Meet Cuscus The Rarely Seen Marsupial

The cuscus is a marsupial which is native to the Northern forest of Australia, the island of Papua New Guinea and on other nearby islands. The 23 species of cuscus differ in size, color, and habitat. Length can be from 14 to 16 inches long, and they can weigh between 3.3 to 13 pounds. Their incredibly long tails are from 13 to 24 inches.

Spotted Cuscus

Only the male spotted cuscus has spots

Photo: From FactZoo

With a rounded head, small ears, and large round eyes, this arboreal (lives in treetops) animal has five strong opposable digits whose nails ensure stability and a strong grip on the tree branches. The cuscus’s nails are also used for grooming. The tail, which lacks hair at the top, is both long and prehensile which helps to facilitate movement throughout the trees functioning as another limb.

White Cuscus
Photo:  From The Featured Creature

Biologist Muse Opiang holds a Bosavi silky cuscus, a newly discovered marsupial from central Papua New Guinea, in early 2009.

Biologist Muse Opiang holds a Bosavi silky cuscus
Photo:  Kristofer Helgen

While originally considered to be a close relative to the monkey, the cuscus’s closest relative is actually the opossum. A nocturnal animal, the cuscus sleeps during the day in dense vegetation and is very shy. Seeing one in the wild is a rare event.

Ground Cuscus
Cotswold Wildlife Park, Burford, Oxforshire

Being a marsupial, the undeveloped babies crawl into the mother’s pouch after a couple of weeks to continue their development for six to seven months. While the female will usually give birth to two to three babies, usually only one baby survives.

Two-month old baby who ventured out of the pouch
Photo:  Twycross Zoo

While considered a newly discovered species, this shy, solitary animal is shown in a drawing of the spotted cuscus on a page from The Royal Natural History, Volume 3, edited by Richard Lydekker, dating 1894-1895.

Spotted Cuscus 1894-1895 Animal Print, Page 257
The Royal Natural History, Volume 3

The cuscus populations are declining due to deforestation and loss of their habitat. 


Would you like to see a spotted cuscus?

Sources:

A-Z Animals

Amazon

Biodiversity Heritage Library
FactZoo

The Featured Creature

Members.optusnet.com.au

National Geographic

Unique Australian Animals

ZooBorns

Orphaned Baby Otter Relocates To Shedd Aquarium In Chicago

Discovered by a jogger who heard her crying, a week-old baby otter weighing 2.2 pounds was found on Coastways Beach in California. After four weeks of intensive care and stabilization at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Pup 681 was transferred to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago where she could now receive round-the-clock care.

Sea Otter Pup
Photo:  Shedd Aquarium

Welcome Pup 681

Shedd Aquarium

Weighing in at just under six (6) pounds and at a length of 22.6 inches upon her arrival, Pup 681 is now being taught how to be an otter by the animal care experts at Shedd who are making sure that she eats, grooms herself, and sleeps. Currently her diet consists of instant formula, shrimp and clam. Pup 681 will receive a new name and join four other otters in the Regenstein Sea Otter habitat at Shedd once she is ready.

Pup 681
Photo: Shedd Aquarium

Sea otters are the heaviest member of the weasel family but are among the smallest of marine mammals. Native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean, the sea otter's incredibly thick coat of fur is their principal form of insulation. Adult sea otters range in weight between 31 and 99 pounds with the males weighing more than the females.

Sources:

Shedd Aquarium

Chicago Tribune 

Mother Nature Network

KSBW

The Lemurs of Madagascar

Lemurs are arboreal primates with a pointed snout and typically a long tail, found only in Madagascar.  The word lemur is derived from the lemures, which means ghosts or spirits, from Roman mythology. This word was first used describing the slender loris which had nocturnal habits and a slow pace. The word lemur now only refers to the primates living on Madagascar. Lemurs are also known to sing like a whale and move as a doing ballet.

The approximate life span for a female in the wild is about sixteen years, although the oldest known wild female was between 18 and 20 years. Less is known about the male life span, but some of been recorded to living to at least 15 years of age.

For Lemurs, Larger Groups
Mean a Higher Social IQ

Raising Baby Lemurs To Save A Species

The Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina has the largest collection of lemurs in the world outside of Madagascar. View this video to see some of the tiniest lemurs just a few days old.

Raising Cute Baby Lemurs

To Save A Species

The majority of lemurs are diurnal, although the smaller mouse and dwarf lemurs are nocturnal. They are insectivorous primates, composed of a small body, long nose, and very large eyes. Today on Madagascar, there are nearly 60 taxa of lemurs ranging greatly in size from some of the smallest primates to some of the largest primates in the world. Currently the size range is from about 1.1 ounce for Madame's Berthe's mouse lemur to 15 to 20 pounds for the indri and the diademed sifaka which is 41 inches long. The Archaeoindris fontoynonti was known as a sloth lemur and was comparable in size to a male gorilla but became extinct around 350 BC.

Pygmy Mouse Lemur

The pygmy mouse lemur is the second smallest of the mouse lemurs and is reddish brown and creamy white. Due to its small size, it was difficult to locate for over a century and was rediscovered in 1993.

My Temple Of Nature

Indri Lemur

The indri is considered to be the largest of the surviving lemur species. The indri is monogamous and only seeks a new partner after the death of a mate. They are known for their distinctive songs lasting from 45 seconds to more than three minutes.

Two Gray Lemurs
Anthony on Pexel

Lemurs do not have prehensile tails as many other primates do and cannot hang by their tails from trees. Their tales are used as an aid in balancing. Their sense of smell is keen and they also have good vision, even at night. The lemur's thumbs and big toes are opposable while also having an extended claw, or toilet claw, on the second toe of their hind feet which they use for grooming.

Ring-Tailed Lemurs

Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur

These ruffed lemurs are black with white on their limbs, head, and back. The neck has a white mane and their muzzle resembles that of a dog. Both the males and females look the same. Their call is the second loudest in the primate world, second only to the howler monkey. Black-and-white lemurs can grow up to two feet long and weigh about seven to ten pounds. Their lifespan in captivity is about 18 years, but many of them have lived to be twenty years old.

Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur

Just A Lemur Eating Watermelon

Lemur's diets can be highly variable. Fruit makes up the largest part of a lemur's diet, but they also eat leaves, flowers, tree bark, seeds, sap, and insects. The general trends suggest that the smaller species tend to consume primarily fruit and insects, while the larger species consume mostly plant materials. As is common with most primates, a hungry lemur might eat anything edible even though it is not one of their preferred foods.

Just A Lemur Eating Watermelon

Other Sources:

Lemurs of Madagascar

Lemur Basics