Tag Archives: Animal

Komodo Dragon

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Komodo Dragon

Komodo dragons do not fly.

  • ‘Komodo dragons’ are also called ‘komodo monitors’ and ‘komodo island monitors’.
  • Komodo dragons are native to some of the Lesser Sunda islands of Indonesia, Asia, and were not known to the western world until the early 1900s.
  • Komodo dragons are from the family Varanidae, the family of monitor lizards, and have the scientific name ‘Varanus komodoensis’.
  • Komodo dragons are the world’s largest species of lizard not extinct, and are vulnerably threatened, particularly by human hunting, with approximately 3000 to 5000 in the wild.
  • Komodo dragons can grow up to 3 metres (10 feet) in length and 70 kilograms (150 pounds) in weight, although some are much heavier and can be more than double this in weight.
Komodo Dragon, Lizard, Islands of Rinca, Indonesia, Brown, Scale, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
Komodo Dragon
Image courtesy of Austronesian Expeditions/Flickr
  • Komodo dragons have bluey grey scales that are hard and sturdy and a forked tongue that is yellow, and numerous bacteria in their saliva that causes death in their prey.
  • Komodo dragons have an excellent sense of smell, one ear bone causing it to have a restricted hearing range, and it can see up to 300 metres (980 feet) away.
  • Komodo dragons live in habitats of grasslands, savannahs and forests, in areas that are hot and dry.
  • A komodo dragon’s diet consists of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and the meat of dead animals, and can, in one feeding, eat up to 80% of its own weight.
  • Komodo dragon females lay an average of 20 eggs in a mound or a hole, that generally hatch in April.
Bibliography:
Komodo Dragon, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/reptiles/komodo-dragon/
Komodo Dragon, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

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Seahorse

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Seahorse

Is it a plane? A dragon? No, it is a seahorse!

  • A seahorse is a fish that is found in tropical or temperate water bodies of shallow depth, sheltered by coral reefs, mangroves or seagrass, and they can change their colour to blend into their environment and can be seen in a wide range of colours like green, red, black, white and orange.
  • Seahorses are more than 40 species that have the scientific name ‘Hippocampus’, that means ‘horse sea monster’ in Ancient Greek, and they belong to the Syngnathidae family, the family of fish with fused jaws.
  • A seahorse can range from 1.5 to 35.5 centimetres (0.6 to 14 inches) in height depending on the species and has a tail that it uses to grab onto sea grass and coral to hold itself still.
  • Seahorses are one of the two fish that swims vertically, swimming slowly by flapping its dorsal fin, with the slowest, the dwarf seahorse – Hippocampus zosterae, moving at 152 centimetres per hour (5 feet per hour) which is known as the slowest fish.
  • Seahorses have plates of bone that have a ring structure, an identifying and unique coronet (crown like structure) on their head, and have eyes that move freely of one another.

Seahorse, Colorado, America, United States, Yellow, Swimming, Denver Aquarium, Ten Random Facts, Fish, National Geograph

Seahorse
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • After mating, seahorse males look after the up to 1500 eggs (or more) in its pouch, that hatch after around 9 to 45 days into tiny seahorses.
  • The amount of baby seahorses expelled from the male pouch ranges from 5 to 2500 depending on the species, with only 0.5% on average ever surviving.
  • Seahorses have no stomach or teeth and have a diet of little crustaceans and plankton that are sucked up with the fish’s generally long snout, and they need to eat lots due to a quick digestion process, making a clicking noise every time they eat.
  • Seahorses are sometimes kept as pets in aquariums, but can easily die if not cared for properly, and are often hunted by humans for souvenirs and food, and numerous quantities are sold and used for traditional Asian medicine.
  • Seahorses have predators of crabs, tuna and rays, and can be killed by pollution, hunting or exhaustion, particularly in storms where they can be tossed around.
Bibliography:
Seahorse, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seahorse
Sydenham S & Thomas R, Seahorse, 2008, Kidcyber, http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/seahorse.htm

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Giant Armadillo

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Giant Armadillo

Giant armadillos dressed in armour.

  • Giant armadillos are mammals that are native to South American tropical forest areas, and are found on approximately half of the continent.
  • Giant armadillos are from the family Dasypodidae, which is the family of armadillos.
  • Giant armadillos have a tough encasing of hard scales and plates which is used primarily for defense.
  • The scientific name of a giant armadillo is ‘Priodontes maximus’ and they have a lifespan of 12 to 15 years.
  • A ‘Giant armadillos’ is also known as a ‘tatou,’ ‘ocarro,’ ‘tatu-canastra,’ and ‘tatú carreta’.
Giant Armadillo, Sand, Brown, Dark, Shell, Mammal, Flickr, Ten Random Facts
Giant Armadillo
Image courtesy of Amareta Kelly/Flickr
  • Giant armadillos’ diet mainly consists of termites and ants, but also vegetation, worms, spiders, snakes and larvae.
  • Giant armadillos have long claws including one claw that is sickle-like, 80 to 100 teeth and they are also nocturnal.
  • Giant armadillos grow up to 150 centimetres (59 inches) long, including the tail that is approximately a third of its length, and from 28 to 54 kilograms (62 to 119 pounds) in weight.
  • Giant armadillos generally do not live with others of the same species, and usually live in burrows.
  • Giant armadillos are a threatened species and are listed as vulnerable, due to the destruction of their habitat and poaching by humans for their meat and for black trade.
Bibliography:
Giant Armadillo, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_armadillo
Giant Armadillo, n.d, Kids’ Planet, http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/armadillo.html

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Waterbuck

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Waterbuck

Waterbucks do not buck water.

  • Waterbucks are native to Africa’s sub-Saharan area, and their are two main categories of the animal – ‘ellipsen’, that has a white ring on it’s rear end, and ‘defassa’, which has a white patch instead of the ring.
  • Waterbucks grow to be approximately 1 to 1.3 metres (3.3 to 4.3 feet) in height to the top of their shoulder and weigh 160 to 300 kilograms (350 to 660 pounds).
  • Waterbucks are scientifically known as ‘Kobus ellipsiprymnus’, and are from the family bovid, the family of mammals with unbranched horns, and are one of six species of African antelope.
  • Contrary to popular African belief, the meat of a waterbuck is edible, although it may not be tasty.
  • Only male waterbucks have horns, and they are long and slightly curved, and they grow longer with age.

Cape Waterbuck, Svannah, Alert, Tanzania, Africa, Antelope, Animal, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic

Waterbuck
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Waterbucks live in habitats of scrubs and grassy plains, that have much grass and close access to water to fulfill dietary needs.
  • Waterbucks usually live in small herds, in all male groups, all female groups, or mixed groups, although the number of animals in a herd can be quite numerous.
  • Waterbucks may enter bodies of water to hide from predators such as hyenas, lions and leopards, and even though they don’t enter the water much, they are good swimmers.
  • Waterbucks generally live up to an age of 18 years, and the females usually give birth to a single calf each year, which is hidden away for a number of weeks.
  • Waterbucks have an off-putting odour that comes from their sweat glands, that deters prey and affects the flavour of their meat.
 Bibliography:
Huffman B, Waterbuck, 2004, Ultimate Ungulate, http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Kobus_ellipsiprymnus.html
Waterbuck, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterbuck

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Warthog

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Warthog

Warthogs do not have a wart virus.

  • ‘Warthogs’ are sometimes called ‘common warthogs,’ and are known as the ‘pig of the plains’ or ‘vlakvark’ as the Afrikaans call them.
  • Warthogs are scientifically known as ‘Phacochoerus africanus’, and are from the family Suidae, the family of pigs.
  • Warthogs are native to sub-Saharan Africa, and are usually found in their natural habitat of grassy plains and wooded areas.
  • Warthogs grow to be 0.9 to 1.5 metres (3.0 to 4.9 feet) in height and weigh 45 to 150 kilograms (99 to 330 pounds) depending on the gender.
  • Warthogs have four ivory tusks that curve from the mouth at a 90° angle that they use for digging, fighting or for defence against predators such as humans who hunt them for their meat and tusks, hyenas, leopards, lions and crocodiles.

Warthog, Four, Tusk, Pig, Hog, Ugly, Mane, Zimbabwe, Ten Random Facts

Warthog
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Warthogs have four ‘warts’ or bumps on their face, that are said to be used as fat reserves and for protection.
  • Warthogs typically have a thin fur coat in black and brown colours, and birds often sit on their backs to eat the small insects that can be found on the mammal.
  • Warthogs have a diet that mainly consists of grass and other vegetation, various fruit and berries, and insects, although sometimes they are meat eaters.
  • Warthogs are more likely to run away than fight, and can run up to 48 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour).
  • Warthogs generally breed during seasons of wet and rain, giving birth to piglet litters from two to four, although a greater number are sometimes born.
Bibliography:
Warthog, 2014, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/warthog/
Warthog, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warthog

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Greater Flamingo

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Greater Flamingo

Tall, pink flamingos are greater flamingos.

  • Greater flamingos have the scientific name Phoenicopterus roseus, and are from the wading bird family, Phoenicopteridae, that only consists of six species of flamingos.
  • Greater flamingos are native to areas in Africa, Europe’s south and South Asia.
  • Greater flamingos are titled as the world’s largest flamingo, with figures of approximately 110 to 150 centimetres (43 to 60 inches) in height and 2 to 4 kilograms (4.4 to 8.8 pounds) in weight; with records of 187 cm (just over 6 feet) and 4.5 kg (10 lb).
  • Greater flamingos have red feathers in some areas, and black flight feathers, but they are well known for their pink-white feathers that are best seen when the bird is standing, although flamingos are born with white and grey feathers that are absent of pink colouration for two years or more.
  • Greater flamingos obtain their pink coloured body and plumage by eating organisms that contain carotenoid pigments, that are mostly found in the algae they eat, and if their diet consists mostly of algae, they will be a deeper colour pink than those that feed mainly on shrimp and the like.

Greater Flamingo, Pink, White, Adult, One Leg Full, Zoo, Bronx Zoo, New York, United States, statuesque, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic

Adult Flamingo
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • The Greater flamingo’s diet mainly consists of shrimp, tiny fish, seeds, blue-green algae and other algae, molluscs and plankton, and they obtain their food by filtering the food from water in their bill.
  • Greater flamingos can live to be over 60 years old in captivity, with the oldest Greater in captivity dying at an age of around 83 years old in Australia’s Adelaide Zoo, in early 2014.
  • The tongues of Greater flamingos were historically eaten luxuriously by Roman emperors.
  • Greater flamingos generally live in colonies, which helps to protect them from predators, that can be as large as a thousand or more birds, in habitats of lakes, particularly alkaline lakes, and mudflats.
  • When calling, greater flamingos produce a sound like a honk of a goose, and they lay one white egg per season in a nest of mud.
Bibliography:
Greater Flamingo, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Flamingo
Greater Flamingo, n.d, Adelaide Zoo, http://www.zoossa.com.au/adelaide-zoo/animals-exhibits/animals/birds?species=Greater%20Flamingo

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