The Curious Compendium 2023: First of the cats!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Honey badgers!



Fun facts: They are the only living species of the Mellivorinae genus. They have been known for primitive tool use (using branches or loose stumps to boost themselves up to a food source for example). Lastly, they CAN be killed by the venomous snakes they hunt, but often when bitten (if the fangs can get through their thick skin) they go into a coma-like state while their body metabolizes the venom and then "wake up" to finish their meal or find another.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Ok, this one is kind of a two-fer fact... I read that meerkats are quite adept at hunting scorpions. They can snatch one up before it can prepare an attack to sting them, they quickly bite off the stinger and then can enjoy a mostly safe meal. Apparently, scorpions can have venom on their exoskeleton (I could not 100% verify this albeit I was only able to do a quick Google search) so meerkats also rub them around in the sand to remove this excess before eating. Anyhow, that is what I read!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Warthogs!



Warthogs have altruistic traits. They have been known to adopt piglets if the adult has lost their own litter or if the new piglets are orphans. This is known as "cooperative breeding" or "allosucking". They have been known to live for up to 17 years in the wild (though this is very rare). Lastly, when the family enters their burrow, piglets go in first and then mom backs in. This is so that if anything comes sniffing around the entrance she will be able to defend it.

[NSD Bashe]

I have a lot of those same warthogs actually
for some reason wild pigs, especially ones with large tusks have always been fascinating to me

[Saarlooswolfhound]

They are pretty fun animals, IMO.

Quick comment here: there are 3 more photos to show for Africa and then a short 8 photos for the next category. Then my last and broadest mammal category will last a while...

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Atlas bear, African crested porcupine, aardvark!



I will address the Atlas bear in the room... this species went extinct (circa late 1800s). They were the only bear native to Africa. They were said to be rather dark in color but could bleach lighter from the sun. They are named after the Atlas mountains. They are largely famous for (and went extinct due to) intense sport hunting and capture by the Romans for colloseum-like fights.

[SerAndrew]

I don't think they went extinct in the 1800s because romans hunted them more than 1500 years before!

They could have diminished the population, but if they survived until 1800s and then they went extinct at that time it should have been because some other guys were hunting them.

Spanish Wikipedia (I know that Wikipedia should not be THE source of information, but it's good enough) only mention romans because these bears were present in mosaics and thought to had been part of colosseum fights as you say.

English Wikipedia doesn't even mention romans in the causes of extinxtion section, but instead:

The Atlas bear became extinct shortly after modern firearms were developed. Over-hunting may have contributed to their decline. Pressure from zoo collectors sealed their fate, with the animals being taken away from one another and unable to reproduce and flourish. The Atlas bear finally became extinct in the late 19th century; the last one recorded to be killed by hunters was in 1870 in the Tetouan Mountains in northern Morocco.[5] Human activity can definitely be said to have played a large role in causing the extinction of the Atlas bear

Also, I just learnt that this was a sub-species of Ursus arctos, not a different species.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

From my reading, the last bear RECORDED as being killed in Northern Africa was in 1870. So the assumption is that theu went extinct around that time if that wasn't indeed the last bear. I worded the following part poorly (my mistake) but what I meant to indicate was that due to "sport" hunting (for trophies, exotic items, and dangerous thrills) as well as niche human activities like capturing bears for colloseum sport fights (amongst other things like private collections etc.) led to their decline and eventual extinction.

[sbell]

Atlas bear, African crested porcupine, aardvark!



I will address the Atlas bear in the room... this species went extinct (circa late 1800s). They were the only bear native to Africa. They were said to be rather dark in color but could bleach lighter from the sun. They are named after the Atlas mountains. They are largely famous for (and went extinct due to) intense sport hunting and capture by the Romans for colloseum-like fights.

Who made the Atlas bear figure? I'm only aware of the Yowies one.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That is a custom repaint of a chinamal like bear done by myself.

Mixed small mammals!




Fun facts! These guys can eat things most other mammals can't including poisonous millipedes, very ripe carrion, and a fruit called Strychnos (you guessed it! This is where deadly strychnine comes from). If you are sprayed by their musk the odor can last as long as 3 months!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Barbary sheep and red river hog!



Fun facts on Barbary sheep! They are the species in the genus Ammotragus. If facing danger they usually try to stand perfectly still first instead of running. Reportedly, females are the ones who tend to be aggressive; males typically only show aggression during the mating season.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Next week we will "move" to another continent!

[NSD Bashe]

Cool, also I have the two hogs 

[Saarlooswolfhound]

On my website, The Curious Compendium, the page for African mammals has joined the Asian and Oceanian mammal pages and is now live! *please pardon minor issues like spacing... its been a long week with personal and work related tasks* **please continue to point out other mistakes as you notice them. It helps a lot!**

https://thecuriouscompendium.wixsite.com/curiouscompendium

First update for the category will be posted tomorrow morning as early as I can manage.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And now we move to South America! This should be a much shorter trip (sadly). Maybe 1-2 weeks of images.

First up, maned wolves!



It is the only member of its genus Chrysocyon (and it is NOT a true wolf nor a fox). They have strong smelling urine (almost like the spray from a skunk); it gets its odor from chemicals in the plants and insects it eats. They can have a diet up to 50% of plant matter and even have a fruit named after them; the Wolf Apple (they play an important part in this plant's life cycle). Lastly, they can be melanistic in color (Google it! Gorgeous animals).

[bmathison1972]

I have CollectA's; still the best in my personal opinion. Safari's is nice but HUGE

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I personally prefer the Safari, I think it pulled off the species face better. But that is only my opinion if course, and no insult to the CollectA.

My favorite group of monkeys: Tamarins!  (specifically Emperor tamarins are my favorite but I do love them all).



Some intriguing facts I just learned: They are so named as their mustache resembles that if the German Emperor Wilhelm II. This species and the saddleback tamarin appear to have a very close cooperative relationship (splitting the forest canopy habitat, warning each other of danger, and even sharing food!). Lastly, apparently 2/3 of the female population can see in 3 colors (called trichromacy) which better enables them to identify ripe fruit while others of the troops (males and 1/3 of females) only see 2 colors (dichromacy).

[NSD Bashe]

I think I saw either a Papo or Safari golden lion tamarin randomly on a shelf in a dollar store once and almost picked it up.  When I came back it wasn't there of course

[Saarlooswolfhound]

aw, ain't that always what happens! Too bad... as if you would want to you could customize it into one of the other tamarin species.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I have the Papo one. I like it. Although I'd prefer a brighter orange.

Did you already do anteaters, @Saarlooswolfhound ?