saevuswildlife

12/10/2023

Indian tiger centipede

By Bantering Ram

11/10/2023

Himalayan marmot

Check out "Burrow Down, Sleep Tight: Life of the Himalayan Marmot" article by RoundGlass Sustain.

Image credit: Unsplash

09/10/2023

SOUTH INDIAN ROCK AGAMA(Psammophilus dorsalis)

By Amitava Banerjee

07/10/2023

Dolphins are one of the oldest creatures in the world along with some species of turtles, crocodiles and sharks. The Ganges river dolphin was officially discovered in 1801. Ganges river dolphins once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. But the species is extinct from most of its early distribution ranges.

The Ganges river dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially blind. They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind. They are frequently found alone or in small groups, and generally a mother and calf travel together. Calves are chocolate brown at birth and then have grey-brown smooth, hairless skin as adults. Females are larger than males and give birth once every two to three years to only one calf.

Text : WWF
Image credit : François Xavier Pelletier / WWF-

05/10/2023

Indian Rock Python (Python molurus)

Image A)Ninad Bhosale/flickr
B)Chathuruka Ranawaka/flickr

03/10/2023

30/09/2023

Giant Manta Ray
The giant manta ray is the world’s largest ray with a wingspan of up to 26 feet. They are filter feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton. Giant manta rays are slow-growing, migratory animals with small, highly fragmented populations that are sparsely distributed across the world.

The main threat to the giant manta ray is commercial fishing, with the species both targeted and caught as bycatch in a number of global fisheries throughout its range. Manta rays are particularly valued for their gill plates, which are traded internationally. 

Images : Unsplash
Text : NOAA Fisheries

29/09/2023

Poison vs Venom (2/2)
Venom is a specialised type of poison that has evolved for a specific purpose. It is actively injected via a bite or sting. Because venom has a mixture of small and large molecules, it needs a wound to be able to enter the body, and to be effective must find its way into the bloodstream. For this reason, venomous animals are more active in defending themselves. A taipan, which injects venom through syringe-like teeth, is a venomous animal. So are jellyfish, which inject venom into skin using venom-filled harpoon-like structures that shoot out from cells along their tentacles when touched.

Occasionally an animal can be both venomous and poisonous. The blue-ringed octopus, for example, is venomous when it bites with its beak but it is poisonous if it is swallowed. This is because it has a myriad of toxins in it, with the most potent (tetrodotoxin) able to be absorbed due to its very small size.

Text : Australian Academy of Science
Images:
Malabar pit viper: Unsplash
Blue ringed octopus: flickr

28/09/2023

Poison vs. Venom (1/2)

The terms are often used interchangeably, but ‘venom’ and ‘poison’ are not the same thing. True, they’re both a toxic substance that can potentially harm or kill you, but the main difference lies in the way they are delivered to the unfortunate victim.

Poison is a toxin that gets into the body via swallowing, inhaling or absorption through the skin. Poisonous animals tend to be more passive-aggressive—they often won’t actively attack their prey, but release their toxins as a result of being eaten, touched or disturbed. A cane toad, which secretes toxins from glands on each shoulder, is a poisonous animal. It has to be ingested or licked to cause harm. Poison ivy is an example of a poisonous plant—touching it can result in an itchy and sometimes painful rash.

Text : Australian Academy of Science
Image : Unsplash

26/09/2023

Meet Cassowary of the flightless feathered family.

 The cassowary is a large, flightless bird most closely related to the emu. Although the emu is taller, the cassowary is the heaviest bird in Australia and the second heaviest in the world after its cousin, the ostrich. It is covered in dense, two-quilled black feathers that, from a distance, look like hair. These feathers are not designed for flight but for protection in the cassowary's rainforest habitat, keeping the bird dry and safe from the sharp thorns found on many rainforest plants. Long, strong bare quills hang from the bird's tiny wings. 

Text :-https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/cassowary
Image:- Unsplash

24/09/2023

Small Felids at Risk
Illegal trade is a major threat to wildlife as it leads to the poaching of organisms regardless of their population
status. In India, the illegal trade of large cats such as tigers and leopards has become tougher over the years due to International and national policies. A recent paper titled “The price of gold?
A note on the illegal trade in Asiatic golden cats and other small felids between Mizoram (India) and Myanmar”,published in Biodiversity, an academic
journal, in May 2023 talks about illegal trade of small cat species across the Indo-Myanmar border. Check out the news piece in the column "News and More" of the Saevus Wildlife Magazine.

1) Asiatic golden cat
2) Marbled cat
3) Clouded leopard

Words : Zeba Madani

Images : Flickr.com

22/09/2023

*DON'T LET THE RHINOS, BECOME EXTINCT LIKE DINOS.* - Internet

There are 5 species of Rhinos on the planet.
These include two African rhino species - black and white rhinos. The remaining three are Asian rhino species, which include greater one–horned, Sumatran and Javan rhinos.  

The Sumatran, Javan and Black rhinos are listed as ‘critically endangered’ by the IUCN - there are thought to be only 66 Javan rhinos and between 34-47 Sumatran rhinos left, which makes them truly under threat of extinction in the wild.  

The white rhino is classified as 'near threatened’ with 15,942 individuals, whereas the greater one-horned rhino is currently vulnerable with 4,014 individuals in the wild.  

Text: WWF

Credit