Scarlet Macaw

The Scarlet Macaw is found in the treetops from Mexico to southern Brazil. It is about 90 centimetres in length and is bright red with blue and yellow wings, blue and red tail which is a unique feature in the family and a white face with big, sickle shaped beaks. Its feet are able to grasp the limbs of a tree very firmly. When a Macaw is fully developed, the tail is more two feet long. Both the male and females look alike. It is the among the most well known among the species.

It feeds on the abundant fruits and nuts found in the tropical forests which is its habitat. It cracks open the nuts by using its extremely powerful beak and uses its blunt tongue to extract the nut meat. It also uses its beak to cut out pieces of fruit. Occasionally it eats insects and worms.

Macaw do not have feathers on its face and sometimes blushes when excited or angry. It usually travels in a large flock. It is easily tamed and its life span is about 50 to 60 years. It builds its nest in holes in trees or in crevices between rocks. The young hatch in about 3 weeks and are cared for by both the parents for 2 to 3 months.

Scarlet Macaws are famous for its ability in mimicking and imitating sounds made by the human voice as well as perform tricks.

This bird has become endangered due to the overwhelming demand for its colourful feathers in fashion in earlier centuries. Demand has not diminished yet as the young are taken from their nests for pets by poachers. This has led to a great decline to the Scarlet Macaw's population.

Law enforcement has been made in most of the countries where the Scarlet Macaw is found, but heavier penalties are yet to be enforced.

Previous Post : Komodo Dragon

Komodo Dragon

The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard. The largest verified specimen reached a length of 10.3 feet (3.13 m) and weighed 366 pounds (166 kg). This may have included a substantial amount of undigested food. More typical weights for the largest wild dragons are about 154 pounds (70 kg). Although the Komodo can run briefly at speeds up to 13 mph (20 kph), its hunting strategy is based on stealth and power. They can spend hours in one spot, waiting for a deer, boar, goat, or anything sizable and nutritious.

Monitors can see objects as far away as 985 feet (300 m), so vision does play a role in hunting, especially as their eyes are better at picking up movement than at discerning stationary objects. Their retinas possess only cones, so they may be able to distinguish color but have poor vision in dim light. They have a much smaller hearing range than humans. The result is an animal that can not hear such sounds as a low pitched voice or a high pitched scream.

Vision and hearing are useful, but the Komodo's olfaction is its primary food detector. The Komodo detects odors much like a snake does. It uses its long, yellow forked tongue to sample the air, after which the two tongue tips retreat to the palate, where they make contact with the Jacobson's organs. The chemical analyzers "smell" a deer by recognizing airborne molecules. If the concentration present on the left tongue tip is higher than that sampled from the right, it tells the Komodo that the deer is approaching from the left. This system, along with an undulatory walk in which the head swings from side to side, helps the dragon sense the existence and direction of odoriferous carrion from as far away as 2.5 miles (four km), when the wind is right.

When the Komodo is hunting and catches its prey, a deer for instance, it attacks the feet first, knocking the deer off balance. When dealing with smaller prey, it may lunge straight for the neck. The dragons basic strategy is simple : try to smash the quarry to the ground and tear it to pieces. Strong muscles driving powerful claws accomplish some of this, but the Komodo's teeth are its most dangerous weapon. They are large, curved, and serrated, and tear flesh efficiently. If the deer fails to escape immediately, the Komodo will continue to rip it apart. Once convinced that its prey is incapacitated, the dragon may break off its offensive for a brief rest. The deer is now badly injured and in shock. The dragon then launches the final blow, a belly attack. The deer quickly bleeds to death, and the Komodo begins to feed.

Previous Post : Jaguar

Snowy Owl

Scientifically known as the Bubo scandiacus, the snowy owl is often referred to as the Arctic Owl or the Great White Owl. These are the fleshy of owls in North America and multiply on the Arctic tundra. These divine snowy owls can be found in Greenland, Iceland, Canada and the Northern parts of USA. This large bird has a rounded head with yellow eyes and a black bill. The overall plumage is speckled with thin and high bar or spots. The male snowy owls plumage is practically purely white where as the adult female have approx four to six tail circles. These owls are about 53-65 cms in length and have a wingspread of around 125-150 cms. The young snowy owls are smoothly brown. They also have dispersed tips of white.

The snowy owl does perch in trees but is known to live in hollowed out holes. This bird very seldom journeys into the forest regions. They principally are spotted in open grasslands, along lakesides, marshlands and marine coastlines. Many snowy owls migrate to the Great Plains of Canada around November and leave this area around March.

The voice of the snowy owls diverges. During the non-breeding season, they are comparatively silent. The male snowy owl has a typical call, which is very rough and sounds like a bark. The female snowy owl has a eminent pitched call. When it time for the pairing season, the male snowy owls have a loud and roaring sound. These are also known to clap their beaks when irritated. Young ones are known to chirp for at least the first 2 weeks.

The diet of the snowy owl comprises of lemmings and rodents. These owls are known to sit and hold back for their prey. They can catch the prey on ground, in the air or they are known to grab them even on top of the water bodies. Snowy owls use their beaks or their talons to sabotage the prey.

Previous Post : Asiatic Lion

Asian Elephants

Common Name: Asian elephant

Scientific Name: Elephas maximus

Location: Asia

Weight: 11,000 pounds (5,000kg)

Height: 3, 5 m (11 feet)

Asiatic elephants have accommodated to their surroundings as it changed over vast periods of time. Today they still interact with and form their surroundings. Their foraging natural actions assist to maintain the areas in which they live. by pulling down trees to eat leaves , branches, and roots they make clearings in which new immature trees and other flora grow to provide future nourishment for elephants and other organisms. Elephant tracks through the brush are routes that other creatures can use. White ants eat elephant fecal matters and often start out structure of termite heaps under piles of fecal matters! .

The Asian elephants' forest habitations are being devastated today because of commercial demand for forest educed productions such as coffee , tea, rubber , and hardwoods. Crop cultivation, excavation for iron ore, and flooding by hydroelectric undertakings have as well acted to diminish the large pieces of land of land commanded by elephants for adequate food provisions. Only about 35,000-40 ,000 Asian elephants make it today throughout a discontinuous range in southeast Asia.

The elephant's ivory tusks are incisors used for excavation, rooting out trees and displaying. The dominant elephant in the herd is a female , the matriarch. She is frequently the oldest, largest or most experienced elephant in the herd of related females and their young . Elephants can utilize low frequency sound waves for communication between fellow members of the herd and individuals outside the herd. These sounds may transport for distances of up to 10 miles.

Asian elephants are one of the largest herbivores (plant eaters) preferring grasses, leaves, trees, and even shrubs. Their diet varies from acacia trees to wild mangos.

Sometimes called the Indian elephant, this beast is likewise found in the dense forests and grassy plains of Sri Lanka, Burma , Thailand , Malaya, and Sumatra.

Previous Post : Amur Leopard -- A Solitary Hunter

Amur Leopard -- A Solitary Hunter

Scientific Name: Panthera pardus orientalis

Habitat: temperate forests

Location: Russian Far East and Northern China

Population: Fewer than 40 individuals

The Amur or Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a subspecies of leopard and rates one of the world's most endangered big cats, with merely 2540 individuals making it in the eastmost regions of Russia. In the 19th century, the reach of the Amur leopard covered from southeast Russia, through Northeast China, and into the Korean peninsula. But after decades of home ground demolition, poaching, and hunting of its prey , the Amur leopard has been restricted to a small sherd of its previous range .

The Amur Panthera pardus is an rarity among leopard species . Unlike its relatives who populate the warm savannahs of Africa, the Amur leopard is well accommodated to the cold mountain home grounds of Russia's Far East. The Amur leopard has long limbs that enable it to walk through deep snow. When the seasons turn cold, the Amur leopard casts off its shorter, gold coloured coating in favor of a longer, lighter coloured coating which provides it with supplied insulant and camouflage .

The Amur leopard lives in the forests of the Sihote Alin Mountain Range where practically of the year it takes on deep snow and coarse moods. It relies on roe deer, sika deer, wild boar, musk deer, and little mammals such as rabbits and badgers for its solid food provision.

Female Amur leopards maintain home ranges that range in size from 15 to 38 square miles, while males can have territories as large as 155 square miles. They hunt mainly roe and sika deer, hares, badgers, mice, and other small animals.

Previous Post : Penguins -- Birds that can't fly

Penguins -- Birds that can't fly

Population: 2.5 million pairs

Location: Antarctic region

Size: About 30 inches tall

Weight: 11 pounds

Diet: Fish, krill, & other small crustaceans

Nests: Circle mounds of small stones

When one thinks of Antarctic wildlife, penguins are often the first animals that come to mind. Indeed these graceful, yet amusing ; hardy yet elegant animals are considered by many to be the signature species of the polar south. That is why we adjudicated to create a separate subdivision dedicated to the many penguin species and their enchanting characteristics .

Early Antarctic explorers really called up penguins were fish and sorted them accordingly. In fact, as birds, they are marvellously designed for their job , fleeing underwater with great skill . Their compact bodies have a breastbone that causes an excellent keel and they have massive paddle muscles to propel them at speeds up to 25 miles per hour. Their heads retract to create a complete hydrodynamic form. When locomoting speedily, penguins will jump clear of the water every few feet -- an activity called 'porpoising.' This enables them to take a breath, and lessens their chances of being taken by a predator . South polar penguins have besides developed the ability to leap out of the water to a significant height on land, enabling them to promptly reach the base hit of lifted ice edges or stone shelfs. Penguin legs are positioned far down on their bodies , so they walk with a really erect posture . Ashore they are often awkward, toddling and skipping over stones ; on snow they sometimes push themselves along on their stomaches.

Penguins are straight flightless birds. Some species drop equally much as 75 % of their lives at sea, however they all breed on land or sea-ice attached to land. To hold out the harsh conditions of the Antarctic, their bodies are insulated by a thick layer of fatness and a dense network of waterproofed plumage . Penguins' bones are solid and heavy, which help them to stay underwater and cut down the energy required for pursuance diving .

Previous Post : Orangutans

Green Turtle

Common Name: Green turtle; Tortue comestible, tortue franche, tortue verte (Fr); Tortuga blanca, tortuga verde (Sp)

Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas

Population: Approx. 203,000 nesting females

This big, thoroughly aquatic turtle seldom comes to land except to bask and sleep and to lay eggs . Males have slimly longer, narrower shells than females and enlarged curved claws on the front flippers for grappling the female when mating . Green turtles are mainly herbivorous creatures and have serrated jaw surfaces, considerably suited to feeding on sea grasses and seaweed ; some crustaceans and jellyfish may also be eaten .

Scope of Green TurtleThe best feeding lands, where there are immense submerged pastures of plants , are often far away from the best nesting beaches, and green turtles have evolved astounding migratory habits . At nesting time they locomote hundreds of sea miles to the beach of their birth to lay eggs, and as a result, there tend to be a limited number of significant nesting sites , to which hundreds of turtles go. One such site is Ascension Island in the mid atlantic . Every second or third year, green turtles travel to their nesting site and mate . The female heaves herself up the beach well away from the tidal area . With her foreflippers she sweeps away sand to create a hollow to lie in, her shell flush with the beach. She then utilizes her hind flippers to dig a hole about 40 cm (16 in) deep , immediately beneath her tail. She deposits her eggs into the hole, covers the area with sand and returns to the sea. The average grip contains about 106 eggs. Sometimes a female lays several clutches in a season at 2-week intervals. After a 2 - to 3-month incubation period, the young turtles hatch and dig their way through the sand to the surface. Having oriented themselves, they rush for the sea, past a horde of eager predators. Deathrate is high, and those which do reach the sea will have to face so far more predators.

The green turtle is now an endangered species, and the population has been eliminated in some areas , although it is still reasonable in others. The turtles have been overexploited for their meat, hides and eggs, and the predictability of their nesting habits has created them easy dupes. Exploitation is now strictly mastered, and imports are banned in many countries. The closely related flatback turtle, C. depressa, is a little smaller than the green turtle and inhabits off the sea coast of Northern Australia.

Previous Post : Polar Bear

Tiger - The Endangered Species

Let me start with the national animal of my country, which is critically endangered, even after being the national animal -- TIGER

As few as 1706

Wild tiger numbers are at an all-time low. The largest of all the Asian big cats may be on top of the food chain and one of the most culturally important and best-loved animals, but they are also vulnerable to extinction. Tigers are forced to compete for space with dense human populations, face unrelenting pressure from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss across their range.



There is still hope

We can save wild tigers. WWF has set a bold but achievable goal of Tx2: doubling the number of tigers in the wild by 2022, when the next Year of the Tiger is celebrated. We are concentrating our efforts on protecting key landscapes where the big cats have the best chance of surviving and increasing over the long-term. Five decades of conservation experience has shown us that given enough space, prey and protection, tigers can recover.

By saving tigers, we also save the biologically rich and diverse landscapes where they still roam — Asia’s last great rain forests, jungles and wild lands. These forests are home to thousands of other species, people and the food, freshwater and flood protection that local communities need to survive.


Subspecies

Amur (Siberian) Tiger


Scientific name: Panthera tigris altaica

IUCN Listing: Endangered

Habitat: Coniferous, scrub oak and birch woodlands

Location: Primarily eastern Russia, with a few found in northeastern China

Interesting Fact: In the 1940s the Amur tiger was on the brink of extinction, with no more than 40 tigers remaining in the wild. Thanks to vigorous anti-poaching and other conservation efforts by the Russians with support from many partners, including WWF, the Amur tiger population recovered and has remained stable throughout the last decade.

Bengal (Indian) Tiger


Scientific name: Panthera tigris tigris

IUCN Listing: Endangered

Habitat: Dry and wet deciduous forests, grassland and temperate forests, mangrove forests

Location: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. India is home to the largest population.


Interesting Fact: Some Bengal tigers are cream or white in color instead of orange, due to a recessive gene for this coloration. These "white" tigers are rarely found in the wild.

Indochinese Tiger


Scientific name: Panthera tigris corbetti

IUCN Listing: Endangered

Habitat: Remote forests in hilly to mountainous terrain, much of which lies along the borders between countries

Location: Widely dispersed throughout six countries: Thailand, Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Interesting Fact: Access to the areas where Indochinese tigers live is often restricted, and biologists have only recently been granted limited permits for field surveys. As a result, relatively little is known about the status of these tigers in the wild.

Malayan Tiger


Scientific name: Panthera tigris jacksoni

IUCN Listing: Endangered

Habitat: Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

Location: Southern tip of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia

Interesting Fact: The Malayan tiger was only identified as being a separate subspecies from the Indochinese tiger in 2004. It is very similar to the Indochinese tiger, but is smaller in size.

South China Tiger


Scientific name: Panthera tigris amoyensis

IUCN Listing: Critically Endangered

Habitat: Montane sub-tropical evergreen forest

Location: Central and eastern China

Interesting Fact: It is estimated that the South China tiger is functionally extinct. Currently 47 South China tigers live in 18 zoos, all in China. If there are any South China tigers in the wild, these few individuals would be found in southeast China, close to provincial borders.

Sumatran Tiger


Scientific name: Panthera tigris sumatrae

IUCN Listing: Critically Endangered

Habitat: Montane forests, the remaining blocks of the island's lowland forest, peat swamps, and freshwater swamp forests

Location: Exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra

Interesting Fact: Sumatran tigers are protected by law in Indonesia, with tough provisions for jail time and steep fines. Despite increased efforts in tiger conservation, including law enforcement and anti-poaching capacity, a substantial market remains in Sumatra for tiger parts and products.

Dedicated to Wildlife around the globe....

The site is dedicated to raise awareness and to help saving Wildlife and Endangered Animals from around the world and bring about awareness for each and every one of these beautiful creatures. It is our hope that through Endangered Species Awareness, each one of us can make a difference.

I would publish the details of the most endangered animals on the earth from the next few posts. Also, I would mention the updates that take place worldwide, related to animal kingdom.