Tag pack

A glimpse of the Corsac Fox

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The Corsac Fox at the Paris Zoo is rarely seen because it is nocturnal – active at night and sleeping during the day. Fortunately, I got a glimpse of the Corsac Fox.

The Corsac Fox (Vulpes corsac) is a medium-sized mammal in the Canidae family of carnivorous dogs, wolves, foxes, and jackals. It is also known as the Steppe Fox and the Sand Fox. 

The Corsac Fox has yellowish-brown fur with paler underparts. It has pale markings on its mouth, chin, and throat. It has pointed ears with excellent hearing and small eyes with excellent vision. It has small teeth. Its feet have sharp claws. 

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CREATURE FEATURE: European Ground Squirrel

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The European Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) is a rodent mammal in the Sciuridae family of squirrels. It is also known as the European Souslik.

The European Ground Squirrel has a slender body with a short, bushy tail. Its short fur is yellowish-grey, flecked with black hair. Its underside is pale. It has large, dark eyes and small, rounded ears. It has short feet with sharp claws for digging. It has strong, gnawing teeth. It has a small nose with whiskers. 

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RESEARCH: Social spiders help each other to catch their prey

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There are many animal species that hunt in packs to kills their prey, especially when the prey is large. Examples of animals that hunt in packs include wolves, lions, dogs, hyenas, and ants.

Pack hunting is also called cooperative hunting because each individual animal in the pack cooperates with the rest of the pack for the same purpose. 

A new 2021 research study shows that some spider species also practice cooperative hunting to help each other to catch their prey. Researchers at the University of Toulouse in France observed two colonies of a social spider species called Anelosimus eximius. The researchers copied the actions of prey entering a spider web – they created vibrations in different parts of the webs – and filmed the responses of the spiders.

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Alaskan Wolf

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The Alaskan Wolf (Canis lupus pambasileus) is a mammal and subspecies of the Grey Wolf in the Canidae family of dogs, wolves, and jackals. It is a canid or canine mammal. It is also known as the Yukon Wolf.

The Alaskan Wolf is dog-like with thick tawny grey or rusty-tan fur with a mixture of black hair. It has a triangular-shaped face with a wide forehead and medium-sized ears and brown eyes.

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Steppe Wolf

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The Steppe Wolf (Canis lupus campestris) is a subspecies of the Grey Wolf. It is a canid or canine mammal. It is also known as the Caspian Sea Wolf. 

The Steppe Wolf is dog-like with thick light-grey fur, and a rusty-red-grey or brownish back with a mixture of black hair. It has a triangular-shaped face with a wide forehead and medium-sized ears and brown eyes. Its tail does not have much fur. 

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Iberian Wolf

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The Iberian Wolf (Canis lupus signatus) is a subspecies of the Grey Wolf, a canid or canine mammal in the Canidae family. It is also known as the Spanish Wolf. 

The Iberian Wolf is dog-like with thick, grey fur and a white stroke on its cheek that joins its white throat. It has white marks on its upper lips. It has a triangular-shaped face with a wide forehead, medium-sized ears, and dark orange-brown eyes. It has a reddish snout (nose). Its tail is long with dark markings. It also has dark markings on its front legs (signatus means ‘marked’). It has orange-brown eyes.

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African Wild Dog

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The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus pictus) is also called the African Hunting Dog or African Painted Dog. It is a mammal, and a canid.

The African Wild Dog looks like a dog with large round ears. It has black, white, and yellow-brown fur in patches. Its face is black with a tan forehead. It has dark eyes. Its tail is white and bushy.

It does not have dewclaws which other dogs have. Dewclaws are small structures, like a digit, at the back of each leg, above the foot. Unlike other dogs, it has no under-fur; it only has stiff bristle-haired fur on its body.

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