Tiger Quoll: Rare and Adorable

The Tiger Quoll is a super cute and slender marsupial that only lives in Australia. They are very rare, and sadly are endangered. Tiger Quolls are related to Tasmanian Devils, and are in a family with animals that look like mice.

"Tiger Quoll" seems like a silly name for an animal that is spotted, instead of stripey like a Tiger. But rest assured, they can also be called Spotted Quolls. These fuzzy guys have really cute little heads with adorable noses, and small ears, as well as short legs. A cool thing about this animal, is that their spots continue on the long tail.

Whatcha looking at?

Look at that cute nose!

Tiger Quolls live in Eastern Australia in rainforests. They like to hang out in trees, where they hunt for food, such as birds, and possums. They also eat other animals, like rodents, lizards, snakes, and insects. These fuzzy mammals are mostly active at night, when they can hunt for prey and not become food for bigger animals who are active during the day.

Cuddly.

Tiger Quolls sleep in dens, which means any cozy place they can find, like holes in trees, caves, burrows underground, hollow trees, or even under houses.

These cute marsupials often greet one another by sniffing noses together! Adorable!

Further Reading

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• Australian Threatened Species: Tiger Quoll
• Research into Threats to Eastern Quolls
• Otway Ranges Environment Network: Tiger Quoll Action Statement

Cute Fungus: Mushyroomies!

Mushrooms are not animals and they are not plants either! Mushrooms are a Fungus, and seem like a mixture between a plant and an animal. Mushrooms sort of look like plants because they grow from the ground, do not move about, and have "hyphae" which look like roots. But, Mushrooms do not make their own food like plants do. Instead, they get nutrients from other plants and animals by using these root-like "hyphae".

Mushrooms come in a lot of different colors, sizes, and shapes, but usually have a long, skinny "stalk" or "stipe" which holds up the umbrella shaped "cap". This cap is where you'll find all sorts of interesting creatures, such as the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, or Snails who are having a little nibble or a rest.

Taken by Anne Elliott

The cutest sounding Fungus is a Puffball! Normally it does not have a stalk and instead is just a round, squishy ball. When you squish it, a cloud of dust comes out, which are baby mushrooms! These baby mushrooms are called "spores" until they grow into an adult.

The baby spores of other mushrooms are found underneath the cap, and hide here until they are ready to be set free.

© Mark Steinmetz

Another interesting kind of Mushroom, is the Bird's Nest. It looks like they are cute baby eggs in a nest, but it is actually a Fungus! Mushrooms are often found in wet forested areas, and because they do not need sunlight like plants, they can grow in dark places.

Fuzzy Tree Kangaroos!

Kangaroos are Marsupials, animals that have a cozy front pocket for the babies to live in. Koalas and Wombats are also Marsupials. Tree Kangaroos live in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and surrounding islands.


Tree Kangaroos like to munch on leaves, flowers, moss, grass, and bark.

The Golden-Mantled Tree Kangaroo, shown here, is very rare and mysterious. It has reddish colored fur, with a cute yellow belly, and two golden yellow stripes on its back and tail. Very little is known about these adorable creatures.

Tree Kangaroos are a little shy, and like to spend most of their time alone. When a female has a baby, the fuzzy baby stays with its mother for a couple years before adventuring into the rainforest on its own.

As their name indicates, these fuzzy guys like to spend their time in trees. They have very long tails to help them balance, and claws to get a good grip. Although, when Tree Kangaroos walk on the ground they are clumsy!

Woolly Bear Caterpillar!

 I have been living on Salt Spring Island for about three weeks now. Last week I went for a walk to explore the area and ended up waking on a trail in the forest. The trail goes all the way to the top of Reginald Hill, which overlooks Fulford Harbour.

Taken at the top of the hill.

On the way there I discovered a super cute and fuzzy little animal that excited me. I was taking photos along the way and managed to notice this little guy nestled amongst the grass blades.

Gasp! 

Sooo fuzzy!

This little caterpillar is called the Woolly Bear because it seems like they have furry bodies. It's not actually fur that's covering them and keeping them warm in the Winter, but hair-like bristles. I knelt down to get this close-up photo as the caterpillar checked out his surroundings. These caterpillars have this mass of fuzzy-like bristles because they live in cold places and live throughout the Winter. They have a special substance that keeps them from freezing entirely, although they are inactive during the Winter. Once the weather gets warmer in the Spring, these fuzzy caterpillars wake up from their hibernation-like nap and start doing one thing: eating! They spend the Spring, Summer, and Fall eating, eating, and eating some more. They eat all sorts of different plants and a few years ago National Geographic said that these smart insects will eat more of a medicine-like leaf that makes their sick tummies all better. The Woolly Bear Caterpillar has a sick tummy when flies lay eggs inside the caterpillar's bellies! But, after eating this special leaf (that is related to caffeine) the fly eggs are defeated! These caterpillars live for over a decade before turning into the Isabella Tiger Moth.

The Poll Winner: the Aye-aye!

A few weeks ago I posted a poll asking which animal you wanted to see next. Here's some info about the winner: the Aye-aye.

(Photo credit: Tom Junek)

The Aye-aye is a primate, and more specifically, a lemur. These fuzzy animals are  nocturnal and primarily live in rainforests on the East coast of Madagascar.

(www.madagascarpartnership.org)

This lemur searches for food during the night, starting shortly after sunset. Aye-ayes eat nuts, seeds, fruit, fungi, and nectar, but the main parts of their diet are insects and larvae. The Aye-aye taps on the tree bark to listen for hollow areas. After finding the perfect spot, the lemur will tear open the tree bark and stick its long skinny finger inside to grab its food.

Aye-ayes are great jumpers and climbers, and barely spend any time on the ground. They usually only leave the forest canopy in times of deforestation, so they can look for food. This means that Aye-ayes sometimes wander into human villages, which normally results in a bad situation for the lemur. Locals consider the Aye-aye a bad omen, and often kill any they come across. For these two reasons, Aye-ayes are considered threatened, in terms of conservation status.

Raccoon Dog!

You voted on the poll and the Raccoon Dog won! I first heard about this super cute animal from the television show Life of Mammals, hosted by David Attenborough. Raccoon Dogs are not actually related to Raccoons, they just look alike. Raccoon Dogs are found throughout Asia and Eastern Europe.

Raccoon Dog mommies can have a lot of babies at one time, about a dozen and sometimes more! The babies have short fur when they are born and cannot open their eyes for about a week or so. They usually stay at home with their dad, while the mom looks for food.

Raccoon Dogs like to hibernate in the winter. Before it becomes too snowy the Raccoon Dogs eat a lot of food to become chubby. During hibernation they live from their stored fat. They sleep and cuddle in burrows all winter long to stay warm. The babies, who are not as fluffy as the parents, sleep in the middle of the cuddle pile.

So fluffy!

These fluffy animals like eating a variety of food, such as insects, rodents, birds, fish, eggs, frogs, berries, nuts, fruit, and plants. It all depends on what is available around them. Raccoon Dogs are not picky eaters!

The Cuddly Red Panda!

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I was away from the internet, computers, telephones, electric heat, and even running water in a cozy house overlooking the ocean. I went snowshoeing (just like an Arctic Hare) and even saw bunny tracks and bunny poo (probably from Snowshoe Hares).

My next cute animal can also be found around snow, like those snow bunnies. It likes  to live in China (like its relative, the Giant Panda) and around the Himalayas. It also likes to munch on bamboo, like the Giant Panda. If there's no bamboo around or the Red Panda wants a break from eating only bamboo, it will snack on eggs, insects, birds, or little mammals.

Unlike the Giant Panda, Red Pandas are really little, just a tiny bit bigger than a kitty cat! Red Pandas have long fuzzy tails and short little limbs. Their striped tails help them camoflage with their environment.





Sleepy panda

When it's hot outside the Red Panda likes to nap with its short little fuzzy limbs hanging over a tree branch!

Red Pandas are pretty quiet. Sometimes they make cute little whistling noises.







P.S: I almost forgot about this hilarious and cute Red Panda video about a girl living with two Red Pandas!

Bushbabies!

Bushbabies climbing a tree.

Bushbabies are so cool. They are also called Galagos, but "bushbaby" sounds way cuter. They live in African tropical forests and are primates (like monkeys).


Their long tails help keep them balanced when they are climbing around trees. Bushbabies also have nails so they can grip onto branches so they will not fall off!


Bushbabies like chewing on insects, fruit, and tree gum.

Bushbabies are nocturnal.

Bushbabies are mostly active at night (called nocturnal), which is why their eyes are so big. These huge eyes help them see really well in the dark. They also have fantastic hearing, which helps in the dark forest.


These fuzzy little creatures are spectacular jumpers. They can jump as high as 20 feet in the air!






Baby bushbaby!

Gizmo (from the movie Gremlins)

Baby bushbabies remind me of "Gizmo" from the movie Gremlins! I have always wanted a little Mogwai (the name of Gizmo's species).

Bushbabies often sleep together in groups. They like to cuddle in a nest of leaves or branches, or in a cozy hole in a tree.