Giant Japanese Spider Crab

Although not the heaviest, the Japanese giant spider crab is the largest known living arthropod. The well-calcified exoskeleton is only around 37 centimeters long, but adult specimens can be nearly 4 meters long from one tip of one claw-bearing leg to the other when stretched apart. Spiny and stubby growths cover the BODY, which ranges from dark orange to light tan in color. It is unable to change color.

Range length: 3.7 (high) m.

Average length: 3 m.

Range depth: 50 to 600 m.

Average depth: 200 m.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; saltwater or marine

Plant Foods: algae; macroalgae

Primary Diet: omnivore
Macrocheira kaempferi is not an active predator, as it mainly scavenges the seafloor for dead and decaying matter.
While nearly all spider crabs tend to decorate their carapaces with sponges and other items, M. kaempferi does it less than others because it has so few predators and therefore no need for camouflage. Sponges provide camouflage and protection for the crab; the spider crab carries the sponge to new areas and possibly provides it with drifting food.

Golden lion tamarins

Golden lion tamarins are small orange-yellow monkeys, weighing 500 to 600 grams. They live in the heavily populated coastal region of Brazil, where less than two percent of the forest remains.

They are endangered because their habitat has been fragmented into small, unconnected areas, each area only capable of supporting a small number of groups. Without intervention by the National Zoo, other zoos, organizations, and the Brazilian government, inbreeding would soon lead to the local extinction of many of these small populations of tamarins, and eventually of the entire species.

About 1,500 golden lion tamarins (GLTs) live in the wild, most in or near the Reserva Biologica de Poço das Antas in the state of Rio de Janeiro. About 450 live in zoos worldwide.

Golden lion tamarins inhabit the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil. In Poço ("POH-so") das Antas, they prefer swamp forest, which contains many vines and bromeliads, and has a high density of fruit and animal foods. Because all of this land has been logged in the past, we don't know what kind of habitat GLTs originally preferred. Presumably they preferred a humid, closed canopy forest with many vines, bromeliads, and other epiphytes. The closed canopy and tangles of vines provide easy arboreal pathways and protection from aerial predators. The bromeliads host many insects and small vertebrates that are important tamarin foods. They are also an important water source.

GLTs sleep in tree holes, which are used for heat conservation and protection from nocturnal predators.

Diet

Golden lion tamarins are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, insects, and small lizards. GLTs actively search crevices, bark, bromeliads, and other hiding places for their prey. They use their long, slender fingers and hands to probe into these areas, a behavior called "micromanipulation."

In zoos, GLTs are fed fruit (bananas, apples, and oranges), canned marmoset diet, mealworms, and crickets. They supplement their planned diet with cockroaches, mice, and other uninvited guests that aren't quick enough to escape.

Predators

Hawks and other raptors, cats, and large snakes are the main predators of GLTs. Data on predation are difficult to obtain. The tamarins give alarm calls in response to strange and/or threatening stimuli. They have a particular alarm call for large birds overhead. When that call is made, the animals head for the trunks of the trees or sometimes just let themselves fall to the ground. The alarm call and the response seem to be genetically "hard-wired." Zoo born animals that have always lived inside make the call and respond appropriately when birds fly over.

Social Behavior
In zoos, GLTs are kept in family groups. In the wild, groups are small (two to nine animals) and usually consist of one breeding adult of each sex and younger animals. The group members could be related (a family group), but transfer of animals between groups has been seen and may be quite common.

Tamarin groups actively defend a territory against other GLTs. Territories average 40 hectares (about 100 acres). The defense of a territory is accomplished through vocalizations and scent marking during ritualized group encounters. Actual fighting does not occur.

Occasionally more than one adult male (or, less commonly, more than one female) will breed in a group. Whether this represents a transitional situation, an alternate reproductive strategy based on cooperative rearing of infants, or just variation in tolerance between adults is unknown.

In captivity aggression occurs between animals of the same sex, especially between adult females. Mothers have been known to attack their older daughters, resulting in the death of one or more animals if they are not separated. Males appear to be more tolerant of each other, but will fight on occasion.

Births are usually twins. Infant care is cooperative. All members of the group will carry an infant, with the adult male commonly doing the largest share. The mother only takes the babies to nurse them. Since a set of twins might weigh as much as 15 to 20 percent of the mother's weight, she can use the help.

Young animals benefit from their experience with younger siblings. Males and females with previous caregiving experience as youngsters are much more likely to successfully raise their infants from the start. Pairs without prior infant experience often lose several sets of infants before they become competent parents.

Food is shared on occasion. Sharing is both passive (tolerated stealing) and active (offering food). Usually the food goes from older to younger animals. Often young animals will make a rasping noise (known as an infant rasp) as they try to take food from another animal.

GLTs retire at dusk and sleep until after sunrise. The adults are the first out of the holes in the morning and the last to enter at night. At zoos, they sleep in nestboxes. If nestboxes are provided in reserves or outdoor zoo exhibits, GLTs will always sleep in one.

Other GLT Facts
Gestation length: 126-130 days 
Time to weaning: 90 days 
Age at sexual maturity: 18 months 
Life expectancy (in captivity): about 8 years for animals that survive past the infant stage—40 percent of infants die before 1 year. 
Longevity record: 31 years

ARCTIC FOXES

Of course, the defining feature of the Arctic fox is their deep, thick fur, which allows them to maintain a consistent body temperature. Arctic foxes also have thick fur on their paws, which allows them to walk on both snow and ice.

Lemmings are the staple food for Arctic foxes. However, they are quite opportunistic, and will eat whatever is available out on the frozen tundra, even if it means scavenging leftovers from other predators, such as polar bears!

Arctic fox populations range in the hundred thousands, but fluctuate with the available lemming population.

Range

The Arctic fox is found throughout the entire Arctic tundra, through Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia, Norway, Scandinavia, and even Iceland, where it is the only native land mammal.

The tundra is not an easy place to live. It is barren, rocky, and without much vegetation. Arctic foxes are extremely well adapted to their frigid homes, and have secured a niche where they make the best out of almost any situation.

One of the most unique and interesting behaviors of Arctic foxes is how they hunt. They have incredible hearing, aided by their wide, front-facing ears, which allow them to locate the precise position of their prey beneath the snow.

When the Arctic fox hears its next meal under the snow-pack, it leaps into the air and pounces, breaking through the layer of snow right onto the prey beneath.

Mating season for Arctic foxes usually lasts from early September to early May. Litters are usually between 5-9 pups, though much larger litters aren't uncommon. Arctic foxes usually mate for life, and both mother and father help raise the pups.

An Arctic fox’s fur changes colors with the seasons of the year. In winter, it is white so that it blends in with the snow. During the spring, the fox sheds its winter coat, revealing gray fur underneath. Some Arctic foxes have coats that are always very pale, while others that live along rocky shorelines might have more brown in their summer coat.  

Arctic foxes have a great sense of smell and excellent hearing. Their small, pointy ears can hear their prey moving around in underground tunnels. When an Arctic fox hears its next meal scurrying under the snow, it leaps into the air and pounces, breaking through the layer of snow right onto the prey underneath.

Ocelots are carnivores, they hunt and eat animals such as rodents, rabbits, young deer, birds, snakes and fish.

An estimated 800,000 to 1.5 million are found worldwide. Between 80 and 120 are found in two isolated populations in southeast Texas.

Once ranging as far east as Arkansas and Louisiana, throughout Texas and in Mexico, ocelots are currently found only in extreme southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. They are also found in every country south of the United States except Chile.

Ocelots are strongly nocturnal, resting in trees or dense brush during the day. Ocelots are very active, traveling from one to five miles per night. Males usually travel further than females. They capture an average of one prey item for every 3.1 hours of travel.

Following a 79- to 85-day gestation, young are born in litters of one to three. Kittens are independent after about one year, but may stay with their mother for an additional year.

Habitat loss due to agriculture, hunting for their fur, pet trade.

Felinae (Leopardus)
pardalis


The Brazilian Ocelot Consortium is the main focus for saving the ocelot.

The Vampire Bat is a small species of Bat, native to the tropics of Central and South America. There are three recognised sub-species of Vampire Bat, all of which are in a genus of their own despite their obvious similarities. The Common Vampire Bat, the Hairy-Legged Vampire Bat and the White-Winged Vampire Bat are all closely related and share the same unique feeding habits, as they are the only known mammals that feed entirely on blood. Over time, Vampire Bats have perfectly adapted to the consumption of their only food source, with a leaf-like heat sensor on the end of their nose which detects where the warm blood is flowing closest to the skin.

The Vampire Bat is quite a small animal, with it's body rarely growing larger than the size of a human thumb. It's wings are long, finger-like bones that are covered in a thin layer of skin, with a thumb claw that pokes out of the front and is used for grip when clambering about on their host. Vampire Bats have dark brown to grey furry bodies with a lighter underside, and strong limbs which enable them to crawl about on the ground with ease. As with other Bats, Vampire Bats use echolocation in order to determine their surroundings. When flying, they produce high-pitched sounds that bounce of the objects in the area, and it is this bounced-back sound that allows the Bat to figure out where things are around them (it is so high-pitched that it cannot be heard by people).

The Vampire Bat is found throughout the South American continent from Mexico to the tip of Argentina. Vampire Bats are found in both tropical and subtropical regions and can adapt to living in both humid and dry climates. Many Bats are nocturnal and the Vampire Bat is no exception, spending the daylight hours roosting in hollow trees, caves, mines and even derelict buildings in colonies that can be more than 1,000 strong. Although other Bat species are known to nest in the same places as the Vampire Bats, it is thought that the separate species tend to keep their distance from one another to avoid conflict.

After sleeping upside in the darkness all day, Vampire Bats emerge when the moon appears in order to hunt for food. Despite being incredibly strong fliers, the design of their arms and legs means that they can also move about on the ground with surprising speed and agility. Vampire Bats fly about a meter above ground in search of a warm-blooded animal, and once found, they land close to it. The Vampire Bat then crawls up to it's generally sleeping victim, before biting it and feeding on the flowing blood. Vampire Bats tend to be solitary hunters but roost together in colonies that usually contain around 100 individuals, and contain alpha males and their harems of around 6 females, and their young.

Vampire Bats mate all year round and are known to have a fairly long gestation period in comparison to other species of small tropical Bat. After between 3 and 4 months, the female Vampire Bat gives birth to a single baby, which she cares for until it is weaned at between 3 and 5 months of age (those bat babies born in captivity are weaned noticeably later, when they are 9 months old). As with other mammals, the young vampire bats feed on their mother's milk until they are old enough to consume an adult diet, and will not reach their full adult weight for roughly a year. Female Vampire Bats do appear to be very caring mothers, known to care for and adopt young orphans in the colony. Vampire Bats can live for up to 12 years in the wild, although captive individuals have been known to nearly reach the age of 20.

Vampire Bats use echolocation, sound and smell in order to find their prey, which can be up to 10,000 times the size of this tiny predator, and it is because of this that Vampire Bats have evolved to taking some precautions when feeding. Firstly, the never land on their prey but inside land on the ground close by and crawl up to it, where they are able to detect veins close to the skin's surface with precision, thanks to their heat-sensing nose. Using it's set of sharp front teeth, the Vampire Bat then bites it's host, immediately jumping back in case the animal wakes up. Contrary to popular belief, Vampire Bats do not suck the blood of their victims, but inside lap it up using their grooved tongue as it flows out of the wound. Chemicals in the Vampire Bat's saliva both stop the blood from clotting and numb the area of skin around the bite to prevent the host from feeling anything.

Despite being a unique and versatile predator itself, the Vampire Bat is still prey to other animals, that can hunt the bat in the air when it comes out to hunt at night. Large, sharp-eyed Birds Of Prey such as Hawks and Eagles are the most common predators of the Vampire Bat, along with Snakes that hunt the Bats in their dark caverns while they are sleeping during the day. Humans though are one of their biggest threats, mainly farmers that are known to poison the Bats that commonly feed on their livestock. These poisons (known as vampiricides) are specially designed to spread throughout the whole colony through social grooming, killing hundreds of individuals at a time.


Vampire Bats feed exclusively on the blood of warm-blooded animals, drinking up to a teaspoon (25ml) of blood per 30 minute feed. Once having feasted on their host however, the Bats are then so bloated that they can barely fly with their weight almost having doubled. It is said that in just one year, an average sized Vampire Bat colony can drink the blood of 25 Cows, but their metabolism is so fast that they must feed every two days to ensure their survival (blood is very nutritious containing high amounts of water). The nearly 20 teeth in the Bat's mouth are mostly redundant due to their liquid diet, apart from the set of razor-sharp incisors at the front used for biting flesh.

The vampire Bat is one of the only Bat species that is considered a pest by Humans. Farmers particularly have a very strained relationship with these flying mammals, that feed on their sleeping Cows under the cover of night. Even though the amount of blood consumed by the Bat is minimal and does not harm the animal, it is the bite itself that can cause problems becoming infected or diseased. Farmers have not only attempted to poison entire colonies but are also known to destroy their daytime lairs using dynamite, often eliminating thousands of Vampire Bat individuals, and a number of other species. Fictional tales of Vampire Bats and their overly-exaggerated feeding habits has also increased the superstition about them.