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RISING TO THE TOP
THE WONDERS OF MIGRATION
How black bears rule Heligoland: One American wildlife island, 400 species
MANED WOLF
SONGS OF GIANTS
Survival secrets of the Mysteries of the planet’s lone hunter humpback’s music
ISSUE 11
Welcome The story of the silverback is an emotive one, and one that actually strikes a chord with us humans on some forgotten primate level. You can read all about the rise of the mighty alpha gorilla, and how he uses his raw strength to defend his family, on page 26. Africa is teeming with unique and beautiful species, but the Big Five make up its most-iconic wildlife. Get a close encounter with them on page 12. Moving to the secretive ocean depths, you can get a rare sight of a battle to the death between real-life monsters of the sea, the sperm whale and giant squid, over on page 22. There’s also healthy array of bizarre lizards for you to feast your eyes on over on page 72 Enjoy the issue!
Charis Webster Editor
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Welcome to issue 11 06 Amazing animals
50 The frog family
From the hideous, to the downright hilarious
12 Greatest animals of Africa
Learn about the animal greats, from the lion to the rhino
22 Battle of the deep What happens when a giant squid meets a sperm whale
The brilliant story of the silverback’s rise to the top
60 Subscribe to save
Get 50% off and have the mag delivered straight to your door
34 Mountain tapir
How one beautiful mammal is on the brink of extinction
36 Inside a weaver ant nest
All there is to know about the most-populous bear in the US
48 Naked mole-rat
A peculiar-looking rodent with forever-growing teeth
THE IUCN RED LIST
VULNERABLE NEAR THREATENED LEAST CONCERN
4
68 Lone wolf
Survival secrets of the beautiful maned wolf
38 American black bears
ENDANGERED
62 Songs of the humpback
Decipher the musical mysteries of ocean giants
How these amazing insects work together to build a home
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
58 Twycross Zoo
Meet the star animals at this Warwickshire wildlife park
26 Silverback
EXTINCT IN THE WILD
80 Toughest on Earth: honey badger The unlikely mammal with the ferocious reputation
From superb hearing to bizarre behaviour
The truth about the harlequin and other unique species
EXTINCT
A wildlife haven for the underwater greats
Why 400 bird species migrate to one island: Heligoland
56 What you never knew about horses 97 Next month
24 What we love about ladybirds
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:
52 Wildlife of the Azores
76 Wonders of migration
52
72 Strength in numbers
The close bonds and brilliant personalities that help zebras survive in the wild
The sneak preview of what’s in next issue of World of Animals
98 Lost forever
Big cats’ oldest ancestor, Panthera blytheae
38
WIN!
annual p sses to Twycrosa s Zoo…
86 Reader Q&A
page 59
92 Step-by-step to capturing stunning wildlife photos
26
SILVERBACK FOLLOW ONE GORILLA’S FIGHT TO CLAIM HIS PLACE AS THE LEADER 56
62
94 Your amazing
animal photos
80
68
5
The amazing world of animals
6
The amazing world of animals
These tigers are housed in Huangshan Mountain Tiger Park, which specialises in research and breeding of endangered species to help conserve threatened animals.
©Rex Features
Two young Siberian tigers beat the summer heat by play-fighting in a pool, within a Chinese conservation centre
7
The amazing world of animals
The praying mantis is an insect assassin, but this one is seen hiding inside a vacated shell © Rex Features
This female tropical praying mantis shot in Tangerang, Indonesia, is making herself at home in an empty snail shell. This makeshi! home shields the tiny month-old mantis from view and even has a window.
8
The amazing world of animals
This enormous carnivore looks cute and cuddly at first glance…
© Alamy
Taking a break from hunting, this bear stands to attention and appears to wave to visitors as they pass by. These Arctic giants are ferocious hunters, despite sometimes looking completely harmless.
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The amazing world of animals
© Rex Features
This Scottish osprey has met its match! After several attempts to catch a fish, this osprey was attacked by an angry duck as it flew away with its catch
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The duck was not happy as the osprey swooped down for the final time and even gave the osprey a severe pecking. The osprey wasn’t distracted though, and got away safely with a large trout gripped in its talons.
The amazing world of animals
11
Africa
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AFRICA The courageous rhino, ferocious lion, headstrong buffalo, stealthy leopard and the elephant that never forgets. Africa is home to five of the best animals on Earth. Here’s why they’re so great… Words David Crookes
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Africa
The lion competes for its pride in ferocious battles of status, earning its fierce reputation Lions once roamed much of Asia, but today Africa is the main home for the world's secondlargest living cat (the first being the tiger). Luckily, the king of the jungle is very much at home in the savannah grasslands, sheltering from the African heat under acacia trees. Using its tan coat to its advantage, the majestic beast can blend in with vegetation, waiting to strike against nearly any vulnerable prey that happens to wander by. The lion is a social animal and the only cat to live in prides. These consist of some 13 lions on average, mainly made up of females and their young. Single males – distinguishable from the females thanks to their manes – join prides for
around three years. All members of the pride get on well and form close bonds. There is much rubbing and licking, but if one roars it can be heard eight kilometres (five miles) away. Males compete for control of a pride in fights that can be fatal. Younger lions will constantly try their luck against the older ones (the darker the mane, the older the lion). If they find themselves the victor, they are ruthless, killing all the cubs in the pride, which prompts the females to go into oestrus, a recurring period of sexual receptivity. It's a major plus point for the male lion, which is then able to mate. Lions breed all year and females have intercourse 3,000 times on average for every cub born.
Each pride has a set hierarchy. Any food is gathered by the female hunters, who use their tasselled tails as communication tools to give orders to other lions. Food is shared out, with the males getting first pick. The lionesses and cubs follow in that order and because they digest their food very fast, they are able to eat in great bulk. With such a plentiful supply of prey around Africa, they are never short on food and tend to stalk in co-ordinated groups, aiming for wildebeest, zebras, warthogs and buffalo. More than half their food is made up of animals that have already died or been killed, though. With such full bellies, it's no wonder they end up relaxing for up 20 hours a day.
LION Panthera leo Class Mammalia
Territory Central and southern Africa Diet Zebras, antelopes, wildebeest Lifespan 10 to 14 years Adult weight Up to 191kg / 420lbs Conservation status
VULNERABLE
Male lions may not move very fast to catch prey themselves, but they can be ruthless when fighting for their pride
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Africa See it in the wild
The greatest animals of the African plains Often crossing paths with one another, the great animals of Africa inhabit the plains in all their glory, sharing a similar daily fight for food and survival
Get up close with lions with Cox & Kings
WWW.COXANDKINGS.CO.UK From £2,895 per person Combining fantastic wildlife with high-quality guiding, South Luangwa National Park in Zambia is regarded as one of the best national parks for wildlife in Africa, with a healthy population of lions. Cox & Kings lets you track lions on foot for a real thrill and it has a variety of packages available.
approx 900,000 left in the wild Africa
Buffalo
approx 500,000 left in the wild
approx 25,000 left in the wild
Syncerus caffer
Elephant Get brilliant photos of lions with Africa Travel
Loxodonta africana
Lion
WWW.AFRICATRAVEL.COM
Panthera leo
Around £2,260 per person The Sabi Sands in South Africa has more than ten prides of lions. Africa Travel says capturing a view of these magnificent creatures is very likely. It offers a five-night trip to South Africa, including three nights at the Simbambili Game Lodge and two nights in Cape Town.
approx 5,000 left in the wild
approx 20,000 left in the wild
White rhino Ceratotherium simum
Leopard Panthera pardus
approx 5,000 left in the wild
Black rhino Diceros bicornis
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Africa
Buffalo love to be together for protection and companionship – relying on a strong sense of smell AFRICAN BUFFALO Syncerus caffer Class Mammalia
Territory Central, western and southern Africa Diet Mainly grass, but also shrubs and trees Lifespan 20 years Adult weight Up to 900kg / 1,980lbs Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
Watering holes are incredibly important for huge herds of buffalo to quench their thirst
Found across the northern and southern savannah as well as in the lowland rainforest, African buffalo stay as close to water as possible. Their thirsty nature means they must drink 34 litres of water daily. It would follow that the desert would be far too inhospitable, so just how do they know where water is? They can smell it. With poor eyesight and hearing, their sense of smell enables them to travel huge distances to water if the land becomes too arid. As they trek en masse, they form tremendous dust clouds, with their hooves churning the earth. However, as well as the scramble to find water, the buffalo face another struggle. They have never been domesticated, but they are hunted for their meat. In order to protect them, around 75 per cent of African buffalo live within national parks. This hasn’t altered their behaviour, though, and they remain
one of Africa's most successful wild ruminants. Males are still solitary regardless of whether they are protected or not and females still form herds of some 1,000 individuals. There are five subspecies of African buffalo and all of them feed at night mainly because they struggle to keep their body temperature down during the day. The large black Cape buffalo is most typical and lives mainly in the south and east of Africa, where it eats lots of grass using its sharp incisor teeth to grab as much food as possible. These buffalo are particularly prone to cattle-borne diseases such as the rinderpest plague that killed around 90 per cent of buffalo. The spread may be due to the creatures’ willingness to lie very close together, even touching one another. Other animals also like to get close too, however: oxpeckers and cattle egrets follow buffalo around to feed on insects that rest on the animals’ skin.
See them in the wild
Sleep within close proximity of buffalo with Cazenove+loyd 777#!:,/9$#/-%.˶'"
Around £4,500 per person Cazenove+loyd in Zimbabwe has some excellent buffalo-spotting trips. One is a nine-night stay in Ilala Lodge in Zimbabwe. It’s the closest hotel to the Victoria Falls, but wild animals still graze on its lawns. You will even be able to see buffalo as you eat in the restaurant, or as you look out of your room window when you wake.
Fly over buffalo habitat in a helicopter with Audley WWW.AUDLEYTRAVEL.COM From £1,500 per person Although you will be able to see all of the Big Five if you take up the nine-day Escarpment & Safari itinerary in South Africa with Audley Travel, buffalo figure highly. The company offers guides at Kruger National Park but also allows for independent travel. A helicopter ride is available too.
“Around 75 per cent of African buffalo live within national parks” 16
Leopards are ambush hunters and can pounce down from high up a tree to attack their prey
ABOVE A leopard’s patterned fur helps to break up its silhouette when stalking
LEOPARD Panthera pardus Class Mammalia
Territory Central and southern Africa Diet Deer, antelope, monkeys Lifespan 21 years Adult weight Up to 80kg / 176lbs Conservation status
NEAR THREATENED
Africa is one big playground for these stealthy big cats If leopards were human, they'd be athletic all-rounders. Strong swimmers and adept climbers, they can leap six metres (20 feet) and are comfortable nestling in trees. They may be the smallest of the big cats, but they’re adaptable and, pound for pound, are among the strongest. These traits enable them to make Africa their playground – the varied landscape of deserts and rainforests with ranging temperatures suits them well. If water is scarce, it doesn't matter – they can go without it for as many as ten days, obtaining all of the moisture they need from their food. The cats are such stealthy predators because of their iconic coats, which let them hide in all manner of places. Many a documentary filmmaker has struggled to locate them for filming, but when they do they find the animals assume their own vast territories. Any overlaps are despised, except when another leopard is looking to mate. In order to warn any unwanted rivals away, the animals will claw trees and mark the ground with urine. Such behaviour is also evidence of their solitary nature. Leopards like living among rocky landscapes packed with dense
forest where they can spend their time alone and, because they lack the pride mentality of the lion, they are able to hide. Often a leopard is only seen because its tail is hanging down from a tree, but by then it’s too late. Any potential prey will be so close that the leopard needs only to lunge and sink its jaws into flesh. Making things even more difficult for prey is the fact that leopards are nocturnal. When hunting they are silent, strong and fast (they can run at 58 kilometres or 36 miles per hour). Most victims have little chance no matter how far away they may be. As if to prove their strength, if a leopard makes a kill, it can drag the animal up into the trees and out of the way of other predators the cat fears will steal its meal. This may sound paranoid, but it seems leopards are quite cagey in general. The females even hide their cubs, fearing for their lives if they are exposed. They are moved around as a result and constantly taken out of view. Once the cubs find their feet, play and begin to hunt solo, they are able to move on to lead their own solitary lives – enabling the females to breathe a sigh of relief, you would assume.
Behind the saying “A leopard cannot change its spots” is a common phrase in our culture today, but just where did it come from? It’s true that in nature these creatures cannot change the coats they are born with, and keep the same wonderful tan pattern all their lives. This phrase, which essentially means “we are what we are”, has Biblical origins intending no doubt to encourage the reader to accept their condition in the world. In the King James Bible, Jeremiah 13:23 reads: ‘Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?’ The latter part of the phrase has endured to this day.
See them in the wild
Get involved with leopards with Responsible Travel
Join the trail with Wilderness Safaris
WWW.RESPONSIBLETRAVEL.COM
7777),$%2.%33˶3!&!2)3#/-
Around £1,450 per person Responsible Travel is offering a Three Reserve Safari in South Africa. This involves seeing many leopards and is a great way for people to view other animals. The company advises taking 14 days for the trip and there are options to get involved with the animals.
From around £1,600 per person Wilderness Safaris advises the best time to travel to see leopards in Chitabe, Little Tubu and Duma Tau would be between June and August, but any time over the dry season would be good. Three-night stays are typical and the pricing given here reflects that.
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Africa
Hot and hungry but insatiably cool, the elephant is the world's largest land mammal In the heart of Africa, there can be little more than desert, but the elephant is an intelligent and resourceful creature, able to make the best of even the sparsest land. While the scorching heat of the continent bears down on the bodies of the herd, and as sand whips up into the air on the breeze, these animals expertly navigate for food and drink. African elephants are unafraid of walking for great distances to satiate their hunger. They forage for plants, ripping them up with their trunks while rooting out melons for liquid refreshment. They can munch through hundreds of kilograms of foliage each day, but digesting just 40 per cent of it properly. If they seem to eat endlessly, it’s because their heaving 6,350-kilogram (14,000-pound) bulks need a lot of nourishment. It may be hot, but even averages of 33.9 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) don’t suppress their appetite. Whether they’re roaming the savannah, swamps and deserts through sub-Saharan Africa, or traversing the central- and west-African rainforests, food is foremost in their minds. The elephants that roam the savannah navigate in tight family units of around ten individuals. Led by
the largest female – or matriarch – these herds often join clans, numbering as many as 70. Newborns are protected by the matriarchal herd, with males only leaving when they reach the ages of 12 to 15. However, those living in the forests form much smaller units. So, why the difference? The forest elephant was recently deemed to be a full species, rather than a subspecies, because the two aren’t as closely related as we once thought. You can tell the difference by looking at them: savannah elephants are the larger and lightest-coloured of the two, with tusks that curve outwards. The darker forest elephants have straighter, downward-facing trunks. Despite this, both varieties share behavioural patterns. They’ll gravitate towards available water, for instance, sucking it up in their trunks and squirting it over their warm bodies. Dust is also used as a coolant, with the particles forming a dry protective layer over their skin. It helps that their giant ears radiate heat to help keep them cool and even though they pound the ground almost wearily, the slow pace helps to conserve energy. As the largest land animals on Earth, they are nothing less than fascinating to watch.
“The elephant is an intelligent and resourceful creature, able to make the best of even the sparsest land”
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AFRICAN ELEPHANT Loxodonta africana Class Mammalia
Territory Most of Africa except northern regions Diet Grasses, roots, fruit Lifespan 70 years Adult weight Up to 6,350kg / 14,000lbs Conservation status
VULNERABLE
See them in the wild
See elephants taking a drink with Expert Africa WWW.EXPERTAFRICA.COM From £1,983 per person Hwange National Park is one of the best places for spotting elephants in the dry season between July and October. There are up-close experiences to be had, with elephants visiting for a drink in the late a"ernoons.
Get to know rescued elephants at Camp Jabulani WWW.CAMPJABULANI.COM Around £1,500 per person (three nights, no flights) Camp Jabulani is a private, luxury safari lodge. The nature of the camp means you’ll be able to see the creatures in close quarters and get to know them.
How an elephant’s feet work The natural makeup of these giant steps
Fatty tissue
Tip-toes If you X-ray the feet of African elephants, you will see they are actually walking on their tip-toes. The feet appear flat because the internal bones are resting on fatty, shock-absorbing tissue.
Front four toes
Watering holes are great places for play-fighting between younger members of the herd
Oval footprint
Back foot A human has arched soles and these are called plantigrade. An elephant’s back feet are arched but they still walk on the toes, so these feet are semiplantigrade. The footprint itself is oval. Pitted sole
Soles of the feet The pitted, ridged soles of an elephant’s foot gives it great grip and enables it to navigate almost every surface. The fatty tissue helps to muffle the noise as the huge animal moves.
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Africa
Rhinos date back over 5 million years on the continent Rhinos may have poor eyesight but their other senses work fine. Class Mammalia Rhinos weigh over 1,400 kilograms (3,100 pounds) and can reach 48 kilometres (30 Territory Eastern and central Africa miles) per hour in just Diet Grasses, roots, fruit two seconds. As bulky Lifespan 70 years as they may seem, Adult weight Up to 1,400kg / 3,100lbs white rhinos are very Conservation status agile beasts and the second-largest land mammals on Earth. NEAR THREATENED There are actually five species of rhinoceros and two of them – black and white – are native to Africa. Both have protective skin that can be as thick as five centimetes (two inches) and each has two horns. This thick skin is needed, as the rhino is one of the most-hunted animals on Earth. The two different species of African rhino act in very different ways, though. Black rhinos are solitary, living in shrubs and savannah. Even though they are smaller, they tend to be the most aggressive. Fights between individuals often result in high numbers of deaths – more than half of males and a third of females are killed during such battles. White rhinos also live in savannahs, but they reside in groups (or crashes) and are therefore more social. But there are similarities too. Their colour, for example, is not all that different – black rhinos are also grey and usually match the colour of the local soil. Additionally, for all of their bulk, rhinos have relatively small brains – not that it makes them any less dangerous. WHITE RHINO
Ceratotherium simum
See them in the wild
The horn A white rhino’s horn can grow as large as 0.9 metres (35 inches).
Noticeable hump Behind the head of a white rhino is a pronounced hump. This is a mass of muscles used to move its head and it doesn’t appear on a black rhino.
Around £3,840 per person. Rainbow Tours’ Zululand Safari and Mozambique in Style package includes the chance to track black rhinos on foot in the Phinda Private Game Reserve, enabling you to get up close to these magnificent animals.
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Distinctive lips White rhinos have broad upper lips to enable them to feed on grasses easier.
Similar colour Black and white rhinos are the exact same colour. White rhinos got their name from an English corruption of the Afrikaans word weit, a reference to its wide mouth.
WWW.RHINOAFRICA.COM Around £2,000 per person Fancy spending ten days in a Sabi Sand or Phinda Private Game Reserve? Both are ideal for sighting rhino due to their exclusivity. They have fewer safari vehicles, which means less distraction and it helps that there are experienced rangers who can go off-road to give visitors opportunity to track rhinos.
© Thinkstock, Rex Features, Alamy, Corbis, Expert Africa; Chris McIntrye, Target Africa; Sue Ricketts, Cox and Kings, Africa Travel, Rainbow Tours, Rhino Africa, Responsible Travel, Wilderness Travel
WWW.RAINBOWTOURS.CO.UK
10% of World of Animals’ profits helps fight poaching World of Animals is working with Ol Pejeta, east Africa’s largest black rhino sanctuary, to help bring awareness to a massive problem that should be stopped. The conservancy is dedicated to securing habitats for the purpose of wildlife conservation and the not-for-profit organisation looks a$er over 100 rhinos. Follow this essential campaign online at www.animalanswers.co.uk. Here you’ll also find a Donate page to fund the fight against poaching.
Track rhinos on foot with Rainbow Tours
© KLEIN & HUBERT / WWF
ADOPTION
ADOPT HIM TODAY. OR LOSE HIM FOREVER. Will you help the snow leopard claw its way back from the brink? 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 hunted by poachers for their bones and precious fur – and they urgently need your help if they are to live on.
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. 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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Battle of the deep The underwater war between the giant squid and sperm whale With the clash of two gigantic ocean-dwelling beasts, you might expect resulting tidal waves. However, this is one grudge match that happens almost entirely in secret. Sperm whales are partial to a giant-squid supper, but the tentacled titans of the deep refuse to go down without a fight. In the murky blackness beneath the waves, away from human eyes, these amazing and all-too-elusive marine monsters battle it out for survival.
Rugged sucker scars Many sperm whales have been found with battle scars from the giant squid – their toothy suckers leave circular marks on the whales’ bodies. Sometimes these are the size of dinner plates.
Indigestible parts
Searching for a giant squid Name: Dr Edith Widder Organisation: CEO & senior scientist, Ocean Research & Conservation Association, Inc. On 3 July 2012, Dr Widder was among the first to witness the giant squid in its natural habitat “Initially we just saw its arms, which seemed to be waving in front of the camera. My lure had attracted it. It came in from the back or the side as it probed around the lure, trying to find something edible. “It was thrilling on many levels – first because so many before had tried and failed [to spot one] – but also because it was confirmation of something I’ve been saying for quite a while now: that I think we have been exploring the deep sea the wrong way. Our use of ROVs [remote operated underwater vehicles] with bright lights and noisy thrusters have been scaring animals away. “With feeding tentacles fully extended, the giant squid can be as tall as a four-storey house. It’s incredible that there are animals that big living in the ocean – probably millions of them judging by the number of giant squid beaks found in sperm whale stomachs – and we’ve never seen one alive. How many more creatures inhabit our deep oceans that we don’t even know about yet?”
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The only part of the squid that the whale cannot eat is the beak. These have often been found left in the bellies of whales.
The food of choice Sperm whales feed on other, smaller varieties of squid, so it’s thought the giant squid is a supplementary bonus to a whale’s diet.
A size match A sperm whale can grow up to 18 metres (59 feet) in length and the giant squid is an adequate competitor, with strong tentacles that stretch the squid’s body up to 12 metres (43 feet).
Battle at depth Sperm whales are known to dive to around 1,980 metres (6,500 feet) into the dark realms of the giant squid, meaning these battles take place in very deep water.
Battle of the deep Although never observed feeding, the stomach contents of the giant squid reveal a lot about its diet
Deep-sea orange roughy
Stealing marlin from fishermen
Resorting to cannibalism
The giant squid tucks into the deep-water fish orange roughy, as well as many other different species that live deep in the depths, to supplement its diet.
Giant squid have been known to steal massive marlin from fishermen’s nets. The predatory fish are apex predators, often exceeding lengths of four metres and speeds of 60mph.
The mighty giant squid even resorts to cannibalism, where opposing squid rip off and ingest tentacles of their opponent. Amazingly, these tentacles can grow back.
Toothy suckers The squid’s large suckers are lined with chitin teeth, enabling them to grip their adversary’s skin tightly and dig in the teeth.
© Daniel Sinoca, Thinkstock, Ocean Research & Conservation Association Inc
Food of giants
“With feeding tentacles fully extended, the giant squid can be as tall as a four-storey house”
The squid’s beak In the centre of its ring of arms is a beak, like that of a parrot. The squid uses this to chop and slice its prey.
Biggest eyes on Earth The giant squid’s huge peepers enable it to see large objects far off in the distance, which can enable a swift getaway from sperm whales on the hunt.
Scanning the ocean Sperm whales use echolocation, similar to that used by bats and dolphins, to locate their prey in the depths of the ocean.
Lungs of steel In order to reach such amazing depths and win epic battles, the whales can hold their breath for up to 90 minutes.
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Our favourite things about...
Ladybirds
These fashionistas of the insect world can sport all kinds of colours and patterns Ladybirds are beetles, members of the family Coccinellidae. They can be found across the world living in woodlands and gardens, where they are particularly welcome for munching on pests such as aphids. Ladybirds display a remarkable array of colours and patterns, as well as some interesting adaptations for avoiding predation…
The eye-spotted ladybird uses a clever optical illusion to deter predators This ladybird makes its home in conifer forests and enjoys feasting upon the small bugs that live within tree species such as pines. The beautiful spots on the back of this bug are ringed with orangey-yellow and look a lot like eyes. The detail of these spots is designed to make the ladybird look like the eyes of a much larger animal. When predatory birds, for example, are on the lookout for a ladybird lunch, they will often mistake the pattern of the eyed ladybird for another creature entirely. In this way the ladybird is able to fool its potential attacker.
Ladybird larvae look like a different species! They may grow to become beautiful flying bugs, but these insects start off life looking a whole lot uglier
Larch ladybirds also rely on clever camoufl age to avoid predation
The plain-coloured larch ladybird has a clever trick hidden in its knees This type of ladybird doesn’t sport the splendid spots that its cousins are famed for and is often seen in a drab shade of beige. However, what makes this beetle one of the canniest of them all is its ability to reflex bleed. Many ladybird species can do this as a chemical defence, triggered by an attack from a predator such as frogs, birds or other insects. The ladybird exudes a toxic fluid from joints in its exoskeleton, making it taste gross to whatever is trying to eat it. Both adults and larvae are able to do this, to prevent them from being eaten!
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Adult ladybirds are beautiful bugs, but it’s an ugly-duckling sort of story. Their larvae look like knobbly grubs with pointy legs. They have similar colouring, but before they morph into the smooth, glossy-shelled adults, the larvae have a lizardlike appearance! These ladybirds-in-waiting leave chemical trails when they forage so they know which areas have already been stripped of food. They will even eat other larvae they meet along the way. Incredibly, these spiny larvae are able to recognise their siblings to avoid eating their family members by accident.
The 14-spotted prefers square traditional cir This little beetle is often se yellow colour, but its most large black spots on its ba Technically these aren’t bug an almost chequered yellow square markings w predators, as this species pungent liquid from its jo If you were to handle t triggered this liquid, you the substance has a dist stain your hands yellow!
As the 15-s gets older, colour to su It’s a common miscon ladybird’s spots tells y the 15-spotted ladybird, you can tell its age just by looking at its colours! Found mostly in the western USA, this clever beetle begins adult life wearing a light grayish-purple hue. As it ages, the wing cases that sport the 15 marvellous spots (technically called elytra) begin to darken. When the ladybird reaches old age, usually between one and two years, its colour will have changed to a deep purple or even a shade of deep black. Some 15-spotted ladybirds may be so dark that their spots are no longer visible.
The harlequin ladybird, originally from Asia, was introduced to the UK around 2004. It’s a much larger bug in comparison with the UK’s 46 native species and occupies the same ecological niche as the native twospot ladybird. Essentially this means it lives in the same place and has the same function in the ecosystem. Harlequins feast on aphids, lacewings, hoverflies and even other ladybirds. They are now outcompeting the original British two-
spots for space and food, causing a 30 per cent decline in the two-spot population. These invasive bugs are also a household nuisance, as they gather in their droves in the corners of windows and doors to shelter from wet weather. Hundreds of the critters can appear quickly and although posing no danger to human health, the invaders exude a gooey yellow substance from their knees that can stain surfaces.
©Rex Features, Thinkstock, Alpsdake, Smidon 33
Invasion of the harlequin
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Silverback
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THE ULTIMATE ALPHA
SILVERBACK Forget cartoon superheroes – nature already presents us with a creature that’s 98-per-cent human. He possesses superhuman strength, endurance, courage and an almost unimaginable mastery of his surroundings. Here is his story Words Rick Jones Even in his quietest, most-relaxed moments, the dominant male of any gorilla group, the silverback, projects an aura that makes the average gorilla hesitate. Even we humans are awestruck and impressed on a level that appeals to our deepest primal instincts. Everything about him is solid, from head to toe. From his demeanour, to the keratinised (armoured) knuckles on his short, double-wide fists and feet, he seems somehow
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Silverback impenetrable, with no weaknesses. Even his immense jaw and neck muscles attach to bony ridges running lengthwise along his skull – the sagittal and nuchal crests, respectively. These adaptations literally crown him in dense muscle, rippling with every facial twitch and each slow, deliberate movement of his limbs. He doesn’t have to make a noise. There are no flashy colours, as found in males of other primate species, who may also rule in dominance hierarchies. His only ornamentation is a light dusting of silver-grey hair across an expansive, muscular back. Unless he’s concerned for his family, he’s serene and silent, but always watching and listening. Usually his presence alone is enough to bring his preferred state of calm to the group. In rare moments when there’s an internal squabble to be settled, he acts decisively, ending inter-group conflicts before anyone can get seriously hurt. If there’s an outside threat to his family, he’ll stand side-on to it and issue alarm barks that send his females, children and lower-ranking members seeking safety. If the troubling intrusion persists, without any hesitation or concern for his own safety, he does the exact opposite to the rest of his troupe. Moving his 200 kilograms (440 pounds) at unbelievable speed, he’ll head directly for the problem, roaring and charging through any obstacle. Rearing up into a bipedal (two-legged) run, he’ll cup his hands to beat his chest between bouts of effortlessly snapping drainpipe-sized trees clean in half, on his way headlong to the challenge.
At this stage most potential antagonists will either cower – their fear rendering them harmless – or run away in terror. The silverback’s whole physiology has evolved to trigger natural fight, flight or freeze responses. These were hard-wired into the animals – humans included – that historically shared his ancestral forests. Despite this terrifying display, actual physical attacks are rare and there has never been a documented human fatality from such encounters. Our silverback doesn’t want to hurt anyone, he just wants to make sure they don’t hurt his loved ones. To some extent, we humans share the story of the silverback. If you’ve ever wondered why you feel so compelled to stare, and perhaps even experience a nervous thrill when looking at him, the answer may lie in our own (pre-modern human) past. Although the history of humans and gorillas is murky, it’s undisputed that we are indeed family. Teeth from a species of extinct African ape, named Nakalipithecus nakayamai by scientists, appear to indicate it could be the long-lost ancestor of gorillas – including our silverback – as well as us humans. These great-ape greatgrandparents lived during the Miocene period, and the ancestral ape teeth have been
Silverbacks protect their family with intimidating, aggressive displays
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GORILLA Gorilla gorilla Class Mammalia
Territory African tropical and montane rainforests Diet Omnivore Lifespan Up to 40 years Adult weight Up to 200kg / 440lbs Conservation status
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
carbon-dated as 10 million years old. Could it be that the display behaviour of our silverback harks back to this time, and that deep in our subconscious we are programmed to respect the signals given by this dominant male? It’s likely that we’ll never truly know, but sadly not all humans have retained this sense of wonder. Driven by the pressures of hunger and increased human populations, people living hand-to-mouth on the African continent have taken to using the silverback’s unyielding bravery and natural strength against him. Samuel Okore, a hunter from the Nigerian village of Kanyang explains: “I set my snares for porcupines and redriver hogs, but sometimes I catch a baby gorilla and when I do I know what will happen. The big man (silverback) won’t go far away from my trap. He hides near his baby. We bring ten or more people with guns. He still doesn’t run. To save his child, the big gorilla will come for us, even when he knows we will kill him – even after the first bullets hit him. He feels no pain. I am always scared for my life, but we must shoot him to eat. I am often sad, as he will shame even the bravest of men.” Luckily, not all of our fearless silverback gorillas face the newly invented guns of their human cousins. Aside from protected areas such as the famous Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there are many zoos and wildlife parks around the world with breeding programmes dedicated to making sure the gorilla never disappears from Earth. Gorillas need family. Without a group to be part of, males literally won’t be gorillas in their behaviour or even appearance. Once a juvenile (black-back) male from around ten years old is introduced to a group made up of only females, he begins to transform. As a recent example of this change, Badongo is the resident silverback gorilla at Durrell Wildlife Park in Jersey. He was born in France, at La Valée des Singes primate park. Here his mother – a wild-caught female named Virunga – raised him to the age of 12 years. He also grew up safely under the watchful eye of his father, the
“The silverback’s whole physiology has evolved to trigger natural fight, flight or freeze responses”
How to be the top ape All males may challenge for the title, but only the strongest will get to become a troupe leader
Defend the princely position The first gorilla ever born at La Vallée des Singes, Badongo, grew up with a younger brother and two halfbrothers. Early play sessions soon established his superior strength and rank in the group.
As a male gorilla matures, he will act in a dominant manner
park’s impressive dominant male, Yaoundé. Badongo developed realistic wild behaviours and good etiquette. As a pre-teen, Badongo was already starting to show signs that, in the wild, would eventually lead to
Choose battles wisely Badongo was lucky enough to eventually have his very own harem, but had he challenged for his powerful, experienced father’s position, he could have ended up injured or worse.
Badongo is now a fully established silverback at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Become large and in charge Despite not being much bigger than the females when he first arrived, it wasn’t long before Badongo began to bulk up. Within months, muscle mass had appeared all over his body and he looked the part of leader.
Master and commander These days Badongo leads the group from the front. He’s always first to feed, first out of the building and gets to choose when, and even which, females pay him attention. He is a fully established silverback.
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Silverback
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Silverback
Where do silverbacks get their strength? Gorillas share most of their genes with humans. They’re our second-closest relatives, yet it’s estimated that an average silverback is 5 to 20 times more powerful than the strongest humans
Mutant muscle-making genes In humans, the myostatin gene, also known as growth and differentiation factor 8 (GDF8), is what limits how big our muscles get. Silverback gorillas have significantly altered expression of this gene – it does something different in a gorilla’s DNA. It doesn’t matter how much protein we eat, or intense exercise we carry out, we could never match a silverback’s physical development.
Super-strength support skeletons Gorilla bones are much denser and stronger than a human’s and even other apes. This is especially true through the hands and arms – a by-product of knuckle-walking. Humans can increase bone density with exercise, but supporting the kinetic force of a heavy animal moving at speed requires resilience. Gorilla bones are just that – west-African natives even used them for medicine and tools.
him setting out alone to find another group. A strong personality type, his hormones began prompting him to challenge other males and this could have led to conflict with his father, ending ultimately in a battle for control. In the nearby English Channel Islands, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust hadn’t seen a baby gorilla born in nine long years. It had housed gorillas since 1986, when the resident silverback Jambo made world news for protecting a five year-old boy that fell into his enclosure. However, Durrell needed to shake up its arrangement of three females led by the massive 235-kilogram (518-pound) Ya Kwanza – one of the largest silverbacks ever recorded. The decision was made, and Badongo was on his way to fulfilling his destiny – he would soon become a leader. Arriving to replace Ya Kwanza in 2011, Badongo had a suitably silverback-sized task ahead of him. Smaller than a fully-grown adult, at just 150 kilograms (330 pounds), and not yet a silverback, he first had to earn the respect of the females. Senior ape keeper Jonathan Stark introduced him to the group almost right away. Some professional observers were nervous, but Stark’s expertise were soon proven and it didn’t take Badongo long to seize his new sense of purpose. The surge of testosterone created by Badongo’s new position soon came into play. Within weeks he had begun to display to Bahasha, Kishka and Hlala Kahilli – the females in his new troupe. He settled disputes between them with mock charges and shoves; he made sure he ate first; he protected them when he felt something was out of the ordinary. Before long, he started to take on the shape – and with it the role – of a true leader.
The leverage advantage Gorilla physiques are evolved primarily for pulling and bending. To this end, their back muscles and biceps attach to the skeleton via strong tendons. Additionally, these tendons anchor at the best possible point along the bone to provide power. Imagine li%ing a broom out in front of you by the very end of the handle. Now do the same but further down. You’ve just mimicked silverback biceps!
Less thought equals more action This isn’t to say silverbacks aren’t intelligent. However, the human spine possesses more neurons – the electrical highways between brain and muscle fibre – than a gorilla’s. We can use smaller sections of our muscles to make fine movements. Silverbacks may never thread needles, but each signal from their brains will reach much larger portions of muscles.
A powerful silverback is far stronger than even the most muscular human and has brains to match
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Silverback Over the next six months, his muscles grew larger than his vegetarian diet would seem to allow for. His forearms became thicker than the average man’s thigh and his back spread to twice the width of the females’ – three times wider than even the biggest human bodybuilders. Along with the flecks of silver hair appearing on his coat and around the saddle of his waist, came a new, stern yet open expression. Within a year he had taken lead of the group. Soon after, Badongo fathered his first son, Indigo, and with that settled into a body composed of some 210 kilograms (463 pounds) of solid bone, muscle and sinew. Today, Badongo regularly renders wildlife park visitors open-mouthed in astonishment – especially when he raises himself to his full height to effortlessly climb the park’s jungle gym. Just like his wild silverback cousins, he sleeps in a nest on the floor, ready to leap into action to protect his females and son, while the family nests high above, sleeping safely in the knowledge that they have a fearless, powerful bodyguard beneath should any predator approach with intent. At play, his leaps and charges betray the explosive strength he possesses, but when his two-year-old son plays with his foot or pulls his hair, he shows nothing but tenderness. On the occasions when his females squabble over food – or even over him – he acts fast and with fairness, but takes absolutely no nonsense. His warnings to his family never cause injury, but if delivered with intent could easily break bones. His restraint is as powerful as his body – his intelligence is obvious within just a few seconds of observation. While the saying “with great power comes great responsibility” may be a human invention, it’s never been more perfectly demonstrated than when spending a few hours watching our most awe-inspiring primate relative. His journey to the head of the troop is one we primates can instantly recognise and can’t help but respect.
Though huge and undeniably strong, silverbacks are mostly sedate beings
Baby gorillas are constantly under threat from hunters’ traps, but the male silverback will protect them against all odds
© Corbis, Alamy, Thinkstock, Durrell Wildlife Park
“His warnings to his family never cause injury, but if delivered with intent could easily break bones”
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WHO’S THE DADDY? BADONGO’S THE BOSS... THE BIG DADDY AND THE CURRENT KING OF OUR FAMOUS GORILLA FAMILY. BUT BEING BIG, BRAVE AND STRONG DOESN’T MEAN HE DOESN’T NEED LOVE AND CARE, AND ALL GORILLAS NEED THEIR ‘FAMILY’ TO FEEL COMPLETE.
HELP US TO TAKE CARE OF HIM, AND JOIN THE GREAT APE FAMILY... WWW.DURRELL.ORG/BADONGO
saving species from extinction
Endangered
Mountain tapir MOUNTAIN TAPIR Tapirus pinchaque Class Mammalia
Territory Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Diet Leaves of shrubs, grass and plants Lifespan Up to 30 years Adult weight Up to 227kg / 500lbs Conservation status
ENDANGERED
Referred to as a living fossil, the mountain tapir has existed for around 40 million years and has been largely untouched by evolution. It lives high in the Andes at altitudes of up to 4,300 metres (14,107 feet) and protects itself from the cold thanks to a thick woolly coat. In 1994 the species was listed as Endangered and today numbers no more than 2,500. It’s currently the most-threatened of the four Tapirus species in existence
The causes of extinction Loss of habitat An increase in demand for land has encroached on the habitat of mountain tapirs. Much of this is due to human population growth in the Andean region of Colombia. As well as clearing habitat for homes, land is generally used for agriculture and livestock, with farmers moving cattle into the higher ground of the mountain tapirs. Venezuela
Hunting Poaching continues to be a primary reason for falling numbers of mountain tapirs. They are killed for their meat, for medicine and to produce tools, carpets and covers. Mountain tapirs have been over-hunted for many years and, together with habitat loss, this has led to severe fragmentation of mountain tapir populations.
Colombia
Slow reproduction Female mountain tapirs breed once every two years and they have a gestation period of 393 days. This slow reproductive cycle means numbers of mountain tapirs cannot be replenished fast enough. The effects of hunting and habitat loss are therefore more keenly felt, leaving mountain tapirs very vulnerable to outside influences.
What you can do WWW.TAPIRS.ORG/TSGCF The Tapir Specialist Group was set up to develop and implement tapir research, conservation and management programs. It has more than 140 members including researchers and governmental agencies in 28 countries. Donations are welcomed and are vital for the ongoing success of the group.
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The decreasing habitat Mountain tapirs are found mainly in Colombia and Ecuador, as well as the northern tip of Peru. They once ranged in much greater numbers and even inhabited Venezuela. 1954 2014
Mountain tapir Decreasing numbers There are half as many mountain tapirs in the wild as there were over 30 years ago
Total today Estimated number of animals left in the wild
2,500
Total in 1980 Estimated total population over three decades ago
5,000
Mountain tapirs keep our planet healthy
“Their big and bulky bodies open tunnels and paths in the cloud forests”
“Mountain tapirs are very special. They are the smallest members of the family Tapiridae and are a unique species because they live in the Andes at high altitudes, with a very restricted distribution range,” Castellanos explains. “This species is listed as Endangered due to an ongoing and suspected future decline inferred from loss of habitat, fragmentation and hunting pressure,” he continues. “The cattle invasion into mountain tapir sanctuaries is occurring and negatively affecting the mountain tapirs, as well as increased hunting associated with vaquero roundups of the mountain tapir.” Vaqueros are herders, or essentially SouthAmerican cowboys. “Also, mining projects and water companies threaten to destroy the headwater cloud forests and páramos of the scant population of mountain tapirs there,” Castellanos goes on. “The mountain tapir population is fragmented as a result of human activities. We don’t have any data available to determine how fast numbers are falling, but we know around 2,500 mountain tapirs exist today and efforts are being made to conserve them. “It’s important to protect mountain tapirs. Their big and bulky bodies open tunnels and paths in the cloud forests and on the páramos – the high-altitude grasslands,” Castellanos explains. “In doing so, they expose new areas for the dispersal of seeds. Mountain tapirs help to maintain the biodiversity of the ecosystems of their habitats. This is important for the conservation, filtration and distribution of water, the enrichment of soil and for oxygen-generation for the whole planet… “As president of the Andean Bear Foundation, I am studying both the Andean bear and the mountain tapir and we are keen to learn more about this endangered species,” Castellanos concludes. “Readers… could visit protected areas where this species lives, because ecotourism activities help improve and maintain scientific research.”
© Alamy
Armando Castellanos is a researcher for the IUCN / SSC Tapir Specialist Group for its mountain tapir project. He helped IUCN assess mountain tapirs as Endangered
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Animal architects
Inside a weaver ant nest WEAVER ANT Oecophylla smaragdina Class Insecta
Territory Asia and Australia Diet Omnivore Life span Up to 40 weeks Adult weight 1-3 mg Conservation Status
NOT EVALUATED
Weaver ants use a combination of immense individual strength, teamwork and incredible sewing skills to stitch leaves together to form sheltered homes in the trees. Using their larvae as mini silk shuttles, they weave fine threads that turn simple leaves into secure, naturally airconditioned homes.
How they build it… Weaver ants use their larvae to sew their homes together
Making the foundations The outline is constructed using living scaffolding. Workers assemble on suitable leaves, using their legs and mandibles to grip the sides. If the leaves are close together, a single row of ants is enough to support the structure, but if they are further apart, they pile on top of one another, linking their legs and pulling inward.
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Recruiting the youngsters Once the leaves are in the right position, the ants begin work. Adult weaver ants might be strong, but they can’t produce the silk required to stitch the leaves together. They rely on their developing larvae to finish the nest. The workers hold the immature ants gently in their mandibles and bring them out into the open.
Making the interior The inside of the leaf nest is essentially hollow and the entire structure weighs very little, but the ants are far from disorganised. They separate the inside of their home into distinct rooms and chambers, using the same silk weaving technique to create large walls between different areas of the nest.
In the branches Weaver ant nests are o%en positioned high in the forest canopy. Their environment is alive with insect activity, and they must constantly defend their edible nest.
Silk stitching Weaver ants bring their young larvae out of the nest to help with construction work, carrying them back and forth over the leaves to close the nest with a fine mesh of silk.
Co-operative defence Weaver ants put their building skills to good use in other areas, working together to take down large insects, like ants and caterpillars, not only as a source of food, but also to prevent them damaging the nest.
Foragers and warriors The ‘major’ worker ants are large and spend most of their time outside of the nest, searching for food and defending the colony. Their mandibles are formidable and can deliver a nasty bite.
Weaver ant nest Supporting the structure While the nest is under construction, or during maintenance, structural support is provided by the bodies of the worker ants.
Multiple queens Weaver ants rely on their larvae for silk and new queens o#en struggle to create a nest until they have a few generations of workers to help. They o#en band together and one nest may contain several queens.
Bridging the gap If the leaves are further apart, several workers join together to form a connecting bridge, while other ants lay down pheromone trails across their bodies.
Developing ant Weaver ant larvae use up all of their silk assisting with the construction and maintenance of the nest, so unlike other ants, cannot form a protective cocoon. Instead, they develop in the open, under the watchful eyes of their older sisters.
Five facts about weaver ants The weaver ant larvae sacrifice all their silk to the construction of the nest, and are returned to the brood without any left to make a protective cocoon Weaver ants can support over 100 times their own body weight, allowing them to form bridges several ants deep and tens of ants long Some farmers build artificial bridges between trees using bamboo to encourage these insecthunting ants to set up home on their land. They are skilled hunters and are frequently used for natural pest control
Internal chambers Within the nest, silk walls are spun to produce separate chambers. The developing larvae are kept in brood piles and other areas house older workers whose main task is to defend the nest.
The bond between weaver ant and leaf is stronger than any man-made adhesive, but by simply reducing the size of the sticky pads on their feet, the ants can quickly detach These incredible ants aren’t just builders, they are also caterpillar tamers. Using their antennae, they stroke the back of certain caterpillar species, encouraging them to produce droplets of sweet, energy-rich honeydew
© Thinkstock, The Art Agency; Ian Jackson
Tending to the brood The smaller worker ants, or ‘minor’ ants, spend the majority of their lives inside the nest, tending to the queens and the larvae.
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All about American black bears
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American black bears
All About
American black bears They may have a fearsome reputation, but if left alone these misunderstood animals are overly harmless, gentle plant-eaters Words Laura Mears
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All about American black bears
Inside a black bear Black bears are stocky, with broad heads, thick necks and heavy-set limbs. They are built for strength, not speed, but are agile climbers and with their short, curled claws they can reach high into the branches of trees AMERICAN BLACK BEAR Ursus americanus Class Mammalia
Territory North America Diet Omnivore Lifespan 20 years Adult weight Up to 270kg / 600lbs Conservation status
Sensitive nose Bears have an extremely acute sense of smell and can detect food from several kilometres away.
Muscular neck
LEAST CONCERN
Black bears have strong muscles on their upper bodies. Males have such large necks that tracking collars just slip off them.
Bear track Black bear footprints can be over 12 centimetres (five inches) wide. The front prints are short, while the back ones are slightly longer, including the heel as it touches the ground.
Footpad Five toes
Large lungs American black bears have big lungs and breathe relatively slowly, at a resting rate of around ten breaths per minute. Heart
Short claws
Biting teeth A bear’s front teeth might look menacing, but they are mainly used to clip plants and rip open ants nests.
Molar
Premolar
Thick limbs Crushing teeth Bears use their back teeth to strip leaves from branches, as well as to grind nuts and other vegetation.
Incisor Canine
JUVENILE
INFANCY Born in the den 0 weeks Black bear cubs are born in the safety of a secluded den and are covered in short, fine, silvery-grey fur.
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Fast predators usually have lean, lightweight legs, but bears are much more heavily set. Their leg muscles extend all the way to their feet, making their limbs extremely powerful, but also heavy.
First sight 6 weeks By around six weeks, the bear cubs have opened their eyes and their first teeth have started to appear.
Learning to walk 8 weeks By the time they are two months old, the bear cubs are able to walk. In their third month they start to venture out of the den.
Starting to climb 12 weeks Young cubs must begin learning to climb straight away. By the time they’re three months old, they can reach high branches.
Follow mum 3-8 months The cubs remain close to their mother for the first months of their lives and are entirely dependent on her for milk.
Weaning 5-12 months Most cubs stay with their mother for a year or more. However, some can be weaned even earlier.
Pelvis
Big head
Uniform colour
American black bears In eastern North have large heads with America, the bears small rounded ears. Their are black with a heads become broader tan muzzle, but the older they get. elsewhere the colour can vary in tone.
Intestines Like humans, bears have digestive systems that are somewhere in between that of carnivores and herbivores. This enables them to survive on a varied diet of insects, nuts, berries, fish and even the occasional baby deer.
Closest family Closely related to the American black bear are…
Femur
MATURITY Sexual maturity 3 years American black bears don’t always begin breeding straight away and will wait until food is plentiful.
Breeding male 6+ years Younger males are o#en outcompeted by the stronger, experienced bears and don’t o#en father cubs until later.
Giving birth 3-20 years If there is enough available food, female black bears will produce a litter every few years until their mid 20s.
Old age Up to 35 years Black bears can live for up to 35 years in the wild and as they age grow larger, they grow more confident.
Sun bear These bears are native to south-east Asia and spend most of their time climbing among the trees. They are much smaller than their American cousins and have extremely long tongues – perfect for lapping up honey.
Asiatic black bear Like the American variety, Asiatic black bears are agile climbers. They’re slightly larger than the American bear and have white markings under their chins. These small patches have earned them the nickname Moon bear.
Sloth bear These fuzzy bears are found on the Indian subcontinent and can be distinguished by the mane of black fur around their faces. They have adapted lower jaws, as well as missing front teeth, enabling them to suck up tasty ants.
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All about American black bears
Keeping well-fed As winter approaches, a black bear has just one thing on its mind: food American black bears are large animals, so in order to sustain their enormous bodies, must eat huge quantities of food. They live solitary lifestyles, patrolling territories measuring up to 125 square kilometres (48 square miles). They’re most active at dawn and dusk as they rummage through the trees for fruits and seeds. Black bears aren’t hunters and less than ten per cent of their diet is meat – they are far too heavy and cumbersome to pursue agile prey animals and prefer to use their size for threatening defensive displays than for active hunting. However, in the spring, newborn deer make a convenient snack – at under ten days old, these babies are very unsteady on their feet and it just takes a quick pounce to immobilise them. The remainder of a black bear’s diet is mostly vegetarian, but its digestive system cannot cope with the tough, woody plant matter that true herbivores can digest, so it has to be a little more picky about the kinds of plants it eats. During the spring, when there are fresh new leaves on the trees, buds and flowers on the branches, as well as shoots poking up from the ground, the bears will happily consume the easy-to-digest vegetation. However, as summer arrives, most of the vegetation becomes too tough to eat and by the winter there will be no food left at all. Black bears spend the summer getting fat in preparation for hibernation. As fruits and berries start to appear on the plants, the bears gorge themselves and have been known to eat up to 30,000 berries in a single day. They swallow them whole, leaving their twopart stomachs to remove the pulp from the seeds. Nuts also have a high calorific content and bears will travel long distances to obtain them, eating several thousand at a time. They are particularly fond of hazelnuts and acorns. Black bears also seek out ant nests and beehives. The pupae and larvae of these sociable insects are packed with fat and protein and are organised into neat little brood cells within the nests. They are a valuable source of energy if the bears can get at them and these determined animals will suffer bites and stings for a chance to get close to the developing insects. Black bears prefer not to eat soil and tend to go for ant nests and beehives hidden under fallen trees and inside logs. They have strong hooked claws, thick canine teeth and they can rip through the rotting wood with ease, tearing it away and quickly snatching the brood with their tongues.
Diet and feeding They might look like deadly predators, but black bears are mostly vegetarian
An average male American black bear eats 15kg
/ 35lbs of food per day
That’s
14% of its
body weight
90% of their diet consists of nuts, berries and insects Occasionally they supplement their diet with young deer and moose calves
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American black bears
“Black bears aren’t hunters and less than ten per cent of their diet is meat” 43
All about American black bears
Why a mother stays with cubs Female bears share the company of their cubs for up to 16 months, dedicating most of their resources to their young
American black bears spend most of their lives alone, but as the mating season begins they travel further and further each day. To make their presence known to other bears, they carefully rub their backs against trees and scrape their bottoms over rocks. Females with young cubs ignore the signals of amorous males, but those with yearling cubs will abandon them in favour of finding a new mate to breed with, chasing their offspring off into the forest in preparation for a new generation. Bear mothers forage during the mating season, building up fat reserves that will sustain them as they raise the next generation of bears, but males turn their attention only to breeding and can lose up to 20 per cent of their body weight in pursuit of a mate. Male bears use their strength and size to battle for dominance. Larger, older animals assert their authority by standing up on their hind legs and delivering painful bites and claw strikes to their opponent’s neck and face. Once a male has secured a female, he sometimes guards her for several days, sniffing at her scent marks to decide the best time to mate. Black bears are promiscuous and the male doesn’t stick around to help raise his offspring, preferring to disappear back into the forest in search of more females. When the breeding season ends, the exhausted males must work hard to replenish their fat stores in preparation for winter and cannot spare any energy to secure the future of their cubs. The pregnant female has a similar dilemma and although she has more time to prepare, she is now eating for up to six cubs. Her eggs have been fertilised, but thanks to an unusual biological adaptation, they don’t implant into the uterus straight away. If her cubs started to develop during the summer, they would drain her all of her fat reserves before the winter ended. Instead, the eggs wait for a few months in suspended animation, implanting when the bear has already begun her winter sleep, and maximising the chance that her cubs will survive until spring. The cubs develop quickly and are extremely small when they’re born in January. With snow still on the ground outside, the female bear feeds and cares for her cubs for several weeks as they grow in size and strength, but she is weak and must soon leave the den to feed. As spring arrives, she leads her small cubs out into the open so that she can search for food. They stay close by and she stops frequently to enable them to rest. They learn to climb quickly and after a few months are able to scamper to the trees while mum is away foraging, remaining quiet and clear of predators.
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The first few weeks of life Black bear cubs are extremely small in comparison with the size of their mother, and are barely able to do anything for themselves. The female bear tends to them carefully, paying close attention to the noises that they make and adjusting her behaviour in response to their different cries. The young cubs feed often, and the mother will shield them with her forepaws as they suckle, which helps to conserve their body heat. Bear cubs only spend a short time in the womb, and when they are born, their digestive systems are not full developed. The mother bear helps them to digest their food, gently licking at them to stimulate their intestinal muscles. This close attention at such a vulnerable time is essential for the bear cubs to survive.
Silvery fur The cubs are born with short, fine, silvery-grey fur and don’t develop their adult colouring for several months.
Closed eyes At birth, the bear cubs’ eyes are closed and for the first few months they are a vivid shade of blue.
Tiny claws Bear cubs are unable to walk for the first few weeks, but as they grow in strength, their claws become increasingly useful for holding on to mum.
Inside the den Bear cubs are completely dependent on their mother, and remain in the safety of the den for two to three months
Gentle grooming The female bear regularly grooms her cubs. This not only keeps them clean, but also helps their intestines to start moving.
Keeping warm
Mother bear
Thermal-imaging cameras have revealed that hibernating bears lose the most heat through their heads, particularly their eyes and noses. This is the reason they often sleep with their heads curled under, with their paws insulating their faces.
Female bears mate during the summer and give birth in January when temperatures are often still below freezing. Before building her den, the mother will have spent months storing fat, but by the time her cubs are born she’s lost a huge percentage of her body weight. She sleeps lightly to conserve her body weight, but stays alert to her cubs’ needs.
Staying close Young bear cubs are never far from their mother and the family huddle close together for warmth and security.
Feeding often Bear cubs suckle every few minutes, draining the last of their mother’s winter fat reserves. In spring she must leave the den to feed, so she can continue to provide milk.
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All about American black bears
The place black bears call home An estimated 600,000 black bears live in North America. They prefer to hide in dense forest, but these intelligent animals are wily and adaptable, so can be found in a variety of habitats stretching from the tundra of Canada, through the vast wildernesses and urban sprawl of the USA, all the way down to rural northern Mexico. Occasional attacks on humans have fuelled widespread fear of black bears, but these reclusive animals are surprisingly shy and prefer to remain hidden in thick vegetation. They are agile climbers and actively avoid confrontation, retreating to the safety of the trees when threatened. In their unending quest for food, black bears tear through the forest, turning over logs, decimating beehives, stripping bark and ripping fruit-laden branches from trees. They have an obvious impact on their environment and deep claw gouges in the wood alert travellers that they are entering bear country. Each bear needs hundreds of acres of space, so when food is scarce these resourceful animals will seek out alternative meals. They have an extremely well-developed sense of smell and will travel long distances in search of food. If their preferred options are unavailable, the bears will use all available resources to obtain the calories that
they need and will raid human campsites, or even venture to towns in search of scraps. In many states it’s recommend that all food and food waste be securely stored to prevent bear attacks, but hikers and homeowners have been known to feed black bears, either by mistake or on purpose. The bears learn quickly and will return to sites where they have previously been able to obtain food and in some cases this co-habitation can turn ugly. Hungry bears desperate for food will occasionally attack humans and in 2010 there were five fatal black bear attacks in the United States. Many scientists believe that well-fed bears are less likely to confront people, so actively advocate feeding the animals in areas where wild resources are becoming increasingly scarce. The effect of black bears is not all destructive, and these misunderstood animals are keystones in their environment. The bears are large animals and swallow fruit and berries whole, ingesting the seeds in their entirety; these pass through their digestive systems unharmed and exit at the other end embedded in ready-made compost. Black bears travel far and these large omnivores can swallow fruits that smaller animals just can’t manage – some plants with large pits, like plums, rely almost entirely on bears to spread their seeds.
“These reclusive animals are surprisingly shy and prefer to remain hidden”
Environmental factors The black bear population in North America is on the rise, but they still face a few environmental threats Hunters In many states it’s legal to hunt American black bears with a permit and during the hunting season all animals in the area are at risk until they can make a den for the winter. Human conflict Hungry bears will o"en venture into populated areas in search of food. They can become a nuisance, or even a danger, so problem animals must either be relocated, or shot. Habitat loss Each bear needs around 6,000 acres of land in order to find enough food and as the forests of North America shrink, bears are forced into areas populated by humans. Road traffic accidents The wildernesses of North America are connected by vast stretches of road. Unfortunately, careless car drivers kill hundreds of black bears each year.
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American black bears
Black bears have a tense relationship with humans in North America and of all the bear species on the continent, they are responsible for the most attacks. However, as a species they are widely misunderstood. Grizzly bears are extremely large and aggressive and will fight with the full force of their 350-kilogram (770-pound) bodies if they feel threatened. Black bears are much smaller and are far more likely to run than they are to fight. Black bears are more numerous than grizzlies and live much closer to human populations, so their interactions with people are more frequent. Foraging for fruit and nuts is a time-consuming process and in many areas food is scarce. Unattended food in villages, towns and camps offers a veritable banquet to a bear trying to prepare for a long winter sleep, so something as simple as a well-stocked bird feeder provides over 10,000 calories in one easy meal. So great is their desire to eat before they hibernate, that black bears will venture straight into human settlements in search of a free meal. This is where humans and bears come into conflict. The best advice for dealing with an American black bear encounter is to talk to the bear calmly and to back away slowly. If the bear is afraid, it will pop its jaw and may test you with a threatening lunge, but unless it’s extremely hungry it’s very unlikely to attack. If the bear is getting closer, or you feel you can’t escape, making loud noises and waving your arms can scare it off.
Nearest neighbours American black bears are formidable animals and they share their home with some truly deadly creatures
Wolverine These feisty members of the weasel family are some of the most aggressive predators in North America. They might be small, but they’re ferocious and will attack animals many times their own size.
Grizzly bear Black bears tend to avoid areas inhabited by grizzly bears, so the two species don’t come into contact. Brown bears are much larger and more defensive than their black neighbours.
Cougar In the western states of North America, black bears share their home with mountain lions. These predatory cats hunt a variety of prey including deer, cattle and sheep. The bears are quick to make use of any le"overs.
Grey wolf Grey wolves used to be found across the Northern Hemisphere and used to roam as far south as Mexico, but the North American population is now mainly restricted to Canada.
Alamy, Thinkstock, Nature PL, Rex Features, The Art Agency; Peter Scott, Tony Hisgett, Ryan Poplin, Jeffrey. c. Lewis
Black bears and humans
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Bizarre! NAKED MOLE RAT Heterocephalus glaber Class Mammalia
Territory Eastern Africa Diet Herbivore Lifespan Up to 31 years Adult weight 1.5kg / 3.3lbs Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
The naked mole rat lives in 300-strong colonies protecting their queen This furless rodent is native to the scorching lands of east Africa and is one of only two mammals to live in multi-generational colonies. Despite little food and water, it survives for decades
They behave just like ants
Several generations of naked mole-rats live together in a colony, just like ants and bees. A social unit can consist of as few as 20 and up to 300 individuals headed up by a queen. As she breeds with a handful of males, worker offspring dig burrows, gathering bulbs and roots for the entire colony to eat. Some of the naked mole-rats act as soldiers, providing protection for the queen.
The teeth constantly grow
To burrow effectively, naked mole-rats use their long, strong, protruding incisors to create the series of tunnels and chambers that make up their colony’s home. Their teeth constantly grow, so the gnawing helps to file them down. They are located on the outside of the creatures’ lips, so they can keep their mouths closed as they dig. This keeps the soil out of their mouths in the tunnels.
They eat their own faeces
It may sound rather gross, but think about it: if naked mole-rats are digging four kilometres (2.5 miles) of tunnels for a typical colony and rarely come up to the surface, they need to relieve themselves underground. The best way to get rid of some of it is to scoff it down. The faeces help them digest roots and bulbs. They also roll in the waste to gather the smell, which helps them identify one another.
Food is gathered from below If they are gathering plants, but not coming to the surface, how are they able to take them? From below, of course. They identify the roots of the plants and pull at them until they disappear from the surface. The mole-rats understand if they nibble at it, the plant will continue to grow and flourish, providing food for a longer period of time.
Although it doesn’t have any fur and looks like a little wrinkled sausage, the naked mole-rat has a small amount of hair. There are whiskers on its face and tail and tiny hairs between its toes These help the critter to navigate around the dark underground tunnels it extensively burrows in the east-African soil. It very rarely emerges from below the ground so its hairs and sense of smell are far more important than its sight.
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© NaturePL
Naked mole-rats aren’t entirely naked
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Meet the family
Frogs
There are almost 5,000 species of frog, some smaller than a fingernail and others as big as a football MADAGASCAR TOMATO FROG
Purple frog
Dyscophus antongilii
These odd-looking individuals hide underground
Class Amphibia
Territory Madagascar Diet Invertebrates Life span Not known Adult weight 40g / 0.09lb Conservation status
NEAR THREATENED
Not a tasty tomato Tomato frogs get their name from their rounded shape and bright colour, but they are certainly not good to eat and secrete a sticky white poison from their skin.
Madagascar tomato frog These feisty frogs puff up when attacked
These bright, tomato-coloured frogs are extremely eye-catching to predators, but for all the wrong reasons. Their skin is a warning signal and when threatened these frogs inflate themselves, puffing outward to reveal their true size, before releasing sticky, white, poisonous glue from their skin. This acts as a deterrent, warding off snakes, their main predators. They live in hot, humid forests and rarely spend time in the water. Their stumpy legs are much suited to life on the ground. They have no teeth and instead rely on the ridges on the roves of their mouths to grind up their food.
STRAWBERRY POISON DART FROG Oophaga pumilio Class Amphibia
© Nature PL
Territory Central and South America Diet Small invertebrates Life span 3-15 years Adult weight 6g / 0.01lbs Conservation status
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Great diggers Purple frogs have large bodies and short, stumpy legs. They are far from elegant on the ground, but when buried beneath it, they are talented diggers.
LEAST CONCERN
Purple frogs have bloated bodies and small heads. Their legs are short and stumpy with barely any webbing between the toes. However, they don’t need to swim or hop; they are burrowing frogs, so on each of their back feet they have a shovel-like lump. A purple frog can bury itself entirely PURPLE FROG Nasikabtrachus in just a few minutes, and sahyadrensis spend most of their time Class Amphibia concealed in the earth, using their strange tongues to suck up termites. When the monsoon rains arrive, there Territory India is a flurry of activity as the frogs Diet Termites race to lay their eggs in the fresh Life span Not known Adult weight Not known water, before returning to the Conservation status safety of the ground. NOT EVALUATED
Warning signal The bright skin advertises their deadly poison, so predators learn to associate the garish patterns with danger, avoiding the poisonous animals entirely.
Strawberry poison dart frog
With these frogs, red really does mean danger
These bright little frogs are territorial, aggressive and toxic. Males wrestle for the best positions on the forest floor and if they come across the eggs of a rival, they will quickly consume them. They communicate using chirps and fear relatively few predators. Their bright skin deters most animals and their deadly poison quickly subdues those who aren’t. However, there are some predators immune to their poison and night ground snakes are able to consume the toxic frogs and their tadpoles. Despite being highly toxic, these little frogs are actually useful to their environment, providing natural pest control and keeping ant and mite numbers in check.
Frogs
Surinam horned frog Big frogs with an equally big appetite
The Surinam horned frog is big and aggressive. It has a big appetite, a huge comedic mouth and it defends its hunting territories viciously. These frogs live on the floor of the Amazon rainforest and take advantage of the deep leaf litter to conceal their wide bodies from potential prey. Their leafy colouration and spiny heads act as camouflage and they wait patiently until something interesting walks past. When the time is right, they burst upward, SURINAM HORNED FROG clamping prey in their Ceratophrys cornuta sharp teeth before Class Amphibia swallowing it whole. Far from fussy eaters, they will consume insects, small mammals and even other frogs. Territory Amazonian Basin Diet Mice, fish, frogs Life span 10 years (captivity) Adult weight 60-130g / 0.130.29lb Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
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1. Most toxic Golden poison frog
Makes like a tree and leaves The horns on this ground-dwelling species of frog are thought to serve as camouflage, mimicking the shape and colour of the stems of fallen leaves.
Glass frog
These frogs leave nothing to the imagination
See-through body This unusual frog puts its anatomy on show, the coverings of the lungs are visible at the top, and the liver and intestines are concealed within the white membrane below.
Mossy frog
GLASS FROG Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni Class Amphibia
Glass frogs are native to the cloud forests of central Territory Central and South and South America. America There are a number Diet Invertebrates of different species, Life span Not known Adult weight Not known but all share one Conservation status amazing adaptation: the skin that covers their lower side of LEAST CONCERN their abdomen, and sometimes even their legs and arms, is translucent. Aside from a few internal membranes, their heart, lungs and digestive organs are almost entirely on show. Unusually, the male frogs are dedicated fathers, so while his eggs develop he guards them, occasionally squirting water over them to keep them damp. When threatened, he makes a peeping sound and uses the hooks on MOSSY FROG each of his front legs as Theloderma corticale weapons to scare off any Class Amphibia would-be intruders.
On the rocks With their warty skin and mottled green-brown colouration, mossy frogs become almost invisible against the rocks that line their freshwater homes.
True masters of camouflage and deception
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1
Territory Vietnam Diet Invertebrates Life span 12-15 years (in captivity) Adult weight Not known Conservation status
DATA DEFICIENT
The most toxic of the frog family, they are among the most toxic animals of all, with skin coated in batrachotoxin, even deadlier than cyanide.
2. Smallest Paedophryne amauensis Maybe the smallest of Earth’s vertebrates, these 1cm-long amphibians are found on forest floors in Papua New Guinea.
4 3. Most elusive Krokosua squeaker frog After discovering a single specimen in 2002, scientists searched for four years before finding any more of them living in the wild.
4. Weirdest life cycle Southern gastricbrooding frog The female shuts down her digestive system and swallows her own eggs so they develop inside her stomach.
The horned frog is not a frog at all Despite its squat, knobbly appearance, the horned frog, also known as the horned toad or the horny toad, is not actually a frog. It isn’t even an amphibian at all. With its rounded, lumpy body and blunt face, it looks remarkably similar to a frog, but in fact, it is a lizard.
Also known as the Tonkin bug-eyed frog, these large amphibians are natural mimics. Their skin is a mottled green, with black and brown marks, spots and smudges. Unlike their smooth cousins, these frogs are knobbled and gnarled, enabling them to blend seamlessly with the moss-covered rocks lining the streams and pools of the mountains of northern Vietnam. They live a semi-aquatic lifestyle and spend their time hiding among the vegetation beneath the surface of the water, or concealed in the rocks close to the water’s edge. Sticky discs on their toes enable them to stick to almost any surface and they can climb trees with ease.
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Wildlife of the Azores
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Wildlife of the Azores Rising literally out of the blue, hundreds of miles from land, these volcanic islands are an ocean oasis for countless animals Words Adam Millward Before heading out on a long road trip, it’s reassuring to know where you’re going to stop for a break, when you’ll be getting your next meal, as well as what the accommodation will be like if you decide to stay a while. Much the same is true in the animal kingdom, but for certain creatures it can be days or even weeks, rather than hours, between stops. As a result it’s even more vital for migrating wildlife to be able to rely on a few natural service stations scattered all around the globe. Located some 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) off Portugal, the Azores are one of the Northern
Hemisphere’s premier pit stops. Comprised of nine volcanic islands, they form the most remote archipelago in the north Atlantic and so understandably are a welcome sight for weary wanderers who have spent many long days out in the open ocean. Arguably marine mammals are the Azores’ greatest fans. In fact, you’ll find the waters off these isles clamourous with all number of eerie songs, clicks and whistles, with at least a quarter of all known cetacean species (25-plus) spending time here, either on a temporary or permanent basis.
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Azores bullfinch
Risso’s dolphin Favouring the deep waters found along continental shelves, Risso’s dolphins are equally at home with the steep-sided seamounts of the Azores. They prey on squid and octopus that venture up from the depths to feed.
Azores noctule Along with its cousin the greater mouse-eared bat, this is the only endemic mammal on the islands themselves. Although similar to the lesser noctule found elsewhere, it is smaller and has a higherpitched call, which it uses for its echolocation ability.
Sailfish
Least weasel European rabbits
Turtle eggs Eurasian hedgehog
Flying fish
Portugal Azores
godwit umber of wetlands and coastal zores play host to a diverse array of , including ducks, grebes and herons. ar visitor is the black-tailed godwit, whose dle-like beak is perfect for winkling out worms and molluscs buried deep in the mud or sand.
Loggerhead turtles
Africa
So what’s the big draw? The islands sit in a branch of the Gulf Stream known as the Azores Current. This channel of water, noticeably warmer than the surrounding Atlantic, means that both tiny plants and animals thrive. Baleen whales, like humpbacks and blue whales, come to feed on this abundance of microscopic food, while toothed whales and dolphins feast on the critters drawn to the plankton. The local topology also helps make the Azores a wildlife haven. Positioned above the meeting point of three major tectonic plates, the islands were born out of a fiery eruption of magma from deep inside the Earth. What we see today are the summits of mighty seamounts that
breached the surface up to 8 million years ago, though there are many more pinnacles concealed in the depths. Waves have carved out underwater shelves around the islands which, in some cases, connect the isles via hidden submarine bridges. This far out in the ocean, raised areas of seabed are rare, making it prime real estate. Cold-water reefs have established on these shelves – and once you have a reef, it’s never long before sea life moves in. As such, it’s not just marine mammals that make a beeline for Azorean waters. You’ll find everything here from psychedelic parrotfish and seaslugs, to loggerhead turtles and almost spectral manta rays. With wing-like fins that can span some seven metres (23 feet) in the larger birostris subspecies, mantas seem to soar through the water, corralling
“The islands were born out of a fiery eruption of magma from deep inside the Earth” 54
Wildlife of the Azores White-tailed tropicbird
Star animals of the Azores
One of the most exotic-looking birds to visit the Azores, its most distinctive features are its tail feathers that can stream out behind as far as 35 centimetres (14 inches). It eats fish and squid, both of which are abundant in the waters off the islands.
Blue whale Up to 30 metres (100 feet) long and weighing some 200 tons, these are the biggest animals to have ever lived! They travel past the Azores in spring, searching for food.
Atlantic spotted dolphin Mabula rays
These dolphins visit the Azores for a summer holiday. As sociable and intelligent animals, they partner up with other species to hunt.
Eurasian hedgehog This spiny critter is prevalent in Europe, often living in farmland and gardens. Like the majority of land mammals in the Azores, it’s not a native, but was introduced by us.
grams (0.4-0.5 ounces), the noctule is considered unique in the bat family as it hunts primarily during the day rather Easily recognised by the small than at night. It’s thought this is due to the lack of avian predators around. Despite a golden goshawk appearing fin on its back near the tail, this on the islands’ flag, raptors are limited to a few common mammal can grow up to 26 metres buzzards and kites. (85 feet) long. It’s only beaten Any other land mammals you may see have been in size by the blue whale. In fact, introduced by human explorers and colonists at some sometimes the two cetacean point in the last few centuries, either unwittingly – like giants are found hanging out when the black rat, a frequent stowaway aboard ships – or feeding, though generally both are deliberately, like the ferrets and rabbits. These were quite solitary. introduced for hunting, one of the other. Birds are much more populous on the islands. Like the migrating sea creatures, many use the islands as a refuelling point, though some like it so much they’ll spend the entire winter here. Whether it’s a north-south journey between the Arctic and Africa, or west-east excursion Cuvier’s beaked whale between North America and Eurasia, the Azores are on This is just one of several beaked whales many animal itineraries. found in the Azores, favouring the deep It’s not just the isles’ out-of-the-way location that makes waters off the islands. A study found these them appealing to avian travellers. While the amount of whales are the deepest-diving mammals. land is fairly limited, there’s a surprising diversity of habitats to cater for many different tastes. Whether it’s beaches for seabirds that like to comb the shore, wetlands and lagoons zooplankton into tight groups before plunging in mouthfor anglers and waders, or woodland for those that prefer first to gulp down as many as possible. the shelter and food afforded by trees, this archipelago Because the islands jut up from much greater depths has it all covered. – as low as 3,000 metres (9,850 feet) – pelagic fish are One of the rarest birds is a permanent resident: the regular visitors too, such as shoals of bluefin tuna. The Azores bullfinch, which lives solely in the eastern hills of odd-looking sunfish can also be seen basking near the São Miguel. Its diet consists principally of plants found only surface, along with the king of the fish, the whale shark, in the laurel forest, so conservation efforts are urgently which can grow some 13 metres (43 feet) long! under way to restore regional flora and restrict forest All this isn’t to say that the Azores are deserted on land. clearance. A fellow Azorean native, the Monteiro’s storm Here the volcanic legacy lives on, with natural hot pools, petrel, has only been recognised as its own species since caves hollowed out by lava and the main island São Miguel 2008, when ornithologists noticed that certain storm even using geothermal power to generate electricity. petrels were breeding at a different time of year. This bird Humidity-loving laurel forest is the Azores’ natural biome, is equally rare with only 250 to 999 individuals in the wild. but this has drastically shrunk, as land has been cultivated With so much amazing wildlife, it’s little wonder that for agriculture and commandeered by non-native flora. more and more people are following the animals’ lead and Two species of bat are the only known endemic land making their own detour to this far-flung archipelago. For mammals: the greater mouse-eared bat and the Azorean nature-lovers setting out to the Azores, the problem is noctule, which make their homes in hollow trees, forest generally never how long it takes to get there, or whether caves and disused buildings. Weighing merely 10 to 15 or not they’ll like it, but that they won’t want to leave.
© Alamy, Gaudete, The Art Agency; Peter Scott
Fin whale
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20 Amazing facts Horses
Horses have lived alongside humans for thousands of years. Discover more about these amazing equines…
The fastest horse on record was clocked at over 70 kilometres (43 miles) per hour. That’s almost double the speed of Usain Bolt’s recordbreaking 100-metre sprint! They don’t breathe through their mouths Horses are physically unable to breathe through their mouths. This protects them from inhaling food, but also prevents them from being able to pant in order to cool themselves down. One advantage of nasal breathing is that they are still able to sniff out and detect nearby predators while grazing.
Horses have a huge panoramic field of view. They can see around 350 degrees horizontally and nearly 180 degrees vertically. This gives them an almost perfect picture of their entire surroundings.
If a horse is trying to focus on something in particular, they tend to point their ears in the direction of whatever they are looking at. Arabian horses commonly have only 17 pairs of ribs while most other breeds have 18. More often than not, they have one less vertebra than other horses as well. Horses have shown a preference for sugary foods when given a choice. They will often avoid bitter tastes. Horses’ teeth take up more space in their skulls than their brains. These will grow forever, so need to be ground down while chewing.
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The eyes have it Horses have the biggest eyes of any land mammal – on average nine times the volume of a human’s. The size of a mammal’s eyes is actually directly related to its top speed.
Horses
The Mongolian Przewalski’s subspecies is the last truly wild horse. All other feral horses across the world are descendents of once domesticated breeds. Horses are traditionally measured in hands (one hand equals 10.2 centimetres or four inches). Their height is taken from the ground to between the shoulder blades. When horses canter or gallop, they take one breath for every stride. They inhale and exhale when their front legs leave and strike the ground respectively.
Their memories are second only to elephants. Studies have shown that horses remember both good and bad experiences, and remain loyal to humans that treated them well. They’re also able to remember complex solutions to problems for over a decade.
Akhal-Teke horses from Turkmenistan have unbelievably high endurance. They can go for several days without food or water, even when travelling through deserts. Get off my back! Bucking – lowering the head and kicking the hind legs - is a horse’s self-defence mechanism. When horses roamed wild across prehistoric North America, they were hunted by large predators like wolves or cougars. If these animals tried to pounce on the horse’s back, bucking would usually get rid of them.
The oldest horse was 62 The oldest horse ever recorded was called Old Billy and lived to be 62. That’s double the average lifeexpectancy for a horse!
Ponies are horses too Taxonomically, there is no difference between horses and ponies. They are members of the same species but are distinguished by their sizes and temperaments. In general, ponies tend to be smaller, stockier and calmer. Certain breeds of horse, such as the Falabella or Caspian, are shorter than some ponies but are still considered horses.
Speaking their language Horses use a variety of vocalisations to communicate. The classic neigh is used to locate other horses if one gets separated. The nicker (a soft neigh through the nose) is a greeting, while a snort can show fear, but is also used when horses play. What’s that sound? They can hear noises from up to 4.4 kilometres (2.7 miles) away! They are also sensitive to more higherpitched sounds than humans are.
When a horse sticks out its neck and curls its upper lip back, it’s not hard to see why this is called a laugh. It’s actually a way for horses to analyse a new scent in more detail, such as a potential mate.
© Thinkstock
They only sleep for about three hours a day in total. This is made up of lots of small naps lasting just a few minutes each.
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Zoos of the world
Twycross Zoo From a personal collection of exotic animals, to a wildlife park for the whole family… When pet shop owners Molly Badham and Nathalie Evans’ interesting zoological collection outgrew their own threequarter-acre site in 1963, Twycross Zoo was founded. The zoo has a wide variety of monkeys and apes, including the UK’s only group of bonobos. With everything from the critically endangered and majestically beautiful snow leopards, to wildlife’s laughing rebel, the hyena, Twycross plays host to some 650 animals across an 80-acre site. Here you can get up-close with the resident ring-tailed lemurs, while emperor tamarins make use of a great treetop exhibit. Visitors are able to watch these bearded little fellows leap from branch to branch.
See it for yourself WWW.TWYCROSSZOO.ORG Location Warwickshire
Twycross Zoo
Admission Adults (16+): £16.95 Children (3-16): £11.95 Infant (under 3): Free of charge Concession (Senior citizens and students with an NUS card): £14.50
How to get there Twycross Zoo is located on the A444, which can be accessed via the A5 and the M42 junction 11. Follow the brown attraction signs to the zoo.
ABOVE The zoo recently saw new baby bush dogs born
“Twycross has all four types of great ape”
ABOVE General Oumbi, the zoo’s alpha silverback
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ABOVE Twycross is the only zoo in the UK home to bonobos
Twycross zoo
entry for WIN! Free a whole year Memberships for two
Worth adults and two children £150 up for grabs!
ABOVE A favourite with visitors, Esha was born in early 2014
ABOVE This boisterous young ape is nicknamed the Whirlwind
Enjoy Twycross Zoo all year round with a membership for two adults and two children worth £150! With two of these prizes to be won, enter now to be in with a chance of getting unlimited free visits for a whole year! The winners will also get fast-track entry and free entry to other specified UK zoos. Set in over 80 acres of beautiful Leicestershire countryside, Twycross Zoo is a World Primate Centre with a wide variety of monkeys and apes including the UK’s only group of bonobos. You’ll also be able to walk with ring-tailed lemurs in their walkthrough enclosure and visit the keeper talks about some of the zoo’s incredible animals. You can explore the butterfly forest and even feed lorikeets nectar in the new Lorikeet Landing experience.
How to enter Visit www.animalanswers.co.uk and answer this question: Which species’ alpha male is o#en called the silverback of the group? -Gorilla -Orangutan -Bonobo Participants must be aged 18 or over. Terms and conditions apply.
What’s on at Twycross?
Daily animal feeds and talks Watch the animals enjoy their dinner close-up at one of the popular animal talks and feeds. Join keepers as they feed meerkats, elephants, bonobos, lemurs, penguins and others. You can watch the animals tuck in while one of the zoo’s Education Team members explains all about their habits and features!
ABOVE Two Amur leopard cubs were recently born at Twycross
ABOVE Josie is the chimpanzee poster girl of the zoo
© Twycross Zoo; GillianDay, Andy Silver, Amy Haycock, Thinkstock
ABOVE Visitors will get a chance to see a range of animals at feeding time, including the adorable meerkat family
Pole to Pole Hub The Pole to Pole Hub is an activity tent with games and cra#s for children and adults alike to take part in. Learn about the threats animals face in the wild including climate change, habitat destruction and poaching, while discovering more about the work that zoos worldwide do to help protect many species.
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Songs of the humpback
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SONGS OF THE
HUMPBACK These melodic symphonies of the sea are among wildlife’s greatest wonders. Exactly why tuneful whale composers create these underwater serenades is one of the biggest mysteries of the deep Words Ella Carter-Sutton
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Songs of the humpback There was once a time when the oceans were thought to be vast expanses of virtual silence, but we gradually began to realise that our planet’s water bodies were a cacophony of aquatic noise. When biologist Roger Payne discovered the song of the humpback in the late 1960s, everything we thought we knew changed. Yet, over four decades on, we still don’t know the full story and the whales are keeping scientists guessing. Humpbacks are large whales, reaching up to 15 metres (50 feet) in length. These majestic beasts have long, tapered bodies with elongated pectoral fins and a short dorsal fin, ending in a large fluked tail. Their knobbly heads have huge jaws to help with their filter-feeding method of eating. “They’re found in all oceans, but not necessarily all of the time, because they’re migratory,” explains Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of the North American Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. “They tend to go to higher latitudes to feed, then to the more-temperate tropical waters for breeding.” For whales that cruise across whole oceans every year, tracking them down for study can be tricky. This is one reason why we don’t know much about their social structures, or their amazing methods of communication. Like most cetaceans (the group of animals containing whales and dolphins), humpbacks make grunts, whines and shrieks. However, their songs have been dubbed as the most-complex vocalisations in the animal kingdom and are truly captivating. “[Humpback] song is made up of many sounds that the whales arrange into long, complex songs each year,” says Dr Ellen Garland, from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory. “It’s an acoustic display that’s produced by males. We aren’t quite sure whether it’s for attracting
mates or repelling rivals, but it has something to do with mating.” The noises that the whales string into their eerie performances are generated as they force air through their nasal cavities “sort of like a bagpipe”, Asmutis-Silvia explains. “They produce a lowfrequency sound and the lower the sound, the further it will travel, so they can conceivably communicate with other whales that are tens if not hundreds of miles from them,” she continues. “It’s kind of like a mobile phone – you can stay connected with your family even when you can’t see them.” The whales’ keen hearing means the animals can be in touch across huge expanses of ocean. So, why do the males sing at all? “It was thought to happen only in the breeding area or maybe the shoulder seasons,” Asmutis-Silvia continues. “But it seems to be happening year-round, so it has some function that isn’t exclusive to breeding. It may be a contact call – it may have different purposes at different locations as well.” When the males do sing, they seem to find one another, as Asmutis-Silvia goes on: “[A whale] will
ABOVE Humpback whales adopt a very specific stance before beginning their serenades BELOW The underwater songs have set patterns, but to impress females, males will o#en vary their tunes
HUMPBACK WHALE Megaptera novaeangliae Class Mammalia
Territory Found in all the world’s oceans Diet krill, plankton, small fish Lifespan 45-50 years Adult weight 40 tons Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
“Their songs have been dubbed as the mostcomplex vocalisations in the animal kingdom” 64
Humpback whales
How do whales talk? Humpbacks use a variety of methods to get in touch with one another, including body language, as well as a range of clicks, grunts and whistles Breaching on the surface Whales may breach to show dominance or for fun. The breach’s intense sound could communicate the location and size of the whale.
The singing stance Males o!en adopt this stance to sing. They hang in the water with their heads down, tails bent and flippers out to the sides.
Whale body language Gestures such as tail slaps or lunging are also methods whereby males can show off during the mating season.
Other vocal noises Aside from singing, humpbacks are known to vocalise socially with other noises, including whoops, barks, grunts and groans.
The song of the humpback Singing o!en happens when males reach breeding grounds. It may be to entice females, display dominance, or contact others. Potential echolocation noises Whales feeding at night have been seen making low clicks and buzzes, similar to noises made by toothed whales during echolocation.
sing for a period of time and it seems that at the end of that singing it’s the males that will find one another and make contact. The song is so melodic and it’s so eerie. It’s beautiful and it seems peaceful in some respects. There aren’t a lot of physical altercations between these males once they find one another. The actual activity of mating is physical, but that’s not where the songs are happening.” The males that sing these beautiful harmonies will hang in the water column, with their heads down and flippers out, repeating phrases and stringing them together into recognisable patterns that form the songs for up to hours at a time. “What is interesting is that the males in a population all sing the same song as one another, but the pattern of the song changes with time,” explains Dr Garland. “All the males make the same changes, so they keep singing the same pattern as one another even though that pattern is changing. We think of it as a cultural trait rather than something that’s genetic.” This discovery of a culture within humpback populations was made by a team including Dr Garland. They studied the songs recorded from six neighbouring humpback populations from across the south-western Pacific ocean, for over a decade. She made some fascinating findings. “We found songs moved eastwards from one population to the next,” Dr Garland says. “The movement was like a series of cultural ripples spreading across the region.”
But how does this happen? Dr Garland and her team have figured out at least a few answers: “Usually the song contains some older material from the previous year and then some exciting new stuff,” she begins. “It would be like splicing an old Beatles song with U2. Occasionally they start singing a brand-new song. So in essence all males sing the same thing at the same time but what they sing changes either to a completely new song…”
BELOW Humpback whales will o"en gather together in numbers wherever food is plentiful
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Given that the singing is most strongly (yet not exclusively) tied in with breeding, this evolution of songs may have the benefit of impressing female whales with fresh new sounds to be serenaded by, as well as infuse a bit of individuality for the male humpback. “In human society when new fashions appear, there are a few savvy people who embrace it and then everyone else quickly follows,” Dr Garland elaborates. “We think this male quest for song novelty is in the hope of being that little bit different and more-attractive to the ladies. This is then reeled in by the urge to sing the same tune, by the need to conform, which is the same as with humans when everyone wants to be the same.” Whatever the whales’ reasons for composing and performing new song material year on year, we still have
“This evolution of songs may have the benefit of impressing female whales ” so much to learn about why they vocalise in such an intricate and beautiful way. “These songs are incredible, but energetically expensive,” enthuses Asmutis-Silvia. “When you’re making a lot of noise and using up energy, you generally do it for a purpose. These songs are frequently happening in the breeding areas where there is very little food available, so it might serve a really important role for them to use up that energy in a place where they’re not even sure when they’re going to get their next meal. I think that’s one of the important things to remember when we’re drowning out these songs with human impacts.” Unfortunately, drowning them out we sure are. These animals are highly sensitive, but human impacts such as seismic activity, shipping noise and sonar are having a derogatory affect on these majestic creatures. A recent study showed that acoustic stress from activity over 200 kilometres (124 miles) away from the whales caused a decline in singing over a period of months. “We’re making it harder for these animals to function,” stresses AsmutisSilvia. “A recent study from the University of Vermont explained how large whales are really the ecosystem engineers, as well as how their function and the way they work helps to fight climate change, having positive impacts on commercially valuable fishing populations. So they’re really important – not just because we like whales, but because we’re part of the ecosystem.”
Underwater neighbours Although their songs are heard for miles around, the humpback isn’t by any means the biggest swimmer in the ocean Grey whale Eschrichtius robustus 14m Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena 1.6m Narwhal Monodon monoceros 6m (Not including tusk, which is 2m long)
Killer whale Orcinus orca 9m Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus 3m Humpback whale
Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata 10m
North Pacific right whale Eubalaena japonica 17m Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus 18m
Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus 22m
Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus 30m
© Alamy, Rex Features, Thinkstock , Hendrik Gheerardyn
A humpback calf jumping completely clear of the water’s surface
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Lone wolf
68
LONE WOLF Stalking through its vast South-American territory, the maned wolf is unique in more than just appearance… Words Ella Carter-Sutton
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Lone wolf
Size comparison
Take a look at how these four-legged relatives size up 140 cm
120 cm
100 cm
Eurasian wolf Canis lupus lupus One of the mostwidespread species, the Eurasian wolf’s population is thought to exceed 10,000 in geographic Europe.
80 cm
Arctic wolf Canis lupus arctos This subspecies of the Eurasian wolf lives in the freezingcold Arctic regions of North America and Greenland.
Dingo Canis lupus dingo Australia’s wild dog belongs to the same genus as the Eurasian wolf and other wolf species.
Maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus Looking a bit like a leggy fox with a wolfish face, but technically neither, the maned wolf is the only species of the genus Chrysocyon.
Bush dog Speothos venaticus This near-threatened canine species is one the maned wolf’s closest relatives. It’s found in central and South America.
60 cm
40 cm
20 cm
Height: approx. 100cm Width: approx. 160cm
Height: approx. 79cm Width: approx. 189cm
On the grasslands, savannahs and swamps of South America roams a lone, large and particularly leggy hunter. With elegant long limbs, a rich, rusty-coloured coat and large, bat-like ears, the maned wolf resembles a supercritter made of the best bits of other animals – and it carries this look rather well. The wolf gets its name from the usually black ruff of fur around its neck and upper back that can stand on end to make it look much larger when threatened. However, even the name is deceiving, as the maned wolf isn’t really wolf. Despite its foxy-looking features, it’s not a fox either – it is the only surviving species of the genus Chrysocyon, but rests within the same subfamily as true foxes and wolves, although not directly related. The long, thin snout of this wolf is framed by its huge ears – these are held erect to provide excellent hearing and can also swivel around to pinpoint the location of prey, helping the wolf hunt. The maned wolf’s slender frame is perfectly adapted to its grassland home. The beautiful long legs that have earned the animal numerous nicknames, such as stilt-legged wolf, are amazing for stealthily picking a path through the tall grasses of the South-American plains, making it a delicate and accomplished predator. However, don’t be fooled by their length – the legs aren’t made for running, but rather trotting with a jaunty, energysaving gait. The legs on the same side move together, not alternatively of each other. Unlike their wolfish cousins, maned wolves do not live in large packs. They aren’t
70
Height: approx. 60cm Width: approx. 174cm
Height: approx. 100cm Width: approx. 145cm
Height: approx. 40cm Width: approx. 75cm
Maned wolves will only occasionally gather together and are mostly solitary
sociable at all, preferring to be solitary, nocturnal hunters that use excellent night vision to track down their dinner. During the first six months of the dry season, the wolf will hunt and eat small rodents such as mice or wild guinea pigs. It will also feast on other options such as birds, reptiles and insects if the opportunity presents itself. When the rainy season arrives, the maned wolf breaks away from the typical habits of its carnivorous canine relatives and survives almost solely on fruit and vegetation. Foraging for fruit also takes place at night, as the wolves rest in the grass and thick shrubs during the day. Their favourite meal is a tomato-like fruit, lobeira, known locally as ‘fruta de lobo’ which translates as ‘fruit of the wolf’. Many people believe that in eating this fruit, the wolves are protected from a parasite known as the giant kidney worm, to which they are very susceptible.
MANED WOLF Chrysocyon brachyurus Class Mammalia
Territory Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina Diet Small mammals, reptiles, vegetation Lifespan Up to 16 years Adult weight 23kg / 50lbs Conservation status
NEAR THREATENED
Maned wolf
Culpeo Lycalopex culpaeus This South-American wild dog is the secondlargest canid on the continent, a!er its cousin the maned wolf.
Height: approx. 80cm Width: approx. 130cm
South-American gray fox Lycalopex griseus Found in Patagonia and Argentina, this fox is a member of the group known as false foxes.
Height: approx. 35cm Width: approx. 70cm
African wild dog Lycaon pictus Another member of the true dogs, this amazing wild dog is the sole member of its own genus, Lycaon.
Arctic fox Vulpes lagopus A member of the true foxes, the Arctic fox can survive incredibly low temperatures in its wintery home.
Height: approx. 100cm Width: approx. 175cm
“The maned wolf’s slender frame is perfectly adapted to its grassland home”
Height: approx. 40cm Width: approx. 110cm
Fennec fox Vulpes zerda The fennec fox may be the smallest true fox, but has huge ears to help it keep cool in its Saharan home.
Height: approx. 20cm Width: approx. 60cm
Red fox Vuples vulpes A common fox species, red foxes o!en make an appearance in urban areas and are known for their cunning.
Height: approx. 60cm Width: approx. 140cm
It’s thought that pups stay with their mother until they’re about a year old
Although the wolves play an important part in this ecosystem by spreading the seeds of the fruit through their droppings, their food may still be very widely dispersed. An adult wolf needs a territory of up to 26 square kilometres (ten square miles) to survive. Mated, monogamous males and females of the species can share a territory, but as the expanse of land is so large they rarely meet and interaction is kept to a minimum. To keep out rival wolves, each territory is marked heavily using urine and faeces, which as you’d expect has a very distinctive smell! Keepers of maned wolves in captivity have told of how their urine smells strongly like skunk spray, or even worse! This pungent scent has also earned the wolf the less-endearing nickname skunk wolf. Another method of protecting their home ranges is letting out bark-like noises, known as roar-barks. They use these at dusk to warn other wolves that they ought to keep away from the area. Mating season sees the most social interactions between maned wolf individuals. Between April and June mated pairs come together, and females give birth to between two and five cubs 65 days later. Pups are born black and get their brilliant rusty-red colouring after around ten weeks old and classic, gangly, maned-wolf legs at around ten months. Males often take part in raising the pups and have been witnessed regurgitating food for their litter. Maned wolves have no real predators and their most significant threat comes from human interaction. The reduction of habitat through clearing for agricultural land, and some deforestation, affects their need for large territorial areas. There is also the impact of living closer to human settlements. Many maned wolves are killed on roads and the threat from domestic dogs is always present, as they may pass on disease or chase the wolves, putting them under extra stress.
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WEIRDEST lizards From walking on water to sneezing out salt, lizards really are among the strangest creatures on the planet The Earth boasts an enormous spectrum of ludicrous lizards, from the flying lizard that can fit in the palm of your hand, to the colossal Komodo dragon. These miniature monsters have roamed the Earth since the age of the dinosaurs and some behave in the wackiest ways. These ancient cold-blooded creatures have developed unique techniques for survival and are spread over almost every continent of the planet. Lizards dominate even the toughest of environments, like the thorny devil that navigates hot deserts while evading predators with its spiky armour. Each species has found incredible solutions to challenges in the wild, just like the lizard that whips out a frill from its neck to startle predators, and the Gila monster that poisons its prey while chewing. From the impressive colourful array of the rainbow lizard to the basilisk lizard’s ability to walk on water this group of critters has to be seen to be believed.
Leaf-tailed geckos of Madagascar scream if they are disturbed Leaf-tailed geckos are masters of disguise. With their brown or green skin and flat, leaf-like tails, they can blend in seamlessly with the tree bark in their habitat. If a gecko thinks it’s in danger, it will raise its head and tail, open its mouth wide and scream. The aim of this bizarre reaction is to startle a predator for a moment so the gecko can make a quick getaway.
“These ancient cold-blooded creatures have developed unique techniques” 72
Weirdest lizards
The thorny devil has small channels between its spines that funnel water towards its mouth
Marine iguanas sneeze out salt, leaving distinctive white marks on their heads Marine iguanas are the only lizards that are adapted to living in the sea. They may not be the most attractive reptiles – even Charles Darwin described them as “hideous-looking” – but they more than make up for their lack of looks with an array of genius adaptations. These lizards collect seaweed off rocks with their short, stubby snouts and have flattened tails to help them swim. As they forage in the sea, they consume a lot of salt water, which can lead to toxic blood salt levels. A special gland in the nose filters out this excess salt, which the iguanas then get rid of by sneezing heavily. This leaves a distinctive white splodge on their head, like a salty wig.
As its name suggests, the thorny devil is covered from nose to tail in hard thorn-like spikes that make it a difficult prey to swallow. The tiny lizard also has a false head on the back of its neck, which it will present to a predator while keeping its real head tucked down safely out of immediate danger. Their diet consists almost exclusively of ants, of which it can eat thousands a day.
These unique nautical lizards have strong claws to cling to rocks when waves are rough
These lizards rely on their umbrella-like frill to threaten predators
The frilled lizard can quickly sprint on its hind legs Looking like something out of Jurassic Park, the frilled lizard’s stand–out feature is the ruff encircling its head. When disturbed by a predator, it stands on its hind legs with its mouth wide open and unfurls the neck frill to create an intimidating display. If the predator isn’t daunted, the lizard comically scurries off on its back legs, still with its mouth open.
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Weirdest lizards The Jackson’s chameleon resembles a Triceratops with its three-horned face
Chameleons can shoot their tongues out quicker than the blink of an eye Chameleons can’t move their bodies very fast to catch buzzing insects, but they don’t need to. They can catapult their long tongues out of their mouths in as little as 20 milliseconds – that’s 20 times faster than you can blink! The tip of the tongue is a ball of muscle that acts like a suction cup to stop prey from escaping before the chameleon draws its tongue back in.
The dominant male rainbow lizard displays vivid colours to attract females
The Gila monster has a vice-like bite, sharp teeth and venomous saliva Although it doesn’t have good eyesight, the Gila monster can hunt prey by flicking out its tongue to pick up scent particles. Once it finds a victim, the Gila latches on to it and starts chewing. Their saliva is venomous and their teeth have grooves on them that enable the neurotoxins to seep into the wound as the Gila chews. The bite alone is usually enough to restrain its prey, but the toxicity is a useful weapon. The bite is painful, as it clamps down with unrelenting tenacity and won’t let go without a fight. The Gila monster is one of only a few venomous lizards in the world
Two of the rarest lizards on Earth Critically endangered because of threats on their habitat and depletion of their home…
Montecristo arboreal alligator lizard This tree-dwelling lizard lives exclusively in highaltitude forests in Honduras.
Be’er shave fringe-fingered lizard Roaming only a tiny area of Israel, this rare lizard’s tail changes colour a few weeks into its life.
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Rainbow lizards do push-ups to impress females in the mating season Agama lizards live in groups led by a dominant male. If you spotted a female or a subordinate male you might wonder why they are called rainbow lizards, since they would be an inconspicuous shade of grey or brown. However, catch sight of the dominant male and the reason for their common name is clear. During the mating season, they develop bright red and blue markings all over their bodies to impress mates. This is not the only way they try to attract females either. They will raise and lower their upper bodies in a courtship ritual that looks a lot like push-ups. This gesture is also used to threaten any rival males.
Weirdest lizards
“They have the unique ability to run across water to escape danger”
Basilisks can run for up to 20 metres (66 feet) across water without sinking
Basilisk lizards are able to run on the surface of water Members of the Basilisk genus are also called Jesus lizards because they have the unique ability to run across water to escape danger. Upon sensing a nearby predator, basilisks will shoot off towards the nearest body of water at speeds of around 1.5 metres (five feet) per second. This initially gives them enough momentum to stay afloat, but the real secret of their gravity-defying stunt is in their hind feet. Skin fringes between their toes open up, turning their long toes into flippers. Their splayed feet slap hard against the water’s surface, creating air pockets to stop them from sinking. To imitate this, a human would have to reach a speed of 105 kilometres (65 miles) per hour! Texas horned lizards may be tiny but they’re covered in super-sharp spikes
Flying lizards can glide between trees on their makeshift wings Also known as flying dragons, members of the Draco genus have evolved the ability to get from tree to tree without travelling along the dangerous forest floor. They can extend their ribs to unfurl folds of skin that act like wings. Despite their name they can’t truly fly, but they can glide between trees up to around nine metres (30 feet) apart. They use their long tails like rudders to help steer themselves as they swoop between trees in search of ants and termites to eat. Their bodies are also flattened, which helps make them more aerodynamic. They don’t take off if it’s raining or windy, and will always prefer to climb trees rather than glide to escape from predators.
The Texas horned lizard defends itself by shooting blood out of its eyes Despite being well camouflaged, the Texas horned lizard can find itself facing a hungry predator. Its first reaction is to inflate itself, making its spikes prominent so it’s harder to eat. If this fails to deter the attacker, the lizard will squirt up to a third of its blood from its eye. It does this by restricting blood flow away from the head, which increases the pressure until the vessels around the eyelid rupture and send a stream of blood up to 1.5 metres (five feet).
Though it glides rather than flies, this lizard’s flat body makes it the ideal shape for moving fast through the air
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The wonders of migration
76
THE WONDERS OF
MIGRATION One lowly island off the coast of Germany attracts up to 400 species of bird every single year Words Cripsin Andrews
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The wonders of migration Take a ferry from Cuxhaven, BLACK BROWED Bremerhaven or Hamburg, ALBATROSS out into the North Sea, and Thalassarche melanophrys Class Aves before you get to the first of the offshore wind farms, you’ll pass some striking red cliffs. This is Heligoland, the tiny island 46 kilometres from Territory Southern Pacific, the German North Sea coast. Atlantic and Indian Oceans The red cliffs are Triassic Diet Fish, squid, crustaceans sandstone, 61 metres (200 Lifespan Over 70 years Adult weight 2.9–4.7kg / feet) at their highest point, 6.4–10.4lbs with white sands below. Conservation status Down the years the island has been a pirate hideout, a centre for British Napoleonic NEAR THREATENED espionage and a German naval base in two world wars. It’s virtually pollen- and dust-free, as well as rich in iodine and oxygen. In 1925, Werner Heisenberg came up with his picture of quantum mechanics while he was on Heligoland, hoping to escape a bought of hay fever. Today thousands of tourists visit the island every year, mainly to get hold of duty-free alcohol and cigarettes. However, Heligoland is most-often home to a very different type of visitor. Over 400 species of migrating bird stop off here. Most are heading across the North Sea to and from their Scandinavian breeding grounds. Many of these birds breed in Denmark, Norway and Sweden and head back to Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, France, the Iberian Peninsula and Africa. Some visitors come from south-east Europe and Asia, but sometimes birds from other parts get blown off course. Most of the birds stay only for a few days, but if the weather’s particularly bad, raining and with cloud cover, they will stay for longer. Many birds migrate thousands of miles to and from their breeding territories, stocking up on food for days before their long journeys commence. For some small birds, up to 40 per cent of their body weight is stored as fat before migration. But the birds can’t eat too much in one go, or they’ll be too heavy to fly. They need stopoff points where they can rest and refuel, a bit like a long-distance plane. Songbirds are the most common visitors to Heligoland, but the first blackbirds and starlings appear in early March when the warmer weather begins. Heligoland has
“Throughout April, the island is teeming with song thrushes and robins”
This medium-sized albatross is the most common and widespread of its species
Pallas’s leaf warbler is hardly bigger than a goldcrest. Only a few live in western Europe
a warmer climate than the nearby coastal towns. This is because the Gulf Stream runs close by and the island isn’t affected by the cold Russian winter winds. By late March to early April common scooters, woodcocks and chaffinches start to arrive. Throughout April, the island is teeming with song thrushes, robins and meadow pipits. Wheatears and
Rarest birds on the island
Heligoland plays host to some of the most-endangered birds on the planet
Red-breasted goose Most of these geese travel from Arctic Siberia to the Black Sea. Some do turn up in western Europe, however.
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Balearic shearwater This endangered bird stops off on its way to Britain from its breeding grounds in the Balearic Islands.
Saker falcon Usually blown off course, this bird winters in Africa and breeds in central Asia. Some stay all year in eastern Europe
The wonders of migration common whitethroats are regular visitors in May, whereas into June marsh and reed warblers arrive. July and August is the best time for sea birds, particularly kittiwakes guillemots and fulmars, but also puffins and gannets. In recent summers bird-watchers on Heligoland also recorded ospreys, honey buzzards, red kites and a black-browed albatross. This bird is usually found in southern Atlantic and Pacific, but rarely further north than Brazil. Waders arrive on Heligoland in late August and during the nighttime many gather around the island’s lighthouse. The blackbirds are back again in the autumn and in the winter so too are the thrushes. Purple sand pipers, rock pipits and turnstones also spend the winter here.
The world’s smallest nature reserve at Lummenfelsen is a good place to watch birds on Heligoland. It’s not much more than one big rock, but the island itself also has a bird observatory established in 1910 by zoologist Hugo Weigold. Incidentally he was the first westerner to see a giant panda in the wild. On Heligoland, Weigold devised a building-sized, funnelshaped trap made of rigid wire mesh to catch birds for banding and study. The funnel guides the birds in, but makes it difficult for them to escape. Weigold named it the Heligoland trap. The originals were about three metres (ten feet) high, but the biggest ones today are much larger. Conservationists use them in northern and eastern Europe, as well as Russia and central Asia.
MONTAGU’S HARRIER Circus pygargus Class Aves
Territory Asia to Western Europe, Africa and India Diet Rodents, birds, reptiles Lifespan Up to 15 years Adult weight 256g / 0.564lbs Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
Beautiful starlings are regular visitors to Heligoland
“The first starlings appear in early March when the warmer weather begins”
Steller’s eider This small sea duck winters in Scandinavia a!er spending its breeding season in Arctic Siberia.
Great bustard Possibly the heaviest flying bird, it regularly gets blown off course from southern Spain, where it lives all the year around.
Aquatic warbler This is Europe’s rarest passerine bird. It visits Heligoland on its way from eastern Europe to west Africa .
© Alamy, Rex Features, Thinkstock, Dick Daniels, Ron Knight, Frank Scjulenburg
Montagu’s harrier is a graceful, lowland bird of prey. It visits on its way from breeding grounds in Europe to winter in Africa
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Toughest animal on Earth
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HONEY BADGER
TOUGHEST ANIMAL ON EARTH Their claws might not be as sharp as a lion’s, and their teeth are much smaller than a bear’s, but honey badgers are by far the hardest creatures on the planet Words Laura Mears
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Toughest animal on Earth Africa is home to some of the world’s deadliest predators: crocodiles have jaws that can snap a human femur and hyenas can strip an entire wildebeest carcass in minutes, but something far more ferocious patrols the continent. In the baking heat of the African bush, a yellow cobra twists through the trees. It is hunting sociable weaverbirds, raiding their homes and paralysing any inhabitants with a swift bite, but it too is being stalked. A honey badger has tracked its scent and is scrambling nimbly from branch to branch, closing the distance on its prey. The snake is nearly two metres (6.5 feet) long and its fangs carry venom capable of paralysing an adult human. Most animals would give it a wide berth, intimidated by its size and terrified of its bite, but the honey badger continues undaunted. Honey badgers are related to weasels and polecats, and are similar in outline although much larger in size. As a group, these carnivorous animals are notoriously feisty and some species can tackle large prey, but none is quite so tenacious as the honey badger. Barely larger than a Tom cat, honey badgers have long, thick bodies, supported close to the floor on stocky legs.
“There are only a few animals that are brave enough to hunt an adult honey badger”
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Their claws are strong and curved – perfect for digging quickly through the parched earth – and they are nimble climbers, as agile in the trees as they are on the ground. These badgers have large skulls, strong jaws and vicious teeth. What’s more, they rarely ever start a fight they can’t be sure of winning. These hungry nomads have an insatiable appetite, so patrol wide territories in search of a nutritious meal. They will tackle a huge variety of prey animals, from birds in their nests, to insects hidden under rocks. They even take down large herbivores like gnu and waterbuck. A snake bite could prove fatal to most, but two metres of almost solid protein is too much for a honey badger to ignore. They actively seek out these dangerous opponents, tracking their scent across the savannah, and during the summer snakes can make up around half of their total diet. However, fighting these deadly animals isn’t as perilous as it might seem. The South-African military call their armoured personnel carriers ratels, the Afrikaans word for honey badger, and this is for good reason: these feisty animals have skin that is almost impenetrable. They are covered in thick, coarse
HONEY BADGER Mellivora capensis Class Mammalia
Territory Africa, south Asia Diet Carnivore Lifespan 24 years Adult weight 9-12kg / 2026lbs Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
BELOW Honey badgers can take on even the most-intimidating predators and come out on top
Deadly prey
Honey badgers will hunt creatures that other animals will avoid at all costs, such as deadly snakes
Honey badgers will boldly stand up to even the most lethal animals
Yellow cobra These snakes arch up before striking, flaring their hoods and swelling to an intimidating size. A single bite delivers enough venom to kill an adult man.
African lion Lions are one of the only species tough enough to take on a honey badger, but the tenacious little predators are occasionally able to fight back.
fur, similar in texture to the hair of a pig. Beneath the layer of bristles, their skin is leathery and wrinkled. Snake bites, bee stings, even traditional human spears and arrows can all be deflected by their fleshy armour. There are only a few animals that are brave enough to hunt an adult honey badger, and even the most aggressive of predators won’t stop to fight unless they have to, but there are some big cats prepared to take on the challenge. Leopards are solitary hunters and use ambush to take down their prey. At around five times the size of a honey badger, and with a bite capable of suffocating an adult wildebeest, these cats are formidable opponents. However, honey badgers won’t go down without a fight and when threatened they respond viciously. Leopards kill by suffocating their victims, clamping down on the throat and squashing the windpipe, but the skin on the neck of a honey badger is six millimetres (0.2 inches) thick and very loose. As the angry badger thrashes and kicks, it twists inside its own skin, turning to face its aggressor, clawing and biting at its face. A leopard can kill an antelope in a few short minutes, but subduing these badgers proves extremely tough. While fully grown honey badgers are fearless, and few predators dare to approach them, their cubs are much more vulnerable. For a honey badger, running the gauntlet of the African savannah requires a level of ferocity, skill and confidence that only comes with age. A female honey badger usually gives birth to just one cub at a time and dedicates over a year to preparing it for adulthood. Young honey badgers are also small, unsteady on their feet and are easily overpowered, particularly by pack hunters like hyenas.
While younger badgers will be vulnerable to predation, fully grown adults are more than a match for any attacker
Puff adder Bitis arietans is responsible for the most snakebite fatalities in Africa. Their venom is highly toxic, and one bite can deliver enough to kill up to seven people.
Nile monitor These large lizards have thick, muscular bodies and tails. They have sharp claws and strong jaws, but are no match for a hungry honey badger.
African honeybee These bees are will defend their hives with fervour. Undaunted, honey badgers enter face-first, clawing though the comb to get to the nutritious brood inside.
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Toughest animal on Earth Honey badgers are harsh mothers, and raise their cubs with a firm paw, but they are dedicated and attentive. A young cub cannot walk far, so rather than risk an attack by an opportunistic predator, the mother prefers to leave her fragile offspring in the safety of an underground den. Every few days, she lifts her cub by its neck and carries it several miles to a new nest site to avoid leaving a scent trail that could lead hunters to their door. As the cub gets older, it will begin to join her on her foraging trips, watching attentively as she hunts, climbs and digs, eventually beginning to practise the skills for itself. It’s a trial by fire and the young badgers must endure a multitude of bites, stings, cuts, scrapes and falls before they are ready to venture into the wilderness alone. If a honey badger is really in trouble, it has one final line of defence. The thick white stripe down their backs is reminiscent of the markings of a skunk and just like their distant American cousins, they are able to deposit a foul stench if they are under threat. Unlike skunks, the badgers don’t spray a disgusting scent, but have a pouch that turns inside out, releasing a bomb of noxious gas. Honey badgers might be small, furry mammals, but they aren’t cute and they aren’t cuddly. They are skilful hunters with vicious temperaments, as well as independent, unforgiving and easily the toughest animals on the planet.
“Honey badgers are harsh mothers, and raise their cubs with a firm paw, but they are dedicated” Does the honey badger eat honey?
With a white stripe running down their backs, honey badgers look very similar to American skunks
True to their name, these predators really do like honey
© Sara Biddle, FLPA; Getty, Trisha Shears; Seneca Park Zoo
These fierce little mammals have a sweet tooth Honey badgers brave thousands of painful stings to get access to a beehive, burying themselves in the heart of the nest without even seeming to flinch. These wily creatures do eat honey, but they actually attack the hive for another reason – it is packed with developing bee larvae, rich in fat and protein. It’s o%en said the honey badger is guided to the hive by a species of bird (appropriately named the honeyguide), but this behaviour has yet to be confirmed in the wild.
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Animal answers
Send your animal questions to us at:
[email protected] What’s the difference between dolphins and porpoises?
Why do meerkats live in groups? Jon Martin Meerkats are well known for their distant gaze and upright stance. This gives the creatures the best view of the landscape, meaning they can scope out the surroundings for any predators. But meerkats work together in groups for a number of beneficial reasons. Some will be in charge of looking out for aerial predators and some designated to ground-based threats, so they have the best chances of survival.
When hunting for insects and lizards, they also work together in groups and communicate using purring sounds to confuse their prey. Both the male and female adult meerkats work together in the upbringing of their young, nursing and teaching them the skills needed to hunt and stay alert. They grow to be around 25 to 30 centimetres (10 to 12 inches) tall, so it really is a case of strength in numbers to survive in the harsh conditions of the desert.
What are lantern flies? Chris Connelly Lantern flies form part of the Fulgoridae family of insects containing over 125 genera. They are wildly diverse in colour and shape, adapting unique ways to fend off predators. Some flies will bang their heads to create a resonating noise to distract and terrify their enemies. The peanut-headed lantern fly looks particularly strange with what resembles an unshelled peanut for a face. Weird and frightening as this insect may appear, it’s completely harmless. It feeds through a straw-like mouth and can’t bite anything. Scientists believe that the bug is shaped like it is to imitate a lizard, ultimately scaring off potential predators.
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Dan Cox Although they belong to the same scientific order, Cetacea, dolphins and porpoises are from different families. There are around 32 species of dolphin but only six porpoise species. The differences lie mainly in their physical appearance, but also in behaviour. Dolphins are not only larger (growing to ten feet or more) but also have a longer, pointier snout than the stubbier nose of the porpoise. Their teeth are different as well – where the dolphin’s teeth are cone-shaped and pointed, the porpoise’s are spade-shaped and flatter. The dorsal fins of a dolphin have a curved front edge, compared with the porpoise’s triangular fin. Porpoises aren’t as talkative as dolphins, but have a similar level of intelligence, with similarly large brains. Porpoises are shy when compared with the dolphin’s bold and playful characteristics. Dolphins can also live much longer than porpoises, reaching up to the age of 50 years, which is a reason they are more prevalent throughout the world’s oceans.
ABOVE Porpoises are much smaller than their dolphin cousins and their teeth are different too
Porpoise teeth are blunt with expanded crowns
Dolphin teeth are conical and sharply pointed
worldofanimalsmag
Animals answers Do penguins really mate for life? John Marcham There are 17 species of penguins, but not all of them mate for life. The Adelie penguins, which live the furthest south than any other penguin, on the Antarctic continent, are the epitome of a committed relationship. Staying close, a female and male Adelie will take turns caring for the egg until it hatches. It’s also not uncommon for an Adelie penguin to take rocks from nearby nests to give to their partner, building a protective rim around the precious eggs. Monogamy is a term that should be used loosely for some species, however. Emperor penguins stick with their partners for just a season at a time. Females then move on to find another healthy and plump male to see her through the harsh climate. Chinstrap penguins also mate with the same partner from season to season, using a special call to seek one another in the crowd.
BELOW Woolly mammoths went extinct around 10,000 years ago, but scientists have found their genetic descendants in modern-day elephants
Can fish breathe in water? Kennith Logan Fish use specially adapted organs called gills that enable them to extract the oxygen from water, in order for them to breathe while swimming. Unlike the lungs of mammals, for example, which don’t have ability to extract oxygen particles from water, a fish sucks in water through its mouth and out through its gills. The gills lie just in front of its lateral fins and contain many tiny blood vessels that absorb the passing oxygen particles, which the fish then uses to function and swim. The deoxygenated water flows out back into the water via the gills, where it needs to reoxygenate to be used again. This is why fish can’t swim backwards and if they stop swimming they could stop breathing correctly.
Are elephants related to the mammoth? liam Crowley Scientists have recently unearthed ancient DNA that reveals elephants are in fact related to mammoths. They divided into separate species thousands of years ago through a common ancestor that lived around 6 million years ago. Mammoths get their Latin name, Mammuthus, from the family of elephants, but he woolly mammoth shares more DNA with modern-day Asian hants than with African elephants. are a few big differences between the two animals due to the age compared with today's warmer atmospheric temperatures. ears on an Asian elephant helps to dissipate heat and keep the oolly mammoth had much smaller and barely visible ears to ss. A thick, shaggy coat also helped the enormous as much heat as possible while lains.
Q.Why are pandas endangered? Find out at…
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Animal answers
[email protected] Do flying fish really fly? Phillip Merson Flying fish don’t fly like birds do – but they do glide over the water’s surface using their wing-like pectoral fins. They propel their bodies out of the water using their tail to help with the final push, reaching impressive speeds of up to 60 kilometres (37 miles) per hour. Flying fish can remain airborne for several hundred yards and sometimes at a height of 1.2 metres (four feet). They have streamlined bodies that help them jump out of the water in the hope of avoiding predators. There are around 60 species of flying fish that lay their eggs in a palm frond floating in the ocean. This sinks to the ocean floor due to its increasing weight.
Is the kakapo a parrot?
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
The fish builds up speed beneath the surface.
The fish uses its tail to give it the final push out of the water.
It spreads its pectoral fins like wings to glide over the water.
Michael Barrett The kakapo is the world's heaviest parrot, weighing in at around two to four kilograms (4.5 to 9 pounds). This is down to its ability to store body fat for energy. The bird can grow to be 60 centimetres (24 inches) tall and is found only in New Zealand. The parrot also holds the title for being the only flightless parrot in existence, though there are only around 125 left in the wild, making them Critically Endangered. The kakapo belongs to the family of parrots, although it can go by other names such as night parrot or owl parrot. This is because of its nocturnal behaviour and strange appearance. Male groups court females by digging small holes and sending out a low-frequency booming sound followed by a higher-pitched shrill. This can go on for two to four months of the year.
Are there hamsters in the wild? Mary Throp Hamsters are not only found in pet stores, but also in the wild. There are around 20 species living in the wild, found across Asia, Europe and parts of Africa. Species include the Siberian hamster, which lives in tough conditions across plains of short grass and ungrazed lands. In winter months, they can change their fur to white to better blend in with their surroundings. The Campbell’s dwarf hamster survives in Asia, feeding on plants and insects, and are around ten centimetres (four inches) in size. The golden hamster lives up to three years in parts of northern Syria and Turkey. They are solitary mammals, living in burrows up to nine metres (30 feet) long. They are on the decrease and are classed as Vulnerable. The Roborovski hamster is the tiniest of all dwarf hamsters, born only two centimetres (0.8 inches) long.
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Animals answers
Are polar bears and grizzly bears similar? James Butler Both of these bear species evolved from the brown bear, but polar bears came into their own as they gradually adapted to living in the cold tundra of the Arctic. The bears grew thicker fur than grizzly bears, as well as a dense layer of blubber to provide a certain level of buoyancy when swimming in icy-cold water. Grizzlies are a subspecies of brown bear known as Ursus arctos horribilis. Although polar bears and grizzly bears thrive in different locations on the planet, and usually only ever produce offspring within their respective species, in 2006 a polar-grizzly hybrid was discovered. This proved that the two species can actually interbreed with each other. This a possible sign of the side-effects of a changing global climate and how the blending of warmer climates with the colder regions further north is changing, where these bears mate, feed and roam.
LEFT Grizzly bears are a subspecies of brown bear and have been known to cross-breed with polar bears
If amphibians live in water, where and how are they born? Richard Jones Frogs offer us one example of how amphibians reproduce both underwater and on land, the latter bypassing the tadpole phase and developing straight away into babies of the adults. Female frogs release eggs (unprotected by any form of shell)
into the water and the male releases a cloud of sperm. Most amphibians spend the first part of their lives living in water, later becoming better adapted to living on land. Salamanders don't have an aquatic larval phase, laying anywhere up to 40 eggs under rocks and in other dark places away from harm's reach.
Q. Why have mandrills got colourful faces?
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Animal answers
[email protected] Why is the sloth known as lazy and slow?
Lorri Patterson Sloths could very well be one of the most-deceptive mammals in the animal kingdom. Although some might see them as being lazy because of their snail-pace speed, there are reasons for taking things a little slower. Sloths’ slow movements make them less visible to predators and enable them to preserve energy. Because of their slow movements, a sloth’s fur can also grow algae and be home to various bugs and insects such as cockroaches. Their young can feed off the algae and spend most their time hanging in trees. If needs must, or if they feel threatened, a sloth can pick up pace and move at around one metre every ten seconds. Well, for them this is incredibly quick!
Were Rhodesian ridgebacks bred for hunting lions? Taylor Burden The Rhodesian ridgeback, or African lion hound, is one of the most loyal dog breeds in the world. This large hound was bred originally in southern Africa and its main purpose was herding and patrolling the African plains for lions and other wild animals. They were chosen for their strength and power, working in packs and being capable of holding their ground against the immense power of a lion. Today Rhodesian ridgebacks are intelligent, obedient and loyal pets, looking out for anyone who needs protecting. They are rated highly for being affectionate and good with children, but can be fiery around new people and other dogs. Adult male ridgebacks measure 63 to 69 centimetres (24 to 27 inches) from shoulder to toe and their most distinguishing feature is a ridge of backward-growing fur along their spin, giving them their name.
Do different animal species depend on one another to survive? Dave Zigler There are some animals on the planet that actually rely on other animals for survival. This is done in a couple of different ways, either being mutually beneficial to all the animals involved, or just one of them. There are some prime examples of this, for example the pilot fish that cleans wounds and even eats le&overs of larger sea creatures such as
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sharks and sea turtles. Both species benefit and rely on this relationship to survive. Cattle egrets are birds that gather around buffalo and hippos. They feast on the lice and ticks on the large mammals, keeping them healthy and free of potential disease. Caterpillars and ants also have a friendly relationship, as the caterpillar will produce sweet dew that ants feed on. The ants can protect the caterpillar from harmful predators.
Great white sharks are the most notorious predators of the sea
Bull sharks are found worldwide in warm, shallow waters
Judy Druer There are over 400 species of shark alive today in the world's oceans. These can vary tremendously in size, shape, temperament and behaviour. From the 15-centimetre (six-inch) dwarf lanternshark, to the 12.2-metre (40-foot) whale shark, their variety is often surprising to many who are only familiar with the most-notorious fish in the ocean. When it comes to the deadliest, however, the great white, tiger and bull sharks are well known
throughout the world. The bull shark could be classed as the most-deadliest, as it's able to survive in both fresh and salt water. It’s even found swimming inland using rivers and tributaries. Known to prowl mainly around shallow coastal waters, which makes them more of a threat to humans, they get their name because of their flattened snouts and tendency to head-butt their prey before biting. Larger female bull sharks can grow to be around 2.1 to 3.4 metres (7-11.5 feet).
Whale sharks are not only funnylooking, but are also harmless
© Rex Features, Thinkstock, Dr Jaju Kasambe
How many species of shark are there?
From the creators of World of Animals and How It Works: How It Works Illustrated Explore the world we live in as you’ve never seen it before with this newly launched title Want to learn what causes volcano lightning? Or what exactly causes the Earth to spin? With issue two of the new How it Works Illustrated, you can discover all about this and much more with 132 pages of travel-sized, premium illustrations and educational content. Especially designed for younger readers, How It Works Illustrated is packed with interesting and engaging stories about the world around us, along with mind-blowing puzzles, challenges and quizzes to stimulate young minds. In issue two, you’ll go on a journey around Ea th and all its natural wonders. You will learn what exactly causes earthquakes, which unlikely des is the largest on Earth, as well all about the world’s lush rainforests. It’s an ideal reference for parents and children alike, with hundreds of facts on vital school-curriculum topics to nourish enquiring young minds. How It Works Illustrated is available digitally on the Apple newsstand, as well as at www.imagineshop.co.uk. Every issue will not only be beautifully designed, but will also favour in-depth coverage of just one single c topic, made simple for younger readers.
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Master macro photography and get up-close with insects to uncover the secrets of nature’s mini marvels Macro photography involves taking closeup shots of your subject so that they appear life-size or larger in your images. It’s a fantastic technique for photographing insects, as it can help you reveal their tiny detail, patterns and textures that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye.
Butterflies, bees, spiders and bugs all look interesting, but the tricky part is tracking them down. They are usually most active in the morning, so head out early and look for colourful flowerbeds where they will be feeding on pollen, then follow our guide to taking the perfect macro shot.
What you’ll need: DSLR Macro lens Make and model: Nikon D3200 AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8G IF-ED Price: DSLR: £320 (body only)/ $480 (with 18-55mm kit lens) Macro lens: £782/$985 www.europe-nikon.com
“Shoot when there’s plenty of natural light available if you can, as using flash will create an ugly harsh light and scare your subject”
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Your world of animals 01 Set your mode Most cameras have a Macro mode that will do all the hard work for you. For more control over your shot, switch to Aperture Priority mode instead and select a small f-number to blur the background of your image.
02 Adjust the sensitivity In Aperture Priority, your camera will pick the shutter speed for you, but you will need to set the ISO. Keep it at 100 for high-quality shots, but raise it gradually if your shots are too dark or blurry.
Your budget macro kit
Macro lens AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 40mm f2.8G www.europe-nikon.com £250 / $280 If you’re serious about macro photography then it’s worth investing in a macro lens with a 1:1 magnification factor.
Extension tubes Dorr Extension Tube Set www.dorrfoto.co.uk From £160 (approx $266) Slightly cheaper than a macro lens, extension tubes fit between your camera and lens to reduce your minimum focusing distance.
03 Focus the shot Manual focus is best for macro photography, as your camera’s autofocus can struggle with close-ups. However, it takes time to get the focus spot-on, and your subject may not hang around for long. If this is the case, use Continuous Autofocus mode instead.
04 Shoot a burst If your subject is moving around, it can be difficult to time the shot just right. Switching to Burst mode will allow you to fire off several shots as you hold down the shutter, so you can pick the best from the bunch a sunny day, you’ll need to find the best angle to shoot m so that you don’t block the light and cast a shadow r your subject. Experiment with different shooting tions to capture an interesting image of your subject.
Close-up filters Hoya Close Up Filters www.hoyafilter.com From approx £20 / $34 Close-up filters are an excellent option. They screw on the end of your lens and magnify your subject for great macro shots.
Reversing ring JJC macro reversing ring www.jjc.cc From £6 / $10 The cheapest macro solution is a reversing ring. It enables you to mount your lens onto your camera backwards for better macro.
ec final shot
e
Before you pack up and go home, make sure you check your shots on your camera. Zoom in on them using the LCD screen to make sure that they are pin-sharp. Just try again if they look a little fuzzy, or unclear.
Cameraphone macro lens olloclip Macro 3-in-1 lens www.olloclip.com From £60 / $70 Cameraphones aren’t typically very good at shooting close-ups, but if you clip on a macro lens then you can take incredible shots on the go.
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Steven Mayatt I’ve taken a lot of photos of flamingos, but for some reason, this group were particularly animated and characterful.
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Red squirrels of Brownsea Simon Millward “I set out with a view to catching a glimpse of the enchanting red squirrel, never did I think I would see ten of the quintessentially British animals for what turned out to be quite a photo shoot!”
The Mara crossing – wildebeest Natashja Wilson “This picture was taken in Kenya, Africa at the Mara crossing. These blue wildebeest are in a race to cross the river competing with other wildebeest, zebras and crocodiles.”
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Your animals
Cuddling otters Peter Rutland “At Trotters Wildlife Park in the Lake District, [there is a] very natural display area where three otters roam freely.”
Majestic white Steven Mayatt “The contrast of the black and white feathering is complemented by the burst of orange from under the beak. Although his fringe might be in need of a trim.”
The Mara crossing – zebras Natashja Wilson “These zebras had to avoid many obstacles to get across the river. This picture portrays the tension and desperation at the crossing.”
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In eastern Africa, poachers use automatic weapons to slaughter endangered rhinos. The animals are shot and the horns are hacked away, tearing deep into the rhinos’ flesh with the rhino left to die.
Ol Pejeta is a leading conservancy fighting against this cruelty. It needs more funds so more rangers and surveillance can be deployed on the ground to save rhinos from this horrible treatment.
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50 THINGS YOU NEVER NEW ABOUT DOLPHINS
ISSN 2053-7727
MEGAFAUNA SPECIAL: BEST MOTHER ON GIANTS OF YESTERYEAR EARTH: THE LIONESS 97
The grandad of today’s big cats is this ancient leopard – a missing link in the extended feline family Thick fur The Tibetan Plateau was a similar temperature six million years ago as it is today. Winter temperatures well below zero could have been expected in Panthera blytheae’s cold river valley habitat, so an insulating fur coat was important.
Consider Panthera blytheae a kind of big-cat equivalent of the human missing link. This ancient feline once wandered the Tibetan Plateau up to 6 million years ago and it’s actually very closely related to the modern snow leopard, although it was more similar in size to south-east Asia’s smaller clouded leopard. Very little is known of this special cat, partly because it was only recently known to exist and there are only a few crucial pieces of fossil evidence available. Part of the problem with locating the remains of this species is that its territory was high in mountain ranges, places where bones don’t tend to fossilise too well. This means that, whereas many fossils of sabre-tooth cats can be found all over the plains and tar pits of North America, as well as Africa, palaeontologists have only a handful of examples of Panthera blytheae fossils.
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“Panthera blytheae was first discovered on an expedition in Tibet in 2010”
The fossil record alone suggests a younger, African origin for modern big cats, despite the genetic evidence that they actually split from small cats (like domestic felines) around 11 million years ago, in Asia. Panthera blytheae was first discovered in an expedition to Tibet in 2010, which uncovered a portion of this big cat’s skull and some teeth. Palaeontologists soon realised that this was a previously undiscovered sister species of the snow leopard that had roamed this area nearly 2 million years before the oldest big cat ancestor known. It would have been an ambush hunter, typically preying on herbivorous creatures that roamed this region at the time: antelope, sheep and pika (a type of small rodent). This predator would have shared its mountain environment with iconic prehistoric species, such as the wooly rhinoceros and the three-toed horse.
Tibet
Powerful limbs As an ambush attacker living among mountain bluffs, Panthera blytheae would have been capable of incredible feats of agility, leaping perhaps ten times its own height uphill to pounce upon unsuspecting prey.
Last seen… Date: 4 million years ago Location: Tibet Having existed for up to nearly 2 million years and spawned generations of ancestral felines that have become the big cats of today, Panthera blytheae would have been a very successful species. It did, however, occupy a bit of an environmental and genetic niche, high up in the Tibetan Plateau. Once the Ice Age hit Earth, a huge ice sheet covered this region and would have forced this cat out of its natural habitat, where its ancestors would have had evolutionary adaptations much better suited to living and hunting in the warmer lowlands.
© Alan Batley Illustration; freevectormaps.com
Pronounced incisors Panthera blytheae was an ambush predator like its distant descendants, the sabre-toothed cats. It had canines like modern cats, however, and probably would have suffocated larger prey with its jaws before tearing at its torso to reach choice entrails.
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