Some stones sparkle because some of them are smooth as a mirror. Even if it might look very coarse, some parts of the stone are flat and smooth. When the light hits something flat, some of the light bounces back. Think about how light is reflected in the mirror. The flatter the points in the […]
Common name : Siirt lizard Scientific name : Sistrurus catenatus catenatus Family : Lacertidae Native to : North-Eastern Syria, South-Eastern Turkey, South-Western Iran (the Central Zagros Mountains), and some parts of Northern Iraq Interesting fact : They shed their entire skins every few days for several weeks. Conservation status : Least Concern These cold-blooded creatures
Common name : Yellow-blotched sawback Scientific name : Graptemys flavimaculata Family : Emydidae Native to : Southern United States Interesting fact : The patterns on the edge of the shell are used to gauge their age as they fade with time. Conservation status : Vulnerable They are also called ‘sawback turtles’ due to the saw-like
Scientific name : Glyptemys insculpta Family : Emydidae Native to : North America Conservation status : Endangered The deep, circular rings on the wood turtle look like they were carved. They live near streams, creeks or rivers that are shallow with gravel or sandy bottoms. The turtle is active in the day, and feeds on
Just like humans use their sight to see the world around them, dogs use their powerful sense of smell to recognize other animals, other dogs, foods and much more. Their sense of smell is much greater than a human’s sense of smell. This area of the canine brain that is devoted to analyzing scent is
Scientific name : Chalcides striatus Family : Scincidae Native to : France, Italy, Portugal and Spain Interesting fact : When disturbed, they run for cover under vegetation, rocks and burrows. Conservation status : Least Concern The Western three-toed skink, with its tiny head and limbs, looks like a snake and grows 43 cm long. Its
Common name : Pacific pond turtle Scientific name : Actinemys marmorata/Emys marmorata Family : Emydidae Native to : United States and Mexico Conservation status : Vulnerable The Western pond turtle has a dark brown to olive-coloured shell that has lighter marbling patterns. The dark head and legs have yellow markings. Their natural habitats are slow-moving
Common name : Plains hog-nose snake Scientific name : Heterodon nasicus Family : Colubridae Native to : Canada, United States and Mexico Interesting fact : It exhibits ‘bluff’ behaviour by acting dead, or pretending to strike victims without biting, hissing and flattening the neck like a hood, etc. Conservation status : Least Concern An upturned,
Birds don’t get electrocuted when they sit on electrical wires because they are not good conductors of electricity. They sit on only one wire and do not complete the ‘circuit’, that is touching both the positive wire and a negative or neutral wire. They would get electrocuted if they were touching the ground. The ground
Why don’t birds get electrocuted when they sit on the electrical wires? Read More »
Scientific name : Plethodon welleri Family : Plethodontidae Native to : United States Conservation status : Endangered Weller’s salamander lives in a small region called the Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Brassy blotches cover its black body. They live high up in rocky forests and hide under rocks, logs and debris. They come out only
Common name : Northern crested newt, Great crested newt Scientific name : Triturus cristatus Family : Salamandridae Native to : Europe and Asia Interesting fact : Warty newt’s skin produces an acrid smelling secretion to warn predators. Conservation status : Least Concern The warty newt is aptly named due to its warty, dark skin that
Unlike the stars, the moon has no light of its own. We see it because of the sun’s light that it reflects. Whenever the moon reflects the sun’s light, we see it, irrespective of the time of the day. When the sun, the earth and the moon align correctly, enough light is reflected off the
Why can we see the moon during the day sometimes? Read More »
Common name : Parachute frogs Scientific name : Rhacophorus nigropalmatus Family : Rhacophoridae Native to : Malaysia and Borneo Interesting fact : Flying frogs can glide up to a distance of 50 feet. Conservation status : Least Concern Skin folds between limbs and extensively webbed feet help the Wallace’s flying frog glide from treetops. Sticky
Common name : Viperine water snake Scientific name : Natrix maura Family : Colubridae Native to : Europe and Africa Interesting fact : When threatened they spray foul-smelling musk, liquid and faeces. Conservation status : Least Concern The Viperine snake gets its name from the fact that it strikes like the adder snake but without
‘Wet’ is just a word that we apply to the description of our experience of water. Water, by itself, is not wet, because it is a liquid, but whatever it touches, it can make that wet. When something feels ‘wet’, it is because that water on evaporating makes the surface of the object cold. Therefore,