Greater kudu

The greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsicerus) is the third largest species of antelope (after the Giant eland and Cape eland). It reaches up to 270 cms (9 feet) in length and 160 cms (5 feet) in height. Males are larger than females. 

It is identifiable from the conspicuous mane on the throat, neck and back, and the crosswise white stripes on its flanks.

Only the males have horns, which can be to 172 cms (6 feet) long. 

The greater kudu inhabits most of southern Africa south of the Zambezi, and eastern Africa as far north as Sudan and Ethiopia. It avoids open grasslands, preferring thickets, bush and open forests.

The greater kudu lives mostly in small groups of four or five individuals, although older males are sometimes solitary.

Gestation lasts about 210 to 240 days, with a single calf being born except on very rare occasions.

© John Welford

Aardwolf

The aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) is a mainly nocturnal carnivore that is native to the arid and rocky regions of southern and eastern Africa.

Its colouring is yellowish grey with dark crosswise stripes. The conspicuous mane of long hair stretches from the nape of the neck to reach over the back, continuing as a bushy tail.

The shape of the aardwolf is similar to that of the hyaena, but its skeleton is more slender and its skull more elongated. Whereas hyaenas have five digits on both fore and hind limbs, the aardwolf has only four digits on its hind feet.

Aardwolves have small teeth that are widely spaced, the molars being completely rudimentary. This relates to the nature of their diet, which is mainly insects (especially termites) and birds’ eggs. 

© John Welford

Cats that don`t mind water

We all know that cats hate getting wet – or at least, that is true of most of them.

That is because a cat’s fur can easily become waterlogged, although the top layer is water-resistant to an extent. A cat that falls into water can drown very quickly if a heavy, waterlogged undercoat drags it under. 

A cat’s fur does not dry easily, and a cold skin caused by waterlogging can lead to hypothermia. 

However, that is not the case with the Van cat of Turkey, found in the region of Lake Van in the east of the country. This cat does not have an undercoat, but its fur is smooth and water-resistant. Van cats delight in taking a dip in water to cool down on a hot day. The same is true of several “big cats” such as lions, tigers and jaguars. 

There is also the “fishing cat” of Southeast Asia (see photo). This cat hunts in water, diving to catch fish and sometimes even attacking ducks from beneath the surface. 

Domestic cats can sometimes becoming acclimatized to water in moderation. This includes show cats that have to tolerate being washed in order to look their best. And there are even cats that enjoy playing with water – although I, speaking for myself, have yet to come across one!

© John Welford

Emerald tree boa

The emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus) lives in the Amazon rain forest of South America. It is perfectly adapted for life in the trees, being difficult to spot as it coils around a tree branch and blends into the foliage.

These snakes grow up to two metres (6.5 feet) in length. It has white markings along the back that also help with its camouflage, as these mimic shafts of sunlight playing on green leaves.

The emerald tree boa preys on birds and small mammals, which it catches by lunging outwards or downwards while firmly anchored to a branch by its tail. Its eyes have vertical pupils which help it to sense movement. It can also detect the heat given off by an animal, thanks to deep pits in the scales around its mouth. Long teeth enable it to get a firm grip on its prey.

Up to 15 young will be born each season. These are variously coloured in shades of red, orange or yellow, only acquiring their green coloration after one year.

© John Welford

Rhinoceros iguana

The rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta) is a native of the Caribbean, and in particular the islands of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Puerto Rico.

It is a large animal, measuring up 1.2 metres (4 feet) in length. It is characterized by several enlarged raised scales on the snout that look like horns. Males are larger than females, with larger horns and crests.

Rhinoceros iguanas walk ponderously with the head held up, but can run at speed when threatened. It will also bite and thrash its tail to defend itself. It is highly territorial.

Food consists of leaves and fruits.

Females will lay anything from two to twenty eggs in a burrow, which will be closely guarded.

Habitat destruction is a threat to the species, as are predations from non-native animals including dogs, rats, pigs and mongooses.

© John Welford

Anteaters versus ants

One might think that anteaters, such as the giant African Pangolin, have an easy life. They eat ants and the plains are full of anthills just waiting to be raided for their contents. However, ants have their own ways of making things uncomfortable for anteaters.

When a mound has been slashed open the ants will swarm out in their thousands to mount a stern defence. Many will perish in the attempt, being caught on the anteater’s long sticky tongue and swallowed whole, but others will try to penetrate the monster’s eyes and nostrils. The anteater will get round this by shutting its eyes with its particularly thick eyelids and using special muscles that close its nostrils.

Even so, the anteater will soon find the experience not to be one worth prolonging and may be forced to give up after having consumed only about a hundred ants. A pangolin can eat up to 200,000 ants in a night, which means that it has to be extremely busy finding ant colonies and grabbing what it can at every opportunity.

There are also ant species that have defences that will dissuade anteaters from even trying their luck with them. These include leaf-cutter ants and army ants, both of which have strong jaws that can give an anteater’s snout a very sharp nip.

The fact that various species of anteater and ant have evolved feeding and defence strategies that put them in balance means that all their species have survived down to the present day. In other words, there are still enough ants to feed the anteaters, but not so many anteaters that all ant colonies are destroyed.

© John Welford

Seduction, lizard style

Female lizards in California have shown that, when it comes to choosing a mate, what matters most is the property he owns rather than any other attribute he might possess!

The lizards in question are side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) that, being cold-blooded, depend on the heat of the sun. They live on rocky outcrops and the most prized site for basking is a boulder that stays illuminated for as much of the day as possible and has crevices underneath it that offer a hiding place should a predator turn up as well as a place where a female can lay her eggs.

The best boulders are subject to intense competition among male lizards, and soon become the property of the alphas in any lizard community. They then get to breed with the most females, which is all to the good in terms of species survival.

However, experiments have been done that show that being an alpha male is not in itself the reason why females will gravitate in his direction. When top-rated boulders are taken away from an alpha and given to a much punier male, the latter suddenly becomes a lot more popular with the ladies, probably much to his surprise.

It would appear that it is not only human females who can be seduced by the best rock in the window!

© John Welford

A particularly nasty wasp

There are several wasp species across the world that have a life cycle that involves them becoming parasites of other creatures. One of these is a Costa Rican wasp (Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga) that targets a particularly formidable spider (Plesiometa argyra).

The spider is large and fearsome, and therefore avoided by just about every other insect apart from females of the wasp. It hovers above the spider then lands directly on its back, where it lays a single egg before making its escape.

The spider is not affected by this visit at first, but in time the egg absorbs nutrients from the host and the larva that hatches from it injects the spider with a chemical that makes it act in ways that it would not otherwise have done.

The night before the larva is ready to pupate, the spider destroys its web, which is not unusual given that many spiders do so as part of their regular behaviour. However, when a new web is spun, it is very different from what went before because its purpose is entirely to benefit the wasp and not the spider.

This web is hardly a web at all, because it consists of strands of strong silk that provide an anchor to nearby plants. When finished, the spider hangs beneath this framework and never moves again.

The wasp larva then eats the spider, and by dawn it is ready to weave its own cocoon which hangs inside the rough web made by the spider. It will then take its time in transforming into an adult wasp, protected inside its cocoon which in turn is safe from ants and the effects of heavy rain thanks to the strong threads that the wasp forced the spider to weave.

Nature has managed to produce some amazingly unpleasant creatures!

© John Welford