Hobbies And Interests
Volcano Rabbits
The volcano rabbit is a small, nocturnal rabbit that tends to live in groups of two to five animals. The rabbit has, at least until the 1900s lived exclusively on the slopes of several volcanoes and nearby ridges in the Valley of Mexico near Mexico City.
These are some of the last places that Zacaton grass, the rabbit's principle diet, still grows; the previous extensive stretches of Zacaton grass being damaged by grazing, harvesting of the grass for thatch manufacture and urban development.
The Giant Rat of Mount Bosavi
In 2009, an expedition and film crew made their way into the crater of Mount Bosavi, a large volcano in the Philippines. Bosavi has an extremely large crater and the jungle within it is home to several new species of which the rat is just one. Measuring 82 centimeters from nose to tail, the species has yet to be formally named but is now one of the largest rat species in the world.
Harvester Shrimp
NW Rota-1 is an underwater volcano near Guam that is consistently very active, generating a new cone 131 feet high and 984 feet wide across a period of extreme activity from 2006 to 2009. Despite the inhospitable conditions, the volcano's slopes are home to two previously undiscovered species of shrimp. The first of these, known as Loihi has adapted and uses the bacterial filaments that grow on the volcano's slopes as food; it has developed tiny pruning claws that act like shears, which are used to clip the filaments free.
Hunter Shrimp
The second shrimp species discovered in the area also grazes, but changes when it reaches adulthood. At that point its front claws grow and it takes on the role of a predator. However, due to the unique nature of its environment, the hunter shrimp's favorite preys are the dying animals that rain down on the volcano's slopes, having been caught up in its activity.