Friday, April 9, 2010

Black Tern...



Adult are 25 cm (9.75 in) long, with a wing span 61 cm (24 in), and weigh 62 g (2.2 oz). They have short dark legs and a short, weak-looking black bill, measuring 27-28 mm, nearly as long as the head. The bill is long, slender, and looks slightly decurved. They have a dark grey back, with a white forehead, black head, neck (occasionally suffused with gray in the adult) and belly, black or blackish-brown cap (which unites in color with the ear coverts, forming an almost complete hood), and a light brownish-grey, 'square' tail. The face is white. There is a big dark triangular patch in front of the eye, and a brandish white collar in juveniles. There are grayish-brown smudges on the sides of the white breast, a downwards extension of the plumage of the upperparts. These marks vary in size and are not conspicuous. In non-breeding plumage, most of the black, apart from the cap, is replaced by grey. The plumage of the upperparts is drab, with pale feather-edgings. The rump is brownish-gray.

Walrus....


The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies the Atlantic Walrus found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Walrus found in the Pacific Ocean, and O. rosaries captive, found in the Laptev Sea.
The walrus is immediately recognized by its prominent tusks, whiskers and great bulk. Adult Pacific males can weigh up to 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb) and, among pennies, are exceeded in size only by the two species of elephant seals. It resides primarily in shallow oceanic shelf habitat, spending a significant proportion of its life on sea ice in pursuit of its preferred diet of benthic bivalve mollusks. It is a relatively long-lived, social animal and is considered a keystone species in Arctic marine ecosystems.
The walrus has played a prominent role in the cultures of many indigenous Arctic peoples, who have hunted the walrus for its meat, fat, skin, tusks and bone. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the walrus was the object of heavy commercial exploitation for blubber and ivory and its numbers declined rapidly. Its global population has since rebounded, though the Atlantic and Laptev populations remain fragmented and at historically depressed levels.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Danger in Green....


The black mamba (D. polytheism) is the longest venomous snake in Africa, with a potent neurotic venom that attacks the nervous system, and Cardiod toxins which attack the heart; the bite is often fatal to humans without access to proper first aid and subsequent ant venom treatment, because it shuts down the lungs and heart. Prior to the availability of antivenin, envenoms by members of this genus carried a high fatality rate. However, with ant venom being much more available today, fatalities have become much rarer.
The black mamba is not named for the color of its body (which is usually a shade of Grey or charcoal), but for the highly pigmented interior of its mouth, which it will display to the predator in hopes it will leave it alone. Many people believe that the black mamba will actually chase and attack humans. This is a myth, and is probably fueled by the great speed with which this species can move — although the black mamba uses this speed to escape from threats rather than for hunting. Humans are actually their predators, rather than their prey. For that reason, mambas generally avoid contact with humans. However, if a mamba feels threatened or trapped, it may defend itself fiercely, and it has the ability to attack repeatedly.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Anaconda....


Anacondas live in South America, east of the Andes, mainly in the Amazon and Orinoco River basins, and in the Guianas. Their habitat is marshes, brushes, and swamps. They are never found far away from water. The swamps are their favorite spots. When kept out of the water, an anaconda's body becomes infested with ticks.
The anaconda gives birth to live young. The gestation period is 6 months. A female can have up to 20-40 babies and sometimes as many as 100. The young are usually 2 feet long. A couple hours after they are born, the young can swim, hunt and care for themselves. After mating, the anaconda grows longer but slower.
Snakes have a special jaw attachment that lets them swallow large animals whole. An anaconda's diet in the wild is: deer, wild pigs, birds, ocelot, other snakes, tapirs, sheep, dogs and large rodents like agouti, paca, and capybara . Its diet in the zoo is thawed rats once or twice a month. Anacondas act fast to catch their prey. When the anaconda strikes it will squeeze its prey to death, but it prefers to drown its victim. Although the anaconda is slow on land, it is quick and deadly in the water. The anaconda has been known to attack jaguars, and a 26 foot anaconda was reported to have killed a 6-and-a-half-foot caiman. A huge anaconda is capable of surviving for months and even years without food. One captive snake fasted for two years.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Whooping Crane.. really Tall

The Whooping Crane, the tallest North American bird, is an endangered species named for its whooping sound and call. Along with the Sand hill Crane; it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping cranes lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild. There is an estimate of only 250 left in the wild.
Adult whooping cranes are white with a red crown and a long, dark, pointed bill. Immature whooping cranes are pale brown. While in flight, their long necks are kept straight and their long dark legs trail behind. Adult whooping cranes' black wing tips are visible during flight
They stand nearly 1.5 meters (5 feet) with a wingspan of 2.3 meters (7.5 feet). Males weigh on average 7.0 kg (17 lb), while females weigh about 6.0 kg (14 lb).The only other very large, long-legged white birds in North America are: the Great Egret, which is over a foot shorter and one-seventh the weight of this crane; the Great White Heron, which is a morph of the Great Blue Heron in Florida; and the Wood Stork. All three other birds are at least 30% smaller than the whooping crane. Herons and storks are also quite different in structure from the crane.

Meerkat..What an animal.


The Meerkat is a small mongoose weighing on average about 731 grams (1.61 pounds) for males and 720 grams (1.58 pounds) for females. Its long slender body and limbs give it a body length of 25 to 35 cm (10 to 14 inches) and an added tail length of 17 to 25 cm (7 to 10 inches). Its tail is not bushy like all other mongoose species, but is rather long and thin and tapers to a black or reddish colored pointed tip. The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright. Its face tapers, coming to a point at the nose, which is brown. The eyes always have black patches around them, which help deflect the sun's glare. The meerkat has small black crescent-shaped ears that can close when digging to keep sand out. Like cats, meerkats have binocular vision, a large peripheral range, depth perception, and eyes on the front of their faces.
At the end of each of a meerkat's "fingers" is a non-retractable, strong, 2 cm (0.8 in) long, curved claw used for digging burrows and digging for prey. Claws are also used with muscular hindlegs to help climb the occasional tree. They have four toes on each foot and long slender limbs. The coat is usually fawn-colored peppered with gray, tan, or brown with a silver tint. They have short parallel stripes across their backs, extending from the base of the tail to the shoulders. The patterns of stripes are unique to each meerkat. The underside of the meerkat has no markings but the belly has a patch which is only sparsely covered with hair and shows the black skin underneath. The meerkat uses this area to absorb heat while standing on its rear legs, usually early in the morning after cold desert nights.

Margay...


The Margay can weigh about 2 to 9 kg (6.6–20 lbs), have a body length of 45 to 80 cm (18 to 32 in) and a tail length of 33 to 51 cm (13 to 20 in). It is very similar to the larger Ocelot, although the head is a bit shorter, the tail and legs are longer, and the spotted pattern on the tail is different. Most notably the Margay is a much more skillful climber than its relative, and it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this skill. Whereas the Ocelot mostly pursues prey on the ground, the Margay may spend its entire life in the trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops. Indeed, it is one of only two cat species with the ankle flexibility necessary to climb head-first down trees (the other being the Clouded Leopard). Its ankles can turn up to 180 degrees ..it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump considerable distances. The Margay has been observed to hang from branches with only one foot. The Margay is considered to be the true jungle cat, because it spends almost its entire life in trees

Cougar also called PUMA.


The Cougar (also called puma ) also known as puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount, depending on the region, is a mammal of the family Felidae, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in every major American habitat type. It is the second heaviest cat in the American continents after the jaguar, and the fourth heaviest in the world, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar. Although large, the cougar is most closely related to smaller felines.
While it is a large predator, it is not always the dominant species in its range, as when it competes for prey with other predators such as the jaguar, grey wolf, American Black Bear, and the grizzly bear. It is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people. Attacks on humans remain rare, despite a recent increase in frequency.

Puma...


The Cougar (also called puma ) also known as puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount, depending on the region, is a mammal of the family Felidae, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An adaptable, generalist species, the cougar is found in every major American habitat type. It is the second heaviest cat in the American continents after the jaguar, and the fourth heaviest in the world, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar. Although large, the cougar is most closely related to smaller felines.
While it is a large predator, it is not always the dominant species in its range, as when it competes for prey with other predators such as the jaguar, grey wolf, American Black Bear, and the grizzly bear. It is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people. Attacks on humans remain rare, despite a recent increase in frequency.

Caracals


The Caracal is distributed over Africa and the Middle East. Its chief habitat is dry steppes and semi deserts, but it also inhabits woodlands, savannah, and scrub forest. It dwells either alone or in pairs. The caracal may survive without drinking for a long period — the water demand is satisfied with the body fluids of its prey.
Males typically weigh 13-18 kgs (28-40 lbs), while females weigh about 11 kg (24 lb).The caracal resembles a Eurasian Lynx, and for a long time it was considered a close relative of the lynxes. It has a tail nearly a third of its body length, and both sexes look the same. The caracal is 65-90 cm in length (about 2-3 ft), plus 30 cm tail (about 1 ft). Compared to lynxes, it has longer legs and a slimmer appearance. The color of the fur varies between wine-red, grey, or sand-colored. Melanistic (black) caracals also occur. Young caracals bear reddish spots on the underside; adults do not have markings except for black spots above the eyes. Under parts of chin and body are white, and a narrow black line runs from the corner of the eye to the nose.
The pupils of a caracal's eyes contract to form circles rather than the slits found in most small cats. The most conspicuous feature of the caracal is elongated, tufted black ears, which also explain the origin of its name, karakul, Turkish for "black ear". A juvenile has black on the outside of the ears, which disappears as it becomes an adult. Its ears, which it uses to locate prey, are controlled by 20 different muscles