Wild_life Facts

Another rare find.....

This calf has leuchanism!
- that means there is still pigment in the body but less.

Some animals are found completely white and often referred to as albinos when they are actually leucistic.

In those cases look closer... If it's eyes and/or nose are the usual dark colour -- it's not an albino because pigment is still there. Less, but still there. While albinism is no pigment whatsoever.

Aardvark

The Name Aardvark, is Afrikaans, meaning Earth Pig, or "ground pig"
(aarde: earth/ground, vark: pig).

The aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa.

Some interesting fact about aardvarks:

- Aardvark is the first word in the English dictionary.

- Aardvarks are digitigrades, meaning they walk on their toes, and not on the soles of their feet.

- They can eat 50,000 to 60,000 ants and termites in one night.

📷 Frans Lanting

Get to know about Verreaux's Eagle-owl (a Cannibal in time)

What they eat:
The Verreaux's Eagle-owl is a skilled predator and its large size and strong talons make it a force to be reckoned with. It is an opportunistic hunter, which means it will take down whatever it can catch and kill. Though perhaps its favorite, or most commonly taken prey item, is the hedgehog, its dinner options do not end there. It will prey on other mammals, such as mole-rats, ground squirrels, shrews, hares, bushbabies (a type of primate), vervet monkeys, baby warthogs, dik-diks, mongoose, weasels, genets, foxes, small wild felines, domestic cats, and bats. Wow, that is one long list of prey, but it doesn't end there. That was just a rundown of some of the mammals Verreaux's Eagle-owl has been documented preying on - now, it is on to birds!

While Verreaux's Eagle-owls often steal young from nests, they are not opposed to taking an adult bird if the opportunity presents itself. It will take relatively large birds, such as Great Egret, Purple Heron, and Black-headed Heron. While hunting near water, the herons and egrets are not the only ones to fall prey to this large owl. It will also take ducks and coots. Other birds it will predate on include guineafowl, sandgrouse, hornbills, pigeons, doves, small bustards, crows, ravens and even nestling ostriches.

The Verreaux's Eagle-owl actually eats other owls, too, such as Barn Owls, Marsh Owls, and African Grass Owls. The Verreaux's Eagle-owl will also take diurnal birds of prey – that is, birds of prey that are active in the day time. Some species that have fallen prey to this large owl are African Goshawk, African Harrier-hawk, Scissor-tailed Kite, and even Common Buzzard and Wahlberg's Eagle. This owl has also been documented preying upon Bateleur and Hooded Vulture nestlings

🏞 Courtesy guides

The spiral DNA-Structure like house of the Bagworm Caterpillar.

Nature as it is.....
Nature is our great treasure. If you saw this in on a bush or a tree, would you know that it was living?

Meet the "Bagworm Caterpillar".
It collects and saws little sticks to construct elaborate spiral log cabins to live in.
These small creatures begin as moths. Once they hatch they immediately begin constructing elaborate shields for themselves for protection, often times looking like log cabins.

They build their homes out of silk, sand, soil, and plant materials. If you look very closely, you can see the strands that it used to tie the structure together.

Bagworm moths make their homes in many types of trees, especially cedar trees. Larvae crawl to nearby plants and their bags can be seen hanging on trees that they feed on.

Some may spin a silk thread that catches the wind and carries them off to new trees. The natural world is filled with such wonder!
🐛 🙌
🌎

ELEPHANTS - Some wonderful facts

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Amazing facts about ELEPHANT 🐘

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1. Elephants know every member of their herd and are able to recognize up to 30 companions by sight or smell.

2. They can remember and distinguish particular cues that signal danger and can recall locations long after their last visit.

3. An elephant’s memory is not limited to its herd, nor is it limited to its species. In one instance, two circus elephants that performed together rejoiced when crossing paths 23 years later. Elephants have also recognized humans that they once bonded with after decades apart.

4. The elephant boasts the largest brain of any land mammal as well as an impressive encephalization quotient (the size of the animal’s brain relative to its body size). The elephant’s EQ is nearly as high as a chimpanzee’s.

5. The elephant brain is remarkably similar to the human brain, with as many neurons and synapses, as well as a highly developed hippocampus and cerebral cortex.

6. Elephants are one of the few non-human animals to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

7. The elephant’s large cerebral cortex allows them to be great problem solvers, which elephants display in many creative ways.

8. Don’t try to outsmart an elephant! They have an understanding of basic arithmetic and can even keep track of relative quantities.

9. Elephants communicate using everything from body signals to infrared rumbles that can be heard from kilometers away. Their understanding of syntax suggests that they have their own language and grammar.

10. Elephants can recognize 12 distinct tones of music and recreate melodies.

11. Elephants are the only non-human animals to mourn their dead, performing burial rituals and returning to visit graves.

12. Elephants are one of the few species who can recognize themselves in the mirror.

•••••••MJUE NDEGE ARUKAYE KWA MUDA MREFU ZAIDI BILA KUGUSA ARDHINI, NDEGE FRIGATE!!.

Utafiti uliofanywa na watafiti kutoka katika chuo cha Lund huko Sweden umebaini ya kwamba; ndege warukao aina ya Frigate ndio jamii ya ndege pekee ambao husafiri umbali mrefu zaidi kuliko aina zingine za ndege zilizosalia kote duniani!!.

Ndege hawa Frigate husafiri hadi miezi kumi 10 ya mwendo wa safari zao angani bila ya kugusa chini/ardhini!!.Utafiti huu ulizidi kudadavua kuwa; ndege hawa wanaweza kuruka na kupaa angani umbali wa futi 98 hadi futi 6562 juu ya usawa wa bahari!!.

Utafiti huo pia ulibaini ya kwamba; ndege hawa hutumia karibu maisha yao yote wakiwa angani ikiwemo hata kula na kupandana kwao,isipokuwa; hutua ardhini kwa minajiri ya kutaga na kutotoa vifaranga vyao,kitendo ambacho hufanyika ndani ya miezi miwili tu hivi!!.Pia ndege hawa pindi wawapo angani kwenye safari zao,muda wanaokadiriwa kulala ni kati ya Dakika 40 tu kwa siku!!.

Hata hivyo,mnamo mwaka 2013,Felix Liechti kutoka taasisi ya Ornithological ya Uswisi,katika utafiti wake mpya aliweza kubaini kwamba; ndege aina ya Alpine watatu,waliweza kuruka kwa muda wa siku 200 angani muda mrefu kutoka Uswisi kuja Afrika na kurusi tena bila kugusa ardhini!!.

Viumbe_Frigate

Hamerkop - Fundi chuma

Pata kufahamu juu ya ndege anayeitwa Fundi Chuma ama Hamerkop...

Huyu anaitwa Hamerkop au "fundi chuma" kutokana na kuwa na chogo mithili ya nyundo....

Ndiye ndege anayejenga kiota kikubwa kuliko ndege wote duniani ..ambacho humchukua takriban mwezi mmoja na nusu kukikamilisha (4_6 weeks).....

Kiota cha ndege huyu kina vyumba viwili yaani sebule na chumba cha kuatamia ( master room).

Yasemekana wawindaji wengi huvizia sana kiota chake kwa sababu ya nakshi za thamani zilizomo.....

Uzito wa kiota chake unakadiriwa kuwa 50kg sawa na uzito wa binadamu (aghalabu hukandika kwa matope) ..........

kwa sababu ya ukengeufu, ndege hawa wanatoweka kwa kasi duniani....

huenda akabaki katika picha tuuu

FAHAMU MACHACHE USIYOYAJUA KUHUSU TEMBO
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1. Tembo, Pamoja na ukubwa wake, akitembea hana kishindo kabisa. Miguu yake kwa chini ina misuli sponji hivi.

2. Tembo ana uzito wa tani 7

3. Tembo jike hubeba mimba miaka 2

4.Tembo mtoto huzaliwa akiwa na kilo 80

5. Chakula cha tembo kwa siku ni kilo 300 za mimea na maji lita 40

6. Uume wa tembo una kilo 27, ukimuona wakati anafanya mapenzi kwa nyuma unaweza kuhisi ana miguu mitatu.

7. Ni moja kati ya wanyama ambao hawapendi kelele

8. Wastani wa umri wake wa kuishi ni miaka 60.

9. Tembo dume hufanya kupanda jike kwa masaa karibia 12

10. Masaa 6 ya mwanzo huyatumia kumuandaa jike, na 6 yanayobaki ndio hutumia kupanda kwa ile mara ya kwanza

11. Tembo dume huwa na majike wawili mpaka wanne

12. Wakati wa kupanda tembo dume manii zake ni ujazo wa lita tano na zaidi.

Huyo ndiye Tembo

THE ELEPHANT'S TRUNK

The nose of the elephant, due to its length, is the reason why it is called a 'trunk'. It measures about 6-7 feet for an adult elephant with an approximate weight of about 140Kg. The trunk can accommodate up to 12 litres of water.

It also has strong smell receptors in the upper nasal cavity --- more so than most mammals, including dogs. For this great reason, it can sniff out food and water from several miles away. The unique trunk is fused with their upper lip which determines how much food they can eat. Maybe, that's also a good reason why the trunk of an elephant determines their survival.

This powerful sense of smell is estimated to be 4 times stronger than that of a bloodhound (a special breed of dog that can smell anything a distance away). This sense of smell is used for identifying family members, finding mates, finding food and water, producing sound, displaying very important social behaviour and using the finger-like projections at the end for touching and grasping things.

It will amaze you to know that as elephant calves are growing, they learn to use their trunks more on one side -- the left or right, just as humans become right-handed or left-handed. Interesting, wouldn't you say?

Witness in the Wild