Innholdsfortegnelse for YOU - Did You Know? Extreme Creatures i You South Africa

SNAKES are either venomous or non-venomous. Those with venom bite their prey to paralyse or kill them, but non-venomous ones, like the green anaconda, uses constriction. The anaconda wraps its huge body around its prey. It squeezes hard enough to kill and swallows its prey whole. Let’s get to know this giant that lives in the tropical rainforests of South America. HEAVY-WEIGHT A green anaconda weighs up to 250kg! HOW DOES IT HUNT? The anaconda lurks in rivers or swamps near the banks, where its colouring camouflages it. When prey comes to the water to drink, the snake lunges, restraining the animal with its sharp, curved teeth. OVERPOWERING PREY The anaconda squeezes its prey so hard the blood stops flowing to the brain and the animal dies or is paralysed.…

THIS tall and slender feline runs very fast in large, open areas -- and it’s such a good hunter, its prey does not stand a chance! The cheetah is speedier than any other land animal and can accelerate from zero to about 100km/h in just three seconds. That’s about the same as a supercar such as the Ferrari 458! BUILT FOR SPEED It can reach a top speed of 113 km/h. WHERE IS IT FOUND? This wild cat occurs in Africa and western Asia (Iran). CURRENT HABITAT EXPLOSIVE SPEED It can accelerate from 0-96km/h in three seconds At full speed its stride is about 6-7m It can maintain its top speed for only 10-20 seconds COMPARE THEIR SPEEDS USAIN BOLT 44,7km/h LION 60km/h GREYHOUND 69,2km/h OSTRICH 70km/h RACE HORSE 70,7km/h LEOPARD…

CROCODILE A crocodile eats mainly fish, but it will attack almost anything that crosses its path, including blue wildebeest (above), zebras, birds and other crocodiles. Go to page 30 for more on this ferocious hunter. DID YOU KNOW? Crocodile attacks cause the deaths of 200 people each year.…

THIS dangerous reptile’s entire body has been adapted to make it a ruthless hunter – and when it gets hold of their prey, the other animal has little chance of survival, because the crocodile has the strongest bite of any animal. It then drags the prey into the water and drowns it by rotating while still holding the prey, in a move called a death roll. CROC ATTACK! Crocs lunge out of the water onto land to surprise and capture their prey. The croc waits in the water until it can see its prey before using its tail and feet to push itself several metres forward at high speed. It bursts out of the water to grab the animal standing on the bank. It then pulls it under the water…

POLAR BEAR Polar bears have a white coat that camouflages them against the snow and ice. But under their fur they have black skin, which helps them to soak in the warmth of the sun. Go to page 48 for more on these Arctic predators. DID YOU KNOW? Polar bears have fur on the bottom of their paws, which gives them good grip on ice.…

THE polar bear flourishes in the Arctic region (a polar region at the northernmost part of Earth) where winter temperatures often drop to -40ºC. Temperatures as low as -68ºC have been recorded there. This extreme weather prevents the snow and ice – which the polar bear needs to survive – from melting. The mammal spends about half of its life on the ice floes (large packs of floating ice) off the coast of the region. GIANT FEET The polar bear’s huge paws work like snow shoes to spread its weight evenly over the ice and snow. Its claws are used for grasping prey and for traction when running or climbing on slippery ice. Small bumps on the thick, black pads prevent slipping. Long hair between the pads and toes help…

OFTEN described as one of the ugliest creatures on Earth, the humpback anglerfish lives at depths of about 2km in the Atlantic and Antarctic Oceans. No sunlight reaches down there, and few plants and creatures can survive. But the anglerfish is uniquely adapted to the dark, deep environment – and the females even uses the dark to their advantage. EXTREME DEPTHS The anglerfish lives at depths of about 2km in the ocean. ON THE HUNT In the pitch dark, the female fish uses light to lure her prey. This is thanks to a process called bioluminescence, which involves glowing bacteria. The bacteria live on the tip of a spine that sticks up from her back like a headlamp. 1 This fish is not very fast and mostly just floats in the…

THE bulldog ant is considered the most dangerous ant in the world because of its aggressive behaviour and powerful sting. It has a strong grip and is ferocious, much like a bulldog. It will bite and sting at the same time and more than once, curling its body to do this. The venom of this ant has the potential to induce anaphylactic shock in those who may be allergic. As with most severe allergic reactions, if left untreated it could be lethal. There are reports of at least three people, who were allergic to the venom, having died from their stings in Australia. TINY GIANTS These ants typically grow to 3,6 cm–huge in ant world! INDEPENDENT The bulldog ant is independent. Even the queen will find her own food, unlike…

MANY people mistakenly think pangolins are reptiles, but they’re actually the only mammals on Earth that are completely covered in scales. The scales are made of keratin – the same as human fingernails – and are extremely hard, so that predators like lions battle to bite through it. If a pangolin feels threatened, it rolls into a ball to protect its soft belly and face. CRITICALLYENDANGERED Pangolins are the most illegally traded mammals on the planet. People kill them for their scales and their meat. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine, though it’s been proven to have no medicinal properties. In some countries, pangolin meat is considered a delicacy. INSECT EATER It can eat 70 million in 1 year. STATISTICS Length Up to 1,3m Weight Up to 27kg MAN…

CHEETAH Cheetahs are not just lightning fast – they are also nimble, which means they can make sudden turns at high speeds. Go to page 18 for more on this speedy cat. DID YOU KNOW? A cheetah can sustain its top speed for only a short while.…

THIS deep-sea creature is an ocean giant – at 30m long and weighing 170 tons it’s much bigger than any dinosaur ever was and it can be as long as a Boeing 737! THAT’S HUGE! This ocean giant can grow up to 30m long! HOW BIG IS A BABY WHALE? At birth a blue whale calf is about eight metres long and weighs 2,7 tons. Calves drink only milk and grow fast – in the first year they put on as much as 91kg a day! BLOWHOLES At the surface of the water the blue whale opens the two blowholes on top of its head and exhales air explosively through it. This exhaled air is called the blow and usually forms a gush or stream of misty air and vapour.…

OSTRICHES are not just the largest and heaviest living bird in the world, they also lay the largest eggs. They might not be able to fly, but they can run very fast. Their long legs are well adapted to this, and they use their wings for balance. EGGS iPHONE 8 13,8cm OSTRICH EGG: 15cm tall One ostrich egg is equivalent to about 24 chicken eggs. It takes about an hour to boil an ostrich egg until it’s done but still soft. CHICKEN EGG: 6cm WIDE STRIDE One stride of an ostrich’s well-developed, muscular legs can be up to 5m long. OTHER LARGE FLIGHTLESS BIRDS Weight 63-145kg The ostrich is the largest and heaviest bird in the world. 2,8m OSTRICH 1,9m EMU 1,7m CASSOWARY 1,5m RHEA 1,7m MAN FEMALE MALE HEAD IN THE SAND According to…

THE peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on the planet. To catch its prey, it makes a hunting stoop (high-speed dive) with its outstretched talons, reaching about 320km/h. They enjoy eating starlings, pigeons and doves. These birds of prey can be found everywhere including mountains, forests, cities and deserts. They just don’t like the cold so you may not spot one in Antarctica. COMPARE THEIR SPEEDS USAIN BOLT 44,7km/h RACE HORSE 70,7km/h SAILFISH 110km/h CHEETAH 113km/h PEREGRINE FALCON 389km/h BUGATTI VEYRON 431,3km/h TOP SPEED The fastest speed this bird has clocked is 389km/h Its average speed is 320km/h. HOW THEY CATCH THEIR PREY 1 The peregrine falcon is a skilled hunter that relies on its superior speed to catch its prey. It starts off by jumping off a high cliff, then…

GREAT white sharks are found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans (especially around South Africa and Australia) and they are very good hunters. Besides their rows of teeth, they also have a great sense of smell, which helps them detect prey. But rest assured – humans are not their favourite meal. They prefer to eat other sharks, seals, molluscs and seabirds. MEAL TIME • The great white has serrated teeth similar to the notches on a saw and can cut through flesh and bone. • The shark doesn’t chew its food but rips off chunks of flesh and swallows them whole. • When the shark bites, it shakes its head from side to side, allowing its teeth to saw off large chunks of flesh. • A great white…

THE tarantula hawk wasp is a spider wasp from the same family as bees, ants and other wasps. This wasp is ferocious and hunts spiders often larger than itself. It doesn’t eat the spiders (it eats nectar and plants) but uses them as incubators and food for its larva. There are 4 200 spider wasp species worldwide, and tarantula hawk wasps are found in North and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia and Australia. SPIDER ATTACK When the tarantula rears up to strike in self-defence, the female wasp avoids its fangs and quickly thrusts its stinger into the spider’s belly, injecting the arachnid with venom that paralyses it within seconds but doesn’t kill it. STATISTICS Tarantula hawk wasps can reach 11cm in length.  Size-compared with a R5 coin R5 coin 2,6cm…

NOT all scorpions are venomous, but the ones that are – like the brown scorpion shown here – packs a mean punch with their stingers! This one is a Transvaal fat-tailed scorpion, one of the biggest scorpions in the Buthi-dae family of scorpions, which has about 1 000 species. HUNTING Scorpions are generally nocturnal hunters, which means they hunt at night. They remain in their burrows and listen for any vibrations signalling that prey is close. Once prey is near, they pounce on the potential meal using their strong pincers and stinger, simultaneously crushing and poisoning it to death. THE TELSON Venom glands Stinger 60cm Scorpions can spray their aerosol-like venom up to 2 ruler lengths. PARALYSING VENOM It’s venom is neurotoxic and can be fatal to humans if left…

HIGH THESE animals are specially adapted to survive in extreme conditions – on high mountain cliffs or deep in the ocean. ALPINE CHOUGH These birds live and breed as high as 6 500m above sea level, including in the mountains of Nepal. Mountaineers have spotted some as high as 8 200m above sea level! Even their eggs are adapted to the thin atmosphere, which contains little oxygen. HIMALAYAN GUINEA PIG These rodents survive the extremely cold winters of the Himalayas and Tibet by hibernating in underground tunnel systems through the coldest months – up to seven months at a time. They live at altitudes of between 2 900m and 5 500m. GELADA These monkeys live in the mountains of Ethiopia – sometimes as high as 4 500m above sea level…

WHILE some animals have been blessed with beauty in abundance, others got the short end of the stick in the looks department. Here are some of the strangest-looking and prettiest animals on the planet. SPECTACULARLY STRANGE MATAMATA TURTLE The matamata turtle is native to South America and its natural habitat is shallow, muddy freshwater. Their sight is very bad, but they have many nerve clusters (including in the flaps next to the head and neck) to sense the vibrations of prey moving close to them. PROBOSCIS MONKEY The male monkeys’ noses are much larger than the females’ – sometimes longer than 10cm. Proboscis monkeys are indigenous to the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. The species is at risk of becoming endangered because human development is destroying their habitat. NORTHERN…

THE African elephant holds the title of biggest land mammal and lives until it’s about 70 years old. Even though Asian elephants look very similar to their African cousins, the African elephant is bigger, with larger ears and less hair on its body. The elephant is often seen as an aggressive animal, but it’s actually a gentle giant and deeply emotional being. It’s the only creature, other than humans, to grieve for its dead and cry (by blowing its trumpet) when upset. HUGE APPETITE Elephants eat up to 270kg of vegetation and drink 190 litres of water daily. LARGEST TUSK The largest tusks ever found were 3,5m long and weighed 120kg each. STATISTICS Weight About 6 tons Height 2,5 – 4m MAN 1,7m WHAT BIG FEET! The elephant has big, round…

THESE giant reptiles are found only in Indonesia. They can grow up to 3m in length and weigh up to 200kg. They’re dragons are predators and at the top of the the largest lizards in the world. Komodo food chain on the islands where they occur. The Komodo National Park was created in 1980 to protect these animals and their habitat. It’s now a World Heritage Site and there are measures in place to prevent poaching. GIANT REPTILE It weighs up to 150kg.T DANGEROUS BITE The Komodo dragon’s teeth are serrated, almost like that of sharks. They bite their prey, leaving a big open wound. They have venom glands which secrete substances that lowers the prey’s blood pressure and keeps it from getting thicker, which means the prey loses a…

THE hippopotamus is one of the most dangerous animals in the world and the most dangerous mammal. It moves fast and will best almost anything that crosses paths with it. Hippos are the third biggest land animal after elephants and some rhinos. DEADLY MAMMAL Every year hippos kill an estimated 500 people in Africa. BIG MOUTH! The hippo’s powerful jaws can open 180° – 3½ times wider than a human mouth. When fully open, the top and bottom jaws can be as far as 1m apart. When a hippo opens its jaws that wide, it’s usually a warning sign that it’s ready to attack to protect its territory. The lips, more than 0,5m wide, are used to pick plants to eat. LARGE BUT FAST! With its big, barrel-like body and short,…

THIS insect might be tiny, but it can cause one of the deadliest diseases in the world. Most mosquito species are harmless, though; it’s the Anopheles mosquito that is especially dangerous because it carries malaria. DEADLIEST INSECT DEADIE INSECT Mosquitos caused 627 000 deaths around the world in 2020. DIET The male mosquito’s diet differs from the females. The male lives on nectar, fruit juice and other sugar sources only. The female also feeds on nectar, but she needs the protein in blood to produce her eggs, which is why she hunts for supplies of blood all day. MALARIA AREAS AROUND THE WORLD 241 MILLION infections in 2020. 95% of all malaria cases occur in Africa. 24 HOURS is how long it can take for someone with malaria to go…

1 SYDNEY FUNNEL-WEB SPIDER There are quite a few types of venomous spiders in the world, but this one holds the Guinness World Record as the most venomous to humans. While the females rarely leave their nests, the even more venomous males are a different story altogether! VENOM The Sydney funnel-web spider’s venom is a neurotoxin, which means it attacks the nervous system. In serious cases, it can kill a person. If a person is bitten by one of these, they must seek immediate medical attention. But since an antivenom was developed in the late 1980s, there have been no human deaths from the bite of a Sydney funnel-web spider. READYTOFIGHT When this spider feels threatened, it becomes aggressive, stands on its hind legs and shows its fangs. HABITAT These spiders…

THIS species of wild goat is adapted to live in the high mountains of the European Alps. Not only can it survive the extreme cold, it’s also an extremely agile mountaineer! HABITAT Alpine ibexes live on rocky terrain, high up in the European Alps, above the woods. The rocky and inhospitable terrain of their mountain habitat keeps them safe from predators such as wolves and bears. They usually venture lower down in late afternoon to graze in the fields and meadows. In winter, when it’s colder and food is scarce higher up on the mountain, they also migrate lower down. VARIOUS SPECIES OF IBEX There are other ibex species belonging to the same family as the Alpine ibex. There’s the Siberian or Asian ibex which is found in the Himalaya…

CHAMELEON Some chameleons can snatch prey with their tongues in just 0,07 seconds – talk about fast food! Go to page 68 for more on these striking reptiles. DID YOU KNOW? There are over 150 species of chameleon. Some are as big as your thumbnail and others as big as a cat.…

THE octopus is considered the most intelligent invertebrate (an animal without a skeleton) and has a few genius strategies to keep it safe from attackers. BIG FAMILY There are about 300 different octopus species CATCHMEIF YOUCAN! The octopus uses several tricks to fool predators such as sharks, seals and seagulls: • It expels a cloud of black ink, temporarily blinding and confusing the enemy. • It can change colour and even texture in an instant, blending into its environment by camouflaging itself. • If it’s caught, it can wiggle free by shedding one of its arms – the arm grows back. • It can squeeze into tiny spaces as long as the spaces aren’t smaller than its beak. STATISTICS Length 30-90cm (common octopus) Weight 3-10kg MAN COMMON OCTOPUS DID YOU KNOW?…

THESE reptiles have a few characteristics and skills that distinguish them from other animals: a long tongue to hunt with, eyes that are adapted to see 360° degrees around it and a skin that can change its colour to assist with camouflage. Its upper and lower eyelids are joined and surround a small hole it can see through. Its eyes operate independently of each other; this means it has 360-degree vision and can focus on two separate objects at a time. It can see in ordinary light as well as in ultraviolet light, which means it can see a bigger range of colours. CHANGING COLOUR The chameleon changes colour by adjusting special crystals in its cells to reflect different shades. Some can change to all the colours of the rainbow…