The February Tedium

I'm alive! Yay! I know i haven't posted in a while and I've missed out on a couple of Animal of the Week features but they have been completely out of my control. February has run me into the ground & March is probably going to do the same thing. Its that time of year in university where everything comes to an end, the epic conclusion of a saga, the final boss fight from a game, the final fight where the hero faces his demons. You sort of get the jist. 

Basically I have 2 assignments that I have been working flat out on this past month, one was for my zoo stream and was all about conservation programmes. We got to pick out of 3 animals and I decided to go for the black-footed ferret, who is actually quite a charismatic little chap. One of the hidden gems you don't really hear about unless your in the know. I would like to say it was a fun assignment but constant contradictory sources made it a bit of a pain, although it was good to write about an animal I admittedly didn't know much about. Go check out the conservation page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FerretCenter?fref=ts 

Black-footed ferret

My second assignment is one you surely all know about now, the dreaded goats! Surprisingly the last session outside with them ran perfectly to plan without a hitch, certainly making a pleasant change. Although in a weird way I am going to miss being outside with them on a Wednesday morning, its become routine and now were just going back to being in a classrooom. Apart from that there really isn't much to tell, the dissertation seems to be going to plan, there was a minor hitch with statistics but that's all sorted now, but now its back to the introduction which appears to need major refurbishment by next week. I now also found out that I need to start preparing for a TCA (time constrained assignment) in behavoural ecology. I am usually good at managing time but lately with this workload I am feeling smothered, no room to breath, no room for a day off and not enough hours in the day. Unfortunately this means that my blog may be a bit slow until April, if I can get posts up or find some spare time to do the Animal of the Week feature I'll make sure I get it up!

There is one small piece of solace though, I am planning on entering the ZSL photography competition 2014. The deadline is 1st April so I just need to decide which pictures to enter, after seeing some of last years winner I feel daunted to say the least, they make me look like a toddler with a disposable camera!

Me with the goats!

I would just like to add an honorary mention on this post. Saturday would have been the 52nd birthday of a true wildlife hero, the one and only Steve Irwin. A man of great personal inspiration to me and to so many others. Not only was he a great zookeeper but he was an educator, who in his own way got through the message of how beautiful nature is in all of its forms. I follow some of his family on social media and they are an absolute credit to him. He is still sorely missed and was 1 in a million.
 
Rest in Peace Crocodile Hunter!

Stay frosty,

Birdman.

Striated Caracara = AotW

Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis)

Striated caracara (Copyright me!)

 

Description

I thought this week I would move the focus back onto a bird (I promise I won't do birds all the time!) but this interesting, charismatic raptor is the focus of my dissertation project making it relevent. I can't imagine this being a large entry like the last few weeks as there is an awful lot about this birds ecology that we do not know or understand (hence me wanting to do a study on them), but I will make it as substantial as I can. The striated caracara is a bird of prey that belongs to the Falconidae family and like other caracara species they fall under the subfamily of Polyborinae. It is alternatively named Forster's caracara or the Johnny Rook. It has the southernmost overall breeding distribution of any bird of prey in the world. IUCN classifies them as Near Threatened due to their relativity low population. The striated caracara is a large and stocky raptor measuring at around 58-65 cm, although this species is sexually dimorphic with the female being on average 3% larger than the male.

IUCN classification of striated caracara

The striated caracara's plumage is mostly deep brown to black, with fine white streaks running through the feathers beginning at the nape of the neck which become broader and more conspicuous on the upper back and breast. The underwing plumage is more red-brown with white tips on the primary feathers; the tail ends in a whitish band. The birds has a bare yellow patch of skin around the eyes and base of the beak, which is bluish. This bare patch provides a striking contrast with the rest of the dark plumage. Immature birds are browner in colour and lack the distinctive streaking and tail band, but they possess a tawny patch of feathers on the upper back. Adult plumage is acquired when the bird is around 5 years old.

Adult striated caracara (Copyright Simon Bussey)

Juvenile striated caracara (Copyright me!)

In flight (Copyright Laurent Demongin)

Copyright Nitsch (DeviantART)

 

Biology

Feeding on Upland Goose chick (Copyright Laurent Demongin)

The striated caracara is naturally a tame, inquisitive bird with very opportunistic feeding habits. Their curiosity is thought to be more than a behavoural quirk, it serves an evolutionary purpose by aiding them in exploiting and developing novel ways of obtaining food, for example, they will dig small seabirds out of their burrows where they reside during the day and also hunt them on the wing at night. They spend the majority of their time on the ground by can run and fly swiftly if necessary. In most instances they use their strong feet to overturn large rocks and branches to search for food alongside digging. The diet of the striated caracara is variable, they will eat invertebrates, small seabirds, the eggs of larger seabirds such as penguins and albatross, dead, dying or young rockhopper penguins, which are a favoured food item, and the carcasses of furseals among other things including garbage. Where livestock and farming occurs across their range, they have been bought into conflict with humans as they are also prone to attack weak or stranded sheep. These birds also have a nefarious reputation for stealing red objects, including clothes and handkerchiefs. Like other falconiformes they have unparalleled colour vision which surpasses that of any mammal. Their innovative hunting methods have placed them as one of the most intelligent birds of prey. This bird of prey is also known to be cantankerous and will force other scavengers to relinquish their carrion.

Penguins worst nightmare (Copyright Phillip Colla)

With Gentoo penguin chick (Copyright Phillip Colla)

 

Gang of caracara feed on imperial shag (Copyright Laurent Demongin)

 The breeding season of this raptor occurs from December to late February, the female will lay a clutch of up to 4 eggs in a nest constructed from twigs and vegetation, lined with wool and grass. Hatching of the eggs is timed to match that of the nesting season of seabirds, thus providing a constant food supply for the chicks as they grow. After fledging young birds with often gather into large flocks which roam the islands. They are often solitary or in pairs but groups of up to 25 birds have been known to congregate in areas where a food source has become abundant.

In nest with chicks (Copyright Krystyna Szulecka)

Range and Habitat

The striated caracara is found on isolated shores off extreme south Argentina and Chile, including the south and east coasts of Isla Grande on Tierra del Fuego, Isla de los Estados, Navarino, Cape Horn and the Falkland Islands. It commonly inhabits open lowland areas, mainly along rocky coastlines, but also potentially appears at higher elevations on low coastal mountains. This bird is only found on islands where there is a population of seals or seabirds.

Distribution of striated caracara

 

Threats and Conservation

This bird of prey has been the victim of heavy, sustained and merciless persecution due to being tarred with an over harsh reputation of killing sheep. This caused its numbers to fall drastically across its range. Alongside human factors, the drastic decline of native seabird and seal populations are thought to have contributed to the caracara's falling numbers. From 1983 to 1992 it is believed that the population fell to between 500 and 600 pairs. In 2013 it is thought that the population has stabilized with them currently facing no immediate major threats. The population currently sits between 1500 and 4000 individuals. The striated caracara is now officially protected by Falkland law, making it illegal to kill this species without written permission from the Falkland Islands government. Some birds were taken from the islands and bought over to the UK where they entered breeding programmes within zoos. A notable success story occurred on New Island, West Falklands. The management of the island as a private nature reserve, set up in 1972, allowed the striated caracara to re-colonise the island, with it now representing the largest, single breeding population of this species in its range.

Group of juveniles (Copyright Frans Lanting) Looks like a 90's rap album cover...

Copyright Laurent Demongin

None of the above images belong to me and all rights reserved to the original photographer. I do try and find the original source for as many of the photos as possible so I can give credit as I use them, but that's not always possible.

Birdman.

On my own, a Rolling Stone & I'm in the Zone - Part 2

Uni Catchup

Well the last month has been interesting to say the least. I've been badger surveying (check out a previous post for all that info) and I have been storming through my dissertation. In the weeks I set myself it appears as if my goal had been successful, as far as I am aware I am now caught up and about where I should be. My methods are all written up, my introduction draft is done, bar from one paragraph which I hope to get done in the next few days, and my results are all ready to go. It took so much time but all 108 hours of footage I had collected has been watched, re-watched, analysed and ready for statistical tests to be performed on them. I have also made headway on which statistical tests I should be carrying out, I'm looking at a two-way ANOVA for my main sets of data and a Cluster Analysis for the features of each enclosure. I won't lie, this is the part of the process I am not looking forward to, maths & stats has always been one of my arch nemesis' but I shall battle on with the entourage I have at my side.

When it came to looking at my raw data, I thought it'd take hours to sift through but my brother was an absolute genius! Using his vastly superior (frankly Ultron like technological knowledge) he found formulas which I could use that got the job done in minutes. That's pretty much a one way ticket into the acknowledgments of the project. The actual introduction wasn't too bad to get done although it has involved broadening some of my research considering very little research has been done on birds of prey, even less on caracara & only scraps actually relating to the striated caracara... Yay! None the less its done and I think its sounds pretty good.

The next interesting turn of events has been through our lab practical assignment I noted in part 1. Where to start with this one, a seemingly simple & easy few practicals has turned into a living nightmare. It's nothing to do with how the assignment is lay out or what we have to do for it, the trouble is stemming from an infallible run of bad luck... It's been unmitigated chaos from week 1 & has seemingly been getting worse week to week. First of all we have been battered by the relentless weather, been let down by the digital equipment & had to put up with unruly goats. It seemed to capitalize on that this week. We were just about to start collecting data when disaster struck, a member of our group collapsed and fainted, quite seriously, leading us to call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Thankfully we got an update later in the day and she is fine. However, whilst the ambulance was still there the second tragedy struck, whilst feeding the goats, one reared up and kicked another member of the group in the face, luckily not breaking anything but bad enough that the lecturer and us, unanimously decided to call it day before someone got impaled by a tree or eaten by a llama. So we now have been given 2 extensions for this assignment, I dread to think what will happen next week but I hope so badly that we actually get some data!

Start as you mean to go on

It has not all been dissertation & cursed luck fortunately, something happened this week which so far, has made my year. The one and only Chris Packham at an evening event at a local theatre. When I heard about it, I decided right there that I was getting tickets, no force on earth would stop me from attending. Chris Packham is one of my greatest inspirations when it comes to wildlife and conservation. I would go as far to say that he is one of my idols alongside Attenborough & Irwin. He has also inspired me through his stunning photography, he is seriously one of the best wildlife photographers I know. 

A group of us got tickets and went & it was a very worthwhile trip. The evening was really informative, witty and funny, he spent the night talking about our relationships with a multitude of carnivores, mammals and birds, in the UK and abroad, ranging from the Wolf & Lynx to the Goshawk and Barn Owl. He then went on to talk about one of the conservation projects he is a part of, a large scale reforestation project in the Amazon, great stuff & all accompanied by his sterling photographs. The best part of the evening though was been able to meet him, briefly. Unfortunately there wasn't an opportunity to properly have a talk to him due to the volume of people there, which was a massive shame, but I did manage to get a picture with him, which was awesome. A very good start to the year.

Me & Chris Packham

Its all part of the plan

So, I have a bit of a plan for the spring and summer. I have found somewhere where i can get my hands on a nest box with a camera inside. I was thinking of buying on and putting it up, ready for the breeding season. Hopefully if I get a bird nesting in there I can get the film and upload it as my own Springwatch sort of diary! I think it'd be good, I often feel like our British birds are very much underrated and forgotten and showing them nesting and rearing chicks can be an amazing story to watch unfold, you often gain a greater appreciation for them afterwards, but of course this is all down to chance, I won't be able to force a bird to nest!

Male blackbird in my garden

Blue tit in my garden

The Fossa = AotW

The Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

Description

The Fossa is one of the most unusual but beautiful carnivores I have had the pleasure to see. It is a striking example of evolution and adaptation due to isolation and prey selection. It is the largest carnivore on Madagascar, the island which it is endemic to. It is a large cat-like carnivore belonging to the family Eupleridae, a family which is closely related to the mongoose family (Herpestidae). The classification of the fossa has been controversial mainly due to its physical traits which resemble those of cats. It was first classified as a cat but other studies rejected this changing its classification to that of the civets due to separate traits. It was once more classified as a cat before its final classification was determined through the use of genetic studies. Its final placement was that of Eupleridae alongside all other Malagasy carnivores as a branch off the the mongoose family.

Phylogeny of the Fossa (taken from en.wikipedia.org)

 Adult fossa have a head-body length of 70-80 cm with a tail nearly matching the body length at around 65-70 cm. They weigh between 5.5-8.6 kg and males are typically larger than females. IUCN classifies the fossa as vulnerable under its species red list.  

IUCN classification of the fossa

The fossa has a reddish-brown short coat. It has a slender, muscular body with a fairly small head featuring a short muzzle and prominent ears. Many of the fossas adaptations have evolved to aide it climbing through trees. It uses its long tail for balance, and has semiplantigrade feet, meaning it can switch between plantigrade (walking on soles) when arboreal and digitigrade (walking on digits) when terrestrial. The soles of its paws are nearly bare, only covered with strong pads, the feed have semi-retractable claws and flexible ankles which allow it to efficiently climb up and down trees head first; they also support it as it jumps from tree to tree. However, the fossa's most unique trait within its family is that the shape of its genitalia share various traits with those of cats and hyenas rather than mongoose.

Fossa head (Copyright Sparrowhawk photography... me!)

Fossa in tree (Copyright Nick Garbutt)

Copyright Nick Garbutt

Flexible ankles (Copyright Frans Lanting)

Biology 

 

The fossa is active during the day and night, apart from their breeding season they are generally solitary. Both the male and female occupy territory which is scent marked. The territories themselves vary in size depending on the abundance of prey species in the area. It feeds on a wide variety of small mammals, birds and reptiles. In higher mountainous areas small mammals such as the tenrec is a main feature of their diet whereas in the forests lemurs can make up more than 50% of prey items. The fossas long tail and adapted legs allow it to balance and pursue agile prey through the trees to great effect; it has also been noted that pairs may exhibit cooperative hunting strategies in order to take down larger prey. During a cooperative hunt one member will scale a tree and chase the lemurs from tree to tree, forcing them down to the ground where the other member can easily capture and kill them. Several studies have determined that the fossa hunts in a subsection of its territory until prey density decreases, then it moves on to another section. The wide variety of prey items that can be taken in various habitats is important for the fossa, its dietary flexibility & flexible activity patterns mean it can exploit a wide variety of niches available across the island, making it an essential key species for the Madagascar ecosystems.

 

The fossas jaws (Copyright Nick Garbutt)

Fossa copulation

Fossas have an unusual mating system, a receptive female will occupy a single tree below which anything up to eight males will congregate, fighting and calling to the female to gain her attention. Over a period of a week the female will mate with a number of different male suitors, with copulation bouts lasting anything up to 2.5 hours. A new female will then arrive and replace the original and the process begins again. This mating strategy where the female monopolizes a site and maximizes the number of mates is unique among carnivores. Recent studies have suggested that this mating system helps the fossa overcome factors which would normally impede mate-finding, such as low population density. These studies have also determined that the females mate selection is not related to the visual quality of a male. The mating season runs from September to November and 2 to 4 young are born in a concealed location such as an underground den, rock crevice or in the hollow of a large tree 3 months after copulation. The young are initially blind and helpless, only opening their eyes after 15 days. They remain with their mother (who raises them independently) until they are 15-20 months old.

 Range and Habitat

 The fossa is endemic to the island of Madagascar and is widespread throughout the island. However, in the central highlands it is only known to occupy certain areas such as the Andringitra Massif. It inhabits the majority of Malagasy forest types, up to elevations of around 2000 metres above sea level.
 

Distribution of the fossa

 Threats and Conservation

Recent surveys carried out on Madagascar have revealed that the fossa population is less than 2500 individuals. Habitat loss is one of the main causes of decline; fragmented populations become isolated in remaining forest patches preventing gene flow. However, the most serious threat to their survival comes from local farmers who regard fossa as serious predators to livestock and poultry. the fossa is now protected in a number of the islands reserves and national parks. A successful breeding programme has also been established on the island, along with numerous local education and awareness programmes. It is hoped that these measures already in place will be enough to secure its future however, they are still not protected under national legislation due to the conflict of interest.  

These animals are truly fascinating creatures, although I've seen them in captivity I hope one day I will get the chance to see them in the wild. I'm just going to finish off this weeks feature with a few more of Nick Garbutt's photos of the fossa as they are truly stunning photographs! 

Copyright Nick Garbutt

Copyright Nick Garbutt

Copyright Nick Garbutt

None of the above images belong to me and all rights reserved to the original photographer. I do try and find the original source for as many of the photos as possible so I can give credit as I use them, but that's not always possible.

Birdman.