Green Anaconda

The green anaconda (Eunectes murinus) is a species of snake found in South American rainforests, swamps, marshes and slow moving streams.  It's numbers is not known, but few populations are declining due to habitat destruction and hunting for skin.

Physical Features

The green anaconda is one of the most heaviest snakes, reaching a weight of almost 230 kilograms.  Females are bigger than males, the biggest one being about 29 feet.  These reptiles have an average length of 17 to 20 feet. Their over all body color is olive green with black blotches on it.  Their are reports of 40 feet anacondas, but such claims have not been validated.

Their is an award of $50,000 for anyone who can catch a 35 feet or more long anaconda.  Its head is narrow compared to the body and has an orange and a yellow stripe on either side.  Its eyes are on top of its head so that they can see above the water without exposing their body.

Distribution

They are found in the Amazon and other countries east of the of the Andes like Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, the Guineas, Venezuela and the island of Trinidad.  It is also found in the Orinoco basin.

Diet

The green anaconda can overpower and almost eat anything compared to their size.  Generally , they eat small mammals, reptiles and fishes.  But, large ones prey on huge mammals like capybaras, tapirs, jaguars and some reptiles like caimans and smaller anacondas.  They kill their prey by constricting.  They suffocate their prey and sometimes even stop their victim's heart beat.

Other names 

The other names for green anaconda is the water boa, common anaconda or simply anaconda. They are locally known as 'mata-toro'  which means 'bull killer'. This local name is used in South America and it is a Spanish term.

Source of picture 1:http://www.amazonlodges.net/pg

  

Gharial

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a species of crocodile and is critically endangered.  It is found in India and is one of the longest species of crocodile.  It is sometimes called the Indian gavial or simply gavial.  It is one of the two surviving species of the family Gavialidae.


Physical Features                                                                   A gharial's snout 
The gharial is the second longest crocodilian, being smaller only to the massive saltwater crocodile.  Its long snout distinguishes them from other crocodiles.  They normally measure 16 feet and weigh upto 680 kilograms.  The biggest one caught was 23 feet and weighed more than 1000 kilograms.  Along with the saltwater and nile crocodile, the gharial has a record where three individuals were above 1000 kilograms.  They have more than 100 teeth, with 29 teeth and 26 teeth on the lower jaw on both sides.


Distribution
The gharial is found in India.  they used to be found throughout the Indian subcontinent, but now, the remaining populatiion is mostly found in India.  They inhabit the Ganges river and parts of Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and in Nepal.


Taxonomy
The gharial's closest relative is the false gharial found in part of Malaysia.  It is one of the two species from the family Gavialidae.  Like all crocodiles, it is from the order Crocodolia. 


Conservation Status
The gharial is critically endangered.  About a decade ago, it was on the brink of extinction, but now, due to breeding programs, its population has increased.  In India, there are about 500 gharials released into the wild every year.


Source of picture 1:http://weirdimals.wordpress.com/page/2/
Source of picture 2:http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/valued_life/purple_frog.htm

Dugong

The dugong (dugong dugon) is the closest relative of the extinct Steller's sea cow.  It is a large marine mammal and forms an order called Sirenia along with the manatees.  They are under the threat of getting endangered due to poaching.  


Physical Features
Dugongs are relatively smaller than manatees.  They are the second smallest living species of Sirenia, being bigger to the Amazonian manatee.  Females are normally larger than males.  The biggest female landed on the coast of Saurashtra, India which weighed about 1000 kilograms and was 13 feet long.  The normal length of an adult is 8 feet and they generally weigh 150 to 300 kilograms.  They have thick layer of fat called blubber which protects them from the cold environment of the water.


Diet                                                     A dugong feeding at the Sydney aquarium                              
The dugong is a herbivore and feeds mainly on underwater grass.  They root these grasses out of the sea floor with their snout and chop them with their rough lips.  They feed on these grasses day and night.  They are referred to as "sea cows" because of their diet which consists of grass like cows.  Unlike manatees, they are bottom feeders.


Distribution
Dugongs are found in the warm, coastal waters of East Africa, India and Australia, which includes the Red sea, Pacific ocean and the Indian ocean.  They once roamed the waters of the South Pacific ocean and Indian ocean, but their numbers have greatly reduce due to poaching and they are only found in some parts of these oceans.


Taxonomy
Dugongs are in the order of Sirenia like the manatees.  Their are subspecies recognized.  Dugongs are in the subfamily Dugonginae and in the family Dugongidae.  It used to be considered as a species of manatee and classified in genus of manatee.


Conservation Status
The dugong is currently threatened due to poaching and water pollution.  Its range has greatly decreased.  Many people have started breeding programs to save this species.


Source of picture 1:http://www.haribon.org.ph/index.php?smid=52

Australian white ibis

The Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is common throughout Australia.  It is a species of wading bird and is also known as the sheep bird.

Physical Features

The Australian white ibis has a long, black beak with the face the same color.  They measure about 30 inches and have a beak which is about 7 inches long.  Males weigh 2.5 kilograms while the smaller females weigh about 1.8 kilograms.  They have bald heads.  Most juveniles have feathered heads.  Immature specimens have a shorter beak.  They communicate with other birds by producing a long croak.  They can live for 28 years.


Taxonomy
The Australian white ibis is a member of the family Threskiornithidae and has two subspecies recognized.  These are the T. m. molucca  and the T. m. pygmaeus.  The Australian white ibis was first described by  Georges Cuvier in 1829.  It is part of the superspecies complex along with the Black headed ibis and the sacred ibis.


Feeding
The Australian white ibis mainly feeds on fish, frogs and insects.  Sometimes, when it enters cities, it will mainly eat food from the garbage cans.


Distribution 
They are found in the north and eastern parts of Australia.  They are found in Wollongong, Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville and Gold Coast.  


Conservation status 
The Australian white ibis is not threatened and has an estimated population of 12000 breeding pairs.

Cassowary

The Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is large ratite found in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.  They are rainforest dwellers and cannot fly.


Common Names
The Southern cassowary is also known as the the double-wattled cassowary, the Australian cassowary or the two-wattled cassowary.


Physical Features
The southern cassowary is the largest Asian bird (part of Papua New Guinea is given to Asia) since the extinction of the larger giant moa and the Arabian ostrich.  It is the third tallest bird, being shorter than the ostrich and the emu.  Despite being the third shortest bird, it is the second heaviest and is lighter than the ostrich.  They have three toes on each foot which are very powerful and are used as defense.  The southern cassowary has a blue neck and face, a black body color and two wattles dangling from the neck which are red in color.  They have a casque which is brown.  Their inner toes are 12 cm long.  Females are larger than males.  They weigh 85 kilograms.  This massive range from 130cm to 190 cm and females have an average weight of 58kilograms while males weigh 34 kilograms.


Conservation Status                      Southern cassowary of Cairns Tropical Zoo
The numbers of the southern cassowary are declining in Australia, but is quite stable in Papua New Guinea.  With an estimated population of 2500 in Australia, they are threatened due to habitat destruction and because of human encroachment.  There are breeding programs in many places to save this bird.  They have a total population of about 20,000 individuals and therefore are not considered as endangered.  They are classified as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.


Distribution
The southern cassowary is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. Papua New Guinea and Australia


Taxonomy
The southern cassowary is a close relative of the kiwi and is classified into the the family Casuariidae.  These two birds (the southern cassowary and the kiwi) are related to a bird which existed 40 million years.  They are in the class Aves like all birds.  the class Aves are again related to reptiles like snakes, lizards, crocodiles, etc.  Most zoologists believe that there are subspecies of this bird, but there has been no prove.


Picture 1 was kindly photographed and offered by Nita Pratap.

Baird's Tapir

The Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is a species of tapir found in South America.  They are nocturnals and become active only during the night.


Breeding                                                                        Mother and baby tapir
The Baird's tapir has a similar life cycle as that of a mountain tapir.  It has a gestation period of 400 days and like all tapirs, it has a reddish coat with stripes and spots.  The mother will leave the babies in a safe place and then go in search of food.  This will continue for a week.  After sometime, the babies will also accompany the mother in looking for food.  The Baird's tapir can live for 30 years.


Physical Features
The Baird's tapir is the largest wild land mammal of South America.  The generally grow 6.6 feet.  They normally weigh 270 kilograms but the heaviest specimen was 400 kilograms.  Like all tapirs, they have a stubby tail.  They have a cream colored throat and face.  They have a dark spot on their cheeks, behind and below their eye.  They have four toes on the front foot and three toes on the back foot.  It has a long and flexible snout like all tapirs.


Distribution
They are found in  Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras,Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador.


Behavior
Like all tapirs, The Bard's tapir love water.  They are excellent swimmers and spend most of their day near water.  Even though they are active at all hours sometimes, they are primarily nocturnal.  They normally lead a solitary life but are sometimes seen in small herds.  They communicate with other tapirs using shrill noises.  They can be aggressive when approached.  If approached, they can chase people for short distances.  These incidents rarely happen.


Source of picture 1:http://yaaxche.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/-species-day-looking-at-the-bairds-tapir/
Source of picture 2 :http://animal.discovery.com/guides/endangered/mammals/bairds-tapir.html

Mountain Tapir

The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) is one of the four species of tapir.  It lives in the mountains and therefore is the only species that doesn't live in the rainforests.  It s name is derived from a beast called "La Pinchaque" which was believed to have roamed in the same range as the mountain tapir.  The La Pinchaque was a mythical creature.


Habitat
The mountain tapir lives in the cloud forests of the Andes.  They live in heights of about 3000 feet to 4500 feet.  They normally prefer to live in the high places of the Andes in the wet season.  They are able to survive in these cold places because of their woolly coat.


Physical Features
The mountain tapir is the smallest species of tapir.  Females are generally larger than males.  They have a slender snout like all tapirs.  They can be easily recognized  with their woolly fur.  They are normally brown in color with their lower lip white in color.  Their cheek color is a lighter color than their body.   They have a body length of 6 feet and measure 3 feet in height.  They have an approximate weight of 220 kilograms.  They have four toes in the front feet and three toes in the back feet.


Breeding                                                                  Appearance of a baby tapir
Normally, mountain tapirs have only one baby and it is rare for them to have more.  When the baby is born, it will weigh about 7kg like all baby tapirs.  They will have stripes and spots which will fade away as the years pass.  The fur of the babies are red in color.  Like all the adult mountain tapirs, they also have woolly furs to keep themselves warm.  Mountains have a life span of 30 years.  They have a gestation period of 400 days.


Conservation status
The mountain tapir is endangered due to poaching as bushmeat and for their fur.


Source of picture 1:http://www.konicaminolta.com/kids/animals/library/field/mountain-tapir.html
Source of picture 2:http://www.lazoo.org/conservation/articles/terrifictapirs.html