To Know All About The Sea Lions Habitats And Lifestyle

Sea Lions are found in all climates, in both the north and southern hemispheres and every ocean with the exception of the Atlantic Ocean. The sea lion is often seen around the big harbors of the world where groups of sea lions gather together to feed and bask in the sun.

The sea lion generally lives in coastal ares where there is a good food supply and land close by for the sea lion to have a rest from swimming and hunting in the water. The sea lion has 4 flippers which the sea lion is able to turn around when on solid ground, allowing the sea lion to walk on land.

The sea lion is often a popular attraction at zoos and parks, where the sea lions are generally being trained to do tricks with hoops and balls. The sea lion is a popular animal due the intelligence of the sea lion and also because of the quirky character which many sea lion individuals possess.

Today there are seven different species of sea lion found in waters around the world, These are the Steller sea lion which is also known as the northern sea lion as it is found in the North Pacific Ocean, and the Steller sea lion is the largest sea lion species; the Australian sea lion which is a small species of sea lion found on the south and west coasts of Australia; the South American sea lion, also known as the southern sea lion and is found along the west coast of South America; the New Zealand sea lion which is also known as Hookers sea lion is found around the south island of New Zealand and also the sub-antarctic islands; the California sea lion is found along the coasts of the north Pacific and is believed to one of the most abundant and intelligent species of sea lion today; the Galapagos sea lion is found exclusively around the Galapagos islands and is thought to be a distant relative of the California sea lion.

The only other sea lion species around was the Japanese sea lion, which was thought to have become extinct sometime during the 1950s. The Japanese sea lion was thought to have been related to the California sea lion and became extinct through hunt and the introduction of commercial fishing.

Sea lions are sleek and generally carnivorous animals although sea lions are known to eat sea weed and aquatic plants at times. Sea lions are playful marine mammals and can be observed spending hours playing in the water.

Sea lions generally gather on rocky, coastal land to breed. About a year later, the female sea lion will give birth to a single sea lion pup. Female sea lions tend to give birth to their young on land but it is not uncommon for the female sea lion to give birth to the sea lion pup in the water.

Sea lion pups are nursed by the mother sea lion until they are about six months old. Baby sea lions learn to swim when they are a couple of months old and it is then that the baby sea lions will go out and learn to hunt with the mother sea lion.

Sea lions are often seen in large groups of sea lions. Sea lions hunt in groups and in pairs and group numbers increase during the mating season. There have been instances where sea lions have been aggressive towards humans in the water. These acts are thought to be because the sea lions either want to play or they are male sea lions displaying and enforcing their dominance within their terrritory.

Sea Lion Foot Facts

》The sea lion has flippers in place of where its feet would be in order to help the sea lion move through water quickly, a substance that is eight times denser than air.
》In each flipper of the sea lion there are five skeletal digits, like toes, that give the sea lion more movement in its flippers but these are not always visible.
》Some species of sea lion are able to rotate their back flippers forward, so they are able to actually walk on all four flippers when on land.
》Adult sea lions have five claws on each of their two front flippers which the sea lion use to hook onto prey and to give them more grip when walking on land.
》The sea lion uses its front flippers to propel itself through the water with the back flippers acting as stabilisers meaning that they are not used a great deal in swimming.

Sea Lion Teeth Facts

》The sea lion has between 34 and 38 teeth which include incisors, canines, premolars and molar teeth.
》The incisors at the front of the mouth of the sea lion are quite small but are very sharp and are used for biting down on and holding onto prey.
》The canine teeth that are found behind the incisors in the mouth of the sea lion are large, conical, pointed and often slightly curved and these do most of the hard work.
》The molars and premolars in the mouth of the sea lion can vary in number but are very similar and have a slightly cup-like shape.
》The teeth of the sea lion are designed for grasping and tearing rather than chewing food and its for this reason that baby sea lions shed their milk teeth before birth.

The Baboon Is A Terrestrial And Ground Dwelling Animal

Baboons are medium sized primates found in Africa, and are best known for their bright behinds! The two most common species of baboon in east Africa are the olive baboon and the yellow baboon. The baboon is generally found in more forested areas but is also commonly known to wander the African plains.

Habitat
Baboons are found in surprisingly varied habitats and are extremely adaptable. The major requirements for any habitat seems to be water sources and safe sleeping places in either tall trees or on cliff faces. When water is readily available, baboons drink every day or two, but they can survive for long periods by licking the night dew from their fur.

Behavior
Baboons usually leave their sleeping places around 7 or 8 a.m. After coming down from the cliffs or trees, adults sit in small groups grooming each other while the juveniles play. They then form a cohesive unit that moves off in a column of two or three, walking until they begin feeding. Fanning out, they feed as they move along, often traveling five or six miles a day. They forage for about three hours in the morning, rest during the heat of the day and then forage again in the afternoon before returning to their sleeping places by about 6 p.m. Before retiring, they spend more time in mutual grooming, a key way of forming bonds among individuals as well as keeping the baboons clean and free of external parasites.

Baboons sleep, travel, feed and socialize together in groups of about 50 individuals, consisting of seven to eight males and approximately twice as many females plus their young. These family units of females, juveniles and infants form the stable core of a troop, with a ranking system that elevates certain females as leaders. A troop's home range is well-defined but does not appear to have territorial borders. It often overlaps with the range of other baboons, but the troops seem to avoid meeting one another.

When they begin to mature, males leave their natal troops and move in and out of other troops. Frequent fights break out to determine dominance over access to females or meat. The ranking of these males constantly changes during this period.

Males are accepted into new troops slowly, usually by developing "friendships" with different females around the edge of a troop. They often help to defend a female and her offspring.

For the first month, an infant baboon stays in very close contact with its mother. The mother carries the infant next to her stomach as she travels, holding it with one hand. By the time the young baboon is 5 to 6 weeks old it can ride on her back, hanging on by all four limbs; in a few months it rides jockey style, sitting upright. Between 4 and 6 months the young baboon begins to spend most of its time with other juveniles.

Diet
Baboons are opportunistic omnivores and selective feeders. Grass makes up a large part of their diet, along with berries, seeds, pods, blossoms, leaves, roots, bark and sap from a variety of plants. Baboons also eat insects and small quantities of meat, such as fish, shellfish, hares, birds, vervet monkeys, and small antelopes.

Predators and Threats
The baboon's major predators are humans. Knowing that humans can easily kill or injure them when they are in trees, baboons usually escape through undergrowth. Males may confront other predators like leopards or cheetahs by forming a line and strutting in a threatening manner while baring their large canines and screaming. Baboons are fierce fighters, but a demonstration such as this can put the predator on the run.

The baboon is intelligent and crafty; it can be an agricultural pest, so is often treated as vermin. Trade in baboons as laboratory animals has increased in recent years.

African Civet Behaviour And Lifestyle You Should Kown

The African Civet is a large species of Civet found across sub-Saharan Africa. The African Civet is the only remaining member in it's genetic group and is considered to be the largest Civet-like animal on the African continent. Despite their cat-like appearance and behaviours, the African Civets are not felines at all but are in fact, more closely related to other small carnivores including Weasels and Mongooses. The African Civet is most well known for the musk that it secretes to mark it's territory (called Civetone), which has been used in the manufacturing of perfumes for centuries, and it's striking black and white markings, make the African Civet one of the easiest Civet species to identify.

African Civet Anatomy and Appearance
One of the African Civet's most distinctive features are the black and white markings on their fur and grey face, which along with the black band around their eyes, gives these animals a Raccoon-like appearance. The similarity is only heightened by the fact that the African Civet's hind legs are quite a bit longer than the front legs, making it's stance very different to that of a Mongoose. The average adult African Civet has a body length of around 70cm with nearly the same length tail on top of that. The paws of the African Civet each have five digits with non-retractable claws to enable the Civet to move about in the trees more easily.

African Civet Distribution and Habitat
The African Civet is found in a variety of habitats on the African continent, with it's range extending from coast to coast in sub-Saharan Africa. African Civets are most commonly found in tropical forests and jungles and areas where there is plenty of dense vegetation to provide both cover and animals that the African Civets feeds on. African Civets are never found in arid regions and always must be in an area which has a good water source. Despite this though, it is not uncommon for African Civets to be found along rivers that lead into the more arid regions. They are capable swimmers and often spend their time hunting and resting in the trees as well as on the ground.

African Civet Behaviour and Lifestyle
The African Civet is a solitary animal that only comes out under the cover of night to hunt and catch food. These nocturnal animals are primarily tree-dwelling creatures that spend most of the daylight hours resting in the safety of the trees high above. African Civets tend to be most active just after sunset but tend to hunt in areas that still provide plenty of cover. Despite being generally very solitary creatures, the African Civet has been known to gather in groups of up to 15 members particularly during the mating season. They are also highly territorial animals, marking their boundaries with the scent released by their perineal glands.

African Civet Reproduction and Life Cycles
The only time when African Civets seem to be seen together is when they are mating. The female African Civet usually gives birth to up to 4 young after a gestation period that lasts for a couple of months. The female African Civet nests in an underground burrow that has been dug by another animal in order to safely raise her young. Unlike many of their carnivorous relatives, Civet babies are usually born quite mobile and with their fur. The babies are nursed by their mother until they are strong enough to fend for themselves. African Civets can live for up to 20 years, although many rarely get to be this old.

African Civet Diet and Prey
Despite the fact that the African Civet is a carnivorous mammal, it has a very varied diet that consists of both animal and plant matter. Small animals such as Rodents, Lizards, Snakes and Frogs make up the majority of the African Civet's diet, along with Insects, berries and fallen fruits that it finds on the forest floor. The African Civet predominantly uses it's teeth and mouth to gather food instead of using it's paws. This method of eating means that the African Civet can use it's 40 sharp teeth effectively to break it's catch down, and the strong jaw of the African Civet makes it harder for it's meal to try and escape.

African Civet Predators and Threats
Despite being a secretive yet a relatively ferocious predator, the African Civet is actually preyed upon by a number of other predators within their natural environment. Large predatory Cats are the most common predators of the African Civet including Lions and Leopards along with reptiles such as large Snakes and Crocodiles. African Civet populations are also under threat from both habitat loss and deforestation, and have been subject to trophy hunters in the past, across the continent. One of the biggest threats to the African Civet is the want for their musk.

African Civet Interesting Facts and Features
The musk secreted by the glands close to the African Civet's reproductive organs has been collected by Humans for hundreds of years. In it's concentrated form, the smell is said to be quite offensive to people, but much more pleasant once diluted. It was this scent that became one of the ingredients in some of the most expensive perfumes in the world (and made the African Civet a well-known African animal). African Civets are known to carry the rabies disease, which is contracted through contact with an already infected animal. The African Civet is also known to use designated areas around it's territory, where it is able to go to the toilet.

African Civet Relationship with Humans
Each African Civet secretes up to 4g of musk every week, which is normally collected from African Civets in the wild. However, the capturing and keeping of African Civets for their musk is not unknown and is said to be an incredibly cruel industry. Today, few perfumes still contain actual musk from the glands of an African Civet as many scents today are easily reproduced artificially. Although it is a protected yet not an endangered animal, the African Civet populations have also been severely affected by Human hunters, who hunt these little carnivores to simply add their skin to the trophy cabinet.

African Civet Conservation Status and Life Today
Today, the African Civet is under threat from deforestation and therefore drastic loss of much of it's natural habitat. The main reason for such extensive deforestation in the area is either for logging or to clear the land to make way for palm oil plantations. The African Civet is listed as being Least Concern, which means that there is little threat at the moment that the African Civet will become extinct in the near future.