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Sunday, 19 March 2023
8-3-2023 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - NATAL RED DUIKER (Cephalophorus natalensis ssp. natalensis)
The Natal red duiker (Cephalophorus natalensis natalensis) is a small, forest-dwelling antelope native to southern Africa. Standing roughly 43 cm tall at the shoulder and weighing between 11 and 14 kg, this highly territorial herbivore is easily recognized by its rich chestnut-red coat and distinctive dark tuft of hair on its head.
Physical Characteristics
Size: Adults measure 70–80 cm in head-and-body length, with longer hind legs giving them a signature hunched posture.
Horns: Unlike many other antelopes, both males and females possess short, straight horns (typically 6 cm long) that feature coarse basal rings.
Coloration: They feature a deep reddish-brown upper body and a paler underside. The nape and throat turn ash-grey with age, and their tail ends in a conspicuous tuft of black, red, and white hair.
Diet and Behavior
Feeding: They are concentrate feeders, relying on freshly fallen fruits, flowers, and leaves from forest canopies.
Activity: Primarily diurnal, they are most active during the early mornings and late afternoons.
Social Structure: Highly territorial, they usually live alone, in pairs, or in small family units. Males actively mark their territory using facial glands.
Habitat and Conservation
Distribution: This specific subspecies is restricted to dense thickets and indigenous forests in northeastern South Africa (primarily KwaZulu-Natal) and Swaziland.
Status: Populations are primarily concentrated in protected areas like the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. While they face localized pressure from bushmeat hunting and trophy hunting, the broader species remains classified as Least Concern.
8-3-2023 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - DRILL (Mandrillus leucophaeus)
The drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is a primate of the family Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys), related to baboons and even more closely to mandrills.
Drills are found only in Cross River State in Nigeria, southwestern Cameroon (south to the Sanaga River), and on Bioko Island, part of Equatorial Guinea, in rainforest habitats. Their entire global range is less than 40,000 km2.
Drills are among Africa’s most endangered mammals, and are listed by the IUCN as the highest conservation priority of all African primates. Drill numbers have been declining in all known habitat areas for decades as a result of illegal commercial hunting, habitat destruction, and human development; as few as 3,000 drills may remain in the wild, with the highest population estimate only 8,000. A total of 174 drills recovered from illegal capture are in semicaptivity at the Drill Rehabilitation and Breeding Centre in Nigeria, with high success rates in breeding recorded there, and about 40 in other zoos internationally.
Saturday, 18 March 2023
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Thursday, 16 March 2023
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8-3-2023 BIOPARC, VALENCIA - FOREST SITATUNGA (Tragelaphus spekii ssp. gratus)
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The Sitatunga, a swamp-dwelling antelope, exhibits great elongation of the hooves, which have a wide splay and naked padlike pattern. They possess unique flexibility of the joints at the feet, representing structural adaptations for walking on boggy and marshy ground.
Coloration varies geographically and individually. Males are gray-brown to chocolate-brown, females are brown to bright chestnut, and calves are bright rufous-red, woolly coated, spotted, and striped. Adults are long coated and have characteristic whiteish marks on the face, ears, cheeks, body, legs, and feet.
Males are considerably larger than females (100 cm tall vs. 75-90 cm tall). Males possess horns ranging in length from 508-924 mm. Horns are characterized by two twists and are ivory tipped.
Wednesday, 15 March 2023
9-3-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SCLEROSOMATID HARVESTMAN (Cosmobunus granarius)
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/533412-Cosmobunus-granarius
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