The Andean Condor

The Andean condor is the largest vulture and one of the world's biggest flying birds. It has a maximum wingspan of 10 feet, 10 inches and can weigh up to 33 pounds! Commonly known as the largest bird of prey, the Andean condor lives in the Andes mountains and the Pacific coasts of Western South America. 

The Andean condor is a black bird with white feathers arounds its neck and large white patches on its wings. Its head and neck do not have feathers and are a dull red color. This color can change if the bird is scared or excited. Male condors have a wattle on their necks and a red crown on their heads. Most female birds of prey are larger than males, but male Andean condors are actually larger than the females. 

The Andean condor eats all kinds of carrion, but prefers large carcasses such as deer or cattle. It also hunts small mammals and other birds. Flying at 20 miles per hour, it swoops down, folds its wings, and grabs the prey with its talons. 

The Andean condor has the longest lifespan of any bird, living up to 70 years! Andean condors build their nests very high - up to 16,000 feet - usually on mountain ledges that no predators can reach. They lay one to two eggs at a time. The Andean condor is considered vulnerable and is threatened by habitat loss and poisoning by lead found in carcasses killed by hunters. 

Cool Fact: The Andean condor is a national symbol of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and plays an important role in the folklore and mythology of the Andean regions. It is considered a symbol of power and health by many Andean cultures.

The Southern Elephant Seal

Male (left), pup (middle), female (right)

Introducing the southern elephant seal! You can see from the photo, this animal is not what you think a cute "seal" is. But not all elephant seals have this kind of appearance. Their proboscis, or nose, is used for showing off and is an important part of elephant seal life. It feels squishy when you touch it. Females are normal looking seals - the males are what have the beastly expression with their proboscis. 

This marine mammal lives in the cool waters of Antarctica. Male elephant seals - which are four times heavier than females - are the largest of all seals. They can grow 21 to 23 feet long and weigh 7,000 pounds. Females usually grow about 13 to 15 feet long and weigh 2,000 pounds. The biggest male elephant seal ever was about 28 feet long and weighed 2 tons! That is as heavy as a great white shark! 

Elephant seals love to chow on squid and fish such as cod. Artic char are a favorite too. Elephant seals hunt by sneaking up on their prey and, with a strong stroke of their tail, they grab the prey before they even know what happened. They are great swimmers and have a thick layer of fat (called blubber) that keeps them warm and helps them stand the pressure of diving deep underwater. They can dive as deep as 1,970 feet! They can hold their breath for an hour and a half and are surprisingly good at spotting food by using echolocation. Their eyesight is quite weak. 

Male elephant seals make loud bellowing or roaring sounds to show aggression and also to find a mate. Male elephant seals can also inflate their large noses when roaring at their rivals. Elephant seals can be clumsy on land, so they spend a lot of their time in the water. They don't move well on land, especially dry, rocky land, because they are so large. They can move easier on ice and snow. 

Elephant seals were close to extinction in the 1800s due to overhunting, but their numbers have since improved!

Cool Fact: An elephant seal is called an elephant seal because sometimes its proboscis can look like an elephant's trunk!

The Bull Shark

Meet the world's deadliest shark - the bull shark. The bull shark is known for its aggressive behavior and is even known to attack humans because it swims in shallow water where humans swim. However, this doesn't happen very often. Last year, there were only five recorded shark attacks - two by great white sharks and three by bull sharks. Bull sharks are found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. The deepest water bull sharks swim in is less than 65 feet deep. 

The name bull shark comes from the shark's stocky shape, broad, flat snout, and unpredictable behavior. Bull sharks have small eyes because they often live in shallow, muddy water where eyesight is not that useful for hunting prey. However, studies have confirmed that bull sharks can see different colors of mesh netting underwater and tend to stay away from nets of bright colors. They grow to be 6.5 to 10 feet long. 

Bull sharks eat a large variety of animals, from fish and sea turtles, to birds, dolphins and whales. Bull sharks are known for bumping their prey before attacking. They swim rather slowly, but are agile and quick when chasing prey. Bull sharks are known by different names, such as the Zambezi River shark or the Nicaragua shark.

The bull shark belongs to the species of requiem sharks, along with blue sharks, lemon sharks, tiger sharks and reef sharks. Bull sharks living in the Amazon give the Amazon rainforest a bigger number of species of animals than most rainforests. Predators of bull sharks include saltwater and Nile crocodiles, some larger shark species, and humans. Their conservation status is vulnerable. 

Cool Fact: Bull sharks can live in both salt and fresh water and can travel far up rivers. They have even been known to travel up the Mississippi River as far as Illinois - about 700 miles from the ocean!

The Sperm Whale

Meet the world's largest carnivorous creature - the sperm whale! The sperm whale is so tough it can even take down one of the other largest ocean creatures, the giant squid. These two giants have great battles that rarely anyone has ever seen. Only some scientists have been lucky enough to see it. 

Sperm whales have typical names - males are called bulls and females are called cows. Females stay with their young while the bull goes hunting. The bull usually brings back larger food, such as giant squid and colossal squid. Young bulls often form groups but become more solitary as adults. Sperm whales use echolocation to communicate and are very loud! The sound from a bull sperm whale is loud and powerful enough to knock down a small house! Sperm whales can measure up to 65 1/2 feet long and live for up to 70 years! Sperm whales can be found in all the oceans from the poles to the equator. 

The sperm whale can stay underwater for two hours before running out of breath. It lifts its tail high above the water before plunging down after prey. This helps it get into position. Sperm whales are very deep divers, going about 10,000 feet under water! That is one of the deepest-diving animals! They travel so deep that they can sometimes go to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trench on Earth. When whales such as sperm whales go under water, their heartrate slows and blood flow to the skin stops so that it can flow to vital organs for longer. Scientists think that their wrinkled skin helps them dive deeper. 

Other whales, such as blue whales, humpback whales, bowhead whales, fin whales and gray whales are baleen whales, which means they eat plankton that filter through their brush-like teeth called baleen. But sperm whales belong to the family of toothed whales, which also includes all dolphins and porpoises, beluga whales, pygmy sperm whales and narwhales. Toothed whales eat fish and other animals. It is very rare to see them eat plankton. Sperm whales have huge heads to hold their 50 enormous teeth!

Sperm whales used to be in danger from hunting for their oil. But this is not happening as much today because of protection of these whales!

Cool Fact: Sperm whales have the largest brains of any creature on Earth - more than five times heavier than a human's!

The European Bison

The European bison should not be confused with the American bison. While European bison live in forests and have to survive in snow, American bison are usually found on the plains. European bison can be found in northern and eastern Europe, extending to Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine. 

European bison are the biggest, heaviest mammals in Europe. Although European bison are huge - measuring as tall as a fully-grown man and weighing as much as 2,000 pounds - they can still run fast and jump over streams. Bulls, or males, tend to be heavier than females. European bison and American bison look different. A European bison's coat is shorter and less shaggy, their tails are longer, their horns are curvier and sharper, and they are smaller overall. Like bulls, European bison are known to blow their breath out of their noses as a way to show aggressive behavior. They also use their horns to fight. Males will challenge each other for territory and to be the leader of the herd. 

European bison are herbivores and eat leaves, trees, twigs and berries. They have to eat a lot! In the winter, they can dig under snow to find plants and grasses, but often eat tree bark this time of year. 

Because of over hunting and habitat destruction, the European bison was extinct in the wild in 1927. There were only a dozen of these animals left in zoos. In 1951, European bison were reintroduced to the wild and today there are more than 3,000 of them!

Cool Fact: A European bison's long tail acts as a switch to keep files off of its body!

The Alligator Gar

Don't get this confused with the longnose gar, because the alligator gar is way bigger. While the alligator gar can measure up to 10 feet long, the longnose gar is only about the size of an adult's arm. The alligator gar can weigh up to 350 pounds and is the second largest fish in North America (the largest is the white sturgeon). 

The alligator gar gets its name from its alligator-shaped snout. It has a torpedo-shaped body and two rows of large, sharp teeth. Alligator gars have ganoid scales, which are different from the scales of most fish. Ganoid scales are bone-like and very hard to bite through, which gives them excellent protection against predators. Alligator gars can live up to 50 years and have few natural predators. They are found in the lower Mississippi River basin and in the waters of the Gulf Coast states. Alligator gars are considered euryhaline, which means they are able to adapt to both fresh water and salt water! They tend to swim near the surface or among the reeds where they can ambush prey. Alligator gars mainly eat other fish, but also eat water birds, turtles, frogs and small mammals that float on the surface of the water. They primarily hunt at night.  

One of the only natural predators of the alligator gar is the American alligator. Ospreys are also known to scavenge the remains of alligator gars caught by American alligators. Habitat destruction and overfishing are also threats to the alligator gar. 

Cool Fact: Alligator gars are often referred to as "primitive fish" or "living fossils" and their ancestors have been found in fossils from 200 million years ago! 

Click here for more information on the longnose gar!

The Sand Cat

The sand cat is a small cat, but not the smallest of cats (that title goes to the black footed cat). The sand cat weighs 4.5 to 6.5 pounds and measures between 26 and 36 inches long. It lives in rocky and sandy deserts in North Africa and Southeast and Central Asia. 

The sand cat is hard to observe because it spends most of its day in a burrow. It only comes out at night to hunt for food. The sand cat can travel up to 3.4 miles per night in search of food! Its diet includes desert rodents, birds, lizards and invertebrates. If they hunt more than they can eat, sand cats will bury the rest to eat later. Its appearance helps makes it a good hunter. Its fur, which is a sandy brown color with red and dark brown markings, blends in to the sandy savanna. Its ears are large and low set, and are able to detect underground prey and the ultra-sonic calls of rodents that can't be heard by humans! Sand cats are also very quiet and fast, with softly padded paws and retractable claws. Their long hair covers their paws which helps protect their feet from the extremely hot and cold desert temperatures. 

Predators of the sand cat include wolves, venomous snakes, and larger cats such as caracals. One of its biggest predators, the eagle, is very dangerous to young sand cats. Habitat loss and sand dune destruction are also threats to sand cats. 

Cool Fact: Sand cats get all the water they need from their prey, but will drink water if they can find it!

The Giant River Otter

Giant river otters can be found in the rivers of South America and in the Amazon rain forest. The giant river otter is the longest member of the weasel family, but its cousin, the sea otter, outweighs it. Giant river otters can grow up to 5.6 feet long and weigh up to 70 pounds. 

The giant otter looks peaceful, but can be a really tough creature when defending its territory. It can even scare away a bull shark using the power of the pack! Giant river otters are very social animals and live in groups of three to eight members. 

River otters can be very noisy! Their communication calls sound like a bellowing, kind of like a frog. The noise can also tell predators and other otters to "back off." Giant river otters have a paddle-like tail and large webbed paws to help them outswim predators. They have thick, chocolate brown fur and short, compact muzzles. Their long, sensitive whiskers help them find food. They create series of dens on land and mark their territory with smelling droppings - yuck!

The giant otter's favorite food is fish, especially piranhas and catfish. They also eat crabs, snakes, turtles and young caimans. Giant river otters hunt in the water by looking for prey and then diving down after it. When they finally catch something, their pose is like a cat running and jumping at the same time. 

Predators of giant river otters include bull sharks, jaguars, caimans and possibly jaguarundis. Giant river otters are a rare species and are currently endangered.

Cool Fact: The giant river otter is known by a handful of other names including water jaguar (ari'raña) in Portuguese, and river wolf (lobo de río) and water dog (perro de agua) in Spanish. 

The Asian Elephant

Before you read this, don't just run outside and tell your friends that there is only one species of elephant. While the African elephant may be the most well known, there are actually three types of elephants in Africa - the bush elephant, the forest elephant and the pygmy elephant - as well as the Asian elephant. This post is going to talk about the Asian elephant. The scientific name, Elephas Maximus, means "largest ox."

The Asian elephant is the largest animal in Asia, weighing 6,600 to 11,000 pounds and measuring 21 to 25 feet long and up to 9 feet tall. They live in tropical forests across much of southern and southeast Asia. Asian elephants are herbivores, eating up to 33 pounds of grasses, leaves and bark per day! They also like bananas. 

Asian elephants have tough gray/brown skin with a little bit of stiff, dark hair. Only the males, called bulls, have tusks that can grow up to five feet long! They have large, round feet with four nails on their hind feet. Asian elephants can live for a very long time - up to 70 years! They live in groups of about 20 females and children called herds. The oldest female - probably the grandma - is the leader. All elephants form close bonds with each other. The adults protect the children from danger and they show affection by bumping trunks and rubbing their bodies together. 

Asian elephants are one of the smartest animals in the world and have great memories. They use tools to do different things. They use sticks to scratch their backs and can move things out of the way with their trunks. They are smaller than African elephants, but their brains are much bigger. There are other differences between Asian and African elephants too. Asian elephants have smaller ears and have flat or humped backs, while African elephants have a dip in their backs. Asian elephants have one "finger" on their trunks, while African elephants have two. 

Asian elephants are endangered due to hunting and habitat loss. Scientists think they are only about 60,000 left today. We need to help save the elephants! 

Cool Fact: Asian elephants and great swimmers and can swim underwater. They hold their trunks above the water like a snorkel!  

The Whale Shark

You may think sharks are fierce meat-eating fish, but this post shows that not all sharks are like that. Unlike great whites and tiger sharks, this is the whale shark. The whale shark is a gentle giant. They are the biggest kind of shark and the largest fish on earth. They can grow up to 46 feet long and can weigh up to 26,500 pounds, or 22 tons! Their mouths can measure 4 to 5 feet wide. 

Whale sharks are gray with white spots. They can be found in warm seas around the world, such as the Indian Ocean. They are usually found looking for food near the surface of the water. Whale sharks are often followed by schools of smaller fish that keep the shark clean by eating bacteria and debris from its mouth. 

Although a whale shark has about 3,000 tiny teeth, they don't use them very often. Instead whale sharks are "filter feeders" and use tiny bristles in front of their gills to trap plankton and fish eggs. Whale sharks have impressive diving skills, diving more than 3,300 feet down in search of fish eggs! The basking shark and megamouth shark are other filter feeders you should know, although these sharks are not related to each other. The whale shark's closest relatives are zebra sharks and short-tail nurse sharks.

The whale shark's giant size means it has few predators, however pods of orcas have been known to take them down. Lone orcas, great whites and sailfish have been known to attack the young. Scientists think that some whale sharks can live for more than 100 years! 

Cool Fact: A whale shark's skin is up to 4 inches thick, making it the thickest skin of any living creature!