Wildlife Facts on Pitara Kids Network

Which is the fastest animal on earth?

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 10:28:31 +0000

Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal on earth – it can fly nearly as fast as an airplane.

Peregrine Falcon is one of the rare birds that thrive in urban environments. It uses tall skyscrapers as launchpads and hunts pigeons and ducks. It is the world’s most widespread bird of prey and one of the most widely found bird species. It also has a good relationship with humans who use it for hunting.

Known as the Duck Hawk in North America, it is a falcon. It has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black colored head. The Duck Hawk is known for its speed. The fastest recorded speed it has reached is 389 km/h (242 m/h). It uses this speed while hunting, flying high above its prey and swooping down at a frightening pace.

Why is a Hippopotamus called a River Horse?

Fri, 20 Apr 2001 05:14:49 +0000

Among Africa’s unusual creatures is a barrel-shaped gigantic animal, the hippopotamus (plural hippopotami). The hippo is the third largest land animal after the elephant and the rhino. Slightly smaller but heavier than a white rhino, a hippo can weigh nearly 1,800 kg. The animal is huge and barrel shaped nearly 12 feet long and five feet at its shoulder, with a short thick neck and small ears.

River Horses [Illustration by Anup Singh]

Hippos, or to use their biological name, hippopotamus amphibious literally means ‘river horse’. Recent DNA (a test for genes) has revealed that the hippo is more closely related to cetaceans (whales and dolphins) than to any other artiodactyls (even-toed hoofed mammal).

Can Frog Fly?

Sat, 18 Nov 2000 14:17:12 +0000

You must have seen frogs that jump, but have you seen frogs that can fly? Actually not fly, but glide. One member of the treefrog family which is found in Malaya can fly. It flies not for adventure, but to catch its prey.

It is called Wallace’s Treefrog and is more equipped to chase flying insects than other frogs.

Flying or gliding tree frog (Agalychnis spurrelli) is an endangered amphibian. IT lives in Amazon rain forest of Ecuador Colombia Panama and Costa Rica.

It has webbed feet with long fingers and toes. When it cannot catch a particular insect that is flying away, it stretches its fingers and toes wide apart. This increase in surface area allows it to glide downwards for long distances. And, during its descent, it can catch prey for dinner.

Antlers: A Deer Story

Fri, 20 Apr 2001 12:35:52 +0000

Trees shed leaves in autumn and snakes shed their skin once a year. In the same way, deer shed their antlers every year. Yes, those huge branches on antlers grow fresh every year. At any given point of time, a deer’s antlers will not be more than a year old.

It is always the male deer which has antlers, except in the case of the caribou and the reindeer whose females also have antlers.

It takes about two to three months for the antlers to grow to their full size. And then they break off when the mating season is over.

Chimp Traits

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 15:00:45 +0000

Do you think chimps are chumps? If the answer is yes, then you are in for a surprise – because chimps or chimpanzees are actually very, very intelligent. Chimpanzees are the most intelligent of the ape family. It was known that chimpanzees use tools intelligently to obtain food. They use rocks to crack open nuts or use sticks to dig the earth for choice insects and termites.

Once a chimpanzee learns a certain method he/she teaches it on to all the other chimps in the area. Scientists say that different groups of chimps follow different customs or styles related to eating, grooming and courtship. So this teaching one group’s ‘customs’ to another group is an act of ‘culturally transmitting a ritual’.