Hi, I'm Jennie. World-traveler, photographer, dancer, model, artist, biologist, and founder of JennieoftheJungle.com. This blog is all about my stories, my experiences, and how I can help you. I hope to provide helpful and fun information for people traveling on a budget, especially to tropical destinations, and offer information to other conservation-minded people who are interested in saving wildlife and its habitat.
Feedback and questions are always welcome. Thanks for reading!
Weird Animals You Didn't Even Know Existed
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After a brief hiatus while traveling without internet in Thailand (blog coming soon!) and then getting my laptop stolen, I am back with a new blog!
Now I believe I know about A LOT of animals - ALLLL the animals, to be exact (or so I like to think)! But I'm humbled and brought back down to Earth when someone tells me about a species that I wasn't aware existed. You can bet I go right to a computer and look it up in order to learn everything I can about it (and pretend I knew about it the whole time).
This blog is dedicated to some of these unusual creatures - and count yourself lucky if you've heard of any of them!
Serow
"I don't even bother looking in the mirror anymore."
("Serow Capricornis sumatraensis" by Melanochromis)
The serow ranges throughout parts of Asia, India, and the Himalayas. They are basically temperamental, solitary, and sometimes fuzzy, goat-antelopes. Both males and females have beards and small horns, which I imagine makes mating/dating a tough game.
Tinder profile: "Hi, my name is Serowphina, my beard is 19 inches long (beard pic sent separately) and I love to pee on things! Swipe right - I'd love to mark you as my territory."
(www.britannica.com)
The serow is endangered, and is often hunted for its meat and body parts, which are used in local medicine. Apparently, it is believed that the broth obtained by boiling a serow head is a remedy for arthritis. So drink up!
You know you wanna....
(http://wattsupwiththat.com)
And lastly, admit you wanted to see the beard pic....
All 19 inches, baby!
(www.jelldragon.com)
Hirola
The world's rarest antelope, the Hirola resides in Africa and is critically endangered. It is often called the Four-Eyed Antelope due to its large preorbital glands.
"Call me four-eyes one more time and I'll cry pheremones on you."
(www.wikipedia.org)
The hirola doesn't receive much media attention, unfortunately, and its long-term future is far from guaranteed.
This might be the only sad, gay hirola left in all the world.
(www.deviantart.com)
A sanctuary has recently been built in Kenya that has been surrounded by predator-proof fencing. Breeding of the hirola there is going well so far.
The saiga antelope is the derpiest antelope in existence, boasting a large humped nose that hangs over its mouth. The nose is flexible and inflatable to help it breathe clean air during dusty summers and warm air during cold winters.
"You wish you had a giant sea cucumber on your face, too. Derp."
(www.wikipedia.org)
The saiga lives in Russia, Mongolia, and some more places around that area, and is critically endangered as well.
"If only my nose wasn't in such high demand!"
(www.zmescience.com)
If you've ever watched Star Wars, then you've seen a saiga. Lucky you!
"I wasn't always this mean. I was born in the savannah-ghetto and am a recovering grass addict."
(www.photobucket.com)
Threats to the saiga include over-hunting, demand for the horn (again with the Chinese medicine thing), habitat loss, severe winters and summer droughts. Hopefully this nose will prevail and the saiga will live long and prosper (err...wait...).
Pudu
The pudu is the world's smallest deer, and quite possibly the cutest thing, ever. Destined to replace your ugly dogs and cats, the pudu resides in South America.
"Everything on me is tiny!"
(http://www.zootierliste.de/)
There's the regular pudu, and then there's the EVEN SMALLER pudu!
Yer killin' me, homes!
(www.wikipedia.org)
Pudus are solitary animals and only pair up to mate. And, get this, the pudu barks when in fear, and bristles its fur and shivers when angered. There is absolutely nothing I'd like to see more than a tiny, barking, shivering mini-deer!
Seriously!
(www.phation.deviantart.com)
Pudus mark there territories with piles of pudu-poo (aka poo-doo) around the perimeters. That's probably the only thing that's not cute about them (and even that is debatable).
(www.etsy.com)
Jerboa
It's a mouse! It's a rat! It's a pig! It's...Dumbo?? This can only describe the jerboa, a special pig-mouse-elephant hybrid in the rodent family.
Sticking with our Star Wars theme...
(www.drawing365.tumblr.com)
But seriously, these guys are oddly cute. Who can resist a giant pair of fuzzy pig-mouse-elephant ears?
"I heard that."
(www.pinterest.com)
Jerboas are big-time leapers, which live in North Africa and Asia, and have hind limbs that are at least four times as long as their forelimbs along with long tails that add to their balance. And without further ado, I present this video of jerboic cuteness. Though it does not look super-healthy, this pygmy jerboa is certainly adorable. Hopefully it was a rescued jerboa and is still alive somewhere in the desert today, jumping happily after an unsuspecting dung-beetle...
Banded Linsang
What do you get when you cross a giraffe, a cat, and something with really large sexual anatomy? The Banded Linsang!
"Hey, my eyes are up here."
(www.pinterest.com)
This animal spends most of its time in trees in the forests of Borneo, Thailand, Malaysia, and Sumatra, and is part of the civet family. A civet is a sorta-kinda cat that is a much fuzzier, less long-necked, angrier version of the Linsang.
"%^#* you!"
(www.tripadvisor.com)
In fact, the most expensive coffee in the world is produced by the civet cat. Deep in the forests of Asia, the civet cat forages for juicy ripe luwak coffee beans and eats them. As they move through the digestive tract of the cat, they undergo chemical changes and fermentation. The bean itself is not digested and comes out in the cat's poop. Some smart people decided to process the bean from the poop and sell the resulting coffee. It has been described as having an "elusive musky smoothness" imparted by the cat's anal glands. Excellent.
Now that's something I'd spend $50 a cup on!
(www.dailycoffeenews.com)
If you pick up a gram of this "special" coffee, you will pay upwards of $300. Since I know you're all ready to fly out the door to make this purchase, just be sure the coffee comes from a sustainable source. Otherwise you might not only be supporting disgusting coffee, you might be supporting civet cruelty (factory farms) as well.
"So much poop, so little time."
(www.beverageelite.com)
I pride myself on styling this blog after cracked.com. If you haven't visited them yet, prepare to laugh and check it out. Or visit my previous cracked.com-like owl blog here.
Loved reading about these amazing animals. Who knew? My favorite is the Hirola. I couldn't stop staring at that face. Just amazing. There is a whole wide world out there. Nice blog, Sweetie.
If you've never been to Antelope Island State Park in Syracuse, Utah, then you are missing out on a wonderful wildlife and nature viewing experience. Antelope Island is a preserve made up of a desert shrub and grassland island surrounded by the scenic Great Salt Lake. Standing on the shore of the Great Salt Lake is like standing on the coast of an ocean. Tiny islands dot the view and the lake goes on as far as the eye can see. Lone Pronghorn On the island you can see all kinds of wildlife, including pronghorn, bighorn sheep, American bison, porcupines, badgers, coyotes, bobcats, owls, and millions of waterfowl. The Great Salt Lake is an important rest and nesting stop for birds migrating through the Western United States. Looking to the North from the rocky cliffs at my favorite sunset spot This all adds up to a beautiful and scenic day at the "beach". Although camping is allowed at a campground on the island so you can extend your stay. The entran
There is a motion on the 2020 Colorado ballot to allow the reintroduction of gray wolves to the state of Colorado. This is an exciting opportunity for animal lovers and conservationists alike. And though the subject is a much-debated one, here is my reasoning for voting for this initiative... The Science: In a perfectly balanced world, all ecosystems are self-sustainable. This means that vegetation is lush and abundant, providing food and shelter for prey and other animals alike, while top predators keep prey animals (herbivores) in check, so that they don't decimate the vegetation. It's a perfect circle, and can naturally remain in balance until something comes along and upsets part of it. For example, humans killing off all of the top predators. Wolves, mountain lions and grizzly bears are the top predators of Colorado (although wolves and grizzlies have been extirpated by hunters since the 1950's). They hunt prey that are larger than themselves, such as elk and moo
Loved reading about these amazing animals. Who knew? My favorite is the Hirola. I couldn't stop staring at that face. Just amazing. There is a whole wide world out there. Nice blog, Sweetie.
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