Archive for September, 2010

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    Travelling The Distance – Seasonal Migration

    Posted in Wildlife A-Z | September 28, 2010
    Well, look around you, and you’ll notice it’s that time of the year when the leaves are going to fall off the trees and the days are going to grow shorter and the weather will only get cooler from here. Animals all over the world will also fall into their set of seasonal migrations. Well, and unlike what you may have wrongly believed, there are more than just the birds who make the journey. There are a number of mammals and insects that are known to migrate during this time. Here we take you along the path of a few of the biggest or the farthest travelling, oddest of the lot, movers and shakers when it comes to the animal kingdom. The Monarch of Beautiful Masses, Monarch Butterflies: The Monarch butterflies that live east of the Rocky Mountains  [...]
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    Drive Through Inventors – Lion Country Safari

    Posted in North America | September 23, 2010
    Long before the concept of a drive through fast food joint could have been created, Lion Country Safari came up with the idea of a drive-through. Sitting in the comforts of your own car, which may be air-conditioned, it would be extremely smooth an experience to drive through the four-mile drive-through sort of a safari. Drive through and you can witness almost a thousand animals who roam around freely which belong to a hundred different species. Take your time out and enjoy all of these antics – the white rhinos, lions, zebras, African elephants, chimps, and giraffe – and this would mean you might even witness a number of other creatures that could fascinate any wildlife enthusiast’s soul. If you visit the Lion Country Safari grounds  [...]
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    The Truth About Anacondas

    Posted in Wildlife A-Z | September 21, 2010
    Snakes are perhaps one of the most feared creatures on earth. They’re long and they’re legless, they’re fast and they’re flexible, they are known to strike fear into the deepest spot of the hearts of people who are not accustomed to their presence.  Just like other reptiles, they’re covered with scales, but unlike their lizard/crocodile cousins, the snake has skin that is far thinner. The largest snakes on planet earth are said to be the giant anaconda and the reticulated python; both of these are known to grow to size of about 33 feet in some cases and could weigh up to about 550 pounds. They may not be poisonous, but the truth is that they could easily crush you. The Anaconda: The anaconda is part of the boa family and is a constrictor.  [...]
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    Busting Modern Day Snake Myths

    Posted in Wildlife A-Z | September 16, 2010
    Cultures have been known to revere cows, dogs, monkeys and other animals. Similarly, snakes too have been revered by some cultures around the world, while a few others have despised it. The image that people have created of this otherwise fascinating creature has a lot to with the way these people have been influenced by the cultural beliefs that they’re grown up with or the mythology that they’ve been exposed to. The ancient Aztecs worshipped the mythical ‘plumed serpent’ as the ‘Master of Life’, while some African cultures are known to revere rock pythons. According to these African cultures, killing or harming a rock python is a very serious crime. The Aborigines of Australia are known to associate a giant rainbow serpent to the  [...]
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    Lizard King Gets Nabbed

    Posted in Wildlife A-Z | September 14, 2010
    We’ve all known of people who have been petrified of snakes. Those slithering creatures are well capable of giving some of the grownups we know, a run for their money. But then again, there are the others who have an absolute fondness for this crawly animal. For the latter half (and the former half with a heart), this news may come as quite a shock. Recently a honcho in the world of wildlife trafficking was caught and been sentenced to a good six months of time behind the bars. His crime: he was attempting to smuggle about 95 boa constrictors. The best part was where he tried to conceal them. They were all in his luggage! Lizard King and the Plan Gone Wrong: His real name is Anson Wong Keng Liang, but he is infamously known as ‘Lizard King’. Wong  [...]
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    Cage Diving with the Great White Shark

    Posted in Africa | September 9, 2010
    Ever wondered what it would feel like to be underwater, in the deep blue sea, and have a Great White Shark along your side? If you just said ‘yes’ to this answer, then let me first of all tell you that you have some seriously ‘wild’ sense of imagination going there! Secondly, I may have good news for you. This desire of yours, to be underwater with a Great White Shark may not be far from reality any more. Cage diving with the Great White Shark may be a relatively new entrant into the adventure sports arena in South Africa, but it sure seems to have a lot of operators jumping at the opportunity. Being underwater with the Great White Shark has often been equated with being as exciting as watching the Mountain Gorilla in its real and natural  [...]
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    The Land of Mokele-mbembe

    Posted in Africa | September 7, 2010
    The People’s Republic of Congo, in Africa, has and is dotted with what can be best described as hot and humid areas that get dominated by streams, forests and swampy areas. Of these several swamps, there is but one swamp which is undoubtedly the largest swamp area in the world – the Likouala Swamp. The size of this swamp is about 55,000 square miles and it is said to be larger than the whole of Florida. The Government of Africa has declared this swamp as being 80% unexplored. The scientific community of the world has given this region the status of being an entirely different planet. In Rewind Mode: In the year 1776, French missionaries were passing through the forests of Congo and they reportedly found huge footprints which resembled clawed  [...]
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    The Most Complex Ecosystem of the World – Daintree Forest

    Posted in Australia & Pacific | September 2, 2010
    The Daintree Forest is said to be around 80,000 meters north of the Cairns region in Queensland. It is said to be one of the largest and also the oldest sections of the rainforest that has survived in Australia. What sets this region apart is the fact that it plays home to what could perhaps be called the most diverse variety of animals and plant system in the world. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that all of this takes place within a 1,200,000 square meter radius. The Daintree forest region is said to be the second largest rainforest in the world, second only to the Amazon in South America. There are said to be around 1000 species of plant species that are found here, and some of these are easily older than the species found  [...]
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    The One Humped Camel – The Dromedary

    Posted in Wildlife A-Z | September 1, 2010
    Name: Dromedary Camel Scientific Name: Camelus Dromedarius Commonly known as: One humped Camel Type Locality: Deserts of Libya and Arabia, Africa General Characteristics: Body Length: 280– 300 cm Shoulder Height: 200 – 210 cm Tail Length: 50 cm Weight: 1350 – 2200 lb The coat of these camels will range in the beige to light brown range. The underside of the belly will be a shade lighter than the top. Selective breeding has, in the newer times, given rise to camels than can be dark brown in color. Some of them have also been whitish in color. The legs of these animals are long and slender. You will find calluses on their knees.  This is from them kneeling down or lying down. Although the dromedary is often called the one-humped camel,  [...]