Zoo Species Project - Research Paper Example

of the The zoo species project Zoology is a branch of science that deals with the study of the animal species around the globe. The scientists specializing in studying zoology are called zoologists. The zoological departments in various organizations around the globe have made significant attempts to study different animals by classifying them into smaller units and sub- units ranging from the largest taxonomic groups called the Kingdoms to the smallest sub- divisions referred to as the species. Species are the smallest taxonomic division in biological classifications and is the level of classification with which an organism is identified as a distinct living or non- living organism over the earth’s surface. This is usually done by using the most salient and distinctive features that only such category of organisms possess on earth. The other taxonomic groups used in the classification of organisms include phylum, class, order, sub- order, family and genus to the kingdom and species at the extreme ends. This essay will cover the salient characteristics of the three identified species of, the okapi, the Komodo dragon, and the Double wattle cassowary. Okapi The okapi species can be taxonomically grouped to the Kingdom animalia, phylum chordata, class mammalia, order antiodactyla, sub- order ruminantia, family giraffidae, genus Giraffa carmelopardalis, and in the species Okapia johnstoni. The okapi is an herbivorous animal most common in tropical mountain forests of Africa. The animals are mainly common in central African tropical forests that have the favourable climatic conditions for the deer- like animals (Trooper and Murphy). They are mainly common in the Congo forest at an altitude of about 500 to 1000 meters above the sea level with most of them occupying areas with an altitude of 800 meters above the sea level mostly predominant in the Ituri forest of the DRC Congo. The animals can also be found in areas with slowly flowing waters (Wood). Wood further notices in his book, The Guinness Book of Animal Facts that the okapis look similar to the giraffes having the long giraffe- like neck which not only help it reach out for leaves in the tall tropical forests but also useful in defence against the potential predators such as the lion, cheetahs, and other carnivorous predators. They have brown fur with white strips on their hind limbs and on the rear ends as the zebra that enables them to camouflage easily among the tall trees away from the predating animals. The animal is one of the only surviving ancestors of the giraffe family. The okapi is a very shy animal that is seldom seen by human beings. They spend most of their times in the forests usually very deep in the tropical forests where people seldom visit (Wood). Nearly a fifth of the tropical rainforest of the central Africa houses the okapi species. However, the number has been greatly threatened by the rapid rates of destruction caused by man on the tropical forests especially by deforestation leading to the ever-diminishing number of the okapi in Africa. As Eric and Laurie note in their book Windows to the Evolution of Diversity, the okapi is most active during the day and are mostly rendered inactive as the darkness approach. The animals like solitary lives during their lifetime and rarely walk, live or feed in colonies like the baboons or monkeys even though they sometimes feed together in groups just for a short period of time (Eric and Laurie). The animal is known to be feeding on over a hundred plant species some of which are considered poisonous to human being and other animals. They have long tongues that help them in feeding by increasing their heights enabling them to feed on tall plants. The gestation period for the female okapi is around sixteen months over which the females spend lots of their time in the thick woodlands deep in the forest certainly for the sake of the security of the pregnant female and the lamb after birth. Further, Trooper and Murphy underscore that these animals give birth to single offspring with rare cases of double births as may occur in other animals. Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon belongs to the kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, sub- phylum Vertebrata, class reptilia, order squamata, sub order lacertilian, family varanidae, genus varanus, sub genus Varanidae varanus and species komodoensis. Its scientific name is Varanus komodoensis (Auffenberg). Auffenberg further classifies the Komodo dragon in the family of lizards in his book, The Behavioural Ecology of the Komodo Monitor, as he calls it the largest reptile in the lizards’ family. It is mainly found on Komodo island of Indonesia hence the name Komodo dragon. The reptile is usually larger than the lizards with the mature one measuring approximately ten feet in length and weighing around seventy kilograms. The Komodo dragon is believed to have originally come from Asia some forty million years ago from where they migrated into the Australian sub- continent. This shift in the geographical location of the Komodo dragon was enabled by the collision of the Australian plate with that of the South East Asia giving the reptiles an opportunity to wander into the Archipelago Islands in Indonesia extending Far East into the Island of Timor (Michael). Recent archaeological researches have however shown that the Komodo dragon originally originated from the Australian continent and moved on into the Indonesia due to the rise and fall in the sea levels during the Pleistocene periods of the last glacial phase. (Fry, Wroe and Teeuwisse et al) The Komodo dragon feed on a wide range of lower animal species especially the lower vertebrates and sometime attacks even humans for prey. These vertebrates usually hunt in groups making it possible for them to attack and even kill larger animals like the deer. The Komodo begins to mate between the months of May and August and like any other reptile, they lay around twenty eggs that usually hatch around April with the female Komodo is taking around seven months brooding on their eggs always in holes dug in the ground. The young Komodo spends most of their time on trees away from other cannibals known to predate on them and takes nine to ten years to mature. The mature Komodo can live for about thirty years. The reptile has a very low sense of hearing and can only hear sounds of between 400Hz and 2000Hz. The Komodo, as the okapi is mostly active during the day and somehow dormant in the night. This is brought about by their inability to see at night. It can distinguish colours but usually find it difficult to judge between stationary objects and those in motion. It uses its rather long tongue to smell things far off (Auffenberg). Fry, Wroe and Teeuwisse et al also observe that these dragons always occupy dry niches in open grasslands and live in solitary conditions only coming out to breed and eat. The Komodo dragon is a very swift animal on both the ground and when climbing trees since it has very sharp claws making it easy for the reptile to grab the soil and the tree trunks firmly to avoid sliding during movements. With the aid of its acute sense of smell, the Komodo dragon can smell its preys while in far off distances and occasionally stand on its two hind limbs giving a large field of view when hunting. In this way, the Komodo is able to see from far. The reptile is further adapted by its ability to dive high in the air and over long distances in order to catch its prey. The claws of a mature Komodo are used mainly as a weapon for protection as well as for self-defence. The Komodo lives in holes dug in the earth from which they hide from other danger or threatening animals. These areas are marked by their droppings and are considered dangerous places for human beings since Komodo sometime attacks even human beings as their prey. Montgomery, Gillespie and Sastrawan et al writes that the Komodo dragons have strong hind limbs that help them in tearing their prey once killed. The smaller preys such as he gazelles are swallowed wholly as the stomach is able to expand to accommodate the size of the prey (Montgomery, Gillespie and Sastrawan et al )However, they are unable to digest the calcium present in animal bones and so their dung remains white in color. These reptiles can smell dead animals lying up to nine miles away given their acute sense of smell. The Komodo diet includes the buffaloes, monkeys, water-bucks, and fellow Komodo. They are known to sometimes dig human graves and consume the decaying human carcasses. They eat in a systematic manner with the elderly males first followed by the females and finally the young ones eat last. Double wattle cassowary The species named above belongs to the bird species in the order Struthioniformes, family Casuaridae and the species Casuarius casuarius (Coates). It is one of the largest known birds in the whole world after the ostrich. It weighs about a hundred and twenty-eight pounds thus cannot fly. Cassowaries are found in New Guinea and in the northern Australia usually within the tropical rainforests always occupying the swampy areas and regions close to riverbanks since these birds are able to swim well in the stagnant or slowly moving water bodies. The cassowaries live in thick vegetations in forested landscapes and their bodies are covered with thick feathers to help keep it warm in these cold conditions. It has a protrusion on its head called the casque that helps the bird in navigating its way within the thick vegetation in the tropical rainforests. The casque is sometimes used by these birds to dig out their food from the ground. The cassowaries also have a pair of wattle that hangs from its neck used by the bird to socialize with others. Communication among the double wattle cassowaries is therefore aided by the use of their wattle especially when giving signals to other like species in case if a looming danger in their vicinity. Del Hoyo, Elliot and Sargatal in their handbook titled, The Birds of the World Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks, note that these birds have very strong claws that are used as weapons as well as for movement making the cassowaries able to move very swiftly after their preys and away from their predators. An adaptation that makes them be able to survive in the thick forests with thick vegetation and numerous predators. Fruits from plants in these forests form the major component of the cassowaries’ diet hence helping in their dispersal as the seeds pass through their digestive systems without being interfered with. Sometimes they eat the lower vertebrates such as the fungi and other small insects (DelHoyo, Elliot and Sargatal). These birds are also as the okapi and the Komodo are solitary birds only coming together during mating times. According to Pianka and Vitt, the cassowaries usually mate during the dry seasons within the months of June to October since this is the time when there is enough food for the mother birds and their young ones making it easier for the birds to hunt. During this time, the thick undergrowth in the tropical rainforests provides ample protection for the birds together with their young ones hence improving the chances of their survival during their early periods of life (Pianka and Vitt). The female cassowary can lay from three to five eggs usually in their nests constructed by their male counterparts who takes care of the young ones till they grow big enough to move on their own. These birds are of great importance to the native people as they use them as delicacies and even for paying bride prices. The sharp claws are put in arrowheads and used as daggers for hunting and for self-defence. In conclusion, it is worth noting that the species discussed so far including the cassowary, and the okapi mainly inhabits the tropical rainforest regions while the Komodo live in the dry land in the Komodo islands of Indonesia. Besides, it is important to note the various adaptive features of these species given their living conditions. Climatic factors therefore play a very important role in determining the adaptive characteristics of both the birds, reptiles and mammals as seen in the study of the Komodo, the okapi and the double wattle cassowary. Works cited Auffenberg, Walter. “The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor.” Gainesvile: University Press of Florida, 1981. Coates, B. “The Birds of Papua New Guinea.” Vol. 1. Queensland: Dove Publications, 1985. Del Hoyo, J., A Elliot and J. Sargatal. “Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks.” Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, 1992. Fry, BG, et al. "A central role for venom in predation by Varanus komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) and the extinct giant Varanus (Megalania) priscus." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 2009. 8969-8974. Michael, Joseph. “The phylogenetic position of Palaeosaniwa and the early evolution of the Platynotan (Varanoid) Anguimorphs.” Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2001. Montgomery, JM, et al. "Aerobic salivary bacteria in wild and captive Komodo dragons." Journal of wildlife diseases 38.3 (2002): 545-551. Pianka, Eric R. and Laurie J. Vitt. “Windows to the Evolution of Diversity.” Berkeley: University of California Press , 2003. Trooper, Walsh and James Murphy. "Biology and Conservation." Zoo and Acquirium Biology and Conservation series. Washington, 2002. Wood, Gerald. “The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats.” New York: Sterling Pub Co. Inc, 1983. Read More