Category Nature Science & Wildlife

Aardvarks are ant-eating animals found in Africa. Ant-eating animals are toothless mammals that feed on thousands of ants, termites, and insect larvae on a daily basis. They are nocturnal animals; they dig holes during the day and forage at night.

The most noticeable feature of an aardvark is its long, extended pig-like snout. It is a good swimmer and can swim even in strong currents.

Though they have a poor sense of vision, they have a sharp sense of smell and hearing. An aardvark uses its front claws to pry open hidden insect colonies, and lap up the insects and the larvae with its long sticky tongue. With its strong claws, an aardvark can rapidly open a cement-hard termite mound! Its diet is made up of ants and termites.

At nights, an aardvark travels a distance of 10-30 kilometers in search of food. It moves in a zigzag fashion, occasionally stopping to sniff the ground with its snout.

Its keen hearing warns it of predators as well.

Picture Credit : Google

Quolls look adorable, but don’t let their pink noses and thick, soft fur fool you! Quolls aren’t much like cats at all; they are tree-climbing, den-dwelling marsupials and are skilled hunters.

Quolls are nocturnal; they sleep off most of the day in their dens and actively forage at night. They are carnivorous in nature. While the smaller quolls primarily eat insects, birds, frogs, lizards and fruits, the larger species prefer to eat birds, reptiles, and mammals, including echidnas and possums.

Stalking is the technique used by quolis to hunt. They might leap or pounce on the prey depending on its size. They jump onto larger prey, sinking in their claws and closing their jaws around the neck. If the prey is of a smaller size, they pin it down with their front paws. Remember the Tasmanian Devil that we talked about earlier? Quolls even snatch food from the Tasmanian Devil.

It is interesting to watch a reticulated python catch its prey. It usually hides near a water body and waits for the prey to come. At an opportunistic moment, usually when the prey is busy drinking water, it launches a surprise attack, swiftly ambushing the prey. Therefore, the reticulated python is known as an ambush predator.

An ambush predator is also known as a sit-and-wait predator. Rather than strength, an ambush predator uses strategy to catch prey. The diet of smaller ambush predators is usually made up of small mammals, birds and rodents like rats. The reticulated python however is also known to prey on pigs that weigh more than 60 kilograms.

The reticulated python is one of the heaviest snakes in the world. An average reticulated python grows to a size of five meters and weighs around 160 kilograms. Some are recorded to grow up to nine meters in length. As we already know, it is closely related to the anaconda. It is a non-venomous constrictor usually found in south-eastern Asia, some parts of Bangladesh and Vietnam, and the Indo-Pacific islands.

Picture Credit : Google

Do you know what a marsupial is? Marsupials are pouched mammals. The Virginia opossum or the common opossum is the only marsupial found in the United States and Canada. It is a solitary nocturnal animal.

The Virginia opossum’s diet is quite interesting; it eats anything including fruits, insects, earthworms, eggs, nestlings and birds, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals. It sometimes feeds on carrion as well. Insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles make up the bulk of its diet. It is interesting to note that it also eats venomous snakes; it is immune to pit viper venom. The animal is resistant to rabies as well.

It would not be wrong to say that Virginia opossums are good actors. If caught on the ground and is not able to escape, a Virginia opossum may become catatonic. That is, it would appear to be unconscious or dead, though most of its bodily functions would remain normal.

Picture Credit : Google

Weasels are present almost everywhere; they live anywhere they can find cover and prey. They occupy a range of habitats including sand dunes, grassland, woodland and mountains. They are furry animals and different species of weasels vary in colour, size and behaviour. The least weasel is the smallest carnivorous mammal in the world.

Most of the waking hours of a weasel are dedicated to hunting and storing excess food. They are equipped to hunt even in deep snow. Weasels do not have the ability to store fat in their body. So, they need a constant supply of food to provide enough energy. These animals need to eat every 24 hours in order to avoid starving.

Weasels prey on rodents, such as voles and mice. They also eat birds or eggs when available. Weasels have evolved to prey on small animals as well. When rodents are scarce, they prey on rabbits too. Weasels are found in North America, northern South America, Europe, Asia, and the extreme north of Africa.

Picture Credit : Google

Minks are valued for their luxurious fur. There are two types of minks – the European mink and the American mink. The American is more popular among the two.

The American mink is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America. It is a carnivorous animal. It has a long body, which allows the species to enter the burrows of prey. Apart from this, it is an agile swimmer and often dives to probe underwater nooks and crannies.

The American mink preys on rodents, fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and birds. It kills vertebrate prey by biting the back of the head or neck.

It also eats birds, including larger species like seagulls and cormorants. It occasionally searches for terrestrial prey such as hares and rabbits.