Wednesday, 1 August 2012

lions

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.


reference
National Geographic

The Cuscus


The cuscus is a large marsupial native to the Northern forest of Australia and the large, tropical island of Papua New Guinea. The cuscus is a subspecies of possum with the cuscus being the largest of the world's possum species. The cuscus is known to range in size from just 15cm to more than 60cm in length, although the average sized cuscus tends to be around 45cm (18inches). The cuscus has small ears and large eyes which aid the cuscus through it's nocturnal lifestyle.

The cuscus is an arboreal mammal, and spends it's life almost exclusively in the trees. The cuscus rests in the trees during the day, sleeping in the dense foliage and awakens at night to start moving through the trees in search of food. The cuscus is an omnivorous animal but the cuscus mainly eats leaves and fruits occasionally feasting on small birds and reptiles.

The cuscus is thought to breed throughout the year rather than having a strict breeding season. The mother cuscus gives birth to between 2 and 4 baby cuscus after a gestation period of just a couple of weeks. As with all marsupials, the female cuscus has a pouch on her tummy which the new born cuscus babies crawl into and stay until they are bigger, less vulnerable and able to start feeding themselves. Typically only one of the cuscus babies will survive and emerge from the pouch after 6 or 7 months.

Reference,
A-Z animals