Category Animal World

What is the Gila monster?

The Gila (pronounced ‘hee la’) monster is not really a monster. It is a beautiful, heavy-set lizard which has beadlike scales that are black, pink and orange in colour. Although the bite of this lizard is poisonous, the poison does not kill a human. It generally does not attack humans unless they threaten it or get in its personal space. Unfortunately, its unnerving appearance causes some people to kill it, even though it is a protected animal by law.

Found in south western parts of the United States and in Mexico, this unique, slow-moving reptile can run at a maximum speed of about 1.6 km per hour. It can grow up to 60 cm in length and is the most venomous lizard native to the United States.

The word Gila comes from Arizona’s Gila River basin, where these lizards were first discovered. They eat small mammals such as rabbits, hares, mice, squirrels, small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, insects and sometimes even carrion. They particularly like the eggs of birds, lizards, snakes and tortoises.

Although unwieldy looking, with an outsized tail, the Gila monster is able to scale vertical walls and trees up to 8 feet high! However, they spend more than 95 per cent of their lives in underground burrows, emerging only to feed and occasionally to bask in the desert sun. They store fat in their oversized tails and are able to go months without meals.

Sadly, Gila populations are shrinking due to human encroachment and victimization and they are currently considered a threatened species.

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WHICH CAMELS CAN SWIM?

The Kharai camels of Kutch, Gujarat, are the only camels in the world that swim. Their name is derived from the word khara, meaning ‘saline’. They can survive on both dry land and in the sea, making it an ecotonal breed. During the rainy season, they swim upto 3 kms along the Gulf of Kutch grazing on mangroves and other saline loving plants. Because of the salt content in the plants, the camels need to drink water immediately after grazing. Locals believe that the milk of kharai camels is beneficial in the treatment of tuberculosis, diabetes and cancer. There were more than 10,000 kharai camels in Gujarat about a decade ago, but now there are fewer than 4,500. Rapid industrialisation in the mangrove swamps and erratic rainfall are destroying the habitat they rely on for food, pushing this unique breed to extinction. In 2015, the kharai camels were declared as endangered by the Indian government. After the major earthquake of Gujarat, the mining, cement, and windmill industries, among others, intensified their operations in a bid to rebuild Kutch. This disturbed the ecosystem wherein Kharai camels were thriving. Their routes changed and food intake decreased considerably. To save the Kharai camels, we must save their natural habitat. Since it is clear that they can only survive on mangroves, preserving their ecosystem is the need of the hour. Fortunately, the large-scale benefits of mangrove are being understood and the government is taking significant steps to conserve them. Several mangrove forests in the area have been designated as protected areas, where they are undergoing special care to continue sustained growth.

Credit : Financial express

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Why is the Aldabra giant tortoise special?

The Aldabra giant tortoise is a giant tortoise found in the Aldabra atoll, a ring-shaped coral reef, in the Seychelles. It is the largest tortoise in the world. Males grow up to 1.22 metres and weigh around 250 kg while females grow up to 91.44 centimetres and weigh up to 150 kgs!

It is also the longest living animal in the world. Funnily enough, the average age of this tortoise has never been established. This is because they out live the scientists who study them! So far, they have been observed to live till about 150 years.

The Aldabra tortoise is one of the slowest animals on the planet. It is almost ten times slower than other turtles and moves at a ‘speed’ of 1.01 km per hour. It is a very restful animal and sleeps for nearly 18 hours in a day!

The bony, protective shell covering the back of tortoises is called carapace. The Aldabra giant tortoise’s carapace is dark grey to black. It lives in grasslands called platin and in scrublands and swamps. It likes to eat leaves and fruits when possible. It sticks out its neck to eat from low-lying branches and is even known to knock down small trees to get to the leaves.

Did you know that the Aldabra giant tortoise has the distinction of being one of the first species in the world to be given special protection to ensure its survival? Charles Darwin himself, along with other leading conservationists of the time, made a case to the governor of Mauritius for its protection.

It is a gentle and placid creature and lives a slow and sedentary life. Perhaps that is the secret of its longevity?

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Why is the three-toed sloth unique?

In a world where speed can be the difference between life and death, sloths are an exception. These creatures move at a pace of 0.24 kilometres per hour or one foot per minute and are the slowest mammals on the planet. Believe it or not, this extreme ‘sloth’ on the part of the sloth is what keeps it safe.

During the day, these chilled-out tree huggers stay in the trees and hardly move at all. This is the reason they go mostly undetected by predators. They also grow a kind of green algae on their coats which helps them to blend into their surroundings. Predators such as eagles and jaguars who detect their prey based on movement simply do not see the sloth and hence, they remain safe up in their trees.

The only time these creatures are vulnerable is when they come down from the trees to poop! Most attacks on sloths happen at this time. But the good news is – they only poop once a week. This is because of their extremely slow metabolism, which means that they do not need to eat much. It also means that food takes about a month to pass through their digestive systems.

Found in tropical forests of Central and South America, the sluggish sloth grows to 76 cm and weighs up to 7.7 kg.

Sloths live for about 25 to 30 years. Females reproduce once a year and give birth to just one pup at a time. Threatened by deforestation and human encroachment, sloth populations across South America are believed to be declining, while the Pygmy sloth is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’.

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How fast does the Thomson’s gazelle sprint?

The Thomson’s gazelle is named after Joseph Thomson, a British explorer and geologist. It is found in Kenya’s Masai Mara region and Tanzania’s Serengeti region. It is one of the fastest runners in the world along with the cheetah, the pronghorn and the springbok. It reaches a top speed of around 90-100 km/h.

It is a small-sized, elegant antelope which weighs around 25 kg and stands about half a metre tall. It has white rings around its eyes and black stripes down its face and across its flanks. Its horns curve backwards. Males have longer and stronger horns than the females. It prefers open plains and grasslands and feeds on fresh grass, seeds and scrubs. Mothers are very protective of their young. They will headbutt predators like jackals or baboons if their fawn is threatened. Mothers will often hide their fawns in the tall grasses of the savanna to protect them from predators till they are big enough to feed on the grass.

Its major predators are cheetahs but the Thomson’s gazelle can outlast a cheetah in a long chase. It can take turns while running fast and will zigzag to frustrate the pursuer. It also demonstrates pronking or stotting – leaping high in the air to display strength and to warn predators.

This slender and swift antelope is hunted for its meat and horns and faces additional stress from habitat loss. Fortunately its population in the wild is still stable and it is listed under ‘Least Concern’ in the IUCN List.

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What makes the African wild dog special?

The African wild dog, also called the African painted wolf, is one of the most   endangered predators in the world. It is about 60 cm tall and weighs around 20 kg. Each dog has a unique mottled coat with irregular patches of red, yellow, white and black.

This species has large rounded ‘Mickey Mouse’ ears and a white-tipped tail. They have 4 toes on their forelegs unlike 5 toes that the average dog has.

The wild dog reaches speeds of up to 70 km/h and hunts in packs. It typically preys on antelopes like Thomson’s gazelle and blue wildebeest. They may also supplement their diet with small rodents, fowl and livestock when available. These dogs have a complex and hierarchic social structure and are deeply cooperative and collaborative with each other.

For instance, they show collective responsibility towards elder members and young pups. Pack members will allow pups to have the first share of a kill and regurgitate food for older pack members if they need it. They also have a democratic system in place for decisions of whether to hunt or not to hunt. However, instead of votes, they show consent by sneezing! So, if enough dogs sneeze, the pack takes the decision to begin its next hunt!

Though they were once abundant, African wild dogs have disappeared from most of their geographic range. These days they are found in the open plains and sparse woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa with the largest populations in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Causes for their declining numbers are habitat loss, hunting by other predators like lions and hyenas and diseases like rabies and distemper and the human – wild dog conflict. They are listed as ‘Endangered’ in the IUCN List.

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