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JUMPING GAZELLES
7 GREATEST WILDLIFE SPOTS
CHIMPS VS HUMANS
ARE LIONS THE BEST MOTHERS ON EARTH?
Why animals perform The unique animal Differences between Fierce tales of the strange leaping rituals destinations of Europe monkeys, apes and us proud and protective
ISSUE 12
Welcome Imagine the great white shark, but ten times as big and ten times as fast! This unimaginable monster, aptly named megalodon, once ruled the ocean and could swallow the modernday great white whole. Check him out over on page 62, along with an array of astonishing giants from an ancient era, as well as their surprising relatives still alive today. Meanwhile, get exploring the best wildlife spots of Europe (p48), where there’s a surprising abundance of amazing animals, from the Eurasian lynx to the ferocious polar bear. Finally, do you know the difference between bonobos and chimps? On page 26 we uncover the diverse world of primates, discovering the differences and revealing the striking similarities b monkeys, apes and u
Charis Webster Editor
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How does pack mentality work? Head to page 34 to learn all about the grey wolf… Fascinating facts Q&As Amazing videos Upload your photos and win prizes!
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Welcome to issue 12 06 Amazing animals 12 Land of the lemurs Enter the world of these elusive relatives of mankind
18 The parrot family
Meet the smartest and mostcolourful birds around
20 Life on the edge
Animal mountaineers living at vertigo-inducing heights
24 European eel
Follow the life cycle that spans numerous oceans and seas
26 Amazing diversity of primates Trace your ancestors shared by apes and monkeys
32 22 facts about cows
Do they really lie down when it’s about to rain?
34 All about grey wolves The pack mentality, hunting methods and more
48 7 best wildlife spots in Europe
Discover the unknown natural havens of the continent
54 Mother’s pride
How lionesses protect their young cubs in the savannah
62 Megafauna
Journey back in time to when Earth was ruled by giants
70 25 facts about dolphins
X-ray vision, origins on land and 23 other amazing facts
76 Spring to action
Why do springbok perform unbelievable jumping displays to escape predators?
80 Insect gladiators
Enter the ring with the tiniest prize fighter on the planet
97 Next month
The sneak preview of what’s in next issue of World of Animals
98 Bizarre
Get a spiky encounter with the yellow streaked tenrec
44 Sea otter
Learn how this endangered species is making a comeback
46 Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Get better acquainted with the only polar bear in the UK
THE IUCN RED LIST Throughout World of Animals you will see symbols like the ones you see here. These are from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of animal species in the world. Here’s what they mean:
EXTINCT EXTINCT IN THE WILD CRITICALLY ENDANGERED ENDANGERED VULNERABLE NEAR THREATENED LEAST CONCERN
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62
70
WIN!
86 Reader Q&A
VIP tour Yorkshireof Wildlife P ark… pa
ge 47
12
LAND OF THE LEMURS
92 Step-by-step to capturing stunning wildlife photos
DISCOVER THE DIVERSITY OF MADAGASCAR’S INCREDIBLE LEMURS 54
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94 Your amazing
animal photos
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The amazing world of animals
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The amazing world of animals
The previous day she le! her cubs behind to wait on the shore, much to their displeasure. This time they clambered on her back and she cools off from the hot summer Sun with her young in tow.
©Rex Features
This young bear trio cling on tight to their mother as they accompany her on a leisurely trip across the lake
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The amazing world of animals
© Rex Features
The alien-looking appendages of the leafy sea dragon mask it from predators and help it blend in with the marine plants it inhabits This carnivorous member of the seahorse family floats with ocean currents and tidal movement, feeding on sea lice and larvae.
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The amazing world of animals
Six cheetah cubs play and rest near their mother, in a tree in Kenya’s Masai Mara © Rex Features
As the mother keeps watch, her big family make the best of their new climbing frame. The dead tree stump still serves an important purpose as a scratching post for these enormous cats.
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The amazing world of animals
© Rex Features
A female green iguana comes up to breathe while swimming in the Caribbean sea
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This beautiful lizard takes a dip in a watery cave on the island of Bonaire at sunset. The incredible island, off the coast of Venezuela, is home to hundreds of iguanas. The creatures bask in the Sun to stay warm and cool off with a dip in the ocean. .
The amazing world of animals
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Land of the lemurs
12
MADAGASCAR
Enter the hidden world of the enigmatic, beautiful and endangered relatives of mankind Words Adam Lusher
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Land of the lemurs
Mysteries of Madagascar Landing on a mysterious island off the coast of Africa, the merchant William Finch and his companion Captain Keeling ventured forth to explore. They found themselves surrounded by “a great store of beasts”, moving through the forest in troops. Having seen nothing like them before, they had no idea what to call the creatures, until Captain Keeling hit upon “the beautiful beast.” It’s a description as apt now as it was some 400 years ago. With Keeling’s help, Finch was providing the first known written record of the lemurs of Madagascar. To the naturalists who followed, the animals – and not just the ring-tailed lemurs spotted by Finch and Keeling – were the most enchanting creatures of an enchanted isle. On an island twice the size of Great Britain, but cut off from all other land masses for about 90 million years, the animals of Madagascar have evolved in isolation into creatures found nowhere else on Earth. Most remarkable of all are the lemurs, constituting more than 15 per cent of all living primate species, despite being found on less than 0.4 per cent of the Earth’s land surface area. Island life suited early primates well and the food provided by trees was enough to spark the evolution of scores of different species that each feasted on the fruit of various trees. On their i l d h f f titi from more-advanced prim 2,000 years ago – human them elsewhere, developi Lemurs play a vital role by dispersing seeds and k seeds are deposited 100 away from the host tree,
“The animals evolved in is found nowh
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The aye-aye is so strange looking, it has gained a reputation as an evil spirit
to forage and expel indigestible fruit seeds. Species like the blueeyed black lemur feed on insects and fungus, helping to control the growth rate of several native species. It’s thought that lemurs reached Madagascar by accident, on driftwood and other floating vegetation – reluctant castaways floating away from the African mainland, a journey that would have taken weeks. Strong currents would have helped the epic crossing of the Mozambique Channel that’s about 250 miles (400 kilometres) wide at its narrowest. Most amazingly, entirely new species are still being discovered to this day. Genetics has helped scientists distinguish between cryptic species that, to human eyes, look identical. From j t 33 i i 1994 t timate put the total lemur at “well over n in the first decade cies were found. erhaps, somewhere ar, there may yet be t elusive beasts still
AYE-AYE Daubentonia madagascariensis Class Mammalia
Territory Dry forest and rainforest of Madagascar Diet Larvae, insects, fruit Lifespan Up to 24 years Adult weight 2-3kg / 4-6lbs) Conservation status
ENDANGERED
BELOW The red ruffed lemur is just one of the two species from the genus Varecia
Lemurs
Over 100 species of lemur, some more peculiar than others…
With Madagascar at their mercy, each different species has adapted different survival strategies, grown to various sizes and adopted their own unique appearances
Black-and-while ruffed lemur Varecia variegata
Blue-eyed black lemur #SJCKSPɞȷɞ?TGDPMLQ
Diademed sifaka Propithecus diadema
These are the most arboreal lemurs and spend more time in treetops than any other. They also give birth to larger litters than other lemurs.
One of the few lemurs that exhibits differences between males and females, the male is black but the female is brown and grey.
These are the second largest species of lemur, and defend their territory by frenzied scent marking in groups of eight or more.
Greater bamboo lemur Prolemur simus
Grey mouse lemur Microcebus murinus
Red-fronted lemur #SJCKSPɞPSȶɞDPMLQ
This species now covers only one to four per cent of its original habitat, and unlike most lemurs it is polygamous.
Mouse lemurs are nocturnal, and during the day or when food is scarce they can enter a state of semi-hibernation.
To stay in contact over their 10,000-squaremetre (107,600-square-foot) range, red-fronted lemurs emit piercing calls.
Indri Indri indri
Mongoose lemur Eulemur mongoz
Verreaux’s Sifaka Propithecus verreauxi
The largest living lemur at 72 centimetres (28 inches) tall, the indri can jump distances of up to ten metres (33 feet).
At the age of three, mongoose lemurs are chased away from their group and leave in search of a new gang.
These sifakas are thought to be the longestliving lemurs, as they have better resistance to parasites than other lemurs.
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Land of the lemurs
Amazing island evolution Filling the role taken by woodpeckers, which never arrived on the island, is the aye-aye. This lemur taps branches with a skeletal finger to detect beetle larvae hidden inside. They perhaps even use echolocation and huge, bat-like ears in this foraging. The creature rips away the bark with teeth strong enough to open coconuts and skewers its prey with its
elongated finger. Perhaps because of its weird appearance, one Malagasy tradition warned: “If the aye-aye is seen, there will be evil.” Entire villages have even supposedly been abandoned because one has visited. Then there are the wonderful dancing sifakas, hopping sideways with balletic grace on two feet. This may seem comic, but it’s also perhaps
a means to escape a pursuing fossa, with bewildering and sharp changes of direction as it flees. The more commonly known lemur species is the ring-tailed lemur. While each lemur species has developed its own strategies for dealing with life’s problems, the ring tailed lemur uses its tail as a flag for young to follow when traversing tall grass.
“Even in the first decade of the 21st century, 21 new species were found”
Ring-tailed lemurs use their long tails to keep track of one another in long grass
Africa
Madagascar
RING-TAILED LEMUR Lemur catta Class Mammalia
Territory South Madagascar Diet Fruit, bark, sap Lifespan 18 years Adult weight 2-3kg / 5-7lbs Conservation status
ENDANGERED
Uncover a secretive primate
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They use their teeth as a comb
Female lemurs rule the roost
One was as heavy as a silverback
Lemurs comb their fur with their teeth. Most primates groom themselves and others using fingers coated with saliva, but lemurs have developed their very own tools to keep fur in top condition. Grooming is vital for social bonding, as well as keeping their fur clean and tidy.
Unlike many species, female lemurs are dominant over males and are entitled to the best share of food and their pick of partners when it’s time to breed. One of the only exceptions is the golden mouse lemur, which is thought to have evolved differently to true lemurs.
In 1909 the remains of an enormous lemur was unearthed that was the height of a human. These extinct primates were the same weight as silverback gorillas (200 kilograms or 440 pounds) and fed mostly on leaves. This colossal primate became extinct over 2,000 years ago as humans began to arrive.
Lemurs Five amazing animals of Madagascar
The white-footed sportive lemur is the smallest of all the sportive lemurs on the island
A few of the unique neighbours in the lemurs’ island habitat Fossa Cryptoprocta ferox This secretive, nocturnal, cat-like relative of the mongoose is Madagascar’s apex wild predator. An excellent climber, it will hunt lemurs, pursuing even quite large prey like sifakas through the trees.
What we learn from lemurs
Secrets of communication One mystery being unravelled about our Madagascan friends is lemur communication. As vocal animals that use a variety of calls, they rely on understanding others around them to stay safe and keep them in the loop. Madagascan predators are few and far between, but the cat-like fossa can feast on lemurs that almost equal its size, though they are often able to stay safe in the trees. Each species has its own unique alarm call to communicate to its neighbours that danger is coming, and amazingly some lemur species have learned to eavesdrop on the alarm calls of different groups. Despite being different species they can still understand one another and make their escape when a predator approaches. As there are so many species, lemurs have developed territorial behaviour to warn others away from their patch. The most powerful asset at their disposal is scent, as their excellent sense of smell helps each lemur determine which home belongs to whom. Over scent glands on each wrist, lemurs have a claw-like spur that they dig into branches to help their secretions penetrate the wood. This establishes the hierarchy and scares away low-ranking animals. In simple terms, the smellier the tree, the more-dominant the lemur.
scarcity? After gorging on fruit, flowers and insects so its tail swells with fat reserves, it hibernates through dry season temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius – not the cold associated with other mammal hibernations. It could be we’ll learn something from this tiny nocturnal primate – about the size of a small rat – such as how to push humans into standby mode, help patients recover from head injuries, or even assist astronauts in achieving long-distance space travel. But the lemurs of Madagascar have yet to yield all their secrets.
White sifakas bound from side to side while stood upright, to avoid predators
Comet moth Argema mittrei About the width of a human hand, beautifully covered and unusually shaped, the comet moth is named a!er its elegant tails that float behind it. Before flying on chilly nights it vibrates its body to warm up. Madagascar fish eagle Haliaeetus vociferoides The island’s largest raptor, this critically endangered eagle is one of the rarest birds of prey. It engages in cooperative breeding, with up to four males helping to raise a single chick.
Lowland streaked tenrec Hemicentetes semispinosus These insectivore mammals rub specialist spines together to produce ultra-high-pitched squeaks for communicating with one another in the rainforest undergrowth. Giant leaf-tailed gecko Uroplatus giganteus Madagascar’s largest gecko grows up to 32 centimetres (12.4 inches) long. It can hide by changing colour to blend in with the background, but when stressed it becomes easier to see.
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© Rex Features, Alamy, Bertal, Frank Wouters, Frank Vassen, Corbis
While lemurs aren’t mankind’s ancestors, they do have features that were probably present in the first ancestral primates, such as a greater reliance on smell – hence long muzzles and wet noses similar to a dog. As fellow primates, they may provide insights for humankind – even as man’s deforestation activities mean 90 per cent of lemur species are now threatened with extinction. So, what might we learn from the fat-tailed dwarf lemur, the only primate in the world known to hibernate annually, irrespective of stress triggers like food
Meet the family
Parrots
The 370 species of parrot mostly feed on fruit and seeds, but in one case even meat. As smart as they are colourful, each variety is as unique and surprising as the next The beak of a macaw is used as a third limb! It’s utilised in walking, climbing and is even involved in tool use.
Palm cockatoo The architect of the family
Instead of building a normal nest, the striking palm cockatoo constructs an intricate platform made of fine splintered sticks inside tree hollows. It even lays foundations before the construction PALM COCKATOO process begins. Probosciger aterrimus Males spread their wings, stamp Class Aves their feet and make soft clicking calls to attract a female and once a lady is looking his way, he’ll flush his cheek patches a deep crimson and make Territory New Guinea, Cape a show of adding sticks to his nest York Peninsula Queensland Diet Palm fruit and nuts platform. If the female is impressed Lifespan 40-60 years by this display, her cheeks will flush Adult weight 1.2kg / 2.5lbs scarlet and she’ll bring extra sticks. Conservation status Males and females share the incubation of their single egg and two LEAST CONCERN months after hatching the baby bird fledges the nest.
The red cheeks of the palm cockatoo change colour depending on the bird’s mood – deep red when attracting a mate, pale pink when stressed and yellow when excited.
Princess parrot
The vocal parrot that gangs up on predators HYACINTH MACAW Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus Class Aves
Territory Brazil, eastern Bolivia and Paraguay Diet Nuts and fruit Lifespan 20-25 years Adult weight 1.5kg / 3.3lbs Conservation status
Hyacinth macaw
The blue beauty that can use tools
These gorgeous macaws are highly intelligent and are famous for their ability to mimic sounds. Wild macaws mimic noises they hear regularly and even develop regional accents, which can help these parrots find mates. They choose partners for life and VULNERABLE breed, share food and groom one another until their old age. If their partner dies they can even suffer depression. The hyacinth macaw is also one of the only parrots that uses tools! Scientists spotted these birds making grooves in nuts, then cracking them open using pieces of wood. Strangely, their electric-blue colouration is actually a form of camouflage.
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These desert-dwellers live in acacia and eucalyptus trees. The blue-green males approach females aggressively when they’re ready to mate, but the birds only breed when there’s plenty of food available. Once the chicks are old enough to fly, the family abandons the nest in convoy. Princess parrots cluck like hens, occasionally whistle and live in groups of 15 to 20 birds. These nomads have no natural predators and so won’t fly away, even if approached by an inquisitive human. PRINCESS PARROT Polytelis alexandrae Class Aves
The grey feet of the princess parrot have sharp claws to help them climb trees and grip branches tight.
Territory Australia Diet Grass seeds, acacia blossoms Lifespan 25-30 years Adult weight 110g / 0.24lbs Conservation status
NEAR THREATENED
Parrots
Yellow-collared lovebird
YELLOW-COLLARED LOVEBIRD Agapornis personatus Class Aves
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Building a top-quality nest is high on a lovebird’s agenda. When collecting nest materials these birds will stuff their beaks, wings and rump feathers full of tree bark and leaves to take back to their carefully selected home. In the wild, lovebirds live in tree holes and will return to the same spot to breed throughout their lives. At the age of six months, lovebirds become sexually mature and are able to go in search of a life partner. They famously groom and feed each other with their bills, which gives the appearance that they are kissing. They can be aggressive though, especially if a new male gets too close to a taken female!
KEA
Territory Kenya and Tanzania Diet Fruit and seeds Lifespan 10-15 years Adult weight 60g / 0.1lb Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
A lovebird’s beak grows continuously, as grooming its partner and feeding on tough seeds can wear it down.
Kea
Nestor notabilis Class Aves
2
3. Cleverest African grey parrot
These tiny birds are about the length of a human thumb. Their claws are sharp and curved to help grip, as well as scoop food from nooks.
African greys have been shown to complete tasks in groups and have even been seen waiting to misbehave until a researcher’s back is turned.
2. Most vocal White-fronted Amazon
4. Most colourful Rainbow lorikeet
These birds can imitate over 40 sounds have been known to gather in groups to vocalise together for half an hour at a time.
Feeding on sugary nectar is important to these dazzling birds. Their rainbow feathers help them blend with the canopy.
The strong beak of the kea is its ultimate weapon, needed to survive the craggy mountains of New Zealand. They’re named after their characteristic call, which can be frequently heard echoing through the country’s rocky valleys. They live in strict hierarchies and only the top few males are allowed to mate. Females initiate breeding and before mounting an approaching mate a male kea will offer her a regurgitated meal. These parrots are unique in that they are the only members of the family to eat meat. They scavenge similarly to vultures and their tough beak helps them rip through abandoned animal carcasses.
VULNERABLE
Red fan parrot The maned parrot that whistles at the ladies
The hard beak of the kea slices through tree roots and animal carcasses with ease. These tough birds feed on anything they find.
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1. Smallest Pygmy parrot
The family meat-eater Territory New Zealand Diet Carrion, insects Lifespan 30-40 years Adult weight 275g / 0.6lbs Conservation status
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Also known as the hawk-headed parrot, this energetic bird is highly vocal and extremely clever. It’s one of the rarest parrots in South America and tends to forage around a wide range of the Amazonian forests. They neatly snip off flower buds with their beaks and will often hang upside down to slurp up fruit juice without having to eat the seeds. When attracting a mate, a male lets out sharp whistles and unfurls his neck feathers into a startling scarlet fan. If an interested female lands on the branch next to him she erects her own fan and the pair will dance together, then huddle together to begin mating.
RED FAN PARROT Deroptyus accipitrinus Class Aves
Territory Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname Diet Berries, nuts and flowers Lifespan 30-40 years Adult weight 275g / 0.6lbs Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
The stunning neck feathers of the red fan parrot help signal to others that they are ready to mate.
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© Thinkstock, Ruth Rogers
They build love nests for life
Scaling vertical cliff sides and terrifyingly steep mountain tops, some of nature’s ‘high-achievers’ survive on the tallest, steepest and mostdangerous places on the planet 20
Life on the edge
The tiny Himalayan jumping spider can survive at the top of Mount Everest Despite its minescule size, the Himalayan jumping spider can be found on the blustery tops of mountains. It lives at a whopping 6,700 metres (22,000 feet) high, making it a strong contender for the highest-living animal. The Latin name of the spider, Euophrys omnisuperstes, means ‘standing above everything’. This refers to its status as an almost solitary survivor in what is among the leasthospitable regions on Earth. While there isn’t much in terms of food at these dizzying heights, the jumping spider manages to survive on a diet of stray insects and flies that are blown into its path. To protect themselves from the terrifying winds of the mountain ranges, the spiders lurk in cracks and crevices, sheltering from lethal gusts. They wait for wayward prey to be blown in their direction, before striking for the kill.
HIMALAYAN JUMPING SPIDER Euophrys omnisuperstes Class Arachnida
Territory China, Himalayas Diet Flies, springtails Lifespan Less than a year Adult weight 5g / 0.17oz Conservation status
DATA DEFICIENT
Mountain goats can graze on near-vertical cliff faces Renowned for its breathtaking climbing abilities, these Oreamnos americanus goats are a common sight at Class Mammalia extremely high altitudes. Despite the sheer cliffs and terrifying drops, mountain goats seem to defy all laws Territory Canada, USA of physics by grazing on Diet Grass, herbs, lichen, twigs, leaves cliff faces at heights of up Lifespan 12-15 years to 4,000 metres (13,000 Adult weight 45-136kg / feet). This is due to their 100-300lbs Conservation status cloven hooves and dewclaws that cement them to their precarious footholds. LEAST CONCERN Despite this remarkable natural ability, the mortality rate in kids is high, particularly when they feed on growths that teeter dangerously on the edge. Mountain goats face another danger in the form of stiff competition. When males clash horns the losing goat can pay the ultimate sacrifice if they lose their footing. The strongest males survive and the next generation of goats has genetic material of prime quality. MOUNTAIN GOAT
“Mountain goats seem to defy all laws of physics by grazing on cliff faces at heights of up to 4,000 metres ”
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Life on the edge Gelada baboons are the last surviving species of grass-grazing primates
GELADA BABOON Theropithecus gelada Class Mammalia
Territory Ethiopia, 1,800 to 4,400 metres above sea level Diet Grass, seeds, flowers Lifespan Up to 25 years Adult weight 13-21kg / 2846lbs Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
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Up to 600 gelada baboons huddle together on terrifyingly steep cliffs Living in cliff-strewn areas of Ethiopia, gelada baboons will huddle close at night on ledges between 400 and 1,500 metres (1,300 to 4,900 feet) high. Geladas are the only primate that forage for grass and leaves, and they often associate with baboons and vervet monkeys as they are no threat to their source of food.
The dizzying heights are better suited for the primate’s thick capes of fur and makes coping with potential food shortages much easier, eliminating potential competition. Unlike most primates, geladas aren’t thought to recognise every group member and males only form very weak relationships with their harem of females.
Life on the edge
Llamas have specially adapted blood that helps them cope with low oxygen levels The llama is perhaps the mostLama glama impressive animal Class Mammalia when it comes to living high up near the clouds, as it copes well both Territory South America high up and at sea Diet Grass, lichen, leaves level. This is mainly Lifespan 15-25 years Adult weight 113kg / 250lbs due to its unique Conservation status blood, which has lots of red blood cells to transport NOT EVALUATED oxygen around the body. This enables it to easily adapt to environments where oxygen levels vary greatly. The llama’s feet are also especially well-adapted for living high up, as each has a tough pad and two toes to grip its surroundings. Llamas have been know to live up to 3,900 metres (12,800 feet) above sea level, as well as at lower altitudes. They’re often easy prey, but their thick coats prevent serious bites.
High-flyers Not to be outdone, there are plenty of birds that soar high up above
LLAMA
Ruppell’s vulture As such a large bird, the Ruppell’s vulture needs to fly as high as possible to avoid being spotted by its prey. The birds have reached heights of 11,300 metres (over 37,000 feet), so it’s lucky that it has such sharp vision!
Common crane In order to protect itself from lurking predatory ravens, the common crane has been seen flying at heights of up to 10,000 metres (32,800 feet) in and around the Himalayas.
Research has revealed that living at high altitudes is good for these huge creatures that inhabit the ranges of South America. With specially adapted lungs three times the size of ordinary cattle’s, yaks actually thrive at high-altitude levels.
To protect against the cold, a yak conserves heat with an undercoat of fine down and an outercoat of coarse hair. They’re so well adapted to living at high altitudes, they’d struggle to survive at lower levels and would simply overheat!
YAK Bos mutus Class Mammalia
Territory South America Diet Grass, sedges, herbs, moss Lifespan 20 years Adult weight 300-1,000kg / 660-2,204lbs Conservation status
VULNERABLE
Bar-headed goose The bar-headed goose has been seen flying at 8,800 metres (28,900 feet) up, swooping over the Himalayas as it follows its migratory path.
Alpine chough If you were to scale Mount Everest, this is one of the few birds you would see, as they are happy to fly at an altitude of up to 8,200 metres (26,900 feet).
Mallard Despite its reputation as the kind of duck that sits in a pond eating bread, the simple mallard has been recorded reaching dizzying heights of up to 6,400 metres (21,000 feet).
© Alamy, Getty, Thinkstock,
Yaks thrive at high altitude with lungs three times the size of ordinary cattle’s
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Life cycle of…
European eel EUROPEAN EEL Anguilla anguilla Class Actinopterygii
Territory Mediterranean, north Atlantic ocean, North sea Diet Larvae, crustaceans, fish Lifespan 10-20 years Adult weight 20kg / 44lbs Conservation status
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Eels have an extraordinary life cycle, from being born in salt water and floating in the ocean for three years as plankton, then migrating to fresh water to become adults. The European eel changes size, habitat and even colour at every stage of its rollercoaster life Glass eel 3 Years Tiny transparent eels of eight centimetres (three inches) arrive at the coasts of Europe. They begin to swim up freshwater streams to mature into adults.
Elver stage 4-14 years Once in fresh water, the glass eels morph into elvers and develop skin colouration. They live and feed on riverbeds, often burrowing in the silt for worms and insect larvae.
Plankton First 3 years of life At ten millimetres (0.4 inches) in length, eel larvae float throughout the Atlantic ocean as plankton, using the Gulf Stream to reach Europe.
Yellow eel 15 years After more than a decade in fresh water, eels develop yellow colouration and reach 60 to 80 centimetres (24 to 30 inches) in length. This is in preparation for a 6,000-kilometre (3,700-mile) journey back into the ocean.
Eggs hatch Day 1
© Dreamstime; The Art Agency; Robin Budden
Each female can lay up to ten million eggs and once these are fertilised they hatch into transparent, flattened larvae that cannot propel themselves or feed for their first day.
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Mating 15-20 years Breeding occurs in the west Atlantic Ocean, where males release sperm into the ocean to fertilise eggs laid by female eels.
Silver stage 140 – 180 days Eels travel up to 15 kilometres (nine miles) per day in their migration. During this time their eyes grow larger, their bodies turn silver and the digestive system disappears, making them reliant on stored energy.
© 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 slaughtered 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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AMAZING DIVERSITY OF
PRIMATES From minuscule mouse lemurs to the mighty silverback gorilla, the primate order is so much more than just monkeys Words Amy Grisdale
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Diversity of primates
Primates: from the beginning
New world monkeys
Prosimions
The 65-million-year journey, from the smallest ratlike mammals to the societies of modern apes
Purgatorius (proto-primate) These were the common ancestors of modern mammals and as Purgatorius filled different niches, over millions of years various animals began to emerge.
Small new world monkeys like the common squirrel monkeys began to thrive in the jungles of South America after their ancestors made the journey across the Atlantic Ocean over 40 million years ago. Since then, hundreds of species have evolved and are seen in their modern forms of today.
Lemurs and bush babies evolved to live in trees and feed on fruit. They stayed safe from predators as they were active at night. These animals have survived so long as they are mostly confined to Madagascar with very few natural predators to worry about.
Squirrel monkey
47 MILLION
65 MILLION
YEARS AGO
YEARS AGO
40 MILLION YEARS AGO
Aye-aye
Old world monkeys The monkeys that remained on mainland Africa began to develop cheek pouches and spent more time on the ground than their relatives across the Atlantic. The animals that emerged from these 33 million years ago gave rise to modern baboons and mandrills.
Ponginae Apes that migrated from Africa to Asia 13 million years ago gave rise to orangutans, which look and behave differently to modern African apes. They became better adapted for their environments.
Bornean orangutan
White-cheeked gibbon
Mandrill
30 MILLION
13 MILLION
33 MILLION YEARS AGO
YEARS AGO
YEARS AGO
Lesser apes Gorillinae
The first apes took shape in the rainforests of south-east Asia in the form of gibbons. They walked on two legs and used their long arms to move from branch to branch, in the absence of a useful tail.
Gorilla
The largest living primate is the gorilla, which began to populate Africa 11 million years ago. While there were once more gorilla species, only four subspecies populate the Earth to this day.
Bonobo
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2
MILLION YEARS AGO
MILLION YEARS AGO
Hominins
Human ancestors
Chimps share 99 per cent of DNA with humans and were the first hominins to evolve. This sub-family eventually gave rise to humans, and every member of the group evolved from a now extinct ape that lived 8 million years ago.
Bonobos became a separate species from chimpanzees around 2 million years ago. These are closely related to humans, and in recent history there were many other human-like ape species that didn’t survive to modern times.
Chimpanzee
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Diversity of primates There are almost 550 species of primate spread across the Earth of all shapes and sizes, from the tiniest tarsiers to the mighty gorilla. Made up of 16 families, this order of animals is so much more than just monkeys and each primate family looks and behaves extremely differently. Lemurs, bush babies, monkeys and apes all make up the same order that began evolving at the extinction of the dinosaurs. “The primate order is so diverse, it goes from prosimians right up to human beings,” explains Dr RIGHT The cottoneared marmosets live in the edge of forests and have sharp claws for gripping trees
The long limbs and prehensile tail of the black-headed spider monkey help it swing between branches
Charlotte Macdonald, primate expert and head of life sciences at Twycross Zoo. “It’s made up of animals that live in terrific social groups like capuchin monkeys and animals that are essentially solitary, like orangutans. It’s really quite a diverse range of species.” Over millions of years the biology and behaviour of each emerging species has grown more complex, leading up to the arrival of human beings. Human societies are intricate, but we aren’t the only species to live in social communities. There are actually a wide range of similarities between humans and other primates. The very first primates (known as proto-primates) emerged 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. As dense forests grew throughout the Earth, mammals and birds began to occupy niches they had never had access to before. A small rat-like mammal named Purgatorius thrived in the newly green environment and as plants began to bear fruit, it began to climb trees. It could also take greater advantage of the new food source available. The ability to climb gave Purgatorius a competitive edge and over the following 15 million years an entirely new group of animals emerged: prosimians. This suborder is made up of lemurs, lorises and bush babies. They were the earliest modern primates to evolve. “The key to their success was their adaptability and their ability to exploit the changing environment. They were great climbers with excellent dexterity and were able to occupy new habitats,” explains Dr Macdonald. Prosimians developed good eyesight and hearing to stay safe while feeding on the ever-growing supply of fruit in the forests of North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. These early primates were very successful, but couldn’t compete with the emerging monkeys and apes, so only nocturnal prosimians survived. Bizarrely, as the nocturnal lemurs of Madagascar had no competitors, they shifted back to being active during daylight. Lemurs show different traits than other primates, such as their methods
“The first new-world monkey has been identified as Branisella, the ancestor of marmosets and spider monkeys”
Baboons are sociable animals and live in troops, like this yellow baboon family crossing a stream
of communication. “Prosimians are very scent-orientated and they use their sense of smell much more than other primates,” Dr Macdonald says. “A lot of lemurs have very long muzzles because they have long nasal cavities with a lot of scent receptors. They have scent glands on their wrists that they rub on their tails to try and outcompete the other males.” It’s still unclear exactly how Madagascar became home to its wildlife, as it developed into an island 20 million years before the first primates started to evolve. The first monkeys emerged nearly 40 million years ago and the first new-world monkey has been identified as Branisella, the ancestor of marmosets and spider monkeys. There’s still widespread debate as to how exactly these monkeys populated South America (the new world), but it’s widely believed early primates hitched rides across the ocean on floating islands or driftwood thatches. The continents were still slowly drifting apart at this time, making the journey across the Atlantic Ocean much shorter. Branisella had sharp teeth and a prehensile tail - an important trait found in monkeys that prosimians and apes don’t share. This tail was the key to treetop survival. “Their prehensile tails gave them an extra limb,” Dr Macdonald tells us. “The development of the tail allowed them to move fast through the thick tree canopy and use both hands while relying on their tail for balance. For example, if trying to crack a nut, they could anchor themselves with the tail and crack the nut with both free hands.”
Different primate groups at a glance
Prosimians These primates feed on fruit and seeds in tropical forests and are mostly nocturnal. True lemurs are only found in Madagascar, but lorises and bush babies are found on mainland Asia and Africa.
The scientific order of primates contains hundreds of animals, from the minute pygmy mouse lemur, to the mighty silverback gorilla Hominoidea Apes are large, tailless and evolved most recently of all the primates. They are highly intelligent and have elaborate social interactions, though many ape species existed and are now extinct due to extreme competition from other apes.
LEMURS & BUSH BABIES Brown mouse lemur Slow loris Lesser bush baby Coquerel’s sifaka Red-ruffed lemur
NEW-WORLD MONKEYS Bald uakari Howler monkey Woolly monkey Emperor tamarin White-throated capuchin
APES Siamang gibbon Orangutan Gorilla Chimpanzee Bonobo
OLD-WORLD MONKEYS Cercopithecidae African or old-world monkeys are a family of primates that live across Africa and Asia. It consists of around 80 species and a lot of these have specialised cheek pouches to help digest starchy fruits and vegetables.
Proboscis monkey Snub-nosed monkey Hamadryas baboon De Brazza’s monkey Red-shanked douc
Platyrrhini These small monkeys inhabit central and South America. They are all tree dwellers that can move rapidly between trees with their muscular tails and feed on pulpy fruit. They evolved from only a few ancestors that first arrived in South America 40 million years ago.
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Diversity of primates It’s clear from the fossil record that 33 million years ago the first ancestors of old-world monkeys were emerging. These primates walked on all-fours and had ridged molars like modern monkeys. Within 15 million years, several monkey species with cheek pouches, similar to modernday baboons, fed on leaves and roamed throughout Europe and Africa. These gave rise to larger primates like rhesus monkeys, macaques and baboons. Even though they are all similar, there are several differences between the monkeys found on different continents. “A lot of the differences are anatomical. Oldworld monkeys have central nostrils that point downwards, whereas new-world monkey nostrils point sideways, giving them the name platyrrhine monkeys, meaning flat nose. The majority of old-world monkeys have opposable thumbs, whereas new-world monkey thumbs lie in line with the rest of the fingers, so they have more of a scissor grip.” A primate called Propliopithecus was established in northern Africa around 30 million years ago and is believed to have been the first true ape. It resembled a small
“There are several differences between the monkeys found on different continents” gibbon, which were the first modern apes to evolve. Apes and monkeys are very different animals. “Monkeys have tails, and tend to be smaller than apes. Gibbons, chimps and other apes have flatter chests than the rounded torsos seen in monkeys,” Dr Macdonald explains. During the late Miocene – starting around 11 million years ago – an abundance of apes emerged that unfortunately are no longer around today. Gigantopithecus, for example, was twice the size of a modern gorilla! Animals such as this were the ancient ancestors of gorillas and orangutans, which are in different subfamilies to hominids. These include chimpanzees, bonobos and even us humans. However, the hominids didn’t appear until 8 million years ago and humans first emerged in modern form only 100,000 years ago. Humans have developed complex societies, but we are not the only primates to live in structured social groups and communicate in complex ways. “The basics of ape behaviour are very similar actually. If apes are upset with each other they will fight, if they are happy with each other they will groom or play, but by carefully studying the details of their behaviour reveals them to be very different,” Dr Macdonald explains. Despite being the biggest apes on the planet, gorillas keep a completely herbivorous diet
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Baby orangutans learn from their mothers and they o!en stay together for life
Orangutans live in different social structures than other ape species. “The orangutan family unit usually consists of a female with up to two offspring. Male orangutans live completely separately and only seek out females to mate when they are in season.” Females and young orangutans live in family groups, where the adults spend time together and related young frequently play with one another. Unknown orangutans are treated with suspicion, and young aren’t allowed to play with the young of a strange adult. Female orangutans settle next to neighbouring apes they can trust, and each orangutan announces to the group when they are going to sleep. “Gorillas live in family groups led by a dominant male, commonly known as a silverback,” explains Dr Macdonald. Groups with more than one male attract and retain more females, while females decide when it is time to copulate. Lowland gorilla groups contain only one dominant silverback who fiercely protects the females and young apes. Chimpanzees and bonobos do share common ancestors, but 2 million years ago these apes were
Diversity of primates
Chimp VS bonobo Though they share 99 per cent of their genetic material, chimpanzee and bonobo societies could not be more different.
Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes Average male weight 60kg (130lbs) Average male height 1.5m (5ft)
Bonobo Pan paniscus Average male weight 40kg (85lbs) Average male height 1.2m (4ft)
Promiscuity Taking the lead Rather than answering to a dominant male, female bonobos become leaders of their group. Chimpanzee groups are always led by males and each group has an alpha male that takes the top spot among the rest.
Chimpanzees will shout, threaten and fight others to resolve a conflict that arises, while males use intimidation to get their way. Bonobo disagreements are settled peacefully with social grooming or sexual behaviour.
separated by the Congo river. By 900,000 years ago they became two entirely distinct species and although they look incredibly alike, they behave differently in the wild. Female bonobos have close relationships, and males don’t fight over females. Their communities can be dominated by females and are more peaceful than those of chimpanzees. “Bonobos show a lot of sexual behaviour. This is not just used for mating, they use it as a bonding activity, as reassurance and they will use sexual behaviour to resolve arguments,” reveals Dr Macdonald.
Female bonobos are close with other females and their sons, but female chimpanzees don’t tend to team up and often show aggression. Male chimpanzees form strong alliances with others, but rarely bond with females.
In contrast, a single male dominates each community, using aggression to defend his status. Females don’t associate closely, but males form strong coalitions. “To bond, chimps will groom and play,” explains Dr Macdonald. “Bonobos play and groom, but they will use sexual behaviour for the same purpose – to become friends.” Despite their startling similar appearance, Dr Macdonald tells us the two species are difficult to compare. “It’s like comparing cats and dogs, they are completely different species,” she confirms.
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© Alamy, Thinkstock, Corbis, Rex Features, Peter Gronemann, Tom Junek
Strong alliances Resolving conflicts
LEFT Lar gibbons communicate vocally and are known to duet to warn off neighbours posing a threat
Only the highest-ranking male chimpanzees are allowed to mate, and females are heavily guarded to make sure no lower ranks have access. Bonobos use sex as a greeting and to strengthen social bonds within the group.
22 Amazing facts Cows Cows’ super senses give them powers almost beyond belief
Cows celebrate when they solve a problem If presented with a problem, such as a maze, young cows experience a eureka moment when they solve it, as well as when tackling a challenge or puzzle. Their heart rate speeds up and they can kick, buck up or even jump in the air in sheer joy of the moment.
Human beings share 22,000 genes with cows! 14,000 of these are shared with all mammals and it took 300 scientists in 25 countries over six years to identify the entire genetic sequence of the cow. Cows can see 360 degrees Wolves were once a big threat to cows, so over time their field of vision widened until they were able to get a panoramic view of their surroundings. Most prey species have the ability to see behind them so predators can’t sneak up.
Domestic cows are descended from an enormous wild cow called an auroch. These beasts stood at almost two metres (6.5 feet) tall and their horns were over 80 centimetres (31.5 inches) long.
Cows have good memory and are known to hold grudges against others that have wronged or hurt them in the past. It takes a lot of grinding to turn grass into milk, so cows chew their cud over 50 times per minute. They have brilliant hearing and can detect low-pitched sounds the human ear can’t pick up at all. On average a cow produces 60 kilograms of saliva a day to help break down grass. Human beings began to domesticate enormous wild cattle for milk and food just over 5,000 years ago.
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Cows can run faster than horses Horses are excellent runners, but in a boggy field a cow could win a race. They have cloven hooves, which means they have two distinct toes, so their feet can traverse thick mud easier. Horses have one rounded toe, which is much more likely to slip.
Cows Just like a snowflake, no two cows are completely alike. A cow’s black patches are unique like a fingerprint. Cows sleep only four hours a day, as they need to graze continually and their lives are not energetically expensive.
Young cows form groups of between two and four members, spending more time with these individuals than any others in the herd. They need to form close bonds with one another and get distressed if separated.
Christopher Columbus introduced cows to North America in 1611, but before this point bison were the only bovine species to roam the continent. Just like humans, a cow’s pregnancy lasts nine months. Unlike humans, a new mother will spend up to an hour licking her calf clean. Scientists have found that cows produce more milk when treated nicely. As milk is 90 per cent water, for every litre of milk a cow produces the animal must drink three litres of water. For a typical dairy cow this is 250 to 270 litres (55 to 60 gallons), which equates to a bathtub full to the brim.
They only have one stomach It is widely thought that cows have four stomachs, but that isn’t strictly true. Cows only have one stomach, but it’s divided into four compartments. The rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum compartments each have their own specialised function to help produce top-quality milk.
Cows don’t bite grass The teeth of a cow are used to chew grass, but they don’t actually use teeth to rip the grass from the ground. Cows curl their long tongues around clumps of grass and pull it into their mouths, where they can chew the cud with their teeth. Their muscular tongues are also useful for drinking, so they use a sucking motion with them.
They lie down before it rains
Bulls don’t see red Bulls are famously supposed to get angry upon the sight of the colour red, but these animals cannot actually see this colour. Bulls are likely to become distressed from the frantic movement of the cloth, but the colour is not what upsets them.
Cows can detect odours up to eight kilometres (five miles) away! As the ancestors of modern cows were a prey species they developed a strong sense of smell. Scents such as blood could be registered over massive distances, giving the herd a warning of predators prowling nearby.
© Thinkstock
The old saying has actually been proven to be true, as when the weather is on the turn, cows will lie down on the grass. Most scientists think that they prefer to graze on dry grass, and so will keep a patch out of the rain to feast upon when the weather passes.
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All about grey wolves
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All About
y wolves
The wild ancestors of the domestic dog are hated, feared and have been hunted for centuries. However, these resilient animals are built to survive and are making a comeback Words Laura Mears
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All about grey wolves
Incredible family bonds Wolves form strong pair bonds and spend several months preparing for their new arrivals Grey wolves are family-orientated animals, and form close bonds within the pack. The alpha pair are usually the only two animals that breed and are bonded for life, continuing to produce cubs each year. Preparation for the new arrivals starts early and in the winter hormone levels in both sexes start to rise. The female is the first to demonstrate her interest, remaining close to her mate and resting her chin or paw on his body. The male responds by scent-marking, ensuring that all rival wolves know that this female belongs to him.
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After up to two months of bonding, the pair are ready to mate and again it’s the female that initiates courtship. She pursues her companion, encouraging him to mate with her. When he complies, the pair can remain together for over half an hour. If the female falls pregnant, her cubs will be born in just two months, so there is little time to prepare. Established packs often have an existing den for the female, but if the parents are new, or the old den has been lost, damaged, or destroyed, the wolves will need to dig a new one.
The female is entirely responsible for digging the den, but if she has older cubs, they may help her out. Wolves live in snowy, often damp environments, and there’s significant risk of the den flooding as the snow melts, or in the spring rains. In order to protect their vulnerable young from the chill of a water bath, the dens are specially shaped. They slope down at the entrance and then up again on the inside. This provides a safe internal island for the young cubs, which can be born in litters of up to 14.
Grey wolves
The first few weeks of life Wolf cubs are born blind, deaf and tiny. This makes them entirely dependent on their mother for food, warmth and protection for the first few weeks in the world. It takes around two weeks for the cubs to open their eyes and at first they are unable to walk properly. Instead they simply use their front legs to crawl about inside the den. By just three weeks old, the cubs are completely transformed, so with their eyes wide, ears perked up, and voices ready to communicate, they start to venture out of the den. They will start to meet the rest of the pack, who they will be close with for the next few months.
In the den
The pack members work together to dig a secure den for the dominant female and her cubs
Folded ears Adult wolves have pointed ears, but their cubs begin life looking much more like dogs. As they grow, their ears start to prick up a bit.
Blue eyes When wolf cubs open their eyes at around two weeks old, they are piercing blue. As they grow older, the colour gradually changes to the tawny orange of adult wolves.
Instinct Wolf cubs practise communicating early, using whines and whimpers to get the attention of their mother, and even trying to howl.
Pack assistance For the first few weeks, the wolf cubs survive entirely on milk supplied by their mother, but as they get older, they start to eat solid food. The cubs are too small to join the rest of the pack on hunts, so prefer to stay near to the entrance of the den. All members of the pack join in to help, either bringing meat directly back to the den, or regurgitating swallowed food for the cubs to eat.
Nurturing mother Unless resources are particularly abundant, it’s usually only the dominant female in the pack that gives birth to a litter. She cares for her cubs alone for the first few weeks, remaining in the den with them to provide them with much-needed body heat and a constant supply of milk to sustain them as they grow.
Waterproofing The entrance is steep, but inside the chamber curves upwards again, preventing flooding if water runs in.
Limited movement Very young wolf cubs aren’t able to support their own body weight, so crawl around inside the den using just their front legs. By the age of three weeks, they are able to walk to the den entrance and peer outside.
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All about grey wolves
Inside a grey wolf
Big brain Wolf brains are 1.5 times bigger than those of domestic dogs.
These savage endurance hunters have bodies built for stamina and survival. With insulated, waterproof coats, long legs and bone-crushing jaws, these pack animals have taken control of some of the most extreme environments Keen nose GREY WOLF
A wolf has around 40 times as many smell receptors in its nose as humans, and can smell us from over a mile away.
Canis lupus Class Mammalia
Territory Northern Hemisphere Diet Carnivore Lifespan 7 years Adult weight 20-80kg / 44-176lbs Conservation status
Strong jaw The bite force of a grey wolf is much greater than that of a similarly sized dog like a German shepherd.
LEAST CONCERN
In-built grip
Dewclaw
The pads on a wolf’s feet are thick, cushioned and covered in bumps, helping them to grip the ground.
Each of the front paws has an extra digit known as the dewclaw.
No collarbone Wolves don’t have collarbones connecting their front legs to their sternum. This means their legs cannot move from side to side at all, only front to back, making them extremely efficient runners.
Digital ball
Plantar ball Claw
Muzzle The muzzle of a wolf is long and slender, containing a total of 42 teeth. It has incisors for biting, canines for puncturing and gripping, as well as premolars for tearing, and molars for crushing and grinding. Incisor Canine Molar
Premolar
JUVENILE
INFANCY Birth of cubs 0 months When wolf cubs are born in the spring, their ears are curled over and their eyes are fully closed.
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Open eyes 2 weeks A er ten days, the cubs start to open their eyes and begin tentative exploration of their family den.
Open ears 3 weeks As the cubs grow, they become increasingly curious. Their ears start to prick up and they look and listen at the entrance to the den.
Meeting the pack 3-4 weeks As soon as the cubs are strong enough to leave the den, they begin socialising with the rest of the pack.
Close to mum 4-10 weeks For the first few months of their lives, the cubs remain near the safety of their mother and the den, feeding o en.
Solid food 10 weeks The pack bring meat back for the growing cubs. By around ten weeks old they are less dependent on milk.
Guard hair The long, pigmented hairs that cover the body of a wolf are rough in one direction and smooth in the other, helping water to run off in the rain.
Underfur Spine
A soft layer of short underfur helps the wolf to retain body heat during the harsh winters of the Northern Hemisphere.
Pelvis
Straight tail Wolves are closely related to domestic dogs, but they have several distinguishing features: their tails are straight, their feet are larger and they have white fur around their mouths.
High lung capacity Wolves are built for endurance, and have deep chests. Their big lungs maximise the amount of air they take in with each breath, helping them to outrun their prey.
Ankle
Closest family Closely related to the grey wolf are…
Standing on tiptoe Instead of walking on flat feet, wolves are adapted to stand on their toes. This elongates their legs, enabling them to make much longer strides.
MATURITY Part of the pack 1 year A er they reach around a year old, wolves o en remain with their family pack. They will eventually help to hunt and raise the next generation.
Alpha status 2-3 years When wolves reach sexual maturity, they leave their pack in search of a mate, becoming the heads of their own family unit.
Raising a family 3-7 years Wolves are thought to mate for life and partners will stay together in close co-operation to raise successive generations of cubs.
Red wolf These slender, rustcoloured wolves are Critically Endangered, and were once hunted to the brink of extinction. Captive breeding programs are now aiding their recovery, but there are just 100 individuals le in the wild.
Coyote Coyotes are more vocal than their grey cousins and use a combination of three distinctive noises to communicate: a squeak, a distress call and a high-pitched howl. They are less pack-orientated, and o en hunt alone.
Domestic dog Dogs were first domesticated between 10,000 and 32,000 years ago and their ancestors were European wolves. Selective breeding has transformed these once wild hunters into our most-valued animal companions.
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LEFT Each wolf pack is structured around a dominant breeding pair, who direct hunting efforts and defence against rival packs
Alpha male Wolf family structure means that dominant males don’t need to fight to maintain their position as the head of the pack and instead can focus their energy on hunting and territory defence.
Life revolves around the pack For these intelligent and sociable animals, the wolf pack functions like some human family groups Once thought of as living in a strict hierarchy, led by an alpha male and female, it’s now known that wolf packs function more like human family groups, with two parents in charge of their children. Most packs are relatively small, consisting of under ten individuals. Wolves engage in rough play fights to determine their position in the social structure. Dominant animals point their ears forward, bare their teeth and growl to assert their authority, while more-submissive members of the pack respond by holding their ears flat, putting their tails between their legs and rolling over to expose their stomachs. Much of the vocal communication of wolves shows similarities to the domestic dog. When
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hungry, lonely, or in pain, they will whimper and whine for attention – when angry, they will growl and bare their teeth. They don’t often bark, but they’ll use a gruff call to signal danger. The dominant breeding pair leads the hunts, but often allow their younger pack mates to do most of the work. By combining their efforts, the pack can tackle large animals, like elk and bison, using a characteristic technique to intercept these enormous herbivores. They run through a herd, watching for any signs of weakness. The wolves isolate a weaker target from the rest of the group. They’ll then bite at its legs, flanks, face and tail. Wolves prefer to feed on the rich internal organs and welldeveloped leg muscles.
Each wolf needs several miles of terrain to hunt enough prey animals, so the pack travels frequently, often covering over 20 kilometres (12 miles) in a day. Competition among rival packs is fierce, so wolves make regular boundary patrols. Any wolves straying into the wrong area risk confrontation. They announce their presence with a howl, holding their heads to the sky and allowing the sound to carry for up to 16 kilometres (ten miles) across the landscape. When one wolf howls, others in the local area respond. Packs come together in a mournful chorus, each individual pitching their howl on a slightly different note to create a swell of sound that gives the illusion the group is much larger.
Grey wolves
Submissive wolves Any wolf straying into the wrong area risks confrontation. When submissive, wolves lower themselves before dominant pack members, tails tucked between their legs.
Diet and feeding Wolves are efficient hunters and use teamwork to tackle prey many times their own size An average male grey wolf needs 3kg
/
7lbs of food per day That’s 7-25% of its body weight.
“Competition among rival packs is fierce, so wolves make regular boundary patrols”
Occasionally they supplement their diet with beavers, mice, and other rodents.
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All about grey wolves
Home of the wolf Although associated with the snowy tundras of Canada and Russia, grey wolves aren’t dependent on a cold environment for survival and can thrive in forest, grass, or even desert Grey wolves are native to the Northern Hemisphere and once ranged across North America and Eurasia. However, humans and wolves have had a tense relationship and although dogs are now considered man’s best friend, their wild cousins are regarded with much less affection. Wolves used to live across most of the United States, feasting on deer and bison, but the arrival of European settlers decimated the prey animal populations and wolf numbers started to decline. As wolves tried to obtain enough food, there was increasing conflict with human farmers and in the early 20th century aggressive anti-predator measures were brought in by federal and state governments in the western USA. The remaining population was trapped, shot, poisoned and was driven into the remote wildernesses. Extensive culling also took place in Canada and continued until the 1960s, but in the wilds of the tundra the wolves managed to cling on. Population numbers there are now among the highest in the world. Without wolves, prey animal populations go unchecked, so the return of wolves to abandoned habitats, like the remote mountains of North America, will help to
restore the natural balance of the ecosystem. Reintroduction programs are ongoing and the wolf populations in America are slowly returning to their natural homes. One of the major success stories is Yellowstone National Park, which after a period of 70 years without wolves is now home to hundreds of healthy breeding adults and their young. However, the largest grey wolf populations of all are found the farthest from human intervention. Most inhabit the snowy wastes of the far north, but some have colonised an environment even less forgiving. In 1986 reactor four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant ruptured, coating the surrounding countryside in radioactive fallout. The entire city of Pripyat was abandoned and a 30-kilometre (19-mile) exclusion zone was marked out, inside which no human can live to this day. Almost 30 years later, the buildings have been left to ruin and nature has retaken the land. Beavers, moose, and deer have moved in to take advantage of the uninhabited countryside. In this area of abundant food, free from human interruption, even with dangerous levels of radiation, the wolves are not only surviving, they are thriving.
Environmental factors Wolves living on the boundary of civilisation face several environmental threats Hunting Wolves are still hunted for their pelts, for sport, as a form of environmental control, or simply self defence. Farmers will still o!en protect their livestock from wolf attacks. Agriculture In Europe and parts of the USA, vast areas of land are turned over to farming, leaving little room for grazing animals, or the wolves that feed on them. Starvation Wolves require a good supply of prey animals in order to survive. If the populations start to decline, they can gradually succumb to starvation if no food sources can be found. Injury Wolves tackle large and dangerous prey, like bison and deer, and many die as a result of traumatic injury. Herbivores might look gentle, but their powerful bodies can shatter bones.
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While the two dominant female and male wolves direct the hunt, they leave younger members of the pack to the chase
Grey wolves
At the boundaries between the wilderness and human civilisation, wolves and people continually come into conflict. The most successful wolf populations are found far from human settlements. Humans and wolves have a long history of violence, but the relationship has also been one of the most beneficial in the history of mankind. All domestic dogs are descended from European wolves. The exact dates are still debated, but it’s thought that domestication occurred sometime between 10,000 and 32,000 years ago. At this time our ancestors were still hunting and gathering to obtain food, and in the wilds of Europe and Asia they would have encountered packs of wolves. It’s thought that a mutual relationship gradually developed between the hunters and humans, and that the animals would follow us closely waiting for scraps of meat. Gradually, humans began breeding the animals, selecting the cubs based on favourable traits, such as temperament, size and appearance, then over the course of the last few thousand years wild wolves have been transformed into hundreds of species of domestic dog.
Nearest neighbours Grey wolves are spoilt for choice when it comes to prey animals nearby in their local neighbourhood
Moose As the largest species of deer, and taller than the average man, moose are formidable animals. Wolves rarely take on adults, which can weigh more than a ton, but in the spring the new calves provide an easier meal.
Elk Male elk can be over 2.7 metres (nine feet) tall and are some of the largest animals in North America. They once ranged across the continent, but are now found mainly in the western mountains..
American bison These majestic animals used to cover the American plains, but European settlers destroyed over 50 million of them in the 19th century. Today there are around 200,000 bison in the USA, mainly living in protected areas.
Beaver These rodents make their homes around rivers and streams. They might not provide much meat, but they’re far easier to hunt. In some places they make up around 60 per cent of a wolf’s diet.
Corbis, Rex Features, Ardea, The Art Agency; Ian Jackson, Sandra Doyle, Thinkstock, Malene Thyssen, FLPA, Alamy
Grey wolves and humans
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Endangered
Sea otter
The sea otter once freely roamed the coastal waters of the Pacific ocean, Enhydra lutris Class Mammalia raiding kelp forests for fish and marine invertebrates. Their incredibly dense fur keeps Territory West coast of USA and Canada, east coast of their skin dry and Russia and Japan, Aleutian Islands aids their buoyancy, Diet Slow-moving fish, crabs, snails, sea urchins, mussels enabling the creatures Lifespan 10-50 years Adult weight 28kg / 60lbs to sleep safely Conservation status wrapped in kelp at the water’s surface. ENDANGERED Sadly, this luxurious fur became so prized that the otters were hunted to the brink of extinction. Despite conservation and reintroduction efforts they remain endangered today SEA OTTER
The causes of extinction Fishing Intensive commercial fishing creates competition for sea otters, and entanglement in abandoned fishing gear poses a big threat to these beautiful animals. Nets stationed under the sea are known as gillnets, and many marine mammals, including the sea otter, become entangled in these nets and drown.
Pollution On 24 March 1989, 11 tons of crude oil were spilled into Prince William Sound, Alaska, killing almost 4,000 sea otters. 90 per cent of the Alaskan sea otter population was wiped out and has still not recovered. Harmful sea pollution in the form of chemicals and plastic waste continues to damage sea otter colonies.
Predation Killer whale predation on sea otters has increased in recent years, primarily due to the decline of sea lion populations. Unfortunately, increased sea urchin density has destroyed many valuable inshore kelp forests, leaving sea otters with no choice but to make a dangerous move out into killer whale territory.
What you can do WWW.OTTER.ORG The International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) offers otter adoption. Signing up for a 12-month sponsorship gets you an adoption pack stuffed with goodies, including a cuddly otter toy!
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Sea otter Decreasing numbers Sea otters were once abundant along the coasts of the Pacific ocean, but were driven to the brink of extinction due to hunting. Although sea otter numbers have increased since 1900, they are now in decline once again as a result of pollution.
of animals in the wild today
1900
Estimated total population over a hundred years ago
100,000 1,500
“The sea otter is special because it’s an animal at the peak of the food chain, so having sea otters in the environment helps all of the other creatures”
Alaska
The decreasing habitat In the mid-1700s the sea otter was hunted almost to extinction, leaving only 13 small fragmented colonies. Now only one colony inhabits the west coast of America in California. Current population Population in 1740
1740 Estimated total population over 250 years ago
300,000
Sea otter conservation efforts Dr Paul Yoxon, CBiol MSB is the head of operations at the International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF). Along with his wife, he founded the Skye Environmental Centre and researches otters around the world. “Sea otters are actually protected by law in America and Japan, so it’s illegal to hunt them. Nowadays they are mostly threatened by pollution and the oil industry, like a$er the Exxon spill in 1989 when hundreds of sea otters were killed.” “In general the numbers of sea otters are declining. In certain parts along the California coast populations are on the rise but in the Aleutian Islands sea otters are in decline. The IOSF has done some work in the Aleutian Islands, researching the population and diet of the sea otter, and found that the sea otter populations have significantly declined due to pollution and increased predation by orca.” “The real problem for sea otters is the level of pollution and it’s difficult to take action. Heavy metals like mercury and cadmium are building up in our oceans and it’s hard to do something to prevent this.” “The sea otter is special because it’s an animal at the peak of the food chain, so having sea otters in the environment helps all of the other creatures in their habitat. If the sea otter were wiped out it would be a travesty for our environment and we would lose an iconic species.” “Members of the public can join or donate to our charity and even adopt an otter by visiting the website www.otter.org. Adopting an otter really helps otters at our sanctuary, as well as the overseas projects the IOSF is involved with. All of the money we receive goes into otter conservation.”
© Rex Features
Total today Estimated number
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Zoos of the world
Yorkshire Wildlife Park Visit the home of a unique group of animals, including meerkats, giraffes See it for yourself WWW.YORKSHIREWILDLIFEPARK.COM and the only polar bear in the UK Location Branton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire Situated just outside Doncaster, Yorkshire Wildlife Park covers 70 acres of a 260-acre site, and prides themselves on the unique view of some of the animals they have. Visitors to the park can enjoy a walk-through experience as they come almost face-to-face with Amur tigers and leopards, the most endangered carnivore in the world. The park is also home to the country’s only polar bear resident, Victor, who only arrived this Summer from Holland and is now luxuriating in the newly open Project Polar reserve. The park keeps conservation at the heart of all its activities, offering a range of educational events for all the family and a weatherproof, 600-square-metre Monkey Playbarn, with three levels of indoor play equipment.
Admission Adults (16+): £15.50 Children (3-15): £12.50 Infant (2 and under): Free of charge Concession (Senior citizens and students with an NUS card): £13.50
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
How to get there YWP is located just off Warning Tongue Lane, for SAT NAV use DN4 GTB and follow the brown tourism signs.
ABOVE Children aged 10 to 15 can be junior rangers and get behind the scenes
“The Polar Reserve is one of the largest in the world”
ABOVE Victor arrived in the summer of 2014 from Holland. The 480-kilo, 15-year-old bear is enjoying his new home in Project Polar, a ten-acre landscaped area with an eight-metre (26-foot) -deep pool. Two more polar bears will join him later this year
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ABOVE Flamingo Pool is home to dazzling pink flamingos
Yorkshire Wildlife Park
WIN!
Worth £400
A family VIP tour for four at Yorkshire Wildlife
How to Visit www.animala answer this questio Which of Yorkshire collection of anima endangered big cat -Lion -Amur leopard -Lemur Participants mu be aged 18 or over. Terms and conditions app
ABOVE The baboon family has some new arrivals to meet
ABOVE A new Meerkat and Mongoose Manor is in progress
ABOVE Amur tigers are under severe threat of extinction
ABOVE The South America Viva walkthrough is a hit with visitors
© Yorkshire Wildlife Park
ABOVE The Giraffe House is home to endangered Rothschild’s giraffes that visitors can view eye-to-eye on purpose-built platforms
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WILDLIFE SPOTS IN EUROPE It hasn’t got Africa’s savannah or South America’s rainforest, but Europe has a lot more to offer wildlife lovers than you might think… Words Adam Millward
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Seven of the best wildlife spots in Europe
Chill out in Svalbard with the world’s largest land carnivore The island of Svalbard may be cold, but it offers a plethora of unique wildlife experiences. The Arctic archipelago has belonged to Norway since 1925 and 60 per cent of the islands are covered in glaciers. The remaining landscape is dominated by sheer fjords and windswept peaks – but don’t assume it’s deserted. The high-latitude location makes it a home for a few species found nowhere else in the continent.
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The most famous of Svalbard’s residents has to be the polar bear, which primarily hunts for ringed seals on the shoreline and the ever-shifting sea-ice. Living alongside the bears and seals are Arctic foxes, walruses and reindeer, as well as migrating species like beluga whales and narwhals – the beautiful unicorn of the ocean. There’s also a wide variety of seabirds spatter the island’s skies. Polar bears spend much of their time on the pack-ice around Svalbard’s islands on the hunt for seals
The star animal of Svalbard Polar bear
Its thick fur coat and layer of fat help keep out the cold in a climate where temperatures have plunged as low as -46 degrees Celsius (-51 degrees Fahrenheit). The huge paws are a valuable multipurpose tool, equally suited for walking across loose snow, digging out seals and birds eggs, or paddling between fragments of pack-ice – sometimes for kilometres at a time. The Svalbard rock ptarmigan is just one of many bird species you might see on these islands
Dog sled through the Svalbard wilderness GREEN DOG SVALBARD WWW.GREENDOG.NO/UK 21,900 NOK (£2,090, 5 days, excl. flights) There’s no better way to experience this epic frozen landscape than gliding over the ice by canine power. With the sky aglow with the illumination of the midnight Sun or the Aurora Borealis, you can feel like a real polar explorer as you set up camp on the eastern coast of Spitsbergen. Your only neighbours will be polar bears, Arctic foxes and wild reindeer.
Arctic foxes are a common sight in the regions, though their white coats don’t always help them blend in
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Seven of the best wildlife spots in Europe
Go whale-spotting in the Bay of Biscay They say the best bit about travelling is not the destination, but the journey – and that’s certainly true of this next European wildlife hot spot. Located off the coasts of France and Spain, the Bay of Biscay is a busy shipping route, but the deep waters mean it’s as busy beneath the waves as it is on the surface. In fact, this stretch of the Atlantic is one of the best places in Europe to see cetaceans. Incredibly, 31 species have been seen here at some point (over a third of the
world’s species), including striped and bottlenose dolphins, pilot, fin and sperm whales and orcas. ORCA is a charity committed to monitoring cetacean numbers and movements in European waters and the Bay of Biscay is one of its top research sites. It encourages people to get involved by joining its wildlife officers on the decks of ferries that traverse the bay for a spot of whale and dolphin spotting! For more details, visit: www.orcaweb.org.uk.
Go on a cetacean safari WWW.BRITTANYFERRIES.COM/WHALE £170 (2 nights) Brittany Ferries and ORCA have joined forces in recent years to organise a series of summertime mini-cruises (between July and September) devoted solely to searching for whales and dolphins. You’ll have plenty of advice on hand from the experts, but even more satisfying is the fact that anything you spot will help inform ORCA’s invaluable research.
The wilds of the British Isles
LEFT Fen ra% spiders use hydrophobic hairs to skate over water and also sense prey
Three rare species of the Bay of Biscay
Cuvier’s beaked whale The Bay of Biscay’s deep-sea canyons are home to Cuvier’s beaked whales. These creatures are among the deepest-diving mammals in our oceans today.
BRITTANY FERRIES / ORCA
Habitats of the British Isles vary drastically from woodland, meadows and rocky cliffs, to sandy beaches, rolling moors and quiet hedgerows. More animals have recently migrated into city parks and urban gardens too, like red foxes, bats and hedgehogs, where we’re given a frontrow seat. But there’s an ecosystem that really stands out for its biodiversity: Britain’s wetlands. Around half of this species-rich habitat has been lost globally in the last century, making what remains ever-more valuable. The blend of dry and wet conditions is perfect for a wide range of plants, fish and insects, including dazzling dragonflies. These prey species draw in small mammals like otters, water voles, reptiles and thousands of ducks, geese, herons and finches to name a few.
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Atlantic whitesided dolphin You’re less likely to see this critter than relatives like the bottlenose, striped or common dolphins. They move quickly through the water so keep an eye out!
Blue whale This is the big daddy of all the whales – in fact, it’s the largest animal to ever have lived. The blue whale can remain surprisingly elusive, but is known to visit these waters from time to time.
Mandarin ducks are just one of the hundreds of wildfowl and wader species found in British wetlands
Get wet and wild WETLANDS AND WILDFOWL TRUST WWW.WWT.ORG.UK £7-10 (1 day, adult; tours extra) WWT has nine centres around the UK, all running guided tours tailored to a range of particular residents, from otters to flamingos.
Europe
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Europe’s largest predators in the Romanian mountains With a quarter of the country covered in dense forest and the majority of Europe’s highest mountain range, the Carpathians, forming a jagged spine through its centre, Romania offers some of the least-disturbed wilderness in the continent. This makes it a haven for many animals that elsewhere have been crowded out by human development. Bird life is incredibly rich here, particularly around the Danube Delta on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, but the huge numbers of large carnivores that call this place home are the biggest draw.
As far as carnivores go, this nation is perhaps most famous for a certain local from the historic region of Transylvania… But while there are a huge variety of bats here Dracula wouldn’t stand a chance against some of Romania’s non-fictional predators. This includes the largest population of European brown bears, some 3,000 wolves and around 15 per cent of all Europe’s wild lynxes. Many lead an elusive life deep in the mountains, so sightings are never guaranteed, but as any true wildlife devotee will know, that’s what makes encounters all the more special.
With about 2,000 individuals in the country, the Eurasian lynx is Romania’s national animal
“Romania offers some of the least-disturbed wilderness in the continent”
BELOW About 30 per cent of Europe’s grey wolves live in Romania, having made a great recovery since the 1960s
Lend a helping paw at a bear sanctuary RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
6,000
BR OW N BE AR S LIV E IN ROMA NI A
Europe
WWW.RESPONSIBLETRAVEL.COM From £1,145 (14 days, excl. flights) If you want a guaranteed opportunity to see brown bears up close – as well as the chance to care for previously mistreated animals – why not consider a trip volunteering at Romania’s largest bear sanctuary? For two weeks you’ll be feeding them, acting as a guide for visitors and generally getting to watch bears be bears.
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Seven of the best wildlife spots in Europe
Search for the world’s rarest wild cat in Spain
Europe
Spain might be more well-known for its nightlife than its wildlife, but that’s a gross injustice. Surrounded by sea and isolated from the rest of Europe when the Pyrenees rose, the Iberian Peninsula is host to lots of unique fauna. None is more iconic than the Iberian lynx, listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Other continents might have lions, tigers and jaguars, but none has a cat more elusive than this. Limited to just two territories in Andalusia and pockets of forest in Portugal, great efforts are being made to pull this cat back from the brink, including trying to boost local rabbit numbers (which make up about 85 per cent of the lynx’s diet). There are also captive breeding programmes and a raising of awareness of the cats on roads that run through their territory. The lynx is not the only subspecies to have evolved south of the Pyrenees. In the sierras of north-west Spain, Iberian wolves have seen something of a resurgence in recent years following an almost total wipeout during Franco’s dictatorship. The wolves help to keep the booming Iberian wild boar population in check, but they steer clear of the Cantabrian bear, Spain’s native brown bears.
“Other continents might have lions, tigers and jaguars, but none has a cat more elusive than this”
BELOW The Iberian frog is another endemic species found only in the woodland and swamps of western Spain and into Portugal
Track down the Spanish lynx NATURE TREK WWW.NATURETREK.CO.UK
312 ES TIM AT ED IBERIA N LY NX POPULATION TODAY
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£995 (6 days, inc flights) Visit two of the last Iberian lynx strongholds – the Coto Doñana National Park and the Sierra Morena – to catch a glimpse of this amazing feline in its natural habitat. The super-rare cats share the Mediterranean forest and open grasslands with wolves, wild boar, otters, deer and eagles. This means there’s plenty of other breathtaking wildlife to enjoy while waiting for the elusive lynx to put in an appearance, if you’re lucky.
Seven of the best wildlife spots in Europe Finland is home to many owl species, both permanent and temporary. One of the biggest varieties, the great grey owl, is a spectacle to behold in flight
Europe
Have a hoot viewing Finland’s top predators WWF suggests this area plays host to 368 vertebrate species – not even counting migratory birds. There’s also plenty of tree cover for prey animals, like voles and hares, to thrive. In Finland you can get a masterclass in hunting from the likes of lynx, a variety of owls, bears, wolves and the ferocious wolverine – the largest weasel on Earth.
Go eagle-watching FINNATURE WWW.FINNATURE.COM From €1,950 (£1,560; 4-7 days, excl. flights) With a wildlife photographer at hand, you can capture some envy-inducing shots of the golden eagle in the day and northern lights at night.
Europe’s only native primate in Gibraltar Gibraltar might only span an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.3 square miles), but this diminutive British Overseas Territory can nevertheless lay claim to a unique resident: the Barbary macaque. Not only are these tailless primates the only macaques found outside Asia, but they’re also the only wild monkeys in Europe. Today a healthy population of about 300 reside on the upper part of the limestone monolith that dominates this mini-state, known as the Rock. While this is a fantastic opportunity to get super-close to these old-world monkeys, because they’re so used to humans, it’s important to remember that they are wild animals. Don’t carry food or plastic bags near them and avoid direct eye contact or baring your teeth, as this can be perceived as a threat. Thanks to its unique location as a gateway between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar also offers some of the best cetaceanspotting on Earth. At different points in the year, it’s possible to see everything from orca and sperm whales, to pilot whales and several dolphin species.
Three rare species of Finland
Saimaa ringed seal Totalling just over 300 individuals restricted to Finland’s largest lake, which became cut off from the sea in the last ice age, this subpopulation of ringed seals is now seriously endangered.
Barbarys on the rise
Siberian flying squirrel While not endangered, these critters are seldom seen because they’re nocturnal and spend most of their lives gliding between the treetops searching for nuts and berries.
Wild forest reindeer Almost hunted to extinction in the 19th century, this elusive subspecies of reindeer favours the densest areas of the taiga, covering the RussianFinnish border.
Legend has it that as long as there are monkeys on Gibraltar, it shall remain in British hands
Barbary macaque
Thought to have been introduced by the Moors from northern Africa as long ago as the eighth century, Gibraltar’s colony of Barbary macaques is now flourishing compared with their African cousins, and they are iconic to the Rock. Living in troops of around 30 to 60, the monkeys observe a hierarchy based on maternal lineage. Unusually, the males play a big role in rearing the young.
A birdwatcher’s paradise AVIANTOURS WWW.AVIANTOURS.NET £70-£100 (1 day, depending on group size) Thanks to its proximity to Africa, many migrating birds use this promontory as a highdemand pit stop. On this day tour with a local award-winning photographer, you can see how many of the 315 or so different birds recorded here you can check off.
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© Alamy, Corbis, Thinkstock, Alan. D, NOAA< Arles Office de Tourisme, Green Dog Svalbard, Jari Peltomaki, ORCA, Oysetr Worldwide, RedCoat Gibralta, Wolfgang Moroder, WWT, Jan Nijendijk, Bohringer Friedrich
Along with its neighbours, Sweden, Norway and Russia, a lot of Finland’s most exciting wildlife can conveniently be found in one place: the boreal forest, or taiga. Admittedly, it’s rather a big place – making up Europe’s largest ecoregion and covering 2.1 million square kilometres (830,000 square miles). This cold-climate woodland is dominated by pine, spruce and birch in the northernmost stretch of the European Green Belt. This is a 12,500-kilometre- (7,700-mile-) long ecological zone that some 20 countries have agreed to protect. Although temperatures can plummet way below zero and thick snow blankets the landscape for several months, the
Bears are also found in Europe’s Green Belt
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Lioness
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LIONESS
MOTHER’S PRIDE Bearing the cubs and running the family, lionesses are some of the toughest and most caring parents in the animal kingdom Words Ella Carter Sutton
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Lioness When it comes to parenting, the animal world presents something of a mixed bag. There is the kangaroo that carries a tiny joey in its pouch, the male seahorse that does most of the legwork and even the cuckoo that leaves its chicks to be raised by other bird species. But the award for Best Mother surely goes to the lioness. Proud, protective and proactive, lionesses can seemingly raise a whole brood of cubs without even breaking a savannah sweat. Lions are the only big cats to live in social groups, known as prides. This includes just a few males and around 12 females, along with all of their young. As the only truly social big cats, the pride operates a rather distinct pecking order. “Most prides have what we call a dominant or alpha female,” explains Beccy Porter, head keeper at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation, a big-cat sanctuary in Kent, UK. “To the other breeding females in the pride she’ll be almost like a matriarch I suppose,” she continues. “[The alpha female] would be in charge of delegating, saying ‘one of you can stay behind and watch the cubs and the rest of you can go hunt’ or ‘we’re going to go to this watering hole today’.” So with the females doing the chores, what do the boys do? “The males’ main job is to breed and protect the pride from other rival males,” Porter explains. Male lions, distinctive with their amazing shaggy manes
Mothers are both tough and tender when it comes to looking out for their young cubs
“Like any new mother, lionesses are fiercely protective over their new babies, and will stop at nothing to keep them safe” of hair, don’t stay with the pride their entire lives. As young adults, they take on a nomadic lifestyle and roam the grasslands, moving with the herds for rich food pickings. Sometimes they travel totally alone, or in a band of related individuals. When they reach their peak, the young males may arrive at a pride to challenge older males for their place. If the old male is defeated, the young male will assume dominance. When a new male comes into a pack, his instinct is to father cubs. Unfortunately, this can sometimes mean that the newcomer will sacrifice the lionesses’ existing cubs. This may seem incredibly brutal, but it’s survival instincts in the rawest of forms. “Killing the cubs makes the females come into season straight away,” Porter explains. “The
male is only going to rule the pride for a maximum of two years, so if he spends most of that time rearing someone else’s cubs he isn’t going to get a chance to breed, as the females won’t come into season for 18 months or two years after giving birth.” It’s a known fact that the lioness is one of the feistiest mothers out there, so she won’t go down without a fight. However, “it depends how far the wild male pushes them”, Porter says. “The females are protective of their offspring, but if they feel that the father of their cubs is basically on the run, they would eventually submit to the new male.” Once a lioness becomes pregnant, the cubs are born after around four months. The mother can have up to around four lion cubs at a time. “Most lionesses will take themselves off for a few days,” Porter tells us. “They will
LION Panthera leo Class Mammal
Territory Sub-Saharan Africa Diet Wildebeest, antelope, zebra Lifespan 10-14 years Adult weight 120-191kg / 265-420lbs Conservation status
VULNERABLE
Lion cub growth Between birth and the time lion cubs leave their mother, they have a lot of growing up to do
Newborn, 0-6 weeks Cubs are born blind, weighing up to 2.1 kilograms (4.2 pounds). They learn to walk a#er around six weeks.
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Infant, 10 weeks Quickly gaining weight, the cubs begin to sample meat at this age, but are still dependent on mum for milk.
Juvenile, 4 months Gaining in confidence, the cubs are active in play. Pouncing and rushing one another teaches them hunting skills.
Lioness stay with the cubs pretty much all the time and they won’t even eat for the first couple of weeks, as the cubs will be on their teats a lot.” Like any new mother, lionesses are fiercely protective over their new cubs, and will stop at nothing to keep them safe and out of harm’s way, as Porter explains: “The mother would attempt to drive away anything that will be dangerous, like a pack of hyenas or leopards – they wouldn’t want any other predators coming across their litter,” she says. “Lionesses will ferry the cubs away, move them around and keep them safe.” The mother will tenderly pick up the babies from the nape of the neck and plonk them down at their destination, often in dens of dense shrubs and trees so they’re hidden from view. After about six weeks, the cubs are strong enough to be introduced to the main pride. The lionesses often have a very strong bond with their pride-mates, so child care duties are divvied out among the females once the cubs
are less dependent on their mothers. Many prides operate a crèche system, where other lionesses take it in turns to look after whole groups of cubs at a time. “The cubs are dependent on feeding every two hours so lionesses leave them to be nursed by other females that may still have milk left from a previous litter of cubs.” Porter explains. “Some cubs might latch on to an auntie or an older sister, or sometimes they’ll be very much a mummy’s cat.” Pride life is fun when you’re a lion cub. Unlike many families in the animal kingdom, both parents stick around and can have a great relationship with their offspring. “The adults teach the cubs to hunt through play, they wrestle with one another, play with their mums and even their dad as well,” exclaims Porter. “The male lions are quite paternal, their whole reason for being there is to protect their breeding line, so they’re usually very tolerant of the cubs. Of course, every individual varies, but I’ve witnessed some fantastic interactions with the lions and their cubs.”
Lion cubs are wholly dependent on their mother for most of their early lives
Lionesses pounce on a crocodile a!er it tried to attack one of the pride’s cubs
As lions require a lot of rest, the whole family will laze around together when not hunting
Adolescent, 9 months Male cubs will start to develop the beginnings of a mane at nine months. This is a first step into adulthood.
Young adult, 15 months The full set of lion teeth are now fully developed and the young lioness is ready to hunt.
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Lioness As the cubs grow, so does their confidence and they start to become active members of the pride. “Female cubs usually stay with the group because they stay with their families,” says Porter. “They can be fully weaned by about 12 weeks but they will continue to suckle for as long as the females tolerate it.” Unfortunately life doesn’t stay as comfy for the male cubs, as Porter explains: “Male cubs are usually booted out the pride around the age of 18 months.” This is because as they grow up, the dominant male in the pride needs to assert his authority quickly. In order to protect his throne, the alpha will throw the male cubs out before they pose any kind of threat. Even when raised in captivity, these pride rules are as strong as ever, as Porter tells us: “We’ve got a pride of white lions here [at WHF, Kent]. We have one father and his brother, and two sisters who each had a litter last year. All the cubs eat with dad now, but it’s a shame because he’s picked out the young male that was born in the first litter last year. He’s been kicked out, so he’s been separated off to live with one of his sisters for company.” How do lioness mothers differ in captivity than from the wild? “They are very watchful and to start with they are always between you and the cubs,”Porter explains. “As they start to get less protective, when the cubs grow and become less vulnerable, then they do let us near, but you have to work at it.” So, just what is the best part of working with lions, lionesses and their cubs? “Just working with the lions and seeing them interact as a family group!” Porter beams. “It’s wonderful watching any mother with her offspring! The idea behind rearing and raising a lion pride is that you get that image of the dad and the mum and all the females there because that’s how they live in the wild. That’s what we’ve created here. Watching them social grooming and stalking one another, teaching the cubs how to hunt, it’s pretty cool!”
Lioness mothers will simply move their cubs to a safer location if they’re under threat
Life’s not easy for a cub Living in the savannah brings with it a host of dangers Other lions Although the prides are o en a fun family environment, rivalling male lions pose a major threat to cubs. If a male takes over the pride, he may commit infanticide to bring the females into season.
Hyenas Clans of hyenas roam the plains of the lions’ habitat. As incredibly un-fussy eaters, they won’t pass up the chance to dine on a poor, unattended lion cub or three. Leopards Leopards have been known to eat almost anything that they can hunt down, which poses a threat to any small, inquisitive lion babies that may have strayed. Humans Humans are the lion cubs’ biggest threat. Killing adult lions through fear, or poaching for trophy kills, leaves cubs without parents and threatens the species as a whole.
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© Ardea, Rex Features, Thinkstock
“The alpha will throw the male cubs out before they pose any kind of threat”
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Join us on a journey into the World of Animals Travel through planet Earth’s most famous wildlife habitats, from rainforests to deserts, and see the creatures that live there up close and in action. Learn how different species have evolved and where they sit in the food chain of life. As well as delighting you with so we promise to captiv interview
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Megafauna
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MEGAFAUNA
GIANTS OF AN ANCIENT ERA Gigantic animals of a time gone by ruled the land, sky and sea with impenetrable defences and unimaginable strength Words Ben Biggs
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Megafauna
Underwater giants
Picture a great white shark, then multiply its size, velocity and sheer fierceness by ten. The megalodon was just one ocean great with a formidable reputation… The baddest bully that ever swam the Pleistocene oceans was megalodon, an ancient shark from an even older era that topped the marine food chain across the world for nearly 27 million years. This enormous apex predator could have swallowed the biggest great white sharks whole: it grew to be about 18 metres (nearly 60 feet) in length. Megalodon terrorised most large ocean-dwelling animals and particularly early whales, its favourite prey, tearing into them with two-metre (6.5-foot) -wide jaws that could apply a bite pressure ten times that of an adult great white. It would then rip off chunks with a set of nearly 300 teeth, each bigger than your hand. Megalodon was truly a living fossil by the time the Pleistocene rolled around, dying out around 1.5 million years ago as the seas cooled and the ice advanced from the poles. This means it would never have met Steller’s sea cow, a huge aquatic mammal that emerged in the late Pleistocene around 150,000 years ago. At nearly nine
“This enormous apex predator could have swallowed the biggest great white sharks whole”
metres (30 feet) long and weighing up to ten tons, it was the biggest marine mammal of its day after whales. It was a herbivore, browsing in shallow waters for sea kelp, looking very much like a large version of the manatees or dugongs that inhabit tropical waters today. It was also slow-moving, unable to submerge itself and completely tame – we know this because they were still clinging to the precipice of existence when they were discovered by Europeans in 1741 AD, in the cold waters of the Bering Sea. Unfortunately, these three traits only accelerated their demise and by 1768, poachers and sailors had hunted these placid animals to extinction. Many of today’s turtles also have ancestors that were around 2 million years ago, although Owen’s ninja turtle (actually named after the animated characters), Meiolania and their ilk were all terrestrial, spending little time in the water. They also had clawed feet rather than fins. With predators like Crocodylus anthropophagus on the scene, maybe prehistoric turtles had good reason to keep out of the water. However, this monster species of crocodile is certainly not the biggest crocodilian that ever swam Earth’s rivers and inland seas – the 12-metre (40-foot), dinosaur-eating, supercroc Sarcosuchus achieved that record 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. That’s small consolation
20-metre tyrant Even the biggest whale shark (a gentle giant that feeds on plankton) ever caught was only 12 metres (40 feet) long – two-thirds of the monster megalodon.
BELOW With a jaw stretching two metres, the megalodon could have swallowed most creatures whole
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Great white shark 6 metres (20 feet)
Megalodon 18 metres (60 feet)
Megafauna for the early humans who lived around Crocodylus anthropophagus’ east-African range, though. This terrifying croc could achieve a nose-to-tail length of up to around eight metres (26 feet) and most definitely included humans on its menu of choice riverbank snacks. Humans weren’t around in North America at the time of the sabre-tooth salmon, or this whopping fish might have made a prize catch for early fishermen. It could grow to be more than 2.7 metres (nine feet) long and weighed up to an incredible 180 kilograms (nearly 400 pounds), which would have made a tasty catch to feed an entire family if you could reel it in! The sabre-tooth salmon was named because of the ten-centimetre (four-inch) fangs in its upper jaw and it migrated from coastal rivers to the Pacific Ocean, making scientists suspect it’s a predecessor to either the modern sockeye or chum salmon. Crocodylus anthropophagus 12 metres (39 foot)
Modern-day crocodile (saltwater) 5 metres (16 foot)
Modern-day sharks are tiny when compared with Megalodon
Big Biter Jaws stretching two metres (over six feet) gave megalodon a big enough gape to take a chunk out of a whale – even a big great white today has jaws less than a quarter that size. BELOW A megalodon tooth (le!) versus a tooth from an Australian great white shark
The saltwater crocodile may be the largest living reptile, but the monster croc of yesteryear was twice its size
Toothy terror When fully developed, megalodon's teeth were as long and as wide as an adult human's palm.
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Megafauna When did megafauna exist?
These massive creatures – known as megafauna – existed in the Pleistocene era, over 60 million years a#er the dinosaurs went extinct Jurassic epoch This period spanned nearly 60 million years and is known as the age of the reptiles, where dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
201 million years ago
Cretaceous epoch One of the best-known of the dinosaurs – the Tyrannosaurus Rex – died out over 60 million years before the first megafauna of the Pleistocene epoch. 145 million years ago
Paleogene epoch This saw the beginning of the rise of the mammals, following a massive extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Neogene epoch In the 20 million years prior to the Pleistocene era, mammals and birds evolved into forms we are familiar with today and human ancestors appeared in Africa.
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Beasts of the land
From the giant sloth to the mighty mammoth, the land animals of a long-gone era were impressive in both size and capability The Pleistocene’s Earth-bound megafauna resemble a kind of evolutionary mid-way point between the stranger creatures that walked the Earth millions of years before them and today’s recognisable species. The Americas have the monopoly on the creatures you’ll know best from this time, including the Mammoth, a close relative to the modern elephant. This wasn’t a single species, but a genus covering a host of different types that originally came from a single ancestor. They were generally more massive and had much bigger tusks than the African elephant, although the pygmy mammoth was shorter than the average person at the shoulder, but weighed many times more. Scientists have several theories of how the pygmy mammoth became extinct, including climate change and over-hunting by humans. But by far the most interesting is the cosmic impact theory – that a large asteroid or stray comet hit North America 12,000 years ago and wiped the entire population of the creatures out, along with many other species.
Winter coat Mammoths had the distinction of having thick fur to protect them from the persistent cold of the bitter ice age.
You can’t talk about American megafauna without mentioning two other iconic creatures: the enormous ground sloths and the stealthy, deadly sabre-toothed cats. Smilodon is the best known of all the sabre-tooths and was a feline similar in size to today’s tigers, but even more muscular and robust. It was an ambush predator that would break cover from rocks or bushes to take down prey many times its size, sinking its prominent, 28-centimetre (11-inch) upper fangs into the necks of the bison, camels and horses that grazed the American scrublands at the time. Smilodon would have come into contact with ground sloths and even hunted them, but it’s unlikely to have taken on an adult Megatherium – the American giant sloth. This herbivorous creature was the size of a modern elephant and one of the biggest mammals of its day: six metres (20 feet) tall head to toe and weighing four tons. It was also powerfully
Big steppes The largest of the many Mammoth species was the European and Asian steppe mammoth, which could tower up to a metre taller and two tons heavier than today’s African Elephant.
ABOVE The modern-day deer is the Irish elk’s closest relative. This giant deer (not actually an elk!) was the largest that ever lived
LEFT A mammoth’s closest living relative is, not surprisingly, the African elephant
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Megafauna Pleistocene epoch The age the megafauna giants roamed the Earth was split into four eras Gelasian era Pleistocene megafauna would have lived across four main ages. Creatures like megalodon and the terror bird Titanis lived in the G
Calabrian era The giant crocodile, Crocodylus anthropophagus lived during this era, doing its best to put an end to modern humans by munching through our ancestors in Africa.
Ionian era This era begins with a very cold and dry ice age, where warm-blooded mammals like the woolly mammoth and woolly rhino lived.
Tarantian era The final stage of the Pleistocene saw another long ice age followed by the rise of modern man. It ended 11,700 years ago, at the start of the modern era.
781 thousand years ago
126 thousand years ago
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“Europe could have been mistaken for the African savannah” built with claws the size of a man’s forearm that prevented it from walking with its feet flat to the floor. Its huge bulk and formidable armoury would have made it an extreme challenge for any predator alone, but the giant sloth’s skin was studded with bone, making it practically impenetrable to teeth, claws or even the arrows and spears of early man. Although most of the original ground sloths died out, the tiny three-toed sloths that live in South America today are thought to be descended from this mighty beast. That’s not to say that nature cheated the rest of the world out of its fair share of interesting land animals: just a few hundred thousand years ago Europe could have been mistaken for the African savannah, with its cave lions and hyenas, alongside huge cave bears and gigantic Irish elk with their three-metre (ten-foot) antlers. Asia was home to the woolly rhino, while Australia had five-metre (16-foot) -long snakes called Wonambi, a deadly monitor lizard weighing nearly half a ton and massive kangaroos twice the size of their modern counterparts. Africa could be considered the birthplace for many species, including a relatively small, social primate with keen intelligence that appeared on the scene roughly 200,000 years ago: modern man.
LEFT Over two metres tall, the Irish elk’s antlers spanned up to 4.3 metres across. Despite this enormous weight to carry, it was an endurance runner, outrunning predators without tiring
Ambush predator Wonambi wasn't technically part of the python family, but tackled prey the same as modern pythons, catching them off-guard and wrapping them up in their articulated, muscular bodies. Crushing body Wonambi was a constrictor and used its six-metre (20-foot) body to crush prey to death. Only the very biggest modern pythons approach this average size.
Tiny head Many modern pythons are capable of inflicting a nasty bite. Wonambi’s head was small relative to its body, so its bite was the last thing prey would worry about. 6 metres (20 foot)
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were probably even bigger.
Terrors of th
The winged relatives of dinosaurs that ruled the clouds Birds are our most direct link to the dinosaurs that ruled the Earth over 65 million years ago, having adapted to the changing planet and evolved over millions of years to survive today. One particular group, the aptly named terror birds, looked very much like their dinosaur ancestors. Titanis was 2.5 metres (eight feet) tall and had a typically light, avian frame of 150 kilograms (330 pounds) for its size. Tiny vestigial wings and a large skull finished with a barbed beak that could be used like an axe. Like today’s ostrich, it could run much faster than even the speediest man alive today – typically at around 65 kilometres (40 miles) per hour. It was also carnivorous, meaning If humans had been around at the time, they might have been on Titanis’ menu. This terrifying bird’s feeding habits aren’t known precisely, but they might have been scavengers, living off large kills left over by other predators. Anything small, weak and slow enough for Titanis to catch could well have been considered fair game for this highly opportunistic meat-eater. The elephant bird was a true Pleistocene monster. It may not have had the terrifying hatchet-beak of Titanis, but was among the heaviest and largest birds ever. It was native to the African island of Madagascar, where it evolved over 2 million years ago. It grew to a height of up to three metres from foot to the top of its head and a weight of around 400 kilograms (880 pounds) – an astonishing bulk even
for a flightless bird. Even their eggs were huge, equivalent to around 160 chicken eggs, or more than 50 large omelettes per elephant bird egg! Unfortunately, the relative isolation of the elephant bird meant it faced no real threat to its existence before humans arrived on the island 2,000 years ago. It hadn’t evolved a way of defending itself from invasive species – by 1700 it had been hunted to extinction. While not as big as the hulking elephant bird or Titanis, the American Teratorns still dwarfs the biggest birds of prey today, with the largest species of the Pleistocene epoch having a wingspan of around 5.5 metres (over 18 feet). On the eastern side of the continent, the island of Cuba played host to the biggest owl known to have existed, a nocturnal raptor genus called the Cuban Giant Owl that stood at 1.1 metres (3.7 feet) and was capable of carrying off prey four times its own weight. It’s likely that a combination of climate change and habitat destruction had a big hand to play in the ultimate downfall of these graceful birds.
ABOVE The biggest albatross is the only bird today that nearly matches the Teratorns’ impressive 3.8-metre (12.5foot) wingspan
“If humans had been around at the time, they might have been on Titanis’ menu”
Birds of a feather
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Wood stork
Turkey vulture
Andean condor
The stork represents one of Teratorns’ more-specialised descendants, having adapted long bills and even longer feet for stalking swamps and rivers. It uses these assets to pick out fish and small amphibians from the water.
Teratorns probably weren’t much prettier than this unfortunate descendant, but the turkey vulture seems to have fallen from its perch in the ugly tree. It has a huge range, from Canada and right across North America to South America.
This South-American bird inhabits the rugged terrain of the Andes mountain range and is a pretty close modern equivalent of the Teratorns. It’s not much smaller than its ancient ancestor, with a wing span of up to 3.2 metres (10.5 feet).
© Alamy, Corbis, Rex Features, Thinkstock, The Art Agency; Peter Scott
Many modern-day fliers are descendents of ancient megafauna
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25 facts about dolphins
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25 FACTS ABOUT What you didn’t know about the most intelligent marine mammals, from their origins on land to their clever use of tools Words Amy Grisdale
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25 facts about dolphins
Males and females have different roles Male and female dolphins don’t look different and while all dolphins need to hunt and avoid predators, each gender has very different responsibilities. Female dolphins often live with their relatives and have the responsibility of caring for and protecting the young. Female calves become mature at the age of five, but may spend years with their families. Young female dolphins have also been known to baby-sit calves while the older females leave to hunt. Both mother and calf are reunited when she eventually returns from finding food. Male calves become mature at the age of ten and will then leave the
family group to team up with other adult males. They often join bachelor groups and form strong alliances that help them work together to hunt and breed. A group of males will swim close to an attractive female to guard her from other potential suitors. However, if they do encounter rivals, these dolphin gangs are more than prepared to fight in front of the potential female mate. Males have been known to perform aerial leaps and underwater spins to impress their partners, before the mating process begins.
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN Tursiops truncatus Class Mammalia
Territory Global Diet Fish Lifespan 50 years Adult weight 500kg / 1,100lbs Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
They have teeth just like reptiles Most mammals have teeth of different shapes, but dolphins are unique in having teeth of all the same shape and size. Though this kind of dentition is usually seen in reptiles, dolphins have between 80 and 100 sharp conical teeth in long rows along their upper and lower jaws.
Every sound a dolphin makes comes from its blowhole Dolphins don’t have vocal chords, so as much as it may seem like the sound is coming from the mouth, it’s actually coming from the blowhole. The blowhole is essentially the dolphin’s nose, which is made of a strong muscle to stop it opening under water. By manipulating this tight muscle and controlling how much air is released, the dolphin produces its characteristic sounds. These can be clicks, buzzes or whistles, either highor low-pitched. Each sound delivers different information but scientists still don’t know the exact meaning behind them.
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Dolphins don't have external ears because they need to stay streamlined. On each side of a dolphin's head there are two tiny pinholes where their ears once were. Dolphins leap out of the water when swimming, to save energy. Water provides resistance when swimming, so soaring through the air is an efficient way to reach maximum speed. The smallest dolphin is Maui's dolphin at only 1.5 metres (five feet) in length. The largest dolphin is the orca at over seven metres (30 feet) long.
Dolphins once walked on land These mammals have two tiny pelvic bones on each side of their bodies – remnants of their four-legged ancestry. 50 million years ago land mammals resembling small dogs began to take advantage of the food sources available in the sea. Over millions of years these animals developed tail flukes to propel them through the water, lost their hair and their back legs.
Dolphins are dark-grey on top, so they blend in with the dark sea bed from above. They’re white on their bellies so they blend in with the light sky from below. Despite their names, pilot whales and killer whales are both species of dolphin.
25 facts about dolphins
Calves need help to breathe In the first few weeks of a dolphin's life, it swims above the mother's dorsal fin so she can push her calf to the surface to breathe. Within six weeks, the calf swims underneath and slightly behind the mother in a slipstream she creates.
They hunt on beaches Dolphins swim in synchronised lines to drive fish towards steep riverbanks or beaches. The fish are forced to escape by swimming to land, where dolphins approach at full speed. They force their bodies up on land where the exhausted fish are trapped. This is a risky tactic because extended periods out of water can prove fatal for dolphins.
Because dolphins constantly need to surface to breathe, they sleep one half of their brain at a time. In social interactions dolphins scratch one another with their teeth, creating long parallel scars called rake marks that heal very quickly. To protect their eyes from friction when swimming fast, dolphins have a sticky film over each eye called a dolphin tear.
They have X-ray vision Dolphins can actually see straight through many solid objects, even the human body, using biological sonar. Just like an X-ray that fires electromagnetic waves to reflect off bones, a dolphin produces waves of sound that bounce off whatever is in front of them regardless of its density. Clicks are produced in the dolphin’s blowhole and are beamed out into
the sea. The energy that returns from hitting an object helps the dolphin identify what’s in front of it. Dolphins use this to see through objects and are known to be able to detect the pregnancy of another animal. As sound can travel through skin, a dolphin would be able to see a growing foetus by emitting waves of sound and listening to the echo.
Dolphins recognise long-lost friends Dolphins experience memories just like humans and long-term memory helps animals recognise a relative, friend or an unfriendly animal to be avoided. As dolphins have such complex social interactions, they get to know one another quite well and remain friends for life. They form fission-fusion societies that are constantly
changing. This means that smaller groups break off, and then fuse with other groups to form large pods. Living like this makes it essential for dolphins to be able to instantly recognise others. The long-term memory of a dolphin has been found to last an astounding 20 years, if not longer. Studies have shown that dolphins
remember one another for over 20 years without the memory decaying. The duration of their first meeting is irrelevant, so even brief encounters are enough for dolphins to form life-long memories. This means if two groups meet, they can remember what the others are like and can choose whether or not to team up.
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25 facts about dolphins
Dolphins feel emotion Relative to their body size, dolphins have extremely large brains. The only species with proportionally larger brains are humans and it has been suggested that dolphins are the second-most-intelligent animals on the planet. Brain size is a good clue as to how clever animals are, but it isn’t the only indicator. The area of a dolphin’s brain that is responsible for problem-solving and self-
awareness – the neocortex – has a bigger surface area and is more complicated than the same area in a human brain. It has also been discovered that dolphin brains have thousands of special neurons called spindle cells that are linked to emotional intelligence. These were thought to only exist in primate brains, but have recently been found in elephants, whales and dolphins. Experts think that this enables dolphins to feel complex emotions, and have noticed that dolphins even seem to have a sense of humour of a sort! Dolphins show joy, empathy, self-
control and they even mourn their dead. Dolphins are famous for recreation and have been seen playing with their peers, with sea creatures like crabs, or even making their own toys in the form of bubble rings to swim through. These methods of entertaining themselves demonstrate how clever dolphins really are, as well as just how much is going on inside their skulls. Dolphin researchers have compared the quick learning ability of dolphins to the development of human children and some have even given dolphins the prestigious label of non-human persons.
Some dolphins don’t need sight at all The Indus river dolphin lives in such murky water that over time it has completely lost its sight. Instead it relies solely on echolocation to hunt prawns, catfish and carp. These dolphins often swim on their sides, which may be an aid to their use of sonar.
They collapse the ribcage to avoid the bends Dolphins force air out of their lungs into the windpipe and collapse the ribcage when beginning a deep dive to avoid getting the bends.
They can survive puffer fish poison Dolphins have found a way to play with puffer fish without succumbing to their deadly venom. The fish are masters at repelling predators with their ability to inflate and a potent toxin that is fatal to humans and many other animals. However, dolphins can chew on a puffer without any adverse effects.
The sound waves bounce off the object and return to the dolphin’s inner ear.
They are born with moustaches
Dolphin calves are born with hairy upper lips! As mammals whose ancestors lived on land millions of years ago, the hair on the beak of a dolphin calf is a trace of their furry heritage. Female dolphins also have two tiny mammary slits on their undersides where milk is produced. The whiskers on the dolphin’s beak help the calf find these mammary slits, but drinking under the water isn’t easy. When a dolphin calf is hungry, it taps the mother’s mammary glands with its head and curls up its tongue into a straw to stop itself accidentally gulping down a mouthful of salty seawater.
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Clicks are produced in the phonic lips and are concentrated into a beam in the fatty melon in the forehead. The sound waves produced will bounce off any objects in the dolphin's path. They are received on their return journey through the lower jaw, then detected by the inner ear.
Daily travelling distance Dolphins can swim up to 100 miles (160 kilometres) in one day, which is the average width of the English channel!
They recognise their reflection After submerging a mirror in a pool and using waterproof ink to mark various places on the dolphins' bodies researches noticed the dolphins rushed straight to the mirror to look at their ink marks.
Spying above the surface If a dolphin wants to peek above the surface, it spy-hops by quickly popping its head above the water to have a sneaky look around.
© Alamy, Rex Features, Corbis, Thinkstock,
Echolocation is used to hunt fish
The fatty melon-like organ produces a beam of sound from the head.
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Spring to action
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R SP ING TO ACTION To stand a chance of survival, a few light-footed animals have evolved some very unusual behaviour – three-metrehigh jumps into the air to escape danger Words Laura Mears
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Spring to action On the vast plains of Africa there are almost no trees and the landscape is dominated by grass. With no natural shelter, herds of small herbivores like gazelle and springbok are forced to graze out in the open. However, there is safety in numbers and these animals have developed an unusual escape strategy in the event of a chase. A herd of Thomson’s gazelle has stopped to eat. They each stand barely a metre (three feet) tall at the shoulder and their fur is a close match to the colour of the parched grass. In the sparse landscape of the Serengeti, however, they are visible from a great distance. Their presence hasn’t gone unnoticed and a pack of African wild dogs is rapidly closing in. Also known as painted wolves, these endurance hunters are quick and persistent. As they draw closer, they prick up their large ears and the pace quickens. Before long, they’re racing towards the gazelles at speeds in excess of 30 miles per hour. The wild dogs are bold and don’t attempt to hide from their prey. As they close in, they fan out, each taking a different line into the herd. Some of the gazelles have had their noses to the floor for ten minutes or more, clipping the grass with their sharp, flat teeth, but the herd as a whole is always vigilant and the creatures are quick to spot danger. The gazelles begin to run, but as they flee something unusual happens – those closest to the dogs start to jump into the air. These are no ordinary jumps – instead of bounding forwards in a fluid motion and landing on their front feet, the gazelles jump upwards, arching their backs, stiffening all four legs and raising their heads towards the sky. A single jump can sometimes reach up to three metres (ten feet) into the air and the gazelles can repeat the process again and again, in rapid bursts lasting a minute or more. This strange behaviour is known as stotting – derived from the Scottish word stot, meaning to bounce. The dogs know that they have been seen, but they continue on with their chase, heading right into the heart of the herd to seek out a vulnerable target. They are endurance hunters, preying on the sick, injured and the
young. As they run through the scattered creatures, they watch for any sign of weakness. Each gazelle is jumping slightly differently, some higher, some farther and some more frequently than the others. As the predators dissemble the herd, they pay close attention to the movements of their prey. The gazelles and their pursuers are closely matched when it comes to speed, but the fleeing mammals are much more agile and even with the repetitive leaps, they manage to outpace the dogs. Wasting energy in an attention-seeking sequence of jumps might seem like bizarre behaviour during a life-threatening chase, but stotting is more than just a series of bounces. African wild dogs are fickle hunters and are quick to change their target if they notice an easier option. They kill their prey using endurance, selecting a weaker animal and running until it’s too tired to continue. Stotting is a signal from the prey to its pursuers, a signal that says: ‘I am so fast that I can afford to waste energy jumping into the air, you can’t catch me, try someone else’. In South Africa, stotting is known as pronking, derived from the Africaans word pronk, meaning to show off, or to strut. The wild dogs use this information to select their target, rarely wasting time pursuing the most enthusiastic jumpers. They will even change their focus if they notice a gazelle jumping less often, or less competently, than the others. Chases are still incredibly dangerous – the animals are travelling at speeds of over 64 kilometres (40 miles) per hour, meaning one stumble can be fatal.
ABOVE Stotting can last for up to 60 seconds, before the predator either decides to pursue or give up the chase
BELOW Not all members of a springbok herd are able to jump as the strongest and healthiest members
“Stotting is more than just a series of stiff bounces, it’s a signal”
IMPALA Aepyceros melampus Class Mammalia
Territory Southern Africa Diet Grass, plants and fruit Lifespan 15 years Adult weight 40-60kg / 90-130lbs Conservation status
VULNERABLE
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Spring to action Gazelles need to be quick and nimble to stand a chance of escaping the fastest land animals
How far can a gazelle leap?
6m How fast can a gazelle run? Gazelle: 69km/h Cheetah: 95km/h Zebra: 56km/h African wild dog: 71km/h
Once the dogs have selected their target, the gap begins to close, but it’s not until they’re within 35 metres (114 feet) of their victim that the gazelles stop jumping. By this point, the pack have made up their mind and no further signalling is necessary, all of the gazelle’s attention is shifted to outmanoeuvring their pursuers. The wild dogs are known as coursing hunters and they select their prey when they’re already on the move. This gives the gazelles some time to signal their fitness without having to enter a full-blown chase, but not all African predators are so easily swayed. Ambush hunters, like cheetahs, choose their victims in advance. They try to remain undetected during the approach, coming within metres of their prey before they reveal their position. In three short seconds, a cheetah can accelerate to almost 96 kilometres (60 miles) per hour,
and with each stride they can cover a distance of over eight metres (26 feet). There’s no time for jumping, the cheetah’s mind is already made up and all the unlucky gazelle can do is run. Gazelles might be slower than cheetahs, but they have more stamina and can make tighter turns, so if they start to move immediately, they stand a much better chance of being able to escape. Life on the African plains is fraught, so both gazelles and springbok have to contend with some of the fastest predators on the planet. Cheetahs and lions choose their victims in advance, but for coursing predators like wild dogs, or hyenas, the prey animals have a chance to influence the hunt. Stotting is an honest message about their physical condition – good jumps are hard to fake and a slow runner is unlikely to have enough energy to leap repeatedly into the air. It’s a quick but obvious way to stay alive.
THOMSON’S GAZELLE Eudorcas thomsonii Class Mammalia
Territory Kenya and Tanzania Diet Grass, shoots, leaves Lifespan 11 years Adult weight 15-35kg / 3377lbs Conservation status
NEAR THREATENED
Stotting across the animal kingdom
Alpacas Alpacas can be seen stotting in unison, and this is thought to be a playful bonding activity that they participate in as a group. Young alpacas are more-frequent stotters and may leap repeatedly for no purpose other than to amuse themselves.
Mule deer Stotting is not unique to African antelope, North American mule deer are also known for their tendency to leap stiffly into the air. These deer are masters of evasion and use a combination of tactics to confuse or strand their predators.
Sheep Although adult sheep are not too fond of jumping, lambs are accomplished stotters. During the spring, newborn lambs can o$en be seen launching themselves off the ground and landing on all four feet at once.
© Alamy, Thinkstock
Gazelles aren’t the only animals to have evolved this unusual behaviour
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Japan’s insect warriors
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JAPAN’S
INSECT WARRIORS Enter the ring with the Japanese rhinoceros beetle – the gnarly, horn-wielding force to be reckoned with that’s equipped for combat Words Ella Carter Sutton Found in its native forests of Asia, or alternatively embroiled in skirmishes on the backstreets of Tokyo, the Japanese rhinoceros beetle is one of the toughest brawlers in the insect world. A true bruiser of a beetle, it can grow up to seven centimetres (2.7 inches) in length, sports a ferocious-looking horn on its head that earns ››
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Japan’s insect warriors it its name and it has hardJAPANESERHINOCEROS as-nails armour covering its BEETLE Allomyrina dichotoma whole body. Class Insecta Much like its namesake, the rhinoceros beetle also comes complete with a feisty reputation. These Territory Forests of Asia guys aren’t afraid of a fight, Diet Fruit, tree sap, nectar and are willing to take on Lifespan 4 months Adult weight Up to 85g / adversary after adversary 3oz to battle it out for victory. Conservation status However, humans need not fear, as these beetles only throw the gauntlet down NOT EVALUATED for one another and aren’t dangerous to other species. Before these duels can commence, every bad-boy beetle has to start life as a baby. These critters begin as small eggs laid underground in rotting wood. When the larvae hatch out, they’ll feed greedily on this compoststyle bedding. They grow quickly, undergoing three larval stages (known as instars), which last about a year. After the third instar, the larvae are ready to undergo metamorphosis and afterwards emerge as fully mature rhinoceros beetles, ready to take on the world. Despite such a long time spent as larvae, adult rhino beetles only live for around four months in their beetle state. They are nocturnal and spend their nights defending a territory, while trying to win over the ladies with impressive gladiatorial displays in a violent bid to carry on
As well as sturdy armour, these insects can also take off vertically to safety
Battle of the beetles When two males become locked in combat, only a combination of skill, brute strength and sheer size will decide the victor
Huge horn Second horn Excellent for leverage, this second horn on the beetle’s forehead is smaller and perfectly poised for some impressive flip moves.
This forked horn is the beetle’s greatest weapon, used for flipping adversaries and flinging them into the air.
Strong armour plates No gladiator is complete without hard-as-nails armour. This protects him during battle, as well as from any hungry predators.
Hidden wings Amazing eyesight As nocturnal insects, the rhinoceros beetle’s eyesight is surprisingly acute. Low-light speciality does make them attracted to bright lights, however.
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The beetle is hiding some pretty hardy wing-ware under its armour. It can take off vertically to make a swift getaway.
Japan’s insect warriors their proud lineage. Female rhinoceros beetles don’t have the elaborate facial weaponry that the males sport, so it’s just the boys who engage in valiant clashes of horns. Once the fight is on, the aim of the game is to get your opponent on his back. Contests involve using the colossal horn to flip the opponent into the air and toss him to the ground. It’s not surprising to learn that the beetles with the larger horns are usually the best at winning matches against rivals, as well as the all-important attention of the female beetles. Smaller males need to use morestealthy tactics to win themselves a mate, meaning that sometimes the rhinoceros beetle exhibits a little brains over brawn. But horn size aside, does having such an impressive appendage come at a cost? The answer, in a word, is no. A recent study found that the rhino beetle’s horn isn’t even energetically expensive to maintain, making it the ideal natural asset. However, the horns are more to the beetles than weapons to fight with and attract females – these tough appendages can also be used to get them out of a spot of bother. A rhino beetle makes a hearty meal for many animals, such as numerous bird species, so the beetles can use their horns as a way of avoiding being made into lunch. The weapon also sometimes turns into tool, as the beetle has been known to apply
its horn as a spade. The beetle can use this to dig its way underground to safety and away from predators. Although they feed mainly on rotting wood, rhino beetles have an incredibly sweet tooth and when they’re taking time out from wooing the lady beetles they’ll be indulging in a little sugary banquet of highenergy sap. As creatures of the forest, their favourite tipple is the sweet, sticky goop that oozes out of the trunks of trees, such as oak and ash. If they find a pretty good stash of this stuff, the males will defend it to the end. Any foes encroaching on their territory will be challenged and duelled with in order to protect their favourite food. These beetles also have chunky, brownish bodies that are made for life in the ring. The armoured plates on their backs are especially tough, and hide another of the rhinoceros beetle’s nifty tricks. Wings are concealed underneath the tough plates and this insect is capable of taking off vertically to go off in search of new sources of sap. The fighting capability of these insect gladiators is truly remarkable. For their size, they could quite possibly be the strongest animal on Earth, capable of lifting objects up to 100 times their own body weight. This makes them a truly impressive natural fighter of the animal kingdom.
“Contests involve using the colossal horn to flip the opponent into the air”
Natural-born fighters
Emperor scorpion Pandinus imperator As one of the largest scorpion species, these gnarly, black bruisers are known to squabble over territory. They use their stinging tails as swords to parry it out, sometimes fighting to the death.
Fiddler crab Uca annulipes These small crabs have one normal claw and one huge nipper on the other side. They use these mighty claws to attract ladies and brawl with other males that snoop around their mating burrows.
Only male rhinoceros beetles have the elaborate horns. Females aren’t so armed to the teeth!
Black rhino Diceros bicornis Sharing the name with our gladiator beetles, black rhinos are also known to have bad tempers. They’ll tussle among themselves over land and ladies, with thick armour protecting them from harm.
© Hendrik Gheerardyn, Nature PL, Photoshot, Kevin Walsh, Wilfredor, Ikiwaner
Saltwater crocodile Crocodylus porosus Saltwater crocs are territorial and have no fear in taking on others of their species in order to win back their patch. Their armour-plated bodies are steady protection for this clash of titans.
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Send your animal questions to us at:
[email protected] Do tigers have striped skin as well as fur?
Ella Archwood Everybody knows that tigers have striped fur, but their skin also displays those characteristic markings. In fact, all cats that have patterned fur, such as leopards, jaguars and even house cats have skin that mirrors the pattern of their fur. This is because the pigment responsible for the colour of the dark stripes also affects the colour of a tiger’s skin. Because of this, even if the animal’s coat thinned, the stripes would still be visible. A tiger’s stripes act as camouflage, as the earthy copper fur blends in between trees, reeds and grasses. The black stripes break up the appearance of a solid shape in the eyes of prey, masking the deadly cat’s approach.
How many species of whale are there? Buddhika Wijerathne There are 85 species of whale in the order cetacea, which contains toothed and baleen whales. There are 14 whale families in total, which include dolphins, porpoises and filterfeeding whales. All whales are hairless marine mammals that breathe air and give birth to live young, but there are two distinct groups. Baleen whales, such as blue whales, humpbacks and right whales, are extremely large and filter feed on small marine animals through stiff plates of fibrous baleen. Toothed whales, such as beluga whales, porpoises and dolphins, are carnivorous and they also use echolocation.
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@WorldAnimalsMag
How do snakes swallow food? Becky Arnott
Elastic muscle
Open wide Once prey is immobilised, the snake opens its jaws wide to 150 degrees, as the upper and lower jaws are connected at the back by elastic muscle. The stretchy scales covering the head and neck of the snake help the skin expand as the mouth opens.
Elastic muscle
Jaw walking Snake teeth point backwards, so by gripping with each side of the jaw, each drags prey into the snake’s mouth in turn. This is called jaw walking and by doing this snakes can swallow very large prey. Swallowing Once the prey is inside, it’s covered with saliva to ease it down the snake’s throat. When it reaches the stomach the powerful enzymes get to work dissolving the various fur, skin and bones of the prey.
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Animals answers
Do male and female animals always look different? Rebecca Thompson When male and female animals look different it’s called sexual dimorphism. This helps animals recognise others of the opposite sex and bright colours or large body size shows the animal’s quality as a mate. Many male animals have horns or
How do cats use their whiskers? Jo Bruce
antlers where females don’t, but in many species size is the only major difference. Males also have appendages like horns to establish dominance by fighting and are sometimes bigger because they’re responsible for protection of a group, like a silverback gorilla. In some species, such as
spiders, females are bigger because they bear young. Animals that look the same regardless of gender aren’t as common, but there are some examples. Female and male macaws are impossible to tell apart without testing DNA, or waiting to see which one lays eggs.
Whiskers are moved back and forth consciously by the cat to feel an object, just like a human hand trying to detect the shape of an object with the fingers.
Why aren’t there insects in the sea?
These whiskers are embedded deep into the face, connect to nerve endings and the hairs are arranged in a grid pattern. Each whisker position is mirrored in the brain, where each nerve has an area in a similar arrangement.
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Air flow changes detected by the whiskers are quickly transferred to the brain, helping the cat navigate obstacles.
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The grid pattern of the whiskers corresponds to nerve synapses in the brain, giving cats an extra sense.
Chantal Webber Although many insects have aquatic larval stages, no insects spend their adult lives in a marine environment. Availability of food is one main reason for this. Insects rely on trees and flowering plants and as these aren’t found in Earth's oceans, no insects could survive. Sea creatures like shrimp are grouped in the same phylum as land insects and share their traits, such as hard armour and jointed legs.
Q.How do tortoises use their shells? Find out at…
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Which animals prey on wasps? Patrick Edwards Dragonflies, hoverfiles and moths are known to feed on wasps despite their nasty sting, and birds are no stranger to munching down a wasp or two. Even badgers frogs and crabs have been documented to prey on wasps and don’t show any ill effects from the sting.
Birds can remove a wasp’s sting by beating it against a hard surface and most large insects attack wasps from above or target sting-less larvae in wasp nests. Some birds have actually evolved to prey on stinging insects like bees and wasps and are experts in avoiding stings.
Does an octopus have good eyesight?
How do camels keep sand out of their eyes? Philip Mackenzie Camels have low protruding eyebrows and ultra-long eyelashes to block sand from entering their eyes. Beneath these lashes they have three eyelids, forming a tight seal to repel sand. The third eyelid moves from side to side to wipe away any grains that penetrate the upper and lower eyelids, while glands supply water to the eyes to help rinse away any foreign objects. Camels can keep their third eyelids closed to protect their eyes.
Iris Cornea
Photoreceptors
Brendan Sharp Yes! Octopuses can see very well – it’s even argued that their vision is better-engineered than humans. Here's how it works. Focusing just like a camera The lens of an octopus eye is tube-shaped rather than round, and instead of changing the shape of the pupil, the eye of the octopus is focused by moving back and forth, just like a camera lens.
Nerve arrangement Unlike the mammal visual system where optic nerves exit the eye in a bundle, optic nerves in an octopus head are positioned separately, leaving no possible blind spot in its vision.
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Path to the brain In the eyes of mammals, light passes through several cell layers before reaching the receptor cells. Octopus eyes are much more organised and light hits receptors directly.
Lens
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Wiring to optic nerve
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Animals answers
Do swans mate for life? Chantelle Barry Like many birds, swans pair up for life and this strategy guarantees they will be able to produce offspring every year. They become mature at the age of four and perform their
display during mating season, where they float beak to beak and intertwine their necks. Widowed birds find new mates of a similar age, as older swans are more desirable than inexperienced young. Sometimes a swan
Which is the world’s largest spider? Kerry Heseltine The world’s largest spider by leg span is the giant huntsman spider, and the biggest specimen ever measured was 30.5 centimetres (12 inches) wide. These giants are completely harmless to humans and feed on insects and small lizards. Male huntsmen have also been discovered to produce sounds to attract females by vibrating their abdomen. However, there is a much heavier spider than the giant huntsman called the goliath bird eater. At a width of 28 centimetres (11 inches) it’s not far behind the huntsman, but this tarantula is a much heavier arachnid, weighing in at a staggering 170 grams 30.5 cm (around six ounces).
coupling doesn’t last forever and just over two per cent of pairings end in divorce, which is usually a result of a nesting failure. If a pair of swans chooses to go their separate ways they will find new mates and breed again.
Why do fish have stripes on their sides?
Ruth Coxon The stripes on the sides of fish are called lateral lines and these are sensory systems that enable the creatures to detect changes in water pressure. These grooves contain tiny hairs attached to sense organs called neuromasts that are embedded in the skin of the fish and sense any changes in the water. The lines give fish a special awareness to avoid predators, but are also thought to act as a sonar system. As a fish swims its movement caused the surrounding water to move, and this moving water can hit objects in the path of the fish. The returning ripples in the water are picked up by the sense organs along the lateral lines.
Q.How many species of otter are there?
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Animal answers
[email protected] How do starfish eat? Alex Cakir Starfish are carnivorous, feeding on mussels, snails and decomposing carcasses by engulfing prey with their ejected stomach lining. While they may have several arms, food still enters and exits through the exact same opening. They do have an anus, but most undigested food is simply regurgitated through the mouth. When a starfish finds a tasty morsel, it engulfs the target with its body, often curling its arms around the prey to stop it escaping. To prepare its meal it expels its entire stomach out through its mouth and begins to digest its prey, dissolving it to a liquid. The starfish can then absorb its liquefied prey through the lining of its stomach and bring its guts back inside.
Which animal lives the longest?
Do any mammals lay eggs? Katy Whitaker There are only two mammal species that lay eggs – the duck-billed platypus and the echidna. Rather than having teats, both secrete milk through their skin, where it pools in the abdomen. Platypuses incubate their few eggs in underground burrows for
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ten days before helpless, furless babies emerge. After three to four months of suckling they emerge and begin to learn to swim and hunt. Echidnas are terrestrial insectivores with spine-covered bodies. They carry their single egg and hatched young in a stomach pouch until the baby becomes too spiny. At this point it begins to explore the world on its own.
© Thinkstock, Corbis, Pamsai, NOAA photo library
Sam Thomas Ocean quahogs are small clams that can live for over 500 years along the east coast of the United States and throughout the north Atlantic Ocean. They feed on microscopic algae while burrowed in fine sand and they’re preyed upon by rock crabs, starfish and fish. During recent surveys it was found that one ocean quahog specimen was a whopping 507 years old when it was caught. They form annual age marks on their shells that, when studied under a microscope, can be counted to determine the clam’s age. These filter-feeding bivalves grow slowly and have a very low reproduction rate, but females and males release small amounts of eggs and sperm over several months.
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W h p O a H e r f i l g d o l t i o w
Phving mo
Capture the quickest animals and learn techniques for snapping the perfect pictures of wildlife on the run Wildlife encounters can be fleeting, so getting great photographs takes practise. When it comes to snapping speedy animals, putting in the time and effort really does pay off. It can be frustrating to miss a great shot, so practising is the key to improving your skills.
It’s great to use a digital SLR camera, which you can pick up from £200 to £600. The Canon 650D is perfect for beginners, as it’s easy to use and has a moveable touchscreen. It also teams well with a lens with a zoom of at least 300mm to pull the animal fully into frame.
What you’ll need: DSLR Make and model: Canon EOS 650D (body only) RRP: £660 (approx. $1,072) www.camerajungle.co.uk Telephoto lens Make and model: Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 APO DG Price: £560 (approx. $910) www.camerajungle.co.uk
“When it comes to snapping speedy animals, putting in the time and effort really does pay off”
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Your world of animals 01 Preparation You need to be in position when the animal emerges, so set up all your kit in preparation. Attach your tripod or monopod, remove your lens cap and stay alert so the animal doesn’t pass you by.
02 Select your mode Beginners may want to select Sport mode as it does all the work for you, but adventurous users should choose Shutter Priority. This mode freezes fast subjects and keeps the animal in focus.
Telephoto lens Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3 APO DG www.camerajungle.co.uk £560 (approx. $910) If you’re serious about getting into wildlife photography, then it’s well worth investing in a decent lens with a good zoom.
03 Set shutter speed Shutter Priority mode selects the aperture for you, but the shutter speed is up to the photographer. This is the length of time the camera shutter is open and it ranges from 30 seconds to 1/8,000th of a second. To freeze a fast-moving animal, use a speed of 1/125 or above.
Monopod Three section monopod www.manfotto.co.uk £54 / $78 Monopods are less fiddly than tripods and make panning easier. They also save you holding up a heavy lens for too long.
04 ISO The sensitivity of your camera to light is determined by ISO, so you should aim to use the lowest setting possible (100) to prevent your shots coming out grainy. However, as ISO slows down shutter speed you might have to select a higher ISO to keep your shutter speed fast, or use the Automatic function.
Top 5 wildlife photography must-haves
05 Shoot in Burst mode When trying to capture a fast-moving animal it’s best to shoot a burst. Taking several shots gives you a better chance of getting that perfect result.
Rain hood OpTech Rainsleeve 2-Pack www.camerajungle.co.uk £6 (approx. $10) These come in a pack of two and can save your valuable equipment from rain or sea spray, so keep them in your camera bag for an emergency.
06 Focus If you know exactly where your subject will come from,then you can focus your shot manually, but it’s a good idea to use Autofocus if an animal could spring from any direction.
Remote shutter Phottix TR-90 digital timer and remote www.camerajungle.co.uk £50 (approx. $81) With a remote shutter you can set up your camera and take photographs remotely so wildlife won’t be scared away.
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d your photos
@animalanswers.co.uk Aerial Combat John Boyle In Western Australia I had some amazing encounters with the wildlife, [but] I frequently got close-up views of raptors.
ou to a you coul win a FREE 12-month subscription to World of Animals magazine
Baby Emperor Tamarin Jenny Burchell I took this photo at the Cotswold wildlife park. He was very intrigued with what I was doing and, soon a!er came to the mesh, allowed me to interact with him and hold his hand.
Dragon-fly at rest Paul Allen The image was taken on a Canon with an 18 to 250mm lens in the early morning at Hickling Broad in Norfolk, UK. It was a particularly sunny morning and the dragon-fly landed straight on the wooden pole in front of me and even stayed long enough for me to get some good shots.
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Your animals Grey Heron Paul Spear I saw the grey heron from a hide at Venus Pools nature reserve in Shropshire. It spent ten minutes shaking, washing and dropping the toad before finally walking off, leaving the unpalatable meal.
Elegance Garry Chrisholm Travelling on a bumpy truck ride through the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, south-east UK, we chanced across this zebra. The sheer gracefulness, elegance and beauty of the zebra was a joy to behold, so I had to capture it on camera.
Lion at Victoria Falls Helen Gee I managed to photograph this elegant beast while on a Walking With Lions experience near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. I also took part in the ALERT Lion Breeding Programme tour, with Antelope Park, which takes visitors on a tour to observe some of the park’s young lions and lionesses.
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© Imagine Publishing Ltd 2014
SEVEN SENSES OF THE HAMMERHEAD SHARK
MEET THE SMARTEST ANIMALS ON EARTH
ISSN 2053-7727
MONSTER APPETITE OF THE BURMESE PYTHON 97
Bizarre! LOWLAND STREAKED TENREC Hemicentetes semispinosus Class Mammalia
Territory Eastern Madagascar Diet Insects Lifespan 3 years Adult weight 125-280g Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
The lowland streaked tenrec can take on all predators with hundreds of barbed spines Despite its similarity to a European hedgehog, the spiny tenrec evolved in isolation on Madagascar. Natural selection took the same route for both animals, even though they emerged thousands of miles apart
It’s heavily armed and fearless
Like the hedgehog, the lowland streaked tenrec is covered in spines and quills. Some of these are barbed and if the creature feels threatened, it can launch these spines at its enemy. Luckily, the tenrec doesn’t have many predators, so it doesn’t often happen, but when it does the results aren’t pretty!
Their quills help them communicate
These tenrecs have stridulating quills that are used for communication. The noises are so high-pitched that humans can’t hear them, but it’s been discovered they’re constantly chattering away. Tenrecs also use this as a distress signal when they lose the rest of their family.
It’s the Madagascan equivalent of a rat These tenrecs are considered to be as abundant as rats or pigeons in the UK or US. The creatures have only ever been found in the wilderness of Madagascar, however. There is another type of the animal, known as the highland streaked tenrec, that tends to stick to highlands as the name suggests.
Lowland streaked tenrecs are fairly sociable animals and tend to live in burrows with up to 20 others. These are often fairly shallow, but incredibly long and – usually around 1.5 metres (five feet). The creatures also commonly live near streams and under foliage, as it’s convenient when hunting.
98
When females aren’t interested, they’ll attack the male When a female lowland streaked tenrec says no, she means it. If a male attempts to mate with her when she’s not interested, she will impale his reproductive organ with her defensive quills in order to scare him off. When a tenrec does give birth, its litter is usually between five to ten babies, and a%er only five weeks these babies are already sexually mature.
Alamy
The tenrec burrows with up to 20 friends
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