The Animal of August: The Mandrill!

Being the largest of the monkeys, the mandrill is a shy animal that live only in the rain forests of equatorial Africa. They are 3 ft tall omnivores, eating fruits, nuts, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. They weigh 77 pounds, and they live in troops. The troops are lead by males, and include a dozen or so females and their young. Mandrills have a way of being cute and creepy all at the same time!

Mandrills do not fall in the category of endangered, yet they are a threatened species. They are hunted for bushmeat, as many Africans consider them a delicacy.

Fast Facts!

1. Omnivores

2. Lifespan in the wild: 20 years

3. Group: troop

4. Size: 3ft tall, 77 lbs

5. Protection status: threatened

The Animal of July: The Sea Otter

The carnivorous aquatic member of the weasel family spends most of his time in the water. The sea otters will eat, rest, and socialize in the water. They live in groups in the water and are very playful. They eat things such as clams, shellfish, sea urchins, crab, squid, octopus, and fish. They weigh about 65 pounds, and live up to 23 years in the wild. Sea otters were once to the point of extinction in the early 20th Century, with only about 1,000 to 2,000 otters left. Now, with protection laws, there are about 100,000 to 150,000 otters in the wild.



Fast Facts
1. Carnivores
2. Weigh about 65 pounds
3. about 4 ft tall

Random Fact of the Day

American bison weigh about 2,200 pounds!

Animal of the Month: The Mountain Lion

The huge 136 pound mountain lion roams America. The mountain lion is also known as a puma, cougar, and catamount. Mountain lions are carnivores, preying on deer, porcupine, coyotes, and raccoons. They tend to prey at dawn or dusk.


Mountain Lions once roamed all of America, but that was reduced in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. Hunters treasured these mountain lions, while farmers despised them for killing their livestock. Does that sound familiar? Remember back in January, the animal of the month was the wombat. Farmers didn't like wombats for destroying their fields, and farmers don't like mountain lions for killing their cows.

Mountain lions are very quiet and shy animals, rarely seen by humans. They need a lot of space to roam and live. Now, based on that information, why do you thing mountain lions will sometimes attack humans?

If you live in Pleasanton, you might remember the mountain lion spotting near Mohr Elementary School back in 2006, and then again in 2009. This endangered species has no place to roam anymore, being forced into rural areas, which then leads them to be killed because of "threatening" people, while most of the time they don't even harm anyone. It's just wrong. Here is the link for PleasantonWeekly.com on the mountain lion spotting in 2009 http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/show_story.php?id=1959

Fast Facts!
1. Carnivore
2. They weigh 136 lbs
3. Endangered
4. Live in the Western parts of America






Thanks to National Geographic Animal Facts: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/mountain-lion/

Animal of the Month: The Elephant Seal!

The carnivorous elephant seal has two species: the northern and the southern seal. Southern elephant seals live in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters that contain brisk cold conditions but are rich in the fish, squid, and other marine foods that the seals enjoy. Southern elephant seals are the bigger of the two. Souther males can be up to 20 ft tall and weigh 8,800 pounds! Northern elephant seals can be found in California and Baja California, though they prefer to frequent offshore islands rather than the North American mainland. Elephant seals are sometimes called Sea Elephants. Sea elephants are interesting looking creatures...


Elephant seals were intensely hunted for their oil, and their numbers were once brought down to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, populations have come back and they are under legal protections. Southern elephant seals can dive over 4,921 ft deep and stay submerged for up to two hours! Below you can see a southern elephant seal. I think they're cute..:)

Now you can see a northern elephant seal.. :)


Fast Facts:
1. Carnivore
2. Weigh: Up to 8,800 lbs
3. Group: Colony
4. Lifespan in the Wild: 9 years for northern 20 to 22 years southern


National Geographic Animal Facts

Mini Quiz about Mammals

Think you can answer these questions? Give it a try!

1. What are most poisonous of the following?
a. Giraffes
b. Box jellyfish
c. Hippopotamus
d. Dog

2. Hippos weigh about....
a. 50 oz
b. 70 billion pounds
c. 8,000 lbs
d. 384,224,224,200,102,204,201 tons

3. A group of hippos is called a...
a. a school
b. a patch
c. Hippo town
d. cheese

4. Platypuses are...
a. marsupials
b. tacos
c. monotremes
d. Both A and C

5. The manatee...
a. Lives in water
b. is a mammal
c. is endangered
d. All of the above

6. What's your favorite animal?

(To answer, just comment with the letters. The Animal Society will respond with your score)

It's Me or the Dog

Whenever I'm flipping through T.V. stations when I'm lazy on the couch, I sometimes see a show called, It's me or the Dog. I never knew what that was, and I didn't realize that it was on Animal Planet. Well, it is, so I turned that on in curiosity. Here's what I found...It's a show about dog owners with horrible, stressful, vicious dogs on the brink of going to a shelter because of attacking people or other dogs. (It get's better, trust me.) Victoria, an amazing dog trainer, comes in and turns a killer dog into a sweet and "gentle giant." It's full of ways to train your dog.

"Thank you. You just saved my family," one man said in the episode I just watched. Victoria is a miracle worker. I encourage all dog owners to watch this show. If you have a stressful dog that you feel is "tearing your life apart" you must remember that help is out there. Just go to http://animal.discovery.com/tv/its-me-or-dog/ and learn how you can get help today.

"I know that dogs are more than just dogs. They're family," says Victoria. By the way, Victoria isn't just awesome because she's an amazing dog trainer, she's awesome because she is an amazing dog trainer in high heels. :)