Fisher

We just learned about the American Marten.

Another kind of animal in the same family is the Fisher, also called the pekan, wejak, or pekani pennanti.

The Fisher grows to be about 3 feet long and weigh about 10 pounds.
They have mostly brown fur all over their body.
Even though their name is fisher, these animals mostly hunt on the ground.
They are one of the few animals that will attack a porcupine!


(from: wikipedia - fisher (animal))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lion Tailed Macaque

American Marten

We just learned about the Wolverine.

Another type of animal in the same family is the American Marten.

These small fuzzy animals are about 2 feet long and weigh about 3 pounds.
They have dark brown fur and a a yellow orange neck.

Even though these animals are small, they are great hunters and will go after other animals like mice, squirrels and bugs.
In the winter time they will dig under the snow in tunnels to hunt other animals!

Sometimes when martens get cold in the winter they will make tunnels in the snow going down to tree roots to make themselves a little snow house almost like an igloo to keep warm.


(from: wikipedia - american marten)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: L'Hoest's Monkey

Wolverine

We just learned about the Tayra.

Another type of animal in the weasel family is the Wolverine, also called gulo, glutton, carcajou or quickhatch.

The wolverine is the largest type of weasel, weighing around 50 pounds and growing over 3 feet long.
They have mostly brown fur, and sometimes have a white stripe that goes from their shoulders, along their sides and then to their tail.
In the winter these animals don't get icy frost on their fur because it is oily so snow and water don't stick to it.

Wolverines might be only the size of a dog, but they aren't afraid of a fight!
They have been seen even trying to fight off a bear over a meal of theirs, and they have been known to attack humans if they get too close.

The state of Michigan is called the "Wolverine State" because the people there like the idea of being tough and ready to fight if they have to.
In comic books, one of the super heroes is named Wolverine because is also super tough and always ready for a fight.


(from: wikipedia - wolverine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: De Brazza's Monkey

Tayra

We just learned about the Chinese Ferret Badger.

Another type of animal in the same family is the Tayra, also called the tolomuco, perico ligero, motete, irara, san hol, viejo de monte, high-woods dog, or eira barbara.

These animals grow to be about 65 centimeters long, and weigh about 5 kilograms.
They have dark brown or black fur, a yellow orange spot on their chest, and their head is usually a lighter color.
On their feet they have very long toes and sharp claws that they use to climb into the trees where they make their homes.

Some people keep these animals as pets, because they like to eat bugs and other small animals that might be pests.

In the wild the Tayra has been seen taking plantains which are like bananas, and putting them out in the sun to ripen so they can eat them.


(from: wikipedia - tayra)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Green Monkey

Chinese Ferret-Badger

We just learned about the European Badger.

Another type of animal in the same family is the Chinese Ferret-Badger, also called the small-toothed ferret-badger or Melogale moschata.

This animal lives mostly in India and China, and grows to be about 40 centimeters long and weigh around 2 kilograms. Just like other badgers they have a face mask, and strong sharp claws, but they have a fuzzy tail.

These badgers are usually calm and quiet around humans and will sometimes live in wood or rock piles near houses, but if they get scared or feel threatened they will let out a very bad smell, almost like a skunk!


(from: wikipedia - chinese ferret-badger)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Patas Monkey

European Badger

We just learned about the Greater Hog Badger.

Another type of badger is the European Badger.

This type of badger has the same kind of fur coloring as the hog badger, honey bader and american badger, but it is the calmest and nicest of all the badgers.
Some people keep this badger as a pet, and during the winter sometimes these badgers will share their homes with foxes or rabbits.

They grow to be about 10 kilograms, and they eat just about anything but prefer small things like bugs and worms.
With their long sharp claws, these badgers are great diggers, and usually make their homes next to a tree so they can scratch to keep them sharp.
Badgers make really big homes underground called setts, that can have 15 different rooms, shared with other members of the badger family.

In Europe there are old legends saying that some ancient families in Ireland were actually shape shifters and could become badgers.


(from: wikipedia - european badger)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Allen's Swamp Monkey

Greater Hog Badger

We just learned about the Honey Badger.

Another type of badger is the Greater Hog Badger, also called arctonyx collaris.

This type of badger lives in Southeast Asia, and grows to be about 100 centimeters long and weighs about 10 kilograms.
Greater Hog Badgers have mostly brown fur, and a white face with black stripes.

You just have to look at their pig like nose to figure out why they are called the hog badger!
They use their big claws and this big hog nose to help them dig into the dirt and find worms to eat.


(from: wikipedia - greater hog badger)


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Honey Badger

We just learned about the American Badger.

Another type of animal in the same family is the Honey Badger.

These animals weigh about 15 kilograms, are about 28 centimeters tall and 70 centimeters long.
They have a long body, short legs, sharp claws, and thick skin that is very loose.
Their fur is black, with a big white stripe on the back kind of like a skunk.

Even though honey badgers are not that big, they are very ferocious, and will even attack bigger animals like lions and hyenas.
Honey badgers eat just about anything for food.
Using their strong arms and big claws they will dig up beehives, lift up rocks to find snakes, rip bark from trees for bugs, or dig in holes for rabbits.
With their thick loose fur, they aren't even hurt by porcupine quills, snake bites, bee stings or bites from other animals.
When they get their food they eat up every bit, even the bones, shells, feathers, and fur!


(from: wikipedia - honey badger)


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American Badger

We just learned about the Weasel family of animals called Musteloidea.

One member of this family is the American Badger.

These animals live in North America, all they way from Canada down to Mexico.
They grow to be about 70 centimeters, and weigh about 7 kilograms.
Their fur is mostly grey, with some black and white marks on their face, and a white stripe that goes all the way from their head to their tail.

Badgers are very active animals and they eat lots of smaller animals like rats, snakes, or lizards.
Usually they like to hunt alone, but people have now seen badgers hunting together with coyotes!

Badgers have really long and strong claws, and are great diggers.
Coyotes are realy fast, and can chase down just about any prey.

So the badger and coyote will work together to chase down their prey.
If the animal tries to run away, the coyote will get it.
If it tries to hide in a hole in the ground, the badger will get it.

The coyotes and badgers don't share homes or snuggle together, but they work together to try and hunt up something to eat!


(from: wikipedia - american badger)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Siamang

Weasels

We just learned about the Ring-Tailed Lemur, and we've learned about a lot of other types of Primates from Gorillas to Chimpanzees and monkeys!

Let's start learning about Weasels!

When we think of weasels, we usually think of a small animal with a long body that sneaks around on the ground.
We even use the word weasel sometimes to mean someone is being sneaky!

But the weasel family in the animal kingdom has a lot of different types of animals, like skunks, raccoons, red pandas, badgers and otters!
In Latin, the word for weasel is "mustela", so the science name for the weasel family is "Musteloidea".
There are over 60 types of animals in the weasel family, and small like less than a foot long, or big like almost 100 pounds.

Most of them are small with long bodies, short legs, round ears and thick fur.
They are all wild animals, but most of them are really adorable!


(from: wikipedia - mustelidae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hylobates Gibbon