How It Works. World of Animals - Issue 10 2014

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ALLIGATOR ANSWERS DIVERSITY OF DOGS 18 facts about these fearsome reptiles

Hidden heritage of man’s best friend

LIFE IN A ZEBRA HERD CUTE BUT DEADLY

Close-knit families of Cuddly creatures that the African plains pack a lethal punch

ISSUE 10

Welcome

You might notice there are more animals crammed into one issue than ever before! With our new super-packed issue in hand, you will learn about almost every species going. The adorable-looking slow loris takes centre stage in our Unusual Suspects feature (p54), while the most territorial primate on Earth is revealed – rather unsightly monkeys reminiscent of gargoyles – on page 60! But it’s the beautiful leopard that steals the thunder this time round, as we uncover everything there is to uncover about this stealthy big cat, leaping into action on page 40. Until next time!

Charis Webster Editor

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Welcome to issue 10 06 Amazing animals

38 Insects that build prison cells

12 10 strongest animals

Find out which animals are the most powerful on Earth

20 Inhabitants of a shipwreck

How the organ pipe mud dauber wasp stings its prey hostage and takes it hostage

40 All about leopards

Stealthy secrets of the world’s most elusive big cat

How an ecosystem thrives off a seemingly useless wreckage

50 Sumatran elephant Critical circumstances for these vulnerable giants

22 Evolution of red kangaroos

52 World of snakes

24 Alligator answers

54 Unusual suspects

26 Bizarre aye-aye

58 Journey of the humpback

The continent-hopping heritage of this marsupial

The shocking truth behind nature’s cute and cuddly

An echolocation-powered primate with a pointy finger

Three massive migrations of these underwater giants

28 Wildlife of the Scottish Highlands 60 Territory From dolphins and seals to the defenders renowned Scottish wildcat

Are these peculiar primates nature’s most territorial?

32 3 ways fish talk

66 Strength in numbers

Amazing (and peculiar!) communication methods

34 Weirdest birds

The close bonds and brilliant personalities that help zebras survive in the wild

A roundup of the most peculiar birds on Earth

THE IUCN RED LIST

EXTINCT EXTINCT IN THE WILD CRITICALLY ENDANGERED ENDANGERED VULNERABLE NEAR THREATENED LEAST CONCERN

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Astonishing new research reveals secrets about the tusk

78 Diversity of dogs

How man’s best friend has a common ancestor in the wolf

87 Next month

It’ll be bigger and better than ever, find out why

98 Orb-weaver

An intricate web traps an unsuspecting meal

Six species of the planet’s most-feared reptile uncovered

18 things you never knew about this ferocious snapper

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 they mean:

72 Mysteries of the narwhal

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94 Annual family memberships to Marwell Wildlife ! on i t i t pe m Co

UNCOVER THE SECRET LIFE OF THE MOST ELUSIVE BIG CAT ON EARTH

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96 Your amazing

animal photos

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The amazing world of animals

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The amazing world of animals

© coChristopher Michel

Sociable birds, penguins usually stick close together to escape the harsh, icy wind and conserve warmth, but every so often one individual makes a leap for freedom, momentarily anyway! Once a penguin has warmed a bit, it will move to the perimeter of the group to let others enjoy protection from the icy conditions. Able to flip over small distances, avoiding freezing cold ice rivers is the aim of the game, unless they’re looking to catch a meal – fish, squid, or krill.

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The amazing world of animals

In Jakarta, Indonesia, this green tree frog hitches a ride from an unlikely character – a rather large tree python!

© Rex Features

Luckily for the brave little guy, this particular snake doesn’t eat frogs at all and, when the sneaky amphibian hitched a ride, the snake seemed undisturbed by its presence. With sticky toe pads, the tree frog is wellequipped to clamber across the scales of a snake, and stealthily crawl along it at will.

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The amazing world of animals

Stag beetle males attempt to overpower one another using their formidable mandibles

© FLPA

This shot, captured in Borneo, Malaysia, demonstrates the great fighting power of these beautifully armoured beetles. The stag beetles will use their over-sized mandibles in impressive courtship displays and to wrestle other male beetles. Adult males vary in size and can grow longer than a matchbox. Their mandibles can grow up to half the size of their entire body with ease.

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The amazing world of animals

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The amazing world of animals

The birds gathered here to carefully pick out a special layer of edible clay that runs along the cliffside. An unlikely food source, it’s thought that this clay contains an array of minerals and vitamins that assist the birds in digesting other foodstuffs. It appears the clever macaws have learned to add their very own vitamin supplement to a diet rich in seeds, nuts, fruits, leaves and flowers.

© Rex Features

Red-and-green macaws eat clay from a cliff at Manu National Park in Peru

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From monstrous bites to unbelievable muscle strength: meet some of the most powerful creatures on Earth Words David Crookes

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Earth’s largest bear, the Kodiak has gigantic mass and muscle, and an epic bite force to boot Kodiak bears are a uniqu subspec es of the brown (or grizzly) bear, living exclusively on the islands in the Kodiak Archipelago. They’re the largest bears in the world – unbelievably powerful and very aggressive. They can tear apart animal carcasses with ease, ensuring every meaty morsel is devoured. With large incisors and canines that help rip through flesh, along with a bite force of 920 pounds per square inch (psi), a Kodiak is able to enjoy almost any food it wishes to eat, and is able to catch.

Kodiaks have a taste for salmon in particular and, though they don’t prey on humans necessarily, they have been known to kill anyone who gets too close. The distinctive bear also has a hump on its back between the shoulders – a heaving hulk of muscle attached to the backbone from which it derives its power. The hump gives strength to its front legs, at the ends of which are feet with long, sharp claws that are perfect for digging. The bear also has many layers of fat contributing to its weight, so it can charge and knock over opponents.

KODIAK BEAR

Ursus arctos middendorffi Class Mammalia

Territory Kodiak archipelago Diet Salmon, vegetation, berries and carrion Lifespan 25 to 30 years Adult weight 635kg / 1,400lbs Conservation status

NOT EVALUATED

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10 Strongest animals

ABOVE An elephant’s trunk is the strongest part of its body and is able to life entire trees

An elephant has 100,000 muscles in its trunk

Although an elephant is an AFRICAN ELEPHANT impressively heaving bulk of an Loxodonta africana animal, weighing around 5,500 Class Mammalia kilograms (866 stone) or the equivalent of 66 average men, much of its strength is found in its trunk. Even though the trunk is sensitive and is used for practical Territory Africa tasks to smell, drink and dust, it can Diet Grasses, small plants, also pick up large tree trunks or tear fruit, twigs, bushes Lifespan 55 to 60 years bark off trees. Adult weight 5,500kg / 866st Handily, for protection, a trunk Conservation status can deal out an almighty whack if needs be – a wildlife photographer VULNERABLE in Namibia in 2013 caught an elephant flipping a fully grown hippo into the air using nothing more than its trunk. Then again, the trunk has been shown to be able to lift a weight of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). If you want to hitch a ride, elephants can lift around 150 kilograms (331 pounds), which is around two people, although some would question the ethics of this.

African Vs Asian An elephant’s shoulder height is around twice the circumference of its footprint AFRICAN ELEPHANT

ASIAN ELEPHANT

Size of footprint: 1.98m (6.5)

Size of footprint: 1.37m (4.5)

Trunk: two fingerlike process

Trunk: one fingerlike process

Loxodonta africana

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Elephas maximus

10 Strongest animals

Dung beetles are the world’s strongest insects

A pile of elephant dung can attract as many as 16,000 dung beetles

Measuring just 1.2 centimetres (0.5 inches), dung beetles have one of nature’s worst jobs, but they carry out their task with aplomb. They’re able to pull up to 1,141 times their own body weight and most will roll animal faeces into round balls of up to 50 times heavier than themselves. They can typically bury dung 250 times heavier than themselves in one night, which comes in handy DUNG BEETLE since there is a lot of dung Phanaeus vindex around to give them a Class Insecta plentiful supply of food. It helps to keep nature tidy, so their strength makes the whole process that bit Territory North America Diet Animal dung quicker. Dung beetles also Lifespan 3 years use their might to fend off Adult weight 30g / 1oz male competitors – their Conservation status strong front limbs are particularly useful for this, although they also double LEAST CONCERN as perfect diggers.

Green anacondas crush their victims to death, then swallow them whole As one of the longest snakes in the world, you would think the green Class Reptilia anaconda would be easily spotted, but this isn’t the case. The snakes spend much of their time in water, Territory South America just beneath the surface, Diet Wild pigs, birds, turtles, deer, fish hiding their incredible size Lifespan 10 years as they wait for potential Adult weight 227kg / 550lbs prey to wander idly by and Conservation Status take a drink. If the unsuspecting victim is small enough, NOT EVALUATED the anaconda will swallow it immediately. If it’s larger, the snake will bite its curved teeth down hard with a force of some 600 pounds per square inch (psi), before wrapping its huge body around the prey, squeezing ever tighter, at 90psi. This tremendous squeezing force totally prevents its victim from exhaling, but tightens its grip each time it breaths in. Eventually the green anaconda’s meal will suffocate to death and the snake will unhinge its large jaws, opening them far wider than its own head, to swallow the victim whole. Given that the prey can include wild pigs and other similar-sized animals, the digestion process can take a few weeks. Anacondas have been regularly spotted digesting animals several times their size, the shapes of which can still be identified within the greedy reptiles’ bodies.

Anacondas are not just immensely strong, they are also incredibly long

ANACONDA

Eunectes murinus

“Eventually the green anaconda’s meal will suffocate to death and the snake will unhinge its large jaws” 15

10 Strongest animals

Hippos have an astounding bite force, powerful limbs and aggression to match Hippos generally do not eat that much relative to their humongous size and prefer to graze on around 35 kilograms (80 pounds) of grass per night. It makes it all the more strange they have such big mouths, as well as a bite force of some 1,821psi, as measured by herpetologist Brady Barr. Hippos aren’t one of Africa’s most dangerous animals for nothing, however, as their canines grow to 50 centimetres (1.5 feet) and act like tusks that are used for fighting. With hippos being incredibly aggressive, very little is safe: the creatures are equally at home on land or in water and can make light work of rivers and lakes using powerful limb muscles.

HIPPOPOTAMUS

Hippopotamus amphibius Class Mammalia

Territory Central Africa Diet Grass and fallen fruit Lifespan 40 years Adult weight 3,629kg / 8,000lbs Conservation status

VULNERABLE

Giant jaws The jaw can open as wide as 150 degrees thanks to the hippo’s powerful muscles and large tendons.

Distance The distance between the two sets of thick lips can be as much as 1.2 metres (four feet).

Tongue A young hippo will use its tongue to suckle, wrapping it around its mother’s teat.

The teeth A hippo has 36 permanent teeth. These include one canine, two incisors, three premolars and three molars, although they aren’t very sharp.

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The closest relations of hippos are actually dolphins and whales

10 Strongest animals How the leafcutter builds its home

The leafcutter ants will bite away crescent-shaped pieces from living leaves, but they don’t swallow, as the cellulose the leaves contain is disagreeable to their digestive systems.

The leafcutter ant can carry 50 times its own body weight LEAFCUTTER ANT Atta cephalotes Class Insecta

Territory The Americas Diet Mainly fungus Lifespan 12 years Adult weight 0.05oz / 1.5g Conservation status

NOT EVALUATED

Leafcutter ants can slice away pieces of leaf using mighty jaws that vibrate 1,000 times each second. As if that weren’t impressive enough, they can also carry a leaf that’s up to 50 times their own body weight – using their teeth. They haul the leaves for hundreds of metres back to their colony and, with an average nest composed of over 5 million ants, that’s a lot of leaves being carted back to base.

Rather than scoff these leaves (the ants cannot digest cellulose), they’re put to use as fertiliser for a garden of fungus, which forms their food. All the while the ants are thinking of their queen, so soldiers protect the nest against danger. The larger workers defend the front line and the even larger ones battle against enemies that break through. Given their strength, the ants fight the intruders with teeth that could easily slice through leather.

The ants carry the leaves, which are many times their own size and weight, a few hundred metres to their nest, all the while holding the pieces above their heads.

The leaves are handed to builder ants to be chewed and licked. Ant excrement is then added, which helps the leaves to better fertilise a special fungus – the leafcutter ants’ primary food source.

Oxen are ten times as strong as humans The phrase ‘strong as an ox’ is a familiar one to many and it derives mainly because of the use of oxen to help humans pull carts, plough Class Mammalia fields and power machines. They are often seen in developing countries, but have actually been put to work all over the world in the past. Their use comes as a result of their ability Territory Global Diet Plants and grasses to be domesticated – by their nature they are Lifespan 15 years trained to be working animals and are actually Adult weight 640kg / 1,410lbs castrated bulls. This means they have muscular Conservation status necks, bony heads and their bones are thicker too. They’re ten times as strong as a human, although they aren’t the strongest in the world. NOT EVALUATED They can pull weights that are around twice or three times their own body weight, but would struggle with much more, which is why two are often used for heavier loads. You may well come across a different type of ox, though: the musk ox. These live in the Arctic and also display great strength – their hooves can smash through solid ice, enabling them to get to water. A less pleasant area of their strength is found in their urine – they give off a strong odour during mating season, which is used to mark territory. This remains in their thick woollen jackets and isn’t particularly pleasant. OX

Bos taurus

Oxen are still used to pull ploughs in many countries and to transport goods

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10 Strongest animals

Saltwater crocodiles have the most powerful bite of any living creature Large, territorial and hugely aggressive, saltwater crocodiles are more than strong enough to prey on large animals such as buffalo and wild pigs. Tests by paleobiologist Gregory M. Erickson showed them to have the greatest bite force of any animal – a frightening 3,700psi. The jaw muscles that close the mouth are so strong that they need only to flex them to crush whatever

they’ve captured, while their 24 sharp teeth are used for grasping tight. The croc’s tail is packed with power to help propel it out of the water in an instant, so it can grab at prey and drag it under the water. The tail also enables the croc to swim at 40 kilometres (25 miles) per hour – no mean feat since it can weigh up to 450 kilograms (1,000 pounds).

SALTWATER CROCODILE Crocodylus porosus Class Reptilia

Territory Eastern India, Asia and northern Australia Diet Fish, birds, wild boar, water buffalo, monkeys Lifespan 70 years Adult weight 450kg / 1,000lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

Saltwater crocodiles are among the fiercest hunters on Earth

MOUNTAIN LION Puma concolor Class Mammalia

Territory North and South America Diet Deer, sheep, racoons Lifespan 8 to 13 years Adult weight 62kg / 136lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

Mountain lions have incredibly powerful hind legs and can leap 40 feet running Also known as the puma, cougar, panther and catamount, the mountain lion is a fascinating predator that will prey on animals many times its own size. It as 30 teet – 16 of which are in the upper jaw – and its bite of 350psi is made powerful thanks to its large jaw-closing muscles. The long canine teeth make light work of tendons, meat and sinew. The majority of the big cat’s body weight is made up of muscle, making it very capable of running between 64 an 80 ilometres (40 an 50 miles) per our. T e in legs are t e largest, proportionally, in the cat family and it’s able to use them to leap as high as 4.5 metres (15 feet) in one bound.

Mountain lions will travel long distances for food and they hunt alone

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10 Strongest animals

Mountain gorillas can lift 50 times their body weight As the largest of all primates, the mountain gorilla’s upper body strength is up to six times greater than Gorilla beringei beringei that of a human and it can lift 2,086 kilograms Class Mammalia (4,600 pounds) – 50 times its own body weight. It helps that they have larger muscles in their long arms than in their shorter legs. This means they can not only gather food more easily by bending foliage Territory Central Africa Diet Roots, fruit, tree bark, with their broad hands, but also defend themselves shoots, pulp very effectively, given much of their power sits Lifespan 40 to 50 years above their waist. Adult weight 220kg / 485lbs Conservation status Mountain gorillas also have large, sharp canine teeth. The chewy nature of some of their food means they need a big bite – a whopping 1,300psi, ENDANGERED backed up with strong neck muscles. If engaged in a fight with another gorilla, they’ll use these canines to chomp down on each other, but will shy away from conflict and use intimidation tactics first: pounding their massive chests, standing upright and letting out loud roars as a warning shot is much safer.

They may be big, but mountain gorillas are actually quite shy animals

© Rex Featutres; Alamy; Corbis; Thinkstock

MOUNTAIN GORILLA

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Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inhabitants of a shipwreck

Unexpected ecosystem thriving from a wreckage Thousands upon thousands of boats, planes, cars and bridges are buried at the bottom of our oceans, but these decaying wreckages are more than just rusting chunks of metal.

Nature is quick to claim human castoffs, so in tropical waters sunken ships are rapidly transformed into thriving artificial reefs, supporting tiny ecosystems.

Stingrays Venomous ambush predators, stingrays take advantage of the shadows cast by the body of the wreck, hiding inside the overhanging metalwork during the night, and venturing out into the shallows to hunt during the day.

Structural support Wood rots away quickly, but steel surfaces provide long-lasting structural support for the growing artificial reef. Exposed metal is quickly colonised by algae, providing a nutritious meal for coral polyps and encouraging their growth.

Tropical fish Artificial foundations attract hundreds of species of tropical fish. The bright-yellow butterfly fish and aggressive triggerfish set up permanent homes on the new reef, but others are just transient visitors, stopping to feed, rest, hide, or sometimes just to be cleaned.

Colonisation by corals Coral polyps grow slowly and are some of the last organisms to colonise the wreck. Structural hard corals creep across the floor of the ship, eventually covering the deck, while brightly coloured soft corals, like sea fans, climb the vertical metalwork.

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Predators hide in the cracks Many prey species use sunken wreckages to escape from predators, but in the shadows of the deteriorating hull, moray eels hide in cracks and crevices, waiting to ambush unsuspecting fish.

InhabitantsXxxxxxxxxxxxx of a shipwreck Three thriving species Wrecks can offer all kinds of creatures a safe place to feed and take shelter in the vast ocean Green sea turtles These heart-shaped sea turtles are among the largest species in the world and some individuals are frequent visitors to shipwrecks. The turtles regularly rest on the wreckage, relaxing on the deck while fish clean the parasites from their shells and skin.

© Daniel Sinoca, P.Lindgren, D.Meadows, M.Sullivan

White-tip reef sharks In waters patrolled by aggressive tiger sharks, wreckages can provide welcome shelter for smaller predators, and white-tip reef sharks can oen be found resting within the hulls of abandoned ships. Both predators and prey use the shelter in this way. Monk seal There are just two species of monk seal remaining, and both are critically endangered. The abundance of fish attracted to the artificial shelter of sunken ships provide easy meals, and several monk seals have been spotted using wrecks as a hunting base.

Backed into a corner Lionfish use the wreck as a net, herding smaller prey into blindends and corners, where they become trapped and vulnerable.

Coral camouflage As the corals mature, species adept at camouflage and mimicry are attracted to the wreck. Several species of scorpionfish use their bumpy, colourful skin to hide in plain sight, and frogfish mimic the shape and movement of corals, sea anemones and sponges.

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Evolution of

Red kangaroos The largest living marsupial, the red kangaroo, is the most recent to evolve within the Macropodidae kangaroo family. At home in the hot and sparse Australian grasslands, it’s a perfect example of how a species can adapt to suit its changing habitat RED KANGAROO Macropus rufus Class Mammalia

Territory Inland Australia Diet Herbivore Lifespan 20-25 years Adult weight 22-85kg / 48-187lbs Conservation status

Balancing act Strong tails are used for balance when hopping and as a fih leg when walking.

LEAST CONCERN

Elastic tendon Hind limbs contain large elastic tendons that act like giant springs, storing energy and releasing it to propel them forward.

Fused toes The second and third toes are fused together, shaped into a grooming claw.

25-10 MILLION Wabularoo naughtoni 25-10 million years ago From the Bulungamayinae family, this kangaroo is thought to be the true ancestor of all macropods. It lived in the Riversleigh region of north-western Queensland, feeding on leaves from trees and shrubs.

7kg (15lbs)

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25-5 MILLION

5-4 MILLION

2 MILLION

Nambaroo gillespieae 25-5 million years ago This creature moved on all fours like a possum and was the size of a small dog. Part of the extinct Balbardida family, it used strong forearms to collect food and climb.

Macropus giganteus & fluginosus 5-4 million years ago The eastern and western greys are less known than reds but are the most-encountered in Australia due to their adaptability to coastal bushland close to cities.

Procoptodon goliah 2 million years ago to 15,000 years ago The largest hopping mammal to ever exist, part of the Sthenurinae sub-family, they were known as short-faced kangaroos. They had only one single large hoof-like toe.

50-66kg (110-146lbs)

230kg (500lbs)

10-11kg (22-25lbs)

Red kangaroos Insulating coat Very dense and fine fur increases insulation in both hot and cold weather.

Short forearms Foreshortened upper arms have clawed paws used for eating, fighting and grooming.

Pouch Joeys grow in the pouch. Females have the rare ability to delay the birth of their baby in times of drought or scarce food supply.

Evolutionary pressure Increased size Reds are the largest marsupial, evolving in size to suit the climate. They can store more water in their stomachs, muscles and guts than any other mammal.

Climate change Low metabolic rate and body temperature, panting, sweating and spreading saliva on their forearms to cool down enable them to survive the desert heat.

Changing habitat Hopping became the most energy-efficient way to cover long distances as the habitat grew to be much more sparse.

“The original ancestor of modern kangaroos… is thought to have been a possum-like marsupial that lived in trees in northern Australia” PRESENT DAY

Simosthenurus occidentalis 300,000 years ago Also a Sthenurinae, they had robust bones, long arms and short necks that were perfect adaptations to their mode of feeding.

Macropus rufus Present day The biggest and most-common modern kangaroo, reds have evolved most recently because of their ability to live in very dry, inhospitable habitats.

118kg (260lbs)

90kg (198lbs)

Teeth and stomachs adapted to grazing grass and shrubs instead of forest leaves. They gain muchneeded moisture from plants.

The Macropodidae family history Kangaroo ancestors travelled across whole continents to Australia About 60 million years ago, kangaroo ancestors moved from South America to Australia across the southern supercontinent Gondwana before it broke up. The original ancestor of modern kangaroos is relatively unknown, but is thought to have been a possum-like marsupial that lived in trees in northern Australia. Research suggests the evolution of the red kangaroo is closely tied to the

gradual changes in Australian climate. About 15 million years ago there was a climate-cooling event, creating drier, and much more-open habitats, which is also linked to the adaptations of ancient kangaroo species. Near-complete skeleton fossils of Nambaroo gillespieae and Procoptodon goliah species provide a much clearer insight into the ancestors of the modern red kangaroos.

© Alamy

300 THOUSAND

Diet

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18 Amazing facts Alligators

They’re scaly, scary, prehistoric monsters, but these relics of a bygone animal era are much more than the toothy aquatic predators they appear to be

A big alligator can generate a huge bite force, over 2,100 pounds per square inch. Trying to open an alligator’s jaws from the inside would be like trying to lift a truck.

Like their crocodile cousins, alligators are living fossils – creatures that were around at the time of the dinosaurs – and have changed little in 37 million years. Only 20 per cent of babies survive Call it karma for the ruthlessly predatory habits of adult alligators, but only 20 per cent of their babies make it. Most of the rest fall victim to snakes, large fish, birds and other animals that might have been on their menu if they’d have lived long enough.

It was once an endangered species Despite surviving for millions of years, through ice ages and global extinction events, this species was hunted to near the brink of extinction. It was listed as Endangered in 1967, but because of conservation programs and its breeding habits, alligator populations had fully recovered by 1987.

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During extreme weather, alligators dig big tunnels that can be 20 metres (65 feet) long in the mud. These fill with water and provide the animal with some protection against the elements. In a sense, alligators are quite heavily armoured. They have very tough skin, especially on their back, which is protected by bony plates called scutes – a bit like studded leather.

Each eye is protected by two sets of lids Alligators have two normal, verticalshutting eyelids like us, but they also have another pair of transparent eyelids underneath that slide horizontally and protect their eyes while swimming.

Alligators A change in temperature by just a few degrees will determine the gender of an unhatched baby crocodile: female when it’s cooler and male when it’s warmer.

Visible black points on the head called integumentary sensory organs enable the creature to detect changes in water pressure – perfect for hunting prey in murky conditions.

They can weigh up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) and big males can measure 3.4 metres (11.2 feet). Courtship is pretty romantic for the alligators: the males will make a low, throaty hum that causes the water to dance on their backs. The females can hear this under the water. As ambush predators they rely on their bulk, strength and bursts of speed to dispatch their prey. They can move at up to 18 kilometres (11 miles) an hour, but run out of steam fast – 30 minutes of activity at the very most.

Its ancestor was a realworld monster Supercroc was a prehistoric terror – a 110-million-yearold monster 12 metres (40 feet) long, which weighed in at over 8,000 kilograms (18,000 pounds). It snacked on dinosaurs with its gargantuan, 1.8-metre (six-foot) jaws.

Alligators can slow their metabolism to a sluggish rate, enabling them to go without food for months. This adaptation is one of the reasons for their success.

They have watertight faces Alligator ears, noses and throats can all be sealed off with flaps and the palatal valve (in the throat). This keeps water out of their lungs, stomach and throat when diving for up to 20 minutes at a time.

Not only do they have up to 80 teeth in their mouth, but they lose a lot of them – 2,000 to 3,000 in a lifetime. This is due to wear and tear, often literally tearing prey apart.

You might have heard the characteristic hiss of an adult, but baby alligators make a surprisingly cute sound. A chirp, like a bird’s, from inside the nest lets the mother know it’s time to leave.

© Corbis, Rex Features, Thinkstock

They can survive freezing conditions In freezing environments, alligators will allow themselves to be frozen into a body of water with nothing but their snouts above the ice to breath. This icing response combined with a slowed metabolism means they can survive bitter winters.

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Bizarre! AYE-AYE

Daubentonia madagascariensis Class Mammalia

Territory Madagascar Diet Omnivore Lifespan 10-23 years Adult weight 2-2.7kg / 4-6lbs Conservation status

ENDANGERED

The only primate to use echolocation for prey, the ayeaye is more than a tad unique This freaky-looking Madagascan native uses the clever technique of echolocation to pinpoint its favourite meal, wood-burrowing insect grubs, before extracting them with a specialised tool…

It has a freakishly long finger

You must have noticed that long third digit while you were gawping at this unfortunatelooking creature. That’s no deformity: the aye-aye’s spindly finger is an essential part of its hunting arsenal, as it pokes deep into the hole it makes in a tree and hooks the juicy insect larva out. When it’s not hunting for insects, the finger is great for draining coconuts and pulling the flesh out.

People thought it was a rat

This strange creature is from the same order as humans, apes and monkeys (primates) but back in the 19th century, animal classification was a little more slapdash. The aye-aye has distinctly rat-like features, with its pointed face and large ears, but it also has the colouring of a squirrel, as well as a tail. Naturalists lumped it in with rodents, so it’s only recently it’s been reclassified.

The teeth never stop growing

Another reason why the aye-aye was classified as a rodent is its teeth, which grow incessantly throughout its life, like a rodent’s does. This is because they spend a lot of time gnawing through wood in search of their prey. If, like other primates, the aye-aye’s teeth simply stopped growing at a certain length, they would be worn away and the animal would die of starvation.

Madagascans think it’s evil

© Corbis

To the intensely superstitious natives of Madagascar, this freaky-looking nocturnal beast is considered evil. The impoverished island depends heavily on its crops and the aye-aye is thought only to ruin them and bring death to the farmers’ families, so they are oen killed on sight. In fact, the population of the poor aye-aye was once so depleted that it was thought to be extinct in 1933, but has since made a comeback and was upgraded to Endangered this year.

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© KLEIN & HUBERT / WWF

ADOPTION

ADOPT HIM TODAY. OR LOSE HIM FOREVER. Will you help the snow leopard claw its way back from the brink? Your present. Their future. For as little as £3 a month, you or your loved one will receive an adoption pack, an adorable cuddly toy and regular updates from people on the ground working tirelessly to help save the beautiful snow leopard.

Snow leopards have survived in the Himalayas for thousands of years. But right now, there are as few as 300 left in Nepal. The harsh reality is that they’re being slaughtered by poachers for their bones and precious fur – and they urgently need your help if they are to live on.

What’s more, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping us to train and equip courageous anti-poaching rangers. And you’ll discover what it takes – and how it feels – to help save a species.

By adopting a snow leopard today, you’ll help protect this endangered big cat for future generations.

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Wildlife of the Scottish Highlands

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Wildlife of the Scottish Highlands Rugged peaks, windswept moors and ancient forests form an unlikely wildlife paradise Words Adam Millward As tranquil as it seems, the Highlands’ ancient history is full of violent upheaval, with the land once being at the whim of extreme volcanic and glacial activity. These natural forces have carved the terrain into what we see today, riven with granite ridges and crags, vast valleys, ancient pine forests and deep lochs. As its name would suggest, the Highlands is a region dominated by mountains – including Britain’s tallest peak, Ben Nevis, which towers 1,344 metres (4,409 feet) high. Today this place is still at the mercy of the elements and throughout the year can be drenched by showers, shrouded in fog, whipped by gales, buried in snow and baked in the summer sunshine. However, some areas that provide some respite are patches of ancient woodland known as Caledonian forest. Like a mini oasis in an

unforgiving terrain, this unique pinewood hosts far more fauna than the exposed moorland and mountains. Some critters take advantage of this shelter, like the pine marten, and seldom venture out of the micro-habitat. A relative of otters, weasels and minks, the pine marten has had legal protection since 1988 when it almost became extinct in Britain. A bushy tail for balance and semi-retractable claws make them adept treetop acrobats – though they’re just as nimble on the ground. Their diet is very varied, accommodating for the extreme seasonal changes, and including everything from birds’ eggs to voles, frogs, insects and honey. Along with red squirrels, foxes and the Scottish crossbill (the only bird endemic to the UK) pine martens share the Caledonian forest with one of Scotland’s rarest birds,

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Wildlife of the Scottish Highlands Residents of the Highlands

Birds of prey The open Highlands are made for birds of prey. As well as white-tailed sea eagles and ospreys, which expertly catch fish and water birds on the wing, Scotland is also home to the golden eagle. This avian assassin builds its nest on steep cliffs and patrols huge territories, on the lookout for mountain hares, grouse, carrion and even lambs.

Sea eagle

Pine marten Around 50 centimetres (20 inches) long and with brown fur, the pine marten spends most of its time in the forest, making its den in hollow trees or vacated nests.

Bottlenose dolphin The waters off the western coast of Scotland are home to several dolphin species, including the world’s northernmost population of bottlenose, which grow up to 3.8 metres (12.5 feet) long. They use the shallow waters to hunt, often working as a team to drive fish towards the surface.

Grey seals Along with their cousin the common seal, grey seals are regular visitors to the Scottish coast, relaxing on rocks, sandbanks and caves to moult or rest after feeding.

Pine marten

Common vole

Beavers

Harbour porpoise

Beavers use their sharp incisors to fell trees and chop up wood for building. Dams are made to flood an area, but they actually live in another structure called a lodge.

The smallest of the cetaceans found off Scotland, the harbour porpoise grows no bigger than 1.7 metres (5.6 feet). They’re preyed on by bottlenose dolphins and killer whales so have to always be alert.

the capercaillie. As the largest member of the grouse family – about the size of a turkey – it has already died out in Scotland once and after being reintroduced in the 1800s almost became extinct again. Pine needles make up a large part of this grouse’s diet, along with berries, caterpillars and other bugs. One of the most iconic creatures of this wilderness is actually a domestic species: the Highland cattle. Many live a semi-wild existence today, but they’ve been bred in this area for centuries. They have two layers of thick fur – one for keeping out the wind and rain, and the other for warmth. With an impressive set of horns for digging through the snow to reach buried vegetation, nothing about this habitat fazes them. Highland cattle rub shoulders with several wild neighbours, including the red deer. Moving silently amid

the purple heather in misty glens, it too has come to typify not just the Highlands but Scotland as a whole – hardly surprising as the largest population of red deer in Europe resides here. These traditionally woodland-dwelling creatures haven’t always called this place home – they’ve grown more resourceful as the forests shrink. For instance, stags have been observed chewing on their antlers when they fall off, as they’re a rich source of calcium in mineral-deprived moors. Not all of the Highlands’ residents are icons you’d expect to see on souvenir tins of shortbread, though. For instance, Eurasian beavers were reintroduced to Scotland in 2009. After a five-year trial at Knapdale in Argyll, the Highlands’ comeback kid is now well and truly established.

“The most iconic creatures of this wilderness is actually a domestic species: the Highland cattle” 30

Wood mouse

Osprey The rarer red variety of squirrel is found in only a few places in the British Isles, including the Highland areas

Golden eagle

Red deer With some stags measuring over two metres (6.6 feet) in length, red deer are Britain’s largest indigenous land mammal. During the mating season in autumn, the stags can be heard bellowing at rivals, as well as clashing with their antlers that can grow to some 86 centimetres (34 inches).

Mountain hare

Red fox

Highland cattle

Scottish wildcat

It’s thought these hardy creatures could have been living here for over 1,500 years. Although typically portrayed with red hair, they also come in black, yellow and white varieties. Few breeds could stand the extremes of this terrain as well as them.

Weighing five to nine kilograms (11 to 17 pounds), these cats resemble a domestic tabby, but their tails are thicker and have distinct black bands running up them. They also tend to be stockier than domestic cats and a series of tiger-like stripes serve as excellent camouflage.

Scottish wildcats

Grey seals

Few animals have a more profound impact on their environment than these industrious rodents. Felling trees enables light into the lower storeys of a forest for new growth, while their building work slows the flow of streams, improving water quality and creating crucial wetland habitats. While beavers are easy to find, the Highlands’ most surprising resident is as elusive as they come. The only traces this stealthy creature will leave behind are droppings and the odd paw print. Even if you saw one, from a distance you might dismiss it as a farmyard pet, but up close there’s no mistaking the Scottish wildcat is 100 per cent, well, wild. As the only wild felines in the UK, they are Scotland’s ultimate predators, with all

Beavers

the tools a hunter needs at their disposal. They develop an intimate understanding of the local topography and use it to ambush prey, lying camouflaged amid the heather, stalking in the forest undergrowth, or pouncing on an unsuspecting rabbit or rat from higher ground. They have also been known to do a bit of angling at the edges of lochs, scooping out unsuspecting fish with a quick flash of a deft paw. Of course, for those that manage to avoid the clutches of the Scottish wildcat, the Highlands’ lakes, rivers and coastline provide all that aquatic critters could ever want for. Whether it’s the Atlantic salmon that make the annual epic journey from the ocean to the streams of their birth to spawn, or the many species of dolphin and whales that dine on the squid, fish and crustaceans in sheltered bays and inlets, nature-lovers are spoilt for choice here.

See it for yourself Aigas – Wildlife Holidays & Courses in the Highlands

WWW.AIGAS.CO.UK

Guided wildlife holidays and educational programmes make Aigas a popular choice for wildlife fanatics, specialising in small-group learning holidays and study courses. Alt Na Craig House – A boutique guest house in luxury surroundings

WWW.GUESTHOUSEINOBAN.COM Set in over three acres of wooded garden, Alt na Craig House is steeped in history and is located in an area famed for safari adventures and whale-watching boat trips.

© Alamy, Thinkstock, The Art Agency; Ian Jackson

Otters

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Animal insights

Three ways fish talk Intelligent (and peculiar!) communication methods From blowing bubbles to rubbing their bones together, fish communicate in the most unusual ways. Whether it be to ward off potential territory-invaders to luring in a potential mate, the way in which different species of fish communicating defies belief.

2. The fish then make an elaborate, fast movement to change direction quickly.

1. Fish can go from a standing start in the water and accelerate to high speeds.

Parrotfish swish through water to create noise BLUEBRIDLE PARROTFISH

Scarus dimidiatus

Class Actinopterygii

Territory Coasts of Australia Diet Omnivore Lifespan Up to 7 years Adult weight Up to 8kg / 17.6lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

3. This turbulence created from the sudden direction change produces a low-frequency noise.

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To speak to one another, parrotfish make use of the water that surrounds them – a system known as hydrodynamics. This is where fish move quickly through the water, and as they swish about they produce a low-frequency sound when they suddenly change direction. Research into why (and how) certain species of fish do this suggests that the sounds are important in predator-prey interactions. They could also be pivotal to spawning events in some fish, playing an important role in the species’ reproduction.

How fish talk

Herring break wind to communicate! ATLANTIC HERRING Clupea harengus

Class Actinopterygii

Territory Atlantic Ocean Diet Omnivore Lifespan Up to 20 years Adult weight 680g / 1.5lbs Conservation status

“Herring use the method of blowing bubbles from their anus to communicate!”

Atlantic and Pacific herring have a remarkable way of getting in touch. In humans, breaking wind is seen as a bit uncouth, but herring use the method of blowing bubbles from their anus to communicate! The sounds are known as fast repetitive ticks (FRTs) and actually sound like numerous high-pitched bursts of sound which are oddly accompanied 2. The air is then by bubbles that released through a erupt from the duct, which opens anal duct. next to the anus.

Bizarre ways wildlife’s finest communicate From sending signals, to tapping Morse code, a few of nature’s finest get their message across

3. Herring have good hearing, but other fish hear the bubbles as they’re released.

LEAST CONCERN

Beetles use Morse code When you’re crawling around a myriad of tunnels, you need a distinct way of sending messages. The deathwatch beetle produces echoing taps by rapping its head along the top of the tunnel wall. This gave the beetle its name, as the noise was audible from infested houses, and was reminiscent of a ticking clock. 4. The bubbles released by the fish enable it to communicate with others.

1. Air is gulped from the surface and stored in the fish’s gas-filled swim bladder.

Ameiurus nebulosus Class Actinopterygii

Territory Southern and eastern states, USA Diet Omnivore Lifespan 6-8 years Adult weight 500g / 1.1lbs Conservation status

Catfish rub their teeth and bones together The whisker-sporting catfish can produce a grunt-like noise for territorial display or as a fright response, created with a process known as stridulation. This is when hard parts of the body like the skeleton or teeth are rubbed together, in the same way that crickets rub their legs to make noise. In catfish species, the rubbing of bones in its spine or pectoral fins generates the sound.

In some catfish species, the stridulation noise is amplified greatly by the fish’s swim bladder.

LEAST CONCERN

Other catfish species use special fins to produce a different, squeaking-type noise. The sound created by the rubbing of bones together is quite like running your finger over the tines of a comb.

Ultrasonic-frequency frogs The hole-in-the-head frog native to south-east Asia communicates using ultrasonic frequencies. Inaudible to humans, it can emit and hear sounds of up to 38 kilohertz (18 kilohertz higher than humans can detect). They’ve adapted because they live in areas of rushing water, where lower frequencies are harder to hear.

Wasps send chemical signals Wasps communicate through complex chemicals known as pheromones. The hormones are produced in their bodies to signal to colony members where food is or to alert them of an intruder. When a wasp stings a human, it simultaneously emits a chemical that alerts others to the attack.

© Thinkstock

BROWN BULLHEAD

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WEIRDEST BIRDS

From the prehistoric to the downright bizarre From the fearsome squawk (and bizarre appearance!) of a cassowary, to the show-off antics of the bird-of-paradise, birds are as varied and as amazing a species as any other you’ll find on the planet. With relatives that hark back to the dinosaur era, their adaptations are varied, unique, shocking and some just downright ugly. However, it’s not always the oddest-looking fliers that deserve the title of weirdest – the vampire finch may look like an average, small, even cute bird, but there’s a pretty scary yet impressive way it gets its daily feed. You can also meet the hoatzin, whose usual antics and more-unusual anatomy have baffled scientists for years – the argument over which category this dinosaur throwback fits with is ongoing and the fact it packs a mighty stench (hence its nickname – stinkbird) makes it a worthy contender for the weirdest birds on the planet.

The casque on a cassowary’s head is spongy and may act as a crash helmet when running full-tilt through dense forest

Twin-wattled cassowary This species is so fearsome that it caused WWII soldiers deployed in New Guinea to have nightmares As the largest living bird in Asia (although Australia’s emu is taller), the twin-wattled cassowary has a severe look to go with its savage reputation. Females can reportedly reach two metres (6.6 feet) in height. Despite mostly being a secretive fruit- and insect-eater – and an important disperser of seeds – this fiery flightless ratite is not to be messed with by any means. Armed with lethal dagger-like claws at the ends of some of the most powerful legs in nature, if provoked, it is capable of disembowelling a human in seconds. After mating – which usually happens in water – the male takes sole responsibility for the construction, incubation and guarding of the nest. The cassowary’s boom is the lowestfrequency bird-call known to man.

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d “The twin-wattle sa cassowary ha go with severe look to tion” uta its savage rep

The name secretarybird comes from the feathered crest, reminiscent of quill-pens stored behind the ears of office workers

Weirdest birds

Secretarybird Also known as the devil’s horse, secretarybirds are snake-stomping strollers, resembling an elongated eagle walking on armour-plated stilts Stalking sub-Saharan Africa, this unique bird of prey rarely hunts on-the-wing like its distant relatives – buzzards, hawks and eagles. Instead, these cursorial predators (adapted to run) cover up to 12 miles of savannah a day, on foot. Upon reaching a clump of vegetation, secretarybirds will straddle and stamp, flushing out any unfortunate small animal that may have thought itself safely hidden within. Prey can include small lizards up to juvenile gazelles, which are usually despatched with a savage kicking, literally. Secretarybirds’ legs are extremely powerful and blows can easily shatter human bones if provoked. Over 30 countries have issued stamps featuring this crane-legged carnivore – including some that have never been part of its traditional habitat.

Helmeted hornbill

Sporting a skull so heavy it can be used as a hammer, the helmeted hornbill’s habits match its out-there appearance The aptly named helmeted hornbill’s casque is so solid and heavy that it makes up more than ten per cent of the ungainly bird’s weight. In order to keep its head up, the first two neck vertebra are fused together. During the breeding season, fevered males will laugh manically and fly straight into one another, head-first. When a mate is eventually won, the male cements his female into a hollowed tree, leaving a small hole which he uses to deliver food throughout her maternity leave.

Their namesake helmet adds enough kinetic energy for these oddities to smash through rotten wood

Hoatzin or stinkbird South America’s stinkbird is a dinosaur throwback that acts like a cow. Meet the hoatzin – but hold your nose

A weak flier, the hoatzin clumsily clambers through branches using its oversized leathery gullet pouch to balance

Scientists have never agreed on where the stinkbird belongs in relation to other avians. Hatchlings exit the egg armed with dinosaurian-clawed wing-digits and at any sign of a predator, they will kamikaze-dive into a river and swim underwater. Those freaky fingers enable them to climb back to their nest. The stink part of their title is the result of fermenting vegetation in their crop organ, which provides a version of the multi-chambered stomachs seen in cattle. Hoatzins even herd together to graze on tough-leaved and poisonous trees.

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Shoebills’ huge beaks seem ungainly, but the edges are sharp enough to slice a baby crocodile in half

Vulturine guineafowl Introducing hell’s chicken: the vulturine guineafowl has a redeyed stare and a look that doesn’t match its lifestyle at all A member of the order Galliformes – which also includes the humble farmyard hen – this strange fowl was dealt a foul when the looks were handed out. Mad red eyes stare from a comically small purple head, complete with a monkstyle tonsure. The featherless, snake-like neck is caped with trailing black-and-white-striped feathers. Downward stripes are considered slimming, but do little to detract from the vulturine guineafowl’s plump body. Bare-headed birds are usually carrioneaters, but the vulturine guineafowl is far happier scratching for insects

Two of the rarest birds on Earth Shoebill

Habitat and destruction have pushed these birds to the brink of extinction

© Alamy, Getty, NPL, Thinkstock

Named for their clog-shaped beaks, shoebills are statuesque swamp dwellers that lurk among lily pads waiting to ambush prey

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If you think that the shoebill looks like something from the prehistoric past, you’re in good company. World-leading taxonomists argued for years about whether or not this stunning swamp-thing was a stork or pelican by nature. However, currently they believe the bird is possibly the missing link between the two – a join between two evolutionary chains. Whatever it is, it’s an effective hunter. Often standing motionless on a piece of opportune floating vegetation, the bird waits for aquatic creatures to surface, before violently snatching and devouring them.

Red-crowned crane Synonymous with Asia, this beautiful Japanese crane symbolises loyalty, resilience and luck.

Palila Palila are Critically Endangered due to destruction of the māmane tree they rely on heavily to survive.

Superb bird-of-paradise

It’s not only females who admire the males’ display feathers. Local tribesmen prize them as headdress ornaments, signifying high social stature

The male superb bird-of-paradise is a caped crusader, on a mission to show off his moves There are 39 recorded species of Paradisaeidae or birds of paradise, but the extroverted male of this species is perhaps the best known of all. Sleek and oil-hued black – save for the vivid metallic green-blue breast shield – he becomes doubly impressive in the presence of a female. After meticulously cleaning his dance floor with leaves, he will erect his cape, becoming a hopping, chattering real-life masquerade character.

The apparently white shade of their legs comes from their excrement, which they use as a form of sunblock

Marabou stork The ghoulish marabou stork can legitimately claim to be the bird that scares away vultures, as they ominously circle the dying With a bald head – often stained in dried blood – and a massive knife-like bill, this monstrous member of the family Ciconiidae will eat anything animal-based it can find. Following vultures to the site of a decaying dead animal, marabou storks wait for their fellow carrion-eaters to tear the carcass, then chase them off and exploit the holes created. Known as the undertaker bird, they can often be found en masse at human rubbish dumps and even burial sites.

taken “This finch has r and it a step furthe ing ed specialises in fe lood on the b of seabirds”

Vampire finch

Despite appearing entirely non-threatening, the vampire finch holds rather a grisly secret Charles Darwin famously noted how the bills of Galápagos Island finches adapted to suit local foods, as these birds were island-bound. This finch has taken it a step further and specialises in feeding on the blood of seabirds. It’s speculated that this haemoglobin habit started as they picked the parasites off other birds. One peck too far and the taste for blood was acquired.

In most ca ses tirely vic tims seem en fac t indifferent to the ches that va mpire fin blood are out for their

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Animal architects

The intricate cells of the mud dauber ORGAN PIPE MUD DAUBER Trypoxylon politum Class Insecta

Territory Eastern USA Diet Nectar and spiders Lifespan Not known Adult weight 0.22g / 0.008oz Conservation status

NOT EVALUATED

An adult emerges Once the newly formed adult leaves its cocoon, it must chew through the wall of the mud cell. It can then look for a mate and start the process all over again!

Organ pipe mud daubers get their name from the distinctive tubular mud nests they build. The female mud dauber builds the nest alone, using its mandibles to daub the mud to shape it. You can find these unique nests in the most unusual places, from bridges to underneath parked cars!

Four facts about organ pipe mud daubers Although these wasps appear menacing as they build their nests, they almost never sting unless seriously provoked, unlike the social wasp species.

Paralysing prey The adult female hunts spiders, usually orb-weavers, in nearby woods. She stings the spiders to cause paralysis, and brings them alive to the nest, placing them in a cell.

Unlike paper wasps, these mud daubers are solitary, with only the female collecting the mud to build each tube of the nest. The nest-building activities have a positive impact on nature. As the female flies around collecting mud, she pollinates flowers, while the feeding offspring keep spider populations down. Several females can build their nests in the same area, creating dense clusters of dozens to hundreds of nests – unfortunate if they choose to build them over your front door!

A healthy food supply Aer a couple of days the eggs hatch and the cream-coloured larvae consume the paralysed spiders over about five days. The larvae grow to about two centimetres (0.75 inches).

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Organ pipe mud dauber Pipe extension The female will repeat the process, finding more clay to extend the pipe by adding on more mud chambers, collecting spiders, stuffing them in cells and laying more eggs.

Parasitic eggs Some flies and other wasps lay their own eggs in the cells. These eggs hatch first and eat the spiders so that the mud dauber larva won’t survive. Some even eat mud dauber larvae.

Guarding the chambers The adult male stays at the nest day and night, guarding it from intruders that may steal his store of spiders. Other organ pipe mud daubers and invasive parasites also pose a threat.

The wasp pupates As the larva grows, it spins a silk cocoon and transforms into pupa. The wasp spends the winter like this, emerging as an adult in late spring.

How they build it…

Filling the cells When the female has brought back provisions, the male and female mate in the nest. She then lays an egg in a cell and seals it with clay.

Choosing a location Female mud daubers are the hard workers in nest-building and work alone to select a nest site close to moist soil, preferably clay-based. The location can be anywhere sheltered from rain, including bridges and cliffs. They can also be found in chimneys, attic raers, birdhouses, on parked cars and even under patio furniture!

Building strategy Females visit a variety of locations to collect mud to bring back to the nest site. She rolls up a small ball of mud using her mandibles and carries it back to the nest site using her front legs. She smears one mud ball against another with her mouth and forehead until a small centimetre(0.5-inch) wide tube is formed.

Tubes and cells An average nest will include a cluster of five to seven tubes and each will contain three to four cells. The female will place her provision of up to ten paralysed spiders in a cell and aer mating she will lay an egg in the cell, before sealing it with a mud partition. She will repeat this for every single cell in the nest.

© The Art Agency; Sanda Doyle, FLPA, Alamy

Females can single-handedly build complex piped nests in only 24 hours!

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All about leopards

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All Ab ut

pards

Solitary and reclusive, these adaptable cats are some of nature’s most agile climbers and are right at home in the trees Words Laura Mears

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All about leopards

Inside a leopard

Strong shoulders

With well-developed muscles in their shoulders and forelimbs, adults can drag large carcasses over six metres (20 feet) into the trees.

Leopards might be the smallest of the big cats, but they’re some of the most adaptable. With short legs, large paws and long tails, they are agile climbers and able to tackle prey several times their own body weight Night vision

LEOPARD

Leopards are nocturnal, so their eyes have a reflective membrane called the tapetum lucidum to maximise the amount of light captured by the eye.

Panthera pardus Class Mammalia

Territory Africa and Asia Diet Carnivore Lifespan 12-15 years Adult weight 60kg / 130lbs Conservation status

NEAR THREATENED

Large skull

Their skulls are broad, and they can tackle animals up to ten times their own body weight, snapping their necks with powerful jaws.

Canine

Four thick, strong canines enable the leopard to grip its prey firmly.

Molar

Premolar

Carnassial

These teeth are sharp and bladed – ideal for slicing through meat when eating.

Black panther The colour of a leopard’s coat varies according to its environment, with darker colours seen more frequently on mountain- or forest-dwelling cats. Occasionally a leopard will inherit two faulty copies of the gene coding for coat colour and they are born with almost completely black fur.

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Big paws

In comparison with their body size, leopards have very large paws, providing the additional grip required for life in the trees.

JUVENILE

INFANCY Newborn cub 1 day Leopard cubs are born totally blind and oen weigh less than a bag of sugar.

Heart

Staying hidden 0-2 weeks The mother moves the cubs frequently, changing the den site every few days in order to elude predators.

Starting to explore 2 weeks Aer about a week the cubs begin to open their eyes and by two weeks of age they are able to walk around.

Leaving the den 6-8 weeks By the time they are two months old, the cubs are ready to leave the den to begin practising their hunting and climbing skills.

Eating meat 3 months The female leopard will continually bring food back to the den, sharing up to a third with her hungry cubs.

Hunting independently 20 months The cubs practise hunting small prey like insects and reptiles, and by the time they’re 20 months old they are no longer reliant on their mother for food.

Leopards Eye protection

Just like the black paint worn by baseball players, the black colouring around the eyes of a leopard reduces the harsh glare from the Sun.

Long, flexible spine

An elongated frame enables leopards to stretch and recoil like a spring, leaping forward several metres at a time.

Kidney

Counter-shading

Leopards are white on the underside and tawny brown on top, counteracting natural shadows cast by the Sun and helping to keep them hidden from view.

Rosettes

The markings of a leopard are characteristic of a species that lives in the shade of the trees. Their fur is covered in a distinctive pattern of round or square rosettes, breaking up their outline in the dappled shade.

Stomach

Short digestive system Like other carnivores, leopards have a short, efficient digestive system.

Closest family Closely related to the leopard are…

MATURITY Establishing a territory 2 years Competition for food is fierce, so adult leopards use a combination of scent-marking, vocalisations and fighting to defend their hunting grounds.

Finding a mate 2 years Female leopards seek out the attention of males, signalling their fertility with scent markers in their urine.

Raising young 3 -12 years Male leopards play no role in raising their cubs, so the female works alone to feed and protect them until they grow bigger.

Snow leopard Snow leopards are adapted to a cold environment, with stocky bodies, thick fur, and wide paws suited to walking on snow. Despite similarities in appearance, they’re more closely related to tigers than leopards.

Tiger Tigers are the largest of the big cats and share many similarities with leopards. They live a solitary lifestyle, preferring to ambush, rather than chase their prey. They are strong swimmers, spending lots of time in the water.

Jaguar Jaguars are oen confused with leopards, but their markings are quite different. Leopards have distinctive, small, rosette-shaped spots. Jaguars also have rosettes, but they’re larger and thicker.

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All about leopards

Ambush antics

The hunting strategies of a cat born to climb

Leopards might not be the strongest of the big cats, or the fastest, but what they lack in power, they make up for in agility. They are nimble ambush predators capable of jumping six metres (20 feet) in a single bound. Unlike cheetahs, leopards aren’t suited for pursuit, so rely on a quick, powerful strike to disable prey. With a hunting strategy similar to that of domestic cats, they remain close to the ground, inching forward until their target is barely more than a few metres away. Then they pounce, pinning the animal to the floor. Competition for food is fierce, so after a hunt leopards are vulnerable. Lions and hyenas scavenge in groups, intimidating solitary

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predators to steal their kills. Alone, the cats stand no chance against these aggressive teams of carnivores and if confronted their only option is to retreat. After a kill, leopards use their jaws to haul the carcass into the high branches, often lifting more than their own body weight. They have relatively short legs and their centre of gravity is low, so using their sharp claws as crampons, along with their thick tails for balance, they can reach tree branches well beyond ground-based hunters. From the safety of the treetops there’s little threat and the cats often store their kills in the branches. Not only do leopards have to worry about treats from other carnivores, competition

among their own species is also fierce. As solitary hunters, they require large territories to catch enough prey, so defend these areas fiercely. With a combination of scent-marking, low-pitched saw-like calls and fighting, leopards ensure that they have exclusive access to the prey animals in their local area. There’s not always time to drag a large carcass to safety, so the cats are often forced to abandon their kills to stronger animals. Pack hunters such as hyenas are chaotic eaters, spending almost as much time fighting among themselves as eating, so it’s sometimes possible for the leopard to retrieve at least part of their kill amid the chaos.

Leopards

Aerial assault Leopards don’t just hunt on the ground and will sometimes pounce straight from the trees In the shelter of the sometimes leafy branches, leopards become almost invisible to animals below. They lie in wait, watching as prey move about on the floor. If an unfortunate animal comes within range, they strike, leaping down from the branches.

Vantage point The ability to climb gives leopards a huge advantage over groundbased prey animals, enabling them to watch and wait, unseen, in the safety of the branches.

Lethal strike They will pounce several metres from the trees to the ground, using their powerful front legs to grapple their prey to the floor, before inflicting a deadly bite.

A big cat diet

“With a hunting strategy similar to that of domestic cats, they remain close to the ground, inching forward until their target is barely more than a few metres away”

Leopards are skilled hunters and eat a wide variety of food An average male leopard eats

29% of their diet consists of impala.

3.5kg / 7.7lbs of food per day

That’s 5% of its body weight

Occasionally they supplement their diet with insects, such as dung beetles.

19% of their diet consists of zebra.

14% of their diet consists of wildebeest.

13% of their diet consists of warthog. 13% of their diet consists of porcupine.

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All about leopards

Protective instincts Leopard mothers work alone to feed and protect their cubs Leopards are solitary animals, but breeding males and females remain together for days at a time, sharing each other’s food and company. When a female is in heat, she attracts male attention with pheromones in her urine. Over the following days the couple mate frequently, sometimes up to 100 times in a 24-hour period, ensuring that they have the best chance of producing cubs. Gestation lasts for around 100 days, but the male leopard doesn’t remain to see the birth of his offspring. The new mother is forced to continue hunting while her cubs develop, leaving the den unattended for periods of up to 36 hours at a time. Left alone, the cubs are vulnerable. Lions, for example, are aggressive opponents, deliberately

The first few weeks of leopard life Leopard mothers give birth to an average of two or three cubs in a litter. For the first few weeks their eyes are closed and they are unable to walk, making them entirely dependent on their parent for care. The cubs aren’t born with their adult markings, so instead have a mottled greyish coat, which provides some camouflage in the rocky areas where leopards make their dens. However, until they are able to climb, they are entirely defenceless and the female devotes significant time to moving the den site, keeping them hidden from view.

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eliminating the competition in order to secure access to the best food. This means finding a safe location for the den is crucial and pregnant females take advantage of their agility to find a den unreachable by less-nimble predators. As the cubs grow, they begin to venture outside, but it takes almost two years for them to reach independence. Climbing is mastered quickly and provides a small degree of protection when their mother is away, enabling the cubs to scramble into the trees if threatened. Male leopards are aggressive and territorial, so when hunting boundaries change hands any cubs in the area become targets. Rather than allow the females to waste resources on cubs belonging to rivals, males will kill them, forcing the females to become fertile again.

Early blindness Leopard cubs are born blind and do not open their eyes until they are ten days old.

Unsteady

The cubs are unable to walk for the first two weeks, so instead their mother must carry them in her mouth.

Juvenile camouflage

The cubs’ rosette markings are blurred and their juvenile fur is silvery grey, helping them to blend in with the surroundings.

Guarding their young Leopards have a lethal bite, but are still able to carry delicate cubs in their mouths Female leopards raise their cubs alone and are responsible not only for protecting them, but also for providing food. Their maternal instincts mean they’ll support their young as long as is needed, and will keep a watchful eye over them whenever they can. In order to hunt, mothers must leave their dens unattended and vulnerable. When alone, the cubs must fend for themselves and many succumb to predation.

On the move

Mothers move their cubs to a new den every few days to mask their scent.

Gentle grip

Leopard jaws are powerful, but their canines aren’t razor sharp, so with a gentle hold no damage is done to the cub’s delicate skin.

By the scruff

The loose skin at the nape of the neck has very few nerve endings, enabling the female to grip her cubs without hurting them.

Going floppy

When they are being carried, the cubs hang limply and do not struggle.

The leopard’s den Choosing the right den location is crucial if the young cubs are to survive

Staying hidden

The best survival strategy for leopard cubs is to remain hidden. The markings on their coats are blurred, and their silvery-brown colouring provides camouflage, but the main problem is the smell. Predators have keen noses, so in order to mask the scent of the cubs the mother must find a new den every few days.

Climbing trees

Inaccessible location

Leopards hide their cubs in rocky crevices, hollow tree trunks, dense undergrowth and caves.

Leopards spend their adult lives in the trees and begin climbing at a young age. While their mother is away from the den, the ability to climb is one of the only defences cubs have against predators.

Learning to hunt

When the cubs are a few months old, they begin to venture out of the den, practising their hunting skills on anything that moves.

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All about leopards

Life in the savannah Leopards are at their best in the dappled shade of grassy savannah or forest, where prey animals are abundant and there are lots of places to hide. However, these adaptable cats can survive almost anywhere, from the tropical Congo rainforest to the deserts of Namibia, to the snowy mountains of China and Russia. Leopards are the most widespread of the big cat species, vastly outnumbering lions and tigers in the wild. Their range extends across Africa, into central Asia, up towards Russia and even down into Indonesia and Malaysia. In general these adaptable cats are able to resist minor disturbances in their environment and are quickly able to change their hunting range or strategy to cope with new problems, but the level of habitat destruction has decimated many populations. In northern Africa the remaining leopards are struggling to survive and in many parts of Asia numbers are dangerously low. As an example of the problem, Javan leopards have less than 3,000 square kilometres (1,300 square miles) of habitat left. Five out of the nine subspecies of leopard are categorised as Endangered or Critically Endangered, and the Amur leopards are close to

extinction. They live in the snowy mountains on the border between Russia and China and have been so aggressively hunted for their valuable pelts that the number of adults in the wild is now less than 30. In 1999 Amur leopard skins were selling for up to $1,000 in local villages – despite conservation efforts, the animals are still being killed by poachers, with four additional casualties in the last seven years. In comparison, the leopards of sub-Saharan Africa are thriving, but they face environmental threats of their own. With such high numbers of animals, contact with humans is inevitable, so there is growing tension between leopards and human populations. Hunters strip the environment of prey animals, capturing wild meat for sale at markets and depriving the cats of their natural prey. The resourceful animals then turn to domestic livestock for food and farmers retaliate with guns or poisons. Many African countries limit the exporting of leopard skins in an attempt to control poaching and national legislation protects them in their natural habitat, enabling legal action to be taken against hunters. Despite this, outside of protected areas the cats are vulnerable and the future of some is uncertain.

“Outside of protected areas the cats are vulnerable and the future of some is uncertain”

Environmental factors Several sub-species of leopard are now in a critical position and face constant environmental threats Hunting Leopards are one of the big five game animals in Africa – the species most prized by hunters. Their elusive nature makes them hard to track, attracting trophy hunters from across the globe. Human conflict The big cats are highly efficient predators and will prey upon domestic livestock if the opportunity arises. Farmers oen retaliate with lethal force, killing the offending leopard. Illegal poaching Leopard fur is highly prized, so poaching remains a problem in Africa and Asia. Between 2002 and 2003, six Amur leopard skins were seized and only 35 adults remain in the wild. Habitat destruction Logging is decimating leopard habitats across Asia and prey animals such as deer and rabbits are hunted for meat and skins, reducing the food available for the remaining cats.

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Leopards Nearest neighbours Leopards inhabit a variety of environments and share their homes with a large range of other spotted cats

Cheetah In Africa leopards live alongside the fastest living land animals. Cheetahs are similar in size to leopards, but are much more slender, with long legs and powerful bodies, built for short bursts of intense speed.

Clouded leopard In the foothills of the Himalayas, leopards and clouded leopards share the terrain. Despite sharing a name, and a home, the two species are actually not that closely related.

Leopard cat These wild cats have similar colouration to leopards, but are much smaller, at around the size of a domestic cat. They inhabit a wide area, extending across south and east Asia.

© Rex Features, Corbis, Thinkstock, NPL, John Palmer, The Art Agency; Peter Scott

Serval These small cats are native to Africa. With their tawny fur, round ears and black spots, they are oen mistaken for leopards from a distance, but their legs are much longer, enabling them to run at high speed through the grass.

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Endangered

Sumatran elephant SUMATRAN ELEPHANT Elephas maximus sumatranus Class Mammalia

Territory Sumatra Diet Plants and leaves Lifespan 60-70 years Adult weight 4,000kg / 8,800lbs Conservation status

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

A native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, this is one of three sub-species of Asian elephant and like most other members of its kind, it teeters on the brink of extinction. Sadly, a similar story has played out for this beautiful animal over the course of the last century, with deforestation and ivory poaching placing enormous pressure on the population, particularly in the last 25 years. This has resulted in its conservation status being changed to Critically Endangered in 2012

The causes of extinction Loss of habitat

In the last three generations of Sumatran elephants, a period of around 75 years, the population has declined by around 80 per cent – much of this is due to habitat loss. In the last 25 years, as agriculture and Indonesia’s human population has grown, 70 per cent of Sumatran lowland jungle has been cleared.

Sumatra

Hunting

While female Sumatran elephants have no tusks, the males have much smaller tusks than their African cousins. However, with the increasing black market price of ivory, this hasn’t stopped the poachers. The fact that only the males are a viable source of ivory has put a lot of pressure on the gender ratio of this species.

Indonesia

Poisoning

With humans spreading into Sumatran elephant territories, there is inevitable conflict as these huge mammals trample crops and occasionally hurt people. Despite the dwindling population of this iconic Indonesian species, farmers and villagers will sometimes poison these elephants to protect their harvest and homes.

How you can help WWW.ELEPHANT.ORG.AU

The International Elephant Project is dedicated towards promoting the survival of both the Sumatran and Bornean elephants. The conservation group is run by larger organisation The Orangutan Project, which works with communities and governments in its conservation efforts.

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The decreasing habitat The elephant population in Sumatra has become increasingly fractured and has declined from 44 groups living in all eight provinces in 1985, to just 25 today. 2008 1985

Sumatran elephant Decreasing numbers How the Sumatran elephant population has dramatically declined in just 29 years

Sumatra

Estimated number of animals left in this country

2,800

Total in 1985

Estimated total animal population 29 years ago

4,800

Leif Cocks, International Elephant Project

“The fact that only the males are a viable source of ivory has put a lot of pressure on the gender ratio of this species”

International Elephant Project (IEP) founder Leif Cocks points out that the plight of the African elephant isn’t nearly as drastic as that of the Sumatran: “The situation is critical. We have as little as 1,200 Sumatran elephants le in fragmented populations in degraded habitats. We hear of the problems that African elephants are having, with as many as 200,000, and envy their situation.” Part of the IEP’s conservation efforts include tracking their movements. “We place radio transmitters on an elephant in each herd and track it by satellite. We then have our teams follow the herds to ensure their safety.” The IEP also has a novel way to get the locals involved. “The second project is working with local communities to help them protect themselves and their crops in nonlethal ways. They also get mobile phones to call the teams on an elephant hotline.” The IEP’s parent organisation is The Orangutan Project and though the two projects operate separately, there’s a harmony in them being run side-by-side. “By using orangutans as an umbrella species, The Orangutan Project helps many other species and communities. Due to the size of elephants and the danger to humans, we had to develop as a separate project… The International Elephant Project [needed] to meet holistic conservation outcomes.”

© Alamy

Leif Cocks’ wealth of animal experience includes curating at Perth Zoo for 25 years, where he managed Asian elephants

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Meet the family

Snakes

There are nearly 3,000 species of snake in the world, and almost 400 are venomous. Some are deadly enough to cause death or injury to humans. Some snakes fly and others can even swim; here we show you the most diverse and interesting snakes, from the biggest and deadliest to the smallest and rarest… SIDEWINDER RATTLESNAKE

Crotalus cerastes Class Reptilia

Territory Deserts of North America Diet Reptiles, kangaroo rats and other rodents Lifespan 20-30 years in captivity Adult weight 200g / 7oz Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

King cobra

One bite from this snake can kill 20 people! KING COBRA

Ophiophagus hannah Class Reptilia

Territory India, southern China, south-east Asia Diet Snakes, lizards, eggs and small mammals Lifespan 20 years Adult weight 9kg / 20lbs Conservation status

VULNERABLE

When threatened, king cobras can stand in a hypnotic display, raising a third of their body off the ground and flaring out their hoods. Reaching lengths of up to 5.5 meters (18 feet), the king cobra is the longest of all venomous snakes, preying mainly on other snakes with a rapid strike. Although their venom isn’t as toxic as other snakes, enough is produced in one bite to take down an elephant! They live mainly in rainforests where they can move with ease in trees, on land and in water. They are the only snakes in the world that build nests specially for their precious eggs.

Iconic hood The neck features a narrow hood that extends outwards when the snake feels particularly threatened.

Sidewinder rattlesnake A snake with an unusual method of movement and horn-like features

These venomous pit vipers are known for their unusual S- or J-shaped locomotion, leaving distinctive trails in the sand. They throw their bodies so that only two points are in contact with the ground at one time, preventing overheating from touching the hot desert sand. This is a fast method, which helps them to catch prey quickly. The sidewinder has a broad triangular head and is recognised by raised scales above the eyes that look like horns! The snake is a pale sand colour, which helps it to blend in with the desert habitat. Nocturnal creatures, sidewinders are found buried in desert sand or in animal burrows.

Distinctive horns The horn-shaped scales that bulge above the sidewinder’s eyes are adaptations that protect the eyes from the desert sand.

Flexible jaws The green anaconda can manage to eat huge meals! It has elastic ligaments that allow the jaw to stretch and swallow prey whole.

Green anaconda GREEN ANACONDA Eunectes murinus Class Reptilia

Territory : South America Diet Wild pigs, deer, birds Lifespan 10 years Adult weight 227kg / 550lbs Conservation status

NOT EVALUATED

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The largest, heaviest and second-longest known living snake species

Living in swamps and marshes in the tropical rainforests of South America, the green anaconda is, pound for pound, the largest snake in the world. Measuring more than 12 inches (30 centimetres) in diameter, these snakes spend most of their time in water where they lie in wait for prey nearly completely submerged. This is thanks to their eyes and nasal openings sitting on their head. Part of the boa family, the green anaconda is non-venomous and uses the same killing technique as the boa constrictor – slowly wrapping its muscular body around the prey and squeezing tightly until it suffocates. They can go for weeks or sometimes months without food after a particularly big meal!

Snakes Unique markings The adder has a dark pattern along its back, with a border of spots on each side and a dark X-, H- or V-shaped mark on its head.

Class Reptilia

Territory Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Korea Diet Rodents, lizards, frogs Lifespan 10 to 15 years Adult weight 50-70g / 1.82.5oz Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

Common adder

The only venomous snake found in the UK

Although non-aggressive and timid, the common adder has one of the most highly developed venom-injecting mechanisms of all snakes. The only venomous snake native to Britain, they are widespread, found in rough, open countryside where they spend time basking in the Sun, but close to dense cover, so they can take shelter. The adder has highly developed eyesight, sense of smell and hearing, which all combine to make it a very effective predator. The snake uses its large hinged fangs to inject venom into its prey, then releases it and follows the scent trail it leaves behind. Once found, the adder will swallow the prey whole, headfirst.

Beautiful body The body is long and slender, with a pattern of dark-edged yellow scales, sometimes with clusters of red, yellow or orange scales.

Paradise tree snake The snake that can fly!

PARADISE TREE SNAKE Chrysopelea paradisi

As its name suggests, the paradise tree snake spends most of its time among branches and foliage in tropical rainforests. It has the remarkable ability to fly, or more specifically glide, between trees at distances up to 100 metres (656 feet). As an adept tree-climber, it uses ridged scales along its belly to climb and, once ready for flight, will dangle from a branch in a J shape, choosing its flight path and destination point before thrusting its body upward. It sucks in its stomach and flares out its ribs, creating a parachute shape to nearly double its body width, which helps to slow its descent. It undulates as it glides, propelling itself through the air and controlling direction.

1. Fastest Black mamba

3. Longest Reticulated python

2. Smallest Barbados threadsnake

4. Rarest St. Lucia racer

These African snakes can slither up to 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) per hour. They are timid and try to escape rather than attack when confronted.

Discovered only in the last six years on the Caribbean island of its name, this snake is just ten centimetres (four inches) long.

The legless lizard (Ophisaurus apodus) may look similar to snakes with their long, slender bodies and scales. They also behave like snakes by laying eggs, slithering, and having a similar diet, but they evolved from a different evolutionary line. There are other differences too – a legless lizard will detach its tail as a defence mechanism. They also have ear openings and can’t unhinge their jaws to swallow their prey whole.

Adapted to sea life Sea snakes have specialised nostrils that prevent water entering their lung. They have one elongated lung that extends most of the body.

Native to southeast Asia, this is the longest snake species. Medusa, a reticulated python living in captivity is, 7.6 metres (25 feet) in length.

Only 18 St. Lucia racers remain in the world, living just off the island of their name. The arrival of mongooses resulted in their rapid decline.

Class Reptilia

Territory South-eastern Asia Diet Tree lizards, frogs, bats, small birds Lifespan Unknown Adult weight 80g / 3oz Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

The legless lizard is not a snake

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2

Yellow-bellied sea snake

YELLOW-BELLIED SEA SNAKE Pelamis platura Class Reptilia

Territory Indian and Pacific oceans Diet Fish Lifespan 20 years Adult weight 1.4kg / 3lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

The most widely distributed sea snake on Earth

The unique-looking yellow-bellied sea snake has a black upper body with the underside a contrasting cream or yellow. Unlike most sea snakes that tend to stay close to coastlines, the yellow-bellied sea snake lives in open water and is found across the tropical and subtropical Pacific and Indian oceans. It has a paddle-like tail that increases swimming ability and it moves in a sideward ripple close to the surface. It can move fast, but usually will float along with the ocean current and can dive to depths of up to 15 metres (49 feet), staying under the water for up to 3.5 hours. The yellow-belly also has a salt gland under its tongue to secrete salt taken in from the sea to avoid dehydration.

© Alamy; Thinkstock, Corbis, FLPA

COMMON ADDER

Vipera berus

3

1

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S T C E P S U S L A U S UNU rable o ad of ch un b is th e at tim es er d Don’t un ving… ei ec d ry ve e b n ca ks o lo as s, er critt

© Corbis

This supremely cuddly critter could invoke a serious allergic reaction Slow lorises are adorable primates native to forested regions of south-east Asia. There are different slow loris species, but all share the same round head, small ears and huge forward-facing eyes that make them so cute. Their eyes reflect the light in a way that makes them look orange. These little nocturnal critters have a furry, friendly appearance, but you ought

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to brush up on slow loris knowledge before diving in for a cuddle. These mammals possess glands on their elbows that produce a toxin, which the animal licks to create a toxic bite. So, how poisonous is it? To humans, not very, unless the victim is allergic to the toxin. Slow lorises also use this toxic saliva for grooming and protecting babies.

SUNDA SLOW LORIS Nycticebus

Class Mammalia

Territory South-east Asia Diet Sap, nectar, fruit, insects Lifespan Up to 25 years Adult weight 265-1,605g / 0.6-3.5lbs Conservation status

VULNERABLE

It may look fluff y and innocent, but the wolverine can punch far above its weight

A big bite The strong jaws can even crush through frozen meat and bone.

WOLVERINE Gulo gulo

Class Mammalia

Territory Canada, Alaska, northern Europe, Russia Diet Rabbits, rodents, caribou Lifespan 7-12 years Adult weight 11-18kg / 2440lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength The wolverine is armed with powerful jaws – tough and strong for a creature of its size. It can crush large bones and even meat that’s been frozen! Its sharp claws and extrathick hide gives it the ability to kill prey several times its size. Like the skunk, it can also emit a strong-smelling musk to warn

others to keep their distance. If attackers get too close, their territorial instincts kick in. Brilliant climbers, wolverines will rest in trees until the right moment arises to pounce on their prey. They eat mice, rats, birds and eggs during the summer months, but hunt larger mammals in winter.

The howling grasshopper mouse is scared of nothing Southern grasshopper mice are found living in the hot, dusty Arizona desert of the USA and to the untrained eye seem like timid, cute little furballs of fun. However, despite their simply adorable exterior, these little mammals are hard as nails! Known for their bravado and recklessness, grasshopper mice will stop at nothing to get a meal. They are carnivorous and tenacious predators, The mice also howl to the night sky, known to pick fights with animals just like a wolf, much larger than themselves. to protect their Centipedes and scorpions are territory and warn others away their usual diet, and although the venom of the bark scorpion has the power to induce respiratory failure in humans, the tiny mouse is completely unaffected by the usually lethal sting. These little nocturnal hell-raisers make their homes in burrows, but let other rodents do the hard work and just snatch a place in a cosy burrow after removing the former occupant.

“They’re known to pick fights with animals much larger than themselves”

SOUTHERN GRASSHOPPER MOUSE

Onychomys torridus Class Mammalia

Territory Mammalia Diet Centipedes, scorpions and other mice Lifespan 4-5 years Adult weight 22.11g / 0.78oz Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

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UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

“Fluffy paws are used as snowshoes for soundless stalking and a camouflaged coat keeps it hidden”

The Eurasian lynx looks fluffy, but is a ruthless hunter At first sight the Eurasian lynx looks like a giant teddy bear. This big cat’s furry body, large fluffy paws and beautiful markings have made it a target for poachers and the fur trade for centuries, however each of these features works to the lynx’s advantage in being one of the most-skilled predators around. A strict carnivore, the Eurasian lynx is the largest of the lynx species and also the third largest predator in Europe. It’s very adept at

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stalking its prey, using the big fluffy paws as snowshoes for soundless stalking and a coat to keep it hidden. When the lynx does spot something tasty for dinner, it can take down animals up for four times its size. With a bit of sheer strength and precisionstalking, large species of deer have been known to become victims of lynx attacks after a swift bite to the snout, enabling the cat to devour an excellent meal.

EURASIAN LYNX

Lynx lynx

Class Mammalia

Territory North America, Europe, Asia Diet Hares, birds, mice Lifespan Up to 26 years Adult weight 18-36kg / 39.679.3lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

Cute but deadly AFRICAN SPUR-WINGED GOOSE

The African spur-winged goose has a spiked attack that can poison Geese are known for being round and tubby, with soft feathers, but the African spur-winged goose has a few tricks under its wing to earn itself the reputation as the gnarliest bird on the continent. Weighing up to a sizeable seven kilograms (15.4 pounds), these geese make their homes in the wetlands and swamps of sub-Saharan Africa. First, there are the wing spurs. These pointy bits of bone look like small, conical spikes and stick out a few centimetres from the bird’s wrist. The birds use their spurs for defence and also scrap with other wildfowl. If the spurs don’t build these geese a mean reputation, they can also be poisonous. Some populations of spur-winged geese feed on a type of poisonous blister beetle, store the poison in their own tissues and make themselves toxic to predators!

Plectropterus gambensis Class Aves

Territory Sub-Saharan Africa Diet young shoots, grasses, seeds, fruit Lifespan 11 years (captivity) Adult weight 4-7kg/8.815.4lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

Spiked wings Pointed bone protrudes from the bird’s wing

TUFTED GROUND SQUIRREL

Rheithrosciurus macrotis Class Mammalia

Agile body The rest of the squirrel’s body is small, slender and very agile – perfect for climbing trees.

Useful tail The tail could be used to confuse predators, or prevent them from getting a good grasp.

Territory Forests of Borneo Diet Seeds, deer Lifespan Not known Adult weight Not known Conservation status

VULNERABLE

The tufted ground squirrel is an adorablelooking critter that can be found cruising the trees of Borneo’s dense rainforests. However, local people know them as vampire squirrels and legend has it that they lie in wait for large animals such as muntjac deer. Dropping down onto its victim, the squirrel will bite the jugular and wait for the prey to bleed to death before devouring a few select parts. There are a few types of squirrel that are known to be carnivorous, so it’s not too unbelievable that the tufted ground squirrel has a penchant for meat.

“The squirrel will bite the jugular and wait for the prey to bleed to death”

Perfect balance Other squirrel species use their tails as balance aids, Sun shades and pillows.

© Alamy; Thinkstock; Corbis

This squirrel hides up trees and disembowels its prey

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The incredible journey of the

Humpback whale HUMPBACK WHALE

Megaptera novaeangliae Class Mammalia

Territory All global oceans Diet Omnivore Lifespan 50 years Adult weight Up to 40tn Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

These giants of the world’s oceans make equally massive migrations to fill their bellies, find a suitable mate and care for their young

Undertaking one of the longest mammal migrations, humpback whales make spectacular annual journeys from their cold summer feeding grounds, where they gorge on rich food, to warmer tropical coasts in the winter, where they mate and breed. The humpbacks’ magnificent acrobatic displays and complex songs can be witnessed in their distinct populations, that are found within all oceans across the Hemispheres. In summer, humpbacks spend the majority of their time feeding and

building up fat stores (blubber) to live off during winter months. The huge whales filter feed on tiny crustaceans like krill and plankton, and small fish and can eat up to 1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds) of food per day. During the winter, humpbacks congregate and engage in mating activities. As polygynous creatures, male humpbacks exhibit competitive activities on wintering grounds. Aggressive behaviours include chasing, tail-thrashing, bodythrashing and a range of bubble and vocal displays.

“In summer, humpbacks spend the majority of their time feeding and building up fat stores”

Survival stats

10,000 km

1,360 2-3 km/h

© Thinkstock

The longest recorded mammal migration – a The average speed female humpback of the returning ventured all the way from humpbacks and Brazil to Madagascar. their calves.

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kg

The amount a humpback can eat per day during the summer, to survive the winter.

Ke

Humpback whale

Greenland sub-population This sub-population feeds as far north as west Greenland, Iceland and north Norway. It spends April through November in these highly productive feeding grounds. .

North-Atlantic humpbacks Sub-populations form on feeding grounds, including the Gulf of Maine and eastern Canada. As winter approaches they make the 2,400-kilometre (1,500mile) trip to the West Indies. An Alaskan summer Humpbacks spend their summers in the cold waters off Alaska where food is abundant. They put on as much as 6,800 kilograms (15,000 pounds) to last the winter.

Pacific ocean

North America

North-east Pacific Some whales leave the feeding grounds in Alaska and head south. Sometimes older juveniles will go on ahead, while senior whales stay behind.

A tropical winter Humpbacks can make the 4,830-kilometre (3,000-mile) journey to Hawaii in as little as 36 days. The lack of predators, warm waters and underwater visibility make the islands perfect for mating and calving.

Atlantic ocean

The West Indies The most populous breeding area is along the northern coast of the Dominican Republic and includes Silver Bank marine sanctuary.

Divided populations Some of these subpopulations join the other humpbacks in the West Indies, while the rest move south to the Cape Verde islands off the western coast of Africa to breed. Africa

South America

ey Pacific population West-Atlantic population East-Atlantic population

Antarctic ocean

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PIED TAMARIN MONKEYS

TERRITORY DEFENDERS Brazil’s pint-sized pied tamarins defy their diminutive proportions. With a strict hierarchy and unbelievable rituals, the monkeys earn their title as the most territorial primate on Earth Words Rick Jones

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Nature’s most territorial If you follow Brazil’s deep, slow-moving Rio Negro river, urges. Both her mates and male relatives take over with you’ll reach a region where the tannin-stained waters full responsibility for her twins, returning them to her only meet the Solimões – or upper Amazon. When your feet when they need milk, until they are weaned. touch dry land, you’ll find yourself in a beautifully bustling Using her hands, which like other primates in the harbour, where the confluence of the two mighty rivers Callitrichidae family possess claws, rather than nails, the has formed a vital port for trade, and birthed the capital dominant female pulls back branches and loose bark, of the Amazonas region. looking for small insects or budding flowers to eat. The city of Manaus, made famous Suddenly, something invisible to human by 2014’s FIFA World Cup football senses causes an instant reaction in the championship, is currently home to whole group. The dominant female’s around 1.9 million people. However, in expression changes to a grimace, with By urinating and rubbing the forest areas that both border and lips curled back and head held high. special glands on the trees in punctuate the urban sprawl of the This face-pulling reaction – known as their home range, a stinky signal city, you’ll find one of our smallest the Flehmen response – is an in-built is sent out that acts like a warning primate relatives. This is their only reflex to the scent mark of another sign to other groups. Rather than home and they refuse to move for tamarin group hitting the vomeronasal face an unknown number of anything – literally. organ at the base of her nasal cavity. agitated rivals, wandering Emerging from the dense treeAfter a moment in this pose, she begins groups will usually beat a top canopy of leaves and branches, a to emit a bird-like alarm call, which brings hasty retreat. cluster of hanging liana vines are acting the female and the males to her side, as a mid-level forest highway for a family without the infants in tow. of these gremlin-like monkeys. Their curious, The four miniature monkeys stare intently at black-skinned, bare faces – framed by comically the next tree, eyes wide and lips pulled back once large ears – emerge from a thickly furred white collar, again, but this time to display sharp, needle-like canine which extends roughly halfway down their tiny bodies and teeth. The white patches of fur on their collars and backs over each arm. About mid-torso, the colour of their fur stand up straight. This response – known as piloerection – abruptly changes to a rusty red-brown hue that covers the serves to make the tamarins look bigger to their foes. The lower limbs and tail. menacing bared canines and display of absolute intent is The group is led by a female – the matriarch of this all a cleverly evolved way of guarding territorial borders family. Following her are a sub-adult female and three with bluff and bravado, avoiding physical combat. males. One of the males is carrying a pair of young The enemy could be other pied tamarins or, more likely tamarin twins on his back – the sons or daughters of the in the present day, they could be the related but morelead female. Only the matriarch is able to breed, with the adaptable golden-handed tamarin (Saguinus midas). Either powerful pheromones present in her strong musky odour way, it’s equally important that our family of tamarins suppressing her younger female siblings’ reproductive defends its home range, which could be as large as 10 to

SCENT MARKINGS

“The menacing snarl is a cleverly evolved way of guarding territorial borders with bluff and bravado” BELOW Pied tamarins have very fixed social hierarchies, with the matriarch mother at the top of the tree

CHASE IS ON

If a wandering band of tamarins invades another group’s territory, a chase will ensue. While males will chase both female and male intruders away, the matriarch and her daughters will only see off rival females. This enables missing or dead males to be replaced.

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ABOVE A pied tamarin about to feed on a parkia seed pod (Parkia pendula) in Amazonia, Brazil

The most territorial animals on Earth From the fierce attack of the hornet to the antisocial antics of the hummingbird

Hornets All wasps of the hornet family Vespa will attack with absolute intent to kill should any threat be identified. There isn’t an animal alive that seems immune to fullscale hornet attack.

AMBUSH AND RETREAT

Hummingbirds Male hummingbirds are so territorial, they will even attack fake dummy birds – including photographs! Females won’t even allow their mate to fly near the nest, chasing them off and pulling out their feathers.

Hippopotamus Hailed as the most dangerous animal in Africa, bull hippos preside over a harem of up to ten females within a 250-metre stretch of river, and will readily attack in response to all but the most submissive approaches.

Cougar (or mountain lion) The home range of male cougars, from Canada to South America, never overlap. Scratches and pungent urine mark the boundaries of the secretive males, who try to avoid one another altogether.

Chameleons These lizards display their mood by changing colour, rather than trying to blend in. In instances where males spot one another, their reflection or even their own shadow, the mood becomes decidedly dark.

© Rex Features, NPL, Thinkstock, Guayacanor

BELOW With senses much keener than a human’s a tamarin will instantly react to any trace of an animal invader

Tamarins can cover large areas in leaps, somersaults and expert springing. If fights occur, they usually involve rapid ambush-type attacks and retreat manoeuvres, starting high above their opponent, then fleeing once 100 hectares, a bite or scratch has depending on been delivered. the amount of available food. Our group’s own scent markings demarcate their range’s boundaries, but the effect that this has goes much further than a mere statement of ‘get off my land’. This is chemical warfare that can prevent breeding and, in some cases, even cause death – slowly and painfully. If that sounds extreme, it’s worth remembering that the pheromones that the dominant female produces can prevent her younger or less-dominant sibling from becoming ready to mate. The looming chemical threat of another dominant female wafting into our family’s territory could cause the sense of impending danger. Tamarin mothers are known to eat their young babies in the presence of such threats, but if this happens to our female, she won’t become fertile again until the scent is gone. If they’re unable to move away from others from outside their group, the pied tamarins release massive amounts of the stress hormone cortisol. Produced in the adrenal cortex, cortisol breaks down muscle tissue to release energy for ‘fight or flight’ responses. It also halts digestion and even the immune system. In small amounts this function is essential to survival, but if prolonged by the inescapable presence of other tamarins it can cause a condition known as Wasting Marmoset Syndrome (WMS). WMS was discovered when zoos and rescue centres tried to keep tamarins from different groups together – they literally stressed one another to death. Thankfully studies have led to much better awareness of just how territorial these gangs of petit primates really are. If we go back to Manaus, we’ll find another intruder to the pied tamarins’ habitat – humans. Where city meets forest, they scent-mark power lines instead of vines, live on tower-blocks instead of treetops and learn to avoid automobiles instead of anacondas. Despite all of these new challenges, pied tamarins refuse to leave their home territory, often hanging around building sites as land is converted. For this reason and more, we can truly call the pied tamarin nature’s most territorial.

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Zebras: strength in numbers

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ZEBRAS

STRENGTH IN

NUMBERS How the social structure of a tight-knit family wards off threats Words Laura Mears

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Zebras: strength in numbers Zebras are loyal and feisty and their social bonds help them to survive against even the most challenging of predators. To an outside observer, the creatures all look quite similar, but there are actually three distinct species, each with its own unique appearance, habitat and lifestyle. The plains zebra dominates the African savannah, amassing in herds thousands of animals strong during the wet season. The larger Grevy’s zebra lives in the dry and dusty semi-deserts of Kenya, where groups travel for days on end in search of water. The portly little mountain zebras teeter in small clusters on hillsides, climbing to altitudes up to 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) above sea level. Marwell Wildlife, in the United Kingdom, breeds all three species and has been heavily involved in Grevy’s zebra conservation for the last ten years. In collaboration with University of Southampton, Marwell currently has a permanent research team based at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. We spoke with Katherine Edwards, one of Marwell’s keepers, and a student of Marwell and the University of Southampton, Laura Pratt, to learn more about the social ties that keep these amazing animals together. “The plains and mountain zebra species form harems,” Pratt explains. “In a harem, one male associates with a group of females and is the only one who gets to mate with them. Within these harem groups, hierarchies exist among the females, but the stallion is usually the top animal.” Stallions without a harem collect together in bachelor groups and must work to earn their own females, either by challenging an established male, or building up a family from scratch by attracting foals as they mature. However, once a stallion has won his prize, he becomes a dedicated leader and an attentive father. The male will go to great

Life in the harem Run by a single alpha male, the societal laws of zebra communities makes for the strongest bonds on Earth

Stallion A single male is in charge of the harem and has exclusive mating rights to all of the females.

Bachelor males Male zebras without their own harems gather together in large groups. Male challenger A male wishing to establish his own harem must steal females from other stallions. Some choose to make a direct challenge.

Senior mare The dominant female leads the group, and walks in front when the family is on the move.

Female foal When female foals mature, they rarely stay with their family unit and are seduced away by young males.

Foals Foals inherit the rank of their mother, gaining the same priority access to food and water.

Family unity Family units gather to drink and graze, but harems stick together. If a female goes missing, the male will use his call to find her.

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Male foal When male foals reach maturity, they leave the family group to join a bachelor group, before establishing their own harem.

lengths to protect his family, slowing the pace of the group to allow young foals to keep up. He will also always be on the lookout for rivals, shielding his family from attacks by other males. Herds of zebra might appear chaotic and completely disorganised to the casual observer, but in among the sea of stripes strict order is constantly being maintained. Herds only come together briefly and if harems lose track of one another, the consequences could be grave. To avoid losing one another the females follow a strict hierarchy and move together as a group. The lead mare takes the front position, while the others in rank order follow behind her. The stallion brings up the rear, keeping a close eye on the whole herd. This intricate hierarchy is based on the order in which each zebra joined the group, with those higher in rank getting access to the best grazing. They are also allowed the first drink at the watering hole, with the lower-ranked individuals following in respectfully. At Marwell, there are four Hartmann’s mountain zebras, but even in such a small group the struggle for dominance is very apparent. As a zookeeper, Edwards regularly spots conflict. “Our two youngest females don’t get on and most of the fighting happens because one of them wants to move up in the hierarchy,” she explains. “It does switch occasionally, if one of them isn’t feeling great, or is having a bad day, and then it will switch back again once they’ve had another altercation.” This kind of social pecking order might seem unfair on the lowest-ranked individuals, but it’s actually a very efficient survival strategy. The plains and mountain zebras both inhabit environments where food and water are relatively close together, even during the dry season. This

Rival males will oen fight during the mating season to establish dominance

Stripes of the savannah How each individual zebra’s unique pattern helps it blend

Optical illusion

Stripes in the herd blur the outline of individuals making it more difficult for predators to focus on one animal and hunt it down.

Unique stripes

Even within the same species, the actual stripes vary between individuals, and are as unique as a human fingerprint.

Outline disruption Distinctive patterning

The plains zebra, in particular, have very wide and widely spaced stripes, and often have shadow stripes in between.

The striped colouration of the zebra might seem conspicuous, but in the shade the stripes mimic the shadows cast by the Sun.

“The Grevy’s zebra is the largest of the three species and lives in an arid landscape where water sources are low” means that females do not always need to compete for resources and can band together under a common cause; by living under the protection of a single dominant male, groups of females maximize their chances of raising their young to adulthood. Unfortunately not all zebra species are lucky enough to live in areas with such plentiful food and water. The Grevy’s zebra is the largest of the three species, and lives

BELOW When grouped together, the iconic stripes become doubly effective, obscuring and distorting the herd

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Zebras: strength in numbers in an arid landscape where water sources can be days apart. While working on the project, Pratt spent time in Kenya observing the behaviour of these adaptable animals. “Grevy's zebra have a reasonably fluid social structure,” she explains. “The groups are not fixed in size; larger aggregations of individuals tend to happen at night, and then they disperse more during the day. “Females that do not have a foal tend to form herds together and move a lot throughout the environment, Pratt continues. “They will sometimes join with bachelor herds, or with females and their foals, but these associations are transient.” Resources are far apart and although these large zebras are able to go several days without water, they need to keep moving if they want to find food. When a female gives birth to a foal, however, it’s more difficult for her to travel. Especially when they are newly born, foals cannot walk too far and must remain within half a day’s distance of water. This scenario would put a plains zebra stallion in a difficult position – he would be risking the survival of the entire harem by stopping to allow the foal to drink – but Grevy’s males have a different strategy. Instead of forming a permanent family, these stallions secure a large territory close by to a water source. The best spots are defended vigorously, and as the females move through in search of food, or to find water for their young, the male seizes the opportunity to mate. During her time in Kenya, Pratt witnessed this behaviour first hand: “Territorial males will mate with any female entering

their territory and will chase off any other males. I saw one individual chase a young juvenile male out of a female group we were observing – a rather abrupt end to his childhood with mum!”. In captivity the laid-back social structure of the Grevy’s is evident, but without the pressures of the harsh African environment, the animals are able to enjoy one another’s company long-term. Keeper Edwards says that the animals are a bit of a handful at Marwell. “The Grevy’s zebras are actually remarkably calm all of the time, but they are very naughty – they always try to go where they’re not allowed,” she explains. “When they go out, we have to make sure that the gate to the waterbuck house is shut first, because if it’s not, they will sneak in. All you have to do is stick your head around the door – they know they’re not allowed to be there.” Zebras are tough, adaptable, sociable animals, and their blackand-white stripes are icons of the African savannah. Thanks to the continued work of wildlife conservation efforts focusing on species like the Grevy’s zebra, steps are being taken to help protect these sociable animals and their family bonds.

BELOW Because foals initially run at a much slower pace, adults will oen slow down to protect their young

© Corbis, Thinkstock

“In captivity, the laid-back social structure of the Grevy’s zebra is evident”

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Mysteries of the narwhal

72

MYSTERIES OF THE Discover the secrets of these wondrous betusked behemoths living in the icy waters beneath the Northern Lights

Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures/FLPA

Words Ella Carter-Sutton

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Mysteries of the narwhal In the deep, cool waters of the frozen Arctic Circle lives an elusive creature that has long been the stuff of legend. Piercing the glassy surface of the waves, a giant needlelike tusk charges skyward, spiralling through the spray. Another follows this, and another, until the ocean’s icestrewn seascape is a pincushion of gently swirling spears. This display can only belong to one animal: a mottledgrey, ocean-going beast that is unique in the animal kingdom in so many different ways – the narwhal. Growing to around four to five metres (13.2 to 16.4 feet) in length with elegantly fluked tails, and living to around 50 years of age, narwhals are cetaceans, belonging to the same group as dolphins and porpoises. “They are Arctic whales,” explains Dr Martin Nweeia of Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences. Dr Nweeia is the principal investigator for Narwhal Tusk Research, and he and his team have been studying these whales for over 14 years. This colossal tusk is what makes the narwhal look like nothing else in the ocean. Long, slender and with an anti-clockwise spiralling pattern that extends right to the tip, this is the very thing that has placed these marine mammals in the realms of fairytale and whimsy. The sword-like tusk is actually an overgrown tooth that protrudes out of the whale’s lip, made of similar stuff to our own pearly whites. “The narwhal has eight pairs of teeth that could form,” Dr Nweeia tells us. “But six of those [pairs] are genetically silenced at birth.” This means that they simply don’t ever develop. One set forms the tusks. “In the female [those teeth] typically are embedded in the bone, so they remain. You don’t see them, but they’re there. In the male the one on the right is embedded and the one on the left characteristically forms as the tusk. That being said, there are different expressions. Some whales can have two tusks. Some males may not have a

tusk and some females can have a tusk.” In the middle ages, narwhal tusks were thought to be able to cure ailments, possibly because they were touted and sold as mythical unicorn horns. It’s rumoured that in the 16th century Queen Elizabeth I purchased a narwhal tusk for £10,000 – the price equivalent of a whole castle. Theories behind the use of the tusk include spearing fish, regulating temperature, breaking ice, defending their young and as a dominance display in social hierarchies. “The most general one that is accepted, and still has validity, is that it’s a secondary sexual characteristic,” continues Dr Nweeia. This is a feature that distinguishes the sexes, but isn’t directly used in reproduction. Mostly male narwhals develop the tusk, so this is why the explanation fits well. Dr Nweeia and his team put tusk samples under the microscope to shed new light on their structure and function – what they found was staggering. Although the tusk can be all of the things suggested by many other scientists – a secondary sexual characteristic, a tool for defence or poking, a tool to break ice – there is one other job accomplished by the tusk that is far more important above all others. “This tusk is a giant sensor. It has the capability of understanding its ocean environment. That

ABOVE The team had to study the reactions of narwhals to certain stimuli to test the purpose of their tusks

NARWHAL

Monodon monoceros Class Mammalia

Territory Arctic circle Diet Carnivore Lifespan 50 years Adult weight 1,600kg / 3,500lbs Conservation status

NEAR THREATENED

“In the 16th century Queen Elizabeth I purchased a narwhal tusk for £10,000” 74

Narwhals

How the tusk works

Far more than an overgrown tooth, the narwhal’s tusk is actually a highly receptive sensory organ, guiding the creature through the icy waters Spiral pattern All narwhal tusks spiral anti-clockwise, but scientists still don’t know why this is.

Cementum This calcified substance that covers the entire tusk is usually very tough, but in the narwhal it contains less mineral content and is flexible.

Peripulpal layer A unique feature in narwhal tusks, this layer is where the nerve cells that take information to the brain connect to the sensory tubules.

External conditions Thousands of tubule openings on the surface of the tusk ar continually exposed to seawater and everything ontained within it. Dentine This strong layer of the tusk contains protein, minerals and is also punctuated by millions of sensory tubules.

Sensing cells At the base of the tubule, these cells detect the changes and properties of the water near the tusk’s surface.

Tubule openings As many as 10 million tub les run from the centre of the tusk to the surface.

Nerve network Nerve cells contained within the middle of the tusk relay the information from the tusk to the brain.

Pulp This part of the tusk contains the nerve cells that transfer the sensory signals to the narwhal’s brain, enabling it to effectively read its environment.

ABOVE A microscopic view of the tubules on a narwhal tusk at 1,000x magnification strength

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Mysteries of the narwhal was a critical piece because no one has really ever looked at this aspect, as a sensory organ.” When they examined the tusk up close, Dr Nweeia and his team found tiny tubes, known as tubules that run from the tusk’s nerve-rich core right through to the outer shell. These tubules are exposed to the seawater and send signals down the tubes, concerning the composition of the seawater, and what is in it, to special cells at the bottom. These cells process the information and pass it to the nerves, which then take this data up the tusk to the narwhal’s brain. In order to test this theory, the team travelled to the Arctic Circle to gather data from wild narwhal subjects. Dr Nweeia takes us through his technique for testing the sensitivity of the tusk: “After the narwhal was brought to shore, we would cover a half-metre section of the tusk with the tusk jacket and attach the heart- and brainmonitoring equipment to the whale. This was to observe brain and heart rate activity while we stimulated the tusk with solutions. Inside the tusk jacket, we would inject solutions of alternating high salt and fresh water, while monitoring the whale’s reaction.” This typically took around 20 minutes, with minimal stress on the whale. “On any field expedition, we would catch and release about five to eight whales to enable sufficient samples to be analysed,” Dr Nweeia continues. While working in the field, the team also gathered traditional knowledge from the people who know the narwhal most intimately, the Inuit of Nunavut. As the only permitted hunters of the narwhal, Inuit elders have grown to know the movements of these cetaceans incredibly well. Sharing this knowledge was essential to understanding the subtleties of narwhal behaviour and to dispel the myths about these fascinating whales. For example, the Inuit were able to tell Dr Nweeia another interesting reason for the narwhals to visit the inlets of Hudson Bay during the summer. “Narwhals come to these inlets to molt,” he says. “It has never been witnessed by scientists, since the hunters describe the molting to be a gauze-like layer that quickly dissipates in the water, unlike the beluga molt that’s heavier and much easier to observe.” A molt is when the whale sheds its outer layer of skin, and the fact that narwhals do this may never have come to light if it weren’t for the indigenous Inuit people sharing their experiences with Dr Nweeia and the other scientists.

Another shocking discovery that Dr Nweeia himself admits truly surprised him was a piece of information shared by local Inuit hunters. “When you typically see [narwhal tusks], they are dried out, so they’re quite rigid,” he begins. “We were talking to a lot of elders and hunters about whales and insights were passed on to us. The information from them was critical. They would tell us that when these whales swim, this [tusk] is movable. It can actually flex back and forth.” Dr Nweeia says, “Quite honestly when I looked at that, as a scientist, I thought ‘I don’t think so.’” After looking into it a little further, the team found this was the case, and the narwhal’s tusk is a flexible organ. “I found it hard to believe!” reveals Dr Nweeia. “They hypothesised that a 2.7-metre (ninefoot) section of tusk had the capability of going 0.3 metres (one foot) in any direction. Which shocked us all!” Dr Nweeia and his team were able to prove that the tusk is far more than just a toothy outgrowth, and is an essential sensory organ that could change the way we understand narwhals and their behaviour forever.

ABOVE Though no one is entirely certain of the full use of the narwhal tusks, they also feature in fights between rivals

How animals use their tusks

Elephant

These tusks are actually elongated incisors, present in both males and females. They’re used for numerous tasks, including clearing paths, digging for water or roots and fighting between rivals.

76

Walrus

Walrus tusks are elongated canine teeth that never stop growing. They can reach up to a metre (three feet) and are used for breaking through sea ice or hauling themselves onto the shore.

Hippo

Inside these gigantic jaws, the canine tusks can grow up to 50 centimetres (20 inches). Not famed for being the friendliest animals, hippos can use their tusks to fight with other males.

Babirusa pig

This wild boar grows two sets of tusks. The upper canines grow up through the skin of the snout from the inside. If the tusks aren’t ground down, they can curve around to touch the forehead.

Narwhals

Never giving up: the man behind the research

What were the conflicting ideas that made you want to clarify the role of the tusk? Well there’s about every theory you can imagine to explain them, but the most general one that is accepted, and still has validity by the way, is that it’s a secondary sexual characteristic. Certainly there’s nothing wrong with that, but [it] only explains a certain level of understanding… Rather than just kind of pushing it off, one has to think: ‘Why make this decision as an animal? What in evolution decided to go this route?’

Do we know whether or not narwhals act in the same way as other cetaceans? They are very social like beluga. Narwhals have a large vocal range and they also have a strong social network. Certainly in the work that we’re doing, we do brief capture and release of whales, and we have both a veterinarian and often go with the VP of the Vancouver aquarium… Both of these people are very sensitive to aspects of social interaction, because typically they do work with belugas a lot. Interestingly enough, if in our catch and release programme we catch one member of a family, the team is very sensitive to the fact that often other members of the family will stick around until their partner comes back.

Where did you start with dispelling the myth of the mysterious narwhal tusk? It was certainly a long process, but my starting point was very distinct for me. I made an appointment with James Mead, then the curator of marine mammals at the Smithsonian Museum – regarded as one of the most prominent marine mammal anatomists in the world today… I remember at a distinct point of the conversation when I had questioned the function of this tusk, he looked at me and he said: ‘Oh I thought this was pretty well understood as a secondary sexual characteristic, like the peacock feather and the lion mane,’ and I remember looking at him directly… I said: ‘Yeah and nobody knows

what those do either!’ I could see him smile, because in the moment there was an understanding that, whatever you study and whatever you look at in life, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a tusk or a personal relationship of any other attribute of life, your level of really understanding something is really only proportional to your curiosity.

Not all narwhals have tusks, so how do we know which individual gets one? We are actually doing a large genetic study at the moment… The thing that we found in our most recent paper is that this tusk is a giant sensor – it has the capability of understanding its ocean environment. That was a critical piece because no one has really ever looked at this aspect, as a sensory organ. It may have significance in terms of sexual selection… it may help determine the fitness of the species, so for example if the tusk senses certain kinds of fish that would be important for newborn calves to have, that would demonstrate fitness to the female, so those kinds of things. But likewise, there still may be a social hierarchy standpoint. People have hypothesised that while the secondary sexual characteristic is used so males can fight it out for who gets the female, but nobody has ever witnessed on a common level any aggression between males. It’s been hypothesised, but it’s [only rarely] been seen [and] when it has been seen it’s very isolated. You could see a rogue male going off and doing something but it’s not typical in the species to do that. The last thing you want to do is break that tusk.

BELOW Scientists have to be careful to cause as little distress to the animals as possible as they do tests

© Corbis, Getty, Thinkstock, Glenn Williams, Narwhal Tusk Research; Joseph Meehan, Doc White, Gretchen Freund, Isabelle Croc, Anthony Giusepetti, Kevin Hand

With a background studying particular characteristics and features of animals and humans, as well as a clear passion for the narwhal, expert and scientist Dr. Martin Nweeia took a fresh approach to the mystery of the whale’s tusk. Having studied the creatures for some 14 years, he has a new light to shed on the unusual-looking creature

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Diversity of dogs

WOLVES

WILD DOGS

SPANIELS

TERRIERS

WORKING NORTHERN

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HERDING DOGS

COLLIES

RETRIEVER

DIVERSITY

DOGS OF

TOY

Dogs are arguably among the most important creatures for humans. As well as making wonderful pets, their amazing skills have shaped mankind like no other animal Words David Crookes

GUARD

SCENT HOUNDS

SIGHT HOUNDS

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Diversity of dogs Picture the scene: you’re at the local park, it’s a beautiful morning. Dog-walkers are taking their beloved hounds for a stroll and a play. If there is one thing that strikes the casual observer more than anything else, it’s the sheer diversity of the beautiful canines that are dashing about in the open air. Some are big, some small. Some are fat, some thin. Some look friendly, some fierce. No other animal on Earth has anywhere near the same diverse range as dogs and, while they may share common attributes, these highly energetic bundles of joy are categorised into a whopping 400 different types. With such a diverse range, could it be true that they all directly descended from one specific species? Popular scientific consensus suggests that all dogs are descended from the grey wolf in east Asia, at the dawn of the Ice Age. This was a time when humans were enjoying the spoils of new advances in communication, materials and agriculture, and were starting to live in close-knit settlements. This was a byproduct of the colder weather, which was diminishing numbers of large herbivores and therefore cutting food supplies for mankind. The benefit of owning a dog or having one around became apparent to humans some 15,000 years ago – the time when domestic dogs came into existence. What makes this relationship all the more remarkable is that dogs have only been pets for a relatively short period of time. It became fashionable for women in Victorian England to own miniature dogs – or toy dogs, as they came to be known – and the idea of having these animals around the house stuck, rapidly gathering momentum to such a degree that, today, there are eight million dogs in the UK alone.

Exactly how these lovable canines descended from the grey wolf is a subject of much debate. With the wolves drawn closer by the abundance of food, one theory suggests that humans took in wolf pups from birth, nurturing and eventually taming them. Another idea proposes that the wolves got out of the habit of hunting due to the rich pickings in easy reach and so became tamer of their own accord. Both theories are actually contradicted by scientists from the University of Chicago, who in January 2014 said that the earliest dogs lived among hunter-gathers well before agricultural life took hold. However, what we do know is that domesticated dogs, with human intervention, have diversified to a large degree and their immense modern-day range is fairly astounding. As well as domestic dogs, the grey wolf is also an ancestor of wild dogs. The dingo, for example, has a wolf-like, nighttime howl, but dog-like features. It’s found in Australia and south-east Asia, roaming grasslands, forests and deserts either on its own or in packs of around ten. It hunts smaller animals but munches on fruit when it cannot find prey and it also displays a dominance hierarchy. The dominant male and female successfully breed, leaving the rest of the pack to help rear the pups. For truly wild dogs, on the other hand, we turn to the African and the Indian wild dogs, the latter also known as the dhole. African wild dogs roam in packs of up to 40 animals across sub-Saharan Africa, rushing at prey at up to 55 kilometres (34 miles) per hour. They are unafraid of larger animals and will often attack them, jumping into the air and sinking their teeth into the body, cutting them down as they run. The dhole, meanwhile, roams south and south-east Asia in packs, with a lead male at

“Scientific consensus suggests that all dogs are descended from the grey wolf in east Asia, at the dawn of the Ice Age”

GREY WOLF Canis lupus

Class Mammalia

Territory Northernmost North America, Asia, Middle East Diet Carnivore Lifespan 6-8 years Adult weight 79kg/ 175lbs Conservation status

LEAST CONCERN

Fact or fiction? Dog myths debunked From falsely thinking they’re colour-blind to believing everything in cartoons, there are many myths surrounding dogs Seven dog years are equal to one human year Even if you take the average lifespan of a dog to be 15 years old, at times seven you would be looking to equate it to a 105-year-old human. The development of a dog doesn’t equate equally to a human (they become full adults at 18 months, ) and so the comparison doesn’t stand up.

DINGO

Canis lupus dingo Class Mammalia

Territory Australia and southeast Asia Diet Carnivore Lifespan 10 years Adult weight 20kg / 44lbs Conservation status

VULNERABLE

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Dogs detest cats A dog’s wagging tail can appear threatening to a cat, causing it to scarper. This puts a dog on alert and instincts kick in, making the dog act aggressively. In many households around the world cats and dogs that have grown up together live in peaceful harmony – in some cases the cat gets the upper hand. Dogs feel guilty if you catch them tearing up your duvet Experts believe dogs are merely expressing fear, understanding that you are not happy. If the incident happened hours before you seek confession from the culprit, it will wonder why you are angry and will not equate what it has done to cause your current state of displeasure.

Dogs It’s thought that all dogs are direct descendants of the grey wolf

Three breeds that changed the world Dogs have a daily impact on our lives, but some breeds have saved lives, given hope and changed the ways humans operate American pit bull terriers helped win WWI Used in warfare for centuries, dogs came into their own in WWI. The most-decorated war dog was Sergeant Stubby who, as well as acting as a comfort for soldiers, was sensitive to the smell of gas. He would alert troops, saving many lives. In WW2, the Russians strapped bombs to dogs and sent them under German tanks, but today they’re used to detect explosives in war zones and elsewhere. Labradors guide blind and partially sighted people It’s said that guide dogs were first used in the middle of the 16th century, but the first training schools opened in Germany in the midst of WWI, aiding soldiers who had been blinded on the battlefields. Other countries saw the good work being done and adopted similar programmes. Today dogs are also trained to help in other medical matters. Studies continue to test dogs’ ability to sniff out cancer in humans. Springer spaniels can search for and rescue trapped people Many human lives have been saved thanks to search and rescue dogs. In 2009, Devon and Cornwall Police began to train springer spaniels, believing them to be less frightening than the German shepherds they had traditionally deployed. Able to use human scent, the dogs indicate to their handlers if they pick up a trail. Spaniels are also used to track and trail, using their strong sense of smell.

the front. They have adapted well to their environment and are able to swim, jump and run, making a whistle sound to communicate as well as loud screams. They are also able to group different packs together, to exploit even better hunting opportunities. Certain dogs display specific characteristics, making their breed renowned for almost human-like characteristics: fearsomeness, loyalty, friendliness and good (or bad) temperaments. Some prefer the easy life and some are braver than others. Take feisty terrier breeds, for instance. They are typically full of energy, fearless and, despite their relatively small size, they will not hesitate to yap at anything larger that crosses their path. Before they became pets, they were primarily bred to hunt solo, catching rats, rabbits and foxes on farms in order to control populations. Terriers retain this fighting spirit today, which is why they tend to be tenacious and brave, as well as very willing to say an unfriendly hello to other dogs that walk past them in the street. At the same time, a terrier’s instinct to hunt remains strong, often causing it to burrow into gardens, creating a minefield of holes and mounds. In doing so, the dog is simply trying to flush out the animals they were once expected to catch and the impulse remains a fundamental part of their make-up. Meanwhile, Doberman pinschers are very territorial creatures by nature and it’s because of this trait they were often chosen to act as effective guard dogs at the end

of the 19th century. With a natural instinct to defend their owners, their medium-sized muscular bodies have evolved to ensure that most threats are dispelled at first glance. As you’d expect from their name, sighthounds make most effective use of their brilliant eyesight. Once they spot their prey, there’s no stopping them. Whether they’re a greyhound, whippet, Afghan hound, Irish wolfhound or saluki, their field of vision is incredible. Whereas humans can see a field of 180 degrees and an average dog can see around 250, the greyhound can view at up to 270 degrees. A combination of speed, agility, as well as longer, dolichocephalic skulls, makes them the perfect surveillance animal. Speaking of eyesight, if you thought dogs were colour-blind, think again, as it has also been found that they can see in colour. Researchers from the Laboratory of Sensory Processing at the Russian Academy of Sciences found dogs have two cones of nerves, whereas humans have three. Dogs, it has been discovered, can distinguish blue and yellow but, unlike humans, cannot identify red

BELOW Irish red setters were traditionally used as gun dogs, retrieving dead birds shot from the sky

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and green shades, so they could look like hazy shades of grey. Eyes are not the only great sense dogs possess, though. They also famously have African wild dogs a superior sense of share many similar smell. Not only are they features with our able to find a scent that domesticated friends is up to two weeks old, their strong noses are actually 1,000 times more powerful than a human’s, with tens of millions of sensory receptors. To take an example, humans have six million such sites, but this pales into insignificance when compared with the 200 million in a sheepdog’s nose. As you might expect, smell is particularly important for scent hounds, as they primarily use their noses rather than their eyes when hunting. A bloodhound has 300 million sensory receptors inside its nose in line with that of other scent hounds, from the beagle and basset hounds to the dachshunds and otterhounds. There is, however, another characteristic that boosts the smelling power of such dogs: their ears. Scent hounds also usually have long, floppy ears that droop down the sides of their face, but they actually serve a great purpose. The ears of a Basset hound or bloodhound sweep the ground, so the scent particles they pick up are wafted towards their nose, while underneath the chin is a small flap of skin that traps the scent. As they run around, nose to the ground, they are able to remember a scent and follow it to its conclusion. Sometimes scent hounds will sniff into the air for a scent – a trick the bloodhound is great at – again trapping the smell for reference. This plethora of different traits, habits and features makes it hard to accept the fact that all dogs are of the same species. Tiny Chihuahuas are related to old English sheepdogs, both of which are, in turn, related to Rottweilers and pugs, and so it goes on. Each dog brings something different to the table that makes them rather unique, and even useful. One thing that binds them all, though, is their upbringing. Dogs follow the same pattern of rearing their puppies, across all breeds: the mother tends to influence the puppy to the greatest degree in the first two weeks

after birth. She will rarely leave her puppies other than to feed, and will, if left alone, feed them on regurgitated food for around four weeks and teach them the basics of hunting. During this time, puppies begin to find their feet – and their often noisy voice – as they start to play. It’s little wonder, then, that dogs have been revered in culture past and present. Their diverse nature fuels the belief that there is a dog out there for any number of situations and occurrences, so humans have utilised this – not without controversy. The Victorians bred them for carefully chosen physical characteristics and breeding in this way still goes on, mixing the most desirable attributes of one dog with the best of another. As a result, the number of breeds rose tenfold from just 40 prior to the 19th century to more than 400 today. Despite this close connection with humans, dogs still retain much of their wolf-like origins. They apply their pack mentality, moving and living in groups, to humans and other dogs, with the human owner taking place as the alpha leader. It may seem that they are entirely reliant on us and couldn’t survive in the wild alone, but given the companionship and practical assistance the hundreds of breeds offer us all over the world on a daily basis, we’re almost just as reliant on them.

DOBERMAN PINSCHER

Canis lupus familiaris Class Mammalia

Territory Global Diet Carnivore Lifespan 10-13 years Adult weight 41kg / 90lbs Conservation status

NOT EVALUATED

Puppies are reliant on their mothers for only a couple of weeks and by the end of 18 months they are fully grown

“The number of breeds rose tenfold from just 40 prior to the 19th century to more than 400”

© Corbis, Getty, Thinkstock

BELOW Though there are over 400 breeds of dog in the world, they all have more in common than it may seem

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Animal answers

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Send your animal questions to us at:

[email protected]

What determines a ladybird’s spots? Helen Barker It’s a common misconception that ladybirds’ spots are an indication of their age. In the UK there are currently 46 different types of ladybirds are usually named after the number of spots they have on their backs. The most-common ladybird in Europe is the seven-spot ladybird, which features seven black spots on its red back. However, not all ladybirds have spots, as some may sport stripes, patches or patterns, while others could have no marks on their backs at all. The main reason ladybugs have bright patterns and spots is to warn predators of their foul taste. Although the insects aren’t generally poisonous as such, this bright display is a pretty nifty way of telling predators to think again before attacking.

RIGHT Ladybirds come in a variety of patterns and colours

Which animals are at the bottom of the food chain?

How do starfish reproduce? Amy White Reproduction can happen in different ways for the starfish. Most of the time, when it comes to sowing their seeds, starfish gather in large groups and ready themselves for a mass ejection of sperm and eggs out into the water. This is where fertilisation takes place, although not every egg will get lucky. During a season of breeding, female starfish can release millions of eggs over a period of time. Once the eggs have been fertilised, the adult starfish usually protects them before they’re released into the ocean. Starfish can also reproduce by fragmentation, which happens when an arm of a starfish gets detached from its body and regenerates into a new starfish.

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Simon Wakefield Animals at the lower echelons of the food chain are usually very small, such as rodents and insects, but this category can also include deer and turtles, which are all herbivores and known as primary consumers. If we go even further down the food chain, we encounter crustaceans and other animals known as zooplankton, which includes krill. These creatures swim in massive swarms and survive by eating tiny algae called phytoplankton. These tiny krill are in turn eaten by the blue whale – the biggest animal on Earth!

@WorldAnimalsMag

worldofanimalsmag

Animals answers BELOW Certain creatures, such as the whiptail lizard, don’t need separate genders to reproduce

What are coatis related to? Martin Whittam Coatis are part of the raccoon family of mammals and comprise of four main species: South-American, white-nosed, eastern mountain and western mountain coati. Their tails can grow to become longer than their bodies, and in the wild they can live for up to eight years.

Compared with raccoons, coatis have longer and pointier muzzles, but raccoons are generally larger. Coatis also have bear-like paws for hunting and they’ll rummage for insects and fruit with help from their long noses. Coatis

have also been known to feed on larger animals, such as mice and frogs. Females stay together in groups known as bands, which can form up to 30 coatis at any time. When a male is born into a band, he stays with it for two years, before heading out to survive alone.

How do leeches suck blood? Helen Barker Leeches have up to 300 teeth that they use to attach themselves to a surface or host. These bloodsuckers are actually very harmless, and if you ever find one on your skin you probably won’t feel it’s there. This is because leeches release an anaesthetic as they bite, as well as an anticoagulant to improve the flow of blood around the area being sucked. Leeches have been used in medicine for these particular beneficial reasons. After a leech has had its fill, it doesn’t hold on, but releases

its teeth, leaving a small wound that may become irritant. Leeches are mostly found in rainforests and around freshwater, within the foliage and debris. Not all types of the creature survive on blood, but those that do find their host using their sense of smell or through vibration. To release a sucking leech from the surface of your skin, use a fingernail to ease its mouth away from the area. If a leech becomes damaged or burned while it’s being removed, it could regurgitate while still attached and cause an unpleasant infection.

Why do some species not mate? Sarah Young As strange as it may sound, there are some animals on the planet that don’t require a partner to reproduce. This type of asexual reproduction is known as parthenogenesis, where an unfertilised egg will develop into an offspring, be it a clone of its mother or a slightly different version due to cell division. The word parthenogenesis translates as virgin birth (of Greek origin), and can occur in populations consisting primarily of females. Some species that produce offspring this way include the cape bee, freshwater snails, scorpions and even some birds. Some species of shark are also capable of reproducing by parthenogenesis, whereby the offspring will likely, if not always, be female. The whiptail lizard doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter, as its species is an allfemale one.

Q. How

LEFT You should first pry away the thin end of the leech, which is the oral sucker

many species of cat are there?

Find out at…

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Animal answers [email protected] Highest ranked

Richard Early These names help to identify and tell us how animals are related to one another. A genus is a grouping of species that are closely related, while a species is a group of animals in that genus that are similar to one another. This is more easily understood when you look at the scientific names of animals, which are made up of two parts. The first tells us the genus of the animal, while the second relates to the species, and in some cases subspecies. For example, a tiger’s scientific name is Panthera tigris. A family consists of more than one genus. Humans and gorillas are in the same family (called hominidae) but are separated by a different genus (Homo for humans, and Gorilla for the gorilla). There are also classes, which are then categorised into orders. So, take humans: our class is mammal and our order is primate. Monkeys are in the same order, primate, but fall into a different family. Subspecies rank animals even further into classification, relating to where they live and how they appear different.

The hierarchy of animal classification KINGDOM SUB-KINGDOM PHYLUM SUB-PHYLUM CLASS SUB-CLASS

How do pythons digest their kills?

ORDER SUB-ORDER FAMILY SUB-FAMILY GENUS Lowest ranked

What’s the meaning of family, species and genus?

SUB-GENUS SPECIES SUBSPECIES

Jon Lander Pythons can go weeks and even months on end without eating. This is mainly due to their ability to swallow meals whole (skin, bones, hair, the lot), which means the process of digestion takes a whole lot longer than other animals. As a constrictor snake, the python squeezes every last breath out of its prey, then as soon as it begins to swallow, its organs kick into gear. The metabolism of a python speeds up rapidly to break down flesh and bone with a concoction of strong digestive enzymes. Pythons are such ferocious eaters that they can easily consume an animal that’s 70 to 100 per cent their own body weight, including gazelles and even entire crocodiles. The snakes are able to do this with the help of a jaw that dislocates wide enough to gulp the animal in its entirety. Pythons have been seen swallowing crocodiles, but rupturing at the seams because of the crocodile’s size.

As well as fiercely aggressive, hippos are also extremely territorial

ABOVE Wolves are among the most territorial creatures on Earth

Which animals are the most territorial? Sammy Foster Territorial animals can be found throughout the animal kingdom, both on land and in the sea. The northern goshawk exhibits serious territorial behaviour and no two nests of breeding pairs have been found closer than a kilometre (0.6 miles) from each other.

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Wolves are another example of a highly territorial animal, living in packs to support pups and young adults. Holding a territory is key for the survival of the pack, as it’s here that the wolves form their hunting ground. It has been known for wolves to secure thousands of square miles as their own.

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You may think of hippos as slow and unaware animals, but they’re actually very territorial and can react suddenly if threatened. They can run at speeds of up to 32 kilometres (20 miles) per hour and although they spend most of their time in the water, hippos can’t actually swim.

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Animals answers

How do bears hibernate?

Bears use ingenious methods to avoid being poisoned by their own faeces and urine

Darren Lake Black bears don’t require any food during their state of inactivity and can last for months on end without needing to eat, defecate or even urinate. To avoid high levels of poisonous substances building up inside them, bears have a unique method of recycling waste. The nitrogen produced from using up fatty reserves (gathered from the summer and autumn months) is converted into healthy, new proteins and amino acids, which they use for restoring lost muscle and organ tissue. Black bears can also wake up out of hibernation much quicker than other animals, with their strength still intact. In fact, the question of whether they actually hibernate is still out in the open. This is because they don’t enter a deep state of hibernation with a dramatic decrease of body temperature and breathing rates, like most animals. In the winter months, a black bear’s body temperature will only reduce by around 10 to 12 degrees, which is small compared with the ground squirrel that can drop its core body temperature to just below freezing. Not all bears hibernate like this, as polar bears stay active all year round.

What’s the difference between horses and ponies?

Do fish actually go to sleep? Henry Nash Chances are you’ve never seen a fish sleep, because they don’t slumber like humans do, so it’s not immediately noticeable. When fish get some rest, they go into a state of suspended animation rather than sleep. This might only be for short periods at a time, and is performed at any point of the day. One telling sign that a fish might be resting, is when it’s at the bottom of the seabed, or the base of a fish tank.

Louise Cole There are the obvious visual differences when we think of how a pony compares with a horse, but it’s wrong to consider a pony just a smaller version of the species. Ponies have thicker manes and coats, and most have broader heads, bodies and shorter legs. However, there are some horses that are just as short as ponies, such as the falabella species, which is one of the smallest breeds of horse in the world. Ponies and horses are both from the same species, as both are classed as equines, but when it comes to behaviour and temperaments they are somewhat divided. Ponies have calmer temperaments, which makes handling them better suited for children. Being more amiable and understanding makes ponies much easier to ride for younger children as well.

Q. Do peacocks have any predators? Find out at…

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Animal answers [email protected] What are horns made from and how are they produced? Andy King Animal horns are made up of much the same material as your fingernails and toenails. They comprise of a bony centre, which is what connects it to the skull. A coating of keratin (also found in hair and nails) keeps the core protected. Because horns are permanent fixtures, they can’t be shed or regrown throughout the animal’s lifetime – unlike antlers on other animals such as deer. Examples of animals with horns include rhinos, buffalo and the Texas longhorn, with horns that can extend up to 2.1 metres (seven feet) from tip to tip. Giraffes also have horns called ossicones, which are covered by skin and hair and are boney protrusions that form from a young age. They are mostly used for fighting, so on a male giraffe the fur coating can become worn off completely due to regular bouts with other males.

Though they have very different purposes, animal horns are made of the same material as human nails

Which is the most intelligent bird? Selina McMahon Also the biggest members of the crow family, ravens have a unique ability to learn and understand the physics of different objects like no other bird. A project was formulated to test the skills of these brainy birds and it showed that ravens are among the most intelligent on the planet. In the test, a raven had to reach for a piece of meat hanging from a string off the edge of a perch. To do this, the bird methodically pulled up the string by clamping it onto the perch with its claw, and then lifting up another loop of the string until it reached the piece of meat on the end. This was accomplished by the raven without it even practicing the movement! This particular talent for finding food has developed from their own lifestyles of scavenging and hunting, where food is sometimes sparse.

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How many new species are discovered a year? Linda Devlin New species of animals are discovered on an unbelievably regular basis. In 2009 alone there were around 19,230 new species identified and in 2012 this dropped to just over 18,000. In the first decade of the 21st century the number of new species discovered was over 176,300. In 2013, zoologists found a new species

kept in storage, named the olinguito. This animal wasn’t completely unknown, just not yet identified, but other species discovered in the past few years include the leaf-tailed gecko and the Cambodian tailorbird. Although the number of new species found each year is on the decrease, scientists estimate there could still be over seven million still to find.

What makes the purring noise in a cat? Mark Turner Scientists did once think that the noise made by a cat purring was formed by blood moving through the animal’s inferior vena cava – a vein that carries blood around the body. However, new research has revealed that a purr is made by a reaction from the nerves, rather than a conscious, thought-out action. A cat’s laryngeal muscles control the opening and closing of the glottis (its vocal chords), so along with air being rapidly inhaled and exhaled, the sound of a purr is created. Unlike a meow, purring isn’t made just by the animal’s vocal chords. Scientists have also found that some species of big cats also purr, such as the cheetah, lynx and puma. The purring noise can also hold a certain level of healing power in humans, such as relieving stress levels.

Is it true rabbits can see behind them without turning around? Wayne Elliot Because the eyes of a rabbit are positioned on the sides of its head, the animal has an almost 360-degree field of view. This means that it’s capable of quickly detecting potential predators from the front, sides, or even from behind. This gives rabbits a better chance of survival and a head start in making a quick getaway if ever they feel in danger. Although the animal

has an incredible field of view, its eyesight isn’t perfect, so it’s only able to focus on shapes and certain movements. To help this, they can be seen bobbing their heads up and down and looking around quickly to better scope out their surroundings. They can stand up on their strong hind legs for an even clearer vantage point to spot predators coming their way, and will thump their legs to alert others of incoming danger.

Rabbits have to stay constantly alert to avoid hungry predators

Seen by both eyes

Seen by left eye

Seen by right eye © Rubus Armeniacus, Tom Bullock, Alamy, Corbis, NPL, Thinkstock

There are thousands of new animal species discovered every year

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“It pounces on its victim, trapping it in a silken cocoon before paralysing it with a sharp bite”

The orb-weaver spider certainly doesn’t take any prisoners when it comes to food. Building itself a steely web, the arachnid waits patiently until an insect gets caught on the sticky threads. Picking up on vibrations in the web, it pounces on its victim, trapping it in a silken cocoon before paralysing it with a sharp bite and consuming its liquefied innards.

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Modus operandi: Unlike other spiders, the orb-weaver builds a new web every day, taking it down at dawn and seeking refuge from its predators during the daylight hours. As soon as dusk falls, the orb-weaver sets to work to build a new web to acquire its next meal. Its threads are undeniably strong, and the spider has been known to catch a wide variety of insects, from ants and grasshoppers to moths and even bees.

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© Nature PL

The silky prison of an orb-weaver

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