There are only 12 porpoises left on earth. Seeing her photo, people said goodbye ahead of schedule

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CALIFORNIA pros and cons

A new pattern for Russia of smooth-haired (and not only) guinea pigs, the California Point (Siamese) has become very popular due to the unusualness and great attractiveness of guinea pigs, similar to the California rabbit or Siamese cat.
In pigs with this pattern, the skin color on the ears, paws, nose and fur around the nose becomes black, brown or purple, different from the main coat color. The dark areas are called “points”. Moreover, this pattern does not appear immediately from the beginning of the birth of animals. At first, the babies are no different from their relatives and are born with pink ears, feet and nose. Then, within a few days after birth (3-5, sometimes up to 30 with chocolate or lilac points), the pattern begins to appear and “paint” dark. The color of the fur around the nose appears even later, after 30-160 days. The brightness of the pattern depends on the genetics of the pig and the temperature at which the pig is kept. At lower temperatures (at 16-20 degrees), the pattern appears more clearly and will be much darker than that of pigs kept in a dry, hot climate. For example: birth of a California Point pig 1 day:

California Point Day 5:

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California Guinea Pig

The Californian (or California) breed is one of the more recently developed guinea pig breeds that has not yet gained recognition.

We even managed to find a breed standard on the foreign Internet, which means that work is actively underway in some countries.

California guinea pigs have a characteristic color - solid with dark pigment on the nose, ears and feet and dark “glasses” around the eyes.

The solid color of Californian pigs can vary in color - white, cream, buff, saffron, gold and red.

Californian guinea pigs are very similar to Himalayan guinea pigs. They are the same smooth-haired, with dark pigment. , but with one significant difference - they have dark eyes, while Himalayan pigs have red eyes.

Unlike Himalayan guinea pigs, California points can be not only black or chocolate, but also purple and beige. Also, when combining the Himalayan genes c(h)c(h) and the Californian gene, the pig phenotypically looks like the Himalayan, but with less pronounced points.

There is an opinion that the main difference between Californian guinea pigs and Himalayan guinea pigs is their dark eyes (the latter have red ones), but in fact, Californian guinea pigs may well have red eyes.

The difference between Himalayan pigs and California pigs is in the genes. Himalayans are produced by combining two lightening genes c(h)c(h), which must be received from both parents. California is a dominant gene that can be applied to any color.

Interesting facts about the rodent:

1. Guinea pigs were domesticated in the 5th millennium BC. e. Andean tribes of South America (today Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) in order to eat rodent meat. During archaeological excavations in Peru and Ecuador, statues of guinea pigs were found dating back to 500 BC. e. before 500 AD e. They were worshiped by the Mochica people. Nowadays, in South America, guinea pigs continue to be eaten (in Peru, up to 65 million animals are used for this purpose per year). Guinea pig meat is similar in taste and nutritional value to rabbit and chicken meat, and is considered dietary.
2. Selection work to develop guinea pig breeds lasted from 1200 to 1532. And during the period of the Great Geographical Discoveries, traders from Spain, Holland and England brought pigs to Europe, where they gained popularity as pets at royal courts (for example, Queen Elizabeth I of England).

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Appearance

The Californian guinea pig has an appearance that is easy to recognize:

• massive build;
• wide shoulders;
• dense, slightly rounded body;
• heavy and large head;

• thick nose with a hump;
• bright, slightly protruding eyes, the color of which varies depending on the color;
• elongated, rounded ears.

The average weight of a female is less than 1 kilogram, the weight of a male is greater - 1.5 kilograms. The guinea pig's paws are short, the front ones have 3 fingers, and the back ones have 4.

Fur color

Coloring in guinea pigs lasts 8–12 weeks from birth and depends on the ambient temperature: in the cold the color of the fur appears bright, and in the warm it becomes pale. Due to the fact that the color gene is dominant, there are no carriers of the Californian gene. Either the Californian breed is born or they are carriers of an unwanted color.

Among the variety of fur colors, this breed has several main ones:

• blue;
• cream and shade (black-cream);
• red-black;
• chocolate and shades (light and dark);
• lilac;
• buffalo.

Problems of conservation in nature, life expectancy of porpoises

Many porpoises live in waters that are intensively used by humans, and many types of human activities have a very adverse effect on these animals. For example, finless porpoise habitat in the South China Sea has been severely degraded or lost permanently due to land reclamation, dredging, and coastal pollution. Off the coast of northern Japan, about 40 thousand white-winged porpoises are killed every year for meat, which poses a great threat to the stability of the population.

Noise from numerous vessels and other anthropogenic sounds reduce the quantity and quality of habitat suitable for the harbor porpoise. Studies have shown that the density of these animals decreased sharply with the appearance of such sounds.

But the greatest threat comes from the accidental bycatch of these cetaceans in marine nets. All species of the family are victims of commercial fishing. No one can explain why porpoises, which have a highly developed echolocation system, get caught in nets. Most often, they are suspended in gill nets, which are designed for fish living in the water column or near the bottom. Porpoises either do not notice the nets, or consider them not dangerous, or get entangled in them due to errors in orientation. The result is sad: every year a huge number of these animals die in nets.

Scientists and fishermen are trying to solve the problem of porpoise bycatch. One solution is the use of high-frequency sound scarers, called “pingers,” which fishermen hang on their nets to warn animals of impending danger.

In their natural habitat, porpoises live on average 12-17 years. They are rarely kept in zoos and aquariums, since they tolerate captivity very poorly, and if they do not die immediately, they live no more than 2-3 years.

Price

The Californian guinea pig, especially the purebred one, has a significant price tag. It depends on the color. Thus, a male 2 months old can cost up to 25 thousand rubles, and a female - 10 thousand. The difference in price is due to the fact that the color is transmitted by males. Females can do this too, but she will have fewer Californians.

The price for babies starts from 6 thousand rubles, except for rare combinations of genes. If, when combining two species, the Californian coloring appears, then the price for children rises to 30+ thousand rubles.

Description of the California guinea pig

The Californian (or California) breed is one of the more recently developed guinea pig breeds that has not yet gained recognition.

We even managed to find a breed standard on the foreign Internet, which means that work is actively underway in some countries.

California guinea pigs have a characteristic color - solid with dark pigment on the nose, ears and feet and dark “glasses” around the eyes.

The solid color of Californian pigs can vary in color - white, cream, buff, saffron, gold and red.

Californian guinea pigs are very similar to Himalayan guinea pigs. They are the same smooth-haired, with dark pigment. , but with one significant difference - they have dark eyes, while Himalayan pigs have red eyes.

Unlike Himalayan guinea pigs, California points can be not only black or chocolate, but also purple and beige. Also, when combining the Himalayan genes c(h)c(h) and the Californian gene, the pig phenotypically looks like the Himalayan, but with less pronounced points.

There is an opinion that the main difference between Californian guinea pigs and Himalayan guinea pigs is their dark eyes (the latter have red ones), but in fact, Californian guinea pigs may well have red eyes.

Porpoises

Porpoises are one of the smallest marine mammals. They belong to the family Phocoenidae, one of ten families of the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales). These animals are close relatives of dolphins of the Delphinidae family. Both diverged from a common ancestor about 10 million years ago, but since then they have developed significant differences in many aspects of biology.

The name "porpoise" comes from the Latin words "porcus" meaning "pig" and "piscus" meaning "fish".

Pigs native to California

The California Shorthair breed appeared recently - about twenty years ago, and is one of the youngest breeds today.

The animals were bred in Peru, from where they came to the USA and there they received a second birth and a large number of colors. California-colored animals arrived in Europe in 2012. The first male introduced to the continent was Macho Picchu. It is his descendants that are still used in many European nurseries. The Californians arrived in Russia in November 2013.

History of the distribution of the animal

This breed was developed relatively recently. They were first spotted on a farm in Peru in 2008. Peruvians cannot say exactly when this variety appeared, but it happened about 20 years ago. Previously, it was believed that a color like this animal did not exist in nature.

In 2012, the Californian breed was brought to Germany by Christian Koch. The first male introduced to Europe was the Macho Picchu, from which many of the continent's modern pets are descended. In Russia, these animals first appeared in January 2014.

Appearance

California pigs have a recognizable appearance:

• massive physique,
• broad shoulders,
• stocky and round body,
• heavy and rather large head,
• a thick nose and a pronounced hump,
• expressive and bulging eyes. Eye color depends on the color
• round and long ears.

The average weight of females is up to a kilogram, males are slightly heavier - one and a half kilograms. The animal's legs are short, with four toes on the back and three on the front.

Like all other breeds, California pigs have very developed incisors, so the constant presence of roughage and woody twigs in the cages is recommended.

Description, types and habitats of porpoises

The oldest fossilized remains of porpoises found in the North Pacific Ocean date back to the late Miocene (about 10-12 million years ago). The first true dolphins appeared around this time, and the common ancestor of the two families, Kentriodontidae, died out shortly thereafter.

The six species of modern porpoises, photos and descriptions of which can be found below, appeared several million years ago, but during this relatively short time they were able to adapt to a wide variety of habitats.

Common porpoise

It lives in the coastal waters of the North Atlantic and the North Pacific Ocean, as well as in the Baltic and Black Seas. Its body length is 1.2-2 meters, weight is 40-80 kg. Females of this species are larger than males.

For many tourists coming to the coasts of North America or Northern Europe, their acquaintance with cetaceans begins with porpoises. Usually this is an ordinary porpoise, flashing in the waves as a small dark object.

The back of the animal is dark gray, the sides are spotted, the belly is white, the chin is dark; a dark stripe runs from the corner of the mouth to the base of the pectoral fin.

Phocoena phocoena

This species washes ashore more often than others, usually alone, on gently sloping sandy beaches or muddy littorals.

Californian

The California porpoise is a coastal species, and its habitat is very narrow: the only population of these animals lives in the depths of the Gulf of California.

This is the smallest species of all cetaceans: body length is 1.3-1.5 meters, weight does not exceed 50 kg. The back is dark gray, the sides are pale gray, the belly is white. The dorsal fin is high and triangular in shape.

Phocoena sinus

The species is on the verge of extinction, and the culprit is bycatch in fishing nets. Moreover, the threat is not from large-scale fishing, but from a huge number of small fishing vessels fishing with gill nets.

Argentinean (black)

The Argentine porpoise is found in the coastal waters of South America from Peru to southern Brazil. Body length is 1.6-2 meters, weight can reach up to 100 kg. The back and sides are solid dark gray, the belly is light gray, and there is a stripe in front of the pectoral fin. The dorsal fin is low, moved closer to the tail.

Phocoena spinipinnis

Featherless

Inhabitant of coastal waters of the Indian-Pacific region from the Persian Gulf to Indonesia and north to Japan. Body length is 1.4-2 meters, weight - 30-80 kg. The color is light gray, the belly is even lighter. The dorsal fin is missing.

Neophocaena phocaenoides

Whitewing

Found in the North Pacific Ocean. Body length is 1.7-2.4 meters, weight - 100-220 kg. The back and sides are black, there is a large white spot on the sides, and there is a white border on the dorsal fin and tail blades. The dorsal fin is sickle-shaped.

Phocoenoides dalli

Spectacled (Antarctic)

The spectacled porpoise lives in the Southern Ocean. Body length is 1.8-2.3 meters, weight – 100-180 kg. The back and sides are black, sharply bordered by a white belly. The dorsal fin is triangular in shape.

Phocoena dioptrica

Appearance Features

Compared to other cetaceans, porpoises are very small in size. Not a single member of the family exceeds 2.5 meters in length. Outwardly, they resemble their close relatives - dolphins, but, unlike them, representatives of the family Phocoenidae do not have a beak-shaped snout, and all, with the exception of the finless pig, have small triangular dorsal fins. At the leading edge of the dorsal fin there is a swelling of several layers of skin, the function of which is unknown to scientists.

Like other toothed whales, porpoises have a single blowhole located just to the left of the midline of the skull.

The forehead of animals has a convex dome-shaped shape due to the presence of melon - a special fatty tissue located above the front of the skull. This pad of fat serves to focus sounds during echolocation.

The tail stalk is thickened laterally, forming two keels - this is especially pronounced in the white-winged porpoise. The blades of the caudal fin are separated by a noticeable notch.

The teeth are flattened on the sides and resemble a chisel in shape, while dolphins have conical teeth. Both use their teeth to grasp prey rather than to cut or chew, so the reason for this difference is also unclear.

There is a pronounced tubercle on the premaxillary bone. The heads of adult individuals have many “childish” characteristics, such as a short muzzle, a large rounded skull, and the healing of the cranial sutures occurs later in them than in other dolphins. Paedomorphosis, the preservation of childhood characteristics into adulthood, is characteristic of all guinea pigs, but the reasons for this have not yet been clarified.

Features of color

Light-colored babies can be born almost white, and the skin takes on its adult color within eight to twelve weeks. The intensity of the color depends on the environmental conditions - in a colder room the pigs become brighter, but in a warm room the color may not appear at all. The gene that affects color is dominant, which means that in a family from a Californian pig and a regular pig there is a chance to get babies with the desired color. This feature of gene transfer is also used by breeders of other breeds - silver, agouti, Swiss, alpine - to produce guinea pigs of mixed colors.

A purebred Californian guinea pig has dense and short fur, the length of the hairs is no more than three centimeters. However, if the animal is a mixed breed and a California sire was used to convey the color, the coat may be longer or shorter.

There are several main colors of the Californian guinea pig:

• blue,
• cream,
• red-black,
• black and cream,
• chocolate,
• lilac,
• buffalo,
• dark chocolate,
• light chocolate.

Among them there can be both selfies - that is, pigs with a uniform and even shade of coat, without zonal darkening and inclusions of lighter hairs - and points. Point pigs are pigs that have darkening in the area of ​​the eyes, ears, nose, and also with a darker color of the fur on their paws. Most often, the points have the same shade as the main coat, but they can differ. Cream and blue coats often show buffalo or chocolate points.

California Guinea Pig Cost

The cost of a purebred Californian guinea pig is quite high. Depending on the color, a two-month-old male can cost up to twenty-five thousand rubles. The female is cheaper - about ten thousand. The difference is explained by the fact that males are often used on gilts of other breeds.

The female is also capable of transmitting the Californian color, but the percentage of Californian cubs in her litter with any other male will be much lower.

Prices for crossbred children usually start from six thousand rubles. The exception is rare gene combinations. For example, when children are obtained from a Californian male and a female Swiss Dalmatian or silver agouti. If the baby has Californian colors, especially with characteristic points, then its price can reach thirty thousand or more.

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