Giant Japanese Spider Crab

One of the first and most significant discoveries made by Jane Goodall was that chimpanzees hunt for and eat meat. During her first year in Gombe she observed a male chimpanzee, David Greybeard, an adult female and a juvenile eating what she realized was a young bushpig. Before this, scientists assumed chimpanzees only ate fruit and leaves.

On that first occasion, it was not clear whether the chimpanzees had caught and killed the prey, or merely come upon a carcass. A short time later, Goodall actually observed the hunting process when a group of chimpanzees attacked, killed and ate a red colobus monkey that had climbed high into a tree. The hunters covered all available escape routes while one adolescent male crept after the prey and caught it. The other males then rushed up and seized parts of the carcass.

Successful hunters typically share some portion of their kill with other group members in response to a variety of begging behaviors. Most of the captured animal is eaten, including the brain. Meat is a favorite food item among chimpanzees, but it makes up less than two percent of their overall diet.

If a mother dies, her orphaned offspring may be unable to survive. Older siblings often adopt their orphaned brothers and sisters and sometimes chimpanzees are adopted by other members of the group that are not related to them.

 

They communicate much like humans do—by kissing, embracing, patting on the back, touching hands, tickling and more. Like other great apes, they groom each other to improve relations in the community and to calm nervous or tense individuals.

1. 
   Chimpanzees are one of our closest living relatives. In fact, humans and chimpanzees share 95 to 98 percent of the same DNA!
 
   
2. 
   Chimpanzees make and use tools. In fact, they use more tools for more purposes than any other creature except human beings. Visit the video page to watch videos of tool use at Gombe National Park in Tanzania.
 
   
3. 
   Chimpanzees develop lifelong family bonds, particularly between mother and child. Mothers and dependent young (up to age seven or so) are always together.  
 
   
4. 
   Chimpanzees can currently be found in 21 African countries. The greatest concentration of chimpanzees is in the rain forests of what used to be the equatorial forest “belt.”
 
   
5. 
   Chimpanzees are omnivores, which means they eat fruits, nuts, seeds, blossoms and leaves, as well as many kinds of insects and occasionally medium-sized animals.
 
   
6. 
   Chimpanzees communicate in many ways, most notably through sounds and calls. They also communicate with each other through touch, facial expressions and body language.
 
   
7. 
   Chimpanzees are knuckle walkers, which means they walk on all fours using their knuckles for support when they are on the ground or even when they are up in trees.
 
   
8. 
   Chimpanzee habitat is rapidly disappearing as human activity increases in the areas where chimpanzees live. Some of the causes for habitat loss include the conversion of land into agriculture, competition for natural resources such as firewood, commercial logging and mining.
 
   
9. 
   Chimpanzees can catch and be infected with a number of human diseases.
 
   
10. 
    Chimpanzees are endangered. At the turn of the 20th century, they numbered between 1 and 2 million. Now there are estimated to be fewer than 300,000 chimpanzees remaining in the wild. Help us save them.
    

1. 
   In captivity, chimpanzees can be taught human sign languages such as ASL (American Sign Language).
 
   
2. 
   Scientists have only recently been able to determine chimpanzee paternity through analyzing DNA in chimpanzee scat (also known as poop).
 
   
3. 
   Chimpanzees sometimes get bored and will make up games to amuse themselves. Watch the video below to see one Gombe chimpanzee who is known for making up games.
   
4. 
   Chimpanzees communicate physically in ways similar to humans—by kissing, embracing, patting on the back, touching hands, tickling, etc. And they even laugh when they play!
   
5. 
   Chimpanzees have opposable thumbs and big toes, which enable them to have a precision grip on just about anything.
 
   
6. 
   Each night, chimpanzees make “nests” to sleep in and they never sleep in the same nest twice. The nests are made out of leaves, branches and other materials. Sometimes they even make a pillow out of the softest leaves. Watch the video below to see how chimpanzees make their nests.
   
7. 
   Infant chimpanzees have a white tail tuft that disappears by early adulthood.
 
   
8. 
   As a rite of passage, almost every young chimpanzee gets lost from his or her mother at some point during exploration. Watch the video below to learn more about this.
   
9. 
   Some chimpanzees, like Golden and Glitter, have Facebook pages. Golden and Glitter are the oldest known set of chimpanzee twins.
   
10. 
    Chimpanzees aren’t always graceful. Watch the video below to see some chimpanzee outtakes from Gombe National Park in Tanzania.
    

We stand on the threshold of a future without chimpanzees       in the wild.

The IUCN/World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species says each of the species of African great apes – chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos – as endangered. African apes are largely confined to the relatively intact forests of Equatorial Africa as their last remaining stronghold. Chimpanzees are likely extinct in 4 of their 25 range countries (Gambia, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin). Where they numbered perhaps 1 million at the turn of the 20th century, today it’s estimated there are 172,000-300,000 chimpanzees remaining in the wild. 
The human Factor

The threats to great apes in the natural world are many. Habitat loss is a result of conversion of land for agriculture and competition for limited natural resources such as firewood, as well as commercial logging and mining, often in the heart of once pristine forest. The commercial bushmeat and illegal exotic pet trades give poachers incentives to kill even nursing mothers. Infectious diseases such as Ebola Fever, to which great apes are inherently more vulnerable as their numbers decline, may become as serious a threat as we have seen. Armed conflict often leads to environmental destruction and species decline as soldiers move through the forest or thousands of people are forced to relocate. And there are exacerbating factors – lack of awareness and information about great apes and the laws in place to protect them, and weak enforcement where laws do exist. Nor is the general public aware of the potential economic benefits of protecting great apes.

All of these problems have deep roots, including human population growth, the staggering scale of poverty and disease, lack of economic opportunity, political indifference and corruption, conflict, and scant community involvement in managing natural resources. To begin to make a difference in the face of such fundamental challenges requires a holistic, multi-pronged response.

Tiger Shark
GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The tiger shark has tiger-like markings on a dark back with an off-white underbelly. Pups have spotted markings that grow together to form stripes that fade with maturity. It has a large, thick-body with a blunt snout. The first dorsal fin is much longer than the second. The caudal fin is long and pointed. There is a dermal ridge along the back between the 2 dorsal fins. Color-Adult: gray-brown on top, off-white belly, young shark: dark stripes on the back.

Tiger shark teeth are very serrated (saw-edged), razor-sharp, and curved. The teeth are the same in upper and lower jaws

Tiger sharks grow up to 20 feet (6 m). On average they are about 10 feet (3 m) long.

Tiger sharks will eat fish, turtles, crabs, clams, mammals, sea birds, reptiles, other sharks, and just about anything else that they can catch alive.

The tiger shark does occasionally attack people and is greatly feared, but people are not sought out by sharks.

Tiger sharks are solitary animals except during mating.

Tiger sharks go from the surface to 1,200 feet (340 m). They swim in tropical waters worldwide and in some temperate seas. They inhabit both the shoreline and open waters, ranging perhaps up to 500 miles.

Tiger sharks are found worldwide in warm seas (tropical and subtropical).

Tiger sharks swim at an average speed of 2.4 mph (3.85 kph). They can swim in fast bursts, but can only sustain these high speeds for a few seconds..

Tiger sharks reproduce via aplacental viviparity; the young of tiger sharks are born live in litters of between 10 and 82 pups. Gestation takes about 9 months. At birth they are 20-30 inches (51-76 cm) long and are completely independent.

The life span of the tiger shark is unknown.

The tiger shark is a fierce predator and tiger sharks hunt everything in the water including fish, seals, birds, turtles and even other sharks. The tiger shark gets it's name from the black stripes it has when it is young. Most tiger sharks lose these stripes as they get older.

Like most other species of shark, tiger sharks have sensors on the sides of their heads which enable them to detect small muscle movements from nearby creatures. The tiger shark also has a wedge-shaped head which allows the shark to turn quickly when it needs to. Tiger sharks can reach a top speed of around 20mph which is pretty fast in the water!

Tiger sharks are extremely aggressive animals are thought to be one of the most dangerous sharks for humans to come into contact with. Tiger sharks are solitary hunters and usually do most of their hunting at night when the tiger shark can move through the water unseen.

Female tiger sharks mate every three years or so and the time of year when this happens depends on where the tiger shark lives. Tiger sharks in the Northern Hemisphere mate from March to May, where tiger sharks in the Southern Hemisphere mate from November to January. The eggs hatch inside the female tiger shark and can remain inside her for up to 16 months. When they are big enough, the female tiger shark gives birth to between 10 and 80 baby tiger sharks.

Tiger sharks usually range from between 3 to 5 metres in length. Although much larger specimens have been seen, the largest a tiger shark tends to get is around 5.5 metres long.

All lorises have extremely strong fingers and toes, and they are capable of maintaining a powerful grip with either hands or feet for astonishingly long periods of time. They are arboreal and nocturnal, sleeping by day in hollowed out trees, tree crevices or branches. Generally they sleep curled up in a ball, with their heads tucked up under their arms. When they move, they do so with slow deliberate hand-over-hand movements, moving along as easily under a branch as above. They are capable of moving quickly if alarmed, but typically they do not jump or leap.

In North America, the approximately 50 captive pygmy slow lorises are managed by a Species Survival Plan (SSP). Due to deforestation in their native Vietnam, pygmy slows are considered endangered. The Lemur Center houses 8 individuals, 4 males and 4 females, the second largest captive population in North America.
Feeding

The foraging strategy and dietary habits of the pygmy slow loris are not unlike those of its larger relative, the slow loris. The animal is a nocturnal feeder, preferring to search for all of its food items under cover of night. They are capable of moving faster than slow lorises. Individuals forage alone, and mothers even “park” their infants in a safe place rather than carrying them along when they venture out.

Pygmy slow lorises are opportunistic feeders, consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material. They prefer soft fruits and gums, but will readily consume tender shoots and other plant parts. Pygmy slows have been observed gouging tree branches in an attempt to stimulate a flow of edible gums/sap.

They do not eat leaves, but may often lick them for moisture. The pygmy slow loris diet also includes a fair amount of animal protein, which comprises perhaps as much as 33% of the total. They are expert in catching insects, and often capture those that have a particularly pungent odor, which the lorises can track with their keen sense of smell.

Like other loris species, pygmy slow lorises are nocturnal and arboreal. While they are considered to be solitary foragers, it is not uncommon for the territory of one male to overlap with that of several females. Males do not readily tolerate the presence of other males in their territory.
This species is more active at night and moves more quickly than some of the other lorises. In fact, studies have suggested that they are almost constantly in motion during the hours of darkness, pausing briefly only to feed.

If accosted, individuals can emit a strong odor warning predators not to attack. If the predator persists, the loris produces a secretion that is toxic when mixed with saliva. It may then bite the hapless predator. Although extensive research has not been conducted on this defense mechanism, it is known that the secretion is poisonous to humans, and many native peoples in Asia avoid lorises in the wild. If all other defenses fail, the animals may drop to the ground and flee, but only as a last resort.

Reproduction

The reproductive habits of the pygmy slow loris are very similar to those of the slow loris. Mothers give birth every 12 to 18 months, producing small litters of one or two individuals after a 188-day gestational period. When first born, infants cling to their mothers’ bellies, but mother’s will “park” their infants on a suitable branch (or in captivity the side of a cage) from day one whenever they need to forage for food. Infants are soon capable of moving around short distances on branches after being parked. Infants are weaned at about 133 days. Female offspring reach sexual maturity first, usually around nine months of age, while males may not do so until 18 or 20 months have elapsed.

While sympatric with slow lorises in part of its range, pygmy slow lorises are confined to a somewhat smaller geographical area. They are found in the countries of Vietnam, Laos, and the province of Yunnan in China. Where they do occur, members of this species are usually found in thick foliage deep in tropical rainforests. They are also sometimes found in bamboo groves.
Sparse distribution, coupled with a history of military activity and political upheaval in its home range, has taken its toll on this species. Pygmy slow lorises are the most endangered of all the non-lemur prosimians. During the Vietnam War, much of their habitat was destroyed and they nearly disappeared from that country altogether. Recent studies, however, suggest that the animal is making a comeback and that its population in the country of Laos may be thriving. Pygmy slow lorises are not hunted for food, but specimens are collected for sale as pets and for use in traditional medicine. They can frequently be found on sale at markets in Vietnam.

Adult Size: 0.8 – 1.0 pounds


Natural Range: Vietnam, Laos, and parts of China


Social life: Solitary nocturnal forager


Habitat: Secondary forests, formally in primary rainforests


Diet: Fruits, other vegetation, and occasional small mammals and birds


Lifespan: over 20 years in captivity


Sexual maturity: females 9 months, males 17 – 20 months


Mating: Once every 12 – 18 months


Gestation: 188 days


Number of young: 1 – 2 offspring every 1 – 1 ½ years
DLC

Interesting Facts

• 
  Pygmy lorises sleep rolled up in a ball with their head between their legs.
  
• 
  Pygmy lorises often hang upside-down from branches by their feet so they can use both hands to eat.
  
• 
  The native habitat of pygmy lorises was devastated during the Vietnam War. They are the most endangered of the non-lemur prosimians.
  
• 
  Pygmy lorises are often sold in the markets in Vietnam.
  

What is a koala?

The koala gets its name from an ancient Aboriginal word meaning "no drink" because it receives over 90% of its hydration from the Eucalyptus leaves (also known as gum leaves) it eats, and only drinks when ill or times when there is not enough moisture in the leaves. ie during droughts etc.

The koala is the only mammal, other than the Greater Glider and Ringtail Possum, which can survive on a diet of eucalyptus leaves.
Habitat & Diet

'Habitat' refers to the types of bushland that koalas like to live in. They are found in a range of habitats, from coastal islands and tall eucalypt forests to low woodlands inland.

Koalas today are found in Queensland , New South Wales , Victoria and South Australia . Their range extends from the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns in Qld to islands off the coast of Victoria and South Australia in the south, and west to central and western Qld, NSW and Victoria.

Koalas live in societies, just like humans, so they need to be able to come into contact with other koalas. It is because of this they need to have areas of suitable eucalypt forest which are large enough to support a healthy koala population and to allow for expansion by maturing young koalas. Koalas are highly territorial and in stable breeding groups, individual members of koala society maintain their own "home range" areas.

A ‘home range’ consists of a number of ‘home range trees’ and ‘food trees’ which comprise the long-term territory of the individual koala. These trees provide the koala with food, shelter and places for social contact which will support it for the term of its natural life (assuming there is no habitat clearing).

A home range varies in size depending on the habitat quality of bushland. Habitat quality can be measured in terms of the density of key food trees. "Home range trees" define the boundaries of the individual koala’s home range and can be likened to surveyors pegs marking the extent of a property. They are not always apparent to the human eye, but koalas can tell whether a tree ‘belongs’ to another koala or not. Within a socially stable group, the home ranges of individual koalas overlap with those of their neighbours. It is in the shared, overlapping trees that the majority of social interaction takes place. These are very important trees.

Koala populations only occur if suitable habitat is available and because Koala's are very fussy eaters and have strong preferences for different types of gumleaves, then the most important factor which make habitats suitable are the presence of tree species preferred by koalas (usually eucalypts, but also some non-eucalypts) growing in particular associations on suitable soils with adequate rainfall.

Research has shown that socially stable koala populations occur only when there are favourite tree species present. Even if a selection of tree species known to be used by koalas occurs within an area, the koala population will not use it unless one or two favourite species are available.

In Australia there are over 600 types of eucalypts, but koalas will only eat 40-50 varieties with only about 10 being preferred. Within a particular area, as few as one, and generally no more than two or three species of eucalypt will be regularly browsed while a variety of other species, including some non-eucalypts, appear to be browsed occasionally or used for just sitting or sleeping in.

Different species of eucalypts grow in different parts of Australia, so a koala in Victoria would have a very different diet from one in Queensland. Koalas like a change, too, and sometimes they will eat from other trees such as wattle or tea tree.

Eucalyptus leaves are very fibrous and low in nutrition, and to most animals are extremely poisonous. To cope with such a diet, nature has equipped koalas with specialised adaptations. A very slow metabolic rate allows koalas to retain food within their digestive system for a relatively long period of time, maximising the amount of energy able to be extracted. At the same time, this slow metabolic rate minimises energy requirements and they will sleep for up to 18 hours per day in order to conserve energy.

Each koala eats approximately 200 to 500 grams of leaves per day. The teeth are adapted to deal with for this. The sharp front incisors nip the leaves from the branches and the molars(back teeth) are shaped to allow the koala to cut and shear the leaves rather than just crush them. A gap between the incisors and the molars, called a 'diastema', allows the tongue to move the mass of leaves around the mouth efficiently.