| 3141/
26% of all electric cable breaks and 18% of all phone cable
disruptions are caused by rats, 25% of all fires of unknown
origin are rat-caused, and rats destroy an estimated 1/3 of
the world's food supply each year. The rat has been called
the world's most destructive mammal-other than man.
3142/ Male and female
rats may have sex twenty times a day. A female can produce
up to twelve litters of twenty rats a year: one pair of rats
has the potential for 15,000 descendants in a year.
3143/ The American alligator
is a member of the crocodile family, whose members are living
fossils from the Age of Reptiles, having survived on earth
for 200 million years.
3144/ In 1992, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Louisiana black bear
as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act,
meaning it could become in danger of extinction throughout
all or a significant portion of its range in the foreseeable
future.
3145/ Larger than the
black bear, male grizzly bears stand about 7 feet tall and
weigh from 300 to 600 pounds (and occasionally more than 800).
Females are smaller, usually weighing between 200 and 400
pounds. Although a standing grizzly is commonly perceived
to be a threatening pose, bears stand when they are simply
curious or surveying their surroundings. Otherwise they generally
remain on all fours.
3146/ Conservation of
the buffalo came slowly. In May 1894, Congress enacted a law
making buffalo hunting in Yellowstone National Park illegal.
Eight years later, money was appropriated to purchase 21 buffalo
from private herds to build up the Yellowstone herd. With
adequate protection, this herd has steadily increased until
it numbers almost 4,000 animals by January 1998.
3147/ California condors
are the largest birds in North America. They may weigh up
to 25 pounds and have wingspans of 9 1/2 feet. They can soar
on warm thermal updrafts for hours, reaching speeds of more
than 55 miles per hour and altitudes of 15,000 feet.
3148/ The tallest bird
in North America, the whooping crane stands 5 feet tall with
a long, sinuous neck and long legs. The wings measure about
7 feet across
3149/ The bald eagle
is truly an all-American bird - it is the only eagle unique
to North America.
3150/ Elephants are herbivores,
or plant-eaters. They feed on grasses, fruits, leaves, branches,
bark, and twigs. Because of their large size and because as
much as 60 percent of what they eat passes through without
being digested, elephants spend about 16 hours a day foraging
for nearly 350 pounds of food. In addition, they drink about
18 gallons of water each day.
3151/ The peregrine falcon
is one of nature's swiftest and most beautiful birds of prey.
The name comes from the latin word peregrinus, meaning "foreigner"
or "traveller." It is noted for its speed, grace,
and aerial skills. There are three subspecies of the peregrine
falcon in North America: the American, Arctic, and Peale's.
3152/ By 1972, biologists
believed black-footed ferrets to be extinct. From 1972 until
1981, although many ferret sightings were reported, the only
documented population was found in the 1970s in South Dakota.
Then in 1981, a dog killed an unusual animal on a ranch in
Wyoming. The rancher took it to a taxidermist who recognized
it as a black-footed ferret. This led to the discovery of
a small ferret population near Meeteetse, Wyoming, in 1981.
The population increased from 1981 through 1984. At its peak
in 1984, nearly 130 ferrets were counted.
3153/ The muskox and
the caribou are the only two arctic ungulates, or hoofed mammals,
that survived the end of the Pleistocene Era (10,000 years
ago).
3154/ The giant panda
has unique front paws -- one of the wrist bones is enlarged
and elongated and is used like a thumb, enabling the giant
panda to grasp stalks of bamboo. They also have very powerful
jaws and teeth to crush bamboo. While bamboo stalks and roots
make up about 95 percent of its diet, the giant panda also
feeds on gentians, irises, crocuses, fish, and occasionally
small rodents. It must eat 20 to 40 pounds of food each day
to survive, and spends 10 to 16 hours a day feeding.
3155/ Chinook salmon
may travel as far as 2,500 miles from their home stream and
stay out at sea 4 to 7 years. Pink salmon, on the other hand,
seldom range more than 150 miles from the mouth of their home
river or stream where they hatch in the fall, and turn homeward
in the spring, sometimes travelling 45 miles per day to reach
their spawning grounds.
3156/ North America is
home to three species of swans: the native trumpeter and tundra
(formerly known as whistling swan), and the non-native mute.
The trumpeter swan is the largest waterfowl in North America
and the largest swan in the world.
3157/ Siberian tigers
are the largest of all of the tiger subspecies. Their size
and extra thick, long coat help them survive temperatures
as low as -49 degrees Fahrenheit.
3158/ The walrus is a
member of the pinniped family, which also includes sea lions
and seals. Walrus differ from some seals in that they can
turn their hind limbs forward. This characteristic enables
them to raise themselves up, giving them greater freedom of
movement on land.
3159/ Mexican gray wolves
are the southernmost occurring, rarest and most genetically
distinct type of gray wolf in North America.
3160/ The red-cockaded
woodpecker makes its home in mature pine forests; more specifically,
those with long-leaf pines averaging 80 to 120 years old and
loblolly pines averaging 70 to 100 years old. While other
woodpeckers bore out cavities in dead trees where the wood
is rotten and soft, the red-cockaded woodpecker is the only
one which excavates cavities exclusively in living pine trees.
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