Category Sea/Ocean

On both land and water, the largest animals are all mammals.

At 100 feet long and 200 tons, not only is the blue whale the biggest mammal in the world, but it’s also the largest vertebrate animal that has ever lived. Not even the largest dinosaurs approached it in bulk. Some titanosaurs were over 100 feet long, but they didn’t weigh 200 tons. Fittingly, the blue whale is also the loudest animal on earth. This cetacean can vocalize at 180 decibels, enough to render most other animals deaf.

The largest land-dwelling mammal on earth, at seven tons, the African elephant is smaller than the blue whale for good reason: The buoyancy of water helps to counteract the blue whale’s weight, and elephants are terrestrial. One reason the African elephant has enormous ears is to help dissipate its internal body heat. A warm-blooded, seven-ton mammal generates a lot of calories.

How can the biggest dolphin be a whale? Killer whales, also known as orcas, are classified as dolphins rather than whales. At six or seven tons, male orcas are bigger than the largest sharks, which means that killer whales, rather than great white sharks, are the atop predators of the oceans. Sharks have a more fearsome reputation because very few humans have been killed by killer whales.

Even-toed ungulates, or artiodactyls, are a widespread family of plant-eating mammals that includes deer, pigs, cows, and the biggest cleft-hoofed mammal, the common hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus doesn’t approach its cousin’s five-ton heft. You could make a case for another even-toed creature, the giraffe, which is much taller than a hippo, but they weigh only two tons.

Perissodactyls, or odd-toed ungulates, aren’t as diverse as their even-toed cousins. This family consists of horses, zebras, and tapirs on the one hand and rhinoceroses on the other. The biggest perissodactyl is the white rhinoceros, which at five tons rivals Pleistocene rhinoceros ancestors such as the Elasmotherium. There are two types of white rhinos, the southern white rhinoceros and the northern white Rhinoceros; it’s easy to figure in what part of Africa they reside.

At up to four tons, not only is the southern elephant seal the biggest pinniped alive, but it’s also the biggest terrestrial meat-eating mammal, outweighing the largest lions, tigers, and bears. Male southern elephant seals vastly outweigh females, which top out at two tons. Like blue whales, male elephant seals are extraordinarily loud; they bellow their sexual availability from miles away.

If you’re under the illusion that polar bears, grizzly bears, and pandas are  comparable in size, you’re wrong. Polar bears are by far the biggest—and deadliest—ursines. The largest males can reach a height of 10 feet and weigh up to a ton. The only bear that comes close is the kodiak bear; some males can reach 1,500 pounds.

The sirenians, the family of aquatic mammals that includes manatees and dugongs, are distantly related to pinnipeds and share many characteristics. At 13 feet long and 1,300 pounds, the West Indian manatee is the biggest sirenian by an accident of history: A bigger member of this breed, Steller’s sea cow, went extinct in the 18th century. Some of them weighed 10 tons.

The genus Equus comprises not only horses but also donkeys, asses, and zebras. While some domesticated horses exceed 2,000 pounds, Grevy’s zebra is the world’s largest wild equid; adults reach half a ton. Like many other animals on this list, Grevy’s Zebra is nearing extinction; there are probably fewer than 5,000 in scattered habitats in Kenya and Ethiopia.

How big is the giant forest hog? This 600-pound pig has been known to chase African hyenas from their kill, though it’s sometimes preyed on by the largest African leopards. Despite its size, the giant forest hog is relatively gentle. It is easily tamed, if not outright domesticated, and can live alongside humans. It’s mostly a herbivore, scavenging meals only when it’s especially hungry.

Male Siberian tigers weigh a whopping 500 to 600 pounds; females reach 300 to 400 pounds. Only 500 or so Siberian tigers still live in eastern Russia, and continuing ecological pressure may strip this big cat of its title. Some naturalists claim that Bengal tigers have surpassed their Siberian relatives, since they’re not as endangered and are better fed. There may be as many as 2,000 Bengal tigers in India and Bangladesh.

There are two contestants for world’s largest primate: the eastern lowland gorilla and the western lowland gorilla. Both live in the Congo, and by most accounts, the 400-pound eastern variety has the edge on its 350-pound western cousin, though western lowland gorillas outnumber the eastern variety by a 20-to-1 ratio.

Credit : Thoughtco.com 

Picture Credit : Google 

Humans, apes, monkeys and lemurs all belong to a group of animals called primates. They have large brains, hands that can form a good grip, and a tendency to walk on two legs.

What do most living primates have in common?

• Large brains (in relation to body size)
• Vision more important than sense of smell
• Hands adapted for grasping
• Long life spans and slow growth
• Few offspring, usually one at a time
• Complex social groups

If one takes a look at the living primate species, one encounters an astounding variety of sizes, appearances and specializations so that one sometimes considers it incredible that we all have a common ancestor.  This common ancestor originated about 80 million years ago when the so-called Primatomorpha split up in the ancestors of today’s colugos (Dermoptera) and the first primates. The closest relatives of the primates are therefore not, as long believed the Treeshrews (Scandentia), but cat-sized mammals, whose characteristic is a membranous structure that covers all its extremities and the tail that allows the animals to glide from tree to tree (Mason et al 2016). While only two colugos species are known in Southeast Asia, more than 500 primate species from 16 different families are known. The number of species has increased rapidly in the last 20 years due to the new possibilities of species differentiation using genetic methods 

Are humans descendants of apes?
For scientifically educated humans, it nowadays goes without question that all living beings are a product of evolution and that a common ancestor for all living primates including humans existed. The problem therefore seems to be of semantic nature: How do we call our common ancestors? The scientifically correct term would be “primate”. In German-speaking science, the Anthropoidea, the group that has separated from the Tarsier after splitting of the “dry-nosed” primates, is referred to as the “real monkey” and in more recent literature only as “monkeys”. These include all families of the American and Afro-Eurasian primates, including apes – and thus humans. If one referred to the first anthropoids that lived 64 million years ago as a monkey, one must logically assume that our ancestors of the last 64 million years were monkeys. However, there is only one logical answer to the question: not only are humans descendants of primates, but is one too.

Credit : German Primate Centre

Picture Credit : Google 

Yes, they are mammals and, after the South American capybara, beavers are the largest of all rodents. They live in water and use their sharp teeth to gnaw through the bases of trees, felling them to dam streams. In the ponds created by the dams they then build their homes, which are called lodges.

Beavers are mammals and have several mammalian traits. Beavers are vertebrates; they have mammary glands that they use to feed their live young, have a four-chambered heart, have fur, and have sweat glands to cool down.

Is A Beaver A Vertebrate?

One of the characteristics that all mammals have is that they have a backbone inside their body. However, it is not just mammals that have a backbone.

Other animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds also have a backbone. Animals with a backbone are called vertebrates.

There is another group of animals called invertebrates. These are animals that don’t have a backbone inside their body. Examples include single-celled organisms, earthworms, starfish, octopus, snails, clams, insects, and spiders.

Beavers are classed as vertebrates with a backbone inside their bodies. The spinal cord is surrounded by cartilage or bone.

Beavers produce milk within their mammary glands. Beavers have four nipples, only visible when the female is lactating. This is one of the only ways to tell the difference between male and female beavers.

Beavers usually give birth to between one and six kits. Beavers are fully weaned off milk from their mother at about six weeks. The milk contains essential nutrients for beavers in the early stages of growing healthy. 

Does A Beaver Have A Four-Chambered Heart?

Mammals all share another characteristic, one which is also shared with birds. Both birds and mammals have a heart that contains four chambers. Surprisingly, crocodiles, a reptile, also have a four-chambered heart.

The four-chambered heart is essential for the respiratory system of mammals. When mammals breathe in air, they take in oxygen. Oxygen is needed to survive, but the waste product is carbon dioxide once the oxygen has performed its function. Carbon dioxide is expelled back into the air when we breathe out.

Do Beavers Have Hair?

Another characteristic of a mammal is that they have hair or fur. The fur is generally used when a mammal has very thick body hair. Humans have hair, but we wouldn’t call it fur, whereas other mammals covered, such as bears or raccoons, would have fur.

Hair or fur consists of two layers. These consist of a thicker underfur covered with oily guard hairs on top.  

The guard hairs are longer and coarser. They repel water from the skin and block the sun’s ultraviolet rays. In animals with markings, such as a jaguar, these markings are on the guard hair layer.

The thick underfur, or down fur, is used to keep the animal warm and is made up of curly or wavy hairs.

Even whales and dolphins have hair, although some species only have hair follicles. Species such as the humpback whale have hair their entire life, with a single hair coming out of each hair follicle.  Toothed whales usually lose their hair shortly after birth.

Do Beavers Have Sweat Glands?

Mammals need to regulate their temperatures, and although all mammals sweat, not all cool down the same way.

For us, sweating is a way of regulating our body temperature, so we don’t overheat. The sweat glands produce sweat, which evaporation carries away from the body. This carries away the heat and makes us feel cooler.  

Humans aren’t the only mammals that sweat through their skin. Primates and horses also sweat through sweat glands.

Do Beavers Have Three Middle Ear Bones?

Another trait that mammals possess is three bones in the middle ear. These three small bones are called ossicles and conduct vibrations (sound) to the eardrum’s inner ear.

The three bones are called the malleus (hammer), the incus (anvil), and the stapes (stirrup).

Once the vibrations are in the inner ear, the vibrations are converted into nerve impulses. These three bones play a vital role in a mammal’s hearing ability.

Credit : North American nature 

Picture Credit : Google 

The hawksbill gets its name because its mouth resembles the sharp beak of a hawk. The turtle, which has a beautifully coloured and patterned shell, lives among the coral reefs of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It can grow to about 1.14 m, more than half the length of a full-size bed, and weigh almost 70 kg.

Hawksbill turtles often nest in small numbers, and usually on remote beaches. The largest populations of hawksbills are found in the west Atlantic (Caribbean), Indian, and Indo-Pacific Oceans.

The largest nesting populations of hawksbill turtles occur in Australia and Solomon Islands. Approximately 2,000 hawksbills nest annually on the northwest coast of Australia and 6,000 to 8,000 nest annually in the vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef. The largest rookery for hawksbill turtles in the South Pacific Ocean is in the Arnavon Islands of the Solomon Islands, where approximately 2,000 hawksbill nest each year. Arnavon hawksbills have been heavily exploited for their shell for centuries, but two decades of conservation and monitoring efforts are showing encouraging signs of recovery. Around 2,000 hawksbills nest each year in Indonesia and 1,000 in the Republic of Seychelles. 

In the Atlantic, the greatest number of hawksbill nests are laid in Mexico, Cuba, and Barbados, but nesting occurs throughout the Insular Caribbean. The most significant nesting within the United States occurs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each year, about 500 to 1,000 hawksbill nests are laid on Mona Island, Puerto Rico and another 100 to 150 nests on Buck Island Reef National Monument off St. Croix. In the continental United States, nesting is rare and is restricted primarily to the southeast coast of Florida and the Florida Keys. 

In the U.S. Pacific, hawksbills nest primarily in Hawaii where 10 to 25 females nest annually on beaches along the south coast of the island of Hawaii and the east coast of the island of Molokai. This population may constitute one of the smallest hawksbill nesting populations in the world, but is the largest in the Central North Pacific Ocean. In the Eastern Pacific, approximately 700 females nest annually from Mexico to Peru.

Credit : National oceanic and atmospheric administration

Picture Credit : Google 

This native of South Africa not only closes its hinged shell after pulling its head inside, it also releases a foul smell from its musk glands to keep predators away.

Cool Facts About The Hinged Terrapin

• The Serrated Hinged Terrapin is the largest of the hinged terrapins.  They can grow between 30 and 50cm in length where females are usually larger than males
• Found throughout tropical East Africa, the Serrated Hinged Terrapin is one of the most common hinged terrapin species.
• Not selective about basking locations, the Terrapins lounge mostly on logs and rocks, but they also been found hitching rides on the backs of hippopotamuses!
• Serrated Hinged Terrapins are so named because they have a hinge in their shell that they are able to close after pulling their head and front legs inward.

Hide ‘n’ Seek

Serrated Hinged Terrapins are carnivores that feed on a variety of creatures, including snails, mollusks, insects, frogs, and fish.  They will also consume carrion if available and have been known to eat ticks and parasites off of wallowing water buffalo.  Occasionally, they may also eat fruit. They may look cute and cuddly (for a amphibian) but you need to be careful of their incredibly sharp claws, which come in handing for hunting and defending against predator attacks. Typically they will only use this defensive strategy when hiding in the shell doesn’t seem to be working. These interesting creatures need to be on the lookout for numerous predators. During their lifetime, the Terrapins are preyed upon by crocodiles, monitor lizards, and the mongoose.

Long Walk To Water

Serrated Hinged Terrapins lay their eggs between October and January near water although they can sometimes be as far away as 500m.  The female will deposit between 7 and 25 eggs by burying them as deep into the ground as possible.  Burying the eggs not only protects them from predators but also prevents the eggs from drying out in the sun.   Hatchlings will appear between March and April and grow rapidly.

Stable and Happy

Luckily, with a widespread range and a stable population trend, the Serrated Hinged Terrapins are abundant and not listed as protected by any agency.  Although they are sometimes caught by fisherman and consumed by various peoples, overall, human activity has not harmed the population. It is always nice to hear that a population is doing well, so I always try to share these stories (I just wished it occurred more frequently).

Credit : Google 

Picture Credit : Google 

Female turtles lay their eggs in holes they dig on sandy beaches and then return to the sea. The eggs hatch in about 60 days, usually at night to give the tiny babies the best chance to avoid predators as they scurry down the beach and into the sea.

Sea turtles hatch throughout the year but mostly in summer.

Hatchlings use a carbuncle (temporary egg tooth) to help break open the shell.

After hatching, the young turtles may take 3 to 7 days to dig their way to the surface.

Hatchlings usually wait until night to emerge from the nest. Emerging at night reduces exposure to daytime predators. Studies have shown that some nests will produce hatchlings on more than one night.

For most sea turtle species, undisturbed nests can have more than 90% of the clutch successfully hatch. Nests disturbed by humans or animal predators tend to have a 25% or even much lower success rate.

Reaching the ocean

There are several theories as to how hatchlings find the sea.

• Hatchlings may discriminate light intensities and head for the greater light intensity of the open horizon.
• During the crawl to the sea, the hatchling may set an internal magnetic compass, which it uses for navigation away from the beach.

When a hatchling reaches the surf, it dives into a wave and rides the undertow out to sea.

• A “swim frenzy” of continuous swimming takes place for about 24 to 48 hours after the hatchling enters the water.
• This frantic activity gets the young turtle into deeper water, where it is less vulnerable to predators.
• There have been reports of swimming hatchlings diving straight down when birds and even airplanes appear overhead. This diving behavior may be a behavioral adaptation for avoiding predation by birds. 
• Past the surf zone, hatchlings use their internal magnetic compass for orientation.

The”lost” years.

After entering the ocean, the hatchlings of many species of sea turtles are rarely seen for 1 to 3 years. These are referred to as the “lost years.”

Researchers generally agree that most hatchlings spend their first few years living an oceanic existence before appearing in coastal areas. Although the migratory patterns of the young turtles during the first year has long been a puzzle, most researchers believe that they ride prevailing surface currents, situating themselves in floating seaweed where they are can find food.

Research suggests that flatback hatchlings do not go through an oceanic phase. Evidence shows that the young turtles remain inshore following the initial swim frenzy. Most remain within 15 km (9.3 miles) of land.

Credit : Sea world parks & entertainments 

Picture Credit : Google