You can learn a lot about wildlife like cheetahs, lemurs, seals,
sea lions, birds of prey, and reptiles by viewing ANIMAL
CRACKERS, a wildlife documentary that blends wildlife facts
with fantasy from the animals' perspective to make learning about
animals and wildlife fun. Unfortunately, I was not able to include
all of the information that the wildlife experts and animal keepers
shared with me in the documentary. Here are some of the highlights
that I could not include within the narrative and time constraints of
ANIMAL CRACKERS, as well as some of the information that is featured
in animal narrative film/ wildlife documentary, ANIMAL CRACKERS. The
links lead to photos of the wildlife including cheetahs, lemurs,
seals, sea lions, birds of prey, and reptiles as well as to external
websites belonging to the wildlife organizations that assist in the
survival of these incredible animals. -Writer/ Director, K. Appel
please note: many of the photos link to quicktime files that are dial up friendly under 1MB each and should take only a 1-2 minutes to download
Fear is good, at least it is for wild animals. When an animal becomes too accustomed to people animal experts call them habituated. Habituation may lead to dangerous encounters with humans when a wild animal forgets to be apprehensive of human interaction.
If you have ever had puppies or kittens, or if you live on a farm, you may know that it is very important to ensure that the first living creature an animal sees is the same species. If an animal sees a human when it first opens its eyes, it may think that it too is a human and never learn how to behave properly in the animal kingdom. Animal experts called these animals imprinted. Many of the animals featured in ANIMAL CRACKERS have become physically or psychologically injured as the result of habituation or imprinting.
Are you afraid of snakes? Did you know that the only poisonous snake in the Greater Bay Area is the rattlesnake or "diamond back"? Other common snakes in this area include gopher snakes and king snakes, neither of which are poisonous.
Did you know that wild animals crash at each other's pads? California Tiger Salamanders use the California Ground Squirrels' burrows to hibernate during the summer months. California Tiger Salamanders are a species of "special concern" which is a listing with the Dept. of Fish & Game used to identify animals with dwindling numbers in the wild.
Lemurs like to stay put in one area. Ringtail lemurs can have territories of up to 60 acres in the wild. Black and White Ruff Lemurs also like to stake their claim and will defend their turf from others who are not members of their troop. You can see both ringtail and ruff lemurs by visiting Safari West.
The biggest population of wild cheetahs exists in Namibia, an African nation, where some 2000-3000 wild cheetahs roam. This population represents roughly 20% of the wild population. Cheetahs often die due to genetic defects which can occur when there is not enough diversity in a population.
If you catch a reptile (like a lizard, snake, salamander, or tortoise) in the wild and decide to keep it for a few weeks, you may end up killing it even if you re-release it into the wild. Once removed from the wild, the animal's resistance to disease becomes attenuated and it could lose its territory and mate. Imagine what would happen to your home and family, if you disappeared for a few months or years.
Many pet reptiles die from malnutrition. If you have a tortoise you should feed it dark green vegetables like kale or romaine lettuce not ice berg lettuce, which barely has any nutrients at all.
Do not feed bread to ducks. It expands in a storage area between their throat and their stomachs called a "crop", preventing food to pass through and eventually leads to starvation.
Sea lions can eat up to 10% of their body weight at a time, probably because they are not very picky eaters. In fact, they are opportunistic feeders, meaning that when opportunity knocks, they have their mouths wide open. Their diet includes herring, squid, hack fish, and other sea food. Find out more about sea lions and other marine mammals by visiting The Marine Mammal Center, Pier 39 and Ano Nuevo.
You know how difficult it is to find your car at the parking lot in a mall. Well, try finding your offspring on a beach full of look-a-like pups after spending hours, possibly days foraging at sea. Sea lions and seals use vocalization to help them identify their pups because they will rarely waste their hunting skills on another's pup. *[Movie trivia: Did you know that the key sound used to create the shrill screech of the cloaked villains in THE LORD OF THE RINGS is the cry of an elephant seal pup? You can hear the real unadulterated sound by listening to the quicktime clip.]
By contrast, Ringtail lemurs can live in troops with up to 30 members with the females raising the young in a communal manner. Lemurs are anything but shy. Although very endangered in the wild, these outgoing animals breed well in captivity. In their native Madagascar, they breed in April and give birth in August.
Unlike the lemurs, cheetahs do not breed well in captivity. They get stressed out very easily which often leads to early death. You can find out more about cheetahs at the CCF (Cheetah Conservation Fund) website.
Some think that mountain lions and pumas may be the closest living relative to the cheetah.
In the wild, male cheetahs live in groups called coalitions and females lead solitary lives. In fact, a female will not go into oestrous if she resides with another female. Meet two cheetah sisters who may not be in heat, but they are definitely hot stuff in "Diva Cats", a chapter of ANIMAL CRACKERS.
Female raptors are bigger than their male counterparts because they need to be able to hunt for food for themselves and their offspring. Reverend Burrow Owl has developed little-man's complex, that is why he is mad as heck in "The Mews at 11", one of the chapters of ANIMAL CRACKERS.
Today it is a gas-guzzling SUV, but 500 years ago royalty used cheetahs as status symbols. They also used the cheetahs for a sport called "coursing" during which cheetahs were blindfolded, transported on the back of a cart, and then released to hunt down game like antelope. A cup of the prey's blood became the cheetah's only reward.
In common with cheetahs, grey foxes do not have retractable claws. They use their claws to help them climb trees in search of their next meal. They, like the river otters, have great climbing skills. You can learn more about the river otters at Coyote Point Museum in "The Quest", one of the chapters of ANIMAL CRACKERS.
Sea lions and seals often swim in groups called "rafts". They can sleep in the water and often "jug-handle", a term used to describe when they sleep with their two flippers up together. Find out more about these outgoing pinnipeds in "Ocean Talk" a chapter in ANIMAL CRACKERS.
Everyone knows that dogs love to take walks and cats love to play inside and outdoors, but did you know that wild animals living in captivity also enjoy enrichments as part of their daily routines? Enrichments provide mental and physical stimulation for animals. An enrichment could be as simple as hanging food from an obstacle or putting it into a box so that an animal has to hunt for its food ( (as the Lindsay Wildlife Museum staff does with the coyote), taking the animal on nature walks (as the cheetah keepers do at Safari West Wildlife Preserve), or putting different scented items into their enclosure (as the Lindsay Museum staff does with the California Ground Squirrel). Enrichments help prevent unhealthy behavior.
Unlike owls, most other raptors like falcons and hawks, puff out their feathers when they feel content. Owl Sharptoes feels anything but content in "The Mews at 11", one of the chapters of ANIMAL CRACKERS.
If you would like to find out more about ANIMAL CRACKERS, you may email us. Spam and junk email will not be tolerated.
c.2003 KEA Productions