More Food Chain Disrespect

You may recall a bit earlier I introduced you to the Giant Centipede, which doesn't follow normal food-chain conventions, given that a large portion of its diet are bats that it catches in flight. Today, I'll be giving you some new nightmares, with another bug that eats above it's station - the Giant Water Bug.

Now, Water Bugs like this are known to take small vertebrates (frogs and fish) for dinner, but the Giant Water Bug, Kirkaldyia deyrolli, from Japan sets its sights a bit higher.

Yes, it's eating a turtle. According to the researcher who photographed it, this particular specimen was about 6 cm long, less than half their maximum size of 15 cm. After catching it, as the bugs only catch live (or at least moving) prey, the Water Bug "insert[ed] its syringe-like rostrum into the prey's neck in order to feed." Again, not the proper order for the food chain. Similar species live across North and South America, as well as East Asia. They're nocturnal, can fly, and have a venomous bite. They have been know to bite humans, causing pain for several hours. Anyway, here's another one, this time eating a snake.

Thanks to the BBC for information and pictures.

Tkrausse

Giant Centipede Doesn't Respect Food Chain

The food chain, while informal, does tend to have a few rules. Chief among them is the general consensus that those of us with backbones get to eat the ones that don't (I am in favor of this being a rule, even if it isn't, owing to the fact that I, and most of you reading, have backbones). Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell the Giant Amazonian Centipede about this little rule. He tends to enjoy eating such things as mice and bats.

Yes, that mouse is in trouble. The Giant Centipede grows over a foot long (see first picture for scale - no that's not me, I'd be way to chicken), and is extremely venomous. Mice are easy, he just has to sneak up behind them. Bats are a bit tougher, seeing as the Giant Centipede isn't content to catch them on the ground. Instead, he nabs them in flight.

He does this by climbing onto cave ceilings and hanging down. Then, when a bat flies by, he grabs it and bites. His venom is so powerful that the bat is killed instantaneously. It takes him an hour or two to eat, but after that, I think he deserves it. Watch a video of him in action below.

Strangely, people have been adopting them as pets recently. If you decide to follow them, remember

extreme care must be taken while handling them due to the fact that the slightest trace of the venom can cause a reaction on the skin. Fortunately, the poison from the Scolopendra gigantea is insufficient to kill a healthy human adult. The alarmingly massive centipede can, however, cause symptoms such as local sharp pain, swelling, chills, fever, weakness, and uncontrollable running-away-and-screaming.

Pictures courtesy of Cracked.com(NSFW/18+) and Damn Interesting.

Youtube video courtesy of user Twinkdizogg

Giant Crayfish Found in Tennessee

Recently, in Shoal Creek, Tennessee, researchers discovered a new, very large species of crayfish.

This crayfish, Barbicambasrus simmonsi, reaches a length of nearly five inches, is nearly twice the size of its local relatives, as you can see in this comparison shot.

The crayfish is also noted for its unusual "bearded" antennae, called 'setae.' These fancy antennae give this guy enhanced sensory abilities.

Pictures courtesy of National Geographic.

More about Hippos!

Go on, laugh, I dare you! Photo care of Animal Review (which is VERY funny!)

Hippo’s have been featured here at UgO a lot. There is a reason. There are few creatures that skirt that thin line between cute hilarity and bone-gnawing Terror like Hippopotamus amphibious

Picture thanks to Tetrapod Zoology in fact this entire post is inspired by the latest post there. :) Love you Darren!

I bring them back because truly, they are the MOOSE of Africa. This means two things:

1) They are one of the most lethal animals on their continent. While people are freaking out about big cats, crocs or bears, Hippos and moose are happily kicking the crap out of anyone that crosses their path, in the wrong way.

YOU say you want a hippopotamus for Christmas Bi@#$? Photo thanks to Animal Review

2) They will stomp you to death in the split second you spend wondering if you want to run, cuddle or sing about them.

The guy in the video lived, he's lucky. Next time, approach a Bison in Musk maybe...

I consider this a public service. I’m telling you that while you may have a visceral reaction to spiders mice or bears, statistically speaking, you are WAY more likely to meet your maker face-to-snout with an enormous ungulate. And if that sounds funny to you, consider this picture of a hippo skull:

All the better to NOM YOU TO DEATH with my dear! Picture care of Laelaps!

So here are some fun pictures and videos to bring the message home. I have fewer Moose shots because the majority of them on the web seem to be hunting-related.

Go ahead and tell her that her butt looks big. I'll just be over behind this boulder, laughing
Picture care of CUTE OVERLOADJust in case you didn't realize Moose were FRIGGIN HUGE, view from an Alaskan back yard window. Care of What's Cool In Alaska which has a GREAT set of rules when dealing w/ Moose.

Just in case you're not convinced yet this video shows a hippo SCHOOLING a huge croc and dragging off it's meal. Yes, they do eat meat sometimes. Nature is crazy like that.

If you are sensitive, skip the last bit of the video after the hippo goes back for the Croc's meal. It's not quite dead. The Croc gets away though, if you are worried.



Are you a gamer? Here's some Moosie Mahem of a World of Warcraft Nature: Boy Attacked by moose 'feigns death' saves his sister.

Previous Hippo UgO:

Dentist's Worst Nightmare

Hippos like to lick crocs

Half Ton Hide

Other things they do to Crocs. :(

how do you think you'd fair?

Mermaid Origins

Behold the dugong (Dugong dugon). It's the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal. They feast primarily on sea grass and are particular about what fields they feed upon. Related to both the manatee and elephants, they have forsaken their hind limbs in favor of a whale-like tail and forepaws in favor of paddles. They've also forsaken comeliness in favor of a vacuum-style mouth.

They are supposedly the source of many mermaid myths. I imagine those confused sailors either need to have their eyes checked, or maybe they just spent too much time at sea.

Photo source: Webecoist.com

Hippo Herd Crowd Surfing

Confrontations between hippos and crocodiles aren't a rare occurrence. Crocs want to eat young hippos, and the herd wants to stop that from happening.

In once such recent event in Tanzania, a crocodile was being faced down by the herd when they found him creeping up on their young ones. In a bid to escape the more aggressive members of the herd, he tried to scamper along the back of the hippos in his own real-world version of Hungry Hungry Hippos.


















It didn't end so well for the crocodile.





















Thanks for the link, Ida. I never thought it'd be a good idea to scramble across the backs of hippos. Now I know for sure.

Dairy Cow Business

You're looking at the business end of the dairy cow, at least when it comes to gas emissions. That's right: the front end of the cow, not the rear end.

It turns out that dairy cow belches are releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than their flatulents. Since the dairy industry is estimated to account for 2% of the greenhouse gases in the US, Tim Maikshilo and his wife, Kristen Dellert, are doing what they can to minimize those belches.

They're doing it by feeding their dairy cows foods and grasses that are high in Omega 3 (alfalfa, flaxseed, etc.), as opposed to the more typical corn or soy.

No one tell my wife about this. If she ever were to find out, I'd find significant changes to my dinner plate tonight.

Thanks for the article, Ida.

Photo source AP Photo/Toby Talbot via Yahoo!

Hairy Rhino

Does it get much more endearing than this? A mother nuzzling her wee bairn? When I first encountered a photo of the Sumatran rhino, I thought it was a was plastic figurine of a rhino, which is the only reason why it shows up here as opposed to a cute animal site.

The Sumatran rhino is the smallest of the rhinos, though they still weigh in at over a thousand pounds. They are also the hairiest of the rhinos, and are believed to be descended from the wooly rhino of yore. They inhabit dense jungle and are adept cliff climbers. Their territory once included all of Southeast Asia, from India to China. They are now only found in a few populations, with perhaps as few as 300 left in the wild.



















Any guesses as to why they are so critically endangered? Sure, loss of habitat is a contributor. But that's not the main cause, not by a long shot. That's right, you've guessed it. Poaching to supply the Traditional Chinese Medicine market. I can't think of many things that have been a greater bane to endangered species the world over than TCM. According to the wikipedia entry, a kilogram of Sumatran rhino horn fetches around 30,000 USD.

On a lighter note, despite being a solitary creature, the Sumatran rhino is the most vocal of the rhinoceroses. They vocalize almost continually in various infrasound frequencies that sound a lot like humpback whale songs.

They also communicate by marking the soil with their feet, twisting saplings into patterns, and with its excrement. Twisting saplings into patterns? Anyone know more about that?

Lots of Smiles

Fishermen (and fisherwomen), it would seem are a happy lot. At least, I see a lot of smiling in these photos. Of course, the pictures were probably only taken because a good haul was brought in, hence the smiles. Even the man with the LSU hat seems very pleased with the horrid beast he's holding.

Thanks to Peer Brauner for sending along the photos of the grenadiers (first two photos)

I imagine that the photo of the enormous stingray and its captors is an image taken from a catch-tag-and-release program in Thailand.

I threw in the last photo because its occupational in nature, and you'll see no smiles there (expect for maybe on the elephant, if he can surprise the woman).

Papa Elephant Seal

That penguin's got it about right. You've gotta respect papa elephant seal. I want my kids to look up to me like this. And I'll do what I have to do, even if it takes me gaining hundreds of pounds and eating only fish and cephalopods.

I wonder how close this bull is to the infamous 'catastrophic molt' that Northern elephant seals are known for. It happens during the summer, and involves them losing much of their fur and skin. They then loll about the beaches and wait for new fur and skin to grow in.

I would hate to be the guy in charge of cleaning up that beach once the seals go on their way.

Elephant Seal-Tipping

Are these two bull elephant seals having a brawl? Or a male and female (much more likely)? Maybe they're trying to decide who will be left with the Christmas leftovers?

Regardless, you've got to admire the elephant seal. I'm not sure if this pair is of the northern or southern variety, but either way you slice it, they have some very notable qualities. The bulls are equipped with the trademark trunk, which not only allows them to make amazing roaring noises, but also functions as a rebreather by absorbing moisture from the seal's exhalations to conserve body moisture.

Photo source: Knuttz.net

















They are massive. On average, a bull comes in at around 16 feet long and weighs 6,000 lbs. But the largest on record is a bull that weighed 11,000 lbs and measured in at 22.5 feet. They are the largest member of the order Carnivora.

They are amazing swimmers. They can hold their breath for up to 80 minutes, and have been known to dive a mile under water. No other non-cetacean mammal can beat that. Oh, but that's not all. They aren't too shabby on land. When crossing sand dunes they can out ambulate a human. No elephant seal-tipping here, people.

Half Ton Hide

Hippos are vegetarian grazers. But those teeth aren't meant for grass.

Hippopotami live in loose groups of 15 or so individuals led by a bull, though the size fluctuates based on terrain, drought, etc. It's for rival bulls that those teeth are intended. Old dominant bulls bear scars and fresh wounds from hundreds of battles.

Though hippos don't have sweat glands, they do secrete a viscous red fluid that is believed to have healing properties. After all, how do hippos survive all that muddy water and swamp with gaping wounds and not have them fester?

Come on, science. Anyone interested in milking some bull hippos of their red viscous fluid?























I've just thrown this last photo in because...well, because sometimes I have evil thoughts (I root for tha animal). Random factoid: a hippo's hide can weigh a half a ton all by itself. That's a lot o' hide.

False Name

Sherry sent along this cetacean in just the nick of time. We need to recover from all the spider posts. Though not strictly ugly, we still want to carve out a home here for this marine mammal.

You're looking at a False Killer Whale. Sherry takes umbrage with this name. What a bummer for the whale! I can only imagine that it was waiting with baited breath (stinking of squid and fish) to find out what common name man had given it, and was thoroughly disappointed when it found out. Even its Latin name, Pseudoorca crassidens, hints at fakery. I doubt the whale set out with any intentions of being a fake anything when first it entered the biosphere.

Crassidens means 'stout tooth' in Latin. Why not call it the Stout Tooth Whale? Or, I like Sherry's suggestion: Grim Reaper Whale (to continue with the 'killer' theme).

Photo source: Stefan Thiesen Buntrabe


















The next time you're in tropical, subtropical, or warm waters and you encounter one of these, please apologize on behalf of mankind. We really should have given them a better name.

Hippos Like to Lick Crocs

I've posted on hippos before. I've posted on crocodiles. But never have I posted on them together. But this video is so much more. Ever wanted to see a hippopatamus lick a crocodile? I know you have, so enjoy.

Thanks for the video, Ida.

ROUS

If there is one thing our planet is woefully short on, it's giant rats. Thankfully, an expedition into pristine wilderness territory in Indonesia has yielded just that: a new species of Rodent Of Unusual Size.

This specimen weighs in a a cool three pounds. That makes it five times larger than your average city rat. What makes this tale (tail...) even more charming, is that the rodent was fearless of humans. It even wandered into camp a few times (you have so much to learn about us humans, lil' rat).

The man in the photo, a mammal expert named Martua Sinaga, has more spine than I. It would take a lot (a promise to pay off my mortgage, for instance) to cause me to pick up a heretofore unknown species of giant rat with my bare hands.

Thanks for the story, Hank, Jenny, and Rick.

Photo source: National Geographic

Interesting History

The water buffalo has an interesting history. It is an asian beast, but has been closely tied to human civilization since the beginning. They were introduced early on to the Middle East and Africa, and in Medieval times, European Crusaders brought them back home. Some of those herds are still in existence in Italy and Bulgaria. There weren't any sizeable populations in North American until the 1970s, but now there are herds in several US states. India and China depend on them for milk and meat.

The water buffalo is not to be confused with the American bison or the Cape Buffalo. Especially to their faces. They hate that.

UPDATE: The original photo I had posted here turned out NOT to be a water buffalo (contrary to the photo's taker), and was, in fact, a Cape Buffalo. So I've swapped the photo. Thanks fo the correction, Stormy Dragon.

Photo source: Wikipedia

I Don't Recommend This

I don't recommend this. But I had to watch it about fifty times.

Thanks for the link, Jared. I never knew that counting coup with an elephant seal could be so entertaining.

Ode to Minazo

Here is my final ode to the departed Minazo (elephant seal housed in Japan for more than a decade). You'll have to click on it to get the full effect.

Thanks for the photo, Matt.

Party Trick

Wendy sent me this photo and link of the hooded seal. This arctic pinniped is normally an attractive marine mammal. But they have a neat party trick: they can blow a red balloon out of their nose. I wish, I wish, I wish I could do that.

I'm reminded of the anglerfish here. I wonder if the air bladder is meant to be a lure to would-be prey who like to dine on over-sized kidney beans.

Photo source: BBC

Farewell to Minoza

The world just got a bit less ugly, and that is a sad thing. Kate sent me this article, which tells the tale of the passing of Japan's largest seal, Minazo, who entertained crowds for 10 1/2 years.

I've posted on this pinniped in the past, not knowing the details. Now we know who he is and can give him his dues, even posthumously. Everyone say goodbye to Minazo. May he be greeted with more mackerel in the Hereafter than he could ever feast upon (Minazo heaven = mackerel hell).

Thanks for the link, Kate.














P.S. I love the titles.