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The Stra nge Creatu res of Ea rth

Thorny Devil
Native only to the continent of Australia, the thorny devil looks like a
creature out of a science fictio n movie. The thorny devil is, in fact, a
real animal and goes by several other names, including thorny dragon,
mountain devil or moloch.

Appearance
The thorny devil's body can grow up to eight inc hes Jong and is covered
fro m head to tail wit h small spikes and spines.These spikes are intended
to ward off predators, but also serve as a way to f unnel water to the
lizard 's mouth. Onthe bac k of the lizard's nec k,is a large bump. The
thorny devil's body also has c hameleon-like properties and changes
color throughout the clay in orderto camouflage itself from its enemies.

Fierce Hunters or Placid Gatherer?

Despite the thorny devil's intimidating appearance, it is actually quite
The Thorny Devi Ives in sandy areas of Australia .
harmless. It is a generally slow-moving creature, but, w hen necessary,
can reach speeds up to 37 miles per hour. The thorny devil spends
most of its clay eating ants. Some scientists estimate that a thorny devil
can eat up to 3,000 ants every day. The creature is not particularly active
Fast Facts:
in its quest for ants, but rather waits patiently for the unfortunate ants to • Thorny devils live only in
traipse nearby and then catc hes them vvit h its tongue. Australia .
Thorny devils themselves are not free from the clangers of natural • Thorny Devils live
predators . Birds of prey and goannas and humans are the lizard's mostly solitary lives.
biggest threats. The lizard's naturally slow and jerky movements make it
• Thorny Devils are reptiles
diffic ult for predators to spot the thorny devil. It will even freeze mid-step
to throw hunters off its trail. Thorny devils are not considered a nd maintain their body
endangered or protected in any way . heat by wa rming in the sun.
• Thorny devils can eat up to
Ha bitat
3,000 ants each day.
The thorny devil lives in sanely areas of Australia w here it can easily
• Thorny Devils can puff
burrow a hole for its home. During the coldest and hottest months of the
year, the lizard stays in its burro,,v to avoid the extremes in temperat their bodies up making it
ure. When not avoiding extreme heat or cold, the thorny devil emerges more diffic ult for their
from its burrow, warms itself on the sand and generally stays close to predators to swallow
home. The lizards generally live by themselves. Female thorny devils lay them.
around six eggs at a time and bury them in the sand.
Yo ur Newest Pet?
In A ustra lia, it is illega l to have
a thorny devil as a pet and it is a
lso illega l to export t hem to
other countries. If you were
hoping for a new pet, you'll be
disa ppointed!

The Tho1·ny Devn walks using strange. jerky motions and can freeze mid-step to avoid beh1g seen by predato rs.
 The Amur Leopard
The Rarest Big Cat on Earth
The Amur Leopard is a large f eline living in t he forests of f ar
east Russia. The Amur Leopard is an endangered species and
is of ten considered to be the rarest big cat on the planet .
Wh ile the leop ards hav e f ew natu ral predators, they have
become endangered due to human poaching1for their coats.
Somet imes, the territory of the leop ards overlaps with the
Siberian Tigers whi c h can lead to conflict betw een the spec ies,
but most o f the reduc t ion in the leop ards' numbers is due to
human behavi o r.

A Lonely Exi sten ce

A mur Leop ards live mostly so lit ary lives. The only except ions
are a mother with her yo ung leopards and adult leop ards duri
ng mat ing season. Young Amu r Leopard c ubs ai-e known to stay
w ith their mothers f o r up to tw o years-s ignif icantly longer
than their Afri can counterparts-bef o re f inding their ow n
t erritory.
Amur leopards hav e spotte d coals, simia1· to leopa 1·ds in Africa
.

Ex tre me Survival

Am ur leopa rds eat deer, catt le and sma ll mamma ls.

They are skilled hunters w ith the ability to leap and bound
quick ly to catc h thei1- pi-ey unawai-e. They ca n a lso run up
to 35 miles pe1- hour w hen c hasing pi-ey. Dur ing the wi nter
months, thei1- ha bitat ca n reac h temperatu1-es as low as 30
deg1-ee Celsius. Du1-ing suc h t imes, food is sca 1-ce mak ing
it moi-e diffic ult for the leopa 1·ds to sLu-vive. To help them
stay wa rm dur ing the w inte1·, their coats can grnw a n
addit iona l 7 cm to insulate then,fr om the ext reme condit
ions. Am u1- Leopa 1-ds genern lly live betwee n 10- 15 years
but have been know n to live up to 20 yea 1·s in ca ptivity.
Amur leopards are native to far-easter n Russia.

Amur Leopards in th e Wild A Seco nd C ha nce

Thanks to the conservation ef forts o f the Russian and Chinese

govern ments, t he population has more t han trip led in the last
twe nty yea rs. From 3 0 leo pards in 2020 . t here are now 103
!lum ber of
know n leo pards living in the eastern region o f Russia and parts
Amur leopards
50
o f C hina.

In additio n to the 103 leopa 1-ds livi ng in t he wi ld, the re are

approxi mately 20 0 A mur Leo pards living in cap tivi ty in zoo s,
wi ldli f e preserves, etc .
2000 2020

1Poach (v) - t he illegal hunt ing or cat ching of

animals
 Jerboa
With the appearance of a tiny kangaroo, the Jerboas are
among the most adorable species of rodents. Jerboas have
large ears, large eyes, long tails and long feet resemblingthe
large feet of a kangaroo, allowing them to jump relatively far
for their small size. Jerboas are typically between two and
six inches long, but their tails can be twice as long as their
bodies.

Jerboas are found naturally in Asia and Northern Africa

where they live in burrows dug in sandy desert areas. They
spend most of the hot daytime in their burrows to escape
the heat but emerge at dusk and duringthe night to·search
for food.
Interestingly, Jerboas never drink water. They stay hydrated
from the water inherently found in the plants and insects
they
consume .
Jerboas' evolved feet help them mp ratively far to escape predators .

Many animals higher up the food chain like to hunt Jerboas, including cats, jackals, owls and even
snakes. The Jerboa's only defense against these larger, stronger hunters is to run andjump away,
making them a relatively easy prey.

Jerboa are illega lto own as pets as they fail to thrive in captivity and can also be carriers of a disease
known as monkeypox. Like the more commonly known smallpox, monkeypox is dangerous to
humans. As such, the United State's Centers for Disease Control prohibit Jerboa from entering the
country along with all other African rodents .

Tail Length: A Comparison Jerboas prefer to live alone and

only seek others of their kind
Average Average Tail Proportion to during mating season. A female
Animal Length Length Body Length
Jerboa can have between two
and
Long- 2x six pups each litter. Jerboa pups
eared 3.2 inches 6.1 take aboutl - 14 weeks to mature
Body
Jerboa Length to adults which is considered long
Asian Grass 3x for rodents due to their short
5 inches 10 inches
Body lifespan. MostJerboas can expect
Lizard Length
Ring-tailed 1.38x to live 2-3 years on average.
Lemur 18 inches 25 inches
Body
.. ·····.-c_ _.. ·- ... .., Length
,.,

Glossary
Food Chain: a series of species each depenclent upon the next as a source of food
Monkey pox: a viral disease affect ing rodents ancl primates that can be transm itted to