Let's Go Wild

Let's Go Wild: Animal Science, Nature and Conservation

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Red-faced Liocichla, Liocichla ripponi, Mai Fang, Doi Lang, Chiang Mai Thailand

photo by Jason Thompson CC

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Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), Bahamas

photograph by Albert Kok | Wikipedia CC

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The Tiger Shark is a species of requiem shark and the only extant member of the genus Galeocerdo. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over 5 m (16 ft 5 in).  Populations are found in many tropical and temperate waters, especially around central Pacific islands. Its name derives from the dark stripes down its body, which resemble a tiger's pattern, but fade as the shark matures.

[nubbsgalore]

photos by marine biologist thomas peschak of whale sharks in the gulf of tadjoura, djibouti. his latest book, “sharks and people: exploring our relationship with the most feared fish in the sea,” was released last year. 

as thomas notes, whale sharks are docile, slow moving filter feeders that feed by drifting with their capacious mouths open, drawing in plankton, fish, and small crustaceans. but foreign objects, such as plastic, can also be drawn into the shark’s digestive system, causing them harm.

whale sharks, the largest non mammalian vertebrates on the planet, originated some sixty million years ago, but are now listed as a vulnerable species, coming under particular threat from boat propellers and pollution. they are also hunted for their fins, though the u.a.e. banned the shark fin trade in 2008

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Whale Sharks

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Fisher by Michel_Rathwell

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Fisher is the common name for a largely arboreal, North American carnivorous mammal.  Despite its name, this animal seldom eats fish. It is a weasel of the Mustelidae family.

With its speed and agility, the fisher is a remarkable predator that captures a wide diversity of prey: Rabbits, hares, squirrels, mice, grouse, and so forth. Even the well-protected porcupine is captured by the fisher, using a unique technique designed to tire the porcupine until the fisher can kill the large quilled rodent.

The Fisher is a top predator.  For thousands of years the dense, lustrous coat of the fisher has been prized.

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African Civet  Civettictis civetta Source: Here

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Singita Civet

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African Civet (Civettictis civetta)

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[larimar]

It’s Friday, Yeah! 

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Top Shot: On the Lookout

Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.

An Eastern Screech owl peeks out a tree trunk with one of his three owlets. Your Shot Producer David Y. Lee writes, “I love it — both of the owls’ eyes say so much. There is something so amusing in this frame, and I love it. Great seeing Lesley. This tree trunk must be huge to accommodate both owls and their owlets.” Photograph by Lesley Mattuchio

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Eastern Screech Owl

National Geographic sponsors Your Shot.

[currentsinbiology]

Why Red Coral and Other Deep Sea Animals Can Live Over 500 Years

If you were a red coral, you’d have enough time to fulfill several bucket lists before you died. Though it’s hard to figure out what you’d put on them.

The red coral, which can live for five hundred years, is one of several marine species that make human lifespans look like a blink of the eye by comparison. In a new study, scientists have honed in on what enables some of these marine species to live for hundreds of years.

The stability of the deep sea environment likely helps deep-dwelling species live longer.

Staying put has its merits as well.

“Being sessile seems to correlate with at least the potential for longevity in marine animals as well as terrestrial plants,” Doak says.

Another factor, Monterro-Serra notes, is that these sessile species are clonal. They “form a colony of multiple units that are genetically identical, called polyps in the case of corals and gorgonians.”

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Read more by selecting link above.

[aquaristlifeforme]

I love when the Horn Shark sits on top of the tunnel. #hornshark #shark #aquarium

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The Horn Shark

The horn shark inhabits the continental shelf of the eastern Pacific Ocean, occurring off the coasts of California and Baja California from Monterey Bay southward, and in the Gulf of California.

During the day, horn sharks rest motionless, hidden inside caves or crevices, or within thick mats of algae, though they remain relatively alert and will swim away quickly if disturbed. After dusk, they roam actively above the reef in search of food. Horn sharks maintain small home ranges of around 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft), which they may remain faithful to for over a decade, returning to the same shelter every day. The shelter is usually located at the edge of the resident shark's foraging area. The longest documented movement for an individual horn shark is 16 km (9.9 mi).

There are 19–26 tooth rows in the upper jaw and 18–29 tooth rows in the lower jaw. The teeth at the front of the jaws are small and pointed, with a central cusp flanked by a pair of lateral cusplets; those at the sides of the jaws are much larger, elongated lengthwise, and molar-like.

Photos 2 & 3: D Ross Robertson

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Sea Turtle trail

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Helmeted Gecko, Tarentola chazaliae, family Phyllodactylidae, from  coastal NW Africa

photographs by Dick Bartlett (with permission)

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Ribbon Seal (Histriophoca fasciata)

Weight: about 175 pounds (80 kg)         Length: about 5 feet (1.5 m)         Appearance: dark body and light bands, or “ribbons,” encircling the neck, each front flipper, and hips; pups are born with a wooly white lanugo coat         Lifespan: 20-30 years         Diet: pelagic fish and invertebrates, such as shrimp, crabs, squid, octopus, cod, sculpin, pollack, and capelin         Behavior: alternate their foreflippers and swing their hindquarters to run across ice, rather than using the caterpillar-like movement typically used by most seals

The ribbon seal is one of nine species of ice seals inhabiting the Arctic and is the only species in the genus Histriophoca. They are strongly associated with sea ice for mating, whelping pups and molting from mid-March through June…

Read more: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/seals/ribbon-seal.html

photo credit: Michael Cameron, NOAA

[typhlonectes]

The World's Most Ancient, Elusive Sharks Were Finally Caught on Video

Greenland sharks, which can live more than 400 years, reveal how little we know about life in the coldest oceans

The Greenland shark is one of the world’s largest marine species, reaching lengths over 19 feet. And yet these fish, which prefer the deep, cold waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, have largely eluded scientific study.

Their evasiveness highlights how little we know about Arctic marine ecosystems—and how much we can learn by developing and employing new technologies.

For scientists like us, the observation and monitoring of marine species can be challenging under the best of circumstances. But sampling at extreme depths and in seasonally ice-covered waters is especially difficult…

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Greenland sharks caught on video

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This is truly incredible.

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This critically endangered amphibian only grows to be about 10mm in snout to vent length—that’s 0.39 of an inch! Eleutherodactylus iberia is the smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s found in eastern Cuba, including in Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt, which is where Museum researcher Chris Raxworthy snapped this photo in 2015 while on the Explore21 Expedition to Cuba. Much remains unknown about this tiny species, as it was first discovered in 1996.

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Eleutherodactylus iberia

[amnhnyc]

Spotted hyenas don’t really have much of a sense of humor, despite the manic laughing sound they make (usually linked to fear or excitement). This species can crack and crush bone with their powerful carnassial teeth—the last upper premolar and the first lower molar on each side of the jaw. They can also quickly consume an entire carcass, including skin and bones. A group of hyenas was observed finishing off an adult zebra in just 15 minutes! Photo: A_Peach

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Spotted Hyena

[geographicwild]

. Photo by @photography.hinsche In the Mirror! #stelzenläufer #himantopushimantopus #nature #wildlife #ip_birds #blackwingedstilt #allmightybirds #bestbirdshots #birds #birdextremefeatures

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The Black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus)