#cape gannet

[kju19]

Cape Gannet Painting lol

[todaysbird]

the cape gannet is a large member of the gannet family (sulidae) found only on six islands off the coast of southern africa. this species plunge-dives for their food; their diet is made up of almost entirely fish, along with other prey found in the water. they are known for their distinctive yellow crown and blue bill. this is a social bird that gathers in large flocks frequently. while they aren’t known to mate for life, cape gannets may stay with the same mate for several breeding seasons. the cape gannet is currently listed as endangered by the iucn.

[bunch-of-birds]

Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)

© Frans Vandewalle

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)

(Photo by Christina Hagen)

Conservation Status- Vulnerable

Habitat- Africa

Size (Weight/Length)- 2.6 kg; 94 cm; 185 cm wingspan

Diet- Fish

Cool Facts- Cape gannets are a feat of aerial evolution. In August, these birds gather in in the tens of thousands in South Africa for a mass breeding event. Thousands of chicks are born in a single wave. While one parent stays with the chick, the other flies off in search of food. Along with its neighbor, and it’s neighbor’s neighbor, and it’s neighbor’s neighbor’s neighbor. Thousands of birds take to the sky in search of food, flying for miles over the ocean in a massive flock. Once a shoal of fish is spotted, the cape gannets dive into the water from 30 meters above the waves at up to 120 kilometres per hour to catch breakfast.

Rating- 12/10 (A certified, aerial bomber.)

[terranlifeform]

[todropscience]

WHAT DO TIGER SHARK EAT? ALMOST ANYTHING

Tiger Shark is one of the largest sharks in the world. belong to the large-sized species of sharks. Their size is comparable to that of the white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Tiger shark s have an enormous appetite and can eat almost anything they find in their path. They are known for eating a wide range of prey, from fishes, birds, mammals, cephalopods, turtles and others sharks as well. These sharks will eat anything, including junk, even license plates, tires and a variety of garbage, tiger sharks have a reputation as a "garbage eater".

In south Africa for example, a diverse range of 192 prey items were identified from the stomach contents. Prey items ranged in size from small unidentified shrimps and bivalves to various large whale species including sperm whale and humpback whale.

-  Stomach contents retrieved from Tiger sharks caught in the KwaZulu-Natal shark nets and drumlines, between 1983–2014.(a) blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) a small antelope found in Africa (b) Humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) and unidentified seabird (c) African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), skate egg case, unidentified shark, humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) (d)  Cape gannets (Morus capensis) and unidentified porcupine fish.

Items found in tiger sharks from South African waters included junk food (e.g. sweet and potato crisp packets), terrestrial/flood garbage (e.g. condoms, chamois leather, cigarettes) and butcher's bones (e.g. bags of chicken gizzards, cut abattoir bones). Tiger sharks are regarded as the least discriminate feeders of all shark species. The discovery of a variety of non-digestible anthropogenic as well as digestible terrestrial prey items confirm its ability to scavenge and forage opportunistically. 

Photo:  A Tiger Shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, in the Bahamas. Source: Albert Kok

Reference: Dicken et al. 2017. Diet and trophic ecology of the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) from South African waters. PlosONE

[bunch-of-birds]

Cape Gannet (Morus capensis)

© Frans Vandewalle

[thebestinphotography]

fangfrisch