Tag Archives: #AtoZChallenge

#AtoZChallenge – Nilgai

The nilgai is the largest Asian Antelope. It’s found primarily in India although can also be found in southern Nepal and eastern Pakistan and is often spotted in scrub forest or farmland.

Mother and calves

nilgai
By Lisa Purcell (catfan(AT)mindless()com) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
They avoid dense forests and prefer the plains and low shrubs eating grasses, leaves, buds and fruit.

 

 

#AtoZChallenge – Moose

Moose are the largest members of the deer family. These large herbivores eat shoots from trees, grass, nuts and aquatic plants.

Quite often during the winter, moose are drawn to the roads to like the salt that has been used to melt ice.

On a trip home from up north one summer, we decided to drive through Algonquin Park and are so glad we did. At one spot, the shoulder of the road was lined with cars so we knew there was an animal of some kind (moose, deer, bear) in the woods by the roadside. Parking the car, we ventured closer and there it was – a solitary young bull moose.

moose
Young moose in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada

 

moose
Young moose in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada

As people pushed toward it from behind, my husband and I moved in the direction is was going and I was rewarded with some fantastic pictures of the large animal. We watched it for a long time before it took any interest in us and slowly ambled off further into the woods.

#AtoZChallenge – Leopard

The leopard is one of the five “big cats”. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. It looks like the jaguar but is smaller and has been mistaken by times for the cheetah.

leopard
JanErkamp at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
Leopards feature in heraldry and are on many coats of arms and flags.

In the film, Bringing Up Baby, “Baby” was a pet leopard.

 

 

#AtoZChallenge – Koala

The koala is often referred to as a “koala bear” which is inaccurate. These marsupials are herbivores and native to Australia – primarily along the east coast.

Their diet consists almost completely of eucalyptus leaves, which also provides them with water.

Koalas sleep about 20 hours a day, leaving them 4 hours to forage for food and other physical activities.

koala
By Diliff (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

#AtoZChallenge – Hippopotamus

The hippotamus is a large mammal native to Africa. These herbivores spend their days in water or mud (even reproduction and childbirth occur here) and come out at dusk to graze. Although they luxuriate in the “bath” – water or mud – in groups, on land they are solitary creatures.

hippopotamus
By Kabacchi (Hippopotamus – 04) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
hippopotamus
By Paul Maritz (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
 

 

#AtoZChallenge – Gerbil

Gerbils are small rodents that usually grow to between 6 and 12 inches long (including their tail).

They were first introduced to the pet industry in 1964 but you can’t buy, import or keep a gerbil as a pet in California.

gerbil
By A.Popov (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Recently, studies show that it was the gerbil which spread the Black Death, not the black rat as originally suspected and blamed.

 

#AtoZChallenge – Fox

The fox is a member of the canine family and is found on every continent but Antarctica. They are omnivores and are slightly smaller than an average dog.

Recently, there have been reports in the news of foxes entering houses during the night in parts of London, England and attacking babies and toddlers.

fox
Foto: Jonn Leffmann [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The sentence THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG is often used in keyboarding (formerly typing) classes as it uses every letter in the alphabet.

 

 

#AtoZChallenge – Elephant

Elephants are large mammals that are found in Africa and Asia. As their habitats suggest, they are known by the areas they live in.

Their large ear flaps help dissipate heat through the capillaries that carry the heated blood away from the animal’s body and out into the air.

African Elephant

elephant
By Muhammad Mahdi Karim Facebook The making of this document was supported by Wikimedia CH. (Submit your project!) For all the files concerned, please see the category Supported by Wikimedia CH. العربية | čeština | Deutsch | English | français | magyar | italiano | македонски | Bahasa Melayu | Nederlands | rumantsch | +/− (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Asian Elephant

elephant
By Yathin S Krishnappa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons