J.A.M. La ViDa

Winning the cutest bat ever award is the Bumblebee bat, which at its largest measures 1 inch. These tiny mammals hover like hummingbirds and like all bats prefer caves and love feasting on insects. They can easily perch on the tip of your thumb. This tiny bat dwells in Thailand and is considered one of the 12 most endangered species. There are fewer than 200 remaining.

The smallest mammal in the world, this tiny bat weighs less than 2 grams. Its body is about the size of a large bumblebee, hence the common name “bumblebee bat”. Since it was first described in 1974 this tiny mammal has been disturbed by collectors and tourists wanting to see the world’s smallest mammal. Today the main threats are from burning of the forest areas near the limestone caves in which it lives.


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This is not only the rarest, but the strangest parrot in the world. Imagine a rather portly nocturnal bird that never flies, preferring to hike through hilly forest for miles every night. It weighs in as the heaviest parrot in the world at 8 pounds.

The birds live in New Zealand, an island country which had virtually no mammals living on it for millions of years. It was a place inhabited by birds and reptiles. The only types of mammal were two species of bats. The Kakapo did not learn the defense mechanisms to combat or escape mammalian predators. This made the parrot very vulnerable when new animals started showing up.

The arrival of Polynesian peoples thousands of years ago, of Europeans in the 1800's, and ultimately the pets and livestock they brought with them resulted in the massive decline of Kakapo populations from hundreds of thousands to a mere handful of birds.

Once common throughout the three main islands of New Zealand, there are now approximately 62 Kakapo left. These remaining birds have been relocated to six predator free island habitats, where the birds are relatively safe and have been breeding.

The olm is a Europe’s only cave adapted vertebrate, and has numerous adaptations for an underground life. This unusual amphibian is blind, they hunt their prey in the absolute dark and have developed a powerful sensory system of smell, taste, hearing and electrosensitivity. Olms are pale and sightless, although their skin-covered eyes are still light sensitive.

They are an entirely aquatic species that can survive without food for up to 10 years and live to an age of 58 or more. Part of an ancient lineage of amphibians evolving independently for 190 million years, this species is now threatened by pollution and habitat disturbance. A small subpopulation of “black olms” may be a separate species requiring additional protection.

It lives in the subterranean waters of Italy, Croatia and Herzegovenia, where it skeeves out the locals with its strange, human-like skin. Its nickname, in fact, is the “human fish”. Unlike most amphibians, the olm lives in the water for its whole life. Another oddity of the olm: its neotenic (larval) gills.


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The sloth belongs to the edentate family, which also includes anteaters, armadillos, and echidnas. Most edentates are either threatened or endangered species. All sloths have three toes, but “two-toed” sloths only have 2 claws. Sloths often hunt in packs. They can actually move quickly and will slash with their large claws - the slow-moving behavior is to avoid predators like hawks. They actually hang most of their lives. Sloths typically have over 600 species of bacteria, plants and animals living on them at any given time, and will often feed on themselves when they are hungry. (Algae is the main snack.) Famously, these unusual creatures can rotate their heads 270 degrees. Lore has it that sloths adore beer and are able to “hold their liquor” amazingly well.

Up to two thirds of their weight at any given time can be attributed to the contents of their stomachs. The leaves they eat are so difficult to digest that the digestion process can take up to a month. They sleep for as long as the average human teenager because the same leaves also provide very little nutrition.

The highly distinctive aye-aye is the world’s largest nocturnal primate. It lives in spherical nests with a small hole for entry and exit. It has a number of extreme morphological adaptations to its unusual feeding habits, making it one of the most bizarre-looking animals on the planet.

Sharing something in common with bats, aye-ayes are the only primates of the mammal world to rely on echolocation for hunting. The aye-aye has evolved a large and bony middle finger that it uses to tap on wood, listening for the hollow spaces that indicate the presence of wood-boring larvae. The claw at the end of this skeletal appendage then scoops out any tasty morsels it finds.

The solenodon is a mammal found primarily in Cuba and Hispanola. The solenodons diverged from all other mammal groups an incredible 76 million years ago and were, until recently, among the dominant predators of the West Indies. Before European colonisation of Cuba and Hispaniola, the species was one of the dominant predators on the island. As a result it has never evolved any ‘anti-predator’ defences.

This primitive insectivore resembles a large stoutly-built shrew. Sure, it looks cute and manageable enough - sort of like an over-sized hedgehog. Too bad the solenodon injects rattlesnake-like venom through its teeth, the only mammal to do so. Easily annoyed, the solenodon bites at the drop of a banana leaf. Still, being both a carrion feeder and insectivore, it is a vital species in its ecosystem.

A slow, clumsy mover, it is poorly equipped to defend itself. The species was almost wiped out by introduced predators such as dogs, cats and mongooses following European colonisation, and was believed to be extinct until a single individual was captured in 2003. It is in grave danger of extinction.

~Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew~

Elephant shrews are so-named because they have extraordinarily long, flexible trunks. Recent studies indicate that they are in fact distantly related to elephants. The golden-rumped elephant shrew is one of the largest species of elephant shrew. It can be identified by the bright yellow patch of fur on its rump. Unusually for such a small mammal this species is monogamous. It has one of the most restricted ranges of any of the elephant shrews, and is threatened by the destruction and fragmentation of its forest habitat.

~ Echidna ~

The echidna is one of two egg-laying mammals in the world (the other is the famous duck-billed platypus). Though it looks a big hedgehog-like, this spiky creature is shy and non-confrontational. The echidna has a long, moist snout and an even longer tongue which it uses to feast on termites. It has no teeth, so it has to “chew” termites by crushing them between its tongue and mouth cavity.

Recently classified as three separate species, these ancient monotremes are among New Guinea's last surviving indigenous animals. There are actually 4 species of echidna, and along with the platypus, they are the only monotremes. Despite laws designed to protect these species, they are in decline in areas accessible to humans. Echidnas have lost much of their forest habitat to logging, mining and farming, and are regarded as highly prized game animals by local people, who hunt them with specially trained dogs. One species, Attenborough's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni), is known from only a single specimen collected in 1961, and is possibly extinct.

~ Jerboa ~(Euchoreutes naso)

Jerboas are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long tufted tails and very long hindlegs. The long-eared jerboa can be distinguished from other jerboas by its enormous ears, which are about a third larger than its head. Very little is known about this species. Other jerboas are primarily nocturnal, spending the hours of daylight in underground burrows, which they dig themselves. The species is thought to be declining as a result of human disturbance of its habitat.

~ Slender Loris ~

The slender loris has extremely thin arms and legs. Its face is dominated by huge round eyes which give it excellent night vision and enable it to hunt for insects during the night. Populations of this small primate are declining because their forest habitats are being destroyed for logging, agriculture and development. The animals are also hunted for their meat and body parts which are used in traditional folk medicine.

Adapted from EDGE official website , MSN Environment and WebEcoist.