Egyptian Tortoise

The Egyptian tortoise has a relatively small range: mainly the narrow coastal strip along the North African coast from Libya, through Egypt into Israel, extending at the most some 56 miles (90 km) inland. It was discovered in Israel in 1963. The largest population there lives between Beersheba and the Egyptian border; others inhabit scattered areas of the Negev Desert. A field survey in 1994, financed by the Turtle Recovery Program, concluded that it had all but disappeared from its former territory in Egypt, although a few unsurveyed, remote areas may still hold small populations. [Read more]

Yellow Blotched Sawback

Graptemys flavimaculata – Map turtles are sometimes called “sawbacks” because of the toothlike projections down the center of their shell. The yellow-blotched sawback increasingy faces threats of pollution in its river habitat. Of the 12 or so species of map turtle, seven are in decline. The yellow-blotched sawback has the smallest range, living mainly along the Pascagoula River and the Leaf and Chickasawhay Rivers in Mississippi. Exports of map turtles to Britain, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan rose from 325 in 1985 to 84,546 in 1995. [Read more]

Cobra Vs Rat Snake

The cobra and rat snake videos. Cobras are venomous snakes of family Elapidae, of several genera. (Elapidae also include the taipans, brown snakes, tiger snakes, fierce snakes, coral snakes, mambas, and sea snakes.) Cobras generally inhabit tropical and desert regions of Asia and Africa. The King Cobra is ophiophagous; it feeds almost entirely on other snakes, even venomous ones, although it sometimes preys on small rodents and birds. It will only attack humans if provoked or in other extreme circumstances that threaten its survival. King Cobras may reach up to 5.2m (17.1ft) in length, making them the largest venomous snakes in the world.

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Known locally as buaja daret (”land crocodiles’, these giant lizards were named after the mythical dragon because of their size and fierce predatory nature. It seems inconceivable that the enormous Komodo dragon could remain upknown (at least to western scientists) until the early 20th century. Referred to locally as the ora or buaja daret (”land crocodile”), early reported sightings were [Read more]

Galapagos Giant Tortoise

Geochelone nigra

Before permanent settlers arrived on the Galapagos Islands in the 1830s, there were huge numbers of giant tortoises. Since then habitat destruction and immigrant predators have taken their toll. Lying off the coast of Ecuador and almost on the equator, the Galapagos Islands achieved lasting fame after the English naturalist Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in The Origin of Species (1859). The book was written after his visit to the islands in 1835. The area was already well known to whalers and other seamen who, [Read more]

Natural history ( insects )

Life cycle
Egg

Most insects begin their independent lives as fertilized eggs. The chorion, or eggshell, is commonly pierced by respiratory openings that lead to an air-filled meshwork inside the shell. For some insects (e.g., cockroaches) a batch of eggs is cemented together to form an egg packet or ootheca. Insects may pass unfavourable seasons in the egg stage. Eggs of the lucerne flea Sminthurus (Collembola) and of some grasshoppers (Orthoptera) pass summer droughts in a dry shrivelled state and resume development when moistened. Most eggs, however, retain their water although they may pass the winter in a state of arrested [Read more]

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