What Do We Know About the Longest Animal In The World?

Before we get to the blog, I’d like to make an announcement. This blog – Stories So Wild –  has been renamed as “Artfully Wild “. The site will no longer be available at the website www.storiessowild.com. Instead, to access this blog, please visit https://artfullywild.wordpress.com/ . Thank you for your co-operation.

 

Sometime in the second week of April, I came across a video on Instagram,  which claimed to be about the world’s longest animal.

No, it isn’t the giraffe – although that’s the tallest. It’s not the blue whale either – this is the largest animal in the ocean.

The longest animal in the world is a newly-discovered animal that belongs to a category of animals called “Siphonophores”.

Say hello to the sea’s longest siphonophore

Siphonophores are Hydrozoans i.e. predatory animals that live in colonies in the world’s saltwater bodies. They have tiny tentacles that stick out of their bodies, which they dangle out into the water. Any unsuspecting sea creature that brushes past these tentacles is instantly paralyzed and starts to sink. The Siphonophores then wrap themselves around the body of the paralyzed animal and consume the animal.

Unlike other animals, Siphonophores aren’t a single organism. They are in fact a colony of multiple deep-sea creatures that fuse together and live as one single unit.

Don’t get me wrong, Siphonophores aren’t a colony of different sea creatures; they’re actually a colony of clones. They’re zooids – animals that arise out of other animals asexually – through the process of division or multiplication. All of the zooids in a Siphonophore are physiologically similar (having been part of another zooid and then separated into a separate entity). They live, breathe, move and eat the same way. These zooids fuse together purely because it’s easier and safer to survive this way.

There are an estimated 175 species of Siphonophores in the world today. The newly-discovered Siphonophore is believed to be the longest of its kind and as-of-now, the longest animal in the world.

Here’s what we know about it:

• The Siphonophore was found off the coast of Western Australia, somewhere deep in one of the island’s underwater canyons, at 630 meters below sea level.
• The creature is an estimated 150 feet i.e. 46 meters long. That’s about 0.8110 times the height of The Leaning Tower of Pisa. In animal comparison, the Siphonophore is twice the length of a blue whale!
• The animal was found floating along the water, probably having been carried upwards from the depths of the ocean because of currents.
• The Siphonophore lay in a spiral-like formation, resembling a gigantic net that had been cast into the deep sea.
• The creature was spotted using a remotely operated vehicle named Sebastian, that had been sent underwater to collect samples of seawater and animals from Western Australia’s as-yet-unexplored and protected deep waters.

Here’s a video of the new discovery: 

That’s not all:

The world’s longest animal wasn’t the only discovery made in Western Australia in April 2020; although it was the crowning glory. Scientists also found other creatures like a long-tailed sea cucumber, a giant hydroid, a new species of octopus squid and glass sponges.

This region of the Earth’s waters is a mystery to humanity. No one knows how deep the water goes or what lies at the bottom. For now, there are many not-for-profit organizations who are commissioning deep-sea projects to explore this bizarre and seemingly impenetrable paradise.

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

 

(Image credits: https://www.livescience.com/longest-animal-ever-underwater-australia.html) 

Fun Facts About the Howler Monkey

1. There are 15 species of howler monkey and they’re all found in Central and South America. 
2. The howler monkey is the loudest primate on the Earth. Its call – a gruff, resounding roar – can be heard even 3 miles away. You can listen to it here.
3. Not just their voice, but the howler monkey’s sense of smell is unbelievably acute  – they can smell food from 2 miles away. 
4. Howler monkeys aren’t herbivores, they’re folivores – they are specialists in eating leaves.  
5. Howler monkeys are one of the few primates (including humans), who possess trichromatic colour vision. This means their eyes are sensitive to the three primary colours – green, blue & red – and they can make out the differences between colours. This helps them pick and choose the best (read – the ripest & safest) leaves to eat.
6. A particular species of howler monkey – the Mantled Howler – uses sticks as tools to drive away intruders and scare away predators. This is extremely unusual to the species as a whole; since this type of tool usage is considered the speciality of higher-order primates like chimps and humans. 
7. Howler monkeys are the second laziest animals of the planet, right after sloths. They spend 80% of their time on treetops just resting. The other 20% of the time? Well, they pee on, poop on and scream at other monkeys, animals and birds.
8. Howler monkeys are an Endangered species, because of excessive hunting and habitat loss. Save them. 

 

Black Howler Monkey & Baby (Males are completely black in colour, while females are yellowish-white) (Source)

 

Mantled Howler Monkey – the only known howler monkey to use sticks as tools for defence. (Source)

 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

 

 

P.S: Featured image: Howler monkey

5 Fun Facts About Dugongs

Dugongs are marine animals which belong to the family Dugongidae. They are part of the order called Sirenia aka sea cows, which also includes the manatees. They can be found dispersed across the Indian ocean, Pacific ocean and the region between East Africa & Australia. 

Here are five facts about them: 

1. Apart from manatees, dugongs are the only marine animals that are strictly herbivorous, eating sea grass, weeds and aquatic plants. All other marine animals are omnivorous. 
2. The closest relative of dugongs is the Steller’s Sea Cow, which was driven to extinction in the mid-1700s.
3. A dugong’s gestation period lasts one year and females give birth once every 3-7 years. 
4. Although they resemble seals and walruses in appearance, dugongs are actually more genetically similar to elephants. That’s because these animals evolved from the same ancestor. 
5. According to the IUCN Red List, dugongs have a “Vulnerable” classification; meaning they are very vulnerable to becoming extinct if conservation efforts aren’t set in place. As of today, less than 7500 dugongs are alive in the world.  

 

Bonus

The name “dugong” comes from the Malay word “duyung“, which means “Lady of the Sea“. Before scientists officially documented this species, sailors & fishermen out at sea assumed dugongs (and their cousins, the manatees) to be mermaids, sirens and other mystical creatures. This was predominantly because of the way these animals swam.

Dugongs and manatees rise out from the underneath the water and perform tail-stands (where they stand & balance on the tip of their tails) when coming up for air. This prompted sailors & fishermen to assume they were the mythical sea-dwelling creatures they grew up hearing about. 

 

Dugong

Manatee

 

A representative image of a Steller’s Sea Cow – the extinct relative of the dugong (image source)

 

Some more facts about dugongs (image source: pinterest)

 

Video: Now let’s see a dugong in action

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image: National Geographic; Dugong vs Manatee: Indigoscuba

5 Fun Facts About Africa’s Great Migration

You may have seen it on television – it’s an event that National Geographic has always loved to film. A grand spectacle and a treat for the senses, the Great Migration in Africa is the annual movement of the world’s largest (non-human) land animal group from one part of Africa to the other, in search of food and safer breeding grounds*.

Wildebeests, antelope, zebra and big cats congregate for five months of rigorous walking, eating, birthing and killing. Here are 5 amazing facts about it:

1. The Great Migration starts in Tanzania at the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation areas and ends at the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The migration starts in the month of November and the animals reach their destination in March.
2. A recorded 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra and thousands of antelope make the migration each year. The animals travel a staggering 2900 kilometres (1800 miles) in total, from Tanzania to Kenya and back during this journey.
3. The Great Migration follows one of the most dangerous routes in Africa. Animals making the journey have to deal with hungry predators (lions, cheetahs & crocodiles), treacherous floods, the uncaring African sun, mean-spirited tsetse flies and physical tiredness. More than 250,000 wildebeests and thousands of zebras and antelopes die each year on the journey. This is excluding the thousands of calves who are left orphaned and vulnerable to predators after their mothers die. A recorded 3000 lions follow the herds on their journey, picking off the weak and the injured.
4. More than a foraging mission, the Great Migration is a breeding expedition. Pregnant wildebeests move from Tanzania to Kenya for better environmental conditions for calving. An estimated half a million baby wildebeests are born annually during the migration. In the peak of the calving season (February), more than 8000 wildebeest calves are born in a single day!
5. Although they look like they’re confused and panicked all the time, the massive herds of wildebeests, zebras and antelopes actually function together as one cohesive unit. They display a tactic researchers call “swarm intelligence”, where they carefully analyse, strategise and implement a  plan of action to get safely past any threat together. There’s no “I” in this family.

 

Bonus

There is still no established and accepted explanation for the occurrence of the Great Migration.

Some scientists believe the changing chemistry of the grass could be the reason for the movement. When levels of phosphorous and nitrogen in the Serengeti grassland reduces, the wildebeests may be encouraged to move elsewhere for more nutritious meals, acting as the catalyst for the Great Migration. Others believe that the migration may be the result of a co-ordinated effort helmed by a leader. But so far there has been no evidence of there ever being an alpha-wildebeest in any herd. Then there are those scientists who believe that the Great Migration is the consequence of instinct and DNA – a purely biological process that has no other reason.

Well, whatever the rationale, fossil records show that the Great Migration has been in occurrence in East Africa for over one million years.

 

The Great Migration – Route Map (image source)

 

A sea of wildebeests, zebras and antelopes greet the eyes during the Great Migration. Often, these herds extend all the way to the horizon; but they don’t stop there. They go on & on. (image source)

 

Wildebeests crossing the Mara river – this is where they are most vulnerable to attack from crocodiles. (image source)

 

A wildebeest mother with her newborn calf. (image source)

 

Video: Watch the culmination of the Great Migration – wildebeest giving birth & a newborn’s first, wobbly steps. 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

P.S: Featured image

*Humans take the crown for the farthest migrations in search of food and shelter. 

5 Fun Facts About Crabs

Crabs are crustaceans, marine animals which have a thick exoskeleton made of a chemical called chitin (which is chemically derived from glucose). Crabs belong to the class Malacostraca, which means “soft shelled animal” and to the order Decapoda, which mostly includes marine crustaceans (like lobster, shrimp and prawn) that scavenge for food, as opposed to hunting them. This makes crabs soft-shelled scavengers.

Here are five fun facts about them: 

1. There are two types of crabs in the world – true crabs and false crabs – classified so because of their differing physiology. True crabs have the traditional body structure of a crab – a short and shallow abdomen curled underneath the shell and 4 pairs of legs excluding the pincers. False crabs on the other hand, look a little like crabs, but not completely. They have longer abdomens and less than 4 pairs of legs. True crabs include spider crab, blue crab and ghost crab. False crabs include king crab, hermit crab and porcelain crab. There are a total of 5000 crabs in the world – 4500 true crabs and 500 false crabs. 
2. The largest crab in the world is the Japanese Spider Crab, which measures 13 feet or almost 4 meters from one end of the body to another. In comparison are the Coral Gall crab, Pea crab, Marsh Fiddler crab and Flattop crab – all of which measure in at a teeny-tiny half an inch at adulthood. If you kept 4.5 standard sized mail boxes one-on-top-of-the-other on one side and a small pea on the other side…well, that’s how the size difference would look between these crabs.  
3. A small species of crab called Lybia or boxer crab, carry stinging anemones in their pincers anywhere they go. Why?  Lybia are very small in size and they don’t have venom to protect themselves from predators. They use the anemones in a mutually-beneficial partnership where the anemone acts as their defensive, venom-filled gloves. If an animal were to attack the Lybia, the anemone would sting the predator, protecting the crab. In return, the crab takes the anemone to different water bodies, allowing it to feed-off various sources and gaining valuable nutrients not found in its native environment. 
4. If a crab loses its limbs in a fight, it can grow them back in a matter of months. This is a feature that is also found in starfish and lizards. 
5. Crabs walk sideways because their legs are positioned to the sides of their body and their joints bend outwards and sideways. The reason for this type of evolution traces back to the crabs’ feeding behaviour. As sand-digging scavengers, crabs never needed to move forwards or move fast. This meant they didn’t need forward bending legs (which are one of the reasons animals can walk or run fast) and could make-do with sideways legs and sideways walking. However, not all crabs walk sideways. Frog crabs and spider crabs belong to the handful of crab species that walk forwards. 

 

 

Bonus

There is a type of parasitic barnacle called the Sacculina, which injects itself into the crab’s body, takes control of the crab’s will and makes it do its bidding. Crabs infected by Sacculina can’t control their own body mechanisms and are forced to become walking, breathing incubators of Sacculina eggs. Read this highly-informative article to learn all about the relationship between the Sacculina and its crab host. 

Here’s what a crab infected by Sacculina look like: 

 

Sacculina before it expels its shell

Sacculina after it expels its shell

 

Video: Coconut tree crabs are the only type of crabs that can climb trees. Watch this monster of a crab climb a tree, bend coke bottle caps and more. 

 

 

A Lybia with anemone in its pincers (image source)

 

True crab – 4 sets of limbs & shallow abdomen

False crab – 3 sets of limbs & rounded abdomen

 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image – The Sally Lightfoot crab from the Galapagos Islands. Sacculina – Mental Floss & Wikipedia.

 

5 Fun Facts About Possums

Posssums are marsupials (pouched mammals) that are found in North America. They are the only marsupial species found outside Australia and New Guinea. They belong to the order Didelphimorphia, to which belong 95 species of possums. 

 

Here are 5 fun facts about them: 

1. Possums are renowned for their ability to “play dead”. In reality, possums don’t actually “play” dead. Their paralysis and almost-dead like state is an involuntary physiological reaction where their nerves and muscles literally freeze and stop working for hours due to stress. This in-built defense mechanism has allowed the possum to survive from pre-historic times. 
2. Lyme disease is a tick-bite induced disease that results in terribly itchy and inflamed rashes, joint pain and fatigue. Possums in your backyard is a great defense against Lyme disease. It’s been found that possums prey on over 5000 of the ticks and fleas that spread the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. 
3. Apart from the venom of the Coral Rattlesnake, possums are immune to all other snake venom. That’s why they regularly prey on snakes in the wild. A few years ago researchers created an anti-venom using possum peptides (short chain amino acids linked by peptide bonds), which they injected into mice. They then injected snake venom into the mice only to find the venom absolutely useless. 
4. Rabies virus require very hot temperatures to develop and spread. But possums have very low body temperatures compared to other mammals and this makes them invulnerable to rabies. You can almost never find a possum with rabies. 
5. Primates aren’t the only species to be gifted with opposable thumbs. Possums have opposable thumbs called “halux” on their feet and they use them to climb atop the steepest trees and into the deepest sewers in search of food. 

 

Bonus

Contrary to popular belief, possums and opposums aren’t the same animal. They also don’t belong to the same species. For one, possums belong to the Didelphimorphia order in North America, while opossums belong to the order Phalangeridae in Australia. Both animals look similar, but behave completely differently. It was because of this similarity in physical features that led scientists to confuse the opposum for a possum. 

 

Possums are excellent climbers and use their tails as rudders and as a fifth limb to improve their dexterity. (image source)

 

A possum with her young (image source- pixabay)

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

 

P.S: Featured image – Wikipedia 

5 Fun Facts About Dung Beetles

Dung Beetles are members of the order Coleoptera, which include insects that have hardened wing cases and not papery wings like other insects. As members of coleoptera, they belong to the super-order Endopterygota, which constitutes insects whose bodies undergo a drastic transformation from how they are in the larval stage to how they are in the adult stage. Other insects that share their super-order are bees, butterflies, flies and ants. 

Here are 5 fun facts about dung beetles: 

1. We all know that dung beetles love to eat poop. But research shows that dung beetles have a blatant preference for herbivore poop, given the high nutritional value it has from the undigested plant matter. Carnivore and omnivore droppings which contain much less nutrition than what beetles require, are only consumed occasionally.
2. Did you know that dung beetles have been around from the past 30 million years? Fossil records in South America show prehistoric dung balls, similar to the dung balls today’s dung beetles make, around sites where herbivorous dinosaurs were found. Looks like someone was a good samaritan, keeping dino poop off the streets. 
3. Although the quintessential image of a dung beetle is that of a beetle pushing around a ball of poop, most dung beetles actually don’t indulge in this behavior. Many dung beetles either live within piles of animal poop or burrow holes into the ground below the poop, as these help the beetles gain quick access to the poop when they’re hungry. Dung beetles only roll their dung when they need to carry food to their nests, which may be far away from the pile of fresh poop. 
4. One type of dung beetle from Africa, the Scarabaeus satyrus, uses the Milky Way Galaxy to navigate and travel. When this beetle needs to transport its ball of poop, it waits for it to get dark, gets on top of the poop ball, looks towards the sky, finds the milky way and uses the stars to make its way home. If anything blocks their view of the stars (like scientists did when they placed tiny hats on these dung beetles to check their navigation reflexes when blind), these beetles will wander aimlessly like lost puppies. Talk about requiring celestial guidance.  
5. If you thought a tiny hat didn’t complete its trousseau, don’t worry. There’s more to come. To test whether dung beetle poop-ball-rolling efficiency was affected by the heat of the midday sun, scientists put selected dung beetles in tiny silicon booties. They noticed that the beetles wearing the booties took lesser breaks and were faster in their walk & poop-rolling. 

Bonus

With all this talk of poop-rolling, don’t you want to know what weight a dung beetle can pull during each poop-rolling session? A dung beetle can pull as high as 1,141 times its own body weight! That’s the equivalent of a 70 kilograms human being pulling six double decker buses filled with people!

Here is what we do in the name of scientific inquiry: 

All hatted-up

All shoed-in

(image source – pixabay)

(image source)

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image – Pixabay; Dung beetle wearing a hat – Nat Geo; Dun beetle wearing shoes – Scientific American. 

5 Differences Between Turtles & Tortoises

Turtles & Tortoises must have been the source of the “Find the difference” game, because they are two animals that most people can’t distinguish between. 

Turtles & tortoises are both reptiles which belong to the Testudines family of animals – animals which developed a bony/cartilaginous layer on their backs, which cover their bodies as a shield. They belong to the same group as crocodiles and snakes. 

A lot of times, many aspiring pet owners don’t know how to differentiate between a turtle and a tortoise and end up caring for them the wrong way. They give them the wrong food and expose them to the wrong living conditions. This results in many animal deaths. Those owners who try to do right by their pets by releasing them back into the wild, release turtles & tortoises in environments they actually aren’t supposed to, leading to more deaths. 

So, how can we stop this vicious cycle? By learning more about them of course. Here are the top 5 differences between turtles & tortoises: 

1. Turtles can swim, tortoises can’t. That’s why turtles have webbed feet (sea turtles have full-fledged flippers) and tortoises have feet that have toes (like that of an elephant) which they use to walk & climb. 
2. With the exception of the Sonoran mud turtles and Box turtles, all other turtle species have a streamlined and flat shell. All tortoises have deep, domed shells. The streamlined shells of turtles are highly-aerodynamic and reduce drag in the water. Tortoises never needed to evolve a flat shell because they never needed to swim. 
3. Turtles live on an average for 80 years. Tortoises for 150 years. There have been instances where turtles and tortoises in healthy captive conditions lived well beyond their natural lifespans, some reaching an estimated 250 years of age. 
4. Turtles are omnivores and like to eat a mix of plants and meat like larvae, insects, small fish and jellyfish. Tortoises are mostly herbivores and love their green leaves, with only a handful of species choosing to eat meat. 
5. Female turtles come on shore only to lay eggs and will return to the water immediately after. Female tortoises on the other hand, often stay a few days protecting the nest and will return to their territories much later. If you’ve seen a turtle/tortoise lay her eggs near your property and you want to do your bit to give these eggs a chance to hatch (and not get eaten by predators), read this really-informative article by the Tortoise Protection Group here. 

Bonus

Okay, here’s a fun fact that can turn everything you’ve just learnt on its head. 

Scientifically speaking, there’s no distinct species called “tortoise”!

Okay, before you drop your device in shock, let me just clarify that there’s more to it.

So, according to taxonomy (the science of classification), all animals that have shells which cover their body completely are called “turtles”. What this means is that all tortoises are in reality a type of turtle. 

Let’s break it down further. The species called “turtles” includes – tortoises, terrapins (yep, that’s a new one) and turtles.

• Tortoises are turtles which live exclusively on land.
• Terrapins are turtles whose shells resemble those of sea turtles (only smaller), but whose legs look like those on tortoises and they swim in freshwater.
• Turtles are actually sea-turtles which live in the ocean and do not remain long on land. 

Basically, all tortoises and terrapins are turtles, but all turtles are not tortoises and terrapins. 

An Australian sea turtle (image source)

A Galapagos giant tortoise (image source)

A Terrapin – see how they look like a cross between a turtle and a tortoise. Their shells are flat and streamlined, but their feet are only slightly-webbed with long claws attached, making them perfect for both land and water-based living.  (image source)

Turtles & tortoises have different types of feet. (image source)

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured Image

5 Fun Facts About Uguisu

(Hear the pronunciation of “Uguisu” here)

Uguisu, called the Japanese Bush Warbler in English, is a small bird that is predominantly found on the island nation of Japan and in certain places of Korea, China and Russia. A very shy bird, very little is known about it. 

Here are fun five fun facts about Uguisu:

1. Uguisu have a very melodious chirp, one of the most refreshing in the bird world. In fact, when people actually see the pale, olive-coloured Uguisu, they are surprised that something so drab-looking can produce such a beautiful sound. 
2. Speaking of their song, Uguisu songs are thought to fulfill multiple purposes. Apart from functioning as mating calls, Uguisu are also thought to use songs to wage wars, claim territories, convey danger and indicate the presence of food. Each song is slightly distinct from the other. 
3. During breeding season, it is the Uguisu female that builds the nest, incubates the eggs, feeds the newborn chicks and teaches them to fly. The males’ only role is to fertilise the eggs. 
4. Uguisu droppings are one of the most sought-after natural items in Japan. They are used to make skin lightening & brightening creams. It is believed that Geisha and Kabuki actors in the Edo period routinely applied it to their faces in preparation for their performances. Uguisu-feaces inclusive cosmetic – “Uguisu-no-Fun” – was sold extensively in Japan for quite a long time, with companies often illegally capturing and caging Uguisu birds in captivity. This was the case until authorities set in place stringent measures to prevent this illegal kidnapping. It was reported that the secret to Victoria Beckham’s beauty was Uguisu-droppings cream. 
5. Uguisu resemble Bushtits and Nightingales in appearance. That’s why the discoverer of the Uguisu – Heinrich von Kittlitz – confused them for nightingales. That’s why even today, the Uguisu  are called Japanese Nightingales outside Japan. 

Bonus

There is a type of wooden floorboard used in traditional Japanese construction, which when stepped on creates a creaking sound that is eerily similar to the call of the Uguisu  bird. This type of floorboard is called – Uguisubari – in Japan. The purpose of these floorboards is to announce to the home owner, the presence of other people (often unwelcome & uninvited) in the house.

Video: Listen to a Uguisu  tease us with his/her beautiful voice. Notice how he/she isn’t visible at all. These birds are masters of camouflage. 

An Uguisu in the wild. (image source)

A bottle of Uguisu-no-Fun face cream made from Uguisu droppings. (image source)

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image

5 Fun Facts About Sea Sponge

Sea Sponges are multi-cellular creatures that do not have a brain and organ systems and depend on the constant flow of water through their porous bodies to get the oxygen and food they need to survive. There are over 9000 recorded varieties of sea sponges in the world today and they can be found at various depths right from the seashore to the abyssal zone, which is the deepest part of the ocean. 

Here are 5 fun facts about them: 

1. Fossil records of sea sponges indicate that sponges first made an appearance on the Earth 650 million years ago. This makes them one of the earliest life forms on the planet.
2. There are currently 480,931 marine species known and on record and an estimated 2 million that are as yet unrecorded and unknown (i.e. there is not enough evidence – be it visual proof or physical proof – to classify any unknown animal as a distinct species) in all the lakes, seas and oceans of the world. It’s believed that 75% of the world’s entire marine population (480K + 2 Million) accounts for sponges.
3. Since they don’t have any age-rings (like in trees), it can be hard to accurately estimate the age of a sea sponge. But analysis of growth rates indicates that some sea sponges grow 0.2 mm (0.000656168 feet) per year. Based on this, sponges as small as 1 meter (3.2 feet) wide may be over 4500 years old!
4. A sea sponge in the Caribbean – Tectitethya crypta – produces two chemical compounds which can treat certain types of cancer and HIV. The chemicals – spongothymidine and spongouridine – have been used to develop the HIV drug Azidothymidine (AZT) which can be used to prevent mother-to-child and needle-to-skin AIDS/HIV transmission. The same chemicals have also helped create medication for leukemia and herpes. 
5. The biggest debate since the time of Aristotle has been – “Are sea sponges plants or animals?” Although they resemble plants in appearance and remain permanently fixed to the spot they grow on like plants, sea sponges are not plants. Why? 

– Sea sponges can’t produce their own food like plants and rely on stray organic matter to float into their pores via the flowing water.

– Sea sponges have an immune system like other animals which reject dissimilar cells if transplanted into them. Scientists need to use immunosuppressants to successfully transplant dissimilar cells into their bodies. 

– Finally, some sea sponges produce and release sperm to indulge in sexual reproduction. 

These characteristics makes sea sponges inherently animal-like.

 

Bonus

Today, you can find a feminine hygiene product called “Menstrual Sponges” on the market. Basically, these are sea sponges that are used as re-usable tampons. In many parts of the world (especially in developed, first-world countries), sea sponges are a favoured alternative to toxic, non-biodegradable and expensive sanitary pads and tampons. Here is a link to the Top 5 most preferred sea sponge tampons. 

Would you use them?

 

Various tidal zones in the ocean – sea sponges are found at each level, right from the seabed to the Abyssal zone.

 

Sponges grow in large clusters across the ocean bed. (image source)

 

A female sea sponge that’s spawning .i.e. releasing fertilised eggs into the ocean. Most sponges are hermaphrodites – both male and female – and can produce sperm and eggs simultaneously.  (image source)

 

Different types of sea sponges in the world. (image source)

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image source

5 Fun Facts About Bison

Bison, also called the American Buffalo, are a species of Bovine found in North America. They are a Near Threatened species with only 500,000 left in the wild. 

Here are 5 fun facts about them:

1. Bison have lived in the area that is now known as Yellowstone National Park since prehistoric times. Researchers believe these animals are more than 2 million years old and have survived the ice age. 
2. Adult bison can weigh up to 2000 pounds. Although its such a heavy animal, a bison can run at record speeds of 35 miles/hour. That’s faster than Usain Bolt’s Olympic record speed of 27.8 miles/hour. 
3. You can easily tell how a bison is feeling by looking at its tail. Calm bison will leave their tails down and swish it around – the movement seems effortless. But an angry bison, especially one that’s about to charge, will have its tail straight upwards, pointing towards the sky. 
4. Bison calves are called “red dogs” because of the colour of their fur. When bison calves are born, they are orange-red in colour and they turn brown-black as they age. 
5. A bison’s hump is made of strong muscles. This lump of muscle, supported by the animal’s strong vertebral column, helps the bison shovel large amounts of snow and dirt from the ground when its foraging for food. Unlike the camel (which uses its fat-filled hump as a source of energy during times of scarcity), a bison can’t use its hump as anything other than a snow/dirt shovel. 

 

Bonus

Analysis of migratory patterns show that the bison made their way to North America from Asia during the Pliocene Epoch via the natural land bridge that connected Asia to North America, before the split of the Pangaea. So, although the bison is now the USA’s national mammal, it was never their indigenous species. 

 

Video: Two juggernauts go head-to-head in a fight to the finish for land and ladies. What happens next? 

 

A cave painting of a bison from historic times – proof that bison roamed the lands during the olden days.

 

A newborn bison calf with its mother. You can see the remnants of the birth coming from the bison mother.

 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Photo Credits: Pixabay

5 Fun Differences Between Centipedes & Millipedes

Centipedes & Millipedes both belong to the group “Myriapoda“, under the phyllum “Arthropoda“, which includes spiders, crustaceans and insects. We know they have a seemingly never-ending number of legs, with one having more legs than the other (20-350 legs in centipedes & 40-750 in millipedes). But is that the only difference between them? 

5 differences you didn’t know existed between centipedes & millipedes 

1. Centipedes are flat, while millipedes are cylindrical. Centipedes are yellow-gray in colour, while millipedes are reddish-brown or black in colour.
2. Centipedes have a single pair of legs in each segment/section of their bodies. Millipedes have two pairs of legs in each segment/section of their bodies. Centipedes’ legs are spread outwards and away from their body, towards their side. Millipedes’ legs are directly under them. 
3. Centipedes are venomous, whereas millipedes are not. 
4. Speaking of venom, centipedes use highly-toxic venom like hydrogen cyanide or hydrochloric acid to injure, immobilise and hunt small prey like insects, worms and in the case of the Venezuelan giant centipede, bats. Millipedes on the other hand, are predominantly vegetarians, dining on decaying leaves and rotten tree bark. They only eat insects if they are easily available and the millipedes don’t need to expend too much energy catching them. 
5. Centipedes die if they don’t find a wet and moist place to live, whereas millipedes are quite versatile and can adapt to any environment – dry or moist. That leggy arthropod that just crawled out of your kitchen sink – that’s a centipede. It’s cousin you see scuttling around inside the storage boxes and wall cracks in the basement – that’s a millipede. 

 

Bonus

During mating, centipede males leave bundles of sperm next to female centipedes and move away. The females use these bundles only when they find the perfect nest to lay the fertilized eggs (if the timing isn’t right, female centipedes store these sperm bundles for a better day). Millipede males & females on the other hand, engage in sexual intercourse to reproduce. Male millipedes have been observed giving “massages” to females to get them in the mood for sex. 

 

Video: Centipede vs Millipede

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

5 Fun Facts About Jellyfish

1. A jellyfish’s body is made of 98% water. They can dehydrate and disappear if they wash up on shore on a very hot & sunny day. 
2. Jellyfish have the ability to clone themselves. If injured or cut in half, a jellyfish will heal itself and then clone itself to create two healthy organisms. 
3. The Turritopsis nutricula jellyfish found in the Mediterranean Sea is capable of reversing its age once it reaches adulthood. How? When the Turritopsis nutricula becomes an adult, it starts changing its fully-grown cells into infant cells, essentially becoming a baby. This way, it remains young always. It is the only recorded animal to be completely and truly immortal. 
4. In early 2000, fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico caught a monster-size jellyfish – almost 70 feet long and with sharp, extremely poisonous tentacles. This jellyfish was pink in colour and had never been sighted before. Scientists dubbed it the “Pink Meanie” and it is now one of the rarest and the second largest species of jellyfish in the world, reaching record lengths of 100 feet. The only jellyfish larger than this is the Lion’s mane jellyfish, which stands at 120 feet (that’s 3.5 times longer than a telephone pole!). 
5. Jellyfish are more than 500 million years old, making them older than dinosaurs. Their ancient legacy can be attributed to their lack of a sophisticated physical body. Jellyfish don’t have any organs and only use their skin and a simple network of nerves to live. These combined make them very less physically demanding, requiring less to survive.

Bonus

In 1991, NASA sent adult jellyfish into space on board the Columbia space shuttle. The objective was to find out whether space-born babies can survive a life both in space and on the Earth. It turns out that the baby jellyfish born in space developed extreme vertigo when they returned to Earth and most never learned how to swim in Earth-water after their extraterrestrial stint, because their newborn bodies never learnt how to recognise and deal with gravity. Researchers believe human babies too may face similar challenges if they are born in space. This makes relocation to Mars (or any space-bound journey) all the more challenging for humans. 

Video: The world’s largest jellyfish has a very small, but very deadly predator – Anemone. Watch as this giant is ripped to shreds by a hundred little arms. 

Turritopsis nutricula – the immortal jellyfish

Box jellyfish – the most venomous jellyfish on the planet. About 30 human deaths are reported in the Philippines alone each year. Since 1954, there have been 5,568 recorded human deaths caused by box jellyfish.

Portuguese Man O’ War – often confused for a jellyfish, is actually a ‘siphonophore’, an animal that is made up of a collection of smaller animals that have a symbiotic relationship.

-NISHA PRAKASH 

P.S: Featured image: Fried egg jellyfish – they live for only six months, born in the summer and dying in the winter. 

5 Fun Facts About Sheep

1. Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned in the world. She was born in 1996 and died in 2003 due to lung disease. Now 8 other species have been cloned after her. 
2. Like to eat lamb or mutton? If yes to the former, you enjoy dining on young sheep. But if its the latter you like, adult sheep are your preferred meal. 
3. A sheep’s natural diet constitutes invasive plants .i.e. plants or weeds that are not native to a geographical area and which wreak havoc on the health of native plants and animals (ex: moss, vines etc). That’s why farmers and conservationists use sheep in a process called “conservation farming“, where they consciously rear sheep to eat & clear any invasive plant species in a fragile ecosystem. 
4. Sheep may appear dull and stupid, but they are quite intelligent and can recognize human voices and faces. They are often observed developing close bonds with specific people or animals on the farm. In fact, many sheep have “best friends” in their own flocks!
5. Don’t you just love water-proof cosmetics? You need to thank sheep for that. Sheep produce a water-proof fatty oil called “lanolin” to keep their wool dry. It is this oil that is used as a base to produce water-proof make-up. 

 

Bonus

Apart from humans, sheep are the only animals who show a conscious lifelong preference for same-sex mates. A 1994 study showed that 8% of the males in sheep flocks prefer to partner with other males for life, even if there is no dearth of fertile females. In other animal species, a variety of factors from shortage of mates to lack of sexual pleasure can temporarily encourage homosexuality in animal groups.  

 

Sheep live in tight-knit flocks. Lambs grow up playing with each other. 

 

Orphan lambs are put with foster moms who have lambs of their own and are producing milk. This can be a very tricky affair for both farmers and lambs. Read all about it here. 

 

Sheep wool never stops growing. Sheep need to be sheared at least once a year to prevent the onset of any dermatological diseases or pest-caused diseases. In 2004, Shrek, a merino sheep from New Zealand hid inside a cave for six years because he was scared of getting sheared. By the time he was coaxed out and caught by farmers, he had enough wool on him to produce 20 full-length men’s suits!

 

Bighorn Sheep from North America have horns that weigh as high as 14 kilograms. 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

 

 

5 Fun Facts About Snails

1. Snail eggs are enjoyed as “white caviar” by people around the world. Did you know that a kilogram of snail eggs costs €4,000? These eggs are supposed to taste very earthy & strong. 
2. The Giant African Snail is the largest snail on the planet, measuring 30 cms (almost 1 foot) long! Halfway around the world in China, you’ll find the world’s smallest snail – Angustopila dominikae – which measures only 0.86 cms long. 
3. The digestive juices of snails are a great cure for bronchitis and acidity in humans. In a late 1990s survey researchers discovered that populations that eat snails regularly have a death rate that is 20X lower than populations that don’t. 
4. Most land snails are herbivores and are practically harmless. On the other hand, all aquatic snails are omnivores, often the top of the food chain at the bottom of the ocean. Sea-dwelling snails use sharp harpoons and produce potent sulfuric acid to hunt. 
5. Ever seen the slimy, mucous-like trail left behind by snails? Snails produce this mucous to protect themselves from the hard and dry ground they travel on. They spend 40% of their energy producing this mucous, which can really tire them out. That’s why many snails try to cheat their way out of this by using a slimy trail left behind by another snail. 

Bonus

Did you know snails have a mortal enemy? 

Pouring salt on a snail is akin to signing its death warrant. Snail bodies are made mostly of water and other bodily fluids. When you pour salt on snails, the salt absorbs the liquids from the snail’s body through a process called “osmosis”. While a little salt will make the snail dehydrated, a lot of salt can kill it in minutes. 

Farmers know this and routinely pour salt at the base of plants to prevent snails from wreaking havoc on them. 

Video:

Here’s what happens when you pour salt on a snail (viewer discretion is advised)

Explanation:

When a snail starts drying up, its body produces a slimy substance to preserve any moisture that remains. The bubbles you see forming on the snail is the chemical reaction between the slimy mucous and the salt.

Giant African Snail – the largest snail in the world

Angustopila dominikae – the smallest snail in the world – on a needle head

Conus geographus – the most poisonous snail in the world.

Liked today’s featured image? If you’d like to see some more truly breathtaking photos of the world from a snail’s perspective, check out this link to Ukrainian nature photographer Vyacheslav Mishchenko’s photography. 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

5 Fun Facts About Rats

1. April 4th is celebrated as World Rat Day. This day was chosen in honour of the date of incorporation of the Ratlist, a mailing list that’s dedicated to the care and upkeep of pet rats. 
2. A rat’s whiskers are its “hearing” devices. The whiskers pick up vibrations from the ground and inform the rat the size of the object/creature coming towards it and the direction it is coming from.
3. Rats have been observed making a high-pitched laughing noise when they play. 
4. A rat’s teeth never stop growing. They can grow up to 5 inches per year. These teeth are so strong, they can gnaw through lead and aluminum sheeting!
5. Rats have really good memories and can recognize faces & places. Their superb memory is one of the reasons why they don’t get lost in mazes and drain pipes. 

 

Bonus

In countries like Cambodia, Angola and Zimbabwe, Giant African rats are trained to detect landmines. In fact, these rats have saved countless lives through their super-rat landmine-detecting abilities. 

To qualify as a landmine-detector, the rats have to undergo a gruelling 6-9 months training and must pass an accreditation test. Read all about this interesting process here. You can also meet some of these heroes at Apopo. 

A rat training to detect landmines

 

Rats make great house pets as they are very easy to maintain.

 

Wild rats carry over 35 different diseases that are really dangerous to humans.

 

-NISHA PRAKASH 

5 Fun Facts About Zorse

1. Zorse is a real animal. It is the cross-bred offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare.
2. The combination of the horse and zebra genetic material has given the Zorse a stunning genetic blueprint. A Zorse is always immune to the genetic diseases that are common to both its parents.
3. Although its fur colour can come from either of its parents, most of the physical features of the Zorse come from the Zebra father, making it a very strong & hardy animal, fit for the wild. However, its personality and temperament are exactly like its Horse mother, making it very easy to train. That’s why the Zorse is used as a pack animal in certain places of North America.
4. The Zorse has a 360-degree vision and can turn its eyeballs completely around to see. However, it has two blind spots – one behind the head and one directly below the nose.
5. The Zorse is by birth sterile and can’t reproduce. However, mating behaviours have been observed in the animals, both in the wild and in captivity.

 

Bonus

Unlike Ligers and Tigons, which come from different combinations of lion and tiger mating, Zorse foals are born genetically the same irrespective of whether they are reared through a zebra stallion-horse mare mating or a horse stallion-zebra mare mating. However, since zebras are rarer and scientifically more valuable to breeding programs than horses are, no zebra owner voluntarily wastes time on having their female zebra give birth to a Zorse.

 

A mother horse with her zorse foal

 

Zorses come in a variety of colours: 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

 

 

5 Fun Facts About African Wild Dogs

1. Each African wild dog has a unique spotting/marking on its fur. These markings serve the same purpose as human fingerprints and help researchers and gamekeepers keep track of individual pack members.
2. Unlike in other animal groups where males leave and females stay behind; male wild dogs stay in their birth pack for life, while females leave and join other packs after reaching sexual maturity. This ensures there is no inbreeding.
3. African wild dogs follow a community-based rearing of their young. Every adult member of the pack is responsible for the safety & upbringing of the pups and both males and females share babysitting duties.
4. Wild dogs packs are extremely loving and caring, often taking care of the injured members of their packs for years. Healthy, adult dogs give feeding priority to pups and injured pack members, even before feeding themselves.
5. Wild dogs are extremely intelligent and plan hunts well in advance. In fact, it’s this intelligence, coupled with team work and endurance that makes them successful in 80% of all attempted hunts. In comparison, lions are successful only 17%-19% of the time.

 

Bonus

Humans have tried to domesticate wild dogs like they did other canids, but have remained unsuccessful. Why? Wild dogs have an inherent suspicion towards any animal apart from their own pack-members and they have an intense dislike towards being touched. All domesticated dog species on the other hand, were very friendly and liked being petted, even when wild. 

 

Wild dog pups, just weeks old

 

Wild dog pack in the midst of a hunt 

 

Every adult wild dog in the pack is responsible to teach pups the ways of the wild

 

Wild dogs are very curious about their environment

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

5 Fun Facts About Termites

1. Termite bodies are made up of protein, calcium, iron and amino acids, making them really nutritious treats. In fact, many tribes in Africa, India and China eat termites as part of their daily meal to get the nutrition their bodies need.
2. Although the Queen is the leader of the mound, termites are one of the few eusocial (hierarchy-based) insects where Kings also play a role. Termite kings stay with their Queens for life, helping fertilize the eggs and raise young larvae.
3. Termite Queen faeces is fed to larvae to help them grow. Different kinds of faeces have different chemicals in them. The type of chemical fed to larvae determine what type of termite they grow to be – worker, soldier, nurse or future Queen.
4. Termite Queens can live up to 50 years and some Queens can produce up to 10 million eggs in their lifetime.
5. Termites are very clean insects and despite living underground their entire lives, they groom themselves most diligently. In fact, one of the jobs of the worker termites is to keep the mound and its members clean.

 

Bonus

There are over 2700 species of termites in the world and if you weighed the world’s entire termite population together, they’d weigh 445 million tonnes. In comparison, the world’s entire human population weighs north of 350 million tonnes.  

 

Video: How does a termite mound look from within?

 

 

Different types of termites

 

A termite surrounded by termite eggs

 

Only the King & Queen termites have wings and are able to fly

 

A termite mound. Some mounds can go up 30 feet high. As seen here, even the tallest animal in the world falls short in front of a termite mound. 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

5 Fun Facts About Indri

1. Indris are a type of lemur found in Madagascar. They are very rare and an estimated 10,000 are left in the wild, making them critically endangered species.
2. Indris produce songs to communicate with each other, which comprise of a series of roars and grunts. These songs are so hauntingly beautiful, they’re thought to be as good as the vocalizations humpback whales make as part of their mating ritual.
3. Indris are a matriarchal society. A female leads the troop for foraging and determines the troop hierarchy.
4. Indris mate for life and only seek out a new partner when their mates die.
5. Female indris are fertile only for a single day in the year and they must mate then to ensure pregnancy.

Bonus

Unlike in other lemurs, the indris’ small tail doesn’t serve any purpose and doesn’t help them walk or jump. Instead, indris depend on their muscular legs to jump from tree branch to tree branch. They can jump 10 feet across in a single leap.

Video:

Sir David Attenborough meets an Indri

An indri 

A baby indri

A mother-baby pair

-NISHA PRAKASH

5 Fun Facts About Puma

1. Pumas are known by 80 different names around the world. Some of the ones you may have heard of are – Cougar, Panther, Mountain Lion, Catamount & Shadow Cat.
2. Puma cubs are born with spots on their fur, which they lose as they begin to age.
3. Big cats roar, while small cats snarl. Unlike lions & tigers, puma can’t roar, but they can snarl. This makes them small cats, despite being the fourth heaviest cat species in the world.
4. There are only 50,000 breeding Pumas in the wild, making them “Near Threatened” according to the IUCN Endangered Species list.
5. Puma cubs start hunting small prey at 6 months of age. That’s the fastest of all the cats.

 

Bonus

Pumas are excellent jumpers. They can jump as high as 5.4 meters upwards onto a tree. That’s almost twice as high as the World Record high jump of 2.45 meters by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor.

 

A puma resting 

 

A puma hunting a bear cub. The mother bear runs to save its cub. 

 

A puma cub

 

A puma running

 

A mother-cub pair

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

5 Fun Facts About Pike

1. The pike gets its name from a pole-like weapon used in the middle ages called “pike”.
2. Unlike some fish species, Pike parents don’t stick around to raise their young. They lay the eggs, fertilise them and then leave. 
3. Pikes are carnivores and they consume everything from worms to fish, tearing their food apart with their razor-like teeth.
4. Pikes are ambush predators and wait within weeds for the perfect quarry to come along.
5. The largest pike in the world was caught in Germany. It was 58 inches in length and weighed 68 pounds. Normal pikes are  24-30 inches long and weigh only 3-7 pounds.

 

Bonus

Pikes are one of the oldest fish in the world, having been on the Earth from 65 million years. Scientists believe pikes were around during the time of the Great Extinction.

 

Types of Pike:

American Pickerel

 

Amur

 

Northern Pike

 

Zander

 

Muskellunge

 

Walleye

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

5 Fun Facts About Wolverines

1. Wolverines belong to the Mustelidae family, which includes badgers, otters, minks and beavers.
2. Wolverines secrete a very foul-smelling liquid from their anus to throw-off predators and marauders. This liquid has given them the name “skunk bear”.
3. Wolverines use a unique tactic to hunt. They climb onto tall trees and pounce onto their prey from the top. Sometimes, the force of the fall is enough to maim or kill the prey.
4. In a fight between a bear and a wolverine, the bear will more likely be the first to back-off. Why? Wolverines are known for their nasty temper and nastier bite.
5. The word “wolverine” means “glutton” in Latin. Wolverines will hunt/scavenge anything that comes in their path and pick the bones clean within hours. They’re also great at sneaking food out of traps set by researchers.

 

Bonus

A “wolverine” is actually the male of the species. The female is called an “angeline” and  wolverine cubs are called “kits”.

An adult wolverine in captivity

 

A newborn kit

 

Video: Wolverine kits with their mother

 

So now that you know these amazing facts, which wolverine do you prefer? Comment below. 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

5 Fun Facts About Common Buzzards

1. Common buzzards mean two different things in two different countries. In the UK, they’re raptors and in the US, they’re turkey vultures. In this article, we’re talking about the raptors.
2. Common buzzard love decorating their nests with fresh greenery and they can be quite picky about the leaves they choose.
3. Although they can easily hunt large prey like pigeons and rabbits, common buzzards prefer to eat earthworms and dead meat (carrion). That’s quite a small meal for birds their size.
4. Common buzzards weren’t actually that ‘common’ in the 1950s. Food shortage and wide-spread hunting pushed them to near-extinction. But after the implementation of better agricultural practices and the banning of buzzard hunting, these birds have become the largest population of raptors in the UK.
5. Buzzards live up to 25 years in the wild.

 

Bonus

Bird trainers and falconers hate using buzzards for sport as they are very lazy birds. Not only are they very slow at learning to fly at baits, but some buzzards refuse to budge from their seats even when commanded.

Common Buzzard Eggs

 

A Juvenile Common Buzzard

 

A White Common Buzzard

 

-NISHA PRAKASH

5 Fun Facts About Armadillos

1. Armadillos swallow large quantities of air to inflate themselves into a balloon-like shape and float across water bodies.
2. The three-banded armadillo is the only one of its species that can form into a complete ball. Its shell is so hard that even dogs can’t break it.
3. When startled, armadillos jump 3-4 feet vertically into the air. This is the biggest cause of fatal accidents between cars and armadillos.
4. The nine-banded armadillo becomes mother to 4 genetically-identical quadruplets each time it gives birth. Why? It produces a single egg that divides into 4 equal and completely identical parts.
5. Armadillos are the only animals other than humans which can contract leprosy.

 

Bonus:

Armadillos are a delicacy in the United States. In fact, there’s a special dish called the Hoover Hog which locals in the southern United States make, using roadkill armadillo, fresh veggies and spices.  

However, I strongly discourage you to try this dish, as it is one of the causes of leprosy transmission between armadillos and humans.

A three-banded armadillo rolling into a complete ball

Glyptodon; an extinct animal believed to be one of the ancestors of the modern-day armadillo

 

A baby armadillo being fed milk

 

Three banded armadillo

Screaming hairy armadillo

Andean hairy armadillo

 

 

 

-NISHA PRAKASH