Category: Mammals
Despite its larger than life name, the royal antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus) is the smallest of all antelopes. Growing up to only 10″ tall and weighing about 6 pounds, they are about as big as a rabbit. Living in the dense, moist undergrowth of forests in West Africa, they are nocturnal, highly alert, and extremely shy – which can make observations of its behavior difficult. Their main strategy for avoiding predators is blending in, hiding, and failing that, zipping away through the underbrush!
The age-defying Brandt’s bat
In most mammals, larger size correlates with longer lifespan, but that is not the case with the Brandt’s bat, who can live up to 41 years and weigh less than 0.28 ounces! These bats resemble larger, longer-lived mammals in that they mature slowly and have fewer offspring – but the size difference is dramatic: a female Bonobo lives for approximately 40 years as well, but she outweighs the Brandt’s bat by a factor of 3,771! Oddly enough, it is suspected that the mutated gene that causes the bat’s dwarfish size is the same one that leads to its long lifespan. Studying animals with unusual longevity like the Brandt’s bat does more than just satisfy our curiosity, it could lead to longer, healthier lifespans for humans and other animals!
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Discover Animals is a web-based educational resource offered by the NAIA
