Category Animal World

HOW CAN WE TAKE CARE OF ANIMALS AND BIRDS IN SUMMER?

During summer months, not just us, even wildlife struggles with soaring temperatures and lack of water. With just a little thought, we can make their lives easier.

Birdbaths

All the regular places that normally provide birds with water are likely to have dried up, leaving them looking for newer options. While the search can be physically exhausting in itself. not finding water can add to an animal or bird’s stress, and can even be fatal.

The amount of drinking water to be made available to birds is not much. Birds also enjoy bathing, and it helps them keep their bodies cool. Both their drinking and bathing needs can be met through birdbaths. When buying birdbaths, do make sure they are wide and shallow; deeper ones can lead to accidental drowning, especially among smaller birds. It is important to keep the birdbaths filled and cleaned regularly Birdbaths may provide water and moments of fun to even smaller creatures such as squirrels.

Food

As mercury shoots up, it may become difficult for animals to go looking for food. While grains and seeds can be put out on plates for birds and squirrels, milk, boiled eggs and rice can be made available for stray dogs and cats. Bowls of water too can be kept outside the houses for stray animals. Sweets, fried snacks, junk food, etc. are not suitable for stray animals, and may even trigger allergic reactions in them.

Watering plants

Plants and trees are home to an innumerable variety of insects, reptiles, and amphibians. Keeping plants watered will help these creatures survive too. In fact, it is said that during summer, earthworms may bury themselves so deep into the soil that birds may not find enough to feed on. So when insects grow well in well-watered plants, they become healthy meals for birds and other creatures. In addition, keeping flowering plants healthy will help butterflies feed on nectar. This helps in pollination, and butterfly caterpillars become food for birds.

Watch out!

It is said that encounters with snakes near residences may increase during months since these reptiles are actively seeking out shaded places to tackle high temperatures. While it may not be possible for us to provide them shelter, it is very important to be aware of our surroundings – they may find shelter in shrubs, among tall grasses, small covered spaces such as a motor box, etc. Irrespective of whether they are venomous or not, it is important to ensure they are not harmed. One can seek the help of wildlife rescuers so the creatures are captured carefully and let off into the wild safely.

Caring for pets

• Take them out for a walk when the sun is down.

• Play with them indoors.

• Ensure there’s plenty of cool water available for them.

• Never leave them in a car, even for a few minutes.

• Make sure they get a lot of rest in a well-shaded place.

• If there are signs of heat stress, give them medical help immediately.

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT ARE SALT LICKS?

Salt licks are deposits of mineral salts, and also refer to places with such deposits. Also known as mineral licks, they provide animals, especially herbivores, with supplementary nutrition. Not just herbivores, even carnivores, small creatures such as squirrels, and birds benefit from salt licks. They contain nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, and zinc, and help fight infections and diseases too. In their natural forms, these are found only in specific places. Which means, once animals discover salt licks, it’s likely that these places will witness some sort of congregation. And, this becomes an important spot to observe them in the wild.

Salt licks are also provided by humans to animals artificially, particularly during dry seasons or warmer months. For instance, small or large salt lick blocks are placed in areas such as natural wildlife habitats. The salt licks are generally placed near water bodies because the animals may become thirsty after eating salt. Of course, the main goal of this exercise is to ensure that animals get their share of nutrients and grow to be healthy and well-developed individuals. Sometimes, this step is beneficial to more than just the animals themselves – tourists! During safaris at sanctuaries and tiger reserves, tourists have reported sightings of animals where salt licks are placed

While salt licks may help us study them better by watching and photographing them from a safe distance, it is said that there have been instances of hunters and poachers using salt licks to attract wild animals, with cruel intentions.

Apart from wild animals, salt licks are used by farm animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, horses, etc. Farmers too provide salt licks to such animals for their good health.

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WHY SOME SPECIES HAVE YELLOW BLOOD?

When an animal has a high concentration off vanabin in the blood it turns yellow. The yellow color is caused by the metal called vanadium which is found in Vanabin proteins. Scientists do not know why animals have these high concentrations of vanabin as it doesn’t help the circulation of oxygen. So that is still to be explored.

Beetles have yellow-ish blood like several other bugs. You might have noticed this whenever big bug splashes again in the front of your car.

Many people don’t realize that insects typically don’t even have blood vessels. Instead, they have a large hole inside the skeleton where all the blood resides.

Sea Cucumbers have yellow blood. Sea Cucumbers are weird animals. They live down at the bottom of the ocean and are very simple animals. They might look like fruit and the name doesn’t make it easier to categorize this as an animal. But it is an animal and is it quite remarkable. They have thousands of tiny feet as you can see at the picture above. It will move slowly at the bottom of the ocean.Again, the reason for the yellow color is found in the proteins of the blood. It has a high concentration of vanabin which has yellow pigment. One of the strangest facts about Sea Cucumbers is that they can change from male to female during their lifetime. It’s not possible to distinguish the males from the females from the exterior anyway.

Credit : Animal how

Picture Credit : Google 

ARE CHICKENS THE CLOSEST LIVING RELATIVE TO TYRANNOSAURUS REX?

Chickens are said to be the closest living relatives of the Tyrannosaurus rex. Ever since the finding was reported, the humble chicken has been put through several experiments. Once researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Chile attached fake dino tails made of wood and clay to chickens to see how the bipedal carnivore T. rex would have walked.

The analysis of DNA was done to the fossil of dinosaur also known as T-Rex which was found in 2003. The fossil itself was unique, because it contained a little bit of soft tissues like blood vessel, which allow the researchers to extract sufficient amount of DNA for the research.

The scientists were also comparing the DNA of a Mastodon fossil to modern days animals and the result was amazing. They found that the proteins found in the T-Rex fossil were most similar to those of chickens, and the mastodon were most similar to modern day elephants.

For a long time, actually scientists have predicted the correlation between birds and dinosaurs based on the shape of their bones. But that was all just a prediction without any further researches. And the research conducted in 2008 gave the real answer.

“We determined that T rex, in fact, grouped with birds – ostrich and chicken – better than any other organism that we studied,” said Prof John Asara from Harvard to Telegraph. It determined avians’ relationships with non-avian dinosaur’s evolution.

“We also show that it groups better with birds than modern reptiles, such as alligators and green anole lizards,” he continued. It means that although dinosaurs were reptiles, modern days reptiles are their more distant cousins rather than birds.

Yes, we all know that dinosaurs met the extinction when a giant asteroid hit the earth, but actually not all of those dinosaurs died out. But actually, some dinosaurs with smaller size didn’t die out and survived the Armageddon. Those dinosaurs are the ones who evolved to nowadays birds.

The smaller size of their bodies required less food than those with bigger size. And it was also easier for them to find shelter from following disasters after the asteroid hit the earth. Maybe that was why they could survive and finally maintain their kinds until evolving to nowadays modern avian.

As a prove, you can trace chicken’s genetic ancestry to find out the look of the ancestor of this animal. And if you can do it far enough, you will find that its look resembles the shape of the fossils of dinosaurs you can find in the museum.

Credit : Earth buddies

Picture Credit : Google 

WHAT ARE THE FUN FACTS ABOUT BONGO?

The bongo is also known as the lowland bongo or mountain bongo. It is a species of antelope. These animals are native to Africa. These are the heaviest and the biggest forest antelopes found only in Africa. The antelope species is easily recognizable among other wildlife of their kind for the vertical white stripes on their bodies. Both the male and female animals have a chestnut-orange coat and long horns. These bongo antelopes are the only horned species in the world where both sexes have long, wavy, horns. These colorful animals with big eyes, large ears, almost three feet high horns, and several vertical stripes on their body are the third largest among all species of antelopes. All bongo animals are nocturnal, shy, and mysterious wildlife that are rarely seen in the open. The number of bongos in the wild is decreasing rapidly and conservation efforts are underway. . Bongos can live up to 19 years in the wild. Bongos can run at the speed of 43 mph (69 kph). Bongos are the biggest forest antelopes and are quite heavy. The males weigh from 485 – 893 lb (220–405 kg) and the females weigh from 331 –518 lb (150-234 kg). Bongos are herbivorous animals and only include plant matter in their diet like leaves, bark, grass, roots, fruits, grains. These night-browsing animals get their nutrition from what they eat. Moreover, their nocturnal grazing habit keeps them safe from many predators sharing the same habitat.

Bongos are mammals. Female gives birth to only one calf at a time .There are fewer than a hundred mountain bongos left in the highland forests of Kenya, Africa. These animals are protected in Kenya to save them from extinction. The population of the lowland bongo are also decreasing in Western African countries. These animals have steady populations in their range in Central Africa. It is estimated that 28,000 bongos are left on earth. Loss of habitat and hunting are the two biggest threats to these antelopes.

Like most antelopes, bongos are rarely seen in bigger groups. Males are called bulls and roam around solitarily. Females live with the young in small groups of six to ten. A bongo herd usually never crosses more than twenty members. It is believed that the large ears of these animals aid in hearing the slightest noises. These animals recognize each other with their coloration in the dark forest habitat. These forest antelopes do not have any special secretion glands. They depend less on scents to find others of their kind in the forests.

Credit : Kidadl

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WHAT KIND OF TURTLES LIVE ON THE GALAPAGOS’ SAN CRISTABOL ISLAND?

A study published by researchers a few weeks ago details how a few thousand giant tortoises living on Galapagos’ San Cristabol island may not really be the species they were presumed to be. So, they have the potential to be a new species. What’s the story behind this?

Way back in 1906, explorers collected giant tortoise bones and shells from a cave in San Cristabol island. Recently, researchers compared these with genetic materials obtained from giant tortoises now living on the same island. And, they discovered these near-8,000 giant tortoises were different from the ones recorded over a century ago, though both were classified as Chelonoidis chathamensis. Scientists believe “the evidence suggests that one group of tortoises on the island split into two groups, possibly highland and lowland varieties. This may be a result of sea level rises in the past splitting the island in two”. Meanwhile, Galapagos Conservancy, which was part of the study, has said that the Chelonoidis chathamensis species is “almost certainly extinct.

Further DNA research is required to see exactly how distinct these two groups are because that is what will offer conclusive evidence on whether the tortoises now living are an entirely new species. If so, “under scientific naming nales, this means the living species would need a new common and scientific name

Right now, there are 14 recognised species of Galapagos giant tortoise. However, only 13 species are currently alive-the “Pinta Island tortoise went extinct in 2012 after the last of its species, Lonesome George, passed away”. Only research will tell us if the number of recognised species is likely to go up by at least one.

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