Furry Introduction: All warm blooded, ground-dwelling mammals (including humans) have some sort of hair or fur. Long or short, fine or thick, fur comes in many colors and textures. Even elephants, rhinos and hippos have coarse and fine hairs on their otherwise leathery hides. Fur and hair serve all kinds of purposes, from providing insulation from extreme heat and cold, to acting as super sensors in the form of whiskers. Man has used animal fur and hides throughout millennia for clothing, industry, and even housing. Some animal fur and fiber is so strong you can even make rope out of it! Fur can camouflage an animal hiding in the forest, or be used for communication and display. Primates can stand their body hair on-end when upset, to appear larger and scarier in order to frighten off predators or show dominance within their group. Animals with furry tails like elephants, horses, and cows have a ready fly swatter, while squirrels puff and shake their tails in spectacular territorial displays. Millions of hairs are grown and shed regularly by any fur-bearing animal. Large, charismatic species have been hunted to extinction for their fur, hides, horns, and tusks. Rhinos, elephants, bongo, tiger, and bear--just to name a few--all suffer from hunting and poaching, forcing them to the brink of extinction. Furry Creature Feature : Tarsiers Tarsiers (family Tarsiidae, genus Tarsius) are classified as primates--but they are not true mokeys. In fact, tarsiers have been very hard to classify at all. These odd little mammals are nocturnal, and dwell in the tropical rainforests of southeast Asia. There are four sub-species of tarsier, and all are nocturnal, spending the day snoozing in cavities and hollows formed in trees. At dusk they emerge to spend the night hunting insects, which make up the bulk of thier diet. Tarsiers are the only completely carniverous primate--their diet consists entirely of other insects and animals. Tarsiers are small, averaging three to six inches in length, with an addtional five to eleven inches of tail. They have short, soft fur and pointed ears, and their fingers have special pads on the tips to help them grip and climb. The eyes have it... The tarsiers' most prominant physical feature are its huge eyes. Each one measures about 1.6 centimeters, making it larger than both the brain and the stomach! Eyes like these allow excellent night-vision, and tarsiers have no trouble seeing in the dark. Family matters... Tarsiers travel in small family groups with up to six members. They will forage and sleep together in the same nest cavity. Females give birth to single babies after a gestation period of 184-194 days. The babies are born completely helpless and the females will carry them around in their mouths when necessary. Babies develop quickly and are soon leaping around with their parents, learning to hunt. Tarsiers are excellent jumpers and climbers, moving quickly from branch to branch or even tree to tree. Conservation status...There are only about 2,000 Phillipine tarsiers left in the wild. Hunting for pets and medical research has severly diminished wild populations. Visit the Phillipine Tarsier Foundation for information about the these fascinating creatures. More Furry Facts: Stars and STRIPES forever: Striped animals, like zebra and bongo, all have a unique stripe pattern. Each animal's stripes are different and act like a 'fingerprint' for the individual. Scientists can take individual photographs of animals in a group or herd, and tell them apart by comparing stripe patterns. This can be very useful when you are trying to find one specific zebra in a herd of hundreds! Also, a tigers black stripes are more than just colored fur--they actually have black striped skin! A polar bear's fur may look white, but the hair is actually clear! Animals with light colored skin and fur can all get sunburns! African elephants stay cool by using their huge ears. Temperatures in the African plains can sometimes climb well above 100 degrees, and large animals like elephants must be able to cool down efficiently. Flapping their large, leathery ears helps dissipate heat through the blood vessels just under the surface of the skin. The large surface area of the ear also helps move more blood quickly, helping the animal cool down. Horns Antlers and Tusks: Rhinoceros horn isn't really a horn at all--it's made up of tightly compressed hair! Some cultures believe that rhino horn can be used as powerful medicine, and they hunt rhinos exclusively to harvest their horns. This has caused the widespread slaughter of all rhino species, which today represent some of the most endangered large mammals in the world. It is now illegal to hunt most species of rhino, and many are protected within national parks, but poaching still continues today and the rhino's future is uncertain at best. How many is too many? There is only one animal in the world with four horns--and it is found in central India. Named simply the four-horned antelope, males have two short horns, usually just four inches in length, between their ears, and an even shorter pair, one to two inches long between the brow ridges over their eyes. The females have no horns at all. What's the difference between antlers and horns? Antlers can be shed annually, but horns never fall off. Tusks are specially formed teeth that usually grow to an extreme size. One of the most visually disturbing tusked mammals is the babirusa, a wild hog found in Asia. Their large upper canines grow outward and backward, tending to form a complete circle. When fully developed, a babirusa's upper canines grow upward through its skin, piercing the snout--then the tusks curve backward and downward, often touching the forehead! Can you say "OUCH?" Even little deer can grow tusks! The male musk deer of China grows tusks instead of antlers. These small deer are sought after for the musk the males produce, which is used extensively in the manufacture of perfume, soap, and medicinal preparations. Musk is reputed to be the most expensive animal product in the world, fetching up to $45,000 per kg on the international market! Musk deer are now endangered due to hunting and poaching. Elephants are famous for their tusks, which are made of ivory. Their tusks can reach spectacular lengths and weigh hundreds of pounds. Like the rhino, elephants have been hunted and killed just to harvest the tusks, and many populations have suffered terribly. Every year hundreds of elephants are illegally poached, and their tusks are sold on the black market. Other Furry Features: Which mammal has the shortest and longest gestation period? Gestation is the period of time between fertilization and birth in mammals. The shortest gestation period known is 12 to 13 days, shared by three marsupials (pouched mammals): the American opossum; the rare water opossum of central and northern South America; and the eastern native cat of Australia. The young of each of these marsupials are born while still immature and must complete their development in the pouch of their mother. The longest gestation period for a mammal is that of the African elephant with an average of 660 days, and a maximum of 760 days. The only truly flying mammals are bats (all 986 species), although there are several mammals that glide (such as the flying squirrel and flying lemur). Bats are unique, with double membranes of skin that stretch from the sides of the body to the hind legs and tails, forming wings. The elongated fingers of the forelimbs, or arms of the bat support these membranes. Most bats eat insects or fruit, but the notorious vampire bat (there are three species of these) suck the blood of animals by making an incision in the victim's skin with its razor sharp fangs. Instead of sight, bats use a sophisticated sonar system called "echolocation" to find their way around while flying at night and to locate and identify prey. Big and Small Facts: The pygmy marmoset of Peru is the world's smallest true monkey, and the mouse lemur of Madagascar is the smallest primate. Both could easily fit in the palm of your hand. The smallest bear lives in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Borneo, Burma, Thailand and southern China, and is also one of the world's rarest rainforest animals. Known as the Malayan sun bear, it weighs just 60-140 lbs and climbs trees with log curved claws. The African elephant is the largest land mammal, weighing in at 5.25-6.2 tons, while the blue or sulphur-bottom whale is the largest sea mammal, which weighs 135-209 tons! Who am I? Can you figure out what animal I am? Unscramble the letters below to find out. Hint--I love to chew, and my favorite food is tree sap! M Y P G Y A S M O T M E R Don't peek, the answer is at the bottom of the page. Baby Names: Here are some interesting names for baby mammals: Antelope - kid, fawn, or yearling; apes - infant; bear - cub; camel - colt; buffaloe - spike-bull; kangaroo - joey; raccoon - kit; seal - whelp; weasel - kit; and zebra - foal. Visit again soon--more facts are on the way! Who am I? I am a pygmy marmoset!

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