KOMODO DRAGON

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard that has ever lived on land, it measure's up to 3m in lenght. It is the top predator on the Indonesian islands where it lives.

Their sizes:
It's Length: males are 3m, females are slightly smaller. Their weight will vary between 100-135kg if it is an adult.

Their Breeding:
It's sexual maturity: 6 years, Their breeding season: June or July.
Number of eggs: Up to 20.
Their Incubation: 8 months.

Their lifestyle:
Komodo Dragons are mostly solitary, but will join with others to breed and feed on carrion.

Their diet: Small mammals, pigs, deer and monkeys.

Their lifespan: Estimated at 30 years, but quite possibly 50 years.

Their Related species:
The Komodo dragon belongs to the family of monitor lizards which includes other giants such as the 3m-long water monitor and the tiny 20cm-long Australian short-tailed monitor.

DISTRIBUTION:

The Komodo dragon lives on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rintja, Padar, Flores, Gili Mota and Oewada Sami, of the north of Australia.

CONSERVATION:

The population is round about 3000, because the Komodo dragon lives mainly in uninhabited islands, it is currently in no great danger from humans.

FEATURES OF THE KOMODO DRAGON:

Skin: Thick and protective, covered head to tail with pebbly scales. A young Komodo dragon can be identified by vertical bands of black and green on its neck, as wel as its size. 

Tongue:  Long, thin and deeply forked. used to taste the air for carrion.

Neck: Long, but stout and muscular, surrounded with loose folds of skin.

Claws: Long and sharp. Used to hold prey and to grip tree trunks when the Komodo dragon climbs.

CHEETAH

The cheetah is a magnificent cat, it is the fastest of all land mammals, sprinting at up 95km/h after its prey.It is no match for a gun or the racing sea. Cheetahs had the most unusual lifestyle in  3000BC because they were trained by man for hunting, another odd thing was they competed against grey hounds in Harringay, London. The funny thing is, cheetahs can reach their top speed in about 3 seconds.

SIZES: Length: Head and body 130-150cm, tail 60-80cm. Weight: 45-60kg. BREEDING: Sexual maturity: 20-24 months. Mating season: Throughout the year. Gestation: 90-95 days. Litter size: up to 8 cubs, usually 2-5. LIFESTYLE: Habit: Female solitary, male lives in small groups. Diet: Various species of antelope, Also hares, rodents and sometimes larger prey such a zebra. Lifespan: About 12 years in the wild, more in captivity. RELATED SPECIES: An endangered subspecies of the cheetahs, Acrinonyx jubatus venaticus, lives in Asia.

HOW THE CHEETAH CATCHES ITS PREY:
1. When stalking a single prey the cheetah emerges from cover in order to startle the animal into running. Other big cats, such as lions, use attacks that combine surprise, ambush and hunting in a pack.
2. The cheetah follows at high speed, usually catching up with its prey within about a minute. It leaps up and brings down the prey with its forepaws.
3. The cheetah suffocates its prey by closing its jaws on the animal's windpipe. It may then drag the carcase to a safe place to be eaten, away from other Savannah predators.

THE BLUE WHALE

The blue whale is truly an ocean giant - the largest creature to have ever lived on this planet. Amazingly, it also feeds on some of the smallest animals to be found in our seas - plankton.

Instead of teeth the blue whale has a row of plates in its mouth known as baleen, which form an incredibly efficient food collecting device. Acting as an enormous sieve, the blue whales mouth can hold an inrush of up to 5 tonnes of water with each gulp!

The blue whale has around 320 baleen plates, measuring 100cm long by 55cm wide. There is a 'mostache' of bristles on the end of each plate to hold its tiny prey. Having forced the water out of its moth the whale then licks the back of its 'teeth'with its fleshy tongue to retrieve the food.

Male blue whales can grow up to 25 metres in length while females can reach a mind blowing 26 metres. They communicate by low frequency moans at around 25 Hertz, these can also contain loud and intermittent chirps and whistles.

They can live up to 80 years with mature females giving birth only every 3 years after a gestation period of 11 - 12 months.

Blues whales can be found inhabiting areas all around the world, but are mainly based in Arctic and Antarctic waters where greater quantities of plankton are found.

CONSERVATION

Since 1986, commercial whaling has ceased and blue whales now show signs of breeding success. However, it will take at least a century of protection before they are out of danger of extiction!