Wild Facts

Photo by Mariluna

Well Wild Fact followers, I made it back after an incredible adventure flying around Kluane National Park. If you enjoy hiking, camping and just being around nature than I highly suggest taking a trip up to the Yukon to check out this National treasure.  I am done promoting the beautiful scenery of Canada’s north for today so let’s move on to our Wild Fact.  If you are a little squeamish about snakes than today’s fact may not be for you; however, I promise that the Burmese Python will keep you entertained for the next five minutes.

We can find the Burmese Python hanging out in the grassy marshes of Southeast Asia.  They shouldn’t be too tough to find since they are among the largest snakes on earth. Make sure you are sitting for this next little tidbit of information.  This particular snake is capable of reaching up to 7 m (23′) in length and can weigh up to 90 kg (200 lbs).  I think accidentally stumbling upon a 200 lb snake would definitely startle me.  For some reason I keep thinking about that movie, “Anaconda”.

The Burmese Python starts its life out slithering around the trees, which sounds safe for us, right? But as these snakes mature and become heavier they have a tough time climbing trees so they quickly become ground dwelling snakes.  These giant snakes are also proficient swimmers as they are capable of staying submerged for up to 30 minutes. So let’s see, the trees, ground and now water is not safe from these massive snakes.  Where else is there to go in Southeast Asia? Believe it or not their docile nature, quick growth rate and beautiful appearance makes these snakes very popular among pet owners. Personally, I think it is crazy to have a 200 lb snake that could easily crush you hanging around the house. But I guess I am just a little old fashioned like that.  In all honesty the Burmese Python is not known to be aggressive and usually not a threat to humans.  Although some pet handlers have suffered serious consequences from improperly treating and handling their pythons.

Burmese Python Fast Fact – The Burmese Python has about 400 sets of ribs and a very flexible spine. This obviously allows them to easily move without the use of legs.

That does it for today’s Fact on the Burmese Python.  Have a great day everyone!

Photo by NatalieK

You may be a little confused today if you read the title of our Wild Fact and then looked at the picture.  You are probably thinking to yourself that the picture looks more like a snake than a lizard.  If you picked up on this than good for you but believe it or not the Glass Lizard is actually a lizard and not a snake.  As you can imagine these animals are also referred to as Glass Snakes for obvious reasons.  You might be questioning how it can be a lizard if it doesn’t have any legs.  I guess we should address that issue right now, shouldn’t we?

The majority of Glass Lizard species have no legs, however, a few select species actually have very small stub-like legs.  So how is it that we call them lizards instead of snakes? Well, the Glass Lizard still has the head of a lizard including movable eyelids and external ear openings.  These distinct features puts them into the lizard category as opposed to the slippery, slithery snake category. I guess this is another example that illustrates that looks can indeed be deceiving.

The Head of the Glass Lizard

The Glass Lizard can get up to 1.2 m (4′) in length although two-thirds of this length is their tail.  In previous reptile Wild Facts we have discussed that one of the main defense mechanisms for some lizards is to drop off part of their tail.  The Glass Lizard is no exception and has the ability to easily break off sections of their long tail.  This is actually how they get their name.  Get it? Both glass and these lizards break easily? This is actually a pretty clever naming convention, for once. The coolest thing about this is the fact that the portion of the tail that breaks off remains mobile while the rest of the lizard stays motionless.  Obviously this distracts the predator and allows the Glass Lizard to make an escape when the time is right. Unfortunately this cool defense mechanism requires a lot of energy to regenerate a new tail so it will often be smaller.  I guess this is a good way to tell how often the Glass Lizard had to drop off its tail.

I guess that does it for the Glass Lizard.  Make sure you check back here tomorrow for another crazy Wild Fact.  Have a great day!

Photo by Stephen G. Johnson

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your day so far and are ready to learn about an interesting reptile.  I figured it has been awhile since we talked about a cool reptile so today we are learning about the Rhinoceros Iguana. No it isn’t related to the rhinoceros, although that would be pretty impressive.  Actually it gets this name because of the bony plate “pseudo-horn” growing out of its head.  I know, I wish it was because it was the size of rhino or something cool like that but we will just have to settle for a “pseudo-horn”.

The Rhinoceros Iguana can be found in the Dominican Republic and Haiti so it prefers the nice tropical locations. The Rhinoceros Iguana is not much different than other iguanas as far as their diet is concerned.  They are omnivores but focus their efforts feeding on fruit, leaves and other plant matter.  They will mix it up occasionally and feed on insects and small mammals so keep your pet beetle on a leash when you are in Rhino Iguana territory (I don’t know what’s wrong with me, it’s late!)

As with the males in other species (including humans) the Rhinoceros Iguana generally has to try hard to get the attention of a suitable mate.  They will have an elaborate courting dance which includes head bobbing and erecting the spines along their back.  For the record, it is not known for sure what the horns do but they believe they somehow play a role in this courting behaviour.  The Rhinoceros Iguana doesn’t just save their unique spine trick and head bobbing behaviour just for getting the attention of a lovely mate.  In fact when threatened the Rhinoceros Iguana will try a variety of elaborate head and neck movements to make themselves look bigger.  I am not sure how well it works but considering these iguanas are still around, I would say they are doing a find job tricking their predators.

Rhinoceros Iguana Fast Fact – The Rhinoceros Iguana are more terrestrial than some of the other iguana species.  This gives them the advantage for living in a rocky and dry climate.  These little guys will rarely been seen hanging out in trees or forested areas for that matter.

Well that is it for today.  I hope you all enjoyed the fact!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Podocnemis_unifilis.jpg

I was having a tough time deciding which animal to talk about today when it dawned on me that I haven’t talked about a turtle in a long time.  So today we get to look at the Yellow-Spotted River Turtle.  I recommend you grab your coffee (or juice in a sippy cup for our younger audience), sit back and enjoy the presence of this super cool turtle.

So what makes the Yellow-Spotted River Turtle so super cool?  Well, it is a turtle and all turtles are awesome. I also think it is pretty interesting that these turtles live in the Amazon River basin.  During the wet season though they will also venture out to hang in the flooded forest. I guess if you are a terrestrial animal like a squirrel then you would start to worry when you see the turtles moving in. For some reason, I picture an old, cranky squirrel yelling at his wife, “Martha! Martha! Pack your nuts, the Turtles are here.  We are heading for the hills!” Wow, it must have been a long day for me. I highly recommend you keep reading since I have no idea what else I might say today.

The Yellow-Spotted River Turtle is a type of side-necked turtle which can weigh up to 25 pounds.  For the record, it is the female turtle that weighs the most in this species.  I just realized that I didn’t explain what a side-necked turtle is.  Would you like to know? Of course you would.  Well, the side-necked turtles aren’t like your typical turtle.  You know the ones that pull their heads straight back to hide in their shell.  Nope, these guys simply bend their necks sideways and tuck their head under the lip of their shell.  From what I can tell from this description, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would have been your typical type of turtle.  Well, as typical as a mutant turtle can be.

Yellow-Spotted River Turtles – The sex of this particular turtle is determined during the very early stages of their life (obviously!).  Believe it or not the temperature that the eggs incubate at will actually determine if you are having a boy or a girl.  Eggs incubated below 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) will produce male turtles.  I am sure you can guess that eggs incubated above this temperature will produce females.

Well that is all for me folks.  Have a great day!

Photo by: Dr. Brendan P. O'Connor

I had thought about including today’s animal into the Venomous Animal Week, however, I decided against it.  The Gila Monster (pronounced HEE-Luh) is pretty cool so I wanted to share some facts about it with all of you.  In all honesty, I could have sworn that I already completed a Wild Fact for this monster but apparently not.  That index of animals really does help me keep my facts straight. Enough of my rambling, onto today’s fact.

The Gila Monster is native to Southwestern United States and Mexico.  It is actually the largest lizard species native to the USA.  So just how big do they get? Well, this monster can get up to 60 cm (2′) long and weigh about 2.2 kg (5 lbs).  That is pretty big for a lizard, especially one that is poisonous.  In fact, this monster is one of the few reptiles that contain venom (others are bearded lizards, some iguanas and the monitor lizards).  Luckily, this lizard only has a mild neurotoxin and there have been no reported deaths from this venom.  Don’t get me wrong the bite will still hurt a lot but it won’t kill you.  Why does this bite hurt so much? That is a very insightful question!  You are on the ball today.  Well besides the obvious answer that it is a 5 pound lizard with a very powerful bite so of course it will hurt.  The Gila Monster also has a painful poison which it delivers by latching onto their victims and chewing.  This allows the venom to move through their grooves in their teeth and into the wound.  I guess these lizards never have to worry about the “chew your food before you swallow” speech from their moms.

This particular monster frequently raids nests to feed on the eggs of birds and other reptiles. They will also feed on insects, small mammals and other reptiles.  The Gila Monster will store the fat obtained from these foods in their over-sized tails.  This allows them the ability to go months between meals, if required.

Photo by Jan Sevcik

We can’t have a week of Wild Facts dedicated to the venomous creatures of earth and not talk about a snake.  Today we are going to look at the Russell’s Viper, which could be one of the most deadly snakes in the world. The worst part is it has a smaller relative, the Saw-Scaled Viper, which is just as deadly.  We will learn more about their poison in a second but first let’s get some additional information on this interesting snake.

The Russel’s Viper can be found throughout much of Asia including India, Southern China and Taiwan.  This particular snake can grow as long as 1.7 m (5.5′) and comes in earthy type colours such as brown, gray and deep yellow.  They have a flattened head with a blunt snout and large nostrils. Now that we have an idea what they look like, lets find out just how poisonous they really are.

As mentioned the Russell’s Viper is one of the deadliest snakes in the world and coupled with their smaller relative, the Saw-Scaled Viper, account for more snake bite deaths than all other species put together.  The Russell’s Viper will transfer a large amount of venom into a single bite.  This does not bode well for the victim. Some of the symptoms from a Russell’s Viper bite include pain lasting for 2-4 weeks (this should be an indication of how venomous these guys really are), drop in blood pressure and heart rate, bleeding of the gums, vomiting, swelling, and of course death may occur over two weeks after the bite.  Even if you do survive the deadly bite there can be life long complications such as renal failure and a total lack of blood coagulation. Interestingly enough males bitten by this snake may lose their facial hair, have decreased libidos and actually have a reduction in male hormones. I am not sure why the cobra and the python gets all of the attention.  I would definitely take a cobra or a python over this crazy snake!

Well that just about does it for this fact.  Make sure you tune in Friday for the final fact.  I can promise you won’t be able to guess this venomous animal!

Have a great day!

A question about the little lizard in the background of yesterday’s Wild Fact about the Elephant Shrew has sparked today’s post about the Agama Lizard.  I was not certain about the exact species but I am fairly certain that the little lizard in the background was indeed an Agama, which can found across Africa.

There are at least thirty seven different species found in Africa and happen to be the most common lizard found on the continent.  I guess it is so common that it had no choice but to take away from the elephant shrews two minutes of fame during the photo shoot.  Now let’s take a minute and learn what an agama actually is.  They are mainly insectivorous lizards that are active during the day, however, they will also supplement their diet with fruit, grasses and even the eggs of other lizards.

Perhaps one of the reasons the agama is so prevalent in Africa is due to their ability to adapt.  Originally, they would be mostly found in the forests of Africa, however, as their habitat was destroyed and towns and villages created, the little lizard had to either adapt or perish.  Obviously they chose to adapt and can often be found living in houses and coming out only to feed.  If you happen to spot an agama out in the open and proceed to chase it, don’t be surprised to see this little guy book it out of there quickly on its hind legs.

So what about the bright colours? Often when animals are brightly coloured it is to warn other animals to stay away since they are poisonous.  This is not the case for the agama.  I just brought that up to make myself sound smart. In fact, most agama lizards  are a dull greenish colour.  It is only the dominant males that will have the beautiful colours.  This means that sub-ordinate males and females have the boring green colours.  As with most animals, this colour is a status thing and let’s all the others know who is boss!

That just about does it for the agama lizard.  Have a great day!

Photograph by Bates Littlehales

Happy Friday everyone! Another weekend is upon us and I hope you have something fun planned. To get your weekend started on a good note, I chose one of my favourite reptiles to learn about today. Of course I am talking about the one and only Gecko. This little lizard is usually found around the equator in the Southern Hemisphere so that means we need our flip flops and sunscreen for this trip. Let’s Go!

The gecko comes in all kinds of different colours such as green, purple, pink and of course for the boys, blue. These colour variations really make the gecko a beautiful sight to see. They also have a variety of different patterns among the 2000 species thought to be inhabiting earth. If you are a budding scientist and have an urge to name an animal after yourself, then I suggest looking for a new gecko species since it is believed that there are more to be found. Besides it is a great excuse to travel to the warmer southern climates.

If you have ever had a pet gecko then you would know that they are capable of sticking to anything. You will often see them crawling around on the ceiling or the side of their terrarium. In fact, it is thought that the only thing they can’t stick to is Teflon. How about that for a non-stick frying pan commercial. So how do these cute and colourful lizards stick to all of these substances? Well, that is a good question that has a complicated answer but basically the gecko has about 14 000 tiny little hairs on every square millimeter of their foot pad. These tiny, stiff hairs allow the gecko to hang upside down, climb the side of anything or just show off in front of other lizards. You might be thinking that it would be impossible for them to walk if their feet are constantly sticking to things. This would be true but the gecko is able to peel their toes back to relieve these attractive forces and move. This is why it looks as if your pet gecko is double jointed. The truth is the gecko’s toes are designed to bend the opposite way from our fingers and toes. There you go, the next time you have company over and your pet gecko is stuck to your guests “balding” head, you will be able to explain why he is able to do that.

Have a great weekend!

A close-up view of the Gecko's foot

Congratulations everyone for making it through another work week (even if it was a short one).  I hope all of you have some amazing plans for the weekend and will get out and enjoy the spring weather.  How about that, I just looked out the window to see the spring weather and it is snowing.  Grrrr!  Enough babbling for me, let’s move onto to the final Wild Fact of the week.  We are heading to India to check in on a critically endangered animal called the Gharial.  As you may have noticed from the picture the gharial is related to other crocodilians such as caimans, crocodiles and alligators.

I suppose the best place to start is with the unique snout of the gharial.  The mature males of this species have the weird looking bulb on the end of their snout.  The females aren’t as lucky to have this beautiful decoration.  The purpose of this bulb is not exactly known, however, our intelligent researchers believe it is used for making a loud buzzing noise when it vocalizes.  As well, this may be a status symbol to attract the females during mating season.  The thing a guy will do just to attract a woman, eh?

You will also notice that the gharial has a very long snout which contains about 54 teeth on the upper jaw and 48 on the lower jaw. Two things come to mind when I think about all of those teeth.  First and most important is the fact that I would hate to get bitten by these guys!  Secondly, I would hate to have to pay for their dental plan!

Not only is the snout long but the entire body of the gharial is incredibly long. Surprisingly, these creatures can grow up to 6 m or just under 20′ for the people that don’t have a clue about the metric system. This provides the Australian saltwater crocodile with some very stiff competition as the longest crocodilian species. I could just imagine the disputes as a result of this competition when these two species meet up.

Oh! Before I go I just want to let Emma know that this mean looking animal won’t eat you!  Their thin and fragile jaws make it almost impossible for the gharial to consume large prey such as humans.

Have a great weekend!

Since it was -20 degrees in the Yukon today I figured I could use a tropical vacation, so we are all heading to the tropical rain-forest of Southeast Asia.  I am sure if we look closely we will see some pretty cool things but if we are really lucky we might catch a glimpse of a Flying Dragon. Of course I am not talking about the kind of dragon that is guarding a Princess in a castle.  At least I don’t think they are used as guards!

These flying dragons are just slightly less than 30 cm (12″) in length and are capable of gliding about 30′.  Although, these little guys do not breathe fire they do have a set of false ribs covered with a flap of skin.  When the lizard expands their ribs these flaps turn into “wings” and allow the reptile to move from tree to tree.  Since the flying dragon spend the majority of their lives in the trees it is easy to see the importance of these wings. If you are hoping to catch one of these guys “flying” in the trees then you best pick a nice, calm day since they don’t usually glide in the rain or wind.

Flying lizards are actually a territorial animal and the male of the species will usually claim two or three trees as their Tropical Condo.  Interestingly enough the male will allow one to three female lizards to live in each tree. As usual, the male will show off when they spot a female by spreading his wings and doing some “fancy dancing”! For the record, “fancy dancing” is not the scientific term.  I think the flying and housing habits of this dragon make it much more interesting than the fire-breathing, Princess guarding, dragons found in fairy tales, such as in Shrek! For some reason I had that red dragon that Donkey marries in my head the whole time I was writing this Wild Fact!

Flying Dragon Fast Facts – The female flying dragon will only visit the forest floor to lay her eggs in the soil.  The rest of the time she will hang out high in the trees.

Photo from Michigan Science Art