giant Squid

Name: giant squid

Scientific name:  architeuthis

diet: carnivore

more information:



              Giant squids are huge creatures and are rarely seen by humans . When fully grown, a giant squid can be at least 10 meters long .Most of what people find out about them is from giant squids tat get washed up . The biggest giant squid ever found was18m and weighed around 900
kg.

              Here are some facts about the giant squid:


* Giant squids have beach-ball sized eyes !

* Scientist are not sure how this giant squid ranges, but fisher mans have spotted them in the seas all over the world.

*They are the worlds biggest invertebrates.

* Giant squids can change colour!

I found this video on youtube.

wombat

A common wombat 

Name: Wombat

Scientific name: vombatidae

Diet: Herbivore

More information:

         Wombats are found mainly in Australia.
A wombat, just like the kangaroo and other marsupials ,give birth to their young undeveloped.The young will then  crawl into their mothers pouch and spent about 5 months in there.

         wombats are nocturnal animals.They come out from their tunnels  at night to find food to eat .

         Wombats are about 70-120 cm big. They weigh approximately 15-35kg. Wombats also have incisors that cannot stop growing. they have to gnaw on tough vegetables to ensure that their incisors will not grow too long.

        Wombats , although cute, are pest to farmers because of the tunnels thy make in mud. Because of this, some farmers hunt them down. Wombats are also killed for their skin and sometimes just for fun by hunters.Thus, some species of the wombat are endangered while some species, such as the common wombat ,are not.



          

Helmeted hornbill

A helmeted hornbill 

Name: Helmeted hornbill


Scientific name: Rhinoplax vigil

diet: Omnivore

More information: 


          Helmeted hornbills are found in the South-east Asia , the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. They are a large in the hornbill family.

        Helmeted hornbills are under the Near Threatened (NT)  on the ICUN Red List  as many people kill them for their   skull  which can be used to make ivories .

        Females weigh around 2.7kg while males weigh around 3.1kg.A female helmeted hornbill also has a blue patch on its neck . A male helmeted hornbill has a reddish patch on its neck.

       Helmeted hornbills love to eat figs too! They also eat fruits and sometimes even smaller hornbills!
    

    

Sloths

name : Sloth

Scientific name: folivora

Diet: Herbivore

More information :


           Sloths live in trees of the jungles of central and south america. They are medium - size mammals related to armadillos and ant- eaters . here are some facts about them:

* There are two families of sloth.The three-toed sloth and the two-toed sloth.

*two-toed sloths are generally larger than three-toed sloths and

*Three-toed sloths has a facial colouring which always makes them look like their smiling :)

*three-toed sloths also have 2 extra neck vertebrae .This allows them to turnn their heads almost all the way around!

* Sloths sleep for  at least 20 hours a day. They are very lazy creatures !

A sloth upside down! 

* Algae sometimes grow on the sloth's thick fur. Scientist think that this algae can  help them blend in with the green surroundings.

* sloths are good swimmers!

* There is an extinct sloth called the giant ground sloth. It can grow till as big as an elephant!

sea cucumber

 a bohadchia argus sea cucumber

Name: sea cucumber

Scientific name: holothuroidea

Diet: Scavenging omnivores

More information:


         Sea cucumbers are not an ocean vegetable. Instead, they are more like a marine creature. There are around 2000 species of sea cucumber.

         Sea cucumbers have an "interestingly weird" way of  defence . When they are irritated, they will squirt out their stomach linings .Predators will then be confused and give time for the sea cucumber to escape.
     
       If the sea cucumber is  furthur irritated , it will squirt out all its internal organs. Belief it or not, the sea cucumber can live for about 9 days without its internal organs. Soon, a new set of internal organs will grow but the sea cucumber will not grow its reproductive organs back.

      Sea cucumbers are also considered a delicacy .Some people enjoy eating them.

      This video will show the sea cucumber pooping too.Enjoy :)

Tapirs

tapir species 

Name: Tapir

Scientific name: Tapirus

Diet: herbivore

More information:



        Tapirs  stay in jungle / forested areas of South-east Asia, Central America and South America.

         There are 4 species of tapirs.The malayan tapir is the biggest species. However, all 4 species of tapirs are either endangered or vulnerable.

        Tapirs' average life span in the wild is around 25-30 years . They are endangered mostly due to habitat loss and hunting.

         Tapirs are also good swimmers and mostly stays submerged in water to cool off. They also can dive into the water to eat aquatic plants.
        

Singapore Night Safari

Entrance of the safari

              Yesterday, my mother brought me and my sister to the Singapore Night Safari. It is the worlds first nocturnal zoo. 

             First, we got on a tram ride to the east lodge. Then ,we went to the leopard trail. The leopard trail had animal enclosures such as the flying squirrel, bats,leopards ,golden cats and much much more. I found the bat enclosure very exciting as we were in the enclosure and bats swooped above our heads.
                
            Next , we walked to the fishing cat trail. First , we saw the striped hyenas. After that, we saw animals like the lesser mouse deer ,barking deer, and the fishing cat ! Of course there were more animals but I can't list them all down.

          When the fishing cat trail ended, we found ourselves back at the entrance of the safari so we took the tram all over again and skipped the  east lodge tram station . For the next half an hour or so, the tram    drove pass giraffes, deers,gazelles,tigers, zebras , and finally what I liked the most- elephants! There were a total of 5 elephants, including a baby elephant! On the tram ride , we also saw tapirs. 
  
        Once we got out of the tram, my mother brought me and my sister to eat ice-cream ! 

       We did not manage to catch any show like the fire- breathing man show or the animal trick show as it was drizzling. We also did not walk on the east lodge trail or the wallaby trail as it was already 10 plus. But in all , I found the Night Safari really nice.