Clearly perplexed by its change of circumstances, the calf struggled to drag itself upright as its mother watched it with anxious eyes. But shortly afterwards, it seemed to have mastered the difficult skill of standing, sheltering between its mum’s hind legs and taking stock of its surroundings.

The startling images were captured by award-winning photographer Paul Goldstein, who was guiding a safari group for tour company Exodus when he stumbled upon this post-natal drama.

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Egyptian sea star

They can be found to depths of 20,000 feet and the majority of starfishes, now more properly referred to as sea stars, are carnivorous or omnivorous and can eat small fishes, algae, mollusks and coral polyps. In fact, they don’t have to fit their prey into their mouth, as they are capable of expelling their stomach and digesting whatever they are resting upon, such as what the Crown-of-Thorns does to coral polyps.

Matha’s sea urchin

The rock boring urchin, Echinometra mathaei, has a dark, oval shell and sturdy spines in a range of colours from white to pink or olive green. Echinometra mathaei is found in holes and under rocks.

Spiny orb weavers

If that last spider was oddly shaped, then this one is even more so. It belongs to a family of spiders called “spiny orb weavers” (the genus Gasteracantha) which rely on their unwieldy shapes and hard spikes to make themselves a difficult, and potentially even painful, object to swallow. There are many critters that mimic their warningly colored relatives; if the mimic is itself distasteful or poisonous then it’s called a Mullerian mimic, but if it’s only pretending to be toxic then it’s a Batesian mimic.

Spiny oakworm moth caterpillar

Spiny oakworm larvae are aggressive feeders, and generally consume all but stubs of midrib and large veins of leaves. Early stage larvae have cream-white bodies, black heads, and a pair of conspicuous black spines on the second segment of the thorax; these spines are characteristic of the genus. As larvae grow, body color changes. Spiracles are black, and each is enclosed by a white margin. The full-grown caterpillar is 45-55 mm. long.

Pufferfish

Biologists think pufferfish, also known as blowfish, developed their famous “inflatability” because their slow, somewhat clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators. In lieu of escape, pufferfish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size. Some species also have spines on their skin to make them even less palatable.

Horseshoe crabs

Horseshoe crabs are one of the oldest animals on earth. Although they look scary, there is absolutely nothing on their bodies that can hurt us — they do not have teeth, their claws are weak, and their tail is not poisonous or spiky.

Spiky Echidna

Echidnas are small mammals that are covered with coarse hair and spines. Echidnas, also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. Although their diet consists largely of ants and termites, they are only distantly related to the true anteaters of the Americas. The echidnas are named after a monster in ancient Greek mythology.

Thorny Devil

An amazing Australian reptile quite evidently owes its name to the thorns on its body. The mini dragon grows up to 20 cm (8 in) in length and can live up to 20 years. It can camouflage according to the desert shades and its thorny scales are a defense against predators. The small thorny devil can eat some thousands of ants in one day.

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Of the thousands on the shore majority will be dead and only a few may be alive but as long as they stay on the beach, they end up dead. It is impossible to save them all as it the starfish will be spread for miles on the shore. Although the spectacle can amaze you with its color, it is indeed a very sad occurrence. People blame the bad weather and such strange occurrences to the global warming and its effect on the world.

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Indian Rhinoceros

These massive beasts have some noticeable physical differences from their African relatives. Their segmented hide looks like a formidable coat of natural body armor. It functions a bit like one also: Flexible skin between the thicker hide “plates” allows them to shift as the rhinoceros moves.

Indian Rhinoceros

Thorny Devil

The Thorny Devil is on average about 20 cms long, and they feed on a wide variety of ants. An intimidating array of spikes cover the entire upper side of the body, these thorny scales are a defence against predators. Camouflage and deception may also be used to evade predation. Despite its appearance, it is totally harmless.

Thorny Devil

Three-banded armadillo

The skin is modified to form a double-layered covering of horn and bone over many of the surfaces. Three-banded armadillos are blackish brown in color. Most animals have three moveable bands, although some possess only two, and others may have four.  Members of the genus Tolypeutes are the only armadillos that can completely enclose themselves in their own shell by rolling into a ball.

Three-banded armadillo

Pangolin

The pangolin (also called the scaly anteater) is an unusual mammal that is covered with tough, protective scales made of keratin. The pangolin has scales that cover everything except the belly, snout, eyes, ears, and undersides of the limbs. The pangolin has short legs with huge claws; it uses its claws to dig into ant hills and termite mounds. The sticky tongue is up to 27 inches long. The pangolin ranges from 24-62 inches long. The pangolin has no teeth. The long tail is prehensile; the pangolin can even hang from its tail.

Pangolin

Alligator Snapping Turtle

Alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles. They weigh between 155 and 175 pounds (70 to 80 kg). They are characterized by three large, pronounced ridges, or keels, that run from the front to the back of the carapace. With powerful jaws and a large head, they are unique among snapping turtles for having eyes on the side of the head. The alligator snapping turtle looks very primitive and has been called the dinosaur of the turtle world.

Alligator Snapping Turtle

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Christmas snail

Good thing you’re styling warm it’s cooooold out there.

source : http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com

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Snowy Owl

Snowy owls — large birds of prey perfectly adapted to life in the northern Arctic — are rare visitors to the relatively balmy climes of the Harbor Bight, but a natural Arctic cycle brings them our way every so often.The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. Snowy Owl calls are varied, but the alarm call is a barking, almost quacking krek-krek-krek-krek; the female also has a softer mewling pyee-pyee-pyee-pyee or prek-prek-prek. The song is a deep repeated gawh. They may also clap their beak in response to threats or annoyances. While called clapping, it is believed this sound may actually be a clicking of the tongue, not the beak. Their lives are intimately tied to those of their predominant food, lemmings.

Snowy owls clearly demonstrate evolution’s power to sculpt life to fit environment. Under their thick outer feathering is a dense layer of down, which allows them to maintain an internal temperature of 100 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, even when the air temperature is 70 below. The heaviest of North American owls, snowies can be nearly pure white in color. (Females are always darker than males, and have white feathers barred with dark brown.) The light coloration provides camouflage when the owls are perched on snow or on sand. And while other owls are nocturnal, snowies are active both night and day — an adaptation that makes perfect sense, given that daylight is continuous within the Arctic Circle during much of the summer nesting season. Snowy owl like other owls, snowies have eyes that are fixed in their sockets. In order to see all around, they have extra vertebrae in their necks that permit them to rotate their heads up to 270 degrees in either direction (but not all the way around, as some once thought). The sight of one of these silent white hunters, sitting atop a fencepost and swiveling its head and huge yellow eyes toward you, is one you won’t soon forget.

The Snowy Owl is typically found in the northern circumpolar region, where it makes its summer home north of latitude 60 degrees north. However, it is a particularly nomadic bird, and because population fluctuations in its prey species can force it to relocate, it has been known to breed at more southerly latitudes.

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