Wrasse

True Wild Life | Wrasse | The wrasse is a typically small species of fish, found in the coastal waters of the world's major oceans. The Cleaner wrasse is the most commonly known wrasse species as it is often seen alongside other marine animals, including sharks. There are more than 500 different species of Wrasse found in the shallower coastal waters and coral reefs, of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Wrasse most commonly inhabit areas that have an abundance of both food and places to hide, making coral reefs and rocky shores the perfect home for the wrasse.

Cleaner wrasse are the most well-known wrasse species as they are often seen going into the mouths of large marine animals in order remove the dead material inside. Cleaner wrasse feed on dead tissues, scales and parasites that lurk inside the mouth of the larger animal, and few are actually eaten by the predator that they are assisting. Wrasse come in a variety of colours and sizes depending on the species of wrasse. Wrasse tend to be relatively small in size, with many species of wrasse being less than 20 cm in length. One species of wrasse however is enormous in comparison, growing to more than 2 meters long.

Wrasse are carnivorous animals that have thick lips with a row of teeth that usually face outwards. The mouth of the wrasse is protractile which means that it is capable of extending forwards. Wrasse feeds on a number of small invertebrates, small fish and food particles in the water. Wrasse are also known to follow large predatory fish, eating the trail of left-overs that it leaves behind it. Due to their small size, wrasse have numerous predators in their natural environment including larger fish, such as lionfish, dogfish and barracuda and wrasse are even eaten by some smaller species of shark.

Wrasse are known to live for a relatively long-time particularly for their small size. Wrasse mate by releasing their eggs and sperm in to the water, which are fertilised and become part of the plankton until they are big enough to join the reef. Female wrasse lay thousands of eggs at at time so the wrasse population numbers are relatively high.

Woolly Mammoth

True Wild Life | Woolly Mammoth | The woolly mammoth was an enormous mammal that once roamed the vast frozen, northern landscapes in large size. Believed to be closely related to the modern-day elephant, the woolly mammoth remained in the wild until roughly 1700 BC when it became extinct. The woolly mammoth was found roaming the bitter Arctic tundra where they would often gather in large herds for both warmth and protection. Woolly mammoths lived in two groups which are thought to have been different enough to be characterized as separate subspecies. One woolly mammoth group stayed in the middle of the high Arctic, while the other woolly mammoth group had a much wider range.

The woolly mammoth was an enormous animal, with adults often reaching heights of four meters or more. Woolly mammoths in certain areas where, on average slightly smaller in size and could in fact be just half the size of one of the largest woolly mammoth individuals. As elephants do today, the woolly mammoth had enormous tusks which would have been used for both digging and collecting food, and for intimidating and fighting off both predators and rivals. The tusks of the woolly mammoth were often quite dramatically curved and could easily be up to 5 meters (16ft) long.

Like the African and Asian elephants still found roaming the small parts of the planet today, the woolly mammoth was a herbivorous animal meaning that it survived on a purely plant-based diet. Woolly mammoths would have eaten similar vegetation to modern-day elephants, browsing the forests for leaves, fruits, nuts, twigs and berries. Due to the sheer size of the woolly mammoth, it had only one real predator in it's natural environment which was sabre-toothed cats that would often hunt the smaller woolly mammoth calves. Other than human hunters that quickly wiped out the woolly mammoth populations in vast areas of the Arctic tundra, the rapidly melting ice had an enormous impact on their demise.

Although little is really known about the reproduction of woolly mammoths, it is quite likely that in a similar way to elephants, the female woolly mammoth would have given birth to a single woolly mammoth calf after a nearly year long (maybe even longer) gestation period. Woolly mammoths are thought to have had quite a long lifespan, getting to an average of 70 years old. It was generally assumed that the last woolly mammoths vanished from Europe and Southern Siberia in around 8,000 BC, with the last of the isolated woolly mammoth populations vanishing from Wrangel Island, located in the Arctic Ocean in around 1700 BC.

Woodpecker

True Wild Life | Woodpecker | There are around 200 species of woodpecker inhabiting the forests and woodlands worldwide. Woodpeckers are found on every continent with the exception of the polar regions, Australia and Madagascar. The smallest species of woodpecker is the Bar-breasted Piculet that only grows to 8cm in height. The Gray Slaty woodpecker from south east Asia is the largest living woodpecker in the world with some of these woodpecker individuals growing to nearly 60 cm tall.

The woodpecker has a distinctive long beak, which the woodpecker uses to make holes in trees. The woodpecker does this in order to dig out the grubs living under the bark. The average woodpecker is able to peck up to 20 pecks per second! The woodpecker is only able to peck so much and move it's head so quickly without getting a headache due to the air pockets that help to cushion the woodpecker's brain. Woodpeckers are omnivorous birds and feed on a mixture of plants and animals (mainly insects). The woodpecker eats seeds, berries, fruits, nuts and bugs but the exact species of the woodpecker's food depends upon the area which the woodpecker inhabits. Due to their generally small size, woodpeckers have numerous predators in their natural environment that not only prey upon the woodpecker itself but also the woodpecker's eggs. The main predators of the woodpecker include wild cats, foxes, rats. snakes and large birds although many other species of animal will prey on the woodpecker too.

Most species of woodpecker inhabit forest and woodland areas although oddly enough, there are a few species of woodpecker that live in areas such as deserts and on hillsides, where there are no trees at all. These few woodpecker species still behave in a similar way and nest in holes in rocks and in plants such as cacti. Many of the 200 species of woodpecker on Earth, are today considered to be threatened or endangered animals. This is mainly due to the deforestation that is occurring on mass across the world, meaning that woodpeckers are losing their homes.

Woodpeckers often have quite brightly coloured feathers although the exact colours of the woodpecker's feather depend on the woodpecker species. The brightly coloured feathers of the woodpecker which are often greens, browns, whites, reds and greys, help the woodpecker to camouflage more effectively into the surrounding forest. Woodpeckers make their nests in trees and excavate the hole themselves. Woodpeckers do not usually line the nest as the wood chippings that are there from when the woodpecker made the hole, act as a soft lining. The female woodpecker lays between 3 and 5 eggs that hatch after an incubation period of just a couple of weeks. The woodpecker chicks usually leave the nest when they are about a month old. Both the female woodpecker and the male woodpecker actively feed and raise the young, incubate the eggs and make the hole for the nest.

Woodlouse

True Wild Life | Woodlouse | The woodlouse is not an insect but a crustacean, that has 14 parts to its body, which gives the woodlouse the flexibility to be able to curl into a ball to protect itself from danger. This means that only the hard outer shell of the woodlouse is exposed. The woodlouse is found in dark, damp places in forests and jungles throughout the world. The woodlouse feeds on decaying leaf and plant matter on the forest floor, meaning that the woodlouse plays a vital role in the natural carbon dioxide cycle.

The woodlouse is generally about 1 cm long but many species in the tropics are triple that size, some are even bigger. The woodlouse has an average lifespan of around 2 years but some are known to get up to 4 years old. The woodlouse is the only species of crustacean to inhabit inland and not watery habitats. There are thought to be over 3,000 different species of woodlouse around the world.

The woodlouse is generally grey or brown in colour but the exact colour and size of the woodlouse is dependent on the woodlouse species and the area which the woodlouse inhabits. The woodlouse is found in nearly every environment in the world besides the polar regions and the arid desert. The woodlouse is a herbivorous animal and therefore only eats organic plant matter. The woodlouse rarely eats live plants and feeds on the decaying leaf and plant matter found on the forest floor such as leaves, rotting wood and fruits that fall from the trees above.

Due to the small size of the woodlouse and despite the fact that the woodlouse can attempt to protect itself by curling up into a ball, the woodlouse is preyed upon by a number of animals around the world. Toads, centipedes, spiders, millipedes and the occasional wasp are the main predators of the woodlouse. The female woodlouse lays around 24 eggs which she keeps inside a brood pouch. The woodlouse eggs hatch after an incubation period of just a few days exposing the woodlouse babies. Due to the fact that the baby woodlice take a number of months to fully develop, the mother woodlouse will often stay close to her young until they are adult woodlice.

Wombat

True Wild Life | Wombat | The wombat is a medium sized marsupial that is found only in Australia and it's surrounding islands. Wombats are burrowing mammals that spend most of the day under ground, coming out at night to feed. The common wombat is thought to be a descendant of the giant wombat that existed around 50 million years ago. The giant wombat's extinction is said to be caused by hunting and changes to their environment including pollution and habitat loss.

The common wombat is a nocturnal herbivore and gets to about 26 years old in the wild although some wombat individuals have been known to live for longer in captivity. Wombats eats grasses, shoots and bark which the wombat needs to keep gnawing on in order to keep it's continuously growing teeth at a manageable size. Like all other marsupials, the female wombat has a warm pouch on it's belly in which the wombat babies are nurtured for the first few months of life. When the baby wombats are first born they are very small and undeveloped and crawl into the mother wombat's pouch almost immediately. The baby wombat stays in the pouch of the mother wombat until the baby wombat is around 5 months old. By the time the baby wombat is roughly 7 months old, it is able to care for itself.

Wombats have long claws which they use to dig burrows. Wombat burrows can easily become an extensive network of underground tunnels leading to small chambers. Most wombats are solitary animals but some wombats have been known to form underground colonies with other wombats.

Wombats have a few natural predators including foxes and dingos. Although the wombat is relatively defenceless when it is out and about, wombats are generally well protected in their underground burrows as many predators cannot follow the wombat into the narrow, complex tunnels. Today the wombat is considered to be an endangered species of animal. Wombat numbers have been decreasing rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting by humans who believe the wombat and it's network of underground tunnels to be an agricultural pest.

Wolverine

True Wild Life | Wolverine | The wolverine is a medium sized mammal that despite it's bear-like appearance (and it's name) is most closely related to the weasel. The wolverine is known to be strong and vicious and is said to have immense strength in comparison to it's size. The wolverine is found throughout Canada, Europe, parts of North America and the Arctic Circle where the wolverines inhabit mountainous regions and dense forests. Wolverines are also known to venture into more open areas such as plains and farmland when they are in search of food.

The wolverine generally eats mice, rats and other small mammals, birds and eggs during the summer months when these small animals are in abundance. During the bitter winter however, when snow covers the ground, the wolverine tends to hunt larger animals such as reindeer (caribou), sheep and moose. Despite the fact that the wolverine is known to be capable of hunting down and killing animals that are so much bigger than itself, the wolverine tends to prefer to scavenge the kills of other animals such as wolves and bears. The wolverine will let the larger predators hunt the prey down and the wolverine then chases the hunter away by showing its teeth and growling fiercely. Then the wolverine is left to eat the kill. The wolverine uses its large teeth and powerful jaws to crush large bones and eat meat that has been frozen in the unforgiving Arctic winter. 

The wolverine also has long, sharp, powerful claws that the wolverine uses to catch it's prey and to defend itself from predators and other wolverines. The wolverine also uses it's claws for climbing and digging. Like the skunk, the wolverine has a strong-smelling fluid called musk which the wolverine uses to warn others to stay away. Wolverines also have a thick coat of brown fur to protect them from the freezing cold temperatures. The wolverine has large feet help it move across the soft snow, with five sharp claws on each foot. Wolverines are highly territorial animals and they will fight other wolverines to defend their territory. Wolverines are not particularly fast movers (although they are known to reach speeds of more than 30mph when needed), so they do not chase or stalk their prey. However, wolverines are good climbers and often rest in trees, where the wolverines wait until the right moment to pounce on their prey from the trees or large rocks.

The female wolverine has one litter every two or three years. She digs a den with tunnels in a snowdrift that is near piles of rocks. After a gestation period of nearly 2 months, the female wolverine gives birth to a small litter of baby wolverines (known as kits), usually 2 or 3 kits are born. The mother wolverines nurses her wolverines kits until they are around 10 weeks old and are then big enough and strong enough to start learning to hunt for themselves. Wolverines usually live to between 8 and 13 years old although some wolverine individuals in captivity have been known to nearly reach the age of 20! The wolverine is considered to be a near threatened species as the wolverine numbers are declining due to hunting and habitat loss.

Wolf

True Wild Life | Wolf | The wolf is thought to be an ice age survivor, dating wolves around 300,000 years ago. The wolf is accepted to be the ancestor of the domestic dog as the wolf is thought to have selectively bred in order to breed appealing traits typical of puppies and to eliminate the not so appealing traits of adult wolves. The grey wolf is a highly adaptive animal found in all kinds of terrain. Wolves inhabit forests, deserts, mountains, tundras, grasslands and even urban areas with the wolf being a particularly dominant and ruthless predator within it's environment. They vary in color from pure white to pure black and every shade of brown and gray inbetween. At one time the wolf had the widest distribution of any mammal. The biggest wolves on earth live in Alaska and average 125-135 lb. One specimen was taken that weighed 200 lb. The smallest wolves live in Iran and average about 60 lb.

The wolf lives to be approximately 10 years old in the wild. Wolves live in packs that generally consist of the alpha male wolf, his mate the alpha female, and their offspring of various ages. Other wolves may also join, but it is the parents that are the leaders. The wolf has no real natural predators; their biggest threat is other wolf packs on adjacent territories. The wolf has been known to live up to 20 years old in captivity. Wolves are carnivorous animals and generally hunt large animals but wolves will also hunt smaller animals if they are need of their daily meal. Wolves hunt together in their packs and work together as a team in order to catch and kill a large animal such as moose and deer. Wolves are opportunists and will not waste their energy chasing a healthy deer 10 miles when an injured or sick one is available. The native Alaskan peoples call the wolf the "wild shepherd of the caribou".

Wolves have a layer of thick fur which is particularly needed for those wolves that inhabit areas of the Arctic circle where it can be extremely cold. It is during the winter months in these areas that calories are most critical . Larger animals such as elk and deer suffer greatly from the cold and lack of food to eat and it is during this time that the prey of the wolf is at its slowest and therefore is easier to catch. Wolves are considered to be an endangered species today as wolves have been widely exterminated from their former ranges by hunting, poisoning, and trapping to procure their fur and to protect livestock. Wolves have also been severely affected by habitat loss and have been pushed into smaller and smaller territories where the food source may not be plentiful enough to sustain a hungry wolf pack and where heavy inbreeding occurs.

Wolves tend to mate in late winter to early spring and the wolf cubs are born are born a couple of months later when the weather is warmer and prey is abundant. The wolf cubs then have the rest of the year to grow stronger in order to be able to survive their first cold winter. Wolf cubs stay with their mother in the wolf pack with the male wolf cubs often leaving to form a pack of their own. Wolves can interbreed freely with dogs, redwolves, coyotes, and jackals to produce fertile offspring. This is a case of incomplete speciation. There are physical, behavioral, and ecological differences between these species, but they are fully genetically compatible. None of the animals in this group can breed with foxes, which are too far separated genetically.