Saturday, January 23, 2010
The tiniest bird in the world is called a Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae). It´s body is about the size of a ... that’s right, large bee. That converts to something like 1.8 grams and a little over 5 centimeters long. The male is known to be smaller than the female of the species. The Bee Hummingbird can be found in Cuba and Isla de la Juventude.
Bee Hummingbirds are very rapid and strong fliers; they can easily be mistaken by an insect. When flying, the wings of the Bee Hummingbird beat about 80 times per second, and during the courtship displays up to 200 times per second. They have the fewest feathers of all birds, which are round about 1.000 feathers. Other species of birds can have up to 25.000 feathers. The diet of the Bee Hummingbird consists mainly of nectar and an occasional spider or insect. In the space of one day, the Bee Hummingbird is capable of visiting up to 1500 flowers. These miniature creatures consume half their body mass and drink 8 times their body mass in water on a daily basis. Now that´s what I call eating and drinking!!!!
Bee Hummingbirds are solitary birds; they only accept each other’s company during the breeding phase. During the rest of the time, they are aggressively territorial; they protect their territories even against much bigger birds. The nest of the Bee Hummingbird is the tiniest of all birds, which is only about 3cm in diameter. The nest usually hosts two tiny eggs at a time which are smaller than two coffee beans. Bee Hummingbird eggs are also known as the world´s smallest bird eggs.
Once, the Bee Hummingbird used to be relatively common, but due to habitat destruction resulting from logging and clearing for farming, it is now amongst the numerous types of Hummingbirds that are classified on the endangered species list. But even today as these fascinating and beautiful creatures are protected, its numbers are, with great sadness, still decreasing.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
The Kakapo is currently known as the world’s rarest and strangest parrot due to its unusual habits. Kakapo are the only parrots that are flightless and mostly active at night, as well as the heaviest, sometimes reaching up to 4kg in weight at maturity. Their courtship is known as “lekking”, where the males gather together to compete and to call the females with a loud and out of the ordinary booming noise. This boom can be heard from 1 to 5 km away, and attracts the females from across the land. Female Kakapo can lay up to three eggs per breeding cycle. After mating the female assumes full liability for nest building, incubation (approximately 30 days), and raising the chicks once they have hatched. It takes about 10 to 12 weeks of age before the chicks are able to depart from their nest.
These unusual birds are endemic throughout the rainforests and grasslands of New Zealand. The Kakapo is strictly vegetarian, eating native plants such as fruit, seeds, leaf buds, green shoots, pollen, and even moss and fungi. Their lifespan can reach up to 60 years, now that’s what I call a mighty age for a bird! Kakapo are solitary birds, they maintain large territories and if another Kakapo happens to intrude, the resident kakapo emits a type of “skraarking” noise in order for it to leave. Although the Kakapo cannot fly; they are good climbers and use their wings as a sort of parachute when they jump from trees as well as for balance and support when they walk and run. Kakapo have the smallest wing size of any other parrot; their feathers are very soft and moss-green in color, with some black on their back and yellow green feathers on their belly, which blends well with native vegetation. Their pronounced claws are particularly useful for climbing.
Before the arrival of humans, many Kakapos used to wonder throughout the three main islands of New Zealand, but now there are fewer than 100 of them. The Kakapo has been classified as a critically endangered species. They are threatened due to predatory animals such as cats, dog’s, stoats, and so on that settlers brought along with them to New Zealand. Unfortunately, they were also hunted for food and eaten by the settlers. Habitat loss was also another problem. The name of this extraordinary creature is derived from the Maori language, which means "night parrot".
Saturday, January 02, 2010
I´d like to tell you about a creature that I find quit out of the ordinary in many ways, and you might too. Tuatara are unusual reptiles that live in the waters around New Zealand and can be found nowhere else in the world. Scientists call this species a sphenodon. The Tuatara, closely relative to lizards and snakes, are the most primitive of reptiles. The color of the Tuatara ranges from olive green to brown. The male Tuatara is bigger than the female and has a more prominent crest of spines along its back which he can fan out to attract females or when fighting with other males. These creatures have many interesting features, such as the pattern of their teeth. They have not one but two rows of teeth lying side by side in the upper jaw. When the mouth closes, the single row of teeth in the lower jaw fits between the two upper rows, this is quite unique among all living species. Another interesting feature is that they do not have visible ears, but they can hear.
The most unusual feature about these creatures is that they have three eyes. They have two normal eyes and a third eye located on top of the head, which is covered by a thin layer of skin. Scientist’s don´t understand it´s function very well but they believe that it may help the Tuatara see light and dark. Scientists call this a parietal eye; they are still researching it. It’s possible that the third eye of the Tuatara was inherited from ancestors that lived 200 million years ago, so the Tuatara is really a living fossil.
The Tuatara has been classified as an endangered species since 1895. These creatures, like many other New Zealand native animals, are threatened by habitat loss and the introduction of Polynesian Rat. Tuatara are amazing creatures, if we protect them they will survive and not become extinct. The name of this extraordinary creature is derived from the Maori language, which means "spiny back".
Friday, December 25, 2009
We are all homo sapiens, in other words - wise humans, yet we have succeeded in disrupting the balance that is so essential to life on earth. I´d like you to watch and listen cautiously to the lyrics of this video, a favorite song of mine called Earth Song – sung by Michael Jackson. In my opinion, this is one of the most powerful songs ever to get the message across about what is happening to this lovely planet of ours: Drought, Over-fishing, Deforestation, Pollution and War. Watch and listen cautiously to this amazing song and decide for yourself...
Earth Song – Lyrics
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Like other great apes, the orangutans are highly intelligent creatures. They are actually considered the world’s most intelligent animal other than humans, with higher learning and problem solving ability than chimpanzees. These amazing creatures are capable of using leaves to make rain hats and leak-proof roofs over their sleeping nests. In some food-rich areas, these creatures had developed a complex culture in which adults would teach adolescents how to make tools and find food. Orangutans, along with chimpanzees, gorillas and other apes, have even exposed laughter-like vocalizations in reply to physical contact, such as playing, chasing or tickling.
Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, they spend about 90 percent of their time in the trees of their tropical rainforest homes in Sumatra and Borneu. Their arms, which are well suited to their lifestyle, are longer than any other great ape. The arm-span of a male Orangutan may stretch around 7 feet (2.1meters) from fingertip to fingertip. They are about twice as long as their legs. Orangutans have curved fingers and toes which allows them to have a better grip on the branches. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are not true knuckle-walkers, and are instead fist-walkers. Their hair is long and is typically reddish-brown.
Orangutans are more solitary than other apes and can be fiercely territorial. Although orangutans are generally passive, aggression towards other orangutans is very common. These creatures emit plenty of rumbling, howling calls as they move throughout the forests in order to make sure that they stay out of each other’s way. These howling/rumbling calls can be heard as far as 1.2 miles (2 km) away. Mothers and their infants, however, share a very special bond. Infants will stay with their mothers for about six to seven years until they develop the skills to survive on their own. Female orangutans give birth only once every eight years—the longest time period of any animal. The animals are long-lived and have survived as long as 60 years in captivity. The Orangutans diet consists mainly of fruit and leaves gathered from rain forest trees. They also eat bark, insects and on vary rare occasions, meat. The Sumatran species is critically endangered and the Bornean species of orangutans is endangered according the IUCN Red List of mammals, and both are listed in Appendix I of CITES. Because orangutans live in only a few places, and because they are so dependent upon trees, they are particularly susceptible to logging, mining, forest fires as well as fragmentation by roads in these areas. Unfortunately, deforestation and other human activities, such as hunting and illegal pet trade have placed the orangutan in danger of extinction. Once again, all I have to say is that “Humans Keep on Messing up the Lovely Plant We Live In!”
Source: Wikipedia
Saturday, December 05, 2009
The time of year has come for you to start thinking of the ideal Christmas gift for the people that you truly care for. Well, if you have a special friend or anyone in your family that has a deep affection for animals, an IFAW gift could be the perfect gift for them…
Every IFAW Gift comes in a striking Gift Portfolio featuring a beautiful gift card and Gift for Life Certificate. The latest issue of IFAW’s attractive World Magazine is also included so that they learn more about the organization. Animal lovers will be delighted with such a gift. The Certificate is issued in their name – showing the value of your gift and the animals the gift will help – it is a unique gift that will live on. An IFAW Gift is contrary to other gifts that are usually placed aside, and sometimes even forgotten, after the holidays.
These gifts are available in a range of different values, from as little as $15 and up to $500. So why not SHOP NOW and choose a gift that will mean the most to your loved ones and at the same time, this gift will also be helping animals in desperate need.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Put it out with a perdurable
The tiniest bird in the world is called a Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae). It´s body is about the size of a ... that’s right, large bee. That converts to something like 1.8 grams and a little over 5 centimeters long. The male is known to be smaller than the female of the species. The Bee Hummingbird can be found in Cuba and Isla de la Juventude.
Bee Hummingbirds are solitary birds; they only accept each other’s company during the breeding phase. During the rest of the time, they are aggressively territorial; they protect their territories even against much bigger birds. The nest of the Bee Hummingbird is the tiniest of all birds, which is only about 3cm in diameter. The nest usually hosts two tiny eggs at a time which are smaller than two coffee beans. Bee Hummingbird eggs are also known as the world´s smallest bird eggs. 
