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They are more closely related to sea lions than to true seals, have external ears, long flippers and the ability to walk on all fours.
This is all the species of fur seals, but the middle fur seal is the only one found in the northern hemisphere.
Do work with us if you work in tourism of fur seals, we are keen over time to list as many tourism opportunities that are to do with, and to help people find you.
Pinnipeds is the extended seal family. This includes 34 species. Many of these are quite similar, but there are clear families within the clad.
First divide is between seals with external ears and those without.
Earless seals are then divided between northern hemisphere (phosinae) and southern hemisphere (monachinae), while the eared seals are divided between fur seals and sea lions (Otariidae ) and the walrus (only member of Odobenidae).
Earless seals Eared Seals
So Dealing with these families one by one, we will start with the family Moarchinae
This contains the Monarchini genus (which consists of the monks seals), Miroungini (which consists of the Northern and Southern Elephant seal) and finally Lobodontini (which consists of 4 seal species, the Ross seal, Crabeaters seal, and the closely related species the Weddled seal and the Leopard seal)
The other family in earless seals is Phocinae. The bulk of the seals in this group lie in the genus Phocini. Only the Bearded and Hooded seal lie in this group but outside this genus
And lastly Walrus
In many places, these species are relatively easy to find, whether you need to take a boat trip, or merely go for a walk along the right stretch of shore. We are keen to help seal tourism worldwide, do reach out, and we can promote your tourism. You will find a form to fill in at the top of the page, under list your wild place.
Also, there is a plugin on each page, which should show news related to each species.
The world has 8 species of bear. Although an incredibly successful family in their own right, humans have not been good for the various species which make up this family.
Click on a picture to be taken to its page
Below is a family tree showing current understood relation between the bear species
I wrote, yesterday about the fears for the future of the polar bear species, and the problems that global warming...
Polar bears are wild creatures. They roam widely, with some having been tracked to a home range of...
Rhino are unable to sweat, which means that as temperatures increase, both black and white rhino are more and more reliant on finding shade, in order to keep...
A group of polar bears are surviving in south-east Greenland are surviving despite there not being sea ice for most of the year.
Perhaps one of the more interesting announcements from wildlife study in the last decade was the discovery of a wolf living under everyones nose in Africa. It is a little understandable, as it does look quite like a jackal, and certainly different to a European wolf. Having said this, it is still a significant oversight.
It was initially described as the African Wolf back in 1832. Indeed, Aristotle talked of wolves living in Egypt in his time, however, it was not until 2017 when a second modern study was done on it, and it was definitively recognized as a species. The problem is that, despite this huge range there is no idea how many African wolves there are in the wild. Obviously with this huge range, it is not unreasonable to suggest that they are locally extinct in areas – there are a number of subspecies that have been tentatively suggested, however until true assessments are made, this seems more than we need.
It should be noted, that it is not surprising that the African wolf was overlooked for so long, as it has got smaller over its time in Africa, to the extent that it is very hard to tell the difference between tha African golden wolf, and the golden jackal.
There has been little study of this species, and it is unclear exactly how much range that it has. Hopefully, this will happen in time, but it is clear that the big problem is telling the difference between golden jackals and golden wolves.
There are a number of subspecies of the African wolf (quite quick, given it was not redeclared as a species 6 years ago. They are classed as a least concern. While not all sub-species have a clear estimate of the current population, genetic analysis suggests that the historic population was not smaller than 80,000 females.
We are incredibly eager to work with any guides who encounter the African wolf in their work, and list your services here. Please get in touch through the list your wild place option at the top of the page.
Red wolves have varied a bit about whether they should be classed as their own species or a subspecies of the grey wolf, however it has now been settled that they are separate for quite some time.
Size-wise it lies midway between a grey wolf and a coyote. Indeed, despite its serious danger of extinction, it is often missing from the endangered list. It has at various times been suggested to be a cross between the wolf and the coyote, or been a subspecies of the wolf.
It has been listed as critically endangered since 1996 by the IUCN, yet the same species is not listed in the CITES appendices of endangered species.
If or when we write any articles on this subject, they will appear below
To return to the canine family, click here
The Cats form an incredibly successful family. It is true that they are missing from the polar regions, and Australasia, but everywhere that they reached they have been successful, and in many ecosystems they are the undisputed kings
This family split from hte Felid ancestor 10.8 million years ago. There have been some debate as to whether the two species of clouded leopards should be included in Panthera. On the circular mammal tree (which we are using – look in the species watch tab, or click here)
They are generally included in a subgenus Panthera_Neofilis
Bay cat ancestor split 9.4 milion years ago
Caracal Ancestor split 8.5 million years ago
Ocelot Ancestor 2.9 million years ago
Lynx Ancestor 3.2 million years ago
Puma ancestor 4.9 million years ago
Leopard cat Ancestor 5.9 million year ago
Domestic cat Ancestor
Clouded leopards are actually one of the most ancient cat species, however due to their inability to roar or purr, they cannot officially be considered a big cat (roar) or a small cat (purr) due to their definition, which puts them in an odd category. They are most closely related to snow leopards, and are in the same family as the big cats from genetic research. It has recently been confirmed that there are 2 different clouded leopard species, one on the mainland, and the other on the islands (the sunda clouded leopard.
Both species are considered vulnerable. The mainland clouded leopard is thought to number between 3700 and 5580, while the sunda clouded leopard is thought to number around 4500 3800 in Borneo and 730 on Sumatra.
Clouded leopards are found in the forests of South East Asia. Both Poaching and habitat loss threaten their future survival is not easy to see, it makes it is hard for it to be clear what its current range is. However, if you simply compare extinct to all possible remaining habitat, you can see the best possibiltiy is that range has reduced by around 50%
This is a further image of a clouded leopard though taken in a US zoo, which allows an easier time of getting a good view of the head.
The map above shows the former and current range for these two species. As we start to link with places on the ground, we are likely to create separate pages for each of these clouded leopard species. Below is a video of each species of clouded leopard.
We look to work with people on the ground. Do get in touch if you live or work in the area, and can help people see these incredible animals click here
For most classifications, the cougar misses out on being a big cat, as it does not have the vocal structure to roar, as the others do.
It is largely solitary, and is generally a nocturnal or crepuscular cat (that is active at night or in the early morning and late evening). They have been persecuted since the colonization of north America by the Europeans, which has lead to patchy coverage. The Eastern Cougar is extinct, except for a sub-population called the Florida Panther which is isolated from any other Cougars. It is in better state in the west of the USA. In Southern and central America, it is still found in every country. In fact, it holds a classification of being the most widespread mammal to be found in the Western hemisphere.
It is a close relative of the Cheetah, which is believed to have initially evolved in the USA before migrating into Asia and Africa. The only animal which shares the same clade is the jaguarundi is the cougar, though the larger family called a Lineage and does include the cheetah
Bobcat: This cat is found throughout most of the USA (every state except Delaware) and much of Mexico as well as 5 southern states of Canada. Their population is thought to number between 2.3 million and 3.5 million.
The Bobcat is the smallest of the Lynx family of species, but with 2.2 -3.5 million members spread across northern America, it is the most secure wild cat species.
All species are important, often reintroductions have failed because a small unnoticed animal was missed. Over time, we will amass pages for as many species as possible. However, just as important is seeing how species are closely related. As such as well as looking at species from a specific ecosystem or family, we will also include family trees of many of the families on earth. It should be noted, that this is to help you find wildlife you wish to see, so will never link to every species. In either way, these links to these will be placed at the top.
