Gibson’s World

Madagascar Tree Boas are probably the most interesting out of the 72 snake species in Madagascar. They are members of the Boidae family which is made up of large, non-venomous, constricting, primitive snakes. On some Boidae snakes, you can even see one or two toes sticking completely out of the skin because snakes evolved from lizards.

Madagascar Tree Boas are really beautiful snakes (in my opinion). They are grayish-green snakes with black diamonds or cross-bars all over their bodies. The only exceptions are  juveniles, which can be bright red in color but they still have the black markings on them!  Madagascar Tree Boas have triangular heads which are characteristic of both Boidae and a Viperidae snakes. They also have a thick black stripe behind the eye which is a great field identification characteristic. These thick snakes have been measured at more than 7 feet long!!

The Madagascar Tree Boa?s biology is amazing. Despite Their name (Madagascar Tree Boa),they are commonly found on the ground as well as in the trees. They also give birth to live young instead of laying eggs as most snakes do. Madagascar Tree Boas will feed on many animals including birds, lizards, frogs, and small mammals. They will even eat some small lemurs!!

While we were in Madagascar we were lucky enough to see a Madagascar Tree Boa (baby) in the wild. It was really interesting and I hope to come back to Madagascar some day to see more of these snakes and many other animals.

Southern Africa is one of the best places in the world for mammals. There are over 140 species and many are endemic. On our trip we were able to visit Southern Africa and went to South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.We had great luck and saw almost everything we wanted to see with our guides, Trevor (Most of Southern Africa) and Craig (Cape Town) including the “Big Five” (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino, and African Buffalo). We also saw the “Super Six” which is the “Big Five”+Cheetahs. Below are the most interesting animals that we saw in the wild (except for the Eland, which was in semi-wild). Each animal description below has a matching picture that I took of the animal while we were in southern Africa.  

Impala

This is by far the most common antelope in most of southern Africa. They were everywhere while we were in southern Africa. They usually live in herds of more than 20. When a male breaks its antler off, they immediately drop to the bottom in the ranks because they can no longer fight with other males. (African antelopes? antlers DO NOT ever re-grow).

Springbok

Springbok are the national animal of South Africa and are very common in some areas. Unlike the Impala, Springbok are more solitary although you may occasionally find them in herds. They are only found in the western part of Southern Africa, since Impala have taken over the more humid East.

Common Eland

Eland are huge antelope and are southern Africa?s biggest antelope. The females ?moo?, the males bellow, and the babies bleat. Eland can easily jump 2 meters/ yards high. They are usually in herds of 8-12 individuals.

Gemsbok (Oryx)

Gemsbok have huge, long horns and are white, light-brown, and black colored. They live in herds of 12 or more and can survive for long periods of time without water. They live in the north-western part of southern Africa.

Klipspringer

Klipspringers are very small, but interesting antelope. They live on big boulders and look out for predators. They are very good at climbing boulders and usually are solitary or found in pairs. Their coat is thick to provide protection against bumping into rocks. Klipspringers’ horns are short and straight.

Bontebok

Bontebok are rare antelope restricted only to the cape area. At one point, there were only 42 left, but today there are about 2000. They are easily spotted because of their bright white patches on their head and bottom.

Blue Wildebeest

Blue Wildebeest are very common in the northern part of southern Africa and can be found in implausibility (herds) of up to 30 individuals. They can easily be told apart from the Black Wildebeest by the entirely white tail and the forward pointing horns. Blue wildebeests are often seen in large groups especially during migrating as shown in The Lion King.

African Buffalo

Being a member of the ?big five?, African Buffalos are considered to be one of the most dangerous African animals. They form huge obstinacies (herds) of several hundred while migrating only. when they are not migrating, buffalos will usually form groups of up to 30 animals.  They look very similar to cows.

Plains Zebra

Zebras are one of the most well-known African animals. They form huge dazzles (herds) while migrating and the stripes make it difficult to make out individuals or to hunt them. A few years ago, just

A sandfish despite its name is a type of skink (see Super Skinks).  They “swim” in the soft sands of the desert and inhabit Northern Africa and parts of the Middle East.  Often times, you will see a dart of a lizard and then it will be gone into the sand.  This is usually a sandfish.

Sandfish are usually about seven to eight inches long with a tail shorter than the body which is very unusual for lizards.  They are mainly yellow/gold colored with black cross-bands and white sides and belly.  Sandfish also have short legs and a long, pointy snout.  To keep the sand out of its eyes, nose, and lungs, sandfish have very small eyes and nostrils. Because sandfish have such unusual characteristics, they are commonly sold as pets.

Sandfish have some very interesting behaviors.  They are insectivorous and eat three to four times a week with 4 crickets per meal.  To hunt they emerge from the burrow.  They can also hunt by listening to the vibration of insects walking over its burrow.  Then the sandfish will attack.  Since it is very hot in the desert, sandfish have developed the ability to “swim” through the sand in order to cool down.  They also use this method to escape predators like snakes (vipers). Scientists found out only in 2000 that sandfish created less friction than polished steel, glass, or nylon which enables them to swim through the sand so well.

While we visited Dubai, we went on a “desert safari.”  On it, we saw a sandfish, so of course we caught it.  I was amazed at how fast it could disappear into the sand.  Sandfish are very interesting animals and I am glad that we could see, catch, and hold one in the wild.

Death-stalker Scorpions are super-cool arachnids. They are one of the world?s most dangerous scorpions and kill a few people each year especially young children and old people. The reason for the name Death-stalker is probably because when it bites you, death is stalking you, but some people keep them as pets, anyways!

Although these creatures are highly feared, they are not completely bad. One good thing about Death-stalkers is that scientists think that parts of the death-stalkers? venom may be able to treat brain tumors and diabetes. Luckily or unluckily, Death-stalkers are very rare, so not many people get bitten by them, but the medicines to cure brain tumors and diabetes are harder to find.

Death-stalkers are super interesting looking animals. They are light yellow colored with black on the end of its long, slender tail and grey on its back. The black on the end of the tail is not always present which only confuses identification. When talking about Death-stalkers, most scientists use the scientific name (Leiurus Quinquestriatus) as not to confuse it with other dangerous species of scorpions. The scientific name (Latin) (Leiurus Quinquestriatus) translates to ?Five-striped Smooth-tail?.

Death-stalkers are native to northern Africa and the Middle East and live in natural burrows and under stones in deserts and scrublands, so right as we got to Dana National Reserve, Jordan, I started flipping over rocks. I was very excited when under the first rock that I flipped over was a Death-stalker Scorpion! Right away I started taking Macro pictures of it and looking at it. Death-stalker Scorpions are really interesting creatures and I am glad that I got to see one in the wild.

Common Diving Petrels are really amazing birds.  They inhabit the Falkland Islands and other small islands above the Antarctic Convergence where they live in burrows on steep slopes with tussock grass but occasionally on flat grounds.

………………………………..

There are several species of Diving Petrels, including Magellanic, Common, South Georgian, and Peruvian.  The Common Diving Petrel is very closely related to the South Georgian Diving Petrel.  The only way to tell them apart is that the Common is slightly bigger, that they have different bill shapes, and that the South Georgian Diving Petrel has a black line on its leg, but the Common does not.

Common Diving Petrels are tiny birds compared to other sea birds.  They are dark bluish-grey on their back and whitish grey on their belly, much like a penguin.  They are usually about 8-10 inches long with a wing span of about 13-15 inches.  Sometimes, when you see a Common Diving Petrel at sea, they almost look like a big butterfly because of the way that they beat their wings.

On our Antarctica cruise we have seen plenty of these amazing birds (both the South Georgian and the Common Diving Petrel).  We also got to see some that had hit the ship at night.  One morning at breakfast, another passenger asked us if we wanted to see the Diving Petrels.  There were about four of them, one of which we found and released.  Common Diving Petrels are really fascinating birds and I hope to see more on our ship soon!

Giant Anteaters are one of the most amazing creatures on earth.  These nearly-threatened animals inhabit the tropical Amazonian jungle but also like grasslands.  They are huge and can reach up to eight feet long including a four-foot long tail.  They are covered with long straw-like fur reaching up to 40 centimeters long on its tail!  Although they are eight feet long, they weigh only from 65 to 140 pounds.  Another amazing fact is that Giant Anteaters’ tongues can be up to two feet long!

Giant anteaters feed mainly on ants and termites and they are able to eat up to 30,000 of them each day.  Yum!!!  Giant Anteaters can eat so many insects so fast because they can stick out and pull back in their two-foot tongue up to 150 times a minute!  That is a lot more times than any person could ever do.  Giant Anteaters are one of the few mammals that don’t have any teeth, so they don’t have much of a choice food-wise.  They also have a good sense of smell (ten times better than humans) to help find ants and termites. 

Giant Anteaters are usually diurnal, but if they live near a human settlement, they are nocturnal to shy away from people.  Even though the Greek name for Giant Anteaters (myrmecophaga tridactyla) means three-fingered anteaters, Giant Anteaters really have five fingers.

The Giant Anteaters’ technique to fight off predators is really interesting.  They are capable of scaring off or even killing Pumas, Jaguars, and other large cats.  The Giant Anteater does this by standing up on its hind legs, supported by its tail, and swiping with sharp claws at the opponent.  That would be really interesting to watch!  They usually succeed, but sometimes the cats win and earn a feast. 

On this trip, so far we haven’t seen any Giant Anteaters.  I hope to see one of these amazing animals in Brazil.