans. They are the largest dolphins in the world, called 'whales' because of their size. Orcas have mostly black skin with white patches.They are found in all the world's oceans, from the cold of the Arctic to the tropical seas. They are really easy to identify because of their distinctive white and black colouring.

Contents

[[[Killer whale|hide]]] 

• 1Lifestyle
  • 1.1Intelligence
• 2The dorsal fin
• 3Temperament
• 4Other pages
• 5References

Lifestyle[change | change source]

Like all toothed whales, they are carnivores. They hunt in family groups called 'pods'.^[1] Packs of fifty or more, all working together, surround and chase sharks, seals, dolphins, penguins, other whales.

Killer whales are the largest extant members of the dolphin family. Males typically range from 6 to 8 metres long and weigh in excess of 6tonnes.^[2] Females are smaller, generally ranging from 5 to 7m and weighing about 3 to 4 t.^[2] The largest male killer whale on record was 9.8 metres, weighing over 10 tonnes, while the largest female was 8.5m, weighing 7.5 t.^[3] Calves at birth weigh about 180 kilograms (400 lb) and are about 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) long.^[4][5] The killer whale's large size and strength make it among the fastest marine mammals, able to reach speeds in excess of 30 knots (56 km/h).^[6]

Intelligence[change | change source]

Killer whales have the second-heaviest brains among marine mammals.^[7] They can be trained in captivity and are often described as intelligent,^[8] although defining and measuring "intelligence" is difficult in a species whose life is very different from ours.^[8]

A killer whale plays with a ball of ice, soon after a researcher had thrown a snowball at the whale.

Killer whales imitate others, and seem to deliberately teach skills to their young. This is most strikingly seen when killer whales deliberately beach themselves to catch seals. Off Península Valdés, adults sometimes pull seals off the shoreline and then release them again near juvenile whales, allowing the younger whales to practice the difficult capture technique on the now-weakened prey. Off the Crozet Islands, mothers push their calves onto the beach, waiting to pull the youngster back if needed.^[9][2]

People who have interacted closely with killer whales offer numerous anecdotes demonstrating the whales' curiosity, playfulness, and ability to solve problems. For example, Alaskan killer whales have not only learned how to steal fish from longlines, but have overcome a variety of techniques designed to stop them, such as the use of unbaited lines as decoys.^[10] Once, fishermen placed their boats several miles apart, taking turns retrieving small amounts of their catch, in the hope that the whales would not have enough time to move between boats to steal fish as it was being retrieved. A researcher described what happened next:

"It worked really well for a while. Then the whales split into two groups. It didn't even take them an hour to figure it out. They were so thrilled when they figured out what was going on, that we were playing games. They were breaching by the boats".^[10]

In other anecdotes, researchers describe incidents in which wild killer whales playfully tease humans by repeatedly moving objects that the humans are trying to reach,^[11] or suddenly start to toss around a chunk of ice after a human throws a snowball.^[12]

The killer whale's use of dialects and the passing of other learned behaviours from generation to generation have been described as a form of culture.^[13]

"The complex and stable vocal and behavioural cultures of sympatric groups of killer whales (Orcinus orca) appear to have no parallel outside humans and represent an independent evolution of cultural faculties".^[14]

The dorsal fin[change | change source]

The dorsal fin of the orca can extend up to six feet above its body. That's taller than most grown men. And because a killer whale swims close to the surface, the dorsal fin can often be seen gliding through the surface of the water. This causes some people to mistake killer whale for sharks. In captivity, dorsal fins often collapse for many reasons, but in the wild, dorsal fin collapse happens in less than one percent of wild orcas.^[15]

Temperament[change | change source]

Female killer whales are often tamed and can be trained to do tricks for audiences in marine shows, like in Sea World. Sometimes, killer whales have even starred in movies, such as the movie titled Free Willy. Orcas can be dangerous, and have been known to kill their attendants on rare occasions. Some marine parks now require trainers to stay outside the pool when they work with orcas.^[16] Unlike wild killer whales, captive killer whales are reported to have made nearly two dozen attacks on humans since the 1970s, some of which have been fatal.^[17]

Baboon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baboon
Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Genus:	PapioErxleben, 1777
Species
Papio hamadryas Papio papio Papio anubis Papio cynocephalus Papio ursinus

Baboons are monkeys of the genus Papio. They are one of the largest kinds of monkey. It is an intelligent Old World monkey. It lives on the ground in groups called troops. Troops can be as small as a few baboons or as big as several hundred members.

Contents

[[[Baboon|hide]]] 

• 1Distribution
• 2Diet
• 3Predators
• 4References

Distribution[change | change source]

unidentified monkey

Baboons live in forests and on savannahs in Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula. As they move into the open land, the family groups come together into groups several hundred strong, led by adult males that work together to protect the others from predators.

Diet[change | change source]

Baboons are omnivores (they eat both plants and meat). They eat grasses, roots, insects and other small animals, like lizards, small mammals, fish, birds, and snakes. In some places, they steal food from humans.

Predators[change | change source]

Leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, lions, hyenas and people hunt the baboon. To scare the predator away, baboons can show their eyelids, show their teeth, chase the predator, and make noise.

To understand their lives, one must see them in their natural environment.^[1]

References[change | change source]

1. Jump up↑ Lions eating baboons. Nature Conservancy Documentary on You Tube. [1]

Category:

• Old World monkeys = Gorilla = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia {| class="wikitable" ! colspan="2" |Gorilla |- | colspan="2" | |- | colspan="2" |Silverback male Gorilla gorilla |- ! colspan="2" |Scientific classification |- |Kingdom: |Animalia |- |Class: |Mammalia |- |Order: |Primates |- |Family: |Hominidae |- |Subfamily: |Homininae |- |Genus: |Gorilla |} Female gorilla Sexual dimorphism of the skull: adult male left, female right The gorilla is the largest member of the ape family. They may be aggressive when attacked or provoked, but they are naturally gentle. They areomnivorous, like chimpanzees and orangutans. == Contents == [[[Gorilla|hide]]] 
  • 1Life span
  • 2Taxonomy
  • 3Appearance
  • 4Life
  • 5Related pages
  • 6References == Life span[change | change source] == A gorilla's lifespan is between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years and more.^[1] == Taxonomy[change | change source] ==
  • Genus Gorilla
    • Western Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla
      • Western Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
      • Cross River Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli
    • Eastern Gorilla, Gorilla beringei
      • Mountain Gorilla, Gorilla beringei beringei
      • Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla beringei graueri == Appearance[change | change source] == Gorillas are the biggest. They can become heavy, and are strong. A male gorilla can weigh up to 225 kilograms and stand 1.8 meters in height. Gorillas are peaceful that live in family groups called troops. They have a broad chest, wide shoulders, short legs, and long, powerful, strong arms. They have black skin and fur. Male gorillas' fur becomes silver/grey on their backs as they become older. Because of that older males are calledsilverbacks. == Life[change | change source] == where gorillas live Gorillas live in the rainforests in central Africa. They mostly live on the ground, but they can also climb. When on the ground, they walk on their feet and finger knuckles. Troops of gorillas wander slowly through the forests of Central Africa. For about half of their day they search for leaves, vines, and bamboo shoots to eat. For the rest of the day, they lay in the sun and play with their children. If another gorilla threatens them, the troop's leader, the silverback, protects them by rearing up and beating his chest. Few animals can survive the attack of an angry gorilla. Gorillas sleep in nests that they build on the ground. At the end of each day, each adult gorilla will spend a few minutes putting together a soft, flat bed made of leaves, branches, and moss. The young gorillas sleep with their mothers. The gestation period (when a baby grows inside the mother) of a gorilla lasts between eight and ten months. Gorillas almost always produce one offspring - twins are rare. Gorilla babies begin to hang onto their mothers when they are only a few hours old and will continue to do so for the next three years. Gorillas live up to 50 years in the wild and up to 54 years in captivity.^[2]
  • A gorilla named Mathis was showcased at various circus shows. He was known for having a loud scream. == Related pages[change | change source] ==
  • Dian