The red deer is the fourth-largest deer species. It is a ruminant, eating its food in two stages and having an even number of toes on each hoof, like camels, goats and cattle. Subtle differences in appearance are noted between the various subspecies of red deer, primarily in size and antlers, Female red deer are much smaller than the males.
During the autumn, all red deer subspecies grow thicker coats of hair, which helps to insulate them during the winter. Autumn is also when some of the stags grow their neck manes.The autumn/winter coat of most subspecies are most distinct.
By the time summer begins, the heavy winter coat has been shed; the animals are known to rub against trees and other objects to help remove hair from their bodies. Red deer have different colouration based on the seasons and types of habitats, with grey or lighter colouration prevalent in the winter and more reddish and darker coat colouration in the summer.
Male red deer retain their antlers for more than half the year, and are less gregarious and less likely to group with other males when they have antlers. The antlers provide self-defence.Once the antlers are shed, stags tend to form bachelor groups which allow them to cooperatively work together. Herds tend to have one or more members watching for potential danger, while the remaining members eat and rest.
Red deer
Arctic char is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to arctic, subarctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. It breeds in fresh water, and populations can be either landlocked or anadromous, migrating to the sea.
The fish is highly variable in colour, depending on the time of year and the environmental conditions of the lake where it lives.
The colour is between light pink and deep red, and the taste is like something between trout and salmon.
The char diet varies with the seasons. During late spring and summer, they feed on insects found on the water's surface, salmon eggs, snails and other smaller crustaceans found on the lake bottom, and smaller fish up to a third of the char's size. During the autumn and winter months the Char feeds on zoo plankton and freshwater shrimps that are suspended in the lake and also occasionally feeds on smaller fish.
Most males set up and guard territories and often spawn with several females. The female constructs the nest, or redd. A female anadromous char usually deposits from 3,000 to 5,000 eggs. Char do not die after spawning like Pacific salmon and often spawn several times throughout their lives, typically every second or third year. Young char emerge from the gravel in spring and stay in the river from 5 to 7 months or until they are about 6–8 in (15–20 cm) in length
Artic char
A large, crow-sized falcon has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache". As is typical of bird-eating raptors, females being considerably larger than males.The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 322 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop (high speed dive), making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a National Geographic TV programme, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is 389 km/h (242 mph).
While its diet consists almost exclusively of medium-sized birds, the peregrine will occasionally hunt small mammals, small reptiles, or even insects. Reaching sexual maturity at one year, it mates for life and nests in a scrape, normally on cliff edges or, in recent times, on tall human-made structures.The peregrine falcon became an endangered species in many areas.
The peregrine falcon lives mostly along mountain ranges, river valleys, coastlines, and increasingly in cities.
The peregrine falcon reaches faster speeds than any other animal on the planet when performing the stoop,[7] which involves soaring to a great height and then diving steeply at speeds of over 320 km/h (200 mph), hitting one wing of its prey so as not to harm itself on impac
Peregrine falcon
The golden eagle is one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and massive, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey (mainly hares, rabbits, marmots and other ground squirrels).
Golden eagles seem to prefer to build their nests on cliffs where they are available. Nests are generally located at around half of the maximum elevation of the surrounding land. Both heavy rain and excessive heat can potentially kill nestlings, so golden eagles often place their nests to suit the local climate
Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2 (77 sq mi). They build large nests in high places (mainly cliffs) to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Females lay up to four eggs, and then incubate them for six weeks. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months.
Golden eagle
Osprey
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ANIMAL KINGDOM
The osprey sometimes known as the sea hawk, fish eagle, river hawk or fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than 60 cm (24 in) in length and 180 cm (71 in) across the wings. It is brown on the upperparts and predominantly greyish on the head and underparts.
The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, although in South America it occurs only as a non-breeding migrant.
As its other common name suggests, the osprey's diet consists almost exclusively of fish. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey. As a result of these unique characteristics, it has been given its own taxonomic genus, Pandion and family, Pandionidae. Four subspecies are usually recognized, one of which has recently been given full species status (see below). Despite its propensity to nest near water, the osprey is not classed as a sea-eagle.
Red squirrel
This photo shows the red squirrel, native to the woodlands of the Lake District and one of the few remaining areas of the country where this animal can still be found in the wild. Red squirrels are endangered species Reds are smaller and more timid than greys and appear to be being out-competed by their larger cousins.
Although the grey squirrels are increasing their populations in South Cumbria, and to a lesser extent North Cumbria, there are still large numbers of red squirrels within northern areas of the National Park. When faced with competition from grey squirrels the reds survive best in large blocks of coniferous woodland. They need a consistent and diverse food supply consisting of tree seeds, nuts, berries, cones, buds, shoots, flowers, lichen, fungi and occasionally insects. The autumn and winter seed harvest is important for surviving the winter and for breeding successfully the following year. Squirrels do not hibernate, they need to eat all year round to survive. Between April and August the natural food supplies of a red squirrel are at their lowest, consequently as many as 5 out of 6 young red squirrels may die in their first year.
A red squirrel may be 180-240mm long with a tail of up to 175mm. They use their tails to keep warm in their nests during winter, to aid their balance and for communication. They are active during the daytime and make their nests, or dreys, of twigs in a tree fork or a hollow.
Although the red squirrel is a cute fluffy animal, the reality is that squirrels are rodents who can get vicious!