Chocolate Zebra!

Black zebras...and now the Chocolate Zebra!

Sometimes, a zebra is born with strange stripe patterns and large areas of black. 


The above zebra however, was sighted in Vumbura, Africa.  The safari guide who spotted the pair says that this strangely patterned zebra foal is the third one born to this particular zebra mom since 2005. None have survived to adulthood.  :(

The following photos illustrate some of the variety possible in the stripes or, in the top and bottom photo, spots of the zebra!

To see "White" zebras, check out my blog post "When Zebras Go Pale..."

Chocolate Zebra!

Black zebras...and now the Chocolate Zebra!

Sometimes, a zebra is born with strange stripe patterns and large areas of black. 


The above zebra however, was sighted in Vumbura, Africa.  The safari guide who spotted the pair says that this strangely patterned zebra foal is the third one born to this particular zebra mom since 2005. None have survived to adulthood.  :(

The following photos illustrate some of the variety possible in the stripes or, in the top and bottom photo, spots of the zebra!

To see "White" zebras, check out my blog post "When Zebras Go Pale..."

Walking on Fish...and Other Weird Shoes

Ever think about what you've got on your feet?  

Here are some animal shoes that I think are just lovely. And weird. 

Like these Puppy pumps...(especially their tails!)

Or fish you can walk on! 

Or even wolves and giraffes that hold you up!

Pretty amazing.

Which one did you like best?

Me?  Oh, definitely the fishy flip-flops! 

(If you know where I can get a pair, let me know...)

Walking on Fish...and Other Weird Shoes

Ever think about what you've got on your feet?  

Here are some animal shoes that I think are just lovely. And weird. 

Like these Puppy pumps...(especially their tails!)

Or fish you can walk on! 

Or even wolves and giraffes that hold you up!

Pretty amazing.

Which one did you like best?

Me?  Oh, definitely the fishy flip-flops! 

(If you know where I can get a pair, let me know...)

Name That Dog....a Little Test

  Wild dogs!

Were you paying attention?  We'll soon find out...

Take this easy, breezy test to find out how well you know your dogs...remember:

Dhole

Bush Dog

Dingo

Short-Eared Dog

Painted Dog

Raccoon Dog

Maned Wolf

Ready, set, go!

Didn't quite get them all?  


No worries, just scroll down to see the answers below.


Then leave me a comment and let me know how well you did!  :)

Name That Dog....a Little Test

  Wild dogs!

Were you paying attention?  We'll soon find out...

Take this easy, breezy test to find out how well you know your dogs...remember:

The Mystery of the Wrongly-Named Dog

Elusive, shy of people, a real mystery dog.

This wild dog (like the Bush dog) has webbed toes.

And, strangely enough, the female dog is way bigger than the male.  Not too common in the world of dogs!

This is the Short-Eared dog, one of the two rarest dogs in the world.

Scientists trying to find him have only caught five of these dogs in 10 years!

He lives in the Amazon jungle.  Not in packs, like dingos, but alone.  And because he's alone in a gigantic jungle, he's hard to find.

And because he's hard to find, no one has completed an in-depth study on him. 

You're dying to know what this guy eats in the Amazon jungle, all alone, without a pack to help him, right?  So here it is:

Aah, stuff that's small and easy to catch.  Though not very appetizing.  Wouldn't eating a blue and pink crab would make you kind of nervous?

But something's bothering me.  I just keep wondering about the name of this dog.   The Short-Eared dog.

Short-Eared?  His ears don't seem "short" to me.

In fact, the Bush dog's ears seem much shorter than the Short-Eared dog's ears.  

Let's take a peek:

Hah!  I knew it!  Someone goofed up when they named the Short-Eared dog; his ears aren't short!    Unless....

...unless the word "short" doesn't refer to size.  


Maybe, the name refers to...

Bermuda shorts!! 

 Okay

I see it clearly now...

The Short-Eared dog.  Of course!

But seriously, let's take a look at some live footage of a Short-Eared dog: (what a fascinating animal...in spite of his wrong name!)

Hey, if you have a better name for this poor dog, let me know in a comment below!

The Mystery of the Wrongly-Named Dog

Elusive, shy of people, a real mystery dog.

This wild dog (like the Bush dog) has webbed toes.

And, strangely enough, the female dog is way bigger than the male.  Not too common in the world of dogs!

The Web-Footed Dog

Not that he looks like one, but...

this is one of the most rare of all wild dogs!

No one knows much about him, but what we do know is this: 

• he stays near water,
• he has webbed feet,
• and he lives in armadillo holes!

He's called the Bush Dog


Here are pictures of his whole body.  

He has a squat body, short legs, and look at his tail!  It's tiny!


He looks kind of like a marmot.  Ever see one of those?  No?  Okay, here's a side-by-side photograph:

Okay, maybe side by side they don't look a lot alike, but there's some similarity, right? 
 :)
Because the Bush dog lives in South America, he eats some strange things...

Tapirs? Agoutis? Capybaras?  Strange animals...

And, get this...I just saw a picture of someone walking a Bush dog on a leash! Here it is, thanks to Jim Scarff:

I wonder what kind of pet they make??


Got questions?  Let me have them...leave a comment for me below!

The Web-Footed Dog

Not that he looks like one, but...

this is one of the most rare of all wild dogs!

No one knows much about him, but what we do know is this: 

• he stays near water,
• he has webbed feet,
• and he lives in armadillo holes!

He's called the Bush Dog


Here are pictures of his whole body.  

He has a squat body, short legs, and look at his tail!  It's tiny!


He looks kind of like a marmot.  Ever see one of those?  No?  Okay, here's a side-by-side photograph:

Okay, maybe side by side they don't look a lot alike, but there's some similarity, right? 
 :)
Because the Bush dog lives in South America, he eats some strange things...

Tapirs? Agoutis? Capybaras?  Strange animals...

And, get this...I just saw a picture of someone walking a Bush dog on a leash! Here it is, thanks to Jim Scarff:

I wonder what kind of pet they make??


Got questions?  Let me have them...leave a comment for me below!

Distracted by a Bizarre Rodent

I was going to write about the two rarest wild dogs in the world!!


But I got distracted.


By the most amazing rodent I have ever seen...


(besides the Rodents-Of-Unusual-Size, of course)  :)



You've got to see it to believe it.


Oh, you've already seen the top photo, haven't you?


Can you believe it?  It's a Long-Eared Jerboa!

Almost nothing is known about this guy, except he lives in China and the Gobi desert.

And his tail is crazy long.  And his ears are crazy big. And look at those amazing hind legs!

And check out this cool video of a live Long-Eared Jerboa making a burrow...

He moves around kind of like a wind-up toy.  Strange. And amazing. 


So I'll have to tell you about the rarest wild dogs on earth next time...if I don't get distracted again!  :)

Distracted by a Bizarre Rodent

I was going to write about the two rarest wild dogs in the world!!


But I got distracted.


By the most amazing rodent I have ever seen...


(besides the Rodents-Of-Unusual-Size, of course)  :)

Warrigals and World Records

The longest fence in the world was built because of this wild dog!


The reason was simple.  Dingos eat sheep.  Australia has huge sheep ranches.  


Before the Dingo Fence was completed, a single sheep ranch lost over 11,000 sheep to Dingos in one year.


How long is the fence?  3,488 miles...it divides a continent!


Look at the map, below, to see just how huge this Dingo Fence is!

The Dingo, or Warrigal, is an Australian wild dog.  It probably arrived there thousands of years ago with the aboriginal people. 


A pure Dingo has white feet and a white-tipped tail. 

But Dingos readily breed with today's domestic dogs, creating hybrids...you can see on the map where hybrid Dingos are (light & dark green).

The map above will also show you where pure Dingos exist today (tan). 

 And the photo below will show you what pure Dingos look like.

Dingos live in small groups and eat some interesting things...like marsupials!  Take a look below...

Notice the sheep in there?  heh heh


But I know what you're wondering.  

Did the Dingo fence work?

Not completely...holes were found along the fence through which Dingos have passed, allowing Dingos to repopulate the ranching area.   :)



For some beautiful photos of Dingos, check out this site.


And as always, leave a question or comment for me!

Warrigals and World Records

The longest fence in the world was built because of this wild dog!


The reason was simple.  Dingos eat sheep.  Australia has huge sheep ranches.  


Before the Dingo Fence was completed, a single sheep ranch lost over 11,000 sheep to Dingos in one year.


How long is the fence?  3,488 miles...it divides a continent!


Look at the map, below, to see just how huge this Dingo Fence is!

The REAL Wild Dog

There are lots of wild dogs in the world.  


They range from the Raccoon dog to the Dingo to the Bush Dog.


But when someone says Wild Dog, THIS is the animal they are probably talking about...


Also known as:


The Cape Hunting Dog,


The African Wild Dog,


The Painted Dog,


or my favorite...





The Ornate Wolf


This dog lives in Africa in packs of up to 100 animals. 


It has a "bite force" more powerful than any other wild dog anywhere.  That means it can chomp through stuff that would be impossible for others!


And when it hunts, it's much more successful than lions at catching prey. The score is this:


Lions - 30%    Wild Dogs - 80%




Let's look at what the Painted dog so often gets to eat:

And I love the different colorations of this animal.  Check out these patterns and colors:

If you really like the colors, you can make your own dog into a Painted dog...

That is funny!

To see some amazing pictures of the African Wild dog, check out this site. 

Got questions?  I'd love to answer them; just leave me a comment!