Remarkable Rakali

 

About

Described first in 1804, the Australian rakali (or water rat) is a semi-aquatic rodent that looks a lot like an otter. Growing to 60 cm in length and weighing 600 grams it eats insects, fish and crustaceans.

Rakali is found in waterways, both salt and fresh, in the eastern states, and in small groups in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Curiosity

Some people mistake the rakali for a rat, and in times gone by they were hunted for their fur.

Intrigue

In Tasmania almost five years ago a wildlife carer named Corey Young first met a rakali when it turned up, unwell, in the reception of a hotel on Hobart's waterfront. He took it to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, cared for it and it was later released back into the wild. Corey has since started a campaign, Water Rat Awareness Day, to bring the rakali to the public's attention.

Conservation

The rakali is now a protected species.

Gentle Giraffe

Evolution is so creative. That's how we got giraffes.  Kurt Vonnegut

About

The giraffe is our tallest land animal and is native to Africa. A fully grown giraffe stands at between 4.3 to 5.7 metres. Males are taller than females with the tallest ever male at 5.88 metres.

The average weight for a male giraffe is 1,192 kgs and for a female 828 kgs. The giraffe has big bulging eyes on each side of its head for all-round vision, and it sees in colour. Its lovely long eyelashes are actually modified feathers and it has very good senses of smell and hearing. It uses its 45 cm long tongue to grasp foliage and to clean its nose.

Giraffe feed on leaves, fruits and the flowers of woody plants, which are out of range of other herbivores. They live in herds of related females or unrelated males. Males use their necks in combat to establish hierarchy and the dominant male then mates with a female who has the sole responsibility of raising calves.

Curiosity

A giraffe's neck is too short to reach the ground so they need to bend their front legs to drink. Their heart is incredibly strong to enable them to pump blood throughout their long neck and legs.

I took this photo at the Auckland Zoo in December 2018

Conservation

The Giraffe Conservation Foundation tells us there are less than 100,000 giraffe now living in Africa. Over the past 30 years their numbers have plummeted by 40% due to habitat loss and poaching, amongst other things. There are also some 2,000 giraffe currently in zoos around the world.

Memorable Moose

Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it.  Henry David Thoreau

About

They are known as moose in North America and elk in Eurasia and they are the largest and heaviest species of the deer family. They like to live in an area with edible plants like pond grasses and shrubs and they travel with the seasons. In winter, moose like the snow as predators are less prevalent, and in summer they like to swim to keep cool. Moose can grow to 2.5 metres tall at the shoulders and up to 3.1 metres long - and weigh up to 1,000 kgs.

Curiosity

Following the mating season, bulls drop their magnificent antlers - 23 kgs in weight and 2 metres wide - to conserve energy for winter. In three to five months during spring, their antlers re-grow. 

Intrigue

Although moose are generally considered to be northern hemisphere dwellers, four bulls and six cows were carried by ship from Canada and released in New Zealand's fiordland in 1910. Left to fend for themselves they were eventually hunted to extinction ... or so it was thought. Because in 2005 a hair sample taken from the area proved to be that of a moose, and as recently as 2018 hunters have reported chewed and snapped branches, out of the reach of deer, and occasional footprints.

Contact

In May 2018 I visited  The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which is a 'sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska's wildlife through conservation, research, education and quality animal care.' Here, injured and orphaned animals are cared for in 200 acres of spacious habitat. I met Denali, a gorgeous orphaned moose who now makes his home with the centre's small herd.

I took this photo at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center