In The News - Janurary 2012

Yay! Something to spice up my blog :) I've come up with a few new ideas for my blog and this is one of them. At the end of every month, I will gather a few nature related articles (at most 5) showcasing the good and bad news happening around the world. So, here is my first edition for Janurary 2012. Enjoy!

Good news.

New baby jaguars were unveiled at Nicaragua's National Zoo. Only three weeks old, Bulni, is a cheeky little Jaguar. When she is fully grown, she will join the family tree of big cats, behind the tiger and lion.

Photo taken by: AFP, Source: torontosun 

#8 The Lying Lyrebird

This bird really knows how to copy other peoples sounds. The Lyrebird is native to Australia and it's name really suggests what it's capable of (sounding like a lyre/being a liar).

Male Lyre bird - Photo taken by Flagstaffotos Source: wikipedia

#7 Grandpa Galapogas Tortoise

They do seem to be grandpas, being the oldest living tortoise with the oldest known individual lived to be 152. It is also not surprising that they are also the largest tortoises in the world. However, their hatchlings are incredibly tiny compared to the full grown adults. I guess they have a lot of time to grow up.

Australia's first Galapagos Tortoise hatchling Source: zooborns.com

#6 A Master of Disguise

In the late 1990s, scientists discovered an octopus that could mimic the physical appearance and movements of up to 15 different species. It lives in southeast Asia around Indonesia.

Source: islandream

In the photos shown below, the mimic octopus impersonates a:

~ Sole Fish: The mimic octopus mimics this flat and posionous fish by pulling it's arms together and propelling itself along the ocean floor as if it was a swimming flat fish.

#5 The Damsel-fly in Distress

Okay so, they're not really in distress, I just like using puns but, the damselfly does seem to live a life full of distress as it doesn't live for very long as an adult. Imagine only having two years of your life growing from a baby till you reach sexual maturity (probably 12yrs for humans) and the moment you step out into the world as an adult, you have to quickly find a mate in the next few days or you wont have any children. Well! That's the dilemma of the damselfly.

Source: Nick Upton's Royalty Free Photos

#4 One Irresistable Trap

We all know about the Venus Fly Trap. If an insect flies into it, it's a goner. But, do you actually know how the trap works?

Silhouette of a Bee Source: animalseatinganimals

Even if a fly has a lightning fast reaction - 20 milliseconds from the moment it registers movement to take-off - it can still fall victim to this even faster plant. Venus flytraps live in waterlogged and acidic soil where nitrogen is hard to get. Therefore, it needs to adapt to find another way to get this nitrogen and this is where the trap becomes handy. The trap is actually an extension of it's leaves.

#3 A Black and White Bear

It's scientific name translates to "Black and White Cat-foot" and even the Chinese call it a cat! But, we all know that Giant Pandas are really bears.

Source: imageshack.us

The Giant Panda is native to China however, before humans intervened, they used to live in northern Vietnam, and almost the whole of China. Now they can only be found in a few mountain ranges in China. Take a look at what their living areas have dwindled to.

Source: worldwildlife.org

#2 One Keratin Armored Soldier

Have you ever heard of the Pangolin? Probably not. The Pangolin is a nocturnal anteater that lives in the tropical areas of Africa and Asia.

Source: pics-magazine

 The Pangolin is the only mammal with Keratin scales covering its skin. Keratin is the stuff that your nails and hair is made of. Now, imagine it becoming big enough and solid enough to form a hard layer of skin, almost like having your own armor! Well, for Pangolin, this is the purpose of it's scales.

#1 The Little Kiwi

My first Natural wonder is a national icon and native to New Zealand, the Kiwi Bird.

Photo taken by Chris McLennan Photography

The Kiwi bird is quite an amazing species, being able to lay the largest egg relative to their size of any species of bird in the world. That goes to show, how dedicated these birds are if their mother's are prepared to lay an egg, half their size, as seen in the photo below.