White Faced Capuchin

True Wild Life | White Face Capuchin | The white faced capuchin, also known as the white headed capuchin and the white throated capuchin, is a medium sized species of monkey that is native to the jungles of Central America and the northern regions of South America. The white faced capuchin is one of the most well known monkeys, particularly in North America, and the white faced capuchin is thought to be one of the most intelligent monkeys in the world with the white faced capuchin being best known as a companion for organ grinders and are also used to assist people that are paraplegic.

The white faced capuchin plays a vital role in the eco-system where the white faced capuchin inhabits, as the white faced capuchin is one of the most effective dispersers of plant and fruit seeds throughout the jungle. The white faced capuchin does this by eating the fruits and berries that grow in the surrounding jungle and the seeds are then put back into the ground in the feces of the white faced capuchin. The white faced capuchin live in troops which generally contain around 20 individual white faced capuchin members. The white faced capuchin tends to live between 15 and 20 years in the wild, in captivity however, the white faced capuchin has been recorded to live until it is more than 50 years old!

The white faced capuchin is a highly adaptable mammal and is known to live in all different types of forest in Central and South America. Although the white faced capuchin mainly feeds on fruits and berries, the white faced capuchin also eats insects, plants and even small creatures such as frogs and birds. Within a white faced capuchin troop, there tend to be more female white faced capuchin members than males and as with many other species of sociable primates, the white faced capuchin troop generally has an alpha male member whose primary role is to breed with the female members and to protect their troop.

White faced capuchin troops are not thought to be highly territorial as they spend a great deal of their time on the move. On average a white faced capuchin will travel 2 km every day but there always seems to be conflict when faced with a different troop of white faced capuchin monkeys.

Whale Shark

True Wild Life | Whale Shark | The whale shark is the largest species of fish with some adult whale sharks growing to nearly 50ft long! The whale shark is thought to have developed around 60 million years ago making the whale shark one of the oldest species on Earth today. The whale shark spends it's life swimming through the open oceans in search of fish and squid. Unlike many other species of shark, the whale shark is known to feed on large shoals of tiny fish rather than hunting bigger fish and sea mammals. This makes the whale shark a filter feeder similar to whales and smaller sea animals.

The whale shark inhabits the warm, tropical waters around the equator and despite often being found close to coastlines, the whale shark is also known to dive to depths of up to 700 meters (that over 2,000ft deep). In this part of the ocean, food is more scarce and the whale shark will therefore only venture to such depths if hunting in the shallower waters is not possible. The whale shark is the perfect example of a so-called friendly shark and to date have posed no significant threat to humans (mainly divers). The whale shark is most commonly spotted around the Gulf of Mexico and the Indonesian Islands where the whale sharks have been known to be almost playful towards humans.

Female whale sharks incubate their eggs inside them rather than outside. This means that whale sharks effectively give birth to live young. Inside the female whale shark are hundreds of eggs but only a few actually turn into baby whale sharks. The remaining eggs are thought to be there so that when the whale shark pups hatch, they have something to eat. The female whale shark gives birth to an average litter of 12 whale shark pups that are around 60 cm long.

Whale sharks grow quickly during their first few years and soon the whale shark pups are extremely big and therefore less likely to be hunted by marine predators such as other shark species and killer whales. Whale sharks tend to live for around 60 to 80 years but have been known be more than 100 years old.

Western Lowland Gorilla

True Wild Life | Western Lowland Gorilla | The western lowland gorilla is one of two subspecies of western gorilla (the other being the incredibly rare cross river gorilla) found in the jungles on the African continent. The western lowland gorilla is the most numerous species of western gorilla but is still considered to be critically endangered in the wild. The western lowland gorilla is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and forests of western and central Africa, along with lowland swamps and secondary forests. The western lowland gorilla is found throughout Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and is also the most likely gorilla to be seen in the world's zoos.

There are two separate sub-species of western gorilla which are the western lowland gorilla and the cross river gorilla. Although only slightly different in appearance, the two western gorilla species are distinguished by their differing skull and tooth sizes, and the cross river gorilla is also much rarer than the western lowland gorilla with only a handful thought to be left in the wild. The western lowland gorilla is one of the great apes, a group that includes orang-utans, gorillas, humans and chimpanzees. As with the other great apes, the western lowland gorilla has a number of features which makes living in the jungle a bit easier, including having opposable thumbs which come in handy when the western lowland gorilla is peeling fruit.

The western lowland gorilla is an omnivorous animal, but the majority of it's diet is made up of eating fruit which the western lowland gorilla is known to travel vast distances through the forests to find. The western lowland gorilla also eats leaves, nuts and berries, along with insects and occasionally small animals such as lizards and rodents. The western lowland gorilla has also been observed using basic tools in the wild in order to more effectively gather food. Due to it's large size, the western lowland gorilla has few real predators in it's native African forests, with large cats such as leopards and the odd crocodile being the only real natural threat to the western lowland gorilla. The biggest threat to the western lowland gorilla is habitat loss caused by deforestation and also being hunted by humans. Parts of the western lowland gorilla's territory have also been taken over by civil unrest in recent years, which, along with poaching, has had a truly devastating affect on wild populations.

The western lowland gorilla tends to live in groups which are led and protected by the alpha male. The alpha male western lowland gorilla also mates with the females in his group, producing generally single offspring, known as babies. The western lowland gorilla babies remain with their mother until they are a few years old and become independent. Today, the western lowland gorilla is classified as one of the world's critically endangered species with an estimated 95,000 western lowland gorilla individuals thought to be left in the jungles of Africa.

Western Gorilla

True Wild Life | Western Gorilla | The western gorilla is one of two gorilla sub-groups found on the African continent (the other being the eastern gorilla). The western gorilla is the most numerous species gorilla and also the larger out of the two. The western gorilla is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and forests of western and central Africa, along with lowland swamps and secondary forests. All western gorillas are now considered to be critically endangered as much of their natural habitat has now been deforested or taken over by humans.

There are two separate sub-species of western gorilla which are the western lowland gorilla and the cross river gorilla. Although only slightly different in appearance, the two western gorilla species are distinguished by there differing skull and tooth sizes. The western gorilla is one of the great apes, a group that includes orang-utans, gorillas, humans and chimpanzees. As with the other great apes, the western gorilla has a number of features which makes living in the jungle a bit easier, including having opposable thumbs which come in handy when the western gorilla is peeling fruit.

The western gorilla is an omnivorous animal, but the majority of it's diet is made up of eating fruit which the western gorilla is known to travel vast distances through the forests to find. The western gorilla also eats leaves, nuts and berries, along with insects and occasionally small animals such as lizards and rodents. The western gorilla has also been observed using basic tools in the wild in order to more effectively gather food. Due to it's large size, the western gorilla has few real predators in it's native African forests, with large cats such as leopards and the odd crocodile being the only real natural threat to the western gorilla. The biggest threat to the western gorilla is habitat loss caused by deforestation and also being hunted by humans. Parts of the western gorilla's territory has also been taken over by civil unrest in recent years, which, along with poaching, has had a truly devastating affect on wild populations.

The western gorilla tends to live in groups which are led and protected by the alpha male. The alpha male western gorilla also mates with the females in his group, producing generally single offspring, known as babies. The western gorilla babies remain with their mother until they are a few years old and become independent. Today, all western gorillas are critically endangered species but there are thought to be 95,000 western lowland gorillas remaining in the wild, significantly more than their cross river gorilla cousins, whose numbers in the wild are thought to to as low as 300 individuals.

Weasel

True Wild Life | Weasel | The weasel is a small, thin mammal. Weasels are found all around the world apart from the Arctic and Australia including it's surrounding islands. The weasel feeds mainly on small mammals and the weasel has a bad reputation amongst farmers who do not approve of the weasel stealing their poultry and their eggs. The weasel can burrow quickly into the ground, meaning the weasel can easily escape danger including farmers that want to catch them.

The weasel tends to grow to about 30cm long with a tail roughly the same length as the weasel's body. The weasel is generally a solitary animal but some species of weasel congregate together in groups for months on end. Weasels most typically come together to mate. The weasel belongs to the same animal family as and is closely related to other animals such as ferrets,stoats and polecats. All these animals have a similarly long-shaped body and pointed snout and are all found in similar environments.

Weasels are most commonly found in wooded areas but weasels are rarely found in really dense, thick forest. Weasels burrow and nest in hollow logs and under piles of rocks and weasels will often inhabit the nest of one of their prey rather than building a new one themselves. Weasels most commonly breed during the mid-summer months and give birth to their young in late spring the following year. The female gives birth to an average of 6 baby weasels, which are pink, blind and tiny and have very little fur. After a couple of weeks the fur of the baby weasels is much thicker and the baby weasels are able to eat solid food after about a month. By the time the baby weasels are two months old, they have taught by their mother weasel how to hunt their own food and soon become independent.

Weasels are prey to numerous larger animals such as foxes, cats, snakes and birds of prey. It is because they are so vulnerable to being eaten, that many weasels will not even live to be year old. The average lifespan of a wild weasel is thought to be around 3 years but weasels have been known to live for longer in captivity. Generally, weasels prey on small animals such as mice, birds and baby rabbits. The larger male weasels however have been known to prey on larger animals that are bigger than they are.

Water Dragon

True Wild Life | Water Dragon | The water dragon is a large species of lizard native to the forests and jungles of Asia and Australia. Water dragons are arboreal animals meaning that they spend most of their time in the trees, often close to a large body of water. There are two different species of water dragon, which are the Australian water dragon and the Asian water dragon. The Australian water dragon is the smaller of the two water dragon species and is found on the east coast of Australia. Australian water dragons have powerful legs and sharp claws which help them to climb trees more effectively.

The Asian water dragon is the larger and more colourful of the two water dragon species and is found in forests and jungles throughout India, China, Laos, Vietnam, Burma and Thailand. The Asian water dragon also has a third eye (known as the pineal gland), which is thought to be able to detect difference in light. Although water dragons are generally tree-dwelling animals, they also spend a great deal of time in or very close to the water. Water dragons are strong and capable swimmers and often leap into the water from the branches high above in order to escape approaching danger.

Like many other lizard species, water dragons are omnivorous animals eating a variety of plant and animal species. Water dragons primarily prey upon small animals such as lizards, frogs and rodents, insects and fish which they catch will there long tongue. Due to their relatively large size, water dragons have limited predators within their natural environment, although this is entirely dependent on where the area which the water dragon inhabits. Snakes, large birds and carnivorous mammals are the primary predators of the water dragon.

Water dragons hibernate during the cooler winters and begin breeding when they emerge in the spring. The female water dragon digs a burrow in the ground where she lays up to 18 eggs, and then buries them. The water dragon young hatch within a few months and remain close to the nest until they become bigger and more adventurous.  

Water Buffalo

True Wild Life | Water Buffalo | The water buffalo is thought to have originated in Asia but has since been introduced to Australia, Africa, Europe and North America. The wild Asian water buffalo is now considered to be an endangered species. The water buffalo has been domesticated by humans for thousands of years and is used to pull heavy machinery and to carry heavy loads. Buffalo are farmed in most countries for their meat.

The water buffalo lives in herds with anywhere from a few buffalo to bigger herds in Africa that commonly have hundreds of buffalo per herd. The buffalo is common prey for larger predators such as tigers, crocodiles and lions. The buffalo belongs to the same family of animals as wild cows. This group also includes the African buffalo and the American bison along with the yak and the zebu. Male water buffaloes have very distinctive, large curved horns on the tops of their heads. The male water buffalo is also about a third large than the female water buffalo and the male water buffalo is therefore more commonly used as agricultural aid.

Water buffalo spend most of their time submerged in the muddy waters of Asia's tropical forests. By doing this, the water buffalo is able to keep itself cool in the hot and humid jungle conditions. The hooves on the water buffalo's feet are spread out which allows the water buffalo to stop itself from sinking into the mud on the river beds and swampland. The water buffalo is herbivorous animal and the water buffalo therefore has a purely vegetarian diet. Water buffalo munch on aquatic plants when they are in water but water buffalo seem to prefer to leave the water to find grassland where the water buffalo can graze on grasses, leaves and herbs.

Female water buffalo produce one water buffalo calf every couple of years. After a gestation period of up to 11 months, the female water buffalo gives birth to her buffalo baby. The baby water buffalo stays with its mother and is dependant on her for it's first couple of years. After about three years, male water buffaloes leave the mother water buffalo to join all male water buffalo groups. The female water buffalo will often remain in the same water buffalo herd as it's mother. Although the wild Asian water buffalo is now considered to be an endangered animal, the commercially farmed water buffalo can be found all around the world. There are thought to be more than 150 million commercially farmed water buffalo across the globe today which are farmed for their milk, meat and leather.