Wasp Animal World

True Wild Life The wasp is medium sized flying insect that is found all around the world. The wasp is known for its black and yellow markings which means that some wasp and bee species are commonly confused. The wasp is found in all the countries in the world, on every continent with the exception of the polar regions. There are around 75,000 recognized species of wasp worldwide that grow to around 2/3 inch long.

The wasp is most commonly known for its poisonous sting, that if a human is stung can often swell into a painful lump that takes a few days to soothe. Some people are allergic to wasp stings meaning the wasp sting can be fatal. Not all wasps can sting though but those that can often die once they have used their sting has it is joined onto their rear end of often becomes dislodged. When a wasp dies it releases a smell (called a pheromone) which warns the other wasps of danger and that it needs help.

Like many other insect species, the wasp is social insect and many wasps, as many as 10,000, inhabit just one nest. The queen wasp is the only breeding female and she builds the nest from a papery substance that is made up of chewed wood and plants. Typically, the wasp only lives for 12 - 22 days. Wasps are omnivorous animals and therefore eat a mixture of plants and other animals. As with bees, the wasp prefers the sweeter plants and primarily eats nectar, fruits and honey. Wasps also eat insects and even large caterpillars.

Despite their bright colours to deter predators, wasps are eaten by a number of different animals around the world including birds, amphibians, reptiles and various species of mammal. The queen wasp lays her eggs inside the nest which hatch in a number of days. When the wasp larvae hatch they are cared for by the other wasps in the nest and begin to hunt for food to bring back to the nest. Wasps are known to travel nearly half a kilometre away from the nest in search of food.

Southern Cassowary

True Wild Life | Southern Cassowary | The Southern Cassowary is a large bird that lives in New Guinea and Australia. They are flightless, but equipped with a strong kick. Their numbers continue to decline because of disappearing tropical rainforests and hunting. The Southern Cassowary also known as Double-wattled Cassowary, Australian Cassowary or Two-wattled Cassowary.

In appearance, the Cassowary looks like a short, heavily-built, black and blue Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae. Both species are indeed closely related, belonging to the family Casuariidae, and both are flightless. The female Southern Cassowary selects a male to breed with and then lays a clutch of large green eggs in a scrape in the ground lined with plant material. Once the eggs are laid, the male is left in charge of the incubation and chick-rearing duties, while the female moves away, and may even breed again with another male. During the breeding season, the parental males are very aggressive, and attacks on humans have been recorded at this time.

The Southern Cassowary feeds mostly on fruit that has fallen to the ground. The Southern Cassowary will also eat anything from snails to small dead mammals. Southern Cassowaries normally feed alone. If two males should meet, they have a stand off where both birds stand tall, fluff up their feathers and rumble at each other until one retreats. If a male and female meet, the male will move away, as the female is dominant.

In parts of its range the Southern Cassowary is still relatively common, but numbers are decreasing because of habitat clearance and collisions with cars. Their fruit diet means they are commonly sighted in commercial orchards and gardens with fruit bearing trees. Interestingly, citrus fruit is not usually eaten. They can also be dangerous if cornered.

Box Turtle

True Wild Life | Box Turtle | The box turtle or box tortoise is a genus of turtle native to North America. Box turtles are land dwelling creatures with high, domed shells, hence the "box" moniker.  Box turtles are found all over the world, and are generally found living in mossy areas of the forest, or other damp habitats.  They are very territorial, and sometimes spend their entire lives near their place of birth.

North American box turtles are omnivores with a very varied diet as box turtles "basically eat anything it can catch". Invertebrates (amongst others insects, earth worms, millipedes) form the principal component, but the diet also consists for a large part (reports range from 30-90%) of vegetation. The diet is amended with fruits (amongst others from cacti, apples and several species of berry), gastropods. While reports exist that during their first five to six years, box turtles are primarily carnivorous, while adults are mostly herbivorous, there is no scientific basis for such a difference. They are strong, sturdy animals, and usually grow to be about 6 inches long.  Box turtles are usually dark in coloring with some yellowish markings, and the male of the species have bright red eyes, longer tails, and their plastrons are indented.

Box turtles are endemic to North America. The widest distributed species is the common box turtle which is found in the United States (subspecies carolina, major, bauri, triunguis; South-Central, Eastern and South Eastern parts) and Mexico (subspecies yukatana and mexicana; Yucatán peninsula and North Eastern parts). The Ornate box turtle is endemic to the south-central and South Western parts of the U.S.  while the spotted box turtle is endemic to North-Western Mexico only. The coahuilan box turtle is only found in Cuatro Ciénegas Basin.

Great Spotted Kiwi

True Wild Life | Great Spotted Kiwi | The Great Spotted Kiwi, is a species of kiwi endemic to the South Island of New Zealand.  It is the largest of the kiwi.  There are about 22,000 Great Spotted Kiwis in total, almost all in the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northwest coast, and the Southern Alps. A minority live on islands.

Great Spotted Kiwi are nocturnal, and will sleep during the day in burrows. At night, they feed on invertebrates and will also eat plants. Great Spotted Kiwi breed between June and March. The egg is the largest of all birds in proportion to the size of the bird. Chicks take 75 to 85 days to hatch, and after hatching, they are abandoned by their parents.

Because adult Great Spotted Kiwis are large and powerful, they are able to fend off most predators that attack them, such as stoats, ferrets, weasels, pigs, brushtails and cats, all of which are invasive species in New Zealand. However, dogs are able to kill even adults. Stoats, ferrets, possums, cats and dogs will feed on the eggs and chicks, meaning most chicks die within their first five months of life. Once the Great Spotted Kiwi was also preyed upon by the Haast's Eagle, which is now extinct.

Yellow-margined Box Turtle

True Wild Life | Yellow-margined Box Turtle | The Chinese box turtle is a species of Asian box turtle with several names. Its common names include Chinese box turtle, 食蛇龜 Snake-eating turtle, Yellow-margined box turtle, and Golden-headed turtle. Taxonomically, it has been called Cistoclemmys flavomarginata, Cuora flavomarginata, and Cyclemys flavomarginata. The Integrated Taxonomic Information System uses Cuora flavomarginata.

Yellow-margined Box Turtle has a highly domed shell, the carapace and plastron of which are a dark brown, excepting a cream-yellow stripe on the vertebral keel. The edge of the plastron is lightly pigmented due to the marginal scutes' and plastral scutes' lighter pigmentation near their edges. The skin on the limbs is brown in color while the top of the head is a pale green. Each side of the head has a yellow line extending from behind the eye backward. The skin beneath the head and between the limbs is a lighter pink-ish color.

The name box turtle refers to C. flavomarginata's ability to bring the plastron to the edges of the carapace. This is enabled by a hinge on the plastron and ligaments connecting the carapace and plastron, which allows for limited movement. The forefeet have five claws, while the rear have four.

The external difference between male and female Yellow-margined Box Turtle is slight. Males have a broader tail than females; it is almost triangular in shape.

Painted Batagur

True Wild Life | Painted Batagur | The Painted Batagur is the largest turtle living in fresh water. They are in danger of extinction because people take them as pets or to eat, and because of the deteriorating environments in and around the rivers they live in. Painted Batagurs live on the Malaysian peninsula, Sumatra Island, and Kalimantan Island.

Painted Batagurs live in rivers and sometimes go near the ocean where the seawater mixes with the fresh water. They also lay eggs in sandy beaches like Green Turtles. Young Painted Batagurs eat other animals and plants. Once they become adults, their diet changes to mainly leaves and other plants.

The number of Painted Batagurs is declining because people capture them to eat, in addition to river water pollution and deteriorating surrounding environments. In Thailand, where the Painted Batagur is on the brink of extinction, there are strict restrictions against their capture, sale, or purchase. Additionally, there are efforts to increase their number by breeding. Although there are international restrictions against the sale and purchase of Painted Batagurs, there are still many efforts that need to be made to recover their numbers, such as making river environments safe for living in.

Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtle

True Wild Life | Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtle | The Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtle or Ryukyu leaf turtle, Geoemyda japonica, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (formerly Bataguridae). It is endemic to the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. In 1975 the species was designated a National Natural Monument of Japan. It grows to approximately 5–6 inches long. In captivity it feeds on worms, snails, insects, and fruit. Due to its rarity and very attractive appearance, this species is highly coveted by turtle collectors worldwide.

The Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtle  has a flattish brown, chestnut, mahogany or tan carapace that is serrated front and rear, with three keels. The plastron is black or dark brown with yellow or yellow-cream rings. The skin of the Black-breasted Leaf Turtle is dark with colored spots or mottles, and females have a yellowish-cream stripe down each side of the head. Its feet are only semi-webbed, and it has large bulging eyes with white irises.

At first it was considered a subspecies of Geoemyda spengleri, and named Geoemyda spengleri japonica. It was redescribed as a separate species and given its current binomial name in 1992.

Burmese Starred Tortoise

 

True Wild Life | Burmese Starred Tortoise | The Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota) is becoming extinct in its native Myanmar (Burma). Burmese Starred tortoises look like another land turtle called Indian Starred tortoise. But if you look closely, you will see the Burmese Starred Tortoise's shell is thinner and flatter than the Indian Starred tortoise.

Burmese Starred Tortoises are omnivorous as they eat both plants and animals. But we are still not sure what they eat in the wild. The Burmese Starred Tortoise sticks to his name. His shell's pattern is beautifully star-studded. It is said that in the early 20th century, the Burmese Starred Tortoise was high in number. However, soon after, they were caught for food. Their woods were clear-cut and now they are endangered.

And the greatest problem today is they are being caught as pets. In Myanmar, it is illegal to capture and export the Burmese Starred Tortoise. Despite this, large numbers of Burmese Starred Tortoise are being sold in Japan, China, and Thailand. The first step is to severely punish lawbreakers and smugglers.

Giant Armadillo

True Wild Life | Giant Armadillo | The giant armadillo is the largest of all armadillos and found in South America, east of the Andes, from northwestern Venezuela to northeastern Argentina. Adults grow as long as 35 inches and can weigh over 70 lb. The necks and backs of armadillos are covered with flexible carapaces (shells) consisting of 14 to 17 moveable bands of horn and bone. Their heads are also covered with a similar oval shield. The head, tail and lower edges of the giant armadillo are nearly white, and the rest of the body is dark brown. Underneath the carapace, its naked body appears wrinkly and pinkish in color. It has powerful claws with a very large central claw similar to the claw of the giant anteater. Giant armadillos are very fast on the ground and can sometimes balance themselves on their hind legs and tails, with their forefeet off the ground.

Giant armadillos prefer to live in burrows near water in grassland, brushland, woodland, and forests where termite mounds are present. It is believed that they are very good swimmers. They are active mainly at night and prefer to sleep in the daytime. They are very powerful and quick diggers enabling them to find insects and escape predators by hiding in the ground. Preferred diet is ants and termites, but they will also eat other insects, worms, spiders, larvae, snakes, and carrion. Giant armadillos can consume entire termite mound populations once discovered. Little is known about the mating behavior of this species. Other armadillo species are known to pair up during mating season and share a burrow. Females give birth to one to two young after a gestation period of 120 days. The young armadillos are born with tough leathery skin to protect them from dangerous predators.

Giant armadillos have suffered from loss of habitat due to agricultural development and human settlement, and they are also overhunted by humans for food. Some are killed by farmers because they are thought to damage crops. This species was listed as endangered in 1976, and the continued study of the species and its habitat is necessary to plan additional conservation efforts.

Babirusa

True Wild Life | Babirusa | The Babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa) is a very special member of the pig family. Up until now the relationship between the Babirusa and the other pig species hasn't been resolved completely. There are pieces of research, which suggest the conclusion, that it is closely related to Hippopotamuses, close relatives of pigs themselves. The babirusa is a very strange looking member of the pig family. They are only distantly related to other pigs, and have been given their own subfamily, the Babirousinae. There are three subspecies of the Babirusa corresponding to the areas where they are found; the Sulawesi, Togian, and Moluccan babirusa. These subspecies have different hair covering, hair color, and tusk and body sizes. Fossil studies seem to show that the babirusa may be more closely related to hippopotamuses than pigs.

The name babirusa in Malay means "pig-deer". It got this name from its bizarre tusks. The upper canines actually grow up through the skin of it snout from the inside. These 12 inch long tusks then grow up and curl over towards the forehead, sometimes touching the snout again. The lower canines are also very long and protrude from the sides. The two sets of tusks give the appearance of the antlers of a deer. Only the bottom tusks are used offensively. The top tusks can't be used for foraging or as weapons because they are very fragile and lose in their sockets. Females have shorter tusks, or none at all. Babirusa are smaller than domestic pigs. They are 2.8-3.6 feet in length, and 2.1-2.6 feet at shoulder height. The tail is 8-12 inches long and not twisted. Babirusas weigh from 95-220 pounds.

This curly-tusked pig has a rounded body with almost hairless, bristly skin. The sparse hairs are yellowish in color. Their skin is gray to brown, with a lighter colored underbelly. Their legs are thin and longer than on most pigs. Mature babirusas have large folds near their necks and bellies. Babirusa reach sexual maturity from 1 to 2 years. After mating the pregnancey lasts 150 to 157 days. The babirusa only gives birth to 1 to 3 young at a time, unlike other pigs who will have 7 to 9 piglets. The mother babirusa will lie down to nurse her piglets. Although the young will begin to forage within the first week after birth, they aren't weaned until they are 6 to 8 months old. The babirusa has a life span of 24 years.

The babirusa is usually a solitary animal, although it will sometimes live in small groups. Its habits are duirnal, and it tends to feed in the morning. Its diet consists of fruits, nuts, mangos, mushrooms, leaves, and insects found in rotting wood. Unlike other pigs it doesn't root around the dirt for food with its snout. It moves along well-worn trails along the rainforest floor within their territories. It is a fast runner and a good swimmer, and has been seen swimming to off-shore islands. It has a good sense of smell and makes grunting and moaning sounds. When it gets excited it chatters its teeth. Like most other pigs it loves to wallow in mud baths to rid itself of parasites. In the past babirusa were kept by rulers in Sulawesi and given as gifts to visiting diplomats. Masks of Balinese demons often resemble the stangely tusked babirusa.

Unfortunately the future doesn't look good for this amazing creature. They have always been scarce, but are an endangered species today. Although the babirusa avoids farmlands, and isn't persucuted by farmers, it is a favorite target for poachers. Their limited and small pockets of rainforests are also being converted into agriculture. Their wild population is estimated at around 4,000 to 5,000 animals. The IUCN put them on their vulnerable list in 1996, and the U.S. ESA considers them endangered They are on CITES Appendix I.

Sloth Bear

True Wild Life | Sloth Bear |  The Sloth Bear also known as the Labiated Bear, is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bear found wild within the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear evolved from ancestral Brown Bears during the Pleistocene and shares features found in insect-eating mammals through convergent evolution. The population isolated in Sri Lanka is considered as a subspecies. Its favourite food is primarily termites and other insects which it snorts and sucks out of termite hills on the ground with a vacuum-cleaner sounding roar that can be heard several hundred yards away.

Using its narrow tongue and long lower lip, which it can extend far beyond its nose, the bear has no difficulty scooping up the tiny morsels. The bear has special adaptations for feeding on termites. It has gap between its front teeth which allows it to suck in the insects, and also the top of its mouth is hollowed and tube-like. The Sloth Bear also eats different insects such as ants and bees, and it also includes fruits, blooms and honey in its menu.

The Sloth Bear has a coarse, shaggy ebony pelt, a white V-shaped mark on its chest and has a protruding lower lip. After mating, there is a period of about 6 to 7 months before the young are born. Generally they breed in June and July and cubs are born from November to January. In South Sri Lanka there appears to be less breeding convergence and cubs may be born at any time of the year. They reach a length from 150 to 190 centimetres. Females reach a weight from 55 to 95 kilograms, while males are clearly heavier and between 80 and 140 kilograms in weight. Although Sloth Bears are rather shy animals, sometimes they are considered as aggressive as other breeds of bear. The total world population of the Sloth Bears is estimated at approximately 7,000 to 10,000 animals, which means that the IUCN lists it as an endangered species .

Zebra Shark

True Wild Life | Zebra Shark | The zebra shark is a medium-sized species of shark, that is found in the warmer coastal waters and around tropical coral reefs. Zebra sharks are most commonly found in the Indian and South Pacific oceans. Zebra sharks can grow to nearly 3 meters in length and can get to be 30 years old in the wild. Zebra sharks that are kept in captivity generally do not exceed 15 years of age. Zebra sharks can be identified by the yellow spots that are present on the back of the zebra shark.

Zebra sharks have a long, flattened body which helps them to remain unnoticed on the seabed. The zebra shark also has a long tail which allows it to be more agile in the water. Zebra sharks move their tails from side to side when they swim, in an eel-like manner.

Zebra sharks are omnivorous animals but tend to have a more meat-based diet. Zebra sharks feed on small fish, crabs, shrimp, snails and other small invertebrates along with squid and sea snakes which they forage for in the coral reefs.

Due to their relatively large size, zebra sharks have few natural predators as they are fairly dominant predators in their environment. Larger species of shark such as tiger sharks and bull sharks are the main predators of the zebra shark, along with humans who hunt them for their meat and fins. The female zebra shark lays an average of ten large eggs which hatch after an incubation period of around 5 months. The baby zebra sharks are nearly half a meter long when they first hatch.

X-Ray Tetra

True Wild Life | X-Ray Tetra | The X-Ray Tetra is a small species of schooling Fish that is naturally found in the Amazon River's coastal waters in South America. The X-Ray Tetra is also known as the Golden Pristella Tetra and the Water Goldfinch due to the faint golden colouration of their translucent skin. They were first described by Ulrey in 1894 and have since become one of the most popular freshwater Fish kept in artificial aquariums today. Although the X-Ray Tetra is the only known species in it's genus, it is closely related to other small and colourful South American Fish, including the nearly 100 other Tetra species.

The most distinctive feature of the X-Ray Tetra is the translucent layer of skin that covers it's small body, allowing the Fish's backbone to be clearly seen. The scales of the X-Ray Tetra are a silvery-yellowish colour that is very faint, looking almost golden in some lights. The X-Ray Tetra also has a re-tipped tail and strikingly striped dorsal and anal fins that are yellow, black and white in colour. This is a relatively small species of Fish that actually has a bony internal structure known as the Weberian apparatus, which is used in picking up sound waves, and contributes to their acute sense of hearing (this bony structure is also found in many of their relatives). Females are generally slightly larger and rounder than the more slender males, although the two are very similar in appearance.

Like many other small, colourful Fish, the X-Ray Tetra is a schooling species of Fish inhabiting the region between the bottom and middle of the water as a group. They are incredibly peaceful and are often tolerant of the other species that they share their habitats with. The X-Ray Tetra is one of the most adaptable species of Tetra as it is able to inhabit both fresh and brackish water happily, in both acidic and alkaline conditions. It is widely observed that those X-Ray Tetra that are kept in tanks, can change quickly from being peaceful to becoming skittish in the presence of larger, predatory Fish, with the same behaviour known to be displayed if the school size is not big enough.

During the rainy season. the X-Ray Tetra return to the flood-lands to spawn. Unlike many similar Fish who give birth to live young, the female X-Ray Tetra lays between 300 - 400 eggs by scattering them amongst the vegetation (when she is ready to spawn, the see-through skin means that her eggs can also be easily seen). X-Ray Tetra fry begin to hatch as early as 24 hours later, and become free swimming within a few days. Once able to swim, the small and dull white young, are able to find better food sources and soon develop their characteristic adult markings. X-Ray Tetra usually live for three or four years in the wild but can get to older ages in captivity.

Like many other small species of Fish that live in the Amazon River, the X-Ray Tetra is an omnivorous animal whose diet is made up of both animals and plants. X-Ray Tetra primarily hunt Worms, Insects and small Crustaceans that live close to the river bed and their fry tend to feed on Insect larvae. Although they are also known to supplement their diet with aquatic plants, they are predominantly micro-predators that feed on small invertebrates. In artificial communities, X-Ray Tetra need a variety of food sources including Brine Shrimp and Bloodworm alongside the standard flakes and pellets to ensure that they have a fully nutritious diet.

The Weberian apparatus (the bony structure) in the X-Ray Tetra's body works by transmitting sound waves through their vertebrate, that have been received by the swim bladder and are then taken to the inner ear, meaning that the X-Ray Tetra has excellent hearing. The transparency of their skin is thought to be a form of protection as predators find it much harder to spot them (along with their light yellow markings) amongst the dense vegetation, and shimmering water. Not only is the yellowish X-Ray Tetra popular in tanks, but an albino version of the species is also now commonly found in artificial communities worldwide.

Woolly Monkey

True Wild Life | Woolly Monkey | The woolly monkey is a medium to large sized primate, that inhabits the tropical forests of north-west South America. The woolly monkey is most well known for it's round-shaped head and dense fur that covers the body of the woolly monkey. Woolly monkeys are found throughout Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and parts of Venezuela where they live an arboreal lifestyle. Woolly monkeys have long and very strong prehensile tails which allows them to balance and grip onto branches without having to give up the use of their hands.

There are four different species of woolly monkey found in the South American jungles today. These are the brown woolly monkey (also known as the common woolly monkey), the grey woolly monkey, the Columbian woolly monkey and the silvery woolly monkey. All four of the different woolly monkey species are found in the same regions of South America. The woolly monkey gets its name from its soft and thick, curled fur which ranges from brown to black to grey, depending on the species of woolly monkey. Woolly monkeys have relatively stocky bodies, with powerful shoulders and hips.

Like many other primate species, woolly monkeys live together in fairly large groups known as troops. The woolly monkey troops contain both male woolly monkeys and female woolly monkeys. The woolly monkey troop is also known to split up into smaller groups when it is time to forage for food. The woolly monkey is an omnivorous animal, meaning that it feeds on both plants and other animals. Fruit is the primary source of food for woolly monkeys, but they will also eat nuts, seeds, leaves, flowers, nectar, insects and even small rodents and reptiles.

Due to their relatively large size, woolly monkeys have few natural predators within their jungle environment. Large birds of prey such as eagles, are the main predators of the young woolly monkeys, and wildcats such as ocelot and jaguars are the main predators of the adult woolly monkeys. The human is also one of the main predators of the woolly monkey as they are hunted for their meat and fur. The alpha male woolly monkey will mate with the females in his troop. After a gestation period of between 7 and 8 months, the baby woolly monkey is born. Woolly monkeys tend to only have one baby at a time although twins have been known to occur. The baby woolly monkey clings to it's mothers underside, before climbing up onto her back when it is around a week old. The baby woolly monkey is independent and no longer needs it's mother when it is around 6 months old.

Due to deforestation and therefore habitat loss, the woolly monkey population numbers are drastically decreasing, with the woolly monkey now considered to be an animal species that is vulnerable to extinction.