During the day, koalas can sleep for up to 20 hours in the fork of a tree to conserve energy. They will communicate with one another through loud grunts and squealing noises. Koalas are most active at night however the majority of their activities, including feeding occur just after sunset. Koalas are not bears! They are marsupials, which mean that their young are born immature and continue to develop in the safety of a pouch. Due to this ongoing habitat loss and pollution, the Asian small-clawed Otter is now listed as vulnerable to extinction. Even in rice fields, the Otters still forage for food and their persistence in finding it leads to farmers perceiving them as pests. Throughout Asia, the Otter’s habitat is being taken over by agriculture such as rice fields. Once spotted, they dive down and catch their prey with their front paws, returning to land to feed. They are excellent hunters, gliding along the surface of the water, with their head beneath the surface as they scan for tasty crustaceans. Unlike most other Otters, they use their forepaws to locate and capture prey instead of their mouths. Asian Small-clawed Otters are also differentiated from other Otters by their partially-webbed limbs and nimble fingers. When fully grown, these otters measure approximately 0.9m from nose to tail tip and weigh up to 5kg, compared to a Giant Otter which can reach lengths of up to 1.7 meters. The Asian Small-clawed Otter is the smallest otter in the world. Giraffe, among other animals, will eat hyena poo to add calcium to their diet. From eating the bones of their catch, the hyenas faeces is extremely high in calcium. They are extremely efficient at processing food, with strong jaws able to crush most bones, and consume most of the parts of their kill. Hyenas are often thought of as a scavenger while they do scavenge they kill up to 95% of the food they eat. All females in a spotted hyena clan bring their cubs to one large den site, and raise their babies until they are old enough to travel with their mothers. Clan members cooperate in communal defence of the territory, of food resources, and the clan den. This means clan members do not remain together continuously, but instead frequently forage alone or in small groups. Spotted hyenas live in a “fission-fusion” society. Dominance hierarchies are passed from mothers to daughters and are maintained through co-operative alliances between individuals. Even the lowest ranking female is dominant to the highest ranking male. Within these groups females are dominant. Spotted hyenas live in large groups, sometimes up to 90. Their intelligence is likely due to their complex social system and flexible feeding habits. Observations suggest they may plan hunts in advance. With a large frontal cortex, hyenas are excellent problem solvers, sometimes even out performing great apes in problem solving tests. One of the most misunderstood animals, the spotted hyena has a reputation as being sly and cowardly, but is in fact fascinating and intelligent with a remarkable social system. A lion only catches its prey around 10% of the time. They catch their prey between 70 – 90% of the time. Painted dogs are among the most successful hunters in Africa. The disruptive nature of their coats makes their pack look bigger than it really is. No two dogs have the same patterned coat. They are also referred to as wild dogs, cape hunting dogs and the ornate wolf. Their scientific name, Lycaon pictus, actually means ‘painted wolf-like animal’ in Greek. This is most likely not to attract attention of other predators. This ‘hoo’ is distinctly quieter than the calls of lions and hyenas. It sounds similar to tennis shoes squeaking on a gym floor. If the dogs are separated from the pack they make a distinct bell sound called a ‘hoo’ to find each other. Painted dogs communicate through high pitched sounds. Pups are often targets of lions and hyenas. Unfortunately, 70 to 90% of the pups in a litter won’t survive. However, all will help feed and protect the pups. Only one female, the most dominant, will breed at any one time. Within a pack, all the females will be related to each but not to the males. A pack can range in size from 2 to 27 dogs. Painted dogs, also known as wild dogs, are the most social of all dogs.
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