Wild Facts

Photo by Meggar (Wikimedia)

Today we continue learning about obscure animals. Although today’s animal is a little more popular, you may be surprised to find out that you have an alligator living in your backyard……if your backyard is on the west coast in North America.  Okay, so maybe it is a Northern Alligator Lizard but that doesn’t take away from their awesomeness. Although, they may not be as large as a real alligator (thank goodness), they are known to be one of the largest lizards species in Canada, which is pretty impressive, right? So what are we waiting for? Let’s head out to your backyard and start looking for the incredible Northern Alligator Lizard.

The Defense Specialist

We may have a tough time spotting this medium-sized lizard since they are known to be quite secretive and will typically flee once spotted. Trust me when I tell you not to pursue a fleeing Alligator Lizard. I guarantee you will not be a happy camper once you catch them. Once caught the Northern Alligator will try a few different defence strategies. They will release a foul smelling mix of musk and faeces, followed by biting and if the situation calls for it, they will simply drop their tail and scurry away. Dropping their tail is a common trend among lizards and acts as a distraction to the predator, giving them just enough time run and hide. The tail of the Northern Alligator Lizard does grow back, however, it tends to be shorter, fatter and darker. I guess this is one way to tell which lizards have had a tough life.

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Anti-Social Lizards

Although the Northern Alligator Lizard doesn’t mind the cold, which is why they can be found living in Canada, they are still not big fans of winter. Therefore, this lizard species will hibernate in underground dens known as, hibernacula. The Northern Alligator Lizards living in British Columbia tend to stick around their hibernacula all year long. I guess they are afraid that winter can hit anytime! During the summer months, the Northern Alligator Lizard can often be found in groups as they sun themselves on the rocks. Although, they can be found in groups, the Northern Alligator Lizard is not a social animal and will hardly interact with the neighbouring sun tanners. Sometimes you just want to relax and soak up the sun without having to worry about entertaining other lizards, right?

That does it for today’s Wild Fact. I will see you tomorrow for the final animal fact of the week.

Photo by Hoffryan (Wikimedia)

It may have took awhile to get today’s Wild Fact out, due to computer issues, however, better late than never. I promise it was worth the wait as we are heading to the ocean today to study a critically endangered sea turtle known as the Hawksbill Turtle. This particular turtle can be found throughout tropical areas in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, so you get to choose which area you want to explore. As well, you won’t need to go too deep since the Hawksbill Turtle prefers living along the coastlines where they are close to food and nesting sites.

One Big Heart

The Hawksbill Turtle is smaller than most other sea turtles as they only grow to about 114 cm (45″) in length and weigh up to 68 kg (150 lbs). I find it funny that a 150 lb turtle is considered to be the runt of the family. The young Hawksbill Turtles seem to have more ‘heart” compared to the adults. The juvenile turtles have a heart shaped shell, which becomes elongated as they grow older. Similarly, the shell of this particular turtle tends to be beautifully coloured, which tends to get this turtle into quite a bit of trouble.

Photo by Tom Doeppner (Wikimedia)

Adopt a Turtle

As mentioned, the Hawksbill Turtle is critically endangered as a result of human influence. Although they are globally protected, people still love dining on their eggs and have no problems hunting this turtle for their flesh and amazingly beautiful shell. Similarly, the Hawksbill Turtle is also a victim to fishing as they are often accidentally caught in large fishing nets. Luckily, this turtle is getting some attention as the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) is working hard to ensure that this beautiful creature lives for a long time to come. If you would like to help out with this cause then please feel free to visit the “Adopt a Turtle” website.

The Talons of a Hawk

If you take a look at the head of the Hawksbill Turtle, you will quickly see how they received their name. Yes, their head tapers to a point, which resembles the beak of a majestic bird. Besides the beak, this Turtle also has talons like a Hawk. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit since I don’t think a pair of claws on each flipper would really constitute  as “talons” but these claws do separate the Hawksbill Turtle from most other sea turtles.

That does it for today’s adventure. Enjoy the remainder of your day and I will see you tomorrow for a new animal fact.

Photo from Wikimedia

I thought today would be a great day to learn about a cute looking animal. After all, it is a Monday, so I am sure at least some of us could use some cheering up. Today’s animal, isn’t the typical “cute and cuddly” but you have to admit the picture of the Leopard Gecko is pretty sweet. Who would have thought that a lizard from the deserts of Asia would be able to make your Monday morning that much better. So what are you waiting for? Chug your coffee and let’s go learn a little more about this fun-looking reptile.

As mentioned, the Leopard Gecko is a ground dwelling, nocturnal lizard that loves to hang out in the deserts of Central Asia, Pakistan and parts of India. For a Gecko, this particular species happens to be quite large as they can easily grow up to 27.5 cm (10.9″) in length and can weigh up to 65 grams (2.3 0z). This weight definitely fluctuates as the Leopard Gecko will go into a semi-hibernation during the cooler winter months. When the temperature dips, this little lizard burrows underground where it survives on its fat cells. Good thing they weigh a whopping 65 grams!

Michelle Reaves, http://www.flickr.com/people/considerthis/

When they aren’t hibernating, this Gecko will spend their days hiding underneath rocks to protect themselves from the scorching sun. Once night falls, they will come out to play. Well, maybe not so much to play as to eat but nonetheless they come out. Interestingly enough, this Gecko is properly named since they use their keen sense of vision and smell to stalk their prey much like that of a Leopard. Therefore if you are an insect or a mealworm living in the Leopard Gecko’s home range then you may want to look over your shoulder every now and again (well, I guess the mealworm doesn’t have to worry since they don’t have shoulders).

Leopard Gecko Fast Fact – The Leopard Gecko has become very popular in the pet trade industry as a result of their size and beautiful colour. Although, in the wild, these Gecko’s will have a darker, duller colour as opposed to their captive friends. I guess they don’t have a need for dull colours when they are in a safe environment.

Well that does it for the first Wild Fact of the week! I hope you enjoyed learning about the Leopard Gecko. See you tomorrow for another fun and exciting Wild Fact.

Photo by Alejandro Sánchez (Wikimedia)

Today’s post on the Worlds Smallest Reptile could have went a couple of ways since there are a few different species that share this honour. I chose the Virgin Islands Dwarf Sphaero because it sounds fun and exciting but I could have just as easily picked the Jaragua Sphaero or even the Brookesia chameleons found in Madagascar. I guess we will just have to wait for future Wild Facts to learn about the latter two species since we are heading to the British Virgin Islands to learn about the Dwarf Sphaero.

If you are not sure what a “Sphaero” is then perhaps we should refer to this animal by their other name, the Virgin Islands Dwarf Gecko. That’s right, one of the Smallest Reptiles in the World is a cute and cuddly gecko which gets to about 18 mm (0.71″) in length and weighs around 0.15 grams (0.0051 ounces). Yesterday we held a penny to understand just how heavy the Bee Hummingbird was. Today, I want you to pick up a USA or Canadian dime. Yep, the smallest reptile weighs about as much as dime. I swear, nature never ceases to amaze me!

Standing on a USA Dime - Photo by Alejandro Sánchez (Wikimedia)

Although, the Virgin Islands Dwarf Gecko prefers to live in the dry upland regions of their home range, they typically hang out in the cool and moist areas underneath rocks. These moist areas play a big role in the life of the Dwarf Sphaero and they would probably cease to exist if this habitat was removed. You may be wondering how a few rocks could be so important for this reptile. Well, due to the extremely small size of our little gecko, they lose water about 70% faster than the larger variety. Believe it or not, animals need water to survive and these humid, micro-habitats help keep these reptiles nice and moist. As well, the Virgin Islands Dwarf Sphaero will usually time the birth of their offspring during the wettest time of the year to help give their young a better chance for survival. For something so small, they are actually pretty intelligent.

Well, that does it for the Worlds Smallest Reptile. Make sure you tune into tomorrow for the last Wild Fact of the week.

Photo by Marc Staub (Wikimedia)

Welcome back to the start of another thrilling week of Wild Facts. We are going to learn about some pretty amazing animals this week and to kick it all off, we are heading to Madagascar to study the Panther Chameleon. I am sure you noticed from the picture that they have a pretty impressive colour display. As you might expect with Chameleons, their colour is a big part of their life so we will have to talk more about this in a few moments. Okay, so grab your field gear and lets head out to the amazing forests of Madagascar.

The Panther Chameleon is a fairly large reptile with males measuring up to 50 cm (20″) in length while the females are about half this size. This size discrepancy is not the only difference between male and female Panther Chameleons. As we have seen time and time again with animals, the males are also much more brightly coloured than their female counterparts. Typically the colour of the male will vary depending on their location, however, they will usually be a vibrant mix of blue, red, green, yellow and orange. The females on the other hand will be a boring old tan and brown colour with a little bit of pink or orange thrown in for good measure. Interestingly enough, the colour of the females doesn’t change based on location.

Photo by Tom Junek (Wikimedia)

During mating season, the Panther Chameleon never has to worry about taking a pregnancy test since once the female begins carrying eggs she will turn to a dark brown colour with a nice orange stripe. This pretty much tells all the other males in the area to “leave her alone”, which is a pretty neat trick. It seems being left alone is a natural feeling for the Panther Chameleon since other than mating season they all lead very isolated lives. Like other Chameleons, the Panther variety is also very territorial and will always defend their home range. This makes sense since it is always a good idea to protect your investments and a home is one of the biggest investments a Chameleon will have.

Panther Chameleon Fast Fact – If you are stunned by the beautiful colours of the Panther Chameleon then you may be happy to hear that they have become quite popular in the pet trade. Before rushing out and buying one though, you need to realize that they can be difficult to keep since they need to have very specific living conditions.

Well that does it for the first Wild Fact of the week. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow for a brand new animal. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will talk with you again, real soon.

Photo by Azhikerdude (Wikimedia)

Now that the partying from the weekend festivities is completely over, well it should be by now, it is time to get serious about our Wild Facts. Okay, I am just messing with you, I am not usually known for being serious. In fact, I chose today’s animal simply because I loved saying its name. Go ahead and say Chuckwalla! Fun, isn’t it? To me it sounds like a bad cross between  a Chumbawamba and Dishwalla song but it is entertaining, just like “Tubthumping”. In fact, this song would be perfect considering how many people probably had a few drinks this past weekend. Let’s take a short break to listen to this one hit wonder and reconvene in 3 minutes and 42 seconds.

See, it is a horrible song but incredibly entertaining.  Now where were we?  Oh yeah the Chuckwalla! The Chuckwalla is a large lizard, which is part of the Iguana family and is commonly found in the Southern USA and Northern Mexico. Much like the Wart Snake, they also have a lot of loose skin, which forms folds around their neck and sides of their body. Perhaps they are also trying to hide a bulky stomach?

When a Chuckwalla is threatened they will typically run away, which is a smart strategy. If the simple run away method doesn’t work they will actually lodge themselves into the crevice of a rock and inflate their stomach by gulping in air.  This is incredibly fascinating and ensures that the predator will not be able to pull out their scrumptious dinner. How about that, another animal that is conscious about their weight and tries hard to hide it so they can fit in.

Photo from Wikimedia

The male Chuckwalla is pretty territorial during certain times of the year and will typically try all kinds of things to defend his special territory. For example they will do push-ups, bob their head and widely open their mouth all in an attempt to warn other lizards to back off.  To me, it just sounds like a normal day at the gym. You think with all those push-ups they wouldn’t have to worry about a few extra pounds.

Okay, so that does it for Reptile Tuesdays.  Actually, we have been talking about reptiles all week. I will make sure to mix things up for Wednesday’s Wild Fact so make sure you tune in.  Enjoy the rest of your day.

Photo from Wikimedia

I hope all of you enjoyed your long weekend  (or are still enjoying it since I believe my American friends have today off) and managed to properly celebrate Canada Day or Independence Day.  Speaking of that, Happy Independence Day to all of my wonderful American readers. I hope you are all enjoying your day filled with BBQs and fireworks. Okay, let’s move onto our fun animal fact. Today’s fact was inspired by my 2 year old niece even though she doesn’t know it yet.  You see she was at the zoo the other day and manage to pull a huge piece of snake skin (don’t worry, it wasn’t attached to the snake) out of the cage and wanted to bring it with her for the rest of the day. Now I believed they returned the shedded skin back to the proper place but it got me thinking about snakes, so today’s Wild Fact is on the Wart Snake.

The Wart Snake is group of a primitive water snakes comprised of 3 different species which are found in Australia and Indonesia. I thought this would be the perfect snake to talk about since their most prominent feature is their incredibly loose and baggy skin. It actually looks like their skin is a few sizes too big for them.  Perhaps they have all lost a lot of weight recently.  Their scales are also pretty neat since they don’t overlap like most snakes.  Nope, they actually project out from the body and consequently look like little warts.  I wonder how they came up with the common name for this snake?

Photo from Wikimedia

These snakes are entirely aquatic and will spend most of their time at the bottom of a river or a stream just waiting to ambush the poor unsuspecting prey swimming by.  So what do they eat? Naturally, they like to feast on great tasting fish, which they capture by coiling around them.  Besides being responsible for their name the wart-like scales also help the Wart Snake catch their food since these raised scales will hold the squirmy fish in place.  How about that, the scales are trendy and practical.  Unlike typical snakes, the Wart Snake will not bulge after eating a hearty meal.  Their skin is so loose and baggy that their body remains slack and normal at all times.  Even snakes know that you can hide a chubby stomach by wearing loose fitting clothing – intelligent little critters.

Okay, so that does it for the first Wild Fact of the week.  Now let’s get back to celebrating Independence Day by BBQing up some tasty burgers.  Enjoy the rest of your day!

Photo from Wikimedia

Well, we ended last week with a turtle species (remember, the Bog Turtle?) and we are going to start this fine week with another turtle.  A friend of mine from the Great White North recommended I write about the “Stomping Turtle”.  Since I like this friend, I figured I would take his recommendation.  So Wild Fact #535 will be all about the Wood Turtle, which is also referred to as the “Stomping Turtle” for reasons we will learn about shortly (but I am sure you can guess why it gets this name).  The Wood Turtle is only found in North America so it looks like our readers  across the pond will need to take a road trip for today’s fact.

Okay, so let’s start off with the most interesting behaviour of this reptile (well, it is the most interesting in my opinion). Of course, I am talking about their desire to stomp and dance around.  No, the Wood Turtle isn’t just grooving to some cool beats, they actually use their stomping to find dinner.  How, you ask?  Well, when utilizing the stomping strategy the Wood Turtle will take a few steps forward and alternate stomps between each front foot.  They typically stomp at a rate of about 1 stomp per second, which is a pretty quick rate.  The vibrations created from this dance-like behaviour causes any earthworms in the area to come to the surface.

Obviously, this is a mistake on the earthworms part since once they surface the Wood Turtle will quickly consume them. So why do the vibrations cause the worms to come to the surface? Excellent question!  It is believed that the turtles stomping imitates a similar vibration caused by the rain, and we all that the Earthworm likes the rain. And to think that I always used flashlights to find worms for fishing – Apparently, I should have been dancing around in my backyard instead.

Photo from Wikimedia

It appears that the Wood Turtle has an itch to travel as they have been known to walk long distances throughout the day.  In fact, on average, they will travel about 108 m (354′) in a day.  Now this might not sound like much to us but for a turtle that walks at speeds of 0.32 km/hr (0.20 mph), that is a lot of walking.  Apparently, Wood Turtles also have a great sense of direction and are able to find their way back home quite easily.  One study displaced a male turtle about 2.4 km (1.5 miles) away from its home and within 5 weeks the turtle was back where he originally started.  I don’t know how they do it, but I could definitely learn a thing or two from them since I get lost in the mall all the time.

Would you look at that, it appears our first Wild Fact of the week is done already.  I hope you enjoyed learning about our stomping friend and I will see you back here tomorrow for a new animal.  Enjoy the rest of your day!

Photo by Blair Hedges, Penn State

So it looks like the work week has started again as we all drink our coffee and try to recover from a great long weekend.  While you get your caffeine fix, you might as well learn about the World’s Smallest Snake, the Barbados Threadsnake.  This incredible creature was discovered on the tropical island of Barbados only a few years ago (in 2008).  So let’s see what we can learn about this fairly new species.  Okay, take one more sip of coffee and let’s get this Wild Fact started.

As mentioned the Barbados Threadsnake is the worlds smallest snake species.  Honestly, you would probably mistake this slithery reptile for a worm.  The adults are typically around 10 cm (less than 4″) long and can actually fit on a quarter.  I included the picture above just to prove it to you.  If that doesn’t put the size of this snake into perspective for you then perhaps this will.  It is said that the Barbados Threadsnake is as thin as spaghetti.  I guess this just goes to prove that not all snakes are big, scary and poisonous.

So what does this tiny snake eat?  Usually they feast on large mammals and birds.  Okay, I am just messing with you, they actually feed on the larvae of termites and ants, which makes sense considering their size.  Believe it or not though, it may be this food source that actually caused the Barbados Threadsnake to become so small.  You see, on islands such as Barbados there are often vacant niches.  For example, if there are no millipedes or centipedes living on the island then a snake may evolve down to this size and take over that available food source.  So now the question is, does the Threadsnake eat insect larvae because they are small or are they small because they eat insect larvae.  Yeah, you had better take another drink of coffee before thinking too much about that one.

Barbados Threadsnake Fast Fact – The Barbados Threadsnake will produce one large egg, in which the offspring that emerges is usually half the size of the adult. Proportionally, this is actually a pretty large baby compared to other snake species.

Well, I hope you enjoyed learning about a relatively new species of animal.  See all of you tomorrow for another Wild Fact.

Photo by Sabine's Sunbird (Wikimedia)

Since yesterday’s topic was a little more serious, and should have been since White Nose Syndrome is a serious topic, I figured we could all use a light-hearted post today.  Normally, I would go find a cute or funny monkey to write about since everybody likes monkey’s.  But, I wanted to be different today so I went to the deserts of Namibia to find the Namaqua Chameleon.   Come on, look at the pictures of this Chameleon and tell me that they are not the perfect animal for a nice, light-hearted post?

Perhaps I don’t know as much about Chameleons as I thought I did because I am pretty sure they like to hang out in trees.  If I am right about this then where in the world are they going to find a tree in the middle of a desert? For the record, the answer to this rhetorical question is they won’t find any trees.  This is only one of several differences we will discuss about the Namaqua Chameleon.

Photo by Hans Stieglitz (Wikimedia)

As a result of living in a completely different habitat than other Chameleons the Namaqua has evolved a few different adaptations.  For starters these guys are actually able to spread their toes apart. I know this may not seem like a big deal to us but most other Chameleons have their five toes fused into a set of three and set of two.  Naturally, this helps our forested friends grip branches and do other things that tree dwelling animals like to do (such as throwing fruit at the people down below……..OK, so maybe I am thinking about monkey’s again).  Obviously a Chameleon that lives in the desert doesn’t need to worry about gripping branches.  As a result, their toes can spread apart which gives them the ability to run along the flat open ground.

This leads us into the next adaptation.  Generally, we think of Chameleon’s of being a slow, care-free animal species.  Not the case with the Namaqua….well, they may be care-free, I am not sure as I have never met one.  This desert Chameleon needs to be able to run at high speeds to catch their fast moving prey (usually beetles).  Let’s face it, food is scarce in the desert so you don’t want to miss out on dinner because you are too slow and lazy.

One last thing before we end today’s fact.  The most famous trait about the Chameleon is their ability to change colour.  Well, the Namaqua Chameleon is able to complete this formidable task as well.  They don’t just using their colour changing super powers for threat displays, courtship and camouflage like their boring, tree dwelling cousins.  Nope, they use this amazing gift to help regulate their temperature.  They have the ability to turn a darker colour to absorb the sun and heat up or turn a lighter colour to reflect those powerful rays and cool down.  This has to give them an advantage over the other animals in the desert.

So this post seemed to turn into another longer post.  I guess I am just in a talkative (writeative?) mood this week.  I hope you enjoyed our trip to the Namib Desert.  Time to get the sand out of your shorts and relax for the rest of the day.  See you tomorrow!