Tag Archives: wildlife facts

Macaw

Scarlet Macaws are bright, colorful parrots native to the rainforest of Central and South America. These highly intelligent birds live in large groups and are very vocal.  Capable of mimicking a variety of sounds, including human speech, macaws are loud. Their squawks, and screeches can be heard from miles away.  Scarlet macaws are protected underContinueContinue reading “Macaw”

Verdi

The Green Tree Python is an arboreal species of snake native to New Guinea, Indonesia and Northern Australia. They have a prehensile tail which they use to anchor themselves to a branch, allowing them to strike at prey without falling. They also use their tail as a lure prey. As with all pythons the greenContinueContinue reading “Verdi”

Barking Deer

Meet Jill, a Reeves muntjac. Also known as a barking deer, because their alarm call sounds like a dog’s bark.  Unlike most deer species, muntjacs don’t form herds; they live alone or in pairs.  They have long tongues that they use to strip leaves off of bushes.  Native to China and Taiwan their biggest threatsContinueContinue reading “Barking Deer”

Crawdad

Found a little friend hanging out in the water. This is a northern clearwater crayfish. They can be found all over Michigan in rocky streams, lakes, and rivers. There are more than 540 species of crayfish worldwide. They can be found everywhere except in Africa and Antartica.   Crayfish have excellent eyesight and can move eachContinueContinue reading “Crawdad”

Small but Deadly

The phantasmal poison dart frog lives on the slopes of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador. As their name suggests, they are poisonous. Their poison comes from their diet, which includes ants, spiders, mites, and other insects. The frogs metabolize the toxins from their prey and combine them to produce a poison that they secrete throughContinueContinue reading “Small but Deadly”

Living in Slow Motion

Sloths are native Central and South America. All sloths have 3 toes on their back feet, but two-toed sloths only have 2 toes on their forelimbs.  This is a two-toed sloth. You can see that the front limbs have two toes while the back have three. They spend most of their time hanging out inContinueContinue reading “Living in Slow Motion”

Pigeons can be Beautiful

When you say pigeon most people think of the kind that live in big cities and go after your food in the park. But there are actually 175 different species of pigeons. The Victoria crowned pigeon is arguably the most elegant and ornate species of pigeons. Named after Queen Victoria for their regal appearance. TheContinueContinue reading “Pigeons can be Beautiful”

Squirrels………..are pink?

Pink Bones!! That’s right, fox squirrels’ bones glow pink under ultraviolet light. This occurs because of a build up of a chemical compound called porphyrin. Eastern fox squirrels are the largest species of tree squirrels native to North America. They are common across the eastern United States, but are also found in southern parts ofContinueContinue reading “Squirrels………..are pink?”