After I started scuba diving, I realized that the best thing about being underwater is seeing new things…new, but sometimes also weird. Remember those nudibranchs? Take Christmas Tree worms for example. These guys look like plastic toy Christmas trees in a plastic toy forest. Want to see? Check out their colors! When you first swim by Christmas Tree worms, you think, “Are those plants?” But when you get too close, they all suck back into their holes. The whole forest of them gone in the blink of an eye! These guys don’t move around. They stay in one spot, each one holding…
Author: I Spy Animals
Black zebras…and now the Chocolate Zebra! Sometimes, a zebra is born with strange stripe patterns and large areas of black. The above zebra however, was sighted in Vumbura, Africa. The safari guide who spotted the pair says that this strangely patterned zebra foal is the third one born to this particular zebra mom since 2005. None have survived to adulthood. 🙁 The following photos illustrate some of the variety possible in the stripes or, in the top and bottom photo, spots of the zebra! To see “White” zebras, check out my blog post “When Zebras Go Pale…”
And do they really rescue swimmers? The answer to both of those questions is yes, and surprisingly often! The first known story of a dolphin rescuing a man was told in 1700 BC in ancient Greece. But one of the more recent stories occurred in 2007, when dolphins rescued a California man attacked by a Great White shark!*
If you do, you just aren’t looking at a gharial. Their long, oddly-shaped snout is a dead giveaway!General: The gharial is second only to the saltwater crocodile in size, growing up to 21 feet in length! It is found in the rivers of India and surrounding countries. The elongated snout is perfect for catching its main food…fish! Let’s look at three simple IKs* for the gharial: 1st IK: Long narrow snout; adult males have a bulb, or ghara, on the tip.2nd IK: Many interlocking teeth show when the gharial’s mouth is closed. 3rd IK: They slide on land because gharials are not able to lift their bellies off…
The Banded penguins sure do. These penguins have never lived in the snow; some can even be considered tropical birds! Banded penguins live in the temperate waters off the coasts of South Africa, South America, and the Galapagos Islands. There are four types: Humboldt penguins Magellanic penguins African penguins Galapagos penguins And there’s one sure way of identifying them from all other penguins: 1IK*: A single or double band of black across the chest! So next time you see a penguin, don’t just assume it’s from the Antarctic. And if you see a band across the chest? Well, its home might be…
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I’m not talking about poodles that look like cotton candy…though they’re really cute, aren’t they? I’m talking about real creatures. Made by God. That look like candy! How can this be real? Look at that fuzzy yellow fur. And pink and yellow wings. Let’s see if his face is just as sweet: Awww! But what kind of candy is he like? I’m thinking those marshmallow “Peeps”… like maybe this guy belongs in your Easter basket. Let’s see what that would look like: See him in there? It could happen! Below, you see the Candy Betta fish… and they definitely look…
How did you do on the test? Pretty fun? Better than listening to that same old song on your iPod! Mountain zebras are a threatened species. The Grevy’s zebra is endangered. You can help the endangered Grevy’s zebra here.
Do you see this man? He’s not easy to spot. He’s wearing certain colors to camouflage himself in a tree. Color camo makes the shape of his body hard to see.Some Animals have color camo built right into their bodies! I’ll show you!The leopard is circled, just to get you used to looking for animals in color camo.On a leaf.Okay, this would be some scary mud!This is a bit harder to spot…look for its closed eyeA Master at color and shape camo!It’s upside downEven larger unspotted animals use their color camo:Rocks hide animals, too.And this big guy…who would have thought his colors keep him…
You think that baby deer above is so cute, don’t you? Look, how small! And soooo sweet. But someday, that little baby is going to grow up. And become a special sort of deer. A tiny deer with tiny antlers, yes … but one that eats grass and small mammals! A deer that defends its territory with its tusks! Are you picturing Bambi-zilla? 🙂
Did you know that counting the number of toenails on an elephant can help identify it? That’s because the African Forest elephant has more toenails than the Bush elephant! Front foot & back foot toenail count is 5 and 4 compared to Bush’s 4 and 3. Here are the keys to identifying a Forest elephant: 1st IK*: Straight downward pinkish tusks; both males and females have them 2nd IK: Large rounded ears; each as large as the head 3rd IK: Concave or “sway” back 4th IK: And if you’re not running for your life, check out the number of toenails!…
Do Albino Giraffes Exist? No. At least, no one has ever seen one. But there are some “white” (leucistic) giraffes around! Okay, you know me… I love the abnormal colorations in animals. So let’s take a look, below, at some normal giraffe colors (top)… and then some leucistic giraffes (bottom): Pretty cool. The bottom left one especially is amazing! A little area of complete black! How did that happen? The bottom right giraffe has normal-colored legs! Weird. As of this post, he’s alive and living wild in Africa, in a herd of normal-colored giraffes. He really stands out. But luckily for…