1. Emperor Tamarin Monkey: It is rumored that the emperor tamarin was named for how it resembled the German emperor Wilhelm II, due to the characteristics of its mustache.

2. Mountain Lion Cubs: Besides being a fierce predator, mountain lions are fantastic for sporting fur mustaches.

3.  Northern Flicker: This male yellow-shafted flicker is distinguishable from his western relative because he has a black malar instead of a red one.

4. Mustached Bats: Bats from the family Mormoopidae are nicknamed mustached bats, but as you can see, they aren’t kidding. This Antillean Ghost-faced Bat’s face depicts quite the ‘stache! The other bats sporting mustaches aren’t quite as lucky. Unfortunately a sign of a bat that suffered from white nose syndrome is a white fungus around the nose. Learn how you can help bats with bad mustaches here. 

5.  Moustached Treeswift: While much is unknown about the size of this bird’s population, we can definitely say they show off one awesome mustache.

6. Catfish: This diverse group of fish are named for their barbels that resemble cat whiskers. But they aren’t the only fish to sport mustache look-a-likes: the male molly fish in Mexico actually attracts females with his mustache.

7.  Inca Tern: This bird eats anchovies and breeds on the coast of Peru and Chile—clearly an example of elegance and class!

8. Robber Fly: While we don’t take the time to look this closely at many of the insects near us, we wanted to show that up close, insects like this robber fly, dragon flies and even butterflies will demonstrate mustaches.

9. Walrus: The grizzly whiskers on this walrus impressed us. These animals are only aggressive during mating season– but still it may be best to not look this animal in the eye…

10. Tentacled Snake: These snakes are new to the Smithsonian National Zoo and have a fascinating “mustache”. Their facial feature serves as sensory mechanisms that allow them to pick up vibrations from prey.

This Photo courtesy of Brittany Steff, Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Will you never tire of animals with mustaches? Visit this hilarious Tumblr for some fun (and less realistic) animal mustaches.

Happy mustaches everyone!

The public lands of Fort Ord, a former military base, support a unique array of species that thrive in the area’s maritime chaparral ecosystem. Check out some wildlife found at the newly established Fort Ord National Monument:

Bobcat

A trip to Fort Ord means you’re likely to sight a bobcat.  These big cats prowl the area in search of prey–which could range from rabbits to birds to rodents. Fun fact: bobcats get their name from their stubby tail (to “bob” means to cut something short).

A bobcat on the prowl at Fort Ord National Monument (Flickr: Conservation Lands Foundation)

(Fish and Wildlife Service)

Smith’s Blue Butterfly

Fort Ord has been identified as an important habitat for the endangered Smith’s blue butterfly. In fact, land at Fort Ord was initially set aside as a nature reserve–the first in the United States created to preserve an insect!  The butterfly requires coastal dune habitat that supports seacliff or coastal buckwheat, which is used as a nectar source and host plant for larvae.  Unfortunately, freeway building and urbanization have destroyed much of this habitat, contributing to an endangered species listing for Smith’s blue butterfly in 1976. Recovery efforts have been underway–and hopefully the protection of Fort Ord will mean this endangered butterfly has a chance.

 Mountain Lion

Another big cat that roams on the expansive lands of Fort Ord National Monument are mountain lions. Mountain lions require large areas of open space because they travel over great areas or “home ranges” on the lookout for mates or prey.  Loss of habitat due to development has increased the need for wildlife corridors and open space like Fort Ord, allowing big cats like the mountain lion ample room to survive.

Mountain Lion (California Department of Fish and Game)

California Legless Lizard

Fort Ord supports one of the larger expanses of black legless lizard habitat in the species’ California range.  On first glance you might mistake a legless lizard for a snake–however, on second look you’ll realize some distinct features of the legless lizard. First, legless lizards have eyelids whereas snakes do not, and second, legless lizards are able to detach their tail when needed to trick predators.

(Flickr: California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation)

(Fish and Wildlife Service)

Golden Eagle

Golden eagles are adapted to live in a wide range of climates, but do rely on open areas like Fort Ord National Monument to hunt for prey. These eagles are found eating rabbits and rodents, but sometimes they will hunt larger game such as young deer. These birds are one of the largest raptors in the United States, second only to the California Condor and the bald eagle.

Mountain lion in Montana. Photo by William Brose.

Mountain lions, more commonly knows as cougars, have been an inspiration at NWF for quite some time. Watch one of our staffers recount their run in with a mountain lion, then adopt its critically endangered Florida panther cousin through NWF’s symbolic wildlife adoption program.

This Photo of the Day was donated by a participant in the annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. See more photos or sign up for the 42nd Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest.

It’s hard to pinpoint the moment when I began to see nature and the outdoors as my own personal refuge, but the video below does share an outdoor moment that I will never forget–when I was a kid and I encountered a mountain lion.  Don’t worry, I was about 30 yards away from the mountain lion so there wasn’t much to be afraid of.  Here are some tips on what to do if you do come across a mountain lion.

This post is broadcasted from the Outer Banks, North Carolina.

Click here to view the embedded video.

At that moment I realized that I was in someone else’s backyard–a species who had been calling those mountains home way before my Aunt and Uncle moved there.  These are the moments that I want to protect for other people, and is a reminder of why I love what I do. Wildlife habitat is being threatened at an unprecedented rate, and many are facing the threat of extinction, please take action!

National Wildlife Federation’s Storytelling Video Diary Series shares the candid tales of nine NWF staffers from around the country; armed with their cameras in the Great Lakes, California, South Dakota, the Pacific Northwest, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC, these nine staffers will share with you their individual trials, epiphanies and stories as they unfold in their daily adventures.

Cougars were extirpated from Connecticut many decades ago, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently declared the eastern cougar subspecies that once lived there officially extinct throughout its range in the East.  This particular South Dakotan cougar met a sad ending after its long journey when it was struck by a car and killed.

Despite these facts, the story still has a silver lining. It demonstrates that if the habitat exists, given enough time certain wildlife species might just be able to recolonize areas where they have been wiped out by human activity.

Who knows how many more western cougars are moving eastward in search of new territory?  There’s plenty of prey in the form of  white-tailed deer, which have become overabundant in many eastern states due to the lack of their primary predators: namely wolves and cougars.  Given strong protections for both the cats and their potential habitat, one day in the distant future we might see breeding cougar populations in the East again.

Watch this clip of NWF’s Vice President of Wildlife Conservation John Kostyack on Fox’s America Live show to learn more about this amazing Connecticut cougar and then adopt its critically endangered Florida panther cousin through NWF’s symbolic wildlife adoption program.

Click here to view the embedded video.