I know my blog usually profiles a rare or endangered animal, but for my last post I’d like to let you know just what Penn State has in the way of animals. PSU is a giant school with tons of resources, and I find it amazing just how many people don’t realize that PSU actually owns animals of its own.

Most of you know that I really love horses–I think they’re beautiful and fascinating animals to study. That is one of the reasons why I really took an interest in Penn State. It’s home to three different horseback riding teams, various horse-related clubs and organizations, a terrific pre-vet program, and even a fully operational horse barn and Quarter Horse breeding program. Yes, that’s right, Penn State has ponies on campus!

This year, the Penn State Equine Research Team developed a research project to investigate the relationship between the length and events of labor with the strength of mare and foal bond. This meant that, if you signed up for a week of foal watch, you got to go down to the barn (often at like 3am) to help with, observe, and enjoy the birth of foals. That’s especially easy to do when there are 19 foals due, not to mention the fact that they’re so darn cute. The utter miracle of life makes your time there (in the cold during the wee hours of the morning the day before a big exam) completely worth it.

baby boy about 10 minutes after birth

Watching the mom give birth so readily (and quickly!–the birth of a foal should only take  around 30-45 minutes to complete once the water breaks), the baby open its eyes, struggle  to maneuver its lanky legs, take its first steps, suckle, and run around for the first time is  an experience that can’t be beat. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated being there for the  first time. The feeling of amazement never goes away either–even the barn workers and  doctors talked about how incredible of a miracle it is to experience such things.

Mom and baby boy

No matter what kind it may be, I really  encourage you all to form a relationship with  an animal. It is amazing how unique,  charismatic, and loyal they can be. I also ask  you all to really consider the relationship  between humans and animals; from  companionship to medicine, animals and  humans depend on each other for survival. I  hope my blog this year has helped you realize the dynamism of this relationship and maybe even sparked an interest in animals. Thank you all for reading–I really appreciate it because this blog really is something I am passionate about.

Well guys, we did it. We made it through 2 semesters of blogging for RCL. For what it’s worth, I had a terrific time writing these posts this year, and I really enjoyed reading what everyone else had to say as well. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors, whatever they may be, and hope to see you around campus these next three years. 🙂

I don’t know about you, but I fondly remember talking about a few Galapagos turtles in high school bio, and I also remember the way my teacher’s face would light up when she talked about them and the beautiful island they live on. In fact, the beautiful islands were named after their numerous inhabitants, the tortoises (“galapagos” means “tortoise” in Spanish according to arkive.org). Before, hundreds of thousands of these guys resided on the island. Now, however,  very few remain. Only one Abingdon Island tortoise (a subspecies of the Galapagos giant tortoise), approrpiately named “Lonesome George,” moseyed around. Poor George. He died in 2012 after living a long, fame-filled 102 years.

Lonesome George, the most famous tortoise in the world. Notice his “saddleback” shell, appropriate for his dry environment. 1910-2012. 

The Galapagos tortoise crew put the “giant” in “giant tortoise,” reaching up to 4 feet long and weighing anwhere between 100-almost 800 pounds! Their heavy top shells can reach up to 5 feet long as well.

These guys are good buddies with Darwin’s finches, who often clean off dirt and parasites of the head of a dirty tortoise. As soon as a tortoise starts to get that itchy, dirty feel to himself, he just simply stands up on his hind limbs until his friend Finchy comes along to clean him off. And speaking of Darwin, these tortoises are also really good examples of adaptation, just like their Finch friends. Tortoises living on separate islands or parts of the islands developed different characteristics, such as shell size or shape, in order to be best fitted to their environments. For examples, tortoises living in the wetter parts of the Galapagos islands will have dome-shaped shell while the tortoises living on the dry parts of the land will have smaller, “saddleback” shells that allow it to better reach their tall vegetation. These “saddleback” tortoises will also have longer necks and legs than their wetland counterparts for the exact same reasons. These adaptations come in very handy when they live in an environment as diverse as the Galapagos islands.

 These tortoises spend most of their day grazing in small groups of friends, feasting on grasses, mosses, and cactus plants. At night, they dig little holes in the ground to rest in, protecting them from any possible danger. Whenever it rains, you can find them lazing around in shallow pools of water on the fertile flatlands. Any other dry time of year, they usually  reside on higher ground. Males get pretty territorial during mating season, and fight for females by standing up on their back legs, stretching out their neck and limbs, and comparing their sizes. (Unless you’re George. Then there was no competition.) The larger tortoise will generally prove more dominant and will thus be awarded the lady. A female tortoise will lay anywhere between 2 and 16 eggs at a time, and then cover them up with layers of dirt and vegetation to protect the eggs until they hatch 4-5 months later. Then the baby tortoises will begin their own lives, which can last up to 152 years long (oldest recorded Galapagos giant tortoise). 

There aren’t many people who live on the Galapagos islands, which means that people are no longer the biggest threat to this vulnerable species. From the 1600’s-1800’s, however, these tortoises were frequently captured and used for their meat, oil, and precious shells. Today, the island’s feral carnivores (dogs and cats, mostly) prey on baby tortoises (you know, before they have a shell and 700 pounds of body weight on them). The island’s native herbivores (goats and cattle) compete with tortoises for the limited supply of vegetation. As I said before, only one Abingdon island tortoise remained until 2012 when he died, and three other subspecies had gone entirely extinct by then. All is not lost, however. There are numerous conservation projects in place (Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos National Park Service) to ensure the survival of these vertebrates. Many scientists work together to care for, hatch, and protect the tortoises until they are strong enough to fend for themselves, and the entirety of their habitat is protected under conservation laws. Though this species’ population has decreases since first discovered, there are many efforts in place to restore and protect Darwin’s good friends.

Referred to as everything from a real-life teddy bear to a magic rabbit, the Ili Pika is a fuzzy, tiny mammal native to the Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China. It lives on the rocky sides of the mountains and feeds off of the grass at the high elevations. Over the years, the high temperatures have caused this mammal to move higher and higher up the mountains to elevations exceeding 13,000 feet (up from about 9,000 feet at its time of discovery).

Li WeiDong, discoverer of the ili pika

Li Weidong first encountered this unique animal–the first time it was  ever spotted by a human–in 1983. It took him 2 whole years to find  another one, but when he found 2 more in 1985, the Ili pika was  declared after a new species and named after its discoverer. Li spent 37  days in 2002-2003 searching for this animal again with an entire team  of volunteers, only to come up empty-handed. Li and a fellow biologist  named Andrew Smith of Arizona State University had to resort to  analyzing snow tracks and, well, pika poo to come up with a rough idea  of how many of these animals actually existed. In 2005, they estimated  2,000 animals in the wild (but estimated almost 3,000 animals in the late ’90’s). Today, less than 1,000 are thought to still exist. However, in 2014, Li was finally able to spot and photograph an ili pika while it hopped and danced across his feet. (Hence the term, “magic rabbit.”)

Because so little is known about the animal (and since it’s only actually been seen a total of 29 times since 1983), it’s hard to list characteristics about the species. Of those seen, though, it has been concluded that they are roughly 8 inches long, with really fuzzy grey-with-brown-spots fur and large ears. They are thought to live primarily on mountain grass, moss, and other plants.

In the past 30 years, Li estimates the population has dropped by 70%. It has been listed as an endangered species since 2008, but most likely because of its elusiveness, no groups have been dedicated to the protection and preservation of the species. Global warming is likely the biggest cause of its dwindle–we can easily rule out poaching as a possibility because people rarely see this animal. Eventually, the mammal will run out of space to climb up and food to eat on the mountaintops. Air pollution is also a possible contribution to this species demise. It’s hard to believe that only 30 years ago this species was discovered, and now it is an endangered species. What can we do to help this adorable little guy?? Who could ever let this little guy just vanish? Li says the problem isn’t lack of funding as much as lack of awareness and official recognition for the species. I can guarantee that most people have no idea this thing even exists, and that is one of the biggest problems. It’s also hard to coordinate efforts to help a species when so little is known about it. Maybe if the little guys weren’t so good at hide-and-go-seek, it’d be easier. Li retired in 2007, dedicating the remainder of his life to finding more about and hopefully saving the ili pika. He has spent upwards of $32,000 of his own money taking treks to China to climb mountains and search for it, saying he cannot just let the species go extinct.

Besides the fact that the ili pika is just way too cute, I can’t help but be intrigued by it because of Li’s intense concern toward a species that hardly anyone knows about. That’s true dedication and love right there, and I totally admire his character for it. I wish him nothing but the best, and hope that maybe spreading awareness (even if it’s just in a silly RCL blog) will help the ili pika face more recognition.

Sloths live in the high above, dense treetops of the tropical South and Central  American rain forests. Their long, strong claws make it easy for them to  climb  and rip leaves off of high tree branches, but keep the sloth from   spending too  much time on the ground because they make it difficult for the sloth to walk.  Though walking is hard for them, they make a weekly trip to the forest floor to  relieve themselves, and then back up into the trees they go. The sloth is a  super, suuuper slow mover, traveling at an average rate of 40 yards per day.  That’s not even half of a football field in 24 hours! However, the sloth does have a really low metabolic rate which causes them to sleep for 15-20 hours a day (in captivity. In the wild they usually sleep about as long as humans do). Though the sloth really enjoys the treetops, he will often splash around in the water. Sloths are exceptional swimmers because of their long arms. Everything the sloth does though, he does on his own. Sloths are extremely solitary creatures, only interacting with each other to mate.

Male sloths fight for a female sloth, who signifies her readiness to mate by literally screaming, by hanging upside down from a tree and pawing at each other. The victor gets the lady. How classy. Gestation period varies between the different species, ranging from 5 months to 11.5 months. They give birth to one sloth at a time, and do all of this in the treetops. Baby sloths will spend weeks attached to their mother, clinging to her piggyback style. They stay right by their mother’s side for up to 4 years, until they leave and begin the life of a loner. Sloths eat mainly the leaves found in the tree tops, and digest them with bacteria in their four-part stomach. It can take up to a month for one sloth meal to digest.

There are two types of sloths, two-toed and three-toed, and six different  species of sloth. Unfortunately enough for many rain forest dwellers, the  habitat is quickly being wiped out. The smallest sloth species, the pygmy three- toed sloth, is critically endangered. This is primarily due to the dwindling  habitat and extremely limited food supply–the only leaf they eat is being  rapidly wiped out as the trees they grow on are destroyed. The maned sloth is  right behind the pygmy three-toed sloth and is listed as a vulnerable species.  The sloths, just like all rain forest creates, depend on the health of their environment for survival. As the rain forest gets smaller and smaller, so too does the sloth population. And, because the sloth is such a slow mover, it faces an even greater vulnerability when it comes down to ground level. It can’t run from predators on the ground, and the lack of trees makes it even harder for it to hide from them in the treetops.

Just so this blog post doesn’t end on a completely depressing note, here’s a sloth meme: 

Happy almost Spring Break, RCL-ers!

This week I’d like to tell y’all about the Amur leopard!

The Amur leopard is the epitome of athleticism. This lean, well-muscled, stealthy cat can run up to 37 miles per hour, pounce up to 19 feet in front of it, and leap up to 10 feet in the air. Talk about your track and field superstar! Along with its superior athletic abilities, the Amur leopard is light on its feet, very nimble, lean, and strong. Unlike most other leopard subspecies, this guy does not frolic on the African savanna. Rather, this type of leopard is found deep inside the forests of the Russian Far East. They can weigh anywhere between 70 and 110 pounds and grow to be about 3 feet tall at the shoulder; females are generally smaller and lighter, though. Their coats are paler and thicker than most other leopards in order to camouflage and protect themselves better in the harsh Russian winters. Their “spots” are also broader and more spaced-out than that of other leopards. Their tongues contain special ridges and spikes to help scrape the meat off of their prey.

This leopard is a very solitary animal, not unlike the rest of the cat family. It will usually hide its prey once captured in order to prevent any other animal from stealing it. However, the male Amur leopard is also known for being a dedicated, loving, and helpful father and partner, usually staying with its mate for a long time and assisting with raising the young (relationship goals?). The males will often even fight over a female leopard if it gets to that point. They begin breeding at about 3 or 4 years old, giving live birth to a litter of 1-4 cubs after carrying the young for about 12 weeks. The cubs will usually hang around with mom (and dad!) for roughly 2 years before starting their own independent lives. Though not really seen in the wild, the Amur leopards in captivity display more of a breeding pattern than those of the wild variety, usually breeding in the Spring or Summer. In the wild, these leopards like anywhere between 10 and 15 years; in captivity, they average around a 20 year lifespan.

Though listed as critically endangered by the WWF, this animal’s population has doubled in the past 7 years–however, that still only means about 60 wild Amur leopards are present in Russia’s “Land of the Leopard” National Park. Their coats are highly sought after, not to mention their wild forest habitat is rapidly dwindling down. Many organizations are desperately trying to proliferate this subspecies, implementing many regulations of their habitat in order to keep them alive and kicking. There are also an increase in Amur leopards in captivity recently in order to help maintain the species.

Surprise, surprise; Hannah picked another fluffy animal.

The Red panda is, as you may have guessed, a “cousin” of the giant, black-and-white panda most people think of when they hear “panda.” They are covered in reddish-brown fluffy fur, with white fur on their face and bellies. However, because of its striped red and brown tail, the red panda can also be scientifically classified as a distant relative of the raccoon. Who knew?! Just like the giant panda, the red panda can be found frolicking in the treetops and munching on some bamboo. Also like the giant panda, the red panda comes equipped with an extended wrist bone that acts like a thumb in order to aid their grip in the high-altitude tree tops or keep a nice, secure grip on its beloved bamboo. The red panda, however, lives in a wider range of habitats, extending from the rainy, high forest trees to the mountains of Nepal, northern Myanmar, and central China. They spend most of their time up in the tree tops, including nap time and sleep time, and follow a nocturnal schedule. Red pandas, though also a big fan of bamboo, are also known to consume berries, nuts, roots, and eggs as well and generally forage at night.

Though the red panda’s body grows to be only about the size of that of your average house cat, its long, fuzzy tail adds another foot and a half of length onto it. The tail also doubles as a nice blanket for the chillier air the red pandas experience at the higher altitudes and cool nights. The red panda weighs in at about 12-20 pounds, and lives for, on average, about 8 years in the wild. They are shy, solitary animals until mating season comes around. A female red panda carries her young for 134 days, and then gives birth to between one and four young in the late Spring or Summer. The baby red pandas will hang out with mom in the nest for about 3 months until they start their own, independent lives. Daddy Red Panda, unfortunately, takes little to no interest in his young red panda young, and basically ignores them for the entire time they are being raised.

The red panda is listed as an endangered species, with less than 10,000 adults left in the wild. This is largely due to deforestation.

You can visit red pandas at almost any zoo! Be sure to stop by and say hello!

How cute is this?!

The fennec fox is the smallest fox in the world, weighing in at only 2-3 pounds. They are only about a foot long when fully grown, but their ears are on average 6 inches long! Their ears are uses as a means of cooling down their entire furry body, which you can imagine gets pretty warm in the bright, hot African sun. They are also characterized by their thick, sand-colored fur, which is used to blend into their desert environment. That being said, the fennec fox is found in the Sahara region, along with other deserts of Northern Africa and Northern Sinai.

Another way fennec foxes try and stay cool is through their nocturnal behavior; during most of the day, they sleep in the shade and then become active at nighttime when the sun goes down and the temperatures drop. They live in communal, male-dominated burrows of about 10 foxes buried deep within the sand dunes. Ideally, they live near lots of vegetation, and will likely coat their burrow in this vegetation for sustenance if need be. That being said, the fennec fox feeds mostly on leaves, plants, fruits, and roots, but occasionally will feed on eggs, small reptiles, insects, or rodents if they so choose. They can also go a long time without water because most of it is either obtained from the plants it eats or the moisture in their underground homes. Naturally, with ears as big as that of the fennec fox, it is an animal with very keen hearing and smell, which can be used to track prey or sense danger.

The fennec fox is a very loyal animal–when it finds a mate, it keeps that mate for life! They mate for only two months out of the year–January and February–and give birth once per year mating season. They carry their young for about two and a half months (usually around the end of March or April) and give birth to small litters of 2-4 cubs. After about three months, the babies are free to venture out on their own, eventually settling down and starting their own family at about 10 months old. They can live up to 10 years in the wild, or 12-13 years in captivity. That being said, you can find the Fennec fox at almost any zoo. They as an animal are in good standing population-wise, with no risk of endangerment of extinction to boot.

I’m sure at least some of you have seen pictures of this fuzzy little guy on your Twitter feed at some point. This fuzzball goes by the name Quokka, and it is affectionately recognized as the “happiest animal in the world” due to it’s chubby cheeks that make it look like it’s always smiling. These marsupials can be found on the small Australian island of Rottnest. The island’s name is actually derived from the quokka–an early Russian visitor mistook the quokka for a rat (which, we now know, is not true because a rat is not a marsupial) and renamed the island “Rattennest” (which, for those of you who don’t know the language, means “rat’s nest” in Russian) in honor of the tiny little creature. However, the quokka can also be found in the mainland of Australia, residing mostly in the tall grass near water. They are also known to be quite skilled at scaling up and down the Australian treetops.

The quokka has a round, compact body covered in short, brown fuzz. They have small ears, big noses, and even bigger cheeks. They grow to be around 16-21 inches in size. They are herbivores who eat mainly native foliage, but can also go for long periods of time without eating due to the fact that they are actually able to sustain themselves with extra fat stored in their tails. They’re nocturnal creatures who live in large groups, run by a group of dominant males.

Interestingly enough, the quokka can breed all year round on mainland Australia, but only from January to August on Rottnest. Generally, females give birth to baby quokka, called joeys, twice a year. The gestation period is about a month long. Once born, the baby quokka lives in the mother’s pouch for about 6 months until it ventures out into the world of walking. However, once on its own two feet, the joey still relies on its mother for milk for around 2 months. About the time of their one-and-a-half year birthday, the quokka becomes mature and able to reproduce. They generally live for around 10 years in the wild.

The quokka is listed as a species in critical condition due to its diminishing habitat. Much like the koala, the quokka’s habitat is constantly being destroyed and reduced to almost nothing because of development and general misuse of the land by humans. Foxes, dogs, cats and other predators found on mainland Australia also pose a threat to the marsupial. However, these predators cannot be found on the island; much of the population decrease on Rottnest is due to human killing of the quokka for sport. This is in part do to the curious and trustworthy nature of the quokka, who will go up to humans in order to investigate and say hello. If you ever see a quokka, be sure to keep your distance (even though they are cute!) so that the quokka will not develop even more of a habit of walking up to random people.

You know them, you love their fuzzy little ears, and you probably cuddled with a cute little stuffed version sometime in your childhood. I’m talking about the Australian koala!

First things first, this “koala bear” is not a bear. At all. It’s a marsupial, just like the kangaroo and the wombat (the wombat happens it be its closest relative!). They hang out in their mama koala’s pouch until they are about 5 months old, then they venture out of the pouch and cling onto their mother’s back. They are officially fully-grown when they are a year old. Though the koala is not a part of the bear family, a baby koala, just like a baby bear, is called a cub. (They can also be called joeys, like a baby kangaroo.) Cubs are live born, just like most mammals, and are actually born completely blind. They can live up to 20 years, grow to be about 2 feet long, and weigh between 15-30 pounds. Australian koalas are characterized by their gray, thick, fuzzy fur, white bellies, and cuddly look. Their super thick fur is used as protection from the elements, as Australia can get pretty rainy. Just like pigs, koalas have no sweat glands and therefore cannot physically sweat. To cool itself off, a koala will lick itself and stretch out while resting. Their bodies are shaped like a pear for extra stability when frolicking in the treetops, and they have both opposable thumbs and toes to aid in climbing.  However, think twice before giving a koala a big hug–they have extremely sharp teeth and claws that they will use when provoked. They use their sharp teeth and claws to chomp on their main source of food–eucalyptus leaves–which they strip off of the branches of the trees they live in. (They actually eat so much eucalyptus that most koalas smell like the plant!) They don’t drink too much because they get most of their water from the leaves they eat. They’re very good climbers and prefer to live in solitude. Though they live in solitude, they make a sound called a “bellow” to communicate with each other, which is a low pitched sound that sounds something like a belch/growl. Though koalas sleep for, on average, 19 hours a day and eat about 2 and a half pounds of food when they’re awake, they can run as fast as a rabbit (which is pretty fast!). They can be found down under (aka Australia).

Though koalas are not technically “endangered,” their population has decreased by ~90% in less than 10 years. There are only between 2,000 and 8,000 koalas left in the entire world. This is primarily due to the complete destruction of their small Australian habitat, wiped out in order to make room for housing and further urban development. Many koala habitats are now intermixed with cities, leading to a large increase in koala fatalities due to car crashes. Many koalas are plagued by disease, which of course does not help in the way of sustaining the population. Though you can find koalas at the zoo, the only suitable natural habitat for them is Australia, which is why it is so important to preserve the land there. Though the population has expanded from the late 1920’s, the koalas are still fighting endangerment.

Sharp claws and teeth!

Hello, Section 21, and happy Spring Semester! (Where’s the Spring though???)

For those of you who don’t know, I’m Hannah, and I’m a Veterinary and Biomedical Science major. So naturally, I’m very passionate about animals. Which is why, as you will find out in the upcoming weeks, I have dedicated my passion blog to profiling a different animal every week. I try to focus on the rarer and endangered animals, but every now and then I stray from that path and write about a more well-known type of animal. In fact, one week I dedicated my blog to my Thoroughbred, Baron. (That might happen again this semester if I start to miss him again 🙂 ) Common or uncommon, I find this animals in this blog to be very easy to write about, and hopefully you will find them very enjoyable to read about!

On a more serious note, I think a lot of the time people may overlook veterinarians in the way of their interaction with humans. Veterinarians interact with humans just as much as “people doctors” do, primarily due to the fact that every animal comes in with some sort of human attached to the leash, lead rope, etc. There is also the fact that “animal doctors” must rely on the humans to tell them everything they know about the animal in order to determine what tests or treatments are the best option. It is one of the things that makes being a vet so difficult! It is also why this blog is actually very important to my aspiration to become a vet. Unlike M.D.’s, veterinarians must learn about many, many, maaaannnyyyy different species, whereas humans only have to learn about one–humans! And because aspiring vets must cram all of this into only 4 years just like human doctors, any type of animal knowledge they can gain outside of veterinary school is extremely beneficial. It’s very important I familiarize myself with a wide variety of animals–even if it is just a basic overview of their physical characteristics–because not everything can be covered in vet school. Just as human doctors see all different types of unusual cases, veterinarians see just as many (if not more!). Even if you’re not a pre-vet student, I’d like to think that this blog is entertaining and interesting to read.

So, without further ado, I’d like to kick off the start of the Spring ’15 semester edition of Hannah’s Passion Blog. (Any suggestions for a more creative name?!)

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you will continue reading throughout the rest of the semester (there are always lots of pictures too!).

Happy reading, Miles21!

Hannah

My sort of “adopted” horse, Huey

Me and my horse, Baron this past summer.

Me riding a barn horse named Dylan

Me riding my friend’s Quarter Horse named Monti