Category: Animals

The giant crowned flying fox is a human size bat from the Philippines

Post author By Wells Baum
Post date July 3, 2020

Here’s a creature that will stop you in your tracks. Endemic to the Philippines, the giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus) grows as large as 3 feet with a wingspan of 5-6 feet. It is one of the largest bats in the world.

You’d think that the megabat the size of a 6-year-old kid would be a threat but it’s actually harmless — it’s vegetarian and primarily munches on fruit. As pollinators, the bats even help spread seeds.

Unfortunately, the species is endangered and facing extinction due to poaching in the forest.

Tags animals, bats, Philippines

Animals Nature

A ripped Beluga whale shows its six pack

Post author By Wells Baum
Post date July 1, 2020

Beluga whales can get ripped.

Photographer David Merron caught this muscular male off the coast of Canada flashing his six-pack.

Recounted Merron: ‘It looks like this whale has put in a lot of days at the gym!’

A ripped Beluga whale shows its six pack — Picture: David Merron/Caters

The beach body must have paid off. The spiffed up whale soon cozied up to a female companion for a kiss.

Known for their blubber, it must be extremely rare to find a whale that flexes like Arnold Schwarzenegger with abs of steel.

“I’d been watching whales every day for weeks, and I hadn’t notice any of the whales with particularly ripped bods – so I was fairly shocked,” said Merron who took the photos at the Cunningham River in Somerset Island, Canada.

“When you think of a whale, covered in blubber, you don’t think of toned abdominals – especially the beluga whales, who spend their lives in the coldest of waters and have blubber 10-15cm thick to keep them warm,” he added.

The beluga whale is also known to have facial muscle that help it smile.

Tags animal, Nature, whale

Animals Health Travel

Giant teddy bears enforce social distancing in Paris cafe

Post author By Wells Baum
Post date June 30, 2020

While the world remains alert and anxious over the spread of COVID-19, a bookshop owner in Paris has been trying to lighten the mood.

Philippe, owner of the local bookstore, has been buying up giant bears and distributing them to his local neighborhood of Les Gobelins, Paris.

The teddy bears first appeared in cafes, restaurants, and bars but — according to the bears official Facebook page — been seen in front of the Eiffel Tower, riding the metro, and more.

The bears help make social distancing a little more bearable (see what we did there) in Paris.

*Photo: Les nounours des gobelins/Facebook*

Tags animals, bears, COVID-19, Paris

Animals Nature

The African Dung Beetle navigates Earth using the stars

Post author By Wells Baum
Post date June 28, 2020

Not sure what’s more amazing about the African dung beetle, one that it rolls immaculate balls out of other animals dung or that it navigates from home to manure piles and back via celestial cues.

“These clever insects use the polarized light of the moon to navigate in a straight line,” writes Popular Mechanics. “Their eyes cannot see individual stars but a group of stars together, like the Milky Way, is dense enough to create a luminous line for them to follow.”

No stars, no problem! When the sun gets blocked or is directly overhead, the beetle uses its antennae to perceive wind signals. This way it can roll across the desert without getting lost.

But entomologist and photographer Piotr (Peter) Naskrecki of the Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory at Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique believes the Kheper subaeneus beetles are more interesting for what they do for mother Earth.

Few animals are as important to the African savanna ecosystem as the dung beetles and without their thankless toil the entire ecosystem would soon collapse, covered in a thick layer of waste.
Piotr Naskrecki

Keep in mind that the gathered feces, in which the beetle rolls into big balls, often weigh more than the beetle itself.