Understanding the Evolution of the Tiger

Wildlife enthusiasts planning on taking a Tiger safari may be interested to know a bit about the evolution of this awe-commanding creature. An apex predator, it is superbly adapted to the role, the descendent of a proud line that most biologists trace back to the prehistoric Sabre-Toothed cats. To understand its genetic history is to gain an enhanced appreciation of its place in nature and the importance of preserving it, so read on for a glimpse into the Tiger's mighty lineage.

Adaptations

The Tiger is such an impressive creature and effective hunter thanks to multiple adaptations. Many of the characteristics that people look out for while on Tiger safari are in fact part of the animal's toolkit for survival - including its most iconic feature, its striped coat. 

Top Tips When Watching the Enigmatic Jaguar

One of our planet's most revered animals, the Jaguar is still shrouded in an aura of mystery for many. While afforded deity status by ancient cultures, and associated with raw power and prowess in our modern world, they have behavioural patterns and social structures like any other animal, and are an important conservation species. For those thinking of going on a Jaguar tour, a journey of discovery awaits. Learning more about these magnificent creatures can help you to understand their habits and relationship with their habitat, which in turn can help to enhance the experience of sightings. Read on for a guide to the animal's behaviour, and to glean some pointers about what to look for while on your Jaguar tour.

Hunting Habits

Jaguars are such successful hunters in part because of their powerful physiques and strong jaws, but also because they use almost every aspect of their habitat. 

The Importance of Jaguar Conservation

As many nature-lovers taking a Jaguar tour will be aware, the Jaguar is a 'near threatened' species, with the possibility of becoming 'threatened' in the future. Factors contributing to this status include hunting for its skin, shooting by farmers to protect livestock, and deforestation. With the Jaguar preferring large territories - up to 40 square kilometres for females and up to twice as much for males - the loss or fragmentation of its habitat has a serious impact. Not only are individual animals affected by reduced habitat and hunting ground, but the population suffers from loss of connection between individual animal's ranges, reducing the breeding pool. Despite the problems it faces, the animal is a protected species in several countries, and sustained efforts are being made across the Americas in protecting habitat, re-connecting ranges and educating ranchers.

Why Protect the Jaguar? For the Planet...

Encountering the Wildlife of Cambodia

Many who have visited Cambodia - tours, solo holidays, or otherwise - will fondly recall the diverse, unique and interesting array of wildlife they encounter. The country's wildlife represents an important part of the animal kingdom, as many are recognized by the World Conservation Union as being endangered species. Due to such damaging occurrences as deforestation, the population of many of Cambodia's most beloved animals - such as elephants, tigers, bears and buffaloes - is sadly dwindling.

Mammals

There are about 212 species of mammal which are native to Cambodia. Tours of the country are provided by many destination specialists, and will allow you to glimpse some of these magnificent beasts in their natural habitat. These mammals include the Asian Elephant [which is the largest living land animal in Asia], the endangered Hog Deer, the Asian Black Bear [described by writer Rudyard Kipling as 'the most bizarre of the ursine species'], and the leopard, the smallest of the four big cats.

Red-Eyed Tree Frog: Amphibian or Reptile?

Some people mistakenly believe that reptiles and amphibians are one and the same or they simply do not know how to tell the difference. Amphibians are born as soft eggs in water and then hatch into tadpoles. Living out the start of their life in the water they then grow legs, lose their tails, and become frogs.

On the other hand reptiles are born as shelled eggs laid on land and hatch as a smaller version of what they will eventually become at maturity. Reptiles never morph into a new form as do amphibians. There is another way of telling the difference between an amphibian and a reptile: reptiles are capable of living in dry areas whereas amphibians cannot.

Belize has many tree dwellers with the Red-Eyed Tree Frog being unique and definitely the most interesting. This beautiful green frog has extremely large bright red eyes, hence its' name. Agalychnis callidryas is the scientific name for this fascinating little creature. 

Belize: The Magnificent Booby Birds

The Red-Footed Booby is a species within the Pelican family that lives in tropical coastal areas. This Booby Bird is also found on tropical islands in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, excluding Africa's Atlantic side.

In Belize the Booby is most often found out on the Cayes, most notably Half Moon Caye, part of which, in 1928, was gazetted as a Crown Reserve Bird Sanctuary under the Crown Land Ordinance. The Crown Sanctuary Reserve was specifically dedicated to protecting the Red-Footed Booby Bird. The Crown Reserve was the first and still is the oldest area designated for the protection of wildlife in Belize.

Half Moon Caye is currently home to a colony of about 4,000 plus birds including the Booby Bird. Boobies like to nest in very large colonies among the orange-flowered Ziricote thicket. At the western end of Half Moon Caye one has a spectacular view of the Boobies from an observation deck.

The Cute Little Robin In Your Backyard

The American Robin is such a common site in our lives it is easy to not pay them any attention. But they do bare taking a second glance. The North American Robin is a migratory songbird. It is named after the European Robin, because of their reddish orange breast, although they are not closely related. It is also the state bird for Michigan, Connecticut, and Wisconsin.

The main difference between male and female Robins are that females are paler in color than the males. These birds average from 8-11 inches in height and wingspan from 12-16 inches.

Robins can have 1-3 successful broods a year, although 2 broods a year is most common. Each clutch produces 3-5 eggs, eggs are about an inch in length. Their eggs are a robins egg blue of course, just like the crayon named after them! They are said to be the prettiest of all bird eggs. 

Wildlife of Treasure Island Florida

Treasure Island, Florida is a beautiful beach teeming with wide variety of wildlife. From the sea life to the reptiles, there is an abundance of creatures for the nature-lover to enjoy. Whether you are in the mood to simply view the beach's animal community or want to hook some of the local fish, Treasure Island is a great place to feed your desires. Many of the species can be observed without ever having to leave the shore, but those who venture out on boats run into an even wider range of amazing creatures.

Fish - With Treasure Island being a beach community, there are obviously quite a variety of species lurking around the waters. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the best places to spend a day either snorkeling and looking at all the underwater creatures or sitting with your pole catching some of these delicious fish. Some of the species of fish that are normally found in these waters include:

Bird Watching in Treasure Island Florida

Treasure Island, Florida is a wonderful place to observe some of the most magnificent wildlife in the country. Bird watching or birding is a very popular attraction to many people because of the variety of species that call these shores home. Actually, the area can serve as a good place to observe birds that may not be indigenous to the area. Many birds' migration patterns run through this region. There are some lovely shorebirds that can be spotted along this stretch of coast and it is recommended that every birder take some time to enjoy these species.

There is also a collective effort in the community to make sure these birds last for future generations, so always make sure to be careful and never disturb these creatures' natural habitats. Many of Florida's species are on the brink of peril and people should always make sure to enjoy the wildlife, while making sure to preserve the natural order.

Are Whales at Threat of Extinction?

It is common knowledge that rampant overfishing (whaling) in the 18th - 20th centuries nearly drove many whale species to extinction. While whaling certainly existed prior to this, technological improvements allowed the industry to become much more efficient in harvesting whales. Now that the global whaling industry has nearly disappeared, whale populations have been able to slowly recover. Conservation efforts and eco-tourism (centered around whale watching cruises or dolphin interaction tours) are working to fund recovery efforts, but is it too late?

The majority of the great whale species are still on the endangered species list. The United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) still lists the northern right, southern right, bowhead, fin, blue, sei, humpback, and sperm whales as endangered species. The population of the northern right is reported to be less than one thousand animals remaining. One big problem is that, even without a major impact from commercial whaling, many interactions between humans and whales mean further losses in the population.

A Little Bit Of Information About Primates

What do you have in common with a chimpanzee, a mountain gorilla, and a spider monkey? You are all closely related mammals - you are primates.

As you might have already guessed there is a wide diversity among primates, but there are some traits that all share. Most primates have "opposable thumbs", which means that their thumbs can rotate to touch the fingertips on the same hand. This helps primates climb trees and grasp food. Also, primates can see in color, and their brains are generally longer than those of other mammals. They range in size from the tiny mouse lemur, which weighs only 2 ounces, to the gorilla, which can weigh 600 pounds.

The more primitive primates, called prosimians include the strange aye-aye, lemurs and the sifakas. There three-dwelling primates live on the island of Madagascar. Galagos, lorises, pottos, and tarsiers are also prosimians. Scientists believe that the earliest primates that appeared on Earth some 70 million years ago were similar to some of the mammals in this group.

Ghana Life: Still More About Ghana's Snakes

Readers of these EzineArticles may find it surprising that someone who knows almost nothing about reptiles should post three pieces about snakes, but on reflection it does seem that life in Kumasi in the 1970s and 1980s was a long sentence punctuated by serpents. That is not to say that one was tripping over the snaky substances every day, or emulating the Leaping Nuns of Norwich, but only that they were never far away. Our two species did our best to avoid one another but inevitably early warning systems broke down and close encounters became inevitable.

Living on the expansive pastoral campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology the staff houses were effectively sealed, but one was aware of the green mambas in the trees in the garden. Fortunately these creatures seemed to prefer to stay in the trees and were not included in the varieties of fauna that invaded our living space. 

Raccoon Behavior in Residential Areas

Living with Raccoons

Raccoons are medium-sized breed mammals that have made their homes in the woods and forests of North America for over 500 years. Once our society began claiming land and building cities, industrial complexes, roads, and highways, overtime, the raccoons and other wildlife were forced to leave their habitats and live among us in our residential communities. Today, it is common for someone to see a raccoon, squirrel, or rabbit running through the trees and bushes of a neighborhood. In fact, that person wouldn't think twice about it. This is because we have become so accustomed to living side-by-side with these animals; consequently, sharing our porches, crawl spaces, attics, garbage, backyards, flowerbeds, and more with these critters, particularly raccoons.

Raccoons Are Mischievous

Are Gila Monsters Truly Venomous?

The deserts of Arizona are home to many unique creatures, and one of the most interesting is the Gila monster, named after the Gila River Basin in that state. If you are a fan of 1950s science fiction movies, you may have seen the one about the giant version of this lizard. While they do not get that large, they do grow to a fair size and have the potential to be deadly.

In addition to Arizona, the Gila monster is found in other states in the southwestern United States including California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah, and in Sonora, a state in northwestern Mexico. It is one of only two venomous lizards found in North America, with the other being the Mexican beaded lizard. Two subspecies exist: the reticulate and the banded Gila monsters. The former lives in the southern parts of their range, and the latter lives in the northern part -- particularly the Mojave Desert, which occupies parts of most of the states mentioned above.

Best Tips For Outwitting Bird Feeder Hogs Like Starlings And Grackles

Seeing a soiree of starlings, a bevy of blackbirds, or a gaggle of grackles descending upon my backyard feeding station sends me into a state of panic! It just makes me cringe to think of all that expensive black oil sunflower seed ending up in their stomachs instead of my beautiful songbirds' bellies.

But the situation isn't hopeless, far from it. Here are 7 remedies to keep these feeder hogs from wiping out your precious seeds. You may need to use one or more to ensure success.

1. Take down your feeders for a week or two. Hopefully these hungry birds will see that the easy meal has evaporated and move on to another place. This option should only be considered if it's summertime. Otherwise try one of the other remedies below.