Best Jungle Life: 10/10/11

atlantic puffin birds

Puffin birds (Fratercula arctica) is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Atlantic Puffin is 26–29 centimetres (10–11 in) in length (bill 3–4 cm), with a 47–63 centimetres (19–25 in) wingspan. The male is generally slightly larger than the female, but they are coloured alike. This bird is mainly black above and white below, with grey to white cheeks and red-orange legs. During flight, it appears to have grey round underwings and a white body; it has a direct flight low over the water. The related Horned Puffin (Fratercula corniculata) from the North Pacific looks very similar but has slightly different head ornaments.

Atlantic Puffins can dive to depths of up to 70 m (200 ft) and are propelled through the water by their powerful wings, which are adapted for swimming; the webbed feet are used as a rudder while submerged. When hunting, Puffins may collect several small fish, such as herring, sprats and sand eels, zooplankton, crustaceans and mollusks. Puffin is sexually mature at the age of 4–5 years; the species is monogamous and gives biparental care. They are colonial nesters, excavating burrows on grassy cliffs — they will also nest amongst rocks and scree. The species can face competition from other burrow nesting animals such as Rabbits, Manx Shearwaters and occasionally Razorbills. Male puffins perform most of the work of excavating or clearing out the nest area, which is sometimes lined with plants, feathers or seaweed. The only time spent on land is to nest; mates are found prior to arriving at the colonies, and mating takes place at sea.

they were hunted for meat and eggs. Atlantic Puffins are still hunted and eaten, but the effect of this on populations is insignificant compared to other threats. the introduction of rats, cats, dogs and foxes onto some islands used for nesting, contamination by toxic residues, drowning in fishing nets, declining food supplies, and climate change.
On the island of Lundy the number has decreased dramatically in recent years (the 2005 breeding population was estimated to be only two or three pairs) as a consequence of depredations by black rats. However, Iceland has many times as many breeding pairs with the Puffin ( lundi in Icelandic) the most populous bird on the island. In 2008 declines were reported in the Farne Islands and Isle of May colonies.
Reintroduction projects have taken place on a number of islands, including one on the coast of Maine titled Project Puffin, and these have given local boosts to some Puffin populations. If these cycles are modified too much it is probable that the Atlantic Puffin will have a difficult time locating food resources. Another consequence of an increase in temperature could be a reduction in the range of the Atlantic Puffin, as it is only able to live in cool conditions and does not fare overly well if it has to nest in barren, rocky places, and an increase in temperature could thus squeeze the zone of puffin-suitable habitat as warmer biotopes expand from the equator but the polar regions remain barren due to lack of historical accumulation of topsoil.
SOS Puffin is a conservation project based from the Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick to save the puffins on islands in the Firth of Forth. Puffin numbers on the island of Craigleith, once one of the larest colonies in Scotland, with 28,000 pairs, have crashed to just a few thousand due to the invasion of a giant alien plant Tree Mallow, Lavatera arborea, which has taken over the island and prevented the puffins from accessing their burrows and breeding.

puffed in the sense of swollen – was originally applied to the fatty salted meat of young birds of the unrelated species Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus. Both species nest in burrows on off-shore islands and the name was applied to the meat of either and was formally applied to F. arctica by Pennant in 1768.
The scientific name comes from the Medieval Latin fratercula, friar, and arctica, northern

Armadillo Pics/wallpapers

Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. Their average length is about 75 centimetres (30 in), including tail; the Giant Armadillo grows up to 150 centimetres (59 in) and weighs up to 59 kilograms (130 lb), while the Pink Fairy Armadillos are diminutive species with an overall length of 12 to 15 centimetres (5 to 6 in). Many species are endangered. Some species groups, such as the long-nosed armadillos, are widely distributed over the Americas, whereas others, such as the fairy armadillos, are concentrated in smaller ranges in South America. One species, the nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), is found in the United States, primarily in the south central states (notably Texas), but with a range that extends as far east as South Carolina and Florida

The Nine-banded Armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks, streams, and arroyos around which it lives and feeds. The diet of different armadillo species varies, but consists mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. Some species, however, feed almost entirely on ants and termites.

In common with other xenarthrans, armadillos in general have low body temperatures (33–36 °C) and basal metabolic rates (from 40–60% of that expected in a placental mammal of their mass). The North American Nine-banded Armadillo tends to jump straight in the air when surprised, and consequently often collides with the undercarriage or fenders of passing vehicles.

Armadillos have short legs but can move quite quickly, and have the ability to remain underwater for as long as six minutes. Because of the density of its armor, an armadillo will sink in water unless it inflates its stomach and intestines with air, which often doubles its size and allows it to swim across narrow bodies of water. They are particularly susceptible due to their unusually low body temperature, which is hospitable to the leprosy bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae. (The leprosy bacterium is difficult to culture and armadillos have a body temperature of 34 °C, similar to human skin.) Humans can acquire a leprosy infection from armadillos by handling them or consuming armadillo meat, and are a presumed vector and natural reservoir for the disease in Texas and Louisiana. Armadillos (mainly Dasypus) make common roadkill due to their habit of jumping to about fender height when startled (such as by an oncoming car). Wildlife enthusiasts are using the northward march of the armadillo as an opportunity to educate others about the animals, which can be a burrowing nuisance to property owners and managers.

Armadillo pictures

Armadillo beautifull small mamel

Armadillo images

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anaconda snake pictures & wallpapers

the yellow anaconda, Eunectes notaeus, a smaller species found in eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina; and the dark-spotted anaconda, "Eunectes deschauenseei", a rare species found in northeastern Brazil, coastal French Guiana and Guyana.
All three species are aquatic snakes that prey on other aquatic animals, including fish, river fowl, caiman, and capybaras. Some accounts exist of anacondas preying on domestic animals such as goats and ponies that venture too close to the water.They are found in tropical South America. The most familiar species is the green anaconda, "Eunectes murinus", notable for being one of the world's largest snakes. Green anacondas can grow to be 521 cm (17 ft) in length and weighing 97.5 kg (215 lb).

anaconda snake

anaconda catching endangered pictures

introducation of anaconda snakes !!
Anacondas in the wild spend most of their time hanging out in rivers hunting for their food. They are solitary creatures that are somewhat shy and not many of them are easily seen.
the Brazilian Rio Abuna in 1907 [scene depicted in adjacent image]. Despite its immense length, Fawcett reported that this snake had a width of just 30 cm (which makes the tale rather unbelievable), and he even discussed trails in the swamps that 'support the statements of Indians and rubber pickers that the anaconda sometimes reaches an incredible size, altogether dwarfing that shot by me' (Heuvelmans 1995, p. 340). Despite these many stories, no-one has yet produced a snake that exceeds 10 m in total length (though I hope that - if such a specimen is ever found, it is not killed, but is restrained or captured or something.some snakes grow to sizes that exceed the 10 m record generally accepted as the authenticated maximum: this was for a Reticulated python Python reticulatus shot on Sulawesi in 1912.the record, I agree with Jason that snakes exceeding 15 m in length almost certainly never existed, but I still want to know why a qualified fossil snake expert would say, on more than one occasion, that they did. At least one noted expert on fossil snakes is a regular visitor here at Tetrapod Zoology.the larger the margin of errorAnacondas like to hang out in rivers so it would be difficult to estimate the length of one seen swimming, without seeing the entire snake. It's the anaconda's ability to remain partly hidden in the water that makes it difficult to accurately find (and document) a specimen that exceeds the current world's record.