Bat: 11 Facts

A bat is a furry mammal having the fore limbs peculiarly modified so as to serve as wings. Bats are animals of the twilight and darkness and are common in temperate and warm regions, but they are most numerous and largest in the tropics. 

11 Facts About Bats:

1. All European bats are small and have a mouselike skin. 
2. The body of the largest British species is smaller than that of a mouse, but its wings stretch about fifteen inches. 
3. During the day it remains in caverns, in the crevices of ruins, hollow trees and other lurking places, and flits out at evening in search of food, which consists of insects. 
4. Several species of the same genus are common in North America. 
5. Many bats are remarkable for having a curious growth on the nose shaped something like a horseshoe. In some bats these growths resemble leaves, and in one species the entire nose looks like a flower. 
6. The eyes in most bats are very small, but they are keen.
7. Bats may be conveniently classified in two sections: the flesh-eating, comprising all European and most African and American species, and the fruit-eating, belonging to tropical Asia and Australia, with several African forms. 
8. At least two species of South American bats are known to suck the blood of other mammals, and hence they are called vampire bats, though the name has also been given to a species not guilty of this habit. 
9. As winter approaches, in cold climates bats seek shelter in caverns, vaults, ruined and deserted buildings and similar retreats, where they cling together in large clusters, hanging head downward, and sleep until the returning spring recalls them to life. 
10. The brown bat of the United States, the heavy bat of the Eastern states, the big-eared bat of the Mississippi valley, the leaf-nosed bat and the lyre bat are common species. 
11. Bats belong to the order Chiroptera

More Bat Facts From The Web:

• The Bats Are Ace Fliers!
• Batty About Bats!
• "B is for bat" alphabet coloring page
• Batty About Bats by ABCeducation

The types of bats pictured above with corresponding numbers.

1-2: Brown Long-eared Bat

3: Lesser Long-eared Bat

4: Lesser False Vampire Bat

5: Big-eared Woolly Bat

6-7: Tomes's Sword-nosed Bat

8: Mexican Funnel-eared Bat

9: Antillean Ghost-faced Bat

10: Flower-faced Bat

11: Greater Spear-nosed Bat

12: Thumbless Bat

13: Greater Horseshoe Bat

14: Wrinkle-faced Bat

15: Spectral Bat

Scotch Terrier

       The Scotch Terrier is a small dog weighing from fourteen to twenty pounds, with a long head, dark eyes and upright ears. The hair is rough and coarse, and may be black, reddish, brindled or sandy. The tail is carried erect. The dogs are intelligent, gentle and active and were favored pets seventy years ago.

More About Scotch Terriers From The Web:

• Scottie dog facing Extinction!
• Scottish Terrier Puppies by agilityscottie
• Scottish Terrier Myths Busted
• Read About All Kinds of Dogs Here

Ground Squirrel

       A ground squirrel is a squirrel in that they possess cheek pouches and retreat into burrows. They are well known in America, but species are also found in Asia and Africa. 

More About Ground Squirrels From The Web:

• Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Ground Squirrels
• How Ground Squirrels Keep Cool in The Summer
• 5 Ways to tell apart a chipmunk and a ground squirrel

Babirussa

Indian wild hogs have teeth that grow outside of their mouths.

       The babirussa or babyrussa is a wild hog which inhabits Celebes and other East Indian islands. It is an active animal, with a nearly naked skin, and does not root in the ground as do other members of its family. The upper canine teeth do not grow downward, but upward, through openings in the skin of each side of the snout, and they curve backward nearly to the eyes. The natives still hunt the babirussa for its delicately flavored flesh.

More From The Web About Babirussa:

• Wild pigs with dental problems?
• The Bizarre "Pig Deer" of Wild Indonesia
• Not Just Another Pretty Face
• Setting the Standard for Bizarre

Waxwing

Waxwings survive primarily on fruits.

       A waxwing is a handsome singing bird, distinguished by its high, pointed crest, yellow band across the end of the tail and red spots on the wings, which have the appearance of sealing wax. The body plumage is reddish-brown above, yellowish underneath. 

       The cedar waxwing is found in nearly every part of North America, and may be seen in summer as far north as Southern Alaska. It feeds on insects and fruits, and nests in trees. The eggs are putty-colored, with black specks. 

       The Bohemian waxwing, a familiar bird in both eastern and western hemispheres, also migrates to high latitudes in the nesting season, traveling, like the cedars, in small flocks.

Learn More About Waxwings From The Web:

• The Cedar Waxwing or Bombycilla cedrorum from Missouri Dept. of Conservation
• Beautiful Waxwing Call by ESL and Popular Culture
• Waxwings - The Peaceable Flock Bird by LesleytheBirdNerd

Wolf: 6 Fun Facts

Wolves are allied to the dog.

A wolf, a carnivorous animal, allied to the dog. 

6 Fun Facts About Wolves:

1. The common European wolf, was found almost everywhere in North America, also, is yellowish-gray, with a blackish band, or streak, on the fore legs.
2. The ears are erect and pointed. 
3. The hair is harsh and strong, the tail straight, bushy and drooping. 
4. The height at the shoulder is about two and a half feet. 
5. The wolf is swift of foot and crafty, a destructive enemy to sheep and poultry. 
6. It runs in packs, to hunt the larger quadrupeds, such as deer and elk. 

       In general, however, wolves are timid and stealthy. They were once plentiful in some parts of Europe and the United States. They probably ceased to exist in England about the end of the fifteenth century. The small prairie wolf or coyote, living on the American plains of the United States, is a burrowing animal.

More About Wolves From The Web:

• Teaching about wolves in the world
• The Fight for Northern Rocky Gray Wolves
• Living With Wolves by The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game

Zebra

The zebra is a wild animal of South Africa, closely related to the wild ass and the horse, and having habits similar to those of the latter. It is grayish or cream-white in color, and is conspicuously marked with dark stripes on head, legs and body. 

       In Africa zebra-hunting was once a popular sport. Native people once ate the flesh of zebras and used their hides for leather and as rugs. Until recent times great herds of zebras were common in Southern Africa; today the animals are rare. The zebra most frequently seen in Africa and in menageries.

Learn More About Zebras From The Web:

• Habitat loss and competition with livestock threaten plains zebras
• 17 Things You Didn't Know About Zebras

A paper jointed zebra toy for students to print, cut and assemble.