Fur Seal

There are eight different species of fur seal found in the worlds oceans. Only one of these fur seal species is found in the northern hemisphere with the remaining seven species of fur seal found in the southern hemisphere.

Fur seals are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and like sea lions the fur seal has external ears (many species of true seal are in fact earless). The fur seal also has relatively long and muscular foreflippers, and fur seals are also able to walk on all fours when the fur seals reach land.

The fur seals most distinctive characteristic is the fur seals thick underfur which helps to keep the fur seal warm in freezing cold waters. The fur seals fur however has made the fur seal a long-time object of commercial hunting by humans.

Fur seals tend to return to specific beaches or rocky alcoves to breed which the fur seals do in the summer months. The fur seal pups are sent into the water as soon as the mother fur seal is finished weaning them in order for the fur seal pups to learn how to hunt.

The fur seal spends most of its time swimming in the open oceans hunting for food. Fur seals feed on fish and plankton but are also prone to hunting squid and eels.

The fur seal is often targeted prey for large aquatic animals such as sharks, killer whales, sea lions and occasionally the larger adult leopard seals.

Proboscis Monkey

The proboscis monkey is a large tree-dwelling primate found exclusively on the island of Borneo in south east Asia. The proboscis monkeys are best known for the long noses of the males, which are thought to be related to mating in order to attract females.

The proboscis monkey has a large protruding belly that is thought to stick out so much due to the proboscis monkeys diet and complex digestion system, which along with the long nose of the males, gives the proboscis monkey very distinctive yet strange characteristics.

A study at the end of the 1980s showed that there were around 250,000 proboscis monkeys in the wild. Today there are thought to be considerably less of the proboscis monkey in the wild due to hunting and deforestation. The proboscis monkey is considered to be an endangered species.

The males proboscis monkey is much larger than the female proboscis monkey, with the male proboscis monkey being about double the weight of the female proboscis monkey. This size difference between gender is thought to be greater than that of any other primate in the world.

The proboscis monkey is a proficient swimmer and appears to spend a large amount of time in the water. Proboscis monkeys are most commonly found inhabiting mangrove swamps and will wade through shallow water and can swim when the water gets too deep.

Proboscis monkey troops consist of the alpha adult male and a number of females, as well as their offspring. It is not uncommon however for both the male and female proboscis monkeys to move between social groups.

The diet of the proboscis monkey consists mainly of leaves, shoots, seeds and unripe fruit. It is known that proboscis monkeys are not too fond of fleshy fruits and the complex nature of the digestive system of the proboscis monkey means that they are unable to digest ripe fruit.

Female proboscis monkeys give birth to one baby proboscis monkey after a gestation period of nearly 6 months. The baby proboscis monkeys are thought to be born with much darker fur, and small noses which grow in size as the baby proboscis monkey gets older. The reddish fur of the adult proboscis monkey is lthought to appear with age.

Magpie

True Wild Life | Magpie | There are thought to be around 15 different species of magpie spread across Europe, Asia and parts of Australia and Africa. The magpie is generally around 50 cm long with a slightly larger wingspan, although the exact size of the magpie is dependent on the magpie species.

The magpie is a small to medium sized bird that is found across the globe. The magpie is most closely related to the crow, but the magpie has highly distinguishable black and white feathers which make magpies easy to spot.

In China and Korea, the magpie is seen as a symbol of good luck and good fortune. In the United Kingdom however, one magpie is said top be bad luck and seeing two is good luck (one for sorrow, two for joy).

The European magpie also has the notorious reputation for taking and stashing shiny objects. It has been known for magpies to be attracted to ladies jewellery, along with plastics and even the windscreen wipers from cars. The magpie will often take the wonderful objects is has found and collect them in it's nest.

Magpies mate for life and mating partners are usually together for their entire lives. Magpies mate in the spring time when the weather begins to get warmer and build large nests in the trees. The female magpie lays up to 8 eggs (usually around 5), which are a surprisingly small size in comparison to the size of the magpie itself. The magpie chicks hatch out of their eggs after an incubation period of around 3 weeks, and the magpie chicks are normally able to fly when they are between 3 and 4 weeks old.

Magpies are noted to be highly intelligent birds and are often able to sense approaching danger relatively quickly. Magpies are known to be dominant and curious birds but are relatively secretive when they feel they are in danger. Magpies are also known to mimic the calls of other birds and have fully taken advantage of new food sources created by the presence of humans.

Despite their large wings, magpies are not particularly keen on long flights and tend to stay close to cover. Magpies hide in trees and thick bushes to hide from predators and to catch their prey.

Magpies are omnivorous birds and eat a range of fruits, nuts, seeds, insects, eggs and small mammals and reptiles. Magpies have a number of predators within their natural environment including dogs, foxes and cats.

Frigatebird

True Wild Life | Frigatebird | The frigatebird is a large species of sea-bird that has an enormous wingspan that often exceeds two meters in length. Male frigatebirds are most commonly known for their red throat pouch, which are inflated to attract female frigatebirds during the mating season.

The frigatebird (also known as the man of war bird and the pirate bird) is a species of sea-bird found in warmer, tropical regions. Frigatebirds are thought to be most closely related to pelicans giving rise to another name for them, which is the frigate pelican.

Frigatebirds are generally black in colour although some frigatebirds look slightly browner than black. Outside of the mating season, male frigatebirds and female frigatebirds can be easily identified due to the fact that the female frigatebird has a white patch on her underside.

There are five different species of frigatebird that inhabit tropical islands and coasts, with the majority of frigatebird individuals being found in the Pacific Ocean although some do inhabit areas of both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The magnificent frigatebird, the Ascension frigatebird, the Christmas frigatebird, the great frigatebird and the lesser frigatebird are the five different frigatebird species.

The frigatebird has the largest wingspan in comparison to it's body of any bird species in the world, so the frigatebird is naturally an adept pilot. Frigatebirds have been known to stay in the air for nearly a whole week and only land on the rocky cliffs to breed or to rest.

Unlike the incredible flying ability of the frigatebird, the frigatebird is unable to walk that well and cannot swim. Frigatebirds have a diet that consists of marine animals and so frigatebirds have to pluck their prey from the water without landing as they are unable to take-off from a flat surface such as water.

Frigatebirds are sea-birds and therefore tend to have a meat-based carnivorous diet. Firgatebirds primarily eat fish including flying fish, along with crustaceans, molluscs and even small sea turtles.

Due to the large size of the frigatebird and the fact that the frigatebird spends the majority of it's life in the air, frigatebirds have few natural predators with humans being the main predator of the frigatebird. Introduced species such as rats, stoats and domestic cats are commonly found hunting frigatebirds and their eggs on the land.

Female frigatebirds lay only one egg every couple of years as the frigatebird chicks taken an average of 9 months to rear. Both the male frigatebird and the female frigatebird feed their chick for the first few months but the male frigatebird will then leave the colony leaving the female frigatebird to do the rest of the rearing by herself.

Glow Worm

True Wild Life | Glow Worm | The glow worms are found inhabiting dense woodland and caves around the world with the exception of the Americas and glow worms are one of the few insects that are found inside the colder Arctic Circle. Glow worm is a medium to large sized invertebrate that is famous for having a green and yellow coloured light on the end of it's tail. Glow worms are nocturnal animals which means that they are active during the dark night which is when their glowing rears can be seen.

Glow worm is the common name for various different groups of insect larva and adult larviform females which glow through bioluminescence. Glow worms may sometimes resemble actual worms, but all are insects as one species of glow worm is a type of fly but most glow worms species are actually beetles.

It is only the female glow worms that actually glow as they spend around 2 hours every night in the mating season with their bottoms in the air, trying to attract a mate. The male glow worms are attracted to the glowing object in the foliage but have also been known to be attracted to man-made lighting such as street lights.

Glow worms are most commonly seen in the UK between June and October and their green-lit tails tend to show up most clearly when the sun goes down at dusk. Legend says that early humans used to use glow worms to mark paths and provide light in huts. Glow worms were thought to have some kind of magical power and so people would also use the glow worm in medicines.

Glow worms are omnivorous animals but they tend to have a very meat-based diet. Glow worms predominantly prey on snails and slugs which make up the majority of the glow worm's diet. Glow worms also prey on other insects and small invertebrates.

Due to their small size and the fact that they glow in the darkness, glow worms have numerous natural predators within their environment including spiders, large insects, birds, reptiles and centipedes.

Typically, the female glow worms lays between 50 and 100 eggs in moist areas, over a period of a few days. The tiny glow worm eggs are yellow in colour and can take between 3 and 6 weeks to hatch depending on the climate (the warmer it is, the faster the glow worm eggs will hatch).

Glow worms are considered to be an animal species that is threatened with extinction as the glow worm population numbers are drastically decreasing. The main reason for the lower number of glow worms is thought to be the expansion of human civilisations. Glow worms are known to be particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment including habitat loss, noise and pollution.

Cuttlefish

True Wild Life | Cuttlefish | Cuttlefish are found in large numbers throughout the world's ocean waters from the warm, tropical shallows to the cold depths of the deep ocean. Cuttlefish are well known for the "flashing" colours that are displayed on their bodies during fighting and mating. In the same way as squid and octopuses, the cuttlefish also has an ink sack which ejects ink in order to fool oncoming predators.

The cuttlefish is a small-medium sized mollusc that is found throughout the ocean waters of the world. In the same way as their squid and octopus relatives, cuttlefish have a large, elongated body with tentacles surrounding their mouths.

There are 120 known species of cuttlefish found across the globe which vary in size from just 15 cm to the Australian giant cuttlefish which is often half a meter in length (not including its tentacles) and weighs more than 10kg.

The cuttlefish is a carnivorous animal that primarily preys on small crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs, but the cuttlefish also eats alot of fish. The cuttlefish uses its ability to change body colour to hide itself, before catching its prey with the sucker-pads on the end of its long tentacles which bring the prey into the sharp beak of the cuttlefish.

Due to the generally relatively small size of the cuttlefish, there are numerous marine predators that hunt them. Large fish, sharks and even other cuttlefish (sometimes of the same species) are the most common predators of the cuttlefish along with humans who hunt the cuttlefish around the world.

During the mating season, male cuttlefish change their body colours in order to successfully attract a female. Some male cuttlefish have even been known to make themselves look like female cuttlefish in order to trick the dominant males and stealing their mates. The female cuttlefish lays around 200 small eggs and sadly dies soon afterwards.

Common Toad

True Wild Life | Common Toad | The common toad is generally brown in colour but colours on the skin of the common toad can range from black to green to yellow. The skin of the common toad, as with other toad species, is permeable and has a rough appearance.

The common toad (also known as the European toad), is a large-sized species of toad that is found throughout Europe. Although the common toad is not found in Iceland or some areas of the Mediterranean, the range of the common toad extends all the water to Siberia and into Northern Africa.

The common toad is most active in wet weather and is most commonly found in areas close to water such as woodlands, forests, marshes and meadows. The common toad is also a nocturnal animal, spending the daylight hours resting and hunting by night.

The common toad is an carnivorous animal, and the diet of the common toad therefore only consists of other animals. Insects are the primary source of food for the common toad, as they are caught when in the air by the long sticky tongue of the common toad. The common toad also feasts on other invertebrates such as worms and spiders.

The common toad has a number of predators within its natural environment, mainly due to its relatively small size. Grass snakes, hedgehogs, foxes, cats and birds all commonly prey on the common toad.

The female common toads lay their eggs in the water rather than on the land, in long strings known as toadspawn, The common toad tadpoles hatch into the water where they begin the process of metamorphosis which turns them from tadpole into an adult common toad.