SQUIRRELS
DESERT SCORPION MONKEYS
MOA
NE
W
From the makers of
TM
,.#$1-̏# 8 DINOSAURS THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES THAT EVOLUTION FORGOT
THE WORLD’S
BIGGEST
50
ANIMALS
PLUS OSPREY CHICKENS BLACK ANTS DRAGONFLIES HUMMINGBIRD
FACTS ABOUT
SECRETS OF THE PLANET’S FAVOURITE BIRD REVEALED
INSIDE AN ANT COLONY DISCOVER HOW THESE COMPLEX STRUCTURES ARE BUILT
FOLLOWING NEMO
PANDAS UNCOVERED
MEET THE MEERKAT
The strange life cycle Amazing info on of a colourful creature Africa’s best lookout
ISSUE 04
WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE MOST ICONIC ENDANGERED ANIMAL
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Tweets from our readers… “Great article on #Badgers in this month’s @World AnimalsMag #StopTheCull #SaveTheBadgers” @sandraevans
“I am now a World of Animals fan for life <3” @NoMagRyan
“Great mag @World AnimalsMag. Will be frequently purchasing :)” @foxyflic
“Amazing creatures. We’ll have to go and see them, one day :) In the wild! #PrideOfLions” @emma_cowen
“The first magazine I have read cover to cover in one go, loved it!”
© Naturepl.com
@MainDavo32
Follow us at… @WorldAnimalsMag animalanswers.co.uk worldofanimalsmag WorldMags.net
Fascinating facts Q&As Amazing videos Upload your photos and win prizes!
3
Welcome to issue 4 WorldMags.net
06 Amazing animals
40 All about pandas
12 The world’s biggest animals
50 Toronto Zoo
From a beetle the size of your hand, to the great blue whale
22 Common potoo The bug-eyed bird from Central America
24 Meerkats
20 fascinating facts about Africa’s most famous lookout
Take a look into the fascinating world of the peculiar panda Behind the scenes at Canada’s premier zoo
54 Under an anthill Go underground and discover the ant colonies
56 Evolution of a chicken
The docile bird that could’ve evolved from a dinosaur
26 Javan rhino
No more than 50 of these unique creatures remain
28 Wildlife of the American desert
The incredible creatures that cope with desert extremes
12
58 Orange clownfish
The unbelievable traits and life cycle of this colourful fish
62 Penguins
Discover the secrets of the world’s most loved bird
34 Meet the monkeys 72 Modern-day Six of the most diverse species dinosaurs of monkey on the planet 36 Lost forever: Moa The giant flightless bird that was eaten into extinction
38 Journey of the dragonfly
Is this the world’s greatest long-distance flying insect?
THE IUCN RED LIST
Throughout World of Animals you will see symbols like the ones you see here. These are from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of animal species in the world. Here’s what it they mean:
We reveal the animals that are related to prehistoric beasts
40
80 Red squirrel revival Britain’s woodland favourite is making a comeback
98 The osprey
How does this breathtaking bird of prey catch fish?
EXTINCT EXTINCT IN THE WILD CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
28
ENDANGERED VULNERABLE NEAR THREATENED LEAST CONCERN
4
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net Enjoye the issued Get 3 mo ? for just £ re 3 page
62
60
50
88 Share your own animal photos
90 Photograph pets
FACTS ABOUT 92 Reader Q&A
SECRETS OF THE PLANET’S FAVOURITE BIRD REVEALED
34
24
95 Win a pair of spotting binoculars 80
38
56
WIN! A STAY AT DURRELL WILDLIFE PARK
WorldMags.net
94
5
The amazing world of animals
WorldMags.net
6
WorldMags.net
The amazing world of animals
WorldMags.net
Kingfishers are most famous for these spectacular dives but only certain species specialise in catching fish. Some species favour other prey such as frogs, worms, molluscs and various insects. Kingfishers usually hunt from an exposed perch and when prey is spotted the bird swoops down to snatch it from the water. The kingfishers’ habitat includes still or slowflowing water such as lakes, canals and rivers in lowland areas.
WorldMags.net
© Kevin Elsby/FLPA
A kingfisher emerges from the water clutching a catch in its beak
7
The amazing world of animals
WorldMags.net
© Alain Compost/Biosphoto/FLPA
A hungry-looking central Bornean orangutan with three mangoes in his mouth
8
Orangutans share 97 per cent of the same DNA as humans. It’s not surprising then that they possess similar qualities. On a daily basis they use tools for all manner of tasks, including getting their favourite fruits down from trees. Orangutans feed on fruits, leaves, flowers and insects and have their favourite meals just like humans do. They’ve been known to travel considerable distances for their favourite fruits,
WorldMags.net
The amazing world of animals
WorldMags.net
Two male stag beetles engage in combat over females, food or territory
WorldMags.net
© Alamy
Stag beetles are so called due to their large, impressive jaws that resemble the antlers of a male deer. These huge mandibles are used chiefly for wrestling and fighting with other males to resolve disputes over mating sites and sustenance. Despite possessing these fearsomelooking weapons and growing up to a massive 12 centimetres (4.7 inches), stag beetles are rarely aggressive towards humans.
9
The amazing world of animals
WorldMags.net
© Frans Lanting/FLPA
An ambitious Galápagos snake tries to make lunch of this lava lizard on the Galápagos Islands
10
The Galápagos snake is one of several species of snake that occur on the Galápagos Islands. Typically around 90 centimetres (three feet) in length, these snakes are rear-fanged and harmless to humans, killing their prey by constriction and toxic saliva. The unfortunate Galápagos lava lizard pictured here is one of nine species of lava lizard endemic to the Galápagos Islands.
WorldMags.net
The amazing world of animals
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
11
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net
12
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Discover how these massive creatures reached the upper limits of physical size and learn the advantages of being big
THE W RLD’S
BIGGEST ANIMALS Words Laura Mears
The largest animals on the planet dominate their ecological niches, some are apex predators, feeding on anything that moves, while others are so large that no other animals dare approach them. Becoming large is an evolutionary challenge, so the planets animal giants have developed a range of adaptations to enable their bodies to grow to such huge proportions, from hearts that weigh as much as a car, to teeth the size of bricks.
WorldMags.net
13
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net
Elephant seal
The enormous southern elephant seal is the largest of the order carnivora. Living in the near-freezing sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters, they have a large volume of blood, enabling them to dive to depths of between 400 metres (1,310 feet) and 1500 metres (4,920 feet), where they hunt for marine life, including skates, rays, octopuses and even small sharks. Incredibly, males are up to 10 times larger than females, the biggest size difference in any mammalian species. They can weigh in excess of 4,000 kilograms (8,820 pounds). They have a large proboscis, resembling an elephant’s trunk. Males are very aggressive during the mating season and use their enormous weight in fierce and often deadly battles over females.
THE
BIGGEST
CARNIVORE
BELOW The size difference between male and female elephant seals is staggering
Weight
How big?
Crocodylus porosus Class Reptilia
Territory Indo-Pacific coasts Diet Carnivore Lifespan 70-100 years Adult weight 400-1,000kg / 880-2,200lbs Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
How big? Weight
Large flippers Despite their size, elephant seals can still move rapidly on land. Proboscis Elephant seals are so named not for their size, but for their proboscis.
1 elephant seal = 5 cows
SALTWATER CROCODILE
14
ON EARTH
Saltwater crocodile That’s a big croc Male saltwater crocs are over twice the length of the average man.
Saltwater crocodiles are the largest living reptiles on the planet. Adult males average around 5 metres (16 feet) in length, but some individuals can reach sizes of up to 7 meters (23 feet). These muscular animals have broader bodies than other crocodile species, and as their length increases, their body weight goes up rapidly. A 4.8-metre (16-foot) long adult weighs 520 kilograms (1,100 pounds), while a 5.8-metre (19-foot) long adult weighs twice as much. They use their strong hind legs and tails to anchor themselves against the current, leaving their eyes and nostrils above water. If they need to float at the surface, they breathe shallowly, using their full lungs for buoyancy. The plates covering their chest and abdomen work as a hydroplane, enabling the enormous reptiles to skim through the water, and they can reach top speeds of up to 29 kilometres (18 miles) per hour. The crocodiles use their weight to their advantage when hunting, launching themselves out of the water using their muscular tails and hind legs. They have the strongest bite force of any living animal and their largest teeth are the size of a human finger. The saltwater crocodile can take down 4 TIMES STRONGER extremely large prey, including deer, THAN A LION’S kangaroo and even water buffalo.
3700 ,
1 saltwater crocodile = 10 men
PSI
BITE FORCE
WorldMags.net
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL Mirounga leonina Class Mammalia
Territory Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters Diet Carnivore Lifespan 20 years Adult weight 4,000kg / 8,820lbs Conservation Status
Siberian tiger
The world’s largest cat, the Siberian tiger has incredibly strong jaws and long, sharp claws. It feasts on large deer but doesn’t shy away from taking on bears when deer population is low. They grab the prey by the throat with their powerful paws to disable it, before breaking its spine with a crushing bite.
10 3.6 Length of a Siberian tiger’s claw in CM
TIGER Panthera tigris
LEAST CONCERN
Size difference Female elephant seals are much smaller than their male counterparts.
Class Mammalia
Territory India, China, southeast Russia Diet Carnivore Lifespan 10-25 years Adult weight 200kg/ 440lbs Conservation Status
ENDANGERED
UPPER CANINES CAN BE UP TO
10CM
Weight
How big? 1 Siberian tiger = 45 house cats
Capybara
CAPYBARA Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris Class Mammalia
Territory South America Diet Herbivore Lifespan 8-10 years Adult weight 45kg / 100lbs Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
The largest rodent Capybaras are the largest rodents on Earth and look similar to guinea pigs. However they grow to over one metre in length.
Tons of krill a blue whale eats a day
50CM 1CM Average length of a giraffe’s tongue
The size of a titan beetle’s mandibles
91 3M kilograms
Heaviest recorded capybara
The largest wingspan of the California condor
07 1.4
metres Largest
“Siberian tigers are known to take on black and brown bears” Known as the giant guinea pig, the Capybara measures over 1 metre in length (3.3 feet). In order for rodents to be able to reproduce so rapidly, their body size has had to remain small (in comparison with other animals). The Capybara has a stocky stature, with a short head and legs.
Biggest animals in numbers
saltwater crocodile on record
KILOGRAMS The average weight of an ostrich’s egg
1.6 300 METRES The diameter of a whale shark’s mouth
MILLION The number of eggs an ocean sunfish lays at a time
Giraffe The giraffe is the world’s tallest animal thanks to its 2-metre (6.6-foot) long neck. Their legs are about the same length as their necks, but in spite of this, giraffes give birth standing up and the calf drops 1.5 metres (5 feet) to the floor when it is born. The neck itself actually has just seven vertebrae, the same number as a human, but despite this, it is surprisingly flexible. Each vertebra measures more than 28 centimetres (11 inches) in length. The weight of the neck itself is supported by muscles and ligaments, which are anchored to the vertebrae at the top of the back. The brain is over two metres (6.6 feet) higher than the heart, so in order to pump blood against the force of gravity, the heart has thickened muscular walls. It beats rapidly to maintain blood pressure in the head and to stop blood pooling in the feet, the giraffe’s legs are surrounded by thick, tight skin. When they lower their heads to drink, a potentially fatal rush of blood to the head is prevented by a series of valves in the veins in their neck.
WorldMags.net
Large vertebrae The vertebrae that support a giraffe’s neck are massively elongated, measuring over 28cm (11in) each.
GIRAFFE Giraffa camelopardalis Class Mammalia
Territory Africa Diet Herbivore Lifespan 25 years Adult weight 680-1,360kg / 1,500-3,000lbs Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
15
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net
OCEAN SUNFISH Mola Mola
Gentle giants Despite their size, the creatures are fairly timid and docile, posing no real threat to human divers.
Class Ray-finned fish
Territory All oceans Diet Omnivore Lifespan Up to 10 years Adult weight Up to 2,300kg / 5,070lbs Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
THE
BIGGEST
BONY FISH
Ocean sunfish
How big? Weight
This gentle giant of the ocean is as bizarre to look at not only for its sheer size, but also for its exaggerated, almost distorted features. Lacking the rear fin most other fish use to propel themselves through the water, the sunfish appears rounded and almost at odds with other ocean dwellers. This shape earned it the Latin name mola, which means millstone. Being such large, cumbersome creatures, sunfish are constant prey for tiny parasites that can easily breed on the skin. Though they mainly feast on slowermoving jellyfish, the sunfish will eat algae, zooplankton or even tiny fish if they can catch them. Their top weight of up to 2,300 kilograms (5,070 pounds) makes them the heaviest bony fish in the sea.
ON EARTH
1 ocean sunfish = 29 divers
Biggest bugs Giant weta Deinacrida heteracantha
Giant stick insect Phobaeticus kirbyi
Tarantula hawk Pepsis grossa
One of the heaviest recorded insects in the world
They grow to huge sizes to blend in with their surroundings
The huge wasp that can grow up to five centimetres in length
Native to New Zealand, the giant weta (Deinacrida heteracantha) is thought to be one of the heaviest insects on Earth, with some found weighing up to 70 grams (2.5 ounces). Despite its size the IUCN Red List currently classes the giant weta as vulnerable.
The stick insect is found in several colours across the globe and is known for its intricate natural camouflage. Among the largest varieties of the species is the Phobaeticus kirbyi of Borneo, which can grow up to 55 centimetres (22 inches) long.
Tarantula hawks are the largest variety of wasp and can grow to nearly five centimetres (two inches) in length. As their not-altogether-friendly name suggests, they prey on larger spiders, using their stinger to paralyse and capture them.
16
WorldMags.net
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net Relying on fins This massive fish lacks a recognisable tail so, equipped with only small pectoral fins, the ocean fish relies on its long thin dorsal and anal fins.
Ostrich
OSTRICH
The largest bird in the world, adult male ostriches stand at nearly 3 metres (10 feet) tall from head to toe. Their long, powerful legs enable them to travel from 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 feet) with every single step. To avoid being spotted by predators, these tall birds lie close to the floor when threatened, extending their necks forward along the ground.
Struthio camelus Class Aves
Territory Africa Diet Omnivore Lifespan 30-40 years Adult weight 145kg / 320lbs Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
CAN RUN UP TO
45
CALIFORNIA CONDOR Gymnogyps californianus Class Aves
MPH
Territory California and Arizona, USA and Baja California, Mexico Diet Carnivore Lifespan 60 years Adult weight Up to 14kg / 31lbs Conservation Status
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Californian condor The biggest flying bird on earth, the Californian condor has a wingspan of up to three metres (10 feet) and weighs an average of nine kilograms (20 pounds). They glide through the air, reaching speeds of 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour), and climbing to altitudes of 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles).
Eggnormous Titan beetle A giant insect worthy of its name Adult titan beetles can reach a huge 16.5 centimetres (6.5 inches) in length – that’s longer than some of the smallest species of dog, and it is believed that their larvae are 5 centimetres (2 inches) in diameter, although they have never been seen. Despite their size, male titan beetles are actually able to fly for a short period – just long enough to find a mate.
The Ostrich egg is so big, it could feed 15 hungry people Ostrich eggs contain more iron and magnesium than the equivalent serving of chicken eggs. They typically weigh around 1.4 kilograms (about two dozen chicken eggs) and take up to 90 minutes to hard boil.
Ostrich 13cm
Chicken 4.5cm Quail 2cm
“Ostrich eggs take up to 90 minutes to hard boil” WorldMags.net
17
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net
Whale shark The largest living fish is the whale shark, which reaches an average length of just under 10 metres (33 feet). The largest confirmed individual measured a huge 12.65 metres (41.5 feet) and weighed 21,320 kilograms (47,000 pounds), with unconfirmed reports of even larger fish. The whale shark has thousands of teeth, each of which is two millimetres (0.08 inches) in length, arranged in around 300 rows pointing backward into its mouth. But they are not used for hunting. The whale shark is actually a filter feeder. As it swims along, it opens its wide, square mouth, taking in water and filtering it through a series of cartilaginous spines that cover its gills. They act as a sieve,
WHALE SHARK Rhincodon typus Class Cartilaginous fish
Territory Tropical and warm-temperate seas Diet Omnivore Lifespan 70 years Adult weight 9,000kg / 20,000lbs Conservation Status
VULNERABLE
extracting zooplankton like krill, jellyfish and crustaceans. It might seem unusual that the largest fish in the sea would eat some of the smallest life forms, but the second largest fish, the basking shark, is also a filter feeder, as are many of the large whales. Schools of fish are often hard to find but living on the abundant microscopic ocean life enables whale sharks to survive on little food. Like many other large species, the whale shark takes a long time to mature, so it consequently has a long life span. They do not reach adulthood until the age of 30, and it is thought that they might live to be 100 years old, although this has not yet been proven.
THE
BIGGEST SHARK ON EARTH
Weight
How big? Late bloomers Whale sharks take a long time to grow to their full size, finally reaching up to 10m (33) at the age of 30.
1 whale shark = 6 family cars
How does it compare to other types of shark?
Whale shark – 12m (46ft)
Basking shark – 10m (33ft)
Great white shark – 7m (23ft)
Megamouth shark – 4.6m (15ft)
Nurse shark – 4m (13ft)
18
WorldMags.net
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net Long trunk Using its trunk, an elephant can reach to heights of up to 7m (23) and can li up to 350kg (770lbs) objects.
African elephant
Large ears Excess heat generated by the elephant’s huge body is transferred to the air by their huge ears, which contain a rich network of blood vessels.
Heavy tusks Elephant tusks can grow to 3m (10) long and the heaviest on record weighed 94kg (207lbs).
AFRICAN BUSH ELEPHANT Loxodonta africana Class Mammalia
CAN EAT UP TO
450
KG
A DAY
Territory Central and southern Africa Diet Herbivore Lifespan 55-70 years Adult weight 5,500kg / 12,130lbs Conservation Status
VULNERABLE
How big? Weight
An adult male African bush elephant stands 3.3 metres (11 feet) tall at the shoulder and its skull alone weighs the same as an average woman. But getting to this size has not been easy. Becoming the largest living land animal has taken the species 24 million generations. They have thick, strong bones and their legs are positioned almost vertically beneath the body to support their weight with minimal energy expenditure. Elephants survive on a nutrient-poor diet, and must eat for up to 16 hours every day in order to take in enough calories. They consume four to six per cent of their body weight in vegetation every day, an average of 150 kilograms (330 pounds). Grinding all this matter takes its toll on the teeth, and elephants grow six new sets during their lifetime – no easy task, as each molar weighs five kilograms (11 pounds) and is the size of a brick. Reaching full adult size takes an elephant over ten years and pregnancy takes 22 months. Their size does come with a major advantage, though. African elephants are one of the few species with no natural predators. Lions, crocodiles and hyena are known to prey on elephant calves, but are unable to tackle a full-grown adult.
1 African elephant = 4 family cars
Green anaconda Although not quite the longest snake, the green anaconda is the heaviest, at 227 kilograms (500 pounds). It is a nonvenomous boa and uses its huge size to crush its prey. It feeds on anything that it can manage to kill, usually choosing prey weighing from 14 to 50 per cent of its own body weight, including large rodents like capybara. Despite measuring a conspicuous five to nine metres (16 to 30 feet) in length, the green anaconda uses stealth to ambush its prey. It has green, patterned skin for camouflage. This is particularly GREEN ANACONDA effective in water, where Eunectes murinus a submerged green Class Reptilia anaconda cannot be seen even from a short distance. Using their curved teeth, anacondas Territory South America restrain their prey, before Diet Carnivore Lifespan 10 years coiling around it until it Adult weight Up to 227kg / suffocates. They swallow 500lbs their victims whole, Conservation Status preferring to eat them head-first to ensure the limbs do not get stuck on NOT EVALUATED the way down.
ABOVE Biologist and staff at biological station El Frio in Venezuela carrying a living, 5.3-metre (17-foot) long anaconda
WorldMags.net
19
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net THE
BIGGEST ANIMAL
Blue whale
ON EARTH
Baleen plates Over 300 baleen plates line the blue whale’s upper jaw, each measuring 1m (3.3) in length.
The blue whale is not only the largest living animal; it is the largest animal ever known to have lived. Some of the dinosaurs may have come close, but these enormous mammals reach adult lengths of up to 30 metres (100 feet), and weigh over 150 tons. Even newborn calves are larger than most other full-grown animals, weighing an incredible 2.7 tons, and they grow at an astonishing rate, putting on around 90 kilograms (200 pounds) every day for the first year. On land, blue whales would be crushed by the weight of their own bodies, but suspended beneath the water, their size has been less restricted by the effect of gravity. Their internal organs are massively scaled up; their heart is the size of a car, and their tongue weighs as much as the largest living land animal, the African elephant. Their enormous size enables blue whales to make incredible low-frequency rumbling noises that can be heard up to 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) away, making them the loudest animals on the planet. The blue whale has a huge mouth, with a tongue large enough for 50 people to stand on it, but their throats
Ventral pleats Grooves running along the throat allow the skin to expand as the whale takes in water.
BLUE WHALE Balaenoptera musculus Class Mammalia
only allow them to swallow objects the size of a beach ball. The majority of their diet is krill and like the world’s largest fish, the whale shark, the blue whale is a filter feeder. It has large fingernail-like baleen plates lining its upper jaw, and feeds by taking in a mouthful of water and then forcing it through the plates using its muscular tongue, trapping the krill. At the richest feeding times of the year, a single individual can eat up to 3.6 tons of krill every day.
Japanese spider crab The leg span of the Japanese spider crab is the largest in the world for a crab and can be up to 4 metres (13 feet). Their bodies are bigger than a dinner plate, measuring up to 40 centimetres (15.7 inches) in diameter. This size comes at a cost and their spindly legs are fragile and prone to falling off. However, like other crabs, they can regenerate lost limbs.
JAPANESE SPIDER CRAB Macrocheira kaempferi Class Malacostraca
ENDANGERED
Giant squid
GIANT SQUID
The biggest squid ever reported to be seen is a staggering 20 metres (66 feet) long. There are several accounts of the beast and numerous sightings. The maximum size reported is closer to 13 metres (43 feet). It has the largest eyes of any living creature, measuring up to 27 centimetres (11 inches) in diameter, which it uses to detect faint bioluminescence deep under the sea.
Class Cephalopoda
Territory Japan Diet Omnivore Lifespan 100 years Adult weight 19kg / 42lbs Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
20
Territory All oceans except the Arctic Diet Omnivore Lifespan 60-80 years Adult weight Up to 200tn Conservation Status
WorldMags.net
Architeuthis dux
Territory Deep oceans Diet Carnivore Lifespan 3-5 years Adult weight 200kg / 440lbs Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
The world’s biggest animals
WorldMags.net Dorsal fin Despite their large body size, the dorsal fin of a blue whale can be as small as 8cm (3.1in) long.
Big eyes The blue whale’s eye is over six times the size of a human’s eye, at around 15cm (6in) wide.
Small but powerful It uses its fins to help glide through the water at speeds of up to 50km/h (31mph).
1 blue whale = 130 family cars
St Bernard
“The blue whale is not only the largest living animal; it is the largest animal ever to have lived”
Bred originally as a rescue dog in the Italian and Swiss Alps, the St Bernard is the heaviest breed of dog, and can weigh in excess of 120 kilograms (265 pounds). They grow rapidly and unfortunately, due to their size, the breed is susceptible to a variety of joint and heart problems
How big?
DOG Canis lupus familiaris
Biggest features Incredible animal attributes make for impressive reading
Class Mammalia
Territory Worldwide Diet Omnivore Lifespan 8-10 years Adult weight 80kg / 176lbs Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
1 St Bernard = 30 Chihuahuas
Biggest horns: Ankole longhorn This breed of cattle has huge horns that can reach up to 2.4m (7.9) long. The horns provide more than just good armour – they provide cooling by blood-vesseled honeycombs. AnkoleWatusis weigh 410730kg (900-1,600lbs).
WorldMags.net
Biggest eyes: The tarsier A small primate, about the size of a squirrel, the tarsier’s eye is the same size and weight as its brain. They’re fixed in the skull so can’t be turned, but to compensate, the tarsier can rotate its head 180 degrees, just like an owl.
Biggest canines: The walrus A walrus’ tusks can grow up to 1m (3.3). They use them mainly to display dominance in mating displays but also as weapons. Amazingly, the walrus also uses them as hooks to haul their heavy bodies up onto land or ice floes.
©Corbis; FLPA; Getty; Alamy: Thinkstock; Photoshot
1 blue whale = 2.5 doubledecker buses
Weight
Length
Weight
How big?
21
Bizarre! WorldMags.net The strange bird that spends most of its day standing upright and motionless COMMON POTOO Nyctibius griseus Class Aves
Territory South America Diet Carnivore Lifespan Unknown Adult weight 180g / 6.7oz Conservation Status
The common potoo is the South-American bird with the incredible camouflage and the ability to stand completely still to mimic a tree branch
LEAST CONCERN
They have a peculiar posture
Standing motionless and upright, a potoo’s best form of defence is mimicking the tree branch it’s perched on. During the day it perches on branches of a tree using its terrific camouflage, a brown plumage dotted with streaks of black and grey, to avoid detection.
It’s a bird with a massive head
The bird has an unusually large head and facial features in comparison with its small frame. Paired with the seeming lack of a neck, its distinctive appearance comes largely from oversized facial features. While the beak is deceptively small, potoos can open their mouths very wide to scoop in prey.
Potoos lay a single egg
The female potoo lays one lilac-dotted egg directly on the top of a tree stump. In about a month it hatches and the chick will grow flying feathers within 50 days. Soon the chick adopts the same signature posture.
They’re the stuff of legend
Legend has it that the call of a potoo depicts an ancient love story where a kindred heart has been captured in the bird, who calls to the Moon. Other beliefs suggest the song can send luck to friends, bad luck to enemies and even bring messages from beyond the grave.
Their eyes change colour at night © Corbis; The Lilac Roller
Set close to their wide mouths are huge yellow eyes, again somewhat disproportionate for the face of a bird this size. They turn a vivid orange in the night, reflecting the moonlit sky. Potoos keep their eyes closed for large parts of the day for even better camouflage.
22
RIGHT With its eyes closed a potoo can become almost invisible
WorldMags.net
Inspired by the world’s tiniest monkeys!
WorldMags.net
Little Lulu An Amazing Amazon Finger Monkey Collectable Doll Remarkably detailed with soft, faux fur Poseable limbs hug your fingers!
An Adorable Treasure .99* For Only
29
£
Adding to her realism, Little Lulu is approx. 5.25 inches (13.33 cm) in length (not including her tail), and is fully poseable.
She’ll grab hold of your Ånger...and heart! Living in the treetops of the Amazon rainforest the world’s tiniest monkeys are called 'finger monkeys' because they’re the size of a human finger! Now, The Ashton-Drake Galleries brings you a FIRST-EVER treasure inspired by these tiny treasures of the wild – the Little Lulu The Amazing Amazon Finger Monkey Doll.
This monkey doll is not a toy, but a fine collectable.
PAY NOTHING NOW! RESERVATION APPLICATION Please Respond Promptly
To: The Bradford Exchange, PO Box 653, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 4RA
Each little monkey doll is a marvel of handcraftsmanship by artist Angelica Holm, delicately handpainted and covered with soft, faux fur. And, just like the real monkeys who have an adorable habit of clinging to your fingers when you hold them, this doll’s tiny limbs can be posed to grasp your finger...guaranteed to make you smile!
Certificate of Authenticity and 365-Day Money-Back Guarantee
A remarkable value – satisfaction guaranteed
Name (Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms)____________________________
YES! Please reserve__(Qty) of Little Lulu for me as described in this advertisement. I need PAY NOTHING NOW!
(PLEASE PRINT)
Little Lulu can be yours for just £29.99 (plus £7.99 S&H)*, backed by our 365-day moneyback guarantee. There is no risk and nothing to pay now. Don’t miss out – simply complete and return your Reservation Application today!
Address________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Postcode ____________ Telephone __________________
© The Bradford Exchange. *Offer applies UK only and is subject to availability. S&H (Service and Handling). Full Terms and Conditions are available on request. The Bradford Group, 1 Castle Yard, Richmond, Surrey TW10 6TF. Our guarantee is in addition to your Statutory Rights, which include a right to cancel your order for any non-personalised item under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations. 03-01853-001
Email Address ___________________________________ In the search box, please enter LULU Quote reference code P303578
WorldMags.net
Please note, we may contact you via email with information about your reservation and other relevant offers
From time to time The Bradford Exchange may allow carefully screened companies to contact you. If you do not wish to receive such offers, please tick box
Order Ref:P303578
20 Amazing facts Meerkats
WorldMags.net
They’ve been TV stars for some time, but what makes meerkats such fascinating creatures? They are family animals Groups of several meerkat families, known as mobs, will live together in a burrow. It’s a highly social setup where everyone is expected to pitch in and help out. A lot of time is also spent grooming and playing with one another in order to bond as a family unit, which helps them survive.
A meerkat can close its ears Their long, horizontal pupils provide excellent peripheral vision for the hot, dusty environment. The dark patches around their eyes help to cut glare, as well as see into the distance. Meerkats also have the ability to close their ears when digging to protect them from dust and debris.
Found in zoos around the world, the meerkats’ natural habitat is the Kalahari Desert, in southern Africa.
Meerkats are such good hunters that they have been known to be tamed for use as rodent-catchers. Adult meerkats can kill and eat poisonous snakes and scorpions because they’re resistant to the venom. A meerkat’s territory is ten square kilometres On a sunny day on the African plains, meerkats will wake up early in the morning and leave the burrow to sunbathe before hunting. Their territory is around ten square kilometres (four square miles).
The meerkat diet is actually quite diverse and will see them eat insects, lizards, birds and fruit. In the wild, meerkats have a life expectancy of around eight years and this rises to 13 years when in captivity. Young meerkats are so wary of the threat posed by birds of prey that even aeroplanes overhead will have them running.
24
WorldMags.net
Meerkats can be fierce fighters
If a group, or mob, feels threatened by a predator, they will sometimes try attacking it in numbers in order to overpower the enemy. Although they usually do run for cover, meerkats have sharp claws and teeth and can be fierce fighters when needed.
The gestation period for females is 70-77 days, and will see them give birth in one of the mob’s burrows.
WorldMags.net
Meerkats
It’s the dominant male and female of a mob that has most of the young, with the rest of the group helping to baby-sit the pups. It is even possible for meerkat females to nurse their young while striking that familiar upright pose. Meerkats live in open, arid spaces with short grasses and spare bush. They avoid deserts, forests and mountainous areas. Meerkats memorise the location of thousands of escape holes within their territory, so they can quickly avoid predators.
Pups are born in the rainy season
Female meerkats usually have several litters of between two and five pups each year. This usually occurs during the rainy season when there is plenty of food available. Pups are born mostly hairless and with their eyes and ears shut. The eyes open after about two weeks and after a month they will begin to venture out from the burrow for the first time. They control their body temperature Meerkats have dark skin and thin fur on their bellies that enables them to control body temperature. They can sunbathe on their backs to be quickly warmed by the Sun, or alternatively cool down with their stomach on a cold rock to counter the heat of the midday Sun.
Meerkat predators include hawks and eagles, but also snakes and jackals.
They can sing a song
The meerkats serving as sentries for the others will climb the highest rock to look for predators. When all is well, they make a low constant peeping sound, but when they spot danger, a bark or whistle warns the others to take cover.
They move home frequently
© FLPA; Thinkstock
Each meerkat mob will utilise several different burrows and move from one to another. Each burrow will consist of an extensive tunnel-and-room system underground that stays cool. The females will use certain rooms especially for giving birth and baby-sitting.
WorldMags.net
25
Endangered WorldMags.net
Javan rhinoceros JAVAN RHINOCEROS Rhinoceros sondaicus Class Mammalia
Territory Western Indonesia Diet Grass and foliage Lifespan 30-40 years Adult weight 900-2,300kg / 2,000-5,100lbs Conservation Status
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
In April 2010 a Javan rhino was found dead in Vietnam with a single bullet lodged in its leg and horn hacked off. One year later, in October 2011, the Javan rhino was extinct in Vietnam. Today, no more than 50 of these unique creatures remain anywhere on Earth and the species is not simply circulating the drain of extinction, but being fired into it by humans at a brutal rate. As well as poaching, the Javan rhino is under assault from widespread habitat loss, logging, construction and more
Why it’s endangered Poaching
The most direct way that the Javan rhino is heading towards extinction is through poaching, which despite its illegality is still practised due to inadequate lawenforcement. Poaching was the cause of the Javan rhino becoming extinct in Vietnam and historically was the primary cause of the species being eradicated from most of Indonesia.
Logging
Illegal logging is a major issue for Indonesia and is the cause of severe habitat loss for the Javan rhino, which typically inhabits wooded and jungle terrains. While national park forests remain protected, the areas directly surrounding them are being chipped away, isolating the species and preventing any expansion of its territory, thereby restricting growth in numbers.
Genetic diversity
One of the biggest threats to the Javan rhino is genetic diversity, with the small size of the population potentially leading to breeding issues, where offspring are more prone to diseases and viruses. Unfortunately there is very little anyone can do apart from protect the surviving animals as best as possible.
What you can do… WWW.SAVETHERHINO.ORG
Save the Rhino International works to conserve populations of critically endangered rhinos, no matter the species, throughout Africa and Asia. Visit www.savetherhino.org for more information.
26
“If there is any type of disaster we could lose the whole population in one fell swoop” WorldMags.net
Javan rhinoceros
WorldMags.net
Decreasing numbers How Javan rhinoceros numbers have declined drastically over a century
Java
1914
Estimated number of animals left today
50
Estimated total animal population 100 years ago
200
Interview with a rhino expert Susie Ellis is executive director of the International Rhino Foundation
The decreasing habitat 200 years ago the Javan rhinoceros could be found in large numbers. Today it’s only found in one tiny area, the Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia.
West Java
Current known locations
Indonesia
What are the primary challenges to the Javan rhino going forward? The main thing that the Javan rhino is threatened by is its very tiny population and the fact that it’s in only one place on the entire planet, so if there is any type of disaster, such as a tsunami or volcanic eruption or a disease outbreak, we could lose the whole population in one fell swoop. As such, one of the programmes we have going on now is expanding the rhino-friendly area within the Java national park and laying the groundwork for transportation of a subset of the population to a second site, not yet identified, within the species’ historic range. For more info about the International Rhino Foundation and the various ways you can help, please visit: www.rhinos.org.
WorldMags.net
© Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures/FLPA
What projects are you currently involved in for protecting the Javan rhinos? One of our most successful programs is in Indonesia, where we work with Sumatran and Javan rhinos, both of which are little known to the world at large. We operate 17 rhino protection units and they operate in three national parks, two in Sumatra and one in Java. The one in Java is home to the only remaining population of Javan rhinos, which numbers no more than 50 individuals.
27
The wildlife of the American desert
WorldMags.net
28
WorldMags.net
The wildlife of the American desert
WorldMags.net
The wildlife of the American desert From freezing winters to scorching summers, North America is home to incredible wildlife that must cope with the extremes of the desert Words Charis Webster
WorldMags.net
29
The wildlife of the American desert Five amazing animals from the desert Most elegant Hummingbird Hummingbirds hover in mid-air, rapidly flapping their wings up to 80 times per second, causing a small hum.
Most aggressive Western diamondback rattlesnake The western diamondback rattlesnake is the most aggressive and irritable of rattlesnakes, inflicting more bites than any other.
Most speedy Roadrunner A member of the cuckoo family, the roadrunner can reach sprinting speeds of up to 32km/h (20mph).
WorldMags.net
There are four main deserts in North America: the Great Basin, the Mojave, the Chihuahuan and the Sonoran. Despite the stereotypical perception of deserts being miles of golden sand with disgusting dryness and deathly heats, American deserts vary in climate, vegetation and, of course, wildlife. All but the Sonoran endure ice-cold winters, where plantation and life forms prove their strength and adaptability in debilitating circumstances. Vast stretches of heat-drenched land all of a sudden coagulate with undrained basins, scattered with struggling vegetation, endless species of cacti, remarkable mountain ranges and limestone hills. Animals are armed with incredible defence mechanisms to cope with such varying climates and extreme conditions. Some come well-equipped with fascinating skins and body armour to hide and shield them from harm, while others are adorned with aweinspiring feats of evolutionary development to enable them to survive. In the desert, the greatest daily threat doesn’t come with sharp teeth or razor claws – it’s the environment itself that poses the most danger. The desert’s creatures must find food from among scarce resources, water during times of unbearable drought and shade in the midst of scorching, murderous temperatures. Specially adapted reptiles crawl, slither and even bite their way through vast masses of sand in order to find food and shelter away from the scorching heat. Take the desert pocket mouse, for example, the North American species of Heteromyid rodent found in the south-west of the USA and parts of Mexico. The small, fluffy rodent can burrow into sand, soil and earth, actually chewing its own path out. The harsh dryness of the desert is perhaps a
good location for an animal that doesn’t need to drink, as the rodent gets just enough liquid from the tiny seeds it feeds on to survive. The ring-tailed cat is another creature native to the arid regions of North America. Actually a member of the raccoon family (and therefore, not even a cat at all) the mammal is solitary, preying on small desert creatures such as rats, birds, snakes and lizards. The cute-looking critter is also slightly partial to a wild berry or two though, enabling it to enjoy less-mobile suppers when its normal feast of choice is perhaps too quick off the mark. With a strong pig-like resemblance, the desert peccary is actually a medium-sized mammal of the Tayassuidae family or, as they’re more commonly named, new world pigs. They mark their territory using a scent gland actually situated on the top of their rump and stomp on the ground in herds in the search for cacti, roots and bulbs as well as fruits, nuts and berries. One of the peccary’s primary predators is the coyote, although this opportunist will pretty much eat anything it can lay its paws on. Also known as the American jackal, coyotes habitually travel in large groups but hunt in pairs. The clever creature has also adapted well to growing human populations and devastating habitat loss. They’re BELOW A white-tailed jack rabbit hopping in its perfectly camouflaged winter coat
“The greatest daily threat doesn’t come with sharp teeth or razor claws – it’s the environment itself that poses the most danger” BELOW A hummingbird can flap its wings over 80 times per second, making them almost a blur
Most unusual Tarantula hawk wasp The female tarantula hawk hunts tarantulas to feed its larvae by stinging, paralysing the tarantula and dragging it back to its nest.
Most unusually armed Striped skunk Skunks can blast a foul mist as far as 3m (10) to warn off would-be predators an effective attack that can leave a gross smell lingering for days.
30
WorldMags.net
The wildlife of the American desert
WorldMags.net
ABOVE Desert scorpions are the deadliest creatures of the desert, with a toxic venom
formidable when on the hunt due to keen vision, a strong sense of smell, as well as the ability to maintain fast sprints of up to 64 kilometres (40 miles) per hour – giving most prey a competitive race for survival. You can’t mention desert wilderness without paying respect to the vast array of snakes that live there, the most famous of which is the rattlesnake. Extremely poisonous and a stealthy predator, the rattlesnake’s venomous bite can be fatal to humans. The snakes get their name from the rattling sound they can make with their tail, deterring aggressors. Overseeing the whole vibrant scene are the birds that occupy the American desert and beyond, most of which migrate only to return when the time is right. They swoop down to catch small rodents, insects and reptiles in their claws and talons, taking them back to the nest to be devoured. Bird species are aplenty here, from the incredibly vibrant painted bunting, with its blue head and red under-body, to the world-famous peregrine falcon. Often quoted as perhaps the fastest animal on Earth, they can reach speeds of up to 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour. Open areas such as desert basins give this regal bird the advantage of a high vantage point and a clear viewing of prey below. Parents drop off dead prey to their young by dropping it from above, giving them the practise and experience of scrambling and manoeuvring to catch it. The desert is, yet again, another incredible story of survival, where everything has its reason, place and its part to play in the cycle of life. The animals occupy the desert in such a way that mankind can be inspired by, utilising what assets they have and often adapting further. In the miles of differing terrains it has to offer, there’s an exciting, unusual and unique animal finding ways to do what most humans take for granted, simply surviving.
See it for yourself WWW.FURNACECREEKRESORT.COM Situated in Death Valley itself, the Furnace Creek Resort offers a holiday for those wanting to experience the American desert up close. Found in 1.3mn hectares (3.3mn acres) of desert scenery, the resort offers a choice of options including a camping ground, or an inn and a ranch averaging $182 per night.
ABOVE The common collared lizard is also a popular pet kept all over the world RIGHT A howling coyote on top of high rocks in the hot desert
An unlikely threat How the world’s delicate atmospheric balance can even affect this harshest of environments One thing you wouldn’t expect to be a threat to the desert is global warming, but even small changes in the temperatures or precipitation can do the desert unbelievable damage. Dried-up water holes cause death among the array of animals and plantation, while easy-to-spread wildfires put an end to slowgrowing trees, altering the ecosystem to an unbelievable degree. Oil and gas production, nuclear waste and areas surrounding nuclear testing grounds can destroy a sensitive habitat so reliant on specific temperatures and systems. Meanwhile, the desert environment is also affected by off-road vehicles that, used irresponsibly, can cause irreparable damage.
WorldMags.net
31
The wildlife of the American desert
WorldMags.net
Life in the American desert
Gila woodpecker
Red-tailed hawk Pleated skin
While it may seem to be a desolate wilderness, the desert is in fact teeming with life, including the variety of creatures that call it home Delicate flier Elf owl
Elf owl
Ringtailed cat
Cactus wren
Officially the world’s lightest owl, this small bird feeds mainly on insects. It therefore occupies cacti and areas with a ready supply of delicious insects to prey upon.
Kit fox
Hummingbird
Beavertail cactus Reaching up to only about half a metre (1.6 feet) in height, the beavertail cactus contains many flat pads covered with barbed bristles named glochids.
Pack rat
Roadrunner
Tarantula hawk wasp attacking a tarantula
Scales on tail rattle in warning Trap-door spider
Kangaroo rat
Saguaro roots
Ant
32
Collared lizard
Western rattlesnake Ant lion
Gila monster
WorldMags.net
White-tailed antelope squirrel
The root system of a saguaro cactus is shallow and extensive, stretching out as far in length underground as the cactus grows tall above.
The wildlife of the American desert
WorldMags.net Jumping cholla cactus This plant is covered in spines that seem to leap off the plant if touched.
Coyote
Prairie falcon The birds fly low for prey like squirrels on the ground or hunt birds during flight.
The predators and prey of the desert Kit fox One of the smallest foxes in America, the kit fox has exceptionally big ears that actually help keep the animal cool by dissipating heat from the body
Century plant
Mule deer
Turkey vulture Trap-door spider Trap-door spiders form a web trap-door seal at their burrow entrance. When a passing insect touches it the trapdoor springs open to a waiting hungry spider. Badger Hiding in one of many dens and burrows, when attacked they hiss, growl, snarl and squeal, releasing foul smells to deter the attacker.
Collared lizard Common pets across the world, collared lizards are varied in colour, pattern and personality. Their natural habitat is the rocky shrubbery of the desert.
Peccary
Pocket mouse
Prickly pear cactus Kangaroo rat Bull snake Jack rabbit
Desert tortoise
For centuries the prickly pear cactus has been used as a food source and a natural barrier to keep livestock within a certain area.
Desert tortoise The desert tortoise is the only tortoise in North America to endure such extreme conditions of the desert and their population has decreased by 90 per cent since the 1950s.
Gambel’s quail
Deadliest predator Desert scorpion Claret cup cactus
Badger
Underground burrow Animals such as badgers, squirrels, mice and rats burrow underground for safety, warmth and rest.
Venom at tip of tail
Desert scorpions rely on vibrations to help determine what’s going on around them. Young scorpions ride on their mother’s back for the first weeks of their lives and, while all contain venom, about 30 species possess life-threatening poison.
WorldMags.net
Pincers
Cactus wren Fitting to the American desert, the cactus wren is the largest wren in North America and can survive without freestanding water.
© FLPA; Thinkstock; Alamy; DK Images
Striped skunk
Peccary A new-world pig, peccaries live in herds of up to 30 and mark their territories with a smelly, offputting odour.
33
Meet the family WorldMags.net
Monkeys
Spider monkey
Why is this monkey king of the swingers?
Discover the most diverse and interesting primates on the planet
Found living within the tropical rainforests of central and South America, these nimble monkeys can often be seen swinging through trees. A lack of thumbs doesn’t hinder them as they use their powerful grip to hang onto branches, while their prehensile tails aid their manoeuvrability. They gather in groups of up to threedozen, although the group will split both when sleeping at night and when foraging for food during the day. Their diet primarily consists of fruits and nuts and they are quite noisy animals, often communicating among themselves with a wide range of sounds including calls and screeches. They are also quite large in size, with adult spider monkeys growing up to 0.6 metres (two feet).
Pygmy marmoset
Learn all about these miniscule monkeys
PYGMY MARMOSET Cebuella pygmaea Class Mammalia
Territory Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru Diet Sap, gum, insects Lifespan 12 years Adult weight 0.12kg / 0.26lbs Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
Strong nails Pygmy marmosets can support their entire weight on the tips of their long and sharp nails.
These tiny mammals are the smallest of all monkeys. They reside high in the rainforest canopies of South America with movement not too dissimilar to squirrels, dashing and darting from branch to branch. They also have brown fur and long tails that are longer than their bodies. Their resemblance to squirrels doesn’t stop there, as they can often be seen running up and down tree trunks to feed on sap. Don’t be fooled by their small size, however, as they can leap up to five metres (16 feet) and even turn their heads 180 degrees to check for nearby predators. Their small size makes them incredibly quick and agile, and they usually reside in groups of two to nine individuals.
SPIDER MONKEY Ateles Class Mammalia
Strong tails The strong tails of spider monkeys enable them to traverse trees and branches with relative ease.
Territory Central and South America Diet Fruits, nuts Lifespan 22 years Adult weight 6kg / 13.2lbs Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
Mandrill
The largest and most colourful monkeys in the world
MANDRILL Mandrillus sphinx Class Mammalia
Territory West Africa Diet Fruit, seeds, insects Lifespan 20-40 years Adult weight 35kg / 77lbs Conservation Status
VULNERABLE
34
Found in the rainforests of equatorial west Africa and in places including southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Congo, these shy primates are the largest monkeys on Earth. They are noticeable by their particularly colourful appearance, with blue and red skin on their faces that increases in intensity when the animal becomes excited. The dominant male of a group will usually have the boldest and brightest colouring. They also have long canine teeth that they show as a friendly gesture to other mandrills, but they also use them for self-defense. Compared with the larger baboons, mandrills are more ape-like in structure with a muscular and compact build. Mandrills grow to a huge size, about 90 centimetres (three feet) in length. They prefer to forage on the ground as opposed to in the trees like other monkeys and they can also store food in their cheeks for later Colour in the cheeks consumption. They gather in groups Mandrills are the most known as troops, usually including 20 colourful primates and individuals, but can form super troops have unmistakable facial colouring. of almost 200 when food is available.
WorldMags.net
Monkeys
WorldMags.net Rhesus monkey
RHESUS MONKEY Macaca mulatta
Take a look at this wideranging monkey
Class Mammalia
Territory Afghanistan, India, Thailand, China Diet Seeds, roots, fruit Lifespan 4 years Adult weight 7kg / 15.4lbs Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
Ground dweller Rhesus monkeys spend most of their time on the ground rather than in the trees.
Found across south, central and south-east Asia, the rhesus monkey populates a number of diverse habitats, from grassland to forested areas. They have brown fur and red faces, with short hair on their heads, and live in mixed groups of up to 200 that are led by females, with males in the group being replaced every few years. These diurnal creatures spend most of their time on the ground and are comfortable living near human settlements. They are also skilled swimmers and have even been seen to cross bodies of water up to one kilometre (0.6 miles) wide when escaping predators or searching for food. Their diet ranges from fruit to garbage in urban areas.
Capuchin monkey
2
3 1. Most northern Japanese macaque Aside from human beings, the Japanese macaque is the most northerndwelling primate, living in often snowy regions.
2. Heaviest Mandrill The mandrill is not only the biggest monkey in the world but also the heaviest. The largest of them can weigh over 50 kilograms (110 pounds).
The most intelligent monkey of all This subfamily of New World monkeys is native to a wide number of locations in the Americas thanks to the diverse range of environments it inhabits, ranging from Central America to Argentina. There are a variety of species of capuchin, with most having black, brown or white fur and living in groups of up to 35 individuals. What sets them apart from other monkeys is their apparently high level of CAPUCHIN intelligence. Certain species, including the Cebus Class Mammalia tufted capuchin, have been known to use tools, while experiments have even shown that capuchins can grasp the idea of using a currency. Territory Central America, South America Diet Fruits, nuts, insects, small birds Lifespan 15-25 years Adult weight 2.7kg / 6lbs Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
4
1
3. Fastest Patas monkey Capable of reaching speeds of up to 55 kilometres (34 miles) per hour, the patas monkey is the fastest monkey in the whole world.
4. Rarest Pennant’s red colobus This tree-dwelling primate is often cited as being the most endangered monkey in the world and some fear it’s now entirely extinct.
Not actually a monkey… Chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
A chimp is not a monkey Prehensile tail for swinging about The tail of a capuchin monkey can be used to wrap around branches as they move quickly through the trees.
It’s a common mistake to call a chimpanzee a monkey, but they aren’t actually monkeys at all. Instead they belong to a completely separate group of primates called the great apes, or Hominidae, which also counts primates such as orangutans, gorillas and even humans among their number.
Emperor tamarin EMPEROR TAMARIN Saguinus imperator Class Mammalia
Moustache The long white moustache of the emperor tamarins makes them easily identifiable while in the wild.
Territory Bolivia, Brazil, Peru Diet Fruit, nectar, insects Lifespan 17 years Adult weight 0.5kg / 1.1lbs Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
These bizarre-looking animals with long, white whiskers are found predominantly in the southwest Amazon Basin. They are diurnal (awake in the day, asleep at night) and can normally be found living in trees across large territories that they regularly patrol. In the wet season they enjoy feasting on fruit, with their diet switching to nectar in the dry season, although in both they are known to occasionally feast on insects. They have claws on all their fingers aside from a nail on their great toe. They are relatively small monkeys, which enables them to scavenge for food that others cannot reach. They are also very agile and playful and will even allow themselves to be petted by humans when in captivity.
WorldMags.net
© Alamy; FLPA
One of the most recognisable species of monkey
35
WorldMags.net
Moa
The giant flightless bird that proved to be far too good a meal as it became hunted, and eaten, into extinction Moa was the name given to around a dozen species of wingless and completely flightless birds native to New Zealand. Although the smallest species of the order Dinornithiformes reached around four feet (around 1.2 metres) in height, the tallest species, Dinornis robustus, could tower up to twice the height of a tall human, complete with elongated necks that enabled them to both browse shrubs and pluck choice tidbits from the trees of their forest habitat. The sheer size of the birds meant that they had only one natural predator before humans arrived on the scene: Haast’s eagle. For millions of years both predator and prey were locked in an evolutionary arms race that resulted in the Haast’s eagle growing to become the biggest eagle known to have existed, in order to tackle its equally gigantic prey. It’s thought that a distant ancestor of the Moa arrived in New Zealand around 60 million years ago and the Moa itself split from the species nearly six million years ago, populating both the South and North islands of the modern-day country. The Moa thrived during this period, relatively unchallenged by predator or competitor until the arrival of Polynesian tribes from across the Pacific Ocean, just prior to 1300 CE. These tribes cleared forests for their homes and hunted these huge flightless birds intensely for the bounty of meat they provided. The decline of the Moa from that point onwards was extremely rapid. Within a century of the Maori establishing New Zealand as their new home, Moas were so scarce that they were for all intents and purposes extinct, along with the massive Haast’s eagle that subsisted almost entirely on them. Today the bones and fossilised remains of Moas can easily be found all over New Zealand in caves and swamps, along with some particularly wellpreserved specimens found in the dry inland region of the South Island.
No head for heights Although Dinoris robustus could reach heights of around 3.6 metres (12 feet), they actually carried their heads horizontal to their bodies
Wing woe The biggest Moas were even bigger than today’s ostriches, but they didn’t even have vestigial wings
Plumage Recent DNA extraction techniques have revealed that the Moa’s feathers had a similar plumage to a modern parakeet
Throaty call There’s no record of the sound a Moa made, although its elongated trachea suggests it could make deep and resonant calls across the forest
“The bones and fossilised remains of Moas can easily be found all over New Zealand”
Last seen…
© Alan Batley Illustration; freevectormaps.com
Date: 1887 Location: Fiordland, New Zealand Several sightings of the Moa have been claimed over the centuries since 1400 CE, some by Maori hunters in the late 18th century, though nothing has yet been confirmed as an actual sighting. The last claim came in 1959 from a woman in her eighties who said she saw a Moa twice as a teenager, both in South Island’s Fiordland, once on a beach and once in the bush, though again these were unconfirmed and the bird is thought to be entirely extinct, never to be seen again.
36
New Zealand
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net www.whf.org.uk
Subbuteo Books are a specialist supplier and publisher of ornithological, wildlife and natural history books. Our extensive selection of titles includes general interest and specialist books on a wide range of subjects.
Wildlife Heritage Foundation is a breeding centre of excellence and sanctuary for Big Cats which is located in Smarden, Kent and is home to over 50 large and small cats, from the biggest to the smallest in the world.
PROTECTION IS OUR PASSION WHF BIG CAT EXPERIENCES PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKSHOPS (GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL)
Our ultimate objective is to see Big Cats safely reintroduced into the wild in their natural habitat, with the help of our breeding, education and protection programmes all raising awareness worldwide of the importance of preservation of our natural world we can make a difference.
Free delivery on order over £50
RANGER FOR THE DAY BIG CAT ENCOUNTER ADOPT A BIG CAT GIFT VOUCHERS
We are not open to the public and rely on donations and Big Cat Experiences to fund the of day to day running of the sanctuary.
AFRICAN SAFARI EXPERIENCE OVER NIGHT STAY WEDDINGS & BESPOKE EVENTS
Call us on 01743 709420, or why not visit our online bookstore at www.wildlifebooks.com, quoting SBWOA14
Wildlife Heritage Foundation Headcorn Road, Smarden, Kent, TN27 8PJ, UK www.whf.org.uk email:
[email protected] Registered Charity no: 1104420
o o l
FOR
n h i
i
e
t l n
a
C O N S E RVAT I O N , N OT
/thedeephull
WorldMags.net
i
e uin th
PROFIT
The incredible journey of WorldMags.net
Globe skimmer dragonfly In 2009 biologist Charles Anderson published details about the journey of the globe skimmer, which he suggested is in fact the insect world’s greatest long-distance flyer, with its long migration spanning continents
9. The generation game The dragonflies are now returning home. Like the monarch butterfly it’s thought that this lengthy migration is undertaken by four generations of the insect. This means that the insects that start the journey in southern India won’t be the same ones that eventually arrive there up to a year later, which makes this lengthy odyssey even more amazing.
India
Africa
8. Danger in the air Large swarms of migrating dragonflies will inevitably attract attention and as a result they are open season for numerous predators. While they have little to fear from other insects, they are easy targets for birds, particularly nightjars, bee-eaters and cuckoos, who pick the dragonflies off midflight as they continue along their own lengthy migrations.
© Abi Daker; Korall; PantalaFlavescens
7. Arrival in Mozambique By December the dragonflies have reached Africa and will spend the winter there before preparing for their return migration across the oceans. The ITCZ has enabled them to make incredibly quick progress and they take a welldeserved rest. Their journey is far from over, however, and before long they begin to head back towards southern India.
“As recently as 2011 new information has appeared suggesting that the reach of the dragonfly is far greater than first thought”
38
6. Catching the ITCZ While it’s unclear how dragonflies migrate, Anderson believes that they use a weather system called the ITCZ or Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone. It’s thought that the dragonflies travel along these wind currents of altitudes above 1,000 meters (3,281 feet). This is easy for an insect that’s been found in altitudes of up to 6,200 metres (20,341 feet).
WorldMags.net
5. Shelter in the Seychelles The dragonflies travel over another large stretch of the Indian Ocean, to appear in the northern Seychelles, typically around November. Based on research, they have now covered a distance of over 2,700 kilometres (1,678 miles). They slowly move across numerous islands, including Aldabra, preparing for yet another Indian Ocean crossing.
y
WorldMags.net GLOBE SKIMMER DRAGONFLY Pantala flavescens Class Insecta
10. Meet the family Between April and June the dragonflies again appear briefly in the Maldives before returning to India in June or July. Other species are also found with them on both visits, ranging from blue perchers to pale-spotted emperors. There’s not enough freshwater in the Maldives to support dragonfly life, which helped Anderson confirm his suspicions about the migration.
Territory Southern India and eastern Africa Diet Carnivore Lifespan 3 months Adult weight Not known Conservation Status
1. The journey starts By around August in southern India, the globe skimmer dragonflies are grouping enmasse, about to prepare for the epic journey that will see them travelling between 14,000 to 18,000 kilometres (8,700 to 11,185 miles) across oceans and continents. This is particularly impressive when you consider this insect’s tiny size.
LEAST CONCERN
2. The end of India By September the dragonflies have reached the southernmost tip of India and are preparing to cross the Indian Ocean. Food is essential if the dragonfly is to survive such a dangerous journey, so it continues to feed on insects, typically capturing them mid-flight. Suitably fuelled, the insects then travel towards the Maldives.
3. Sri Lanka secrets As recently as 2011, new information has appeared suggesting that the reach of the dragonfly is far greater than first thought. Large swarms of dragonflies were found along the west coast of Sri Lanka in locations ranging from Moratuwa to Kollupitiya, suggesting that Sri Lanka is an important hub for the dragonfly’s movement.
Globe skimmers in numbers 1-3 16,000 months km The average distance that the globe skimmer dragonfly is believed to travel
4.5 cm
The actual length of a globe skimmer dragonfly – a tiny traveller indeed
The average length of time an adult globe skimmer dragonfly is expected to live
4. Maldives stopover The dragonflies now make an unlikely stopover in the Maldives. The first leg of their incredible journey involves travelling a distance of at least 500 kilometres (311 miles) to reach the most northern islands. Interestingly, Anderson’s research suggests the insects appear in waves, staying for no more than a few days before moving to their next stop.
WorldMags.net
39
All about giant pandas
WorldMags.net
40
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Giant pandas
All About
Giant pandas
Discover the solitary lifestyle of the carnivore that eats bamboo and learn why it has become the face of species conservation
Words Laura Mears
WorldMags.net
41
All about giant pandas
WorldMags.net
Inside a giant panda Insulation
The basic body plan of a giant panda is similar to that of a bear, with a short digestive system suited to a carnivorous lifestyle. However, evolution has provided several adaptations that enable this unusual bear to survive on a diet of bamboo GIANT PANDA BEAR
Pandas may look chubby, but they actually have very little in the way of body fat. Instead, their rounded body shape helps to reduce their surface area relative to their volume, conserving heat.
Scapula
Ailuropoda melanoleuca Class Mammalia
Ears
Teeth and jaw
Territory South-central China Diet Omnivore Lifespan 15-20 years Adult weight 100kg / 225lbs Conservation Status
Giant pandas have large jaw muscles and use their molar teeth to crush and chew on bamboo.
Fur
ENDANGERED
Skull
Eye socket
Canine
Incisor
Unlike other bears, giant pandas have large molars, which, combined with extremely powerful jaw muscles, enable them to consume vast quantities of tough bamboo each day.
Black markings
Claws
Molar teeth Digital pad
The characteristic black-andwhite pattern of the giant panda is thought to offer some camouflage, breaking up their body shape in treetops or against a snowy, rocky background.
False thumb
Five fingers
Giant pandas have a sixth digit – a bony protrusion enabling them to grip and manipulate bamboo shoots.
Like a bear, the giant panda has five true digits on each paw.
Metacarpal pad
JUVENILE
INFANCY Newborn 0 months Giant pandas are born blind, relying on their mother for warmth. She rarely leaves the den in the first month.
42
Adult markings 1 month By one month the skin and hair around the cub’s head, back and legs has darkened into the patterning of an adult panda.
Learning to walk 3 months By the time panda cubs are three to four months old they have become strong enough to climb around and play.
Weaning 6 months Teeth begin to emerge at three months and by six months the cubs begin to eat solid food, but may continue to suckle.
WorldMags.net
Heart
Paw
Lungs
MATURITY Adulthood 1.5 years Giant pandas leave their mother when they are 1.5 years old, but oen remain in the local area for another year.
Establishing territory 2.5 years Adult giant pandas live alone, so aer a year apart from their mother they’ll move on.
WorldMags.net
Giant pandas
How the giant panda walks Most of the giant panda’s power comes from its forelimbs, but its weight is distributed over its hind legs, giving it a lumbering gait. Like other bears, giant pandas have relatively short legs for their size, but are surprisingly agile climbers.
Liver
Digestive system
Scent glands
Thick fur
With the digestive system of a carnivore, pandas rely on a set of microbes in their gut to process bamboo.
Chemicals produced by glands under the tail are used to scent-mark territories, leaving a message identifying the individual and whether they are receptive to mating.
Giant pandas live in a cold climate and their vegetarian diet provides little in the way of fat for insulation. Instead they rely on their thick fur for warmth.
Kidney
Pelvis
Sitting posture Pandas eat for most of the day and spend much of this time sitting down, freeing up their front paws to hold bamboo.
Intestine
Closest family
Closely related to the giant panda are…
Hind limbs Giant pandas generally move around on all fours, but can stand on their hind legs. However, they are unable to walk upright for short periods of time, like other bears.
Stomach
Sexual maturity 5 years Once a female giant panda reaches sexual maturity she will generally produce one cub around every two years, if a suitable mate is found, that is.
Adult female 5+ years Raising one cub takes 1.5 years, aer which time the female becomes fertile again, ready for the next breeding season.
Adult male 6+ years Male giant pandas live a solitary lifestyle, but will compete for mates during the breeding season, primarily using noises and scent-marking or growling and swiping when aggressive.
WorldMags.net
Spectacled bear Giant pandas are not the only vegetarian members of the bear family. The South-American spectacled bear survives on a mainly herbivorous diet too. In fact, 95 per cent of the bear’s total intake of food consists of a combination of herbivorous delights like cacti, fruit, bulbs and nuts.
Asiatic black bear Also native to China, this bear is less fussy than the giant panda. It enjoys a more varied diet from insects and bees to fruits, seeds, herbs and grasses. It’s also much more adaptable to environmental change. Asiatic black bears can store excess energy in the form of fat and hibernate during harder times.
43
All about giant pandas
WorldMags.net
What do pandas do all day? These shy, solitary animals spend most of their days eating
LEFT Giant pandas spend much of their time eating
Living with pandas Giant pandas are reclusive and solitary, rarely spending time in one another’s company
44
The unusual diet of the giant panda is low in nutritional value and their digestive systems are far too short to process the tough plant matter fully. In order to sustain their large bodies, the pandas must consume huge quantities of bamboo. The tough cellulose of bamboo is indigestible to most mammals but, like sheep and cows, giant panda guts are host to several species of bacteria that specialise in breaking down plant material. Despite this microbial assistance, giant pandas barely extract any energy from their food and much of the bamboo passes through undigested. They prefer the fleshier parts of the plant, which are higher in protein and contain less indigestible fibre, but depending on the time of year will also eat the woody stems. However, giant pandas are not entirely herbivorous and will occasionally eat meat that they have either caught themselves or scavenged. In order to conserve energy, giant pandas spend much of their time sitting down, but despite their rounded appearance and sedentary lifestyle, they are surprisingly agile and are good climbers and swimmers. They generally move slowly, sticking within a home range spanning between four to nine square kilometres (1.5-3.5 square miles), but they aren’t at all territorial and rarely fight for space. In fact they avoid contact with members of their own species entirely, preferring to communicate from a distance using scent-marking and a series of calls, including bleats and chirps, to convey information about size, age and fertility. Both males and females spray trees and rocks with urine containing chemical signals released from glands beneath the tail. Males go to great lengths to spray as high as possible, performing a strange handstand-like
Eating and resting Conserving precious energy
Solitary lifestyle Going it alone in the wild
The life of a giant panda revolves around consuming and conserving energy. This means that the majority of its day is spent feeding on bamboo shoots or sleeping. Though they are surprisingly agile, and can climb away from danger, they will only do this if absolutely necessary.
In the wild giant pandas live alone, except while raising young or during the breeding season. Also, despite keeping within a set range, pandas are not at all territorial and will live independently in overlapping areas, along with other potential rivals for females.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Giant pandas LEFT Pandas are capable of climbing to avoid potential threats
ABOVE Younger pandas are oen much more agile than older adults
Diet and feeding
manoeuvre against trees, lifting their hindquarters into the air. Leaving a scent mark high up in the tree gives the illusion of increased size, intimidating rival males and signalling virility to females. When a female is fertile, the scent markers in her urine change, alerting nearby males of the opportunity to mate. She also calls, making chirping noises around the time of oestrus and bleating to signal her reproductive potential. Unlike other bears, giant pandas do not hibernate. Living on a diet of mostly vegetation means that they have little fat and would be unable to sustain themselves during long periods without food. Instead, during the colder months they simply move to lower altitudes where the climate is milder.
Despite having the digestive system of a carnivore, the panda is almost entirely vegetarian 99% of the giant panda’s diet consists of bamboo, though this is incredibly low in nutrients
“Giant pandas are not entirely herbivorous and will occasionally eat meat that they have either caught themselves or scavenged”
Calling out ăBGPQ?KQăPGEK?IăQLă?QQO?AQă?ă MLQCKQG?IăJ?QC Giant pandas communicate with nearby individuals using a range of noises. For example, males bleat like goats during the mating season, signalling their virility to nearby females. In this case, the larger the panda is, the deeper the sound will be.
Communicating by smell *C?SGKEă?KBăBCQCAQGKEă PCKPLOVăJCPP?ECPă Giant pandas rarely spend time together, but for breeding they must meet up during the spring. They communicate using scentmarking, spraying urine on rocks and trees to alert passing pandas of their presence and conveying information about their fertility.
An average male giant panda eats around 14kg
/
31lbs of food per day
That’s 14% of its total body weight
They are known to eat small rodents, birds, insects and eggs, but rarely
Maternal bond ăJLQFCOPăGKPQGKAQ A female panda and her cubs are inseparable. She provides constant care, warmth and protection during the first few months of a cub’s life. Even after the cub is weaned, it will remain with her until it is around 1.5 years old. Cubs are often much more active than adult pandas.
WorldMags.net
Playtime 2FCăȯăOPQăPQCMPăQLT?OBPă GKBCMCKBCKQăIGSGKE Playing is a key part of a cub’s development, so female pandas wrestle and play-fight with them. Giant pandas are agile climbers and begin practising this skill early, at first climbing their mother’s fur and soon moving on to the trees by six months old.
45
All about giant pandas
WorldMags.net
Why mating isn’t easy For the panda population, finding a suitable mate and successfully conceiving is harder than it may seem The mating habits of giant pandas have been scrutinised and studied by scientists and vets worldwide in an attempt to save the species from extinction, but the bears are notoriously inadequate at breeding. In the wild, mature female pandas can produce a cub once every two years, giving birth to an average of six in their lifetime. Females are on heat just once a year, for around 14 to 25 days each spring, and are only fertile for roughly 48 to 72 hours during this time. A female giant panda will often mate with several males during this fertile period, maximising her chance of producing a cub. The father plays no role in raising the young and after this point the female panda is solely responsible for the next generation. Panda gestation lasts an average of five months, but females are able to delay implantation, keeping the fertilised egg suspended in her uterus for varying amounts of time before allowing it to develop, so the actual length of pregnancy is variable. This enables births to be timed for the autumn, ensuring that the cubs are ready to be weaned by the time the new bamboo shoots appear in spring. Around half of all giant panda pregnancies result in twins, but due to their low-calorie bamboo diet, the female can’t support more than one cub, so abandons the weaker of the two. The slow reproductive rate of wild giant pandas is preventing the species from recovering from the recent population decline and the number of pandas born in the wild is not sufficient to replace those that have died. In an effort to bolster the wild population, the Chinese government has set up breeding programs and loans pairs of giant pandas to zoos around the world in return for funding and scientific collaboration. Captive breeding of giant pandas is notoriously difficult and the bears are often uninterested in mating. Several strategies have been tried to improve fertility in captive animals, including viagra and video images of wild giant pandas mating, but most of the breeding done in captivity is achieved using artificial insemination. The urine of female pandas is monitored for hormones and during her fertile period she is inseminated. 60 per cent of all captive giant pandas are descended from just ten individuals, so great care is being taken to preserve genetic diversity and all breeding pandas undergo genetic analysis in order to pair up mates with different genetic profiles. The sperm of several males is often mixed for use in artificial insemination, giving the best chance of producing a pregnancy. Unfortunately, it’s incredibly difficult to tell if a panda is pregnant. A newborn panda is extremely small in comparison to its mother and the developing foetus is often undetectable by ultrasound. Additionally, many females experience pseudo-pregnancy after oestrus, showing all of the signs of a real pregnancy, including the correct hormonal levels, but without a developing foetus. Often it’s impossible to tell that a panda is pregnant until she is about to go in to labour. However, despite these challenges, hundreds of giant pandas have now been born in captivity.
46
ABOVE Despite their disinterest in mating, hundreds of pandas have been born in captivity
BELOW A number of methods have been used to encourage pandas to breed successfully
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Parental care
Panda mothers are protective of their young and vulnerable cubs
Giant pandas mate in the spring and give birth to a single cub, occasionally twins, in the autumn. Because of their poor diet, female pandas are unable to divert a huge amount of energy to the foetus and as a result giant panda cubs are small, measuring just 15 centimetres (5.9 inches). Before giving birth, the female will find a den, often hidden within a hollow tree or cave, and line it with twigs. When the cub is born it cries loudly and often, so the female will immediately lift it in her mouth, positioning it on her chest. The cub suckles up to 14 times a day and the female provides warmth, sheltering it with her forelimbs. Giant pandas’ characteristic markings only begin to appear around a week or two after birth. First the skin
The first year of a panda’s life Weaning 6 months
gradually darkens and by one month old the fur is black around the head, back and limbs. Cubs begin to open their eyes after roughly 40 days, but are unable to see until around three months later. After six months, the cubs have grown a set of milk teeth and start to wean in the early spring. After one year their permanent teeth appear and although they weigh just 30 kilograms (66 pounds), they start running alongside their mother, playing or climbing. Raising a giant panda cub is a long process and the female remains close to her offspring for nearly two years. If two cubs are born at the same time, the mother will be unable to provide the resources required to raise both and has to abandon the weaker one, focusing her energy on raising a single, strong cub.
ABOVE Though for the rest of their lives they will be mostly independent, panda cubs are entirely reliant on their mothers
Growing big 1½ years After a year, the cub is a third of its full adult size, it has a permanent set of adult teeth and is fully weaned. It remains with its mother for another six months while it gradually increases in size.
By spring, giant panda cubs are strong enough to run alongside their mother and spend much of their time playing and climbing trees. Their milk teeth have erupted by this point, enabling them to eat softer bamboo shoots.
Gaining strength 3 months By three months old, the cub is able to support its own body weight and can walk for short periods. It’s still reliant on its mother for milk, but its teeth begin to emerge and its eyesight improves.
In the first few weeks of their lives, panda cubs are highly reliant on their mothers
Newborn 1 day A newborn giant panda measures just 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) in length, around a tenth of the size and 0.1% the weight of its mother. At this stage its fur is white and lacks the markings of an adult panda. Pandas are also born blind and unable to support their own body weight.
Vulnerable start 2 weeks By two weeks old the cub is still extremely vulnerable and spends most of its time feeding and sleeping, hidden in the dense fur on its mother’s chest. Black markings begin to appear on its skin and evidence of black hair growth is visible.
WorldMags.net
Eyes opening 3 weeks By three weeks, the cub continues to rely on its mother for food and warmth, but she will have to leave the den for short periods to eat bamboo. At around one month old the cub’s eyes begin to open, but it’s still unable to see properly.
47
All about giant pandas
WorldMags.net
Where the giant panda calls home The forests of bamboo and vegetation that are shrinking at a rapid rate Pandas have adopted an unusual lifestyle, keeping a diet that their digestive systems are ill-equipped to process and reproducing infrequently, but this is not the cause of their current plight. For millions of years their ancestors thrived in the bamboo forests that extended across southern and eastern China and into Vietnam and Burma. Human activity has driven the giant panda population into the mountains and they can now only be found in around 20 small isolated areas in the Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces of China. The pandas are restricted to narrow belts of bamboo thicket, in some places just 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) wide, separated by vast urban areas. The governments of the three provinces that make up the giant panda’s home are working with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to provide safe nature reserves for the panda population and the Chinese government has banned logging in the area. However, revenue loss due to the logging ban has encouraged other forms of industry to appear near giant panda habitat, including mining, hydropower and tourism. Not only has most of the giant panda habitat vanished, but also the separation of the remaining population is putting strain on their survival. The bear relies on bamboo forests for food but as part of its life cycle bamboo periodically flowers and dies back, releasing seeds. Following a bamboo die-off, it can take between 10 and 20 years for a forest to grow back and the fragmentation of the remaining habitable areas leaves pandas vulnerable. Isolation also threatens the genetic health of the species. Groups of pandas in different areas are unable to reach one another to breed, forcing inbreeding within groups and reducing genetic variability. A decrease in genetic diversity makes it hard to adapt to environmental change, compounding the panda’s problems.
Threats to their home Giant pandas rely on their unique environment for survival, but it’s now under threat Agriculture The clearing of land to make way for farms has not only lead to massive habitat loss, but has fragmented the remaining panda population, opening up the threat of inbreeding. Poaching Targeted poaching of giant pandas for their pelts is much less common than it used to be, however, snares and trip wires laid for other animals, such as musk deer, still pose a threat.
China
Where they live The giant panda’s natural habitat has been reduced dramatically in the last hundred years
Urbanisation Sprawling cities such as Chengdu, with a population of over 14 million, dominate the landscape at low altitudes, forcing giant pandas to live up in the mountains
Range in 1900 Range today
Logging Logging in panda habitat has been banned by the Chinese government since 1998, but before that time vast areas of bamboo forest were cleared for land, fuel and timber
48
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net Can the panda be saved?
Nearest neighbours
Many of the other species living with the giant pandas are also threatened by extinction
Despite the role that humans continue to play in the decline of the wild giant panda population, our relationship with these creatures is increasingly positive. The panda’s plight is known across the world, making it the face of species conservation. There is controversy as to whether the giant panda can, or should, be saved from extinction. The effect that humanity has had on the population is undeniable, but their highly selective, lowcalorie diet and refusal to breed complicates things. Many have now been bred in captivity, but releasing them back into the wild is challenging. Giant pandas are one of the most recognisable driving forces behind conservation funding, along with other cute mammals such as mountain gorillas and seals. Pandas are also raising the profile of the bamboo forests in China, contributing to the survival of other species.
ABOVE As the higher altitudes are too cold for the pandas during the winter, they travel further down the slopes
Takin These stocky goat-antelopes live in groups at high altitude and take shelter in dense bamboo forests when threatened. Their light-coloured coats provide camouflage and they use their horns in head-to-head sparring.
Bamboo Bamboo grows in the undergrowth of forests in cool, moist climates
Snub-nosed monkey These monkeys, with their humanlike faces, are one of the most endangered primate species on the planet. Like the giant panda, a combination of habitat loss and hunting is driving them to extinction.
In our culture Giant pandas are the cute, cuddly ambassadors of species conservation Kung Fu Panda This 2008 film from DreamWorks Animation tells the story of clumsy panda Po, who aspires to become a kung-fu master. It spawned sequels and a TV show.
Panda! Go, Panda! This Japanese animated film, by Hayao Miyazaki, is the predecessor of popular Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro, telling the story of two pandas and a girl named Mimiko.
Tekken Panda Pandas are generally peaceful animals, but in the fighting game Tekken, Panda is a formidable warrior and shares the same fighting move set as the bear, Kuma.
WWF The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international organisation for the protection of endangered species. Its adopted symbol, the panda, is now recognisable the world over.
WorldMags.net
Yellow-throated marten The yellow-throated marten is a fearless predator and will snatch giant panda cubs. It has no natural predators of its own thanks to a foulsmelling liquid produced by glands under its tail.
© Alamy; Naturepl.com; Peter Scott/The Art Agency; Thinkstock; Graeme Smith;Guérin Nicolas; Dennis jarvis; Pixelchecker: J. Patrick Fischer: Jack Hynes; Flagstaffotos; Robert Lawton
Snow leopard These stocky, thick-furred cats are adapted for life in the freezing alpine and subalpine regions of central Asia. These ambush hunters are no threat to adult giant pandas, but will kill cubs if given the opportunity.
49
Zoos of WorldMags.net the world
Toronto Zoo Take a look at Canada’s premier zoo where science and research play an important role in animal conservation See it for yourself WWW.TORONTOZOO.COM
Ontario
Location Canada
Admission
:PTIH°:HMHYP
Toronto Zoo
2 and under: Free Child (ages 3-12): $14 Senior (65+): $18 General admission: $23
How to get there Toronto Zoo is located in Rouge Valley and is accessible by car and public transport. Entrance is on Meadowvale Road, north of highway 401 (exit at junction 389 eastbound and westbound).
(-90*(5°9(05-69,:; 7(=03065
Gorilla Climb Ropes Course
05+64(3(@( 7(=03065
Indo-Malaya Plants and animals from south and south-east Asia are featured in the Indo-Malayan exhibit across a pavilion and an outdoor exhibit.
CONSERVAT CAROUSEL RIDE
4(3(@(5>66+:
7LHJVJR°*HMt
Nearly 40 years ago on 15 August 1974, the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo was opened to the public. Although the moniker Metropolitan was dropped in 1998, the zoo has still retained the core values it was founded with and today, spanning a huge area of around 287 hectares (710 acres), it’s the largest zoo in Canada and one of the biggest in the world. “We’re unique in that being the largest zoo we’re able to be a little more self-sufficient,” says Gabriela Mastromonaco, the curator of reproductive programs and research for Toronto Zoo. Working in the breeding and conservation programmes at the zoo, she is heavily involved in many of the efforts by the zoo to help and preserve various endangered species. “We have a fully self-sufficient wildlife health centre that includes our veterinarians who not only practise preventative veterinary medicine but also a lot of research to understand [things like] new drugs or new diseases,” continues Mastromonaco. “Under that we also have a nutritionist who investigates diets and improving nutrition and of course I fall under reproduction.” It’s this dedication to pioneering science and research to further protect many different species of animals that really sets Toronto Zoo apart from other zoos. The
50
.Y .
*
WorldMags.net
TION L
African Savanna Most of the southern third of Toronto Zoo is comprised of the African Savanna exhibit, which boasts North America’s largest indoor gorilla exhibit in the Rainforest Pavilion.
WorldMags.net
Toronto Zoo
Walking trails Toronto Zoo has over ten kilometres (six miles) of walking trails to explore and experience the various natural exhibits.
Canadian Domain Animals from across North America are located here in their native environment, including elk, bison, cougars and grizzly bears.
3PVUZ»+LU .PM[°:OVW
Americas Animals from across North and South America can be found here, including several species of ;^PNH°+\RH monkey and, in the Mayan Temple Ruins, jaguars and flamingos.
4(@(5;,473,9<05
Tundra Trek This chilly zoo exhibit enables visitors to see animals from Arctic locations including reindeer, polar bears and arctic wolves.
;\UKYH *HTW
(4,90*(: 7(=03065
CORE WOODS
7VSHY°7H[PV Caribou Café
>LH[OLY°:[H[PVU
,K\JH[PVU°*LU[YL° HUK°AVV[PX\L°.PM[°:OVW
Giant Panda Experience Starts Here!
;\UKYH 9LZLHYJO°:[H[PVU
(<:;9(3(:0( 7(=03065
Giant Panda Viewing
YLLUOV\ZL .PM[°:OVW
Panda Shop
)LH]LY[HPSZ
Eurasia The oldest area of Toronto Zoo is the Eurasia exhibit, which plays host to a number of animals including snow leopards and red pandas.
7OV[V *HW[\YL
4HUKHYPU ,_WYLZZ
7(5+(05;,979,;0=, *,5;9,
Australasia This plays host to animals from across Australia and its islands include kangaroos, 7OHZL00 6WLUPUN:WYPUN wombats and kookaburras.
EURASIA ZOOMOBILE DRIVE THROUGH
Discovery Zone A fun water play area for children as well as educational exhibits on the incredible zoo animals.
This map is not to scale
N
“We’re unique in that being the largest zoo we’re able to be a little more self-sufficient” WorldMags.net
51
Toronto Zoo Stars of Toronto Zoo Sumatran tigers Toronto Zoo plays host to a number of rare Sumatran tigers. They are found in the Indo-Malayan exhibit and are very popular with visitors to the zoo. The Sumatran tiger was classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2008.
Snow leopards The ever-popular snow leopards can be found in the Eurasia exhibit. In 2007 two rare snow leopards were born at the zoo, the first birth in 13 years, and another followed in 2009. Snow leopards remain an endangered animal, but they can be seen in their element at Toronto Zoo.
Polar bears Polar bears have gradually become popular with visitors to Toronto Zoo, especially in the winter. They can be found in the Tundra Trek area of the zoo. Three orphaned polar bears were raised by the zoo when Tundra Trek opened in late 2009, named Aurora, Nikita and Inukshuk by the public.
52
WorldMags.net
cutting-edge research performed on site day to day provides support not only for animals in Canada, but also for others around the world. “We’re the only type of programme like this in a Canadian zoo,” explains Mastromonaco. “There are several other programmes around the world in Europe and in the US, but in Canada we’re the only one. So I service not only our animals, but other zoos in Canada that need our help. Day to day we run an endocrinology laboratory, which is where we do all the hormone analysis. We can check whether animals are sexually mature, if they’re cycling and if they’re pregnant. We can also use it to help determine the sex and species where we don’t know that. The other part is the biology laboratory where the genome resource bank is, so we do sample collection and cryopreservation of sperm and embryos. That’s where we might prepare for artificial insemination or fertilisation.” To complement this focus on science and research, Toronto Zoo employs a variety of curators in different fields to ensure as many animals are catered for as possible, from mammals to reptiles and amphibians. In fact, a lot of the conservation work carried out by Toronto Zoo is directed by the guidance of the various curators.
“There are a lot of great minds that are doing their best to keep these species alive in captivity”
Endangered species such as the Vancouver Island marmot and the black-footed ferret are not only in captive breeding but also in reintroduction programmes. Many curators are actively involved in projects around the world, from Lake Victoria in Africa to Puerto Rico, to aid in the reintroduction of various species and sustain their genetic population. “We’re not like, say, the Wildlife Conservation Society out of the Bronx Zoo that has staff in the field continuously, but we do send staff into the field [occasionally],” explains Mastromonaco. When it comes to the animals at the zoo itself, Toronto Zoo plays host to more than 5,000 across over 500 species. The most popular animals at the zoo tend to be, like many other zoos around the world, the large
RIGHT The African Savannah section is by far the largest and holds a range of the continent’s wildlife, including spotted hyenas.
BELOW Toronto Zoo has two giant pandas, Er Shun and Da Mao, who are both incredibly popular among the zoo’s visitors.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
ABOVE The team at the zoo conduct regular conservation work at home and abroad.
ABOVE Gabriela Mastromonaco is the curator of Reproductive Programs and Research at Toronto Zoo.
Saving the black-footed ferret How Toronto Zoo staff have been working towards saving this species over the years “One of our key stories over the 40 years we’ve been here is the black-footed ferret,” says Mastromonaco. “For 20 years we’ve maintained this species in a situation where we’re captive breeding not for public display but behind the scenes in order to produce offspring. In the 1980s there were only about 18 or so found in the wild – that was it. “They were gone from Canada, so scientists worked very diligently to breed them up through assisted reproduction using artificial insemination. Around 200 offspring were born, not only from fresh sperm but from frozen sperm going back to the founder animals. So in all aspects it’s a huge success story. There are now a few hundred in the US and we’ve been releasing 25 to 50 animals back into Canada, but we only started two years ago. It’s a story that encompasses everything we do: education, science, research, veterinary health and the wildlife biologists with their reintroduction programme.”
handle not only cultural interpretive design but also natural exhibits. We try different things, like our mixed exhibits, to give it more of a realistic population-management approach. We are a northern zoo, which means we have winter for so many months a year, so all of our animals, whether they’re in heated outdoor enclosures or not, have indoor access. We make sure that they can get through the four seasons as comfortably as possible.” With the 40th anniversary of the Toronto Zoo rapidly approaching, there has been time for reflection on some of the features that have changed most noticeably over the years. In terms of land and size, the zoo hasn’t changed much, while the geographic-themed pavilions of the zoo have remained a constant theme. However, the exhibits have transformed from simply showing off the animals to communicating a message to the more than one million visitors Toronto Zoo welcomes each year. “We’re trying to be a bit more interactive, so we’re not only presenting the species but what they do in their natural habitat, or how they’re involved in their ecosystem back home, so it helps a bit with the exhibit designs,” says Mastromonaco. Looking beyond and into the future, Toronto Zoo is planning to build on this strong message of conservation to impart visitors with knowledge about all the animals they see and meet. This makes it a different experience than in the past. As a final point, Mastromonaco highlights some of the unseen work that goes on at the zoo as among the most important contributions: “Even our own amazing Toronto members who can book repeatedly don’t realise what it takes behind the scenes to run the zoo. I don’t mean the retail side of the zoo but the conservation programmes and the animal health programmes. “I always like to make sure that people realise that for every animal there, there’s a whole group of us working behind them. For every keeper the visitors might see out walking around the site, there are a good five of us hidden behind them working away. So these modern zoos actually require a lot of effort and there are a lot of great minds that are doing their best to keep these species alive in captivity, and [ultimately] our goal is always in the wild. I think that’s a message I would like, that our visitors and visitors to zoos around the world realise that what they see is actually just the tip of the iceberg.”
WorldMags.net
© Toronto Zoo; Map of Canada by FreeVectorMaps.com; John Vetterli; Bill Longo; Ken Ardill; Glogger; Mike Bowler
charismatic species, according to Mastromonaco. Animals such as the tigers and white lions are a constant attraction, but in recent times some other animals have piqued the interest of many visitors to Toronto Zoo. “Lately for us, I don’t know if it’s because it’s winter time, polar bears for us are a [popular] species,” says Mastromonaco. “Of course it tends to be the megavertebrates that are most popular. We have curators who work really hard on focusing on our other really cool animals – things like poison frogs and multi-coloured fish species, but people tend to want to come and see the large animals, which they think are cute and cuddly.” Like many other establishments, Toronto Zoo plays host to a variety of animals that won’t be seen anywhere else, and many times they are off-exhibit as the zoo carries out its various reintroduction programmes. “The Vancouver Island marmot, now that’s important,” explains Mastromonaco. “We have one little animal that was born a little bit of a runt and we use him as an outreach animal, but Vancouver Island marmots are absolutely handsoff, they’re our most endangered mammal in Canada, although we do have a reintroduction programme. The entire population is behind the scenes, but we have this one individual as an outreach to try to teach young students about the species.” Looking after the animals and helping run the zoo are over 200 full-time staff, with just over half of these being directly involved in wildlife care, veterinary health and reproduction. The zoo is divided into several different exhibits, with each representing a continent or region of Earth. “We’re lucky land-wise in that we have a pretty extensive amount of land [287 hectares (710 acres)],” says Mastromonaco. “People have to walk quite a bit when they come to Toronto Zoo – we try to do natural exhibits.” Of the exhibits at the zoo, Mastromonaco cites the Tundra Trek as being one of the most interesting, as it’s outside and Canadian-focused, housing rare species such as the snowy owl, arctic fox and arctic wolves that aren’t common in other zoos. On the other side of the temperature scale is the African Savanna, which takes visitors on a walking trail through a mixed exhibit of animals, from rhinos to zebras. “Creating natural environments for the animals is always our aim,” says Mastromonaco. “We have people that
Toronto Zoo
53
Animal architects WorldMags.net
Inside an anthill BLACK GARDEN ANT Lasius niger Class Insecta
Territory Europe, North America, Asia Diet Omnivore Lifespan up to 12 years Adult weight 2mg / 0.03gr Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
Found all across the world, black garden ants live in huge underground colonies, with an average of 4,000 to 7,000 individuals living in the vast networks under our feet. They dig their extensive mazes of tunnels, connecting a series of chambers dedicated to housing the queen, caring for her eggs and larvae, as well as storing food to supply the colony. The ants’ ability to build and maintain such large constructions, working together for the greater good of the colony, is truly a natural marvel
Five facts about ants Female worker ants are short-lived and breeding males survive only long enough to mate, but black garden ant queens live for up to 12 years, never leaving the nest.
Food exchange Ants work together in all aspects of colony life, even regurgitating food and sharing it with other individuals – a process known as trophallaxis.
Initial nest-building happens quickly in order to enable the workers to venture outside to forage for food, but it takes around two years for a colony to grow large enough to produce new queens. During the summer months ants spend more time exploring, storing food for the winter and investigating potential nest sites for the next generation of queens. Black garden ant colonies can reach astonishing sizes, containing upwards of 15,000 individuals. Colonies of this size live in large, complex nests. Ants forage over widespread territories and will establish outposts in sheltered areas. Tunnels running underground, or sheltered passageways above ground, link these safe places to foraging sites and back to the nest.
54
Royal chamber The queen is the founder of the colony. Her first workers are small and weak, but as the colony grows and establishes food reserves she produces larger offspring, who create more-elaborate tunnels.
Eggs The eggs are sticky and are carried in groups from the queen to special storage chambers where they eventually hatch.
Soil type Black garden ants will prefer moist soil, but their mandibles are strong enough to burrow through mortar and even bricks.
WorldMags.net
Ants
WorldMags.net BELOW Black garden ants are among the most common in the world
Defences The long, serrated mandibles on the front of an ant’s head are not just used for digging and carrying, they are fearsome weapons that are perfect for fighting. Food storage Other chambers within the nest are dedicated to the storage of food, which can be used by the colony during the winter months.
Connecting tunnels As the colony grows, increasing numbers of connecting tunnels are dug to link the various chambers together, creating an intricate underground network.
Food reserves in abdomen Though the black garden ant does not store food in this way, workers in honey pot ant colonies are able to store vast amounts of food in their abdomens for the benefit of the whole colony.
How they build it… Huge colonies always have small beginnings and the black ants utilise all their various skills to construct their home
Nursery chamber Ant larvae are covered in hooked hairs and, like the eggs, can be moved around in groups by the workers, who tend to them in dedicated areas of the nest.
Establishing the colony The queen begins construction of the nest. Every year immature virgin queens take flight, followed by winged males. Once mated, the queen lands and bites off her wings before digging a nest hole in the ground. She seals the entrance and then begins to lay eggs, producing the first workers of her new colony.
Excavating the tunnels It takes around eight weeks for the first workers to mature and during this time the queen doesn’t eat, but digests her redundant wing muscles. Worker ants have strong mandibles and can carry many times their own body weight in soil. When the first tunnels are completed, they unblock the entrance to forage for food.
WorldMags.net
Building the colony The workers build and maintain the colony, digging specialised chambers for raising larvae and storing food, while depositing spare earth away from the colony. Black garden ants are also known for farming aphids for the sweet honeydew they produce and will oen build tunnels and chambers to protect their flock.
© Thinkstock; Pan weterynarz
Buried larvae Larvae form a cocoon before emerging as adult ants and are buried beforehand by the workers to enable them to metamorphose undisturbed.
55
Evolution of WorldMags.net
The chicken CHICKEN Gallus gallus domesticus Class Aves
Territory Worldwide Diet Herbivore Lifespan 5-10 years Adult weight 2-3 kg / 4.46.6lbs Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
The humble chicken is one of our most important domesticated animals, but studies have shown that this docile creature actually evolved from one of the most ferocious dinosaurs to ever walk the Earth
Reasons for evolution
Wattle All chickens have wattles that help with circulation, but these are more pronounced on roosters.
Size matters Most of the chicken’s ancestors were small and fast, enabling them to outrun predators.
Feathers Evidence of feathers has been found on early dinosaurs, although it’s thought they were mainly for display purposes.
Voice box Chickens have different alarm calls for various predators, letting them react quickly to danger.
Flight Flying enabled birds to escape predators, but also meant that they could access new and different types of food.
Comb The comb on a chicken’s head is both for cooling purposes and attracting female chickens.
Domestication Man’s taming of jungle fowl, the chicken’s ancestor, has assured its ongoing existence.
231 MILLION Saurischia 231 million years ago This is the group of early dinosaurs that many believe birds (and subsequently chickens) are descended from. One of the most recognisable is eoraptor, one of the earliest known dinosaurs to have ever lived. It’s noticeable for its grasping hands.
1 metre
56
220-183 MILLION Coelophysidae 220 million years ago This small group of primitive carnivorous dinosaurs, including Procompsognathus, Coelophysis and Camposaurus, were mainly notable for their small size. Their hollow bones are thought to have made them agile hunters.
3 metres
160-66 MILLION Dromaeosauridae 160 million years ago This is an important link, as this group of dinosaurs share many things in common with modern birds. The family includes Jurassic Park’s velociraptor, which is now thought to have had feathers aer quill knobs were found on fossil samples.
6 metres
WorldMags.net
160 MILLION Aurornis 160 million years ago This creature is considered to be the most primitive bird known, hence its scientific name Aurornis which means ‘dawn bird’. It had claws and a long tail, but lacked larger feathers, which suggests it was flightless.
50 centimetres
WorldMags.net
Chicken
“Scientists have discovered molecular evidence that links T-Rex to the chicken” Coverts These colourful feathers are used to smooth airflow over both the wings and tail.
Tail Roosters have more flamboyant and longer tails than hens and are entirely for display.
Tiny spurs A chicken’s spurs are used for attack and defense. These are far more noticeable on roosters and rare in hens.
160 MILLION Anchiornis 160 million years ago This chicken-sized dinosaur was the first to have its full-body colour patterns decoded by scientists. Researchers believe it had black-and-white speckled wings, similar to that of the modern-day Hamburg chicken breed.
35 centimetres
150-148 MILLION Archaeopterygidae 150 million years ago For many, Archaeopteryx is the most obvious link between both dinosaurs and modern birds, as it shares many similarities between the two species. It’s notable for its well-developed flight feathers and small size.
50 centimetres
Wings Contrary to popular belief chickens can fly, but their heavy bodies only enable them to cover short distances.
How do we know this? Fossil evidence is the key to exploring this creature’s lengthy genetic heritage Fossils are the main way of studying evolution in animals, as they enable us to discover fascinating facets of how creatures slowly change. There have been discoveries in the last couple of years suggesting even more interesting links between dinosaurs and birds – notably Anchiornis, Xiaotingia and Aurornis. In fact, Xiaotingia and Aurornis
WorldMags.net
are believed to be even older than Archaeopteryx and some are now questioning the importance of Archaeopteryx in the actual evolution of birds. Add in the fact that scientists have discovered molecular evidence that links T-rex to the modern domesticated chicken and it’s clear there are still so many questions yet to be answered.
57
Life cycle of… WorldMags.net
The orange clownfish ORANGE CLOWNFISH Amphiprion percula Class Ray-finned fish
Territory Coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans Diet Algae, zooplankton, small crustaceans Lifespan 6-10 years Adult weight Unknown Conservation Status
Clownfish lead a symbiotic existence, producing protective mucus that enables them to hide from predators between the stinging tentacles of sea anemones. In return, the clownfish act as a lure, enticing other fish towards the predatory anemone Breeding pair Clownfish are hermaphrodites. They are born male, but if the breeding female in a group dies, the dominant male can change gender to replace her.
NOT EVALUATED
Adulthood 9-15 months
A magnificent sea anemone
Clownfish have a strict hierarchy based on body size. The breeding female is the largest, so she mates with a single dominant male and the others must wait in line for the dominant clownfish to die.
Laying eggs Female clownfish spawn between 400 and 1,500 eggs at a time, distributed in something close to a circular pattern. They are oen of a similar colour to the mother, which is usually a bright hue.
Juvenile 1-9 months
© Sandra Doyle/The Art Agency
Building up protective mucus takes several hours, sometimes days, and continued exposure to the anemone is required to maintain the coat. The new juvenile will join several other fish living in the same anemone host.
Host selection Juvenile clownfish need to find a suitable host anemone by using in-built chemical cues. The clownfish begin to build up a defensive covering by tentatively approaching the stinging tentacles, stimulating the production of a protective mucus that can bypass the anemone’s natural defence.
58
Fanning eggs Once fertilised, the eggs are protected, fanned and handled by the male clownfish, keeping them clean until they finally hatch.
Larva 2 weeks
Four-day-old egg
Clownfish larva are mostly transparent and unable to swim against the stronger currents. They develop rapidly into juveniles, displaying distinctive striped markings.
WorldMags.net
Egg 1 week After around four to five days, depending on the water temperature, the clownfish eggs will hatch. This will most often occur at night.
WorldMags.net FEED YOUR MIND www.howitworksdaily.com
Available from all good newsagents and supermarkets TM
ON SALE NOW
> Combat vehicles > Life in a coral reef > Age of the dinosaurs > Mega planets SCIENCE UP CLOSE
INSIDE GADGETS
COOLEST TECH
ILLUSTRATIONS
AMAZING FACTS
BUY YOUR ISSUE TODAY
Print edition available at www.imagineshop.co.uk Digital edition available at www.greatdigitalmags.com Available on the following platforms
facebook.com/howitworks WorldMags.net
twitter.com/@howitworksmag
WorldMags.net
Try 3 for £3 Subscribe today to get 75% off your first three issues of World of Animals and save 25% on all future issues
62
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net Join us on a journey into the World of Animals Travel through planet Earth’s most famous wildlife habitats, from rainforests to deserts, and see the creatures that live there up close and in action. Learn how different species have evolved and where they sit in the food chain of life. As well as delighting you with some amazing photography, we promise to captivate you with amazing facts and expert interviews every month. So join the big adventure now!
DON’T MISS OUT O THIS GREATN OFFER
The perfect gift A World of Animals magazine subscription makes the perfect gift for all occasions that will be appreciated all year round Don’t miss... OBreathtaking photos OAmazing illustrations OIn-depth articles OExpert opinion OReader Q&A OSpotters’ guides
From the makers of…
s al m ni a k/ 10 u o. 84 de c . s 48 co b u 4 8 ffer s e in 084 te o 4 g 0 a ll o i. m ca qu F 0 e J w r w o eas P w 63 Pl
ER RD O
WorldMags.net
W O N
Justfacts 50 like us about penguins
WorldMags.net
50
FACTS ABOUT EXPLORE SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING HABITS AND TRAITS OF THESE FANTASTIC FLIGHTLESS BIRDS
62
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Just Penguins like us
1. The emperor penguin breeds at -60°C If there is one fact above all others that pays testament to Aptenodytes forsteri how amazing penguins are, Class Aves it’s that emperor penguins breed at -60 degrees Celcius (-76 degrees Fahrenheit), a feat that would be simply Territory Antarctica unthinkable and impossible Diet Carnivore Lifespan 15-20 years for any other species on Adult weight Up to 40kg / Earth. This flightless bird, 88lbs which is native to the coldest, Conservation Status driest and windiest continent on Earth, Antarctica, braves an environment where, with NEAR THREATENED wind chill taken into account, the temperature can plummet to insane levels of cold. Don’t think that such cold conditions are experienced only rarely by the emperor, as the average temperature in Antarctica is consistently around -30 degrees Celcius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit), while the coldest temperature ever recorded in the emperor’s natural habitat stands at -89.2 degrees Celcius (-128.6 degrees Fahrenheit). What makes this feat even more astounding, however, is that emperor penguins spend the entirety of the long winter months in Antarctica on the open ice, completely exposed to the elements. The female of the species breeds directly into this cauldron of cold, before leaving the tiny vulnerable young to be sheltered by the male partner. They will then proceed on a hunting trip that lasts two months and can see them travelling over 80 kilometres (50 miles) away from their partners and young. The female will only return once her belly is stocked to the gullet full of fish, squid and other marine creatures. If she’s lucky the male EMPEROR PENGUIN
Antarctica
Emperor penguin range emperor will not have starved to death and the chick will have survived the extreme environment relatively unscathed, but incredibly hungry. Emperor penguins possess many amazing features and abilities, many of which we’ll explore here. However, this ability to withstand the worst, most brutal climate and environment the Earth can muster for months on end, without food and with newborn young to protect, is the most jaw-dropping of them all.
BELOW RIGHT A penguin chick has to survive harsh conditions in order to survive into maturity BELOW LEFT An example of a penguin huddle, where the birds gather together to stay warm
Blizzard Emperor penguins live in Antarctica and, as such, have to endure temperatures of -60° C (-76°F) and frequent bonefreezing blizzards.
Huddle To survive and breed in such harsh conditions, emperor penguins huddle together in groups, with those directly in the wind blast continuously rotated.
WorldMags.net
63
50 facts about penguins
WorldMags.net
2. Penguins have 70 feathers per square inch As penguins spend so much of their time in water, they need a reliable waterproof coating, which for all species comes courtesy of their feathers. In fact, these are some of the most dense and numerous plumages of all birds. The average feather count per square inch (6.5 square centimetres) of a penguin is 70 and with some species, such as the emperor penguin, that number rises to more than 100. These small, stiff and tightly packed feathers overlap and when in good condition not only help insulate the bird against its cold environment but ensure a waterproof barrier is maintained at all times, enabling the penguin to slip through the water effortlessly before returning to land in a fast-drying state. On the rare occasion that a penguin gets too hot, it cools itself by raising its flippers, which are the one part of its body, aside from the feet, where its plumage is not so dense and heat can escape quickly.
3. They are able to drink salt water Another unique evolutionary feature possessed by all penguin species is the ability to drink salt water without any adverse side effects. Humans and most other land-dwelling animals cannot drink ocean water due to its high salt content, but penguins have evolved a special supraorbital gland that filters all salt intake from its bloodstream, enabling it to drink and be refreshed as if drinking from a freshwater source. The filtered salt, once extracted and separated from the animal’s bloodstream, is then eventually excreted as a concentrated fluid from the penguin’s nasal passages.
Warm coating Feathers keep penguins warm in freezing temperatures, but also maintain a waterproof barrier for swimming.
BELOW Penguins are able to consume salt water, without any adverse effects
“The penguin varies its blood flow rate by adjusting the diameter of its arterial vessels” Heat exchangers A system of arteries exchanges heat to keep the extremities as warm as possible.
Arterial vessels The penguin is able to adjust its blood flow rate to suit the changing conditions.
64
4. They can control their blood flow Ever wondered why parts of a penguin don’t just freeze and fall off in the harshest climate on Earth? Well, the answer is due to the ability to control its own blood flow, which is certainly a handy trait when living in such typically cold climates. The penguin varies its blood flow rate by adjusting the diameter of its arterial vessels, supplying its blood in accordance with climate conditions. In cold conditions the diameter is reduced to limit the blood flow (which reduces heat loss) and in warmer conditions the diameter is expanded, increasing the flow. Partnering this ability, which is controlled with a complicated nervous and hormonal system, are also countercurrent heat exchangers, which are positioned at the top of the penguin’s legs and exchange heat from warm blood travelling in one direction with cold blood travelling in the other. This ensures that heat is distributed efficiently around the body and that minimal loss occurs at the extremities, while ensuring they don’t freeze.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net 5. They molt at an unusually fast rate Not many people are aware that penguins, like all birds, molt their feathers. In the penguin’s case, molting generally occurs annually and all in one go, which is referred to as a catastrophic molt. This results in each species completely shedding its outer layer of feathers quickly and with spectacular results, with a penguin mid-molt looking like an exploding pillow.
6. Males and females look identical Most penguin species are not sexually dimorphic. This means that both the males and females are identical in appearance with regards to both their plumage and colouration.
7. They do not have teeth Rather than teeth, a penguin has hundreds of spines on the top and bottom interior of its beak. These spines help the penguin hold slippery, moving prey, particularly fish.
8. Every penguin lives in the Southern Hemisphere Every species of penguin lives in the Southern Hemisphere, ranging from the continent of Antarctica through to the relatively warmer waters of the Galapagos Islands.
9. The Magellanic is named after Ferdinand Magellan The Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) was named by its discoverer, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The adventurer stumbled upon the species in around 1520 CE, along with a range of other species that had gone undiscovered.
10. The Little Penguin is 13 inches tall
Penguins The littlest penguin The Little Penguin’s small size oen leaves it vulnerable to predators such as lizards, stoats and even pets.
Penguins on average measure between two Eudyptula minor and three feet in height, Class Aves but this figure means nothing to the Little Penguin – a species that averages a paltry Territory South coast of 33 centimetres (13 Australia, coastal New Zealand inches) in height when Diet Carnivore Lifespan 6-7 years fully grown. Adult weight 1.5kg / 3.3lbs Due to its small size, Conservation Status the Little Penguin is often also commonly referred to as the LEAST CONCERN fairy penguin, with the animal’s small size and low weight – individuals struggle to break 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) – granting them a cute and friendly appearance. Like most seabirds Little Penguin have a long lifespan, with the average being 6.5 years. The Little Penguin was first discovered and recorded in 1781 CE and today is a well-established species, with 350,000-600,000 individuals estimated to exist in their natural habitat. Indeed, the little penguin population is well dispersed, with the animal found on New Zealand, Australia, the Chatham Islands, as well as some sightings in Chile and Australia even sporadically in South Africa. Unfortunately, however, due to this species’ establishment on national mainlands, they are frequently killed by cats, lizards, foxes and stoats. These attacks typically come when Little Penguin range the little penguin is at its on-shore nest, which it returns to each evening with food harvested from the ocean. LITTLE PENGUIN
11. They toboggan when leaving the water All penguin species are capable of tobogganing, which is essentially where the bird lies on its stomach and propels itself horizontally across the ice, with its flippers and feet acting as the propelling mechanisms. Tobogganing is not only a much faster form of travel for penguins – whose large bodies, short legs and webbed feet make walking cumbersome – but it also helps the animal conserve more energy, which is so precious in its oen unforgiving habitat. Penguins are capable of sliding with minimal effort across flat or RIGHT When descending inclines. They even use penguins toboggan, this tobogganing method to quickly they are not only escape predators such as seals and conserving energy, but can also evade sea lions, who don’t posses the same predators much faster ability and so cannot keep up with than by waddling their prey.
WorldMags.net
65
50 facts about penguins
WorldMags.net
12. The macaroni is the most common species With an estimated 20 million individuals in Eudyptes chrysolophus existence, the macaroni Class Aves penguin is the most numerous penguin species living on Earth and millions of birds Territory Subantarctic occupy a range that Diet Carnivore stretches from the Lifespan 15-20 years Adult weight 15.5kg / 12lbs subantarctic to the Conservation Status Antarctic Peninsula. To be precise, at least 216 colonies have been VULNERABLE identified at over 50 different sites around the world. The macaroni penguin can be found from Chile, through the Falkland Islands and onto the South MACARONI PENGUIN
Shetland Islands among many others, with the animal spreading far and wide – especially during foraging trips – and frequently coming into contact with scattered human settlements. Aside from its high numbers, the macaroni penguin is also known for its remarkable fasting behaviour. During the species’ breeding period the male fasts for around 37 days after the arrival of the egg, before swapping with the mother for a ten-day period to forage, while the female then fasts for 42 days straight. When the male eventually returns from foraging, it then proceeds to fast once more for a similar time frame. Due to this extensive fasting habit, both male and female macaroni penguins lose between 35 and 40 per cent of their total body weight during the hatching and raising period.
“Macaroni penguins lose between 35 and 40 per cent of their total body weight during the hatching and raising period”
Widespread species Macaroni penguins living on the snow-covered slopes of Cooper Bay, South Georgia.
Bluish-black plumage The macaroni has a black plumage with a bluish sheen when new and a brownish sheen when old, just prior to molting.
Crested species The macaroni penguin is one of six species of penguin with a crest. This stretches from the centre of the forehead to the nape.
13. 1 in every 50,000 penguins is born with a unique brown plumage Around 1 in 50,000 penguins is born as an isabelline penguin. These unique and rare penguins are marked due to their distinctive brown plumage, which is caused by a similar biological process to albinism. Unfortunately, due to their brown plumage standing out against the animal’s native LEFT Isabelline penguins are extremely rare and also have a shorter life expectancy
66
backdrop of ice and snow, therefore offering no camouflage against predators, these isabelline variants tend to have shorter life expectancies than regular penguins. Additionally, even if an isabelline penguin somehow survives against predation, it oen then finds it difficult to mate, with the other penguins with normal plumage overlooking it when the breeding season arrives.
WorldMags.net
14. They are able to consume stones to aid with digestion Scientists believe penguins will actively consume small stones along with food to aid digestion within their stomach. The stones are also believed to add weight and aid the birds’ diving.
15. An emperor egg takes 67 days to hatch As you may expect, the largest penguin species in the world – the emperor penguin – has the longest incubation time in-egg than any other, with it taking over two months for any chick to hatch into the world.
16. Most species lay two eggs at a time All penguins, aside from the emperor and king species, tend to lay two eggs in a nest made of stones, bones and moss. The emperor and king penguins only ever lay one, however, and don’t build nests but incubate the egg on the tops of their feet to keep them from the cold floor.
17. Penguins breed during spring and summer Aside from the emperor penguin, which breeds during the cold of the harsh Antarctic winter, all other species of penguin breed during the spring and summer months, when generally conditions are a lot warmer.
18. Male emperors make very good fathers As soon as a female emperor penguin produces an egg, the male partner immediately takes over the caring duties, incubating the egg carefully on the top of his feet. While he’s doing this, the female emperor travels away on a hunting and feeding trip.
WorldMags.net
19. The gentoo can swim at up to 22mph
Acrobatic Gentoos are also one of the most agile penguins and are capable of leaping high out of the water.
Faster than any other diving bird, the gentoo penguin is distinctive for many reasons, primarily for its ability to swim at a rapid 22 miles (36 kilometres) per hour. It’s also notable due to its flamboyant red-orange beak, white feathered caps and super-streamlined body, with this species type commonly found throughout the Antarctic Peninsula and its many icy islands. On land, gentoo penguins have no natural predators, but despite their speed in the water they are frequently preyed upon in the oceans by leopard seals, sea lions and orca whales. Additionally, during the breeding season, their eggs are prone to be taken by birds of prey such as caracaras and skuas. This predation, along with climate change and human fishing operations, has seen the number of gentoo penguins decrease rapidly over the past couple of decades, with the species receiving a Near Threatened rating by the IUCN Red List in 2007. This is particularly depressing, as the gentoo is one of the cornerstone penguin species, being the third largest (76 centimetres or 30 inches) in height and weighing a modest 5.5 kilograms (12 pounds). Adult gentoos spend most of their days hunting close to shore, where they consume large quantities of squid and krill. Gentoo chicks take just over a month to hatch and then a further month of direct care before they can leave the nest.
20. A penguin’s body temperature is 38 °C The average temperature in a penguin’s body is 38 degrees Celcius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), even despite most living in subantarctic conditions, where temperatures oen plummet well below -20 degrees Celcius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit). Interestingly, however, scientists have used infrared imagery to show that at times parts of a penguin’s body can drop in temperature by over 15 degrees Celcius, with inactive extremities kept cooler than the core. This helps the penguin conserve energy that otherwise would have been wasted.
Penguins
Rapid swimmer While swimming under the water gentoos can hit 22mph (36km/h).
GENTOO PENGUIN Pygoscelis papua Class Aves
Territory Subantarctic Diet Carnivore Lifespan 10-15 years Adult weight 5.5kg / 12lbs Conservation Status
NEAR THREATENED
Staying warm Though they live in cold conditions, penguins can still remain warm.
“Adult gentoos spend most of their days hunting close to shore” “The emperor penguin can dive down to 1,700 feet” 21. They aren’t able to breathe underwater Despite spending the majority of their lives there, penguins can’t actually breathe underwater, with the time and depth they can be submerged for being wholly dependent on the species type. As an example, little penguins can only manage to dive down to around 60 metres (200 feet) and remain underwater for up to a minute. In contrast, the emperor penguin can dive down to 565 metres (1,850 feet) below the surface and may remain there for around 20 minutes at any one time.
22. They are a very sociable species Despite their remote habitats and general lack of contact with the wider world, penguins are social animals, conducting almost every aspect of their daily lives together. From diving and hunting, through to breeding together in large colonies and communicating with one another constantly via calls, as well as visual displays, penguins are always in contact. They even travel and sleep in groups too – the latter oen to increase safety and warmth – and will band together to fight off predators who are trying to capture a younger or weaker individual.
Toasty seat Penguin chicks can perch on a warm pair of feet to avoid the cold snow.
WorldMags.net
67
50 facts about penguins
WorldMags.net
23. Penguins are carnivores It’s easy to forget, but all penguin species are actually piscivorous carnivores, consuming massive amounts of meat during their lives. In fact it’s estimated that the Earth’s macaroni penguin population consumes 9.2 million tons of krill each and every year. While penguins consume a wide variety of food sources, they do have some favourites, with krill, squid and fish such as anchovies and sardines common favourites. Certain species also have a penchant for crustaceans, cuttlefish and shrimp too, eating and
digesting them directly or consuming and processing them into a slurry to be more easily transferred to their young. Hunting for meat occurs on a daily basis and trips are undertaken in groups, but foraging itself can occur both in isolation or as part of a concerted group effort. They work together to catch prey or take it in turns to enter the water while the others rest. Penguins’ desire for meat will see hunting parties frequently travel many miles both in and out of water to reach prime feeding grounds, spending days on end catching and eating fish.
Blood-thirsty Penguins are carnivores, consuming fish, shellfish and crustaceans in very large quantities to survive. Hunting technique A popular hunting technique is to dive to 50m (164) and then swim up to surprise fish swimming closer to the ocean surface.
“Penguins’ desire for meat will see hunting parties frequently travel many miles” 24. They are extremely short-sighted
LEFT Penguins have similar eye structures to humans
68
Intriguingly penguin eyes and human eyes are remarkably similar, with a cornea, iris and crystalline lens focusing light onto a retina. With penguin eyes, however, the cornea is almost flat and its iris is controlled by a far more powerful muscle than ours – two features that make the penguin capable of seeing both in and out of water equally well (unlike humans who are farsighted underwater). The trade-off for this ability is a general shortsightedness both in and out of the water, however, particularly so when on land. Regardless, with little need for pin-sharp, hawk-like vision, penguin eyes have been shown to be completely adequate. In general, individuals are easily able to pick out partners and chicks at medium range.
WorldMags.net
25. Their colonies can be massive If you thought a penguin rookery was big, with thousands of birds all drawing together in one place, then think again, as a penguin colony can be over 100-times larger. The current Guinness World Record for the largest penguin colony on Earth lies with Zavodovski Island, an active volcano in the South Sandwich Islands. Zavodovski sees approximately two million chinstrap penguins breed on its slopes each and every year, with several hundreds of thousands of birds descending on the island to court and mate. Along with the macaroni, the chinstrap penguin is among the most numerous penguin species found across the world.
Penguins
WorldMags.net 26. The word penguin was first used in the 16th century The word penguin was originally created as a synonym for the extinct great auk in the 16th century. It is believed the word stems from the Latin ‘pinguis’, meaning ‘fat’.
27. The gentoo has a brightorange bill Gentoo penguins are easily identifiable due to their brightorange bill, which no other species has. They also have the biggest tail of all penguins
28. They enter the water in groups Penguins tend to jump into the ocean in large groups. Researchers believe that this habit is an evolved behaviour to aid survivability and increase safety from predators.
29. Megadyptes antipodes has yellow eyes Megadyptes antipodes (yelloweyed penguin) is easily identifiable purely by the colouration of its eyes, which stand out as a bright greenish-yellow. This species is found only in New Zealand.
30. A nest area is called a rookery As social birds, penguins mate together en-masse in large breeding grounds referred to as a rookeries. It’s here that penguins construct their nests and incubate their young, with each nest being a specified distance from its neighbour. Rookeries frequently contain thousands of birds all tightly packed in one place and, as such, each penguin develops its very own unique call that it can use to find its partner or chick, even amid the throng. By nesting together in a rookery rather than on their own in isolation, penguins also help defend one another against predators.
31. Each species has a distinctive call Penguin calls may sound the same but each one is identifiable, with a single penguin amid thousands of others capable of recognising its mate. As penguins are nearly identical, these vocalisations play a crucial part in their lives. There are three main types of penguin call: the contact, display and threat calls. The first assists a penguin in recognising other colony members and it’s typically very loud, with the contact calls of the larger penguin species, such as the emperor and the king, travelling over a kilometre (0.6 miles). The display call is used between penguin partners and differs to the simpler and loud contact call in that it’s far more complex, conveying information on territorial placement, sexuality and individual recognition. The threat call is the simplest penguin vocalisation of the three and is used to warn other colony members of predators.
Safety in numbers Penguins nest in close proximity in order to protect one another from potential threats
LEFT Penguins rely on their calls to warn of danger as well as identify nests
LEFT Penguin colonies can include many hundreds of thousands of individuals, all in one place
32. There are 16 species of penguin, 15 of which are now endangered Sadly, over two-thirds of all penguin species are currently rated as Near Threatened, Vulnerable or Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Climate change and human fishing activities have been highlighted as the main factors that are driving them towards complete extinction. A recent study by the World Wide Fund for Nature predicted that, thanks to the aforementioned threats, emperor and adelie penguins will experience a steady decline in population size by 50 and 75 per cent respectively over the next 40 years, making present conservation efforts all the more vital.
Emperor Aptenodytes forsteri
Macaroni Eudyptes chrysolophus
Little Penguin Eudyptula minor
Chinstrap Pygoscelis antarctica
African Spheniscus demersus
King Aptenodytes patagonicus
Humboldt Spheniscus humboldti
Adelie Pygoscelis adeliae
Fiordland Galapagos Eudyptes Spheniscus pachyrhynchus mendiculus
Yellow-eyed Megadyptes antipodes Snares Eudyptes robustus
Magellanic Rockhopper Eudyptes chrysocome Spheniscus magellanicus
WorldMags.net
Gentoo Pygoscelis papua
Erect-crested Eudyptes sclateri
69
50 facts about penguins
WorldMags.net
33. The yellow-eyed penguin is the rarest So endangered that a dedicated conservation organisation has been set up for it, the yellow-eyed penguin is the Earth’s rarest species of penguin, with around 5,000 individuals extant and 2,000 breeding pairs left in their native habitat. Despite being unique to New Zealand, human development and interference has left the yellow-eyed now most numerous on the country’s southern-most islands. Yellow-eyed penguins hunt for food primarily over New Zealand’s nearby
continental shelf, which lies roughly 1.6 kilometres (one mile) offshore and extends out to 25 kilometres (16 miles). Like all penguin species, their diet largely consists of fish, which the yellow-eyed harvest by diving down to 120 metres (394 feet) into the ocean waters. They are also among the longest living penguin species, capable of hitting 20 years in age. Males tend to live longer than females, leaving the species with a male-to-female ratio of 2:1 after about ten years of age.
34. The emperor stands over a metre high The largest penguin species is the emperor penguin, which averages 1.15 metres (3.8 feet) in height, but can oen surpass a whopping 1.3 metres (4.3 feet), with these giants towering over lesser species with ease.
35. They mainly walk at two miles per hour Almost all penguins waddle at around 3.2 kilometres per hour (two miles per hour) on land. However, this rule is broken by the king penguin, which has a different gait and can walk at up to 5.6 kilometres per hour (3.5 miles per hour).
36. Only the adelie and emperor actually live in Antarctica While penguins are oen thought to inhabit Antarctica exclusively, only two types live on the continent proper, with the emperor and adelie species braving its extreme climate. Older and wiser The yellow-eyed penguin is also one of the longest living penguin species, frequently surpassing 20 years in age.
New Zealand
YELLOW-EYED PENGUIN Megadyptes antipodes Class Aves
Yellow-eyed penguin range
“They are also among the longest living penguin species” 70
Territory New Zealand Diet Carnivore Lifespan 10-20 years Adult weight 5-8kg / 11-18lbs Conservation Status
ENDANGERED
37. Chicks are not waterproof
38. A wild penguin lives up to 20 years In the wild penguins live to between 15 and 20 years, however in captivity that number is closer to 30 years. The official record for the oldest captive penguin is 29 years, four months.
39. All the subspecies lay eggs on land Despite all penguin species preferring a water habitat, they always return each year during breeding season to lay their eggs on land, which take between 32 and 68 days to hatch.
40. A group of young chicks is called a creche Penguin young sometimes group together in what is referred to as a creche. A group of fully grown penguins, however, is referred to as a ra.
41. The chinstrap is the most aggressive Chinstrap penguins not only fight fiercely with one another during the breeding season, but also engage in thieving behaviour, oen stealing choice pebbles from rival nests, to supplement their own homes.
Adult penguin plumage isn’t acquired until a year aer birth. Until then the chicks have thinner and less waterproof plumage.
42. They cover their feathers with a protective oil All penguins have evolved a feature that helps them care for and maintain their feathers. Each penguin comes packing a uropygial gland, a special oil-producing gland near the animal’s tail feathers that it can harvest with its beak and then spread over its body. This oil acts as an extra barrier for the penguin, protecting its feathers from damage and ensuring its plumage remains dry. The activity of harvesting the gland and covering the feathers is referred to as preening, with penguins spending parts of each day working on their feathers. If a penguin works on another’s coat it’s referred to as allopreening.
WorldMags.net
LEFT In order to stay smooth in the water, a penguin can produce an oil to spread over its body
WorldMags.net
Penguins 45. They swim at six miles per hour On average penguins swim at six miles (9.7 kilometres) per hour, however when hunting or being chased by predators this spikes massively, with certain species frequently hitting over 20 miles (32 kilometres) per hour.
46. Humans ate penguins Class Aves
Territory Subantarctic islands Diet Carnivore Lifespan 15-20 years Adult weight 11-16kg / 24-35lbs Conservation Status
Speed demon Most penguins waddle when on land, but the king penguin walks, enabling it to travel at up to 3.5 miles per hour.
LEAST CONCERN
43. The king is a fast walker The king penguin is notable for being the second largest of all penguin species, measuring up to a metre in height. It’s also capable of diving down to 300 metres (984 feet) in ocean waters and remaining there hunting and foraging for a rather lengthy five minutes. Also, rather than waddling on land like all other penguin species, king penguins can walk and run properly due to adaptations in their leg anatomy, with speeds up to 5.6 kilometres (3.5 miles) per hour recorded. King penguins are also known for congregating in some of the Earth’s largest penguin colonies,
with St. Andrew’s Bay on South Georgia frequently witnessing more than 100,000 birds at any one time. On a breeding note, the king penguin is also interesting as it’s one of the earliest capable of reproducing, with individuals able to start the process from the age of three onwards, but most waiting a further three years before mating. The king also has one of the longest breeding cycles, with up to 16 months necessary to raise a chick from egg-laying through to fledging status. Female kings always lay a single egg that weighs approximately 300 grams (10.6 ounces).
Bubbly wake Penguins create this stream of bubbles that reduces water density around their plumage.
44. Penguins create a bubble boost when swimming Penguins can swim at great speeds thanks to an ability to generate a stream of bubbles in their wake. These come from the penguin fluffing its tightly packed feathers, an action that creates a series of micro bubbles to reduce the density of the water immediately surrounding the bird’s plumage. Whenever a penguin travels at high speed, a visible stream of bubbles can be seen surrounding their bodies and trailing off. This technique is oen used when exiting the ocean.
WIN!
TICKETS TO SEE GENTOO PENGUINS The Deep Aquarium, Hull, is offering you the chance to get up-close with the gentoo penguin in their Kingdom of Ice exhibition. To be in with a chance of winning a family pass for this unique exhibition, visit www.animalanswers.co.uk
WorldMags.net
During the early explorations of the Antarctic, human explorers ate penguins as a food source. They reportedly had very fatty and oily meat, but today penguin consumption is forbidden.
47. They don’t fear humans Due to their general remoteness from human populations and their activities, penguins seem to be completely unafraid of them, oen being greatly intrigued.
48. Penguins are preyed upon by killer whales Penguins are oen preyed upon by a variety of creatures including leopard seals, sea lions and killer whales. They are also a target for large birds, ferrets and even lizards.
49. The emperor is the fifth heaviest bird on Earth Not only is the emperor penguin the heaviest penguin in the world, but it’s also the fih heaviest bird of any species on Earth, weighing in at a rather beefy 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
50. They spend 75% of their lives underwater Rather than primarily being a land-dwelling flightless bird, penguins actually spend 75 per cent of their lives underwater, only really coming onto land for long periods to breed.
© Ardea; Thinkstock; FLPA; Getty; Naturepl.com
KING PENGUIN Aptenodytes patagonicus
71
WorldMags.net
Meet the creatures from prehistoric times still walking the Earth today Words David Crookes
© Frank Stober/Imagebroker/FLPA
ª
72
WorldMags.net
Modern-day dinosaurs
WorldMags.net For 160 million years they walked the Earth. Heaving hulks of animal living in the forests of ferns and conifers. They enjoyed the fresh spoils of the supercontinent Pangaea, feasting upon flowering plants, flourishing trees and, in many cases, one another. They were the dinosaurs, the largest land animals of all time. The Cretaceous period had seen life flourish. Some 200 million years ago, mammals first evolved. The first birds emerged 50 million years later and the first reptiles some 20 million years later still. By the late-Cretaceous period, dinosaurs were sharing Earth with early marsupial mammals, penguins, crocodiles and bees. The oceans swam with sharks and sea urchins, yet still dinosaurs continued to dominate the planet. Populations evolved to such an extent that Earth was home to more dinosaurs than at any other point in time. They were diversifying at a remarkable rate into highly specialised animals. From 99 million to 66 million years ago, there were more than 245 dinosaur genera (or families) and the creatures were in their prime. The world had seen the emergence of horned dinosaurs such as triceratops, which dominated the northern continents and chomped away on cycads. The incredible carnivore tyrannosaurus rex also ruled across the north, leaving the south free for the lumbering sauropods, with their long necks, and allowing the imposingly huge Spinosaurus their space. However, the Earth’s crust was still moving, as it had been for centuries. The continent was being broken up and the landscape was changing. Volcanic activity was rife across the globe and the atmosphere in certain parts of the world was thick with poisonous sulphurous gas. Smaller dinosaurs were becoming consumed and killed off by the low-lying fumes. Then it hit. A huge meteorite plunged from the skies 66 million years ago and came to rest in the seabed near the Yucatan Peninsula in modern-day Mexico, sending shockwaves across the globe, exterminating mammals, plants and insects. It was also the end of the dinosaurs, who would never walk the Earth again. While approximately 75 per cent of life was destroyed in the wake of this Earth-changing moment – called the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (or K-Pg) – these creatures were not entirely cut adrift. Dinosaurs were survived by some close relatives and other creatures that still walk the Earth today in some form or another. Some are referred to as living fossils, while others have come to be known and loved by millions of people around the world, but all are fascinating and hold a link to the past. To be clear, though, we’re not talking about huge creatures that look, sound and act in the way that we think dinosaurs probably did. For all of the sightings of monsters in Loch Ness and creatures residing in remote central African jungles, there has, to date, been no proof of a living dinosaur of that type. In reality, the animals that most closely resemble dinosaurs are far closer to home. “Birds are the direct evolutionary descendants of dinosaurs,” says Dr Paul Barrett, dinosaur researcher and head of the Vertebrates and Anthropology Palaeobiology Division at the Natural History Museum in London. There’s
“Dinosaurs were survived by some close relatives and other creatures that still walk the Earth today”
plenty of proof to support this claim, including an unbroken line of fossils that tracks the evolution of lineage from the velociraptor or T-rex to birds flying around today. However, the idea of a relationship between birds and dinosaurs stems back to the late 1860s in a theory put forward by English biologist Thomas Huxley. It has been gathering more and more ground ever since. “Birds and dinosaurs share a number of features that aren’t present in any other animal groups and they have inherited this through their shared common ancestry,” Dr Barrett continues. “So there are very good reasons for believing in the link between birds and dinosaurs, one of them being really obvious: birds have feathers and a number of dinosaurs had feathers too.” Huxley’s belief stemmed from the discovery of a fossil in Germany in 1861. Shown to have bird-like feathers yet dinosaur-like teeth, claws and a bony tail, the fossil came to be known as an example of the Archaeopteryx. They were the earliest known flying birds and lived around 150 million years ago. Huxley said this was the evolutionary bridge between dinosaurs and modern birds. “There are really nice features that we only see in those two types of animal and there is an argument for saying that birds are nothing more than small flying feathered dinosaurs that are still alive today,” says Dr Barrett. Some experts objected to Huxley’s research and believed it to be tainted by his staunch support of Charles Darwin, whose controversial theory of evolution had been published a few years earlier. However, in 2005 a perfectly preserved fossil of Archaeopteryx showed it did indeed have features common with birds and a group of meateating dinosaurs called theropods. The feet of Archaeopteryx and the theropods were anatomically near-identical. What’s more, fossils found in China show that some of the dinosaurs grew feathered wings. As if to lend further weight to Huxley’s theory, a fossil of an animal that has been named Aurornis xui was found in a museum in China last year. It has become a contender for the title of oldest bird to have lived. Considered by some as reptiles in the archosaur group, birds are actually referred to as avian dinosaurs, which distinguishes them from non-avian dinosaurs. More intriguing is that there’s even evidence that non-avian dinosaurs were hard-wired for flight way before the earliest birds took to the air. Is this, perhaps, how birds eventually became able to flap their wings and take off?
What is a dinosaur? The word ‘dinosaur’ means ‘terrible lizard’, however they were actually a separate group of reptiles that evolved 230 million years ago. Every dinosaur lived during the Mesozoic era between 250 million to 66 million years ago. Split between carnivores and herbivores, they were
WorldMags.net
vertebrates and lived on land. No-one knows exactly why the dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago, but an asteroid hitting Earth is widely accepted as the cause. The first fossils were recognised in the 19th century.
73
Modern-day dinosaurs
74
2
WorldMags.net
Bees suffered during the mass extinction as dinosaurs, but they came back from the brink to survive today.
4. Bees
The ancestors of this animal lived 76 million years ago and they still retain their ancient features today.
3. Solenodon
2. Snakes
Snake fossils date back 150 million years and many of them managed to survive the mass extinction.
3
1 Tuatara live in New Zealand and they are the last surviving members of a lineage that goes back some 225 million years.
1. Tuataras
Such is the strong, irrefutable link between birds and dinosaurs, that Dr Alison Woollard, an Oxford biochemist, said in December last year that it would, theoretically at least, be possible to re-create prehistoric animals via the DNA of birds, echoing the plot of Jurassic Park. “Evolution implies that buried deep within the DNA of today’s birds are switched-off genes that control dinosaur-like traits,” she told the Daily Telegraph. Yet, somewhat disappointingly, we are still some way from this result. “The problem is we don’t know an awful lot about how genes build bodies in total, so there would be a lot of genetics work involved,” says Barrett. “There may be things that birds once had that aren’t in their genes any more – that they’ve since lost, but were essential to being a dinosaur – so it would be very technically challenging [to account for that].” Despite dashing our hopes, we can assure ourselves that the legacy of dinosaurs is all around us and that birds are not the only creatures living today to have ancestral lines leading back to prehistoric times. Crocodiles are often cited as being dinosaur-like but they too have history: they evolved around 200 million years ago and lived side-by-side with dinosaurs. What’s more, they are closely related in terms of their features: both have fierce teeth and claws and their scales match what we expect dinosaurs to have had. In the past, experts have also drawn on the cold-blooded circulations of crocodiles as another matching feature, yet the theory that dinosaurs were cold-blooded was placed in doubt by scientists in 2012 following a number of discoveries in the 1960s. What we do know is that, unlike the dinosaurs, crocodiles somehow managed to survive extinction. Whether or not this was because they were better at adapting, given that their body had remained in much the same state for more than 200 million years (whereas dinosaurs diversified into many different forms), or whether they benefited from their proximity to water and ability to live an amphibious lifestyle, we will perhaps never entirely know. So, where exactly does that leave the modern-day lizard? “Crocodiles are the next closest living relatives of dinosaurs and are more akin to the evolutionary uncles or cousins of dinosaurs,” says Dr Barrett. “They had an earlier ancestry together with dinosaurs and birds that goes further back in time and they have a number of their own extinct relatives that have now also disappeared.” While birds are descended directly from a group of dinosaurs called theropods, crocodiles did not follow a similar path and are in fact closer to birds than they are to snakes and reptiles. Experts suggest dinosaurs and crocodiles have a common ancestor in a group of animals called the archosauria. Dinosaurs and crocodiles evolved separately but both they and birds are archosaurs, as are all of their extinct relatives. “Crocodiles and dinosaurs have the same common ancestor, which probably lived about 250 million years ago and from that common ancestor you get these two big branches of evolution,” says Dr Barrett. “One big branch leads off to crocodiles and the other goes in a
4
WorldMags.net Prehistoric creatures alive today
Modern-day dinosaurs
WorldMags.net
Having appeared around 400 million years ago, this genus was at one point thought to be entirely extinct.
4.Coelacanth
It’s threatened with extinction today, but the frilled shark has been swimming the oceans for 95 million years.
3. Frilled shark
With a sturdy shell, this snaillike creature has changed little in more than 400 million years.
2. Chambered nautilus
1. Goblin shark
With a lineage that goes back 125 million years, the long snout gives the goblin shark a very distinctive and frightening look.
1
3
4
2
“The prehistoric periods were populated by more than just dinosaurs”
WorldMags.net
slightly different direction, eventually leading to dinosaurs and birds.” Ancient crocodiles aren’t exactly the same as those that live today. They were a different species, but they were adaptable because they had to be. These fierce reptiles lived in a world dominated by some incredibly large creatures. Academic papers note that some happily adapted to ocean life while others were better able to run on land. Research showed their jaws evolved for the different habitats and this helped them to survive. To that end, they were worlds apart from modern-day crocodiles, which are much less diverse. So the prehistoric periods were, as we can see, populated by more than just dinosaurs. There were many weird and wonderful reptiles that, while often mistaken for dinosaurs, were distinct from them. If we could travel back in time, we’d see the sea swarming with Kronosaurus, Liopleurodon and Rhomaleosaurus – extinct marine reptile genuses that were distant cousins of modern lizards and typically had short necks and elongated heads. They existed alongside the dolphin-like Ophthalmosaurus and the Shonisaurus and Temnodontosaurus, which were giants that survived on Earth during the Mesozoic era. There were also flying reptiles called pterosaurs, which weren’t dinosaurs but they would dominate the air and became the first vertebrates to evolve flight. Like the dinosaurs, though, they were made extinct around 66 million years ago. There were many different types ranging from the Quetzalcoatlus to the Anhanguera. These creatures looked like big birds and had hollow, air-filled bones like birds, but pterosaurs were not in the same Dinosauria clade, unlike birds. There were also reptiles that were mammallike, which again weren’t dinosaurs but in fact creatures such as the Cynognathus, Dimetrodon and the Thrinaxodon genuses. These beings displayed mammal-like characteristics with fur, tusks and whiskers not uncommon, making them the ancestors of modern-day mammals. However, while those animals become extinct, there are creatures that date from prehistoric periods that still exist in some related form today. Sharks swam in the sea before the dinosaurs walked on land. For example, species of the grotesque goblin shark date back 125 million years and frilled sharks extend a further 25 million. The Coelacanth genus of fish evolved from lobe-finned fish around 400 million years ago, while sturgeons are relatively young pups at just 200 million years old, but are in danger due to the human demand for caviar. Nautilus and tadpole shrimps are equally endangered despite surviving as a species for respectively 500 and 250 million years each.
75
Modern-day dinosaurs
WorldMags.net
The crocodile
Head holes
Crocodiles are diapsids. Like dinosaurs, they have two holes in each side of their skull, enabling stronger jaw muscles to attach.
Body armour
Bony plates within the skin of a crocodile help the reptile defend against attack. The spikes are small pieces of bone.
Teeth Crocodiles have over 60 teeth that are constantly being replaced in the same way both herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs would have done in the past.
Scales The disc-like scales of a crocodile do not overlap and similar skin is said to have existed on many dinosaur species.
Eggs It’s likely that dinosaurs buried eggs in a similar way to crocodiles. Crocodiles, as we have seen, are also rather special, having evolved into more than 20 crocodilian species including alligators and crocodiles, albeit in a smaller form to those of millions of years ago. Mammals are another very important example of this. “Mammals actually appear in the fossil records at exactly the same time as the first dinosaurs, but for most of the early history of mammals they were small, very inconspicuous animals that didn’t get much bigger than the size of a small cat in general,” says Dr Barrett. “It was only after dinosaurs became extinct 66 million years ago that mammals started to take over and get bigger. So mammals have a very long evolutionary history, almost
76
exactly the same length as dinosaurs, but it took them a lot longer to get going.” The earliest form of mammal was the monotreme, emerging in the early Jurassic period, however rather than give birth to live young they laid eggs. Today the only living monotremes are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. They include the platypus (often known as the duckbilled platypus, even though there is only one type) and echidnas, which are referred to as spiny anteaters. It’s believed that platypuses split from echidnas between 19 and 48 million years ago. Palaeontologists Professor Pat Vickers-Rich, from Monash University, and Dr Tom Rich, from Museum Victoria, believe they found a fossil jaw belonging to a platypus that dates back more than 100 million years. “The early platypuses lived alongside
WorldMags.net
Sarcosuchus The first crocodiles lived around 240 million years ago but they have evolved since. Sarcosuchus had many of the characteristics of today’s crocodiles, but they were up to 12 metres in length (39 feet) and were actually of the Pholidosaurus genus.
Modern-day dinosaurs
WorldMags.net
Birds and avians Lungs Birds don’t have diaphragms so when they breathe, their lungs don’t move like ours. It’s thought dinosaurs had a similar system.
ABOVE Sea angel (Clione limacina), a pelagic pteropod mollusc from the Atlantic Ocean
Feathers The evidence that non-avian dinosaurs are closely linked to birds gave rise to the possibility of feathered dinosaurs. Fossils of small dinosaurs that may have had feathers – including the Anchiornis – were found in China and could be the missing link.
T-rex and the chicken
Toes Most birds walk or run on their toes and have three toes facing forwards and another on the back of the foot.
Eggs
Bones The bones of birds are hollow, with no marrow and so were those of dinosaurs. Scientists suggest dinosaurs could have long necks for this very same reason.
Birds lay eggs just like reptiles and the dinosaurs were no exception to this, usually laying multiple eggs at a time.
dinosaurs and so the earliest ones are indeed about 100 million-years-old,” confirms Dr Barrett. “They are found in Australia and would have overlapped with the dinosaurs for about 35 million years.” Key to the mammals’ ability to survive even Earthshattering events, such as devastating asteroids, was their size (all larger animals on Earth weighing more than around four stone (25 kilograms) died. “Lots of different types of mammals got through and that is probably because mammals were all uniformly small animals,” says Dr Barrett. “Small animals tend to survive extinction events much better than very large animals, because their food requirements are lower, they don’t need much to eat and they can hide and escape nasty conditions easier. If you think about rats and mice, when everything goes badly,
they do fine, because they are able to eat all sorts of different stuff. This means that they can survive in small nooks and crannies and stay out of the way of other things.” It’s telling that small marine life such as the dreaded jellyfish (505 million years and counting), snails, lobsters, urchins, forams, mollusks, clams and shrimps survived the K-Pg event. The horseshoe crab has actually remained relatively unchanged for 445 million years. Other tiny land animals such as snakes and lizards also walked the Earth in prehistoric times, although a monster snake, thought to be a distant relative of the anaconda and boa constrictor dating back 58 million years, was discovered in recent years. It lived in the swampy jungle of South America and it could
WorldMags.net
Tyrannosaurus rex has long been considered the most lethal of all the dinosaurs. However, when researchers sequenced proteins from a 68 million-year-old T-rex, they found many molecules were similar to a modern chicken, backing up claims that birds can trace a direct evolutionary line to dinosaurs. Dr Mary Schweitzer, a palaeontologist at North Carolina State University, made her team’s findings known in 2007. She said: “The data will help us learn more about dinosaurs’ evolutionary relationships.”
T-rex may be related to chickens
77
Modern-day dinosaurs
WorldMags.net
© Thinkstock; FLPA; Venegas ; P, Torres-Carvajal O ;Duran V; Queiroz K; Ian Jackson/The ArtAgency
“The K-Pg event led to the decimation of the planet’s plant and animal species, ending the Cretaceous era” swallow a crocodile whole. It weighed a ton and measured 15 metres (50 feet) in length. Other snake fossils have been found and date as far back as 150 million years ago, however, and there is evidence of amphibians with snakelike features more than 300 million years ago. Lizards and reptiles, of course, have been around for tens of millions of years. From the complete fossil of a 23 million-year-old lizard discovered preserved in a piece of amber in Mexico last year, to captorhinids that were around over 250 million years ago, when we see lizards and reptiles today we’re glimpsing into the past to a degree. Rhynchocephalia is an order of lizard-like reptiles that dates back to the Mesozoic era – precisely the time dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Today, there is one living species left: the tuatara. It’s important to stress that there are almost no specific species alive today that were alive when dinosaurs were alive. “Even crocodiles, which look very prehistoric, are not the same as the species that were around when dinosaurs roamed, their relatives were,” says Dr Barrett. He says there are just one or two very rare examples in the animal and plant kingdom of species remaining unchanged. “The ginkgo tree has essentially remained unchanged since the time that dinosaurs were around, but most other things have had at least some change between the time dinosaurs became extinct and the modern era,” he adds. The lifetime of a species is generally around three to four million years. Since it has been around 66 million years since dinosaurs became extinct, most of those species would have become extinct in that time. That goes for insects as much as animals and plants. Bees lived at the time of the dinosaurs – “the first bees we know of in the fossil records were about 100 million years ago”, explains Dr Barrett – but the specific species of bee around in the Cretaceous period are not the same as the bees that are alive today. “It’s just the natural way things go,” Dr Barrett concludes. “Some species are similar, but none have lived in the same form for that many millions of years.” Insects are a curious case, though. All of the modern insect groups around today existed in the form of a different species either before or during the Mesozoic era. The Martialis heureka ant was presumed extinct but a species emerged in 2000 in the Amazon forest. Eusocial bees, as we have seen, were around 100 million years ago. Bees followed the emergence of the first flowering plants around 20 million years before. Eusocial bees live in colonies and create honey as they go from flower to flower. They subsequently evolved out of necessity and have remained ever since. It shows, more than anything, that life on planet Earth is resilient. The K-Pg event led to the decimation of the planet’s plant and animal species, ending the Cretaceous period and opening the Cenozoic era that we live in today, but it was not the first extinction event and it’s unlikely to be the last. There have so far been five such extinction events since the Earth was formed and yet life has continued. In fact, such events tend to accelerate the evolution of life on Earth. As one magnificent group of animals perished, bringing the era of the dinosaurs to an end, other animals survived and thrived and it gave rise to even more wonderful creatures, including us.
78
They look like dinosaurs but they’re not! The Komodo dragon When people think of living dinosaurs, they tend to mention the Komodo dragon, but Komodo dragons, for all their looks, are not dinosaurs. Komodo dragons have ancestry dating back 100 million years and so lived alongside dinosaurs, but while they share a common ancestor with them, these carnivorous creatures don’t descend from them. Instead, they are the largest lizards in the world, growing up to three metres (9.8 feet) in length and weighing up to 70 kilograms (154 pounds). They belong to the monitor lizard family, Varanidae, which are thought to be the most intelligent lizards. They are found on the Indonesian islands of Komodo (from where they get their name), as well as Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Padar, but studies have shown that they may have evolved in Australia where fossils were found dating from between 300,000 and four million years ago.
Big lizard Unlike dinosaurs, which were actually a group of reptile, the Komodo dragon is the largest lizard on Earth.
Enyalioides binzayedi Discovered as recently as 2010 in a Peruvian forest, the Enyalioides binzayedi look like small dinosaurs and so many thought, at first glance, that they could have been of such ancestry. But as the name suggests, they belong to the genus Enyalioides, a group that is most commonly found in central and southern Africa. Given that the discovery of this lizard was only brought to light in 2013, researchers are still trying to find out more about the creature. What we do know is that while it looks very striking, although under 13 centimetres (five inches) long, it is dark brown with light-green scales and it has spikes down its upper back.
New discovery Though it looks prehistoric, this species is actually of the existing Enyalioides genus.
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net DISCOVER THE UNIVERSE w w w.spaceanswer s.com
Available from all good newsagents and supermarkets TM
ON SALE NOW
> What is dark energy? > Our galactic black hole > 20 top space questions answered EXPLORATION
SOLAR SYSTEM
DEEP SPACE
FUTURE TECH
ASTRONOMY
BUY YOUR ISSUE TODAY
Print edition available at www.imagineshop.co.uk Digital edition available at www.greatdigitalmags.com Available on the following platforms
WorldMags.net facebook.com/AllAboutSpaceMagazine
twitter.com/spaceanswers
Revival of the red squirrel
WorldMags.net
RED SQUIRREL Sciurus vulgaris Class Mammalia
Territory Found throughout Europe and into Asia, though only sporadically on the Iberian Peninsula and in the UK Diet Granivore-herbivore Lifespan Up to 6 years Adult weight 250-350g / 8.8-12.3oz Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
80
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Squirrels
After being supplanted from British woodlands by its grey cousin, can the red squirrel make a dramatic return?
SQUIRREL Words Ella Carter-Sutton
The red squirrel is one of the UK’s most iconic woodland animals. These fluffy little critters have called the British Isles home for almost ten thousand years, with evidence suggesting that their ancestors appeared at the end of the last ice age. With such a deep-rooted place in Britain’s natural heritage, this long-standing forest resident deserves to be protected to ensure that it survives for many more years to come. Red squirrels are arboreal mammals, which means that they make their homes in the trees. As a member of the rodent family, squirrels share many features with mice and rats, however it’s their signature brush-like tails that sets them apart from their cousins. They use their tails for balancing, communicating with other squirrels and impressing females during the breeding season. The trademark tail can also be used as a snug blanket to keep toasty in winter and acts as an excellent parasol for staying cool in the summer. They are able to live relatively successfully up in the forest canopy, where plentiful shoots and buds can be found, as well as a rich banquet of seeds and sometimes insects such as caterpillars or fungi on the forest floor. In the UK, red squirrels can be found scampering up the trees of conifer forests mostly in the north of the country. They make their nests, known as dreys, high up in the treetops, weaving a circular structure made of twigs and lined with moss and leaves to create a comfy, cosy home. Red squirrels make multiple dreys and although they
WorldMags.net
81
Revival of the red squirrel
WorldMags.net
BELOW The squirrel’s tail is highly useful for balancing when climbing the trees to forage for food
don’t hibernate, if the weather is awful during the winter they have been known to not venture outside for days. The squirrel breeding season is around January, with the babies (known as kittens, or kits) born around March. “If you give a red squirrel space it will find a new home,” enthuses Janet Wickens, director of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust (RSST). Here lies the nation-wide problem. Once unknown in Britain, a rival species, the grey squirrel, is now the biggest issue threatening the survival of the native red. Introduced into the UK from the USA and Canada in 1876 by Victorian enthusiasts, the grey squirrel was originally intended as an exotic addition to country parks. “They were possibly brought in as something extra on the estate,” Wickens explains. “The Victorians were totally unaware of the different species and their various ways of operating.” These first grey squirrels took to the UK’s forests and woodlands and their numbers increased
rapidly, as Wickens outlines: “The grey is a particularly adept and canny animal; it will breed fast and furiously and will always out-compete for food.” This coupled with the fact that the grey squirrel is almost twice the size of the native red squirrels means that the home species is put under constant strain for habitat and sustenance. Natasha Collings, project co-ordinator for the Cornwall Red Squirrel Project, explains why the grey species are so prolific: “They have not evolved to live in our small, mixed and deciduous woodlands, they have evolved to live in the much bigger landscape of the USA,” she explains. “In our woodlands, greys have an incredibly high population density, about five squirrels per hectare in some woods – five-times the natural density of the red squirrel. ” With five-times the number of squirrels comes five-times the demand for food and unfortunately the grey squirrels seem to be better at that, too. The digestive physiology of the grey species is much hardier than that of the reds, as Collings elaborates: “Grey squirrels are able to eat a wider range a food sources, such as unripe nuts and tannin-rich acorns, but red squirrels can’t eat these. This means there are fewer nuts available for the reds to eat. As a result, the
“Once unknown in Britain, a rival species, the grey squirrel, is now the biggest issue threatening the survival of the native red”
How the grey squirrel threatens the red Four causes behind the rise of the grey and the demise of the red 1. Diet Grey squirrels can digest a much wider array of foodstuffs, meaning that they can eat the red squirrels’ favourite morsels, plus other items. This makes food very easy to attain for the greys. 2. Size The grey squirrels are almost twice the size of the native reds, meaning they need to eat more food to survive, which oen pushes them to travel much longer distances in search of a meal. 3. Population density Grey squirrels reproduce much faster than the reds and can also live at much higher densities, meaning more can pack into one territory. This oen puts a lot of extra pressure on food resources for the red squirrels. 4. Squirrel pox virus Invasive grey squirrels are the primary carriers of squirrel pox virus (SPV), a deadly disease that continues to threaten populations of highly susceptible red squirrels, but doesn’t affect the greys.
82
WorldMags.net
Squirrels
WorldMags.net grey squirrels and their young are able to better survive the winter when food is scarce, meaning the next spring there are more of them again and they are in better condition to breed more young.” However, the sad truth is that population density and food supply are the least of our beloved red squirrels’ problems. The grey species is the carrier of a deadly disease known as squirrel pox virus (SPV) that shows no symptoms in grey squirrels but is responsible for the obliteration of reds throughout the country. Passed between species sharing feeding or nest sites, this pervasive contagion is the reason why red and grey species will never cohabit the same woodland. “When squirrel pox is present in red squirrels, the numbers will decrease 20-times faster, because once a red has contracted SPV it’s dead within 14 days,” Wickens tells us. As if this weren’t bad enough, the disease is so virulent that once a red squirrel has been infected, any remote contact with others of its kind will transmit the disease; whole populations of red squirrels can be eradicated with apocalyptic speed. The animal’s experience isn’t at all pretty either, producing mange and myxomatosis-like symptoms, as Wickens describes: “Red squirrels develop lesions around the face, which means they go blind. They can’t eat and it’s a horrible way to die.” When asked about the development of a possible vaccine for the population-crippling virus, Wickens’ reply is bittersweet. “Work has been underway for years, funded by a charity called the Wildlife Ark Trust, but unfortunately its funding ran out at a crucial time where it had actually found a candidate vaccine that worked.” So now, the fund-raising race is on to get this project back in the laboratory. However, once again there are stumbling blocks. “We have to find a way of actually getting it to the red squirrels and then we have to have it manufactured, which is a long process,” Wickens tells us. “We have to find a pharmaceutical company to do that. It’s a long way off yet and it’s going to need a lot of money, but it is possible.” So, what is being done to keep the two species apart and give our native red squirrels room to thrive?
ABOVE Squirrel nests are known as dreys, and the young are referred to as kits or kittens
RIGHT The smaller red variety of squirrel is now found in only certain remote areas of the British Isles
Red squirrel distribution UK 1945
Almost 70 years ago there was a hugely different distribution of red squirrels. Central England and the southeast were virtually void of them, but populations thrived in rural areas around the country
2001
Red squirrel range
Both
Grey squirrel range
None
Within just 55 years, SPV had claimed thousands of red squirrels, pushing their distribution northwards. There are only small pockets of them still clinging on in the Isle of Wight, Anglesey and Merseyside
WorldMags.net
2010
After ten more years, red squirrels were almost completely gone in England and Wales, along with their territories in Scotland and Ireland being invaded and weakened by the presence of the invasive greys
83
Revival of the red squirrel
WorldMags.net Coat colour can vary with some oen looking much like a grey squirrel’s, apart from the highly distinctive tu s
“In areas where there are healthy populations of red squirrels, most notably in the north of England, if the reds are to survive then the greys have to go” Unfortunately, the solution is a little more macabre than simply building a big fence. “You either want red squirrels or you don’t.” Wickens exclaims. “If you want them, you can’t have greys living alongside them. It just doesn’t happen.” Collings agrees, adding: “The simple fact is, if we want red squirrels we have to cull the non-native grey squirrels.” Although this might seem like an extreme solution to the problem, it’s worth bearing in mind that the grey squirrel has been considered a pest in the UK since 1937, where legislation was passed to control the spiralling population. It’s now illegal to release, import or keep grey squirrels in the UK. This approach doesn’t apply to very large areas such as London where the greys are free to charm their way into the lunchboxes of the capital’s vast population. However, in areas where there are healthy populations of red squirrels, most notably in the north of England, if the reds are to survive then the greys have to go. “We have a healthy red squirrel population right across counties such as Cumbria and Northumberland,” Wickens explains. “There is a project that was set up called Red Squirrels Northern England, working with the Wildlife Trusts, the Forestry Commission, Natural England and volunteers across the region. We work strategically so that we trap grey squirrels and record what we’re trapping to measure where the red squirrels have come back if we remove greys.” Once the populations have been carefully monitored, the charities can then raise money to employ grey squirrel controllers in order to protect the areas where volunteers can’t reach. Grey squirrels that are trapped are always quickly and humanely dispatched in a way that causes the animals no distress.
Squirrels in numbers
05
The number of toes a squirrel has. These cute little critters only have four fingers
84
1876
The year that the grey squirrel was imported from overseas and released into the UK
75
%
The fraction of the UK’s red population found in Scotland
˓ The average number of young that red squirrel females can give birth to in a litter
ABOVE Nesting boxes can provide shelter and a comfy place to rest native reds RIGHT The cute red squirrel is an integral part of the UK’s natural heritage
It’s this method of policing the borders that has produced some real results for the cute little reds. One such success story is the island of Anglesey, in North Wales. Ten years ago, this body of land was almost completely a grey squirrel zone, but “the community there decided they wanted their reds back, so they went about getting rid of the greys”, enthuses Wickens. Now, Anglesey is a mostly red squirrel area, and contains Wales’ largest red squirrel population. The reds have even started
25-30
CM
The average diameter of a red squirrel nest, called a drey
1937
The year that the UK government declared grey squirrels to be an invasive, nonnative animal
10,000 YEARS
The length of time that red squirrels have been native to the UK
WorldMags.net
05 million
The estimated number of invasive greys in the UK
WorldMags.net
Squirrels
Eurasian red squirrel range Known as the Eurasian red squirrel, this species can be seen from Scandinavia down to the Alps as well as from Ireland across to Russia and northern Asia, reaching all the way to Japan Eurasian red squirrel range
Keep an eye out for signs indicating red squirrel territory
arriving on the mainland areas surrounding Anglesey, prompting the locals to embark upon the same crusade in saving their native woodland inhabitants. A few other techniques that charities such as the RSST help to roll out include building nesting boxes and monitoring stations in red squirrel areas. There are also schemes such as ‘Slow – Red Squirrels’ signs that volunteers display on fences and gates to help reduce the human element of red squirrel decline, where squirrels may become victims of road accidents, or chased by domestic household pets. Leaving supplementary food out in gardens, such as sunflower seeds, has also shown in some studies to boost red squirrel populations, however this comes with a word of caution. You should only do this if you are living in a guaranteed red squirrel zone and that there are no greys in your area. Putting free squirrel dinners out could entice the wrong kind of grey-coloured attention, which in turn can spread the pox and have a detrimental effect on the reds that conservationists are desperately trying to help.
Other strategies to restore the red squirrel back to its former strength involve reintroduction projects, such as the Cornwall Red Squirrel Project overseen by Collings. This involves eradicating grey squirrels from two designated areas and then reintroducing the native reds into the safe zones. The two areas in Cornwall that Collings works with are both peninsulas, surrounded by water on three sides. This is an invaluable advantage, as the coastline acts as a natural barrier to keep grey squirrels out. “We don’t have any red squirrels yet”, explains Collings, but the project’s plan is to put a softrelease scheme into effect with animals from Cornwall’s two captive breeding populations, in order to kick-start the return of the Cornish red. Wickens adds: “A lot of work to keep the red squirrels safe is done by volunteers in their own homes, who trap the greys and look out for reds.”
LEFT Signs also help to raise awareness for the red squirrel population
Red squirrel kits grow very quickly and are usually weaned aer just nine weeks
WorldMags.net
85
Revival of the Red squirrel
WorldMags.net LEFT Victorians, who didn’t understand the dangers, introduced the grey squirrel
So what can the rest of us do to preserve the red squirrel population? Collings shares a few tips: “If you live in a red squirrel area, contact the local conservation group,” she explains. “They can give advice on things like recording sightings and reducing the chances of infection between reds and greys.” It’s important that you log these sightings of greys in a red squirrel area, as this can limit the spread of squirrel pox. Collings continues: “If you live in an area where there are no red squirrels, support red squirrel charities either where there are reds or where there are attempted reintroduction sites, such as Cornwall.” If you’re interested in actively volunteering for a red squirrel charity, Wickens urges you to get involved. “Not all people want to go out and trap greys. If you want to spread the message by talking to schools, fund-raising or record-keeping, help is always useful.” Of course, there’s always the opportunity to make a donation, which Wickens can’t stress enough: “There are two things that will save the red squirrel: people wanting them to be saved and helping us to do so, and money. Without these two elements, we may lose the species.” To lose the red squirrel would be to lose a beloved part of our countryside fauna. “They are our native squirrels, in balance with our native woodlands,” explains Collings, and Wickens is just as passionate. “The red squirrel is part of everyone’s understanding of woodland life. Most people will recall childhood stories of a squirrel,” she says. It’s true that the red variety is the one that many children will draw, despite the rarity of a sighting. “When we started the charity back in 2009 we commissioned an independent survey of 1,000 people and asked them ‘Do you believe that the red squirrel should be saved?’ and 78 per cent answered ‘Yes’,” Wickens adds. This speaks volumes for the love that the people of the UK have for the native squirrel species and why the work of charities such as the Red Squirrel Survival Trust and the Cornwall Red Squirrel Project is so key. Although the general trend is pointing downwards, with the help of volunteers and raising awareness of the red squirrel’s plight, successes such as that on Anglesey can become more common. If enough people understand the importance of saving these creatures, we can make sure that they continue to exist in Britain for plenty more decades to come. For information on any of the projects mentioned, please pay a visit to www. cornwallredsquirrels.co.uk or www.rsst. org.uk, where you can find out about your local squirrel conservation group, learn how to volunteer, make a donation and even become a friend of the red squirrels for just £3 per month.
Seeing red ABOVE Fast breeding and eating as well as the spreading of disease make the greys fierce competition for the reds
LEFT The red squirrels are much smaller than the greys, making them less competitive for food sources
86
WorldMags.net
Brownsea Island, England One of the only places in southern England to see red squirrels. Web: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brownsea-island Phone: 01202 707744 Galloway Forest Park, Scotland The forest is a Red Squirrel Priority Woodland providing a place for reds to flourish. Web: www.forestry.gov.uk/gallowayforestpark Phone: 01671 402420 Woodhorn Museum, England The museum’s grounds feature red squirrel feeding stations for almost guaranteed sightings. Web: www.experiencewoodhorn.com Phone: 01670 624455
© FLPA; Thinkstock; Chris Allen; Angus Hogg; Hugh Venables; Steve Partridge
Some locations around the UK to spot the native red squirrel
WorldMags.net
Visit ESTONIA From Brown Bear to Beavers, and Lady´s Slipper to primeval forests, mires and bogs - this little country has it all.
Wildlife Photography Tour Sat 31st May - Sun 8th Jun Price: 1795 € pp. This photo tour combines specialist photographic tuition and expert wildlife guiding through the skills and knowledge of noted professional wildlife photographer Neil Aldridge from UK, and leading Estonian photographer Remo Savisaar. We offer just six people the chance to photograph some of Europe’s iconic wildlife, now rare or extinct elsewhere in Europe.
Call now on +372 5349 6695 or e-mail
[email protected] for your free trip itinerary, www.naturetours.ee
+
HARBOURSIDE
TORQUAY
See the exciting worlds of Paignton Zoo and Living Coasts and grab yourself a bargain at the same time. Just bring along the vouchers below when you visit.
Paignton Zoo
Living Coasts
£1.50 off per adult and £1.00 off per child, senior citizen & student To redeem your voucher please ensure you complete the details below and hand in your voucher before paying for your tickets. Name:
£1.00 off per adult and 50p off per child, senior citizen & student To redeem your voucher please ensure you complete the details below and hand in your voucher before paying for your tickets. Name:
Postcode:
Postcode:
Email:
Please tick here if you do not wish to receive regular emails from us. Terms & Conditions: Valid until 31st December 2014. Only valid on full price tickets & not valid with any other discount or offer. Voucher Code: PZW04. www.paigntonzoo.org.uk
Email:
Please tick here if you do not wish to receive regular emails from us. Terms & Conditions: Valid until 31st December 2014. Only valid on full price tickets & not valid with any other discount or offer. Voucher Code: LCW04. www.livingcoasts.org.uk
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Send your photos
[email protected] Death at Dawn Adam Mulcahy The Sun rose on an early summer morning in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland. I was actually hoping to photograph beautiful cuckoos that had bred in the surrounding heathland. Suddenly I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye and to my astonishment a fox walked into the open with its prey lit up by the morning light.
Swimming Beauty Leona Repnik This photo was taken in August 2013, in southern France, using an Olympus camera and its fitted hard-shell underwater case. I was astonished by the intensity of the colours of the fish and I was glad that this amazing creature did not immediately disappear under a rock!
Red Squirrel on Brownsea Louis Pilcher A red squirrel on a roof at Brownsea Island near Poole, Dorset in the south of England. I zoomed in a bit but didn’t need to zoom too far as it was very close. This was taken with Canon PowerShot SX500 IS.
88
Searching for Breakfast Paul Burr Taken in Harrold-Odell Country Park, Bedfordshire on a freezing February morning. A robin followed me. I turned over some earth beneath a fence post. The robin found breakfast, then as a thank-you perched on top of the post, enabling me to use my 400mm lens to obtain this close-up shot.
WorldMags.net
Your world of animals
WorldMags.net WIN! Send us your photos and you could be in with a chance of winning a FREE subscription to World of Animals magazine
What’s on the website? www.animalanswers.co.uk Get access to a huge resource of wildlife information
Fascinating facts 30 hornets can wipe out a bee colony
STAR PHOTO
A hornet can kill five bees per minute, meaning 30 can wipe out an entire colony in an hour.
Q&A When is a species classed Endangered? Find out how the IUCN Red List keeps track of the Earth’s endangered species.
Animal videos A bear’s best friend They should be enemies, but these polar bears and huskies have called a truce and are at play instead.
Transparent Wings Milos Stanic This image was taken on a sunny August aernoon in village Prkosava, Serbia, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Belgrade. This dragonfly was a very nice model, posing without complaint. I was using a Nikon D5100, with an old Nikon AF Nikkor 35-70mm lens and close-up +4 filter at 1/200sec, f4.5 and ISO 100.
Digiscoping The Baader Microstage 2 Universal Digiscoping Adapter (camera not included)
made easy... The fully adjustable Microstage 2 Universal Digiscoping Adapter fits most compact cameras (up to 1kg) to any spotting scope with an eyepiece diameter between 29mm-62mm such as the Celestron Ultima Series (left) and Regal M2 Series (right) allowing you to produce stunning close-up wildlife photographs.
Spotting scope from Celestron
WorldMags.netand www.celestron.uk.com Find out more at www.baader-planetarium.uk.com
Take better photos of WorldMags.net
Your pets
Learn some essential tips for capturing great portraits of your loyal pets Photographing your pet is a great way to document them as they grow and preserve precious memories. You can try to capture your pet’s personality by photographing them playing with their toy or sitting in their favourite spot. You could take your shot indoors at home or go out into the garden
or to the local park, but try to choose somewhere without a distracting background that could confuse the shot. Taking pet portraits of your loyal companion is great fun and a great chance to practise your action photo skills, so follow our step-by-step guide to get perfect results without the fuss.
RIGHT You can perfectly capture the personality of your pet with a relatively simple setup and kit
“Try to capture your pet’s personality by photographing them playing with their toy or sitting in their favourite spot”
Love photography? Then pick up a copy of Photography for Beginners from …
Send your pet photos to us at…
[email protected] 90
WorldMags.net
Your world of animals
WorldMags.net
Ways to shoot pets in pens How to capture images of animals kept in enclosures
Aperture Use a wide setting Switch your camera to Aperture Priority mode and select a wide aperture (small f-number) setting. This will create a shallow depth of field that should blur the cage wire surrounding your subject.
01 Set your speed
02 Pick Continuous AF
Set your camera to Shutter Priority mode and select a fast shutter speed of 1/200sec or faster. This will enable you to freeze your subject in the frame, even if you can’t get them to stay still for you. This is especially helpful with excitable young pets, such as puppies.
To keep your pet pin-sharp, switch to Continuous Autofocus mode. This setting will get your camera to continually focus while you are pressing the shutter switch, meaning your pet will constantly be in focus even if they’re moving unpredictably.
Focus Capture carefully When using a wide aperture (small f-number) setting, you will need to make sure you focus on your subject and not the fence. Try to use singlepoint focus or manual focus to get this right.
03 Switch to Burst mode
04 Zoom in
To increase your chances of getting a great shot, use Continuous Shooting or Burst mode. This will take a series of shots in quick succession while you hold down the shutter release, giving you several photos to pick from – this is incredibly handy if your pet is on the move.
Try to take full advantage of your camera’s zoom to get close-up shots of your pet without having to chase after them. Zooming in will also help you get a more engaging shot and eliminate any potential distractions in the background, including other pets.
Zoom Get in close The closer you are to the animal’s cage, the more you will be able to blur out the wire. You could even try zooming through the gaps to eliminate the cage entirely, though this won’t always be possible.
05 Get their attention
As you can’t instruct your subject to look at the camera, unless you have a particularly clever pet, try to get their attention by holding a toy or piece of food above the lens. This way you could also get some candid shots of them playing or eating at the same time.
06 Introduce props
Not only does this keep your pet happy and entertained for a moment or two longer, pets with props can provide creative alternatives to the average pet portrait shot! Memories captured forever can include your pet’s favourite ball, blanket, teddy or toy.
WorldMags.net
91
WorldMags.net
Animal answers Send your animal questions to us at: @WorldAnimalsMag
worldofanimalsmag
www.animalanswers.co.uk
ABOVE Bumblebees hibernate alone but emerge in the spring to build new nests and lay their eggs
Where do bees go in the winter?
Why do red pandas look more like raccoons than pandas? Andrea Gomez The red panda is about the size of a cat, has a bushy, ringed tail and shares a common ancestor with the weasel family. However, it also looks, and behaves, a bit like the giant panda. Both are solitary bambooeating mountain-dwellers and both species have a false thumb that enables them to better grip the stems of bamboo shoots. In fact, the red panda is not closely related to the giant panda at all and actually belongs to a family of its own, Ailuridae. Similarities between the red and the giant panda are not due to a close evolutionary relationship, but are instead the result of convergent evolution. This is where separate species develop similar solutions to the same environmental problem – in this case, adaptations to eating bamboo.
Jim Berry Honey bee colonies use stored honey reserves to keep their queen warm during the winter months. They stop foraging for nectar when the temperature drops and instead remain in the hive. Worker bees cluster around their queen, vibrating to maintain a temperature of around 34 degrees Celcius (93 degrees Farenheit). Bumblebees have a different strategy altogether – instead of trying to maintain an entire colony over the winter, only the queens survive. They hibernate alone in protected areas and emerge in the spring to build a new nest and lay their eggs.
“The infamous box jellyfish produces a deadly toxin that attacks the heart and nervous system, leading to heart failure and death” 92
What is the most poisonous animal? Stuart Gardner There are several contenders for the title of Most Poisonous Animal, including the blue-ringed octopus, the Brazilian wandering spider and the pufferfish, but the box jellyfish is most oen the winner. This infamous creature produces a deadly toxin that attacks the heart and nervous system, leading to heart failure and death. The toxin causes positively charged potassium ions to leak out of red blood cells.
WorldMags.net
Your world of animals
WorldMags.net
Which animal is the slowest on Earth?
Why is a horseshoe crab’s blood blue? Mohamad Rahim Suhaili It’s not just horseshoe crabs – other crabs and lobsters have blue blood, as well as most molluscs. Our blood is red because it contains haemoglobin. This is a red molecule because it contains iron atoms that have a red colour when they bind to oxygen. Crustaceans don’t use haemoglobin, but have a different pigment called haemocyanin in their blood. This uses copper atoms instead of iron to absorb oxygen and copper has a blue-green colour when it oxidises.
Stan Devlin The three-toed sloth is slow, but corals are slower. They might look like underwater plants, but they are actually invertebrates and they don’t really move at all. Corals live in interconnected colonies made up of individual polyps, each surrounded by an exoskeleton and with a mouth opening at the centre.
Why are tropical birds so colourful?
BELOW The vivid lorikeet uses colour to attract a mate
Hans Friedman Bird species across the world use colour and decoration to attract a mate and the males of most species, from peacocks to pigeons, are more brightly coloured than the females. However, predation is just as vital a factor as courtship in influencing the colour of tropical birds. Being able to hide from predators is one of the most effective survival techniques, so birds often have feather colours that blend into their surroundings. In the bright canopies of tropical rainforests, greens and yellows provide better camouflage than browns and greys, so brightly coloured birds are hard to see. Nearer to the forest floor, the bird species often have much less elaborate colouring, sticking to the darker browns of the undergrowth.
James McGreevy Dogs will gaze up at you when they are begging for treats, or trying to persuade you that it’s time for walkies. When they do, they are usually sitting down, so that their spine is pointing almost straight up and down. From their normal standing position on all fours, dogs can’t li their heads very far above horizontal. What’s more, their ears are only adapted to be able to accurately locate sounds in the horizontal plane. If you call your dog from upstairs, it oen won’t be able to tell if your voice is coming from above.
How do owls hunt? Brandon Ellis Most owls hunt at night and their chief weapon is surprise. They have mottled, dull feathers that make them hard to spot, as well as special feathers on their wings to enable them to fly silently. They have very large eyes and special visual-processing neurons in their brain that enable
them to see in low light. Their eyes are the most forward-facing of any bird, which also gives them the best depth perception. Owls have acute hearing and can hear a mouse moving in its burrow under 0.3 metres (a foot) of snow. They glide up to their prey and strike without warning, crushing skulls in their talons.
2. Silent approach Special wing feathers muffle the sound of air rushing over the wing, making an owl’s flight deadly silent.
1. Eyesight Keen eyesight and superb directional hearing helps owls locate hidden prey.
WorldMags.net
3. Acute hearing Because of its silent flight, an owl can listen for prey movements while still flying.
4. Deadly strike Owls take their prey by surprise, scooping them up and carrying them away in their bill or sharp talons.
©; Getty; Thinkstock
Is it true that dogs can’t look up?
93
! IN W
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
WorldMags.net
A two-night stay at Durrell Wildlife Park World of Animals has once again teamed up with Durrell Wildlife Park, Jersey and this time we can offer an amazing two-night luxury camping trip Forget leaky tents and draughty ground sheets, camping at Durrell is a glamorous affair with spacious pods, each of which features a double bed, wood-burning stove, kitchen facilities and private showers. Two adults and two children can enjoy this luxury accommodation along with a behind-the-scenes animal experience of choice. You could be a keeper for a day, spend time with the animal of your choice or get up close to the wildlife for the perfect photo opportunities. Durrell Wildlife Park is located in what is officially the sunniest spot in the British Isles, according to the UK Met Office. It provides a happy, safe home from home to some of the world’s most endangered animal species. Some are sadly so rare that the chances are you wouldn’t even see them in their native habitat. So don’t miss out on this once-in-lifetime opportunity and visit our website to enter today: www.animalanswers.co.uk.
RIGHT You could win a luxury camping experience at Durrell Wildlife
How to enter Visit www.animalanswers.co.uk and answer this question:
ABOVE Badongo is one of Durrell’s most popular ape attractions
94
This is Badongo, one of the wildlife park’s excellent apes. What type of ape is he? - Sumatran orangutan - Western lowland gorilla - Eastern mountain gorilla
The stay is any two nights and three days during September, but transport to and from Jersey is the winner’s own responsibility
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
WIN!
Olivon WP 7x30 binoculars from Optical Hardware worth £109
Optical Hardware has supplied these fantastic, traditional-style binoculars from Olivon. They’re rubber-armoured, waterproof and come complete with a wrist strap and a ten-year guarantee.
To win this fantastic prize just answer the following question: Which animal has the biggest brain? 1. Elephant 2. Sperm whale 3. Human
The ONLY public zoo in the UK to have all five Big Cats!
COME AND VISIT
FOR £10* LESS! Use the code WOA410 to get £10 off tickets when booking online at pwpark.com
Open Every Day from 9.30am T 01992 470 490 www.pwpark.com Paradise Wildlife Park, White Stubbs Lane, Broxbourne, Herts EN10 7PW
WorldMags.net
*Terms & Condiitions: Minimum spend of £25 required. Only valid for online purchases, code not valid at the gate. Valid until 30/4/2014. No cash value. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Right of admittance reserved.
JAGUAR
LION
TIGER
Wildlife Park
SNOW LEOPARD
Paradise
LEOPARD
Visit www.animalsanswers.co.uk to enter!
NEXT ISSUE
WorldMags.net
Explore even more amazing animals in World of Animals issue 5
Imagine Publishing Ltd Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6EZ +44 (0) 1202 586200 Web: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk www.greatdigitalmags.com www.animalanswers.co.uk
Magazine team Editor Charis Webster
[email protected] 01202 586220
Editor in Chief Dave Harfield Research Editor Jackie Snowdon Senior Designer Annabelle Sing Senior Art Editor Helen Harris Sub Editor Tim Williamson Photographer James Sheppard Head of Publishing Aaron Asadi Head of Design Ross Andrews Contributors Alan Bately, Ben Biggs, Ella Carter-Sutton, David Crooks, Abi Daker, Darran Jones, Rob Jones, Martyn Landi, Laura Mears, Jonathan O’Callaghan, Luis Villazon, Jonathan Wells
Cover image Dreamstime, Getty
Images Alamy, Ardea, The Art Agency, Corbis, Abi Daker, DK Images, Sandra Doyle, Dreamstime, Frank Lane Picture Agency, Getty, Ian Jackson, Nature Picture Library, Photoshot, Peter Scott, Thinkstock
Advertising Digital or printed media packs are available on request. Advertising Director Matthew Balch 01202 586437 matthew.
[email protected] Head of Sales Hang Deretz 01202 586442
[email protected]
ON SALE
Account Manager Liz Tucker 01202 586431
[email protected] Sales Executive James McMorrow 01202 586436
[email protected]
20 MAR
International World of Animals is available for licensing. Contact the International department to discuss partnership opportunities. Head of International Licensing Cathy Blackman +44 (0) 1202 586401
[email protected]
The formidable
Subscriptions
FOX
How the humble fox became one of the most successful carnivores ever
Head of Subscriptions Gill Lambert 0844 848 8410 Overseas +44 (0)1795 414 611 Email:
[email protected] 13 issue subscription (UK) – £41 13 issue subscription (Europe) – £50 13 issue subscription (USA) – £50 13 issue subscription (ROW) – £60
Circulation Head of Circulation Darren Pearce 01202 586200
Production Production Director Jane Hawkins 01202 586200
PLUS WHALES SABERTOOTH TORTOISES GOPHERS BLACK MAMBA
Founders Group Managing Director Damian Butt Group Finance and Commercial Director Steven Boyd
Printing & Distribution Wyndeham Heron, The Bentall Complex, Colchester Road, Heybridge, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4NW Distributed in the UK & Eire by: Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT 0207 429 4000 Distributed in Australia by: Gordon & Gotch Corporate Centre, 26 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 + 61 2 9972 8800 Distributed in the Rest of the World by: Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU 0203 148 8105
Disclaimer The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.
GREAT GRIZZLY BEAR
The key to success of a phenomenal huntsman
96
50 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT CHIMPANZEES
What you never knew about this primate
If you submit material to Imagine Publishing via post, email, social network or any other means, you grant Imagine Publishing an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free licence to use the images across its entire portfolio, in print, online and digital, and to deliver the images to existing and future clients, including but not limited to international licensees for reproduction in international, licensed editions of Imagine products. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Imagine Publishing nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for the loss or damage. © Imagine Publishing Ltd 2014
SALTWATER CROCODILE
Ferocious secrets of the planet’s biggest reptile
WorldMags.net
ISSN 2053-7727
"K@RRHȯ©DC© CUDQSHRHMF
01202 586436
WorldMags.net
BINOCULARS, SPOTTING SCOPES, NIGHT-VISION DEVICES, MICROSCOPES, TELESCOPES, ASTRO PHOTO ACCESSORIES, GLOBES, ASTRONOMICAL MODELS & LOTS OF GIFT IDEAS FOR WILDLIFE ENTHUSIASTS & SCIENTISTS We supply products from world-leading names such as ACUTER, BARR & STROUD, CANON, CELESTRON, HELIOS, KONUS, MINOX, PULSAR, OLYMPUS, YUKON and many more!
Call 020 33 845 187 between 9am – 8pm 7 days a week.
www.365astronomy.com
To advertise in
Conservation & wildlife management Elephant and cheetah monitoring
Contact Jimmy On 01202 586436
Marine conservation Veterinary care and rehabilitation
www.conservationafrica.net
[email protected] T. +44 (0)1454 269 182 WorldMags.net
E.
[email protected]
WorldMags.net
“They’re renowned for their formidable method of hunting and catching prey and are nature’s perfect fishermen ”
The lethal dive of the osprey Located on every continent except Antarctica, ospreys are some of the most widespread birds of prey on the planet. They’re renowned for their formidable method of hunting and catching prey and are nature’s perfect fishermen. In one fell swoop, they pluck live fish from the water grasped tight with incredibly adapted claws.
98
Modus operandi With an impressive wingspan up to 180 centimetres, (71 inches), ospreys glide just above the water’s surface in search of fish. Once the bird gets sight of its unsuspecting prey, it dives in for the kill, swinging its legs forward and bending its wings back. It plunges in feet-first and grabs a fish with its claws. Airborne again, the bird rearranges the fish in its feet to maintain good balance and to keep the feast in a tight grip until it’s safe to be devoured.
ISSUE 5 ON SALE FROM 20 MARCH 2014 WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
WorldMags.net
Because detail matters introducing the new Olivon T800
T800 SPOTTING SCOPE
New tough slimline textured body *YPP][EXIVTVSSJ RMXVSKIR½PPIH Outstanding optical performance 20-60x zoom eyepiece Fully multi-coated optics Designed to digiscope* Accepts 1.25” eyepieces
NEW
*Olivon digiscope adaptor required, sold separately.
Olivon binoculars, telescopes, tripods and accessories are distributed in the UK and Eire by Optical Hardware Ltd *SVQSVIMRJSVQEXMSRERHXS½RH]SYVRIEVIWXWXSGOMWXWTPIEWIZMWMXwww.opticalhardware.co.uk/stockists %PPSJJIVWEVIWYFNIGXXSEZEMPEFMPMX]TVMGIWERHWTIGM½GEXMSRWEVIWYFNIGXXSGLERKI[MXLSYXRSXMGI) 3)]SYVWXEXYXSV]VMKLXWEVIRSXEJJIGXIH
WorldMags.net
Follow us on facebook www.facebook.com/opticalhardware
