Hindu deity, Vishnu is known for having 1000 names. Animal kingdom has some animals who take pride in having, if not 1000, multiple names.
Aardvark, Africa's ant-eater characterized by its long snout and spade like claws used for digging out burrows quickly and use them as a resting place and also as a place for feasting on ants and termites. Its etymology from Afrikaans suggests that its name means 'earth pig' giving.This strange looking creature has few other names like -
* Earth hog.
* Ant bear.
* Cape anteater.
Wolverines thriving in the cold boreal northern forests have appearance like a bear but boasting a longer tail.Their appearance and a trait of emitting foul smell has given many other names like-
* Skunk bear.
* Nasty cat.
Ocelot, the majestic small wild cat inhabiting the rain forests and swamps of tropical America is identified by its size.Due to its much similar appearance to a leopard it is called as-
* Painted leopard.
* Dwarf leopard.
Now comes the record holder for boasting 40 names in English language alone, more than any other animal in the animal kingdom. It is actually the mountain lion, one of the highest jumpers of the animal kingdom. To name a few -
* Puma.
* Cougar.
* Catamount.
* Mountain screamer.
* Mountain devil.
* Panther etc.
The mountain lion, a wild cat only of the Western hemisphere (both the Americas), is smaller than lions and tigers but still ferocious predator. Also a multi-habitat animal known to inhabit varieties of habitats like forests (rain forests, colder forests etc.), deserts, canyon crevices, grasslands. In short, it prefers where there is undergrowth bush but avoids agricultural areas and others.
Quite a smart animal, to attract so many names, isn't it?
Aardvark, Africa's ant-eater characterized by its long snout and spade like claws used for digging out burrows quickly and use them as a resting place and also as a place for feasting on ants and termites. Its etymology from Afrikaans suggests that its name means 'earth pig' giving.This strange looking creature has few other names like -
* Earth hog.
* Ant bear.
* Cape anteater.
Wolverines thriving in the cold boreal northern forests have appearance like a bear but boasting a longer tail.Their appearance and a trait of emitting foul smell has given many other names like-
* Skunk bear.
* Nasty cat.
Ocelot, the majestic small wild cat inhabiting the rain forests and swamps of tropical America is identified by its size.Due to its much similar appearance to a leopard it is called as-
* Painted leopard.
* Dwarf leopard.
Now comes the record holder for boasting 40 names in English language alone, more than any other animal in the animal kingdom. It is actually the mountain lion, one of the highest jumpers of the animal kingdom. To name a few -
* Puma.
* Cougar.
* Catamount.
* Mountain screamer.
* Mountain devil.
* Panther etc.
 |
| Image courtesy of [by anankkml] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Quite a smart animal, to attract so many names, isn't it?
No comments:
Post a Comment