Wild Facts

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Earlier this week, we were studying an intriguing deep sea creature known as the Frilled Shark. Today, we are heading back to the ocean where we will be discovering another bizarre animal, the Tripod Fish. We will talk about their name in a second but I am sure you can guess the reasoning from the picture. This particular fish is found anywhere in the ocean between the northern latitude of 40 degrees and the southern latitude of 40 degrees. For some reason, they just love hanging out in this middle zone. While we are swimming around the bottom of the ocean, you will want to take some pictures of this unique fish so make sure to grab your camera – oh, and don’t worry about bringing your tripod, there is one down there already.

Tripod Fish – The Fish With Legs

As you can tell the Tripod Fish has three long fin rays, two protruding from their pelvic fin while the third extends from the lower portion of their tail. Oddly enough, the Tripod Fish will simply stand on these “stilts” for most of their day. Why? It could be that they don’t like lying down on the icky ocean bottom but I think the more appropriate answer is, food! Yes, the motionless Tripod Fish will just stand their all day waiting for the current to bring shrimp and small fish into their zone.

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The Pelvic Fins Come in Handy

The Tripod Fish has tiny eyes that are absolutely useless at 4700 m (15,400 feet) below the surface of the ocean. So how do they know when dinner comes swimming by? Well, they use their pectoral fins much like we use our hands. When they feel a scrumptious snack drifting by, they will use their fins to knock the poor unsuspecting animal into their mouth. I guess you can’t blame the prey since I would never suspect a tripod of eating me.

Not Quite Love at First Sight

One of the issues when you live in the darkest depths of the ocean is finding a suitable mate. To solve this issue the Tripod Fish evolved into a hermaphrodite (both male and female sexual organs). This allows our tiny, deep sea fish to create offspring all on their own. Of course, if they do happen to swim into another Tripod Fish then they will mate the standard way. This is an interesting approach to love but I guess it works for the Tripod Fish.

Photo by Stan Shebs (Wikimedia)

After spending yesterday in the warm portions of the ocean chasing after the incredibly quick Sailfish, I thought we would head to the northwest Atlantic and north Pacific to search for a ground dwelling sculpin known as the Sea Raven. According to some researchers this is the “most remarkable looking fish” so I think we are all in for a treat today. Besides, I can’t think of a better way to end the week then by splashing around in the north Pacific Ocean at the beginning of December – I am getting shivers just thinking about it.

A Remarkable Fish

So what makes the Sea Raven such a remarkable looking fish? Well for starters they have a wide range of amazing colours including deep red, dark brown, purple and of course various shades of yellow. Don’t get me wrong their coloration is impressive but I don’t think this is their best feature. Personally, I like the fleshy protrusions extending from the large head of the Sea Raven. As well their prickly skin and ragged looking dorsal fin come together to make this one bizarre looking fish. I wonder if all the other sculpins make fun of the Sea Raven for being different or if they are envious of their remarkable look.

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The Balloon of the Ocean

Compared to other sculpins, the Sea Raven is definitely the coolest, in my opinion. These little fish have the ability to expand their stomach by taking in large mouthfuls of water. In this condition the fish will just float around aimlessly as it tries to use their tail as a rudder to steer the ship. At this point it is unclear if the Sea Raven is able to control the amount of water it releases at any given time. It is believed that they just need to wait until the water naturally expels from their system. For some reason, I keep picturing this little fish flying around like a balloon that you just let go before tying the end.

Sea Raven Fast Fact

Okay, one last quick fact before we get ready for the weekend. The Sea Raven is known for having large teeth and as a result bite harder than most of the other sculpins out there. I guess this answers the question about whether other sculpins make fun of them or not….I wouldn’t mess with a fish that can bite me in half.

That does it for today’s Wild Fact. Enjoy your weekend and I will see you on Monday.

Photo by OSF/Howard Hall/Animals Animals—Earth Scenes

Can you believe it is December 1st already? You know that this means Christmas is just around the corner, right? For a lot of people, Christmas is associated with snow and cold so I thought we would put those nasty winter thoughts out of our head by studying the warm water Sailfish. Yes, these beautiful creatures are typical found in the warmer oceans throughout the world. Although we may get to hang out in the warmer parts of the world, you better not just relax on the beach if you plan on catching a glimpse of the Sailfish. Unfortunately this fish is usually found quite far from land where they are able to feed on their favourite food.

The Fastest Fish

Even if you make it further out in the ocean, you had better be on the lookout since the Sailfish is known to be the fastest fish in the ocean. They have actually been clocked jumping out of the water at an astounding 110 km/hr (66 mph). I don’t know about your country but this would be considered speeding on pretty much  every highway in Canada. If you do get to see one of these speedy Sailfish, you shouldn’t have a tough time distinguishing them from other fish in the ocean. As you can see from the photo, the Sailfish has an incredible dorsal fin that is pretty much the length of their body. I wonder how they received their name “Sailfish”? .

Photo by Rich Gasparian (Wikimedia)

A Useful Sail

Their sail is more than just a fashion statement. It actually plays a pretty important role in their feeding strategy. The Sailfish loves feeding on schools of sardines and anchovies, which they corral together using their large sail. They are basically like a shepherd herding their sheep…..only the Sailfish shepherd eats their “sheep” right away. You have to feel sorry for the poor sardines and anchovies since they don’t stand a chance against a fish that has a large sail and travels at speeds greater than 100 km/hr. Although, it isn’t only small fish that need to be on the lookout since the Sailfish will also feast on squid and octopus.

That does it for today’s warm water fish Wild Fact. Enjoy the rest of your day and we will meet up tomorrow for the last fact of the week.

Photo from Wikimedia

Well I hope all of the Mother’s out there enjoyed their special day and were able to spend time with their families.  The love, support, guidance and encouragement that mom’s provide is something that should be celebrated every day so Thank You to all the mother’s out there (especially my own). Today’s Wild Fact has absolutely nothing to do with mothers or special occasions.  Unless you think  a slimy fish called a Gar is related to Mother’s Day.  So what exactly is a Gar?  Well, they are a long fish which is typically found in the freshwater’s of Central and North America.  So who is up for a boat ride to learn about this interesting fish species?

Before we get any further into this Wild Fact, I am going to have to ask you to put your life-jacket on.  I don’t want any accidents while we are learning about this large fish.  Just how large are they?  Well, some species can get up to 3 m (9′) long but this isn’t necessarily common among all species of Gar.  Even if they don’t grow to this large size they are all considered to be deadly predators.

Photo by Omnitarian (Wikimedia)

The Gar is a slow moving fish, therefore they tend to rely on the sheer power and strength of their jaws to dominate the fish world. Not only are their mouths powerful but they are also filled with a ton of sharp, needle-like teeth.  To make matters worse for the little fish and crabs hanging out in Gar territory is the fact that they hunt in schools.  That’s right, groups of Gar will work together in an attempt to ambush the poor prey as one massive  and scary looking fish.  Nobody said life was easy for a small fish in a North American freshwater system.

Gar Fast Fact – Due to the typically large size of the Gar, they actually have very few natural predators.  Some of their biggest threats include alligators, crocodiles, large fish and of course those pesky humans. Luckily the Gar is not considered to be threatened for extinction.  Although their populations are decreasing in some areas due to over-fishing and water pollution.

Well that does it for the first fact of the week.  Make sure you dry off and get ready for tomorrow’s brand new Wild Fact!

Photo by Mstroeck (Wikimedia)

Thanks for joining Wild Facts on this beautiful Tuesday.  I promise you will be happy that you joined us today since I can personally guarantee that today’s fact will be excEELent.  That’s right, animal fans, we are heading to the Sea to learn about the Moray Eel.  We definitely have our choice of Moray Eel since there are about 200 species in existence today (that we know about).  Instead of going through all of them we will just focus on the group as a whole.  Sound like a plan?  Perfect, let’s get into it then.

As mentioned there are quite a few different Moray Eel species and as a result they vary in size and colour.  You can have smaller eels that measure only 11.5 cm (4.5″) or you can have slightly larger Moray Eels coming in at a whopping 3 m (9.8′).  Oh and those longer eels can weigh up to an astonishing 36 kg (79 lbs).  Just picture a 79 lb eel swimming up your shorts while you are looking at some nice ocean scenery.  Yikes!

To make matters even worse, that same Moray Eel that is swimming around your shorts will generally have large eyes and a very large mouth with proportionate sized teeth.  There is no need to worry as they prefer to feed on fish, squid, crabs and other ocean animals.  In fact, they should be more scared of you since humans tend to be one of their predators, along with sharks and larger fish.  For the most part, you probably won’t even know that a Moray Eel is in the area.  They tend to be quite secretive as this gives them a huge advantage when ambushing their prey.  As well, if they are hidden then it becomes more difficult for predators to find and eat them.

Photo by Drow Male (Wikimedia)

Since we are on the topic of feeding, we might as well talk about one of the most interesting features of the Moray Eel.  You see the head of this eel is too narrow so they can’t create a negative pressure.  Big deal, right?  Well, it actually is since this means they can’t swallow their prey like a normal animal.  Tough to get the nutrients if you can’t swallow your food.  So how do they cope with this?  Well, they have a second set of jaws located in their throat, with teeth and all.  So now when they capture their prey they will launch this second set of jaws (called Pharyngeal Jaws) into their mouth which will transport the unsuspecting victim down their throat and into their digestive system.  How is that for a party trick?!

Well that does it for today’s Wild Fact.  See all of you here tomorrow for another amazing animal.

Photo by: Bernard E. Picton

Here we are at the end of another week of Wild Facts.  I was thinking of doing a little bit of fishing this weekend.  I figure I better try to get out before the snow starts flying.  In honour of my potential fishing plans I figured I would write about an interesting little fish today.  I really don’t think I will be catching any Butterfly Fish this weekend since they are found in Tropical and Sub-Tropical waters.  Don’t get me wrong I would love to be fishing the Tropical waters this weekend but I think I will just stick to the northern rivers of the Yukon for now.

If you have ever gone snorkeling around the Tropical coral reefs then you most likely have seen these spectacular fish.  They are brightly coloured with unique patterns and just happen to be the most common fish species on the reefs.  Out of all of the different patterns of Butterfly Fish I think I like the ones with the large eye-spot.  To me this is a very clever defense mechanism since it confuses the poor predator. They usually have no idea what end to attack, which gives the Butterfly Fish a better chance to escape.

Photo by: Leonardo Stabile

There are about 114 species of Butterfly Fish and their thin, round-shaped bodies often resemble that of their cousin, the Angelfish. In order to tell these two types of fish apart, you will need to look for the black spots or the dark bands around the eyes of the Butterfly Fish.  All day these little fish will continuously peck at the coral reefs looking for polyps, worms or other invertebrates.

Not only does the coral provide an excellent spot to find food but the Butterfly Fish will also spend their nights resting inside the coral.  In fact the coral also provides a safe refuge when larger predators such as snappers and sharks come looking for a quick meal.  It goes to show just how important this coral is to this particular fish species.  Naturally the destruction of coral reefs, which we are seeing worldwide, is impacting the population of Butterfly Fish.

Butterfly Fish Fast Fact – Unlike most fish species the Butterfly Fish will form life-long mating pairs.  Awww, isn’t that cute!  Little husband and wife Butterfly Fish.

That does it for this week of Wild Facts.  Have a great weekend and get out to enjoy the sunshine.

Photo By Mila Zinkova

Welcome back to another fun and exciting week of Wild Facts.  Today we are going to head to the tropical and sub-tropical oceans (although some do live in freshwater systems) to learn about one of the most poisonous creatures on earth. Of course we are going to explore the life of none other than the Puffer Fish, also known as the Blow Fish. I am sure most of us are familiar with this unique fish but let’s see what else we can learn.

The Puffer fish is a very slow and clumsy swimmer which makes them easy pickings for any potential predator.  Instead of trying to out swim these fierce predators the Blow Fish has adapted a much more unique self defense mechanism. They have an elastic stomach and the ability to ingest large quantities of water in a short order of time. The result of this behaviour turns them into a large ball several times the size of their normal self.  Naturally this makes it very difficult for a normal fish to consume the Puffer Fish. If a predator is “lucky” enough to actually consume the fish before it blows up into a ball it will pay a very costly price.  As I mentioned the Blow Fish is one of the most poisonous animals on the planet.  In fact they contain a poison called tetrodotoxin which is up to 1200 times more lethal than cyanide.  If this doesn’t paint a clear enough picture than perhaps this little fact will. The Puffer Fish contains enough toxin to kill 30 humans and there is no known antidote.  Of course, humans like to tempt fate so believe it or not the meat of the Puffer Fish is served as a delicacy in Japan called “fugu”. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend trying to eat one of these guys. In fact, I would probably just stay away from them completely but I guess I am just a big baby.

Inflated Puffer Fish

Puffer Fish Fast Fact – After the eggs of a Puffer Fish hatch, the young (called fry) are not fully developed.  As a result they will form a hard protective shell around them. Eventually this shell will crack off and the fins and tail will develop.  Once the Puffer Fish is big enough it will swim down and integrate itself with the rest of the community.

Well that is all I have on the deadly Puffer Fish.  I hope you enjoyed today’s fact and I will see you back here tomorrow for Wild Fact #764.

Photograph by George Grall

Welcome to Wild Facts!  If this is your first time stumbling upon our crazy little place to learn all about animal facts than please feel free to snoop around.  As well you can leave a comment or send me an e-mail if you have any questions or would like some additional information about an animal.  If you happen to be one of the regular readers than welcome back and thanks for all of your support so far.  All of you reading this are in for a shocking post today.  No I mean it will literally be electrifying since we are going to look at the always interesting Electric Eel.  What can possibly be cooler than a fish that can give you a huge electrical shock? Well, I guess it would be pretty groovy if we had sharks with laser beams but let’s not get ridiculous (Bonus Wild Fact point if you caught the movie reference in that last line).

The first thing you need to know about the Electric Eel is they are not eels.  Yes they have the same “snake-like” appearance as our eel friends but they are actually more closely related to other fish such as carp and catfish.  As we all know the Electric Eel is able to produce an electric charge which they use to stun their prey or to defend against predators. Just how powerful is their electric charge? Good question and I had a hunch that you would ask this so I came prepared.  The Electric Eel actually has about 6000 specialized cells, called electrocytes, which store power like little batteries.  These cells are able to produce a charge of about 600 volts.  For the record a standard plug-in is only about 120 volts (in North America) so the Electric Eel can generate 5 times the power of a plug-in.  If you want to know what this feels like than stick a fork in the socket and multiply that by 5.  I AM KIDDING!  Where are you going? Geez, don’t actually stick a fork in the socket! Are you nuts? Luckily human deaths from an electric eel are very rare but repeatedly getting shocked could cause heart failure.  As well, some people have drowned after being stunned by these shocking eel-like fish. I recommend you try not to get shocked by an Electric Eel but I will let you decide what you want to do.

Electric Eel Fast Fact – The Electric Eel has relatively poor eyesight but is capable of producing a low level electric charge that helps paint a picture of their surroundings.  And we thought bats that used sonar were cool.  Eat your heart out Little Brown Bat!

Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts and I look forward to seeing you around.  Have a great day!

Photo by Detlef Buettner

I spent the last 3 days in a little town called Inuvik which is almost on the Arctic Ocean.  Actually, I was able to do a little fishing on the “Delta” which is formed when the McKenzie River enters the Arctic Ocean. Although we were technically fishing for northern pike I was hoping to land the infamous Inconnu.  For those of you that aren’t too sure what an Inconnu is then I suggest you keep reading.  You know what, even if you do know what they are I still suggest you continue reading!

The Inconnu is the largest member of the Whitefish family and in North America will typically grow to about 1 meter long (3′). The Inconnu found in Siberia are much larger and can weigh up to 45 kg (100 lbs).  You may know these fish by their other names including Coney, Sheefish or even Connie.  So what do these large Coney’s look like? Well they are bright silvery fish with green to pale brown backs.  They tend to have a long tapering body and a wide head with a lower jaw that sticks out further than their upper jaw.  This lower jaw contains tiny, densely packed teeth which actually feels like velvet to touch.  How cool would it be to have velvet teeth? They use these teeth to feed on other fish such as whitefish (eating their own family members….ewww), sticklebacks, burbot and of course insects and shrimp.

Inconnu will generally become mature between 7 and 10 years of age which is older than most fish species.  Some populations of Coney will make long migrations to over-wintering and feeding areas.  Incredibly they have been known to migrate up to 1600 km (994 miles).  That is one long road trip, in fact it is almost equivalent to driving from Toronto, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia. This will put their migration distances into perspective for my Canadian readers.

Although I didn’t manage to catch an Inconnu this weekend I had fun trying and it gave me an idea for a Wild Fact so I think it was a successful fishing trip.

Have a great day!

Guppy - Photo from Wikicommons

Yesterday we looked at the piranha which we learned can be vicious, as if we didn’t know that already?!? We also learned that they like to hang out in the rivers of South America.  Today we are going to look at another popular fish that can be found throughout the freshwater rivers of South America.  Don’t worry though, the Guppy isn’t nearly as dangerous as the piranha. In fact, I bet  a lot of you had a pet guppy at one time or another. Let’s see if we can learn something new about them, shall we?

There are about 300 species of guppy and as you know they make a great pet since they are beautifully coloured and are fairly easy to take care of.  In captivity they will often live for 3 to 5 years.  Unfortunately the wild isn’t as easy so their life spans are a little shorter when they aren’t living in a bowl.  Guppies are omnivores and will usually feed on algae, brine shrimp and whatever other particles they find floating in the water column.  Yesterday we learned that even the piranha has predators so I would say it is safe to assume that the guppy also has some natural predators.  In fact, they have quite a few but birds and other fish are their biggest threats. For the record, I would not recommend keeping your pet guppy in the same tank as your pet piranha.

Photo from Wikicommons

Generally, fish will mate and the female will then deposit 1000′s of eggs somewhere in the water.  If this isn’t true then the caviar industry has a lot of explaining to do.  The guppy though likes to be different and will actually give birth to live young.  This just means that their eggs hatch inside of them and eventually (about a month later) the female will give birth to about 100 cute, little guppies.  Luckily these babies are able to swim, feed and sense danger immediately.  This is obviously a great survival tactic for a little fish.  Okay, I guess we have time for one more interesting fact.  Did you know that the female guppy is able to get pregnant several times from just one mating session.  Could you imagine how surprised you would be if you just gave birth to a 100 kids and a few hours later you are pregnant again.

Thanks for reading!  I will see you all again tomorrow for another cool Wild Fact!