These guys are one of my favorite animals. They are absolutely adorable with their huge ears and little black eyes. I had the pleasure of meeting one of these guys in person a long time ago, but unfortunately he was accompanied by Jeff Corwin, who turned out to be kind of an ass. (who knew?)
These little buggers are from the Sahara Desert in Africa. Their huge ears aren't only the cutest thing in the world, but they function quite well as an air conditioning system for the Fennecs by getting rid of heat over their large surface area. They are also nocturnal and their huge, sensitive ears help them hear their prey at night. Some people like to keep Fennecs as pets, and althought I'd love to cuddle with one all the time, I don't think they make suitable companions. They are not domesticated animals and require a lot of special adaptions to properly take care of them. The above video shows how much energy they have, and the kid even mentions the fact that its midnight and they are just waking up. The video bothers me because that room seems very small, which doesn't give them nearly as much space as they need to release all of their energy, but it is good that he has more than one living together, because they are very social and would be miserable alone.
The Sloth:
Baby sloths are one of the cutest babies around, in my opinion. They always look like they have a smile on their face, and live life at such a slow, leisurely pace. Sloths are weird for a number of reasons, one being that they are so slow moving, algae is able to grow on their fur. They have a sort of symbiotic relationship with this cyanobacteria, because it gives the sloth a greenish color which helps to camouflage it in the leafy trees it lives in. Sloth's fur also grows in the opposite direction that most mammals fur does. They spend so much time hanging upside down in the trees, their "backwards" fur helps protect them from the elements. There are 6 species of sloths, all which are native to Central and South America.
The Red Panda:
Red Pandas (aka "firefoxes" or "lesser pandas") are only found in central Asia. They are mostly arboreal and are crepuscular, which means they are active mostly durning dawn and dusk. They munch mostly on bamboo, and they have to eat a ton of it too, since they can't digest cellulose. They are omnivorous, so they will eat whatever else they can find to add to their largely bamboo diet. Because their diet doesn't provide much energy, they don't really do much. These guys are so cute that Mozilla named their internet browser "Firefox" after them. Despite their name, Red Pandas are only distantly related to the more well known Giant Panda. They are considered "vulnerable" on the endangered species list, so don't let these guys go extinct!
The Axolotl:
Now these are some pretty bizzare animals. They are only found in Lake Xochimilco in Central Mexico. The reason they look so strange is that they do not undergo metamorphosis from their larval stage. All amphibians start out in a larval stage (i.e. frogs lay eggs that hatch into tadpoles, not baby frogs.) They lack Thyroid Stimulating Hormone which would normally cause the metamorphosis, but despite this, they are still able to reach sexual maturity and reproduce. They've got a pretty funky look with three pairs of external gills, and like the sloth, always look like they've got a smile on their face. Unfortunately they are considered critically endangered on the endangered species list due to their habitat slowly decreasing caused by human developments and expansions.
"I herd u lyke mukipz"....look familiar?
The Sugar Glider:
Aww, even their name sounds sweet. Sugar Gliders are often kept as pets, but are native to Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania. As their name suggests, they are able to glide from tree to tree with the aid of webbing between their limbs, which is good because these guys are arboreal. They are marsupials and live together in small communities in shelters such as tree hollows. They conduct their family business like an exclusive night club. Members of the group are marked with a scent by the dominant male and are allowed to come and go to the nest as they please. Outsiders interested in the action going on inside the Ol' Tree Hollow that don't have wrist bands get the boot, often quite violently!
The Fruit Bat:
Last but not least, the Fruit bat, or Flying Fox. If you ever read the book "Stellaluna" as a kid, you'll be more than familiar with these guys. When most people think of bats, they think of creepy, ugly, repulsive things that fly around at night. These bats however have a very cute face, akin to, well, a fox....and everyone likes foxes. If you don't like the little bats that fly around your neighborhood at night, then you won't like these guys. The largest species of fruitbats can have a wingspan of up to 5 feet. they are harmless though, only eating fruit and nectar. Unlike their microbat counterparts, fruit bats don't use echolocation (in most cases) to locate food, since they have a well adapted sense of sight, and simply for the fact that their food (fruit, duh) doesn't put up much of an evasion.
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