Halloween Wallpapers 1920x1200

Size:1920x1200

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2010!

Trick or Treat Wallpapers 1920x1200

World Of Warcraft - Cataclysm Hi-Res Wallpapers

 Size: 1920x1200

 Bonus:

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Wallpapers

African Tree Toad

 
True Wild Life | African Tree Toad | The African tree toad is a small species of toad found in the forests of central Africa. Today, little is still known about this tiny amphibian and the constantly decreasing population numbers of the African tree toad are making it increasingly difficult for us to learn more about them. The African tree toad is found distributed across it's natural central African range in countries such as Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, possibly Central African Republic, and possibly Republic of the Congo.

There are two known subspecies of African tree toad, which are the African tree toad and the Bates' tree toad. Both African tree toad species are of similar size and colour but tend to differ in the geographical regions which they inhabit. The natural habitats of the African tree toad are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest, where there is a plentiful water supply. The African tree toad is generally dark to light brown in colour, with white patches on it's belly and like other toad species, the African tree toad has slightly webbed feet which aid it's semi-aquatic and tree climbing lifestyle.

The African tree toad is a carnivorous amphibian that shoots it's long, sticky tongue out of it's mouth at incredible speeds to catch and secure it's prey. The African tree toad primarily hunts small invertebrates including insects, worms and spiders. Due to its small size, the African tree toad has numerous predators within it's warm, woodland environment. Fish, birds, lizards, snakes, rodents and larger amphibians like frogs and toads are all common predators of the African tree toad.
 

Little is really known about the reproduction of the African tree toad besides the fact that female African tree toads lay up to 200 sticky eggs in small bodies of water, which are then guarded by the male African tree toad until they hatch into tadpoles. Today, the African tree toad is a rare and highly endangered species with only a handful thought to be left in the African forests. Habitat loss caused by deforestation and rising pollution levels are thought to be the two main causes in the African tree toad's decline.

Smilodon ( Sabre-toothed Tiger)

True Wild Life | Smilodon | The Saber Tooth Tigers are some of the best known and most popular of ice age animals. They are among the most impressive carnivores that ever have lived. Two different types of saber toothed tigers lived in the mid-western U.S. at the end of the ice age. One of the most familiar saber tooth tiger was (genus smilodon). These cats had enlarged canines usually associated with the name saber tooth. Their canines were up to 7 inches long (18 centimeters)! The second type is the less known (genus Homotherium). These cats had shorter canines about ten centimeters (4 inches) long. The canines were also flatter at the tips. Some of the differences can be seen by comparing the homotherium cat to the smilodon cat.

 

The sabre-toothed tiger is one of the most well-known prehistoric animals along with giants such as the woolly mammoth. Sabre-toothed tigers roamed the mid-western US and parts of both North and South America and were named for the enormous canines which skeletons show, protruded quite far out of their mouths. Despite it's name, the sabre-toothed tiger was not actually related to the modern tigers that are found throughout the jungles of Asia. It is thought that the sabre-toothed tiger would have roamed across the grassland plains and open woodlands throughout both North and South America where individuals would of varied slightly depending on the area which they inhabited.

The sabre-toothed tiger is one of the best known ice-age animals but little is really known about them as they are thought to have become extinct around 10,000BC which is a long time ago. The sabre-toothed tiger was named for the canines that could grow to more than 7 inches in length and were capable of fatally wounding their prey with one bite. Sadly, the colour of the sabre-tooth tiger is unknown but it is thought that is would of been of a similar colouration to the modern day lion found in Africa (and which it is not closely related to). The sabre-toothed tiger also had a powerful, muscular body which meant that it could quickly catch and pounce on it's prey before using it's knife-like teeth to cause to the fatal blow.

In the same way as modern day felines, the sabre-toothed tiger was a carnivorous animal and would of been the most dominant predator within its environment. Large herbivorous animals such as deer and bison would of been the most common prey of the sabre-toothed tiger along with occasional giant such as a small woolly mammoth should their ranges cross, although their exact diet is unknown. The sabre-toothed cat would of been the most ferocious and therefore the apex predator within it's environment so had no natural predators on the American plains. Humans are thought to be the most likely cause for the demise of this enormous cat and more than 2,000 sabre-toothed tiger skeletons have been found emerged in the tar pits close to Los Angeles.

As with modern felines, the sabre-toothed tiger would of bred in the warmer months of early spring, when after a gestation period that could last as long as 8 months, the female sabre-toothed tiger would give birth to an average of 3 cubs per litter. Nothing is known about sabre-toothed tiger cubs but they could be born blind like the cubs of today's felines. The sabre-toothed tiger is thought to have become extinct more than 12,000 years ago when human settlers first arrived in the Americas, hunting this species to extinction. Although climate change could also be the primary cause for their demise, little however is really known.

Bactrian Camel

 

True Wild Life | Bactrian Camel | The bactrian camel is better known as being the type of camel with two humps. There are only two surviving species of camel remaining, the single humped camels from the Middle East and the bactrian (double humped) camel from Northern Asia. There are thought to be more than a million bactrian camels domesticated worldwide in not just Asia, but also parts of Africa and the Middle East. Camels have been domesticated for around 2,000 years for both pulling/carrying heavy loads but also for transporting both humans and merchandise.

Like the single humped camel, the bactrian camel is able to survive on its own water reserves for long periods of time meaning they can cross enormous desert plains and mountain ranges without the need to stop so often. Today the bactrian camel is considered to be a critically endangered species with less than 1,000 bactrian camels thought to living in the wild in parts of China and Mongolia.

The bactrian camels humps work in the same way to the Arabian camels humps, with the bactrian camels humps used for storing fat which can be converted to water and energy when the bactrian camel is unable to find food and water. The bactrian camels humps give the bactrian camels their legendary ability to endure long periods of travel without water, even in harsh desert conditions. As the fat in the bactrian camels humps gets used up, the bactrian camels humps become floppy and flabby.

The bactrian camel is one of the most adaptive animals in the world with the bactrian camel being able to withstand temperatures from 40 degrees Centigrade in the summer to -30 degrees Centigrade in the winter. Bactrian camels have developed special adaptations to allow the bactrian camel to survive in such a brutal environment. The bactrian camel has a thick, shaggy coat that protects the bactrian camel from the cold in the winter and the bactrian camels coat falls away as seasons change and temperatures rise to allow the bactrian camel to keep cool in the summer.

Common Loon

True Wild Life | Common Loon | The common loon  is a species of bird that is most closely related to the duck, mainly due to the ability of the common loon to dive underwater in order to hunt for food. The common loon is found in parts of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland, but common loon have recently been found in other watery parts across Europe and North America.

The common loon, like all divers, is a specialist fish-eater, as the common loon catches its prey underwater. The common loon has been seen diving as deep as 200 feet (60 m) to get its lunch. The common loon that have a very freshwater diet mainly eat pike, perch, sunfish, trout, and bass. The common loon that have a more salt-water diet feed on rock fish, flounder, sea trout, and herring.

The common loon needs a long distance to gain momentum for take-off, and is ungainly on landing. Its clumsiness on land is due to the legs being positioned at the rear of the body of the common loon which is ideal for diving but is not well-suited for assistance the common loon with walking. When the birds land on water, they skim along on their bellies to slow down, rather than on their feet, as the feet of a common loon are set too far back.

The common loon can swim gracefully on the surface of the water, and the common loon dives as well as any flying bird. The common loon is also able to fly well for hundreds of kilometers when these birds migrate. The common loon has almost completely disappeared from the waters of eastern North America, mainly due to pollution in the water and excess pollutants causing acid rain to occur.

Barn Owl

True Wild Life | Barn Owl | Barn owls are one of the most widely distributed birds found everywhere around the world apart from the polar and desert regions. Although this is the case, the barn owl population is more predominant in the Southern Hemisphere due to better climate conditions for the barn owl. Barn owls tend to measure between 25 and 40cm tall and adult barn owls can have a wingspan of up to 110cm long. The wing span of the barn owl is however dependent on the species of barn owl so some owls may be smaller, where other species of barn owl may be much bigger.

Surprisingly, these common barn owls do not make the hoot sound that can often be heard at night. Instead the owls produce a high-pitched scream and can also hiss in a similar way to a cat or snake if the barn owl feels threatened. Barns owls can be most commonly seen in the open countryside and along river banks, fields and even the verges on the side of the road. Barn owls are nocturnal animals meaning that typically barn owls rest during the light day time hours and emerge at dusk to begin a night of hunting.

Barn owls most commonly hunt small mammals such as mice, voles and rats but barn owls also hunt fish close to the surface of the water and smaller birds in the tree tops and even in the air. Barn owls swallow their prey whole and then bring back up (regurgitate) the indigestible parts such as bones in the form of a small pellet. Barn owls are well suited to their nocturnal lifestyle. The large eyes of the barn owl enable the barn owl to have fantastic eyesight even in the darkness of night, but barn owls also have incredibly accurate hearing. The ears of the barn owl are set with one higher than the other giving the barn owl better hearing in general but it also means that when the barn owl is hunting for prey, it can use one ear to detect noise on the ground below and the other ear is used to detect noise from the air and trees above.

Female barn owls lay a clutch of up to 7 eggs in the warm months of spring. The female barn owl nests in a hollow tree or rock, and the barn owl eggs usually hatch after about a month. The male barn owl is known to help feed the barn owl chicks and the barn owl chicks are able to fly by the time they are 12 weeks old. Although the barn owl, is not considered to be a threatened species of animal, the barn owl population numbers have severely decreased over the years due to pollution and habitat loss as the barn owls are finding it harder and harder in some areas to find food. Despite this being true, the barn owl population in the UK is thought to be increasing again.

There are more than 30 different species of barn owl found across Europe, Africa, Asia and parts of Australia and the Americas. All barn owl species have a similar appearance but can differ great in both size and colour.

Javan Rhinoceros

True Wild Life | Javan Rhinoceros | The Javan rhinoceros  is a small species of rhinoceros native to parts of south-east Asia. The Javan rhinoceros is thought to be most closely related to the Indian rhinoceros, both of which only have one horn. The Javan Rhino primarily inhabits dense lowland rain forests, tall grass and reed beds that are plentiful with rivers, large floodplains, or wet areas with many mud wallows. The range of Javan rhinoceros once stretched from Bengal, through south-east Asia and down to Sumatra but today, the Javan rhinoceros is only found in Vietnam and on the island of Java.

The Javan rhinoceros only has one horn which is much smaller than those of other rhinoceros species, growing to an average length of 25cm. The Javan rhinoceros uses its small horn for defence, intimidation, digging up roots and breaking branches during feeding. The horn of the Javan rhinoceros is made from a substance called keratin and is therefore very strong. The horn of the Javan rhinoceros is used in ancient medicine and many Indian rhinos have been illegally poached for them. The Javan rhinoceros has relatively poor eyesight, relying more on hearing and smell to detect what is going on around them. The ears of the Javan rhinoceros possess a relatively wide rotational range to detect sounds and an excellent sense of smell to readily alert them to the presence of predators.

The Javan rhinoceros is a herbivorous animal meaning that it sustains itself on a purely plant based diet. Javan rhinos browse the densely vegetated sub-tropical forest for leaves, flowers, buds, fruits, berries and roots which they dig up from the ground using their horns. Due to it's large size, the Javan rhino's only real predator in the wild are large wild cats such as tigers that will prey on the Javan rhino calves and weak individuals. Humans are the biggest threat to the Javan rhinoceros as they have been hunted to the brink of extinction for their horns.

The Javan rhinoceros is solitary animal and only comes together with other Javan rhinos to mate. The female Javan rhinoceros gives birth to a single calf after a gestation period that is over a year long. The Javan rhinoceros calf remains with it's mother until it is at least 2 years old and big enough to become independent. Today, the Javan rhinoceros has been poached for it's horns to the extent that it is on the brink of extinction. Hunting of the Javan rhinoceros along with habitat loss in their native regions have led to there being only a handful of Javan rhinoceros individuals left in the jungles of south-east Asia today.