Hippo Facts

Common Hippo's

Pygmy Hippo's

Typically, baby hippos are born underwater, where their mothers help them to the surface after birth.

Common hippos normally live in herds of about 10-30, but have been known to live in groups three times as large.

Pygmy hippos can be found in Liberia and Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The word “hippopotamus” comes from the Greek word for “river horse,” but hippos are not related to horses, in reality.

Common Hippos can weigh up to 3-1/2 tons. That’s a whole lot of hippo!

The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is much smaller than the common hippo, only weighing about 450-600 pounds. It can be found in West Africa.

Newborn common hippos weigh about 55 to 120 pounds.

The scientific name of the common hippo is Hippopotamus amphibious.

A hippo usually stays under water for 4-6 minutes, although no one really knows the maximum amount of time that they can.

Hippos are too heavy to swim, but navigate under water by walking on the bottom or pushing off against the bottom of the river.

8 Facts About Guinea Pigs

A guinea pig’s pregnancy lasts about 60-70 days.

In some parts of the world, guinea pigs are eaten as food.

One way that guinea pigs communicate is through a high pitched squeal.

Guinea pigs usually weigh about 24-32 ounces.

Guinea pigs have difficulty in judging heights, so you should never leave a pet guinea pig alone in a high place such as on a table, etc.

The origin of the guinea pig is South America.

The origin of the guinea pig is South America.

An average size for an adult guinea pig is two pounds.

Koala's

Size: 70 - 90cm (27 - 36 inch)

Weight: 4 - 9kg (9 - 20 lb)

The males are larger than females.

Southern koalas are 30% larger than the Northern koalas

Koala's fur is thick soft and pleasant to touch. Ears have long white hairs on the tips.
Koalas can live as long as 17 years, however males life expectancy is less than 10 years (due to injuries during fights, dogs and cars). Females generally live longer. Koalas living in an undisturbed habitat would have a greater life expectancy than those living in suburbia.
Koalas prefer to move around just after sunset spending daytimes asleep in the fork of a tree. Koala spends sleeping 75% of its time. Just after sunset koalas move around and can often be heard "barking" aggressively at other koalas.

Koala habitat facts

State: Queensland - Estimated population - 50'000
Victoria and South Australia - Estimated population - 15'000
New South Wales - Estimated population - 15'000

Koalas live in eucalypt forests of Eastern and South-Eastern Australia.
Koalas habitat requirements include the presence of other koalas and preferred food trees.
Koalas are found in a range of habitats, from coastal islands and tall eucalypt forests to low woodlands inland. Their habitat quality can be measured by density of the food trees. Koalas do not live in rainforest.

Koala feeding facts

Koala is the only mammal, other than the Greater Glider and Ringtail Possum, which can survive on a diet of eucalyptus leaves.Koala seldom drinks water obtaining it from the eucalyptus leaves, which are 50% consisting of water. Although, they can drink water if due to drought the leaves water content is reduced.Koalas consume eucalyptus leaves and bark from 12 different eucalyptus tree species. They also consume mistletoe and box leaves.Koala in Victoria would have different diet from koala in Queensland as different species of eucalypts grow in different parts of Australia.Sometimes koalas eat leaves from other trees such as wattle tree, tea tree, paperbark tree.
Each koala eats approximately 200 to 500 grams of leaves per day.
Koalas have a slow metabolic rate due to their high-fiber, low nutrient diet. Because they store little or no fat, koalas must adopt strategies that conserve energy. Sleeping is one of them.Koalas sleep for up to 16 hours per day in order to conserve energy.A very slow metabolic rate optimizes its energy requirements and allows koalas to retain food within their digestive system for a relatively long period of time, maximizing the amount of extracted energy.

Koala breeding information

Koalas breed once a year.Mating normally occurs from September to MarchGestation lasts 35 days, after which one koala is born.The baby koala, "joey", is blind, hairless, less than one inch long and weighs less than 1 gram (0.035 oz).It then crawls into its mothers pouch completely unaided, relying on its sense of smell, strong forelimbs and claws.
Once inside the pouch, baby koala attaches itself to one of the two teats and stays there drinking milk for the next six months.

http://www.giftlog.com/pictures/koala_fact.htm

The African Lion

Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides. Prides are family units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of a pride's lionesses are related, and female cubs typically stay with the group as they age. Young males eventually leave and establish their own prides by taking over a group headed by another male.Only male lions boast manes, the impressive fringe of long hair that encircles their heads. Males defend the pride's territory, which may include some 100 square miles (259 square kilometers) of grasslands, scrub, or open woodlands. These intimidating animals mark the area with urine, roar menacingly to warn intruders, and chase off animals that encroach on their turf.Female lions are the pride's primary hunters. They often work together to prey upon antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, and other large animals of the open grasslands. Many of these animals are faster than lions, so teamwork pays off.After the hunt, the group effort often degenerates to squabbling over the sharing of the kill, with cubs at the bottom of the pecking order. Young lions do not help to hunt until they are about a year old. Lions will hunt alone if the opportunity presents itself, and they also steal kills from hyenas or wild dogs.Lions have been celebrated throughout history for their courage and strength. They once roamed most of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. Today they are found only in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, except for one very small population of Asian lions that survives in India's Gir Forest.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-lion.html

Panda Bears

I've always found Panda Bears to be fascinating, so I thought I'd find out about them a little and share it with you.

A fully grown Giant Panda will reach the height of 5-6 feet, an adult usually weighs about 276 pounds. Panda's are good tree climbers and are most active during the day. They are solitary animals. Giant Panda's eat more of the bamboo's stems and shoots than the leaves.

Admit it, you think they're adorable!