Category Animal World

Which is the largest land carnivore?

Adult male polar bears stand tall at an average length of 3 metres! They also pack quite a punch at 700 kgs! These features make them the largest land carnivore in the world. The only other close competitor is the Kodiak bear, a sub-species of brown bear found in Alaska.

Did you know that unlike other bears, polar bears are considered marine mammals! This is because they spend most of their time in the freezing cold waters of the Arctic Ocean hunting, swimming and playing. For this reason, they are also called sea bears or ice bears. They are only found naturally in 5 countries – the United States, Canada, Greenland, Russia and Norway.

Polar bears are excellent swimmers. They can swim for hundreds of kilometres at a stretch. They have huge paws, which helps them to swim effortlessly. Their high body fat count also helps to keep them afloat and stay warm in the freezing Arctic!

If you thought polar bear fur was white, you would be mistaken. Polar bear fur is actually colourless and translucent. It allows light to pass through it and appears to be white due to the reflected white light around it. This is a great adaptation as this bear does most of its hunting by night.

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WHAT IS BHARITALASUCHUS TAPANI?

Bharitalasuchus tapani, a carnivorous reptile, lived 240 million years ago. In the Telugu language, Bhari means huge, Tala means head, and Suchus is the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed deity. The species is named after paleontologist Tapan Roy Chowdhury. The remains were recovered from the Yerrapalli Formation (Telangana) in the 1960’s and housed in the Indian Statistical Institute of Kolkata, but were not studied earlier as they were not complete. The reptiles, belonging to the family of extinct reptiles named Erythrosuchidae, had big heads and large teeth. They were approximately the size of an adult male lion and might have been the largest predators in their ecosystems. Bharitalasuchus tapani were robust animals with big heads and large teeth, and these probably predated other smaller reptiles.  It belongs to a genus and species previously unknown to science. They were approximately the size of an adult male lion and might have been the largest predators in their ecosystems. It contains a single species, Bharitalasuchus tapani, known from a holotype and paratype consisting of tooth-bearing cranial fragments. In the Telugu language, Bhari means huge, Tala means head, and Suchus is the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed deity. The first Erythrosuchidae remains were discovered in South Africa in 1905 and more were found in China and Russia. The South African one is about 245 million years old, while the ones from China and Russia are around 240 million years old.  So the Indian one is one of the youngest fossil records we have of an erythrosuchid.

Credit : Journal sof india

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WHICH IS THE OLDEST KNOWN BIG CAT?

The oldest big cat fossils ever found – from a previously unknown species “similar to a snow leopard” – have been unearthed in the Himalayas.

The skull fragments of the newly-named Panthera blytheae have been dated between 4.1 and 5.95 million years old.

Their discovery in Tibet supports the theory that big cats evolved in central Asia – not Africa – and spread outward.

The fossils, which were discovered on the Tibetan plateau, belong to a sister species of the snow leopard that prowls the Himalayan region today, said study co-author Zhijie Jack Tseng, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

The new study also reveals that all cats diverged about 16 million years ago, about 5 million years earlier than was previously thought.

The group of felines known as “big cats” includes tigers, leopards, lions and jaguars, as well as snow leopards and clouded leopards. But exactly where and when they evolved hasn’t been clear.

Credit: Live Science

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WHAT ARE THE FUN FACTS ABOUT QUOKKA?

The quokka is a mammal about the size of a cat, native to Australia. The quokka is a marsupial of the macropod family, and is similar in appearance to a small type of Wallaby. Quokkas are herbivores and they tend to be most active at night (nocturnal). Quokkas are believed to be one of the first mammals in Australia to be seen by Europeans, who described them as looking like wild cats. They were later mistaken for large rats. Rottnest “Rotte nest” Island was given its name because of this mistake, as this translates to ‘rat’s nest’. The quokka is considered to be a vulnerable species today.

Quokkas are marsupials and macropod family members, just like wallabies and kangaroos. Quokkas can weigh as much as 11 pounds and their bodies can reach 21 inches plus a tail of almost 12 inches long. The quokka is the only land mammal on Rottnest Island. The only occupy a small portion of Australia and are generally found in the southwest portion of western Australia.

The first European to describe the quokka was Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh in 1696. He described them as ‘a kind of rat as big as a cat.’ Quokkas are often described as being the world’s happiest animal. Despite this common reputation, they have sharp claws and it’s not uncommon for children visiting Rottnest Island to be treated for bites. Quokkas do not tend to fight with their own over food or mates, and are generally peaceful in their groups.  Quokkas move about by climbing trees, crawling, and hopping. The average lifespan of a Quokka is 10 years. Quokkas do not need a lot of water to survive. Quokka mothers do not give birth to more than two babies a year. One is more common. Quokka babies gestate in the womb for only one month and then move into the mother’s pouch. The baby lives with the mother for several months and at a year they are ready to mate. Baby quokkas are called joeys. If a quokka mother is threatened by a predator she will often throw her baby on the ground to distract the predator and save her own life. Quokkas are smart and will do anything for food, even learning tricks to get tourists to feed them. Although tourists like quokkas many locals that must live with them do not. Quokkas are bold and will enter buildings such as homes and restaurants. Quokkas have sharp teeth and will shriek if cornered or attacked or if they feel threatened or provoked. The quokkas lack of fear of humans and the small size of their natural habitat makes them vulnerable to becoming endangered as a species.

Credit : Soft schools 

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Where the first NFT rhino horn sold?

The first NFT of a rhino horn sold at an auction in South Africa, as conservationists tapped into the craze for NFTS (Non-Fungible Tokens) to raise money to protect real rhinos. Businessman Charl Jacobs paid US$6,850 for the digital horn (the actual horn was not sold), which he will place in a trust for his children. Proceeds from the sale went to the Black Rock Rhino Conservancy, home to 200 rhinos that are able to breed while protected from poachers. An NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, photos, videos, etc. Its authenticity is certified by blockchain technology (a form of digital ledger) and can be bought and sold online. NFT technology allows a beneficiary to receive commissions from future sales, so if Jacobs sells his NFT, Black Rock Rhino would receive a portion of that sale.

How do quills protect porcupines?

Porcupines have thousands of quills, covering a large part of their body. The main purpose of the quill is defence. Though these sharp-tipped quills normally lie flat when a porcupine is threatened, they stand erect. When attacked by a predator, the porcupine can lodge a few of them into the predators body. The quills also have another advantage. Since they are hollow, they help porcupines stay buoyant making them good swimmers Porcupines shed their quills But no worries there because the new ones are said to grow pretty rapidly. The length of quills varies by type. New World porcupines have small quills that are around 4 inches (10 cm) long, while Old World porcupines have quills that can grow up to 20 inches (51 cm) long, though there are some exceptions.

All porcupines have a few traits in common. The most obvious trait is the long, sharp quills that cover their bodies. Some quills can get up to a foot (30 centimeters) long, like those on the Africa’s crested porcupine.  Porcupines use the quills as a defense. They make shake them, which makes them rattle, as a warning to potential predators. If that doesn’t work, they may charge backwards into the predator. The quills are loosely attached but cannot be thrown or projected. Some quills have scales or barbs that make them very hard to remove. Once a quill is lost, it isn’t lost forever. They grow back over time. A North American porcupine can have 30,000 or more quills.

Credit : Live Science

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