Wild and Pet Rabbits

Rabbits were domesticated by humans long ago and have since been breed to exhibit many unique qualities. While wild rabbits are still common, they are very different from pet rabbits. They always live outside, as they are scared of being handled by humans and know how to take care of themselves. Living in the wild also means wild rabbits usually have short brown fur to help them hide in their environment. Their ears stand straight up from their head so they can best use their amazing sense of hearing. If they hear any predators, they will loudly thump one of their back feet to alert other rabbits of the danger.

Unlike wild rabbits, pet rabbits enjoy human company and need people to take care of them. While all wild rabbits are all similar in size and color, pet rabbits are much more diverse.  They can have long or short fur in many different colors like black, white, brown, and gray and may even have spots or stripes. Because pet rabbits don’t have to listen for predators, some of them have smaller ears, or long droopy ears that they can’t move on their own.

Wild facts about Wild Dogs

Despite their simple name, African wild dogs are fascinating animals, and the Bronx Zoo knows all about these endangered canines. Even though they are only distantly related, African wild dogs have similar characteristics to domestic dogs and wolves, such as their social nature and pack mentality. They often interact with one another through elaborate “greeting ceremonies,” which include face licking, tail wagging, squealing, and roughhousing. They are also known as “painted dogs” because of their brown, black, and white-dappled fur. No two African wild dogs have the same color pattern on their fur, which makes it easy to identify individuals.

African wild dogs can give birth to litters of 6 to 12 pups, but may have as many as 18. The entire pack helps take care of the pups, which are born between March and June, and do not open their eyes until nearly two weeks after birth. By the time they are a year old, the pups are able to hunt and run 48 mph for over an hour at a time.

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Wild Dogs Work Together

There are many kinds of wild dogs in the world. They include wolves, coyotes, jackals, and foxes. While foxes mainly live and hunt alone, wolves, coyotes, jackals, and other wild dogs are well known for their group coordination. These well organized groups are known as packs. Within each pack of wild dogs is a specific canine leader who makes decisions and settles arguments between members of the group. Packs of wild dogs raise their young together, with every adult raising and caring for the pups. Wolf packs, for example, often leave an older female wolf behind to babysit when the rest must go out and hunt.

While wolves and other wild dogs are perfectly able to hunt small prey alone, hunting bigger animals such as caribou, zebras, and other large prey may take the whole pack. For example, the short African wild dog sometimes forms packs of up to 60 or more in order to hunt zebra. Packs often use special strategies for separating weak or young individuals away from the herd. During a hunt, each pack member has a specific job, either chasing, startling, or stealthily trapping large prey.

Kids Art: Otters, skunks and their relatives

Check out the awesome winners of this month’s Kids Zooworks contest featured in Zoobooks Otters Skunks and their Relatives! There’s not a single one that “stinks!” We can see the creativity and knowledge about skunks that went into drawing these pictures. Our winners are definitely a talented bunch. Do you have a favorite entry?

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Tigers and Cats

Tigers may be the biggest wild cats in the world, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t have some things in common with your typical pet cat. Just like a pet cat might climb a tree in your yard, a tiger likes to climb the many rain forest trees in its natural jungle habitat. When it comes to hunting, both tigers and cats are sneaky stalkers of their prey, waiting for just the right opportunity to make a quick surprise attack. Both animals also move their small young from place to place by gently carrying their cubs or kittens by the loose skin on the back of their necks.

Since most tigers and cats tend to be more active at night, both tend to spend a lot of the day sleeping. Tigers have even been known to sleep an average of 16 hours per day! However, while tigers love to swim and play in water, most pet cats would rather avoid getting wet.

Otters in Life and Online

North American river otters may look adorable, but their physical characteristics are for more than just cute looks. Their willowy body, powerful legs and webbed feet allow them to swim against underwater currents. They can also close their ears and nostrils underwater, relying on their eyes and whiskers to sense their environment. To help keep them warm, otters also have thick, brown, water-resistant fur. Still, otters are fun to look at, so why not see them every day with some otter wallpaper for your computer, courtesy of the Los Angeles Zoo?

Thanks to their high metabolism, North American river otters always have tons of energy fueling their playful antics. As semi-aquatic animals, they frolic both in and out of water and can even hold their breath underwater for up to eight minutes! One of their favorite activities is to slide down muddy slopes into the rivers, streams, lakes, and swamps they call home. When they finally do get tired, otters return to their dens through an underwater entrance tunnel that leads them to a nest alongside the water’s shore.

So Many Mustelids

Otters, weasels, ferrets, minks, martens, badgers, wolverines and skunks may seem very different from each other, but they all come from the same sister families known as Mephitidae and Mustelidae. While skunks, a part of the Mephitidae family, are the most famous for their ability to spray stinky musk, every member of its Mustelidae sister group can also produce this smelly liquid. There are 67 different species of mustelids, and they live in habitats in nearly every part of the world. In fact, the only two continents where mustelids do not live are Antarctica and Australia.

Because they live all over the planet, skunks and their mustelid relatives are all very unique. Minks, weasels and ferrets all have long, slender bodies that make them flexible runners. While otters have a slim body as well, they also have a strong tail and use both to swim gracefully in fast-moving rivers and vast seas. The two largest members of the mustelid family are the badger and the wolverine. Badgers are born diggers with short, powerful legs and long, sharp claws for burrowing through hard dirt. Wolverines are large, strong hunters capable of climbing trees and tracking prey across long distances. The combination of their strength and stink has even earned them the nickname skunk bears.

Kids Art: Animal Wonders

There’s definitely plenty of wonder in these amazing entries from this month’s Kids Zooworks contest. The artist of each of these submissions, featured in Zoobooks Animal Wonders, did a great job representing some of the most unique and fascinating creatures on the planet. From jellyfish to chameleons, each one is an awesome drawing that shows how special every animal truly is. Which entry is your favorite?