Borneo Elephant

True Wild Life | Borneo Elephant | The Borneo elephant is a sub-species of Asian elephant which includes the Indian elephant, the Sumatran elephant, the Sri-Lanka elephant and the Borneo elephant. The Borneo elephant is also known as the pygmy elephant as it is the smallest of the elephant sub-species. As its name suggests, the Borneo elephant is found exclusively on the island of Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah and parts of Indonesian Kalimantan. Much of the Borneo elephants natural habitat has been destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations and there are now thought to be less than 1,000 Borneo elephant individuals left in Sabah.

The Borneo elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the Borneo elephant also has a more curved spine than the African elephant. Unlike the African elephants, the female Borneo elephants very rarely have tusks, and if the female Borneo elephant does have tusks, they are generally barely visible and can only be seen when the female Borneo elephant opens her mouth. The Borneo elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the Borneo elephant herd is responsible for remembering the migration route of its Borneo elephant herd. This Borneo elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the Borneo elephant herds, as the Borneo elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland.

Borneo elephants are herbivorous animals meaning that they only eat plants and plant matter in order to gain all of the nutrients that they need to survive. Borneo elephants eat a wide variety of vegetation including grasses, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts and seeds. Borneo elephants often use their long trunk to assist them in gathering food. Due to their large size, Borneo elephants have very few predators within their natural environment. Besides human hunters, tigers are the primary predator of the Borneo elephant, although they tend to hunt the smaller Borneo elephant calves rather than the much larger and stronger adults.

Female Borneo elephants are generally able to breed by the time they are 10 years old, and give birth to a single Borneo elephant calf after a 22 month gestation period. When the Borneo elephant calf is first born, it weighs about 100 kg, and is cared for not only by it's mother by also by other female Borneo elephants in the herd (known as aunties). The infant Borneo elephant remains with its mother until it is around 5 years old and gains its independence, with males often leaving the herd and female calves staying. Today, the Borneo elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct due to the fact that Borneo elephant populations have been declining at a critical rate. Borneo elephants are thought to be suffering primarily due to habitat loss in the form of deforestation and hunting for their ivory tusks by human poachers.

Bornean Orang Utan

 

True Wild Life | Bornean Orang Utan | The Bornean orang-utan is a species of orang-utan native to the island of Borneo. The Bornean orang-utan is one of only two species of ape that are found in Asia, the other being the slightly smaller and closely related, Sumatran orang-utan. The Bornean orang-utan is found inhabiting tropical and sub-tropical rainforest in the lowlands of Borneo and can also be found grazing at elevations of up to 1500 m. The Bornean orang-utan makes full use of it's surroundings dwelling both on the ground and at different heights in the trees.

 

 

There are considered to be three different sub-species of the Bornean orang-utan, which although similar in appearance, are differentiated by the areas of the island that they occupy. The three Bornean orang-utan sub-species are the Northwest Bornean orang-utan, the Central Bornean orang-utan and the Northeast Bornean orang-utan. The Bornean orang-utan is generally a more solitary animal that the Sumatran orang-utan with male and female Bornean orang-utans only really coming together to mate. As with the other great apes, the Bornean orang-utan has a number of features which makes living in the jungle a bit easier, including having opposable thumbs which come in handy when the Bornean orang-utan is peeling fruit.

 

The Bornean orang-utan is an omnivorous animal, but the majority of it's diet is made of fruit which the Bornean orang-utan is known to travel vast distances through the forests to find. The Bornean orang-utan also eats leaves, nuts and berries, along with insects and occasionally small animals such as lizards and rodents. Due to it's large size, the Bornean orang-utan has no real predators on it's native island of Borneo. The biggest threat to the Bornean orang-utan is habitat loss caused by deforestation which has completely wiped out the Bornean orang-utan populations in certain areas.

 

The different Bornean orang-utan sexes only really come together to mate, and once born, the Bornean orang-utan baby is looked after by it's mother. The Bornean orang-utan baby clings to it's mum for the first year of it's life and may remain with her until it is nearly 10 years old. Bornean orang-utans have a relatively long childhood when compared to that of the other great apes. Today, the Bornean orang-utan is one of the world's endangered species with less than 45,000 Bornean orang-utan individuals thought to be left in the wild. The main reason for the demise in the Bornean orang-utan populations is deforestation across the island for logging and to make way for palm oil plantations.

Booby

True Wild Life | Booby | The booby is a large species of sea-bird closely related to the gannet. Boobies spend their lives at sea hunting fish and are found on the east coast of Central and South America, and across the tropical islands of the South Pacific as far west as the Galapagos islands. The booby is the most commonly found sea-bird on the Galapagos islands. There are six different species of booby found nesting on the tropical and subtropical islands and continental coasts across the south eastern Pacific Ocean, although fossil evidence suggests that there were numerous species of booby that are now extinct and are believed to inhabited regions as far east as Europe. The different species of booby are all very similar in size and appearance but each species of booby appears to have it's own uniquely distinguishable features. The different species of booby are the blue-footed booby, the red-footed booby, the brown booby, the Peruvian booby, the masked booby and the Nazca booby.

The blue-footed booby is the most well known species of booby and is most commonly found on the Galapagos islands and Ecuador. The blue-footed booby is the second largest of the booby species and is identifiable by it's bright blue feet. The female blue-footed booby is generally slightly larger than the male blue-footed booby and the female blue-footed booby also has more brightly coloured feet than the male blue-footed booby, as the male's feet are paler. The young blue-footed booby also has pale coloured feet which (in females particularly) becomes brighter as the booby gets older.

The red-footed booby is slightly smaller than the blue-footed booby but the red-footed booby is known to have a wider range from the Galapagos islands to the Caribbean. As the name suggests, the re-footed booby has bright, red feet that are a pinkish colour when the red-footed booby is young. Although the re-footed booby is known to be an agile flyer, the red-footed booby can be clumsy when taking off and landing. The red-footed booby can dive through the sky to the surface of the water to catch fish at speeds of up to 60 mph.

The brown booby is around half the size of the blue-footed booby and is found in the Caribbean Sea and in the Gulf Of Mexico. The brown booby has a black head and back and a white belly, short wings and a long tail. The brown booby breeds in a large colony on coastal islands and is known to spend the winter at sea, covering a larger area. As with other species of booby, the brown booby is incredible at diving. The Peruvian booby is native to Peru and parts of Chilli and is not as elaborate in appearance of the other booby species. The Peruvian booby is the second most common sea-bird found in Peru and is also the second biggest sea-bird that produces guano in the country. Guano is the excrement which is produces by sea-birds, bats and seals, which has high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and so is used to make fertilizer and gunpowder.

The masked booby is distinguishable by the black colour around it's eyes. The masked booby has an enormous range that stretches from the Caribbean islands right across to Australia. The masked booby is the largest species of booby in the world and can grow to nearly a metre in height. The masked booby primarily feeds on flying fish and squid. The Nazca booby is found on islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is one of the most favourable birds on the Galapagos islands for eco-tourists to spot. The Nazca booby has a more rounded head than the other species of booby and is believed to be most closely related to the masked booby. The Nazca booby has a white body and a beak that is yellow or orange in colour.

The booby is rarely found in regions where it cannot nest apart from those species of booby that purposefully spend the winter at sea (like the brown booby). Typically, the booby will have the same mating partner for a few years and the booby has been known to lay it's eggs all year round, although this is quite dependent on the area which the booby inhabits. The booby lays between 1 and 3 eggs (usually 2), and the booby chicks hatch after an incubation period of 4 to 5 weeks. Due to it's large size and the areas in which it inhabits. the booby has few natural predators. The main predators of the booby are owls and large birds of prey that steal the booby chicks, but the adult booby is far to big for another bird to eat. The human is the main predator of the enormous adult booby, and occasionally the odd shark.

Bongo

True Wild Life | Bongo | The bongo is a reddish-orange hoofed animal with white stripes running vertically along the body of the bongo. The bongo is the one largest species of Antelope and the bongo is generally found grazing in herds in the African forests. The bongo is one of the only animal species in the world of which both the male and female bongo individuals have horns. The horns of the bongo tend to be fairly long and in most cases, slightly spiraled or wavy in appearance. The bongo uses these horns both for defense purposes and in the case of the males, it is believed that the bongo individuals with the largest horns are the dominant male of the bongo herd.

The bongo is generally found in the more mountainous regions of central Africa, where the bongo inhabits dense woodland and can be found up to an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level. Despite the colourful appearance of the bongo, the bongos white stripes actually aid the bongo in being camouflaged very successfully in the thick forests.

Originally, bongos were found in three different parts of Africa, East, Central and West. Today all three populations of the bongos ranges have shrunk in size due to habitat loss for agriculture and uncontrolled timber cutting as well as humans hunting the bongo for meat. Despite the fact that the bongo is a solitary animal, the bongo is rarely seen in herd sizes of more than 20 bongo individuals and these herds comprise predominantly of the female bongos with their young.

The bongo is a nocturnal animal and are generally found grazing the newly sprouting grasses and shrubs in the dead of night which also helps to aid the bongos survival in a land where there are many dominant carnivorous predators.

Blue Whale

True Wild Life | Blue Whale | Blue Whales are the largest recorded mammal on earth some reaching nearly 120ft. The blue whale is found in pretty much all oceans but the whales tend to prefer the warmer waters. The blue whale has been nearly hunted to extinction by man when eastern Asian whaling came into fashion a few of hundred years ago. There are less than 12,000 blue whales left worldwide. Blue whales feed mainly on krill but also small fish and squid, that swim inside their enormous mouths. The blue whale has thousands of extremely fine teeth that allow water to filter out of the whales mouth, without the whales catch escaping.

Apparently just one breath from a fully grown adult blue whale, will produce enough air to fill nearly 2,000 balloons! The blue whales heart is so big that it is around the same size as a small car, with the blue whales main arteries being big enough for a human to swim through comfortably.

The blue whale is a very solitary animal and generally spends the majority of its life alone, roaming the vast ocean waters. It has been known for particular blue whales to travel in pairs although, it is not known whether or not these blue whales remain together for extended periods of time. When there are good feeding areas, more than 50 blue whales have been seen in the same area, although they do not appear to interact with one another and tend to leave the other blue whales to their feeding.

Very little is known about the breeding patterns or grounds of the blue whale, although scientists do know that female blue whales tend to give birth every 2 to 3 years and this usually takes place at the beginning of winter. The blue whale calf tends to stay with the mother blue whale for around 6 months before the blue whale calf is ready to venture out by itself.

Black Widow Spider

True Wild :ife | Black Widow Spider | There are three main species of black widow spider, all of which have very similar characteristics and inhabit areas in Northern America and parts of Mexico. Until very recently all three species of black widow spider were classified as one but recent research shows that as the species inhabit different areas, the three species of black widow spider have adapted to their environment in different ways.

The Northern black widow spider is primarily found in the north east of the USA and parts of south east Canada, although the range of the northern black widow spider overlaps with that of the western black widow spider a great deal. The Western black widow spider inhabits areas of the western USA, Canada and parts of Mexico, although these western black widow spiders are often confused for the False black widow spider in Canada.

The Southern black widow spider is found throughout the states in south east America from Florida right up to New York, and are also found more west towards Texas and Arizona where the black widow spider is said to run rampant.

The black widow spider typically preys on a variety of insects, but occasionally they do feed upon woodlice and other arachnids. The black widow spider waits until prey has been trapped in its web before they quickly run out of their den, wrap it up and bite it. The venom from the bite of the black widow spider takes about ten minutes to take effect so the prey is held tightly by the spider. When the prey of the black widow spider has stopped moving, digestive enzymes are released into the wound where the black widow spider originally bit it. The black widow spider then carries its prey back to its retreat before feeding.

The black widow spider, although small, has extremely dangerous venom that is said to be more potent than the venom of a cobra. It is rare for a healthy human adult to be injected with a fatal dose of the venom from a black widow spider, and generally bites will result in a large swelling around the bite and will cause the human to experience nausea, muscle aches and breathing difficulties. The greatest amount of human deaths by spider have been caused by the black widow spider, mainly due to the enormous geographical range that is inhabited by the black widow. These instances have dramatically increased with the development of antivenin and more effective plumbing in households.

Black Bear

True Wild Life | Black Bear | Black Bears are the most common bear found in North America. The black bear's terrain ranges everywhere from Alaska to Canada to Mexico, and there have been occasional sighting of the black bear further into South America. Black bears generally grow to about 180cm tall and weigh around 300 lbs. Extremely large wild male black bears have been seen to grow over 250cm tall! Black bears have been known to run at speeds of 30mph for short periods of time and are good swimmers. The black bear's large claws make them good diggers, and make find hunting for grubs in the dirt a piece of cake!

The black bear is predominantly found in the northern USA and Canada, where the black bear generally eats berries and shoots but also fish, small mammals and the occasional small deer. The black bear can eat around 80 lbs of food a day during the summer months, which the black bear does to prepare itself for hibernating during the winter.

Despite the fact that the American black bear is found in 41 out of 50 states of the USA, and all provinces in Canada, the American black bear rarely comes into contact with humans and therefore tends to have a calmer attitude towards people when compared to other species of bear found in America, and the Asian black bear with whom the American black bear shares a common European ancestor.

Female black bears generally reach breeding age when they are around 5 years old and are able to produce offspring every couple of years but it is generally dependent on the health of the female black bear. Male black bears tend to reach breeding age at around the same time as the female black bears, however, the male black bears generally have to wait until they have grown and are therefore big enough to win breeding rights with the female black bear.

The American black bear has a very vegetarian diet with only around 15% of the black bears food intake being animal matter. The black bear feeds on nuts, seeds and berries found in the surrounding woodland and is a keen insect hunter eating wasps, ants and bees. The American black bear is a dominant predator in its environment except for when the black bears territory overlaps with the territory of the brown bear, where the two bear species seem to stay out of each others way.

Although black bear populations have been severely declining over the past 100 years due to hunting and habitat loss, recent reports show that black bear populations are finally beginning to increase. Although the black bear is still considered to be endangered in certain areas, in others the black bear seems to be thriving once again. The conservation status of the black bear has therefore been re-evaluated meaning that the black bear is now considered to be animal that is no longer under immediate threat of extinction.

Bison

True Wild Life | Bison | The bison is also known as the American bison and the American buffalo, although the bison is only thought to be very distantly related to the buffalo and the water buffalo found in Africa and Asia respectively. The bison is one of the largest types of cow in the world with adult bison commonly growing to 2 meters tall or more. The bison typically have long shaggy hair if they inhabit colder regions and the bison in the warmer climates have shorter hair.

The wild bison has been hunted by humans for meat, skins and trophy hunting. The bison has only a handful of predators in the wild mainly due to the sheer size of the bison. Wolves, bears and cougars are amongst those animals that hunt the bison in their natural habitat.

The bison is considered to be the largest land mammal still in existence in North America, where the natural habitat of the bison ranged from Canada to Mexico. Due to loss of the bisons habitat and hunting, the bison are now only found in large herds in very remote areas and farmland.

Before the settlers arrived in North America in the 1800s there were approximately 60 - 100 million bison inhabiting the area, the settlers hunted the bison population down to a mere 1,000 from which the species has still not fully recovered.

Birds Of Paradise

True Wild Life | Birds Of Paradise | The birds of paradise are a group of birds that are found in the tropical rainforests of south east Asia, mainly in the jungles of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and parts of eastern Australia. Birds of paradise are best known for the beautiful array of feathers which are existent on the male birds of paradise, which the male bird of paradise uses to attract the attention of the surrounding female birds of paradise. As with many species of bird, the female birds of paradise are dull looking in comparison to their male counterparts and are generally smaller and have light brown feathers, and have a similar appearance to the nightingale.

There are around 50 different birds of paradise species that range in size from 15cm to over a meter in height. Many of the birds of paradise species are extremely rare and are only found in particular habitats and in certain places. The birds of paradise were unknown to the western world until 1996 when David Attenborough stunned the world with his footage of the incredible birds whilst on a trip to Papua New Guinea. Many birds of paradise species feed on fruits and berries found in the canopy of the surrounding jungle. Some species however, are very partial to eating insects and other birds of paradise favour particular species of spider.

Birds of paradise are known to be the most dramatic and attractive birds in the world. The brightly coloured plumage of the male birds of paradise contains colours ranging from red, to yellow, to green and along with their unique dance moves, the male birds of paradise really stand out on the forest floor. The beautiful, bright colours of the birds of paradise have made these birds a highly prized target for hunters and tribesman alike who use the brightly coloured feathers of the birds of paradise to create clothes and costumes. This practice and tradition has meant for enormous population declines for the birds of paradise, with some species being worse off than others.

Birds of paradise tend to be solitary birds and only come together to mate. The male bird of paradise attracts a female bird of paradise using his bright feathers and perfected dance routine. The female bird of paradise lays her eggs in a nest. Unlike many other species of bird, the birds of paradise can nest on ground level, in the trees or in dense foliage. Birds of paradise chicks usually hatch within 20 days but the specific incubation period differs between species. The birds of paradise chicks are often born with no feathers at all although some hatchings are born with a few. The newly born birds of paradise chicks are unable to walk or stand and rely on the mother bird of paradise to find food. Birds of paradise chicks are usually independent by the time they are a month old.

Adult birds of paradise have very few natural predators in the wild but the more vulnerable birds of paradise chicks are preyed upon by large birds of prey and the odd snake. The main predator of the birds of paradise is the humans that live in settlements in the same habitat. Birds of paradise are also being continually threatened by deforestation and habitat loss.

Bird

True Wild Life | Bird | There are numerous species of bird found in a wide variety of habitats all around the world. Birds are one of the most thriving groups of animals on the planet as they generally have their habitat (the skies) to themselves. Birds can be easily distinguished from other animals due to their sharp, pointed beaks, thin legs, wings and feathers covering their bodies. Although all bird species have wings, some are actually flightless animals that only use their wings for balance and not for flying. Where other birds, such as penguins, use their wings for swimming.

Birds are often omnivorous animals, generally eating nearly anything that they can find. Most species of bird survive on a diet primarily consisting on insects and plants such as fruits, nuts, berries and seeds.

Birds are also distinctive in the fact that they lay eggs in a similar way to other animal groups such as fish and reptiles. Birds often make nests in the trees or on the ground in which to lay their eggs.

Beetle

 

True Wild Life | Beetle | The beetle is a small sized invertebrate that is known to be incredibly versatile and is found in numerous different shapes and sizes. Beetles are found in nearly every different habitat on Earth and are only absent from the freezing polar regions. The beetle has the largest number of sub-species out of all the insects, with 40% of all recognised insects being classed as beetles. There are more than 350,000 different species of noted beetle, however, scientists estimate the real number is between 4 million and 8 million beetle species.

 

 

As with other species of insects, the body of the beetle is comprised of three sections all coated in the hard outer shell, which are the head of the beetle, the thorax of the beetle and the abdomen of the beetle. Beetles also have antennae which are used to understand the surroundings of the beetle and are made of about 10 different sections. Beetles are believed to play a vital role in whichever ecosystem they are inhabiting mainly as they consume the debris from plants and animals including fallen petals and animal dung. All animals that ingest decomposing material are working wonders for the soil as they are consuming a large proportion of the compounds that would otherwise be absorbed into the soil, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

 

The beetle is an omnivorous animals and feeds on whatever it can find but generally plants and fungi and the debris from both plants and animals. Some bigger species of beetle have been known to eat small birds and even small species of mammal. Other species of beetle feed of the dust from wood and therefore enjoy burrowing themselves into trees. Due to their small size and wide, diverse range, beetles are prey to numerous species of animal from other insects to reptiles, birds, fish and mammals. The exact predators of the beetle however are largely dependent on the size and species of the beetle and the area in which the beetle inhabits.

 

Recently, the Asian long-horned beetle has been found in number of North American states with the beetle having quickly gained a name for itself as an agricultural pest. The Asian long-horned beetle is a type of bark boring beetle which means that they dig themselves into wood.

Beaver

True Wild Life | Beaver | Beavers are most well known for their distinctive home-building that can be seen in rivers and streams. The beavers dam is built from twigs, sticks, leaves and mud and are surprisingly strong. Here the beavers can catch their fish and swim in the water. Beavers are nocturnal animals existing in the forests of Europe and North America (the Canadian beaver is the most common beaver). Beavers use their large, flat shaped tails, to help with dam building and it also allows the beavers to swim at speeds of up to 30 knots per hour.

The beaver's significance is acknowledged in Canada by the fact that there is a Canadian Beaver on one of their coins. The beaver colonies create one or more dams in the beaver colonies' habitat to provide still, deep water to protect the beavers against predators. The beavers also use the deep water created using beaver dams and to float food and building materials along the river.

In 1988 the North American beaver population was 60-400 million. Recent studies have estimated there are now around 6-12 million beavers found in the wild. The decline in beaver populations is due to the beavers being hunted for their fur and for the beaver's glands that are used as medicine and perfume. The beaver is also hunted because the beavers harvesting of trees and the beavers flooding of waterways may interfere with other human land uses.

Beavers are known for their danger signal which the beaver makes when the beaver is startled or frightened. A swimming beaver will rapidly dive while forcefully slapping the water with its broad tail. This means that the beaver creates a loud slapping noise, which can be heard over large distances above and below water. This beaver warning noise serves as a warning to beavers in the area. Once a beaver has made this danger signal, nearby beavers dive and may not come back up for some time. Beavers are slow on land, but the beavers are good swimmers that can stay under water for as long as 15 minutes at a time. In the winter the beaver does not hibernate but instead stores sticks and logs underwater that the beaver can then feed on through the cold winter.