About Green Sea Turtles

About Green Sea Turtles

The largest of all hard-shelled sea turtles, Green turtle , Myda turtle or Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), belong to Chenolian family which means it has four legs and a tough shell made of two parts which join at the sides. Chelonians also have strong horny mouths with no teeth. They are called green turtles because of the color of the flesh. There are three types of Chelonians - tortoises that live on land, terrapins that live in fresh water, and marine turtles that live in the sea. They are all members of the Class of Reptiles (Reptilia). The Green sea turtle's legs are shaped like flippers. Their heads are lizard-like, with a hooked beak and toothless jaw. Adult Green sea turtles may grow up to 99 cm long and weigh 180 kg.

Green sea turtles live in tropical waters all over the world. The only time they emerge from the water is when they are nesting. The only time males are not at sea is when they were first born. C. m. agassizii are sometimes found with seals and albatrosses basking on the beach. When it is time to mate they migrate from several hundred to over a thousand miles across the ocean to where they hatched. Female green turtles use the same beaches to nest as their mothers and grandmothers.

Males and females mature between 10 and 24 years. The breeding season depends on the latitude. Internal fertilization takes place when the male and female copulate. This is the only time there is vocalization. Like many species, there is male competition. One male may try to bite another male who is copulating with a female. Mating occurs underwater or on the surface about one kilometer from the shore. Nesting occurs every three to six years. When the female is ready to lay her eggs, she leaves the water, crawls onto the sand and starts digging for hour and hours until her flippers will not allow her to dig deeper. She then lays 100 to 200 eggs. This group of eggs is called a clutch. She covers them with sand to protect them from the sun, heat, and predators. Pacific green turtles lay fewer eggs than Atlantic green turtles. The gestation period is 40 to 72 days, depending on the location.

Baby turtles use their egg tooth when they hatch to break the shell of the egg. Females lay so many eggs because the chance for their survival is very low. As soon as they get to the sea, they start to drift off. They spend a few years floating at sea eating plankton at the surface. During this time, their shell is soft and they are very subject to predation by fish. After a few years of eating plankton, they move to shallow waters to feed on sea grasses.To avoid predation, they dive and swim away. Young green turtles that have just hatched are the most vulnerable. They may get eaten from the time they hatch, crossing the sand on their way to the ocean, and during the first couple of years at sea. Predators in the sand include ghost crabs, ants, snakes, gulls, opossums, rats, and vultures. There are many more in the water such as sharks, dolphin fish, kingfish, needlefish, and bottle-nosed dolphins.

Green turtles are mostly herbivorous. They spend most of their time feeding on algae in the sea and the grass that grow in shallow waters. As juveniles, they eat plants and other organisms such as: jellyfish, crabs, sponges, snails, and worms. As adults, they are strictly herbivorous. Green turtles are mostly herbivorous. They spend most of their time feeding on algae in the sea and the grass that grow in shallow waters. As juveniles, they eat plants and other organisms such as: jellyfish, crabs, sponges, snails, and worms. As adults, they are strictly herbivorous. Green turtles are an endangered species because they have so many predators--including humans. Even though a female can lay over 200 eggs in on clutch, some will not hatch, and many will be eaten. Even if they do hatch, they get eaten on their way to the water, and in the water. So only a few will survive if any. If the they do survive, they can live to be over 100 years old. Sometimes eggs are laid on a public beach. When this happens conservationists come and move them to a safer place. In the United States, green turtles are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Green Sea Turtles (locally known as Pawikan) found sanctuaries in many wildlife conservations in the Philippines and continuously conserving and protecting this amazing animal.

About Ostrich / Struthio camelus

About Ostrich

Ostrich Profile:
Type: Bird
Diet: Omnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 30 to 40 years
Size: 7 to 9 ft (2.1 to 2.7 m)
Weight: 220 to 350 lbs (100 to 160 kg)
Group name: Herd
Did you know? The ostrich has the largest eye of any land animal. Its eye measures almost two inches (five centimeters) across.

The world's largest living bird, Ostrich (Struthio camelus) is a flightless bird and roam African savanna and desert lands and get most of their water from the plants they eat, they also eat insects, roots, seeds, lizards, or other creatures available in their sometimes harsh habitat. Ostriches ar nomadic groups which contain between five and 50 birds. When threatened, the Ostrich will either hide itself by lying flat against the ground, or will run away. If cornered, it can cause injury and death with a kick from its powerful legs, each two-toed foot has a long, sharp claw. Mating patterns differ by geographical region, but territorial males fight for a harem of two to seven females.

Ostriches usually weigh from 93 to 130 kg (200 to 285 lb), although some male ostriches have been recorded with weights of up to 155 kg (340 lb). The feathers of adult males are mostly black, with white at the ends of the wings and in the tail. Females and young males are greyish-brown and white. The head and neck of both male and female Ostriches is nearly bare, but has a thin layer of down. They have excellent eyesight and acute hearing are the ostrich's most important senses. Like a giraffe the ostrich is an important sentinel for many African grazing mammals such as antelopes, zebras, giraffes and gazelles.

Ostriches live in small herds that typically contain less than a dozen birds. Alpha males maintain these herds, and mate with the group's dominant hen. The male sometimes mates with others in the group, and wandering males may also mate with lesser hens. All of the group's hens place their eggs in the dominant hen's nest—though her own are given the prominent center place. The dominant hen and male take turns incubating the giant eggs, each one of which weighs as much as two dozen chicken eggs. Ostriches are polygamous. The eggs are almost spherical in shape, about 6 inches long and equivalent in volume to about 20 hens' eggs. Such a clutch laid on open ground presents a significant meal to a jackal, the dominant predator. Only about half of the ostrich eggs that are laid hatch out. he completed clutch is incubated by the male at night and the dominant female during the day. The reason for this is that at night the dark feathers of the male ostrich makes detection by predators more difficult. Likewise, during the day the female's lighter brown feathers blend in with the surrounding grassland colors. Shortly before the eggs hatch, the chicks will start calling from inside the shell, so the parents will know them by their calls once they are hatched. The young hatch after 45 days. The chicks run about within minutes of hatching. The parents keep close watch over the chicks constantly. They will leading them to food (seeds and vegetation), water and they will provide shade for them. Even with the protection of the parents only about 1 chick in 10 will survive its first year of life. The chick becomes independent at the age of 1 year.

About Bee Hummingbird - World's Smallest Bird

About Bee Hummingbird - World's Smallest Bird

The male Bee Hummingbird is the smallest known bird in the world. The female, pictured here, is slightly larger. Male bee hummingbirds (mellisuga helenae), which live in Cuba, weigh 0.056 ounces and are 2.75 inches in length. Its body is about the size of a large bee. The bill and tail account for half of this length.

Like all hummingbirds, Bee Hummingbird is a swift, strong flier. hey also spend a higher percentage of their lives flying than any other species. It also can hover over one spot like a helicopter. The bee hummingbird beats its wings an estimated 80 times per second - so fast that the wings look like a blur to human eyes. hey have specially adapted flight muscles, which make up 22 to 34 percent of their total body weight. Mellisuga helenae (and other hummingbirds) are also equipped with a large keel and tapered wings, which aid in flying. As is common among other hummingbirds, their shoulder joints allow their wings to rotate 180 degrees and their small feet and legs can only be used for perching.

The brilliant, iridescent colors of the bee hummingbird's feathers make the bird seem like a tiny jewel. But the iridescence isn't always noticeable. It depends on the angle at which a person looks at the bird. The bird's slender, pointed bill is designed for probing deep into flowers. The bee hummingbird feeds mainly on nectar. With a tongue shaped like a long tube,the bird sucks up nectar-and an occassional insect or spiders - just as if it were using a drinking straw. In the process of feeding,the bird picks up pollen on it's bill and head. When it flies from flower to flower, it transfers the pollen. In this way, it plays an important role in plant reproduction.

Using bits of cobwebs, bark, and lichen, the female bee hummingbird builds a cup-shaped nest that is only about 1 inch in diameter. She lines the nest with soft plant fibers. In this nest she lays her eggs, which are smaller than coffee beans. She alone incubates the eggs and raises the young.