Golden Nature

Tarsier

2009-04-26T07:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen goblins? Well Tarsier is an animal which looks like those goblins in fiction story books. I don't know about you guys but I sure do think so.

Tarsiers were once widespread species but now they are only found in Southeast Asian islands. To prevent extinction of this species lots of conservation schemes have been introduced just for the safety and survival of these species. Moreover tarsiers injure or even kill themselves due to overstress. Tarsiers mainly feed on insects but they also feed on birds, snakes lizards, bats and small vertebrates. Tarsiers can catch birds in motion!!!! How cool is that!!This is because they catch birds by jumping from tree to tree. What is even more amazing about these little goblins is that they can rotate their head 180 to spot their prey, pretty cool huh?

Tarsiers are nocturnal(active at night) in nature. This also means that they are energetic during night time and less active during day time. Tarsier has enormously huge eyes(quite obvious from the pic), their feet have elongated bones, and their fingers are also elongated.

Tarsier has very soft fur. Tarsiers give birth to single offspring, one more reason to why they are in the brink of extinction. They are able to climb tress within a day of their birth although they become sexually matured at the end of the second year.

Female sharks

2009-04-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

Female sharks can reproduce without male sperms!!!
For the first time ever in history, an amazing fact has been discovered that a Female shark does not need male sperm to reproduce. hammerhead sharks give birth to young ones without mating. This form of asexual reproduction is called parthenogenesis and it has been noticed in other vertebrate species such as snakes,lizards.But for the first time it has been ever noticed in a shark. A hammerhead shark which has been kept without male sharks can reproduce asexually. The female shark own genetic material combined during the process of cell division that produced an egg. A cell called the secondary oocyte contains have half the female chromosomes normally become the egg, fused with another cell called the secondary polar body, which contains the identical genetic material.

New frog species found in Thailand

2009-02-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

A new species of mountain frog has been discovered in Thailand that can change its colour in response to its surroundings. The Odorrana aureola, known locally as the Phu Luang Cliff frog was found on the national park where it can grow to 3.5 inches and has a green body which occasionally turns brown as it reflects its surroundings.This species was found on phu luang national park. The frog can only be found at waterfalls and creeks between 3,300 and 4,900 feet above sea level

Tiktaalik roseae

2009-02-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

Tiktaalik roseae is the first species to keep its wet food on dry land over 375 million years ago. the researchers found an extraordinary fossilized animal skeleton with a crocodile like skull. a streamlined body and forelimbs that are a cross between feet and fins. The high quality of the fossils also allowed the researchers to examine the joint surfaces on many of the fin bones, concluding that the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints were capable of supporting the body-like limbed animals.The skeleton of Tiktaalik indicates that it could support its body under the force of gravity whether in very shallow water or on land. The scientific name of this species is tiktaalik roseae

Giant Panda

2009-01-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

Giant panda is an Endangered species and is classified under the bear family. It is a mammal. It was mistaken as a member of the raccoon family. It is found in mountainous regions in china. Giant panda's main diet is bamboo but it also eats honey,eggs and bananas, it eats as much as 20-30 pounds of bamboo shoots per day. Giant panda can be easily identified due its black and which coat and also because of the black patches around its eyes and ears. It usually spends most of its time roaming around and also searching for food. Giant panda's can climb trees. Panda's were considered rare and noble creatures during olden times and were therefore treated with great respect. The most interesting thing about Giant Panda is that it has the 2nd longest tail in the bear family. It grows for about 4-6 inches per month.

Jumping Spiders

2009-01-12T19:12:00.000-08:00

There are more than 500 species of jumping spiders. As their name states they can jump around from place to place. The book lungs and tracheal system of jumping spiders are well developed , as they are depend on both of it. Jumping spiders are usually found in tropical forest. They are also found in temperate forest,scrub lands, desert etc. Jumping spiders favourite food is fish. They are active hunters. Jumping spiders have very sharp eyesight.They capture their prey by jumping on it from sever inches away.The reason why jumping spiders can jump around without having muscular legs like grasshopper is because they have a well developed hydraulic system.There is one more speciality about jumping spiders, unlike other spiders they can climb on glass very quickly and easily due the minute hairs an claws on their feet which provides them grip and balance. Jumping spiders are identified from their eye pattern which are usually arranged in 2 or3 rows. Jumping spiders only bite if they are provoked or else they just hide. So you see jumping spiders are quite different and I call them spring spiders as it looks to me like they have got springs attached to their legs

Spiders-Amazing Creatures

2009-01-12T05:48:00.000-08:00

Spiders are more than 40,000 spider species. Some say that these creatures are really freaky!!! But I think they are cool, for a creature that has 4 pairs of eyes of course !!! The most amazing thing about the spider is that they never get trapped in their own webs. This is because their legs are oily as a result their legs don't get stuck in their webs. In addition to this spider web has alternate sticky and non-sticky web and the spiders know which one is sticky and which one is not. They belong to arthropod group. Arthropod means jointed legs. Spiders usually feed on insect while some spiders that are large enough feed on birds and lizards. Spider species that use webs to capture their prey are extremely sensitive to vibrations of air and ground. Certain spiders like the jumping spiders have excellent eyesight. They are called as Jumping spiders as they can jump from place to place. Jumping spiders are generally identified from their eye pattern as they are arranged in 2 or 3 rows. Spiders are believed to have evolved around 318 to 299 million years ago. Spiders are not only cool but also ancient!!!

Nature's Predators

2008-10-17T20:36:00.001-07:00

The main thing needed to see the beauty of the nature is to observe the environment around and you will surprised to see all those beautiful creatures in you environment.Natures Predators. Do you know how a lizard catches its prey? Well it first targets at its prey, normally small insects and butterflies, cockroaches. After this they jump near their prey it and it waits, till its pery comes to a still position and then it catches hold of it. Quite tricky!!!

Cassowary

2008-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Cassowary is a very large flightless bird.It is in fact the third largest flightless bird. Cassowary is found in tropical forests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia.Cassowary is usually shy but when it is disturbed it will cause severe injuries to humans. Moreover they are also classified as the most dangerous bird in the world.They can run up to 52 km/hr, can jump up to 5feet and they are very good swimmers. It is an omnivore.Female cassowaries are bright and colourful.Cassowaries have Horn like crest on their head called as casques. Cassowary is a bird that belongs to the ratite group. This group includes birds that don't have the capability to fly such as emu, ostrich, elephant bird etc. There are three kinds of cassowaries

1. Nothern Cassowary

2. Dwarf Cassowary

3.Southern Cassowary

Rarest animals in the world

2008-10-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

The Pinta Island tortoise
The last known individual belonging to Pinta Island Tortoise is Lonesome George. It has now been considered as one of the rarest animals existing on earth. It is in the brink extinction in the wild.

The Vancouver Island Marmot
The Vancouver Island marmot is only found in found only in high mountainous regions like Vancouver island and also across other places in Canada where it is kept in captive breeding centres. It is an endangered species

Seychelles Sheath-tailed Bat The Seychelles sheath-tailed bat is also a sac-winged bat. It is found in Seychelles islands.It was found throughout the Seychelles in the past but now it is classified as on of the endangered species of the world. Less than 100 belonging to this species are believed to exist in the world!!!!

Tamaraw

The Tamaraw or Mindoro Dwarf Buffalo is a small hoofed mammal which was originally found all over Mindoro in abundant but due to human habitation and hunting, logging. It's population has come down drastically and is now restricted to a few remote grassy plains. More over it is also classified as an endangered species

Red Wolf

The red wolf is found in south-eastern parts of America and is an North American canid. Its population has dropped down. Lot of attempts is being made to save this species and also to reintroduce a population of this species. It is now an endangered species

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------After reading the above article I want you all to think about the reasons why these animals are classified as endangered species.

One of the major cause for this is habitat destruction

The other causes are:-

1. Hunting

2. logging

3. poaching

Humans (sadly) are the root cause for all the above mentioned causes. Humans for their selfish need cut down forest as a result many of the animals and birds become homeless. They loose their family. They loose everything. Friends Please do something, a Small thing like planting trees and not hurting animals and also not let others hurt animals by telling them this reason. Earth does not belong to anyone it belongs to EVERYONE . Starting form a small insect to the biggest animal. If some steps are not taken immediately not only for these animals but also others , someday they all we be gone and we will miss them, directly or indirectly. Almighty has made this beautiful place to live and also to let other beings live happily and peacefully Friends let us join our hands and make earth a better place to live.

Cichlids amazing fishes

2008-10-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Chilids are amazing fishes from the family cichlidae. There are at least 1300 species of fishes in this family making it in of the largest vertebrate families and many species which belong to this family are yet to be discovered. The totally number of species in this group is therefore not clear. Many species cichlids are main food fishes and many other species of cihlids such as angelfish, Oscars and discus are really valued in aquarium. Chilids belong to the family of vertebrate having the largest number of endangered species. They are found in freshwater. Algae, plants and other small animals are the main part of Cichlids diet.

Blackback butterflyfish

2008-10-08T02:11:00.000-07:00

Blackback butterfly fish belongs to a group of butterfly fish. It is found in Red Sea, Japan, East Africa. Its average life span is 20 years. When it is frighted or at night it changes its colour, its back appears black with 2 white patches thus giving it the name blackback butterfly fish. These fishes have an oval shaped body, silvery with yellow fins and snout with diagonal stripes and with a black mark around the eyes. The blackback butterfly fish live in groups during the breeding season.

Blackbucks

2008-10-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

India, a country where we can find many amazing creatures, and one of those is the Blackbuck which is only found in India and also in some parts of Pakistan and Nepal. It is the state animal of Andrapradesh, Haryana. It is one of the fastest animals on earth and has keen eyesight that helps it to notice any movements far away. A black buck jumps 3 meters vertically to check out for danger and they are antelope (those which do not shed their horns). The male black bucks are black and white whereas the female black bucks are brown and white in colour. Despite the fact that the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 has mentioned that hunting down of black bucks is illegal and punishable the blackbuck continues to be hunted for sport and now is an endangered species. Years ago blackbucks were common wild animals, there were around 4 million blackbucks but now the number of blackbucks have declined drastically. Some sanctuaries have been created for them like Velavandar near Rajkot in Gujarat which has about 2000 blackbuck roam. Many farming communities protect these animals. I feel that Indians should support, promote and encourage the sanctuaries that protect this animal.

Chimpanzee

2008-10-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

Chimpanzee nick named as chimps is found in west and Central Africa. Chimpanzee live till the age of 40 but have more life span(can reach up to 60) when kept in captivity. Chimpanzee use tools to obtain food. They make their tools by using stones. The chimpanzee usually have omnivores diet. Chimpanzee unlike most of the other animals laugh. Their laughter is different from human laughter. This could be because of the changes that occurred during evolution process

Rattle snakes

2008-10-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Rattle snakes are a group of venomous snakes. Their poison is present in their tail. Rattle is snakes are also know as pit vipers because the have heat pits which is present between the eyes and nostrils on either side of their head. Rattle snakes are characterized by presence of a rattle at the end of their tail this is helpful in waring the predators. They give birth to their young ones rather than laying egg. They young ones are not dependent on their mother. The rattle snakes usually feeds on rodents , rabbits and other small animals. The rattle snakes follow the method of constriction for killing their prey. Some believe that the by counting the number of beads present in the "Rattle" of the rattle snake, they can decide its age. But this is not appropriate as they shed them and they also gain certain beads.

Milk snake

2008-10-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

Milk snakes are found in southeast united states. People mistake them for coral snake as milk snakes have similar colour patterns of coral snake on way of identifying them is by observing their colour bands, Milk snakes always have black bands between the yellow and the red whereas the coral snakes have the red and the yellow touching.The dark colour of the snake helps them to absorb heat during cooler weather. Milk snakes are not poisonous. The young milk snakes typically eat insects, earthworms and other small insects whereas the adult milk snakes feed on lizards, birds, frogs, reptiles, invertebrates. Sometimes they even feed on other snakes. Milk snakes usually are asleep during day time and and awake at night.

Egg- eating snake

2008-10-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Expando stomach-Egg-eating snakes.

Egg- eating snake, as they name says their only diet is eggs. Lucky for them, they throat and digestive tract are very elastic thus enabling them to swallow a whole egg. Egg- eating snakes have muscles present in the throat and the tract help them to force pass their stomach. Indian egg-eating snakes have a projection on their back bone which extends into the oesophagus that help in cracking the eggs. The Indian egg-eating snakes is a rare species of egg eating snakes which is found in India and countries around India like Nepal and Bangladesh.The egg eating snakes are also found in parts of Africa. The most amazing thing about these egg eating snakes is that they have no teeth instead they have teeth like teeth projection on their back projection. These snakes purely feed on eggs and only on eggs. When they are in wild they eat only during breeding season as a result they eat as much as they can and during the rainy season and then they hide somewhere and awaits for the breeding season.

Emu bird

2008-10-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

Emu bird which is the largest bird in Australia, a flightless bird (lack the ability to fly which is classified under ratite group) it is found in Australia. Emu's can travel big distances, this is a great plus point for them as they are nomadic. They are usually feed on various plants and insects. Cassowaries are the closest relatives of Emu's. People are usually confused with Emu's and ostriches one way of identifying them is by couting the number of toes they have. Emu have three toes while an osthrich has only two.Emu's pant their lungs on hot days to maitain their body temperature, their lungs work as evaprotive coolers. Looks like Emu bird is another wonder found in the nature