Category Reptiles

Seaweed is being hailed as a miracle crop that absorbs more carbon dioxide than trees. For women in coastal villages in Tamil Nadu, cultivating seaweed has empowered them with a source of income.

India is the world’s third-largest carbon polluter, behind China and the U.S. Authorities are looking to seaweed farming to help reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, reverse ocean acidification, improve the marine environment, and provide a sustainable livelihood for coastal communities.

Marine scientist M. Ganesan says that seaweed provides a possible way forward as coastal habitats and wetlands absorb five times more carbon than terrestrial forests. “It is a miracle crop in many ways, it is eco-friendly, it doesn’t use land or fresh water. It absorbs carbon dioxide dissolved in water during photosynthesis and oxygenates the entire marine ecosystem.” Seaweed absorbs an estimated 173 million metric tons of carbon annually.

When seaweed dies and drops to the seafloor, its carbon is locked up in the sediment. As a result, seaweed cultivation has been identified as a carbon sink that could help alleviate climate change.

Lakshmi Murgesan is part of a team of women who cultivate seaweed on bamboo rafts; one raft yields upto 200 kilos in 45 days, of which 50 kg is used to cultivate the next raft. She makes Rs 20,000 each month farming seaweed, and says, “I would not have been able to educate my children but after doing this, I could send to college.” my children

The product is sold in markets nationwide as well as the U.S. and Australia through AquAgri, a private company. India, which has an 8,000 km coastline, aims to boost production from the current 30,000 tons to more than 1 million tons each year by 2025.

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We now know that the blue whale is the largest sea creature, but it is not a fish. It is a mammal. So, you might ask -which is the biggest fish in the ocean? The answer is the ‘whale shark’. You might further ask – is it a whale or a shark? To answer, the whale shark is not a whale, but a shark. However, owing to its massive size (it is known to reach lengths of more than 12 metres), it has earned the name ‘whale’ shark.

Like many whales and unlike most sharks, it is a filter feeder. In another deviation from sharks, its mouth is located at the front of its head rather than on the underside of its head. However, like all true sharks it breathes with the help of gills, unlike whales which breathe air like humans do. Also, as with all sharks, its skeleton is made of cartilage.

Larger whale sharks may weigh up to 54,400 kg. It would follow that such enormous sharks would be top predators in the ocean, but the whale shark is a harmless fish. It feeds on tiny organisms called plankton that float in the ocean. It uses its massive mouth, which can stretch up to 1 metre wide; to take in the plankton-rich waters using sieve-like structures called filter pads to separate the food from water.

Picture Credit : Google 

When it comes to reptiles, there is none deadlier than the saltwater crocodile. Reaching lengths of 2 metres and weights of 1,000 kgs, this apex water predator is the largest of all reptiles found on Earth. Saltwater crocodiles are hyper-carnivorous, opportunistic predators that will eat anything that they can get their jaws on!

They appear lethargic as they bask on riverbanks or float motionless in the water but are capable of lightning-fast strikes at unsuspecting victims. They usually drag their prey into the water. Armed with a lethal bite which is among one of the most powerful in the world, there is no escaping once a ‘saltie’ latches onto a hapless victim.

Unlike other crocodiles who are confined to river systems, this crocodile fares very well in the open seas as well. They are able to travel long distances on ocean currents and learn to track the migratory route of their prey with very little prior conditioning. They are known to be very aggressive towards humans and are more likely than other types of crocodile to treat humans as prey.

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Can you imagine a creature longer than three buses, heavier than 33 elephants, with blood vessels so gigantic that you could swim around in them, a heart as big as a car and a tongue as heavy as a pick-up truck? This creature has the unique distinction of being the largest animal EVER to have lived on Earth. Meet the blue whale.

This blue-grey leviathan weighs a whopping 130,000 kg and can grow over 33 m long! It has a long, streamlined body, powerful tail, small dorsal fin and yellowish underside, giving it the nickname ‘sulphur bottom’ whale. Considering its enormous size, one would imagine it to be a top predator with brutal, fearsome teeth to shred its victims, but the blue whale is a gentle giant that feeds mainly on tiny shrimp-like crustaceans called krill.

The blue whale is also called baleen whale because it has unique fibrous plates called ‘baleen’ plates instead of teeth in its mouth. While eating, the blue whale gulps a huge amount of water into its mouth and then expels it back out through these baleen plates which act like hairy nets that capture the krill within. It can eat up to 4000 kilograms of krill every day!

Interestingly the blue whale is not only the largest animal on Earth but also the loudest! Its call may be heard for hundreds of kilometres around!

Sadly, this powerful, yet peaceful creature has been hunted almost to extinction.

Picture Credit : Google