I’ve seen a lot of other people doing magazines and newsletters on this board, so I’m going to do one too! It’s called Animal Facts. I’m going to try to do it every week, so...I‘ll try for every Monday/Tuesday (if you guys like it!). What I’m going to do is focus on two different animals that aren’t very well known. For this first issue, I’m only going to do one though. Perhaps some of you have heard of the one I’m doing today. Here it is! Hope you enjoy Animal Facts!!:

 

Animal Facts

 

The Hyrax

The hyrax is small mammal. It looks like rodent, but it’s not. It is said to be the elephant's nearest living relative. This is true to a certain extent, but misleading since the relationship stems from a remote ancestor common to hyraxes, sea cows (dugongs and manatees) and elephants. These three are unlike other mammals, but they share various if disproportionate physiological similarities in teeth, leg and foot bones, testes (that do not descend into a scrotum) and other more obscure details.

Another one of the hyraxes odd features are its feet. They basically have hooves! Hyraxes have stumpy toes with hooflike nails, four toes on each front foot and three on each back foot. The longer, clawlike nails on the inside toes of the back feet are used for grooming and scratching. The bottoms of the feet have a rubbery texture to assist in climbing steep rock surfaces and trees.

There are three different types of hyrax: rock hyrax, tree hyrax, and yellow-spotted hyrax. They can weigh as little as 5 pounds and weigh up to as much as 9. Their height is usually 12 inches (1 foot) at the shoulder and they can live for up to 12 years!

The rock hyrax has the widest distribution in East Africa. Its coat is yellowish or grayish-brown, and the dorsal spot (a bare scent gland on the back covered with longer hair) is covered with black or yellow hair. Its head is more rounded than other types of hyraxes, and the nose is blunt.

The yellow-spotted hyrax, or rock rabbit, is smaller in size and has a more pointed, rodentlike nose. Generally it has a conspicuous white patch above the eye, and its dorsal spot is whitish or yellowish. It is sometimes seen in company of other types of hyrax, but species do not interbreed.

Tree hyraxes, unsurprisingly, spend a lot of time in trees. In some areas they are hunted for their thick, soft, long hair. They have a white or yellow dorsal spot. The raucous nocturnal shriek of the tree hyrax is most impressive, starting as a squeak or whistle, then rising to a piglike squeal and finally to a child's scream.

Rock hyraxes do not dig burrows. They live in colonies of 50 or so in natural crevices of rocks or boulders. They are active in the daytime and can be seen feeding or sunning themselves near the entrances to their shelters. The tree hyrax is nocturnal and not as social as the rock hyraxes. They are often found in pairs and do not form much larger groups.

Rock hyraxes bear two or three young, which are so fully developed they can run and jump about an hour after birth. Although suckled until 3 months old, the young begin to eat vegetation by their second day. The young of all females in a family group often gather in a nursery group. The tree hyrax has fewer young (one or two at the most) than rock hyraxes, but they have many similar behavior traits.

Hyraxes are preyed upon by leopards, pythons, large birds, caracals and servals (both types of cats) and some other animals. They protect themselves from smaller predators by biting, but escaping to hiding places among the rocks is their best defense.

Did you know...?

·    Fossil remains indicate there were once hyraxes the size of oxen. This may explain its    gestation period of 7 or 8 months, unusually long for an animal of its size.

                

Note:

I highly suggest you go onto google and click images up in the left hand corner and search ‘rock hyrax’. Their SOOO cute! If you get the right image. I think the rock hyrax is the cutest!

Well? What did you think? Do you want me to keep going on with this one every week? If so, do you have any not-to-well-known animal ideas for me? I think I have the two I’ll be doing next week if you guys like this issue, but I’d still like all ideas! Thanks for reading here! Sorry it’s so long!

Wow! Wow! Wow! I love it!!! Keep going WolfFriend! Always think green, and save all animals!

                                                                                                                       Bats-Rock-the-World.

That is SOOOOO cool i love it!( Well, i love animals so...) I know its well known but can you put a kangaroo up? I LOVE them!

 

 

                          Remember,ANIMALS RULE!!!

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_Wolf*Friend_ wrote:

I’ve seen a lot of other people doing magazines and newsletters on this board, so I’m going to do one too! It’s called Animal Facts. I’m going to try to do it every week, so...I‘ll try for every Monday/Tuesday (if you guys like it!). What I’m going to do is focus on two different animals that aren’t very well known. For this first issue, I’m only going to do one though. Perhaps some of you have heard of the one I’m doing today. Here it is! Hope you enjoy Animal Facts!!:

 

Animal Facts

 

The Hyrax

The hyrax is small mammal. It looks like rodent, but it’s not. It is said to be the elephant's nearest living relative. This is true to a certain extent, but misleading since the relationship stems from a remote ancestor common to hyraxes, sea cows (dugongs and manatees) and elephants. These three are unlike other mammals, but they share various if disproportionate physiological similarities in teeth, leg and foot bones, testes (that do not descend into a scrotum) and other more obscure details.

Another one of the hyraxes odd features are its feet. They basically have hooves! Hyraxes have stumpy toes with hooflike nails, four toes on each front foot and three on each back foot. The longer, clawlike nails on the inside toes of the back feet are used for grooming and scratching. The bottoms of the feet have a rubbery texture to assist in climbing steep rock surfaces and trees.

There are three different types of hyrax: rock hyrax, tree hyrax, and yellow-spotted hyrax. They can weigh as little as 5 pounds and weigh up to as much as 9. Their height is usually 12 inches (1 foot) at the shoulder and they can live for up to 12 years!

The rock hyrax has the widest distribution in East Africa. Its coat is yellowish or grayish-brown, and the dorsal spot (a bare scent gland on the back covered with longer hair) is covered with black or yellow hair. Its head is more rounded than other types of hyraxes, and the nose is blunt.

The yellow-spotted hyrax, or rock rabbit, is smaller in size and has a more pointed, rodentlike nose. Generally it has a conspicuous white patch above the eye, and its dorsal spot is whitish or yellowish. It is sometimes seen in company of other types of hyrax, but species do not interbreed.

Tree hyraxes, unsurprisingly, spend a lot of time in trees. In some areas they are hunted for their thick, soft, long hair. They have a white or yellow dorsal spot. The raucous nocturnal shriek of the tree hyrax is most impressive, starting as a squeak or whistle, then rising to a piglike squeal and finally to a child's scream.

Rock hyraxes do not dig burrows. They live in colonies of 50 or so in natural crevices of rocks or boulders. They are active in the daytime and can be seen feeding or sunning themselves near the entrances to their shelters. The tree hyrax is nocturnal and not as social as the rock hyraxes. They are often found in pairs and do not form much larger groups.

Rock hyraxes bear two or three young, which are so fully developed they can run and jump about an hour after birth. Although suckled until 3 months old, the young begin to eat vegetation by their second day. The young of all females in a family group often gather in a nursery group. The tree hyrax has fewer young (one or two at the most) than rock hyraxes, but they have many similar behavior traits.

Hyraxes are preyed upon by leopards, pythons, large birds, caracals and servals (both types of cats) and some other animals. They protect themselves from smaller predators by biting, but escaping to hiding places among the rocks is their best defense.

Did you know...?

·    Fossil remains indicate there were once hyraxes the size of oxen. This may explain its    gestation period of 7 or 8 months, unusually long for an animal of its size.

                

Note:

I highly suggest you go onto google and click images up in the left hand corner and search ‘rock hyrax’. Their SOOO cute! If you get the right image. I think the rock hyrax is the cutest!

Well? What did you think? Do you want me to keep going on with this one every week? If so, do you have any not-to-well-known animal ideas for me? I think I have the two I’ll be doing next week if you guys like this issue, but I’d still like all ideas! Thanks for reading here! Sorry it’s so long!

---

Yeah, Sorry I didn't see your post until now, but I'll try and do a kangaroo next week! It's really fun making the newletter, so I might end up doing it twice a week! Glad you like it!

Hey! I LOVE animals so much and was wondering if I could help with Animals Rule!!!. Its ok if I can't though because i just started a Q and A page on animals

Fabulous, as Sharon Osbourne has just said on the Brit awards right now

 

Rachel

 

English and proud.

 

 

Wow! The hyrax is awesome!

Cool! On the buzz boards I do a weekly newspaper too! ( or I try! I don't always get one everyday though) I'll have to start one here!

 

 

 

 

~Farmgal14

P.S. - I LOVE animals!