Ridatta's

	Ridatta's
Classification Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Chordates) Class: Mammalia (Mammals) Order: Carnivora (Predators) Suborder: Caniformia Family: Imagiferidae (Ridatta's) Original Creator: Tat'yana Sippy	Arctic ridatta boar in winter coat.

 GENERAL

There are many species, and each of them belong to one of the three subfamilies; Imagiferinae, Cynopotaminae and Leptodrominae. The animals look similar to members of the Canidae (Dogs and Foxes) and Ursidae (Bears) families. However, genetically-wise they're more closely related to the Mustelidae (Martens and Weasels) and Procyonidae (Raccoons) families. Boar (male) and sow (female) are easy to tell apart; the boar has longer upper canines, a thick mane around his neck and a crest on top of his skull, which is visible as a bulge in living animals. The sow is smaller, slender and she has a longer and more pointy snout than the boar. Most species are brown in color, and often in combination with black and/or white markings. River ridatta's and slender ridatta's have cat-like pupils.

Imagiferus means 'imaginary wild beast' in Latin. Cynopotamus means 'river dog' and Leptodromaeus means 'slender runner'.

 BEHAVIOR

Ridatta's are territorial animals and they live in pairs, sometimes accompanied by their pups. They mark their territory with their scent glands, urine, feces and claw marks. They communicate with various type of sounds, such as barking, growling, howling and even roaring. Members of the Imagiferus and Cynopotamus genus mostly hunt fish, while members of the Leptodromaeus genus mostly hunt small land animals.

 REPRODUCTION

Ridatta's are monogamous. A pair will even stay together when breeding season is over. They mostly mate in winter, but some prefer other seasons. When the sow is in heat, the boar will chase her until the sow decides to finally mate with the boar. After a gestation period of 63-66 days (smaller species) to 184-187 days (larger species), 5-10 blind and deaf pups are born in a den or hollow tree. The pups are weened after four to eight weeks. Young boars leave their parents when they're nine months old (smaller species) or a year (larger species). Sows stay with their parents until they're two years old. Young sows often babysit the new litter while their parents are out hunting.

 HABITAT AND STATUS

Ridatta's are found everywhere around the world, except for Antarctica. They mostly stay near water. Most species are listed as Least Concern, but some are listed as Endangered or Critically Endengered. Species that are listed as Critically Endangered are; Arctic ridatta, blue arctic ridatta, black-cheek ridatta and black-backed slender ridatta (mostly due to poaching and/or global warming). The little slender ridatta has been kept as a pet for centuries, which resulted in a partially domesticated subspecies, the domestic slender ridatta. Like other known popular pets, such as dogs, cats, rabbits etc, the domestic slender ridatta may come in many different shapes and colors. Despite being small and cute, domestic slender ridatta's may be destructive to your furniture and yard.

 SPECIES

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