Survivor

I was vary sad to hear about the recent drought ravaging the population of Rare Desert Elephants in Mali, with one of the worst drought sin living memory. These Elephants walk a hundreds of miles every year to find water and follow trails that have been spotted by satelleites. They are small than other African Elephants but have broader feet helping them walk greater distance and cover more ground. Life is harsh enough for the herd of 350 to 400 in Gourma region of Mali and now they have to trek even longer distances to find water. Younger elephants are more affected as their trunks are not long enough to reach the source underground and get access to deep wells.

The water shortage is due to uneven rainfall in 2008 with many of the sources having their lowest levels yet. The most important of these lakes, Banzena, is the lowest it has been since 1983 when it dried completely. NGOs are working to help supply water that is badly needed until the rainfall season in January. Herdsmen are also being affected in the area as their cows don't have access to water either. It will be a terrible pity if these elephants die out they travel further distances than any other herd of Elephants in the World,with their habitat now being affected by climate degradation and human habitation.

*National Geographic There are two species of African Elephant, 'Forest' and 'Savannah'-The Mali elephants' tenuous hold on survival is even more troubling given the findings of a separate research team. Using DNA extracted from the dung of wild elephants in western Africa, biologists at the University of California–San Diego, have determined that the elephants are a genetically and geographically distinct species that probably diverged from the forest and savanna elephants of southern Africa a little more than two million years ago.
The San Diego team's findings will be published in the October 7 issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B.*

Rare Desert Elephant Facts:

• They follow a circular migration path covering 450 km


• Travel sometimes 100-152km a day between water holes


• They are tracked by collars and satellites


• They can hear rainfall from great distances and respond


• Of Africa's 500000 Elephants they represent about 12000

Aye-aye

''Rodent like teeth with a long thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker'' this is how Wikipedia describes the Aye-aye, which, when I saw a picture of it, I had to find out more. The first time i saw it reminded me of something you might come across in a fairytale, in an enchanted forest or would turn up in Lord of the Rings.

It looks cute but a bit freakish. The world's largest nocturnal primate taps trees to find grubs (beetles) and then pulls them out with its long middle finger (I can see how a long middle finger might be useful for this purpose). Its eyes are beady, shimmering in the darkness and its face like that of a raccoon with a tail like a squirrels. It lives on the East coast of Madagascar and its natural habitat is the rainforests or deciduous forests dwelling in canopy ares 700metres plus up high in the trees.

Aye-aye Facts:

• Has UN classification of threatened species


• Its classification as a primate has been disputed


• Are usually solitary but will forage in groups

Link to Wikipedia

Rock that Coat

The first thing that turns up in search results when you Google ''White Lion'' is an 1980s American/Danish Hard Rock band complete with bad mullets and stonewashed jeans. It surprises me that people could be more interested in seeing the mugs of this badly permed lot who are frankly, ugly rockers, than the rare beautiful white mane of the White Lion. The White Lion is a genetic mutation and is rarely seen in the wild. I watched a documentary recently about these white lions that were bred in captivity then ''semi'' released in the wild. Apparently their distinct colouring is a disadvantage when hunting and they can be easily spotted by prey. They can catch prey but just not enough to survive on in the wild, so the lions in the programme are always helped out by a handout here and there.

Being visible is a big disadvantage in the wild, as well as being spotted by prey, they are an easy target for hunters, the tawny lion having the benefit of being camouflaged by its coat. Most of the White Lions that exist now are in zoos. Scientists have theorised that the genetic mutation has been passed down through the ages because the white colour might have been helpful to the lions during the ice age, where they would be camouflaged against the white backdrop. They think the genes could be kept in case of another ice age.

White Lion Facts:

• The White Lion is a morph with a genetic condition called leucism


• Confirmation of their existence only arrived in the 20th century


• cubs attract predators as can be spotted easily


• Were originally thought to be just a legend circulating South Africa

Link to Wikipedia

Giant Tooth

I want to write about a shark that lived in prehistoric times because it was a GIANT SHARK. Megalodon lived in the late Oligocene and Neogen period. The super predator was massive with estimates of 66ft from fossils of teeth and vertebrae. It fed on large marine mammals with its diet consisting mostly of whales. Its definitely impressive when your diet consists mostly of live whales. Teeth as big as hands have been found in Europe, India, Oceana, North and South America so its definitely a good thing they aren't still swimming around. I read on some site that its jaw was large enough to engulf a rhino, the thought of this makes me grateful this big fish is extinct. The same site stated that 'absence of evidence doesn't necessarily mean evidence of absence' which could be worrying for divers.

Its closest living relative is the Great White.

Great White: 20ft long, weighing 2 tonnes
Megalodon: 60 ft 7 tonnes

Giant Shark Facts:

• Teeth approx 7 inches long


• Most powerful bite of any living creature ever


• Rumoured Sightings

Link to Wikipedia

Earth Tigers

No discussion of Tarantulas would be complete without a mention of the Cobalt Blue Tarantula. Many People wouldn't consider spiders as the prettiest creatures on the planet, but as arachnids go, this one is a beauty queen. They mostly live in burrows in Asia from Myanmar to South China, some also live in trees.

They have been known to bite when threatened and are considered more aggressive than other types of Tarantula, so although impressive to look at, they might not be the friendliest of pets to keep. Even the young spiderlings show aggression so I wouldn't recommend contact.



Spiderfacts:

• They like humidity and spin large webs
• Fully grown, they are about 5 1/2 inches in leg span
• They are secretive creatures who like their 'alone time'

Link to Wikipedia

Printed Silk

According to Kittehpidia, Black Panthers are melanistic colour variants of several species of large cats.

They have been cited as Black Jaguars in Latin America, Black Leopards in Asia and Africa and possible Black Cougars in North America. Often the usual markings of the cat species e.g. spots on a leopard, can be seen faintly on the skin against the black giving the appearance of printed silk.

The melanism occurs due to an abnormality of one of the cat genes associated with coat colouration. It is hereditary but may not be passed on in all cases. They are mostly found in dense tropical forests in South East Asia-their coat being all the better for camouflage purposes. Also since these cats tend to hunt at night, the darker pigmentation can help there too.

Panther facts:

• A female Panther is referred to as a she-panther
• They can reach up to 8 feet
• White Panthers exist but are very rare
• Extremely agile
• Sex Panther works every time, 60% of the time

Link to Wikipedia

Kitteh is Listening

Trawling through the website of the National Geographic I was reminded by my love for cats, specifically the domestic cat. A lover of cats is called an ''Ailurophile'', which frankly sounds even dodgier than cat lover. I have no intentions of ever becoming a scary cat lady and hoarding lots of cats around the place, but I have come to appreciate the unique abilities of these creatures. Just watching how they move so gracefully it is easy to become fascinated by them. They see better than us, jump better than us, can hear ultrasound and have some interesting 'cat'achteristics.

Felis Catus are all members of one species, they are skilled predators, chasing rodents and birds mostly because it is instinctual (feral cats will hunt for food-there are more than 1,000 species of ''cat food')but with domestic cats it looks like they do it for the fun of it. Apparently if those medieval idiots didn't kill so many cats they wouldn't have had such a big plague problem. According to Kittihpidia they may have joined us as early as 8,000 BC in Africa in the Near East. They can fit through any space their head can get into cos they don't have a real collar bone, so they often test the size of the space with their head. Personally I would have a problem putting my head first into unknown territory but it serves a useful purpose in this case.

Cats see great at night cos they have an extra layer-tapetum lucidum, reflecting any light passing through the retina back into the eye. They also have pretty good hearing and can hear higher pitched sounds than dogs or humans (cats 1-dogs 0).

I have one cat ''Tattoo'' she is a moggy Persian breed (the most common breed) very fluffy and black with huge green eyes. Tattoo moved out of the house about a year ago and spends most of her time sleeping in the neighbours where it's more quiet, the main reason for this is I think that cats dislike change and children who pull their tails. She does not like my Father (cats prefer females-perhaps because of our higher pitched voices) and also it could be the beard, my sister was also scared of it as a child. Cats are pretty independent creatures which is another reason why I like them as overall they are easy to look after*.

*some cats can be a pain especially males as they tend to mark their territory by pissing.

Kitteh Facts:

• Can jump 7X higher than its tail
• Can sprint at 30mph
• Never meow at other kittehs, only for hoomans.
• Kitteh's brain is more similar to hoomans than dog
• In relation to body size, kitteh has the largest eyes of any mammal

Cat Quiz

Link to Wikipedia

Killing Machines?

The Africanised honey bee, sometimes known as 'The Killer Bee'' is a hybrid of Southern African and various European honey bee species. It tends to defend the hive more aggressively than other bee types which has led to its fierce reputation. They also sometimes attack European colonies, killing the queen and taking over the hive, a hive usurpation-this gives them the name ''Assassin Bees'' in Brazil. Personally I think this is kind of cool, I wouldn't mind being part of an army capable of usurping a whole hive, survival of the fittest right? Apparently the bees hailed from Brazil where a biologist mated African bees with European bees in an attempt to create a hybrid more suited to tropical conditions. Basically despite some sort of bee fence the larger (and apparently more aggressive) queens of these hives escaped and mated with the local drones creating lots of more angry bees who in turn created lots more and so on.

So how dangerous are these bees? WELL I WOULD NOT RECCOMMEND PISSING THEM OFF. More dangerous than your normal everyday European cos they attack in greater numbers and sting more frequently. If you allergic your done for either way but more deaths have been attributed to these bees than any other species. So thank you Mr Biologist, not as if we didn't have enough to worry about now we have killer bees, and they appear to be migrating. I still wouldn't worry about it too much though until you actually come close to a colony its highly unlikely you will suffer death by bee sting.

The buzz on the Africanised Bee Vs buzz on European:

• Respond to a threat more aggressively, sting in larger numbers


• More Gardai


• Larger alarm zone, detect a threat 50ft or more from the nest


• Nest in small cavities


• Swarm more frequently


• Pursue the enemy for longer


• Are slightly smaller

Link to Wikipedia

Weird Fish with Transparent Head

''Weird Fish with Transparent Head'' is not something you hear about everyday. Sea divers and explorers have discovered hundreds of new exciting species with the onset of new sophisticated technology enabling them to search the bottom of the oceans and investigate the mysterious life which exists only in the twilight zone. As weirdness goes though, the Pacific Barreleye fish pretty much takes the sea biscuit. Simply by the fact that you can see into its head makes this fish weird but there are a few other amazing things about this creature.

I think the most noticeable feature are it's eyes, an unwitting observer would put them in the wrong place cos what you might think are its eyes are actually what we would call nostrils. The eyes are located in its fluid filled transparent dome of a head and can be rotated to look up or straight ahead, i guess it depends on the direction of it's dinner. Fishermen have been aware of the existence of this creature from the deep for decades but the first film of a real live Barreleye was released this year. I guess no mater how weird things can get above ground, down there in the big blue things can get weirder and they do. For now this fish is at the top of my weird fish to love and despite it's see through noggin and tubular eyes it's actually quite cute.


Fun Fishy Facts(Fishipedia):

• Barreleyes are also know as Spookfish.


• Found in tropical to temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, at depths of 400-2500 m deep


• It is believed they steal food from the tentacles of siphonophores (you think this would be 'ouch')


• According to Fishipedia there are 14 species in 6 genera

Link to Wikipedia