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The closest relatives of the South African Penguins are the Humboldt and Magellanic Penguins, and all are found near or south of the equator. South African Penguins are found on the southwestern coast of Africa, but they live in colonies on 24 islands in colonies. These colonies are suitable habitats for African Penguins because they lay their eggs on rocky and sandy coastal islands, but they need close shores to hunt in the nutrient-rich cold waters.

South African Penguins have several natural predators, including sharks, seals and killer whales. Land-based enemies include mongoose, genet and even cats and dogs. Additionally, Kelp Gulls often steal the eggs and newborn chicks of African Penguins.

Unlike many wild animals, South African Penguins are one of the only few species to mate for life. The animals begin mating between 2 and 6 years of age, and the lifelong partners take turns caring for the chicks and protecting the eggs. Sometimes, the partners return to the same colony and even the same nest year after year to lay eggs and raise their young. After chicks are hatched, they are under constant watch by their parents, and at about 30 days old, both the chicks and parents can go to sea together. Sometimes, chicks stay on the beach, but form groups called creches to reduce attacks on chicks.

African Penguins typically live 10-15 years in the wild. They may travel a great distance for their food, possible up to 110 km. They can swim about 7 km/hour and can reach maximum speeds of about 20 km/hour. When they dive for fish, their average dives last about two and a half minutes. Typically, these dives are about 30 m deep, but dives as deep as 130 m have been recorded.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_penguin

http://www.penguins.cl/african-penguins.htm

http://www.neaq.org/animals_and_exhibits/animals/african_penguin/index.php

http://blog.goodosphere.com/?p=723

http://www.citynews.ca/2012/03/09/baby-penguin-born-at-toronto-zoo/

Technically, the mountain lion is classified as a “small” cat based on its tendency to purr instead of roar, but the cat is still a fierce predator that can be found from Canada to southern South America in forests, prairies, deserts and swamps. A subspecies of the mountain lion is even found in the swaps of Florida, but the subspecies is extremely endangered and only around 50 cats remain.

Mountain lions all have slender frames and a flexible spine. Their color varies based on their home climate: reddish brown cats live in warm climates while cats with grey, longer hair are found in colder environments. Like most cat species, males weigh more than females do, and all cats have strong hind legs that give them the muscles needed to pounce on prey. Consequently, mountain lions tend to kill by surprising prey with a fierce jump. The animals commonly hunt deer, raccoons, rabbits, and squirrels, but they may sometimes attempt to take down a larger animal, like a moose. The mountain lions may even bury part of their food after a kill to save it for later.

Unlike some cat species, mountain lions are solitary. Each cat has its own home range which may overlap, but cats tend not to interact. They instead communicate their presence through scent marks, scratches in trees or by letting out a “call,” that is similar to a high-pitched whistle. The cats are most active around dusk, and find shelter all over their home ranges – from caves to thick brush.

One to six mountain lion cubs are born at a time and are cared for by their mothers. They are born with spots, which help to hide them from predators, but the spots fade when the cubs are about six months old and learn to hunt. Although they cannot hunt until six months of age, they can eat meat at about six weeks. The cubs will go off on their own between a year and 18 months of age.

Here is a video of mountain lions at the Cincinnati Zoo!

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/mountain-lion-puma-cougar

I don’t know if you really count peacocks as cute, but I think they’re beautiful and super interesting sooooo. They’re in the blog.

Although most people think that “peacock” is the name of the species of bird, the word actually only describes the males. The whole species is referred to as peafowl, and the birds are members of the pheasant family. Just so you know, females are referred to as peahens (they aren’t nearly as colorful as peacocks because they must blend in with brush to keep their eggs safe) and babies are called peachicks (not chickpeas).  There are three types of peafowl that can be found in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and Africa, but most people are familiar with the Indian peafowl, which is the breed that is most likely to be seen in zoos. In the wild, peafowl may live in open or rain forests.

The peacock is most famous for his train, and the oldest peacocks – those that have survived the longest in the wild and are therefore better suited evolutionarily to mate – tend to have the longest trains. Because that’s what all that fuss is for! Attracting the ladies. The long feathers are actually not the peacock’s tail – they cover the base of the tail. Normally, a peacock’s train drags on the ground behind him, but when he is trying to attract a male, he lifts up his train by propping it up on the shorter base feathers. The train can span seven feet across by three feet tall in peacocks that are about six years old. To put on a real show, the peacock can quiver, which makes his feathers shimmer. And, just because I know you’re dying to know, those little round dots on the tail that look like eyes are called ocelli.

While you may think that peacock trains make them more susceptible to predator attacks (mongooses, leopards and tigers all attack the birds), when a predator catches the peacock tail, the feathers easily fall out and the bird can fly away. Plus, peacock’s are famous for their loud calls which easily alert other animal species of a predator in the area.

Peahens are (yet again) responsible for raising their children all on their own. They sit on their eggs for about four weeks, but as soon as the peachicks hatch, they are able to walk around and forage. They are not, however, able to fend for themselves and they can’t even fly to the safety of a tree to roost until they are about two weeks old. By two months, the peachicks – male and female – look just like their momma.

Okay, that’s probably enough about peacocks, peafowl and peachicks. Here are some videos!

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/peafowl

http://vi.sualize.us/cute_owl_cute_bird_adorable_picture_82Eh.html

This weeks cute animal happens to be one of my favorite. So while you may not think they are the cutest animal in the world, I don’t really care. Because they’re owls. And I love owls. There are various types of owls, and they can be found all over the world. In fact, owls occupy all continents except for antarctica. Most owls fly at night, but others hunt during the day. Some live in cold climates and others live in deserts. Some owls reside in wide open spaces, but others live in dense rain forests. Though owls are extremely diverse, they have been revered worldwide for centuries as symbols of wisdom or words of warning.

Owls are built to be one of the most able winged predator. Their ears are huge holes in the owl’s skull and can help the owl hear a mouse move from up to 75 feet away. The owl’s eyes are so large that there isn’t enough room in the skull for eye muscles, so the eyes do not move. This is why the owl is able to turn his whole head almost 270° around. Consequently, this increases the owl’s visual focus, since both eyes are directed at the same place. The owl’s feather’s are even designed to be beneficial. The soft edges of an owl feather make an owl’s flight almost silent. Coarse feathers would make the owl more audible to prey, making hunting more challenging.

Owls fly low to the ground when they are hunting, and most feed off of small prey. The type of prey depends on the owl’s habitat – they can eat rodents and insects or fish if they fly over the water. There have even been instances of large owls carrying off young deer!

Most owls live solitarily because there is less competition for food. Owls can live just about anywhere, and they don’t waste time building their own homes. They just set up shop in any old nest or hole in a tree they can find. Owls only live together when it is time to mate. Mating is also the time owl calls become loudest. Male owls have to impress a female before she gets over her fear of living in proximity to another owl (even though the female is actually the larger of the two). He may leave her dead food and will wait around until she lets him near her. The female owl will lay eggs – two or three if there is scarce food and up to six eggs if food is easily obtainable. The chicks will hatch two days apart. This way, at least a few chicks will survive in the event that the female owl cannot find enough food. Owls are cared for for about three months by their mother and father, and by the time they are six months old, they are fully grown and will venture to find their own territories.

Here’s a video of a cute baby owl.

http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/owl