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Join us as we explore the wilderness and share the beautiful scenery of nature! For all questions: @magellanvs
🦌 Oryx (Oryx gazella) - a symbol of endurance and humility in East and South Africa.
This incredible creature is featured on Namibia's coat of arms. For centuries, indigenous people used oryx hides for clothing and their long, sharp horns as spear tips. 🌟
Reaching up to 1.5 meters in length, their horns are truly impressive! The oryx itself can grow up to 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder. Its distinctive black and white face mask is a striking feature. 🦌
Oryx inhabit arid regions, including deserts and semi-deserts, but can also be found in savannas. Their range spans from Ethiopia and Somalia to Namibia and South Africa. 🌍
These amazing animals feed on grasses, but can also dig up roots and enjoy wild fruits. Although they occasionally drink water, they can survive without it, getting moisture from their food. 💧
Meet the Eastern Quoll! 🐨
This carnivorous marsupial is about the size of a small cat, with a body length of 45 cm, tail up to 30 cm, and weighing up to 1.5 kg.
Its Latin name, Dasyurus viverrinus, translates to "animal resembling a ferret with a bushy tail". Despite its name, the Eastern Quoll is not related to European ferrets. 🙅♀️
These nocturnal and solitary animals are skilled tree climbers, but usually hunt on the ground, feeding on pest insects. 🐜
Interestingly, after Australia's colonization, Eastern Quolls began to hunt domestic birds, rabbits, rats, and mice, leading farmers to eradicate them for damaging poultry farms. Today, they can only be found in Tasmania. 🌳
Fun fact: Colugos are also known as "flying lemurs," although they don't actually fly and aren't closely related to lemurs! 😊
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The Beautiful Madagascan Comet 🦋
Meet the stunning Madagascan Comet (Lunar Moth) Argema mittrei, a night butterfly from the Saturniidae family. With a wingspan of 140-160 mm, it's one of the largest butterflies in the world. 🌟
This beautiful creature is even featured on a 5000 Malagasy franc banknote (1995 edition). 💸
Sadly, these butterflies have reduced mouthparts and don't feed, living off stored nutrients from their caterpillar stage. Their lifespan is just 4-5 days, during which they must find a mate and leave offspring. ⏰💔
🐒 Night Monkeys (Douroucoulis) Aotus - the only nocturnal monkeys in the New World! 🌃
Found in Central and South America, they live in family groups and feed on fruits. 🍉
These small primates have a body length of 25-35 cm and a tail of 30-40 cm, long and fluffy, with a often black tip. Unlike other New World monkeys, their tail can't be used for grasping. They weigh between 0.7-1.2 kg. ⚖️
During rest, Night Monkeys retreat to tree holes or dense thickets. About 15 minutes after sunset, they emerge and are active until midnight, then rest for 1.5-2 hours before foraging again. Before sunrise, they return to their resting spots. 🌅
Interesting fact: Night Monkeys have a unique adaptation to their nocturnal lifestyle - their eyes are larger than those of other monkeys, allowing them to navigate and find food in the dark! 👀
🐸 Meet the Amazon Milk Frog, also known as the Mission Golden-Eyed Tree Frog! 🌟 This tiny frog has a big reputation, with multiple names and a unique defense mechanism. 💡
When threatened, it releases a toxic white secretion, earning its "milk" nickname. 🥛 Found in the Amazon rainforest, these frogs live over 2 meters above ground, rarely descending to the forest floor. They inhabit vegetation near slow-moving water sources. 🌿
Breeding occurs during the rainy season (Nov-May). Males attract females with loud calls to a water-filled tree cavity, where females lay around 2500 eggs. Tadpoles hatch within a day! 🐟
Fun fact: These frogs have adapted to life in the trees, with some species even using their sticky feet to "glue" themselves to leaves! 😂
Meet the Patagonian Mara! 🐰
The Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis patagonum) belongs to the rodent family and is also known as the Patagonian hare or dillaby. This large herbivorous rodent is found in Argentina, specifically in the Patagonia region. 🌟
Interesting Facts:
* The Mara can weigh up to 18 kg (39 lbs) and reach 75 cm (30 in) in length! 🤯
* Its large head, small ears, and short body make it resemble a rabbit, but its legs are actually more like those of a deer! 🦌
* The Mara moves in a unique, zig-zag pattern, using all four legs to jump and push off the ground. Despite this, it's a slow mover! 🐌
Did you know? The Mara's unusual appearance and movement have led to it being nicknamed the "Patagonian marine"! 🌟
Meet the Long-Tailed Weasel 🐾
You might know weasels as small predators, but some species can be larger than an ermine! 🤯 The Long-Tailed Weasel (Neogale frenata) is found in North and Central America, and northern South America. Its body length reaches 35-42 cm. 🌟
Unlike other weasels, this one has a longer tail (40-70% of its body, 8-15 cm) with a black tip, similar to an ermine's. 🌟 It doesn't dig burrows, instead using rocks, stumps, or other animals' dens as shelters. 🏠
The Long-Tailed Weasel makes various sounds: a high-pitched "yip" when happy or attracting young, a low trill when meeting a mate, a hiss when threatened, and a chirp or squeak when scared or attacking. 🐤💬
🦰 Meet the Giant Pangolin (Manis gigantea), Africa's unique creature! 🌟
The name "pangolin" comes from the Malay word "pengguling", meaning "roller". Indeed, when threatened, it curls up like a hedgehog. 🤯
The pangolin's scales are large, overlapping plates resembling tiles. Only its paw pads, belly, and snout are unprotected, covered in short, stiff hair. 🦊
Reaching 88 cm in length, with a similar-sized tail, and weighing up to 27 kg, this animal has a remarkable feature: a 40 cm long tongue! 🤯 To move such a massive tongue, the pangolin has enormous muscles that span its entire chest and reach its pelvis.
This long tongue is perfect for hunting ants and termites. Interestingly, the pangolin's saliva has a pleasant smell that attracts insects! 🐜👀
🦊 Meet the Tibetan Fox, a cartoon-like creature with a stocky build and grumpy face 😒.
The Tibetan Fox is one of the smallest fox species, with well-developed teeth and extremely long canines, larger than any other fox. Their thick, soft coats protect them from strong winds, and their square-shaped muzzle is due to the dense fur around their neck.
These foxes live in burrows or dens under rocks, leading a secretive life that's not well understood. They hunt in pairs, sharing their catch with each other, and have a keen sense of hearing that helps them locate their favorite food - marmots 🐹.
Meet the Large Glider of Australia! 🐨🌳
The Large Glider (Petaurus australis) inhabits eucalyptus forests in Eastern Australia, specifically in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
Size Matters! 🤯 Its body length reaches 25-45 cm, and it weighs between 400-750 grams. Unfortunately, we couldn't capture its flight, but you can see how these cuties interact on a tree! 🌲
Sweet Tooth! 🍭 They feed on nectar, honeydew, insects, pollen, and tree sap - exactly what we're observing: gliders licking eucalyptus sap! 🌿
Interesting Fact! 🤔 Notice how one glider rubs its face on the other's backside at the end of the video? This isn't courtship, but a way to mark themselves with pheromones to distinguish each other - since gliders live in family groups of 4-5 individuals! 👪
🐳👀 Orcas (Orcinus orca) attack a Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)! 🌟
This is the largest animal on Earth, reaching lengths of 33 meters and weighing over 150 tons. 🤯 Despite its massive size, orcas tend to target younger blue whales, leaving them no chance of survival. 🐋💔
Interesting fact: Blue whales are not only the largest animals on Earth, but they are also incredibly loud, with their vocalizations reaching levels of up to 188 decibels! 🗣️ That's louder than a jet engine! 🚀
🐜💥 Bombardier Beetle Attacks its Enemy! 💥🐜
These ground beetles can shoot a hot, caustic spray from their abdomen to defend themselves. The temperature of the spray can reach up to 212°F (100°C) and is accompanied by a loud popping sound. 🎥
In lab tests, bombardier beetles can fire 10-30 shots after a week of rest before running out of ammo. They're nocturnal, hiding under rocks and logs during the day, often in groups. Like most ground beetles, they can't fly. 🐜💤
Fun fact: The bombardier beetle's unique defense mechanism has inspired research into developing more efficient propulsion systems. 🚀
🦦 The Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus - one of the few mammals that lay eggs! 🥚
The female digs a burrow up to 18m long, building a nest of stems and leaves at the end. She carries the material by pressing it to her belly with her tail. Then, she seals the corridor with one or more 15-20cm thick earth plugs to protect the burrow from predators and floods. The plugs are made using her tail, like a trowel. The nest is always humid, preventing the eggs from drying out.
Baby platypuses are born blind and hairless, about 2.5cm long. The mother feeds them milk, which comes out through enlarged pores on her belly. The milk flows down her fur, collecting in special grooves, and the babies lap it up. 🐰💦
🐺💪 Coyotes attack a lynx with a large kitten! The mother orders the teenager to climb a tree, while she takes care of educating the impudent canines. 🌳
👀 Did you know that American lynxes are twice smaller than European ones? However, coyotes are also much smaller than wolves and have no chance against a lynx. These coyotes must be young and inexperienced! 🐕😹
Deceptive Orchids and Thynnidae Wasps 🐝💐
Meet the Thynnidae wasps, a family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae parasitize beetle larvae, especially scarabs. Female wasps search for beetle larvae, while males feed on nectar and act as secondary pollinators.
In this video, you'll see how orchids trick male Thynnidae wasps into thinking they're females! The male wasp pounces on the flower, covering himself in pollen, and then flies to another deceptive orchid, repeating the process.
This wasp "Casanova" unknowingly transfers pollen between orchids. What a clever trick! Interestingly, the resemblance between the flower and the wasp is minimal to humans, but wasps see in a different spectrum, making it all the more convincing! 🌟
Meet the Cacomistle 🐾
The Cacomistle (Bassariscus sumichrasti) is a small, cat-like animal with excellent climbing skills. It's a great hunter, feeding on rodents, and was once commonly kept as a pet. Although less popular now, they make gentle and affectionate companions in North America, but their unique voice can take some getting used to.
Interesting Facts 🤔
* The Cacomistle belongs to the raccoon family and grows up to 30-45 cm in length, with a 30-50 cm tail, weighing up to 1.3 kg.
* They're opportunistic eaters, enjoying insects, small and large rodents, rabbits, squirrels, birds, and fruits like persimmons and mistletoe.
* Cacomistles inhabit southern and southwestern US regions, up to 2900 m above sea level, as well as Mexico and Central America. 🌟
🌟 Meet the Malayan Colugo! 🌟
The Malayan Colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) inhabits Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, and various islands in the Indonesian archipelago, including Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
🌴 They thrive in humid jungles, hillside areas, and even coconut and banana plantations.
🌳 These arboreal creatures live in trees and never voluntarily descend to the ground. They're solitary animals, occasionally sharing a tree with a few others.
🕊️ Using gliding flight, they travel between trees without touching the ground, covering distances of up to 50-70m (164-230ft). The longest recorded flight was 136m (446ft)! They're nocturnal, resting in their shelters during the day.
🥗 Herbivores, they feed on flowers, leaves, buds, and fruits.
📏 Their body length is 30-40cm (12-16in), tail 15-20cm (6-8in), limb span 70-120cm (28-47in), and weight 1-1.75kg (2.2-3.9lb).
🚨 Attention! This is not a scorpion! 🚨
Meet Mastigoproctus giganteus, a type of arachnid from the order Thelyphonida. Found in the southern United States and Mexico.
📏 Length: 40-60 mm (not including tail thread). 👀 8 eyes: 3 on each side of the head and 2 in front. But, surprisingly, their vision is weak! 🙅♂️ Like all Thelyphonida, they have a long tail thread instead of a venomous stinger.
⚠️ Although they're non-venomous, they can release airborne secretions from their anal glands when threatened, containing concentrated acetic acid (>80%) that can cause severe irritation to human mucous membranes, especially if it gets in the eyes! 🤯
🦊 Like most arachnids, Thelyphonida are predators. They hunt at night, mainly feeding on insects, centipedes, scorpions, and millipedes, and occasionally on worms, snails, small frogs, and rodents. 🐜🦎
🦔 Meet the Two-Colored Porcupine (Coendou bicolor) found in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
This nocturnal, tree-dwelling creature leads a secretive life, but adult pairs can live together in tree hollows. It moves slowly, yet quickly climbs trees. Its diet consists of leaves, fruits, seeds, and plant bark.
🌳 The Two-Colored Porcupine has a unique ability to remain still for long periods. Its prehensile tail and adapted legs allow it to easily navigate between branches. It prefers to settle in tree hollows above the ground.
👀 This relatively small porcupine measures 40-55 cm in length and weighs 3-5 kg. Its distinctive features include a bulbous nose, small black eyes, and hidden ears.
🎨 The most striking aspect of this porcupine is its unique coloring, resembling a splash of paint across its fur! 🌟
🐨 Meet the Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps), a small, squirrel-like animal. Its body is 15-21 cm long, with a similar-sized tail, and weighs 95-170 g.
🌟 What makes them special is a membrane that stretches from their front paws to their back paws, allowing them to "glide" through the air for up to 50 meters or more. They control their flight by moving their paws and tail.
🤹♀️ By curling their tail into a spring, they can carry small items like twigs for their nest. Their big, round eyes are perfect for nighttime vision, as they are nocturnal animals.
🍃 They love to eat sweet sap from certain eucalyptus and acacia trees, as well as nectar and fruits. Protein-rich foods like insects, small vertebrates, and invertebrates are also important in their diet.
Albatross Courtship 🐦💕
The Royal Albatross (Diomedea epomophora) has the largest wingspan of all flying birds (280-320 cm) and weighs up to 8 kg. 🌟
Reaching maturity at 6-10 years, they lay a single white egg. Incubation lasts 80 days, and chick-rearing takes 34-38 days. Mating season is November-December. They nest on islands in the southern Pacific Ocean and southern New Zealand.
Average lifespan: 58 years! Low fertility and slow development are offset by long lifespan and low adult mortality. Only 3 out of 100 albatrosses die annually. 🌟
🌴 Meet the Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise 🌟
The stunning Ptiloris magnificus inhabits tropical forests of New Guinea and northeast Australia. Reaching 34 cm in length, males boast a velvet-black body, with a bright blue-green chest and iridescent sheen. Females have a brownish hue with dark spots and stripes on their belly.
🍉 Their diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods. Did you know that these birds play a vital role in seed dispersal in their ecosystems? 🌱
💃 During mating season, males perform a unique courtship dance: spreading their wings, raising their tail, jumping, and shaking their head to showcase their vibrant chest triangle. If they impress a female, a short-term pair forms. 🕺
Meet the Golden Cat! 🐱💛
The Golden Cat (Caracal aurata) is genetically close to the Caracal and Serval, which is why they're all grouped into one genus. 🧬
Habitat 🌴
They inhabit tropical rainforests in Equatorial Africa, from Senegal to northern Angola and from Congo to southern Kenya. The main population lives in the Congo Basin and surrounding areas.
Size 🤯
Golden Cats are twice as large as domestic cats, with males weighing 11-14 kg (24-31 lbs) and females half that size.
Lifestyle 🌃
They're solitary and rare, making them hard to study in the wild. They hunt at night and rest on tree branches during the day. Their diet includes rodents, birds, small antelopes, and monkeys. They hunt both on the ground and in trees. 🌳
Interesting fact 🤔
Did you know that Golden Cats are expert climbers? They're just as comfortable hunting in trees as they are on the ground! 🌟
Meet the Sun Bear! 🐻☀️
Also known as the Honey Bear, the Malayan Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the smallest bear species in the world! 🌟 Locals affectionately call it the "dog bear" due to its compact size.
Found in Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula, this bear weighs only 65-70 kg (145-155 lbs) and stands 70 cm (28 in) tall at the shoulder.
The Sun Bear's diet includes fruits, earthworms, wild bees, termites, lizards, small mammals, and birds. Its strong jaws and teeth can even crack open coconut shells! 🥜
With powerful paws and extremely long claws (up to 15 cm / 6 in!), the Sun Bear easily breaks into termite mounds and beehives to feast on honey and bee larvae. Its long, sticky tongue helps it extract termites from their nests. 🐜
Did you know? Sun Bears are expert tree climbers, leaving characteristic claw marks on tree trunks. They're the most arboreal of all bear species! 🌳
🐾 Meet the Water Shrew (Neomys fodiens), Europe's largest shrew! 🌟 Its body length reaches 10 cm, tail length 8 cm, and weight up to 20 grams.
🌍 Found in a vast territory from Britain to the Pacific coast, within the forest zone, this shrew inhabits the banks of small freshwater bodies. 🌿 It nests in abandoned rodent burrows, under tree roots, or in decaying wood.
🦊 A fierce hunter, the Water Shrew attacks not only invertebrates and fish but also small rodents and waterbird chicks. 💉 Its saliva contains a paralyzing substance, making it one of the few venomous mammals. 🌟 This allows it to store live, immobilized prey for later - bitten invertebrates remain still for 3-5 days! 😲
Meet the Australian Brush Turkey! 🐓🌳
This amazing bird, also known as the Talegalla, is the only species in the world that uses an incubator to hatch its chicks! 🤯
The male collects leaves with his feet, creating a massive mound, 1m high and 4m wide. From September to March, the female lays 16-24 large white eggs, or multiple females lay up to 50 eggs, which are then buried 60-80cm deep and 20-30cm apart.
The heat from the decomposing leaves incubates the eggs. The male regulates the temperature, between 33°C to 35°C, by adding or removing plant material.
After hatching, the chicks dig their way out of the mound and can run and fly within hours! 🐥 However, many fall prey to predators like lizards, snakes, and dogs.
Interesting fact: The Australian Brush Turkey's unique incubation method allows it to thrive in its native habitat, making it a fascinating example of adaptation in the animal kingdom! 🌟
Lynx Attacks Beaver and Comes Up Empty! 🐯💦
Rare footage, albeit poor quality, shows a young and inexperienced lynx attempting to take down a beaver. The beaver's sharp incisors are a great defense, but it's likely the lynx's inexperience that saved the beaver's life! 🙏
Did you know? Lynxes are skilled hunters, but they typically target smaller prey like rabbits and rodents. Beavers, with their powerful tails and sharp teeth, are a more challenging meal to tackle! 🐻💪
🐦 Meet the Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) 🍯
This bird destroys beehives to feed on bee larvae. 🐝 But that's not all - its diet also includes wasp larvae, frogs, lizards, rodents, beetles, grasshoppers, and small birds. 🐜
A migratory bird with a wide range, it breeds in Europe and western Asia, and winters in Africa's tropical forests. 🌳 It builds its nests in trees, often near the edge of a forest, and decorates them with green branches and leaves. 🌿
With a wingspan of around 120 cm, the Honey Buzzard is a medium-sized bird. 🌟 Despite being relatively rare, it's most commonly found in the middle and southern taiga regions. 🌲
🐒 Meet the Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) 🌴
This unique primate is endemic to the island of Borneo. The most striking feature of the Proboscis Monkey is its large, cucumber-like nose, found only in males. 🤔
The purpose of their oversized noses is still unknown, but it's thought to be for attracting mates - the bigger the nose, the better the chances of impressing a female! 💘 Some scientists believe the large nose may also help males produce louder sounds. 🗣️
These agile creatures reach 65-75 cm in length, with tails just as long as their bodies. Males weigh 16-22 kg, twice as much as females. 🤯
Proboscis Monkeys inhabit tropical forests and mangroves, always staying close to water. They're excellent swimmers, jumping from trees and covering up to 20 meters underwater! 🏊♀️ They're arguably the best swimmers among all primates. 🌟