Have You Herd About Animals?

Welcome back Herders! The next episode on Opossums (/əˈpɒsəmz/) are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North America in the Great American Interchange following the connection of North and South America. The Virginia opossum is the only species found in the United States and Canada. It is often simply referred to as an opossum, and in North America it is commonly referred to as a possum[3] (/ˈpɒsəm/; sometimes rendered as 'possum in written form to indicate the dropped "o"). The Australasian arboreal marsupials of suborder Phalangeriformes are also called possums because of their resemblance to opossums, but they belong to a different order. The opossum is typically a nonaggressive animal and almost never carries the virus that causes rabies.[4]

SPOOKY TIME HERDERS. Welcome back to the episode that will give you the willies! Deinopis, also known as net-casting spiders, gladiator spiders and ogre-faced spiders,[2] is a genus of net-casting spiders that was first described by W. S. MacLeay in 1839.[3] Its distribution is widely tropical and subtropical. They catch their prey using a specially spun "net". The name is derived from the Greek δεινός (deinos), meaning "fearful", and opis, meaning "appearance", referring to their ogre-like faces. The spelling "Dinopis" is also found, but is regarded as an "unjustified emendation".[1]

Welcome back Herders to Sam and Tyler talking about Squirrels! Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (/sɪˈjuːrɪdeɪ, -diː/), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were introduced by humans to Australia. The earliest known fossilized squirrels date from the Eocene epoch, and among other living rodent families, the squirrels are most closely related to the mountain beaver and dormice.

Welcome back to the 73rd episode of "Have You Herd About Animals?" and the episode is on RHINOOOOOOOOOOO'S. Rhinos are one of the Big Five animals popular in African safaris, but they also live in Asia and even lived in Europe in the past. There are currently five different species of rhino—two in Africa and three in Asia. All rhinos are famed for their horns. Some species have one horn, while others have two.Rhinoceros horn is made of keratin, the same material as human fingernails, and they grow continuously throughout a rhino’s life. Like fingernails, rhinoceros horns can be trimmed without discomfort or pain.Despite two rhino species mentioning colours (black rhino and white rhino), all rhinos are grey. They range in size from 600-kilogram Sumatran rhinos to 3,500-kilogram white rhinos.Despite their large size, rhinos are herbivores—they only eat plant matter. They make up five of only nine remaining megaherbivore species left on Earth. Their exact diet depends on their habitat. For example, white rhinos have evolved square lips to graze on abundant grass, while black rhinos have developed pointed lips to pick leaves and plants.

Ahwooooooooo there Herders, and welcome back the wolves episode! We have been holding off on all the good episodes for when the deployment ended!Wolf, any of two species of wild doglike carnivores. The gray, or timber, wolf (Canis lupus) is the better known. It is the largest nondomestic member of the dog family (Canidae) and inhabits vast areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The Ethiopian, or Abyssinian, wolf (C. simensis) inhabits the highlands of Ethiopia; until recently it was considered a jackal. Pervasive in mythology, folklore, and language, the gray wolf has had an impact on the human imagination and has been the victim of levels of misunderstanding that few animals have shared. With the exception of humans and the lion, the gray wolf 

Welcome back to Season 8 Herders! We have been gone for some time and we are coming back strong with Rats!Please keep sending us emails of the animals you want to hear, we love getting requests!  The term generally and indiscriminately applied to numerous members of several rodent families having bodies longer than about 12 cm, or 5 inches. (Smaller thin-tailed rodents are just as often indiscriminately referred to as mice.) In scientific usage, rat applies to any of 56 thin-tailed, medium-sized rodent species in the genus Rattus native to continental Asia and the adjacent islands of Southeast Asia eastward to the Australia-New Guinea region. A few species have spread far beyond their native range in close association with people. The brown rat, Rattus norvegicus (also called the Norway rat), and the house rat, R. rattus (also called the black rat, ship rat, or roof rat), live virtually everywhere that human populations have settled; the house rat is predominant in warmer climates, and the brown rat dominates in temperate regions, especially urban areas. Most likely originating in Asia, the brown rat reached Europe in the mid-1500s and North America around 1750. The house rat most likely originated in India. 

We are back with a bonus episode, Herders! WELCOME TO SHARK WEEK! We are doing a quick episode on Deep Blue that largest known Great White Shark and we are also talking about multiple sharks and how they interact with the environment!

ITS THUNDERING TIME. SEASON FINALE YALLThe thunderbird is a legendary creature in particular North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength.It is especially important and frequently depicted in the art, songs, and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, but is also found in various forms among some peoples of the American Southwest, East Coast of the United States, Great Lakes, and Great Plains. In modern times it has achieved notoriety as a purported cryptid, similar to creatures such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

The Sunda flying lemur (Galeopterus variegatus), also known as Sunda colugo, Malayan flying lemur and Malayan colugo, is native to Southeast Asia ranging from southern Myanmar, Thailand, southern Vietnam, Malaysia to Singapore and Indonesia.[3]Although it is called "flying lemur", it cannot fly but glides among trees and is strictly arboreal. It is active at night, and feeds on soft plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits. After a 60-day gestation period, a single offspring is carried on the mother's abdomen held by a large skin membrane.[4][5] It is a forest-dependent species.The Sunda flying lemur is protected by national legislation. The Sunda flying lemurs are often hunted by local people with spears or other lethal equipment for various reasons such as food and fur. Habitat loss is known to occur intermittently, particularly in developing countries such as Malaysia.[3] In addition to deforestation and loss of habitat, local subsistence hunting poses a serious threat to this animal. Competition with the plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) represents another challenge for this species. More information is needed on population declines, but at present, the rate of the decline is not believed to merit listing in any category lower than least concern.[2]

We swear this animal looks like a wizard. Swear. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Markhor_Schraubenziege_Capra_falconeri_Zoo_Augsburg-02.jpgThe markhor (Capra falconeri) /ˈmɑːrkɔːr/ is a large Capra (goat) species native to Central Asia, mainly within Pakistan, the Karakoram range, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015.[2]The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where it is also known (in English) as the “screw-horn” or screw-horned goat.[3] The word mārkhor (مارخور), meaning “snake-eater“, comes from both Urdu and classical Persian languages, referencing the ancient belief that the markhor would actively kill and consume snakes.[4] This regional myth is believed to stem from the “snake-like” form of the male markhor’s horns, twisting and curling like a snake, possibly leading ancient peoples to associate them with snakes.

PIKA PIKA, Herders!A pika is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America. With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears.[3] The large-eared pika of the Himalayas and nearby mountains lives at elevations of more than 6,000 m (20,000 ft).Pikas prefer rocky slopes and graze on a range of plants, primarily grasses, flowers, and young stems. In the autumn they pull hay, soft twigs, and other stores of food into their burrows to eat during the long, cold winter.[4] The pika is also known as the whistling hare because of its high-pitched alarm call when diving into its burrow.The name "pika" appears to be derived from the Tungus pika,[5] and the scientific name Ochotona is from the Mongolian word outrun-a, оготно, which means pika.[6] It is used for any member of the Ochotonidae (/ɒkətoʊnɪdeɪ/),[7] a family within the order of lagomorphs which also includes the Leporidae (rabbits and hares). Only one genus, Ochotona[7] (/ɒkəˈtoʊnə/ or /ɒtʃəˈtoʊnə/), is extant within the family, covering 37 species, though many fossil genera are known. Another species, the Sardinian pika, belonging to the separate genus Prolagus, has become extinct within the last 2000 years owing to human activity.The two species found in North America are the American pika, found primarily in the mountains of the western United States and far southwestern Canada, and the collared pika of northern British Columbia, the Yukon, western Northwest Territories and Alaska.

Shine bright like a Star Nosed Mole!The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a small semiaquatic mole found in moist, low elevation areas in the northern parts of North America.[3] It is the only extant member of the tribe Condylurini and genus Condylura, and it has more than 25,000 minute sensory receptors in touch organs, known as Eimer's organs, with which this hamster-sized mole feels its way around. With the help of its Eimer's organs, it may be perfectly poised to detect seismic wave vibrations.[4]The nose is about 1 cm in diameter with its Eimer's organs distributed on 22 appendages.[5] Eimer's organs were first described in the European mole in 1871 by German zoologist Theodor Eimer. Other mole species also possess Eimer's organs, though they are not as specialized or numerous as in the star-nosed mole. Because the star-nosed mole is functionally blind, the snout was long suspected to be used to detect electrical activity in prey animals,[6] though little, if any, empirical support has been found for this hypothesis. The nasal star and dentition of this species appear to be primarily adapted to exploit extremely small prey. A report in the journal Nature gives this animal the title of fastest-eating mammal, taking as little as 120 milliseconds (average: 227 ms) to identify and consume individual food items.[7] Its brain decides in approximately 8 ms if prey is edible or not. This speed is at the limit of the speed of neurons.These moles are also able to smell underwater, accomplished by exhaling air bubbles onto objects or scent trails and then inhaling the bubbles to carry scents back through the nose.[8]

We're going to be talking about a pink monkey today! Kidding! April Fools!The lowland streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus) is a small tenrec found in Madagascar. It belongs to the family Tenrecidae in the order Afrosoricida, and more specifically to the subfamily of the spiny tenrecs Tenrecinae.[3] Its natural habitats are in tropical lowland rain forests in northern and eastern parts of Madagascar.

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is a small deer species native to China and Korea. Its prominent tusks, similar to those of musk deer, have led to both subspecies being colloquially named vampire deer in English-speaking areas to which they have been imported. It was first described to the Western world by Robert Swinhoe in 1870.[2]

We are feeling magical today, Herders! Why? Cause we're going to be talking about a Pink Fairy Armadillo and how cute they are. The pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus) is the smallest species of armadillo (mammals of the families Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae, recognized by a bony armor shell), first described by Richard Harlan in 1825.[3] This solitary, desert-adapted animal is endemic to central Argentina and can be found inhabiting sandy plains, dunes, and scrubby grasslands.Pink fairy armadillos have small eyes, silky yellowish white fur, and a flexible dorsal shell that is attached to its body solely by a thin dorsal membrane. In addition, its spatula-shaped tail protrudes from a vertical plate at the blunt rear of its shell. This creature exhibits nocturnal and solitary habits and has a diet that is mainly composed of insects, worms, snails, and various plant parts.The conservation status for pink fairy armadillo is still uncertain, and it is listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The decline in population for this species has generally been attributed to farming activities and predators including domestic dogs and cats.[4] Pink fairy armadillos are found less commonly than they were a few decades ago, and the field sightings have been rare and incidental.[5]Individuals caught in the wild had a tendency to die during or a couple days after transport from their natural habitat to captive facilities. There is a sole record for the longevity of a pink fairy armadillo that was held in captivity more than four years; however, that particular case lacks scientific description.[5] Armadillos' evolutionary distinctiveness, combined with their restricted geographic range, ongoing threats, and rarity, make conservation extremely urgent for these species.[3]