Tag Archives: Animal

Alligator Snapping Turtle

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Alligator Snapping Turtle

Do not get caught by the alligator snapping turtle!

  • Alligator snapping turtles are the heaviest freshwater turtles, weighing on average 68 to 80 kilograms (150 to 180 pounds).
  • ‘Alligator snapping turtles’ are also known as ‘alligator snappers’ and are from the family Chelydridae, a family of turtles.
  • The scientific name of alligator snapping turtles is Macrochelys temminckii, named after the zoologist Coenraad Temminck.
  • Alligator snapping turtles are native to the United States in the south-eastern areas, and they live in lakes, rivers and other aquatic habitats.
  • Alligator snapping turtles have heads that are large and heavy, and a ridged-scaled shell that grows to between 40 to 80 centimetres (16 to 32 inches).

Alligator Snapping Turtle, Bench, Alive, Wet, Mouth open, Ten Random Facts, United States, Reptile, Flickr

Alligator Snapper
Image courtesy of Gary J. Wood/ Flickr
  • When ‘hunting’ for food, an alligator snapping turtle lies still and camouflages itself with its mouth open, and the worm shaped part on its tongue attracts its prey.
  • Alligator snapping turtles eat fish and other aquatic animals or shore mammals, and they have strong jaws, and can bite a human finger off.
  • Alligator snapping turtles can live from 20 to 70 years while in captive, and some believe that the turtles can live over 100 years in the wild.
  • Alligator snapping turtles are sometimes kept as pets, but must be kept cautiously as well as being fed and held correctly.
  • Alligator snapping turtles are commonly poached for its exotic meat and shell.
Bibliography:
Alligator Snapping Turtle, 2013, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/reptiles/alligator-snapping-turtle/
Alligator Snapping Turtle, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_snapping_turtle

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Hippopotamus

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Hippopotamus

Yawn like a hippopotamus.

  • A hippopotamus is also known as a ‘hippo’, and is from the family Hippopotamidae, the family of hippotamuses.
  • The term ‘hippopotamus’ comes from the words for ‘river horse’ in Ancient Greek, and its scientific name is Hippopotamus amphibius.
  • Hippopotamuses are large cylindrical-shaped mammals, with a big round body, large teeth and short legs.
  • Hippopotamuses are native to the rivers and other aquatic areas of Africa, and live for 40 to 50 years in the wild, on average.
  • In the water hippopotamuses are territorial, and are said to be the most dangerous large animal in Africa, where hundreds of people are killed by them annually.
Nile Hippopotamus, wallows, mud, many, multiple, water, Mara River, Africa, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic
Hippos
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Hippopotamuses are generally found in groups of 10-30, mainly consisting of females and children with one dominant male, but they can live in herds of up to a hundred.
  • Hippopotamuses can grow to 3.3 to 5.5 metres (11 to 17 feet) in length and weigh, on average, 1,300 to 1,800 kilograms (2,900 to 4,000 pounds), although one was recorded weighing 4,500 kilograms (9,900 pounds).
  • Hippopotamuses can run at speeds of 30 km per hour (19 mph) on land, and swim at speeds of 8 km per hour (5 mph).
  • Hippopotamuses can stretch their mouth up to 180° and they sharpen their teeth by grinding them together.
  • Hippopotamuses are generally a mix of purple, brown and black in colour, and they excrete a thick, red-pink coloured liquid through their skin to protect them from the sun.
Bibliography:
Hippo, 2013, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/hippo
Hippopotamus, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus

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Yellow Chat

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Yellow Chat

Do not chat all day long with yellow chats.

  • Yellow chats are birds from the family Meliphagidae, which is the family of honeyeaters.
  • Yellow chats have yellow coloured coats and the males have a black crescent on their chest.
  • The scientific name of yellow chats is Epthianura crocea and there are three subspecies.
  • Yellow chats are native to the Australian tropics and different subspecies are exclusive to specific areas.
  • Some subspecies of yellow chats are ranked from endangered, to least concerned, and they are threatened mainly by the destruction of their habitat by various invasive plant species, wild pigs and other feral animals, and salinisation issues.

Yellow Chat Capricornia, Rare, reeds, grass, stand, alert, birds, Australia, Ten Random Facts

Photo courtesy of Val Laird
  • Yellow chats grow to be 10-12 cm (4 to 4.7 inches) long, and on average 9.3 grams (0.3 ounce) in weight.
  • Some subspecies of yellow chats have a population of approximately 50 to 500, while others are more numerous.
  • Yellow chats generally live among long grass, particularly in the wetlands or grasslands.
  • Yellow chats build cup shaped nests from grass, feathers and other vegetation, and lay 2-3 eggs that are coloured white with black/red speckles.
  • Yellow chats have a diet mainly consisting of various insects that they find in a range of habitats.
Bibliography:
Yellow Chat (Epthianura crocea), 2013, Birdlife International, http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=5391
Yellow Chat (Epthianura crocea), n.d, The Internet Bird Collection,  http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=539

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Gray Wolf

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Gray Wolf

The boy that called ‘gray wolf’.

  • The scientific name of the gray wolf is canis lupus, and they are largest in the family Canidae, which is the family of dogs, wolves, foxes and other similar animals, and they can have the spelling ‘grey wolves’, while the females are known as ‘she-wolves’.
  • Gray wolves have a lifespan, in the wild, for about seven to eight years and are native to North America, North Africa and Eurasia, but are now mainly found in Alaska, Canada, North America, Russia, Eurasia.
  • Gray wolves have a diet that consists of mainly of medium to large hoofed animals but sometimes they consume other small animals, fruit, vegetation and other food they can find.
  • As the name suggests, the furry coat of gray wolves is generally grey, but they can be brown, black, white or red in colour.

 

Gray Wolf, White, Grey, Alaska National Park, Adult, Glow, Grass, Rock, Ten Random Facts, National Geographic Stock

 

Gray Wolf
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Gray wolves range from 36 to 45 kilograms (79 to 99 pounds) in weight, and can reach speeds up to 60 kilometres per hour.
  • Gray wolves have large, sharp teeth that, with enough pressure, can crush bones, and in a single meal, they can consume and digest food equal to 15 to 19% of their own weight.
  • Gray wolves can control their body-heat by quickening or slowing their flow of blood and while their sense of smell is not as advanced as some others in the canine family, they make it up with good tracking skills and nocturnal eyesight.
  • Gray wolves usually live in packs of 5-11 wolves and generally pair for life, usually having a litter of 5 to 6 pups each year.
  • Gray wolves can make a very loud howl to communicate with each other, to signal a gathering, to locate or to warn, that can be heard 130 kilometres (50 mile) away, and they can also make whimpers, growls, barks, snarls, yelps and whines.
  • Gray wolves do not often attack humans, particularly since they have a fear of humans embedded by hunters who killed one third of the original population.
Bibliography:
Gray Wolf, 2013, Defenders of Wildlife, http://www.defenders.org/gray-wolf/basic-facts
Gray Wolf, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf

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Pufferfish

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Pufferfish

This pufferfish will pop like crazy.

  • ‘Pufferfish’ are also known as ‘puffers’, ‘blowfish’, ‘toadfish’, ‘bubblefish’, ‘balloonfish’, ‘swellfish’, ‘sea squabs’, and ‘globefish’.
  • ‘Pufferfish’ is the common name of the fish that belong to the ‘Tetraodontidae’ family, and are part of the Tetraodontiformes order, which contains fish that are ray-finned.
  • Pufferfish include 19 genera, covering 120 different species, that are mainly found in the tropical oceans, and depending on the species, sometimes in fresh water rivers.
  • Pufferfish expand their stomachs when chased or provoked by inhaling water and air, making them much larger than their normal size.
  • Pufferfish are generally extremely poisonous, often described as the second most poisonous vertebrate, with the deadliest parts being the organs and sometimes skin, which contain the poison tetrodotoxin.

Pufferfish, blowfish, spine, small, deflated, Ten Random Facts, Philippines, Batangas, National Geographic

Pufferfish Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Depending on the species and environment, pufferfish can change their coloured appearance, and most are normally a dull colour.
  • One of the main systems of defence of a pufferfish is it’s rudder like tail and ability to move at quick bursts, even though they generally swim very slowly.
  • Although pufferfish are usually highly toxic, Japanese, Chinese and Korean chefs make carefully prepared special dishes using the meat that is considered a delicacy, however a single mistake in processing can cause fatal poisoning in a consumer.
  • Pufferfish species vary in colour, can be as small as 2.5 cm (1 inch) or can grow up to one metre (three feet) in length, and may have spines or spikes that can be poisonous and not visible unless threatened.
  • Pufferfish are carnivores and mainly consume water creatures, algae, and sometimes shellfish, that they use their tough teeth to crush.
Bibliography: Pufferfish, 2013, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/pufferfish/
Tetraodontidae, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraodontidae

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Leopard

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Leopard

You will not see the leopard until too late!

  • Leopards are from the family Felidae, which is the family of cats, and are part of the Panthera genus, large cat family, of which they are the smallest.
  • Leopards are, depending on the species, native to the deserts, tropics and cool areas of either Africa or Asia.
  • Leopards grow from o.9 to 1.65 metres (3 feet to 5.4 feet) in length, have small, clustered black blotches, or rosettes as they are known, on a pale yellow to gold coloured skin, and have a lifespan from 12 to 17 years, in the wild.
  • Leopards can run at speeds of 58 kilometres/hour (36 miles/hour), jump at heights of 3 metres (10 feet) and at lengths of 6 metres (20 feet).
  • The scientific name of leopards is ‘Panthera pardus’ and includes nine official sub species, and are often mistaken for cheetahs and jaguars, but can be distinguished by their different rosettes or spots.

female leopard, yellow, black, cat, Kruger National Park, Africa, National Geographic Stock, Ten Random Facts

Leopard
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • ‘Leopard’ comes from the combination of Greek words ‘leōn’ and ‘pardos,’ meaning ‘lion’ and ‘mail panther’ respectively, since it was originally thought they were a cross between a lion and a panther.
  • Leopards are primarily nocturnal hunters that stalk prey stealthily, usually launching their attack at their victim’s neck, and then often dragging heavy carcasses, which can be twice the cat’s weight, with their mouth, up into high trees for protection.
  • Leopards are carnivores, and their diet is quite varied, consisting of animals like monkeys, warthogs, cheetah cubs and antelope, and smaller mammals, reptiles, birds, insects and amphibians, and while they do not often attack humans, in the early 1900s, two vicious man-eaters are said to have killed 525 people between them.
  • Although leopards have no natural predators, large cats, large primates and hyenas all compete for carcasses, and in large groups, will attack these spotted cats, sometimes fatally, for food.
  • Leopards generally have two to four cubs per litter, which stay with the mother for up to 2 years, who protects them from large predators such as crocodiles, large cats and primates.
Bibliography:
Leopard, 2013, San Diego Zoo Animals, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/leopard
Leopard, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard

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