Month: April 2010

22 Sea Creatures That Will Keep You Dry

Here’s something to keep in mind the next time you find yourself fancying a quick swim to cool down after a hot day on the beach… 22 sea creatures that are lurking below, sharing the same waters. Keep our advice… If it’s not chlorine, stay well away! #22 The Stargazer The stargazers are a family

Andean Cock-of-the-rock

The Andean Cock-of-the-rock is a medium sized bird, living in the Andes, from Venezuela South to Bolivia. It’s one of the most spectacular birds, with strikingly bright colours. Spottingthis beautiful bird is not very common, though, as they’re extremely shy and don’t usually fly near humans. It’s notable that both the sexes look very different,

Eurasian Lynx

Being the largest of all lynx species, the Eurasian Lynx is bigger and more spotted than the Canadian Lynx and it’s widely known for being one of the most beautiful wild cats. Their natural habitat is European and Siberian leafy forests, rich in wildlife and with plenty of undergrowth for cover. Eurasian Lynx resting The

Sand Cat

The Sand Cat is a small wild cat, their natural habitat being deserts across Asia and Africa. The Sand Cat can survive in the most extreme temperatures, ranging from −5 °C (23 °F) to 52 °C (126 °F) and they inhabit areas such as the Sahara, which are too hot and dry for most animals. The cat’s body averages

European Mink

The European Mink is a member of the Mustelidae family and is a close relative to the American Mink. They are remarkably similar in both appearance and behavior, because the European Mink entered Europe and the two species are believed to have diverged only during the past ten thousand years. European Minks are medium sized,

Great White Shark

The Great White Shark, also known as the Great White or White Death has obtained it’s dreadful reputation because of it’s striking appearance and massive size. Also, the novel and the film Jaws helped support this image of the Great White as a man-eating predator. In reality, the stories of this great sea creature hunting

Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit

Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, also known as Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, is a species of the marsh rabbit and is named after the Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Although the marsh rabbit is widespread all across the southern part of the U.S., the so-called Hefner’s rabbit is endangered and inhabits higher positioned areas with salt marshes or

Great Hammerhead Shark

The hammerhead sharks can be recognized by their flat hammer-shaped head, called cephalophoil.  The use of the cephalophoil is unknown, although scientists suggest it maximizes the area of the shark’s sensory organs. The Great Hammerhead Shark is the largest of the hammerhead sharks, reaching up to 6.1 metres in length and weighing up to 450

Malagasy Civet

The Malagasy Civet, also known as the Striped Civet, is the second largest carnivore on the island of Madagascar (second to Fossa). It’s latin name  – Fossa fossana – should not be confused to the Fossa, as they’re not closely related. The Malagasy Civet is a small predatory mammal endemic to Madagascar, which means it’s

Laysan Duck

The Laysan Duck, although from the first view an ordinary bird, is a great story of conservation, how a species extremely close to extinction have recovered to a relatively stable population count. Their natural habitat being only the Hawaiian Islands (just like a number of other animals, for instance Hawaiian Monk Seal), these ducks have

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Hawaiian Monk Seal is an endangered seal, native to the Hawaiian Islands and it is believed to have evolved there. The Hawaiian Monk Seal is the most endangered seal in U.S. waters, with a population of about 1200 (the most endangered seal in the world is the Mediterranean Monk Seal). The Monk Seal subclass is

10 Examples of Nature Getting it Wrong

For all the amazing and beautiful creations nature provides us with there are always going to be the less attractive of specimens, that’s fine because that’s how nature intended them. Well, these examples are certainly not how nature intended them. Proof that even nature can get it wrong! 10 – Two Headed Kitten 9 –

Rook

The Rook a.k.a. Corvus Frugilegus seems like a really common bird with the tag “Nothing Special” attached to it. Well, think again! Besides the fact that it shares a name with a chess piece, already 2000 years ago a Greek fable writer called Aesop wrote that a rook uses stones to raise water level in

Sawscaled Viper

Saw scaled viper or as smart zoologist guys call it Echis Carinatus is a snake found in Middle East and Central Asia, most commonly India. So to start explaining what is so special about this cold blooded murderer, at first you have to know that there is such a thing called the ‘Big four’ –

Pangolin

The Pangolin is probably one of the weirdest mammals on Earth, as it doesn’t really look like a mammal because its whole body is covered in large keratin scales, which serve them as an unusual form of armor. These rather small mammals inhabit the tropical regions of Africa and Asia. These scaled mammals are divided