Attribution: Latitia Kernalguen. A harem of 127 females is a prize that has to be earned. Where female Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) provide all the parental care, they will only reproduce in the territory of the biggest males, the biggest fathers for their offspring. Females average 400 to 900kg, while males weigh up to 4 tons; Southern Elephant Seals show the largest sexual dimorphism among land breeding mammals. When a male challenges the head of a harem he needs to prove his strength at a great cost, resulting in a fascinating and captivating fight between the two giants.Winner: Behavioural and Physiological Ecology.BMC Ecology 2013, 13:6 doi:10.1186/1472-6785-13-6www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6785/13/6
Speothos VenaticusAKA: Water DogThey have webbed feet, and are good swimmers and diversLive in lowland forests and open savannas near small streams in Central and South AmericaEat large rodents, ground-nesting birds, snakes, and lizardsHave no natural predators
Long-tailed Weasel in its winter coat (Ermine). This little cutie and I played a game of hide and seek for half an hour or so,and s/he seemed as curios of me as I was of it. It made my day. One of my favorite critters.
Owlet Lodge, Abra Patricia, Amazonas dept., Peru. We saw several Tayras in our travels, the first ones in the Amazon, and then several at Owlet Lodge in northern Peru, at a much higher altitude in the Andes. It is a member of the Weasel family (Mustelidae), and can become quite tame around human habitation. They are generally diurnal, and den in tree hollows or burrows, and will eat just about anything from fruit to birds' eggs, and will raid beehives. This one was feeding on banana put out at Owlet Lodge to attract tanagers and other fruit-eating birds.
[syn. Monachus schauinslandi]Hawaiian monk seal or lioholoikauauaEndemic to the Hawaiian Islands IUCN: EndangeredKaena Point, Oahu, Hawaiian Islandszookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=3807