Our Cute Kittens Posing on a Tree..

Sweet Little Kittens High Up On A Tree...

Squirrel images

Giraffe Weevil

1. Trachelophorus giraffa or the Giraffe Weevil is a species confined to Madagascar,a large island off the east coast of Africa.. 
2.  Its extended neck that rises up above its carapace gave it its name'Giraffe' weevil.
2. The male has a neck longer than that of a female.
4. Males use their extended neck to fight for the right to mate with a female.
5.  The total body length of the males is just under an inch (2.5 cm), among the longest for any weevil species.
6. The "giraffe beetle tree," (Dichaetanthera arborea) also found only in Madagascar is the host tree of this weevil. It provides both home and diet for the giraffe weevil.
7. These are not dangerous to humans.
8. This species was discovered recently in Madagascar in 2008.

Great Fathers

A. Emperor Penguin

Image from: www.photovolcanica.com

1. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed for 2 months.
2. After laying, the mother's nutritional reserves are exhausted and she very carefully transfers the egg to the male.
3. The male spends the winter incubating the egg in his brood pouch, balancing it on the tops of his feet, not allowing it to touch the ground, for 64 consecutive days until hatching.
4.  The Emperor Penguin is the only species where this behaviour is observed; in all other penguin species both parents take shifts incubating. By the time the egg hatches, the male will have fasted for around 115 days since arriving at the colony.
5. To survive the cold and winds of up to 200 km/h, the males huddle together, taking turns in the middle of the huddle. The male is solely responsible for incubating the egg, which takes about 65 days. During this time, the male birds brave fierce weather conditions by huddling together.
6. They have also been observed with their backs to the wind to conserve body heat. In the four months of travel, courtship, and incubation, the male may lose as much as 20 kg, from around 38 kg to just 18 kg.
7. If the chick hatches before the mother's return, the father feeds it a curd-like substance composed of 59% protein and 28% lipid, which is produced by a gland in his esophagus.

B. Greater Rhea

1. Males are sedentary, attending the nests and taking care of incubation and the hatchlings all on their own.
2. Recent evidence has shown that some males will utilize subordinate males to help incubate and protect the eggs.

Rincón del Socorro, Corrientes, Argentina; 5 January 2012 © Francisco Piedrahita

3. Giant Water Bug

The Giant Water Bug also shows paternal care. The eggs are laid on the male's wings and carried until they hatch. The male cannot mate during this period. The males invest considerable time and energy in reproduction and females take the role of actively finding males to mate. It has been named 'Father of the Year' 2009.

Image credit: Gerald and Buff Corsi, Visuals Unlimited

Vampire Fish - Lamprey

Sea Lamprey
Image from www.glfc.org

1. Lampreys are jawless fishes.
2. The adults have a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth.
3. They suck blood from the flesh of other fishes.

Lamprey's lifecycle
Image from www.glfc.org

4. This is found mainly in temperate rivers and coastal seas. Some species live in fresh water for their entire lives. Yet others get hatched and grow in fresh water, migrate to the ocean to mature, and then return to fresh water to spawn.
5. Lamprey larvae are toothless and blind.
6. The adults die soon after spawning.

Lamprey's mouth
Image from sciencedaily.com

7.  Parasitic lampreys feed on prey as adults by attaching their mouth parts to the target animal's body, then using their teeth to cut through surface tissues until they reach blood and body fluid. Hence got the name 'vampire fish'.
8. Two other fish exist which also have been nick-named 'vampire fish'. These are Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa), a genera of parasitic catfish native to the Amazon river and Payara (Hydrolycus scomberoides), a species of gamefish native to Venezuela.

Gabor Degre | BDN
University of Maine researcher Steve Coghlan holds a sea lamprey .
Image from bangordailynews.com

Do You Know That.....

1. A humming bird flaps its wings about 200 times per sec?

2. A kangaroo can jump upto a distance of 45 feet?

3. Monkeys do not catch cold while gorilla and chimpanzee do?

4. A mongoose doesn't stay at a particular region for more than a week?

5. A blue whale's heart is as big as a car, its heartbeat can be heard upto 3 km?
6. A hippopotamus's mouth when completely open can be upto the size of 4 feet?

7. An emu bird cannot walk backwards but can run forward upto 45 km/hr?

8. A cockroach can survive upto 1 month without food?
9. A rabbit can sleep with its eyes open?

Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary

black and white ruffed lemur

1. This sanctuary that opened in 1998 is located near Plettenberg Bay in South Africa.

aerial view

2. It is the world's first free roaming multi-species primate sanctuary. 

cotton-top tamarin

3. You will find all sorts of primates like gibbons, lemurs, capuchins, squirrel monkeys here. 

visitors having lunch

4. There is a suspension bridge which is the longest in Africa measuring 128m.

a hanging primate in the sanctuary

5. The sanctuary is established in a pristine natural high canopy forest which is well suited to the primates.

on safari

Ringtail Lemur And Baby

6. Some of the primates that hang around the entrance lodge have very sad stories of abuse by humans.

monkeyland bridge

7. Monkeyland has captured the hearts of visitors in its efforts to rehabilitate and free previously caged primates.

squirrel monkey

All Images from www.monkeyland.co.za

Island of Cats!

Image credit: www.japan-guide.com

A small island in the largest Ocean, the Pacific. As soon as you step onto the island all you hear is "meow, meow, meow" from all sides and corners. You see cat-shaped houses, a cat shrine and many cat statues everywhere on the island. Where is this wonderful place (annoying for some people, but not me!) ?

Image credit: www.japan-guide.com

1. This island, Tashirojima, is  in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, Japan, in the Pacific Ocean off the Oshika Peninsula. 

Image credit: www.amusingplanet.com

2. There are more cats than people on this island. The human population is about 100.

Image credit: www.amusingplanet.com

3. Cats have long been thought by the locals to represent luck and good fortune, and doubly so if you feed and care for them. Thus, the cats are treated like kings, and although most are feral because keeping them as "pets" is generally considered inappropriate, they are well-fed and well-cared for.

Image credit: www.amusingplanet.com

4. There are about 51 cat-shaped monuments and buildings.
5. You won't find any pet dogs and it is basically prohibited to bring dogs onto the island.

Image credit: www.travelerstoday.com

6. There are more than 2000 cats on the island. You find no other animal, hence people call this place 'Cats' heaven'.
7. Tashiro-jima is also known as "Manga Island".