Monarch Butterfly

The beautiful monarch butterfly are fascinating creatures. Each year embarking on journeys of migration anywhere from 1,200 to 2,800 miles, they are truly an amazing creation. They travel to the mountainous regions of Mexico from the United States and Canada to avoid the cold weather that comes. When in Mexico the butterflies hibernate and undergo metamorphism, earning the name Danaus plexippus by scientists. But there is more to the process of a monarch butterfly than what meets the eye. In fact, each year there are four generations and four cycles that the butterflies undergo.

The process begins in February and March, where the last generation of butterflies come out of hibernation and find a mate. The couples then fly back north to lay their eggs and reproduce. We will call this the honeymoon phase. 

Next the eggs are laid on to milkweed plants and hatch into baby caterpillars. 

This first generation will eat milkweed until it grows large enough to undergo metamorphosis.  

This process of metamorphosis, called chrysalis

takes 10 days and while it looks like little is occurring, the caterpillar is undergoing amazing transformation. Out comes the beautiful monarch butterfly that now has a short time of 2 to 6 weeks to live and party on flower nectar. They lay eggs for the next generation and go to butterfly heaven. RIP.

The next generation is then born, number 2 in the months May and June. They grow up and party and produce generation 3 in the months of July and August. Finally the last generation is born in September and October, but they are special. 

This fourth generation migrates south to Mexico and do not die as quickly. The magic of Mexico empowers them to live up to 8 months instead of the normal 2 to 6 weeks. They then fly all the way back to the north to restart the process. Amazing. 

Now as as cool as these creatures are they are endangered. The climate change has started to kill the butterflies that get stuck in the cold or the heat causes them to migrate further north where winter is harsher and sooner. These deadly cycle seems to be continuing and their population withers. We as humans can lower our use of fossil fuels and try and help the condition of global warming. Donate to the WWF if you feel moved and check out this awesome website for more information on butterflies. 

This week we are discussing the adorable creature called the red panda! Now some of you may say "What is a red panda?" While others will exclaim "OH MY GOODNESS RED PANDAS ARE THE BEST!!!!1!!1" Well my friends, I will inform you about the wonders of the red panda as well as the reasons to stop being so uncontrollably excited about them.

As seen above, the red panda vaguely resembles what most people think of when they hear the word "panda." By vaguely I mean they both have colored fur and ears. The giant panda species, as we all know and love, weighs about 250 lbs. Our lovely counterpart, the red panda, weighs 20 lbs. I'd say they are most definitely related somewhere along the tree of life.  

So now that we know we which panda we are talking about, we can learn some more things about it. According to National Geographic the red panda lives in the same area as the giant panda, but in a wider range. Living in the mountainous regions of Nepal and Burma, these little pandas love to chill in trees. Their diet consists of bamboo, but unlike their stupid giant counterparts, their diet consists of other foods as well. Fruits, acorns, roots, and eggs, red pandas know how to eat. 

As cute as the little creatures may be, they do have some downsides. First, when it comes to mating, they have a pretty bad family environment. Most red pandas are shy except during mating season and live a sad and lonely life of tree sleeping and eating. But once mating season hits love finds its way. Females typically have 1 to 4 offspring which go on to stay in their nest for 90 days. During this time the father panda ignores his mate and children and doesn't pay welfare. What a great guy. After the 90 days the baby pandas get their college degree and go into the world of tree sleeping and eating. The wonderful life. 

Besides the interesting habits of the red panda, they also face endangerment. Caused mainly by deforestation and the spread of agriculture, the red panda faces the same fate as their big twice removed cousins. Organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund  are doing the best they can, but the forest isn't going to grow back from being destroyed. The best advice I can give is to donate and inform, and pray for the little jerks. Because they are too cute to die off. 

Mountain Gorillas

This week we shall learn about the might Mountain Gorilla! 

Perspective 

The gorilla is fierce, powerful, and strong. Living at elevations from 8,000 to 13,000 ft gorillas are intense beasts. Weighing over 400 pounds, gorillas are not to be messed with.
Gorillas also have thick fur allowing them to live through sub-zero temperatures. However, as pesky humans slowly take the mountain gorilla's habitat they are forced father up the mountain, where it is colder and colder. Even the manliest of gorillas can't sustain through the deadly conditions the higher you go.

To give a perspective of the current gorilla population I'll give some comparisons and statistics. Discovered in 1902, gorillas would go on to endure wars, disease, and poaching. In fact it was thought they would surely be extinct by the end of the 20th century. In 1989 the population would grow dangerously low, to 620 gorillas. To compare, here is an image of about 600 people.

This may look like a lot, but realize that average high school in America has 752 students.
Now although the gorilla population was low, it began to rise again and is currently at 786 gorillas today.

To elaborate deeper on why gorillas are threatened and going extinct its because of three main reasons: war, disease, and poaching. In 1990 there was a war in the country of Rwanda, where most gorillas are found. This war sent waves of refugees into the mountainous areas. The refugees would go on to destroy gorilla habitats as well as bring dangerous diseases.These dangerous diseases would go on to kill hundreds of gorillas. Along with the disease and habitat loss, refugees would set up traps for food, but catch gorillas instead. This form of accidental poaching is still just as serious. Through all this the gorillas have dwindled.

Therefore, the next time you are watching Tarzan or see Gorilla Grodd in a Flash comic, think of the actual gorillas in the wild. We need to think about the struggles these animals face as well as aim to help them. World Wildlife Organization is doing its best to help as always, but we should help too. Donate money, spread awareness, and possibly even go over to countries like Rwanda and help with the communities there! Till next time.... beat your chest like a gorilla.