Category Archives: Animals

Stingray

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Stingray

Lightning fast reflex stingrays.

  • Stingrays are from the family Myliobatiformes, which is the family of fish, known as rays with a cartilage structure, and stingrays have no bones but instead have cartilage and are related to sharks.
  • There are more than 60 species of stingray, and they are typically found in warm, coastal waters throughout the world, although they can be seen in some other areas.
  • Stingrays can feel the electrical currents a fish produces when it swims, using its electroreceptors and its sense of smell to catch prey.
  • Stingrays can camouflage themselves by laying their flat body, coloured similar to the seabed, in the sand and partially burying themselves.
  • Stingrays often feed at high tide in reefs with their cousins the sharks, and once they have found their food, they crush their prey of clams, mussels, crabs and shrimps with their super strong teeth.

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Stingray
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Stingrays typically have a litter of between 2 and 13 babies per year that are born as mini versions of an adult.
  • Stingrays do not normally attack people unless aggravated by being stepped on or are feeling threatened, although many people are afraid and suspicious of them, particularly since a stingray killed the legendary wildlife protector, Steve Irwin in 2006.
  • Stingrays usually have a barbed stinger, that sometimes contains venom, and if stung, it is not normally fatal unless stung near vital organs, but it can be extremely painful and may cause swelling and muscle cramps.
  • Stingrays are commonly eaten in Malaysia and Singapore served with a sambal sauce, and they have wing like fins that are served as a delicacy in some countries.
  • A stingray swims through the sea by moving side to side or flapping its fins up and down to glide, and they can weigh up to 358 kg (789 pounds) and grow up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) in length although some species grow up to twice that in length.

 

Bibliography:
Hughes C, Stingrays, 2013, National Geographic Kids, <http://kids.nationalgeographic.com.au/kids/animals/creaturefeature/stingray/>
Stingray, 2013, National Geographic, <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/fish/stingray/>
Stingray, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray>

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Jacana

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Jacana

Walk on water little jacana.

  • A jacana is a wader, and is also known as a ‘Jesus bird’, ‘lily trotter’, ‘lotus bird’ and ‘jaçana’.
  • Jacanas are tropical birds found throughout the tropical regions of the world, that live in shallow lake areas, ponds and wetlands.
  • There are eight known species of jacanas that come from the family ‘Jacanidae’, and males range from 15 to 39 cm (6 to 15 inches) in length and the females are slightly larger.
  • Jacanas’ diet consists mainly of insects, molluscs and other small animals found in a lake habitat, as well as aquatic seeds.
  • Jacanas appear to walk on water, and have long legs and large feet and claws or toes up to 7 cm (2.75 inches) long, which allows the bird to walk on lily pads and other vegetation in the water.

Jacana, Water, Ten Random Facts

Image Courtsey of Val Laird

  • Jacanas are typically brown in colour with pointy beaks and are good swimmers and divers. and can stay under water for long periods of time.
  • Jacanas build nests from plant material, that sit on floating or submerged vegetation.
  • Jacana females lay approximately four glossy eggs that are camouflaged with different markings, and the male sits on them and looks after the chicks.
  • Some jacanas have spurs on their wings which they use for fighting, and their wings are sometimes used to pick up eggs or their young to move them to another location.
  • Jacanas rarely leave their lake habitat to walk on land, and they only fly short distances.
Bibliography:
Jacanas, 2013, Wikipedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacana>
 Jacanas aka Lotus Birds, Lily Trotters or Jesus Birds, n.d, Avian Web, < http://www.avianweb.com/jacanas.html>

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Rakali

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Rakali

Rakali, the swimming rat.

  • Rakali are also known as ‘water rats’, or ‘Australian water rat’ and are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea.
  • Rakali are amphibious rats that have webbed back feet, waterproof fur, a flat head and a long and thick, white tipped rudder like tail.
  • The scientific name of rakali is ‘Hydromys chrysogaster’ and they are one of the largest rodents native to Australia.
  • Rakali live in fresh or salt water environments, and burrow and dig along riverbanks, lakes, and estuaries.
  • The diet of a rakali includes water insects, mussels, fish, crustaceans, frogs, birds and their eggs.

 

 

Rakali, Water, Float, Sim, Water Rat, Igneous, Australia, Ten Random Facts

Image courtesy of Val Laird

 

  • Rakali have bodies that grow to 23 to 37 cm (9 to 15 inches) in length, and have a total length of approximately 60 cm (23 inches), including the tail, and are grey, black or brown in colour, with an orange, cream, white or golden belly.
  • The original name of ‘rakali’ was ‘water rat’ until an agreement occurred to change the name to the Australian indigenous name for the rat, ‘rakali’.
  • Rakali are most commonly seen and observed a little before sunset and look like otters when swimming in the water.
  • The typical litter of rakali is three to four babies, with up to five litters in a year.
  • Rakali are preyed on by large fish, birds, cats and foxes.
Bibliography: Rakali, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakali>
The Rakali – Australian Water Rat (Hydromys Chrysogaster), 2011, Bayside City Council, < http://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/walksandtrails_environmenttrail_rakali.htm>

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Ostrich

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Ostrich

Huge, heavy ostriches.

  • Ostriches are big, black, grey and sandy coloured birds, which cannot fly and have long legs and necks.
  • Ostriches are native to the savannahs and deserts of most of Africa, and often travel and graze with peaceful African animals such as zebras or giraffes.
  • The scientific name of ostriches is Struthio camelus and are from the family Struthionidae, which is a family of flightless birds, or ratites.
  • Ostriches weigh between 63 to 145 kg (140 to 320 pounds) and be 1.7 to 2.8 meters (5.6 to 9.2 feet) in height, and can run for up to 70km/hour (43miles/hour) but they run at 50 km/hour (31 miles/hour) on average.
  • Ostriches are the largest bird species, have the largest eyes and lay the largest eggs of all non-extinct birds and land animals.

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Ostrich
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Depending on the season, ostriches can be found living in herds or flocks of 5 to 50, living in pairs or by themselves.
  • Ostriches eat plants or small land animals and insects, and can go without drinking water for long periods of time, because they absorb moisture from their food.
  • To escape predators an ostrich usually runs away or lies flat on the ground to blend into its surroundings, but if cornered or threatened the bird will deliver a powerful kick with it’s two toed, sharp clawed foot, which can kill a human or large animal like a lion, but it can only kick forwards.
  • Ostriches are  bred on farms for feathers, leather and meat, which tastes a bit like beef, and they can be ridden on, in a similar way to a horse.
  • All the female ostriches in one flock will usually lay their eggs in one nest, with the male and the dominant female taking it in turns to sit on them, although on average, less than 10% of the nests will survive to hatching, and only 15% of the hatched ostrich chicks will live to the age of one.
Bibliography:
Ostrich, 2013, National Geographic, <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/birds/ostrich/>
Ostrich, 2013, San Diego Zoo, < http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/ostrich>

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King Cobra

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King Cobra

Standing tall, flaring its hood… watch out for the king cobra.

  • The longest snake on earth is the king cobra, and its scientific name is ‘Ophiophagus hannah’, being the only snake in the Ophiophagus genus, with most other cobras belonging to the Naja genus.
  • King cobras range from black to dark brown to olive green in colour, grow up to and over five meters (16 feet) in length and can be as heavy as 9kg (20 pounds), although they typically weigh about 6 kg (13lb).
  • King cobras are native to India and southeastern Asia and are a protected species in India, as their numbers have become dangerously low, and it is illegal to kill them.
  • King cobras make a low hissing sound that sounds like a growl.
  • One bite, or 7ml (0.2 ounces) of king cobra venom can kill 20 humans or 1 elephant.

King Cobra, Snake, Up, Alert, Slither, Black, long, reptile, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

King Cobra
Image courtesy of Michael Allen Smith/Flickr
  • If threatened or cornered, king cobras will attack humans although they are more likely to escape and shy away from people where possible.
  • A king cobra’s diet consists mostly of other snakes, although they will sometimes eat lizards, birds, eggs and rodents, and they usually hunt their prey during the day.

  • King cobras are often the choice of snake charmers even though the snakes are deaf, they move instead to the vibrations in the ground.

  • King cobras have good vision and can see things that move from up to 100 meters (330 feet) away.
  • Female king cobras are believed to be the only snakes that construct nests, which they make from leaves and other vegetation on the ground, on which to lay their 20-40 eggs.
Bibliography:
King Cobra, 2013, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/reptiles/king-cobra/
King Cobra, 2010, Reptile Park, http://www.reptilepark.com.au/animalprofile.asp?id=114
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Ladybug

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Ladybug

A beetle… not a bug, or a bird.

  • Ladybugs are also known as ‘ladybirds’, ‘lady beetles’, ‘lady clocks’, ‘lady cows’, ‘lady flies’ and ‘god’s cows’.
  • ‘Ladybugs’ is one of the common names of the family Coccinellidae, which is a family of beetles, and this name is derived from the Latin word for scarlet, ‘coccineus’.
  • Ladybugs have mainly yellow, orange or red elytra, or hard wings that cover the true wings, with typically black spot markings, although some species of the beetles can be a single colour, like black, brown or grey, or have different coloured spots, or have stripes instead.
  • Ladybugs grow from 1 to 10 mm (up to 0.4 inches) in length, have short legs, and are usually a round or oval shape.
  • There are more than 5,000 different species of ladybug, and the most common type is the seven-spotted ladybug.

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  • Contrary to popular belief, the spots position, amount and size on ladybugs do not contribute to age but to species.
  • Most farmers like ladybugs as there are many species that eat aphids, scale insects, and other pests without any damage to the plant, although there are a few species of the beetle that eat and destroy crops.
  • The name ‘ladybug’ was named after Virgin Mary, also known as ‘Our Lady’, who was often painted with a  scarlet cloak, and farmers believed the beetle to be a miracle bug from God, because of its ability to eat and control pests, and some prayed to Mary to protect there crops.
  • Ladybugs can withdraw their head into their body for protection and can be prey to birds, frogs, wasps, dragonflies and spiders, although the bright colours of ladybugs warn predators to stay away.
  • A ladybug has an average lifespan of one to two years, which starts as an egg, develops into a larva, transforms into a pupa, and emerges as a ladybug, with a female laying up to 2,000 eggs in its lifetime.
Bibliography:
Coccinellidae, 2013, Wikipedia, < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae >
Ladybugs, 2013, National Geographic Kids, <http://kids.nationalgeographic.com.au/kids/animals/creaturefeature/ladybug/>

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