The Wildlife Fact Calendar!

What endangered species falls in your birthday month? Check out our wildlife calendar below to learn about 12 of the more uncommon creatures that are found on our earth!

January

Jacana- an aquatic bird that has oversized, elongated toes, and toenails that enable it to spread its weight on floating and submerged water plants.

February

Fossa- endemic to Madagascar and resembling a medium-sized feline, the elusive Fossa is the island’s top predator.

March

Margay- a medium-sized jungle cat of Central and South America that is known to hunt birds and monkeys in the trees.

April

Aye-Aye- the largest nocturnal primate found in Madagascar, the aye-aye has rodentlike incisors that perpetually grow, batlike ears to echo locate its prey, an extra thin third finger with a ball and socket for swiveling, a fourth extralong finger for pulling out the food from inside the trees, and a sixth digit for gripping!

May

Mayfly- an aquatic winged insect that evolved over 300 million years ago! It is used as an indicator of the health of the freshwater ecosystems. There are over 3,000 species worldwide.

June

Jabiru- a stork found in Mexico to Argentina and is the tallest flying bird in the world [standing about 4.3’-4.9’ (1.3m-1.5m)].

July

Jellyfish- an oceanic creature that has been in our waters for over 500 million years! It is an invertebrate and has no eyes, brain, or heart and is extremely poisonous! Its main diet consists of small marine plants called phytoplankton, fish eggs, and fish larvae.

August

Alpaca- resembling the llama and found in the high altitudes of the South American Andes, the alpaca, is a version of the wild guanaco and vicuna domesticated over 6000 years ago. There are two types of alpacas, and they are raised for their wool.

September

Sea Slug- this oceanic, poisonous invertebrate is found in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. It helps us know more about the health of the marine ecosystems. It is also studied extensively in neurobiological and artificial intelligence (AI) research.

October

Olm- a salamander known for its unusual appearance and its adaptation to life in total darkness underground. Since it lives underground and has no eyes, it finds food by using its sense of touch, smell, and electro-sensitivity.

November

Nutria- a large, semi-aquatic South American rodent with webbed hind feet. Due to its destructive burrowing and feeding habits, it is considered an invasive species.

December

Dovekie- a black and white bird found in the Northern Hemisphere. It flies straight with whirring wing beats because the wings are short. Considered an efficient swimmer, it mainly thrives on zooplanktons that include microscopic ocean animals such as krill and sea snails.

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Photo Credits:

January	Jacana	animals.sandiegozoo.org
February	Fossa	pixabay
March	Margay	nhpbs.org/Malene Thyssen
April	Aye-aye	amnh.org/D. Finnin/Joseph Wolf
May	Mayfly	nwf.org
June	Jabiru	collett-trust.org
July	Jellyfish	pixabay
August	Alpaca	pixabay
September	Sea Slug	pixabay
October	Olm	en.wikipedia.org
November	Nutria	dnr.maryland.gov/Christian Fisher
December	Dovekie	allaboutbirds.org

#jacana #fossa #margay #ayeaye #mayfly #jabiru #jellyfish #alpaca #seaslug #olm #nutria #dovekie