Category Zoology

How heavy are Asian elephants?

The Asian elephant is the largest land animal in Asia and among the heaviest land animals in the world, out-weighed only by African bush elephants. Adult male Asian elephants can weigh between 2400 kg and 5000 kg. They are found in 13 countries in Asia including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

They inhabit grasslands, tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous and dry thorn forests and secondary forests and scrublands.

They are highly intelligent, form strong family bonds and are capable of feeling emotions such as grief as well as compassion. Their trunks function as a nose, upper lip, a limb for pushing and picking up things, as well as like a straw to pull up water for grooming and to drink. And did you know that the elephant’s trunk is more sensitive than a bloodhound’s nose and can smell water from several miles away? They also use the trunk to cuddle their young and display affection to one another. Most amazingly, it is also used as a snorkel while crossing deep water bodies!

Even scientists are waking up to what an extraordinary tool an elephant’s trunk is. Biomechanical engineers are studying the elephant’s trunk to find out how its complex operation can help them improve structural designs of many devices.

These extraordinary creatures are threatened by ivory poachers and loss of habitat, as well as elephant-human conflict. They are listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.

Picture Credit : Google

How heavy is the white rhinoceros?

Did you know that a group of rhinos is called a ‘crash’? A good collective noun for a creature only second to the elephant in size and weight. At 5.9 feet and 2,500 kg the white Rhino tops the list of heavy-weights in the animal world.

In all there are 5 distinct species of rhino, of which the white rhino, which is found in Africa, is the largest and heaviest. The white rhino’s name comes from a misrepresentation of the Afrikaans word ‘wijd’ which means ‘wide’ (and not ‘white’) and refers to the animal’s mouth.

White rhinos, also known as the square-lipped rhino, sport square, hairless upper lips.

The white rhino has two genetically different subspecies – the northern white rhino and the southern white rhino. Sadly, due to the immense rate of poaching of this species, as of March 2018, there are only two northern white rhinos left in the world, both of which are female. They live in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya and are protected by armed guards day and night. Their near extinction is due to many years of brutal poaching for rhino horn for use in traditional medicine and as a status symbol in countries like Vietnam and China.

This rarest of rare animal is found in grassland and savannah habitat. They eat grass and drink twice a day when water is available. However, the rhino can live for 4 or 5 days without water if necessary. Rhinos love squelching about in mud holes. This keeps their bodies cool in the brutal African heat and also keeps pests and bugs at bay. The white rhinoceros is considered a keystone species in the savanna grasslands. It is listed as ‘Critically Endangered possibly extinct in the Wild’ in the IUCN Red List.

Picture Credit : Google

What animal has fingerprints extremely similar to humans?

Considering they are our relatives, it’s no surprise that chimpanzees and orangutans have fingerprints that are similar to ours. But someone completely unrelated to us also has fingerprints shockingly similar to ours – koalas! Apparently, this is what is called convergent evolution – “different species developing similar traits independently from each other. Well, as one report rightly worried, we can only hope investigators at a crime scene do not mistake a koala fingerprint for a human’s and set out on a hunt that can never have an ending!

In 1975 police took fingerprints from six chimpanzees and two orangutans housed at zoos in England. They weren’t just looking for a unique souvenir; they were testing to see if any unsolved crimes could be the fault of these banana-eating miscreants. While these primates ended up being as innocent as they seemed, the police did determine that their fingerprints were indistinguishable from a human’s without careful inspection.

A few years later, in 1996, a different type of mammal came under police suspicions: a koala! While it makes sense that orangutans and chimpanzees would have fingerprints like us, being some of our closest relatives, koalas are evolutionarily distant from humans. It turns out that fingerprints are an excellent example of convergent evolution, or different species developing similar traits independently from each other.

For koalas, it’s not really so different. They are incredibly picky eaters, showing strong preferences for eucalyptus leaves of a certain age. It seems that their fingerprints allow them to thoroughly inspect their food before they chow down. Police aren’t exactly worried about koala bank robbers, but it is possible that koala fingerprints could be found incidentally at a crime scene and be mistaken for a human’s, making it pretty difficult to find a match.

Credit : MC Gill

Picture Credit : Google  

 

What animal has a 32 brain?

Leech has 32 brains. Well, not exactly, but sort of Here’s the thing. A leech is an annelid. which means it has a segmented body. It has 32 segments in all The creature’s brain runs through the length of its body, and exists in each segment as a ganglion (a structure containing nerve cells: plural ganglia). The first few segments together form the head ganglion, the next 21 form the mid-ganglia, and the remaining, the tail ganglion. Why these are seen as separate “brains” is because each ganglion has the ability to control the segment it is located in.

Leeches are brown or black-colored worms having a segmented body (34 segments). They possess a special sucker on both ends. In majority of the species, the mouth encloses three jaws, each equipped with small teeth. Leeches move from one place to another by walking in a looping manner.

The largest leech recorded till date measures about 16 inches in length. On an average, the size of leeches is between 7-80 mm. Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites, meaning that a single leech has both male and female sexual organs. Leech bite is painless, which is due to the anesthetic present in their saliva secretion. Leeches have the ability to feed in large amounts (about 5 times their body weight) and store nutrients for future use. Many species can survive for about one year after having a blood meal. They use the preserve food for survival. Some species (e.g. hirudo) lay their young ones in cocoons, while others (e.g., Amazon leech) keep their babies (as many as 300) in the stomach.

Credit : Animal sake

Picture Credit : Google 

How many teeth do a slug have?

With all that regular brushing, rinsing, flossing, the scary decay (not to mention wisdom teeth troubles), and the eventual visit to the dentist, you think having 32 teeth is a bother? But did you know slugs have several hundred thousand teeth? Slugs including snails, have these teeth on their tongue-together called radula that help them scrape at and eat their food. Since their teeth wear down, they are replaced by new teeth. While snails can have even up to 20,000. The Most Number of Teeth” award is won by the umbrella slug that goes through an unbelievable 750,000 of these teeth in a lifetime. A paleoanthropologist was right when he said. “Our teeth are boring.”

Slugs have an important role in the ecosystem and are key composters which help to break down decomposing vegetation. However they are notorious for being able to chomp through garden plants and vegetables in a very short period of time. They do this using their teeth. They need so many teeth  because instead of chewing their food, they have a ribbon-like flexible band of microscopic teeth called a radula. This acts like a circular saw — cutting through vegetation and eating it as they go. When their teeth wear out new rows of teeth move forward and replace them.

Slugs are hermaphrodites and they have both male and female reproductive systems. They are able to reproduce themselves without the need of a partner. In fact, one slug can lay up to 400-500 eggs in a year which can remain in the soil for years and hatch when the conditions are right. Slugs produce slime which enables them to slide along the ground. The slime also enables them to glide over broken glass or razor blades without damaging themselves. They can use the slime as a trail to find their way back to their homes, even being able to tell their own slime apart from other slugs and snails.

Credit :  Perry Ponders

Picture Credit : Google 

Where is the smallest deer in the world?

The pudús are the world’s smallest deer. The two species of pudús are the northern pudú from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and the southern pudú from southern Chile and south western Argentina. Pudús range in size from 13-17 inches tall, and upto 33 inches long.

Both species of Pudú – Northern and Southern – are native to South America where they inhabit the dense undergrowth of temperate rain forests. Little is known about their lifestyle because they are so secretive. Pudú are the smallest species of deer in the world, with the Northern Pudú being slightly larger than the Southern Pudú. Fawns typically weigh less than three pounds at birth.

A male Southern Pudú fawn born on December 19 at the Los Angeles Zoo has been named “Haechan” after a musician who, according to his fans, resembles the tiny deer species.  Little Haechan (the Pudú) is thriving under the care of first-time parents Steph and Mario. The tiny fawn prefers to stay close to Steph and can sometimes be difficult for zoo guests to locate. As he grows, Haechan will gain confidence and spend more time away from mom. Destruction of their rain forest habitat has resulted in both Pudú species being under threat of extinction. Breeding programs like those of the Los Angeles Zoo are critical to gaining understanding of these elusive and endangered creatures. The tiny fawn was born to first-time parents, Steph and Mario. The playful newborn may be difficult for visitors to spot in its habitat. According to keepers, he likes to spend a lot of time tucked away, close to mom.

The Northern Pudú (Pudu mephistophiles) is found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The Southern Pudú (Pudu puda) is native to southern Chile and southwestern Argentina. As of 2009, the Southern Pudu remains classified as “Near Threatened”, while the Northern Pudu is currently classified as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. As a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Los Angeles Zoo participates in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for the Southern Pudu, whose population is declining in the wild.

Credit : Zoo Borns

Picture Credit : Google