Strange animal pics

Thunderbird · July 16, 2008

You've never harrased a snake into throwing up its meal just to see what the bulge is? :naughty:

Moontanman · July 16, 2008

The video shows it has splad toes, It could possible be a ful grown pygmy hippo. :naughty:

It probably was a baby pygmy hippo but it could not have been an adult.

Pygmy Hippopotamus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moontanman · July 16, 2008

You've never harrased a snake into throwing up its meal just to see what the bulge is? :naughty:

No, as a matter of fact I haven't:naughty:

Thunderbird · July 16, 2008

Ok I looked at the video again it is anaconda for sure, so that would make the regurgitated animal a Tapir, do you concurr Moonman?

Moontanman · July 16, 2008

I couldn't see the film clearly enough to really see what kind of snake it was but if it is an anaconda then it wasn't a hippo for sure. The feet do indeed look more like tapir than hippo feet.

Thunderbird · July 16, 2008

Slender Loris:The slow lorises are three species of loris and are classified as the genus Nycticebus. These slow moving strepsirrhine primates range from Borneo and the southern Philippines in Southeast Asia, through Bangladesh, Vietnam, Southern China (Yunnan area) and Thailand.

Adult slow lorises range in size from 21 to 38 cm, depending on the species, and weigh up to 2 kilograms. The tail is a mere stump. The short, thick fur can have a variety of colours, mostly grey-reddish and often with whitish undertones. They have well developed thumbs, which they use to grasp and hold fast to branches, and a very flexible back. The eyes are large and point forward, and the ears are small and nearly hidden in the fur. They are generally more strongly built than the slender lorises.

Wikipedia

Like all lorises, slow lorises are nocturnal and arboreal animals that prefer the tops of the trees. Also, they have slow, deliberate movements and a powerful grasp that makes them very difficult to remove from branches. They live as solitaries or in small family groups, and mark their territory with urine.

Slow lorises can produce a toxin which they mix with their saliva and use as protection against enemies. Mothers will lick this toxin onto their offspring before leaving them to search for food. The toxin is produced by glands on the insides of their elbows. The lorises lick or suck it into their mouths and deliver it when they bite. The toxin is not known to be fatal to humans, but causes a painful swelling.

Slow lorises are opportunistic carnivores, typically eating insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates. With their slow quiet movements, they creep to their prey, in order to catch it with a lightning-quick snatch. They also eat fruits, but rarely.

After an approximately 190-day gestation, the female births one (or rarely two) young. The newborn clasps itself to the belly of the mother or the father. When it is older it will be "parked" on a branch while its parent searches for food. After approximately nine months it is weaned. The life expectancy of the slow loris is up to 14 years.

Wikipedia

Giant isopod;Looking like it just crawled out of a bad science fiction movie, the giant isopod is without a doubt one of the strangest creatures found in the deep sea. Known scientifically as Bathynomus giganteus, it is one of about nine members of the genus Bathynomus. It is also the largest known members of the isopod family, a group of crustaceans closely related to shrimps and crabs. The giant isopod is also related to the small pillbugs that you can find in the garden. In fact, this insect-like creature is sometimes referred to as the giant pillbug. Giant isopods are not usually fished commercially, although some can be found in the occasional oceanside restaurant in northern Taiwan.

Wikipedia

Dumbo octopusThe octopuses of the genus Grimpoteuthis are also known as "Dumbo octopuses" from the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their head-like bodies, resembling the ears of Walt Disney's flying elephant. They are benthic creatures, living at extreme depths: 300-400 meters, and are some of the rarest of the Octopoda species. They can flush the transparent layer of their skin at will, and are pelagic animals, as with all other cirrate octopuses, and unlike many other incirrate octopuses.

They hover above the sea floor, searching for worms, bivalves, pelagic copepods, and other crustaceans. They move by pulsing their arms, shooting water through their funnel, or by waving their ear-like fins. They can use each of these techniques separately or all simultaneously. The males and females are different in their size and sucker patterns. The females lay eggs consistently, with no distinct breeding season

Wikipedia

Thunderbird · July 16, 2008

Qi Qi, a rare Chinese river dolphin, was rescued from the Yangtze River in 1980 and lived in Wuhan Baiji Aquarium, until she died in 2002. A recent six-week search on the Yangtze failed to find any trace of the endangered dolphin species, leading scientists to announce that the animal is "functionally extinct." :phones:

AFP/Getty Images

China's Rare River Dolphin Now Extinct, Experts Announce

Thunderbird · July 16, 2008

Pictures: Getty Images

CHINESE GIANT SALAMANDER (Andrias davidianus)
Chinese giant salamanders are a flattened salamander with a broad head and mottled brown body. They inhabit rivers and streams in the temperate and tropical mountains of China. Often growing to a length of 6 feet or more, they are among the largest amphibians in the world. Their numbers are currently in decline due to collection by humans, environmental pollution and loss of habitat.

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
USFWS Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Collection by humans, environmental pollution and loss of habitat
Habitat: Mountain streams and rivers
Location: China
Diet: Crabs, shrimp, aquatic insects, fish and frogs

Endangered Species Guide : Amphibians : Animal Planet

Thunderbird · July 17, 2008

LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE (Dermochelys coriacea)
Weighing up to about 1,700 pounds, the leatherback sea turtle is by far the largest sea turtle. It is also the world's deepest diving, most migratory and wide-ranging of all sea turtles. The leatherback differs from other sea turtles in that it has a leathery shell and flippers without claws. It is known to travel great distances, with some tagged individuals spanning entire oceans. The leatherback sea turtle is threatened throughout its range by nest-site disturbance, fishing operations, pollution and egg collection.

Endangered Species Guide : Reptiles : Animal Planet

Moontanman · July 17, 2008

T-Bird you have a handle on these endangered creatures, how about this one.

StrangeArk: Illegal fishermen kill rare giant fish in China

I am still having problems down loading pictures from the net. I have no idea why I can't seem to down load anymore.

Thunderbird · July 17, 2008

No young Chinese paddlefish have been seen in the wild since 1995, and there have been no sightings of a wild Chinese paddlefish of any size since 2003—leading many to fear that the megafish is already extinct.

Even if evidence surfaces that some paddlefish remain, scientists fear that their numbers are already so low that they will be unable to reproduce successfully.

Chinese paddlefish are thought by many to be the world's largest freshwater fish, with reports of individuals reaching a mind-boggling 23 feet (7 meters) in length and weighing half a ton (450 kilograms). They have long, silver-gray bodies, very large mouths, and a long, wide snout that resembles a paddle. The snouts contain sensors that help them locate the small fish and crustaceans they survive on.

These sleek giants, which the Chinese call sword-billed sturgeons, were once commonly seen and caught in China's Yangtze River. Their enormous bulk and plentiful flesh made them a popular target for fishermen and a welcome addition to dinner tables, including those of ancient Chinese emperors. But the construction of a dam in the 1980s forever altered the Yangtze River habitat of paddlefish and other notable species.

The dam, part of the Gezhouba hydroelectric project, created an impassible barrier between the lower Yangtze River and delta region, where the paddlefish live most of the year, and its spawning grounds in the upper river.

In the years since the Gezhouba Dam was completed, the enormous Three Gorges Dam has further fragmented the Yangtze, and future projects will continue to threaten the paddlefish's habitat.

The fate of the critically endangered megafish now likely lies in captive breeding. Such programs have been attempted in the past, but they present many challenges, not the least of which is finding suitable wild adults that have lately proven so elusive.

Special News Series: MegafishesLast updated April 29, 2008
The world's largest freshwater fish are losing the fight for survival, as pollution, overfishing, and construction threaten the rivers and lakes they call home.

So earlier this year ecologist Zeb Hogan launched the Megafishes Project, a three-year effort to document the 20-some species of freshwater fish at least 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length or 220 pounds (100 kilograms) in weight Megafishes Project Information, Facts -- National Geographic.

Mekong giant catfish

April 8, 2008—Children pose with a Mekong giant catfish caught at Khone Falls in Laos, near the border with Cambodia, in August last year.

While the weight of the fish in the photo is unknown, the species holds the world record as the largest freshwater fish ever caught, weighing in at 646 pounds (293 kilograms).

The Giant Catfish, Giant Catfish Profile, Facts, Information, Photos, Pictures, Sounds, Habitats, Reports, News - National Geographic is listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union.

But a new dam project planned for Khone Falls threatens the migration of this so-called megafish, according to Zeb Hogan, who heads the National Geographic Society's Megafishes Project.

National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Giant Catfish Faces Dam Risk in Asia

Thunderbird · July 17, 2008

SIAMESE CROCODILE (Crocodylus siamensis)
The Siamese crocodile is a Southeast Asian reptile that lives in slow-moving freshwater habitats such as rivers, swamps and streams. It has a broad snout, powerful tail and grows to a length of about 12 feet. Populations of Siamese crocodile are rapidly decreasing due to hunting and loss of habitat.

Endangered Species Guide : Reptiles : Animal Planet