Okinawa Rail

True Wild Life | Okinawa Rail | The Okinawa Rail is a flightless bird that only lives on the main island of Okinawa. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the Yanbaru Kuina. Its existence was only confirmed in 1978 and it was formally described in 1981 although unidentified rails had been recorded on the island since at least 1973 and local stories of a bird known as the agachi kumira may refer to this species.

It is a medium-sized and almost flightless rail with short wings and tail, olive-brown upperparts, black underparts with white bars and a red bill and legs. It occurs in subtropical moist forests and in neighbouring habitats. It nests and feeds on the ground but usually roosts in trees. It is classified as an endangered species and is threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators.

The Okinawa Rail  is a poor flyer but it can run rapidly. It spends most of its time on the ground but usually roosts in trees, climbing up to sleep on a branch or sloping trunk. In the morning, it preens and stretches before dropping straight to the ground. It is usually found in dense cover but comes into the open to bathe. It bathes for short bouts of 2-4 minutes before preening for 4-20 minutes. It feeds on lizards, amphibians, snails and large insects such as locusts. Food is mainly taken from the forest floor but may also be taken from shallow water.

The Okinawa Rail is in great danger of disappearing for other reasons: forests clearing and traffic accidents. But the conservation activities have not progressed much. One reason is that nobody really understands how the Okinawa Rail lives. Without knowing well about the creature, like where the Okinawa Rail lives, what it eats, or how it raises its children, and how far it travels, people cannot move forward with the conservation activities. Besides the Okinawa Rail, there are many other kinds of flightless birds that are suffering from the outside animals in which human have brought in.

Kowari

True Wild Life | Kowari | also known as the Brush-tailed Marsupial Rat, Kayer Rat, Byrne's Crest-tailed Marsupial Rat, Bushy-tailed Marsupial Rat and Kawiri, is a small carnivorous marsupial native to the dry grasslands and deserts of central Australia. It is monotypical of its genus.  The Kowari is a ground dwelling carnivorous marsupial, living either in its own dug burrow or in the hole of another mammal. The Kowari is a solitary animal and marks its territory with secreations from a scent gland and leaving scats and urine at certain places throught their home teritory When approached, Kowari are very aggressive with much hisssing and chattering and thrashing of its tail.

Sexual maturity in a Kowari is reached in the first year of life but breeding seldom takes place until the second year between May and December. The female Kowari (who may produce 2 litters per season) carries up to six young on her teats for about eight weeks and suckles them in a nest (of soft materials) for a further eight weeks. Young Kowaris may ride on their mothers side or back (2-3 months old). The young become independant 100 days after birth.

The Kowari is well adapted to life in the central desert and does not need to drink, as it derieves needed moisture from its food. When cold and food supply is scarce, the Kowari may become torpid (a form of hibernation). By day, it sleeps in a burrow (sometimes can be seen "Sunbaking"), and at night it is a fierce predator on insects, the larger arthropods, and small vertebrates (eg birds, rodents, lizards) The Kowari can stalk like a cat and uses a direct neck bite when killing large prey.

Its range seems to have contracted considerably in recent decades but it is not clear whether this is an indication of its impending endangerment or of cyclical changes in the density of an opportunistic species, self regulating its numbers to survive in a harsh enviroment. So at this stage its Status is listed as Vulnerable Distribution: 100,000-300,000 square kilometres

Yellow-Eyed Penguin

True Wild Life | Yellow-Eyed Penguin | The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the few penguin species found north of the Antarctic Ocean, and as it's name suggests, this species of penguin is easily idenitfied by it's yellow coloured eyes and bright yellow band that runs from it's eyes round the back of the yellow-eyed penguin's head. The yellow-eyed penguin is found off the coast of the south island of New Zealand where this species gathers in colonies along the beaches and boulder fields. The yellow-eyed penguin is also found on a few of the islands of the main island including Stewart, Auckland and the Campbell Islands.

The yellow-eyed penguin generally searches for food up 10 miles offshore, and travels (on average) around 15 miles away from the colonies nesting site. The yellow-eyed penguin leaves the colony at dawn and returns the same evening during chick rearing, although may spend 2 or 3 days at sea at other times. The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the larger species of penguin with adult individuals reaching 75cm in height, with the males generally being slightly larger than the female yellow-eyed penguins. The yellow-eyed penguin was thought to have been closely related to the tiny little penguin found in a similar area, although recent research suggests that the two are actually fairly genetically different.

The yellow-eyed penguin is a carnivorous animal, that like all other penguin species, survives on a diet that is only comprised of marine animals. Krill and small crustaceans make up the bulk of the yellow-eyed penguin's diet along with larger organisms including squid and various species of fish. The yellow-eyed penguin is usually found nesting in the forests and scrub that line the New Zealand coast and although historically undisturbed, the yellow-eyed penguin now has a number of land-dwelling predators including cats, dogs and foxes along with rats and weasels that hunt their eggs.

On average, the yellow-eyed penguin breeds once a year, forming pairs that usually remain faithful to one another. The female yellow-eyed penguin lays two eggs in her nest in the forest which are incubated by both parents for up to a couple of months, when only one of the eggs will usually hatch. The yellow-eyed penguin chicks are fed and kept warm by their parents and remain with them until the chicks are nearly a year old. Today, the yellow-eyed penguin listed as an endangered animal with an estimated wild population of less than 4,000 individuals. It is now the rarest penguin in the world due to deforestation and the introduction of mammalian predators.

Wrasse

True Wild Life | Wrasse | The wrasse is a typically small species of fish, found in the coastal waters of the world's major oceans. The Cleaner wrasse is the most commonly known wrasse species as it is often seen alongside other marine animals, including sharks. There are more than 500 different species of Wrasse found in the shallower coastal waters and coral reefs, of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Wrasse most commonly inhabit areas that have an abundance of both food and places to hide, making coral reefs and rocky shores the perfect home for the wrasse.

Cleaner wrasse are the most well-known wrasse species as they are often seen going into the mouths of large marine animals in order remove the dead material inside. Cleaner wrasse feed on dead tissues, scales and parasites that lurk inside the mouth of the larger animal, and few are actually eaten by the predator that they are assisting. Wrasse come in a variety of colours and sizes depending on the species of wrasse. Wrasse tend to be relatively small in size, with many species of wrasse being less than 20 cm in length. One species of wrasse however is enormous in comparison, growing to more than 2 meters long.

Wrasse are carnivorous animals that have thick lips with a row of teeth that usually face outwards. The mouth of the wrasse is protractile which means that it is capable of extending forwards. Wrasse feeds on a number of small invertebrates, small fish and food particles in the water. Wrasse are also known to follow large predatory fish, eating the trail of left-overs that it leaves behind it. Due to their small size, wrasse have numerous predators in their natural environment including larger fish, such as lionfish, dogfish and barracuda and wrasse are even eaten by some smaller species of shark.

Wrasse are known to live for a relatively long-time particularly for their small size. Wrasse mate by releasing their eggs and sperm in to the water, which are fertilised and become part of the plankton until they are big enough to join the reef. Female wrasse lay thousands of eggs at at time so the wrasse population numbers are relatively high.

Wolverine

True Wild Life | Wolverine | The wolverine is a medium sized mammal that despite it's bear-like appearance (and it's name) is most closely related to the weasel. The wolverine is known to be strong and vicious and is said to have immense strength in comparison to it's size. The wolverine is found throughout Canada, Europe, parts of North America and the Arctic Circle where the wolverines inhabit mountainous regions and dense forests. Wolverines are also known to venture into more open areas such as plains and farmland when they are in search of food.

The wolverine generally eats mice, rats and other small mammals, birds and eggs during the summer months when these small animals are in abundance. During the bitter winter however, when snow covers the ground, the wolverine tends to hunt larger animals such as reindeer (caribou), sheep and moose. Despite the fact that the wolverine is known to be capable of hunting down and killing animals that are so much bigger than itself, the wolverine tends to prefer to scavenge the kills of other animals such as wolves and bears. The wolverine will let the larger predators hunt the prey down and the wolverine then chases the hunter away by showing its teeth and growling fiercely. Then the wolverine is left to eat the kill. The wolverine uses its large teeth and powerful jaws to crush large bones and eat meat that has been frozen in the unforgiving Arctic winter. 

The wolverine also has long, sharp, powerful claws that the wolverine uses to catch it's prey and to defend itself from predators and other wolverines. The wolverine also uses it's claws for climbing and digging. Like the skunk, the wolverine has a strong-smelling fluid called musk which the wolverine uses to warn others to stay away. Wolverines also have a thick coat of brown fur to protect them from the freezing cold temperatures. The wolverine has large feet help it move across the soft snow, with five sharp claws on each foot. Wolverines are highly territorial animals and they will fight other wolverines to defend their territory. Wolverines are not particularly fast movers (although they are known to reach speeds of more than 30mph when needed), so they do not chase or stalk their prey. However, wolverines are good climbers and often rest in trees, where the wolverines wait until the right moment to pounce on their prey from the trees or large rocks.

The female wolverine has one litter every two or three years. She digs a den with tunnels in a snowdrift that is near piles of rocks. After a gestation period of nearly 2 months, the female wolverine gives birth to a small litter of baby wolverines (known as kits), usually 2 or 3 kits are born. The mother wolverines nurses her wolverines kits until they are around 10 weeks old and are then big enough and strong enough to start learning to hunt for themselves. Wolverines usually live to between 8 and 13 years old although some wolverine individuals in captivity have been known to nearly reach the age of 20! The wolverine is considered to be a near threatened species as the wolverine numbers are declining due to hunting and habitat loss.

Wolf

True Wild Life | Wolf | The wolf is thought to be an ice age survivor, dating wolves around 300,000 years ago. The wolf is accepted to be the ancestor of the domestic dog as the wolf is thought to have selectively bred in order to breed appealing traits typical of puppies and to eliminate the not so appealing traits of adult wolves. The grey wolf is a highly adaptive animal found in all kinds of terrain. Wolves inhabit forests, deserts, mountains, tundras, grasslands and even urban areas with the wolf being a particularly dominant and ruthless predator within it's environment. They vary in color from pure white to pure black and every shade of brown and gray inbetween. At one time the wolf had the widest distribution of any mammal. The biggest wolves on earth live in Alaska and average 125-135 lb. One specimen was taken that weighed 200 lb. The smallest wolves live in Iran and average about 60 lb.

The wolf lives to be approximately 10 years old in the wild. Wolves live in packs that generally consist of the alpha male wolf, his mate the alpha female, and their offspring of various ages. Other wolves may also join, but it is the parents that are the leaders. The wolf has no real natural predators; their biggest threat is other wolf packs on adjacent territories. The wolf has been known to live up to 20 years old in captivity. Wolves are carnivorous animals and generally hunt large animals but wolves will also hunt smaller animals if they are need of their daily meal. Wolves hunt together in their packs and work together as a team in order to catch and kill a large animal such as moose and deer. Wolves are opportunists and will not waste their energy chasing a healthy deer 10 miles when an injured or sick one is available. The native Alaskan peoples call the wolf the "wild shepherd of the caribou".

Wolves have a layer of thick fur which is particularly needed for those wolves that inhabit areas of the Arctic circle where it can be extremely cold. It is during the winter months in these areas that calories are most critical . Larger animals such as elk and deer suffer greatly from the cold and lack of food to eat and it is during this time that the prey of the wolf is at its slowest and therefore is easier to catch. Wolves are considered to be an endangered species today as wolves have been widely exterminated from their former ranges by hunting, poisoning, and trapping to procure their fur and to protect livestock. Wolves have also been severely affected by habitat loss and have been pushed into smaller and smaller territories where the food source may not be plentiful enough to sustain a hungry wolf pack and where heavy inbreeding occurs.

Wolves tend to mate in late winter to early spring and the wolf cubs are born are born a couple of months later when the weather is warmer and prey is abundant. The wolf cubs then have the rest of the year to grow stronger in order to be able to survive their first cold winter. Wolf cubs stay with their mother in the wolf pack with the male wolf cubs often leaving to form a pack of their own. Wolves can interbreed freely with dogs, redwolves, coyotes, and jackals to produce fertile offspring. This is a case of incomplete speciation. There are physical, behavioral, and ecological differences between these species, but they are fully genetically compatible. None of the animals in this group can breed with foxes, which are too far separated genetically.

White Tiger

True Wild Life | White Tiger | The white tigers originated in the pure Bengal strain in India. Later in captivity Siberian was crossed in to make a bigger more impressive white tiger. They do have some pigment, so they are not albinos. The white tiger has a shorter life expectancy than the orange tiger, thought to be due to the white tigers mutated genes and to the inbreeding depression necessary to perpetuate the bloodline. The white tiger was always rare to come across in the wild in India, and none have been seen in the wild for over 50 years. The gene that causes the background to be white is a simple recessive. For that reason to produce whites they must be mated either to other whites or to normal orange tigers that are carriers of the white gene. The white tiger has been known to give birth to an orange tiger when mated to an orange male. Cubs of both colors occur in the same litter.

White tigers have also sadly appealed to those who are rich who either display the white tiger in captivity or killed the white tigers for their fur. For that reason white tigers are no longer seen in the wild. All were captured for captive breeding programs or killed as trophies for rich hunters. It has been speculated that some white tiger individuals are born with a blue tinge to their black stripes. Although this has not been recorded, it is possible for a genetic mutation to occur diluting the black stripes of the white tiger a blue/gray color. This dilution of black to blue is common in horses, cats, and dogs.

As white tigers are simply a different coloured version of the normal orange tiger, there are very few differences (if any at all) in the white tiger's behaviour. The white tiger lived in a jungle habitat where there was plenty of cover for the white tiger to remain hidden and to keep on the look out for potential prey. However, they did tend to stand out against their backgrounds and did not camofluage as effectively as normal orange tigers

The tiger is a carnivorous mammal and a fearless predator hunting large mammals including deer, wild boar and cattle. Tigers are extremely stealthy animals and are able to sneak up on their prey and catch it off guard. This makes the tiger a ruthless and dominant predator within its environment. The tiger is a solitary animal and it requires a large territory in order to ensure that there is an adequate food supply. Tiger cubs remain with their mother until they are strong enough and experienced enough to hunt for themselves.

Whale Shark

True Wild Life | Whale Shark | The whale shark is the largest species of fish with some adult whale sharks growing to nearly 50ft long! The whale shark is thought to have developed around 60 million years ago making the whale shark one of the oldest species on Earth today. The whale shark spends it's life swimming through the open oceans in search of fish and squid. Unlike many other species of shark, the whale shark is known to feed on large shoals of tiny fish rather than hunting bigger fish and sea mammals. This makes the whale shark a filter feeder similar to whales and smaller sea animals.

The whale shark inhabits the warm, tropical waters around the equator and despite often being found close to coastlines, the whale shark is also known to dive to depths of up to 700 meters (that over 2,000ft deep). In this part of the ocean, food is more scarce and the whale shark will therefore only venture to such depths if hunting in the shallower waters is not possible. The whale shark is the perfect example of a so-called friendly shark and to date have posed no significant threat to humans (mainly divers). The whale shark is most commonly spotted around the Gulf of Mexico and the Indonesian Islands where the whale sharks have been known to be almost playful towards humans.

Female whale sharks incubate their eggs inside them rather than outside. This means that whale sharks effectively give birth to live young. Inside the female whale shark are hundreds of eggs but only a few actually turn into baby whale sharks. The remaining eggs are thought to be there so that when the whale shark pups hatch, they have something to eat. The female whale shark gives birth to an average litter of 12 whale shark pups that are around 60 cm long.

Whale sharks grow quickly during their first few years and soon the whale shark pups are extremely big and therefore less likely to be hunted by marine predators such as other shark species and killer whales. Whale sharks tend to live for around 60 to 80 years but have been known be more than 100 years old.

Weasel

True Wild Life | Weasel | The weasel is a small, thin mammal. Weasels are found all around the world apart from the Arctic and Australia including it's surrounding islands. The weasel feeds mainly on small mammals and the weasel has a bad reputation amongst farmers who do not approve of the weasel stealing their poultry and their eggs. The weasel can burrow quickly into the ground, meaning the weasel can easily escape danger including farmers that want to catch them.

The weasel tends to grow to about 30cm long with a tail roughly the same length as the weasel's body. The weasel is generally a solitary animal but some species of weasel congregate together in groups for months on end. Weasels most typically come together to mate. The weasel belongs to the same animal family as and is closely related to other animals such as ferrets,stoats and polecats. All these animals have a similarly long-shaped body and pointed snout and are all found in similar environments.

Weasels are most commonly found in wooded areas but weasels are rarely found in really dense, thick forest. Weasels burrow and nest in hollow logs and under piles of rocks and weasels will often inhabit the nest of one of their prey rather than building a new one themselves. Weasels most commonly breed during the mid-summer months and give birth to their young in late spring the following year. The female gives birth to an average of 6 baby weasels, which are pink, blind and tiny and have very little fur. After a couple of weeks the fur of the baby weasels is much thicker and the baby weasels are able to eat solid food after about a month. By the time the baby weasels are two months old, they have taught by their mother weasel how to hunt their own food and soon become independent.

Weasels are prey to numerous larger animals such as foxes, cats, snakes and birds of prey. It is because they are so vulnerable to being eaten, that many weasels will not even live to be year old. The average lifespan of a wild weasel is thought to be around 3 years but weasels have been known to live for longer in captivity. Generally, weasels prey on small animals such as mice, birds and baby rabbits. The larger male weasels however have been known to prey on larger animals that are bigger than they are.

Walrus

True Wild Life | Walrus | The walrus is a large marine mammal that has flippers to help it swim. The walrus is found in the colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere, but the walrus is much more adapted specifically to the conditions of the Arctic Circle. There are three species of walrus. The Atlantic walrus, the Pacific walrus and the Laptev walrus found in the Laptev Sea. The walrus is most closely related to the seal and although the walrus and the seal are obviously similar, the walrus has some distinctive features such as the large tusks on the face of the walrus.

The walrus hunts fish and small mammals in the Arctic Circle. For a few hundred years, the walrus has been hunted by the Arctic people for meat, oil and the skin of the walrus but walrus hunting has led to the extinction of the walrus on many small islands within the Arctic circle. Today, only the Native Americans are allowed to hunt the walrus as it can often be one of the only sources of food for hundreds of miles. The walrus is a particularly sociable marine mammal and can often be seen in large groups. Walrus' can be heard grunting and making loud bellowing noises at each other but they become particularly aggressive during the mating season. The male walrus displays the most aggressive behaviour as the males have to fight to gain the respect of a female walrus.

Walrus' have long white tusks which they use for helping them to survive in the tough conditions of the Arctic circle. Both the male walrus and the female walrus have long tusks which can reach nearly a metre in length. Walrus' use their tusks for a number of reasons including breaking holes in the ice, hauling their large bodies out of the water and onto the ice, and defend themselves. The walrus also has a thick layer of fat under their skin, known as blubber, which keeps the walrus warm in the sub-zero temperatures and walrus' also have long, sensitive whiskers which they use as detective devices to find their favourite meal of shellfish on the dark ocean floor. The male walrus (bull) is often nearly double the size of the female walrus (cow). Walrus' can be found in groups of up to 2,000 walrus individuals which generally consists of the alpha male and his group of females and their young. The alpha male walrus will defend his walrus clan from other large male walrus' that are trying to infiltrate the group and steal the attention of his female followers.

Walrus' are thought to mate about once a year during the colder winter months. After a gestation period of just over a year, the female walrus gives birth to her fully developed walrus calf. The walrus calf stays with it's mother until it is at least 2 years old. This prolonged nursing period means that the walrus calf can develop it's warm and insulating layer of blubber which is vital to the survival of the walrus in the freezing conditions which the walrus inhabits. The walrus has a carnivorous diet which mainly consists of shellfish and echinoderms such as starfish and sea urchins. Occasionally the walrus will hunt fish, seals and young whales. The walrus uses it's enormous tusks to hold larger prey down so that the walrus can then eat it.

Vulture

True Wild Life | Vulture | The vulture is a large, carnivorous bird that is most well known for its scavenging nature. The vulture is one of the few types of bird that is found distributed so widely around the world, as vultures are found on every continent excluding the Antarctic and Australia and the islands that surround it. Different species of vultures of firstly classified into two groups, the old world vultures and the new world vultures. There are thought to be nearly 30 different species of vulture that are found worldwide.

The old world vultures are found in Asia, Europe and Africa with these species of vulture thought to be most closely related to eagles and hawks. The old world vulture is not thought to be closely related to the new world vulture and the old world vulture uses its spectacular sight alone in order to find food. The new world vultures are found in the Americas and although there are definitive similarities between the old world vulture and the new world vulture, they are believed to be connected through evolutionary status rather than DNA. The new world vultures tend to be slightly smaller than the old world vultures and use both sight and their excellent sense of smell in order to find their food.

All species of vulture are similar in the sense that they scavenge for their food whenever possible rather than killing it themselves. Vultures feed on the remains of dead animals and are never too fussy about what is left. Vultures are known to strip meat, skin and even feathers, leaving only the skeleton of the animal remaining. Although vultures are generally fairly solitary animals, groups of vultures are often seen circling prey from the sky above. This movement of the vultures is called a kettle and a group of vultures together is sometimes known as a venue.

Vultures have keen eyesight. It is believed they are able to spot a three-foot carcass from four miles away on the open plains. In some species, when an individual sees a carcass it begins to circle above it. This draws the attention of other vultures that then join in. The feces of the turkey vulture contains strong acids that kill many of the bacteria commonly associated with bird feces. Because of their diet, these birds are able to kill harmful bacteria and viruses with their stomach acids, and halt the potential spread of disease from rotting carcasses.

Vampire Bat

True Wild Life | Vampire Bat | The vampire bat is a small species of bat, native to the tropics of Central and South America. There are three recognised sub-species of vampire bat, all of which are in a genus of their own despite their obvious similarities. The common vampire bat, the hairy-legged vampire bat and the white-winged vampire bat are all closely related and share the same unique feeding habits, as they are the only known mammals that feed entirely on blood. Over time, vampire bats have perfectly adapted to the consumption of their only food source, with a leaf-like heat sensor on the end of their nose which detects where the warm blood is flowing closest to the skin.

The vampire bat is quite a small animal, with it's body rarely growing larger than the size of a human thumb. It's wings are long, finger-like bones that are covered in a thin layer of skin, with a thumb claw that pokes out of the front and is used for grip when clambering about on their host. Vampire bats have dark brown to grey furry bodies with a lighter underside, and strong limbs which enable them to crawl about on the ground with ease. As with other bats, vampire bats use echolocation in order to determine their surroundings. When flying, they produce high-pitched sounds that bounce of the objects in the area, and it is this bounced-back sound that allows the bat to figure out where things are around them (it is so high-pitched that it cannot be heard by people).

Vampire bats use echolocation, sound and smell in order to find their prey, which can be up to 10,000 times the size of this tiny predator, and it is because of this that vampire bats have evolved to taking some precautions when feeding. Firstly, the never land on their prey but inside land on the ground close by and crawl up to it, where they are able to detect veins close to the skin's surface with precision, thanks to their heat-sensing nose. Using it's set of sharp front teeth, the vampire bat then bites it's host, immediately jumping back in case the animal wakes up. Contrary to popular belief, vampire bats do not suck the blood of their victims, but inside lap it up using their grooved tongue as it flows out of the wound. Chemicals in the vampire bat's saliva both stop the blood from clotting and numb the area of skin around the bite to prevent the host from feeling anything.

Despite being a unique and versatile predator itself, the vampire bat is still prey to other animals, that can hunt the bat in the air when it comes out to hunt at night. Large, sharp-eyed birds of prey such as hawks and eagles are the most common predators of the vampire bat, along with snakes that hunt the bats in their dark caverns while they are sleeping during the day. Humans though are one of their biggest threats, mainly farmers that are known to poison the bats that commonly feed on their livestock. These poisons (known as vampiricides) are specially designed to spread throughout the whole colony through social grooming, killing hundreds of individuals at a time.

Vampire bats feed exclusively on the blood of warm-blooded animals, drinking up to a teaspoon (25ml) of blood per 30 minute feed. Once having feasted on their host however, the bats are then so bloated that they can barely fly with their weight almost having doubled. It is said that in just one year, an average sized vampire bat colony can drink the blood of 25 cows, but their metabolism is so fast that they must feed every two days to ensure their survival (blood is very nutritious containing high amounts of water). The nearly 20 teeth in the bat's mouth are mostly redundant due to their liquid diet, apart from the set of razor-sharp incisors at the front used for biting flesh.

All three subspecies of vampire bat have been listed as being of Least Concern of becoming extinct in the wild in the immediate future, due to the fact that they are widespread and feed on a variety of warm-blooded animals. Deforestation of their natural habitats along with persistent human efforts to eradicate who colonies at a time however, have led to population declines in certain areas. Scientists have also discovered though that the anti-coagulant found in the bat's saliva, proves to more effective at preventing blood clotting than any medicine, meaning that this could have significant positive implications for patients with strokes or heart attacks.